Games you thought were awesome until you went and replayed them years later

[Galbalan]

Two games in particular stick out in my mind as having been mind-blowingly great (at the time) and then I realized what steaming piles they were after going back to them. Both are PS1 games.

Final Fantasy VIII: At the time, I was totally enamored with Squaresoft and FFVII had been, like, SOOOO awesome. While FFVII is still (to me) a solidly made game with a number of flaws, it was when I tried to replay FFVIII several years later that I realized it truly was an awful game and never deserved the praise it got. I know it's the most popular FF to hate on, but everything about it was so poorly designed that the trainwreck nature of it is all the more painful.

Vagrant Story: Worst. Action. RPG. Battle. System. Ever.

Granted, even at the time I didn't really "get into it" because I tried hard, even using the strategy guide to work my way through, and I lost interest...booting it up years later, I realized it wasn't just me. It truly was an awful POS.

And what are yours?

[kupomogli]

Dragon Warrior. All throughout 8bit and 16 bit consoles I went back to it frequently and praised it as being a great game. At the time there wasn't too much overshadowing it, but it was clearly the worst of them. As soon as the PSX came out, great RPG after great RPG, a lot of others like Dragon Warrior 3, Final Fantasy, even Phantasy Star(though not so much,) still hold up in comparison to newer RPGs. But going back to the original Dragon Warrior. It's like. Man. This game is fucking terrible. I like the graphics, the classic Dragon Warrior monster designs, the music, even the world layout, but the grindfest in a specific few locations and the poor gameplay was just too much. I still get fanboyish over the underworld on Dragon Warrior 3 since it's the world of the original Dragon Warrior, but Dragon Warrior 3 is enjoyable to play. Even Dragon Warrior GBC isn't any fun and you get twice the amount of Gold and EXP.

[Emperor Megas]

I can't think of any honestly. When everyone was being blown away by 3D gaming, I was one of the few people who thought that those early 32-bit polygon graphics were HORRIBLE, and that a game really had to be great to overshadow how terrible they looked. I never got suckered into garbage hype games that were 'the future!' either, like SEGA CD's awful FMV games.

If I liked a game back in the day, chances are I'll still enjoy it just as much today. And if I come across a game that I've never played before, but it's dated, I'll still enjoy it if it was something that I would have when it released.

[heybtbm]

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64 - 1996)

Then:
Powerful new system, epic soundtrack, unbelievable graphics and varied gameplay. The first level (Snowspeeder vs. AT-AT's) was a window into the future of 3D (everyone was done with 2D by then). Goodbye SNES!

Now:
An unplayable, glitchy, cheap, blurry mess with terrible controls and one of the worst 3D camera's of all time.

[portnoyd]

Robodemons.

Nothing else more to say, just let that sink in.

[Edmond Dantes]

I kinda hate myself for saying this, but:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms - NES
Back then: Epic strategy game full of depth, strategy and layers of management, which actually rewarded you for being intelligent and not just buffing up your army. Note that I first played it in 1998 and it was nowhere near being the first strategy game I ever played.

Now: A sluggish game where you sit around doing nothing until either you decide to attack somebody or they attack you, and then the battles consist of "spend half the time limit walking to where the enemy is and the other half having a war of attrition--or setting everything on fire until you can grab their rice/castles." (This being said, I would imagine it would be an awesome multiplayer game if you could dig up eight friends who had a lot of patience).

It doesn't help that I've read the actual novel since then (FWIW, best novel ever) and the game does a poor job of replicating any part of it.

[Colorado Rockies]

Spyro the Dragon, Medievil, Resident Evil 2.
Mainly a lot of games from the 32 bit era. That generation has held up the worst imo. The graphics have aged horribly, the camera angles are awful etc.

[j_factor]

I can't think of any games that did this for me.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64 - 1996)

Then:
Powerful new system, epic soundtrack, unbelievable graphics and varied gameplay. The first level (Snowspeeder vs. AT-AT's) was a window into the future of 3D (everyone was done with 2D by then). Goodbye SNES!

Now:
An unplayable, glitchy, cheap, blurry mess with terrible controls and one of the worst 3D camera's of all time.

I played that game in 1996, and your "now" is pretty much exactly what I thought of it "then". I really hated that game.

[NE146]

Hard to say.. if I liked a game back in the day, then I probably still like it now keeping in mind that they are products of their day and have the inherent limitations.

I guess Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn might count as one. I was so blown away with this game at the time and couldn't get enough.. but now I have a hard time playing through it since it's such a time hog. I also have a huge crush on the Shining Force games but each time I try to get into it now, I just don't have the heart for it. It just seems a lot more tedious than before for some reason.

