Getting softlocked in games

[acromite53 337]

I'd love to hear your experiences about getting softlocked in games. Where you get into a glitch or are trapped with no way out. You have to reset the game to escape it.

 

This happened to me in Super Mario Bros. 2. Somehow I ended up with a mushroom block on top of me. There is no timer, enemies, or way to kill myself. I had to reset the game.  It was so frustrating.

 

[asmikace 65]

I know with Sonic 3 you can get stuck in areas and have to reset. If I remember right the manual claims its a trap and was intended but it seemed to be a excuse for some bugs with the game.

The worst one I can remember and its more of a bricking the game was the Ages of Empires on the DS. If you put only two or three letters for the name, the game will brick itself.

[Bearcat-Doug 4,438]

It happened to me playing Altered Beast. After one of the boss fights, he took my power ups and disappeared, but my character just stood there instead of automatically jumping down the hole to the next stage. 

[CasualCart 6,089]

5 hours ago, acromite53 said:

 

Brutal.

-CasualCart

[Bearcat-Doug 4,438]

16 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Brutal.

-CasualCart

That's awesome! How long did it take you to draw that? Are you a cartoonist by any chance? 

[MuNKeY 241]

23 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Brutal.

-CasualCart

 

HAHAHAHA! Man that is epic! 

5 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

That's awesome! How long did it take you to draw that? Are you a cartoonist by any chance? 

I seriously hope so as I really like this and do hope there are more lurking around, I can see a fanbase growing rather quickly too.

[Bearcat-Doug 4,438]

4 minutes ago, MuNKeY said:

HAHAHAHA! Man that is epic! 

I seriously hope so as I really like this and do hope there are more lurking around, I can see a fanbase growing rather quickly too.

I really like the art style and he seems like he drops cool drawings like that quicker than I could pick up a pencil.

[Br81zad 627]

I feel like it's happened to me several times in the early 3D platformer days. Spyro, Banjo Kazooie, Gex, etc. I'd always try to explore and find places I wasn't supposed to reach. Sometimes leading to me clipping through a wall and getting stuck.

[Bearcat-Doug 4,438]

I guess this would fit since it makes the game unbeatable, but I've encountered a glitch in Deja Vu for the NES where it won't let you dispose of the gun at the end of the game which is necessary to trigger the ending instead of getting you arrested. The NES version (unlike the PC) tries to help you by telling you that "maybe you shouldn't do that" if you try to dispose of an item that's needed, but I've run across the glitch where it does that with the gun a few times.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Bearcat-Doug

[AverageOliver98 652]

4 hours ago, asmikace said:

I know with Sonic 3 you can get stuck in areas and have to reset. If I remember right the manual claims its a trap and was intended but it seemed to be a excuse for some bugs with the game.

The manual does indeed say that. However, most of the time you can just Time Over(unless you really don't want to wait 9 minutes). The most notable softlock I've stumbled across was at the beginning of Hydrocity Act 2(the screen stayed locked and it is underwater).

[mbd39 1,768]

 

[DefaultGen 4,531]

Most recently memorable one is Gemini Man just disappearing in Mega Man 3 after I hit him once. Apparently one of the many known bugs in MM3, the most overrated Mega Man game.

[G-type 1,838]

oh man! The glitch in Battletoads where the boss never appears is the worst! Especially after how agonizing it is to even get to that spot!

I would also nominate from Metroid: the tall bubble columns of Norfair

[acromite53 337]

6 hours ago, asmikace said:

I know with Sonic 3 you can get stuck in areas and have to reset. If I remember right the manual claims its a trap and was intended but it seemed to be a excuse for some bugs with the game.

Lol Its so funny and lame they put that in the manual. Ive gotten trapped in that loop before. Thankfully it does have a timer. Wait 10 minutes and you can try again.

[DefaultGen 4,531]

This Sonic 3 manual "tip" is hilarious

[acromite53 337]

56 minutes ago, G-type said:

 

I would also nominate from Metroid: the tall bubble columns of Norfair

What happens there? I've never played that far.

[G-type 1,838]

37 minutes ago, acromite53 said:

What happens there? I've never played that far.

fall between the columns and its too tall to get out of. nothing to do but slowly die in the lava.

[Lincoln 230]

Fallout 4 in vault 81 when you get to the hidden vault portion I got stuck under some stairs and couldn't get back out because of the terrible collision detection system. 

My only real attempt at playing earthbound, I was several hours in and got attacked by some bees or something that would endlessly put me to sleep and then do like 1hp damage. I turned the game off and never went back.

[Code Monkey 1,755]

I got 75% through Jurassic Park on Super NES and somewhere on the ship if you open a door, then try to go behind it while it's open, you'll get stuck for no obvious reason. The door doesn't close, there are no enemies and you have to reset the game. I reset it, beat 75% of the game again and thought to myself, "I wonder if that happens every time." Yes, yes it does. On the third play through I finally beat it.

[Br81zad 627]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

I got 75% through Jurassic Park on Super NES and somewhere on the ship if you open a door, then try to go behind it while it's open, you'll get stuck for no obvious reason. The door doesn't close, there are no enemies and you have to reset the game. I reset it, beat 75% of the game again and thought to myself, "I wonder if that happens every time." Yes, yes it does. On the third play through I finally beat it.

I've never beaten that game, how long does it take? 

[TDIRunner 2,369]

I know I've talked about this before, but I guess that's all gone now. 

Tomb Raider Legend on PS2.  In the King Arthur level, if you try to activate the cages hanging from the ceiling before entering the tomb, they will not function at all during the later boss battle, making the boss battle impossible.  If you save after creating this bug and you don't have any backup saves, it becomes impossible to complete the level, and all you can do is start the game over from the beginning.  I learned about that one the hard way.

I can't remember if the bug was in other versions of the game or not.  I just know about the PS2 for sure because that's the version I got stuck on.

[TDIRunner 2,369]

 

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

I got 75% through Jurassic Park on Super NES and somewhere on the ship if you open a door, then try to go behind it while it's open, you'll get stuck for no obvious reason. The door doesn't close, there are no enemies and you have to reset the game. I reset it, beat 75% of the game again and thought to myself, "I wonder if that happens every time." Yes, yes it does. On the third play through I finally beat it.

20 minutes ago, Br81zad said:

I've never beaten that game, how long does it take? 

I loved that game as a kid, but I never completely beat it.  The closest I ever got was after completing all objectives and heading to the heliport, upon getting there, I received a message that 1 raptor egg remained on the island.  I spent the better part of an hour looking for that last egg, but had to give up.  I still consider that game to be the best Jurassic Park video game.  

[TDIRunner 2,369]

Sorry, one more post.

When I was really little, I used to think you could get soft locked in Super Metroid in that lower level where you are supposed to learn about wall jumping.  Since there is a save point down there, if you save and can't figure out the wall jumping, there is no where else to go.  I later learned what you are supposed to do, but I used to fear that area.

[TDIRunner 2,369]

OK, I thought of another one.

In Super Mario Bros. 2, when you beat Wart, scrolling is locked.  However, with Luigi, it's possible to jump high enough right before he dies to move the door off the screen.  If this happens and the scrolling becomes locked, there is no way to enter the door and officially beat the game.  

[Code Monkey 1,755]

1 hour ago, Br81zad said:

I've never beaten that game, how long does it take? 

I think it took me 2 days when I rented it, maybe 3. It's a great game, I really liked it.