Topic: Games Critics hated, but you enjoyed?

It's more of a game certain circles in the Zelda fandom dislike for varying, yet understandable reasons.

Skyward Sword is an interesting case. I remember nothing but the highest praises for it when it released, now all I see is never ending hate for it. I loved it. Not the best Zelda game, but the most unique in terms of how to play it.

I love Destiny even though the internet collectively hates it, and critics gave it middling scores

There were a number of Wii games that critics didn't enjoy but I thought were pretty good. A list of game with the Metacritic average score in brackets and my comments follows:

Baroque (50) - Port of an older rogue-like RPG that has a crazy story, but is intentionally opaque when you start out and only starts to reveal useful information as you continually return to the game. Dying many times is required to progress. Progress is more about your understanding of the world increasing than ever having a character develop and grow in strength. It's easy to understand why this bombed with critics, but it was a fully enjoyable experience for me to uncover the truth of the world I had been thrust into.

Dragon Quest Swords (65) - An on-rails action game with RPG trimmings and interesting motion-based controls? Can't imagine why critics didn't like the game... oh wait, actually it's not hard to imagine at all. The game wasn't what I hoped to see from the Dragon Quest franchise on Wii but was enjoyable, offered a significant amount of post-game content to enjoy, and played surprisingly well once you got used to the controls.

Tenchu: Shadow Assassin (70) - First off: the motion controls for using the katana are terrible, there is no getting around that. But it's a small part of the game and the rest is good enough to make it worth overlooking. Levels are puzzle-like affairs where you need to carefully and stealthily find ways to avoid or dispatch your foes while travelling to the end of the stage. A great and often overlooked action game on the the Wii.

Endless Ocean (72) - A lot of critics didn't seem to "get" this game. It's quite open-ended, encouraging you to spend time just exploring the environment to look for trinkets and treasures, and mapping out as much of the ocean bottom as possible. The game is designed to be relaxing and enjoyable instead of to empower you - some critics were ok with this approach, but a couple were fairly outspoken against the so-called "non game".

Shadowrun for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista

I really enjoyed the mix of magic and technology in the fast paced multiplayer FPS. Really sad critics didn't enjoy it and not many people played it, but it is a great game.

^^ejamer wins.

Honestly I enjoyed playing the demo when I was new to FPSes, but I played it again in 2011 and it was the...4th worst FPS I've ever had the displeasure of playing. It was sluggish, glitchy, and poorly balanced, IIRC. It was still better than Legendary, Duke Nukem Forever, and that god awful Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard...yet still a little worse than Unreal Tournament 3, Prey, and Timeshift, IMO...

Didn't Kid Icarus Uprising get mixed reviews from critics primarily because of the control scheme?

I can think of other criticisms I'd give it, but that was the one that almost all of them mentioned...

All the Battle Network games and Sonic and the Black Knight (My favorite Sonic game evah <3)

The exact same thing happened with Twilight Princess.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers (Wii) - I just liked going through this adventure, and even liked all the minigames along the way (like the stealth mission on the train, or the ballroom dancing segment). Sure, I can understand why you'd be disappointed with it, but I liked flinging stuff around, lol.

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles (3DS) - This was actually my favorite launch title (even above SSFIV3D). Just so fun going around laying waste to everyone in your path, with a bunch of different characters to choose from.

All of them

I liked Crystal Bearers to some degree but it was also more unintentionally hilarious and weird than anything else.

Also Dragon Quest Swords was indeed fun for what it was. I forgot it was critically panned by most reviewers...

I mean Double Dash isn't the hated game, but it's certainly the second best behind 8.

And though the critics liked the fans didn't, but I think Final Fantasy 12 is the best in the series.

Double Dash is certainly the best Mario Kart I've gotten my hands on, though I still don't like it or any other in the series....

