Video game pet peeve: Alarms

By Jonathan Stark · March 15, 2010

I cannot understand why any developer would think it a good idea to have alarms blaring for an entire level, battles included. It's goddamn annoying and yet Square Enix seems obsessed with it, having at least one thirty minute segment in FFXII and FFXIII where this occurs. Makes me want to cry and scream at the same time.

Comments 7

jerec Mar 15, 2010

Oh, that scene was terrible. Had to turn my volume down. Repetitive beeping/alarm type noises drive me absolutely crazy.

honestgamer Staff Mar 16, 2010

The alarm was annoying, sure, but would the scene have been credible without it? Probably not. I didn't adjust my volume at all, just tuned it out.

Suskie Mar 16, 2010

I agree with you there, and you know what else I hate? That BEEP BEEP BEEP you hear when you're at low health in Zelda games. God knows I love Zelda, but Christ, it's just too much.

honestgamer Staff Mar 16, 2010

I almost never hear the BEEP BEEP BEEP in Zelda games, so it's never bothered me. That's one series I'm actually fairly decent at playing. :-D

zippdementia Blogger Mar 16, 2010

Jason, it's definitely something I'd considered. After all, you ARE breaking into an enemy vessel, surely an alarm is part of the ambiance!

However, there are things they could've done to strike a compromise with good taste.

1) Don't have the alarm go on during battles. This wouldn't kill realism, I mean it's Final Fantasy. Battles already take place in some sort of other-dimension. To replace the alarm sound with some upbeat battle music would not go unappreciated.

2) Have the characters destroy the control room or the power generator or SOMETHING that cuts the alarm off. First of all, it would make sense as a party goal. Secondly, the player would feel like they accomplished something (ie. not going crazy). Third, that sound would stop.

3) Have the duration of the alarm be shorter. I remember back in FF7 there were a couple alarm scenes, but they were quick. One thing this did was increase their tension: you knew that whatever the alarm was doing, it would happen within seconds or, at most, minutes. Time was not on your side. In FFXIII I got the point with the alarm after about five minutes of it going on. I didn't need to actually hear it any more and in fact hearing it just made me apathetic.

Of course, FFXIII has made me apathetic in general.

joseph_valencia Mar 16, 2010

Resident Evil did it right:

Design the tempo of the "escape music" around the alarm blaring and speaker announcements. If it sounds like part of the music, it's not very bothersome. It can be catchy, even. I still have the evacuation spiel from REmake stuck in my head.

randxian Mar 16, 2010

As Suskie said, the low on health alarms are grating.

Possibly the worst offender is the original Wizards and Warriors for the NES. Good gravy, that noise that plays is annoying. Since the game grants unlimited continues and lets you pick up where you leave off anyway, I just go ahead and waste a life as soon as it starts playing just to shut the game up.