Games with a bad reputation that you absolutely love...

[Manga4life]

For me, I've noticed that many of the games I absolutely adore have a pretty bad reputation among the gaming community. It's as if I'm attracted to them or something, which I find to be funny because I've loved most of these games since I was a really young child, Pac-Man and E.T for the 2600 come to mind as does Zelda II for the NES. Now, I realize that E.T can be a frustrating game and that Pac-Man for the Atari isn't nearly as good as it's arcade version, but as a 4-5 year old at the time I didn't know that and I had a lot of fun playing them back in the day and still enjoy popping them into the ol' 2600 today. Same thing with Zelda II, many consider it to be the worst Zelda game aside from the CDi crap, but to me this game is a gem and I adore it above all other Zelda games I've played. Am I wrong? No, it's just a matter of opinion and Zelda II ranks as my 2nd favorite video game of all-time. Want to know what one of my favorite games of all-time is that everyone hates? Friday the 13th for the NES. Yup, I absolutely love that game to death and logged countless hours playing it and still pop it in every October in celebration of Halloween, it's tradition for me.

How about the Atari Jaguar? Well, I'm a huge fan of the system and have quite a collection of games including Kasumi Ninja which I love and consider one of my favorite fighting games being bested only by the original Mortal Kombat. Crazy huh? Well, what are some of your personal favorite that get shat on by critics and players alike?

[bb_hood]

Fester's Quest for NES is one of my favorite nes games, I got it when I got my first nintendo.
Its a very playable game although people say its really hard. Its actually quite easy once you realize what to do.
My only complaint is that its kinda short, but for a nes game its large enough.
The music is just awesome, which is the main reason I like it so much.

[skaar]

Zelda II

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwg6nhGmaF1qzjix8.gifhttp://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwg6nhGmaF1qzjix8.gif

[Manga4life]

Zelda II

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwg6nhGmaF1qzjix8.gifhttp://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwg6nhGmaF1qzjix8.gif

Man, Zelda II has supplied me with so many amazing memories that it will forever be the best Zelda game to me. I remember playing it for the first time at my baby sitters house back in the late 80's and thinking it was amazing, and then finally buying it in 1992 with birthday money. I had so many countless nights staying up until the wee hours playing this game and getting stuck on the second palace as well as so many early mornings waking up to play the game after a long night of battles. God, this game will always live in my heart as a true gem, despite what the gaming community thinks of it.

[AB Positive]

I loved the Granstream Saga for PSX, creepy no-face character models and all...

[PreZZ]

I really enjoyed A nightmare on Elm street when I was a kid, I only owned 5 games and that was one of them! Very challenging, and when you understand where you have to go and what you have to do its not bad.

[Manga4life]

I really enjoyed A nightmare on Elm street when I was a kid, I only owned 5 games and that was one of them! Very challenging, and when you understand where you have to go and what you have to do its not bad.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a personal favorite of mine as well. I love the 2-player aspect and the way you can switch between night/day and be different things like magicians and athletes and the such, it was just a fun game all around. I didn't like that at the end of the game you had to fight every boss a second time before Freddy himself, that was a bit unfair, especially with NO save points....

But such were those days....

[Polygon]

The odd thing is that I can't think of any that absolutely love. I like Anticipation and Taboo for the NES. Both games aren't considered very good, but I like them. I certainly don't love them though.

[o.pwuaioc]

Bayou Billy :onfire:

[thom_m]

Heavy Nova. Don't judge me.

[Manga4life]

The odd thing is that I can't think of any that absolutely love. I like Anticipation and Taboo for the NES. Both games aren't considered very good, but I like them. I certainly don't love them though.

LoL, Taboo: The 6th Sense was odd because it was a fortune telling game, but it was oddly addicting. I got it in 1996 from Funcoland for like $7 and me and my friend stayed up all night once asking it questions and freaking out when we got the devil card.


Bayou Billy :onfire:

The Adventures of Bayou Billy was a great game, I used to play this for hours back in the early 90's when I got it as a gift. But yeah, many hated this game....

[Aussie2B]

I don't know about "absolutely love" but here are a bunch of games/series that get a lot of flack that I like:

Super Mario Bros. 2
Castlevania II
Castlevania Adventure
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Zelda II
Majora's Mask
Lagoon
King's Field
Star Ocean 3
Star Ocean 4
Radiata Stories
Almost all the US Virtual Boy games
Lots of PC-FX games (pretty much the whole library gets no respect)
Battle Clash and Metal Combat (similar to the PC-FX and Virtual Boy, pretty much no Super Scope games get any respect)
Sonic Spinball
Donkey Kong Country 3
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Secret of Evermore

[Manga4life]

Super Mario Bros. 2 and Castlevania 2 are a couple of others that I highly enjoy that the general gaming community hates that I can play at any time without fail.

