Disappointing Retro Games?

[Asura]

Here's one; for anyone else, has there ever been a retro game you really wanted to play, but then when you finally got to try it, you've found it underwhelming?

Was thinking about this recently, because I got to play Beyond Oasis/Story of Thor on my RG351M, a game I've wanted to play since the Megadrive games but never had the opportunity. I'd been told it was something of a Zelda-type experience, but with fighting gameplay by some of the Streets of Rage developers; however, whilst I accept it might dramatically improve once you get into it, the first hour seems really underwhelming. The world is really plain and the story almost nonexistent. It just feels surprisingly basic.

It makes me wonder if the Saturn sequel was any good, too.

Has anyone here had a similar experience? (and will anyone defend Story of Thor? )

[briareos_kerensky]

Altered Beast and Moonwalker. Both games beckoned hard, and when I first got into emulation 20 or so years ago, I tried those games and...meh. I tried them again more recently after getting a real Megadrive and they are still meh.

[monel]

So many games and other media get hyped online because they were once hard to get. Rare doesn't always mean good.

I never liked Altered Beast on the MD besides the art. It was sad that they made it a bundled title when something like Revenge of Shinobi or Ghouls and Ghosts could have been bundled by then. It also made it impossible to get rid of it. Sonic had the same issue, in the UK you probably had more value selling the boxes back then.

[phillv85]

Hokuto no Ken 6 and 7 on SuFami - I love HnK, so to find out later on that there were not one, but two fighters on the Super Famicom I was stoked. I won them on Yahoo Auctions then waited months for them to arrive by boat only to find out they were absolutely s***e.

Back in the day I remember being very diappointed with Sonic 3D on the MD. It looked epic, then I got it for Christmas and it wasn't a bad game, it was just the first mainline Sonic game I'd played that wasn't brilliant. It didn't get any better either, it was one of the only MD games I ever sold.

Turtles Tournament Fighters on the MD was another. I'd heard about it, then the two brothers who lived at the top of my mum and dad's street rented it from the video shop. I went to play it and I think one of the brothers had convinced himself it was good, but I was sorely disappointed. I'd played Hyperstone Heist, and I knew it wasn't a scrolling beat em up, but that was so good I expected more. I was also a big turtles fan.

I could probably do this all day, but I'll stop there for now

[Asura]

Turtles Tournament Fighters on the MD was another. I'd heard about it, then the two brothers who lived at the top of my mum and dad's street rented it from the video shop. I went to play it and I think one of the brothers had convinced himself it was good, but I was sorely disappointed. I'd played Hyperstone Heist, and I knew it wasn't a scrolling beat em up, but that was so good I expected more. I was also a big turtles fan.

IIRC this is one of those 16-bit games where the MD and SNES versions are completely different games that are just based on the same concept, and apparently the SNES one is vastly superior; like in the canon of 16-bit fighters it's in the "good" category (as opposed to the vast number of games in the "crap" category).

[gunrock]

Actually agree with Moonwalker, once you've seen the moves and rescued a few grateful kids with grooming potential , the whole thing is tedious.

[Neon Ignition]

Toejam and Earl games - No matter which entry or how many times I try I'll never get the appeal

[nakamura]

Turtles on SNES is amazing. But not had a proper go on the MD game.

Just been reminded of one, Parasite Eve 2. Fairly good but not a patch on the original

[phillv85]

Yeah on Turtles TF they play pretty different. I’d say the SNES game is a 6/10 but the MD is 3/10 at best.

[Hirst]

If we're going back in the day, I'd say Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball was a pretty decent contender. It looked like it would be really good in the screenshots and previews. As soon as I started playing, it became clear that the artwork was actually quite muddy and dark. Then I wondered why it felt so clunky and weird - it was clearly on its own custom game engine and it was a very slow one at that, it seemed to run at 30fps max but I think it could have been slightly less than that. And the GEMS music was absolutely terrible. I kept trying to play it and eventually gave up.

