Overrated & Underrated Games

[Xanatos]

All game sites/forums have one, and as I haven't found anything similar here on TFF so I decided to make this thread. It's simple, just name games you think are overrated and underrated, and please do add a sentence or two as to why you think they're overrated/underrated. And don't forget, everyone's entitled to their personal opinion so don't get upset over some choices.


*Overrated*

- Final Fantasy VII

Now, before some fanboy/girl starts calling me a hater/douche/**** or whatnot, just so you know I enjoyed playing this game and I find it to be overall good. A good game and that's all it is, why some consider it to be revolutionary and make religion out of it is beyond me. There's nothing revolutionary about Final Fantasy VII, maybe in Final Fantasy sense as it was the first FF game in 3D, but in general there's nothing special about it. Final Fantasy II with it's leveling system, and IV with ATB contributed far more on that part, as those elements are used in many games even today, but I don't see anyone calling them revolutionary.

The game is also praised for it's great story, which by the way is confusing at times and has a great amount of plot holes, decent prequels and bad movies made things only worse. Some characters were unique, such as Cloud as you don't get to see often a hero with such personality. On the other hand the main villain was not involved enough, nor was he a mastermind, a bland fellow with unclear motives, not to mention his accomplishments and true strength are nothing but pure speculations from his die hard fans. Funny that he's considered one of the best if not the best video game villain when most of his elements were used from Kefka, looking cool and having a big ass sword is enough these days I guess.

But the worst thing about this game are those die hard fans who're directly responsible for it being over hyped, those who raised the game in heavens in the first place, those who refuse to see it's flaws. And as much as I hate those guys I also hate those who call it crap as it's a good game just over hyped in my opinion.

- Halo

I wont include the entire franchise as I only played the first two, and I really enjoyed the second one. The first one was bland, mission were long and boring, repetitive, and story wasn't that great either, a decent game but that's about it.

- Modern Warfare 2

Multiplayer is plain awesome, singleplayer on the other hand was huge disappointment. Really short campaign which felt more like a movie than actual war.

- Need for Speed Most Wanted

The entire series went down after Underground 2 in my opinion, Shift was actually good, I hope the next one is even better, but we'll see about that. Most Wanted is probably the worst in the series, no matter how good you are, no matter how great your car is they'll always catch upon you, I throw it away when I saw one of my opponents going through buildings just to catch upon me, I had one lap advantage and he still managed to beat me. The only great thing about this game is music, not all of it though.


*Underrated*

- Final Fantasy II

This game had a level system before it's time, shame though only few people realize that. Games such as Oblivion and Fallout use similar if not the same formula, and yet it's considered as biggest flaw of it's gameplay.

Not to mention the pre-set characters, characters that have some depth and personality, huge advantage to it's predecessor, and unfortunately to next chapter in Square's franchise. A dark and serious story, story full of sorrow and casualties, something that few games tried to accomplish later on but failed to do so. In my humble opinion the best RPG game NES has to offer.

- Psychonauts

Despite great reviews and high scores, Psychonauts was huge financial failure, which wasn't the worst thing. What really pains me is that some mediocre platformers got more attention. Psychonauts is a brilliant game, it's unlike any other platformer, I would even dare to say it's best game in it's genre. Well thought story and characters, great designed levels and lots of humor is what Psychonauts is all about.

[ZantetsukeN]

OVERRATED

Halo
I'll be honest, I have only ever played multiplayer, but from that I will say that it is overated. My reason being that, while I may have enjoyed it, it was just like any other shooter I have played, multiplayer or not. Why it is regarded as high as it is I don't know.

And I will probably get killed for this one, but...
Street Fighter
Don't get me wrong, I like it. But I thought that many other Fighting games were better, such as Tekken 2, Soul Blade, Mortal Kombat II, I even enjoyed Virtua Fighter more. The character might be iconic, but that's as far as it goes for me.

UNDERRATED

Nier
It's no secret how much I love this game. A lot of people saw it as a rip off of many games, such as LoZ: OoT, Devil May Cry. etc. While it may incorporate many elements from those games, the story alone makes this game great. Especially the seond half of the game. And while it may have looked like any 'hack and slash' and 'fetch quest' game, I felt like, coming away from it, it deserves a lot more than it got. And the soundtrack is the best I have ever heard in a game.

