Games you wrote off before, but grew to love

[SuperGrafx]

Back in the waning days of the Dreamcast here in the States, it was not uncommon to walk into a Best Buy or EB store and find several NIB games for $4.99 - $9.99.
I took that opportunity to buy up all sorts of DC games, many which I played only once or twice and quickly shelved.

Just this weekend, I dusted off the old DC and pulled out Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness....a game I previously played, and thought I had nearly finished. Apparently, I missed so much on my first go through...and the pleasant surprises like bonus rounds, extra features, additional levels, etc. suddenly became apparent to me which sort of make this like a whole new game to me. The game also changes a bit once you acquire the witche's key, something I didn't do before.

Needless to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by this title now. I'm trying like mad to earn all those stars to unlock the last few levels! It's great fun to randomly pull a little-played game like this from the shelf only to discover the depth of gameplay hidden within! Sort of like buying a new game without the added expense! ;)

Anyone else have any recent examples of re-discovering a hidden gem that's been sitting right there in front of you?

[HHogan]

When Final Fantasy 7 came out, I bought it, played it for about 5 minutes. Died on the first robot guy while escaping the factory, and threw it on the shelf.

It wasn't until 4 years later or so that I actually sat down and played it non-stop for like 38 hours and passed it.

Afterwards I tried to play FF8, 9, and hated them both. But when 10 came out for PS2, I had to get it because it didn't have 83 discs with it, so needed to see what it was like. I loved 10 and 10-2, but never liked 11.

It's kind of hit and miss with me involving RPGs

[einbebop44]

Nothing that comes to mind. I either play a game like crazy (Halo 2, Age of Mythology), a decent amount (Madden 06) or verrrry, veeeeeeeery little to nothing (majority of the games I own). There's not really any in between. If I get bored of a game, I just stop playing it, simple as that. Which seems to happen a lot.

[Mark30001]

I remember when I was little when I first received Kirby's DreamCourse for the SNES. I hated it! But then every weekend, my mom and I would play the whole round of 2 player mode.

Great times there!...

[Mr. Casual]

The only games I can think of where I did that are FF2 and FF5. I used to rather dislike them, but grew to love them! 0_o

[Alien Workshop]

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. When I first played it I thought it was too hard. I hated it. However, after a while I started to understand the strategies within the game and I grew to love it. I was hooked. I ended up playing the game so much that I was able to beat it on the hardest setting without even flinching. Good times.

[SuperGrafx]

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. When I first played it I thought it was too hard. I hated it. However, after a while I started to understand the strategies within the game and I grew to love it. I was hooked. I ended up playing the game so much that I was able to beat it on the hardest setting without even flinching. Good times.

You know, I was just about to respond with that very same game!
heh...scary!
But yeah, once you got past the Tetris mentality and learned how to set up combos and chain reactions, talk about an addictive game!

[Mark30001]

Another game I used to hate was Super Mario Bros 3 in the Super Mario All-Stars SNES cart, because whenever I get to the level after the first castle, to the very end where there's a pipe going up, I would always get stuck there. Mainly because I would forget to hold the Up D-Pad button while jumping up. :(

It took years to learn...

[Fabrizo]

Only two that I can think of:

Sonic R - I was lent the game by a friend , and found that the tracks were far too limited, the controls sucked, and overall it wasn't much fun. A year or so later I realized that I still had the game (he had moved to another state), so it decided to try it out again. Now I think the controls are superb (just difficult to master/get used to), and the number of secrets in the game more then make up for the small number of tracks. It has become one of my favorite racing games of all time. To bad I still don't like the PC or 'Sonic Gems Collection' versions.

