What games have you "MASTERED"

Oh god you're back? A bunch of people jumped into the "I need to make a thread every day because reasons" boat  after you left but they're all awful about 75% of the time. I used to be annoyed seeing your name and icon every day but if you can keep up interesting threads like this that don't just look like you woke up and thought "Oh shit I don't have anything interesting today lemme make up two sentences really quickly so I can make a thread BECAUSE I HAVE TO POST ONE EVERY DAY" like some other people then I'll be more than happy that you're back. 
 
 
To answer your question, I've never mastered any games in the way that you described (unless inadvertently) but there are a few games that I obsessed over so much in the past that I knew all the ins and outs of.

I am an Unreal Tournament 2004 master.

I mastered Dark Souls. You pick it up, play it for 30 minutes, and you send it back to the redbox. My life is great

I guess I'm a Super Meat Boy master as I'm in the minority that has 100% everything with all A+ and bandages, as well as was within the top 100 for a time (now I don't care for the leaderboards as last I checked the cheating has not been fixed).

I... uh... I'm pretty good at Pacman CE DX... :(

Very few games do I replay, and out of these there are even fewer that I can finish with few troubles, and none of those have I ever done a gimmicky run through of. 
 
However there are two games I considered 'mastered' (by my own standard), these both are within the normal confines of the game, but arn't something a typical person would be willing to do. 
MGS3, I have finished this game over 2 dozen times in various formats, once 3 times in one sitting, my favorite run of which being a tranq/headshot only run, every guard is shot in the head with a tranq, if I miss I let them wake everyone up and try again, boss's are stun killed only (except you know, certain story ones). 
 
Demon's Souls, as much as I hate it's brother the first game is practically perfect for me, while having only beat it twice my second time through I only used a crecent falchion, and my deaths were only from being knocked off ledges, I have many strategies I could employ in future playthroughs but I just haven't felt like playing it since.

Resisting the urge to make an "I play Rock Band drums using only my penis as a drumstick" joke.

Fuck. I failed. But at least I failed in a way that let you know I was conflicted about it.

I've never really attempted doing anything that would fit your description of mastered, though. I'm a play through a game once and move on kinda guy. Though if I could play through Escape from Butcher Bay using only melee and stealth kills I would but I don't think that's possible.

Not a single goddamn one. I've got way too many games to play to spend much time on a game I've already beaten. Hell, I don't even beat most of the games I've purchased.

The original Fallout, I guess? I can beat it in one sitting, and probably without dying.

That's commendable, but I don't have the patience to 'master' a game.... nor the time.

Not really, the closest I have got to that is with Final Fantasy XIII-2 where I not only got all the achievments (first time I have ever done that) but I took the bestiary one further by actually getting all information on any enemy (so they all have the Libra'd symbol next to their name).

Tempted to do it with ICO in the HD collection though, sort of keep getting the urge to go for the finishing-in-under-2-hours achievement (but I am just so bad at the game I know it would take me a week of full gaming to get just get 2 hours of a perfect playthrough).

Binding of Isaac, I guess; well, I have S-ranked it ^__^

@astrotriforce said:

Soon I want to try my hand at Mastering Ocarina of Time, by beating it without collecting a Heart Container or Heart Piece

I did that back when I was 11 or 12, because I didn't own many games, thus I had to replay the handful of good games I owned. It's actually not particularly hard, especially if you keep fairies on hand to revive yourself. If you know the game at all, it's pretty easy to avoid damage. None of the 3D Zeldas are even remotely hard, because instead of the series becoming something like Dark Souls, it became a series with fairly lazy enemies that do very little damage (most enemies do 1/2 heart damage, which becomes absolutely trivial within 3 or 4 hours of playing the game) and predictable boss fights where you stun the boss with whatever weapon you just got, then you smash them with your sword a bunch.

I've mastered playing Max Payne and I kick ass at Battlefield 3 but I haven't "mastered" any games by your standards (hardest difficulty, not dying, etc..)

None, im not crazy.

@BisonHero: Hmm. I already said its not always about difficulty per say. Just because it's super hard doesn't mean it's not a proper Master Run. It's also great to just do something interesting. I had this one girl message me on Backloggery saying she loved to just see what people come up with to get more fun or enjoyment out of a game they love.

