Overrated "Classics"

[parmee]

rampage does not deserve the praise

 

[JDCP]

Nothing is overrated, things just become loved. That happens to everything as time passes because you know, nostalgia... And it's actually positive.

You could say Mario 64 is overrated, but then you would be omiting what makes the game so praised: What it meant for the children who played it and now have a voice as adults.

That said I always felt like Majoras Mask was better than OOT despite what most people say and when I was younger my argument was that people just liked OOT more because they played it first

But I played Majoras Mask first, so... I guess that explains it.

And any post-NES 2D Zelda really.

Following what I said, but in the opposite case, my first Zelda was Oracle of Seasons and Links Awakening and I for the love of god no matter how much love I still hold all these years for them would still never rate em over Majora, even less TP which is IMO the best thing Nintendo ever did.

When you sit down to chat a bit with someone who is praising a game you believe to be dogshit you quickly realize why they like it so much.

At least that's what I felt when a friend told me why he liked Nier so much when I thought it was a pretty bad game.

Final Fantasy VII. Game sucks ass. Lame graphics, mediocre at best story, horrible pacing, inane dialogue, a million crappy spinoffs just riding on the FFvii name, i guess the music was ok since it was a CD based system. Otakus blew their load and overhyped the new best thing. Anyone worth their salt was still playing Chrono Trigger or ANYTHING else. Ask Cloud himself "Is FF vii good?"

FF7 is by no means a bad game, it doesn't touch Chrono Trigger or most of the other FFs like proceeds to list a long list of FF mainline games but it was an enjoyable adventure, specially as a kid.

 

[sijaab]

gonna be ripped apart, burnt alive and get shot...




mother 3 is unbelievably boring
and
melee is unplayable

 

[PureRuby's icon PureRuby PureRuby]

For me it's Final Fantasy VII. I get why it's iconic, but the pacing felt messy and most characters didn't really click with me.
I personally enjoyed Final Fantasy VIII way more. The story felt more focused, the soundtrack hit harder for me, and I actually liked the junction system once I understood it properly. It felt more mature, less goofy, and I connected a lot more with its atmosphere.

 

[JPZ]

Diablo, Baldur's Gate, Fallout 1 and 2.

The least immersive camera angle possible and so far away from the characters too.

 

[Pearly]

What games have a reputation as classic, but you think are just plain bad. Mainstream, cult classics, ultra niche. Whatever ya got. I got some I wanna throw out there right away.

- Postal 2: Undeniable charm, sure. I put too much time into it and like it more than I should. But realistically this game is dogshit. No sprint, no music (99% of the time), foul gunplay held up by having healing items everywhere, you're just a bullet sponge with a sexy voice at the end of the day. It's really only fun if you have a soft spot for old PC games, and know where all the hidden goodies are so you can enjoy the better weapons sooner.

- Silent Hill 1 and 2: Early days for the genre, sure. But you'd be amazed at how most horror games even today are terrible. I think these 2 games are the perfect template to showcase why. It's all fine on atmosphere and such. Till you get bored. Once butting against jammed doors and smacking copy/paste monsters with a pipe gets old, you reach the stage where you don't care and wanna get it over with, no fear. But with the clunky movement and tedious obstacles. It's just a big shitty slog through the fog. Fear is not a game mechanic!

- Literally Every "Classicvania" (except Bloodlines): Bloodlines is the most fair and honest. Short but fun and the learning phase is smooth and consistent. Playing as Eric, that's pure ethical gaming right there. However, 1 and 3 are full of Mario Maker troll level BS. 4 starts great but quickly devolves into "bad hard" trickery. Full of slow autoscrolling sections as well. Dracula X really runs with the troll level design. Chronicles will put you to sleep before Belmont can even slither through level 1. I think it speaks to how low standards used to be, how these games are held at such high regard, when ALL of them are shit.

- Devil May Cry: Ugh, it hurts my soul because atmosphere and visual-wise. Easily my favourite in the franchise. I should love this game. But it goes from passable to savage buffoonery real quick. Yeah I know it was 2001, it was the first of it's kind, it wasn't intended to be what it was at first. Listen, I don't care why it's awful, if it's awful, I'm hating on it. The sequel is a famous disaster, and yeah I agree. But honestly I'd prefer 2 over 1. I'd rather a game be too easy than too hard. Especially with the ways DMC1 makes itself so fuckin' hard.

(I know this last one isn't really "retro" but where else am I gonna rant about it.)
- Dark Souls 2: Yeah it's not as beloved as the others but it still brings enough people joy to warrant my infernal hatred. I just don't get it. It's so fuckin' slow! It's held together by duct tape and introduces a lot of the changes from 1 to 3 that I can't stand (not being able to level up wherever and splitting equip load and stamina into different stats). It's gone from being treated like crap, to a lovable autistic middle child. As an autistic middle child, this game sucks!

Dark souls 2, played on release, me and a good friend of mine extremely hyped to play it.

