The most hated titles that you enjoy

[Miss Boris Yeltsin]

One of my picks would have to be Fantavision for PS2 - I remember it getting panned as a launch day title, basically for not being "next gen" - but ten years later, I think it's aged the best of all the launch-day PS2 games. The singleplayer experience can be a bit... sedate-bordering-on-comatose, I suppose, but I think it's one of the best two-player puzzlers out there - very easy to pick up and play, and not as finicky as Tetris (where someone who knows what they're doing will completely curb-stomp the new guy ninety-nine times out of a hundred), but with enough strategic stuff going on that it doesn't become something completely inconsequential and lame like Mario Party.


I think most people hate Street Fighter: The Movie because it was based off the film. Most people probably never even played the damn thing and just do the whole "it's based off the movie so it sucks". Now the arcade version played more like an MK game but was still damn good as well.

People hated on it because, simply put, it was not a well-programmed, competitively viable fighting game. The very generous counter system means that there's absolutely no reason to ever attempt a throw, which destroys the attack > block > throw "rock-paper-scissors" system - you can block all you want, and if your opponent tries to throw you, he ends up losing the exchange. Makes for really insanely boring turtle-heavy fights.

The fact that it was a big-ticket release and carried the Street Fighter name sure didn't help matters much - especially not when you factor in that it was released alongside the similarly-unbalanced Street Fighter Alpha game. It seemed to many at the time that Capcom may have lost their mojo, which sorta fueled the desire to criticize and amplified the criticism a lot louder than it would be for a generic fighting game from an unknown company.

But the bottom line is that this is not how a "damn good" fighting game plays:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ptuaZVonNUA#t=35s
Skip to 0:34 if you want the best example of why this is considered a bad fighter.

Maybe it's borderline-tolerable in singleplayer, but playing a fighting game in singleplayer is kinda like basing a beer review off of the near-beer version. :)

[Emperor Megas]

Alex Kidd the Lost Stars (SEGA Master System) - "Fine the Miracle Vall!" I really like this game, and it has everything to do with the way it takes me to that place I was in when I was a kid, because the game is pretty crap (that's pretty crap as in pretty craptastic, not crap that's pretty). I even felt that way then, if that makes any sense.

Aztec Adventure (SEGA Master System) - I honestly don't know why so many people hate this game. I thought that it was an amazing title for the time. It was an overhead scrolling adventure game like Zelda, where you would enlist the aid of totems or spirit warriors or something that you needed to summon and bribe with gold that you collected all through out the game. I thought that the game play was deep and introduced a lot of elements that other games of the time hadn't. I never played it all the way through, but I still think it holds up today.

Fantasy Zone: The Maze (SEGA Master System) - I don't know anyone else who likes this game and almost no one who remembers it, but it's one of my favorite Master System games and 'til this day me and one of my best friends always play it when we meet up.

Fantavision (PS2) - I absolutely loved Fantasvision, and I didn't get it until the later end of the PS2's run, and never heard of it before I saw it on the store shelf (or bin, I don't remember...I just knoe that it was from Gametop).

Ghen War (Saturn) - Early future themed FPS where you pilot a Aliens'esque cargo loader style mech, and fight alien Ghen who poses as allies and turned on humanity. I don't know many people who enjoyed this game, and the reviews were pretty bad too, I believe. But I put countless hours into the game. I never beat it (yet) though.

Ghost House (SEGA Master System) - I think I'm one of 5 people who love this game, much less like it.

Junction (Genesis) - From the time it was released, I felt I needed to own this game based on the box art alone. It looked like the cover of a Philip K. Dick book, and I'm a sucker for that sort of serene, abstract stuff. I coveting this game for YEARS until I finally procured a copy sometimes on the mid-aughts. I'd learned that it was something of a Timeball clone, which might put off the average gamer, but I actually enjoyed it from the first time I played it. It's something that I have to take in sessions, but I really enjoy the game.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari 2600) - People ragged on this game for decades, but I thought that it was amazing as a kid. The obscurity of everything that you had to do, and the mystery of the game play inspired me as much as it put people off. I've never ended the game, and I've never used a walk through. Every few years I'll fire up a game of it and get a little 'farther' then I remember getting before. But I'm probably not breaking any ground at all.

