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[JinjoUnchained]

On paper, Other M should be my dream Metroid game. It's a 3rd person 3D Metroid on a console with pointer controls. So you get the expansive 3D environments of Prime with the precise aiming/gunplay of 2D Metroid. And the story follows right after Super Metroid with Sakamoto as director!?

Alas, even though I enjoyed Other M, the execution is way off. It doesn't even have analog motion, opting instead for a bizarre NES like control scheme with D-Pad motion, auto aiming, and melee finishing moves. That's to say nothing about the cinematics and lack of exploration. Again, it's fine for what it is, but the potential was there for so much more.

I actually hope that Prime 4 is 3rd person with pointer control for aiming. Other M done right, if you will. You can even get a taste of what that would be like in the awesome Nintendo Land Metroid mini game. I can only wish.

What other games seemed great on paper but didn't execute properly?

 

[Kolibri]

Metroid.

Needed map and battery save.

 

[Skittzo0413]

I bring up Geist way too often. Being a ghost and possessing items/creatures to scare people so you can possess them was a great premise and a really fun mechanic, but that game basically ran out of ideas about halfway through.

Super Mario Odyssey basically revived that mechanic though so I'm happy.

 

[bananafactory]

Spore

 

[ibyea]

Every David Cage game.

 

[Raide]

Too Human....yes I say this in every thread it fits into 😀

 

[Manu]

Remember Me needed a lot more memory remixing and a lot less generic combat.

 

[johntown]

Mass Effect Andromeda

 

[Shifty]

Tokyo 42. I mean look at it, GTA1 in hyper-colourful stylish as hell isometric Neo Tokyo.

Doesn't play well.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Alice Madness Returns.

Awesome art and setting? check
Good visuals and controls? check
Interesting music and atmosphere? check.
Small, focused levels that never overstay their welcome? ehhh...

 

[DriftingSpirit]

Remember Me.

I wouldn't say the execution was necessarily bad, but I do think it had far more potential than what came from it.

 

[Chubzdoomer]

ArmA

I absolutely love the idea of a massive military sandbox, but the engine is utter shit and the game just handles terribly in my opinion.

Honorable Mention:
Ghost Recon: Wildlands

 

[Nev]

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.

 

[-shadow-]

The entire thing is great idea upon great idea, but the game itself is complete garbage.

 

[DecoReturns]

Recently Fire Emblem Fates.

I liked the concept of choosing a different army to side with, but had a very poor execution. I was hoping it was going to be a case of Choosing Good vs Evil vs neutral

 

[NoctisVsStar]

FFXV

 

[jdstorm]

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

That game could have been one of the best games ever made if the presentation/tone didn't completely shit the bed.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Remember Me needed a lot more memory remixing and a lot less generic combat.

Remember Me.

I wouldn't say the execution was necessarily bad, but I do think it had far more potential than what came from it.

For the record, I would totally buy a new Remember Me game, the potential is incredible there, just a bit of fine tuning.

 

[collige]

PN03. Amazing art design, amazing talent behind it, played like crap.

 

[AntraxSuicide]

Too Human....yes I say this in every thread it fits into 😀

This. Even the title is a neat play on the world in the game.

But then it's only got 4 levels.

 

[GKSilKamina]

I thought Eternal Sonata had an incredibly fascinating premise: Explore the dreams of composer Frederic Chopin as he's on the verge of death.

Too bad the game doesn't do anything with it and is one of the worst JRPGs I've played.

 

[mattwhite924]

Metroid.

Needed map and battery save.

The Famicom version did let you save, but it was cut out of the US version

 

[Kaji AF16]

Trespasser.
New gaming-interested generations should learn its history.

 

[Nev]

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

That game could have been one of the best games ever if the presentation/tone didn't completely shit the bed.

I absolute hate the edgy bullshit, but it's easily ignorable. It doesn't make the game itself worse, it's probably the best out of the three. It isn't a Jak 2 situation where the edgy takeover changed the core concept and gameplay of the game too.

 

[Death Penalty]

Final Fantasy XIII, both in story and lore and in creating a linear story driven experience. There are a lot of games that successfully tell their stories in "corridors" (many of them being older Final Fantasies, even), but XIII's execution left something to be desired.

 

[Kolibri]

The Famicom version did let you save, but it was cut out of the US version

Yikes, I didn't know that. That's a pretty big feature to remove.

 

[PSqueak]

Illbleed: A game where your biggest enemy is the environment itself and you need to manage your vitals because death can come in many ways sounds perfect for a horror game.

Then they ruin it because the game never fully comits to being a horror game, instead banking on extreme campiness. Not to mention awfully malevolent level design.

 

[N30RYU]

No Man's Sky

 

[rhandino]

Dragon Age II

The story of a human family trying to survive and make a name for themselves in a city filled with corruption, racism and hate over a long period of time that would allow the game to take your choices early in the game and getting satisfying conclusion in the next acts.