Jak II - I bought this game after it became a greatest hits, but before it became difficult to find black label versions on store shelfs. It sat collecting dust until the vacation I had about three months ago, at which point I opened and procceeded to try it out. I became absolutly engrosed by its plot, the characters, and the fantastic gameplay. Two days later I had beat the game, and quickly went out and bought Jak 3. I have sense beat it and completed nearly every side quest and found every secret in the game. I've also memorized and mastered every exploit and glitch that the game is known to have (none were used in the initial run through). I've pre-ordered Jak X, and Daxter is easily my most anticipated psp game, and possibly the only one that would get me to upgrade my ver1.5 to one thats not homebrew compatible.

[madhatter256]

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. At first, the game was too complicated for me, I was really into the RPGs that focused more on storyline than character development but that ended up changing as I started to pay attention more to what was going on and its one of my favorite games. Still trying to beat it (storyline wise, and without cheating). What sux though is that my gaming HDD broke (the one where i have all my games installed too), so I lost my 80+hour saves and I wasn't even halfway done with the main story line but I was just badass with my ebony spear.

[Mr. Casual]

Only two that I can think of:

Sonic R - I was lent the game by a friend , and found that the tracks were far too limited, the controls sucked, and overall it wasn't much fun. A year or so later I realized that I still had the game (he had moved to another state), so it decided to try it out again. Now I think the controls are superb (just difficult to master/get used to), and the number of secrets in the game more then make up for the small number of tracks. It has become one of my favorite racing games of all time. To bad I still don't like the PC or 'Sonic Gems Collection' versions.

Jak II - I bought this game after it became a greatest hits, but before it became difficult to find black label versions on store shelfs. It sat collecting dust until the vacation I had about three months ago, at which point I opened and procceeded to try it out. I became absolutly engrosed by its plot, the characters, and the fantastic gameplay. Two days later I had beat the game, and quickly went out and bought Jak 3. I have sense beat it and completed nearly every side quest and found every secret in the game. I've also memorized and mastered every exploit and glitch that the game is known to have (none were used in the initial run through). I've pre-ordered Jak X, and Daxter is easily my most anticipated psp game, and possibly the only one that would get me to upgrade my ver1.5 to one thats not homebrew compatible.

I need to get the Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank games. And Non-ripped/ destroyed versions, either. Dont ask. Lets just say someone was being a greedy moron.

[g_sepp]

I wrote off PGR before i fell in love with it.

[AlbinoLove]

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. At first, the game was too complicated for me, I was really into the RPGs that focused more on storyline than character development but that ended up changing as I started to pay attention more to what was going on and its one of my favorite games. Still trying to beat it (storyline wise, and without cheating). What sux though is that my gaming HDD broke (the one where i have all my games installed too), so I lost my 80+hour saves and I wasn't even halfway done with the main story line but I was just badass with my ebony spear.
Man I always have loved that game. You know you can get most of your characters stat and equipment back easily through the command prompt-like cheating system it has. You can find the commands to get your stuff back on any cheat site. About the storyline though, I dont think you will be able to get that back.

[madhatter256]

Man I always have loved that game. You know you can get most of your characters stat and equipment back easily through the command prompt-like cheating system it has. You can find the commands to get your stuff back on any cheat site. About the storyline though, I dont think you will be able to get that back.


Two hours into the game now and I'm already cheating :D.

[XerdoPwerko]

I used to say I hated FPSs, but then I tried Unreal Tournament 2003... and then Doom3, and then Doom (legacy), and then that Star Wars one... and now I love FPSs. For a while, that was the only thing I played, when I didn't have a PS2.

[Jasonkhowell]

I used to say I hated FPSs, but then I tried Unreal Tournament 2003... and then Doom3, and then Doom (legacy), and then that Star Wars one... and now I love FPSs. For a while, that was the only thing I played, when I didn't have a PS2.

Exact same. Since I didn't have a computer, I missed games like Doom and Duke Nukem when they first came out. I forgot what my first FPS was, but I remember really hating Metroid Prime when it came out. Eventually, I played games like Halo, Doom 3, and Half Life 1 and 2, which swayed by opinion greatly.

I dare say one game I did come back to was Tales of Symphonia. The game had a really slow start in the beginning, and wasn't that much fun to play at first. However, as the game's story and twist came around, it became better and better.

