The 20 WORST Video Game Side Quests of All Time
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we are looking at those optional missions that are worth
00:14skipping.
00:15Whether you're a completionist or just can't stand to leave any stone unturned you've lived
00:19through these terrible terrible missions and survived to tell the tale.
00:23These are the 20 worst side quests of all time.
00:27Let's do it.
00:28Before we continue, we publish content all week long so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:32the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:37Screwball Missions
00:48The screwball missions in Marvel's Spider-Man game are universally disliked for several
00:52reasons.
00:53Firstly, they break the flow of the game with their repetitive and tedious tasks such as
00:57chasing drones or completing challenges within a strict time limit.
01:00Additionally, screwball's character is grating, lacking the depth and intrigue of other villains
01:05in the game.
01:06She sucks and I won't apologize for saying it.
01:08The missions lack narrative depth and emotional resonance found in other aspects of the game
01:12making them feel disconnected and unnecessary, ultimately pulling away from the overall experience.
01:26200 Pigeons
01:27When a mission has the potential to piss off both dedicated gamers and PETA you've got
01:31a real stinker on your hands.
01:33One of the collectables in Grand Theft Auto 4 involves hunting down and killing 200 pigeons.
01:38And when Nico Bellic manages to hunt down all 200 and eradicate them from Liberty City
01:42the reward is barely worth mentioning, just a slight bump in the completion percentage.
01:47Wooooah.
01:48I guess?
01:50The task wouldn't be so damn annoying if there were fewer pigeons to deal with, but 200 of
01:54the little winged rats spread across Liberty City is a monumental challenge. Their small
01:59size makes locating them without a guide nearly impossible. Honestly, I did it back in 2008.
02:05Don't bother.
02:07Collecting Eggs
02:08In a game focused on battling fierce creatures in the wild, taking down the largest monsters
02:28and surviving to tell the tale, egg collection is certainly not a priority. Egg collection
02:32in Monster Hunter 1 on the PS2 was one of the worst moments of my childhood and I hoped
02:37I'd never have to deal with it again. I was wrong. These fetch quests rank among the least
02:41favoured especially since carrying eggs limits weapon usage and slows you down ridiculously.
02:47Bringing a friend can ease the burden but for some it's simply not an option. Me. I
02:51don't have friends. Despite widespread hatred, egg collection persists in nearly every Monster
02:57Hunter installment to date. Have the developers not received the memo? Op stay with the egg
03:02ishons me.
03:04100 Acre Wood
03:10For a game that began one of the best and most loved series of all time, Kingdom Hearts
03:141 barely had a decent world when compared to other games. With absolute garbage heaps
03:19like Deep Jungle, Atlantica and Monstro it racks up some pretty poop levels. The totally
03:24optional world of the 100 Acre Wood however deserves a place on this ranking as it is
03:29technically a side mission. Now it's hard not to love Poo and his friends but their
03:33actual world is just a compilation of minigames and they are easily some of the worst minigames
03:38we've ever seen in gaming. The 100 Acre Wood is cute narratively but very terrible in terms
03:44of gameplay.
03:55Collecting Nuclear Waste
03:56GTA V presents several side tasks that truly push the players patience to the limit. From
04:01participating in triathlons to running 5 miles in the desert on foot the challenges are varied
04:07and not always that fun. However the height of frustration comes in the form of collecting
04:12nuclear waste from the oceans depths, especially since it requires the player to purchase property.
04:18After purchasing sonar docks the actual mission involves retrieving 30 barrels from the sea
04:23bed using a submarine. This disgustingly mundane task was even more boring in the
04:28original release of GTA V as the submarine had no radio. Talk about twisting the knife.
04:34Lucky Die
04:35Encountering a Lucky Die in Tiny Tina's Wonderland presents an opportunity to roll for loot and
04:40to increase your chance of getting dope loot you gotta keep rolling. The more you roll
04:44the more you earn. There are however 200 of these little bastards and collecting all of
04:49them is a task that dedicates hours and hours and hours. Their scattered and elusive nature
04:54across the games diverse landscape adds to the frustration with each die requiring precise
04:59exploration, often hidden in obscure or hard to reach locations. Additionally some may
05:03only appear under specific conditions or during particular quests. It feels like a prank on
05:08my mental health.
