What do you think is the worst game of all time?

[Nesboy43]

I would have to say that these 2 games must be added to the list:
Alien Syndrome NES-Just a piece of crap
Captain Comic NES- enemies have no set location birds and snakes just fall from the sky, you can't duck, theres only 3 people that worked on this game and tou can tell.
Legacy of the Wizard was also pretty bad, cause you dont know what the hell to do

[j_factor]

Alien Syndrome NES-Just a piece of crap

Yes! Although I wouldn't put it among the worst games ever, the Video Game Critic (whose website I should not be reading), said, "I first played this overhead shooter on the Sega Master System, but I much prefer this more robust NES edition." WTF? Crazy that anyone would actually LIKE the NES version at all, nevermind consider it superior.

[Graham Mitchell]

Legacy of the Wizard was also pretty bad, cause you dont know what the hell to do

Well, I suggest you look at an FAQ and give that game a try because many, many people consider that game to brilliant. It is bitingly difficult, but it can be done, and it's really quite fun when you figure out how to problem solve and use the items.

You know, a few years ago, everybody would have been slamming Deadly Towers because of the Seanbaby list, but that game gets a bad rep for reasons similar to LotW. It's actually a great game, it's just really really difficult unless you cheat.

[darkhades]

Without a doubt, the worst game of all time is..........Sword of Sodan (Genesis)

[8-bitNesMan]

Ocarina of Time!!! Actually NIGHTs is my 3rd favorite game! My second favorite is got to be Super Mario Bros. 3

I was really hoping you were going to say some crappy Sega franchise. But I can't even joke on you cause I love Ocarina too. Also a big fan of Mario 3. Thanks for taking all the wind out of my sails. :)

BTW, Nights is a great game... FOR ME TO POOP ON! ;)

[Nesboy43]

I was really hoping you were going to say some crappy Sega franchise. But I can't even joke on you cause I love Ocarina too. Also a big fan of Mario 3. Thanks for taking all the wind out of my sails. :)

BTW, Nights is a great game... FOR ME TO POOP ON! ;)


Yeah!!! Ocarina of Time will always be the best game ever (until the new zelda on Wii is released, that one is supposed to change the series), anyone play phantom hourglass import, how is it?:|

[leicamaster]

Yeah!!! Ocarina of Time will always be the best game ever (until the new zelda on Wii is released, that one is supposed to change the series), anyone play phantom hourglass import, how is it?:|

I ordered Phantom Hourglass!

[BydoEmpire]

I don't know about "all time" but the worst game in my collection is Air Lock, by far. It really has no redeeming qualities other than having the official title of "Worst Game Of My Collection." Which, I guess counts for something... ;)

[josemp81]

Fester's Quest Is AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! could never beat third alien boss

[fcw3]

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties

Agreed !!!!

[blue lander]

The thing I hated most about Legacy of the Wizard was that it was very easy to get stuck in an area you couldn't get out of with the wrong character. So you'd have to reset the NES and re enter the long ass password to try again.

I don't know if it's the worst game of all time, but my most hated game is Hydlide on the NES. I hate the whole series, actually.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Terminusvitae]

Awww, man. I actually LIKED Aidyn Chronicles. The battle system was right up my alley in terms of style and execution, but the only thing that bugged me was having to boost strength just to be able to hit an enemy.

[blue lander]

I want to throw Hard Drivin' for the Genesis, and Bubsy 3d for the PSX into the mix. Anyone like those games?

I actually like Hard Drivin'. When I was in high school the only system I had access to was a Sega Nomad about about 20 games. I use to spend hours launching my car off the loop ramps and try to hit houses on the way down. It was just fun mindless carnage.

If you play the game the way it's meant to be played, though, it's horrible. I never bothered racing the other cars, I just tried to cause as much destruction as possible.

