Non-Shmup games that got no love but we love.....

[Never_Scurred]

What are some non-shmup games that got bad reviews or an overall negative reception from the press that is beloved around these parts these days? I was gonna mention God Hand since everything i've heard about this game outside of this forum was negative, but apparently, it was well liked if wikipedia is anything to go by.

[drauch]

Yeah, God Hand has quite the following outside of professional garbage-review sites, at least from everything I've read, or talked to others about. For me it's Ghoul School for the NES. It seems to be hated by the majority due to the labyrinth of a high school the game takes place in. It's pretty easy to get lost in the game for quite some time, as the game has a plethora of dead end hallways and such. In a way, it kind of has a Metroid-esque feel to it, having to back track and find new weapons or items to access certain areas. The game was rushed and the creator wasn't able to fulfill all of his original ideas he envisioned, but I still find it incredibly original and exciting to play. It certainly isn't a perfect game by any means, but I do consider it my favorite NES game, and one of my favorite game of all time. The nostalgia-factor often plays a role in this type of thing, but I simply think people don't give it enough of a chance; yet, people love dungeon-crawlers...

[Heartwork]

Mirror's Edge. Best game on the 360, IMO, and it's got a metascore in the 70s somewhere. Makes no sense.

[DJ Incompetent]

Nier.

Only play it on hard mode.
It is the Donnie Darko of videogames.

[drauch]

It is the Donnie Darko of videogames.

What does that mean...

[BPzeBanshee]

Crue Ball.
I made a thread here about it and absolutely no one replied.

[burgerkingdiamond]

Yeah, God Hand has quite the following outside of professional garbage-review sites, at least from everything I've read, or talked to others about. For me it's Ghoul School for the NES. It seems to be hated by the majority due to the labyrinth of a high school the game takes place in. It's pretty easy to get lost in the game for quite some time, as the game has a plethora of dead end hallways and such. In a way, it kind of has a Metroid-esque feel to it, having to back track and find new weapons or items to access certain areas. The game was rushed and the creator wasn't able to fulfill all of his original ideas he envisioned, but I still find it incredibly original and exciting to play. It certainly isn't a perfect game by any means, but I do consider it my favorite NES game, and one of my favorite game of all time. The nostalgia-factor often plays a role in this type of thing, but I simply think people don't give it enough of a chance; yet, people love dungeon-crawlers...

Yeah GHOUL SCHOOL! I got pretty much all of my NES games growing up from an older cousing who grew out of video games and just gave me all of his when I was like 8 years old or something.. But the one NES game I remember getting from my parents for Christmas was Ghoul School. Your right that it's very easy to get lost and kind of cryptic about what you're supposed to do (but there are a lot of NES games like that). A few years ago a buddy and me made it really far one night and the NES froze on us. I haven't had the heart to return to it since because I know I'll just get hopelessly lost...

[neorichieb1971]

Only thing I can think of is ico. Low sales but extraordinary in every way.

[Wonderbanana]

Only thing I can think of is ico. Low sales but extraordinary in every way.

You could include the original release of Rez in that respect. Actually even the PS2 release after.

However both Rez and Ico were highly critically acclaimed so do they count?

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Mega Man Battle Network 4 is one of my favorite Mega Man games. Funnily enough, despite it's poor reception it still ended up being the 2nd best selling Mega Man game OF ALL TIME. I'm beginning to think people are just tsndere for this game.

[EinhanderZwei]

- Time Crisis: Razing Storm FPS mode was actually fun despite being shattered in all the reviews I've read
- I really enjoyed Resident Evil: Gun Survivors and Dead Aim, though everyone says they're disgusting (especially the 1st). But after all, first Survivor had nice graphics and some really eerie landscapes, and Dead Aim's story is officially canon
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES: it may be bad according to AVGN, but ZX Spectrum port made me spend days and nights - easily one of the best sidescrollers for good ol' Speccy
- Final Fantasy VIII - I remember a barrage of negative reviews on this one, bashing the simple love story and lack of humor - but that's exactly why it's my favorite FF!
- Castlevania and Legacy Of Darkness on N64 - c'mon, they are FAR better than PS2 entries and Lords Of Shadow. A load of unlockables and bonuses doesn't hurt either
- Daikatana - my God, aren't the gameplay, visual design and story just awesome
- Contra: SS and Neo Contra are considered not awful, but mediocre and hellishly difficult. I can agree with the latter, but they're so true to the run-n-gun genre that can't be ignored

[burgerkingdiamond]

