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[Mark1]

Following the other thread showing the different opinions of more modern Sonic games (and that Zelda BotW one) thought it'd be interesting to hear your different opinions of other franchises.

Please respect other people's views of games that you may disagree with though.

Now let's get some of mine out of the way:

Mario
Underrated - Mario Sunshine.
Game gets a lot of flack. But it's still a very well made one which me and my brothers spent many hours delving into.

Overrated - New Super Mario Bros. DS.
Could not understand the high reception of this game. Sure it was a good return to the old 2D formula, but in comparison to others. It felt way too weak in level design and difficulty. Could not find myself to enjoy it anywhere near to the level of the Wii U sequel or previous iterations such as SMB3 or SMW.

Sonic
Underrated - Sonic Rush Adventure
Sonic Rush was great fun for a different type of 2D Sonic game, but I felt Rush Adventure excelled it in most areas. Especially it's level design and simplicity.

Metroid
Underrated - Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
To me this game was slightly weaker than Prime 1. Every aspect of this game was incredible. The increased level of difficulty against bosses was also welcome. The world was just as beautiful - if not more so than its prequel.

These are just some of mine. What do you think?

 

[_Rob_]

Jak & Daxter

Underrated - Daxter,
A PSP exclusive that although sold pretty well is often the forgotten series entry. It's actually and incredibly solid platformer with some impressive graphics especially for the hardware. It also serves as a perfect bridge between Jak 1 and 2 both canonically and mechanically speaking.

 

[thesonovabeach]

Deus Ex 2 is absolutely underrated I believe. It is true that the gameplay is not as deep as the first one, but if it came today people would love it, because is vulgarises a kind of niche type of game is the good direction.

And the story is super interesting.

 

[Fbh]

I totally understand why people hate it

But I kind of liked Dead Space 3. If you ignore the fact that it's Dead Space it's actually a pretty fun Co Op shooter.

 

[PhantomZhu]

Final Fantasy
Underrated - FFXII, came out a bad time i guess, but after playing XIII, it was light years ahead in terms of gameplay, with no battle transition screen, and enough environments for exploration to be a thing
Overrated - FFVI/FFVII both fanbases seem to think their game is the peak of video game role playing games, but in actuality they dont exceed other games in the series in story nor in gameplay. even FFIV has a way more thought out character arcs and story than both games imo.

Steet Fighter
Underrated - SFV, the only thing I didnt like at launch was the fact we only had 2 man lobbies for the first two weeks or so. it's a fighting game, and even after they added story mode for free, I still go straight into fights with me friends rather the enduring cringe story that most fighting games are anyways.
Overrated - SFIV, came out after long hiatus, so people forgave a lot of its shortcomings, not to mention lackluster story mode that might as well not be there, but HEY it's there....

 

[120v]

Overrated - New Super Mario Bros. DS.
Could not understand the high reception of this game. Sure it was a good return to the old 2D formula, but in comparison to others. It felt way too weak in level design and difficulty. Could not find myself to enjoy it anywhere near to the level of the Wii U sequel or previous iterations such as SMB3 or SMW.

well it was the first honest to god SMB since 1991. pretty huge deal at the time, there really wasn't much to compare it to

 

[Krappadizzle]

Ghost Recon: Wildlands is underrated. Game is a blast trying to stealthily take down a huge base undetected and even more exciting is winning a firefighter to escape if you get caught. Playing with almost all HUD elements off on the hardest difficulty makes the game way better than how it comes originally.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

Baldur's Gate 1: The game gets credit for the GOAT worthy sequel that many seem to have actually played first. BG1 was nowhere near as good and is not a particularly remarkable RPG of that time.

Digital Devil Saga 2: Worse than the predecessor at virtually everything, yet it reviewed significantly better. It's like reviewers had quite a lot of fun with DDS1, but the game was too niche and obscure to be granted a high score. Then, they realized DDS1 was popular on forums and made up for underrating DDS1 by overrating DDS2.

Witcher 1: Underrated. Amazing game and my favourite in the series due to atmosphere alone. Came out during the dudebro prime though so it was kinda niche until Witcher got a bit bigger in the past 5 years.

Final Fantasy X: Best game in the series. Linear yes but linearity is not an inherently bad thing. One of the most memorable games I have ever played and people who reduce it to the "haha" meme should honestly log off.

