10 Underwhelming Games

[tay120n64]

Jason Tandro wrote:

And tay, yeah the lack of sidequests = a lack of kill time. Link's Awakening had that problem too. If there's no point to a game besides the main story then you don't get as immersed and there is nothing to do when you get stuck on a dungeon. Like in OoT, I'd be thinking: "Well the Shadow Temple is kicking my ass... let's go do that mask quest or fish."

That's true, but I think Twilight Princess made up for that by having such a long and immersive story. Same goes for Link's Awakening. Or maybe I just love that second one so much that I can't even consider the idea that it might have even a single fault.

[Manibrandr System]

Link's awakening is quite a bit shorter than LttP and a lot easier too.

[inferiare]

Oh hey, I thought of another couple of games.

Final Fantasy 7. Before you try to crucify me, I love the game just as much as anyone. I just think that FF4, FF5, and FF6 did it better. Plus, all the Final Fantasy Retcon Wankfest Compilation did was hype it up further when... uh, the only reason it was so POPULAR when it first came out was because the graphics were so OMG ADVANCED in the PSX age compared to anything else, and the music was a higher quality than some other games. The story is just like the others, but as I said, the three games before it did it better.

Also, World of Warcraft. Seriously. Yes, Blizzard has some badass games, but seriously, way too overhyped. As someone who plays FFXI, I've heard of how EASY they made the game with leveling to the max level. Most people who go from FFXI to WoW say it's way too easy to level up and go back to FFXI because there's no challenge (I've heard the same from people who play WoW; it's too easy since there's quests that award exp that you can repeat. How much easier can you get, really?) Plus there's all that OMG BEST MMO EVER crap. Yeah, ok, you have some 1mil people playing, good for you. FFXI still has a crapton of people playing it too, even if it's half of who play WoW. Still, I think the popularity lies in the fact that it's an OMG BLIZZARD GAME. That's why WoW Detox exists.

[Freedan]

Whenever there's a list like this, I always feel the need to add Chrono Trigger.

It was probably the best looking SNES game there was, and it was fun up until the 2/3 mark. But it wasn't the world-changing game people tend to make it out to be.

I'm all for time travel and such, but even for an older game, it played out fairly predictably; get an item from one period to use in another, or do something in the past to prevent disaster in the future. Part of the fun of time travel is the paradoxes you create by doing it (see Prince of Persia: Sands trilogy), but in this case, even alternate timelines play out linear.

Also, I kind of wish they didn't show every attack animation. Battles take about twice as long as you're used to if you've played the older Final Fantasy games.

I have other minor gripes, but I'll just stop there.

[inferiare]

Freedan, the Dark Knight wrote:

Whenever there's a list like this, I always feel the need to add Chrono Trigger. It was probably the best looking SNES game there was, and it was fun up until the 2/3 mark. But it wasn't the world-changing game people tend to make it out to be. I'm all for time travel and such, but even for an older game, it played out fairly predictably; get an item from one period to use in another, or do something in the past to prevent disaster in the future. Part of the fun of time travel is the paradoxes you create by doing it (see Prince of Persia: Sands trilogy), but in this case, even alternate timelines play out linear. Also, I kind of wish they didn't show every attack animation. Battles take about twice as long as you're used to if you've played the older Final Fantasy games. I have other minor gripes, but I'll just stop there.

That's ok, I still love you.

Chrono Cross was a lot of fun. Instead of time travel, it was an alternate world that you were in. Still, the basis was fun and a little different, if it was predictable. The Lost Sanctuary in the DS remake is actually pretty fun to run around in. I will agree that everyone hypes it up a bunch though, so while it's fun, it's just... yeah. Everyone makes it all OMG AWESOME when it was a standard rpg back in the day.

[tay120n64]

I actually didn't play RPGs back then, so it wasn't until recently that I finally picked up Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana, and Chrono Trigger.

Yeah, Chrono Trigger is not quite as amazing as people hype it up to be, but it was solid and enjoyable. Hell, it must be good, I usually don't finish RPGs when I play them, but I'm on my 4th play-through of CT.

