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The site known as GameFAQs performs a certain function (aside from spawning hordes of incoherent forum users). Sifting through the silly polls and mostly unimpressive reviews reveals that the FAQ part of its name is, in fact, present for a reason. Frequently Asked Questions is an acronym that does not quite encompass everything to be found on GameFAQs, because the Frequent part of that acronym is often ignored. RPGs in particular have every aspect of their structure analyzed in lengthy detail on the site, making it possible for someone to complete the bigger games without ever having to think. Persons who use FAQs at every moment while playing a game make up a proportion of the gaming audience that is hard to determine, but they must exist.
The opposite of using a FAQ at every moment while playing the game is the province of those who refuse to use FAQs under any circumstance. Such a stance is not hard to understand; even in a concerted effort to only look at one part of a FAQ, information one would have preferred to be a surprise can be seen. Usage of a FAQ is also tantamount to conceding one's inability to progress in a game without assistance, which can be bothersome. Abstaining from any use of a FAQ is admirable, but also very frustrating if one is pressed for time.
Most readers probably fit into the pragmatic middle ground. Getting stuck for awhile in any game is reason to use a FAQ, as is a desire to find the often-copious extra content that developers include. Replaying a game is usually a good incentive to have a FAQ handy, in order to obtain everything that was missed the first time through. Importing games without high Japanese reading comprehension will often require the use of a FAQ, or else the willingness to fumble around spastically for hours until something is finally accomplished.
One particular facet of far too many FAQs that I disdain is the habit authors have of rephrasing the entirety of the story. Why exactly is this necessary, excluding a desire to pad text documents out to an ungainly size? If someone is playing the game and is interested in the plot, there is no need to recap its events because they are already known. If someone is playing the game and is NOT interested in the plot, there is also no need to write a recap of the same thing that was purposely ignored. Writing a game's plot into a FAQ seems to serve two types of people: those who play with an eye toward their computer screens at all times instead of the game, or those who want to experience the story without actually playing the game. To me it is a waste of space that inflates the entire document and makes picking out the key items I search for difficult.
Thanks to my odd choices of titles to play, using a FAQ is often necessary if I do not want to grab a kanji dictionary and spend hours puzzling out something I don't fully understand. I can understand the viewpoint of those who never look at a FAQ without wanting to emulate it, because I no longer have the patience to spend hours in a game stuck at the same place. Striking a good balance between frustration at lack of progress, and guilt at being unable to continue a game on one's own, is something that everyone who uses a FAQ doubtless goes through. GameFAQs has foisted numerous things upon the internet community, and its raison d'être is without doubt the most valuable.
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