05:10Trouble with the Troll
05:11If there is a hell I promise the bird that utters this horrendous line is there getting
05:20whipped by Hitler and Satan. If you've attempted all of the collectibles in Spyro 2 you've
05:25undoubtedly encountered this dreadfully frustrating mission. Spyro finds himself navigating a
05:29wonky track atop a rickety trolley armed with a cannon aiming to snag 50 gears. The controls
05:35are abysmal, jumping feels off, maneuvering side to side on the track is a hassle and
05:40there are numerous insta death traps necessitating repetitive restarts. It is the worst thing
05:45to happen to dragons since ice dragons.
05:49Delicate Flower
05:54Ready to test your patience? Dive into Hollow Knight's elusive delicate flower mission where
05:59rage is player number 2. Your simple task is to transport a flower from the top of the
06:03map to near the bottom. Easy right? Well you have to do it without teleporting, resting
06:09at benches or getting hit even once. Success demands a deep understanding of Hollow Knight's
06:14world and mastering enemy avoidance and combat. It's a supremely frustrating endeavour, one
06:20that I hope to never repeat ever again. Unless I do another playthrough, which I'm almost
06:24definitely going to do and knowing me I'll probably do this mission again, damn it.
06:34Moogle Wrangling
06:46Moogle wrangling in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is terrible, it's just plain terrible, it's
06:51never fun and it's never enjoyable and it almost always takes a second go at, at least
06:56towards the end of the game. Catching moogles requires precise timing and coordination,
07:00often leading to frustration as they dart around erratically. The limited window for
07:05success adds pressure, amplifying the challenge. Also, the rewards are always dog s***. I never
07:10thought I'd get worked up by moogles but look at me go! Congratulations Square Enix, I'm
07:15screaming about moogles!
07:23The Lost Sanctum
07:25This side quest is exclusive to versions released since the Nintendo DS, sparing retro gamers
07:30sticking to the Super Nintendo from it's pain. The bonus dungeon unlocks after dealing
07:35with Dalton and acquiring the Epoch. Inside, the player encounters a monotonous fetch quest,
07:40navigating repetitive environments multiple times, up and down a mountain, over and over
07:45and over again. It's lack of variety quickly becomes tiresome, making it best to overlook.
07:51Especially because, and I'm starting to see a theme here, it's reward is basically nothing.
07:55Ursula's Blade
07:56Let's get this out of the way early, this mission takes 16 hours to complete. Is that
08:11enough? Can we move on from this entry? No? Alright, let's talk about it, jeez.
08:16Completing the quest requires players to perform numerous merc missions, each with specific
08:20requirements and durations. Ursula's affinity chart demands extensive investment, as players
08:26must engage in repetitive tasks to raise her trust level. The quest's complexity combined
08:30with the significant time commitment makes Ursula's Blade one of the toughest challenges
08:35in the game, testing my patience and my resolve as I try not to embed the controller into
08:40the drywall.
08:41Queen of Cards
08:42Card games in RPGs may not be for everyone, but they're almost always optional and for
08:57those ready to engage, they offer a nice break from the usual intense gameplay. Final Fantasy
09:02VIII's Triple Triad provides Squall with a peaceful pastime, a place to chill, a place
09:07to relax. Unless he's determined to collect every card, in which case it offers the worst
09:11experience a player can engage in. Players take on the Queen of Cards in their optional
09:14quest to become Triple Triad masters, and after each encounter, whether victorious or
09:19not, the Queen relocates. Finding her sucks, beating her sucks harder. There's just a lot
09:25of hard sucking going on, and it's not as fun as it sounds.
09:33Collecting Flags
09:41As we've seen, whether it's pigeons or radioactive goop, open world games often indulge in unnecessary
09:46time-consuming tasks. Typically, they offer rewards that feel like a fat letdown when
09:51compared to the effort invested, but rarely do they leave the player with nothing. However,
09:57in the Xbox 360 version of Assassin's Creed, collecting all of King Richard's flags merely
10:01earns an achievement. What? While this might seem underwhelming, the PS3 version is so
10:07much worse. With trophies not yet available upon the game's release, gathering these flags
10:12has no impact on the game whatsoever. What the hell?