Sounds cool no? Too bad the city design is extremely bland, the secondary missions are kind of a mess, most of the companions are boring and the fact that while the game cover 3 periods of time the city never changes enough to make you feel that time is passing or that you are a person living a life in there.

I like it and found the concept compelling (to the point that I would not mind another game like this one) but they could have done it better.

Oh well.

 

[Melfice7]

Thats all Ubisoft "AAA" games for me, i usually like the concept but then actually playing it.. ugh no thanks

 

[Dovahking]

The order 1886

 

[N30RYU]

Remember Me

 

[Raven117]

Alpha Protocol.

There are still some absolutely fantastic ideas in terms of branching story, characters, and dialog, but overall...it just couldn't execute on the gameplay.

Would love to see this concept done again though.

 

[lightskintwin]

NeverDead
MindJack
Alpha Protocol
Dark Void

 

[JonnyDBrit]

Too Human....yes I say this in every thread it fits into 😀

A sci-fi version of freaking Ragnarok, with every part of norse mythology translated into technology.

Evidently, you can screw that up.

 

[ngower]

XIII. Art direction was strong and the story was fine, but the gameplay is just really really really basic.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Alice Madness Returns.

Awesome art and setting? check
Good visuals and controls? check
Interesting music and atmosphere? check.
Small, focused levels that never overstay their welcome? ehhh...

Alpha Protocol.

There are still some absolutely fantastic ideas in terms of branching story, characters, and dialog, but overall...it just couldn't execute on the gameplay.

Would love to see this concept done again though.

Two very good answers right here.

 

[Sheroking]

I absolute hate the edgy bullshit, but it's easily ignorable. It doesn't make the game itself worse, it's probably the best out of the three. It isn't a Jak 2 situation where the edgy takeover changed the core concept and gameplay of the game too.

IIRC, the most egregious elements of Warrior Within are in the first half hour or so. The combat in WW is leagues better than Sands of Time without detracting from it's traversal and platforming. The Dahaka chases are intense and well designed.

I agree: It's the best actual game of that trilogy.

 

[N30RYU]

Epic Mickey

 

[h0tp0ck3t]

The Thing had a cool system in place where you would have to prove your humanity or coerce guys at gunpoint if they didn't trust you.
Problem is it's insanely easy to keep everyone at max trust

Spoiler

you literally just give them bullets DERP

 

[jdstorm]

I absolute hate the edgy bullshit, but it's easily ignorable. It doesn't make the game itself worse, it's probably the best out of the three. It isn't a Jak 2 situation where the edgy takeover changed the core concept and gameplay of the game too.

Oppinions and all that, but i hated the game when i first played through it last year. Mostly due to asthetic reasons. Its only after a bit of time having passed (and playing Two Thrones) that i really started to appreciate Warrior Within. Its Metroid esque world, its fully playable Dynamic Camera set pieces and improved battle system.

Edit: However despite all that i just can't connect with it due to the presentation.

 

[hiredhand]

Metroid.

Needed map and battery save.

I agree. Lack of a map system makes lot of early metroidvania-type games really hard to go back to.

 

[Damaniel]

Yikes, I didn't know that. That's a pretty big feature to remove.

We never got the Famicom Disk System here, hence no save support. They still shouldn't have cheaped out and skipped on the battery backup though.

That said, I still love the game. I played the hell out of it growing up and I have an active game on my NES Classic as we speak.

 

[MaDKaT]

For me the game was Apex for the original Xbox. Billed as a custom car racing game where you start out small and slowly design/build/race your cars to get new sponsors for new tech to build new types of cars, rinse/repeat. Think something like the GT Vision cars except you are creating these cars. Actual game ended up being a pretty standard racing game with predesigned concept cars from various design schools/colleges.

 

[emb]

I bring up Geist way too often. Being a ghost and possessing items/creatures to scare people so you can possess them was a great premise and a really fun mechanic, but that game basically ran out of ideas about halfway through.

Super Mario Odyssey basically revived that mechanic though so I'm happy.

Agreed! Geist always comes to mind when this question comes up. It was a good idea.

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

Great setting, concepts and originality. Poorly executed, bad and slow gameplay, bad audio quality and inconsistent presentation. This is a game better watched than played I think because of how outdated and just non-good the gameplay is, even for its time it performed worse than Clock Tower 3 and Haunting Ground. This game offers a neat, original story and that can be experienced with a walkthrough/let's play.

 

[NathanDiego]

No Man's Sky

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Epic Mickey


EDIT: beaten like Osward the rabbit

 

[DeathoftheEndless]

Simpsons: Hit and Run. A GTA-like Simpsons game is a great idea, but the missions are really repetitive and the traffic system is broken.

 

[MisterCrow]

Trespasser.
New gaming-interested generations should learn its history.

Came in here to say that one! Despite it's many flaws, I played the shit out of it. The outdoors levels and physics were just mindblowing.

Simpsons: Hit and Run. A GTA-like Simpsons game is a great idea, but the missions are really repetitive and the traffic system is broken.

I always heard great stuff about this one! Haven't played it myself.