Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[Psyduck]

It's not fair to lump the DS or any other console in with the GBA, the Game Boy Advance is pretty much the absolute worst of all time.

The GBA was a 2D console when 2D's stock was at a low point, two generations behind at a time technical progress in video games was still very rapid, and on the wrong side of the leap to 3D. But it sold a zillion units, because Pokemon

I was about to try and defend the GBA for a moment but i realized that you're right. Only reason i remember having a blast with mine was because the only game me and my friends played was Pokemon. Rest of the GBA gallery was more often than not pure shit.

Like most consoles, the DS has stuff. Dark Spire and Strange Journey are notable dungeon crawlers, the Izuna games are decent roguelikes, Dementium is a cool indie horror FPS, Meteos is an unusual falling-block puzzle game.

One of the best experiences i had with a DS was getting my first flashcard and just browsing whatever the hell was available for it. The Izuna games and Dementium were real good and i'm surprised to see them mentioned here. I'd add Rondo of Swords if you want a decent SRPG. Does a lot of things right for a cheaply made game.

As for the thread tax, i'm currently playing through Pokemon Violet and Gamefreak should be fucking ashamed. The fans should be ashamed. I'm having fun with it somehow, but this is not a good game.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

I autistically did this (there's more but these are the only decent/good ones I'm familiar with, excluding their sequels):

Advance Wars
Alien Hominid
Boktai
Car Battler Joe
Dokapon: Monster Hunter
Fire Emblem
Golden Sun
Karnaaj Rally
Riviera: The Promised Land
Sigma Star Saga
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story

I still think the GBA has a great library but I didn't realize how few good games it has which meet that criteria.

There's also Drill Dozer and... Fuck. Wario Ware counts though. Doesn't matter, it was a fantastic handheld for travel. Great battery life and some stellar games.

Pirate Drill Dozer, it's really fun.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

There's also Drill Dozer and... Fuck. Wario Ware counts though. Doesn't matter, it was a fantastic handheld for travel. Great battery life and some stellar games.

Pirate Drill Dozer, it's really fun.

Under his criteria WarioWare wouldn't count, it's a spin-off. I think that criteria is sort of arbitrary, it's a decent criticism of the lacking originality in the GBA library, but it still has dozens of good games and some interesting ports/remakes, especially for the time.

Anyway, I've tried DrillDozer, I should've included it despite it not being cup of tea, it is pretty good. There's probably a stray few others I didn't include, but I think it'd be a struggle to even reach a list of 20.

 

[Pissmaster]

Idk why people like the gba and ds, I'm one of those people with huge buyers remorse cause the ds is the only console I spent money on and own and I was almost immediately disappointed by how shit the library had become cause I got it in 2012. Once I got into emulation I quickly realized the gba and the DS have two of the worst video game libraries in history in terms of replayable and iconic games. There's no reason to go back to a ds or gba in 2023, there's like 10 games worth going back to. The games on these are already forgotten and will never receive remasters which is a good metric cause companies remaster shit they perceive being good and popular from crowd census. The only reason I still have my ds in well maintained working condition is cause it will be worth a ton once it becomes a vintage console.

The DS has a lot of entries in assorted series that just don't get ported because you can't just throw them in an emulator and sell that, due to the screen setup. And then you've got stylus-dependent games like Trauma Center that just don't work well without one. So, I still keep a DSi by my bedside.

Though also, I like looking at all the bizarre apps released for the thing. Things like the cookbooks and the life coaching software. Everything has such a luscious mid-2000s aesthetic and nobody really knew what they were doing.

I still think the GBA has a great library but I didn't realize how few good games it has which meet that criteria.

A major draw to the GBA was how it had a lot of games that were now portable for the very first time, and it could play your old GB/C games, making it seem amazing for its time. That was also a time when portable piracy and emulation just weren't around yet. The PSP all but made everything special about the GBA obsolete.

 

[White Room]

Cyberpunk 2077 is boring.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

A major draw to the GBA was how it had a lot of games that were now portable for the very first time,

It also made them the first re-releases and those weren't.... 100%. I love the GBA but ports were compromised and Metroid Fusion not only sucks ass as a game but also looks like something I would see on my Sony-Ericsson phone that had a screen that could display 144 colors and none of them were good or properly vetted.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

It also made them the first re-releases and those weren't.... 100%. I love the GBA but ports were compromised and Metroid Fusion not only sucks ass as a game but also looks like something I would see on my Sony-Ericsson phone that had a screen that could display 144 colors and none of them were good or properly vetted.

Ports were usually compromised in some way on portables until Switch, which finally had all the inputs you need plus a touchscreen and gyro. Even Vita was missing the L2/R2 and L3/R3 inputs (there was an accessory which utilized the rear touchpad for the former though).

