Most Overrated/Underrated Games Ever

[see ya]

So, yeah, you know that thread that's the most overrated/underrated movies ever? Here's the video game equivalent. :D

The following is all my opinion. Please don't turn this into a flame war. Keep all arguments short and to the point, please.

Overrated: FINAL. FANTASY. SEVEN. Full-stop. First off, the combat system was average at best. Second of all, I couldn't really get into the story very much. Yes, big epic story planet in danger blah blah blah. Why should I care about these characters? I can't? Hm. Played it, got bored because of the massive stretches where NOTHING HAPPENED and gave up. Never turned back since.

Also, Aeris's death was so very, very Narmtastic. BEHOLD, THE AMAZING BOUNCING MATERIA! TINGLY FINGERS!

Kingdom Hearts 2. Yay, phasing out the only thing that made the first KH game interesting to me and replacing it with more belt-and-zipper cardboard Nomura characters! I actually like this game and think it's overall an improvement of the original, but it's kind of the start of a downhill turn for the series as it becomes less about the Disney and Square crossover and more of a Square-Enix convoluted wankfest.

Underrated: Sonic Chronicles. Okay, this game has a list of flaws a mile long. Virtually no challenge, character unbalance, way too short, little replayability. However, it did do something incredibly valuable to the series: it actually wrote the characters WELL for a change. Big is hilariously stupid instead of just stupid, Shadow is written more like an arrogant prick than his usual "AGH MARIA" self, Amy actually seems to have a personality beyond "SONIKKU SQUEE!", Rouge is given a new lease as the team snarker, and Tails maintains a nice blend of Mr. Exposition and the geeky kid. It basically turned back the clock on a lot of the Flanderization the series has suffered over the years. Let's just hope that Bioware tests the next one a bit better.

Both at the same time: This seems like an odd category, but I do have one game that fits here: Earthbound. On one hand, this game was missed out on by a ton of people, which is sad, because this game is awesome and should be an inspiration on how to take a different spin on a genre and do it well. On the other, a lot of people who have played this game treat it like it's the best game ever. It's not. It's not even close. This game is actually extremely flawed, even compared to most other RPGs. It's almost impossible to replay this game because of its horrible pacing and dungeons that are just plain tedious, and the characters, even outside of Ness are very flat. Earthbound is great, but Mother 3 is just plain better in every way.

Alright, shoot.

 

[Celestial Blade]

Underrated: Digimon World Dawn/Dusk

 

[Thorne]

I'm going to say something that will make people angry.

Overrated: Ocarina of Time
Underrated: Shadow the Hedgehog
*Puts up hate-shield*

 

[Bombsii]

I actually really agree with you with Ocarina of Time. I don't see the appeal and find it quite boring. Then again, its probably just not my sort of game.

I know the Metroid series (especially the Metroid Prime trilogy) is appreciated by fans but completely unregarded by any other people.

 

[Dannichu]

Underrated:

I dunno about over in the US, but over here, the Disgaea series and pretty much anything by Nippon Ichi (especially Makai Kingdom and Phantom Brave) is more or less ignored. It's now on three consoles (PS2, PSP and, in the States, DS), but Disgaea's still unheard of by lots of people, even RPG fans. It's one of my all-time favourite games and yeah, the graphics aren't great, but the gameplay is fun as hell (think FF Tactics) and it's one of the funniest games I've ever played.

Lots of people hate Apollo Justice, but I think it's a brilliant game D:

Ooh, and I can't belive I forgot this: Shadow Hearts. There are three games in the series, and I think 2's the best (and the easiest to find). It's such a fantastic series; a gothic, historical horror-RPG with an involving plot, absolutely amazing music, a unique battle system (<3 the Judgement Ring), memorable characters... and yet nobody's ever heard of it.
While I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the best RPG on any console ever, this review sums up my thoughts rather well.

Overrated:

You know, I can't actually think of anything right now. Generally, if I don't like the idea behind a game, I won't play it, so I can't really give an informed opinion on it. I might come back later if I can think of anything or add to what someone else has said.

 

[turbler]

I'm with Danni! On disgaea at least.

 

[see ya]

I'm going to say something that will make people angry.

Overrated: Ocarina of Time
Underrated: Shadow the Hedgehog
*Puts up hate-shield*

I actually really agree with you with Ocarina of Time. I don't see the appeal and find it quite boring. Then again, its probably just not my sort of game.

