Worst RPG Ever?

[Therumancer]

Hey all, so I'm looking to torture myself and test my patience. Basically I'd like to hear what you think are the worst RPG's in existence and I'm gonna give them a try. We're talking over-powered bosses, hours upon hours of grinding or seeking "that" item, unbalanced party systems, etc.

The catch is they have to be retro. I'm looking for anything on the N64 or older. None of this "Enchanted Arms" or "The last Remnant" crap.

Old-school, unfair, and downright HARD RPG's to beat. Lay it on me and tell me why it's such a horrible game or why you quit playing/didn't even bother.

BEGIN!

Well I guess most of the people here are missing the point in what you say you want.

If I had to make suggestions, most would actually be PC games, but here are a few:

#1: Spirit Of Adventure (PC)
#2: Disciples Of Steel (PC)
#3: Cobra Mission (PC)
#4: Mines Of Titan/Mars Saga (PC)
#5: Sentinel Worlds: Future Magic (PC)
#6: Challenge Of The Five Realms (PC)
#7: Bloodnet (PC)
#8: Hard Nova (PC)
#9: Shadowrun (Sega Genesis)
#10: Hosigami: Ruining The Blue Earth (Playstation)
#11: SMT: Ronde (Sega Mega Drive)

I could list more, but these are the ones I feel best fit your description. To be fair a lot of these games have redeeming features to them, but most are REALLY badly designed in at least one or two crucial aspects above and beyond any grinding or a complicated game system. For example "Shadowrun" for the Sega Genesis is a cult classic, and did a good job of following a lot of the RPG mechanics, but features an annoying healing system, a beginning where you spend a lot of time literally running around between locations on a slum map to get enough exps and wealth to not be beaten down constantly (hours), and what I feel is a very awkward combat system due to it being designed to work with two buttons.

Most of the games I mention above can be found via Abandonware sites and so on, as the games were so.... mediocre, that not only are they old, but the developers didn't hold onto the rights for them. Abandonia, Home Of The Underdogs, etc... legal, but I'm not sure of the stance of "The Escapist" on Abandonware so I am loathe to post direct links.

As an honorable mention, I'd also refer you to the "Dungeon Master" series, I can't quite say that this counts as a "bad" game as for it's day it was nearly perfect and helped set the standards by which RPGs are judged. It does tend to be fairly tricky though, and it's possible to literally get perma-stuck due to running out of food and water and so on if you don't understand the system correctly and plan ahead by figuring out which creatures in the dungeon you can eat and so on. The original "Dungeon Master" has been remade constantly, and there are versions that run in Java and so on out there on a lot of those abandonware sites.

The final Wizardry trilogy (Bane Of The Cosmic Forge, Crusaders Of The Dark Savant, Wizardry 8) is also excellent, but it's abandonware at this point to my knowlege. The latter "Might and Magic" games are in the same catagory, while cult classics it's notable that the last installment: "Day Of The Destroyer" was viewed as being fairly weak due to it's graphic quality even for the day, and so on. "Might and Magic 9" is a legendary stinker, and pretty much heralded the end of the series as an RPG franchise.

 

[Legion IV]

Different medias you're working with, that example is fairly invalid. A game has to function well and keep the player's attention over several hours, movies just need to be flashy for an hour and a half to sell well. So the fact that so many people like them is a bit more of an argument than in the movie business.

You heard it here folks: Modern Warfare 2 is the greatest game of all time.

Someones having fun putting words in peoples mouth and speaking as if there authority and can decide if a games good or not.

OP: To me it'd either be Planescape Torment, Baulders gate, then probably the older fallout games. All were just awful and just bad. Massively over hyped and just horrible.

 

[Tragiverse]

The second was faaaar to alien to be comfortable in.

But that doesn't make it bad now does it? Except for the combat.

Well, I consider it ambiguously and personally bad, if that makes any sense. I don't think it was a horribly made game, however, no. Just bad for me and the style of games I enjoy.

wait.. what? how does that make it a bad RPG? i can understand not liking it, but calling it the worst RPG just seems really ignorant to the definition of the genre.