[mEgAsHoT]

I don't usually buy bad games (since I read reviews), but sometimes, some games have a lot of potential to be good but they end up being utter crap. Case in point: WWE Wrestlemania 21 for the Xbox. Man was I wrong on this one. Great graphics, horrible gameplay. Now, I did try to give this game a chance, but the very glitchy and stiff gameplay made me trade it in for a game I really like: Crazy Taxi 3. The moves were all motion capped, and they looked good, but, the animations in between were stiff and glitchy. On top of that, the online mode of the game didn't even work when the game shipped out, and the game randomly froze on the loading screens or if you went through the menus too fast! There is even a glitch where you can play as the "locked" characters without even buying them! I seriously regret getting this game, but I quickly traded it in for a game I would really enjoy instead.

WWF Attitude wasn't THAT bad. Thankfully, I didn't pay full price for it either (I have it on the N64 and the Dreamcast). I mean, it sucked memorizing the moves, but once you did, you could put on some good matches with the game. Not as good as No Mercy, but somewhat decent. That's my opinion on that. The one good thing about it was the commentary...not the best, but it certainly was better than other wrestling games at the time.

[j_factor]

I don't know if it's the worst game of all time, but my most hated game is Hydlide on the NES. I hate the whole series, actually.

Oh man, I think Hydlide deserves the title of worst series ever. Virtual Hydlide was god-awful.

[Flashback2012]

My answer to this question will always be Amagon for the NES.

Honorable mentions include:
Virtually everything made by Digital Pictures (Sewer Shark being an exception)
Stake: Fortune Fighters (Xbox)

[rcgamer]

Joe Montana football on Sega CD is definately one of if not the worst game ever. It is really sad that the genesis Montana games were about 1000% better than a cd based game.

[rbudrick]

In defense of ET, I used to be able to beat that game over and over when I was 5 years old, so if you think it's too hard, you are a girlie man.

Anyway, if you know what to do in the game, it's really rather good. If you don't, you get frustrated and quit.

Ok, everyone that's beaten the game, raise your hand. Now, of those with their hands raised, who thinks the game still sucks balls? None of you? Thought so.

Now, Deadly Towers, shit...I hated the game until that password trick trick in Nintendo Power came out, then I thought the game was really awesome, since I actually got to experience the whole thing. Before that it was a very mysterious game in my collection. Game Geneie didn't exist, and I thought I'd never get to experience the whole game.

Now, the dungeons were completely unnecessary and impossible...we could have done without them completely. Use the password trick and give this game a shot. Beat it, and then tell me how terrible it is. It actually has some of the best NES music further in.

Fester's Quest is a very solid Sunsoft game. But, like the Gradius games, you must beat it on one life or you are fucked. I was pissed that the first time I played it I got to the last level and died....no way I was walking all the way back there.

-Rob

[Graham Mitchell]

Now, Deadly Towers, shit...I hated the game until that password trick trick in Nintendo Power came out, then I thought the game was really awesome, since I actually got to experience the whole thing. Before that it was a very mysterious game in my collection. Game Geneie didn't exist, and I thought I'd never get to experience the whole game.

Now, the dungeons were completely unnecessary and impossible...we could have done without them completely. Use the password trick and give this game a shot. Beat it, and then tell me how terrible it is. It actually has some of the best NES music further in.


Oh, I definitely agree. DT is a brilliant game when you get down to it. It has always had an air of mystery to me. It's just the whole aesthetic, I guess. The isometric viewpoint, the haunting soundtrack, the uniqueness of all the overworld areas...classic!

But yeah, the dungeons are total shit. I actually set out to do it the hard way a couple years ago. I printed out an FAQ and I got down to it. It was like being at work. Even with the solutions in front of me it was horrible. I gave it an hour and never picked it up again.

But using the cheat code the game is thoroughly enjoyable, although there's not much of a challenge when you do it that way.

[Mianrtcv]

Joe Montana football on Sega CD is definately one of if not the worst game ever. It is really sad that the genesis Montana games were about 1000% better than a cd based game.

John Elway Football on the NES Makes Genny Montana look like THE PREMIERE FOOTBALL EVER. Montana controls and plays were stiff. Elways were rigor mortis.

[kainemaxwell]

Now see Godzilla for the NES is still one of my favorites. I especially like the music in the prolgoue when it describes the story.

How could anyone logically hate OoT?!

