First thing that comes to mind is DmC: Devil May Cry that got (and still getting) a lot of crap. I liked it very much when I played it back in the day. Yeah devs said some stupid stuff about original DMCs but since I'm not a big fan of the series anyway I didnt know and would not care. Also I think Resident Evil: Dead Aim qualifies as a hated and/or forgotten game which I really like. Critics were not kind to it and gamers didnt vibe with it. That game did many things right before RE4 came out and shook the industry but nobody noticed. Its a short game with cool mechanics and the best thing is... its just fun to play. Resident Evil: Survivor is up there as well. Its probably not as fun but its a great piece of franchise's history that explores the original vision for the series (originally, Mikami wanted it to be first person). It got overhated back in the day and the echoes of that hate are still present to this day.
My wife and I are still pretty big fans of DmC. From a gameplay perspective, it was primo! And I like that they took the series in a different direction. You can't truly make a franchise feel fresh unless you're willing to take a chance - and take a chance with that game, Capcom did! It might not have been what most fans wanted, but I certainly don't think it's bad.
Speaking of which...
I loved The 3rd Birthday. Still do. ProTip: skip all the cutscenes, and just focus on the gameplay and soundtrack
Back to Capcom games, P.N.03 is one of my favorites on the Gamecube. It got OK-ish reviews when it came out, but the word of mouth amongst my friends was abysmal! I rented it and liked it, and when I was talking to a friend about it, they held their nose, made a face, and handed me their own copy off their shelf. "I regret ever buying this - just get it away from me." Yep - it's the copy I currently own
I guess The 3rd Birthday and P.N.03 are both similar in that regard, in that I view each game almost more like a glorified music video than I do an actual game! I skip all the story bits in both, and love grinding to get the best equipment. Just fun, straightforward action games that work best when you shut your brain off...
Honorable mentions go to the plethora of movie-based games on classic consoles. Another user mentioned ET for (I'm assuming) the Atari 2600, and I'm also a fan of Tron Deadly Discs and The Empire Strikes Back on the same console. On the NES, I genuinely like Friday The 13th, Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Jurassic Park - no matter what certain angry nerds on the Internet might say about them