Fallout 3 is a poor RPG. Read up on the stats of that game - none of it makes sense and (as sad as it is to say this) the game would have been better off embracing it's FPS side. On top of that, the morality choices have no context and make no sense: Hi, I'm a guy you just met. Would you like to blow up this town of innocent people who live around a still armed and radioactive nuclear bomb, if only for the simple fact that it upsets my bosses view of a nuclear devastated wasteland? We'll give you a hotel room that you can decorate with bones and human flesh, because if you're evil you gotta be utterly ridiculously EVIL.

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

I have a hard time remembering games I didn't enjoy. I don't buy many in the first place, so I often put in a lot of research beforehand.

The RPG I enjoyed the least, however, would probably be Dragon Age Origins.

There was nothing really memorable about the game aside from Alistar or Shall. The world was exceptionally bland, and the parts which weren't so dull were all places you never went to visit. Orlais sounded far more interesting than Ferleden. The accents were at least more attractive, yet it was always talked about only in conversation. The entire game might have been far more interesting had it taken place somewhere else. You would have just went somewhere else instead of Ferelden because you had just been accused of killing the King. That's a pretty damn good reason to go into exile.

I didn't like the combat. Warriors were too similar to rogues, and they ruined mages. The trees were bland for mages. The only interesting tree was entropy. Blood magic was a complete letdown after all that buildup. Apparently arcane warriors were overpowered, but if I had wanted to roll a warrior I would have rolled a warrior.

The story followed the Bioware formula pretty tightly.

I didn't care at all about being a Grey Warden. Being a Jedi in KoTOR was interesting because of the force powers which came with it. Being a Grey Warden was just the result of a resistant immune system. You didn't get any cool powers. It felt like I was on Taris for the entire game because of this.

 

[DforSpiD]

Different medias you're working with, that example is fairly invalid. A game has to function well and keep the player's attention over several hours, movies just need to be flashy for an hour and a half to sell well. So the fact that so many people like them is a bit more of an argument than in the movie business.

You heard it here folks: Modern Warfare 2 is the greatest game of all time.

How does that follow at all?

 

[Louzerman102]

dual orb 2, you need to play it on emulator because it is a snes japan only RPG. It takes two hours of grinding to get into the first dungeon, you'll meet the first boss at four, and all bosses are ridiculously overpowered.

 

[Richardplex]

Morrowind for me. Because of how slow wood elves run, and because of the miss mechanic that was built in. I've tried the game 4 or 5 times, and I've given up in disgust each time. /raise flameshield.

 

[Knocker]

Hylide for the NEC and later the NES. Never could figure out if i was doing damage or not.

 

[SantoUno]

KotOR . . . but on xbox. It's one of the best games ever on PC, and then with that freakin' controller that xbox has it turns into a mess.

That's weird, I remember when I played KOTOR 1 and 2 on my xbox back in high school, and it was some of the most fun RPG moments I've ever had. Controls were perfectly fine and manageable for me.

Seriously, just because you're not comfortable with another control setup you're going to suggest KOTOR being the worst RPG ever? That's being too hyperbolic if you ask me.

 

[krazykidd]

Hey all, so I'm looking to torture myself and test my patience. Basically I'd like to hear what you think are the worst RPG's in existence and I'm gonna give them a try. We're talking over-powered bosses, hours upon hours of grinding or seeking "that" item, unbalanced party systems, etc.

The catch is they have to be retro. I'm looking for anything on the N64 or older. None of this "Enchanted Arms" or "The last Remnant" crap.

Old-school, unfair, and downright HARD RPG's to beat. Lay it on me and tell me why it's such a horrible game or why you quit playing/didn't even bother.

BEGIN!

Oooh a gaming rpg masochist like me this should be fun .

Want a rpg to teste your patience ? Play dragon warrior ( also known as dragon quest 1 ) on the nes . But DOnT look up anything about the gAme , i did thia about 2 months ago . So much grinding , so little information about where to go and what to do , ahould be right up your alley . ( im speaking from experience .

Want somthing less old school? Play legend of legaia , its a very good game BUT i DARE you ( yeah shit just got real ) to play the game without looking up the move list on the net . Play that shit vanilla , no faq, no looking up the move lists i can garentee , it wont be easy .