Played and finished demon souls and dark souls multiple times, the hype was real..... then i started playing dark souls 2, I could immediately tell it was a game from a B team that had poor physics for a from soft game, they're the masters of a sense of weight and impact, dark souls 2 was one of the biggest day one disappointments I ever experienced in gaming.

Goldeneye. It wasn't groundbreaking. You were 11.

At the time, this was genuinely groundbreaking for a shooter that had an actual level layout, 3d models, realistic weaponry(for the time). It was leaps and bounds better than Quake in terms of level design. Not just wander around a maze to find keys to get through extremely samey levels that was the standard created by Doom.

Half life created the new standard and everything used that as the template going forward, but pre half life and post Wolfenstein/Doom, Goldeneye genuinely was groundbreaking.

Post automatically merged: Jun 24, 2025

For me it's Final Fantasy VII. I get why it's iconic, but the pacing felt messy and most characters didn't really click with me.
I personally enjoyed Final Fantasy VIII way more. The story felt more focused, the soundtrack hit harder for me, and I actually liked the junction system once I understood it properly. It felt more mature, less goofy, and I connected a lot more with its atmosphere.

As someone that loved Advent children, direg of cerberus etc., upon a replay of 7 around the time that the compilation was being released, I wanted it to be so much more and yes, it did age like dogshit outside of the music, 8 is better in every way except for the junction system not being as easy to utilise as the materia system.

That said, I absolutely love the 7 remake and rebirth games, they're everything I wished the OG game was.

8 was my favourite final fantasy since it's release, and it still is. I love lightning returns and the 7 remakes.

Never liked 9, 9 is the most overrated one of the internet as I've met no one in real life that actually likes it.

 

[bjork]

At the time, this was genuinely groundbreaking for a shooter that had an actual level layout, 3d models, realistic weaponry(for the time). It was leaps and bounds better than Quake in terms of level design. Not just wander around a maze to find keys to get through extremely samey levels that was the standard created by Doom.

Half life created the new standard and everything used that as the template going forward, but pre half life and post Wolfenstein/Doom, Goldeneye genuinely was groundbreaking.

We can disagree

 

[JPZ]

When I first played FFVII in 1997, it felt like I was playing a movie, I'd never experienced or seen any game as immersive as this. At the time, it was mind-blowing!

There was such a huge leap in technology, considering that many of us back then had upgraded from a 16bit console, and RPG's before this had never had such a cinematic feeling, especially due to the camera angles. This was something totally different.

Consider that Chrono Trigger, only came out two years earlier in 1995! The generational leap in graphics felt immense. Most of us had never experienced a 3D world which felt like a movie, and at the time almost 'real'. Which is why I think the game created such a strong impression and impact on those from that generation who played it.

For many of us, this was our first experience of a an RPG as well. There were other 3D interactive games, but this was the first which combined such a cinematic feeling and immersion with such a vast story and characters.

 

[What's His Face]

Just remember: In 20 years, kids are going to be saying how Stellar Blade, Grand Theft Auto V, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Minecraft, Schedule 1, and Elden Ring are overrated for the exact same reasons people today complain about games made 20-30 years ago. And you'll be looking at those kids the same way us old-fucks are looking at the kids of today.

 

[Morgana Veil]

Chess. Now for context, I can play chess fairly well. But it's just such a mind-numbingly boring game to watch someone else play and almost as bad to play.
But my opinion, so meh.

 

[Dyne]

I understand the criticisms of Dark Souls 2.
But I adore that game nonetheless.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Bucky O'Hare on the NES, tends to show up a lot in "Underrated NES Classics" Lists often, but the game can be a cheap shot since

1. Mercy Invulnerability so short you may as well not have it
2. Enemy and trap hitboxes are huge, but your peashooter needs precise aiming
3. Your five playable characters has poor main weapons and special abilities that are situational AT BEST
4. Bosses are spongy, some of them having OHKO bullshit
5. And lastly the final stage is a SHUMP, i mean, the game is made by Konami, and they have Gradius as mold for Shumps, but no, no power ups, the final boss is a drag that if you die to him you have to start AGAIN, and even with a turbo controller, your bullets has a low ratio, worsened by them hitting like paper balls

Stick to the Arcade game, is far from easy, but at least in a balanced way

 

[JPZ]

Just remember: In 20 years, kids are going to be saying how Stellar Blade, Grand Theft Auto V, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Minecraft, Schedule 1, and Elden Ring are overrated for the exact same reasons people today complain about games made 20-30 years ago. And you'll be looking at those kids the same way us old-fucks are looking at the kids of today.

I think the main difference is the older generation experienced a massive leap in technology between gaming generations.

For instance, the jumps between PS3, PS4 and PS5 were almost negligible in comparison. The difference between PS2 and PS3 was a bit of a jump, but still nowhere near the leap from 16 to 32bit.

