Positive things about games I don't like much
I decided recently that I would benefit from an exercise like this. I often talk too much smack even about games that I just find middle-of-the-road or below average. I figured if I give myself (and the games!) an inch like this, it might do me some good for me both as a player and as a critic! Everything on this list is going to be something I've rated between 1.5/5 and 3/5 - I think going lower than that would be asking a bit much of myself and higher would be pointless.
47 Games
There's clearly a note of artistry behind every corner of this game even if it's not the kind I enjoy at all. Even beyond that, though, I think it's great that there was as much internal consistency put into the world as there was. Also bonus points for making halberds both playable and strong!
This game's parkour is surprisingly polished and the weapon variety is fun for swapping around with friends in co-op to get your favorite 'builds'.
"The Melee of Mario Kart" is a title not to take lightly. Even with my own takes on Melee I still say it as a compliment here - it's got a community with passion behind it that I'm glad exists for something that's now so old.
There's something very satisfying about making an extremely, extremely broken persona in this game as early as possible. Particularly when it's a persona you like (Ose~). As for vanilla P4, the atmosphere is a wee bit more grounded than Golden in a way I appreciate.
There's a cozy atmosphere throughout the game and the first half is very well planned out. Steven Stone is also one of my favorite champions in the whole series!
The majority of the game is really appealing to look at even for its age. Opa-Opa is adorable too!
Probably my favorite final Bowser level/fight, and there's plenty of great tracks full of soul throughout the soundtrack.
Getting to share this experience with a bunch of adult friends for the first time was magical. It also obviously had a huge right-place-right-time advantage for lots of people, and I have some fond memories of playing it off to the side during some classes. I also made sure I got all kinds of lovely villagers (Avery <3) through amiibo cards, which was a journey in itself.
This thing is still absolutely nuts to think about. This is a real project! People made something this polished out of a GBC game! Oh, and the customizability for your trainer is a lot of fun, anyhow.
A massive overhaul in mechanics and scope from the previous entries. Also is a joy to look at on the GBC!
For being based on an edition long before anyone gave a shit about non-humanish species, I gotta give this game kudos for having a decent amount of variety. It's especially impressive in that all the classes feel quite a lot different from one another to play as, which is awesome for a beat-em-up.
Cute and lighthearted yet not sickeningly sweet, which I can certainly appreciate even for a game I'm not in love with.
Chrom is a total chad and I found it pretty fun to make an absolutely busted main character. It's cool that one of the hairstyle options was reminiscent of Shinobu's hair from No More Heroes, too (I've heard FE Fates has one that's even more accurate!).
It didn't wow me, sure, but I would be a complete liar if I pretended I didn't have fun the whole way through. Lots of awesome tunes for early SNES!
The Source engine is a damn technical marvel for its age and no amount of 'this didn't age well' will take that away from it. Alyx is also a chad.
One really gets their money's worth in time spent ingame when they pick this one up, which is saying a lot for an indie title.
I still really love listening to Syd Matters when I'm chilling out today. Arcadia Bay has a really nice feel to it, too, and I don't think I've quite gotten it from another game before or since.
Possibly the only genuinely (and fairly) challenging game in this franchise. I also have some nice memories of getting it as a birthday gift from my grandmother and also later playing it at some friend-of-a-relative's house in the bathroom while waiting awkwardly for some people to finish talking/eating.
The composer(s) clearly went hard here. For its age it's pretty damn fun too, seeming to have shed a sizable portion of the overly arcadey nature a lot of its contemporaries had.
Beat's redesign is great and a lot of the new tracks are fun, too. They did a nice job updating TWEWY to the modern day, and I appreciate how well the battle system works in terms of setting up combos. Fret's a total G.
Great memories with this one, and personally I found the alternate female main character's social link options to be pretty cool. The new added tracks are awesome, too.
Sinnoh is an awesome region in terms of lore and vibes, and it's certainly got one of the better gym leader lineups in the series. Diamond and Pearl in particular also have a really neat hands-off approach to player exploration during the midgame, which was a nice change of pace.
A straight upgrade in all regards from the games these were based on. I have lots of memories of doing little romhacks in Fire Red in particular, too...
Dammit, that first summer was fuckin' awesome if a little chaotic.
Possibly the most well spread out dex in any of the games, full of variety and new options around every corner. The online options are a gigantic step up from previous generations and still remain a step up from the ones that came after it.
Gay characters are extremely helpful as they wipe your slate clean and let you make entirely new strategies and builds without needing to factor in genetic carryovers for once. Wow!
The Worm
The theme of the astral observatory is beautiful and I bought this game's soundtrack almost entirely for it. The atmosphere is handled well for the most part and there are some pretty touching sidequests here and there.
Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly
My memories of anticipating this game pre-release are really dear to me. It also did get a lot of people to try the series, and I find that valuable even as someone who's just a fan of the first couple games.
Lots of co-op memories with this one. Not a lot to say that's not already been said; it's a fun time as long as you've got someone around to share it with.
I made some good friends of mine really happy by playing through this. I think it hits a really fun note in terms of having low production values yet experienced creators behind the wheel.
For some reason my only solid memories with this game were playing on a plane and in a convertible with its roof down. For some reason I find that absolutely hilarious.
I would be 100% lying if I said I didn't have a blast playing this in co-op with a friend. From what I've seen and heard of the multiplayer, it was influential to console shooter communities even to this very day. Pretty sweet stuff! Oh yeah, and dual-wielding is siiiiick.
One of the easiest of these games to pick up and play. I've gotten tons of people to play this with me who otherwise wouldn't play another game in the series, so I appreciate it for the interaction fuel it is. I'm definitely pretty nostalgic for it, too, at least in the sense that I remember it being one of the first few games I played.
Truly an interesting experiment in making as good of a multiplayer-focused experience as possible... including a proper co-op option!
Toady/Ranging Bloysters
Hop is probably the best rival character we've had since N and one of the best ones we've ever gotten in general. I also adore Zamazenta as a cover legendary - I'm always glad to see there's at least one cover legendary I like out of every pair even if I'm no longer always liking them all.
They streamlined Sun/Moon a fair bit in story while still managing to add onto it to feel complete.
The aesthetic and sound of this game is pretty damn unique for its series and it's a fun one to look back on. Its Rainbow Road track is still my favorite one to this day (its 7 remix is even nicer to me, but still!).
It's got a number of pretty well written characters and a neat (and somehow unusual) setting.
Well, I guess I'm glad this game has gotten people - any people - rethinking what exactly a 'monster' is. I'm glad that it's exposed me to the fact that people are seemingly into, er, what they deem as 'monsters' way more than I thought people were! I don't think it went far enough in a similar sense to how I feel about things like standard fantasy races, but I don't think that's relevant to the fact that I can at least try to relate to people a little more because of this game. It's a matter of perspective, I suppose.
I don't regret buying its soundtrack. Contrary to what a lot of people say, I actually did think the game looked quite nice. The world had a grounded feel to it that I enjoyed. Primrose was a minor inspiration for a character of mine I made for a TTRPG campaign, too, and that character wound up being significantly more interesting than she was. So hey, this game as art inspired more art! Hooray!
Solgaleo
Asgore
Back before Konami doubled the rate at which boxes/miniboxes released, it was a pretty slow, steady, and fun little game. The presentation is top-notch, especially for a mobile game.
That title screen track fills me with wonder every single time I hear it. I'm also just happy that the Mana games continued after the first one.
