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[The Sane Psycho]

Oh and I guess I'll be the one to mention Zelda II. I'm bad at puzzles and I hate "wasting time" to figure things out. This Zelda felt more combat oriented and the EXP system meant wandering around didn't feel entirely pointless. Up until BotW it was the only Zelda I liked enough to play through to the end... which actually might be proof of how "weird" and different it is, but to me that game will always be alright.

Also games like Clu Clu Land, Devil World, Ice Climber and even Urban Champion. They're simple, but they're all two player. I had a lot of fun with them back then and they're still entertaining now (tho UC is incredibly simple, lol). I see a lot of people complaining about the way you jump in Ice Climber, but you have to keep the verticality and small horizontal movement to allow you to jump through the small brick gaps you make. Sure, it makes the bonus rounds harder, but you can actually jump a little extra distance if you take a walking start before juming. These games are fine.

Yes, I freaking love Zelda II. It's more respected now than it was even a decade ago, but it still gets too much hate. I thought the sidescrolling perspective and rpg mechanics were unique for the series and I'd personally love to see Nintendo make another one in that style. It also introduced several series staples, including magic, towns, a more developed story, a Dark Link fight, and the idea of multiple Links and Zeldas.

Ice Climber is also a good game. Sure, the physics are a little wonky, but it's still an enjoyable vertical scrolling platformer.

 

[Turnip Truck]

Another vote for Final Fantasy XIII. It is the only FF game I've completed multiple times.

For a slightly less known title, Summon Night: Twin Age. This DS title wasn't well received because it has a different approach than it's GBA predecessors. It was more of a Diablo style swarms of enemies combat & loot fest ARPG (with Anime Characters) than a traditional JRPG. But it was a heck of a lot of fun, and had plenty of those excellent Summon Night characters and humor.

 

[Virex]

Valkyria Revolution. Not as bad as some on the press are making it out to be.

I agree. I really enjoyed it. Wasn't amazing but I've played a lot worse.

 

[TannerDemoz]

Gonna throw Final Fantasy XIII-2 in here too. Monster capturing mechanic worked really well. Didn't feel like a FF game, but it was a great game regardless.

 

[notaskwid]

*pictures EA molesting BioWare Montreal while yelling "squeal like a pig!!!"*

Wtf

 

[Cranberrys]

I don't understand the concept of "bad games" and certainly not the way the term is used today. To me, Excalibur 2555 AD on PlayStation back in the days was a bad game. I know it because I bought it and finished it and it was bad, ugly, with poor production values.

But Mass Effect Andromeda ? Come on, I had a blast with that game and I'm not stupid nor crazy. I really enjoyed my time with it. So yeah, maybe it's not Mass Effect 2 good but guess what ? My DS3 Citroen is not Ferrari good either but still a fine car for my use and a car I very much enjoy driving nonetheless. So was Andromeda, it's was a good experience, with a terrific gunplay and some truly great moments.

 

[MrMorningMan]

I don't understand the concept of "bad games" and certainly not the way the term is used today. To me, Excalibur 2555 AD on PlayStation back in the days was a bad game. I know it because I bought it and finished it and it was bad, ugly, with poor production values.

But Mass Effect Andromeda? Come on, I had a blast with that game and I'm not stupid nor crazy. I really enjoyed my time with it. So yeah, maybe it's not Mass Effect 2 good but guess what? My DS3 Citroen is not Ferrari good either but still a fine car for my use and a car I very much enjoy driving nonetheless. So was Andromeda, it's was a good experience, with a terrific gunplay and some truly great moments.

ME: Andromeda was amazing! On the technical side, sure, it wasn't that great in all departments. However, the story and characters really stood out and for the most part, were written really well. When I compare Andromeda to the Shepard trilogy, I see a game that is just as good as the original mass effect and the combat being a huge improvement over all three of them by leaps and bounds.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Atari 2600


I'll just get outta here.................

 

[V2Tommy]

I really enjoy the Neptunia games. As a rare person that beat the original (it's insanely difficult and obtuse), every game since has been a pleasant cakewalk.

 

[Nikana]

As a die hard Metroid fan it's nice to see some other M love even though that game still makes me sad.

I'm still flabbergasted by how that game turned out the way it did. It was clearly something that started out with a lot of excitement but by the end just sort of came out because it had to.

The worst part is, it's mostly Nintendos fault imo. I remember the announcement trailer closing out one of their E3s and n it looked like the dream Metroid Project. I had almost Twilight princess levels of reaction.

Then nothing. It was like the project was dead.

