D.esperado: Playing the entire Tomb Raider (2013) with the basic version of the bow.
Random_Coffee: That actually sounds like a pretty fun challenge. It can be fun to play through some games with only the starter weapon. I remember getting the achievement for carrying the basic pistol through the entire game when Duke Nukem Forever came out, hehe.. You could only hold two weapons (but it was later patched to 4).
In the Final Fantasy 10 community, there's actually a challenge rule where you play through the entire game with the starting weapon with each character (but are allowed to customize it; be aware, however, that customization can't be undone).
Incidentally, I'd like to see someone do an ANONSIENC run of that game. Rules are:
* Ability Nodes Only: You may use the Sphere Grid, but are only allowed to activate nodes that grant new abilities, This means you play through the entire game with just starting stats. (This is less restrictive than the popular No Sphere Grid rule. For those not familiar with this game, but familiar with other RPGs, this rule is comparable to beating the game at level 1.)
* No Summons: You are not allowed to use Yuna's summon command, except during the rare occurrences that the game forces you to (like during the summon tutorial). This rule is there because summons can get stronger even if you don't/
* Initial Equipment: You must leave each character with their starting equipment.
* No Customization: You aren't allowed to customize your equipment. (Without the IE rule, this means you have to hunt down equipment with the combination of effects you want, limiting the combinations you can use.)
(Note that I have never played FF10, but I've seen some NSG videos and read some things about the strategy. There's still broken things, like a certain overdrive that makes all your attacks deal 9,999 damage/healing, however. By the way, for this game challenge videos are much more entertaining than post-game superboss videos, and except for the unspkippable cutscenes (one reason for me not wanting to actually play this game), probably considerably more fun to play.)
Random_Coffee: Fallout: New Vegas can also make for some interesting playthroughs for example if you focus on a build only on fistfighting or basic weapons.
Try doing Arena or Daggerfall without weapons. (For Arena, you might want to play a spellcaster so you can boost your Strength with a spell; also, I believe unarmed attacks can crash the game.) Remember those enemies that can only be hurt by certain materials? Well, your unarmed attacks ignore that.
Battlespire is also a good game to play without weapons, and that may actually be easier than using weapons. When you factor in weapon durabilities and the fact that you can be staggered or made to drop your weapon if you have a weapon equipped, then factor in the unarmed combat skill that improves through usage, you see that the game strongly favors unarmed combat.
On the other hand, there's a fare number of games where I find I prefer not to use armor. For example, in Final Fantasy 2 heavy armor is a trap option; using it will hurt you significantly in the long run, to the point of causing you to get a game over before you act when an armorless party (except for shields) would win without taking damage. Or Might & Magic 4-5, where AC does nothing against many enemies, and armor breaks when you are reduced to -10 HP, which is annoying to keep fixing.
Also, in Final Fantasy 1, as well as in Bard's Tale 1 and 3, the best damage you get is with an unarmed Monk attacking. (Although, in BT3 you may instead prefer instant kills later on (especially in the final dungeon) because of how high enemy HP goes.)