The World Ends With You
Another Squeenix game, but I feel these two games definitely need more love. TWEWY is THE most unique game I have ever played. When it was released, I just looked at it and thought that I'd get it since it's SE, which means I'm going to like it. I didn't, however, predict just how much of a great game it is. The combat system is like any other, unlocking a new experience to the RPG genre. The story was amazing, it is also like no other. Plus, there is TONS to do after you've finished the story.

[Jin]

Overrated:

All First Person Shooters
I'm serious. I'm tired of them. I've never liked Halo and the annualization of Call of Duty and its many imitators has left me yawning for something different. I'm not including games like Bioshock in this as they were (and in some cases, still are) fresh and unique. What I'm referring to here is the multiplayer focused FPS games that have all but taken over the release charts this generation. I'm tired of them.

Final Fantasy
Let's be real here, people. The Final Fantasy franchise has declined to the point of parody. It started with FF10 (though I for one liked that installment) and has since culminated in the waste of $70 that was FF13. The stories are lame, the dialogue is terrible, the battles systems are growing tiresome and exploration is being given a lower priority with each installment. Yawn.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
Seriously, a sequel strips a large portion of its predecessor's customization, variety and gameplay options and it's heralded as being amazing? lol wut?

Grand Theft Auto 4
Bad controls, check. Less gameplay options than its predecessor, check. Not as funny as it thinks it is, check. Same old same old, check. Overrated, check.

Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 4 in HD with less horror. Enough said.

Underrated:

Anything by Tim Schafer
Seriously, this guy's a genius, but seems to be utterly incapable of breaking into the mainstream market. Brutal Legend was a great game and deserved to sell far better than it did, even as a niche game.

Alas I have to go. I'll think of more later.

[Unknown Entity]

Overrated:

COD and Halo games. They turn guys into assholes, and women into desperate housewives. I have a friend who only started playing those games because she hadn't got any since the release dates (at the time). I dare try and communicate with my brother when he has his xbox headset on, let alone when he's playing games like that.

Underrated:

Nier, for sure. People turn their noses up at it because it comes across as cheap and crappy, but it's been pretty good so far for me. I agree it's not a perfect game, but for the most part critics have been way too harsh with it.

The Yakuza games. I don't know if there's any hype over it elsewhere or what, but nobody seems that interested in it over here. I can't even name you someone from my PSN or fb friends list who has it (counting folks who live over here). I've recommended it loads of times to friends who're looking for a new game, but they all turn it down.

I wouldn't say the Final Fantasy games are THAT overrated... perhaps a few of the games are among fans of the series, FFVII in particular, but in general? Nah...

[Dodie16]

I'll go with underrated first, since that's easier for me...kind of.

Well, I think Okami should be mentioned, because a lot of game critics loved and praised it, but it just didn't sell very well. But then again, many people that have played say it's great. So I'm not sure if it's a problem of being underrated as it is a problem of being underplayed. People who don't really check out game magazines probably didn't see any adverts for it, because there really wasn't much marketing for the game. Shame...

It is getting a sequel, so hopefully it does well enough that more people will wanna check out the first.

I think many people were turned off of The Legend of Zelda: WindWaker because of the "cartoony" graphics, but I think that was really part of it's charm. Another thing would be the sailing aspect of the game. It did get repetitive after a while, but I still enjoyed it.

I will have to agree about The World Ends With You, for pretty much the same reasons that ZantetsukeN mentioned. I loved how the different pins you equipped let you do different attacks...and there is a LOT of them! I also dug how you can put your character on pretty much any level, and either play on a handicap or keep it at max. More games need to do that. The story keeps you guessing too, and isn't at all predictable. At least for me it wasn't.

Last one I'll mention will be Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. I can't tell you how many posts I've read panning this game because of the card battle system! I actually enjoyed that a lot, and thought it was really a unique twist on gameplay. It's also cool that so much game was packed into a little GBA cart.

Overrated:

Umm.... I wanna say The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are kind of overrated, imo.

SSBB is probably more because I don't really have a taste for fighting games, and also because when I did play it, I didn't have anyone to face off against other than the computer. Playing the single player mode was alright for a bit, but then it got boring to me.