Another one would be Quest 64 for the N64, I found it to be quite enjoyable.

[ProjectCamaro]

Super Mario Bros. 2
Castlevania II

Excellent choices, these were the two that I was going to put up.

[FrankSerpico]

I always thought Ballz was pretty technically impressive even though the gameplay wasn't exactly 3rd strike level. Also I've read plenty of bad reviews for WWF In Your House for PSX/Saturn and I can assure you there's many licensed wrestling games that are worse.

[CelticJobber]

Pac-Man for Atari 2600

Dick Tracy for NES
Wrath of the Black Manta for NES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES
WWF Wrestlemania for NES

Bio Freaks for N64
Castlevania for N64
Cruis'n USA for N64
Hybrid Heaven for N64
Mace for N64
Mortal Kombat 4 for N64
War Gods for N64

[bb_hood]

Super Mario Bros. 2 and Castlevania 2 are a couple of others that I highly enjoy that the general gaming community hates that I can play at any time without fail.
.

Ive never understood how people can criticize castlevania II at all. It blew my mind when I first saw the angry video nerd complain about it. Ive heard others who bash the game as well, and I just dont get it. Its such a good game.

But wait, who hates Mario 2?? Ive heard of people complaining about zelda 2 (which I love), but do masses of people REALLY hate this game?

[ProjectCamaro]

But wait, who hates Mario 2?? Ive heard of people complaining about zelda 2 (which I love), but do masses of people REALLY hate this game?

I hear it all the time. I think the biggest reason people hate on it is because it's not a "real" Mario game.

[bb_hood]

I hear it all the time. I think the biggest reason people hate on it is because it's not a "real" Mario game.


Thats a weak excuse to hate it, it STILL is SUPER MARIO BROS 2. It was also released in Japan as Super Mario USA. As far as Im concerned its a goddam Mario game. I remember buying it as a kid when it was released.

Granted, this means there are 2 different Super Mario 2s.. no matter what you call it its really fun.

[buzz_n64]

Fuck the Super Mario Bros. 2 haters! I love that game! One of my all time favorites. As for being a different Mario game, there was NO standard formula for a Mario game up to that point. Every Mario game was different.

[davidbrit2]

Fuck the Super Mario Bros. 2 haters! I love that game! One of my all time favorites. As for being a different Mario game. There was NO standard formula for a Mario game up to that point. Every Mario game was different.

Doki Doki Panic was even created by Miyamoto, so anybody that says it isn't a "real Mario game" clearly doesn't know what the hell they're talking about.

And I'm one of probably very few Americans that enjoys The Tower of Druaga.

[o.pwuaioc]

Ive never understood how people can criticize castlevania II at all. It blew my mind when I first saw the angry video nerd complain about it. Ive heard others who bash the game as well, and I just dont get it. Its such a good game.

But wait, who hates Mario 2?? Ive heard of people complaining about zelda 2 (which I love), but do masses of people REALLY hate this game?

Nobody hates Mario 2. Mario 2 is universally loved. It regularly makes top 100 lists, for example IGN (http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/18.html), Satoshi's list (http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/top-100-nesfamicom-games-list-49-40/), Sydlexia (www.sydlexia.com/nes100/nes21.htm), Retro-Sanctuary (http://retro-sanctuary.com/Top-100-NES-Games-Page-3.html), and GameFAQS (http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916386-nes/51440644). I guess the presence of Zelda II on those lists might also say something. Still, I never hear of it having a bad reputation, not like Zelda II got.

[SpaceHarrier]

Battle Arena Toshinden, still one of my favorite fighting games.

[Gameguy]

Whenever these threads come up I mention Bebe's Kids. It's nowhere near as bad as people say it is, it's just that few people bother to play it and just go by internet reviews by AVGN ripoffs.

[retroman]

Good old Pit Fighter for the Sega Genesis never got much love..One of my favorites

[homerhomer]

Galaxy Force II
Super Thunerblade
Smash TV

[kupomogli]

I don't know about "absolutely love" but here are a bunch of games/series that get a lot of flack that I like:

Super Mario Bros. 2
Castlevania II
Castlevania Adventure
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Zelda II
King's Field
Sonic Spinball
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Secret of Evermore

These, plus...

Fester's Quest
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Castlevania Legends
Castlevania Lament of Innocence
Driver
Evergrace
Grandia Xtreme
Breath of Fire Dragon's Quarter

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I love the Earth Defense Force games far more than I really should given their budgety nature.