They briefly talked about it next year but not with anywhere near the level of excitement as before. They clearly lost faith in the project and instead of taking the time to fix it, it just got finished with all it's issues embedded.

 

[VertigoOA]

I'm one of the few that didn't hate Mass Effect Andromeda. Yea it lacked when it came to narrative but it mostly played like a polished greatest hits of mass effect and that was good enough. I also appreciated that it didn't put the player into a position where they start asking every character to fuck them like dragon age -- they toned down the dating simulator garbage and kinda thankful for that because that's one of the many reasons why i thought DA:I was a pile of crap.

 

[Link1110]

I really enjoy the Neptunia games. As a rare person that beat the original (it's insanely difficult and obtuse), every game since has been a pleasant cakewalk.

I didn't get very far in those (I played the third one a bit) but fairy fencer f on ps4 was really fun to play. Story was just OK, but the battle system was like a modern day arc the lad game. Have the neptinia games finally caught up to this level of gameplay, cause from what I played of neptunia 3 it seemed like a more primitive fairy fencer f

 

[bufkus]

I guess I'll go ahead and defend FFXIII as well. While it's not a particular good entry in the FF series, I find that the majority of the criticism against the game stemmed not from its insane linearity but from the fact that the main character was a woman. All of the morons who cried about Lightning being a mary sue really pissed me off, because she's absolutely not a poorly written character. I didn't like Snow or Hope but the story was passable otherwise.

 

[lefty1117]

Add another vote for Mass Effect Andromeda.

 

[Cranberrys]

ME: Andromeda was amazing! On the technical side, sure, it wasn't that great in all departments. However, the story and characters really stood out and for the most part, were written really well. When I compare Andromeda to the Shepard trilogy, I see a game that is just as good as the original mass effect and the combat being a huge improvement over all three of them by leaps and bounds.

Yeah on launch it lacked polish but I then I put it down and waited a couple of months and it was fine. I found the combat amazing and I really liked the story, the slow pace, it's different from the trilogy in a good way. And it was the first game of a new trilogy I guess so it had to present its world, to take its time. The trilogy didn't move straight to Mass Effect 2. The first Mass Effect wasn't perfect either, the combat was very clumsy, but it didn't matter because its world was so new and fresh that it was a promise of something larger and amazing. To me Andromeda was the same thing, not a perfect game, but a great promise. Sadly we will never know because it unleashed such a disproportionate reaction like it was the worst game of all times. I mean, really, have those people played a really bad game like Excalibur 2555 AD or Bomberman Act Zero ? Those were bad games, unquestionably. Andromeda is a masterpiece in comparison.

 

[Boxmonkeystudios]

I know it has plenty of flaws, but I still really enjoyed Quest 64. And yes I have played real RPGs lol.

 

[Szym]

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Atari 2600


I'll just get outta here.................

Once you get the hang out of the pits, it actually wasn't all that bad by the standards of the time. I had that when I was 6 and both my friend Alan and I beat it repeatedly without a lot of effort. Now, it wasn't one our go-to games -- Maze Craze, Adventure, Decathlon, River Raid, CIrcus -- but I didn't consider it notably bad at the time.

 

[mikestrife]

I agree with the Metroid Other M posts here, outside of the lame story, the games was a great translation of classic Metroid mechanics to 3d format.

I also loved the played a ton of Bullet Witch on the 360. I had never heard of it and randomly picked it up shortly after launch. It wasn't until afterwards that I saw all the hate, and still don't understand why.

 

[nowhat]

Wtf

Kids these days... it's a classic movie.



Edit: and the comment was because of the hilarious misspelling of "sequel" as "squeal".

 

[RiptideX]

I am a huge SH fan and I personally loved Silent Hill Downpour and that game is universally shit all over.

I also loved Alice: Madness Returns, Spec Ops The Line, Catherine and the original Home front. Don't see those get much love either.

 

[The Sane Psycho]

Super Mario Sunshine is an obvious choice for me. In fact, I can't believe I didn't mention it sooner. This is one that was critically acclaimed, but gets a mixed reaction from fans.

The first thing I noticed when I first played this baby back in the day was that the graphics blew my mind. It has some of the best looking water I've ever seen in a game. And I still maintain that the bright, colorful visuals are gorgeous even today. They have not aged one bit in my opinion.

And you can't forget about yet another memorable soundtrack from the king himself, Koji Kondo.



One thing I love about this game is the atmosphere. I think the tropical island setting is really charming. And the gameplay is unique. What other Mario game gives you a jetpack to play around with? Even the more traditionally platforming stages without Fludd are really fun. They even had the good sense to include playable Yoshi in 3D. Even more so than the excellent Super Mario Odyssey, this game felt like the most direct sequel to my all time favorite, Super Mario 64. It had a large hub world and open ended levels that you entered through a portal. All in all, this is one of my favorite games ever. In my (unpopular) opinion, this is even better than Galaxy.