Twilight Princess. Personally, I was kind of disappointed in it after reading so many good reviews. When I played it, I thought it was a little too dark for my personal taste, but many others seem to like it for that reason.

[Xanatos]

Overrated:

All First Person Shooters
I'm serious. I'm tired of them. I've never liked Halo and the annualization of Call of Duty and its many imitators has left me yawning for something different. I'm not including games like Bioshock in this as they were (and in some cases, still are) fresh and unique. What I'm referring to here is the multiplayer focused FPS games that have all but taken over the release charts this generation. I'm tired of them.

I actually agree on this one, but then again I'm not a big fan of shooters to begin with. Majority of them seem same to me.

Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 4 in HD with less horror. Enough said.

How could I possibly forget Resident Evil 5, the game could do fine on it's own, without the Resident Evil tittle. Not that Resident Evil 4 is any better, both games are plain shooters, and lack all the previous tittles were famous for.

Anything by Tim Schafer
Seriously, this guy's a genius, but seems to be utterly incapable of breaking into the mainstream market. Brutal Legend was a great game and deserved to sell far better than it did, even as a niche game.

The man behind tittles such as Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and The Secret of Monkey Island, all games that deserve far more credit, yup, the man is ****ing genius alright.

[loaf]

Every game is overrated and underrated at some point in time.

[Bangladesh]

for me the most overated game franchise out there is Dynasty Warriors! I mean come on when is enough going to be enough? No matter which one you pick up it the same thing over and over again.Seriously how many times can you retell the story of the three kingdoms? Also All Madden games sre gased up and i refuse to pay another $60 for one when its the same as the one before all they do is either change the run game or the defense.

[Sharpshooter]

I never liked the storylines in Call of duty games, but online mode is just fantastic!
Though it saddened me that alot of modern warfare fans picked on World at War because of its "old" guns =/

I'll choose a thompson over a Ak anyday
Though Waw's storyline was kinda bad, at least it showed some good footage of WWll

Overated Games
GTA IV
Hey I love the grand theft auto series as much as the next guy but I hate how the camera works while driving a car =/
I awlays had to keep the right analog stick at a certain angle to see what cars were ahead of me. And I didn't like the multiplayer mode too much either
Or maybe Its just cause I really sucked at it =P

[Jin]

for me the most overated game franchise out there is Dynasty Warriors! I mean come on when is enough going to be enough? No matter which one you pick up it the same thing over and over again.Seriously how many times can you retell the story of the three kingdoms? Also All Madden games sre gased up and i refuse to pay another $60 for one when its the same as the one before all they do is either change the run game or the defense.

Who overrates Dynasty Warriors? That series is almost an internet meme for how lousy and repetitive it is.

[Furore]

Most I can think of have already been stated, but Beyond Good & Evil is another definite underrated game for me. I know a few people online that feel it was great, but few IRL have even given it a go.

Knowledge of it in general isn't the best and that, combined with an excellent cast, story, look and varied gameplay - 3D platforming, stealth, photo taking, hovercraft events etc really make me feel it was one of the most underrated games of all time.

[Bangladesh]

Who overrates Dynasty Warriors? That series is almost an internet meme for how lousy and repetitive it is.

Lol i know some people that has been playing it since it first came out, i mean they have the gundam ones too and samuri warriors they just dont get tired of it

[ZantetsukeN]

I awlays had to keep the right analog stick at a certain angle to see what cars were ahead of me. And I didn't like the multiplayer mode too much either
Or maybe Its just cause I really sucked at it =P

I agree, multiplayer deathmatches are terrible. But I'm still awesome at the racing

Actually I would like to extend my previous post by adding this to UNDERRATED.

Primal
Everyone I ask whether they've heard of it always say no. It was such a great game! While on paper it looked like just another adventure game, it gave so much more. The environments were incredible for a PS2 game. And the story is really good too.

[scorptatious]

Overated:

Half Life 2: Yes, I went there. Flame me if you want but let me say my piece.
I did thought it was a good game. There were a lot of cool moments in the game, such as when you were driving on the motorboat in first person. I also LOVE the sound effects and audio in the game, for some reason, the sounds that come on through picking up health items or ammo never gets tiring. The game also has an element of horror to it through the headcrabs and zombies. I still get nightmares from those poison headcrabs.

