Great games, yes. But I would hardly call them critically slammed.Originally Posted by retroman
Great games, yes. But I would hardly call them critically slammed.
Golden Axe: The Duel - Sega Saturn
Sure, it isn't particularly well balanced or even good, and it's certainly not Revenge of Death Adder, but The Duel captures the vibe of Golden Axe very well. The fighting engine is so-so, but the 2D graphics are pretty spectacular. Nice animation, large characters, interesting backgrounds and that awesome SamSho zoom effect that we all know and love. It doesn't look as nice as something like Astal (which is like playing a Roger Dean Yes album cover), but it was quite a surprise when i first tried it. Beats the crap out of the Sega Ages remake.
Project: Horned Owl - Sony Playstation
Another game that was treated unfairly in the mainstream press. It is a solid gun game with art by Masamune Shirow. Straightforward hyper mecha police force anime action with pixellated, poorly animated 2D enemies. Looks much better with the PS2 smoothing turned on. Worth a look for anyone who loves gun games. Good luck finding one of those lime green Konami Justifiers.
Darius R - Game Boy Advance Jp only
Even those who moderately like Darius rip on this game. If you take it for what it is, a revival of the original with a slightly new coat of paint, it is an excellent game. Hard as nails, but a good fit for the GBA.
Neo Contra - PS2
It would have been nice to have the option of dual analog control like Smash TV, but I really dig Neo Contra. Actually, I like it better than Shattered Soldier. I see it as what Cannon Spike could have been.
NanoBreaker - PS2
Alright, the game is heavily flawed, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as the press would have you think. It's like the PS2 Castlevanias, only in a different setting. The combat is quite good, and you gotta love the blood,
Silpheed: The Lost Planet - PS2
As a vertical shooter, it is mediocre. Not bad at all, but not particularly great in any way. But, as a sequel/remake of Silpheed, it is right on target. I still love the graphics.
Wario World - GameCube
A bit of a stretch, as it got solid reviews, but this game is sorely underappreciated. 2D platforming in 3D. It just feels right. Get it.
Wii Sports - Nintendo Wii
It has been discussed to death. The game has received a barrage of criticism, but people keep buying Wii's to play it. The golf sucks, but the rest of it is a lot of fun with friends. It makes me drool for Wii Mario Tennis. I also love boxing against friends because of the Mii factor.
Sega Classics Collection for the PS2, I really enjoyed several of the games on it such as the remake of Outrun but I've never seen a positive review of it.
Super Off-Road The Baja for the Super Nintendo, I think I'm the only fan of that game.
P.N. 03. It wasn't quite "slammed", but I do remember critics going on and on about how disappointed they were in this game. I don't see why; P.N. 03 is awesome! Yes, the rooms are repetitive, but that's part of the game's actual design and not just laziness (the rooms need to be similar for the scoring system to make sense). And even if the layout is the same, the game itself doesn't feel samey. Great game overall.
Also, Bangai-O. I think EGM gave it like a 5, and some magazines (particularly GI) didn't even review it. Now, I do agree that the control would have benefitted from a dual-stick controller, but using the buttons really isn't that bad (the SNES version of Smash TV was pretty well-liked...). What I really love about this game, aside from the humor, is how clever the level design is. Definitely one of my favorite Treasure games.
Additionally, Billy Hatcher was one of the best platformers of its generation IMO. I don't get why it was so disliked.
I played "P.N. 03" and ended up shutting it off after awhile because I really got tired of looking at a bunch of similar looking rooms. I think the same look to each room kind of took away from the sense of progress. Plus there was no "well what does the next level/room look like?" to help keep me going.
Controlled fine though.
Possibility is infinity! You must be satisfied!
You just can't handle my jawusumness responces. -The Sizz
Yeah, I'll throw some support behind Billy Hatcher too. Very good game that got panned for no reason at all.
I have to say that one of the main ones that stand out for me is Deadly Towers. This is said to be one of, if not worst NES games ever made. But, I actually found it really fun. I think it has awesome music for the time, a pretty deep storyline which was also very unusual at the time, and interesting items and weapons.
I'll add these to my list:
Grabbed By The Ghoulies - One of my first xbox games. I liked it a lot.
Super Off Road The Baja - For some reason I love playing this game while listening to ACDC's Song Jailbreak!
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (PSX)
Most hated it because of Final Fantasy Tactics. I liked it because of the humor, decent story, and strange soundtrack.
All of the Dynasty / Samurai Warriors games get slated in reviews, but I can't get enough of them. I love the old-school hack and slash games.