Believe it or not, I actually agree. There's just something about the Legend of Zelda series that just doesn't do it for me. I've never been able to finish one, and they just seem kind of boring, especially Ocarina of Time. But I do see their appeal and I understand why some people do like them.

Shadow wasn't a bad game, per se. I actually enjoyed playing it. It was just a terrible, terrible idea.

I know the Metroid series (especially the Metroid Prime trilogy) is appreciated by fans but completely unregarded by any other people.

^ This. Only replace "The Prime Series" (which I can't physically play for more than thirty minutes at a time. Damn you, motion sickness) with "Super Metroid", which I admit does get a good deal of attention, but is in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made and one of the few that would get a 10/10 from me.

 

[Bombsii]

Believe it or not, I actually agree. There's just something about the Legend of Zelda series that just doesn't do it for me. I've never been able to finish one, and they just seem kind of boring, especially Ocarina of Time. But I do see their appeal and I understand why some people do like them.

Shadow wasn't a bad game, per se. I actually enjoyed playing it. It was just a terrible, terrible idea.

^ This. Only replace "The Prime Series" (which I can't physically play for more than thirty minutes at a time. Damn you, motion sickness) with "Super Metroid", which I admit does get a good deal of attention, but is in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made and one of the few that would get a 10/10 from me.[/QUOTE]

Where have you been all my life?

Anyway, the full list:
Underrated:
Nanostray
Picross
Elite Beat Agents
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime: Corruption
De Blob
Custom Robo Arena

Overrated:
MarioKart Wii (its fun but it gets so boring, and it is so overrated, by everyone.)
Animal Crossing
Nintendogs
WiiFit (DAMN YOU CASUAL GAMERS.)
Ocarina of Time
Dr Mario (its just tetris at the end of the day, but less addictive and fun.)
Resident Evil 4 (I'm joking, it just scares the shit out of me.)

Care to agree/disagree, I would appreciate a discussion.

 

[Keltena]

Overrated... The main one for me is Ocarina of Time. Which is not at all to say it's a bad game, just... not worth all the fuss. And Wind Waker is so much better, anyway.

Underrated: WHERE TO BEGIN. Okay, first off: Last Scenario and Exit Fate. Best RPGs I've ever played; I'm not even kidding. They are absolutely amazing. The plot and characters are so lovable, and the gameplay has that rare perfect balance. Oh, and Last Scenario has an epic strategy minigame~

Also: Out of Order. Great little point-and-click adventure; very difficult at times, but the puzzles do always make sense and you'll be proud of yourself once you figure them out. Plus, it has a hilarious Douglas Adams-ish sense of humor.

And, finally: Cave Story. This is the one you're likely to have heard of, and it's amazing. A very fun platformer with a very good plot, nice art despite -- or because of -- the pixelly graphics, and where to begin with the music!

Seriously... those are four of my very top game recommendations -- Exit Fate and Last Scenario are numbers one and two. Plus I need someone to discuss them with...

 

[Bombsii]

Overrated: Back in the day, Earthworm Jim was released and everyone was amazed. I recently played it again on the Virtual Console and realised while its a charming and funny game its not actually that good a game.

 

[opaltiger]

Overrated... The main one for me is Ocarina of Time. Which is not at all to say it's a bad game, just... not worth all the fuss. And Wind Waker is so much better, anyway.

A lot of the praise over OoT was its innovation, which is obviously not as relevant ten years later.

That said, I adore all the (Nintendo) Zelda games so, you know, bias talking. While I'm here: Majora's Mask and particularly the Oracle games are underrated, at least in comparison to other Zelda games.

 

[Bombsii]

Majora's Mask & Phantom Hourglass are the only Zelda games i've ever actually slightly enjoyed. As opaltiger was saying, MM was hugely underpraised.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

A lot of the praise over OoT was its innovation, which is obviously not as relevant ten years later.

That said, I adore all the (Nintendo) Zelda games so, you know, bias talking. While I'm here: Majora's Mask and particularly the Oracle games are underrated, at least in comparison to other Zelda games.

I agree with you on that, partly because the Oracle Series and Majora's were the first Zelda games I played.