For me, tossup between:
Quest 64 (Yay, I run around and hit stuff with my big wooden stick!)
ET (Looking back I wonder what I saw in it)
Superman 64 (Fog anyone?)

[leicamaster]

I didnt expect this topic to get so much posts!

[OatBob]

In defense of ET, I used to be able to beat that game over and over when I was 5 years old, so if you think it's too hard, you are a girlie man.

Anyway, if you know what to do in the game, it's really rather good. If you don't, you get frustrated and quit.

Ok, everyone that's beaten the game, raise your hand. Now, of those with their hands raised, who thinks the game still sucks balls? None of you? Thought so.


-Rob

I beat it (game 1, the hard one) a month ago for the first time. I too have been playing it for about 15 years, since I was five.

I did some defending earlier, but this game does deserve a lot of what gets dished onto it. The pits aren't so bad (after you know what you're actually doing), but that f***ing scientist has to rape you and in turn, the FBI agent steals your phone pieces. (I know the end of the cold war was breaking the bank, but the US Govt. stealing telephones from aliens.... quite ridiculous). Avoiding those two characters ends up being one of the main focuses of the game.

Navigation is awkward because you're supposed to be on a cube; however walking of the same side of the screen in two different spots will land you in two different areas. Also, the sprites for the scientist and FBI agent are quite large and do tend to surprise you. I can't say how many times I've had a phone piece stolen last second on the landing pad.

I'm glad I could beat it, and think well enough of it to play it again from time to time; however, it will always be a frustrating game due to lots of oversights built into the game from a short dev cycle and zero play testing.

To sum up, here's my post in a "beaten" thread in another forum from the day I beat it.


2007/2/23

E.T.* The Extra Terrestrial games 3, 2, and 1
*Trademark of Universal City Studios, Inc.

... and the game still sucks.

[petewhitley]

It's interesting to see actual, playable games (i.e. Fester's Quest) make this list, when there are a handful of critically broken games and even non-games (i.e. Taboo The Sixth Sense) that have been mentioned.

[Graham Mitchell]

It's interesting to see actual, playable games (i.e. Fester's Quest) make this list, when there are a handful of critically broken games and even non-games (i.e. Taboo The Sixth Sense) that have been mentioned.

Like Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800.

[bangtango]

Like Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800.

I feel bad for the poor schmucks who never didn't get ahold of a video game magazine or some other source of information to find out that game couldn't be finished.

[Aswald]

You know, it may be impossible to ever actually answer this question?

The problem is that there has never been a time in video gaming WITHOUT awful games. I might say "Pac-Man" for the 2600, not because it actually was the worst, but because we were all looking so forward to it- anyone here remember that commercial showing the corner of the arcade playfield?- and it turned out to be so dreadful. So it was actually the disappointment that helped make it "the worst." An original game does not have that problem; an arcade-to-home translation will always have to be measured up against the arcade version.

But what about awful games for later systems? Even the worst game ever made for a Playstation 2 will have much better graphics and sound than the best 2600 game. So how do you judge it?

[Gabriel]

and even non-games (i.e. Taboo The Sixth Sense) that have been mentioned.

Taboo is a piece of crap, but the question becomes "does it pretend to be a game?" I don't think we can call it "the worst game ever" because it doesn't pretend to be a game.

Even if you allow it to be considered a game, it wouldn't be the worst. You could always say the SegaCD RAM cart was the worst game of all time, or the Nintendo DS browser was the ultimate in horrible gaming.

[bangtango]

Taboo is a piece of crap, but the question becomes "does it pretend to be a game?" I don't think we can call it "the worst game ever" because it doesn't pretend to be a game.

Even if you allow it to be considered a game, it wouldn't be the worst. You could always say the SegaCD RAM cart was the worst game of all time, or the Nintendo DS browser was the ultimate in horrible gaming.

Using this new logic, the worst "game" of all-time is the first Web Browser on the Sega Dreamcast. You couldn't do anything on it without dialing up. At least the second one contained "Sega Swirl."

Then again, I suppose those defective launch copies of Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast didn't make for much game either.