Shrek: Super Party (XBOX version) - I just assumed that no one liked this game based on what I know of gamers, but I searched the reviews on Gamefaqs and it got an average score of 3. I won't pretend that it's a great game, but the wife and I use to play it a TON back in the day. We were Fuzion Frenzy fiends, and so we tried other party type games like it. Shrek: Super Party was one that we played nearly as much. We were already fans of the original Shrek film, and the game play was standard enough fare, so with the characters from the film and the little bug swapping mini-game at the end of each round, it was a really fun little title.

Space Harrier (SEGA Master System) - I STILL love the Master System version of Space Harrier as much today as I did when I was a kid. Flicker, clipping, scratchy audio and all.

Zillion II: The Triformation (SEGA Master System) - This is another that I don't know anyone that likes. Most hate it because the original, which was a lot more popular, was such a great and expansive game (for the time), and the sequel is a really short 8 level platforming shooter that's over in 10 minutes, but I really love the game.

[The Clonus Horror]

Nes:


PS2:
Ghostbusters

I totally second this. I played all the way through it and plan to do so in the future, even though the game froze up a few times, or sent me into some sort of glitchy vortex that caused me to reset.

[SpaceHarrier]

I love Battle Arena Toshinden. Not sure how much 'hate' this one gets, but it sure has received alot of "most over-rated early PS game" awards. I never get tired of watching Duke dash right off the edge of the stage as I side-step out of the way.

[Emperor Megas]

Street Fighter (arcade, TG16 CD) - This is another one that everyone seems to hate, including people who were gamers when it came out, but never actually played it until years later. We use to spend so many hours in the arcade playing this game, BITD. There were two camps of people. Those who understood and had a mastery of the controls, and those who didn't, and could do any special moves without just shaking the joystick frantically. There were no intermediate players.

[Edmond Dantes]

The person who first mentions Hydlide gets a black eye... Oh shit! :beaten:

Ironically, this and Bubsy were the first things that came to mind.

[tpugmire]

Atari 2600 Pac-Man
Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

[djshok]

Shaq Fu - I genuinely like that game. It's not nearly as bad as the internet would have you believe. People just like to jump on the hate train with this one.

[kedawa]

I really like Pit Fighter for Genesis.
It reminds of the Genesis port of Mortal Kombat in that it's vastly inferior to the arcade game technically, but somehow manages to be more fun and has wonderfully cheesy music that's far more memorable.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Eternal Champions for Sega Genesis. Why does everyone hate that game? I really like it.

I'm going to have to go with Eternal Champions as well. It's pretty good.

I also think Driv3r is pretty good. If it wasn't for GTA 4 I'd still be playing it.

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars as well. It's just as good as Miracle World. And come on, a naked rocker pooping skulls? A weasel spitting out "BOW WOW"? The game is so crazy I love it!

[Dire 51]

Zillion II: The Triformation (SEGA Master System) - This is another that I don't know anyone that likes. Most hate it because the original, which was a lot more popular, was such a great and expansive game (for the time), and the sequel is a really short 8 level platforming shooter that's over in 10 minutes, but I really love the game.
You are not alone. In fact, I much prefer it to the original.

[supaevil]

I love me some Sword of the Vermillion or some shiet like that for the genesis. Good songs good times! Never did beat it the game that is.

[Jack7]

When I was a child, I actually enjoyed Bubsy for some reason, after playing it again recently, I'm not sure why.
I's probably have to go with the NES ninja turtles. I actually enjoy that one.
But could be worse. I have a friend who actually enjoys the Zelda CD-i games and actually stated if they didnt have the zelda title they would have done better and had been classic games. :grrr:

[NE146]

Have to agree with others on Zelda 2. I never understood the hate for that game as it's one of the most fun video games in my life.

I STILL play it to this day (just finished it the other month). Great game.

[treismac]

I kinda sorta dig Urban Champion for the NES. It just is fun in limited quantities here and there. Sure, the game play could be considerably better, but it still packs a stupid fun punch.

[FrankSerpico]

Eternal Champions and its sequel got great reviews at the time of their release. I'd never heard them lumped in with the myriad awful fighters of the 16 bit era

[markusman64ds]

Zillion II: The Triformation (SEGA Master System) - This is another that I don't know anyone that likes. Most hate it because the original, which was a lot more popular, was such a great and expansive game (for the time), and the sequel is a really short 8 level platforming shooter that's over in 10 minutes, but I really love the game.

