Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@kkslider5552000

The thing is that, aside from Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask, Zelda games have never been particularly innovative with their storytelling. And in the case of LA and MM, the creative storytelling approach came from Koizumi, who no longer plays any significant part in the Zelda series.

So I guess in the scope of my expectations, BOTW isn't all that disappointing. I'd say the story is pretty average for the series.

I can definitely understand that the Soulsborne games are not for everyone, but they certainly are not "plotless". These games have some of the deepest and most well told stories in gaming history, they're just told in an unconventional way.

As for my own unpopular opinion: I despise The Last of Us, I think it's the worst game I have ever played.

@iKhan I would have mostly felt the same way except that Nintendo themselves played the story up so much leading up to the game. When I beat the Ganon, I though "OK, there's going to be more cool postgame stuff because I still haven't seen most of the storyline that I know is here from all the stuff that was shown off before." But nope, that was the end. It was the fact that I had only found 2 of the memories that I just missed it all, which was sad. It was a bit disappointing because I thought the story was going to be a bigger deal, but it's not unless you purposefully set out to make it so. Which is fine, I just expected differently based on the pre-launch build up.

@Ralizah They are certainly very idiosyncratic in their design. Some things you would be able to discover on your own but they are certainly “wiki” games in many respects since they are built on a community who researches and finds out information about aspects that you wouldn’t have otherwise found alone.

But there is a tremendous satisfaction that comes from those that get into them. I think that comes from the games having just enough obscurity so that it feels like everything you do was the product of your own persistence.

Obviously many games are built around a similar logic, but Souls has such a stark design and purity of intent. It doesn’t dally around telling a story, give you a celebratory cutscene about your accomplishments, or send you an objective marker. It just says here’s a big guy in armor and you either defeat him and move forward or you don’t.

That is either something you really like or something don’t find satisfying or worth your time.

@Xyphon22 See I kind of like stories where you have to discover the details. That's how Pandora's Tower did it, and I absolutely love that approach. I really feel like a detective piecing a bunch of non-chronological details together to figure out what is actually going on.

Being able to find Zelda's journal at the end is a genuine treat IMO

@iKhan Yeah, I'm fine with that approach when I know to expect it and I can choose to do it or not. It was simply the fact that I thought the story was going to be a bigger deal and it would naturally play out along the way that I ended up disappointed when I beat the game because I hadn't seen all of that Zelda stuff yet. Whenever I get around to a second playthrough, now I know to purposefully search those things out and I'm sure it will be much better.

Isn't there a quote from Miyamoto on this somewhere? I forget it exactly, but I think he's on record saying that the gameplay, puzzles, mechanics and such all take precedence with Zelda and the story just kinda gets filled in afterwards. Which is also why there never was an official timeline for the longest time.

@Cotillion

If there is, I wouldn't be surprised. Miyamoto hates story in games to the point that he would actively sabotage a game's immersion to remove it.

Now that it's been around two years since I played Breath of the Wild, I'm surprised at how little emotional impact it had on me. This is highly unusual for a Zelda game. Normally when I look back on my time playing them I get all those warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings that you get from an immersive adventure. It all comes flooding back; the sights, the sounds, the characters, the moments. But to be honest, BOTW just seems to leave me cold for the most part.

Now you might say; "Well obviously, older games are going to give you more nostalgia", but I can get very easily nostalgic for things from not that long ago. For example, a game I played more recently than BOTW was Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (which, as a big epic Action-Adventure/RPG, is not that dissimilar to a Zelda game) and that does give me all those warm fuzzy feelings when I look back on it. How immersed and invested I was in that world, with that story and those characters. It all comes flooding back. When I think back on BOTW, all that really ever comes to mind is just walking from one large empty field into another large empty field. Whereas other Zelda games have living breathing worlds, Breath of the Wild just seems to have terrain; lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of terrain.

I should point out that I did think it was great game and I applaud them for doing something different from the usual formula, though I definitely wouldn't give it a 10/10 (and if it didn't have Zelda in the title, I imagine a lot of reviewers wouldn't have either...) and I certainly don't agree with the section of the gaming media that was so clearly desperate to anoint it as the new de facto "best game of all time" (again, if it didn't have Zelda in the title I'm not so sure that would be a thing...). Plus I guess maybe being a quiet, empty, lifeless experience is precisely what one would expect from a game about exploring a vast wilderness, so in that sense; fair play I guess. I suppose perhaps to put it in a nutshell; think about Lake Hylia or Death Mountain in Ocarina of Time and how magical and iconic and memorable they are. Then think about Breath of the Wild's 100 generic lakes and mountains and how bland and forgettable they are in comparison. Sometimes less is more.

@Haywired

I've heard that complaint a lot recently, and honestly I couldn't disagree more. There are so many moments I absolutely treasure with BOTW. Some of them are scripted, like the boss fight with Naydra or infiltrating the Yiga hideout, others where spontaneous, like the time that I saw the location of one of the memories, and I immediately recognized where to go. To me it didn't feel like just a random vast open world, there were tons of little moments in cutscenes and main quest objectives that had a ton of impact. I really love Riju's story for example.

The only Zelda game that might give me more treasured moments than BOTW is MAYBE Twilight Princess, and that game was built from the ground up around having epic memorable moments.

After thinking and talking about it, I think Persona series aren't for me. They are still super good games! Just not something I enjoy... Having to know what you need to do day by day to maximize everything is just. Kinda overwhelming. Yes I know you can just not maximize stuff, but it felt very eh especially if you aren't the type to replay a game like I am.

