Games That Got, But Didn't Deserve, Hell

[Jason Tandro]

There is a topic similar to this further down, but this thread will mainly focus on games that were critically bashed and gamers traditionally hate... but do not deserve the stigma.

A couple of games come to mind:

Final Fantasy X-2
Yeah, the voice acting was unbearable, the storyline was stupid and the difficulty curve was in desperate need of balancing. However, I feel that the game made up for these flaws by having a very involved Job System, tons of fun minigames (and we all know I'm a mini-game ho!), and it (eventually) did its job of finishing the X story. It's actually one of the few Final Fantasy games that I can just sit down and play for fun without having to think about it.

Dirge of Cerberus
While we're still in Final Fantasy mode, people had problems with DoC. It's a fairly solid game, but it definitely has a problem with the exp/gil acquisition trade-off. Still, the storyline is the best of the FF7 off-shoots (and with the least amount of retconning), the music is incredible and it's a solid way to kill about eight hours.

I'll add more later.

[Ocie Denver]

FreeLancer and original Half Life. Why? No 100% Subtitles!

[inferiare]

There is a topic similar to this further down, but this thread will mainly focus on games that were critically bashed and gamers traditionally hate... but do not deserve the stigma.

A couple of games come to mind:

Final Fantasy X-2
Yeah, the voice acting was unbearable, the storyline was stupid and the difficulty curve was in desperate need of balancing. However, I feel that the game made up for these flaws by having a very involved Job System, tons of fun minigames (and we all know I'm a mini-game ho!), and it (eventually) did its job of finishing the X story. It's actually one of the few Final Fantasy games that I can just sit down and play for fun without having to think about it.

Dirge of Cerberus
While we're still in Final Fantasy mode, people had problems with DoC. It's a fairly solid game, but it definitely has a problem with the exp/gil acquisition trade-off. Still, the storyline is the best of the FF7 off-shoots (and with the least amount of retconning), the music is incredible and it's a solid way to kill about eight hours.

I'll add more later.

I didn't mind the acting in FFX-2, but I never could stand Yuna's voice in English.

And DoC just... while it's fun to spend quite a bit of time running around and staring at Vincent's ass, and I liked some (SOME) of the backstory, it didn't really have the least amount of retconning, it had a TON of retconning. Though I won't disagree with the music thing, I really like the music in the game.

[EverPhoenix]

Final Fantasy X-2
Yeah, the voice acting was unbearable, the storyline was stupid and the difficulty curve was in desperate need of balancing. However, I feel that the game made up for these flaws by having a very involved Job System, tons of fun minigames (and we all know I'm a mini-game ho!), and it (eventually) did its job of finishing the X story. It's actually one of the few Final Fantasy games that I can just sit down and play for fun without having to think about it.

eh? the voice acting is better than in FFX. at least yuna doesnt sound like she's missing a chunk of her brain.

difficulty curve is a bit weird, some random encounters are really hard while some are pathetic.

as for the story, it doesnt make that much sense - then again i have similar issues with the original game too. At least its a valid (and id say reasonably successful) attempt at clarifying some of the issues with FFX. Taking aside the whole concept of unsent beings, and Shuyin in general, the game could have made more sense. and while im on the topic of plot tools not making sense: aeons. that part of the plot of FFX and FFX-2 needed some serious work.

the job system is brilliant, i dont have many complaints about it.

my main issue with ffx-2 (other than the intro cinematic, which was... strange to say the least) was the fact that if you missed something in one of the earlier chapters, it was gone forever. namely, crimson spheres, some of the dresspheres (i missed 3 dresspheres because i didnt talk to certain individuals in a certain chapter), and to a lesser extent, garment grids. another rather large issue is the music. while it isnt bad, the lack of nobuo uematsu is evident. the battle music is just shit. area music is decent enough, but the battle music and the fanfare is horrible.

i do enjoy the game (hence why i decided to drag it out while doing my exams, doing the via infinito can be my exam break), and there is a lot to do. ignoring the fact that by this stage of most final fantasy games, the world opens up to grinding and item hunting, which i enjoy doing because it makes my characters uber and more fun. (yuna with lady luck and me getting very good at scoring CONGRATS! on random reels, rikku as a gunner equipped with catnip and sprint shoes, and paine just tank close to 9999 hp) //end tangent. yeah there is a lot to do, with the minigames and all. i havent actually touched many of them, i think i played sphere break a bit, gunner's gauntlet... that would be about it i think.

conclusion: i dont see why so many people hated the game. it is really open-ended, so if youve finished it before and/or know the plot, then you can just have fun going to different places and hunting for items, or just enjoying the scenery

[inferiare]

I have the soundtrack to FFX-2. I actually liked a lot of the music in the game, but the piano arrangement cd is SO much better (hur hur love of piano-based music talking!). ...of course that's my bias toward the opening theme Eternity ~Memories of Light and Waves talking. (if you haven't heard it, here.)