Dragon Warrior.... going back to the original Dragon Warrior. It's like. Man. This game is fucking terrible.

Honestly after SMS Phantasy Star blew our minds, that was my opinion of the Dragon Warrior 1 even when it first came out. It was such a "downgrade' even in 1989. Didn't stop me from playing it though

Altered Beast. I played it a couple years ago on the Genesis collection for the 360. What a piece of shit. It's not even playable. It's so cheap that it's impossible to develop any kind of technique to keep you from getting whacked repeatedly.

Oh come on that's not true. The game is easily masterable if you have the inclination to do so (as many did in it's heyday). Matter o' fact it's weakness then was it was such a short game. But yes, I agree it hasn't aged well.

The Genesis version of Golden Axe is something I loved back in the 90's. Now I find it so obnoxiously frustrating I can't take it after a couple minutes. If an enemy gets a few swipes in, you're dead. It's so unfair.

I think you just need to watch someone play it Going up & down to dodge works wonders.

[dap9984]

Duck Hunt. Played the crap out of that game as a kid. Now I can barely stand to shoot 10 ducks to move to the next stage.

[Steven]

I guess Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn might count as one. I was so blown away with this game at the time and couldn't get enough.. but now I have a hard time playing through it since it's such a time hog.

One of the best play-on words I ever seen was back in the day when newsgroup posters were calling Dragon Force "Drag-On Force"

Brilliant

[Edmond Dantes]

When I was a kid, I used to be effing obsessed with Bubsy and Aero the Acro-Bat.

Now, unlike most people I don't think these games are "terrible" nowadays. Actually, I think they're both still pretty playable and Aero is actually kind of fun. But I also wonder what about them drove me to be so obsessed, because fun as they are they're really just kinda-average platformers.

[Steven]

When I was a kid, I used to be effing obsessed with Bubsy and Aero the Acro-Bat.

Now, unlike most people I don't think these games are "terrible" nowadays. Actually, I think they're both still pretty playable and Aero is actually kind of fun. But I also wonder what about them drove me to be so obsessed, because fun as they are they're really just kinda-average platformers.

Maybe you just liked rooting for the underdog titles, and in that vain, overhyped average titles to be something more. I know I did that sometimes, as was evident with....





Talk about a game that I really liked back in the day, only to find there's not much to like really at all.


EDIT: Ironically, I just clicked on your blog Edmond and found that Ranma 1/2 is your #1 favorite anime, lol. Also, wow, Devil Hunter! I wrote a small bit on DH on my website... it was my first anime ever and I remember as a 10 year old watching it with my best bud Nelson and our other buddies... what chaos erupted from Nelly's room that afternoon due to all the nudity of Devil Hunter. Ah, good innocent times

[retroman]

Clash At Demonhead for the NES...i use to love this game, and now its like what the hell was i thinking

[APE992]

Virtually every NES game I played back in the day. Most of them have graphics AND sound that didn't age well (Zelda is a notable exception IMO with Metal Gear being an example of crap) as well as a console that is a royal PITA to keep functional.

[Edmond Dantes]

A few others:

Prince of Persia - I owned the PC and Sega CD versions
THEN: Hey, this is a pretty engrossing little puzzle-platformer game! OMG I beat it? I want more! Hey, there's a PC compilation of both games for a low price! Yay now I get to play POP2! (note: I never beat POP2)

NOW: Wow, so you spend an hour mostly doing the same sort of scrambling around and running but not-too-fast-or-you'll-die and fighting guards who never change their strategy throughout the game. What was fun about this, again?

Silent Hill (first one, I borrowed from a friend
THEN: Whoa hey, this is actually kind of creepy. Fog, dark rusty world, what the hell is even going on here? Oh god I don't think I wanna know...

NOW: Okay you stupid demon nurse quit trying to stab me I'm trying to solve a bleepin' puzzle!

Half-Life (first one, non-Source version)
THEN: Oh my goodness wow, this is one hell of an engrossing game. I love the atmosphere of Black Mesa, the story, the setting, the--did that man just get pulled through a vent? Oh wow, things are stepping up! Come on Freeman, you've got to survive! Wow, I actually like this alien world!

NOW: Is this a first-person shooter or a first-person walk through empty hallways? This place is kind of boring, and there's nothing to do here! Are there even any secret areas or something that I can find? Oh gee, another telegraphed set-piece. What happened to the days of Doom when you just fought hordes of monsters? Now that was a game!