If I had to say any game was underwhelming during that time, it would be Secret of Mana. After years of looking for it and finally getting to play it, I was blown away by the supreme mediocrity of the experience. The story was boring and uneventful, the characters were bland, and the gameplay was decent at best. It was unique and moderately enjoyable, but doesn't deserve half the praise it gets.

[Manibrandr System]

Even though I must say that Secret of Mana is an A+ experience for me and has aged well, I find Seiken Densetsu 3 to be far superior.

Chrono Trigger, on the other hand, hasn't aged too well. My biggest gripe about the game is that it is too damn easy. Now I really do appreciate RPGs that don't require hours of tedious grinding for it to even begin looking beatable, 7th Saga has taught me that, but it should at least be somewhat challenging.

[psychokind]

rainichan wrote:

Also, World of Warcraft. Seriously. Yes, Blizzard has some badass games, but seriously, way too overhyped. As someone who plays FFXI, I've heard of how EASY they made the game with leveling to the max level. Most people who go from FFXI to WoW say it's way too easy to level up and go back to FFXI because there's no challenge (I've heard the same from people who play WoW; it's too easy since there's quests that award exp that you can repeat. How much easier can you get, really?) Plus there's all that OMG BEST MMO EVER crap. Yeah, ok, you have some 1mil people playing, good for you. FFXI still has a crapton of people playing it too, even if it's half of who play WoW. Still, I think the popularity lies in the fact that it's an OMG BLIZZARD GAME. That's why WoW Detox exists.

okay, wowfag here

WoW IS the best MMO ever, even if it has it's many flaws the other games just have more. I played plenty (western) MMO's and everyone of them sucks more than WoW.
the problem are the two addons for WoW. the classic game kicked ass, it took months to level to the max and it had amazing PvE content. because of it's many players the PvP was great even in times the game had no PvP content implemented.
with the first addon they greatly seperated PvE and PvP, which sucked ass. every noob could now overwhelm 1337 PvE-players with their easyly obtained PvP equip.
and now, in the 2nd addon, there is no more professional content anymore. like you said, you easyly lvl up to the max in a few days, and there is nothing more to challenge the better players. world of casualcraft, 11million people playing it and 99% are casual players. and if Blizz loses the 1% pros and therefore obtains more paying noobs it works in terms of money.

[EverPhoenix]

MMOs (or RPGs in general) arent as fun if you have to grind forever to get anywhere. WoW (i have a friend whos fairly pro, ive heard a few things) gets good when you can go on raids (ie at max level for that expansion).

anyone whos played any rpg (even if i use runescape as an example, grinding for ages just to be able to make that yew longbow or wield that dragon longsword) knows that mindless grinding sucks. the fun is in quests/raids/fancy-looking spells and dungeons. like in diablo 2 (which i play) you have to grind for a few hours before reaching a good enough level to go out and actually kill shit with fun spells (frozen orb )

although i havent played ffxi (i would but i still cant get over pay to play) i imagine from what raini said that it involves a hell of a lot more grinding. but hey, half the hype from that is also 'omg im a ff character' as opposed to 'omg its blizzard'. same difference imo.

also i dont know about ffxi, but wow also has an ongoing story that affects the game (like one time my friend told me he got infected with something, turned into a ghoul, and went on a massacre in his base). i guess as a mmo it should actually have an optional storyline (for those who arent content merely raiding and grinding/farming)

in conclusion, i think its probably a good thing that the leveling curve isnt as bad in wow (anyone ever tried lvl99 in diablo 2? its F**KING HELL, i didnt get past 90... and thats halfway exp-wise) because it ends up in more grinding, and less real playing. whether you play to quest, raid, farm, beat up on noobs, etc.. doesnt matter. you end up doing what you wanted for the money you pay, instead of hours upon hours of killing the same poor rat fifty million times to get to the magic level to learn a new skill or something

[inferiare]

EverPhoenix wrote:

although i havent played ffxi (i would but i still cant get over pay to play) i imagine from what raini said that it involves a hell of a lot more grinding. but hey, half the hype from that is also 'omg im a ff character' as opposed to 'omg its blizzard'. same difference imo. also i dont know about ffxi, but wow also has an ongoing story that affects the game (like one time my friend told me he got infected with something, turned into a ghoul, and went on a massacre in his base). i guess as a mmo it should actually have an optional storyline (for those who arent content merely raiding and grinding/farming)