 

[00slash00]

KotOR . . . but on xbox. It's one of the best games ever on PC, and then with that freakin' controller that xbox has it turns into a mess.

i only played kotor on pc and it was one of the least fun experiences i ever had with a video game

 

[Captain Hat]

Hey all, so I'm looking to torture myself and test my patience. Basically I'd like to hear what you think are the worst RPG's in existence and I'm gonna give them a try. We're talking over-powered bosses, hours upon hours of grinding or seeking "that" item, unbalanced party systems, etc.

The catch is they have to be retro. I'm looking for anything on the N64 or older. None of this "Enchanted Arms" or "The last Remnant" crap.

Old-school, unfair, and downright HARD RPG's to beat. Lay it on me and tell me why it's such a horrible game or why you quit playing/didn't even bother.

BEGIN!

Oooh a gaming rpg masochist like me this should be fun .

Want a rpg to teste your patience ? Play dragon warrior ( also known as dragon quest 1 ) on the nes . But DOnT look up anything about the gAme , i did thia about 2 months ago . So much grinding , so little information about where to go and what to do , ahould be right up your alley . ( im speaking from experience .

Want somthing less old school? Play legend of legaia , its a very good game BUT i DARE you ( yeah shit just got real ) to play the game without looking up the move list on the net . Play that shit vanilla , no faq, no looking up the move lists i can garentee , it wont be easy .

A masochist indeed. Already killed Dragon Warrior and FF1 on the NES a while back Legend of Legaia presently sits happily in my PS1 collection right next to Intelligent cube and Beyond the Beyond. Always been interested in trying Hydlide, but I hear so many absoloutely frustratingly terrible things about it that I'm actually a little afraid to take it on...

Hey all, OP here.

I've taken a look at the suggestions you've made so far to me (Disciple of Steel, Aidyn Chronicles, some sort of Ultima crap on the NES..?) and it's a freakin' hoot-a-nanny. Awesome stuff you guys have suggested.

Here's a list of a few games I've already cracked in my years of grinding-happiness:

Dragon Warrior
Final Fantasy 1-7
Breath of Fire 1 and 2
The Granstream Saga
Beyond the Beyond
Guardian's Crusade
Legend of Mana
Chrono Trigger
Wizardry 5: Heart of the Maelstrom
Earthbound (I NEED TO PLAY EARTHBOND ZERO!!!)
Megaman battle Network 1
Brain lord
Tales of Phantasia on GBA
Live-a-Live
Quest 64
Lagoon (SCREW this game. Freakin' SCREW IT.)

....So, that should provide more of the flavour of RPG's I'm looking to try and rip me hair out with. And thusly we continue the conversation

 

[otakon17]

/flamesheild on

Eternal Sonata and Planescape.

The first was eternally (get it?) boring and did nothing to draw me into the story. The second was faaaar to alien to be comfortable in.

But this is, of course, al imho.

/retract flameshield

HA! You let your guard down *prepares flamethrower* BURN YOU!! BURN FOR NOT LOVING PLANESCAPE!!!!


No, I actually understand where your coming from, the first time I played I couldn't wrap my head around the ideas it was presenting at the time. Ended up being one of my favorite games though.

On Topic: Summoner for the PS2. While the sequel was okay, this was abysmal with mediocre PS1 era graphics and a horrible, slow combat system.

 

[krazykidd]

A masochist indeed. Already killed Dragon Warrior and FF1 on the NES a while back Legend of Legaia presently sits happily in my PS1 collection right next to Intelligent cube and Beyond the Beyond. Always been interested in trying Hydlide, but I hear so many absoloutely frustratingly terrible things about it that I'm actually a little afraid to take it on...

Hey all, OP here.

I've taken a look at the suggestions you've made so far to me (Disciple of Steel, Aidyn Chronicles, some sort of Ultima crap on the NES..?) and it's a freakin' hoot-a-nanny. Awesome stuff you guys have suggested.

