Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Games SHOULD be cinematic. But game devs' concept of cinematic is completely wrong.

Cinematic, as it's always used, means flashy graphics/animations/cinematography like a movie, and pacing like a movie. But the way people should be using it is in the sense of recreating the feeling of movies.

There's lots of games that do that well. Often people compare FTL to Star Trek with its power and crew management.(ship battles being more about what your people are doing at their stations; maneuvering is completely abstracted out). Sleeping Dogs felt like playing a kung fu movie. Just Cause built its whole identity off of action movie bullshit like stunts, hijacking, and what not. Desperados is practically made to recreate movie scenes like the woman luring the guard into the bushes so her allies clobber him.

I think "cinematic" can be very good when it means giving players tool sets and mechanics that let them naturally remake movie-like stories. It's bad when it's taken at its most shallow interpretation, which is "movie where you press X to move forward."

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

It is a console that specializes in fighting games, I do not like fighting games.

And honestly, even if you did, it's not like there weren't good ones on other systems at the time. I'm not even just referring to the obvious Street Fighter games which were better than anything they had, but also stuff like Killer Instinct and Primal Rage.

Neo Geo systems and TG-16 are both pretty overrated systems hyped by their fans. At least Genesis had a lot of the same games SNES did, even if most of their exclusives weren't the best.

 

[Pissmaster]

And honestly, even if you did, it's not like there weren't good ones on other systems at the time. I'm not even just referring to the obvious Street Fighter games which were better than anything they had, but also stuff like Killer Instinct and Primal Rage.

Neo Geo systems and TG-16 are both pretty overrated systems hyped by their fans. At least Genesis had a lot of the same games SNES did, even if most of their exclusives weren't the best.

Yeah, TG16's another one that's disgustingly overrated. At least it was priced fairly and seems to have a decent gamut of genres, though I've never actually played a game on there that wasn't mediocre, or essentially available elsewhere. Bonk's Adventure's generally accepted as TG16's answer to Mario and Sonic, but it's a worse game than those. It is yet another 2D platformer, and if its graphics and theme were replaced with some random movie license, it would be regarded as just as mediocre as any other movie license.

It's really remarkable how much some people will suck off a game if it has an original character. On the NES, The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy is a pretty good platformer, but nobody really cares. But if it starred Bonk, suddenly it'd be a hidden gem, with all sorts of soyfacing YouTubers talking about what an unsung masterpiece it was.

I'll admit, though, I haven't dug far into the TG16 library. Does anyone have any suggestions for puzzle games on there?

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Yeah, TG16's another one that's disgustingly overrated. At least it was priced fairly and seems to have a decent gamut of genres, though I've never actually played a game on there that wasn't mediocre, or essentially available elsewhere. Bonk's Adventure's generally accepted as TG16's answer to Mario and Sonic, but it's a worse game than those. It is yet another 2D platformer, and if its graphics and theme were replaced with some random movie license, it would be regarded as just as mediocre as any other movie license.

It's really remarkable how much some people will suck off a game if it has an original character. On the NES, The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy is a pretty good platformer, but nobody really cares. But if it starred Bonk, suddenly it'd be a hidden gem, with all sorts of soyfacing YouTubers talking about what an unsung masterpiece it was.

I'll admit, though, I haven't dug far into the TG16 library. Does anyone have any suggestions for puzzle games on there?

I wanted to like Bonk but it's mediocre at best, and definitely not in the same realm as Mario and Sonic. It's also weird as hell, even for a Japanese game.

I kinda get why nobody cares about a game like Flinstones and see how it could benefit from having a different character though. I subscribe to a channel called Sega Lord X and the guy is always begging people to play some Mickey Mouse games because they're his favorite platformers. Unless I have nostalgia for a particular game I just can't really get into something like Mickey Mouse. If there's a Teletubbies game out there with immaculate game design I still won't be able to enjoy it, personally. Objectively I'm sure some people feel that way about Mario or Sonic, probably.

I've went through a ton of TG-16 ROMs and the only standout puzzle game I found was Chew Man Fu. That one's pretty solid, but it still has a sort of generic feel to it.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I genuinely believe that Tekken Tag Tournament was probably one of the best unique fighting games to ever exist for the PS2. At first, I thought it was a joke that they had a bowling mini game, but I was shocked when it turned out to be the truth:

You don’t even see that in today’s fighting games, and it makes me wish they’d bring it back.

 

[skykiii]

I used to own a Neo-Geo until sometime last year where I sold it and the three games I owned for it (none of them being super-rare games).

