Games that are the Exception to the Rule

[thoughtwrangler]

A lot of us have firm dislikes for mechanics, aesthetics, and the overall experience of a game that we either overlook or that just act as outright dealbreakers. Things that grate on our nerves, and maybe we tolerate them. Or maybe we flip the table and trade the game in for something better.

Perhaps it's random battles, or level grinding in an RPG, or memorizing combos in a fighter, or block puzzles in an adventure game.

But sometimes, every once in a while, a game comes along that makes us LIKE those things we hate 99.9% of the time. What are yours?

As an example, I'm lukewarm to turn-based battles, and not keen on ones where I can't see the character. As a rule I hate random encounters and can't stand having to level-grind to get ahead.

And yet, I'm absolutely crazy about the Etrian Odyssey games. I actually LIKE the turn-based battles. The indicator for the approach of a random monster is a great twist on what's otherwise an incredibly frustrating part of the RPG experience. The first-person/Dragon Quest-style battle setup keeps the action quick. And Grinding is pretty fun. There's a nice payoff when you can increase a skill, and know that your character build is somewhat unique based on how you spend those points.

 

[Lufia Erim]

I dislike racing games in general, but mario kart is pretty fun.

I dislike easy games, but kirby's epic yarn is so cute and colorful and happy-go-lucky, that i couldn't help but love it.

I dislike Wrpgs, but Dragon age and The elderscrolls series are the only ones i can stomach.

I diskike sports games, but... No wait i got nothing, sports games suck.

 

[MajorTomServo]

I dislike JRPGs, but I loved Chrono Trigger so much I marathoned the whole thing start to finish in one sitting (it might have been a weekend, I don't exactly remember. It was years ago. I just remember only stopping for pizza rolls). It's the only one I've ever finished, unless Pokemon counts. Bravely Default is really good too, but I got it for Christmas along with three other 3DS games, so I put it on the backburner for a while. Now it's been months, and if I want to get back into it, I'm going to have to start from the beginning, because that's how I RPG. Maybe that's why I so rarely finish them...

I hate 1v1 fighters, but I liked Injustice because my friends and I are DC nerds who all equally suck at fighting games, so we can just button-mash against each other while marveling the beautiful costumes.

I'm not a fan of post-apocalyptic settings, but I freaking LOVE Fallout, especially New Vegas. I think it's because it's not trying to be super grim and realistic.

I like the Hitman series but LOATHE Absolution. That game is an insult. Action set-pieces, bullet-time shootouts, and microscopic levels with no maps or pre-planning have NO PLACE in my assassination game. I legit cracked a smile when I saw a giant stack of copies in Walmart's $10 clearance bin.

 

[Metalmacher]

Hmm... well, I'm reluctant to play SRPG, but Disgaea is my exception, especially hour of darkness...
Sports game, no... Puzzle game, no... Platformers..? Well, I actually really dislike early Mario platformers because it feels as if I'm controlling a person skating on ice... On the other hand, early 2d Sonic platformers gave me more sense of control over the playable characters.
I hate mobile games, but the Zenonia series kicks butt.

I think that's it...

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I dislike sports games, but NFL Blitz 2000 was the shit. I think because it was so ridiculous and fun to play with other people that I didn't really care that it was a sports game.

I dislike racing games, but Cruisin' USA was a blast. Chicago and the one with the REdwood forest sucked balls, but it was still fun. I played that game a lot and, again, it was fun to play with another person.

I dislike shooters, but I fucking love the Borderlands series. Great to play with another person, but it was also fun to play solo. Looking for loot was really fun and addicting, and most of the DLC have been great.

I hate mobile games, but the Zenonia series kicks butt.

The Zenonia series was a shock to me that I'd like it. I really don't like mobile games for the most part, but I spent a lot of time playing the first one, and then the ones after that.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I don't really like the Metal Gear Solid games but Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a game I have fully completed 7 times on various difficulties and i'm working on an 8th. I can never get tired of it because Platinum Games are the best in the business. Kudos to Kojima for taking a cool little tech demo about Blade Mode then having the brains and the guts to give the game over to a dev he's not worked with before to realise its potential. It cuts out all of the boring shit that MGS games seem to have to include too, I mean did Snake Eater have to include so many history lessons about the Cold War? Less of that and more of pre MGS2 Ocelot being a fucking prick and making a fool out of himself pls. That's basically all I remember about that game, the first boss fight with Ocelot and Snake wipes the floor with him.

