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Same idea as the "Games that don't deserve their soundtracks" thread. It really irks me to see games in which the art department really put a lot of work and/or care into, only to end up with those in charge of the gameplay mucking their jobs up and ensuring most of those designs are unfairly associated with unfavorable experiences.
My top picks:
JSRF
Enclave
Magna Carta
Kingdom Hearts
Suikoden III
Unlimited Saga
Maken X
DOAXBV
Primal
Death Jr.
Mortal Kombat 3
Beyond Good and Evil - a game thats great, but got absolutely nothing from sales or fans.
Gun Valkerie
Untold Legends
Kinetica - an awesone game, but again like Beyond.
You misunderstood the thread premise. You are supposed to list games that had great artwork but didn't deserve them because they suck.Quote:
Originally Posted by Advocate05
Insult to injury: You misspelled "awesome".
Did you post this in the right thread?Quote:
Beyond Good and Evil - a game thats great, but got absolutely nothing from sales or fans.
My initial votes are Magna Carta, G-Taste anything, and that current Sega arcade/card game that's related to Romance of Three Kingdoms. Some shooters like Ibara should be considered for this too, considering how little of the art for the game is in the acutal product.
I always thought the Saga series was really pretty.
Unfortunatly the one experience I had with it made me want to go jump in the lake.
Naw, this is for bad games (not badly-selling games) with good art.Quote:
Originally Posted by Advocate05
IMO Gun Valkyrie fits that bill, though. And Kinetica was neither awesome in gameplay nor design.
Astal.
-stella deus
-hoshigami
Kingdom Hearts? No wait, that whole game was ugly too. With boring design. The best part of the whole game was the animation of donald and goofy.
Well, I'm speaking more in terms of character modeling on that one, not stages or anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowutopia
Oh, and GUNGRAVE.
Unlimited SaGa - Gorgeous art design for a poor RPG. Wacky Races for the DC comes to mind as well. Sure, it makes great use of cel shading, but it is a poor kart racer.
That game can fuck off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowutopia
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom Hearts
Skullmonkeys (not an awful game, but generic without its art)
Rise of the Robots
and in a twist:
Relentless: Twinsen's Odyssey and it's sequel, because it deserved much, much better.
They should remake FFVII just so cloud and aeris can fuck.
My #1 pick right away would be Red Ninja. The artwork makes me feel funny down there, and I love Kurenai's design, but I hear the game ended up not being good. Yet, because of that cover, every time I walk past it in a game store, I am drawn to it and want to buy it.
Otogi.
Agreed. But one game in the series REALLY belongs in this thread more than the others- Saga Frontier 2, where all the backgrounds were lush watercolor paintings. The game was fucking BEAUTIFUL, but so painful to play that you'd have a better experience shitting into a frying pan and shoving your face into it. It was really sad that so much amazing artwork ended up in an otherwise horrible game. Such wasted potential.Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh
I think there was a Secret of Mana game on the PS1 that was pretty art-wise, yet complete crap as well.
Dammit, me too. I keep wondering one day if I'll ever just finally break and buy the fucking thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
When I saw the trailer for that I was like FUCK YEAH! Then I saw the name flash up and I was all NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
you must be out of your god damn mind if you think Enclave's art design went to waste(ESPECIALLY if you've played the pc version, which is 5000 times better than the xbox release). that game plays like silk on the pc.
I'm not neccessarily saying the games outright sucked, just that the gameplay was weaker than the art. Enclave wouldn't be compelling were it not so nice to look at. I put plenty of effort into seeing as much of it as I could, but the crappy melee worked against that goal more than it worked towards it. It's not a bad game by any stretch, but it could have been much more if the gameplay were tightened a bit.
You're right, though, I haven't played it on PC.
Drake and the 99 dragons.
I liked the comic bookesque style. However the gameplay was terrible.
Enclave looks awesome on Xbox, putting many games to shame. The big problem is it doesn't offer enough save points. You can go through SEVERAL extremely hard areas, only to die by something stupid, then have to do it all over again. Adding closer save points would have evened out the design flaws of the gameplay, making the overall expierence a better one.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWhitefolks
My Red Ninja art thread, with some very nice high-res images in it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
Wow, that's some nice stuff. It just makes me want to buy the rotten game even more. :cry:Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
BTW, who's the girl in the orange ski cap? I'm picky when it comes to Asian chicks but she's damn cute.