I liked the console, but for me a big sticking point is A) I'm not rich and B) the older I got, the more I realized I have no personal connection to that console the way I do something like the SNES or even the TurboGrafx (which I do own one still).

It doesn't help that literally the Neo-Geo's entire library can be had on the Switch now.

I disagree with the notion that Street Fighter II is better than most Neo fighters (though it could depend on what version of SFII you mean and which games you're comparing it to). For one thing, I care about characters and lore even when I'm not supposed to, and SNK's offerings were more interesting in that regard (Street Fighter kinda feels like a badly-written comic book). But I also just find their games more interesting, whether due to small touches (King of Fighters' team gimmick means no repetitive "beat this character twice in a row" stuff) or interesting gimmicks like World Heroes' deathmatch mode... or just tons of other things I will probably remember if you keep me sperging.

(World Heroes in general is underrated. It's a game where evil russian Inspector Gadget can fight Hulk Hogan because Doc Brown from Back to the Future wanted to see who was the best, and the whole thing gets crashed by an alien at the end... and probably the ultimate insanity, beating the game with Joan of Arc reveals that her ultimate desire is to get married! I broke down laughing at that)

The Turbografx is legitimately a great console, but I think its held back by most of its best games still being behind a language barrier. There are so many RPGs I wish I could play....

Also, in defense of Bonk... how many of you have gone back and played the original Mario and Sonic games? Recently? Because I have. I guarantee there are people in Japan who wonder why we Americans love Sonic so much, similar to how some Americans wonder why British computer gamers hype up Dizzy so much.

The GBA has also gotten some hate in this thread. I thought of defending it but when I think about it, most of the reason I even use one is for its ability to play GB and GBC games.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

I disagree with the notion that Street Fighter II is better than most Neo fighters (though it could depend on what version of SFII you mean and which games you're comparing it to). For one thing, I care about characters and lore even when I'm not supposed to, and SNK's offerings were more interesting in that regard (Street Fighter kinda feels like a badly-written comic book). But I also just find their games more interesting, whether due to small touches (King of Fighters' team gimmick means no repetitive "beat this character twice in a row" stuff) or interesting gimmicks like World Heroes' deathmatch mode... or just tons of other things I will probably remember if you keep me sperging.

Maybe in terms of lore and such Street Fighter isn't as good, but SF2 plays the best, and has the best music. Samurai Showdown is the greatest fighter SNK has, and while I like it a lot it just can't quite match SF2.

The Turbografx is legitimately a great console, but I think its held back by most of its best games still being behind a language barrier. There are so many RPGs I wish I could play....

It's good, I just think it's overrated. There's plenty of consoles it's much better than, including the entire Atari line. But let's face it, most of the competition it had was just better.

Also, in defense of Bonk... how many of you have gone back and played the original Mario and Sonic games? Recently? Because I have. I guarantee there are people in Japan who wonder why we Americans love Sonic so much, similar to how some Americans wonder why British computer gamers hype up Dizzy so much.

I play Sonic 1 & 2 pretty regularly, and they're still great. Mario, I don't even need to defend that one. Bonk is somewhere above the likes of Bubsy, but below Mario and even Sonic.

I've never played Dizzy but one look at it and I don't even want to, I feel bad for Sonic to be compared to that lol

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

I really liked the Neo Geo twenty years ago. I thought it was really interesting how far SNK was able to push 16 bit graphics and gameplay. However, I discovered it entirely via emulation, there’s no way in hell I’d pay the obscene prices they’d charge for the games. On a lark I looked some of them up a while ago and the retrofags have ruined the market; if you wanted to buy the cartridges, you’re often looking at $1,000 for a complete copy (box, instructions, etc.).

I genuinely believe that Tekken Tag Tournament was probably one of the best unique fighting games to ever exist for the PS2. At first, I thought it was a joke that they had a bowling mini game, but I was shocked when it turned out to be the truth:

You don’t even see that in today’s fighting games, and it makes me wish they’d bring it back.

Tekken Tag Tournament is still my favorite Tekken. Namco put in a lot of effort for the PS2 version and I considered it at that time to be the only actual good launch title. At launch the fighting game competition was Street Fighter EX3 which was sloppy and DOA2 Hardcore which was widely considered inferior to the Dreamcast version but was from a quaint time when it was okay to have big boobs that jiggled in a fighting game. I don’t care how exaggerated it was, it was intentionally over the top. Now we just have giant afros and every chick is ugly and flat.

