Games you know are Awful, but you remember something about them fondly

[samus_smash]

FF8. So much hate.

I had it for the PC and it came with this mini-game where you run around as a Chocobo that collects items for the main game for you. I loved that Chocobo...

 

[malestrithe]

A Boy and His Blob. The 1989 version the game was a giant mess. The first part of the game was a confusing mess of location that was saved only because of the length of time needed for puzzle solving. When you get to Blobonia, it was too easy for words. I figured it out before I got the episode of Nintendo Power that told me how do to do it.

 

[Glover09]

Sega GT on the dreamcast. Awkward controls, bad physics, but the fact that you can build your own car is enough for me.

Test Drive 6. I cannot place my finger on it, but as bad as the game is, I have fun with it. Partly it's the music, partly it's the cars, and partly it's just the simplicity of it all.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

PC versions of Pregoblet Harry Potter games were always different from the PS2/GC/XBOX versions. As in, different mechanics, design, levels, EVERYTHING. First one was especially crap, yet I remember them all quite fondly as games that defined my childhood. Chamber was quite competent, and Azkaban wasn't half bad, too.

The console ones I played a lot. They were damn good games.

OT: Shadow the Hedghehog and Sonic Heroes

 

[Kahunaburger]

Jade Empire. I really liked the ideas behind a lot of the game design - who doesn't want to play a game set in steampunk ghost-infested pseudo-China?

I was aware that Jade empire WAS a good game. I might be looking at it with jaded lenses because It's been so long but I remember enjoying the crap out of playing it. Combat was great, setting great and if the story is still with me, that was pretty damn good.

Whatever you do, don't replay it or watch videos of it on youtube. Preserve those good memories

 

[Kahunaburger]

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY CLEAR THE FORUMS, I'M GONNA SAY IT!
*WARNING*
*WARNING*

I think MW2 is the most awful game I have ever played,

and I actually liked it once too. But I just had wool over my eyes thanks to the social stigma to play it (and the fact that I never used stopping power or OP killstreaks, yet held the second-highest Kill/Death of 30 friends at a 1.38, and highest Win/Loss at 1.78 by the end of 3rd prestige, when I gave that game the fuck-up).

But, the thing I remember of that game fondly was spec-ops. It was actually fun and I would contemplate to play it again; but if I so much as look at the MW2 disc it instantaneously cease to exist due to my raw hatred of it.

This more or less sums up my opinion on MW2 - I had a lot of fun with it at the time, but looking back on it the game sucks so much for so many reasons.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

While by no means an awful game, Mirrors Edge wasn't particulary good. It was too short, too linear and gameplay wise just kinda half-arsed. Still, i really dig the art design and i think it has some of the greatest visuals i have ever seen in a game. A shame there isn't a sequel to it.

Oh and theres Alpha Protocol. It does have it's share of fans but it still got pretty bad reviews. I think i played it after i played Deus Ex: Human Revolution (but before i played the original Deus Ex) because i heard it was similar. Well... it clearly wasn't as refined as Human Revolution but i enjoyed it's nonlinear storytelling and it's focus on dialogue.

Deadly Premonition is kind of a cult classic. It loos and plays like a game on the PS2 or the original XBox (or, now that i'm thinking about it, maybe even on the Wii) but it's not bad by any means. It's big, has a lot of sidequests and minigames. Also, the dialogue is hilarious. It's pretty much Twin Peaks with zombies, how can you not like it?

 

[kingthrall]

age of mythology, great idea but terrible gameplay

 

[noble cookie]

Bubsy 3D for the Playstation.

I've not played it since I was a child, and maybe it's just because of that, that I remember it well. Nostalgia and all that.

I wonder if i'd still like it if I dug out my PS1 and had a go at it now.

 

[noble cookie]

age of mythology, great idea but terrible gameplay

Really? I'm playing it for the first time and I think it's fun as hell, i'm curious to know what you mean by terrible gameplay. I love it because it's like Age of Empires II, which I played a hell of a lot back when I was a kid.

 

[Manji187]

Spoiler: Dragonball GT Final Bout

Crappy game (graphics and controls) even at the time, didn't stop me from playing the shit out of it when I was a kid. Good times.

Wow GT Final Bout, thats exaclty what I was thinking in my head for mine as I was reading this! I was also thinking no way anyone would name this godawful yet sinfully fun game. And keep in mind everyone that we had no DBZ games back in the day, heck we didnt even have the Frieza saga. Thats right no SSJ, weak am I right? On top of having ass controls the load time was terrible but it had all the way to GT characters and a really bad leveling system where i had a SSJ Trunks with a super punch that could ko in like 2 hits. Man, memories.

Heh, I still remember the unlock code for all the super saiyans and SS4 Goku XD. My favorite was Super Little Goku, such an abusable character, especially that spinning kick of his which locks enemies into place and after which you recover faster than they do from the stun (basically, that was my multi hit KO move). Fun to kill a character in like less than 5 seconds to spend the victory pose scene watching his multi healthbar still depleting to 0.

I remember being really happy when I figured out how to perform those Meteor Smashes. I also remember the game's physics pulling weird stuff sometimes, especially if you were hitting the opponent in the back.

Yeah, memories.

 

[RichardThompson]

Black ops (inb4 y u hate COD games - shooters just aren't my thing anyway)

Playing search and destroy with my brother (we were on the same console) and some of his friends (6 people in the party). I'm the last person alive in first round for my team. I win - get a clutch 3 man grenade, and brother tells me good job. His screen comes up you lose. Everyone in the party was on the other team except me. LOGICS.

 

[kingthrall]

age of mythology, great idea but terrible gameplay

Really? I'm playing it for the first time and I think it's fun as hell, i'm curious to know what you mean by terrible gameplay. I love it because it's like Age of Empires II, which I played a hell of a lot back when I was a kid.

I dont like it how you cant have an all human army and win, the creatures are way overpowered and the titans are even more rediculous on health.

Also I didnt like the base building and stratergy to it, play that and then play empire earth. It is just not the format I like, and the spells of rain and stuff that is just annoying. Good idea but terrible.

If I remember also the mythology is also incorrect in several area's

 

[Relish in Chaos]

DBZ Ultimate Battle 22 & Final Bout. They?ve both got piss-poor gameplay, but they were my first real introduction to Dragon Ball and I have fond memories of playing them at my friend?s house, thinking they looked really cool and spending almost the entire day fighting each other and trying to defeat Baby.

Sonic Heroes. I remember it not having the best controls and there are far better Sonic games, but when I rented it years ago, I had fun. Also, other retarded 3D Sonic games like Sonic Unleashed that another friend made me play. I?m not sure whether it was that game or another, but I recall thinking that the final boss music was awesome.

 

[EHKOS]

I remember Blasto being fun when I was young.

 

[DiabloBub666]

Bionicle for the PC. When I think about it, it was really bad even for its time, but it was the first "non-educational game" I played for any computer other than Bugdom and MnMs: The Lost Formula. It had so many things I hadn't ever seen before in a game that I was just blown away; the flying in Lewa Nuva's level was just... OH MAH GOAD. And then, right after that... lava surfing. I mean, what the hell. <3

The graphics were really sh*t, the level design was downright horrible at times, the gameplay was inconsistent, and the game was chock full of bugs, but I loved it more than any other game at the time.

You know how the things you're exposed to as a child influence your tastes as an adult? If nothing else, the game had an excellent sense of atmosphere, so I may've just found the cause of why I value atmosphere in any given game so much...

 

[llew]

ape escape, it was SO BAD control wise but so brilliant

 

[The Great JT]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES. BEATING THE DAM LEVEL.