----

On a more positive note, has anyone ever had a time where the exact opposite of this topic's title happened (IE "games you thought were utter garbage until you replayed them years later")?

I have:

Dragon Warrior - NES, and keep in mind I first played it on an emulator.
AT FIRST: Man, RPGs were pretty freaking primitive on the NES! One dude, not many options, and all you did was grind? Hell, this is miles behind Ultima IV!, much less anything on the SNES! Screw this, I'm gonna go back to playing Xenogears.

BUT LATER: You know what, I'm bored, I feel like something old-school... eh, why not. I'll give my character a stupid name and just faff about for a bit... oh man, I just got so served by that ghost! Good thing I keep all my EXP... hmm... might check up on these rumors... wonder what's in that cave... (hours later) wait, am I actually playing freaking Dragon Warrior and enjoying it?

System Shock
AT FIRST: Wait, how is this shitty game a classic? The controls are so unwieldy and unintuitive! This game is unplayable. Screw it.

BUT LATER: Oh hey, this thing is pretty interesting... wait, did SHODAN just spring a trap on me? Holy shit, I love getting my butt kicked! This is creepier than all four Clock Towers combined! How the hell did this game sit unplayed in my library for so long?

[Kitsune Sniper]

TMNT 2. It was fun but my being a fan of the turtles made me see the game with rose tinted glasses. The hit detection is crap - you can't hit an enemy quickly two times, they'll always punch you before you can do that. I basically beat the game by jumping and dropkicking everyone.

[Drixxel]

Games you thought were awesome until you went and replayed them years later...

...and discovered they were awesome?

While I can't think of a game that fits this topic exactly (the superficial ages, big whoop), there have been games that I've replayed years later after reading or hearing something about them that suggested there was something terrible or bluntly shit about them. You know, when somebody's complaining about some supposed awful game (or portion thereof) and you think to yourself, "Really? Bullshit." and play the game again to verify?

Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures

It's not one of the leading popular ones to bash, but I (and I'm sure anyone that's looked into the game) have encountered some negative opinions about this game. There really can't be criticism for it, though - it's so weird and plays so unconventionally that I have a hard time humouring the idea that there's anything wrong with it. Sure, while it's not "perfect", it's just so weird that you can't really judge it against any leading genre representative. Kind of a point 'n click, kind of a platformer, kind of a personalized 'The Sims'-type sim game, kind of a classics compilation..

[The 1 2 P]

Anything on the Atari 2600 and 7800. Back then I thought every single game on them was cool because I was a kid and didn't know any better. But today they are ugly graphics having, horrible to control fun-lacking messes. But I pretty much figured this out once the Nes came out. From that gen on the Atari games just seemed to get worse and worse.

[BetaWolf47]

Half-Life (first one, non-Source version)
THEN: Oh my goodness wow, this is one hell of an engrossing game. I love the atmosphere of Black Mesa, the story, the setting, the--did that man just get pulled through a vent? Oh wow, things are stepping up! Come on Freeman, you've got to survive! Wow, I actually like this alien world!

NOW: Is this a first-person shooter or a first-person walk through empty hallways? This place is kind of boring, and there's nothing to do here! Are there even any secret areas or something that I can find? Oh gee, another telegraphed set-piece. What happened to the days of Doom when you just fought hordes of monsters? Now that was a game!

Oh man, don't mention Half-Life to me. I'll never understand the acclaim it's received. I played it for about 10 hours and encountered a total of three gamebreaking glitches. These were moments I had to end my game and reload another checkpoint to be able to continue. I just got stuck and couldn't do anything.

[BobaFettHotep]

for me its bart vs the space mutants i loved that game as a kid but i played it a few months ago and god its terrible some of the worst controls ever

[Emperor Megas]

Oh man, don't mention Half-Life to me. I'll never understand the acclaim it's received. I played it for about 10 hours and encountered a total of three gamebreaking glitches. These were moments I had to end my game and reload another checkpoint to be able to continue. I just got stuck and couldn't do anything.

I feel same way. And here I thought I had done something wrong when I couldn't advance in the game, I think I was glitching out. I never understood what all of the hype was about either.

[Steven]

I *adored* this game when I first rented it in '92/'93. Replayed it 5 years ago and wow... not very good to say the least, lol.

Ah, the bliss of being 8 or 9 and not knowing any better...

[Mr Smith]

Sonic Adventure, not so much the game, but the cut scenes that last for about six-weeks each.

[jonebone]

Mortal Kombat 1. I tried replaying it maybe a year ago and boy was it bad. It gave me about 5 minutes of entertainment and then it has been shelved forever since.