But what about awful games for later systems? Even the worst game ever made for a Playstation 2 will have much better graphics and sound than the best 2600 game. So how do you judge it?

A piece of crap is a piece of crap, no matter the graphics. As the old saying goes, you can't shine a turd.

[Aswald]

That's true, but it's a matter of relative.

A trashy game with "good" graphics and sound from a later era is often not viewed as being as dreadful as a bad game from an earlier era. So if 2600 Pac-Man or Demons to Diamonds is put up against a bad X-Box game, the 2600 games are usually viewed as worse. It's sort of like putting a weak 200-pound man against a weak 8-year old girl; both are weak, but the man is still able to lift more.

[starsoldier1]

That Great Ice Hockey 'game' for the Sega Master System plays like shit!

[j_factor]

A trashy game with "good" graphics and sound from a later era is often not viewed as being as dreadful as a bad game from an earlier era. So if 2600 Pac-Man or Demons to Diamonds is put up against a bad X-Box game, the 2600 games are usually viewed as worse.

I would say Drake of the 99 Dragons is easily far worse than 2600 Pac-Man.

[FoxyGamer]

Yeah, I agree with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- but really, a Boy and his Blob for the NES made me wanna throw my controller through the television.

But that's just the beginning. Let us not forget "Enter the Matrix", which was actually broken- guards walked up the sides of shelving units into infinity, the guns on your ship randomly vanished poof, and you could get SO far ahead of your pursuers that you literally had to sit at THE END OF THE GAME and wait for them to show up. Oh, hey, I see you'd like to beat this piece of crap game. Well, we were hungry so we stopped for twinkies. Oh my god, scratching your eyeballs out with a rusty fork has never sounded so good.

And finally, Final Fantasy VIII. Dude. The game system was so complicated, you needed to go to "school" for your tutorials. What the hell? Missions were timed, so you had to scurry on your way or you'd begin to lose money. Hey, didn't wanna, you know, explore the game or anything. Sucking magic out of enemies? Gosh hope you didn't have a girlfriend or anything because you'll be sucking 99 of every spell FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.

RAWR!!!!! Why can't they just make a good RPG? Why was the last good Final Fantasy on the SNES? oh well, suppose that's a rant for another thread.

[Push Upstairs]

Like Impossible Mission for the Atari 7800.

Am I the only one who finds the name of this game horribly ironic and completely hilarious? LOL

[Graham Mitchell]

Am I the only one who finds the name of this game horribly ironic and completely hilarious? LOL

The humor is not lost on me. :D

[acem77]

Death Crimson for the saturn is hella bad.
but one of the rarer games i own. :P
soo bad its good for laughs.

[bangtango]

You fellows are right, Deadly Towers ain't that bad once you get a little bit further in with some good character stats. I always thought the music was great, except for the sound effect when you appear at the start of the game.

What did you all think of NES Athena?

[boatofcar]

You fellows are right, Deadly Towers ain't that bad once you get a little bit further in with some good character stats. I always thought the music was great, except for the sound effect when you appear at the start of the game.

What did you all think of NES Athena?

Athena is not bad--not great, but nowhere near the worst game of all time. Same with Amagon.

Whoever said A Boy and His Blob, wtf? Not only is it not a bad game, it's one of the most original titles on the NES. What's not to like about it?

[bangtango]

Athena is not bad--not great, but nowhere near the worst game of all time. Same with Amagon.

Whoever said A Boy and His Blob, wtf? Not only is it not a bad game, it's one of the most original titles on the NES. What's not to like about it?

I liked Athena myself, same with A Boy and His Blob. I asked about Athena because I've seen that mentioned as one of the worst games on the NES. Never agreed with it either. Damn hard game, though.

[Graham Mitchell]

I've played through Athena and I found it enjoyable for the most part, but I think it's not a very well-made game. I can tell it's probably designed by the same team that did all those games for Ponycanyon, Capcom, SNK, and others that were the laziest programmers on the planet. Athena has some crappy loading routine causing those long waits between levels, enemies and appear and disappear arbitrarily, there are little pops and cracks heard in soundtrack and during loads, and the whole just looks and feels like it's designed by a third grader. But, despite all that, it can be enjoyable.