I liked the Bubsy series in general. I was in the 2-3 percentile who thought most of those games were great. Many of the levels in the Bubsy games were really big and fun to explore. It sure as heck wasn't the ONLY game that ever came out with shaky collision detection and cheap deaths. Reviewers would have you believe it was, though.
I already posted in here but over time I also warmed up to the Spec Ops games on PS1. That and the Acclaim QB Club football games. I suppose my biggest crime would be saying that I like the 3D Sonic games much more than the 2D ones on the Genesis. For some reason, the newer ones are the best in the Sonic series to me.
I too love that game. I always felt that it was greatly underappreciated.
"It's Time To Kick Ass And Chew Bubble Gum......And I'm All Outta Gum"
-Duke Nukem
No, most hated it because of the voice acting, story, music, and complete lack of anything resembling a challenge. Plenty of people that didn't like it didn't like Final Fantasy Tactics either (omg maps too small!)
Open Game Lister | Partial Game Collection
Games Completed in: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | Unknown
Oklahoma DP Roll Call!
Club Drive on the Jaguar. I really liked the game, spent a lot of time playing it. I really liked the fact that it was the first game I had ever played where you could drive anywhere on the game map instead of a linear route.
Highlander on the Jaguar CD. I can't remember if it was GamePro or EGM, but they crucified the game. I have to admit, it was insanely frustrating to play the game at first. The controls were hard to come to grips with, but once you got it down, it turned into a good little game.
South Park Rally on the Dreamcast. A lot of reviewers slammed the game because the tracks weren't clearly marked, so it was easy to go the wrong route on the big open levels. But that's what I loved about it, especially in some of the oddball collect-the-item races.
Back in the PS1 era, Gamespot got their hands on an import copy of Choro Q2 and gave it either a 2 or 3 out of 10 (can't remember exactly). Having played the hell out of that game, I think it deserves no lower than 8/10. It far outclasses the first Choro Q -- the tracks are better designed, there's a town to explore, there are tons of hidden secrets, and the framerate got much better. The music tracks are shorter, but given the extra space needed for everything else I can see why they didn't go redbook. The other thing that wasn't massively improved were the graphics -- they didn't switch to a new engine until Choro Q3. Still, 8/10 is the lowest I think it should get. Maybe the reviewers didn't know enough Japanese to figure out how to tune their car or something.
If I had a Jynx think of the things we can do together. She also kisses alot.
Not to mention her breast plates is obviously hiding something nice
The of Jynx as a XXX doll pokemon. -Rugal Sizzler
┏┫∵┣┛My Collection┏┫∵┣┛
They have both already been mentioned; Advent Rising (Xbox) and P.N. 03 (Gamecube).
Advent was really fun when it was working correctly and P.N. 03 had some very intense battles and made good use of cover.
ChoroQ games never get proper love in the US (critically or commercially). It's a fucking wonder that anyone even bothers to bring them out at all, but I'm happy as hell that they do. I guess the whole idea is doomed unless you're packing a Pixar/Disney license (in which case you'd be the second best selling game of the year).
Still, the success of Cars gives me hope that eventually the ChoroQ games will "click" with the general public.
Open Game Lister | Partial Game Collection
Games Completed in: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | Unknown
Oklahoma DP Roll Call!
I think the problem is marketing. As far as I know all the Choro Q releases in the US have been as "budget" titles, which poisons the well for reviewers. Secondly, the niche that the series exploits in Japan doesn't seem to exist in the US. From my observations, kids in the US grow up much more quickly than kids in Japan. The age group that, in Japan, would be playing games like Choro Q instead want to play "mature" games in the US (Around 5th to 8th grade). So I'm not surprised that Choro Q gets little love in the states. The games weren't blockbusters in Japan, but they sold nicely and were well promoted. Choro Q3, the zenith of the series, got reprinted twice (PStB and PSOne Books).
I don't like the PS2 games much but I think CQHG4 (ChoroQ in the US) is probably the strongest of the bunch, discounting Works and HG2, which I have yet to play.
If I had a Jynx think of the things we can do together. She also kisses alot.
Not to mention her breast plates is obviously hiding something nice
The of Jynx as a XXX doll pokemon. -Rugal Sizzler
┏┫∵┣┛My Collection┏┫∵┣┛
Clock Tower received less than stellar reviews, most of which complained about the point and click interface, but it's really a strong adventure game. I remember renting this game when my friend let me borrow his PSX and I spent hours playing this game, showing my friends how everyone died. The game had 10 endings, 5 for each character and scared the shit out of me several times.
Breaking Bad 3x02 - Caballo Sin Nombre
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