[BricatSegaFan]

I am quite partial to armorines for n64 and sonic 3D blast for Saturn.

[Tron 2.0]

NES
Metal Gear
The Legend of Kage
The Adventure of Bayou Billy
Castlevania II Simon's Quest
TMNT

Saturn
Dark Savior,trust me ive seen hate for it by others or site reviews.

Neo-Geo
Double Dragon,sure there are better fighters out there but i don't think it's that bad.

[Manga4life]

I liked Castlevania II much like many of you, but I didn't like the switching between day and night and how it got in the way of gameplay. That was annoying.

[Stringfellow]

I love Duke Nukem Forever and still play it online.

[recorderdude]

Earnest Evans. Universally acknowledged as wolf team's worst game, but I laugh every time I play it due to the main character acting like a ragdoll.

I also kind of like the 16-bit bart games.

[Aussie2B]

Oh, I forgot about TMNT. I'm guessing the naysayers were just mad that it wasn't the arcade game, but the arcade game was ported next so who cares. The first NES TMNT is still a really solid game, and the difficulty is vastly overstated. I mean, yes, it gets very challenging late in the game, but most who complain about the difficulty never even get that far. They usually just bitch endlessly about defusing the bombs, but it's really not that hard. Just man up and practice a little. It's the same kind of deal with Battletoads, which does get ridiculously hard several stages in, but everybody stops at level 3, the Turbo Tunnel, complaining that it's impossible. C'mon, I cleared the Turbo Tunnel with just a small amount of practice, and at that time, I was just playing casually after first buying it, not even aiming to beat the game or anything. Although Battletoads seems to get less criticism as a game than TMNT, even if the complaining over the difficulty level is very similar.


And I'm one of probably very few Americans that enjoys The Tower of Druaga.

Me too. :) I have a soft spot for the entire Druaga series. I also find the series really interesting in that there's such a stark difference between how Japan receives it and how the West receives it. Tower of Druaga is a highly respected, extremely influential game, yet to Western gamers, it's either completely unknown in the first place, or reviled. Same deal with Hydlide. Not every port of Hydlide is good and Virtual Hydlide is pretty laughable (but in a gloriously awesome way, haha), but Western gamers don't understand how important the series is and how well-loved it is in Japan. I mean, there would never be Ys without Hydlide. While it's not pretty to look at, more gamers should give Super Hydlide (AKA Hydlide 3) a shot.

[o.pwuaioc]

Whenever these threads come up I mention Bebe's Kids. It's nowhere near as bad as people say it is, it's just that few people bother to play it and just go by internet reviews by AVGN ripoffs.

It got slammed even when AVGN was just a kid. Nintendo Power's 100th issue listed it as the worst Nintendo game ever, beating out (2nd worst, 3rd worst, etc.) Barbie's Super Model, Shaq Fu, AD&D Heroes of the Lance, Pit-Fighter, Friday the 13th, Michael Jordan in the Windy City, Beethoven, Color a Dinosaur, and the Adventures of Bullwinkle.

[Polygon]

LoL, Taboo: The 6th Sense was odd because it was a fortune telling game, but it was oddly addicting. I got it in 1996 from Funcoland for like $7 and me and my friend stayed up all night once asking it questions and freaking out when we got the devil card.

Yeah, I've had a lot of fun playing that useless game. :)


It got slammed even when AVGN was just a kid. Nintendo Power's 100th issue listed it as the worst Nintendo game ever, beating out (2nd worst, 3rd worst, etc.) Barbie's Super Model, Shaq Fu, AD&D Heroes of the Lance, Pit-Fighter, Friday the 13th, Michael Jordan in the Windy City, Beethoven, Color a Dinosaur, and the Adventures of Bullwinkle.

I had completely forgot about Shaq Fu. I enjoy that as well. In fact, I don't think a 16 bit collection is complete without a copy.

[FrankSerpico]

Chaos in the Windy City belongs nowhere near a worst games ever list. I could probably list at least 20 SNES platformers much more deserving.

[Zthun]

Quest 64.

[Collector_Gaming]

A Nightmare On Elm Street i think grabs my vote too

The game although kinda flawed in some ways just catches my attention with Freddy and all that stuff.

And it was the first game to actually scared me. (imagine a 6 y/o me in 1990 watching a cousin playing this game with lights off after i use to get the shit scared out of me watching the movies... yeah.....)

Love it so much that actually bought it for 12 bucks at a vintage game shop in mass just so i could have it asap.