In retrospect I can see why it was a right old mess - it was just a cheap stopgap to shut people up until Sonic 3 came out, done on a tiny development period by STI with a load of programming shortcuts. It's beyond me as to why they didn't just use the existing Sonic 2 game engine, my own guess is that it was something to do with the deteriorating relationship between the American and Japanese sides of Sega.

Anyway, it was a turkey and I want my £30 back.

[samanosuke]

Actually agree with Moonwalker, once you've seen the moves and rescued a few grateful kids with grooming potential , the whole thing is tedious.

I wasn’t disappointed with Moonwalker to begin with. Sure, it was just a rudimentary action platformer, but it was Michael Jackson, it was based on the Moonwalker movie, and it had an incredible OST. It was certainly a case of the licence lifting the game up from mediocrity. But then I saw the arcade version and that changed my opinion entirely. Why couldn’t Sega just release the vastly superior arcade version?!

Anyroad, my vote for disappoint game goes to Super Back to the Future 2 which I played recently on my RG-350M. One of those games that up until ten years ago or so was one of the essential SFC exclusives along with Majyuuou and Doremi and, like those games, goes for silly money now, I figured I should find out what all the fuss was about. And when THAT intro kicked in with THAT music, I must admit I got all excited, being a huge BTTF fan as most people my age tend to be. But then I quickly realised the floaty controls, the dodgy jump, the way landing on enemies inflicts damage and, most frustratingly, the fact that you are sent back to the beginning of the level after dying all began to build the frustration. And then I just got sick of the same gameplay, sick of THAT bloody tune, and disappointment really set in.

It had potential but really needed a better team on the job to end up as a true classic. As it stands I’m just glad I didn’t pay for the cart!

Toejam and Earl games - No matter which entry or how many times I try I'll never get the appeal

You need to play the original with a mate. And be a teenager… the humour works then, or at least it did for me back in the day.

[Asura]

If we're going back in the day, I'd say Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball was a pretty decent contender. It looked like it would be really good in the screenshots and previews. As soon as I started playing, it became clear that the artwork was actually quite muddy and dark. Then I wondered why it felt so clunky and weird - it was clearly on its own custom game engine and it was a very slow one at that, it seemed to run at 30fps max but I think it could have been slightly less than that. And the GEMS music was absolutely terrible. I kept trying to play it and eventually gave up.

In retrospect I can see why it was a right old mess - it was just a cheap stopgap to shut people up until Sonic 3 came out, done on a tiny development period by STI with a load of programming shortcuts. It's beyond me as to why they didn't just use the existing Sonic 2 game engine, my own guess is that it was something to do with the deteriorating relationship between the American and Japanese sides of Sega.

Anyway, it was a turkey and I want my £30 back.

If you ever want to give it another chance, make sure you play the NTSC version. It's still not great but much better than the PAL one.

[Neon Ignition]

I've got a really controversial one....

Sonic CD

I'm not saying it's bad but it was a long while till I was able to play it having not owned a Mega CD. I remember the childhood frustration of it, looking at it and the add-on in Argos Catalogue. I eventually played it and it's... okay?
Everyone went banana's on Sonic Mania and it felt like Sonic CD2 to me as well. It's great in many ways but overall the original trilogy are much more fun.

[phillv85]

I agree with you NI, I didn't get a Mega CD until about 2010 and Sonic CD was one of the first games I got for it. It's alright, but for 15 years or whatever I'd assumed it to be a near spiritual experience and it just wasn't.

[Hirst]

I feel similarly about Sonic CD to all above - for what it's worth, I think it looks fantastic and the soundtrack is excellent but ultimately the clunky level design really lets it down and while I appreciate the idea of the time travel mechanic it just feels fiddly in use. The whole thing feels a bit like a (decent) rom hack. Also the special stages suck, but that seems to be a series tradition.