I'd still like to Master Run the Zelda games. It'd be really interesting I think.

Beat Ratchet Gladiator without dying on Exterminator difficulty.

I've been ranked number one in the world a few times in Catan. I am the Catan Master.

@astrotriforce: If you do decide to try Fire Emblem, I would recommend the original for the GBA that's just called Fire Emblem (in the states at least). It has such a great tutorial sequence that I think even someone who isn't into strategy games could get into it.

Most of all the Resident Evil games. Though Resident Evil 3 is one that I didn't master. Getting stalked by Nemesis was a pain in the nuts. Another is the Hitman series I killed so smoothly. In Hitman 2 I got Silent Assassin ratings which means that I have mad skills.

I can play all character in Super Street Fighter IV AE v. 2012 to absolute perfection.

@Hunter5024: Ah thanks a lot for the recommendation. That is definitely where I'd like to start with the GBA Fire Emblem because I know it's the first in the series. So it seems like that'd be a good place to start. Plus I own a Game Boy Player ;)

@falserelic said:

Most of all the Resident Evil games. Though Resident Evil 3 is one that I didn't master. Getting stalked by Nemesis was a pain in the nuts. Another is the Hitman series I killed some smoothly. In Hitman 2 I got Silent Assassin ratings which means that I have mad skills.

Interesting. I'll try Resident Evil 3 next. Although I might skip the Mastering and just go straight from beating RE3 to playing Code Veronica, Zero and 4. Trying to play them all before 6 releases on October 2nd.

Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Zero Mission. I can beat all three in a couple of hours with a high completion percentage and without dying. 

@Dixavd said:

Not really, the closest I have got to that is with Final Fantasy XIII-2 where I not only got all the achievments (first time I have ever done that) but I took the bestiary one further by actually getting all information on any enemy (so they all have the Libra'd symbol next to their name).

Tempted to do it with ICO in the HD collection though, sort of keep getting the urge to go for the finishing-in-under-2-hours achievement (but I am just so bad at the game I know it would take me a week of full gaming to get just get 2 hours of a perfect playthrough).

Nice man! Those are both achievements to be proud of. I love getting all the Achievements in games. I've done it for four games: Ultimate MK3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes In Time Reshelled, Terminator Salvation and Lego Indiana Jones. I still haven't played FFXIII despite owning both the PS3 UK-Exclusive CE (despite living in the US) and the standard Xbox 360 version.

Ff7 and 8, when I was a kid I didn't get many games so I played the shit out of those games. Also when I was much more gullible I did every single revive aeris myth lol.

@OwnlyUzinWonHan said:

@believer258 said:

Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Zero Mission. I can beat all three in a couple of hours with a high completion percentage and without dying.

I do the opposite, try to collect as few items I can while beating it without saving, did Super Metroid and Fusion that way.

That's interesting. I was thinking about trying it that way as well. I think there must be so many paths through the Metroid games.

@kerse: Haha. It'd be hell doing a Master Run of a FF game I'd think. Course, technically you can beat Final Fantasy IX in only 12 hours which still seems impossible to me. But it can be done to get a special unique weapon (Excalibur if I remember correctly).

@astrotriforce Yeah I kinda went crazy with those games, wonder if I could do it again right now. I have a feeling I'm nowhere near as patient as I was before.

@believer258 said:

Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Zero Mission. I can beat all three in a couple of hours with a high completion percentage and without dying. Zero Mission is a bit more difficult on its hard mode but it still isn't much trouble.

That first Metroid game, though, did not age well at all. It's infuriating because you're either aiming too high or too low to hit a number of enemies.

EDIT: Also Halo.

This plus metal gear solid 1, 2, and almost 3

@Anupsis: Sadly Metal Gear's everything post-MGS and pre, I haven't played. It really sucks. I do own MGS2: Substance, and still planning to pick up Subsistance one of these days alongside Twin Snakes and eventually 4. The original is still one of my favorite games of all time though. At least it was last time I played it which was forever ago. I'm wondering if it'll still hold up given how old it is. Planning on replaying it sometime soon.