So why is it overated? Mainly due to the annoying PC elitists who badger me about how the PC version is better. (I own the PS3 version.) Well guess what? I only have a laptop and can't afford a computer powerful enough to play a pc version of the game. Also, I didn't think it was one of the best games I've ever played. (Most likely due to me bieng spoiled by other FPS's like Halo.)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: I was kind of disappointed with this game. I didn't like some of the new characters, (Lucas? Really? He's basically Ness without a hat.) I didn't like how you can easily unlock all the characters in the game through going through the subspace emissary, and I didn't like how some characters were removed in favor of others. (Why Mewtwo? Why?) It's not a bad game by any means, but I don't like the direction it's going.

Underated:

Katamari Damacy series.: I'm surprised these games aren't more well known. You play as a tiny little guy known as "The Prince" rolling around a ball called a "katamari". The goal in each level is to roll over a bunch of stuff and make it as big as possible. In the later levels, your katamari can start out as big as a mouse, but can be as big as the moon if you roll over enough stuff. You'll soon find yourself from rolling up little toys to entire towns to entire continents!

It's a very strange game, and some people may be put off by it's quirkiness and japanese pop/techno soundtrack, but I think it's really good and is definitely worth playing.

Valkyria Chronicles: A game that takes place in an alternate earth around the time of the Second World War. Except it's called Europan War 2. You take the role of an university student turned tank commander, as you lead your squad against the Empire, who are attempting to take over your home country of Gallia. The game is a mix of an RPG, a turn based strategy, and a third person shooter. Think Fire Emblem, but instead of grid based movement, you move your units across a 3D field with a gauge that shows how far you can move, also during this time enemies who can see you can attack you.

With it's unique strategy based gameplay, it's great story, it's memorable characters, and it's cel-shaded graphics, this game is truly a diamond in the rough. Although due to people who actually played the game and spread the word about how good it was, it's sales boosted over the past year. The sequel of the game also came out recently, I haven't played it yet, but I hope it's as good as it's predecessor.

[Jin]

So why is it overated? Mainly due to the annoying PC elitists who badger me about how the PC version is better. (I own the PS3 version.) Well guess what? I only have a laptop and can't afford a computer powerful enough to play a pc version of the game.

What does this have to do with the game being overrated? The PC version is superior because A) Valve supports it and B) they didn't get a third party to manufacture a bad port of it like they did on the PS3. That's just how it is. Not sure I see how that contributes to the game being overrated though.

Valkyria Chronicles

I totally agree on this one and would add it to my own list if I were less lazy. This game was a phenomenal surprise. The art style was both beautiful and unique and the gameplay was equally unique, as well as being fantastic. I didn't find the story breathtaking by any stretch, but it was better than most RPGs that come out of Japan, particularly the dialogue.

[classicgamer]

for me the most overated game franchise out there is Dynasty Warriors! I mean come on when is enough going to be enough? No matter which one you pick up it the same thing over and over again.Seriously how many times can you retell the story of the three kingdoms? Also All Madden games sre gased up and i refuse to pay another $60 for one when its the same as the one before all they do is either change the run game or the defense.

not to mention whoever is on the cover has a season long injury

I'm going old school Overrated

Street Fighter II installments. I'm sorry but do you need 150 different games in between Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III. Each one had a little change, and you had to shell out $50 a pop at this time Also if you had one, you had to keep up with the times.

Underrated

Zelda A link to the past. No matter how high itwas ranked it still wasn't enough. Even a #1 ranking does this game injustice.

[SuperSabin]

Overrated games:

Ocarina of Time - i'm sure if you go to talk with people about zelda the first thing they'll think of is this title either this or the NES Zelda. As fun as this game was and I do like it (even though i said otherwise in a related thread), but this game is hyped and people make it seem better than it really is. Its a good game but nowhere as near as good as people make it out to be.

Final Fantasy VII - Do I even need to go here about this game? what I'm about to say is pretty much like what I expressed for Ocarina of Time just with FF games. Probably the first game people will think of If I bring up FF with them.

