I’ve been playing a lot of Star Ocean First Departure R lately and it got me thinking about tutorials in gaming.
This action RPG is an HD remaster of the PlayStation Portal remake of Star Ocean for the Super Famicon. As such, there are plenty of older mechanics littered through the game that show the its age despite being a lot of fun.
One such mechanic is the minimal tutorial in the early part of the game. Mostly everything I’ve learned about the game has come from teaching myself, online guides, or random non-playable character encounters that vaguely explain the mechanics.
While I appreciate the challenge in learning gameplay as I go, I do think video games should have a proper tutorial.
Now, I’m not saying a tutorial needs to vigorously hold you hand through the entire opening chapter. There are plenty of games that throw a heavy-handed tutorial at you and it can really take you out of the experience. These include heavy text menus that explain every aspect of the game.
On the other side, I don’t think a game should just plop you into its world and tell you to figure it out. I know Soulslike games follow this format and I think that’s OK in its place. It’s just not an approach I like largely because my life has me wanting less of a challenge and more time for progression.
That’s why my favorite tutorials mix the two approaches.
One of my favorite games for a tutorial is Metroid Prime. The opening location is one big tutorial area but doesn’t ever feel that way. Players navigate the Space Pirate’s Frigate while brief text prompts flashed on the screen. I never felt taken out of the game throughout the first level.
Another game that does it well is Breath of the Wild as well as its sequel Tears of the Kingdom. Each game had characters explaining what to do in a large tutorial area. In Breath of the Wild, it was the old man and in Tears of the Kingdom, it was Rauru and the robots.
What’s unique about this approach is while the characters explain a lot to you, it never feels like a developer talking. The characters teach you within the kayfabe of the game, mostly.
Each game will be different because each one has unique mechanics that may need more explaining or teaching. That said, I think a show-don’t-tell approach is always preferable to not being taught at all or having to read extensive menus.
Rather than RPGs throwing up three pages of tutorial information, have an NPC ask for something that requires you to do a specific task. This could maintain the kayfabe while still teaching you how to play.
Everyone is going to have their own preference when it comes to tutorials and I’m sure some don’t like the beginning sections in the games I’ve suggested. For me, however, I good mix of text and teaching makes for the best tutorials.
But what about you? What makes the perfect tutorial for you? Which games have the best tutorial sections? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Nintendo (via The Game Fanatics)
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