[madhatter256]

My first FPS was doom, but for the Sega 32x and god did I love that game. It was also the first 3D experience for me.

[Greatsaintlouis]

and then that Star Wars one...
Dark Forces. Man, I wish someone would do an update for that engine! :-D

The big two games I had written off were Metroid Prime and Half-Life 2. I initially wouldn't touch Metroid Prime with a 10-foot pole because it wasn't a 'traditional' Metroid game, i.e. in 2D. I finally bought a used copy from Gamestop and absolutely loved it.

Half-Life 2 I initially thought to be amazingly overhyped, due to the fact that I had just finished playing the (very glitchy) first installment and was in a bit of a Doom 3 fanboy mode. However, on a whim (and a generous amount of trade-in credit I had lying around), I got the collector's edition from Gamestop and flew through it in four nights. The amazing realism of the Source engine, the engaging story, and the variety of levels all have me salivating for Lost Coast and Aftermath while propelling HL2 to one of my top favorite PC games of all ever.

[Kittyhawk]

Secret of Evermore. I hated it so much at first because there was no two player mode like Secret of Mana. However, I got over it eventually and learned to love this Square USA gem. Great music, beautiful graphics, and wonderful bosses. Each world was better than the next; I especially loved the Roman inspired level.

Now I want to go play it again. O_o;;

[sayin999]

i was the same way with sonic r, though i didnt really like it till i played the cube pc port on sonic gems, go figure, but yeah once you get the controll down it seem perfect, though its very short. Another serise i use to wriet off was virua fighter serise, but for some reason when i got saturn i grew to love it, i still think vf4 evo is one of the best damn fighting games ever made, i rank it higher then soul cal 2.

[XerdoPwerko]

Dark Forces. Man, I wish someone would do an update for that engine! :-D

The big two games I had written off were Metroid Prime and Half-Life 2. I initially wouldn't touch Metroid Prime with a 10-foot pole because it wasn't a 'traditional' Metroid game, i.e. in 2D. I finally bought a used copy from Gamestop and absolutely loved it.


Jedi Knight II is also very good, though I find it hard in some points, since, after all, I have zero experience with FPS. Metroid Prime was sort of the same case for me. I absolutely love Super Metroid, with a passion, and was really disappointed while no new Metroid came out. Fusion and Zero Mission, I liked a lot, but I was very upset that an american studio was making an FPS out of Metroid. Boy, was I wrong - I played it once, and for just a short while, and was absolutely amazed. I still do not own it but I'm getting a system to run it, just for that game (and F-Zero). I need those games...

Come to think of it, and if I recall correctly, I didn't exactly like Super Metroid the first time I played it. Having never played the original Metroid, and being a 16 bit game addict back in 1994, I sort of expected an action-platformer, like Mega Man or something. Once I got used to the rhythm of play and the absolutely gigantic world, and the free exploration (Super Metroid was probably one of the first, and still one of the only, games to get that right), I was absolutely hooked. Hell, I still play Super Metroid to this day, regularly.

[Taemos]

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. At first, the game was too complicated for me, I was really into the RPGs that focused more on storyline than character development but that ended up changing as I started to pay attention more to what was going on and its one of my favorite games. Still trying to beat it (storyline wise, and without cheating). What sux though is that my gaming HDD broke (the one where i have all my games installed too), so I lost my 80+hour saves and I wasn't even halfway done with the main story line but I was just badass with my ebony spear.

I didn't really care for Morrowind. It was fun for a few months, but I found the main quest boring and the game just didn't do anything for me after my character was at godlike levels. I say try out Arena (free download at Bethesda's site) and Daggerfall if you don't mind older games. Daggerfall is my favorite, but you'll be paying a fair bit for that one if you decide to buy it.

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is one of my favorite games. I never played much of the first one, and the sequel (Jedi Outcast) is dissappointing.