I like Zillion II, probably because I never played the first one, but it is still kinda fun. I can't make it past level 1, providing hours of fun gameplay :)

[FrankSerpico]

Also, Sonic R is awesome imo and Fester's Quest is not nearly one of the worst NES titles out there. Some I like:

Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday-Genesis: The interface is crap compared to the PC version and it's made unnecessarily hard because of that, but it's still a really unique console release for its time period. I also get pretty addicted to leveling up my little squad.

Shadowrun-SNES: Everyone I know seems to think the Genesis version was superior, myself included, but I still really enjoy this version.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.-N64: I would have liked to see Midway actually try this out in the arcades, and they planned to originally. It was basically an improved version of War Gods, but then again I kind of have a soft spot for War Gods, too...

Dead or Alive-Saturn: It's pretty much the easiest fighting game ever, but the massive jagged polygonal breasts and haphazard gameplay make for a fun play with some friends when you're drunk

[Spidey80]

Chameleon Twist 1 and 2 for the N64
Ready 2 Rumble Revolution for Wii
Rise of the Robots for Game Gear(I should mention I bought this game for 99 cents at a local Play-N-Trade..had I paid more I might not be so generous)
Superman for NES
TaleSpin for the NES/Game Boy-I wouldn`t rank it as one of the greatest Capcom/Disney games,but it was a very fun game

[Emperor Megas]

I like Zillion II, probably because I never played the first one, but it is still kinda fun. I can't make it past level 1, providing hours of fun gameplay :)You're kidding, right? Zillion II is cake!

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/237/540/681.gif

^ FUCK ME, that's one of the most disturbing things I've seen on the Internet. :o

[davidbrit2]

NES:

Hydlide
Deadly Towers
Castlevania II - I don't understand anybody that thinks it's too hard. It's the easiest Castlevania I've played.
Dudes With Attitude/Trolls On Treasure Island - Cool puzzler.
Milon's Secret Castle
Super Glove Ball - Honestly pretty cool with the Power Glove.

Gameboy:

Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle - Controls are a bit sloppy, that I'll grant you.
Mercenary Force - Pretty strange shooter.

Genesis:

Crystal's Pony Tale

[Dr. BaconStein]

A lot of the Sonic titles in general. 3D Blast is good but would be a lot better if I could save (or if it had analog control), R is surprisingly addictive, and I think a lot of the later games get more hate than they deserve, but... I'd rather not get into that.

As for old games, I had Home Alone 2 on the SNES ever since I was a kid. Not sure whether it's hated or just one of those generally obscure games, but I never found it that bad for an average platformer. It's hard to tell what's the most hated when I've heard so many bad things about every game (even some of the more popular ones such as the DKC series, DK64, Mega Man 5 and 6, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, etc).

[Gooch3008]

Forsaken 64

[kedawa]

I just got that game a few months ago, and aside from the parade of splash screens that you have to sit through when the game boots, I don't hate it at all. It's like Descent without the vertigo.

[Nes]

Winter Olympics: Lillehammer 94 (SNES)

I have not played this game in forever but when I did, I actually found it fun once I got the hang of it.

Also, I enjoyed Mario is Missing (SNES). However, that was only because of my love of geography.

[c2000]

The Cyber Shinobi (SMS), very sluggish but I still love it.

[AlphaGamer]

.........................

[Emperor Megas]

Bujingai: The Forsaken City (PS2) - You know, I don't know anyone who has anything good to say about this game, but I really like it.
P.N.03 Product Number (Gamecube) - Another one I really love. After Mario Kart: Double Dash, this is probably my most played Gamecube Game.

[369WIERDO369]

Pac-Man..for the Atari 2600.
And Donkey Kong Jr Math.

[sloan]

2600 DK
Qix
Jet Moto
I, Robot
2600 Frostbite
Ridge Racer
Vectorman

[Jack7]

people hate vectorman???

[Emperor Megas]

People hate Qix and Ridge Racer? :confused:

[Miss Boris Yeltsin]

People hate I, Robot and Jet Moto? :eek 2:

("most hated" does not mean "most obscure")

[sloan]

I have seen hate directed at each of these on other game forums, especially huge hatred for Ridge Racer. I don't get it, but I love these games anyway.

[Nes]

I have seen hate directed at each of these on other game forums, especially huge hatred for Ridge Racer. I don't get it, but I love these games anyway.

Ridge Racer!!!!!!!!!!

[sloan]

For a full immersion in Ridge Racer hatred, go to Sega-16 forums and search for PS1 vs Saturn threads. You will see plenty of hatred spewed by the Saturn fans. I kid you not.

