Worst First-Party Games?

[Jibbajaba]

I thought it would be fun to devote a thread to the worst first=party games. For the few of you who don't know what that means, I am talking about games made my the company that made the system that the game is for. So if we were talking about the Atari 2600, then it would be the worst game made by Atari. I only did a few systems, but these are games that I think are really bad.

Atari 2600: Pac-Man
Nintendo NES: Baseball
Super Nintendo: Super Play Action Football
Sega Genesis: G-Loc: Air Battle
Sega Game Gear: G-Loc
Playstation 2: Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain

I'll add more later.

Chris

[GrandAmChandler]

Any of the "SONY sports series" after NFL Gameday '98. 989 has had every opportunity to be on par with EA & Sega, but they just can't get it right.

[Dangerboy]

Add "anything 989" to that comment, and you have it.

A LOT of Psygnosis' first party Sony PS1 titles were throw-aways...

Mario Sunshine lost it's shine half-way through...

Kakuto Chojin....

[DonMarco]

Has anyone here played FantaVision more than 15 minutes? It was Sony's only first-party title at the PS2 launch.

[The Brown Eye]

[quote="Dangerboy"]Add "anything 989" to that comment, and you have it.[quote]
I enjoyed some of their stuff:

Twisted Metal 3
NFL Gameday '98
Gretzky 2005

But yeah, most of their stuff sucks.

World Series Baseball 2K1 wasn't too hot on the DC. Other than those I'm drawing a blank.

[Jibbajaba]

Add "anything 989" to that comment, and you have it.

I enjoyed some of their stuff:

Twisted Metal 3
NFL Gameday '98
Gretzky 2005

But yeah, most of their stuff sucks.

World Series Baseball 2K1 wasn't too hot on the DC. Other than those I'm drawing a blank.

I really liked the first Syphon Filter game. Maybe I am alone there. That was a 989 game, was it not? Pretty darned sure.

Chris

[djbeatmongrel]

i liked the cool boarders series, expecially cool boarders 3. really the only first party game that sticks out is Luigi's Mansion. I friggin hated that game

[keiblerfan69]

Has anyone here played FantaVision more than 15 minutes? It was Sony's only first-party title at the PS2 launch.

Yes and I actually find it quite fun. But its not a system seller.

[Rogmeister]

I think Super Mario Sunshine was a fine game...people just dog on it because they always expect any Mario game to be revolutionary and it's not fair to expect every Mario game to do that. Nintendo's certainly made worse games than that.

Atari made some real dogs, especially for the Jaguar. Checkered Flag for othat system is absolutely one of the worst games I ever played. The control was abominable. And I know some people will mention it so I will here...E.T. for the 2600...

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

How about Urban Champion for the NES
Most of the 989 Sports Games
ET and Pac Man For the 2600
All of the XBOX First Party Titles
The First Dig Dug for the Atari 8-Bit Computers.

[Gapporin]

Has anyone here played FantaVision more than 15 minutes? It was Sony's only first-party title at the PS2 launch.

Me, and I loved it. But then again, I'm a sucker for unique puzzle games.

Now, as I much as I'm a fanatic for the Master System, some of Sega's efforts for that system were just god-awful. Great Baseball and My Hero immediately spring to mind.

(Of course, since 90% of the Master System's library was developed by Sega, there's always a Phantasy Star to every Great Baseball, and an OutRun to every My Hero.)

[Kamino]

Nintendo NES: Zelda II
SNES: Super mario world 2
N64: Super mario 64
Gamecube: Super Mario Sunshine


SMS: Any of the great sports games. :P

Genesis: Altered Beast

[Rogmeister]

Is kamino on crack?...Super Mario 64 is considered by many to be one of the all-time greatest games, definitely not a worst one. That does remind me of the N64's worst, though...Superman 64.

Edit: Oops, scratch my last comment. I forgot about this being worst 1st party games...and Superman 64 obviously doesn't fit into this category. Never mind...

[Sailorneorune]

I'm sorry, but Pokemon Channel wins the esteem (?) of being the worst Gamecube game. I feel bad for the kids who got that piece of crap. It's not even a game...