Oblivion: Vanilla Oblivion is an abomination and ranks among the 20 worst games I have ever played.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

Megaman : the ones on gameboy (rockman world), especially Megaman V, are underrated

 

[Icyflamez96]

Ratchet & Clank

I think these are great games nonetheless, but still:

Overrated
Crack in Time
Mainly because of the open battlefield oriented level design on many of the planets that get stale after a while, as opposed to other games in the series, that are generally more linear in level design (which isn't a bad thing), and are more intricate and particular with its level structure and enemy setups. Even the non huge battlefield levels in CiT had a lot of "sit in this room and fight waves of enemies ". I like being on the go. Not that other R&C games didn't have this to some extent, and not that I dislike that kind of design altogether, I just think CiT relied on it too much. That and the pacing with the Clank sections make it harder to replay than the other games in the series. It was amazing the first play-through though, which I why I think CiT seems to be praised higher in more general forums like these as opposed to R&C specific communities who replay the games a lot. (It's still praised a lot there, just not as much)

R&C PS4
Eh, this one is just kind of short. Awesome graphics, but I feel like there are other games in the series that have such a better/meatier content/gameplay package that I'm surprised I see so many say it's easily the best one.


Underrated
I don't know if I have an answer for this. I guess Into The Nexus since it seems like many people don't mind that one much.

 

[_Rob_]

Ratchet & Clank

I think these are great games nonetheless, but still:

Underrated
I don't know if I have an answer for this.

Size Matters? I rarely hear it discussed anyway, even with it's re-release onto PS2.

 

[DrBillRiverman]

Megaman 2 Overrated.
Megaman 3 Underrated.

Now don't get me wrong, I love MM2 (it's probably my favourite in the series) but I still think the love it gets over MM3 is unwarranted.

On the other hand.

But I kind of liked Dead Space 3.

Personally I'd say its Under-hated. I demand more DS3 hate!

 

[Icyflamez96]

Size Matters? I rarely hear it discussed anyway, even with it's re-release onto PS2.

Yeah but I also don't think it's that good sooo.

Maybe if I played it on PSP I'd think differently, but I played the PS2 version.

 

[Chuckie]

Underrated: Final Fantasy IX, I feel like lots of people didn't play it, maybe because it was near the end of the PS1 (both FFIX and PS2 were released in 2000 iirc)

I however think it still is the best FF made so far.

 

[fhqwhgads]

This is more GAF/Hardcore gamer exclusive, but:
Super Smash Bros
Overrated: Melee
Underrated: Brawl
Melee isn't the greatest fighting game/only good smash game
Brawl isn't a casual only/boring game

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

Jak & Daxter

Underrated - Daxter,
A PSP exclusive that although sold pretty well is often the forgotten series entry. It's actually and incredibly solid platformer with some impressive graphics especially for the hardware. It also serves as a perfect bridge between Jak 1 and 2 both canonically and mechanically speaking.

One of my favorite first posts ever.

 

[hotcyder]

I definitely think the GBA Metroid games are under-rated (in the community at least). Fusion and Zero Mission are like better Super Metroid; better pacing, streamlined interface and a far richer identity; as in more interesting graphics and music choices.

The original might be over-rated? But only because it hasn't aged well.

 

[Käebi]

Overrated: Demon's Souls. While a nostalgic memories as manys first Souls experience and incredible atmosphere, it's controling is a mess compared to Dark Souls+, also the healing system sucks. This game really needs a remake.

Underrated: Dark Souls 2. Nowadays fairly accepted, but while lacking the godlike level- and boss-design, it still looks beautiful and its pure mass in content makes it stand out in the series.

 

[Buzzi]

Advance Wars

Days of Ruin is definitely underrated, it changed the style and narration but the core gameplay was still top tier.


Fire Emblem

Awakening is definitely overrated, or at least it was at its launch with an unprecedented hype and critic reception.


Zero Escape

ZTD is underrated, like, it's not amazing and has a ton of flaws, but it gets treated like trash by fans because of story reasons and that's it.


Ace Attorney

Gyakuten Kenji 2 is overrated af, like it has the worst pacing of the series and a ton of cringe Yamazakian moments and still thought as a great AA?

On the other hand, I think Apollo Justice is a bit underrated, since it has pretty much the same flaws as its successors but at least it tried something different which worked well enough.


Xenoblade

Needless to say, Xenowii is overrated and X underrated, but that's mostly a Gaf thing. Both great games, the second tried something different instead of proposing Xenogears' CD2 for the fourth time, the usual jrpg ost, a BS quite plain ecc.

