Most Overrated/Underrated Games Ever

[Dannichu]

Kirby Air Ride (10000s times more fun than Mario Kart could ever be)

Eh, I thought MarioKart (Double Dash, at least) was more fun than Kirby's Air Ride... although Air Ride was easier for beginners to pick up (with the whole one-button thing). Air Ride is also one of the most freaking adorable games I've ever played, but I've played MKDD with my friends for days and it just doesn't get old :3

 

[Dragonclaw]

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.

I hear nothing but bad on FFVII and FFXII though xD (FFXII has only had one sequel) and I personally think that XII is ... well underrated because it is so overrated. It has fun gameplay and TONS of sidequests and is a fun challenge.

 

[Not Meowth]

Underrated: Shadow the Hedgehog

I agree, actually. Please don't hurt me, everyone D:

I admit the game has its fair share of flaws, but I think people are way too harsh on it. I still found it reasonably enjoyable despite the substandard graphics (which don't particularly ever bother me anyway) and the way the storylines were set out, which was kinda wtf.

Can't think of any overrated games just now, except for most games produced specifically for casual gamers, and those would all just be uneducated opinions anyway since I've never played any. Excep Wii Sports... ugh.

 

[see ya]

Well, I just rented "Sonic Unleashed" for the 360 and I'm having a feeling it'll fit into one of these categories...

Holy shit the Day levels are fast. I died tons of times in the first level because I was still adjusting to the crazy speed this game moves at. And the graphics are nothing short of incredible.

 

[Thorne]

I just played Super Metroid recently, and I thought Metroid Fusion was a lot better actually. A underrated game is Megaman X, I thought it was pretty damn good, hell even better then Super Metroid.

 

[Abufi]

overrated: brawl goddammit
seriously man what is it with this game. it's fun and all but jesus christ i honestly don't get why it's all people ever want to play when there's a wii about. i personally got bored of it after about a month and now i only play it if a friend insists upon playing it. i'm seriously sick of everyone obsessing over it :( especially the competetive, "[character] ONLY, FINAL DESINATION, NO ITEMS, WAVEDASHING, [bunch of other fancy brawl terms] YADDA YADDA YADDA" people. it was fun while it lasted, and it's fun to mess around in it once in a while, but can people just drop it already

guitar hero, unfortunately, sort of. i love the GH series, it's one of the most fun games i've ever played and i think it's actually become my favorite video game series. but i do admit that it's getting kind of overrated, especially what with how there are /thousands upon thousands/ of youtube videos of people FC'ing various songs. wow, you can get 100% on "what i've done" on expert! like there aren't already about 60 other videos of the same thing! and i'll admit that some of the newer games aren't as good. i don't like guitar hero 3 very much for some reason (probably mainly because of ttfaf), and while i personally do like world tour, the setlist isn't too good (there's some pretty good songs, but a lot more meh stuff than there is good) and i can see why some people wouldn't like it, but... dude i don't know what kind of a point i'm even trying to make here.

and now. everyone on the forum is going to brutally maul me for saying this, but as far as its fanbase on the internet goes... the MOTHER series. don't get me wrong, like with guitar hero i like the series, i own both eb and mother3 legitimately (sp?), i was a rabid fan myself back in 2008, but i swear like half of the internet is obsessed with the series now, especially mother 3 o_o why do people think m3 is the best game ever honestly? yeah, the music battling system is very original and fun, and the characters are cool (duster kicks ass) but i honestly don't see what's /that/ amazing about it. sure, it was very underrated back in the day when it was released, EB had terrible sales in the US, but dude everywhere i go on the internet now, half the people there are obsessed with mother i swear.

underrated: age of mythology. this game is /awesome/ but i barely know anyone who's played it apart from a few friends of mine. and those who have heard of it, a lot of them seem to dislike this game and like aoe better. i like aoe a lot, but i think i might like aom better actually o.o

petz as well! no no not the new ones for wii/ds/gba >( those ones suck. i mean like the old PC virtual pet games that had the funny dogs and cats with the huge bug eyes. there is quite a big community of fans on the net who make custom content for the game, which is awesome, but you really don't hear much about it now.