- Time Crisis: Razing Storm FPS mode was actually fun despite being shattered in all the reviews I've read
- I really enjoyed Resident Evil: Gun Survivors and Dead Aim, though everyone says they're disgusting (especially the 1st). But after all, first Survivor had nice graphics and some really eerie landscapes, and Dead Aim's story is officially canon
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES: it may be bad according to AVGN, but ZX Spectrum port made me spend days and nights - easily one of the best sidescrollers for good ol' Speccy
- Final Fantasy VIII - I remember a barrage of negative reviews on this one, bashing the simple love story and lack of humor - but that's exactly why it's my favorite FF!
- Castlevania and Legacy Of Darkness on N64 - c'mon, they are FAR better than PS2 entries and Lords Of Shadow. A load of unlockables and bonuses doesn't hurt either
- Daikatana - my God, aren't the gameplay, visual design and story just awesome
- Contra: SS and Neo Contra are considered not awful, but mediocre and hellishly difficult. I can agree with the latter, but they're so true to the run-n-gun genre that can't be ignored

shattered soldier is cool, but Neo Contra sucks. I always disliked the overhead levels in the Contra games. I also really hate the two fake 3-D (don't know what to call them) in the first Contra for NES. Those levels are so boring. Its what keeps me from playing and trying to get another perfect run (video taped this time).

[EinhanderZwei]

shattered soldier is cool, but Neo Contra sucks. I always disliked the overhead levels in the Contra games. I also really hate the two fake 3-D (don't know what to call them) in the first Contra for NES. Those levels are so boring. Its what keeps me from playing and trying to get another perfect run (video taped this time).

Overhead levels in Teh Alien Wars were incredible, and not only because of Mode7...

[ratlhead]

Shinobi (PS2) - Simply the best 3D action game ever and it blows everyting out of the water in the genre IMO.
Nightshade/Kunoichi - After all the bashing towards Shinobi, unsuprisingly this turns out as a dumbed down sequel but it's still a great game.
Sonic Unleashed - Daytime stages has best 3d Sonic gameplay and werehog stages is not bad at all (they're better by miles than borefest Tails/Eggman-Knuckles/Rogue stages in universaly acclaimed Sonic Adventuıre 2). All in all, it's on par with Sonic 1-2-3 on Mega Drive for me.
Sonic Heroes - Another bashed to death Sonic title yet i loved nearly every aspect of this when i've played; flow of the team gameplay, classic themed stages, music etc. Not sure if it's aged well or not but it was not a bad sequel to SA2 in any means.
Dante's Inferno - Better than every game in the God of War series IMO.
Project Altered Beast (PS2) - Underneath it's rough presentation lies an excellent game in the veins of Demon's Crest. And Rieko Kodama involved with it.
Golden Axe: Beast Rider - It's actually a little rough on the edges but still has it's qualities.

[Skykid]

Mirror's Edge. Best game on the 360, IMO, and it's got a metascore in the 70s somewhere. Makes no sense.

That metascore makes sense to me. Innovative, refreshing, frustrating.

I always liked Golvellius (Master System) when I was a kid, although not many people had ever heard or played it in school.

[antron]

Discs of Tron (arcade)

[GateofThunderforceIII]

Most recently Nail'd for me. This was killed in reviews from Edge and Games TM, but it's hard to look at arcade racers the same way with this game's wildly imaginative tracks! I hope to see a sequel, but that seems highly unlikely...

[Blackbird]

I have a love-hate relationship with most Sting games. They are so fun, but at the same time, they can also be extremely frustrating.

Heck, I'll go so far as to say my favorite genre, turn-based strategy games, doesn't get enough love as a whole.

Sure, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, and Heroes of Might and Magic might have a hardcore underground fan base, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to first person shooter or platformer fans.

[cj iwakura]

The entire Deception series.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/decept ... eption.htm

Four games strong.

[EinhanderZwei]

The entire Deception series.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/decept ... eption.htm

Four games strong.

Deception fuckin' rules (except of Trapt; couldn't stand the constant weeping of the protagonist )

[Elixir]

Resonance of Fate - overshadowed by FF13.

[Evilmaxwar]

Target earth (Assault Suits Leynos) on the genesis, i always thought it was awesome, played it as a kid. I think it only got slightly popular in japan, the subsequent titles were not even released outside Japan.

[RNGmaster]

The entire Shadow Hearts series, as well as Koudelka which almost nobody has played.
Shin Megami Tensei games (non-Persona) also get much less love than they deserve.

[cj iwakura]

The entire Deception series.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/decept ... eption.htm

Four games strong.

Deception fuckin' rules (except of Trapt; couldn't stand the constant weeping of the protagonist )

To be fair, that's kind of a series trademark now. Except Millennia. Stone-cold, she was.

III was my favorite, and Reina's just about as weepy as Trapt's Alicia.

[Ruldra]

I feel like I'm the only person on the planet who likes this.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Discs of Tron (arcade)

Discs of Tron Factoid: It was Bally Midway that originally wanted to include the gameplay featured in Discs of Tron in the original 1982 Tron arcade game release but due to not enough memory on the PCB itself, they created an all new PCB just for DoT game when it was finally released in the arcades back in 1983.