XIII
Most games like that have long since escaped my memory, but off the top of my head:
-Haunted Castle
-that Daytona game for Dreamcast
-every Samurai Shodown game 'cept 2.
-almost every game Psygnosis ever put out
Oh shit, and Dragon's Lair, for reals.
Kingdom Hearts was an awesome game.
You guys can all fuck off.
Halo 2 didnt deserve Halo 1's art design
Yeah, it deserved better.
Gungrave was awesome. BAM! BAM! BAM!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
Hey guys, I think Dave Halverson said Red Ninja was good!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh
Shit, then it must be at least as good as Battle Monsters!Quote:
Originally Posted by Salsashark
*Runs out, buys 80 copies*
im with you, i forgot it existed since i havent played it in a while, very beautiful game.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWhitefolks
Common, man. There was absolutely nothing good or even remotely mediocre about that game. Nothing. Not even the art.Quote:
Originally Posted by avatar
If I remember correctly, and Opaque can back me up on this one, you wall-jumped with your chest.
Rare has the best Character Designers ever. No one could ever hope to make a game that matches their majesty.
LOL I make teh funnay!
Someone needs to post that pic about Rare character designs.
Goddamn, that's good art. Same here, when I got my Xbox, my brother gave me a pile of games to choose from and I went straight to see if he had Red Ninja.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
I wouldn't really say that they h...oh, I hate you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
Genji, Radiata Stories, ActRaiser, possibly Magna Carta even though I want to try it.
Maken has a pretty interesting style for it. I don't remember the artist's name, but he's been making the rounds quite a bit lately.
Kazuma Kaneko.Quote:
Originally Posted by voltz
fixed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowutopia
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
Quote:
Originally Posted by Advocate05
I hate you guys.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
Anyway, I agree on KH. I wanted to like that game so much and the gameplay was damn boring. I'm hoping the sequel will improve on it, but I'm not super optimistic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Yeah, two games that would have been uninteresting if not for their style. Skullmonkeys has more substance to it. Astal was dead easy, but I wasn't disappointed, I paid $10 for it and it was beautiful. I still play through it every now and then when I pull the Saturn out. Would have been nicer on a better game, yeah, but I don't think it's so awful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frogacuda
edit: because "completely worthless" is kind of extreme, "uninteresting" is more like it
I demand an explanation for this blasphemy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocca
I actually enjoyed saga frontier 2 :(
I like Red Ninja but I'm very hesitant to recommend it because I'm probably the only one. It's basically Tenchu with a shittier camera and some cool wire moves.
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Advocate05
I would agree with this, if you were talking about their Amiga days. Shadow of the Beast was eye candy at best, with a stunning sound track, but a fairly crappy game overall. On the Playstation however, they made several of my favorite games for the console with Destruction Derby, Colony Wars and Wipeout.Quote:
Originally Posted by kedawa
That's Shidoshi. BUH.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
Wait... Anyone who listed either JSR, any SaGa game or LoM, SHUT UP. You aren't my friend anymore Bacon. ;_; (broken heart) Rocca... Radiata... ;_____; (broken heart x 2)
Mega Man X series. I like it alright, but it's not as fun as the original and i looove the art.
Mega Man Battle Network. Sorry, rama, i was burnt out by MMBN3. I just couldn't go on anymore. But yeah, i love all the re-designs. I was even picking up the action figures when i saw them.
MMZero. No hate here, just for Compass it's not cheap. I actually love the art but only like the games a whole lot. That fair?
So you know what? Final Fantasy Tactics doesn't deserve its nice art! THERE! And FFTAdvance is worse.
Kingdom Hearts
FF Crystal Chronicles i don't hate, but the art's better
Unison but i've read the j version is better
Red Ninja i was afraid to play it
Astro Boy gba hate hate
Shining Tears don't hate
Dual Hearts don't hate, but kind of boring
I'll probably think of more later.
I said JSRF, not JSR. Biiiiig difference. I've actually played through Future a few times though, completely because it's so damn nice to look at.Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
It's true, we did it in the demo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhydant
Most Korean games and a number of Squaresoft games immediately spring to mind. I'm also tempted to say DWVII just because they used NES-like sprites, completely negating any drawn art for the characters.There's something seriously wrong with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Opaque
And yes, Red Ninja's art is hot.That kinda makes me want to try it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhydant
Nuh-uh. I've only played the first two; they're hard but never cheap. That pretty much goes for MegaMan games in general.Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
Fuck that noise.Quote:
Originally Posted by MechDeus
Kingdom Hearts was one of the biggest suprises for me this generation. I went into it right after X becuase I needed another Square fix. I wasn't expecting it to be half of what I really wanted, but it ended up being a whole lot more.