 

[Melkezadek]

Underrated:

Blood Omen 2: While it wasn't the strongest in the series narratively, it arguably had the best combat of the 3D games. Plenty of weapons at your disposal and the Dark Gifts were insanely fun.

Overrated:

Mortal Kombat 2: Was definitely a significant step up from the original game, and was probably the first that many started out with, but I don't see how people constantly place this one above UMK3/MK3, which in my opinion, was the first legitimate fighter in the series. (And honestly the only legit one until MK9)

 

[Renekton]

Devil May Cry

Underrated: DmC.

Dante's movement feels like he has weight, the level designs are very creative, computer hacker Vergil is hilarious.

 

[TheMoon]

While it did catch its fair share of flak, the recent GOTG vote results on GAF show that BioShock Infinite is still very much overrated, with the best BioShock game, BioShock 2, not even making the list. BioShock 2 nailed absolutely everything. The story, the mechanics, the evolution of gameplay ideas from the first, its DLC expansion (holy circus of values!), and music. Where Infinite was a gorgeous mess with lots of unfulfilled ambitions, 2 just hit everything out of the park.

Little Sister harvests were incredibly fun to set up and execute. High tension, lots of planning and exploiting knowledge of the level's environments.

Building on that, the Big Sister encounters that resulted from that. You figured out the pattern and you had to be ready. Or get wrecked.

Having your little turret bot buddies with names, getting seriously bummed when one of them bit the dust.

"How she sees the world" - OH MY SHORTS! An actual substantial twist in the late game. Not just Bruce Willis Was Dead the Whole Time!

A finale that actually works and is a cool fight?

And one of the biggest crime is the instantly dismissed multiplayer mode. It was excellent. Incorporated into the narrative of the early days of the chaos in Rapture and fully utilizing the trap system with all the plasmids. Best FPS multiplayer of that gen.

Don't need to even talk about Minerva's Den. Perfection. Still unmatched in terms of DLC expansions.

But no, everybody was all "been there, done that, meh"

 

[TheDeftone]

underrated:

Splinter Cell Blacklist
Brilliant stealth game, very motivating. One of my favorites in the series and stealth games in general.

Batman Arkham Origins
As good as Arkham City imo.

 

[PhantomZhu]

Overrated: Demon's Souls. While a nostalgic memories as manys first Souls experience and incredible atmosphere, it's controling is a mess compared to Dark Souls+, also the healing system sucks. This game really needs a remake.

Dark Souls 1 isn't really HUGE step forward, remember that DS1 still had 4 way dodging while locked on?
I agree with the healing system, why do you think everyone rushes the healing ring, shouldnt be that way though, lol

 

[*Splinter]

CoD: MW2 multiplayer is overrated. There weren't many other games to compare it too back then, and now I think it gets the benefit of nostalgia, but it had ridiculously fast time to kill and some borderline broken class/killstreaks. If you changed the release order of CoD games and moved this nearer the end I think it would be regarded as the worst.

I definitely think the GBA Metroid games are under-rated (in the community at least). Fusion and Zero Mission are like better Super Metroid; better pacing, streamlined interface and a far richer identity; as in more interesting graphics and music choices.

The original might be over-rated? But only because it hasn't aged well.

Fusion was ok, but I mostly remember being lost/stuck for hours and hours. Maybe I was being dumb, long time since I played it.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

Overrated: Demon's Souls. While a nostalgic memories as manys first Souls experience and incredible atmosphere, it's controling is a mess compared to Dark Souls+, also the healing system sucks. This game really needs a remake.

I think many people played the game at the time, so there was no Dark Souls or Dark Souls 3 to compare to. It was a ridiculously good 2010 game, that is almost indubitable. I think there is some division as to whether the hub system is better than an interconnected world, but most in the community agree the franchise took some good steps forward in terms of mechanics as the series went on. You'll find few people who'll defend the way healing works in DeS.

 

[Cozmogramma]

Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

My favorite Uncharted tied with 2 (haven't played 4 yet). The game starts off slow and it suffered from being a launch game that had to showcase all the Vita's functions. But the only bad touch and motion interactions were balancing while walking on narrow ledges and logs, and swipe QTE. I enjoyed taking photos, rubbing charcoal and wiping dirt. It felt fitting and Drake having a backpack filled with those stuff was a nice addition. Also Chase was a great addition to the series. I think the problem most people had with the game (apart from it being on the Vita) is that the gimmick stuff is very up front and frequent in the beginning and the game takes a while to get going. A third of the way through when Sully joins the game it's just like any other Uncharted. It isn't as big or bombastic as the later games but it doesn't have to be. It being set in the same location and not being so over the top makes it more personal somehow. It has a simple and solid story that doesn't feature any supernatural nonsense and there are great character interactions (especially between Drake and Sully). The river sequence with the canoe is one of my favorite parts in the series. Apart from a horrible boss-fight (which is a staple for the franchise) the game is great all the way through. I don't get why Naughty Dog doesn't consider it canon and why they didn't do a remaster for the Nathan Drake collection. And it is a shame we never got a second game on the Vita. Could have been even better if they fixed the small problems Golden Abyss had.