[aryoshi]

Man, Zelda II has supplied me with so many amazing memories that it will forever be the best Zelda game to me. I remember playing it for the first time at my baby sitters house back in the late 80's and thinking it was amazing, and then finally buying it in 1992 with birthday money. I had so many countless nights staying up until the wee hours playing this game and getting stuck on the second palace as well as so many early mornings waking up to play the game after a long night of battles. God, this game will always live in my heart as a true gem, despite what the gaming community thinks of it.

I came in here with Zelda II on the top of my mind and I couldn't have said it better here. Also, I like the later NES Mega Man titles (4-6) despite what others say of them, I notice 5 and 6 get way more crap than they deserve, honestly. Castlevania II is another I really enjoyed that others didn't seem to so much.

[Immutable]

Silver Surfer for the NES. This game is very unfaithful to its comic book roots (I don't recall a ceiling or a wall surface killing SS in the comics...), but I enjoyed playing a shoot'em up that was Marvel themed.

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, Silver Surfer is pretty cool. It's just brutally difficult, which I think makes most people give up on it without ever giving it a fair chance. It's got fantastic music too.

[Gamevet]

Yeah, Silver Surfer is pretty cool. It's just brutally difficult, which I think makes most people give up on it without ever giving it a fair chance. It's got fantastic music too.

The Game Critics podcast uses the theme song from Silver Surfer for their intro. :)

[Az]

Good old Pit Fighter for the Sega Genesis never got much love..One of my favorites

I really enjoy the MD port of Pit Fighter, probably more than I should. It doesn't have the visual flair of the arcade game, but the controls/gameplay is improved IMO.

World Heroes gets some love from me, both the arcade and especially the SNES version.

[Tron 2.0]

World Heroes gets some love from me, both the arcade and especially the SNES version.
I usually see love or hate for the world heroes series,from just about any one.Still i all ways thought it was to floaty for how it handle but it's not unplayable at least.

[Bloodreign]

And I'm one of probably very few Americans that enjoys The Tower of Druaga.

I'm American and I like Druaga, though the game demands you know it inside and out for what items you need and how to acquire them to stand a chance to clear such a long game.

I'll second Bayou Billy, it was one of the first games I owned, it gave me troubles, but eventually I was beating the game time and time again no sweat at all (I eventually grew tired of beating it and traded it to a friend for....SMB 2, these days I still have the SMB 2 cart and reacquired Bayou Billy for old times sake).

[Manga4life]

Ice Hockey for the Atari 2600.

Honestly, I hate hockey. But I do enjoy hockey games once in a while and I know it may sound odd when I say this but the Ice Hockey game for the 2600 is my absolute favorite hockey game of all-time. I love the 2 on 2 aspect, the music and sound effects, and the overall enjoyment I get from upping the challenge and getting a big win by only one goal, I've got lot's of great memories of this game and it remains a classic in my eyes.

I know many disliked this game (and many other sports games for the 2600) but I loved it and still play it to this day.

[GamerTheGreek]

People poo pooed ffmq all the time cause it didn't follow how the other final fantasy games went. But this is an awesome game to play alot of battles items to use and things to find along the way. The music too is quite good.

I'm sure it's been said before but this is my all time fav game that doesn't get the respect it should.

[8-Bit Archeology]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. A lot of gamers hated its slow start. And i hear all the time at my local shop, that tons of players never finished the story because they got bored of it quick, and would go around just killing npc's from boredom. I absolutely love this game. Its the reason I bought an xbox. This game kept me entertained for years.

[Archimboldi]

Street Smart:

6628


it is pretty bad. but fun.

Street Fighter 1

6629


I didn't like this until I played the version on Capcom Classics PSP on the Vita. The dpad allows for easier hadokens + hurricane kicks and the analog stick lets you do easy shoryukens. these moves do ~50% damage, but the CPU can get in and that's when you mash and hope. This game controls so terribly, but there is some logic to it. Once you realize it doesn't handle inputs in quick succession at all, you have to hit everything individually including movement options like walking or jumping, but that sometimes it buffers moves, you can *sort of* get in some control of it. And even then, I've only come close to getting a handle of it with the Vita's controls. If you're on anything else, good fuckin' luck! :)

also, I always try to beat Sagat with a fierce dragon punch for a canon ending. i'm pretty fixated on this when I play!

[aingevt]

Milon's Secret Castle

I watched my brother beat this game countless times growing up. He knew every honeycomb, Hudson bee and secret passage. He figured it all out himself. He also had no idea there was a code to let you continue so he always had to beat the game without dying. I still love this game:)