EDIT: TOTALLY FORGOT. RISTAR. i love this game ;-; ristar himself is adorable and the gameplay is interesting and fun and the graphics are really good for a genesis game and uh yeah. it was made near the end of the genesis and didn't sell well and you don't hear it mentioned much

 

[see ya]

especially the competetive, "[character] ONLY, FINAL DESINATION, NO ITEMS, WAVEDASHING, [bunch of other fancy brawl terms]

All those folks are still playing Melee, as Brawl is too scrub-friendly for their tastes. :\

and now. everyone on the forum is going to brutally maul me for saying this, but as far as its fanbase on the internet goes... the MOTHER series. don't get me wrong, like with guitar hero i like the series, i own both eb and mother3 legitimately (sp?), i was a rabid fan myself back in 2008, but i swear like half of the internet is obsessed with the series now, especially mother 3 o_o why do people think m3 is the best game ever honestly? yeah, the music battling system is very original and fun, and the characters are cool (duster kicks ass) but i honestly don't see what's /that/ amazing about it. sure, it was very underrated back in the day when it was released, EB had terrible sales in the US, but dude everywhere i go on the internet now, half the people there are obsessed with mother i swear.

Your avatar makes this deliciously ironic

The only reason you didn't list to why people think it's the best game ever is its plot, which I personally love. I admit, I do fall under the group of people who adores this series to no end, but different strokes for different folks. :D

I just played Super Metroid recently, and I thought Metroid Fusion was a lot better actually.

Never played Fusion, but from what I can gather, it has more direction and plot, while Super just kind of throws you on Zebes and says "Have fun!". I can see how that can be more appealing.

 

[opaltiger]

age of mythology. this game is /awesome/ but i barely know anyone who's played it apart from a few friends of mine. and those who have heard of it, a lot of them seem to dislike this game and like aoe better. i like aoe a lot, but i think i might like aom better actually o.o

AoM was pretty big back when it came out, if I recall correctly. It just doesn't quite have the staying power of AoE, I guess.

 

[see ya]

Alright, I think I've played Sonic Unleashed to put it into one of these categories. it's....Underrated!

Now, I will say one thing: This game is not bringing back Sonic to his roots. In fact, the only thing that makes me remember that this is a Sonic game at all is that I happen to be controlling a blue hedgehog, and that Tails and all them pop up every now and then. This game does bring back that once upon a time, the Sonic games were fun mixtures of speed and tight platforming, only in this game, they're neatly separated both aspects, the Speed being the Daytime levels and the Platforming (With more than a dash of Beat 'em Up action) in the Night. People bitch about the Werehog...well... Often you hear about a good idea being done badly, right? Well, this is a terrible idea done well. I have no idea who the fuck came up with the weird, weird idea of Sonic becoming some kinda stretchy-armed werewolf thing or why it's relevant to the story at all, but gameplay-wise, it works. "But Sonic is all about SPEED!" Some may say, and to them I say, "Bah!" They haven't been into the games for very long. If you play the old games, especially the original and Sonic CD, you'll see that Sonic games have always been about platforming and that the "SPEED SPEED SPEED" aspect is fairly recent.

But the most important thing this game does for the series is removes that goddamn pretense of being OMG SO DEEP that was killing it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go play Sonic '06, which is absolutely flooded with it. This game brings back a lot of the lighthearted nature of the originals, and just a much-missed lightheartedness in general. In fact, it feels like a Disney/Pixar movie. (I cannot get Ratatouille out of my head while visiting Spagonia.) Also, about Chip...he's surprisingly non-intrusive. We all expected him to be another Navi or Omochao, and he's not. In fact, he's kinda cute. "Want some chocolate?" :3

Oh, and the graphics are fucking amazing.