Switch might be weak but it deserves credit for finally having the standard inputs.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

Cyberpunk 2077 is boring.

Please, this is the unpopular opinions thread.

Seriously, while playing X-Com: Enemy Unknown, I noticed why I thought 2 was a downgrade in every way. Every enemy in X-Com 2 becomes a bullet sponge on normal. Even the Sectoid got a massive jump in power for an early game enemy. In EU, it was a weak creature that gave a stat boost to other sectoids and mechtoids in the early game. It does a good job of introducing psionics into a tutorial enemy. In X-Com 2, I think it has about 8 HP and can mind control units in the early game. Since this game also has a time limit, it can also fuck up your team with Sectoid Commander-tier abilities. The aliens just get more OP from there. It's just less of an issue because they're mid to late game, so team strength should theoretically balance out OP enemies. EU only made obviously tanky enemies bullet sponges and introduce them by mid-game, so you could have weapons that scaled to them; it didn't make sectoids and thin men as tough as mutons.

Then there's the ambush mechanic, which was a key part of their marketing. It only applies once per mission and then all the aliens know where you are. Make sense, right? The point of it was to prevent overwatch creep and encourage dashing around. After it's used, it's back to overwatch creep on maps that demand you dash around. It is also situational, as terror missions don't have concealment on maps where civilians might be Faceless, so now rescuing civilians has to be treated with the same preparation as a door breach. What does that mean? Overwatch creep. Flanking or using sword might be a bad idea as it might activate reinforcements, so maneuver might be a bad idea in a game where you must constantly advance.

I don't like the time limit, but it could work if the maps were designed around it... but that's impossible because the maps are procedurally generated. So you can get time limits that are realistically impossible (or at least improbable) to clear because the map is shaped in such a way. that you can't even survive, much less complete objectives. It's really noticeable with EU, which had a similar mechanic with Meld canisters. Here's the clear difference, meld is optional. It was a nice bonus to get to make soldiers OP, but it wasn't the main objective where failure means losing soldiers. In 2, if I don't get to the evac point, I lose soldiers. Much bigger deal.

That this game has mods that disable elements of the game like the timer is a tell it's bad game design. The incentives to play this game are all over the place and outright contradictory at times, so I can see why people say it's too hard and save scum or use mods. Every argument for why the game is good is because they spent hundreds of hours into it and RNG is what it is. Well, a typical customer has only 2 hours to decide to keep the game or a week if he went to a physical store. That's not a lot of time to git gud.

 

[TVB]

Cyberpunk 2077 is boring.

I don't that's ever an unpopular opinion actually. Lots of people would agree with you and me that Cyberpunk 2077 is just boring and uninspiring.

 

[Rome's rightful successor]

Super Smash Brothers Melee still has the best intro ever.

 

[The Ugly One]

I was about to try and defend the GBA for a moment but i realized that you're right. Only reason i remember having a blast with mine was because the only game me and my friends played was Pokemon. Rest of the GBA gallery was more often than not pure shit.


One of the best experiences i had with a DS was getting my first flashcard and just browsing whatever the hell was available for it. The Izuna games and Dementium were real good and i'm surprised to see them mentioned here. I'd add Rondo of Swords if you want a decent SRPG. Does a lot of things right for a cheaply made game.

As for the thread tax, i'm currently playing through Pokemon Violet and Gamefreak should be fucking ashamed. The fans should be ashamed. I'm having fun with it somehow, but this is not a good game.

The GBA and DS were successful because they both had key features fat little 10-year-olds require:

1. Long battery life, so you shut the fuck up in the car and your dad doesn't murder you
2. Durability, so the thing survives being at the bottom of your backpack
3. Inexpensive, so your other fat little friends have them and can play Pokemon or whatever together

All other handheld consoles failed on at least one of these three.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

The GBA and DS were successful because they both had key features fat little 10-year-olds require:

1. Long battery life, so you shut the fuck up in the car and your dad doesn't murder you
2. Durability, so the thing survives being at the bottom of your backpack
3. Inexpensive, so your other fat little friends have them and can play Pokemon or whatever together

All other handheld consoles failed on at least one of these three.

Neo Geo Pocket Color met all three of those with flying colors but unfortunately didn't seem to do too well. I can only assume it's because of the mediocre library or what seems to have been poor marketing (I never even heard of the thing until way later).

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

Neo Geo Pocket Color met all three of those with flying colors but unfortunately didn't seem to do too well. I can only assume it's because of the mediocre library or what seems to have been poor marketing (I never even heard of the thing until way later).

The only reason I knew of the Neo Geo as a kid was because it had a code section in Tips and Tricks

I've never seen one or its games in my fucking life. Not for sale at a retailer, not at used games stores, not at flea markets.

