Games that got bad reviews but you like them

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:57 am

I was looking forward to The Last Remnant for a while, and preordered the Japanese version a few weeks before the game was scheduled to come out. (I got it in Japanese because playing RPGs is pretty much the only way I get to keep up on Japanese at all anymore. But I digress...)

So when I saw the reviews of the game start popping up - most of which were rather negative - I was a little worried and contemplated canceling my preorder. I ended up not doing that and got the game the other day.

Very glad I didn't cancel. I'm enjoying the game quite a bit - it's got some issues, yes (mainly loading and framerate), but I like the pacing and the battle system so far. It might not be a AAA title but it's sure better than the reviews make it out to be.

Not so far away on these forums there's a "Sonic Unleashed Is Actually Pretty Good" (or something to that effect) thread going and I'm in the same boat there. Almost didn't get the game due to bad reviews, and now that I have it, I'm really enjoying it.

I don't want to just cast aside "pro" (I use the term loosely on the internet) reviews entirely, as a lot of games that get high scores really deserve them, but I've gotta wonder if I've missed out on anything because of this. Anyone else care to chime in?

(Oh, and on a somewhat related note - I've found a couple games thus far this year that got crazy good reviews that I didn't like. The key title there would be GTA4 (feel free to disagree with me on that if you like), which bored me greatly.)

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:11 am

Here's some of my most loved low-scored games (7 and below):

- God Hand: it has its issues like fighting every freakin' boss too many times and somewhat bland sprawling levels. Though, it's great.

- The House of the Dead 2&3: you know what to expect from here. Most mainstream mags gave it low scores, but if you like light-gunners, this is a two-pack of the best.

- Ghost Squad: another light-gunner. Got a low score as does almost every game in the genre.

- Fatal Frame 1&2 (haven't played 3): mags gave them mixed reviews, but they're great. The first one is more horrific but the second one has a better story and characters.

- Ultimate Ghost and Goblins: got lots of 7s for being balls hard and "short." A 9 game for fans of the genre.

elfhentaifan · Post by **elfhentaifan** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:03 am

Castlevania 64
Red Ninja
Eternal Eyes
Star Wars 64 Rogue Squadron
Silent Hill 4
Ibara
Final Fantasy X-2
Resident Evil Outbreak 1

(maybe getting some updates)

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:05 am

Bullet Witch. A deeply flawed game that was slammed by reviews, but I keep playing it repeatedly. It gets better on subsequent playthroughs, as it takes that long to power up all the magical abilities and weapons.

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:06 am

The Club

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 11:30 am

P.N.03! Fucking amazing game!

Matsunaga · Post by **Matsunaga** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 2:23 pm

All 10 million Dynasty Warriors games. I love all of them, Lu Bu is the greatest character ever. Where's my Dynasty Warriors 7 at! Keep pumping them out, Koei.

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 2:37 pm

Final Fight Streetwise

Shadow the Hedgehog

Drascin · Post by **Drascin** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 3:15 pm

I didn't have internet at the time, but I remember the magazines I read all gave Mischief Makers a resounding "Meh". I decided to try it anyway.

God, did I love that game. That was my real first gaming binge. For the two days of the weekend I had rented it, I got up at 7:30 in the morning, started playing, stopped to have breakfast, continued playing, stopped for lunch, continued playing, had dinner, and continued playing until about 11PM, where my parents would shout at me to "turn off the fucking console".

I beat it the second day, yeah, but that was only because I gave it like 13 hours each day. I think I haven't done something like that ever since.

Apparently, it's become somewhat of a classic among certain crowds, so I feel vindicated.

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 3:49 pm

Adventures of Dino Riki. It seems to be the laughing stock of illinformed 'new school' reviewers who have barely touched the game. For some reason they all write that they have completed so and so many levels but at the same time fail to mention more than a couple of the weapon upgrades (and of course nothing about the wings you can aquire later in the game) and nothing about the actual gameplay. These people watch play-throughs on youtube rather than play the games themselves.

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:26 pm

Drascin wrote:Mischief Makers

This is actually my favorite Treasure game. Shake 'yo booty!

FIL · Post by **FIL** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:28 pm

Another vote for God Hand althought it was really only IGN that slated it, their 3.0 was just criminal. My only big complaint was that after an absolute bastard of a game was a super easy final boss.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:51 pm

Almost every game I like gets shit reviews. I played through both episodes of Deep Labyrinth on the DS and had fun. When I bought Rengoku 2 at Gamestop even the woman at the cash register told me that I shouldn't waste my money on it and it's my favorite game on PSP. Right now I'm playing Valhalla Knights 2 and it seems pretty fun. And, fuck it, I even like Deadly Towers on the NES.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:26 pm

- Dragon Quest VII: feels very old school and that's great. Graphics are not much to speak off but they're true to the series' style.

