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[yuoke]

Pokemon XY is the Fire Emblem Awakening of Pokemon.

Don't really get that comparison. XY didn't didn't save the series at all. It's looked at as not good by a lot because of a lame story, way too much gen 1 nostalgia, and just weak overall.

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze is far from being "the best 2D platform of all time" i think its overrated around here.

I'm not a huge 2d plat guy, but I do really think TF is at least a little overrated here. It's treated at this incredible, untouchable experience. It was fun, but not amazing.

 

[BenjaminBeaumont]

Same for new Simcity. Bad reviews have receded as well.

But this also has to do wih the target readers. You'll review a 90% computer game differently than a 90% Nintendo game.

This is why video game magazines mixing console and computer games are messy

I'd prefer magazines and sites focusing strictly on computer or console games only.

Even on GAF,most misunderstandings stem from this.

I don't understand... I don't play PC games so maybe that's why but how is a 9/10 PC game different to a 9/10 Nintendo game?

 

[NeonBlack]

If Horizon: Zero Dawn were Zelda: Zero Dawn, it would have been hailed as the greatest game in generations, and would win Game of the Year across the board.

I think that could be said for Horizon. If Horizon wasn't a PS4 exclusive it would have just fell to the wayside.

 

[BenjaminBeaumont]

Oh for sure. And I get it. Nintendo was such a huge part of my childhood, they will always have a soft spot in my heart. They may recycle the same old ideas a lot, and they may not have cutting edge technology, but they sure as hell polish their content and make it fun. These are the characters that made me love gaming, and I know I have a blind spot when it comes to judging the Big N.

I think the big Nintendo games always seem to be built around a new mechanic or gameplay idea. From what I understand about their development culture and the way new game ideas are proposed to senior levels of management, any game proposed need to justify it's existence with new or unique gameplay ideas. The new issue of Edge magazine features interviews with the upcoming generation of developers at Nintendo and they all say that the first stage of development is brainstorming gameplay ideas, eventually a few of them get prototyped and the ones that actually work well go onto form the basis of a new game, everything else is built around that core gameplay idea or mechanic including story, character design, world and level design. They might use the same IP over and over but each of their big games usually has a unique gameplay idea at its core. The 3D mario games are probably the clearest example of this, bar Galaxy 2, which of course is just straight sexual offering more iterations on the same ideas established in Galaxy 1. This doesn't hold true of every single Nintendo game, from what I can tell about the Pokemon games is that each successive game offers only slight iterations and improvements over the previous generation, if that, so Im not going to sit here and pretnd that Nintendo never recycle the same old gameplay ideas, but I think that, a lot of time, especially with their bigger console games, they try to offer new gameplay ideas/mechanics or unique takes on already established gameplay ideas. For example being able to climb any surface and glide from any height in BoWT, the cappy captured mechanic in Oddyssey, the FLOOD water jet pack in Sunshime, using ink and painting in their take on competitive FPS with Splatoon and ARMS with its entirely unique take on fighting games.

 

[kqedequalsvolvo]

Skate 1-3 > Thrasher Skate and Destroy > THPS franchise.

 

[ffvorax]

-HL2 is overrated, excluded the gravity gun, story & gameplay are terrible, HL1 is a great game though
-the XB controller is the worst
-Darkcloud Chronicles is a repetitive and boring game
-Mario games are overrated, only a few are really fantastic (SML3,M64, MGalaxy,NSMB,,..maybe a few more i missed) other are just good "same old" games, Yoshi Island is one of the best platform ever!
-N3DS is, hardware side, a terrible console also comfort side
-ratchet&clack is a boring game

 

[BenjaminBeaumont]

I think that could be said for Horizon. If Horizon wasn't a PS4 exclusive it would have just fell to the wayside.

Agree. I also think the Zelda games are held to a higher level of scrutiny because of their pedigree. I actually think if BoTW was released as new IP by GG, it's flaws wouldn't be judged as harshly as they have been being a Zelda game.

 

[KiNolin]

Sites that specifically only review games for one platform holder should not be counted on review aggregator sites (and be ignored by any multiplat owner). The chance of such reviews lacking perspective to make apt conclusions is too high.