No, there's 4 expansions for FFXI, all with their own seperate storylines (Aht Urhgan I THINK just got completed in one of the last updates, and Wings of the Goddess, the expansion that came out in 2007 is still incomplete though updates for missions are still ongoing) and there's been the announcements of novel-style mini expansions (three, all based in the original story and not in the new areas released in the past three or four expansions.) The ongoing story still affects the story, and there's a zillion quests to do, as well as PvP and a lot of fun combat alternatives (Besieged, Campaign, and the original Conquest) and then holiday based stuff.

Also, you're not a FF character from one of the games, you make your own character based on 5 character races.

If you know what you're doing in FFXI, grinding isn't so bad, but it CAN take forever (I've had the game since it was released, I still don't have my main at 75, the max level I can get to; I'm at 70 however) since you have to get into a party to get enough exp to level up.

@psychokind: I... really don't see the appeal of WoW. I never have. I wasn't too fond of the cartoony look that WC3 had, and it carried over to WoW. Most of the time, I get uninterested in things when it gets so overhyped it's all people can talk about. Most people bash FFXI in all honesty, and that gets old really fast when they go into IT SHOULD BE LIKE WOW OMG IT WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER. The things that bother me the most? I have to be one class and STICK WITH IT. I don't want to have to create an alt just to play a different class. Why should I, when I can easily change to a different class (out of 20) by going into my mog house? There's also an upside and a downside to the randomized dungeons of WoW: while that means no one else can run in and steal kills from you, that also means that no one can go in and res your ass if you die.

Having to be a high level to get a mount is also just sort of -inducing for me. Chocobo licenses come at level 20 and I can raise my own after completing a quest.

...and that whole "easy" aspect just... I'd rather work for my level and everything else.

[EverPhoenix]

what benefits come with grinding in ffxi? the usual more equipment/quests/spells? or can you get your hands on some sweet spells without putting in say 20-30 hours?

and the story is good, just i find its more of you watching the story from the sidelines in a mmo- you are one of millions of characters with equal importance.. cheapens the effect of being a hero in games like that.

and i meant ff character as in you are a character in the game series (not one from previous games) who affects the plot (or can) and has the status label of 'final fantasy character'. its as much hype playing in a final fantasy world as it is in a blizzard games. personally id have thought the former would be more prestigious as SquareEnix has a lot more backing it than Blizzard. but hey, for some reason WoW is the more popular. more appeal to the casual player? or just right place in the right time

[inferiare]

Level grinding is the same in WoW: you get better equipment, can go into bigger and better areas that can't kill you as easily (or at all), and you get better spells. It's not just limited to FFXI. Plus, you quest for scrolls or buy them in shops to learn spells, though you need to be a certain level to use them. So yeah, you have to level grind for them, but you don't need to level grind to obtain them, in a sense.

Well... sometimes. But with FFXI, it makes you feel like "Oh hey, you are the one hero that is doing something" with the way they set it up (your party members aren't mentioned, even if you're doing a mission that requires 6 people in a cutscene.)

It's not so much appeal to the casual gamer (both games you can play casually; it's the crazy dedicated people who play both games hardcore) but for me, it IS that OMG BLIZZARD!!! thing going on. Both games have their pros and cons, but for me I like FFXI better. More appeal to me, since I think Warcraft should have stayed how it was in its previous incarnations.

[Azure Phoenix]

rainichan wrote:

Meh. Any Halo game is just... it's a FPS for crying out loud. Goldeneye on the N64 plz.

i wouldn't say halo is bad, at least it has a possibly ok storyline...sorta... meh, either way i play it for the multiplayer

[Jason Tandro]

Chrono Trigger was one of my favorite RPGs. But yeah, WoW does nothing for me.

You wanna talk underwhelming MMORPGs? FFXI.

Runescape is actually pretty fun for being so poor quality.

[Azure Phoenix]

yeah as long as you don't mind the fact that you do pretty much the same thing forever