It was to the point I figured it was just a Japan/Europe thing but I ended up seeing on Wikipedia it had a North American release...

 

[The Last Stand]

The GBA and DS were successful because they both had key features fat little 10-year-olds require:

I'm happy that the DS succeeded the GBA. It was a natural progression in every way from the Game Boy line. To me, the Game Boy Color felt like an upgrade than a sequel to the original Game Boy. That said, Nintendo knew how to factor cost, convenience and technology unlike its competition.

 

[The Ugly One]

Neo Geo Pocket Color met all three of those with flying colors but unfortunately didn't seem to do too well. I can only assume it's because of the mediocre library or what seems to have been poor marketing (I never even heard of the thing until way later).

I should also add, "parent company isn't careening toward bankruptcy, and doesn't understand that King of Fighters isn't really a platform-mover."

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

Bandai Wonderswan also fits into those three categories as well. For handhelds, there was really only enough room for one and Nintendo had that shit locked down. The PSP is the only non-Nintendo handheld that did well but it was so plagued by piracy that despite selling over 75 million units, software sales were dismal. I’m sure being easy to pirate accounted for many of those hardware sales.

 

[TVB]

Bandai Wonderswan also fits into those three categories as well. For handhelds, there was really only enough room for one and Nintendo had that shit locked down. The PSP is the only non-Nintendo handheld that did well but it was so plagued by piracy that despite selling over 75 million units, software sales were dismal. I’m sure being easy to pirate accounted for many of those hardware sales.

WonderSwan had an interesting library of games, but its piracy was dogshit.

 

[Fag Albert]

Baldur’s gate 3 was overhyped dogshit.

I'm pretty much here at this point. I've been avoiding talk about it since I beat it but the more I think on my time with it, I'm increasingly convinced that a group of frenchies made the superior 5e game. I really wish legendary actions and fewer, stronger creatures had been used for bosses instead of just throwing more and more chaff in my face. Things like being able to ready actions would have been awesome. I swear that i spent half the game praying that I didn't have to get into another fight. I'd probably have been pissed if i had paid for it.

 

[Pissmaster]

The only reason I knew of the Neo Geo as a kid was because it had a code section in Tips and Tricks

I've never seen one or its games in my fucking life. Not for sale at a retailer, not at used games stores, not at flea markets.

It was to the point I figured it was just a Japan/Europe thing but I ended up seeing on Wikipedia it had a North American release...

I'm another person who's been into games my entire life, and I have seen a total of just two Neo Geos outside of conventions. Someone I knew in college actually owned a candy cab with a few games, and I randomly came across a full-size arcade one at a local shop.

I didnt know anything about the Neo Geo until SNK went out of business, and Penny Arcade posted this comic:


and whatever forum I was reading had people tripping over themselves to treat it like such a huge loss. Over the years, I kept hearing about it, and eventually tried some games in emulation, and... well, it's no Super Nintendo. The gimmick was that the games were all arcade-perfect because they come with the same roms from the arcade boards, which meant games cost something like $200 a piece. That sure made it inaccessible to literally every kid without very rich parents. I don't know why they didn't just port everything to a CD-based system for the home from the start. As a kid, a big appeal to RPGs was that I could get a hundred hours out of a single game, and at a time when cartridges were $80 and you'd only get one or two a year, the extra playtime really counted. But $200 for an arcade game where you can see all of its content in a half hour? Holy moly. Even if I were a rich kid that got everything, the Neo Geo would sit unplugged while the SNES kept getting all the play.

It is a console that specializes in fighting games, I do not like fighting games. I've tried a number of other games on the system, but I just don't care for them. I guess Metal Slug is considered the best series on the console, but I always thought that series was vastly overrated.

The last time I talked about Neo Geo, almost two years ago, I said:

I have never, ever truly enjoyed a Neo Geo game. That whole platform is excruciatingly mediocre and unbelievably overhyped. The most fun I ever had with any of them was Metal Slug, but that’s just a worse version of Contra.

Even the puzzle games are unremarkable. They’re not awful, but there’s not a single one I’ve seen where I wouldn’t rather just play Tetris or Puzzle League or Lumines or just about anything else. The top down shooters? Also not awful but unremarkable, and I’d rather just play Star Soldier or Ikaruga.

The arcade cabinets look kind of nice though if I ended up with one, it’d just become a MAME cabinet so I could play Qix. I would gut a Neo Geo just for Qix, and then I would piss on all the Neo geo boards and laugh and then piss some more

and I would still convert one into a Qix cabinet and then piss on all the boards.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

I guess Metal Slug is considered the best series on the console, but I always thought that series was vastly overrated.

For me, Metal Slug is literally that game at Pizza Hut you play while you wait for your pizza.

I'd never have paid for it on console.