 

[_Rob_]

One of my favorite first posts ever.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

It was definitely a shame to see it absent from the PS4 re-releases. I know it wasn't a Naughty Dog game, but it felt incomplete without it.

 

[Bubble]

Overrated

Pokemon: Gold/Silver, Heart Gold/Soul Silver & Black/White.

The Generation 2 games aren't bad, but they are not the best Pokemon games out there. Johto is underwhelming and Kanto is even worse then in Red/Blue. Leveling is a mess and the distribution of Johto Pokemon is awful. The remakes doesn't really fix any of those issues.

Black/White is by far the worst game in the franchise. The experience system got changed (for the worse), which ruined a lot of Gen 5 Pokemon, the region blows and there are far too many lows in terms of Pokemon.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Main story is very poor, the companions are either hit or miss (mostly miss), side-quests blows, poor storytelling (Bioware opts for tell, don't show) and the game offers zero role-playing opportunities.

 

[Strings]

Overrated: Demon's Souls. While a nostalgic memories as manys first Souls experience and incredible atmosphere, it's controling is a mess compared to Dark Souls+, also the healing system sucks. This game really needs a remake.

Underrated: Dark Souls 2. Nowadays fairly accepted, but while lacking the godlike level- and boss-design, it still looks beautiful and its pure mass in content makes it stand out in the series.

Overrated: Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8D, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Ratchet and Clank (2016), every mainline Pokemon game since RS (excluding BW2), Tales of Symphonia.

Underrated: Mario Sunshine, FIre Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando, Dark Souls 3, Pokemon Colosseum, Ys: Memories of Celceta, Tales of Graces F (in the west), Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.

 

[Dereck]

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is probably underrated because I think many people don't know that it's actually good because they skipped out on it for whatever reason.

 

[vaderise]

Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

My favorite Uncharted tied with 2 (haven't played 4 yet). The game starts off slow and it suffered from being a launch game that had to showcase all the Vita's functions. But the only bad touch and motion interactions were balancing while walking on narrow ledges and logs, and swipe QTE. I enjoyed taking photos, rubbing charcoal and wiping dirt. It felt fitting and Drake having a backpack filled with those stuff was a nice addition. Also Chase was a great addition to the series. I think the problem most people had with the game (apart from it being on the Vita) is that the gimmick stuff is very up front and frequent in the beginning and the game takes a while to get going. A third of the way through when Sully joins the game it's just like any other Uncharted. It isn't as big or bombastic as the later games but it doesn't have to be. It being set in the same location and not being so over the top makes it more personal somehow. It has a simple and solid story that doesn't feature any supernatural nonsense and there are great character interactions (especially between Drake and Sully). The river sequence with the canoe is one of my favorite parts in the series. Apart from a horrible boss-fight (which is a staple for the franchise) the game is great all the way through. I don't get why Naughty Dog doesn't consider it canon and why they didn't do a remaster for the Nathan Drake collection. And it is a shame we never got a second game on the Vita. Could have been even better if they fixed the small problems Golden Abyss had.

Golden Abbsy was the most impressive handheld game i played when it came out. It felt like first Uncharted and it was great to experience an Uncharted experience on a portable system. Gimmicky stuff was fun to me since it was the first game on my system and game showed all the cool things system is capable of. Love this game, it's not as grand or epic as console counter parts but most important of all it is and it feels like an Uncharted game.

 

[hotcyder]

While it did catch its fair share of flak, the recent GOTG vote results on GAF show that BioShock Infinite is still very much overrated, with the best BioShock game, BioShock 2, not even making the list. BioShock 2 nailed absolutely everything. The story, the mechanics, the evolution of gameplay ideas from the first, its DLC expansion (holy circus of values!), and music. Where Infinite was a gorgeous mess with lots of unfulfilled ambitions, 2 just hit everything out of the park.

Little Sister harvests were incredibly fun to set up and execute. High tension, lots of planning and exploiting knowledge of the level's environments.