 

[Oddspeak]

Dark Souls II. Yeah, the world design wasn't as cleverly connected. It had some ugly areas, but so did Dark Souls. Some of the boss fights were kind of similar, but the gameplay/combat was still great. The DLC areas were amazing and were some of the most memorable locations for me throughout the series. Multiplayer was also an improvement from Dark Souls.

A million times yes. Some of the hyperbole surrounding how bad DS2 supposedly is, is ludicrous. It's the one that's most fun for me to pick up and play again simply because of the sheer wealth of gear available, and subsequently build variety. The PvP is also miles better than the trainwreck DS3 is.

Some of the criticisms pertaining to boss fights and area design are definitely valid though, like you said. The only thing I hate personally is Soul Memory.

Came in here to bring up Dark Souls 2, as well. I will always be a member of this defense force. Viable build variety is massive, tons of spells, powerstancing is cool, NG+ was actually worth playing through, DLC was fantastic, and multiplayer saw a ton of improvements after coming from DS1. It had its weaknesses, but its strengths were still so on point, that I don't care.

 

[Cato]

A million times yes. Some of the hyperbole surrounding how bad DS2 supposedly is, is ludicrous. It's the one that's most fun for me to pick up and play again simply because of the sheer wealth of gear available, and subsequently build variety. The PvP is also miles better than the trainwreck DS3 is.

Trainwreck? Them sounds like fighting words. (I love DS3)

I almost never play PvP in DS3. I do play very little of Coop, but mostly play PvE, over and over again, with a different build each time.
Not a trainwreck at all in my book, it is more something dangerously addictive in how viable almost every single build is, and how very different they are and how different experience they will give.

Aside from being a Pyro in Ringed City or a Miracle build in, well, the first 80% of the game, almost all builds and weapons are viable and different. It is fun to experiment.

 

[Danjin44]

I also loved Alice: Madness Returns, Spec Ops The Line, Catherine and the original Home front. Don't see those get much love either.

I honestly never see hate for Catherine, I would say most people who played it end up liking it. Heck!!! Catherine was even on EVO and if remember correctly before Persona 5, Catherine was one of Atlus's best selling game. With that being said I just don't see that much people talk about the game and I thinking its because there are still lot of people out there who missed out on the game and I'm hoping Catherine Full Body can change that.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Ryse, The Order, Killzone Shadow Fall

 

[Graven]

Dragon Age 2 felt too confined and had a lot of area regurgitation, but to be honest, the combat alone was infinitely more fun than it's peers, I wanted them to keep 2's combat with the first game's world building. Inquisition bored me to death, couldn't even finish it.

 

[Boxmonkeystudios]

Super Mario Sunshine is an obvious choice for me. In fact, I can't believe I didn't mention it sooner. This is one that was critically acclaimed, but gets a mixed reaction from fans.

The first thing I noticed when I first played this baby back in the day was that the graphics blew my mind. It has some of the best looking water I've ever seen in a game. And I still maintain that the bright, colorful visuals are gorgeous even today. They have not aged one bit in my opinion.

And you can't forget about yet another memorable soundtrack from the king himself, Koji Kondo.



One thing I love about this game is the atmosphere. I think the tropical island setting is really charming. And the gameplay is unique. What other Mario game gives you a jetpack to play around with? Even the more traditionally platforming stages without Fludd are really fun. They even had the good sense to include playable Yoshi in 3D. Even more so than the excellent Super Mario Odyssey, this game felt like the most direct sequel to my all time favorite, Super Mario 64. It had a large hub world and open ended levels that you entered through a portal. All in all, this is one of my favorite games ever. In my (unpopular) opinion, this is even better than Galaxy.

Super Mario Sunshine is great and I also like it better than Galaxy.

 

[Insane Metal]

Test Drive 5 (PSX). I still love the game and play it sometimes.

 

[sensor]

Trainwreck? Them sounds like fighting words. (I love DS3)

I almost never play PvP in DS3. I do play very little of Coop, but mostly play PvE, over and over again, with a different build each time.
Not a trainwreck at all in my book, it is more something dangerously addictive in how viable almost every single build is, and how very different they are and how different experience they will give.

Aside from being a Pyro in Ringed City or a Miracle build in, well, the first 80% of the game, almost all builds and weapons are viable and different. It is fun to experiment.