I forgot with Resident Evil 2 for instance, how silly and ridiculous it looks to have characters whose mouths don't move when they talk... when I first played RE2 last week, I literally laughed out loud at how bad it looked. You get used to it pretty quickly though and then it doesn't bother you.

Nah, I've gotten really good at certain games, but nothing like that. To be honest, that shit would get on my nerves quick. Especially mastering ANYTHING in a mario game lol.

My ongoing but completely fruitless all-dogtag extreme run through of vanilla MGS 2 for the PS2 continues. Very very slowly.

Yumm.

I've only ever put that much effort into video games a few times in my life. The first time was Pokemon Blue Version. Second was Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. Then Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Soul Calibur II.

In none of those cases do I think I've ever "mastered" a game better than every other player (especially the fighting games) but I played obsessively enough to understand every aspect of the game. It's not something I've repeated since I started caring about my real life, though... ^^;;

There just hasn't been time in my schedule - for years - where I can sit down and play a game for 4 or more hours. Which you really need sometimes to immerse yourself.

Burnout 3, I got gold on everything over the course of a couple of months when it came out. Now every arcade racer is too easy for me. And none of them ever will be as good as B3 :(

I wouldn't say I'm mastered it, but I think beating the entire Mass Effect series on Insanity difficulty is still an accomplishment, especially since I pretty much never play on the hardest difficulty in games because I don't think it's fun. Turns out, it's super fun in Mass Effect 2 and 3 (maybe not 1).

100% on GTA: Vice city, which is a bitch

Silent assassin on all mission and at professional difficulty in Hitman contract and Hitman blood money

Beat mirror's edge with no gun on hard. That game is not that great...

No alarm and no direct kill (stupide robot exploded and killed a guard in the cover Malike section) in Deus Ex:HR on hard.

I got all A ranks in Sonic Adventure 2 battle recently. That's pretty much the equivalent of mastering the game.

I can probably finish NWN with my eyes closed.

I can run through Banjo Kazooie, get 900 notes, 100 jiggies, and all the health upgrades in just a few hours. 
 
...I've played that game a lot. The same goes for Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, the few games I played obsessively as a kid.

None, I've probably come closest in some competitive first person shooters, but that's pretty much it.

MGS 3, no kills, no rations, no tranq. I pussied out on alerts though... That was a LOT of fun, but I don't think I could do it again. So satisfying seeing the empty street hanging around the sorrow.

Sands of Time speedrun without sandpowers. I don't remember the exact time, and its nowhere near some of the lunatic speed people have managed... But I definitely went out of my way to skip encounters and take the shortest route.

Symphony of the Night speedrun with almost all the secrets. I'm confident I can find at least 90% just out of memory at the moment, and just finishing it only takes like 2h.

I did the pure physical/no magic runs in both FFX and FFVII. That can be kind of a bitch at some points. No magic means no summons as well. That mostly worked because of overpowered manly man Wakka and Rikku's potion spam in X and the W-Item glitch and broken E-Skill mighty guard in 7.

I think there might have been more stuff, but I havent done anything like this in a whiiiile. No game captures my attention long enough. I could try and do something cool with Dark Souls, that is the only game I would even consider.

Battlefield, Halo, DeadSpace 2.

Deus Ex the conspiracy PC, completed in 96 minutes.

Holy crap, I'm not mastering games ever. I'm not masochistic.

I'm not saying it's wrong for you, but jeez, I could never put enough time and practice to even come close to mastering a game. Also, I don't have the hand-eye coordination required.

Completing Halo: Reach on legendary solo with the Tough Luck, Catch, Cloud, Famine, Thunderstorm and Mythic skulls activated.

It got...stressful.

I decided to do my 6th Skyrim run on Master and at level 24 using ''weak'' skills I'm far from struggling. Thus I believe I have mastered that game.

Banjo-Kazooie, I've beaten it so many times and each time is an 100%. I know where all the items are and often get through the game without dying.

astrotriforce is back? No way!

@astrotriforce: what's your backloggery page? Mine's http://backloggery.com/main.php?user=dacellafella

I'm not really into these hardcore "master runs" but I tagged my BioShock playthrough on Survivor w/o Vita Chambers as a master run and my A Link to the Past 0 Deaths + 100% items run as "mastered".