And yes, Final Fantasy XII is pretty good. Out of the 12 main games (not counting the online games), I'd say it's in the upper 6 of the series. It's criticisms are warranted, but I think if you really enjoy exploration and the grand story it tells (as well as all the littler stories that the main cast is often more involved in...), and get far enough to the point where the gambits really shine through, it's a very fun game. However, I wouldn't say it's anywhere near the best in the series, but hey, that's me. It was a late bloomer and with very few exceptions do I ever give the edge to a game that takes too long to get into. FF4, FF5, FF7, and FF9 are much better games, IMO. Still better than FF3, though, which barely gets into the upper 6 thanks to its remake. (well, this is one of those cases actually, where I'm not speaking from my opinion. FF3 is my second favorite FF still...sort of like how FF9 is easily the best FF game, yet I still don't count it above 3, 5, and maybe even 7 because there were gameplay and elements that had a greater impact on me. I think I had played FF9 when it was new, I might appreciate it as much as it deserves. I think if there's any game I'd like to get a little revamped a la FF10HD, it's FF9)

Mhm I do agree that 5 and 6 are great, but I never liked seven, never played 9, and 4 was ruined after I played the remake.

I dunno if you have a PSP or Vita, Fraker, but the PSP Complete collection is the definitive version of FF4, IMO. And you gotta play FF9 someday. I'd agree that FF7 is flawed and I can see where people wouldn't enjoy it, but I really get into that game for some reason.

The Dark Spire was panned? What? That's one of the best DS games on the system, bar none.

EDIT: Well, mixed. Only a couple reviews said it was bad. It's mostly that the reviewers though it was too niche to give a glowing recommendation to, which is arguable, but not abhorrent.

Considering I'd always believed a 7/10 was meh/average, I'll include any games I like that have a Metacritic rating under 70.

*Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (Wii) 69 - 42 critics: I've always found this game to be just as enjoyable, if not more so, than the THPS series. It very well could be one of my top ten favorite games of all time.

*Code of Princess (3DS) 67 - 38 critics: This isn't one of my favorite games. Heck, I only just started playing it. Still, I think it's funny, and the battling isn't that bad. It should probably have at least a 70 (I'd give it higher) to avoid being on this list.

*Geist (GC) 66 - 43 critics: This game isn't perfect. Still, it's interesting, creative, and fun (despite that god darn last boss). Eternal Darkness gets all the love (and rightfully deserved!) as the de facto Nintendo-published M-rated game on the Gamecube, but this game should get more love too.

*Yoshi's Story (N64) 65 - 8 critics: Not a lot of reviews. Probably because it's from the 1990s. Buuut, this was one of my favorite games ever. While I continue to debate on whether it's a sequel to Yoshi's Island or not (it's not), I enjoyed this one better. It's easier, but it's charming, and I don't need a game to murder me with difficulty in order to enjoy it. Yoshi's definitely the real MVP.

*Kirby Air Ride (GC) 61 - 56 critics: I don't know why people don't like this game. Is it because it's not a platformer? That'd be silly. It's like a racing game only at the very, very... very basic level. It's got so much more going for it, and tons of stuff to do/unlock. Dozens of hours of fun is only the beginning of that conversation.

*Pokemon Rumble (Wiiware) 59 - 9 critics: Still not a lot of reviews, but that's a really low rating for a game that was a lot of fun. I'm honestly very surprised. Breaking away from the turn-based RPG style and into a more simplified beat-em-up actually made for a fun game. I would enjoy a fully-fledged Pokemon game in that similar vein.

*Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (GC) 53 - 6 critics: There's something so perverse about enjoying this game. It's bad; it's definitely bad. A 53 is probably about right (maybe 50, maybe 60). I didn't even play this game: I watched my friend play it all in one sitting. There's just something so hilarious about it. It's so bad, it's funny. It's not a good game to hang up on the mantle to show the world the essence of gaming. It's so funny in its execution though, you'll want to gather some friends and laugh when the Squid inevitably totally beefs it.

There should be a companion topic: Games the critics loved and you hated. 90% CoD answers.

ditto. also i thought that Sonic Heroes was a solid game despite being a bit repetitive.