Modern Warfare 2 and Halo - These games are "supposedly" the best games ever, they're fun and addicting but they too are hyped to no end.

Chrono Trigger - I think this title lies in between overrated and underrated, I do this its one of the best RPGs ever and whatever good things people have to say about this title, i'd agree with everything because its that good of a game.

Pokemon - These games are obviously big in the gaming world but I think these games are a bit too overrated, I tried to get into the games but they're just not my cup of tea, no matter what people say about them.

Underrated games:

Ys - Very good action rpg game, I feel like there are little to no fans of this series. Thank goodness the series is being revived by XSEED, despite that, I feel this game is overshadowed by other games.

Mother/Earthbound - Another series that is looked over, these games were inspired by different things out of american culture and was also inspired by the Beatles band as the creator was a fan of that band and many references in the game come from that band. If you haven't played it, you should check it out.

[Micar]

Overrated-
Half Life 2 - cool engine and weapons but its linear and gameplay is a bit dated imo, first one was awesome for its time but the sequel was just meh.

Underrated-
FFVIII - seriously i loved this game, good card game that was useful too, fun junction system and squall was hilariously cynical. just so gooood


To the people saying FFVII was overrated, you are silly.
The story was epic, just absolutely epic in length and in side stories and all that awesome music, tons of materia to play with, fun characters, one of the saddest moments in game, most badass villian (sephiroth was so great at the time just because hes popular does not mean hes bad).

Ah i cant get over how much i love that game, it was following some used formula, it went all over the place and had so much effort and time into its story and those mini games and the stuff you didnt need to but totally could (i hate how they removed the mini map from FFX and after).

[Sinister]

I'd prefer not to rationalize all of these in front of you, but as was recently pointed out to me, the OP demands an explanation...

Underrated

Final Fantasy 7

I put this here for an important reason. All of you people who think that 7's hype and fandom was pushed far beyond it's limits and is obscene... Or that, because you and others think this, the fandom is starting to wane... This game appears on the underrated list to put you in your place. It's your opinion, this is mine and others. Deal with it. Rationalizations don't mean jack shit. It's part of my childhood and will always be a fond memory.

Valkyria Chronicles

It was previously stated what a surprise this game was. Truth is, it's excellent and a one of a kind game. For pioneering new ideas in a tactical game, it should've been far more lauded.


Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

This wasn't the favorite. It didn't shine in any limelight, like 6, 7 or 4. People took issue with it's lack of depth and new direction. But the fact remains, it was a Final Fantasy game and even still it's far superior to some of the newer releases. Not to mention having the single greatest boss theme song of the entire series.

Shadow Hearts

Why isn't this a reoccuring genre in RPGs? Why didn't the sheer concept blow people's minds?! Horror RPGs, are you shitting me!? It's a match made in heaven. It's a gothic RPG with all the elements of horror. To this day it remains one of my favorite RPGs.

Megaman 9

You can talk about Megaman 2...and sure, why wouldn't you? But 9? It was such a revolutionary step in gaming! A step back. Why would any game company want to do that? Who would want to revisit those infuriating days of 8-bit? The truth was, it's a nostalgia thing. I can't explain it any other way. And a game geared for nostalgia, it turns out...is pretty challenging. Definitely one of my favorite games.

Final Fantasy Crisis Core

See FF7. It was nice to see a new PoV on the events that took place around the original game.

Armored Core series

I'm a fan of any game that gives you a free hand at customization and exploration of options. If you can win a game seventy different ways, well that leaves it up to you to determine what fits your "style". I love customizing my own mech and to be fair, AC series does this best. The Arena section is an excellent added bonus.


Bushido Blade 1 & 2

What can I say. I got the demo for the first game in an issue of Playstation magazine. I wore it out. When I bought the game, I was hooked. It's lack of a definite soundtrack makes it perfect for playing it while listening to whatever you want. The fact that the series was laid at the wayside is saddening.

Ehrgeiz

The first, and in my opinion, only strictly-speaking Final Fantasy fighting game. Albeit, it only featured characters from 7, it was plenty fun to see the characters in a game outside of 7 back in those days.

Parasite Eve series

A horror RPG...ARPG?...or whatever. It was a fun horror-inspired mad-scientist New York Gotham hellbent series. The characters, though new, felt familiar. I look forward to the new addition to the series, tremendously.

