When Kingdom Hearts came out, it was widely criticized by my "super hardcore" group of friends as sugar-encrusted, Disney infused kiddie fare. Of course, none of us had actually played the game, but we were in the 6th grade, and you all know how gamers of that age tend to act.
Anyway, my sister ended up renting it, and I, still being hypnotized, scoffed. As I watched her play, though, I grew interested enough to start my own game. I told myself I was doing it to see what other Final Fantasy characters cameoed, but honestly, I think I was just enamored with the game's honest sense of magic and wonder.
That game remains one of my all-time favorites to this day, and I play through it at least once a year. It was the game that taught me a very important truth about video games: Dismissing a promising game because it isn't a blood and guts slaughterfest, or an M-rated space FPS, is foolhardy.