Games you initially hated but ended up growing on you?

[RageBurner]

As the topic states, I'm curious to hear what everyone's experience was with games that were frustrating and/or had a high barrier of entry (skill floor), and ended up becoming beloved favorites later down the line.

One example I can think of in my own experience is Gran Turismo.

I was never much of a racing game guy, much less simcade, but Gran Turismo 4 has always somewhat piqued my interest, as so many people regard it as a sort of holy grail for this genre. Trying it at first was the definition of suffering: cars feel stiff and unresponsive and years of arcade racing from the likes of Burnout and Need For Speed had given me very bad habits.

Still, I persisted and now it has "clicked" properly, I really enjoy it. I can safely say I can't go back to pure arcade racers anymore.

So, what's everyone's experience with climbing the proverbial mountain?

 

[Waffles]

Excellent thread!

I remember not liking MLB 2K10 very much (I even returned it after a day), but then I understood the mechanics more and ended up loving it.

Also... Sniper Elite. I sucked at it, panicked and burned through my saves. Then I got the hang of it.

 

[motavia]

When I first started Kingdom Hearts 1, I really didn't enjoy it at first and got frustrated at Deep Jungle. After a while I decided to revisit it and I ended up really loving it, it was mainly just Deep Jungle that sucked LOL

I think KH1 has the best world design in the series personally, it gets so much better in the later worlds (especially Hollow Bastion)

 

[RageBurner]

Excellent thread!

I remember not liking MLB 2K10 very much (I even returned it after a day), but then I understood the mechanics more and ended up loving it.

Also... Sniper Elite. I sucked at it, panicked and burned through my saves. Then I got the hang of it.

Ah, a Baseball enjoyer like myself! very good, very good. How would you say it stacks up against MLB The Show?

Post automatically merged: Dec 3, 2024

When I first started Kingdom Hearts 1, I really didn't enjoy it at first and got frustrated at Deep Jungle. After a while I decided to revisit it and I ended up really loving it, it was mainly just Deep Jungle that sucked LOL

I think KH1 has the best world design in the series personally, it gets so much better in the later worlds (especially Hollow Bastion)

Oh, really? I thought Monstra was the worst dungeon (was it in the first?) I hate this kind of retroactive warping dungeon when you go the wrong way.

 

[Waffles]

Ah, a Baseball enjoyer like myself! very good, very good. How would you say it stacks up against MLB The Show?

I think MLB: The Show is waaaay easier to pick up and play, but at the same time lacks that "stupid" feel that makes 2K so addicting, like the AI players running into each other.

 

[RageBurner]

I think MLB: The Show is waaaay easier to pick up and play, but at the same time lacks that "stupid" feel that makes 2K so addicting, like the AI players running into each other.

The closest thing I have to a simmy Baseball game is Super Mega Baseball 2 and 3. Then EA bought the studio and made a fourth entry that is overpriced and barely changed anything. Sigh.

 

[Waffles]

The closest thing I have to a simmy Baseball game is Super Mega Baseball 2 and 3. Then EA bought the studio and made a fourth entry that is overpriced and barely changed anything. Sigh.

I love SMB! I still have my team on the PS3.

Have you played the earlier Backyard Baseball titles? The PS2 ones are just amazing.

 

[PhrawzT]

Hitman, I played through Blood Money on the Xbox 360, but didn't really care for it. Tried out the new games on the PS4 and after a few tries got way too into it and still enjoy goofing around in several levels that I have beaten countless times.

 

[RageBurner]

Hitman, I played through Blood Money on the Xbox 360, but didn't really care for it. Tried out the new games on the PS4 and after a few tries got way too into it and still enjoy goofing around in several levels that I have beaten countless times.

Ah, I see! Hitman looks like a series that demands good memorization and execution, something like a modern day Tenchu, perhaps.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

Sekiro. I went in with the experience of and love for the other Soulsbornes but still got my ass handed to me mercilessly. I gave up several times but the atmosphere and storyline made me come back time and again until it finally clicked. Once you get into the right rhythm it's by far one of the most rewarding and fun combat experiences imaginable, but until you get to that point there will be some gnashing of teeth.

When I first started Kingdom Hearts 1, I really didn't enjoy it at first and got frustrated at Deep Jungle. After a while I decided to revisit it and I ended up really loving it, it was mainly just Deep Jungle that sucked LOL

I got KH1 for Christmas in 2002. It started off well enough, the Disney characters were a bit weird but ok. When I got to the deep jungle I had the sudden feeling I had made a terrible mistake. I'm glad I powered through because it gets so much better afterwards, but in hindsight this level should have ended up on the cutting room floor.

 

[RetroLaw]

God Hand.

Can't say I hated it, but I bought it because it was cheap and it seemed like an action game that would be easy to pick up and play.
Tried it out, thought the tank controls were weird, got destroyed by a fudging demon about 3 minutes in, then thought "ok I'll try it later".
Tried it a second time, same thing.

I decided to finally taking the time to learn it. Insane and unique game.