 

[SleepingDragon]

Don't really get that comparison. XY didn't didn't save the series at all. It's looked at as not good by a lot because of a lame story, way too much gen 1 nostalgia, and just weak overall.

Well having a lame story and being just weak overall is certainly a thing awakening has in common with it then.

 

[Playsage]

Nah. I have a feeling H:ZD will pan out like TLoU has. Be seen as a solid game but nothing particularly incredible (save visuals) in hindsight.

Are you talking about the game that got 2nd place in NeoGAF's Games of the Seventh Generation Awards?

 

[blue_phazon]

Splatoon is not very fun and won't have a serious competitive scene.

Spoiler

But the single player campaigns are amazing and the best part of the games.

 

[JC Lately]

If Horizon: Zero Dawn were Zelda: Zero Dawn, it would have been hailed as the greatest game in generations, and would win Game of the Year across the board.

At least we might have gotten a playable Zelda in this scenario.

 

[FiveSide]

I keep seeing this thread and I think I'll finally post something myself...

Resident Evil 4 is the most entertaining media product ever created by the human race.

Starting with Gilgamesh on cuneiform tablets and going up to the present day. Any medium.

It is the perfection of entertainment value and theorizing on how it ended up being so good involves delving into existential concepts of what it means to have fun.

At times my mind will randomly drift off and try to wrap itself around the full extent of how amazing Resident Evil 4 is.

I've literally had times before where I was snuggling with my girl and in the quiet moments of reverie, I suddenly found myself thinking "Resident Evil 4 was so damn good."

The Village was designed by God and conveyed to us through Capcom.

The Castle is a spiritual experience.

The Island is a colossus.

Truly the apex of entertainment in the modern era.

---

EDIT: Here are some others, all games that are a lot better than people give them credit for. I think people are way too harsh on these:

-Skyward Sword has incredible combat and some of the best dungeons in the series. Amazing game and my third favorite in the series behind Breath of the Wild and Majora's Mask.

-Resident Evil 6 has one of the best sets of mechanics in any TPS, and is ridiculously fun to play once you wrap your head around the game flow.

-Final Fantasy VIII is one of the boldest entries in that series, has a fantastic core set of themes that are well-conveyed, and does a ton of interesting and experimental stuff. Also one of the best soundtracks in the series. I truly adore this game and wrote about it more on the recent Essential RPG voting thread here.

-Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is one of the best games in that series, an excellent foundation on which the Solid entries built with a more cinematic and dynamic presentation.

-Dark Souls III is incredibly polished and consistent, and it wraps up the overarching Dark Souls story with one of the best boss fights of all time. Legitimately got chills with the music.

-Retro Game Challenge is a love-letter to the medium of video-games and one of the most notable experiences I've had in the medium. Only a video-game can immerse you so completely in a different time and place - in this case, being a kid in late-80s Japan.

-Tearaway on the PS Vita was a surprisingly artistic game with a stunning ending. Masterpiece

-Puppeteer on the PS3 was one of the best games of the last console generation and had a visual style as striking and bold as the recently released Cuphead (which is also very good).

-Donkey Kong Country 3 is a great game, sure Kiddy's kind of annoying, but Dixie is still awesome, and the level design is still on-point. It stands alongside the rest of the original trilogy as a worthy finale.

-The Yo-Kai Watch games, which I randomly decided to play on a whim and ended up really enjoying, have a fun and unique battle-system and great atmosphere. All RPG fans with 3DS' should try them, they're far more than mere Pokemon rip-offs as a lot of people seem to think.

 

[JCHandsom]

Didn't really have one for the longest time, but here it is

Red Dead Redemption is a 7/10

 

[petran79]

I don't understand... I don't play PC games so maybe that's why but how is a 9/10 PC game different to a 9/10 Nintendo game?

Different factors.

On PC you have more things to take into account, like stability, compatibility, game breaking glitches, controls etc It was always like this as far as I remember.

Nintendo games have most of those issues solved (I assume), so scores are more gameplay related.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

Sites that specifically only review games for one platform holder should not be counted on review aggregator sites (and be ignored by any multiplat owner). The chance of such reviews lacking perspective to make apt conclusions is too high.

Is that a controversial opinion? Absolutely agree with that.