 

[Notoriously Unknown]

Okami was a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, I really like the game and the concept, but everyone said "OMGTHISGAMEROOOOCKS!!" and when I played I thought, "Huh, this is nice, but it doesn't live up to it's rep."
Good game, misleading publicity.

 

[Celestial Blade]

AoM was pretty big back when it came out, if I recall correctly. It just doesn't quite have the staying power of AoE, I guess.

AoM is EPIC!

 

[ultraviolet]

underrated: age of mythology. this game is /awesome/ but i barely know anyone who's played it apart from a few friends of mine. and those who have heard of it, a lot of them seem to dislike this game and like aoe better. i like aoe a lot, but i think i might like aom better actually o.o

:D~ I love this game. But then again I pretty much love it for the Pegasus scouts and Nidhogg, but it's still very fun.

Anyway, underrated? The Neverhood. God, man, this game is the best.

 

[Not Meowth]

Also, about Chip...he's surprisingly non-intrusive. We all expected him to be another Navi or Omochao, and he's not. In fact, he's kinda cute. "Want some chocolate?" :3

This, I take issue with, but most of your other points on Unleashed I agree with. :3 Even though I've not played it in, like, months. xD

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Underrated:

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.

*spaz* Someone else has heard of Shadow Hearts? So there is a god out there! I actually had a hard time finding 1 & 2. 3 was always right there for me o.O

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.

NIS games don't get that much recognition, unfortunately. But Atlus' publishing of the original Disgaea for the PS2 did manage to get NIS enough money to establish NIS America, which in turn, let us witness NIS' other great titles, like Dragoneer's Aria, and such. My favorite titles by them so far have to be Phantom Brave, and both Mana-Khemias.

Xenosaga isn't really underrated, and it's well known, it just gets ALOT of hate from people who grew up with Xenogears. It's a decent series, but I'm sure if Episode 2 hadn't flopped, and Monolith's writer hadn't quit, we would've had the original pretentious, 6-part epic it was originally supposed to be =/ And Episode 2 wouldn't have been so mediocre.
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Moving on! My own under/over rated stuff?
UNDERRATED:
Definitely the Tales series, Shin Megami Tensei, and nearly any 2D fighting game outside of Street Fighter. Specifically Darkstalkers, Killer Instinct, and The King of Fighters seems to have lost a large portion of its fanbase, after SNK went bankrupt back in 2000.

Tales: Unfortunately, people not knowing about it, or giving it recognition it deserves isn't enough. The series basically doomed itself from western audiences, by not localizing any of the games with varying casts of characters, non cookie-cutter stories, and varying battle systems. We were lucky to see Tales of Phantasia in America, granted it was horribly translated, and it was the worst version of the game, but it was still solid. But we've been denied release of any other games that would really make an impact on fanbase, like the remake of Destiny, or Rebirth even. Namco further showed us its stupidity after declining XSeed's offer to localize the PSP port of Tales of Rebirth...

MegaTen: Persona 3 seems to have blown the fanbase for this series through the roof, but it seems like no one knows about Shin Megami Tensei, or Digital Devil Saga. the Raidou Kuzunouha games are also solid entries in the series, and yet, don't seem to get enough recognition =/

Fighting games: Darkstalkers is just one of Capcom's forgotten series. Killer Instinct is in serious need of revival. Banjo-Kazooie on XBLA sorta gives me hope though. And SNK seems to be making a comeback now at the very least. KOFXII will definitely be a nice breath of fresh air for the series, especially since it's the first time they'll be using new sprites in the last 15 years.

OVERRATED:
Final Fantasy XII, and Resident Evil 4 & 5.

FFXII was just horrible. And it plays too much like an MMO. I don't like MMO's very much >(

Resident Evil 4 & 5: Come on, it's not even Resident Evil anymore. They're just another action game. Capcom would be better off making another God Hand (Which is an amazing game, btw)... Oh, wait... Madworld did that already >.> It's not just that, but RE5 just screams Metal Gear Solid 4 rip-off. The entire atmosphere and everything. And the controls are crap too. 4 was at least decent, and fun to play, especially on the Wii, and it had Leon, but I seriously hope Capcom doesn't remake Resident Evil 2 like this, IF they decide to do it.