On another note, I think roguelite genre is one of the best genre around. With very good core gameplay loop, it's one of the few genre that can let you constantly play something and yet it'll still feel quite fresh throughout.

More people should look at Earthbound beyond its comedic tone and more how to write strong, memorable side characters in minutes.

Like you go back to Earthbound, a game whose plot is the most basic it could get away with, but it absolutely makes up for that with its characters. Not just because of the weird comedic tone it's known for, but just for establishing personality. And not even for the main characters, but for just the characters you meet up with. Tony shows up for like 10 minutes in total throughout the game, and yet he comes across as a more real and fleshed out a character than main character party members in some critically acclaimed JRPGs. Like I remember one or two generic character traits in Bravely Default's characters and nothing else, and despite watching two complete Let's Plays of the game, I can tell you almost nothing about the other party members in Ni No Kuni. Can you?

In general I'm kinda sick of text heavy games where they don't successfully use the text to actually make me care about anything. There are plenty that do, but the ones that don't are obnoxious and get too much of a free pass for wasting people's time.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think Earthbound is the almighty title that so many people raise it up to be. By no means do I think it's bad but I think it's overblown how good people claim it is. And on that note, I think the same about Final Fantasy 7. Both are great games but the internet and fandoms have raised to almost god-like status of game and frankly I don't think the reality matches the worship. Playing them to me is like being promised a feast fit for a king and "only" getting a nice dinner.

Unpopular opinions again from me:

1. A Knight's Quest >>> BOTW 1& 2
2. Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles, ACNL 3DS >>>>>>>>>> any shooting games. Anti-Gun rules here. 🤟
3. Street Fighter Alpha series and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike >>>>>>>> Street Fighter 4 & 5

@Anti-Matter I find it rather surprising that you like fighting games like Street Fighter since you seem to dislike any other portrayal of violence. What's your reasoning there?

Also how can you say a game is better than a game that's not out yet? We haven't even had a single gameplay video for BOTW 2 yet.

@Heavyarms55
I still allow some rated Teen games like Street Fighter.
The violence level on Street Fighter is still tolerable due to Animated violence and it still looks like i hit the doll instead of human. Still looks like cartoon.
Moreover, the gameplay system from Street Fighter Alpha and III was inspiring me to create my own Chibi Boxing and Avian Kickboxing as you can see my avatar and my previous artwork.

About BOTW2, i have turned off by the game since from the trailer that shown a creepy zombie.

@Anti-Matter Well, it's your choice. I really don't understand at all. How you could be bothered by an obviously fictional creature but okay with a game with rather realistic looking people beating each other nearly to death. But that's fine. If it's what you enjoy, enjoy it.

@Anti-Matter It still looks to me that you try to excuse only the type of violence you personally like.

Boxing = Sport Violence
Street Fighter = Video Game Violence

It is still funny that you detest violent video games but you have no problem with people going to a ring and hit each other in the head until one is unable to move. In kick boxing you even try to kick him in the head. Seems pretty violent and barbaric. Not to mention that occasionally there is blood pouring from the contestants.

Also "Do you know the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." ?

I mean, I don't think its the best game ever or anything, but when I went back to it about a year ago or so, I was surprised at how well it held up. I mean, some parts of it I already knew were going to, but it kinda circumvents traditional storytelling where the main characters aren't really the focus and the story barely is either. It's like a weird road trip movie or any sort of fiction where stuff just sort of...happens rather than it all building towards one entirely coherent storyline conclusion. I'm not always into those, but Earthbound was able to keep my interest even on a second playthrough incredibly well. And the writing is honestly pretty top tier, especially for the time.

And nowadays, it's really easy for me to really appreciate it. Because I can clearly see how much it influenced a lot of different things (and not just video games tbh), and I can see how much it avoided a lot of the worst of the genre. The battles weren't random, I never needed to grind. It's not trying too hard to be a mediocre anime instead of a good video game. It doesn't waste my time (well ok the Fourside part of the game has its moments...). The OST is also still one of the best ever, I reject anyone who says otherwise.

But you kinda have to be into what the game is doing. If you're not, it's gonna feel disappointing compared to a Chrono Trigger or a Xenoblade (which are both games I do love more, for the record). Now granted, Mother 3 found the best balance of more traditional, dramatic storytelling with Earthbound's quirks, which is why I prefer it, but I still think Earthbound has held up extremely well.

I'll give you a couple unpopular gaming opinions.

The Wii U is a good game system.

Ask anybody and i couldn't be more wrong about that but i had alot of fun with it and still do! I don't regret owning one. Believe me I've lived through some truly horrible game consoles. Sega saturn, Atari Jaquar, Virtual boy etc and Wii U is miles above those! If only it wasn't for that poorly utilized gamepad and pathetic advertizing all around it could have been better.

Think of it as an early prototype for switch. A good concept sure i mean console gaming without needing the TV was pretty cool! It's not a bad system. It's just badly misunderstood.

As for my second unpopular opinion it's about open world games.

They are not the best genre in gaming despite what the constant flood of these type of games might suggest. They're quite played out at this point i think. It's like every high profile game these days has to be open world or nobody thinks it's worth buying. I miss when games had a focused plot where you would go from point A to point B and so on with a boss every few levels and then a big bad at the end. I don't need some long drawn out 70+ hour marathon of missions and hundreds of sidequests.

Maybe linear games just ain't what's in these days but I'm in my 40's and maybe it's my age but if a game doesn't come to a conclusion within 20 or so hours i start getting bored and wanna move on to something else. My backlog is so full I'm starting to think I'll be crapping my pants in some nursing home before i finish all these games. Especially all this open world nonsense.