[j_factor]

I can't stand Ridge Racer, it's dull as dishwater. The sequels might be better but the first one is crap.

I like Jet Moto but a lot of people don't. And I have heard people badmouth Vectorman, but they're in the minority. I've never heard a bad word about I, Robot or Qix.

[Kevincal]

Supercross 3d atari jaguar.

and WOW you must have been abused as a child if you dont like Ridge Racer. LOL one of my favorite games ever. That game has an awesome feel about it. Cool graphics music great control wacky announcer great framerate great AI (Black car) its a short game but its just so fun. ps1 version versus saturn daytona is no contest lol daytona is even kinda boring in the arcade sure beautiful graphics but the control and handling is wonky. give me ridge racer any day! its way too hard to win in daytona as well. anyone else notice that? lol. i love sega and namco games from the 90s though good times. but ya ridge racer, some of the best video game music of all time.

[kedawa]

I can't stand Ridge Racer, it's dull as dishwater. The sequels might be better but the first one is crap.
I've never been a fan, either, but I actually enjoyed RR64. Go figure.

[Kevincal]

i think the problem with your guys who dont like the original ridge racer is you didnt experience it in 1994 or 1995 at the latest when it was new and awesome.

[j_factor]

i think the problem with your guys who dont like the original ridge racer is you didnt experience it in 1994 or 1995 at the latest when it was new and awesome.

I did, though. I didn't like it then either. Being new didn't make it a better game.

[DABYX]

I recently played 10-Yard Fight for NES and everywhere I look it's hated.

Maybe its coz that a) I'm not American and don't know about American football but I really enjoy it as a simple run and score game.

Granted it gets samey but you can say that about a lot of games...

[aryoshi]

Friday the 13th - Yes, it is repetitive. Yes, it can be confusing and the map layout is sort of messed up and it's easy to get lost, let alone the fact it gets hard as shit later, but I still find it enjoyable. I've played far, far, -faaar- worse games than this.

A Nightmare on Elm Street - I don't understand the negative criticism on this game. This is something I actually think LJN did right. It's a good, fun platformer that's easy to learn (though sometimes it's hard to figure out why you can't go inside the houses 'til you realize you have to go in them a specific order) and I find the music to also be quite awesome.

Pac-Man (2600) - Yeah it's a shitty port, yeah Mrs. Pac-Man on the 2600 is far better, but y'know what? It's still fuckin' Pac-Man. I take it for what it is.

[T2KFreeker]

Expendable for the Dreamcast. I love this game. People seem to really hate and bash it, but I thought it was a well put together action title. Took me back to titles like ONE, and Loaded. Just a good, balls to the wall, shoot everything game.

Sewer Shark is another one I like that constantly gets crap too. What the Hell people? For a FMV game, it's actually quite playable and fun too!

Cybermorph. Need I say more on what people think of this game?

War Gods. Okay, may not be the prettiest fighter, but it actually is a pretty damn fun game when you get into it. Especially the N64 version which is much better than the Playstation one.

[turboexpress]

Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

[sloan]

I agree on 2600 Pac Man and Cybermorph. Both are highly enjoyable games.

I think the thing with 2600 Pac Man is accepting the fact that it nowhere like the arcade version, but still a good game in its own right.

I love the exploration factor of Cybermorph, just flying around to see what can be seen.

[A Black Falcon]

Among others, I think that Bubsy 3D is actually a pretty interesting, fun game. It's hard, flawed, and BADLY needs analog controls, but it's got big levels, lots of fun platforming, etc. I like the mixed textured/shaded look, and while there certainly were a lot of 3d platformers that gen, Bubsy 3D's level design style isn't something you saw too much of. Generally 3d platformers would be more forgiving and not quite as focused on jumping puzzles... but yeah, I think it's kind of good. Oh, and I"m not really a fan of the 2d Bubsy games. I have the second one and don't like it much, and haven't played much of the first one, but it doesn't seem much better.

Also, Carmageddon 64 is a good game. I don't know why it got reviews as exceptionally low as it did -- IGN called it one of the N64's worst games, maybe even its worst, for example -- but... it's not bad at all... it's hard, and it isn't as good as the original Carmageddon for the PC, but it is a good game.


