Summary
Collectibles used to be neat one-off items that either gave the player some much-needed points for a high score, or a handy power-up to stop enemies on the field. Now players need to collect multiple items just to earn enough XP to get one permanent upgrade, or they’re simple fluff pieces meant to expand the game’s lore a la the notorious audio logs.
But developers have tried to spice them up in one way or another. Sometimes, they become key parts of an addictive minigame, offer unique easter eggs if every single item is picked up, or if they’re filler, they’re at least funny filler that, in one way or another, leaves an impression. For better or worse, these open-world games offered the most memorable collectibles.
It seems right to start with the most (in)famous open-world series, yet theGTAgames aren’t so big on collectibles. That’s not to say they aren’t there; they just don’t stick out much. Special tokens, generic crates, red balloons, mechanical parts, etc. - theGTAWiki counts stunt jumps and Kill Crazy/Rampage missions just to break the monotony.
ButGrand Theft Auto 4and its spin-offsThe Ballad of Gay TonyandLost and the Damnedintroduced cruelty to birds with its Flying Rats (i.e. pigeons) and Seagulls. To complete those games 100%, players must kill 200 pigeons (GTA 4) and 50 seagulls (forGay TonyandLatDeach) in any way possible. As grim as it sounds, it helped prove cruelty to animals was an awful waste of time by being a long and arduous task. Like in real life, it’s easier to just leave the birds alone.
In contrast toGTA, nearly any and everyAssassin’s Creedgame could count on this list. Ubisoft’s premier open-world series is infamous for its collectibles, as its maps are littered with tons of different objects that must be collected for one purpose or another. It’s been testing ever since the first game, where Altaïr had to collect 420 flags, and nowthe likes ofAC: Valhallamake that seem like child’s play.
But the first set of collectibles to twist the proverbial knife came inAssassin’s Creed 2. It was a vast improvement over the first game, so it became many players’ first taste of the series’ highs and lows. Having Ezio track down feathers to honor his younger brother’s memory is a sweet story high, but arguably a gameplay low. There are only 100 of them, but they’re tiny and can be tricky to spot across its giant maps.
Shifting genres is always going to cause some fallout among the fans, which proved especially true for theFalloutgames. After 2 RTS games and an aborted attempt at a 3rd,Fallout 3became an open-world game under new developers and proved popular enough for its sequels to follow suit. For better (New Vegas) and for worse (Fallout 76on launch).
Still, roaming the wasteland in a first-person, open-world setting has its advantages. Players inFO3and its sequels can track downcute bobbleheads based on Vault Boy. Aside from just looking neat, grabbing each one can provide little stat boosts. It’s not much, but they can be enough to tip the scales if the player needs more strength/intelligence/luck, etc.
Spider-Mangames have had a variety of different collectibles, whether it’s health/strength power-ups via Spider-tokens in the PS1 games or the wealth of skyscraper tokens, buoy tokens, and other kinds of tokens in theSpider-Man 2movie game. Insomniac Games added to the fun inMarvel’s Spider-Manby introducing backpacks.
While swinging through Manhattan, Spidey can find his old backpacks webbed up in odd places. Each one contains a different item that gives the player some lore, from explaining how and why he had so many backpacks, to his past with Mary Jane, Aunt May, and more. They weren’t any different from other XP-granting collectibles, but they were a step up from being generic tokens.
TheYakuza/Like a Dragongames have a range of collectibles, though it’s hard to pinpoint which ones stand out over others. Weapons, armor, and equipable items don’t strictly count, no matter how charismatic the Charismatic Photo is. Likewise, the Revelations only counted as a collectible for Saejima inYakuza 4, who made wood sculptures instead of blog posts.
They feel pedestrian next to the scantily clad bug women inYakuza Kiwami. By scouring Kamurochō, players can find cards covered with these insect-based babes that’ll help them inYK1’s MesuKing minigame. They could contain new moves to unleash on their opponents, or stronger bug girls to battle with. All would make the player wonder what they were doing with their lives.
Anyone put off byGTA 4’s dour tone and pigeon-killing got their kicks inSaints Row 2, which went in the other direction with its quirky characters and unadulterated mayhem. Alas,Saints Row the Thirdincreased the crazy with quirky weapons and more but offered fewer reasons to cause chaos with fewer minigames, activities, and creative options.
The collectibles were more standard too, as players just grabbed items lying out in the open instead of tagging buildings or getting music CDs. But they were at least interesting if that’s the right word to use. Pierce instructs the Boss to pick up blow-up dolls since they’re ‘collectibles’ for a ‘hobby’ of his. Grabbing one comes complete with sound effects too, which once heard can’t be unheard.
Technically, theLegend of Zeldagames have been all about collecting items, albeit usually in the form of putting the Triforce back together. But each game has made people collect different items to either push the plot ahead (instruments inLink’s Awakening), add to gameplay (masks inMajora’s Mask), or to mock players, like inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Its most notorious collectible items are the Korok Seeds. If players get enough of them, they can trade them with the happy shopkeep Hestu for more inventory space for weapons and the like. But what happens if players got all 900 seeds and gave them to the big Korok? Hestu would give them the warmest gift he could provide:a lump of dungthat lets players watch him dance anytime. Great.
1Batman: Arkham City
Riddler Trophies
Collecting Riddler Trophies in theBatman: Arkhamgames has always been a test. They test the player’s memory, knowledge of the game, and patience. They debuted in the Metroidvania-likeBatman: Arkham Asylumbut took the cake in the murky open setting ofBatman: Arkham City. There are 287 of them to track down (247 for Batman, 35 for Catwoman), either left out in the openor locked behind puzzles.
If players went trophy hunting right at the start of the game, they could earn enough XP from these neon-green question marks to get nearly every starting upgrade. As tiring as it is, it can help players unlock Critical Strikes and the Multi-Ground Takedown move way before they enter Joker’s Steel Mill. They’ll need to get all the trophies anyway to stop the Riddler, so they might as well make the most out of them.