/only Pokemon game I don't own
//Box doesn't win because it's a pretty decent storage system
///pika

[LinkOracle]

NES - Donkey Kong Jr Math

Kids aren't that desperate for entertainment!

[le geek]

I think Super Mario Sunshine was a fine game...people just dog on it because they always expect any Mario game to be revolutionary and it's not fair to expect every Mario game to do that. Nintendo's certainly made worse games than that.

Atari made some real dogs, especially for the Jaguar. Checkered Flag for othat system is absolutely one of the worst games I ever played. The control was abominable. And I know some people will mention it so I will here...E.T. for the 2600...

I thought Super Mario Sunshine was good. But I was still disappointed.

Yes Checkered Flag was quite bad. Playable once you get used to the unrealistic controls, but nothing like Virtua Racing...

I actually liked Pac-man and ET when I was kid (I was 8 at the time) and I still kind of like them. Now I dare someone to defend Swordquest Fireworld!

[Rogmeister]

Wasn't Donkey Kong Jr. Math one of the NES games they put in Animal Country? Someone must've liked it...or they thought we did anyway... LOL

[idrougge]

Now, as I much as I'm a fanatic for the Master System, some of Sega's efforts for that system were just god-awful. Great Baseball and My Hero immediately spring to mind.

Are you sure that My Hero wasn't a 2nd-party game? The arcade original was developed by Coreland, one of Sega's 2nd parties. Their copyright is intact on the MS screen.


(Of course, since 90% of the Master System's library was developed by Sega, there's always a Phantasy Star to every Great Baseball, and an OutRun to every My Hero.)

Humbug, Sega probably doesn't account for more than 20% of the MS game library as a first party.

[klausien]

Genesis: Altered Beast

You're kidding, right? Not necessarily a great pack-in or even a great game, but it is a great version of Altered Beast. It should get points for that in anyone's book. Not flaming here, take with a grain of salt. ;)

I have one big one that always irks me: Sega Rally 2 for Dreamcast. Sega dropped the ball BIG TIME, especially considering how wonderful the Saturn version of the first one was. The framrate is just so terrible, especially in light of titles like the amazing at the time Crazy Taxi.

I have also always felt that Mario Kart Double Dash was a disappointment. Not a terrible game, just below par for the course.

Finally, though I really hate to say it and have suffered through them both on personal principle, Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 were pretty bad in retrospect. I was wowed at the time by the graphics with Sonic Adventure, but it has aged very poorly. The Knuckles missions in both of them were especially torturous.

[KeeperBvK]

Yeah, DK Jr. Math can be found in Animal Crossing for whatever reason. I really can't think of any, though.^^

Another really bad game (2nd-party, but at least with a first-party license) is Pokémon Dash. If Dk Jr. Math wouldn't exist, then this would definitely make my list...

[Richter]

never cared for Zombie Revenge on the DC

[Ed Oscuro]

I thought it would be fun to devote a thread to the worst first=party games. For the few of you who don't know what that means, I am talking about games made my the company that made the system that the game is for. So if we were talking about the Atari 2600, then it would be the worst game made by Atari. I only did a few systems, but these are games that I think are really bad.

Atari 2600: Pac-Man
Nintendo NES: Baseball
Super Nintendo: Super Play Action Football
Sega Genesis: G-Loc: Air Battle
Sega Game Gear: G-Loc
Playstation 2: Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain

I'll add more later.

Chris
I also didn't care for G-Loc on the GG, but I would imagine there's got to be something worse for the system that Sega put out. It's not a ton of fun, for sure.

Add any port of Galaxy Force (SMS) or Galaxy Force II (Genesis) on a Sega system before Saturn. Fantastic game (just got my FM Towns copy), but only if you can view it in its original glory. The others are too cut-down for me to enjoy much.

[Push Upstairs]

Yeah, Zombie Revenge was kinda crappy. The control on that game wasn't good at all.

And i'll second "Mario Kart: Double Dash". A simple and fun game that was made overly complicated. Select karts, select partners...why? What happened to just selecting a racer and heading off to race/battle?

[CartCollector]

Fairchild et al.

[PapaStu]

Add "anything 989" to that comment, and you have it.