Reading through this thread, as usual for these things I see a bunch of games mentioned that aren't really hated, along with some that are. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference if you love a game and dislike seeing some people criticize it, but seriously, and I know this is replying to very old stuff, but is it really fair to call games that got good reviews and some people like "extremely hated"? I know in some cases fanbases turned on them later -- such as Castlevania for the N64 and its followup Legacy of Darkness, which had an initially good reception followed with a hard turn against them a year or two later that only recently seems to be abating -- but when you look at their reviews, along with the reviews of other games mentioned in this thread as well, they weren't exactly bad. That says that when they were released they weren't really considered to be bad games.

Other times, the reviews still might be okay, of if it's considered bad for the series but you like it, I can see listing it anyway -- like mentions of Mega Man X6 or Sonic 3D Blast, for instance. And on that note, I don't like X6, but do like 3D Blast. Good game, lots of fun. Of other mentions, I see multiple mentions of Bomberman Hero, Keith Courage, and Beyond the Beyond too, and I like all of those games as well. Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game (I have it for Saturn) not THAT bad either. With all of the masses of hate it's received I expected it to be completely terrible, but while it doesn't have the levels of depth of the main-series SF II and beyond titles, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it would be either. It's actually okay, I think. Not great, but okay. (But yes, I'm not a competitive fighting game player, so I've only played it one player.)

On a somewhat related note, a good pick of mine for "got mediocre reviews but I think it's really good" -- which, as I've tried to say above, I think is a definitely a separate category from the "got terrible reviews but I think it's at least kind of good" of the two games I mentioned first in this post -- would be Zombie Revenge for the Dreamcast. That game's great fun, good stuff. Best DC beat 'em up for sure.



For a full immersion in Ridge Racer hatred, go to Sega-16 forums and search for PS1 vs Saturn threads. You will see plenty of hatred spewed by the Saturn fans. I kid you not.

Any version of Daytona is better than any Ridge Racer game ever, though, so what's wrong with basing Ridge Racer some? :)

[Icarus Moonsight]

P.N.03 - I can get behind that... •shake shake shake•

[DDCecil]

I had fun with all of these:

2600:
Pac-Man

NES:
Amagon
Fester's Quest
Hydlide
TMNT
Zelda II

3D0:
Ballz: The Director's Cut

PSX:
Final Fantasy VIII
Revolution X

Sega CD:
All the FMV games
Revengers of Vengeance

SNES:
Bubsy
Drakkhen
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest

Jaguar:
Kasumi Ninja

[A Black Falcon]

P.N.03 - I can get behind that... •shake shake shake•

P.N. 03 is a love or hate game, pretty much. Some people hate it, others love it. I'm on the love side too, myself... great game.

[Nes]

I recently played 10-Yard Fight for NES and everywhere I look it's hated.

Maybe its coz that a) I'm not American and don't know about American football but I really enjoy it as a simple run and score game.

Granted it gets samey but you can say that about a lot of games...

I got that game for Christmas the same time I got my NES. Many hours of enjoyment derived from playing it. I still got that clickety click sound in my head that players would make when running.

[Zap!]

I don't know if they're hated, but I always loved Jaws, Breakthru, and the Goonies II on the NES. Trojan was up there for me too.

[Kevincal]

I recently played 10-Yard Fight for NES and everywhere I look it's hated.

Maybe its coz that a) I'm not American and don't know about American football but I really enjoy it as a simple run and score game.

Granted it gets samey but you can say that about a lot of games...

10 yard fight is a fun game.


Any version of Daytona is better than any Ridge Racer game ever, though, so what's wrong with basing Ridge Racer some? :)

hell no daytona has the crappiest control ive always hated how it feels like you are driving on ice not to mention its way too hard to win a race not to mention the fruity ass music not to mention i hate nascar. ridge racer is just cooler in every way, better control WAY better music. Daytona is OK in the arcades with beautiful graphics and competing against 4 players but single player is crap and the saturn version is crap. ridge racer on the playstation is perfect, spot on controls great graphics and music. the game never gets old unless something is wrong with you or you have the mindset of a 15 year old sega fanboy!!! ;)

[Cloud121]

P.N.03
My second favorite game of all-time. Only Super Metroid tops it.

[kedawa]

People that like those slow, awkward, mindless rasslin' games tend to absolutely hate Midway's 1995 WWF Wrestlemania.
I think it's the best wrestling game ever made.

[rbudrick]

Liar.

If you know what to do, Deadly Towers is excellent.

That opening theme music is some of the best of the NES. The scope of the game is massive. It's extremely hard, but once you get that first bell, you're hooked.

I had no idea people ragged on Astyanax. I always had a special place in my heart for that game.

-ROb