-Skyward Sword has incredible combat and some of the best dungeons in the series. Amazing game and my third favorite in the series behind Breath of the Wild and Majora's Mask.

Whats so great about Skyward Swords combat exactly? Almost every encounter is just a movement puzzle where u can just flail at them randomly as long they don't hurt you with their blocks in some cases. Look at Wind Wakers super quick item integration or TPs diverse moveset (that was basically useless and just made the wolf parts' bad combat even more stick out). SS combat is just nah and apart from some bossfights those suck as well.

-Resident Evil 6 has one of the best sets of mechanics in any TPS, and is ridiculously fun to play once you wrap your head around the game flow.

I don't see many people refuting that tbh. Mechanics were great. Too bad the game around them sucked hard.

 

[hurricanes]

If Horizon: Zero Dawn were Zelda: Zero Dawn, it would have been hailed as the greatest game in generations, and would win Game of the Year across the board.

I really like Horizon. But if it were Zelda, it would have been stoned to death.

 

[McMoneyman]

I don't see the appeal in the Nintendo Switch.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

If Horizon: Zero Dawn were Zelda: Zero Dawn, it would have been hailed as the greatest game in generations, and would win Game of the Year across the board.

Right, Zelda without puzzles or unique items/ability interaction with the world would totally be GOTY material. What are some of you smoking?

I really like Horizon. But if it were Zelda, it would have been stoned to death.

Seriously. The lenghts some people go for console wars is incredible.

I don't see the appeal in the Nintendo Switch.

Like, actually not seeing? Because that's different than seeing it and just saying it's not your jam. If it's the former: console games on the go, built in multiplayer, good exclusives.

 

[Nikana]

Breath of the wild is a solid 7 imo.

 

[The ๖ۜBronx]

Are you talking about the game that got 2nd place in NeoGAF's Games of the Seventh Generation Awards?

Yeh, that's the one.

 

[Manny Calavera]

If Horizon: Zero Dawn were Zelda: Zero Dawn, it would have been hailed as the greatest game in generations, and would win Game of the Year across the board.

That's just wrong on so many levels. I usually love story based games with a good character development but I still haven't find the interest to finish Zero Dawn and I think it simply isn't that fun to play and the new Tomb Raider games had better gameplay and controls. I think there are several better Playstation 4 exclusives alone, like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4.

Whereas I've played Breath of the Wild 300-400h and still feel like playing more. Always something new to discover or just to admire the scenery.

I find it astonishing that people think name of the game has something to do with the quality or reception.

 

[Aters]

That's just wrong on so many levels. I usually love story based games with a good character development but I still haven't find the interest to finish Zero Dawn and I think it simply isn't that fun to play and the new Tomb Raider games had better gameplay and controls. I think there are several better Playstation 4 exclusives alone, like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4.

Whereas I've played Breath of the Wild 300-400h and still feel like playing more. Always something new to discover or just to admire the scenery.

I find it astonishing that people think name of the game has something to do with the quality or reception.

That's why he's posting in the "controversial opinion" thread. Your opinion is not controversial. Breath of the Wild is leagues ahead of Horizon.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

I find it astonishing that people think name of the game has something to do with the quality or reception.

Only when it's made by Nintendo do downplay the critical reception.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Right, Zelda without puzzles or unique items/ability interaction with the world would totally be GOTY material. What are some of you smoking?

Nailed it.

I think one of the main reasons Zelda games are so acclaimed year after year is that they are an unique combination of puzzle solving, adventure and combat.

 

[shimon]

I don't really care for GTA games.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

I find it astonishing that people think name of the game has something to do with the quality or reception.

Only when it's made by Nintendo do downplay the critical reception. I have never seen that argument being made for anything not made by Nintendo.

Nailed it.

I think one of the main reasons Zelda games are so acclaimed year after year is that they are an unique combination of puzzle solving, adventure and combat.

It's almost like the way shrine and especially dungeon puzzles have been pulled off in Zelda games so far have not been achieved in another game in the same way, certainly in no open world game.

That's why he's posting in the "controversial opinion" thread. Your opinion is not controversial. Breath of the Wild is leagues ahead of Horizon.

I'd argue blatantly wrong and controversial aren't the same thing. The thread also says people who come up with nonsense like that should raise their flame shield.