I enjoyed some of their stuff:

Twisted Metal 3
NFL Gameday '98
Gretzky 2005

But yeah, most of their stuff sucks.

World Series Baseball 2K1 wasn't too hot on the DC. Other than those I'm drawing a blank.

I really liked the first Syphon Filter game. Maybe I am alone there. That was a 989 game, was it not? Pretty darned sure.

Chris

989
Once They got their hands into Twisted Metal it went to shit. 3 was OK at best.
All their sports stuff around 98/99 was horrible.
Syphon Filter 1/2 were good. 3 was just more of the same (and had by then gotten stale)

I'll second Syphon Filter Omega Strain for PS2. That game is SOOOOOO horrible.

[Ed Oscuro]

I thought the level of quality in the Syhpon Filter series went down markedly right after the first one (which I played all the way through, loving nearly minute of it, aside from some dodgy climbing stuff in the ruined subway). I haven't gotten too far in 2 yet, and while I don't mind the first level, the stupid "let's be stealthy" mission for level 2 is, well, inexcusably bad.

[Iron Draggon]

Just curious: If a first party game is one developed by the same company that made the system, and a third party game is one developed by another company, then what is a second party game?

[evildead2099]

NES: Mario Is Missing.

[keiblerfan69]

Just curious: If a first party game is one developed by the same company that made the system, and a third party game is one developed by another company, then what is a second party game?

I don't think there is such a thing. Its like how a game is a First person and Third Person game. Just like in books.

[keiblerfan69]

NES: Mario Is Missing.

I always wanted to play that game just because it looks so terrible.

[Gapporin]

I don't think there is such a thing. Its like how a game is a First person and Third Person game. Just like in books.

Actually, you can write a book in a second-person perspective (although it hardly ever gets written this way, if at all). It would take the perspective of the person who is reading the book (a la text adventure games).

"You didn't want to come into work today. But you had to. You decide to take the first folder from your desk. Bah, paperwork. You put it back."

Very bizarre, but I'd like to see a book written this way. But, I digress.

[keiblerfan69]

I don't think there is such a thing. Its like how a game is a First person and Third Person game. Just like in books.

Actually, you can write a book in a second-person perspective (although it hardly ever gets written this way, if at all). It would take the perspective of the person who is reading the book (a la text adventure games).

"You didn't want to come into work today. But you had to. You decide to take the first folder from your desk. Bah, paperwork. You put it back."

Very bizarre, but I'd like to see a book written this way. But, I digress.

Well I learned something new today.

[retroman]

how about Baseball or Allyway for the original Gameboy when it launched. They sucked real bad..

[CRV]

how about Baseball or Allyway for the original Gameboy when it launched. They sucked real bad..

I liked Alleyway. Used to play it quite a bit...

[KeeperBvK]

Just curious: If a first party game is one developed by the same company that made the system, and a third party game is one developed by another company, then what is a second party game?

Of course there are second party games.
First party games are made directly by the company that makes the console whereas second party games are made by game developers that belong to the hardware creator.
So for example Kameo and PDZ for 360 are second party and Eternal Darkness is, too. There are probably way more second party games than first party ones in fact, since Ninetndo e.g. rarely creates games reall in-houe these days.

[evildead2099]

Mario Is Missing actually shouldn't belong on here.

I looked it up, and apparently the game was developed by Radical and published by Mindscape. So technically it isn't a 1st-party NES game.

It still sucks, though ;)

[anagrama]

Now, as I much as I'm a fanatic for the Master System, some of Sega's efforts for that system were just god-awful. Great Baseball and My Hero immediately spring to mind.

(Of course, since 90% of the Master System's library was developed by Sega, there's always a Phantasy Star to every Great Baseball, and an OutRun to every My Hero.)

As idrougge said above, very few SMS games were developed by Sega, the majority being farmed out to friendly 2nd-parties such as Sanritsu/SIMS.

[jajaja]

Pit Fighter for SNES is also horrible. One of the worse game on the console.

[anagrama]

Pit Fighter for SNES is also horrible. One of the worse game on the console.

And nothing to do with Nintendo.

[jcheatle]

I don't think there is such a thing. Its like how a game is a First person and Third Person game. Just like in books.

