I like a lot of "hated" games but one that comes to mind is Dragon Quarter.
At the time, I never played a Breath of fire game or, at least, not having a Ps1 as a child, I never finished one of them as I've just seen friends playing it. I've seen the game taking a lot of hate due to the huge departure in every aspect from the previous games so, being my first game of the franchise, maybe I've seen it in a different light.
First of all, I loved the graphic style: the illustrations and character designs are downright beautiful, right up my alley and fits the gloomy setting so well. The system is quite interesting as it plays more strategically than usual, with strict use of action points, the encounters with enemies that can be far beyond your levels, environments that can make even the more weak enemy a lethal one, saves that are managed mostly by limited objects, an awesome yet fearsome power that can kill you and so on.
Quite the challenging game, maybe even unfair at some points. I can say it was fitting for such a grim, dark settings. Even the most unlikable of characters had such a tragic, bleak backstory and everyone wanted simply to have an objective in life that wasn't just surviving. Very simple characters, quite archetypal ones but I always thought that you don't need hyper complex characters to make a good story. Ryu is one of the lowest in terms of ranking, by birth, in a society that marks you when you come to life, not allowing you to create your future. Nina has her future and humanity taken away. Lin is disillusioned, not believing in people anymore and in a better future. They wander in the dark, trying to climb up to reach the fabled surface.
Very simple story elements, maybe presented with some roughly cut ingredients, yet very fitting for its themes. It was quite the journey, I would love to have time to play it again.