Games you really wanted to like...

[VideoGameCritic]

I was just playing Batman Forever Arcade (Saturn) and I can't get over what a missed opportunity this was. Granted, side-scrolling brawlers like Streets of Rage were on the way out in 1996, but this could have been one of the best ever.

You get to play as Batman and Robin (co-op). You get the movie orchestrated soundtrack. There are so many colorful villains and locations in the film. I have long put this movie in the so-bad-it's-good category. It's dumb, yet it's a feast for the eyes.

The game itself is incomprehensible. Things are moving all over the screen and you can't tell what's going on. The animation is horrible, and the controls are really confusing. I can't even figure out how to PUNCH for Pete's sake! If only there was an option to SLOW THE GAME DOWN it might have been playable.

Okay now it's your turn...

[Matchstick]

Great topic!

The one that sticks out to me the most is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for the NES. I was a young boy in the 80s, so **of course** I loved Indy! I didn't get very many games as a kid, but when my Mum came home one day from a yard sale with a GD Indy game, as a sort of "just because" present, I was ecstatic! I ran downstairs, pulled the Power / Volume knob on the old Sharp TV, and got down to business... and felt the waves of disappointment just wash over me. The A and B buttons were backwards, I couldn't figure out how to jump without falling to my death, and I didn't understand anything in the minecart section, or anything regarding progressing from level to level.

But you know what? I loved it, anyway! Oh, sure, it's a baaaaad game, but I still have it, and I still like playing it for the nostalgia kick. Almost beat it a few years back (got the idol statue and progressed to the final cliffside level) but ran out of lives and just couldn't seal the deal. Bad game as it is, it's still Indy, and it's still a happy childhood memory. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone

I will admit, though, that the haunting 8-bit rendition of John Williams's Parade of the Slave Children still gives me the chills just thinking about it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQLkZ1nE_Ag

EDIT: Is it strange that both of our picks are movie-based games? I sense that might be a trend going forward.

[VideoGameCritic]

I think you might be onto something! One unique characteristic of movie-based games is that they need to be rushed out in order to capitalize of the success of the film.

[DaHeckIzDat]

I really wanted to like Death Stranding because I have a ton of respect for Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid). Like I said in my creative games thread, he's one of the only big name developers who likes to experiment and try new things. So while I appreciate Death Stranding for what it was trying to be, I just can't say it's a good game.

I also wanted to like Darkest Dungeon. The developers obviously put a crap ton of effort into it, from the gameplay itself to the presentation. And as a Dark Souls fanatic, you'd think a hard-as-balls gothic RPG would be right up my alley! But while Dark Souls is primarily skill based (it's possible to beat the entire game without leveling up once) a turn based system is controlled entirely by the computer, and the computer here wants to annihilate you. You can strategize all you want, but when the game itself decides you're going to lose, there's nothing you can do about it.

[marioguy2]

When I was young, I was a huge fan of Home Improvement. I loved the comedy and Allen's acting along with the "mistakes" Tim Taylor made on the job. I also took notice of one of the opening themes and saw a "replicated" video game atmosphere and was pleasantly surprised to discover there was a SNES game "based" on the show.

Unfortunately, the game was not a mirror of that awesome looking platformer and instead gave us a strange opening stage going to dinosaur times. It took forever to fully grasp the controls and the stages are confusing to tread through. I disliked the ambushing of enemies sometimes (like a dinosaur that charges at Taylor) and was also saddened to learn that none of the children are playable in this game. I have never beaten this game and gave it many tries, but the levels are super tricky and the time limit isn't too helpful. I did like the prospect of "Tool Time" scenes in the game, but they were just okay in the game. It took me a while to discover the use of the jackhammer. It's not the worst game I have ever played, but it is the most disappointing game I have played.

[DrLitch]

I also wanted to like Darkest Dungeon. ...You can strategize all you want, but when the game itself decides you're going to lose, there's nothing you can do about it.

Agreed, game would have been perfect if not rigged. It is as hopelessly unplayable as Russian Roulette when all chambers contain live rounds.

[lynchie137]

Probably the NES port of Double Dragon 3. I enjoyed the port of the first game, and I absolutely LOVED the sequel. So when I saw the third one on the shelf at my local video store back in the day, I just had to give this one a go as well. Unfortunately, I found it to be nowhere near as fun as the previous two. Not even close. The enemies are a lot tougher to take out than in previous outings, your health bar goes down a lot quicker than it should, your special moves have a real annoying way of not working when you desperately need them to, and worst of all, you only get one life to start out with. Granted, you can earn additional lives after the second and third missions when you beat the two boss characters in those levels. But the second level boss is way too slow on his feet, and the third level boss attacks are for the most part ineffective, rarely hitting their mark. If you're playing single player mode and you lose Billy Lee before tackling the fourth and fifth missions, you are gonna have a real rough time. All of these factors make this game far more frustrating than what it should be, really. And as far as I'm concerned, that is a shame. This game should have been a homerun out of the park. But sadly, it is just a long fly ball out for me. Which is why out of all the 3 Double Dragon games released for the NES, this is the one I play the least.

[DaHeckIzDat]

I also wanted to like Darkest Dungeon. ...You can strategize all you want, but when the game itself decides you're going to lose, there's nothing you can do about it.

Agreed, game would have been perfect if not rigged. It is as hopelessly unplayable as Russian Roulette when all chambers contain live rounds.

I've heard people say that there's one party combination that let's you cheese the game, essentially. But if a game gives you multiple options on how to do things, and then only makes one of them viable, then why bother putting all those other options there in the first place?

And even if that wasn't the case, the fact that the game unapologetically expects you to start over from scratch every time it pounds you into the dirt is enough to kill my interest in it. I know that's how roguelikes work, but most roguelikes are designed so that you can jump straight back into the action after you die. The fast pace helps balance out the tedium of restarting. But DD is such a slow paced game that losing your party could cost you multiple hours of progress while you grind up new guys to their level—and that's assuming THEY don't get wiped out as well.

The whole experience is just so freaking demoralizing. A lot of people will tell you that that's what the developers intended, but is that supposed to make things better? That's like saying "This hamburger is disgusting, but it's still a good burger because the menu said it would be disgusting."

[JustLikeHeaven]

I thought Darkest Dungeon was incredible! It felt like the video game version of a dark twisted D&D session circa 1983. As someone who plays a lot of tabletop RPGs having a “die roll” essentially screw you over felt very on brand. I can see how some would hate it though.

The first game that springs to mind for me is Metroid Prime. I think it’s a very fine game. However, it gives me some of the worst motion sickness I’ve ever encountered while gaming. You don’t understand how happy I am that the new Metroid is 2D!

As for a game I was hyped for and I thought it actually sucked…I gotta go with Castlevania 64. I know it has its fans, but I’ve never come around on this one. It’s clunky, ugly, and the first game in the series I didn’t love.

[Cafeman]

Games I really wanted to like ... that describes almost all the 32X library.

After enjoying Doom, VRD, and Star Wars Arcade, almost everything else sucked. I didn't care for Knuckles Chaotix or Kolibri much, but I was very disappointed with Motocross, Brutal, B.C. Racers, Cosmic Carnage, Metal Head, and several others. Tried to find the good in them but couldn't.