 

[Manny Calavera]

That's why he's posting in the "controversial opinion" thread. Your opinion is not controversial. Breath of the Wild is leagues ahead of Horizon.

You got me there. I guess I just had to point out because the post made claims other than personal opinion.

 

[czk51]

Battleborn was a great game.

 

[Manny Calavera]

I don't really care for GTA games.

What I came to post and more specific GTA IV and V. Played each of them for a few hours but never could really get into the characters or the world. Still they're the perfect games if you just want to have fun and create a havoc and I can see the appeal in them but just not my cup of tea.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

I don't really care for GTA games.

What I came to post and more specific GTA IV and V. Played each of them for a few hours but never could really get into the characters or the world. Still they're the perfect games if you just want to have fun and create a havoc and I can see the appeal in them but just not my cup of tea.

I love Vice City especially but after that it went kinda downhill with my interest for the games.

 

[schwabdizzle]

Titanfall 2 was the best shooter in 2017 even though it came out last year.
Nioh is PS4's best exclusive of 2017.
HZD is mediocre.

 

[PrimeBeef]

Are you talking about the game that got 2nd place in NeoGAF's Games of the Seventh Generation Awards?

NeoGAF does not represent general gaming populace, so yeah.

 

[DMONKUMA]

Nintendo’s most interesting and probably best game are not the ones made by EPD but rather other studios. Basically third party collaborations, second party studios(game freak, inti systems, etc....) and subsidiaries(mainly retro and monolith). The only exception is splatoon and speaking of that.....

Splatoon 2 is currently the best multiplayer console exclusive game.

 

[Corpsepyre]

I think GTA San Andreas is fucking crap and the setting absolutely does not appeal to me. Coming from Tommy Vercetti to the absolutely horrible and underwhelmingly written C.J was a big blow.

 

[FiveSide]

Whats so great about Skyward Swords combat exactly? Almost every encounter is just a movement puzzle where u can just flail at them randomly as long they don't hurt you with their blocks in some cases.

This is simply untrue, and particularly in Hero Mode. Most of the enemies in the game either require timing attacks, or attacking from a certain angle. The swordplay is dynamic and, again particularly in Hero Mode, challenging.

I don't know, maybe you successfully beat Skyward Sword by brute force flailing through the entire game. But there are also people who played Vanquish as a conventional cover shooter.

I don't see many people refuting that tbh. Mechanics were great. Too bad the game around them sucked hard.

Well the controversial opinion is more in the second sentence. The good mechanics make it a very entertaining game overall. It's just such a blast to play once you wrap your head around the mechanics, even given the uneven campaigns.

EDIT: I see this ongoing discussion about Horizon and Zelda. They were both exceptional games, you all are basically doing the game equivalent of arguing whether Alien or Aliens was better. There will never be an answer, the similarities between them cover up the ways that they are very different, and very good in different ways.

 

[Raven117]

I'll echo some on here, Zelda Breath of the Wild is solid 7 video game.

The weapon breaking is an absolute detriment to the entire experience.

There is nothing to "explore" out there. Just a bunch of shatterable weapons, korok seeds and shrines.

Side quests are terrible and nothing but fetch quests.

Combat is clunky and unrefined.

It did nothing revolutionary.

I honestly felt I was playing Far Cry 4 alot of the time. Don't know why....

It was a solid experience and a fantastic first attempt by Nintendo to pull something like this off. But damn...I had to force it the entire time through all 60 hours.

 

[RoseBell69]

Samus may be a "strong female lead" character, but she sure does spend a lot of her hard earned Bounty Hunter money on changing up her looks to barbie herself up for the presumed straight male player yet she "#Don'tNeedNoMan" except the one controlling her. At least that is the form of implication I am gathering since every game she always looks very different than the previous. I think her whole representation is really hypocritical and contradicting on what a real strong female is suppose to be. To me, she is only a strong female lead when she remains within her Varia Suit as well as her other suits, because that is when she has true power. Once she gratuitously reveals her barbie-self outside of the suit, she is weak, fragile and prone to all dangers... yet ironically she always claims to be training for the next mission, when clearly you see no physical proof of that. She doesn't wield any muscles on her body. Surely if it was a male protagonist in her shoes, he'd be muscular at all times underneath that heavy metallic suit to have the willpower to be in it and do all the strenuous activities. She and much of the other strong female lead protagonists ought to start getting straight love/romance stories, not in the form of "needing" the opposite sex but for the natural desires of wanting love... just like if you were to play a game starring a male lead protagonist that always gets a lady at the start of the game or somewhere in the middle or at the end.

