Amazing games that should have sucked.

[SuperDeadite]

Kind of a counter topic to the disappointing games list.  This is for games that really should be a steaming pile of shit, but ended up being amazingly wonderful games.  I'm not talking about "so bad it's good," but "WTF this should be shit, but it's actual totally awesome legit!"

As most could probably guess, mine would be:

GO! GO! Birdy Chance.

Hey Tokimeki Memorial is really popular, let's take that idea, dumb it down to the basics, throw in a cheap golf game, and give it an Aim for the Ace/Top vibe.  This should be a terrible piece of shovelware, but damn it's still one of my favorites.  The game is just really fun and sucked me in completely.  It does what it needs to, no more no less and always puts a smile on my face.  Having a good grasp of Japanese really helps though as the dialog is a big part of the fun.

[Opethian]

id say Splash Lake
at first glance I wrote it off but after playing it, it gets pretty fun.

[Tatsujin]

gate of thunder

first i thought it's a cheap TFIII ripp-off, but only after 0,023 secs of playing it was clear that it's one, if not the best console shewty of ever..hehe.

trü störy.

[InfraMan]

If we're talking PCE only, I have to go with Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu. It's a game based on a license, which is strike one, and it features a super big-headed Jackie Chan who runs around kicking the shart out of frogs and bouncing off of clouds. Yet somehow it ends up being great, go figure.


Outside of the PCE realm, some other games that come to mind are:

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (360)
Earth Defense Force 2017 (360, etc.)
Katamari Damacy (PS2)

[majors]

Vanishing Point on DC had horrid controls when you start but the Stunt Driver mode was crazy fun. I've heard that the main game does get better the more cars you unlock, but it starts you off with such crappy cars (two in fact), I never bothered to play more of the main game.

[wyndcrosser]

That matching marble game for PCE, I think Turbografx had a release too.

If you're talking about non-PCE/TG, I'd say any Android or iPhone game until you're bored and all you have is your phone.

[Bklyn4ever]

People might not agree with this choice, however, I was fond of JJ & Jeff.

[imparanoic]

pc engine

son son 2 seemed boring, but get addictive
x serd seemed crap, but after figuring this strategy turn based game, highly addictive (originally got to last level in 1994, clock it 2010)
fantasy zone seem basic and boring, but it's actually pretty decent

snes

I was misled that Zelda was not that good and boring ( by my non rpg friends) during 90's, found it was excellent on a snes system on a plane journey 10 years later, then after a mammoth 30 hour session (over a month via emulator) recognized it as a masterpiece on emulator via psp two years ago - also made buy 3d dot game hero

[pixeljunkie]

Cratermaze.

...ended up being a very addictive game.

[roflmao]

Vanishing Point on DC had horrid controls when you start but the Stunt Driver mode was crazy fun. I've heard that the main game does get better the more cars you unlock, but it starts you off with such crappy cars (two in fact), I never bothered to play more of the main game.

I remember when I picked this up second-hand for next to nothing, thinking nothing of it.  And I had so much fun I brought it over to my little bother's place and never came home with it!  I would go over to his place almost every weekend and for awhile we played that a ton! Great, arcade-y racing game that fell under the radar.

[greedostick]

A game that surprised me was Kato-Chan and Ken-Chan. Judging a book by its cover I didn't think the USA version would be good at all due to the horrible art. I played the USA version first and thought it was pretty good. I read years later that the English version was heavily censored. Picked up the Japanese version and loved it. I wouldn't go as far as amazing, but it a very fun game that surprised me and a worthy title of the Turbografx, and a collectors collection.

Also I would like to mention Valis 3 English version. Again because of the horrible art. I seriously think it's the worst art to ever grace a game. Step back Mega Man 1!!! I think she is pretty man-ish and a questionable transexual. But I need to learn to not judge games by their covers because I have been fooled too many times.

[runinruder]

Cratermaze.

...ended up being a very addictive game.

This is a pretty good call.  I don't think the game is amazing, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable and addictive for what it is.

Some other titles that qualify for me...

Tenshi no Uta -- Really tiny sprites, small-window cinemas, goofy-looking characters, yet it's one of my favorite RPGs.

Batman -- Somehow it's a lot of fun to scurry around little mazes and wipe puke off paintings.

[megatron-uk]

x serd seemed crap, but after figuring this strategy turn based game, highly addictive (originally got to last level in 1994, clock it 2010)

I just played this for the first time a few weeks ago - it does seem quite a groovy little scifi strategy game. It's almost a Macross-lite.

