"It's terrible but I like it anyway" games

[strat]

My picks are all Simpsons games.

Bart vs. the Space Mutants (NES) - I enjoy the game as a puzzle platformer and the levels are packed full of strange mini-events, like the bouncing magician's assistant or the Ferris wheel at Krusty Land. Plus the mini-games are a nice touch. Of course people hate the game for the cumbersome inventory management, the goofy run and jump control scheme and some randomly annoying things like the cement pits and the dinosaur mini-boss. But the game has a lot of interesting ideas when you get past that stuff.

Bartman Meets Radioactive Man - Even though it's a pretty mediocre game, there's enough variety to keep things interesting (Sometimes the game becomes a shmup) and the "Limbo" bonus stage is good, wholesome masochistic fun.

Escape from Camp Deadly (GB) - Another game that's just acceptable on the whole but worth playing for the really cool stuff like the power-up suits that last for 30 seconds, one of which gives you a beekeeping mask just before a swarm of instant-kill bees. Plus the treehouse mini-bosses and the cryptic hints on defeating them. Of course the game is too long and the final stage sucks apart from introducing the bears. Back in elementary school I did several no-death runs on this game full of instant-kill traps and pitfalls.

[velcrozombie]

Friday the 13th and Jaws are interesting choices, my friend. Two games based on movie properties with many sequels, and are early survival horror movies.

The original movie Jaws and Friday the 13th each build suspense, and have gory payoff scenes.Very different movies of course, as Jaws is not a teenage slasher flick and avoids many of the tropes. Of course, Friday the 13th is so early in the slasher heyday the tropes were still fresh. Good pictures to develop video games from. Question: Which movie in the franchise is the source material for each game? Is it Jaws, or more like Jaws 2 or 4 or a mashup? Is it the first, or a later Jason movie?

I played the C64 version of Friday the 13th instead of the NES, and I think the C64 critic reviewed i as a D. The music certainly stayed with me, and the digitized screams. Not many games made me as tense from not knowing where the antagonist was, to be sure. Jaws I have on the NES, but only played with it casually, generally agreeing with the Critics comments. I wish it had more of the suspense or evoked more of the original movie. Wheres my Quint? Or better yet, replace Quints last scene with Jason vs the shark....

I've always heard that Jaws 4: The Revenge was the source of, um, inspiration for the game - they also came out around the same time and have nearly identical box-art - but I've only ever seen the first two Jaws films. Incidentally, I agree with both the Critic's grade and review - my enjoyment of this game is a probably more a case of youthful Stockholm syndrome than anything else. It was also possibly the first game I was able to finish on my own, which undoubtedly adds to the fond memories.

While I'm not the biggest fan, I've seen almost every Friday the 13th movie due to them being staples of adolescent sleepovers. I'd say the game most strongly resembles Part VI, which was a sort of rebirth for Jason after his death in Part IV and the copycat killer posing as him in the much-reviled Part V. Oddly enough, there's a scene in VI where Jason opens a cabin full of sleeping children and actually spares them (fitting with the mythology of punishing the use of alcohol and promiscuous behavior and at least partly sparing the innocent), but the game can end due to Jason killing all the kids that your counselors are in charge of. I think the game is unique and good at generating tension and would have probably given it a C; it's interesting to read the Critic's reviews for both games and see how much more positive the tone for the Friday the 13th review is, even though both games received the same grade.

It's funny that you bring up that they are both licensed games. I remember after getting my PS3 how reluctant I was to rent Batman: Arkham Asylum despite the accolades it was receiving (although it ended up being a wonderful game) and have consistently tried to warn my younger cousins off of renting or buying licensed games (to no avail).

[JustLikeHeaven]

Good call with Friday the 13th and Jaws on the NES. Both of them have terrible reputations but I still enjoy them. I've played Jaws more times than any sane person should. I had it growing up and me and my brother just liked the challenge of trying to beat it. Once you know what you're doing it's like a 60 min game. Grab that old Advantage controller...pop on the turbo and start hunting down sharks.

And yes...the game is certainly based on the dreadful Jaws 4.

[JustLikeHeaven]

Here are some more broken down by system:

NES

Ghostbusters - Horrible game. For some reason I find it semi-enjoyable though. It's so cryptic and crappy...sometimes I feel like playing it though.

Solar Jetman - Not really a horrible game...but it's super hard. I really like it. It does seem to have it's fair share of detractors.

Robowarrior - Another confusing NES game. It's sort of like Bomberman, mixed with a puzzle aspect. Once you understand how to play so that the level doesn't just continuously loop...it's pretty fun.

Genesis

Fighting Masters - This was one of the first Genesis games I ever had. It's such a primative game...but I LOVE it's crappy sci-fi characters. For me this is pure comedy gold. The fighting mechanics are simplistic, but as a two player game I still get enjoyment out of this turd.

Super NES

Clayfighter - It's not held in high regards...but I still enjoy this game. I'm semi-obsessed with claymation animation and this game is awesome in that regard. It's still a fun, goofy time with two players.

Itchy and Scratchy - This shallow ass game is just about cartoon violence and not much else. I don't love it...but it's a hoot to play once in a while.

[Oltobaz]

Hey, Robowarrior is a legit classic! I think I was maybe 13 when I beat it. I agree with Fighting Masters. It came out at a time I was itching for some decent vs fighting action, thanks to Double Dragon and Trojan vs modes on NES. Pre Street Fighter 2 era, in other words. It seemed like a fantastic game. It still does, but, I have to admit, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (great Atari ST/Amiga RPG, by the way).

[Vexer6]

People love to crap all over the Bubsy games, but I owned them on the Sega Genesis(well more like my cousin owned them and gave them to me) and I really enjoyed them as a kid, not the best platformers, but definitely better then say Awesome Possum.

[eneuman96]

Another one I can think of is the Telltale game series Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. They don't make much sense if you don't know what Homestar Runner is (basically, it's a series of webtoons that was the bomb diggity circa 2004, but is now known for barely updating at all), they have some pretty obtuse puzzles, and the PSN versions in particular are ginormously glitchy, but I still have a soft spot for them. Maybe it's just because of the in-jokes and amusing mini-games.

[JustLikeHeaven]

I thought of another one this morning:

Brain Dead 13 (3DO/SAT/PS1) - I've always been a fan of these FMV games, but this comedic, Gothic, adventure always made me happy. The game was a constant barrage of trial and error game-play, but it had high production values. Just dying and seeing the elaborate death animations was fun. I remember I got pretty damn good at this when I was younger. I never could finish it though. I might need to rectify that!

[DaHeckIzDat]

Oh, there was Mighty Max for SNES. Based on an obscure tv show based on an obscure line of toys, and made by the same people who made the SNES ports of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. I got it when I was a kid,and actually convinced myself I was having fun with it. Looking back on it, yeah, that game sucked.

[Herschie]

I seem to remember wanting to get home from the club to play MLB 2K10. And I had some pretty good times with Bible Adventures, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Taito), and Total Recall.

Yeah, my friends thought I was nuts.