I was skeptical about Katamari Damacy after my friend told me what it was about, but I started playing it at his house one night. I went out a bought a copy for myself the next day :).

[Mr. Casual]

I used to not like FPSs, either, but I grew to like them, mainly because of Goldeneye 64.

[XerdoPwerko]

I used to not like FPSs, either, but I grew to like them, mainly because of Goldeneye 64.

Now that's a game that never grew on me. I don't like Mario Kart either, any of its iterations. I loved Killer Instinct when I got it, but ended up hating it and avoiding it like the plague.
The N64 itself, I grew to love recently. I never really did have one (yup, I'm part of the "Nintendo to Sony" bandwagon) until about a year ago, but some years ago I borrowed my friend's machine and it wasn't that bad. I love StarFox 64, and Rogue Squadron on it, and, of course, F-Zero X - games I never would have owned or even played because of the system, some years ago (Even if I did own and love the Super Nes versions of StarFox and F-Zero).

[Alien Workshop]

You know, I was just about to respond with that very same game!
heh...scary!
But yeah, once you got past the Tetris mentality and learned how to set up combos and chain reactions, talk about an addictive game!

Hell yeah, I used to string about 6 or 7 hit combos. One thing I really liked about the game was the enemies. Their animations were some times hilarious [a lot of times stupid]. My favorite guy was spike, "because I'm gonna STICK IT TO YA" :smt042

[PhantasyStar]

I recently started playing Neverwinter Nights after writing it off for about 2 years. I really love the game now, especially being evil to the peasants. :)

[arsenal]

Ultimate blasphemy: Final fantasy III (SNES) ME: "What is this game you keep playing all the time?! (puzzled look) Soon I was hooked like a tuna.

[Cotu]

so many of the games i love today i wrote off when i first played them, a lot of the time it happens when i play, say game x, don't really care for it, then play another similar game or another one in the same series and then go back to game x and love it the second time around.
here are three that come to mind:

megaman legends/rockman dash: before i played it all i knew of the game was that it was in 3d so i was expecting a game that followed the previous series formula; pick a stage and fight a boss. what i found really just confused the hell out of me. i didn't appreciate this one until i played the second. it was the only megaman series were i really payed attention to the story, and before playing the second one a lot of the first really didn't make sense to me. first i couldn't tell what rock was, was he a robot? human? i think it was because i was dwelling on this, and how the series related on the others, was what really distracted me from the rest of the game. anyway things became much clearer after the second where you learn what rock is and how he came to be, that's when all the events in the first one come together and make sense. i now love this series, and think it's quite imaginative in contrast to the others and how it's related, as keiji inafune has stated the game does in fact take place in the normal timeline, just really far ahead in the future (classic, x, zero, dash).

ikaruga: when i first played it i felt like it was too much puzzle game and not enough shooter. i sucked at chaining, so after a lot of frustration at one point i stopped trying and just decided to blast everything i saw and beat the game, that way i felt like i could move onto another game (i like to at least finish a game before i move onto another) i didn't come back to the game for nearly a year, but the second time around was when i began noticing more and more places were i could improve on chains, and better ways to keep them, and that's when the game really became fun for me.

nights: i played it the week it came out at blockbuster for about an hour before an employee told me to rent something or get out. i wasn't crazy about it because at first i apparently sucked at it, because i couldn't get better than a c rank on any of the stages. i later bought the game several years later, and sucked at it again at first, but then i noticed you could fly over the gate after you destroy that octopus looking thingy you need to destroy on each level, and it turned out i just didn't realize that you were supposed to keep on going thru the level collecting points until the time ran out, ha i felt soo noob for that.

[Mr. Casual]

I used to not like Mystical Ninja starring Goemon for the N64, but it was so hilarious that I started to love it!
Here is a sample of the bizzare humor from that game...
http://www.rpgclassics.com/~onlinelife/Impact.html

[AntiPasta]

nights:

Exactly the same with me. Initially, I was a bit disappointed with it, but now it's my favourite game of all time.