 

[Road Work Ahead]

The only TG-16 games I've played are Ys 1 and 2. They looked and sounded great, but I actually enjoyed the nes ports of those games more.

 

[skykiii]

Mario, I don't even need to defend that one.

Eh.... since this is the unpopular opinions thread....

While I find Mario's NES outings (and a bunch of his later ones) are solidly made, they're little better than comfort food, and honestly nothing about the experiences stick out to me all that much.

Like when I think of Mega Man for example I can recall all these moments--being chased by the dragon in MM2, fighting that big thing in the opening stage of Megaman X2, I could go on.... with Mario most of my memories tend to involve Mario being in the background, like a time I was with other kids and they showed me the Kuribo's Shoe thing for the first time.

Mario 3 is often called the best in the series and recently I played and challenged myself to actually play every single level, and sure there's some neat setpieces (I really like Big World) but my take-away experience was that for every one memorable level, there's like ten forgettable ones and a lot of them just kinda run together in my mind. Seen one green hill zone, seen 'em all.

Like yeah, everyone remembers the one level where the sun attacks you.... but can you describe the rest of Desert World? Without looking it up on Youtube or Wikipedia or whatever?

To be fair, Bonk's Adventure had exactly the same problem: a lot of the levels feel very similar and you just wish the game was half as long as it is. This is a problem kinda rectified by Bonk's Revenge, and either way I find the mechanics a little more stimulating in Bonk--being able to climb walls or effectively float by doing constant flips, and that there's a level of skill in repeatedly bouncing enemies off your noggin like in volleyball in order to maximize points (And thus get one-ups). Also Bonk himself is just a likable character.

BTW, the NES Flintstone games are great, not sure why they were getting crapped on earlier. They actually made me go back and watch the cartoon (I knew who Dino was, but who the hell is Hoppy?)

 

[Mega Black]

Card battle games fucking suck and I wish they would disappear forever. The amount of cool looking games I've seen in trailers and shit, only to look them up and see 'card collecting/battling' in the summary is too much and too disheartening.

You are already making a videogame, I don't want to play a game within the videogame.

 

[The Last Stand]

NONE of them have played any of those games all summer. Yet every night without fail all three have to post a story to all of their social medias of their PS5 and how they are streaming a movie or TV show on it.

Multimedia services included with video game consoles is a pointless feature. Doubly so with the ability to purchase moves and TV shows from your provider's marketplace. I buy a video game console to play video games. Did people buy a PlayStation 1 just for CD playback?

Only two exceptions I have with this rule would be the PS2 with DVD playback and the Wii with the Netflix disc. They were extras, but you could use the console without knowing they had such functionality.

 

[Book Thief]

Yeah, TG16's another one that's disgustingly overrated.

Tell me about it. TG16 fans are downright insufferable in their smugness. They're pretty much the hipsters of the retro-gaming world.

I knew one who was autistic enough to know the specs of the damned thing, and would go on-and-on about how "impressive" certain games are, even though they looked not much better than SNES or Genesis titles. Hey, did you know using sprites as a parallax layer to make up for the fact that your console has as many background layers as the NES is super totally impressive, and you should totally cream your pants over it? I didn't until I met this person.

 

[ZipDisk]

Did people buy a PlayStation 1 just for CD playback?

At the time? No. But there is a specific model that is scouted by collectors because it's somehow fancier than a regular cd player, since around 2007.
There are multiple 40 minute youtube videos on this, but I'll spare you. It's all potato men in funko caves.

I don't give a flying shit about "sound floor"

It's SCPH-1001

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

I really liked the Neo Geo twenty years ago.

I didn't know the Neo Geo was a home console in the 90s, let alone knew anyone who had one.

I do remember the multigame arcade cabinets at the local bowling alley though.

The baseball/soccer and fighting games presented well, and had a unique graphic style.

It was also a welcome contrast to the pinball/Cruisin' the USA/MKII cabinets that dominated at the time.

 

[ArthuriusMartyrius]

Games SHOULD be cinematic. But game devs' concept of cinematic is completely wrong.

Cinematic, as it's always used, means flashy graphics/animations/cinematography like a movie, and pacing like a movie. But the way people should be using it is in the sense of recreating the feeling of movies.

There's lots of games that do that well. Often people compare FTL to Star Trek with its power and crew management.(ship battles being more about what your people are doing at their stations; maneuvering is completely abstracted out). Sleeping Dogs felt like playing a kung fu movie. Just Cause built its whole identity off of action movie bullshit like stunts, hijacking, and what not. Desperados is practically made to recreate movie scenes like the woman luring the guard into the bushes so her allies clobber him.