[Nesboy43]

Darkened Skye

[FVJVMVP]

I put in my vote for either Shinobi or Krion Conquest for the NES.

[gbpxl]

They dont necessarily have to be ones youve played. I certainly dont spend money on products I dont want but if I read enough about them or see videos of others playing them, I believe I can form a pretty solid opinion of them without having rewarded the developers with my money.

Here are some that I have to put up there as top contenders:

Who Wants to Beat Up a Millionaire? - yeah punching women in a video game isnt a good look. Violence as a solution to ones hatred of wealthy people is hard to wrap my head around

Super Columbine Massacre RPG - absolutely disgusting piece of trash. whats next, Holocaust Fun Time Simulator? Microsoft Flight Sim 9/11 Edition?

Rapelay - obscure Japanese computer game that lets a player simulate sexual assault against female passengers on a train

I cant think of any games that have made this planet worse than any of these, even through poor game design. there was a FPS where you play as a school shooter but I dont remember the name of it

[Aussie2B]

I merged the new thread with this old one since we have many threads on the worst game of all time already.

[jb143]

I merged the new thread with this old one since we have many threads on the worst game of all time already.

Yeah, but the difference here seems to be asking for the most morally reprehensible games of all time.

[gbpxl]

Yeah, but the difference here seems to be asking for the most morally reprehensible games of all time.

well yeah that and the fact that the last post is from 12 years ago, none of the people commenting on the topic are even around

a lot of these topics that are in the archives are interesting to look at in the context of when they were originally active. if youre gonna condense a topic made in 2019 into one made in 2007, might as well do that for every other vague topic while were at it. my two cents. i could be way off on my analysis of this of course

[Aussie2B]

Some of the users who posted in this topic years ago are still around.

I would've combined it with a more recently active topic, but others were like "worst game you've played" and "worse game in your collection", so I was looking for something less specific. I'm not going to merge all topics on the subject because forum policy is to merge a new topic with an older topic before the new topic has many posts. If you've got two topics with pages of posts each, merging them together can make the flow of the discussion hard to follow, depending on when the posts were made.

[AceAerosmith]

2nd on my list goes to Drake and the 99 Dragons for the Xbox. This game has a special place of suckness that needs to be recognized. First of all, the animation of the main character is just bizarre, the only way I can describe it is controlling an lame comic book character born with out elbows and given , on top of one of the worst cameras ever made in a video game. From lame character design to by far one of the most boring second levels made in a game....they just took the first level and reversed it....without enemies....lame....


This.

[kupomogli]

Does worse game of all time really even matter when there are so many bad games out there? Yeah, the thread was made in 2006, and now we're in we're in 2019 and Steam has several thousand games released on a monthly basis 99.9% of them unplayable, but even back then there have been so many bad games that it doesn't matter imo. Although an accumulation of bad games should be brought up so people who collect would know what not to purchase.

[megasdkirby]

Rocky and Bullwinkle on the NES. A huge disappointment compared to the GameBoy game.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Sonic '06. It was a big name game that many looked forward to for a year or more (including myself). It had the Sonic name on it, all of the Sonic games up to that point (except Shadow, a spin-off game) had been well reviewed, and this was supposed to be THE re-birth for Sonic, the game that brought Sonic into the HD era...

...and it was a pile of fucking shit. There have been series that have been built on good games in the past and then a mediocre game comes in and it's a huge letdown. This was beyond that. This wasn't just a mediocre letdown, this was BAD, like one notch above Superman 64 bad. If it weren't a Sonic game, it wouldn't be the worst game of all time (it would be close, though). But the fact that it was a big name + a literally horrible game = the worst game of all time. People didn't expect as much from Superman 64. It was a big name in comics and movies, but a good movie or comic =/= a good video game. Sonic was a series of good video games made by a manufacturer that was once the biggest name in the industry (admittedly, over 10 years earlier) and they release a game that my parents paid 60 bucks for and I played it for 45 minutes before deciding that it was a horrible piece of crap.