Might have to put a bit more time into that one to figure it out; I was just guessing at the controls and my 'X Serd' lead unit got wiped out after I transformed it to fighter mode, flew across the first level and then got pummeled by the enemies when I couldn't figure out how to change it back.

Nice graphics, especially the animations, and it seems like it would be a good translation candidate.....

[reno5]

Tricky Kick. Wasn't sure at all about that game and ended up playing for hours.

Cyber Core: crapy graphics but love that game. Great music etc.

[OldRover]

+1 for Splash Lake. It looked like it'd be goofy and stupid but it's seriously legit.

Camp California. No way could a game featuring a bunch of furries prancing about to Beach Boys music be any good... but it is. While it does have some technical issues with your starting character, this is a pretty solid platformer once you really get into it.

Outside of the PCE/TG world... one that will always be awesome is Castle Of Illusion. How could a Mickey Mouse game be so great? You'd expect it to be a crappy kids' game that's either easy as pie or filled with really lame shit (*cough* Fantasia *cough*) but it's rock solid and will challenge veteran platformer players.

[seieienbu]

Seconding Tricky Kick.  I started playing it on a recommendation on here and was pleasantly surprised.

[technozombie]

Vanishing Point on DC had horrid controls when you start but the Stunt Driver mode was crazy fun. I've heard that the main game does get better the more cars you unlock, but it starts you off with such crappy cars (two in fact), I never bothered to play more of the main game.

I remember when I picked this up second-hand for next to nothing, thinking nothing of it.  And I had so much fun I brought it over to my little bother's place and never came home with it!  I would go over to his place almost every weekend and for awhile we played that a ton! Great, arcade-y racing game that fell under the radar.

I have a soft spot in my heart for this game too.  I never really played the racing aspect of it much but the challenge courses were a blast. My cousin and I used to just do them over and over trying to 1-up each other.  I have no siblings and he was like my little brother. Sadly, he passed away before his 21st birthday, but I still have memories of playing this and the first stage of Super Mario Bros. just trying to see who could get through the stage the fastest.

[jeffhlewis]

I remember renting MK1 and MK2 for the Genesis when they came out, and thinking (even back then) that they were horrifically shitty translations of the arcade games - washed out graphics, horrible music, non-existent voice samples, etc.

I picked up MK3 when it came out just hoping that it'd be semi-decent, and I was blown away from the get-go - animation was great, the music was pretty darn good, most of the important voice samples were still in the game. All the fatality stuff, hidden characters, etc. Played the heck out of that back in the day.

[Vecanti]

Power Eleven. Because I had just always felt that all soccer games sucked by default. And I'm saying that coming from the Amiga scene were I guess there were a lot of good soccer games, though I never played them for long enough as I just never ever could get into any they just were fun to me.

So by my definition Power Eleven should suck, but is one of favorite games.  It doesn't really even follow the rules (no offsides for example), but it is pretty fun a quick game and also for multi-player.

[esteban]

GOMOLA SPEED. I put this here because I think most people, even with open minds, would cringe at the thought of SNAKE + enhancements generating more than a few minutes of entertainment. The graphics are mediocre (thankfully the control is good) and the fundamental mechanics seem overly simplistic (is Gomola Speed much more than the APPLE II ASCII game I typed in from a magazine? Or the NOKIA cell phone game everyone had? ANSWER: Yes.)

This game is executed competently, ramps up, starts throwing neat power-ups/enhancements to the core game and, dammit, just ends up addicting and charming IN SPITE OF ITSELF. I love that I'm worried about my controller's direction pad wearing out every time I play this damn game.

I wish there were many more songs, but at least the 2-3 songs we got are good.

[TheClash603]

Splash Lake is a top 10, perhaps top 5 TG16 game.  I was gonna say it and happy to see others agree!

Yo Bro also is a crappy mascot game of the 90s, but ended up being fun to me.

[Psycho Punch]

Seconding Tricky Kick.  I started playing it on a recommendation on here and was pleasantly surprised.

I like it. It's like they took the puzzles in Goof Troop and made a standalone game out of it.

[kentuckycc]

I was led to believe Fantasy Zone was a sub bar shooter. I love it, but I'm a sucker for a cute-em-up.

[ToyMachine78]

I think fantasy zone is an acquired taste. I don't particularly like it.