Spoiler

At least Bayonetta has the decency to flirt with a man in her game... so that made me happy to see that at least. But could always be more than just flirting of course.

 

[sinonobu]

Horizon felt like Tomb Raider meets Assasins Creed to me. I couldn’t get through the beginning hours

 

[PaperFlame]

dark souls 3 is way better than dark souls 1 and 2 to a point where its on a different league.

ds1 and 2 are just too clunky and the boss fights aren't as exciting compared to 3.

 

[Elfstar]

I actually believe no one should ever, ever trust reviews of:

-Mainline Mario and Zelda games
-Modern, full fledged Naughty Dog games
-Rockstar games (especially GTA)
-Mainline Fallout and TES games (maybe to a lesser extent)
-Indie games with an extraordinary/very notable artstyle (to a lesser extent)

Because in my opinion the vast amount of journalists are extremely, blindly biased towards them for a variety of reasons.

I'm not even saying that all those games sucks, or that they are overrated, but just that finding rational and critical-thinking opinions about them from "professional" gaming outlets will be hard as hell, and you'll never going to know from them if the your favourite series' new game is actually an exceptionally flawed and subpar one.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

This is simply untrue, and particularly in Hero Mode. Most of the enemies in the game either require timing attacks, or attacking from a certain angle. The swordplay is dynamic and, again particularly in Hero Mode, challenging.

I don't know, maybe you successfully beat Skyward Sword by brute force flailing through the entire game. But there are also people who played Vanquish as a conventional cover shooter.

That's what I said though, it's not like that all the time. There is nothing dynamic about waiting for an angle to open and after you get one hit in start to flail like crazy to get as many hits in as possible. The motion controls were ok, but in the end just lead to samey combat encounters.

Well the controversial opinion is more in the second sentence. The good mechanics make it a very entertaining game overall. It's just such a blast to play once you wrap your head around the mechanics, even given the uneven campaigns.

Oh it's entertaining alright, it's just a dogshit Resident Evil game.

EDIT: I see this ongoing discussion about Horizon and Zelda. They were both exceptional games, you all are basically doing the game equivalent of arguing whether Alien or Aliens was better. There will never be an answer, the similarities between them cover up the ways that they are very different, and very good in different ways.

Obviously people can discuss what they find good and bad with each game, but just going: "If Horizon was called Zelda:Zero Dawn it would be GOAT game" makes no fucking sense, especially because Horizon doesn't even attempt some things Zelda does and vice versa. It's just fanboy drivel.

 

[Playsage]

NeoGAF does not represent general gaming populace, so yeah.

And this is easily refuted by sales and goty awards

lmao

In any case, you're in the right place

 

[Wamb0wneD]

I'll echo some on here, Zelda Breath of the Wild is solid 7 video game.
The weapon breaking is an absolute detriment to the entire experience.

I for one would find running around with the same weapon for 60 hours in an open world game way more boring. Having every weapon you find being a weapon of use is not something I would call a detriment to my experience of the game.

There is nothing to "explore" out there. Just a bunch of shatterable weapons, korok seeds and shrines.

Those shrines are better than 95% of the stuff you find in other open world games, some of them are a puzzle in the open world itself.

Side quests are terrible and nothing but fetch quests.

In 90 hours of play I encountered less than 10 actual fetch quests. Could we stop using hyperbole please?

Combat is clunky and unrefined.

It definetly needs some improvement , especially the whole flurry attack stuff. Still more enagaging than any other Zelda game before it, especially the different creative ways you can fight people. Hoping for something more refined for the next title.

It did nothing revolutionary.

That's just BS, sorry.

I honestly felt I was playing Far Cry 4 alot of the time. Don't know why....

I don't know either. Because that's kinda ridiculous.

Also noone forced you to play for 60 hours. You could have gone to the last boss whenever you wanted, so I don't understand how anyone could feel forced to play for that long.

