Proper reward for 100% game completion?

[MetalSkulkBane]

Usually try to 100% games I like (unless we're talking really long games like BoTW or Sonic games and their damn ranking system), but most of times, there rewards aren't that great. Achievement, extra hard levels or just the feeling that you got your money's worth.

On the other hand, 100%-ing is something that few people will do, especially if game is long and/or hard. So it's understandable that developers don't put that much effort into it.

So I ask: what do you think should be reward for 100% a game?

[FReaK]

I really liked what SA2 did. You should get an extra, secret Stage.

[MetalSkulkBane]

24 minutes ago, FReaK said:

I really liked what SA2 did. You should get an extra, secret Stage.

Well, it wasn't just any extra stage. It was exiting fresh recreation of Green Hills in 3D.

....boy, how times have changed.

[JezMM]

I think this is something that really, REALLY varies depending on the type of game. In most cases, I don't think games really should have anything TOO massive. It's not like games tend to tell you the reward upfront, since a game should be enjoyable enough to 100% without any material reward for doing so.

I know Sonic Adventure 2's Green Hill is often considered the holy grail of 100% rewards, but I'll tell you what - I wasn't grinding chao and tearing my hair out at Cosmic Wall A ranks because of any innate fun in them - I simply was that desperate to get just one more little slice of Sonic platforming gameplay to enjoy (and at the time, the Green Hill remake angle was a novel concept of course).  In fact, gonna throw this out there - if I was in charge of an all-out remake of SA2, I'd probably replace the 100% reward with something smaller, and instead reward something like Green Hill for finishing all missions with any rank, something reasonable.

I'm really not into the idea that 100%ing games should be some elite club that rewards exclusive content that could be enjoyed by players of any skill level if they had access to it.  Green Hill is an example of such - it's not like it's a final super duper challenging stage for experts, like the Mario games tend to do these days (but I think Mario Odyssey absolutely made the right choice by unlocking that earlier than 100%, considering the ridiculous amount of content in that game).

[Wraith]

I don't think a reward for experiencing all the content in a game is really necessary since games are supposed to be fun and the content itself is it's own reward.  Ideally it'd be something cute but not substantial like SA2's multiplayer skins.

[Diogenes]

I think it's better if 100% rewards aren't anything too significant. Unlockables are an incentive to keep playing, but they shouldn't be so strong that players feel compelled to keep playing just for the reward even if they aren't enjoying what they're doing. Playing the game is supposed to be the fun part, not a chore you have to power through.

Also, if it's not something inherently sectioned off like a bonus level, I'd like if more 100% rewards worked like a new game + or were otherwise not tied to the save file where they were unlocked. One of the problems with 100% rewards is that, by definition, there isn't really any game left for you to use them on. This is less of a problem if the game has a level select, but even then I usually replay games on a fresh file when I come back to them, and it'd be nice to have access to the stuff I've unlocked there, rather than on a file I have nothing left to do with.

[Salamander]

Something cosmetic is fine for the most part, I think.  A more substantial reward, as indicated above, has the counterproductive effect of making all optional material seem instead mandatory, something you have to grind through to get to the final bit of real content.

[Perkilator]

Here’s an example I thought of:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate:

Boss Battles: Clear Classic mode with all characters (DLC not needed)

3-minute Smash: Clear World of Light at least once

Rival Smash: Clear World of Light with the True Ending

Race to the Finish: Win every Spirit battle in World of Light

Endless Smash: Rescue every single fighter (DLC not needed) in World of Light

Cruel Smash: Clear World of Light on Hard mode with the True Ending

Boss Battles EX: Play World of Light to 100% completion

[Harkofthewaa]

Some of the Ratchet and Clank games (Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal and A Crack in Time are the ones that come to mind) have the Insomniac Museum as the 100% reward, essentially an interactive showcase of concepts and things that never made it into the game (from drivable vehicles to otherwise unused engines and minigames among other things). They also throw in some irrelevant but really neat stuff in like a station in UYA's museum that let's you make your own particle effects. Overall it's a really neat reward that lets you interact with things yourself rather than just unlocking a five minute videos showing them to you (looking at YOU, Sly Cooper).

[Menace2Society]

I love how the modern Kirby games (except Star Allies for some reason) give you a short and cute bonus cutscene acknowledging your achievement. I always get a good kick out of that. 

Really for me, the acknowledgement of the fact that I did 100% the game is all I really need as a reward. I'll definitely give any game that does more than that credit where it's due, but the whole prospect of completing a game 100% is usually just a extra thing that most players will only really do just to get more longetivity out of their game and really, it's kinda weird to expect more content after already dealing with all of the content in the game. However, just ignoring the fact that I fully completed a game makes it feel like I wasted time that could have been spent on better things. Even a little prompt just mentioning it is something.  

[DeadAccount]

I feel like something substantial like a unlockable stage or a new playable character would be reward enough.

 

You don't have to go overboard with it, but I feel that a completion reward should be something a little more worthwhile than just getting a slightly different post card in the credits like in Super Mario Sunshine.

[Tornado]

Something that breaks the constraints the game had operated under to that point. This can be something like infinite ammo and higher health that GTA games give you that allow you to come back to the game at any point and just dick around in it for a bit; but an even better example is something where removing limitations allows substantially altered gameplay like Spyro 2 (in that case infinite cannon flame breath) and doesn't even require much work on the developer's part.

 

 

Even if it's a game you truly love with lots of replay value, to put the time into getting 100% could mean a substantial amount of grind; so I generally don't think a new level or whatever is really much of anything if it's substantially the same as the game you've already been playing.

[Solister]

I don't know really, most games I do any% as I usually know there isn't a huge surprise behind it. But as mentioned, I guess some of the best prizes are bonus characters and levels. I'd also add something like Time Attack, Boss Rush and this kind of things, though not everyone appreciates.

But tbh, I don't think there's enough reward such the game itself thanking you for playing it:

[Cayenne]

It's not totally 100%, but I like the way that some Donkey Kong and Yoshi games handle rewards in general: You can get optional (and difficult) levels after collecting certain items in a world and the hardest one is unlocked once you collect all of them. After beating it, you get a cool bonus level, a hidden world or a special cutscene.