Well, I should be clear, I love DS3 as well. And you're right, the PvE is fantastic, it's a beautiful game with some great bosses. But my favourite thing to do in Dark Souls is invade, and they dropped the ball big time in DS3 for invaders. Plus, it's annoying how they disregarded some of the technical aspects of DS2's combat that worked well (nerfing backstep iframes for example).

I mean, you can use any weapon you like if you're skilled enough in PvE or PvP, but in PvP 90% of people are gonna be using some combination of longswords/pyro/miracles/greatswords with a dagger and caestus, or a weapon that has a one-shot combo (Sellsword wombo combo or Greatlance). DS3 PvP is dictated by meta weapons, and it feels wholly joyless. Just my opinion of course.

It's better post-patch now that the Dark Sword & bleed aren't dominant, but it's still not great.

 

[checkcola]

I had a lot of fun playing Resident Evil 5 back in the day.

 

[sensor]

Gonna throw Final Fantasy XIII-2 in here too. Monster capturing mechanic worked really well. Didn't feel like a FF game, but it was a great game regardless.

Yep, XIII-2 was also very solid. The time travel aspect and vocal area BGM gave it a strange, unique feel that I haven't really found in any other game since. The monster capturing stuff was cool, but they also finally introduced a decent villain in Caius, plus the ending was also surprisingly ballsy.

For me, Lightning Returns is the only bad game in that particular trilogy, but I'm sure there are some folks here who enjoyed that too, which is cool. I'd still like to see the trilogy remastered on the PS4.

 

[SegaSaturn121]

Silent Hill 4, it’s seriously the last interesting Silent Hill game. I can understand how people get annoyed with the 2nd half of the game (escort mission, revisiting all the previous locations) but it’s still a solid game and the last good Silent Hill.

 

[TannerDemoz]

For me, Lightning Returns is the only bad game in that particular trilogy, but I'm sure there are some folks here who enjoyed that too, which is cool. I'd still like to see the trilogy remastered on the PS4.

Yup, the one game I didn't finish. Played XIII-2 to death, enjoyed XIII but LR was terrible IMO. Difficulty seemed insane? Like, just frustratingly difficult.

 

[INC]

I had a lot of fun playing Resident Evil 5 back in the day.

Same, for the coop, shame the split screen was awful

 

[PedroPanache]

I will always defend Final Fantasy X-2. It was delightfully campy and the battle system was tremendous fun. The story had some interesting elements, but didn't quite tie them together to form a wholly satisfying and cohesive narrative, but most of what stuck was entertaining. The light, camp feel of X-2 was a nice contrast to the melancholic FFX. Great game. YRP rule!

 

[Boxmonkeystudios]

I will always defend Final Fantasy X-2. It was delightfully campy and the battle system was tremendous fun. The story had some interesting elements, but didn't quite tie them together to form a wholly satisfying and cohesive narrative, but most of what stuck was entertaining. The light, camp feel of X-2 was a nice contrast to the melancholic FFX. Great game. YRP rule!

I tried really hard to like this game, but couldn't make it further than an hour or so in.

 

[PedroPanache]

I tried really hard to like this game, but couldn't make it further than an hour or so in.

Come now! one hour of your time and you bailed. You didn't try that hard, did you? Now, go back and try again for another 30 hours. Only then, I'll buy your shabby attempt at liking this amazing game. Clock's ticking, my friend. I expect a full report on my desk on Wednesday afternoon.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Dark Souls II is amazing.

 

[Boxmonkeystudios]

Come now! one hour of your time and you bailed. You didn't try that hard, did you? Now, go back and try again for another 30 hours. Only then, I'll buy your shabby attempt at liking this amazing game. Clock's ticking, my friend. I expect a full report on my desk on Wednesday afternoon.

Ha! Maybe I'll try it again sometime. I love FFX.

 

[burnside13]

I see Battlefield Hardline concept ended up a bit of a failure but it was fun as hell to play. I dont mind playing that game at all.

 

[Robot Pants]

Ninja Gaiden 2.
I don’t care what anyone says. It’s better than Black and any sigma and any garbage version of 3 even with all its faults and the fact it wasn’t properly finished. Had it had the chance to be polished up and given a second version, they way NG1 did, it would easily be the best action game of all time.

It’s still up there as one of the top best of all time and definitely the best Ninja Gaiden game.

 

[thisisbommy]

The timer mechanic in Dead Rising.