Here's a list of a few games I've already cracked in my years of grinding-happiness:

Dragon Warrior
Final Fantasy 1-7
Breath of Fire 1 and 2
The Granstream Saga
Beyond the Beyond
Guardian's Crusade
Legend of Mana
Chrono Trigger
Wizardry 5: Heart of the Maelstrom
Earthbound (I NEED TO PLAY EARTHBOND ZERO!!!)
Megaman battle Network 1
Brain lord
Tales of Phantasia on GBA
Live-a-Live
Quest 64
Lagoon (SCREW this game. Freakin' SCREW IT.)

....So, that should provide more of the flavour of RPG's I'm looking to try and rip me hair out with. And thusly we continue the conversation

Hmmm okay okay, how about grandia 2 or 3 ? I played grandia 3 , i was a little too good at it , i got to the final boss , with my party at lvl 25-ish ,( i must have gotten insane luck or i was really good) because your not really suppose to get to the final bnoss before lvl 50 , i HAD TO GRIND FOR 25 LVLS for the freaking final boss. Monsters give little to no exp ( kinda like dragon warrior ).i took an entire day to do this , i was determined to not let a game win . You could also try SMT , Digital saga or Nocturn , on normal or hard, ( if your feeling awsome do it on hard , because the North America HARD is Japaneese NORMAL true fact )

 

[burningdragoon]

*looks at some people's "worst" rpgs*

Man, a lot you guys really haven't been exposed to many actually bad RPGs (which is a good thing I guess). I didn't like FFXIII or FFX all that much, but the worst rpg ever? No.

You know what I feel like making now? An RPG with:

1 PC.
No items.
No magic.
1 town.
Inn costs 100 gold
1 1-room dungeon which has 2 different enemies that spawn randomly.
1 enemy is really weak, and gives you 1 xp and 1 gold for killing him.
The other enemy is impossible to beat without being Lv99 (as in will kill you in one hit until then)
Leveling up starts at 1000 experiences increases exponentially.

Last of all: No saves.

Then people can point to that and call it the worst RPG ever and this discussion doesn't have keep coming up.

 

[Kurea]

Any JRPG that no one outside of Japan has heard of and that no one inside Japan remembers. The SNES/SFC was a landfill of bad JRPGS. I know that's not a specific example of a bad RPG, but there were SO many that I can't offer just one. If you don't like JRPGs today because of overused cliches, keep in mind that it used to be worse, much worse.

 

[targren]

I don't know if Hydlide was an RPG as such, but good gods was that a painful game...

Anyway... to answer the question:

/me dons asbestos boxers

*Ahem*

Final Fantasy VII.

Yes, I said it.

Top 7 reasons that I say that FF7 is the worst RPG ever:

7: The combat system could have been passable if leveling materia wasn't such a painful slog.

6: I am assuming that the localization sucked and that the Japanese version didn't have holes in the story you could drive that stupid truck through.

5: Stupid, apparently Greenpeace-approved plot

4: Not a single character that I didn't want to see die horribly. At least that pushy bimbo bought it at the end of disc 1, but it really was over too quickly.

3: Yes, that includes the white-haired whiny bishie *****, all the fangirls and their magnesium panties be damned. Apparently you give Ghaleon a stupidly-long katana and that makes him the best villain evar!!

2: Spawning more crappy spinoffs than Happy Days.

And the number 1 reason that Final Fantasy VII is the worst RPG ever:

1: Snowboarding minigame.

 

[Trixsy]

Trinity Universe and Cross Edge were pretty agonizing... Apparently the combat systems are considered in depth and really cool if and when you get the hang of them, but I pretty much couldn't stand them. XD

 

[Trixsy]

3: Yes, that includes the white-haired whiny bishie *****, all the fangirls and their magnesium panties be damned. Apparently you give Ghaleon a stupidly-long katana and that makes him the best villain evar!!

GHALEON!

Ghaleon beats Sephiroth any day of the week. He doesn't need a damn katana, HE'S THE MAGIC EMPEROR! 8D

 

[KoalaKid]

Two Worlds is the first one that springs to mind. All the more surprising that Two Worlds 2 is quite good.

I played Two worlds all the way through, but for the life of me I can't remember anything about it other than it was bad. It's almost as if the game was so bad the whole experience became a repressed memory. I have thought about getting two worlds 2 just to see what its like, but read that it was bad too. so its not as bad as people say?