I think "cinematic" can be very good when it means giving players tool sets and mechanics that let them naturally remake movie-like stories. It's bad when it's taken at its most shallow interpretation, which is "movie where you press X to move forward."

I always considered "cinematic" in the context of video games to be something like Batman: Arkham Asylum where the animations and environmental interactions are polished to such an extent that it feels almost like watching a movie of Batman beating up goons while still giving a good amount of control to the player. Unfortunately most of the time, "cinematic" means railroading the player into what are essentially glorified cutscenes where they'll occasionally give you the option to press a button to feel as though you're actually in control of something.

 

[Rick The Stick]

Rip & Tear, BFG Division, Meathook, Gore Nest, and The Only Thing They Fear Is You are the only original tracks Mick Gordon did well on in NuDOOM. Yet you can't look at the comments on anything DOOM related without seeing people suck this faggot off like he's Bobby Prince of the modern era.

All of his tracks for DOOM besides the ones above are forgettable noise and ambience that randomly morphs into yet another metalcore/djent riff fest.

And when you listen to the only 2 OG tracks he tackled, he fucked em both beyond repair. Micks versions of E1M1 and Sandy's City are the most generic modern guitar tuber cover tracks I've ever heard from a professional musician. Which is funny considering his replacement, Andrew Hulshult, got the gig because of how good HIS covers of the first two DOOM osts are back when he was just doing youtube covers.

Also making DOOM Guy a literal demigod is a little too much for me, as much as I liked the actual games. Him just being a really pissed off Marine In Space who was sick and tired of the Demons was better than the whole "right hand of DOOM, kills God and Satan proxies, immortal" 40k Marine lite he is now. And the connection between his original self and what he is now is very poorly done. ID was up their ass when writing the new story. Got lost in the sauce.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

Also making DOOM Guy a literal demigod is a little too much for me, as much as I liked the actual games. Him just being a really pissed off Marine In Space who was sick and tired of the Demons was better than the whole "right hand of DOOM, kills God and Satan proxies, immortal" 40k Marine lite he is now. And the connection between his original self and what he is now is very poorly done. ID was up their ass when writing the new story. Got lost in the sauce.

It feels like when Rick and Morty fell in love with itself and started playing up what a smartestmanintheworld walking god Rick is.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

A person just can't be a bad ass or achieve greatness anymore. They have to be a demigod or something.

Imagine if they pulled shit like that with Duke Nukem *pukes*

 

[The Foxtrot]

Also making DOOM Guy a literal demigod is a little too much for me, as much as I liked the actual games. Him just being a really pissed off Marine In Space who was sick and tired of the Demons was better than the whole "right hand of DOOM, kills God and Satan proxies, immortal" 40k Marine lite he is now. And the connection between his original self and what he is now is very poorly done. ID was up their ass when writing the new story. Got lost in the sauce.

This is a major bitching point for me, and it's why I say DOOM 2016/Eternal tried way too fucking hard to copy Marathon II. They couldn't just leave a perfectly simple and serviceable (back)story alone, they had to try and make it even more superer. Now a game franchise that was made by a guy who infamously called story in game like a story in a porno, and therefore had basically no real lore to speak of, is suddenly trying to be as deep as Marathon and interconnected as the Marvel movies. Even down to having the cringey ass "DOOMSLAYER's army coming out of portals vs. Not Satan's Army" be extremely similar to the same scene out of Endgame.

On that note, having Not Satan be TEH DOOMSLAYER'S evil twin brother was extremely...I don't even know how to say it, cringe? Cliche? Gay and stupid? Like, could they get any more juvenile? We already took the humble but cool name of "Doomguy" and "Doom Marine" and we had to turn it into some 12 year old edgelord's idea of "cool" by changing it to "THE DOOMSLAYER!". Was the original backstory not AWESOME AND EPIC AND COOL enough for the manchildren and Zoomer audience? Did they really need to turn it into an immature power fantasy? And an unoriginal immature power fantasy at that?

Woohoo, the main character of Doom is now on par with a Mary Sue protagonist from some gay Shonen anime like Kirito and the bad guy is literally just his evil twin. Could ID have gotten any less creative?

The original backstory was also a nice mirror of his ancestor, BJ Blazkowicz, who was a badass soldier who hated Nazis that much. Like Great-great-great-great Grandpa, like Great-great-great-great Grandson.