 

[DrCheese]

Dead Island games - I kinda liked the mindless running around smashing zombies faces in with various weapons. If you ignore the overhyped trailer it's actually an ok game

 

[RokkanStoned]

Since I'm going to ape a lot of the others' suggestions, I'll come with some not suggested first:

Resident Evil: Codename Veronica. Sorry, but this game was great and I'm still surprised when I see people dislike the game. It might not be as good as REmake and RE2/3, but it's close behind.

Fate/Stay Night. Gets an awful lot of hate or gets ignored (on this forum at least) compared to other VNs. While the sex scenes were cringy/comical and the Realta Nua replacements weird, the overall VN is great and gives a better understanding in the series than either Zero or UBW anime gives. Underappreciated.

TES II: Daggerfall. Far too many seem to parade Morrowind as some special game position between buggy-overly-complicated-procedurally-generated Daggerfall and simplified-casual Oblivion. Sorry, but Daggerfall - for all its flaws - feels way more ambitious and gives a sense of adventure that neither reach. I want a Daggerfall-like game again, taking advantage of the advances made since then.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Outside of the final boss battle, I don't really have much complaints in regards to this game. It was a great experience and I liked the smaller scope of the story and how it used the Vita features. Was a great game, but was somehow view either tepidly or as bad.

Star Ocean: Till The End of Time. People tend to focus on a certain plot-twist and the character models, unfairly treating this game.


Others previously mentioned:

PSABR. That game is great and I enjoy it more than Smash Bros, though it might be because I enjoy the feel of movement more in PSABR. I do see the point regarding balance in regards to supers, as well as not having a Smash-like % or a health bar option being an odd choice. I still enjoyed that game more than Smash 4.

FFX-2. That battle system, jobs and some of the other systems make it worth the overall crappy execution of the story, although I did like some elements of the story.

RE5. I enjoyed it more than RE4, due to the co-op, so I can't hardly call it a bad game like some seem to treat it. Even the game solo is lots of fun, even if I wasn't as invested in the story, but I wasn't that much invested in 4's story either.

Dark Souls 2. This one has been a slow realization for me, as Dark Souls 2 somehow has warmed me up to it over the years. Initially I despised it for all its flaws, but I've grown to appreciate it, despite its many flaws, for its strengths. I'm hoping Dark Souls 3 will reach the same position as well for me.

FFVIII. People tend to overly judge the game, although I do understand their frustration with the drawing system. It's one of my favorite FF games, so the hate it gets at times is confusing.

Knack. Not a great or ambitious game, but it's a great game for me to play with my child. It's basically a fun little brawler with some platforming. I myself had some fun playing it on Hard. It's certainly worth a purchase if you have a child.


If underappreciated counted as well, I would've put Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Star Ocean: The Second Story and Street Racer there.

 

[bwolfman]

The FPS “Singularity”, I’m a huge fan in time travel, and I’m a movie buff; I found the game to be too fun regardless of what people say about it.

I’m sure I have more from memory, but I can’t think of them at the moment.

 

[camelCase]

MGS's control scheme. Whenever I hear someone talk about how they wanna give the game a chance but oh man the controls.. I roll my eyes. I've been frustrated with controls but never to the point where I've been utterly defeated. It's a way of shitting on the game without giving it a proper chance because oh no I have to hold down more than one button to shoot. And I've seen some real D&D rolling, PS3 licking nerds say this stuff, which makes me think even more that it's a political coup.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Banjo Nuts & Bolts was an awesome game, it would have been raved about if it was a new IP.

Crackdown... bought it for the halo beta and it became one of my favorite titles last gen. Actually didn't end up playing much of the beta.

 

[OmegaDenmad]

I really enjoy the Neptunia games. As a rare person that beat the original (it's insanely difficult and obtuse), every game since has been a pleasant cakewalk.

This has my vote. The first one had repetitive BGM, a really weird item and healing system, and your party was missing all the goddesses besides Neptune until the final dungeon... But it was really fun and there is a reason the characters and the franchise have endured for this long.

This song had to have played over a hundred times over the course of the story. By the end it was part of the comedy.

 

[iorek21]

Crash Bandicoot 4: The Wrath of Cortex

 

[BurstZyn]

I second Dark Souls 2, Dragonball Raging blast 2, and The Order 1886
Dark Souls 2: while its still my least favorite in the series, it is far from a bad game. It was different, and the PvP, while not my favorite, I prefer it over the PvP in Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3.
Raging Blast 2: I usually collect DB games, and Raging Blast 2 honestly ended up being my favorite of last generation. Im not really to sure why, but i ended up putting more hours into more than any dbz game i have really played. Besides maybe Xenoverse.
The Order 1886: While many of the complaints are valid, I still really enjoyed the gameplay and the story. I really think it denser a sequel as a second chance