Actually, you can write a book in a second-person perspective (although it hardly ever gets written this way, if at all). It would take the perspective of the person who is reading the book (a la text adventure games).

"You didn't want to come into work today. But you had to. You decide to take the first folder from your desk. Bah, paperwork. You put it back."

Very bizarre, but I'd like to see a book written this way. But, I digress.

There have been books written in this format (actual novels, not just choose your adventure), but damned if I could name what they are. I just remember my prof in a novel writing class talking about them being, as you said, bizarre. Suppose you could always google for examples of said style. And if I remember correctly, somebody in one of my writing classes did a few short stories in 2nd person perspective. They were alright, but he wasn't exactly talented either. I digress.

Oh, and to stay on topic. NES - 10 Yard Fight. God, I hate that @$#%! game.

[Jibbajaba]

Just curious: If a first party game is one developed by the same company that made the system, and a third party game is one developed by another company, then what is a second party game?

Of course there are second party games.
First party games are made directly by the company that makes the console whereas second party games are made by game developers that belong to the hardware creator.
So for example Kameo and PDZ for 360 are second party and Eternal Darkness is, too. There are probably way more second party games than first party ones in fact, since Ninetndo e.g. rarely creates games reall in-houe these days.

You are very wrong.

Chris

[Gapporin]

As idrougge said above, very few SMS games were developed by Sega, the majority being farmed out to friendly 2nd-parties such as Sanritsu/SIMS.

Ah, sorry about that. I guess since there were very few third-party titles, I assumed that the rest were done by Sega themselves.

[MASTERWEEDO]

i know that a goosebumps series was written in second person.....


i have to say that e.t. was one of the worst

[CYRiX]

To answer the party thing it comes from reading perspectives:
1st Party - Its like you there
2nd Party - The Main Character is Narrator
3rd Party - Theres a Narrator


So yeah its kind of impossible to have 2nd party.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nah, with games, a second party developer is one who's in a position like Rare was with Nintendo in the early days of the N64, or perhaps like Retro Studios (developer of the Metroid Prime games) today, I think. They get more access and the parent company has a stake in them. Also different from a third party, the main party can actually sell them off.

A company can (theoretically) spin off its own internal development studios (say if Sega decided to sell AM2 or Sonic Team...), but in practice this wouldn't happen unless the company is going out of the business.

[le geek]

You are very wrong.

Chris
Actually he's half right...


First party games are made directly by the company that makes the console whereas second party games are made by game developers that belong to the hardware creator.
So for example Kameo and PDZ for 360 are second party and Eternal Darkness is, too.Is correct


There are probably way more second party games than first party ones in fact, since Ninetndo e.g. rarely creates games reall in-houe these days.Is wrong...

I'm guessing that's what you meant, but it might be muddy for others...

Cheers,
Ben

[KeeperBvK]

To answer the party thing it comes from reading perspectives:
1st Party - Its like you there
2nd Party - The Main Character is Narrator
3rd Party - Theres a Narrator


So yeah its kind of impossible to have 2nd party.

You mean 1st person, not 1st party...


You are very wrong.

Chris

No, I'm not.

Burkhart :roll:

[Ed Oscuro]

No, I'm not.

Burkhart :roll:
Don't mind that suspicious looking yellow android! He's just trying to help! LOL

Ahh, the GREAT ARGUMENTS we have around here...

[Ruudos]

The games Rare made for Nintendo (DKC, Banjo Kazooie, Golden Eye, etc.) were 2nd party games;

[idrougge]

Just curious: If a first party game is one developed by the same company that made the system, and a third party game is one developed by another company, then what is a second party game?

Big companies have subcontractors which have close ties to that company. So close, in fact, that they are generally invisible to the general public. The big company gets to put its copyrights on the screen developed by one of their second parties. This fits in very well with Japanese conglomerate-style business culture.

(Not-so) famous Sega third parties are: Compile (developed much of the SG-1000 catalogue anonymously), Coreland (My Hero, Pengo), Sanritsu/SIMS (Bank Panic, much of the MS/GG catalogue) and Aspect (8-bit Sonics).

Disco seems to have been a second-party to Taito, since they made a whole lot of their NES ports.