Building on that, the Big Sister encounters that resulted from that. You figured out the pattern and you had to be ready. Or get wrecked.

Having your little turret bot buddies with names, getting seriously bummed when one of them bit the dust.

"How she sees the world" - OH MY SHORTS! An actual substantial twist in the late game. Not just Bruce Willis Was Dead the Whole Time!

A finale that actually works and is a cool fight?

And one of the biggest crime is the instantly dismissed multiplayer mode. It was excellent. Incorporated into the narrative of the early days of the chaos in Rapture and fully utilizing the trap system with all the plasmids. Best FPS multiplayer of that gen.

Don't need to even talk about Minerva's Den. Perfection. Still unmatched in terms of DLC expansions.

But no, everybody was all "been there, done that, meh"

Actually yeah I made the wrong post. You nailed it. Especially in regards to how bad Infinite is in comparison.

 

[Malawhur]

Underrated:Uncharted 1
I know it gets flank for its combat encounters but the story, atmosphere and characters are all top notch which makes it a great uncharted game imo.

 

[requiem02]

Zelda

Overrated: A Link Between Worlds

Underrated: Spirit Tracks

 

[Korigama]

Zero Escape

ZTD is underrated, like, it's not amazing and has a ton of flaws, but it gets treated like trash by fans because of story reasons and that's it.

So, basically the entire point of a game in its genre then?

I can, however, agree with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin deserving more credit.

 

[Nameless]

Final Fantasy IX - underrated - you saw this play out literally with some recent Greatest RPGs rankings, but beyond that, it just doesn't get mentioned nearly as much as other entries in the franchise despite imo reaching series highs in several key areas: soundtrack, characters, and world/exploration. The job system is tried and true, four person parties, a story that while not groundbreaking is bursting with charm and heart and creates a wonderful sense of adventure. Top 3 Final Fantasy game minimum and probably my personal favorite.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Overrated: Devil May Cry 4
Underrated: DmC - Devil May Cry

Coming off from playing one of my most favorite games of all time (DMC3), and watching the super hype Final Trailer, DMC4 was a huge letdown. Real-time style switching was awesome, but they're all individually neutered. Guns and Devil Arms were not as cohesive to each other (compared to DMC3). There were too many moves that cannot be strung very smoothly. Level design took a very hearty inpisration from DMC2 where you had large, bland lifeless levels and added annoying gimmicks on top of (gyro, dice). Enemies that were obviously designed for Nero. The exitence of Agnus. Enemies that were completely against the core designs of modern DMC (Chimera Seeds). Saddest Judgment Cut in the entire series. I felt that I wouldn't like the game as early as M4. DMC4 was a mediocre game that was incredibly polished; it could have been so much better if it had a better base. Ever since DMC3 had a style switcher mod, I had no more reason to play this game.

DmC had so much unfair hatred towards it. Sure, the first Donte was awful (MvCI Dante getting close to it). Sure, Tameem tried really hard to invent Dante ("Dante / Not Dante"). Sure, we had color coded enemies and no lack of lock on. But you know what? The end product was nowhere near as bad as what haters paint it to be, and it got so much better with DE. DmC Vergil's skillset was a very interesting take on the character. It still has the same core elements, but made more agile, and had way more moves that can be just framed (very satisfyingly). Donte's arsenal can be weaved a lot better compared to DMC4. I even started to forget about lock on, even on DE. DmC also introduced features I was was standard in the series, like a combat room, Must Style, secret missions from the menu, universal air dodge, etc

inb4 DMC4 combo vids showing too much guard flying / air tricks

 

[JustSomeone]

underrated - FFX
overrated - every other FF game,especially tactics

in the soulsborne series:
underrated - dark souls 2. easily the best game in the franchise after demon's souls
overrated - bloodborne - the worst soulsborne game

 

[Käebi]

Dark Souls 1 isn't really HUGE step forward, remember that DS1 still had 4 way dodging while locked on?
I agree with the healing system, why do you think everyone rushes the healing ring, shouldnt be that way though, lol

Ah yes, you are correct. I wasn't that sure about Dark Souls 1/2, but it seems like I'm more willing to overlook it in Dark Souls 1, lol.