Destroy All Humans series

A comedic sci-fi extra-terrestrial series. It's a blast and the Jack Nicholson impression gets me every time.

Dirge of Cerberus

See FF7. It was nice to see some of the familiar settings in vivid new graphics. Not to mention all the nods to the original game.

Super Mario Bros Wii

If nostalgia was a reason for liking Megaman 9, then it definitely is a factor here. Familiar gameplay. Bright new graphics and new innovative spins on the classic side-scroller are always welcome.

Overrated

Kingdom Hearts series

I didn't really think of it as anything than an excuse to see a mish-mash of FF characters interacting. I never regarded the plot as anything other than over-contrived, unnecessarily complicated and sometimes downright confusing.

GTA series

It had a good game or two in it. It's moment in the spotlight was deserved, at least for Vice City. But was that any excuse to inflict all these other games on us? More of the same? Too much or a touch too much of an okay thing is as bad as just a little bit of shit.

CoD series & Halo series

Both are a stupid pointless series with no true room for exploration. Merely arenas of competition. For the competitive gamer, there are prolly no better games. It's no secret, I'm not competitive in game.

The Force Unleashed

It was a great premise. It would've been a great game. But gameplay was repetitive and annoying. There was a very lacking selection of combos and it didn't rise to it's potential.

World of Warcraft

Anything this obsessive and viral must be kept at arms length. And I personally am not a fan of MMO's. This makes me quite the odd-man out. But better that, than a no-lifer.

Soul Calibur series

Cute series, got too much publicity just because it threw in a third-party character and it's plot and re-hashings were repetitive and stretched a little too thinly.

Super Smash Bros Brawl

Waited too long and it was hyped up far too much to be just another entry in a series. I personally miss the original and melee. They were both superior, imho.


-Sin

[Bleachfangirl]

Katamari Damacy series.: I'm surprised these games aren't more well known. You play as a tiny little guy known as "The Prince" rolling around a ball called a "katamari". The goal in each level is to roll over a bunch of stuff and make it as big as possible. In the later levels, your katamari can start out as big as a mouse, but can be as big as the moon if you roll over enough stuff. You'll soon find yourself from rolling up little toys to entire towns to entire continents!

It's a very strange game, and some people may be put off by it's quirkiness and japanese pop/techno soundtrack, but I think it's really good and is definitely worth playing.

Marry me. Right now.

Yeah, Katamari Damacy is underrated. It's my favorite series of non-story, entertainment-only games. It's funny to roll things up and see how the environment reacts to you as you roll miscellaneous items up and get bigger. I mean seriously, people and animals start freaking out if you roll up next to them. Eventually, landmarks and monuments will spazz out if you're big enough to roll them up, and it's just cute fun.

Golden Sun is pretty underrated too, I think. Those two Golden Sun games for the GBA from a while back were huge fun for me, but no one played them except for like one other kid at my school who only played the game because his mom wouldn't let him play online games anymore. It was fun! It was kind of like Baten Kaitos with the whole "screw around with the scenery and the people around you" deal, and the story was pretty cool.

Anything that has to do with guns and boys shooting other boys with them while having multi-player online marathons is overrated. You can only play those for SO LONG before it's just a jackass ranting, "I have to get Level 10 Prestige," into his mic at the other players. I just can't deal with it.

[Unlucky Rufus]

Jersey Devil (ps1)
This game is very good, its a platformer that came out in 98'. Its true that the late 90's were heaven for platforming games, that probably the reason this game lost its stage light. You control a little devil like guy that had been kidnapped by a evil scientist named Dr Knarf, he escapes, and lives on to defeat Dr Knarf and his creations. This is actually a pretty long game, music is fitting and exact. The whole game has a comical, yet dark feeling to it. Game mechanics are ok, you can glide, preform devil spins, etc.. Overall its a must if your a semi-retro player.

[Rocky]

OMG yes Jersey Devil! A good game indeed, thank you for saying that, haha.

also...



This game is incredibly fast paced, competitive, challenging, and one of my favorite games that exists in no such form after the PSX died. One of the more underrated games I can think of, along with...



And people thought FFT was hard, HA.