Except the jungle. I'll admit that part was horrible.
If you play it straight without trying for the good ratings, alright. I was going for an A, resetting every time a boss killed me. Then i realized i couldn't use the faries (or whatever they are) and time and damage count. Whatevah. D for me, but i still reset when i die. Getting the whatever it is to feed faries is a bitch too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
Don't get me wrong, MMZero is a fun series, much more than anything besides the original and Legends. I just like the art that much. Still, things flying at you that you can't avoid and having to make blind jumps makes things sad. Lives=continues is silly.
I hate Tarzan anyway. The level design sucked and i couldn't go on after the Little Mermaid level. If it got good after that, i'll never know. I was the one who liked the ship creation too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Opaque
(oh and) i liked JSRF quite a bit. I never did get the hate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
(OMGOFFTOPIC)Holy shit, that whole bar is an avatar? That's mighy slick.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Yeah, that's fucking hot.
I can never, ever get over how gorgeous the moma forums are.
Ever.
No. If you didn't get to Ursula you were spared the worst of that level which was already god-awful in the first place. So many terrible levels...Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
MMZ rocks but I definately remember the blind jumps sucking. We need a MML3. :(Quote:
Don't get me wrong, MMZero is a fun series, much more than anything besides the original and Legends. I just like the art that much. Still, things flying at you that you can't avoid and having to make blind jumps makes things sad.
I agree with Bacon and Dog$ with Magna Carta. Good to see others aren't blinded by the "Atlus" logo on the case and can see that game really isn't very good.
Others:
Tenerezza (JP Xbox)
Zwei!! (JP PS2)
I'd add Radiata Stories in there but I never liked the art.
Yup... our avs are 600x120. What's nice is you can turn them off, and things still look perfectly nice without them.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChaoofNee
You liked Unlimited Saga? :wtf: If so, wow, you really have a penchant for shitty games. You might want to try Superman 64, it looks like it would be right up your alley (I'm not kidding).Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
I might get crap for this, but I really loved the atmosphere and character designs for Killzone, but the game didn't really do it for me.
This was my thought before the Killzone 2 trailer BTW.
No love for Samurai Shodown 4 or 5 perfect? Boo! :) I hope you're not taking about the wipeout series when you refer to Psygnosis.Quote:
Originally Posted by kedawa
Oh, and Legend of Mana's gameplay made me cry after I seen how beautiful it was in magazines. One of my biggest dissapointments ever.
you're not the only one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
I was referring more to the older Psygnosis stuff, like SotB, Barbarian, etc.
They had a few duds on PSX too though. Tenka springs to mind.
I liked the character designs better when I first saw them in Jin-Roh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
I have no idea what Jin Roh is.
I definiately agree with XIII, which should have been in the soundtrack thread to. This game had great art design, great music, and shit gameplay. Plus the voice acting was stilted and mind-numbingly dull despite the presence of 'actors'.
PicQuote:
Originally Posted by Master
Domestic:
Red Ninja - Got it for $20 7 mo ago. OK, but the jumps needed a lot more polishing. Camera wasn't as bad as SotC.
Magna Carta - I'm really tempted to get it. :(
Stella Deus
Riviera
Trauma Center
PSO3
Imports:
Namco X Capcom
Hundred Swords
Gakuen Toshi Vara Noir
WOLF BRIGADE NIGGA! :link:Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
I played MegaMan Zero 2 going for S or A ratings to get all the powers. So I never killed any fairies. Extremely challenging (for me anyway) but the fact that I kept at it and eventually did it is proof there was no cheapness involved. If there had been I would've lost patience and just barreled through it without going for high ratings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
I don't recall a preponderence of blind jumps. I mean, you have to kind of memorize the levels so yeah, maybe there's some mystery the first time or two. But once you know the layout you're set. And again, that's pretty much all MegaMan games I've ever played.
Lives=continues is rough but it's all part of the challenge. Still doesn't equal cheapness.
I'm tempted to say Rez, here, but the visuals kinda are the game.