- Mega Man Legends: one of the most charming games ever made.

gabe · Post by **gabe** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:33 pm

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:- Mega Man Legends: one of the most charming games ever made.

I second that. I absolutely loved that game.

Speaking of which... I ought to source a copy and play through it again. It's been a good 10 years since I have touched it.

TLB · Post by **TLB** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:38 pm

gabe wrote:
UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:- Mega Man Legends: one of the most charming games ever made.
I second that. I absolutely loved that game.

Speaking of which... I ought to source a copy and play through it again. It's been a good 10 years since I have touched it.

Same! And I never even got to beat it =/

Matsunaga · Post by **Matsunaga** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:19 pm

m3tall1ca wrote:
gabe wrote:
UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:- Mega Man Legends: one of the most charming games ever made.
I second that. I absolutely loved that game.

Speaking of which... I ought to source a copy and play through it again. It's been a good 10 years since I have touched it.
Same! And I never even got to beat it =/

I 4th that opinion, that game was awesome.

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:26 pm

Pretty much every console shmup (excelt Ikaruga) gets criminally bad reviews, and I enjoy just about all of them.

I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed which got decidedly "meh" reviews.

Also, as a Star Wars fan, I've enjoyed virtually every star wars game (with some exceptions, most notably crappy portable games and several prequel-based games). I'm sure most of them aren't looked upon too highly.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:06 pm

Matsunaga wrote:All 10 million Dynasty Warriors games. I love all of them, Lu Bu is the greatest character ever. Where's my Dynasty Warriors 7 at! Keep pumping them out, Koei.

Haha, Lu Bu is such a ridiculous character. I like the ending where he turns into a cyborg and flies to the moon.

Adventures of Dino Riki. It seems to be the laughing stock of illinformed 'new school' reviewers who have barely touched the game. For some reason they all write that they have completed so and so many levels but at the same time fail to mention more than a couple of the weapon upgrades (and of course nothing about the wings you can aquire later in the game) and nothing about the actual gameplay. These people watch play-throughs on youtube rather than play the games themselves.

It's okay. I wish it didn't have infinite milking

It would be a really really good game without it.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:09 pm

Xenogears. Gamepro lambasted it because it wasn't an FMV-fest like Final Fantasy, and the robot combat didn't feel as epic as the FF summons, and it didn't have CGI prerendered backgrounds like FF, and the music was a collage of all styles not made by the guy from FF....

But that's what made it great. Yasunori Mitsuda is a true virtuoso, the robot combat is more involved than just summoning Knights of The Round, the game uses *SCANNED* oil paintings and watercolors FOR EVERY SINGLE TEXTURE THAT IT'S NOT A SPRITE, and most of the world is rendered in real-time using that engine, instead of relying on FMVs. Granted, it felt rushed at the end, but the game was a very different experience compared to the same stuff that Square had been churning out.

gabe · Post by **gabe** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:37 pm

Specineff wrote:Xenogears. Gamepro lambasted it because it wasn't an FMV-fest like Final Fantasy, and the robot combat didn't feel as epic as the FF summons, and it didn't have CGI prerendered backgrounds like FF, and the music was a collage of all styles not made by the guy from FF....

But that's what made it great. Yasunori Mitsuda is a true virtuoso, the robot combat is more involved than just summoning Knights of The Round, the game uses *SCANNED* oil paintings and watercolors FOR EVERY SINGLE TEXTURE THAT IT'S NOT A SPRITE, and most of the world is rendered in real-time using that engine, instead of relying on FMVs. Granted, it felt rushed at the end, but the game was a very different experience compared to the same stuff that Square had been churning out.

I wanted to love Xenogears, but I couldn't... it did nothing for me. Your post ALMOST makes me want to revisit it.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:22 pm

kengou wrote:Pretty much every console shmup (excelt Ikaruga) gets criminally bad reviews, and I enjoy just about all of them.

It's true that shmups don't get very positive reviews most of the time - in the west or in Japan - but there are more exceptions than just Ikaruga. Gradius V did very well critically everywhere, and DDP:DOJ got really good scores in Famitsu.