10:21Drophula
10:22In Dragon Age Inquisition, players command a formidable party of characters, ready to
10:26battle and fight whomever gets in their way. Unfortunately, their first task involves guiding
10:30lost livestock back to their homes. Boo. It wouldn't be so bad if locating the drophula
10:35was all that it took, but you've also got to lead it back to its herd. The escortee
10:40named Druffy follows without explicit instruction, but halts if the player ventures too far ahead.
10:45A game feature that should have been fragged out of the gaming world like a weak cadet.
10:50Druffy's slow pace means constant pausing to wait for it to catch up, extending the
10:54journey significantly, and extending my rage even more.
10:58The Figurine Gallery
11:04Collecting figurines in The Legend of Zelda The Minish Cap is frustrating due to its reliance
11:08on RNG, random number generation, making it a time-consuming and unpredictable process.
11:14Players must use mysterious shells to draw from a figurine lottery, where duplicates
11:18are common and necessary figurines can be elusive. The sheer number of figurines coupled
11:23with the randomness requires extensive grinding. Additionally, completing the collection is
11:28essential for achieving full completion, adding pressure and spine-heating frustration.
11:34The Riddler Races
11:47In the Riddler Races in Batman Arkham Knight, players must navigate the Batmobile through
11:51complex, obstacle-filled courses that require precise timing and control. I know this sounds
11:56simple on paper, but fire up the game and try it for an hour and tell me you don't
11:59want to walk straight into the ocean. The steep difficulty curve and tight time limits
12:04demand near-perfect execution, and almost always requires multiple attempts. Repetitive
12:10gameplay is frustrating gameplay, and when it's due to what looks like faulty design,
12:14it's even more annoying.
12:24Side questing for the ending
12:38Here is a massive disappointment for everyone excited to enjoy the story of Metal Gear Solid
12:425 The Phantom Pain. Metal Gear Solid 5 is an excellent game for the most part, evolving
12:47the MGS formula with significant improvements, cool gadgets, and engaging missions. However,
12:53this all grinds to a halt about 80% of the way into the game. Instead of a neat story
12:58conclusion, Metal Gear Solid 5 suddenly rehashes numerous side missions you've likely already
13:02completed, only slightly harder. You must finish these before unlocking the final mission,
13:08which is merely a repeat of an earlier one. It was revealed that the conflict between
13:11director Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami left the game unfinished, resulting in this
13:16odd side quest grind at the end. This reveal makes this pill even harder to swallow, because
13:21now we know we were given an unfinished product.
13:31Evil Talisman
13:32You thought The Legend of Dragoon was underrated? Try Legend of Lagai, easily and arguably one
13:38of the most underrated games in history. I will say this till the day I'm dead that
13:42the evil talisman side quest is what buried this title. But that might be a bit dramatic.
13:47The talisman gives you the game's most powerful spell, but obtaining it requires leveling
13:51up the party to 99. Is this thing on? I said level 99. By the time the players reach the
13:58final dungeon, the average level is between 45 and 50, and the only way to achieve these
14:03extra 50 levels is through extensive grinding, and boy does it feel like a grind.
14:10Celestial Weapons
14:11Most Final Fantasy games include optional ultimate weapons, the best weapons for each
14:15party member that traditionally require side questing to get your hands on. For this entry,
14:20we're including all of the celestial weapons. Ranging in difficulty to acquire, collecting
14:24all will cause frustration levels you didn't think were possible. Terrible chocobo racing,
14:30world champion in Blitzball, dodging 200 lightning bolts without getting hit, the processes and
14:35tasks required to collect all these weapons are borderline psychotic to undertake.
14:40Collecting Korok Seeds
14:42I feel like all we've done on this list is discuss collection quests, but it's hard to
14:49argue that they are the worst type of extra mission slash side quest a player can engage
14:53in. However, we couldn't do this list without discussing the daddy of all collectible quests,
14:58the Korok Seeds from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. These seeds can be found dotted all
15:03over the expansive map of Breath of the Wild, and can for the first couple hundred be returned in
15:08exchange for better equipment and upgrades. After collecting 440 of these seeds, you will
15:13have completed all of the available upgrades, and that was already taxing enough. For completionists
15:19however, we have 900 seeds spread across the game, ready to be picked up for absolutely no reason.
15:25The first person to collect all of them spent 179 hours doing so, so if you aren't ready for
15:31that level of commitment, hit the road. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these
15:36other clips from Mojo Plays and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of
15:41our latest videos.