Halo 1 didn't deserve Marathons design, either.Quote:
Originally Posted by dave is ok
Halo would be completely forgettable had it been released on PC before Xbox as originally slated, in fact.
I'm too drunk to even bother quoting who said it, but Colony Wars was teh shit. Yeah, and the SaGa games and Kingdom Hearts can suck it.
I hate blueskied. You might want to try something not involving the hate that makes you feel good. I'm not kidding. ASS.
Nice to see not everyone likes the exact same thing and isn't blinded by what whoever says.
I respect Compass. I'm not kidding about that either.
I did!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ste-Von
Destruction Derby rocked as well. DD would be a great online game!
Compass, i changed the MMZero just for you. The chara designs and me is soul mates. The games and me is "just friends"
Yeah, that is pretty much the art style right there.
Man, I should really start watching Anime again...
Haha, okay. Sounds good. You can tell the games, I love you, I'm just not IN LOVE with you. :) And blueskied is cool. After all, he likes Slowdive! :)!Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
Btw, blueskied, what other RPGs do you think are awful? I'm curious because if we agree then I might think twice about Magna Carta. I'm guessing I'll prolly like it though. I have a bizarrely high threshold for tolerating mediocre games. Sometimes I even fall head-over-heels in love with their plain-jane blah-ness! :sweat:
:\ Nah. I really don't hate blueskied either. He likes Popolocrois. I just wanted to be an ass too so i could be like the cool people.
Sold! But I WILL hunt you down if it sucks. At least it's only $20 now.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Despite its shortcomings as a game, the designs and atmosphere for Killzone were amazing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
*snicker*Quote:
Originally Posted by Finch
I kind of like the game, but the camera is one the of worst I've seen in any game ever. I don't mind having to adjust the camera in games, but adjusting the camera is even difficult in this game. Sometimes it's impossible to get camera to go where you want it to, especially when you're indoors. The game really isn't that fast paced, so there is no excuse for this. The camera doesn't even follow you when you walk. Seriously, it's like they ran out of time and released the game before a camera system was implemented.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
Seriously, that is fucking lovely. I'm almost tempted to join just because of how awesome they look.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Darkened Skye on GC comes to mind.
The Joe Mad art just makes you want to buy the damn thing. I mean, I happened to think the game was very decent but the graphics were pretty meh compared to the awesome art style of the designs.
I'm gonna put my vote down for Red Ninja
Hell yes to this one. It had some of the worst voice acting and gameplay ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by rama
I'm always a fan of his stuff. Finish battlechasers god dammit!Quote:
Originally Posted by Will
Did it get better after the jungle? Maybe I shouldn't have sold it. :sweat:Quote:
Originally Posted by Opaque
What's your problem with it?Quote:
Originally Posted by blueskied
Stella Deus was bad? I was seriously curious about that one. The art is nice.Quote:
Originally Posted by animegirl
Wasn't bad. But what do i know? You might like it, might not. Look up the thread.
The voice acting wasn't as bad as the poor sound engineering. You can't hear the funniest character in the game without cranking up the volume. The gameplay is, well, not like Nippon Ichi or Red Ent. It's a matter of taste.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
No way!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tain
The visuals were great, but the music played just as much a key role in the overall experience.
Oh, definitely.
Should've said that the overall presentation is the game.
sup red ninja
http://www.kbtoys.com/genProduct.htm...827059/ctid/19
Okay, I picked up Red Ninja. I PMed my impressions to Shidoshi because I knew he was interested, but then I figured I'd post it here as well since I reall a few others in this thread that were curious about the game.
The verdict: Pretty decent if you like Tenchu-style gameplay. The wire weapon she uses is pretty interesting and cutting foes in half, or lopping off their heads or feet, is fun. It has a nice variety of combat/platforming uses. Plus, if this is your thing, there's non-stop shots of ninja-girl's thong. However, the game has perhaps the worst 3D camera I've ever seen in a game. Tenchu's is perfect in comparison. It doesn't render the game unplayable or anything, but it's bad. About the only time it works correctly is whan it's time for a panty-shot, which isn't suprising since this is a Japanese game.
Graphics are fine. Not quite as good as Tenchu but they get the job done. No framerate problems, music is standard Japanese ninja fare. The game is $20 now and I didn't feel ripped off so I'd say it's a safe purchase, as long as you don't expect anything amazing.
$10? Shit!Quote:
Originally Posted by IronPlant
$10 with free shipping? ... God damnit. That might be what breaks me.