Then again, I find that Rikku's theme was MUCH more fitting to her personality than Uematsu's version, and I adore Uematsu's music. Though I remember when I first heard the soundtrack I was going WTF IS THIS. And then I got the game and found that the soundtrack REALLY fit with the theme of the game.

Incidentally, YuRiPa's image song collection is based on their themes, except for one of Yuna's: her image song music (er, one of them) uses Memories (Morning Glow). I like it so much better than Kimi e, her proper image song, which uses the music of "Yuna's Ballad". The other two are Hadashi no Kiseki for Rikku and Nemuru Omoi for Paine.


...kay, I'm done being a nerd. :<

[tay120n64]

Okay, so since I totally am not a Final Fantasy fan and passed on both FFX-2 and FFVII: DoC, I'll put in my two cents...

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

This game gets all kinds of hell from all kinds of gamers, but does it deserve it? NO IT DOES NOT! This game was amazing, though at the same time RELENTLESSLY DIFFICULT. However, that's really a petty complaint. Have you ever played Mega Man 1, Castlevania II, Ninja Gaiden, or Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels? Fact is, NES games were hard and often had no sense of direction. Get over it.

Secondly, the gameplay was absolutely superb. It was one of the early Action/RPG games, blending side-scrolling battles with a basic leveling system, and also introducing Spells to the Zelda series. It had the largest world map of any Zelda, spanning two continents, and was the only Zelda in which talking to everyone was actually important (unless you count the Kinstone side-quest in Minish Cap). For those who actually took the time to look past the difficulty, there was a fun and surprisingly deep experience to be found. It is easily one of the most innovative and significant games in the series, just behind Zelda I and OoT.

[Freedan]

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.

Reason it's looked down on: it's not the first one.

People tend to complain that the original cast gets reduced to cameo roles. I have news for those people: they're supposed to be. The second game isn't supposed to be about Lloyd and Colette, it's about Emil and Marta. The original crew is there to provide continuity, because one of the problems (storywise) is their actions created new issues.

The only legitimate gripe I've heard about it (and can agree with) is the sheer multitude of cutscenes. Other than that, it plays much like the first.


And a game getting shit on before even being released: Epic Mickey.

An upcoming Wii game involving the Mickey Mouse of old; before he became a family-friendly mascot, he was an asshole-ish prankster. This game casts Mickey in that light, and includes a number of characters and references to Disney's earliest days (including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who came before Mickey).

So why is it being shit on pre-release? Because people generally aren't familiar with the older Mickey, and think Disney is giving their star mascot an 'extreme' makeover to appeal to core gamers. Every preview mentions the old Mickey, and if anyone could be bothered to read more than a few sentences, they'd learn something.


I'm sure there's more, so I'll probably add them later.

[tay120n64]

I'm quite excited about Epic Mickey. That game should be pretty good.

[Mantaray]

that sounds like so much fun.

mickey the prankster

last night my brother was talking about how disney wants to redesign mickey a little

[inferiare]

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.

Reason it's looked down on: it's not the first one.

People tend to complain that the original cast gets reduced to cameo roles. I have news for those people: they're supposed to be. The second game isn't supposed to be about Lloyd and Colette, it's about Emil and Marta.

...

And a game getting shit on before even being released: Epic Mickey.

Colette actually irritated me. "Oh we got some new power! OH LOL I CAN'T SEE NOW. Another power! Hur hur I can see again BUT I CAN'T SPEAK! 8D!!" it made me want to hurt things.

And Epic Mickey looks really badass. The haters can stfu.

[NoZKeY]

Plok (SNES)


It was criticized because of its resemblance to Sonic, Bubsy, Dynamite Heady and Rayman. All those criticisms are absurd, as Plok was released before. Its a fun game though a bit difficult...

[EverPhoenix]

Plok (SNES)


It was criticized because of its resemblance to Sonic, Bubsy, Dynamite Heady and Rayman. All those criticisms are absurd, as Plok was released before. Its a fun game though a bit difficult...

OMG PLOK!!!!!!!!!


I HAVE THIS ON CARTRIDGE!!!

ITS SO FUNNY AND AWESOME!!!

ill calm down now.