((EDIT: I apologize for the novel, but I tend to rant about my games >.<))

EDIT AGAIN: Another underrated game: Klonoa. Sure the gameplay's simple, and the stages and bosses are really easy, but the stories are always so innovative, humorous and emotional.

 

[Pride of Kings]

Overrated: Hm, should I say FFVII?

Underrated: Shenmue and Lufia II would be my two choices. These are two of my favorite games of all time. It's a shame many haven't played them.

 

[see ya]

EDIT AGAIN: Another underrated game: Klonoa. Sure the gameplay's simple, and the stages and bosses are really easy, but the stories are always so innovative, humorous and emotional.

^ This. Although I've only played two Klonoa games (Lunatea's Veil and Empire of Dreams), I love them, especially Lunatea's Veil. I'm pretty sure there was a period of time where I basically drew nothing but the King of Sorrow. I love his design sooo much...

I've always had a sneaking desire to cosplay Leorina...>_>

Also, while I'm here, I'll add Silent Hill 2 in the "Underrated" pile. It's well-renowned, but tends to get forgotten in discussions about Survival Horror games. Which is sad, because it's freaking amazing. It may not have the greatest gameplay ever, but its story, characters, twists, and the downright horror of this game are pretty much unmatched. Plus, it's the game that brought us what is possibly the scariest video game monster in history, Pyramid Head.

 

[Dannichu]

Eee!

*spaz* Someone else has heard of Shadow Hearts? So there is a god out there! I actually had a hard time finding 1 & 2. 3 was always right there for me o.O

3 was easy to find when it first came out, but I don't see it pre-owned in shops very often. I see SH2 around a fair bit, but SH is impossible to find; I've only played my friend's scratched version... although twice I've seen it in game shops, only to find that they put the box out by mistake and they don't actually have the game in stock. It's a conspiracy ;;

NIS games don't get that much recognition, unfortunately. But Atlus' publishing of the original Disgaea for the PS2 did manage to get NIS enough money to establish NIS America, which in turn, let us witness NIS' other great titles, like Dragoneer's Aria, and such. My favorite titles by them so far have to be Phantom Brave, and both Mana-Khemias.

Phantom Brave is so great. It's not as crazy as, say, Disgaea or Makai Kingdom (Makai Kingdom is the maddest game I've ever, ever played. You start off at level 17,000 or something and then get turned into a book), but the music is so fantastic <3

Underrated: Tales

I dunno about elsewhere, but the Tales of games are horrendously underrated in the UK. The only ones we have are ToS on the Gamecube, which is very, very hard to find and normally very expensive; Tales of Phantasia on the GBA, and people tend not to play GBA games, and a couple on the PSP. There are lots of gamer who've never even heard of the series.

Resi4

I think Resi4 was a really, really fun game, but it didn't really feel like a Resident Evil game. Apparently (though I haven't played it), Resi5 has this problem, only worse. Which is sad ):

 

[Celestial Blade]

Underrated: DK64 (best, Donkey Kong game EVER!)

 

[J.T.]

Underrated: DK64 (best, Donkey Kong game EVER!)

Holy hell, I agree with you. Can't believe I forgot this. :D

DK64 was pretty cool, yes. Sure, the characters lasted the one game and then only appeared as cameos in later, crappier DK games, but overall the playability was good, the levels had decent designs, the missions were challenging (I never did beat that rabbit in Fungi Forest for the second time), and the bosses were fun. They don't make DK games like that nowadays. Now Nintendo churns out stuff like Barrel Blast, which is closer to what Donkey Kong and his posse should be chucking, not something you should stick into a game console.

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Underrated: DK64 (best, Donkey Kong game EVER!)

This.