RPGs you're ashamed to like?

[Holykael1]

Well if we talk about mediocre games that I like, mine would be Wild Arms 2.

Is that even supposed to be mediocre?

[CluelessWonder]

Personally I didn't think it was, but I think it was reviewed that way.

[Holykael1]

Personally I didn't think it was, but I think it was reviewed that way.

I hear a lot of good things from JRPG fans actually and RPGFan/RPGamer reviews of them are not too shabby, solid 8's.

[Refresh]

I know I shouldn't be ashamed to like any game, but have any of you played Rhapsody? Its the girliest RPG of all time. Songs, Princesses, etc:

[CluelessWonder]

Personally I didn't think it was, but I think it was reviewed that way.

I hear a lot of good things from JRPG fans actually and RPGFan/RPGamer reviews of them are not too shabby, solid 8's.

Game rankings has it at 67.73 % based on 22 reviews. 

[Holykael1]

Personally I didn't think it was, but I think it was reviewed that way.

I hear a lot of good things from JRPG fans actually and RPGFan/RPGamer reviews of them are not too shabby, solid 8's.

Game rankings has it at 67.73 % based on 22 reviews. 

Hmm yeah.. I wouldnt trust non genre specialized reviews tbh but hey, each to it's own criteria!
In that vein I guess I would say Lightning Returns, that game has like 65 on metacritic.. crazy, it's another example that makes me keep my stance on the worth of reviews in general.

[CluelessWonder]

I played Rhapsody back in the day but I am female so the girlish nature of the game brought no shame.  As I recall I wasn't a fan of the musical bit, though that is what made it unique.

[Taelus]

I'm not ashamed by it, but I thoroughly enjoyed Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk, whereas I believe everyone else hated it.

[Tomara]

I love Rhapsody! One of the reasons I got a PSone actually.

I can't think of any favourites I'm ashamed of liking. There is nothing wrong with liking a bad game for the right reasons. Some are terrible in a way that's just so funny you want to keep playing. Nothing wrong with having a good laugh, right? And honestly, most games so atleast something right. If you enjoy that part so much you're able to ignore the flaws and enjoy the game, well, good for you. Just don't go all raving an ranting about how reviewers know nothing and your opinion is fact. That's annoying.

So I will now proudly announce that I like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest / Mystic Quest Legend. The back to basics approach is something I can appreciate having played it back when I was so young I could barely read any English. Also, killer soundtrack.

What else? I had a ton of fun with the first two Ar Tonelicos. Yeah, could have toned down the awkward fanservice a lot, but hey everything else was pretty awesome.

Oh, and I enjoyed Suikoden IV. It was a bit of disappointment after II and III, but on the other hand: nice boats.

[Holykael1]

Just don't go all raving an ranting about how reviewers know nothing and your opinion is fact. That's annoying.

I don't know how you arrived at this conclusion from my post. I don't think my opinion is a fact. In fact I hate people who think that their opinions are facts.
I have an opinion that reviews are MOSTLY worthless for ME(mostly because I have a pretty good idea of what I like or don't like, not to mention that I generally can't relate to certain common criticisms) BUT I will never judge them without reading them first, I never once said that even that opinion is a fact. What part of "but hey, each to it's own criteria!" didnt you read?
Look Im sorry if I overreacted and exploded but this is the most offensive thing one can say about me because I despise people who put their opinions on pedestals, I always make it clear that this is my view on things not the ultimate truth or whatever and that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

We had a similar discussion on the previous Game Journal. Ill look for it and paraphrase my past self to clear things up if needed.

[Taelus]

Just don't go all raving an ranting about how reviewers know nothing and your opinion is fact. That's annoying.

I don't know how you arrived at this conclusion from my post. I don't think my opinion is a fact. In fact I hate people who think that their opinions are facts.
I have an opinion that reviews are MOSTLY worthless for ME BUT I will never judge them without reading them first, I never once said that even that opinion is a fact. What part of "but hey, each to it's own criteria!" didnt you read?
Look Im sorry if I overreacted and exploded but this is the most offensive thing one can say about me because I despise people who put their opinions on pedestals, I always make it clear that this is my view on things not the ultimate truth or whatever and that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

I don't think that was directed at you, kael. I think it was just a more general statement.