That motherfucking final boss fight in Rising is one of the best experiences I have ever had in a video game. Nanomachines, son.

Also Revengeance *is* actually a word. It's just antiquated as hell because using revenge or vengeance is way easier and makes a lot more sense.

 

[FPLOON]

I don't play FPSs... except for the Portal series and the Metroid Prime games...

I don't play sports games... except when Mario's in it... especially in soccer and tennis...

I think that's it... for now...

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

In general GTA never appealed to me, so until GTA V caught my interest I never gave it a thought. I tried GTA 4 when it became cheap in the wake of 5 coming out but I can see why people had issues with it and barely played it that much. So with the PC release of GTA V (I waited because the online appealed to both me and a friend, and the only way he could play it was on pc) I have found myself actually loving the Single and Multiplayer.

I also tried out the PS2 GTA's since i had my dads copies of 3 and Vice city, meh.

In general i dont like being the psyco evil character in games and really only Saints Row 3 and 4 and GTA V have let me find fun in the usual way people might play those games, causing mayhem.

 

[Black Reaper]

I remember liking Mario Strikers when i was younger, it's a soccer game where you can tackle the other players, and the walls are electrified, so it's really satisfying tackling people into them

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

In general I hate loot based games like diablo. They are all grindy and annoying, but I make an exception for the borderlands games.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Tactical RPGs are kind of something I don't love. I dunno why, it might have something to do with me being absolute shite at them, and I love JRPGs (to an extent), but a whole fucking lot of them are grid-based tactical games that have some hitch that I either don't have the patience or outright don't have the competence (yeah, I don't mind admitting my short-comings) to learn.

Final Fantasy Tactics was the exception for me. I love that game; the job system was familiar enough to me to make the tactical aspect easier on my sensibilities, somehow, and the story was incredible. I mean, people can talk all day about that fancy 'M' that got attached to Type-0 for having blood and all, but FFT was the first truly 'mature' Final Fantasy game - dealing with the topic of war and everything that goes along with it (especially displacement by war) probably far better than any other JRPG ever has since then.

 

[Sarge034]

I hate the mindless grind of MMOs, but I like SWTOR. Its' emphasis on story really draws me in. I do need to be playing with friends though, the RP really brings the encounters to life. Like on one server, I play a sith warrior and my buddy plays an imperial agent... who hates sith. Things get fun. XD

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I'm not a dungeon crawl/loot based grinder fan, but I do enjoy Dragon's Crown, and not just cause the artwork is fun to look at. I'm also generally not a fan of many sports games (basketball being a sort of exception) but if it's like Mutant League Football, NBA Jam, etc. with some wacky alterations and more about fun than simulation, I'll give it a chance.

 

[Godhead]

I tend to not play games in foreign languages, but I play the Metro games in Ukrainian.

 

[Starbird]

I despise 'realistic' modern shooters, but Spec Ops 2: The Line balanced it with a mindbending story, excellent writing and one of the best endings ever.

Welcome to Dubai!

 

[TranshumanistG]

I usually dislike old-style graphical adventure games with controls like in the original Leisure Suit Larry, where you make the character walk with the directional keys but control interaction via a text parser. I enjoy point-n-click games and some IF text games, but this combination just feels like a Frankenstein's monster where two different approaches to player input were forcefully fused together. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Yahtzee's Trilby's notes. Might be because it felt somehow simplified in comparison to those old games or because the visuals and other atmospheric elements as well as the story made me immersed enough to ignore the inconvenience.

 

[sageoftruth]

I'm not that into bullet hell shooters, but I enjoyed Radiant Silvergun. It provided a plethora of different weapons which were all usable from the start, which gave it more strategy than simply "Watch your hit box and don't let the bullets touch it". I especially loved the sword, which could absorb projectiles to power up a screen-clearing attack.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I'm not generally fond of puzzle-solving games. That said, I absolutely love Portal and Portal 2. I can look past the puzzle gameplay though because of how amusing the writing is. I was laughing my ass off from start to finish with both of them.