misunderstood due to skill issues
filtered
whether it be due unconventional controls, confusingly explained mechanics, or the players' own incompetence - this is a selection of titles that alienated a solid chunk of people due to their own misunderstandings despite actually being pretty good
if you see a game here that you gave up on for one reason or another, give it another shot!
whether it be due unconventional controls, confusingly explained mechanics, or the players' own incompetence - this is a selection of titles that alienated a solid chunk of people due to their own misunderstandings despite actually being pretty good
if you see a game here that you gave up on for one reason or another, give it another shot!
32 Games
81 Comments
nah i'm not gonna argue in favor of discomfort. this is all purely either about not grasping mechanics or not seeing the value in unconventional design choices. like chaos legion for instance appears to have really spongy and cheap enemies if you don't understand what enemies are weak to and how to use your tools effectively. breakdown is borderline unplayable if you can't get the hang of melee attacking with lt/rt and directional inputs. stuff like that can come across as bad design to someone too lazy to learn the game's own rules
i hate bad controls as much as anyone, but i also believe there are many cases where they're just misused
i hate bad controls as much as anyone, but i also believe there are many cases where they're just misused
even though Sonic CD was mentioned already, i still want to say Sonic 1 and CD due to players only aiming for a fast time instead of overall score and get confused or frustrated from the design choices of the game as a result. (if you have spare time on you, i think it'll be worth aiming to get as high a score possible you can get in those games since that's how i ended up appreciating them more)
Kirby as whole. (not even kidding)
Fair they don't really complain that much about God Hand. Carry on.
@7viix idk about that. i think most people rightfully don't give a shit about high scores unless there are ranking systems or leaderboards in place. i see the merit but i feel that's a lot more niche either way
@lpslucasps nah kirby requires pretty much zero brainpower and it's rightfully not for everyone. the closest thing to a filter is amazing mirror's structure and that's really pushing it
@lpslucasps nah kirby requires pretty much zero brainpower and it's rightfully not for everyone. the closest thing to a filter is amazing mirror's structure and that's really pushing it
How about several?
The Umihara Kawase games - Yes, they're really hard, but they're definitely learnable. Learn how the fucking physics work and you'll get somewhere. The later entries also allow you to cast your lure diagonally upwards and downwards using the left and right shoulder/trigger buttons, respectively. Use that as well, it makes it way easier.
Lesser example, but any Puyo Puyo game - The game is all about large combos and planning ahead. Learn how to plan ahead better.
The Legend of Kage - Despite what a lot of people think, it controls fine. Just use a decent d-pad, or even better, a proper 8-way joystick. The game is built around the latter in mind and it really shows. And when you play it with a joystick, up being jump in this case makes a LOT of sense.
Syvalion - Ditto as above, but with a trackball. It suddenly made a lot more sense to me when I played it with a proper trackball.
The Fairyland Story - Might be biased on this one, as one of the biggest fans of the game. For starters, it's not a Bubble Bobble clone like a lot of people say it is. It literally came out a year BEFORE Bubble Bobble. It also plays more like a puzzle game, than an action platformer game like Bubble Bobble. People really don't get you're supposed to smash the enemies with the cakes by pushing them off the ledge or whatever, which is a HUGE part of the game, and is the basis of the scoring system. The game also (in a show, not tell way, in their defense) pushes you towards doing most of the important gameplay mechanics and strats within the first 15 or so levels of the game, when most don't play more than 5. I guaran-fucking-tee more people would like this game if they played more than 5 minutes of it in Taito Legends 2 or whatever.
The Umihara Kawase games - Yes, they're really hard, but they're definitely learnable. Learn how the fucking physics work and you'll get somewhere. The later entries also allow you to cast your lure diagonally upwards and downwards using the left and right shoulder/trigger buttons, respectively. Use that as well, it makes it way easier.
Lesser example, but any Puyo Puyo game - The game is all about large combos and planning ahead. Learn how to plan ahead better.
The Legend of Kage - Despite what a lot of people think, it controls fine. Just use a decent d-pad, or even better, a proper 8-way joystick. The game is built around the latter in mind and it really shows. And when you play it with a joystick, up being jump in this case makes a LOT of sense.
Syvalion - Ditto as above, but with a trackball. It suddenly made a lot more sense to me when I played it with a proper trackball.
The Fairyland Story - Might be biased on this one, as one of the biggest fans of the game. For starters, it's not a Bubble Bobble clone like a lot of people say it is. It literally came out a year BEFORE Bubble Bobble. It also plays more like a puzzle game, than an action platformer game like Bubble Bobble. People really don't get you're supposed to smash the enemies with the cakes by pushing them off the ledge or whatever, which is a HUGE part of the game, and is the basis of the scoring system. The game also (in a show, not tell way, in their defense) pushes you towards doing most of the important gameplay mechanics and strats within the first 15 or so levels of the game, when most don't play more than 5. I guaran-fucking-tee more people would like this game if they played more than 5 minutes of it in Taito Legends 2 or whatever.