The most obvious things you didn't bring up are the mediocre story, the poor balancing when actually upgrading your armor and the enemy variety. Those are some things that are definetly ripe for criticism.

 

[Scoops312]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is my favorite game in the series.

Despite having Shinji Mikami, Tango Games don't really understand horror.

Despite not being nearly as good when it comes to gameplay, in terms of Japanese developers that make quirky games, I'll pick Grasshopper over Platinum Games every time.

 

[Danjin44]

There is nothing to "explore" out there. Just a bunch of shatterable weapons, korok seeds and shrines.

Horizon doesn't even have that. there is no weapons or armours to find. Even gathering resources become pointless when your inventory full even though you fully upgrade them.

 

[Guess Who]

Mario music was almost universally boring until Galaxy.

People act like NSMB music is some affront to the senses but folks, Bob-omb Battlefield and this ”Mario theme being played on a shitty Casio keyboard with the doo patch selected” shit weren't any better.

 

[Raven117]

I for one would find running around with the same weapon for 60 hours in an open world game way more boring. Having every weapon you find being a weapon of use is not something I would call a detriment to my experience of the game.

Its not about the same sword. Its about more powerful swords. Truly hurt my enjoyment of the game to the point where it drug the entire experience down for me.

Those shrines are better than 95% of the stuff you find in other open world games, some of them are a puzzle in the open world itself.

I found them distracting trifles that added nothing to world at all. Other than...here have a puzzle. Some people love this stuff. Its very Zelda. I didnt.

In 90 hours of play I encountered less than 10 actual fetch quests. Could we stop using hyperbole please?

Nope...Every side quest I found was some silly fetch quest...or some other silly quest that was found in an MMO circa 2005. Gaming has moved on.

It definetly needs some improvement , especially the whole flurry attack stuff. Still more enagaging than any other Zelda game before it, especially the different creative ways you can fight people. Hoping for something more refined for the next title.

Its better than Zelda games before it. But it needs to be better. It was okay though. Its tough for open worlds to stick this 100%.

That's just BS, sorry.

It sure isn't. This Zelda will change nothign in how open world games are made...Because it didn't DO anything new. The combat, where you use the environment to your advantage is not new. Thats why I felt like it was Far Cry in a way....And Far Cry wasn't the first to do it.

I don't know either. Because that's kinda ridiculous.

The combat kinda reminded of it. It was just a feeling. Remember, you are the one that wandered into a CONTROVERSIAL gaming opinion thread.

Also noone forced you to play for 60 hours. You could have gone to the last boss whenever you wanted, so I don't understand how anyone could feel forced to play for that long.

The most obvious things you didn't bring up are the mediocre story and the enemy variety. Those are some things that are definetly ripe for criticism.

Because I was waiting for something to happen. Everyone was saying how great it was. I can see how some people enjoy it. The scale, the "feel" of moving around the map. All fantastic. I gave the game its due to try and grab me...It just didn't.

Story and enemy variety go without saying. There was nothing compelling about either of them. Especially when compare to other open world games that are generations ahead of it.

Read Again: You are the one in a Controversial Gaming Opinion Thread.

 

[Raven117]

Horizon doesn't even have that. there is no weapons or armours to find. Even gathering resources become pointless when your inventory full even though you fully upgrade them.

One of Horizons selling points wasn't "exploration." Zelda's was and fans herald it as a feature.

At least in Horizon, there is something out there that adds to the lore, the story or even something fun to kill. Zelda...nada. Here is a shrine and a korok seed for your trouble.

 

[Neo_MG90]

Well, some that I can remember:

I didn't like Doom. Just run and gun and the music got pretty stale.

Same with Hollow Knight. Loved Ori and I thought I would love it too but I didn't like the artstyle and music at all.

Started playing Breath of the Wild and dropped it after the first divine beast.
The more I played the less interested I was. You just go around doing stuff.
I felt the same way while I was playing The Phantom Pain, it felt to me that the series lost what made them unique.

And of course that I understand why the games above have the massive apeal that they have, but I just wanted to contribute to the thread.

Edit: Now that I saw the above post regarding BOTW I agree with pretty much Raven said. The side quests had no meaning to them IMO.