Going from games like Sonic on the Mega Drive to Resident Evil on PSX was just insane, even at the time. Then the next leap to Dreamcast from PS2 was also huge. When I first played Shenmue, I could not believe what I was seeing. The amount of detail in the characters and backgrounds in a seemingly living world created such a feeling of realism and immersion, which for the time was astounding. That was 1999/2000 and a game like FFVII was just three years before!

Now, the differences are quite minor in comparison, more about added detail, polygons, higher resolution, better frame rate etc. but it's more about polishing of something that is already there.

Post automatically merged: Jun 26, 2025

A correction in the above post, since I can't edit it, I meant the jump from PSX to Dreamcast!

 

[Adrastia]

When I first played FFVII in 1997, it felt like I was playing a movie, I'd never experienced or seen any game as immersive as this. At the time, it was mind-blowing!

There was such a huge leap in technology, considering that many of us back then had upgraded from a 16bit console, and RPG's before this had never had such a cinematic feeling, especially due to the camera angles. This was something totally different.

Consider that Chrono Trigger, only came out two years earlier in 1995! The generational leap in graphics felt immense. Most of us had never experienced a 3D world which felt like a movie, and at the time almost 'real'. Which is why I think the game created such a strong impression and impact on those from that generation who played it.

For many of us, this was our first experience of a an RPG as well. There were other 3D interactive games, but this was the first which combined such a cinematic feeling and immersion with such a vast story and characters.

FF7 was my first Final Fantasy and my first Playstation game. Before that I was playing Shining Force, Shining in the Darkness and Phantasy Star. But I never bought or rented any FF games.

To me, FF7 is like Nirvana. You had to be there to truly understand why it was so important.

 

[OrionP]

I was never into JRPGs back in the day so I've only started playing them fairly recently and have been playing through the FF games.

Final Fantasy VI - Amazing
Final Fantasy VII - Product of it's time

I get why people love FFVII, when I was playing it I was thinking "wow, this must have blown people's minds" the way it blends gameplay into cutscene on the PS1 etc. However the game and the gameplay itself I found a bit of a hot mess.

So, yea, I wonder what determines a real 'classic' does it still have to be amazing today or does it just be the GOAT at the time. I suspect it probably the latter.

Anyway, just to throw my own overrated game into the mix, it's Lemmings for me, I've NEVER liked that game and don't know how you got so much credit.

 

[trickybus]

Wind Waker

Lack of variety in combat, yeah you can learn new moves from the Hero's Shade, but considering most enemies can be dealt mashin Sword, it barely matters

Please tell me you're trolling because that is exactly how Wind Waker plays.

Also, staring at nothing but this for minutes at a time is the equivalent of a hideously long loading screen and I hate it:

In case I didn't make it clear. Wind. Waker.

Post automatically merged: Jun 27, 2025

I could talk about how much I hate Persona 4.

Please do! My jimmies have not been sufficiently rustled.

 

[Teone]

Mario is overrated...... :p

 

[null.problem]

Golden Sun. Lots of people seem to like it, but when I tried it:
1. Weak storyline, slowly delivered, studded with tons of yes/no questions that don't matter at all.
2. Subpar, slow/tedious combat.
3. Easy, tedious puzzles.
4. Ugly.

For something similar, but 'done right' - Lufia 2 on the SNES.
---
Persona 4. I liked 3, so I tried 4. Took a long, long time to get to actually playing, and then the gameplay wasn't worth it - I was surprised how poorly balanced and unfun the combat felt.

I liked all the megaten games I played 1, 2, DeSu, Strange Journey, 3, and I even liked the early persona games okay (kinda flawed). But, something went wrong with 4...

 

[JPZ]

I was never into JRPGs back in the day so I've only started playing them fairly recently and have been playing through the FF games.

Final Fantasy VI - Amazing
Final Fantasy VII - Product of it's time

I get why people love FFVII, when I was playing it I was thinking "wow, this must have blown people's minds" the way it blends gameplay into cutscene on the PS1 etc. However the game and the gameplay itself I found a bit of a hot mess.

So, yea, I wonder what determines a real 'classic' does it still have to be amazing today or does it just be the GOAT at the time. I suspect it probably the latter.

Anyway, just to throw my own overrated game into the mix, it's Lemmings for me, I've NEVER liked that game and don't know how you got so much credit.

The gameplay and combat system of FFVII was generally what was to be expected from an RPG at that time. It was still mainly unchanged with FFX in 2001, except for being able to swap party members in-fight.

The main issue for modern gamers of older RPG's is probably the high rate of random encounters.

 

[sothfr]

When I first played FFVII in 1997, it felt like I was playing a movie, I'd never experienced or seen any game as immersive as this. At the time, it was mind-blowing!

The first time I played it, I stopped just before disc 2 and thought it was one of those overrated classics. But a few years later, something made me give it a real shot and finish it. I absolutely love it now and totally understand what you described.