@tremirodomi thanks for all the suggestions! i'll address each one individually:
umihara kawase: while i agree, i also don't think this game's really misunderstood at all. it's hard and there's a learning curve but i think everyone knows that pretty well
puyo puyo: pretty much the same as above. everyone i know who doesn't like puyo just doesn't like puzzle games in general and the latest entries explain their mechanics pretty blatantly
legend of kage & syvalion: i get where you're coming from here but i wouldn't really consider them fair inclusions since they have arcade versions which are the intended ways to play the game in addition to admittedly gimped console versions. kage on a dpad isn't the worst thing ever but it's sure as hell not optimal. thankfully with syvalion you can at least simulate the next best thing to a trackball via analog stick - marble madness is the same way
the fairyland story: i'm not saying you're wrong here, but can you vouch for this game's reputation? because i really don't see many people talking about it at all, and the ones who do seem to like the game overall. regardless, thanks for mentioning this one cause you encouraged me to give it a try just now and i like it quite a bit
umihara kawase: while i agree, i also don't think this game's really misunderstood at all. it's hard and there's a learning curve but i think everyone knows that pretty well
puyo puyo: pretty much the same as above. everyone i know who doesn't like puyo just doesn't like puzzle games in general and the latest entries explain their mechanics pretty blatantly
legend of kage & syvalion: i get where you're coming from here but i wouldn't really consider them fair inclusions since they have arcade versions which are the intended ways to play the game in addition to admittedly gimped console versions. kage on a dpad isn't the worst thing ever but it's sure as hell not optimal. thankfully with syvalion you can at least simulate the next best thing to a trackball via analog stick - marble madness is the same way
the fairyland story: i'm not saying you're wrong here, but can you vouch for this game's reputation? because i really don't see many people talking about it at all, and the ones who do seem to like the game overall. regardless, thanks for mentioning this one cause you encouraged me to give it a try just now and i like it quite a bit
UK/PP - Fair, I'm just tired of my friends complaining so hard about those games on stuff that's squarely their fault.
Kage - Also true. The reception on this game is mixed from what I've seen, though. Some like it, a lot fucking hate it for some reason, when I've researched the game. I'd imagine said gimped console ports didn't help, either. The NES port in particular blows. I've seen people completely diss the arcade version, too, when they clearly weren't playing it right.
Syvalion - Kinda ditto about this game, but it's more a side effect of trackball games in general now that I think about it, tbh. Most people not being able to setting it up properly and then getting mad at the game when it doesn't control right.
TFLS - Admittedly the tides are now kinda turning on this one in recent years (thanks to me and others, probably lol), but historically when it was brought up, it's usually dismissed as nothing special, and that Bubble Bobble is way better (I have some serious thoughts about that opinion, too, see my Backloggd review of BB on that). And then you see the gameplay footage of whatever reviewer that said that, and they're just spamming the magic on all the cakes, something you're only supposed to do when you got nothing else to kill that enemy with. It's incredibly deep and intricate for what it is, and you don't quite see all that if you're not a patient player.
That being said I can't think of any other examples atm. More will probably come to me.
Kage - Also true. The reception on this game is mixed from what I've seen, though. Some like it, a lot fucking hate it for some reason, when I've researched the game. I'd imagine said gimped console ports didn't help, either. The NES port in particular blows. I've seen people completely diss the arcade version, too, when they clearly weren't playing it right.
Syvalion - Kinda ditto about this game, but it's more a side effect of trackball games in general now that I think about it, tbh. Most people not being able to setting it up properly and then getting mad at the game when it doesn't control right.
TFLS - Admittedly the tides are now kinda turning on this one in recent years (thanks to me and others, probably lol), but historically when it was brought up, it's usually dismissed as nothing special, and that Bubble Bobble is way better (I have some serious thoughts about that opinion, too, see my Backloggd review of BB on that). And then you see the gameplay footage of whatever reviewer that said that, and they're just spamming the magic on all the cakes, something you're only supposed to do when you got nothing else to kill that enemy with. It's incredibly deep and intricate for what it is, and you don't quite see all that if you're not a patient player.
That being said I can't think of any other examples atm. More will probably come to me.
Can I get a Nights Into Dreams
NiD is always dunked on cause the whole game is score-based and people just don't know how the scoring system works.
In fairness the game sucks at teaching it to you but the point remains, I've seen a lot of people (myself included) go from dismissing to loving it just after learning the rules and scoring tech
In fairness the game sucks at teaching it to you but the point remains, I've seen a lot of people (myself included) go from dismissing to loving it just after learning the rules and scoring tech
NiD is a GREAT example, how did I not think of that wtf
Also ty for giving TFLS a fair chance, it's real good
Nier: Gestalt should be here.
i literally had nights in a separate tab while making this and forgot to add it. thanks for the reminder
also no - i'm a huge fan of nier and drakengard but neither game takes hardly any amount of skill or even strategy. hating the series for its tedium is perfectly valid
also no - i'm a huge fan of nier and drakengard but neither game takes hardly any amount of skill or even strategy. hating the series for its tedium is perfectly valid
I would put Vagrant Story here due to the creator intentionally wanting to make a hardcore gameplay experience.
Dead Rising
good calls on both of those
Reporting this list because it targets other users and is toxix
can we call these games grug-types
xenoblade 1 its not grindy you just have to complete some side quest
grug-type games list coming soon
i've never seen someone complain about grinding in xenoblade. hell in the time i spent playing it i kept my level as low as possible cause the game was too easy otherwise
how about early armored core
sure yeah
yakuza 3
monark
monark
nobody dislikes yakuza 3 for skill related reasons, and the most genuinely challenging aspect of monark is staying awake while playing it
Kid Icarus Uprising. Imagine not wanting carpal tunnel
StarFox Zero
FrozenRoy
2 years ago