[Holykael1]

Just don't go all raving an ranting about how reviewers know nothing and your opinion is fact. That's annoying.

I don't know how you arrived at this conclusion from my post. I don't think my opinion is a fact. In fact I hate people who think that their opinions are facts.
I have an opinion that reviews are MOSTLY worthless for ME BUT I will never judge them without reading them first, I never once said that even that opinion is a fact. What part of "but hey, each to it's own criteria!" didnt you read?
Look Im sorry if I overreacted and exploded but this is the most offensive thing one can say about me because I despise people who put their opinions on pedestals, I always make it clear that this is my view on things not the ultimate truth or whatever and that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

I don't think that was directed at you, kael. I think it was just a more general statement.

Well it sure seemed like it, if it wasn't I sincerely apologize(I will also proceed to feel bad for having been a douche).
I also don't like this reasoning(even though I was a fan of it in the past) - "If you enjoy that part so much you're able to ignore the flaws and enjoy the game" because "flaws" might not actually be "flaws" depending on the experience/preferences of each person(difficulty immediately comes to mind for example). There are little things that can be undeniable, uncontestable and objective flaws.

[Tomara]

Just a general statement. I sometimes take a peek at sites such as Metacritic and many of the user reviews are just depressing. Like, say a game got a 68/100. Far from great, but it got decent reviews. No matter what game it is, there will be users who hand out 10s and claim the reviewers don't know what they're talking about. I guess it's because they feel reviews exist to tell them they have great taste and when their opinion doesn't overlap with that of the avarage reviewer, they think they need to show the world how they are right and everyone else is wrong. Which is silly, of course, because there is nothing wrong with liking a game that got decent reviews. It's totally okay to enjoy something that didn't receive 9s and 10s and say to yourself, well, this has its flaws, but I had a good time.

I also don't like this reasoning - "If you enjoy that part so much you're able to ignore the flaws and enjoy the game" because "flaws" might not actually be "flaws" depending on the experience/preferences of each person(difficulty immediately comes to mind for example). There are little things that can be undeniable, uncontestable and objective flaws.

Oh, I agree that flaws can be subjective, but lots of games suffer from poor design choices. Even if you can't measure them like loading times or count them like game freezing bugs, I think we can generally agree things like unnecessary complex menus or unimaginative, linear dungeons are flaws. Not everyone will be bothered by them to the same degree, but that doesn't mean they aren't flaws.

It's not a bad thing to take a good look at what you play once in a while and try to figure out what makes it good and what could have been done better. At the very least it will help you get a better understanding of what you look for in a game.

Edit: Difficulty itself is rarely a flaw. It only becomes something to complain about when the game is unfair or the difficulty level has a tendency to suddenly shoot up (or down). Games that offer a fair challenge generally receive lots of praise. Think Dark Souls. Difficult but fair.

[kkhohoho]

The closest game I can think of would be FFX. I don't love it by any means, but I think the battle system is pretty solid, and the art design is fairly cool.The story, on the other hand...

"HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA..."

...and I think that quote speaks for itself. It didn't help that Tidus was one of the most whiny POS's I've seen. And so, while I like the game, devoid of it's actual story, the story turns the whole experience into something that I'm not really proud to say I actually like at all.

Generally, if a RPG has mediocre-or-below gameplay, but a good story, I have no problem with liking it. When a game has good gameplay but a meh story, I still have no problem with liking it. But when a game still has good gameplay, but at least has elements of the story that I consider downright insulting, ("HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!) that's when I have a problem.

[Monsoon]

I'm a Dragon Age II defender / apologist.  I thought the game had better skill trees, better semi-random encounters, and really solid dialog, characters, and combat.  Sure, replaying the same dungeons and visiting Kirkwall over and over were major problems; I believe that several of Dragon Age 2's faults were due to its rushed production, and an extra six months could have really helped.  

And ****, on a similar note, I really really liked Tales of Legendia.  Like Dragon Age II, that game had some serious problems in only one town and repeated dungeons, but I really liked the characters and battles.  Weird how I feel similarly good about games that are both disliked by fans.