 

[Madao]

F-Zero series.

underrated: F-Zero X

this game is the one that pushed forward the series' gameplay the most. completely changed how the boosting system works and added attacking to the game's main mechanics. also added 3D movement since it was the first one in 3D and tried to do other things that the N64 held back horribly (60 fps with 30 racers on screen came at a cost in graphics and sound). the game was even designed with the track editor in mind and they had to cut back a bit to make that possible (which sucks terribly that it was only available for 64DD and not part of the base game)

people trend to forget it completely and praise GX a lot when pretty much all the gameplay from GX was copy pasted from it. not a knock on GX since that game has earned praise but the prequel is high up there.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

I don't see much praise for the original Team Fortress mod these days. I personally think that the original days - when the only classes were Demo, Sniper, Soldier, Medic, and Scout - was peak Team Fortress.

Team Fortress Classic, on the other hand, is pretty overrated. Easily my least favorite TF game.

- - -

Overrated: Metal Slug 3. The game has some serious pacing issues, has way too many bullet sponge enemies, and turns into an insane quarter muncher at the end.

Underrated: Metal Slug 7. Finally gets that soldiers that go down in one shot are more fun than aliens that go down in a dozen, and easily has the best boss fights in the series. It also has an awesome soundtrack.

 

[Ahasverus]

Overrated: Assassin's Creed Black Flag
The game is a mess. The ships are slow to dive and incredibly grindy. The locations are extremely same-y (couldn't tell one from another) the storyline adds zero to the franchise besides the "sage" bullshit which feels hilariously removed from Desillet's original intentions, Kenway Is unbearable and other than the very final cinematic it has no memorable moments. Driven to popularity by non fans who got their cartoony pirate game.

Underrated: Assassin's Creed Rogue.
It's like IV, but good. The story paints a great picture of the Assassin's as a not so benevolent force, the locales are better and have more personality (The return of New York was good) the mission design was fantastic and had no tailing missions, the ship was made optional and its controls refined. Easily the only roundly good entry sice Brotherhood.

 

[LordRaptor]

Ridge Racer Unbounded is pretty damn underrated

 

[Certinty]

Assassins Creed

Overrated: Black Flag. Ship parts were bloody awful and the rest of the game outside of that was nothing special.

Underrated: Syndicate. Amazing game with a stunning Victorian London setting. One of the best games of this generation. Finally an Assassins Creed game which didn't just feel like a reskin.

 

[Manu]

Resident Evil

Overrated: Code: Veronica - An overlong mess with bullshit difficulty and riddled by design decisions that were already outdated on PS1, let alone on the Dreamcast.

Underrated: Revelations 2 - A great balance of old and new RE, doesn't overstay its welcome and has the hypest ending in the whole franchise.

 

[Buzzi]

So, basically the entire point of a game in its genre then?

I can, however, agree with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin deserving more credit.

Uhm, usually I'd agree, but the fact here is that it fails (not even completely) at being a VLR sequel and that's enough to throw it in the trash bin for most, although it has its narrative merits, and although there's definitely more to VNs that straight plot. Underdelivered for sure, but not a 2/10 game like it appears these days.

 

[Korigama]

Uhm, usually I'd agree, but the fact here is that it fails (not even completely) at being a VLR sequel and that's enough to throw it in the trash bin for most, although it has its narrative merits, and although there's definitely more to VNs that straight plot. Underdelivered for sure, but not a 2/10 game like it appears these days.

There's more to ZE than plot as a result of the focus on puzzle solving, yes. Even then, however, I would say that story is the focus above all else with a VN (even though ZTD technically doesn't even count as one anymore as a result of excising the actual novel part, with the only degree of observation and introspection on the part of its characters to be found limited to the puzzle rooms there), with most of them not really offering much in the way of gameplay.

Either way, I maintain that it would've been better if 999 remained a standalone story.

 

[isaacnukem]

I still think Legend of Mana is one of the best games of all time.

 

[nkarafo]

F-Zero series.

underrated: F-Zero X

this game is the one that pushed forward the series' gameplay the most. completely changed how the boosting system works and added attacking to the game's main mechanics. also added 3D movement since it was the first one in 3D and tried to do other things that the N64 held back horribly (60 fps with 30 racers on screen came at a cost in graphics and sound). the game was even designed with the track editor in mind and they had to cut back a bit to make that possible (which sucks terribly that it was only available for 64DD and not part of the base game)

people trend to forget it completely and praise GX a lot when pretty much all the gameplay from GX was copy pasted from it. not a knock on GX since that game has earned praise but the prequel is high up there.

This.

I would say GX is a bit overrated (since X existed) because it's controls aren't as good and it's difficulty curve is not as smooth as in X either, especially on story mode. The soundtrack was also very disappointing to me, with some character themes being the only ones i like, but that's just a matter of taste.