I don't know about "criminally bad" either, they usually get middling scores (6s and 7s and such), but yes, shmups don't really get reviews that give them much credit. Some people really like them though - I hear there's even some websites and forums dedicated to them.

xorthen · Post by **xorthen** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 1:30 am

Assault Suits Valken for PS2. Pretty good game. Not as good as the original, but it's not bad.

Post by **Dave_K.** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:07 am

Ketsui

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:45 am

Cthulhu wrote:
kengou wrote:Pretty much every console shmup (excelt Ikaruga) gets criminally bad reviews, and I enjoy just about all of them.
It's true that shmups don't get very positive reviews most of the time - in the west or in Japan - but there are more exceptions than just Ikaruga. Gradius V did very well critically everywhere, and DDP:DOJ got really good scores in Famitsu.

I don't know about "criminally bad" either, they usually get middling scores (6s and 7s and such), but yes, shmups don't really get reviews that give them much credit. Some people really like them though - I hear there's even some websites and forums dedicated to them.

Not to belabor a point, but I'll point you to http://gruegaming.blogspot.com/2008/06/ ... -knew.html. Out of 12 sample shmups, 5 got 70% or higher, and 2 out of those 5 got 80% or higher. For a vast majority of review websites, 60-70% is not considered "good", but generally "poor" or "average" at best. Considering how much most of us (I assume) love shmups, I'd call that "criminally bad" compared to what scores these games OUGHT to get, and compared to what other crappy games get in the 90s on a lot of sites.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:27 am

- Brave Fencer Musashi: got unfairly compared to Zelda 64 and everywhere you read it said, "it's good but nowhere as good as Zelda 64." BFM is an AWESOME game and in many ways better than Zelda.

- Star Ocean 2: one of the PS1's finest that got awful scores for not being like Final Fantasy.

TLB · Post by **TLB** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:37 am

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:- Brave Fencer Musashi: got unfairly compared to Zelda 64 and everywhere you read it said, "it's good but nowhere as good as Zelda 64." BFM is an AWESOME game and in many ways better than Zelda.

MY GOD YES. I'm not the only BFM fan, how nice =) I played it at my friend's in the good ol' days, then got lucky and found a used copy at EB. Zelda 64 is nice, but I'd rather play Link's Awakening (or Link to the Past, I guess =/) any day of the week. But Musashi's such a funny game! And all the attack options, the assimilation shit, the...uh...fun...ness...I shoulda gotten around to beating that game. I remember getting to that one temply-thing with the bowling balls back in the day...but I'm pretty sure that save's long gone =/ Good shit, good shit.

bcelmo · Post by **bcelmo** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:46 am

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
I`m the type of guy that enjoys games more for the interactive storytelling part rather than the gameplay itself (even though i play shumps and fps`s only for gameplay). K&L satisfied me 100% from a story/acting/presentation/design point of view. It has a metacritic of around 7. For me it`s the best game i played since Bioshock. I loved that game.
Also Daikatana was a very good game with poor graphics for his time
Black on the PS2 was not that well received however i still think it`s the best FPS on PS2, above Killzone, Darkwatch or Medal of Honour: European Assault
Clive Barker`s Jericho makes another perfect example of "panned by critics, liked by me"
KKnD was an old strategy game that i played the shit out of but critics meh`d it
Legacy of Kain Defiance
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows - i love that game, played it 10`s of times and i still love it
Motorhead - old car racing game that noboby but me enjoyed
Terminal Velocity - still coming back to it from time to time

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:47 am

Current gen...

The Club

Earth Defense Force 2017

Jericho

The Club is misunderstood and EDF apparently doesn't have enough flash to wow enough reviewers. Jericho sometimes felt like I was running through a maze, but I really enjoyed the overall experience.

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:33 am

m3tall1ca wrote:
UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:- Brave Fencer Musashi: got unfairly compared to Zelda 64 and everywhere you read it said, "it's good but nowhere as good as Zelda 64." BFM is an AWESOME game and in many ways better than Zelda.
MY GOD YES. I'm not the only BFM fan, how nice =) I played it at my friend's in the good ol' days, then got lucky and found a used copy at EB. Zelda 64 is nice, but I'd rather play Link's Awakening (or Link to the Past, I guess =/) any day of the week. But Musashi's such a funny game! And all the attack options, the assimilation shit, the...uh...fun...ness...I shoulda gotten around to beating that game. I remember getting to that one temply-thing with the bowling balls back in the day...but I'm pretty sure that save's long gone =/ Good shit, good shit.

Hey any game where you can look for pink animal poop is great. I too love the game. The Music people.....THE MUSIC!!!