Games that Hardcore Gaming 101 says are shit but aren't

[Squire Grooktook]

This isn't supposed to be a "let's all diss on HG101 - thread!" (there have been plenty of those iirc, not that I disagree) I'm more just interested in knowing if there are any games they've listed as shitty/bad/mediocre or generally not worth playing that aren't. There aren't many sources for stuff like PC-98 games or ultra obscure snes platformers, so I admit that there are games out there where I only have them as a source.

The most obvious example is the article on Hagane by the guy who didn't seem to like it that much, but I'm sure there are others.

*again: let me stress that I'm not hoping to read about HG101 here, just looking for obscure game recommendations really*

[SuperDeadite]

Rayxanber. According to them it's OMG TOO HARD IMPOSSIBLE!! Funny, I was able to 1cc it in about a week...
Also difficult does not equal shit. Sure it's challenging, but it's well made, some of the later level design is pure genius,
the walls warping in stage had to be perfectly timed to make it possible.

And yeah I 1cc'd it on my real Towns computer, unlike the writer that just save-stated his way through on an emulator,
not even trying to actually learn and get good at the game...

The article even claims no Data West games were released outside of Japan. Oops, Vajra on the LaserActive got an official
USA release, but it can't be emulated yet so therefore does not count right?


And while not exactly the same thing, the Cotton article claims X68000 Cotton is a straight port of the arcade game. They
must not have even played it, as the very first stage has different areas, totally redrawn sprites, and the boss has a different
attack pattern. In fact Cotton X68K is a total remix, it has a few totally exclusive bosses, and the old bosses all have new attacks.
Many stages were totally remixed, with tons of added parallax. It's a wonderful version that nobody plays cause ''It's the arcade game
with dancing keyboard lights''

[Squire Grooktook]

Recently started playing Rayxanber myself after reading some differing opinions, was part of what got me to make this thread lol.

Will be sure to give Cotton x68 a try as well.

[SuperDeadite]

Cotton Arcade

https://youtu.be/UaR17WpAGhE?t=2m21s

Cotton X68000

https://youtu.be/qEkMzIlskmg?t=15m17s

[Volteccer_Jack]

Obligatory Toramaru mention.

I recall the HG101 article on Maximo complaining that first game's enemies were too fast and aggressive, and whining about having to pay in-game currency to save. Those are not problems

[Squire Grooktook]

Agreed, Maximo is genius. I hope to get to Toramaru this summer as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

*Taromaru

Did anybody play GG Arena (Maze of Death) yet? I still haven't, so they might be right that it's bad. Figure this is as good a place to drop off a reminder as any.

[Skykid]

All Darius games preceding Gaiden.

[BIL]

Taromaru's the only example I consistently feel worth pointing out*, since the whole thing is predicated on fundamental ignorance of not just the game itself, but arcade-styled stuff in general. We might laugh it off, but I know from personal experience (EGM's characterising the similarly mild Gradius V as a mercilessly bumming sodomy engine) that undecided initiates can be influenced by this nonsense.

But yeah, everything in that review is wrong. Should've learned the fundamentals before deleting that ISO, bro!

*I know there's plenty more wrongly derided games in there, but Taro's review is especially wide-ranging in its criminality.

[Imhotep]

there's a lot of 'em. Generally, hg101 isn't a good place to get opinions about action games (gameplay-heavy stuff), they tend to be more competent when writing about adventure (atmosphere-centric) games.

I like the site a lot for its exposure of worthwhile games, but the writing tends to be a bit on the boring side. Many articles start with a generalization that is vaguely connected to the subject at hand, a thing I find unnecessary. Also, they lack an enjoyable sense of humor, the writing on vgjunk i.e. is hilarious and informative.

[Skykid]

there's a lot of 'em. Generally, hg101 isn't a good place to get opinions about action games (gameplay-heavy stuff), they tend to be more competent when writing about adventure (atmosphere-centric) games.

I like the site a lot for its exposure of worthwhile games, but the writing tends to be a bit on the boring side. Many articles start with a generalization that is vaguely connected to the subject at hand, a thing I find unnecessary. Also, they lack an enjoyable sense of humor, the writing on vgjunk i.e. is hilarious and informative.

I never thought HG101 was a 'review' site, more an encyclopedia, hence the long windedness and dull/lengthy prose. That's why it always makes it worse when opinion creeps in: it's fine to talk about the game and its components, it's not fine to talk about the quality of a game you can't play.

This for me is the primary fault of the site.