Overrated: The Guitar Hero series. At first it started out good, but slowly became more and more overrated. Maybe it was because of the "spin-offs" (i.e. World Tour) or maybe it was because of everything that copied it (i.e. Rock Band)

 

[#1 bro]

Overrated: friggin Ocarina of Time, every Mario Kart game

Underrated: Majora's Mask (awesome), Chibi-Robo (very charming), Kirby Air Ride (10000s times more fun than Mario Kart could ever be)

edit: oh and uh Super Mario Sunshine is underrated. I get the impression that a lot of people dislike this game, but... why? what is there possibly to dislike? you might not like it due to personal taste, but it has excellent graphics, gameplay, atmosphere, aesthetics, etc. the only reason I've ever heard is "YOU JUST SPEND THE WHOLE GAME CLEANING SHIT UP LOL" which is obviously retarded if you've ever played the game.

 

[foreign contaminant]

i found a lot to like about super mario sunshine, too. i disagree about mario kart, though. i also second disgaea and nippon ichi everything.

so, underrated. ico. this game's premise was simple, and it was kind of hard to really get excited about, but the atmosphere of the game worked very well. the developers put a lot of effort into it and it showed. since then i've been anticipating the new team ico game for ps3; if it's good, i might buy a ps3 specifically for it. (well, probably not, but it would be tempting.)

 

[Erif]

Underrated:

I dunno about over in the US, but over here, the Disgaea series and pretty much anything by Nippon Ichi (especially Makai Kingdom and Phantom Brave) is more or less ignored.

iknorite? Phantom Brave, Disgaea, Altier Iris and Ar Tonelico are all pretty good games, but underrated as hell.

Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I think Xenosaga is pretty underrated. I'm not sure if it's well known or not, though.

Fire Emblem is quite underrated; it's one of the best game series I've ever played. Very fun, but not widely popular. I think Super Smash Bros. introduced some of the first characters to a lot of people.

Luigi's Mansion. Hell. Yes. Awesome game, totally underrated.

All the new Mario Party's are overrated as fuck. The new ones suck, but everybody LOVES them. It annoys me.

 

[Aisling]

Overrated? I'm going with Skymin on Final Fantasy VII. The recent remakes and ports of older games show that Square Enix has finally remembered it's made other games, though.

I would say XII is overrated, but that wouldn't be too fair since I haven't actually played it... I just know it has spinoffs and XII characters are getting plugged into every other not-main-series game, it seems like. If you ask me, XII is starting to turn into the next VII, at least in Squeenix's eyes. I hope it doesn't.

As for underrated games... I don't play a whole lot of games these days outside of my usual series... mostly it's just an "I wish more people know about this game so we can talk about it" sort of thing. I wish more people played Final Fantasy Tactics A2. It's not perfect (the story is so short! ;;) but it can be really addicting... for a month or two I couldn't put it down.

Also, I second Fire Emblem. It deserves to be a little more mainstream, there's so many characters and relationships to get into and talk about... The gameplay is fun but I love hooking up people too, lol.

 

[Flora]

That said, I adore all the (Nintendo) Zelda games so, you know, bias talking. While I'm here: Majora's Mask and particularly the Oracle games are underrated, at least in comparison to other Zelda games.

Definitely. I'm also gonna say that Tales of Vesperia is underrated; when anyone thinks of the Tales of series they pretty much automatically think of Symphonia, but Vesperia is very nifty as well.

Oh, and the YS series; I'd never even heard of it until my dad picked the newest one up used at a game store, and it's got pretty good gameplay.

As for overrated...no idea.

 

[Kai Lucifer]

Seems like a ton of people agreed that Disgaea and other Nippon Ichi games were underrated. Guess I don't need to say that. But I also think that Mother 3/Earthbound 2 is a great game that nobody knows about due to no releases outside Japan. GO PLAY THE FAN TRANSLATION.

Overrated? Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games, I guess. It just never really hit me as a decent game. You get all of the events way to easy and they really aren't hard to do whatsoever. I think that it was just praised because it was the first game (barring Brawl) that united the mascots.

 

[Koori Renchuu]

Over: Halo, any shooter without roleplaying elements, Final fantasy SERIES (so many great RPGs fall by the wayside due to that series).

Under: Trace Memory/Two Memories: Another Code (Glorious in the story telling and the idea development), Myst Series (Cyan Worlds created a glorious universe, and people just do not want to use their brains, so they end up handing the last game in the series [Myst online: Uru Live] over to the fans.), Baten Kaitos: Origins (Beautiful story, lovely battle system, sidequests galore, and music to DIE for!)

That's it for now!