 

[RageBurner]

Sekiro. I went in with the experience of and love for the other Soulsbornes but still got my ass handed to me mercilessly. I gave up several times but the atmosphere and storyline made me come back time and again until it finally clicked. Once you get into the right rhythm it's by far one of the most rewarding and fun combat experiences imaginable, but until you get to that point there will be some gnashing of teeth.

Yeah I heard Sekiro is a notch above even the genre itself in difficulty. I have some passing experience with DS1, 3 and Nioh, but by all accounts, Sekiro is a whole different beast.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Honestly all of my really favorite games (like top 100) resonated with me very early to the point I couldn't hate then, even if frustrating or buggy at the beginning. I feel like truly good games always know how to get me interested. But it also may be because I have a huge backlog so I am quick to discard something I feel isn't good enough or isn't my kind of game, because why would I bother trying to get into something I don't like when there is 500 other games waiting? And yet I still finished Ancient Roman...

But one game that comes to mind is Neverwinter Nights. Coming from BG and IWD it just feels like a huge downgrade, the graphics are ugly and there is no proper party system. The OG campaign is also irredeemably lame. But eventually...!!! It's still mediocre, but has interesting expansions and modules that push the engine to its limits. Would I recommend it though? Only for someone really starved of crpgs.

 

[demiurge]

Persona 3.

It's not that I hate it, it's more like I'm not interested.
I used to not like turn based games, I thought they were very boring. but after seeing many posts on forums about persona 3 it made me even more curious and after trying it I like and am addicted to turn based games such as final fantasy, suikoden, and others.

 

[RageBurner]

Persona 3.

It's not that I hate it, it's more like I'm not interested.
I used to not like turn based games, I thought they were very boring. but after seeing many posts on forums about persona 3 it made me even more curious and after trying it I like and am addicted to turn based games such as final fantasy, suikoden, and others.

I'm more of an SMT guy myself, could never get to care about Persona, honestly, so I guess I'm still on the dislike camp for that one, haha.

 

[stealthRUSH]

Mega Man ZX

I came in with the expectations of a continuation from the X series but it resembled the Zero series instead.

 

[Bakuma1997]

First of all hi, i am new here, second of all

Etrian Odyssey, i sensed the labyrinth drawing and difficulty as wack, but after reanalizing it, figuring out the Nooks and Crannies and finally undestanding how unique the "Make your own maps" made it into my favorite series of Atlus next to Megaten

 

[DunkeyKong]

Honestly? I would always hate every game I played when the game started to get difficult, annoying and unfair (Dark Souls for example)
But...that hate was just for awhile since I will eventually learn the patterns of the levels, opponents, bosses and everything that makes it hard

It would feel so rewarding too! Love those moments

 

[RageBurner]

First of all hi, i am new here, second of all

Etrian Odyssey, i sensed the labyrinth drawing and difficulty as wack, but after reanalizing it, figuring out the Nooks and Crannies and finally undestanding how unique the "Make your own maps" made it into my favorite series of Atlus next to Megaten

Hello! thanks for replying to my thread and sharing your thoughts. My problem with Etrian Odyssey is that progress seems to happen at a snail's pace: everyone seems to come extremely underequipped and gear seems to take a while to unlock.

Post automatically merged: Dec 4, 2024

Honestly? I would always hate every game I played when the game started to get difficult, annoying and unfair (Dark Souls for example)
But...that hate was just for awhile since I will eventually learn the patterns of the levels, opponents, bosses and everything that makes it hard

It would feel so rewarding too! Love those moments

True, I guess you just described what a learning curve is. I guess some games have a way to show the player they are clearly not ready, moreso than others, haha.

 

[sumdead]

Turn based games beside pokemon wasn't until i played DQ8 and Persona 3 on ps3 i got into them

 

[RageBurner]

Turn based games beside pokemon wasn't until i played DQ8 and Persona 3 on ps3 i got into them

Very interesting! you chose some pretty high quality, dense turn based games for your first forays.

 

[OmegaKatanaXIII]

Personally I didnt like Ys The Ark of Napishtim at all and yes it was the psp port but overtime I began to love the music for the game as well as the gameplay but gotten stuck as well returning it to a friend because he was kind enough to let me borrow it.

 

[RageBurner]

Personally I didnt like Ys The Ark of Napishtim at all and yes it was the psp port but overtime I began to love the music for the game as well as the gameplay but gotten stuck as well returning it to a friend because he was kind enough to let me borrow it.

Oh, what a situation! hopefully you were able to ask your friend to lend it to you again or got to play it to the finish somehow.

 

[ATenderLad]

Definitely Vampire Survivors, I spent the first couple games convinced I didn't have the controls set up, I couldn't believe there wasn't more to it. Somehow I stuck with it for 100 hours and counting, it's such a good time on the Steam Deck.

 

[RageBurner]

Definitely Vampire Survivors, I spent the first couple games convinced I didn't have the controls set up, I couldn't believe there wasn't more to it. Somehow I stuck with it for 100 hours and counting, it's such a good time on the Steam Deck.

That's some impressive mileage! I can't say I enjoy these types of games, but they are definitely popular, and Vampire Survivors is the trope codifier for new games like it.