As for the original Tron arcade game, Bally did make a mini game that featured a scene from the film but that scene was later removed, and said mini game was removed as well.

Ever notice how the mini game featured in the GBA game of Tron 2.0; Killer App titled "Firewall" features the same visual aestethics that was shown on the control panel of the original Solar sailer that Yori operates in the Tron film?

Greetings, program.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Drum]

Atomic Runner (MD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEbRK5S3Rao

Balloon Kid (GB)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyUBn3re_DE

Shadow Force (arc)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bykZ0qK29mY

Shadow of the Beast III (Amiga)
An actual good game, unlike Beast I & II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKwtjsDcvb4

Wizkid - The Story of Wizball 2 (Amiga)
Generally praised very highly apart from a few idjits on release, but came out late on a platform that never took off in the places that apparently matter, and has been largely forgotten by Amiga fans - possibly because they are dumb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V12cYRmlekE

Spanky's Quest (SNES)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V12cYRmlekE

Night Stocker (arc)
Apparently shooting and driving at the same time was too hard for stupid people in 1986

http://gamesdbase.com/gamedetail-arcade ... aspx?nop=1

Gumshoe (NES)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTsp_Zxdeeo

Jump Bug (arc)
This may or may not qualify as a shmup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N_e4cxM6lY

Operation Gunbuster (arc)
No video online that I can find.
Co-op, vs FPS with lightguns released the same year as Wolf 3D. Pretty sick.

I, Robot (arc)
This game. Goddamn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmvWxG2zvs8

Major Havoc (arc)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6e7_9Hp2U

Nitro Ball (arc)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ldhxd6y70

SWAT (arc)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdG-WHPfHB8

Disco No. 1 (arc)
No vid I can find. Sorta like Quantum, if you know that, but released earlier the same year.

Wibarm (PC-88, DOS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG-DqEN5vBA

[louisg]

I don't know if this counts, but I think Test Drive II on Amiga (or PC) was pretty panned, and that's one of my favorite racing games of all time. It was definitely a groundbreaker in 1989. I also like Screamer a lot, and I remember that being trashed in an inaccurate Computer Gaming World writeup which claimed that the game only had three tracks. Of course, arcade style games had about a 70% chance of being trashed by CGW back then anyway

Drum, whoa, I didn't know there was a Wizball II! I'll have to look into that! I also totally have to agree with Gunbuster, Major Havoc, and Atomic Runner. Excellent games (though I'm not sure GunBuster was trashed as much as just being unknown). Gunbuster would have to have counted as incredibly influential-- if anyone played it (first mouse-aim style fps game, first deathmatch-focused arena fps-- both by several years)

I also didn't know Gumshoe was on NES! I remember playing that in the arcade.

For the "unknown games" pile I'll have to add Citadel (C64). It's a great puzzle/action game somewhat in the vein of Paradroid. There's also Ports of Call which is a good (and fun!) shipping business simulation. I swear, I have no idea how they made that one exciting, but they did. Ahhh I could go on forever if we're counting neglected games!

[Drum]

I don't know if this counts, but I think Test Drive II on Amiga (or PC) was pretty panned, and that's one of my favorite racing games of all time. It was definitely a groundbreaker in 1989. I also like Screamer a lot, and I remember that being trashed in an inaccurate Computer Gaming World writeup which claimed that the game only had three tracks. Of course, arcade style games had about a 70% chance of being trashed by CGW back then anyway

Drum, whoa, I didn't know there was a Wizball II! I'll have to look into that! I also totally have to agree with Gunbuster, Major Havoc, and Atomic Runner. Excellent games (though I'm not sure GunBuster was trashed as much as just being unknown). Gunbuster would have to have counted as incredibly influential-- if anyone played it (first mouse-aim style fps game, first deathmatch-focused arena fps-- both by several years)

I also didn't know Gumshoe was on NES! I remember playing that in the arcade.

For the "unknown games" pile I'll have to add Citadel (C64). It's a great puzzle/action game somewhat in the vein of Paradroid. There's also Ports of Call which is a good (and fun!) shipping business simulation. I swear, I have no idea how they made that one exciting, but they did. Ahhh I could go on forever if we're counting neglected games!

I basically ignored the OP in favour of listing a bunch of obscure games I like. Some of those games definitely fit though - Balloon Kid was hammered in reviews despite being amazing.
Wizball II plays nothing like Wizball except in one level - kinda. It is glorious, and one of my favourite games ever, but some of the logic in the adventure game-y areas is warped, so be prepared.

[Evilmaxwar]

The entire Shadow Hearts series

Hell yeah, thats pretty much as badass as an RPG can get.