[Xyga]

I like the site a lot for its exposure of worthwhile games

I give them that too, on that website I've discovered many good games I didn't know before.
Also it's in a website form even if ultra basic 90's style, for me it's still much better than blogs, which tend to have gigantic pages and horrid or non-existent navigation besides those damn tags and links (tards who invented the blog format should be hanged).
True there are blogs with excellent, superior contents for about any topic, but they're just a design pain on the internet's ass.

[Squire Grooktook]

there's a lot of 'em. Generally, hg101 isn't a good place to get opinions about action games (gameplay-heavy stuff), they tend to be more competent when writing about adventure (atmosphere-centric) games.

I like the site a lot for its exposure of worthwhile games, but the writing tends to be a bit on the boring side. Many articles start with a generalization that is vaguely connected to the subject at hand, a thing I find unnecessary. Also, they lack an enjoyable sense of humor, the writing on vgjunk i.e. is hilarious and informative.

I never thought HG101 was a 'review' site, more an encyclopedia, hence the long windedness and dull/lengthy prose. That's why it always makes it worse when opinion creeps in: it's fine to talk about the game and its components, it's not fine to talk about the quality of a game you can't play.

This for me is the primary fault of the site.

I would describe it as "they can't decide whether they want to be an encyclopedia or a review site".

Hence you get the incredibly painful to read run downs of every fucking detail.

But then you also get really amateurish descriptions on the writers personal feelings on the game after playing it for a few hours/minutes.

At the same time...

I like the site a lot for its exposure of worthwhile games

I give them that too, on that website I've discovered many good games I didn't know before.
Also it's in a website form even if ultra basic 90's style, for me it's still much better than blogs, which tend to have gigantic pages and horrid or non-existent navigation besides those damn tags and links (tards who invented the blog format should be hanged).
True there are blogs with excellent, superior contents for about any topic, but they're just a design pain on the internet's ass.

Agreed 100%

[qmish]

Oh yeah, i'm still a newbie here and i was shocked how brutally you guys here bite hg101 every time you can.

I dunno, for me hg101 is awesome source to find out about interesting games that i've never played and even never heard of. They also usually provide quality screenshots (in quality and exposure terms).

Though yeah even i often disagree with their opinions.

For example, they put Smashing Drive in kusoge section. I disagree, at least for original Gaelco version!

And me personally gets angry when they state something like "music is typical generic techno, nothing really catching"

[evil_ash_xero]

I love HG101.

But anyway, their review of Hagane was a bit more mixed, than I think it should have been. Nothing major though.

Now, there's some games they liked, that I did not. But I can't remember back that far. I just know I tried a bunch on emulation, and I got some I was pretty "meh" on.

[Loris Biaggi]

I never liked Hagane and i agree with some parts of that HG101 review.
I don't remember when i disagreed with them, maybe never, but reading about shootemup reviews sometimes i feel like they aren't enough into this genre.

[BrianC]

I like seeing coverage of obscure games, but it seems like some older systems like Gameboy, 2600, and 7800 are given the shaft in reviews. The 7800 version of Commando is given an unfavorable comment in a single sentence. The comment claims the game looks better than expected for the system, which suggests poor knowledge of the hardware. Personally, I found it to be a good port with some nice extras that aren't in the arcade. The same article is much more favorable of the NES version, but says it's less difficult due to continues, but still virtually impossible otherwise. Some of the comments on difficulty there perplex me, especially since that even the arcade version of Commando is far from impossible.

Edit: 7800 Commando is also one of two official games that uses a seperate chip for sound (the same sound chip as the Atari 5200, the pokey chip).

[trap15]

D.D. Crew.

Almost anything they say is shit.

[Skykid]

The Hagane coverage is all wrong. Reads like someone who never got to grips with the game long enough to clear stage 1, really, and he misuses the word 'proliferated' in the opening paragraph.

It's a fantastic game well worth playing through.

[Ji-L87]

I know I went when they didn't like Tokimeki Memorial...I actually like that damn game

On a more serious note, despite misinformation and taste, I genuinely enjoyed discovering games and hardware through their site.

[Strikers1945guy]

The Hagane coverage is all wrong. Reads like someone who never got to grips with the game long enough to clear stage 1, really, and he misuses the word 'proliferated' in the opening paragraph.

It's a fantastic game well worth playing through.

Damn right ! Hagane is an amazing game indeed.

I will say I have browsed HG101 to find info and discover obscure games. However I tend to like games many people hate anyways so people's opinions have never swayed me from trying out games I thought looked cool.

[copy-paster]

All Darius games, they though Gaiden and G-Darius are worth to play in the series

[Strider77]

undecided initiates can be influenced by this nonsense

that's quote worthy...