Unpopular positive opinions

[Heron]

No genre falls shorter from what they should be than JRPGs, which are, by and large, terrible.

The core elements of a JRPG should be: interesting plots, good characters with good growth arcs, meaningful character ability decisions and challenging battles.

Instead what you get is a bunch of tropey, sexualised teen characters out to kill god, no meaningful choices (as you can typically get all abilities anyway) and 90% of the battles are trash mob "press A to win" wastes of time. God, the time wasting. So many of these games take 60-100 hours when they could say what they want to say in 30.

I *want* to like them. I always have. But I can't.

Spoiler: JRPG fans don't click here

Persona 5 is the worst

Spoiler: Click for hypocrisy

I love Xenoblade Chronicles 2 because is so outrageously blantant about all these tropes that it loops around and becomes entertaining again

 

[Heruderu]

LA Noire is way more fun than any GTA ever made.

 

[Apopheniac]

The error of framing accessibility discourse around recognized disability is that many of the types of processing/reflex deficiencies that cause people to struggle to play games aren't diagnosed or recognized as disabilities because they don't impede a person's ability to generate profit for capital. The distinction of formal disability is meaningless in the context of video games and it's pointless to use it as a basis to split hairs about what easy/accessibility modes/toggles should or shouldn't include.

 

[karmitt]

See I was with you until the second sentence

MPT honestly hasn't aged visually at all (I've been playing through it for the first time)

I didn't expect my opinion to be popular >:]

I'll give you that they've aged better than many, and I don't meant to say they're unplayable in any way - but a basic remastered trilogy on Switch had zero appeal to me. prime remake on the other hand is damn near the top of my most wanted

 

[Oheao]

The PS1 is better than the N64

 

[condesachocula]

Majora's Mask is overrated.
Too dark, too similar to OoT, and even the 3DS remake hasnt aged well.
The more I play it, the more I dislike it.

 

[NarohDethan]

More games should be like Stranger of Paradise, ie shockly low budget edgy shit

 

[Reinhard Schneider]

The PS1 is better than the N64

That's not controversial though.

Even as a N64 fan, there's shit i just can't deny

 

[AngryAlchemist]

Many GCN (and Wii) games have aged poorly visually, and I’d prefer remakes over remasters 9 times out of 10.

Yea this is about Metroid Prime Trilogy.

See an unpopular opinion that I have that is somewhat tangentially related but not exactly the same is that Gamecube games often aged much better than Wii games. There's just something about the darker lighting, higher saturation and larger contrast between colors that I believe to be more aesthetically pleasing generally.

Before Galaxy HD, more often than not if you showed me direct capture of Mario Sunshine vs Mario Galaxy I would always say Sunshine was the better looking game. Even some games like Metroid Prime 3, where it is clear the visual fidelity increased pretty heavily over the original game, the originals choice of colors has hidden the outdated textures a lot more imo.

 

[FiveOVER]

I had many problems with the gameplay... In fact, since I was expecting the plot, I just ignored it, so what I got was just a barebones action game. I agree that it could lead to a better game but gameplay would need to be reconsidered. And I'm not even taking about the two different control schemes!

Edit: sorry for the double post.

I don't think the barebones action gameplay can be disassociated from the control scheme. I would argue that it is a direct consequence of the limited buttons on the sideways wii-mote. Unlike 2D, a 3D action gameplay simply suffers when constrained to such a limited number of button inputs. As a result, too many actions have to be automated and player agency is diminished.

Moreover, moving around in Other M with the wii-mote d-pad was murder on my thumbs.

 

[Cahedron]

The PS1 is better than the N64

Title says unpopular, poor 64 didnt even have rpgs

 

[WonderLuigi]

I don't think the barebones action gameplay can be disassociated from the control scheme. I would argue that it is a direct consequence of the limited buttons on the sideways wii-mote. Unlike 2D, a 3D action gameplay simply suffers when constrained to such a limited number of button inputs. As a result, too many actions have to be automated and player agency is diminished.

Moreover, moving around in Other M with the wii-mote d-pad was murder on my thumbs.

I can see that. Funnily enough, I played it with a DS4 on Dolphin. lol. It looks clean in HD.

 

[Terrell]

Smash is a bloated mess, and I'm not talking about the character roster.
The core gameplay is great, and while I have some opinions on characters (FE is over-represented, there's no denying it, but I'm not outright offended by it), what I mean is that it's loaded to the brim with gatcha mechanics and side-modes that really only serve to facilitate them. Home Run Contest is fine... for a while. But the game forces me to go back to it to unlock a piece of music I want to hear in my favourite stage. It forces me to beat the game on Difficulty 9 with a character I don't want to play as, just for a trinket. Really, the game is structured like a pay-to-win game, and it's only by the good graces of Nintendo and Sakurai that we can't buy Golden Hammers.

It may be a celebration of gaming, but like all games with gatcha mechanics, it deeply DEEPLY disrespects my time to enjoy more than half of it, funneling me back into parts of the game I grow to loathe by association. The core gameplay is great, but it puts so much effort into stealing my time just to better enjoy it later that I feel is unnecessary.

 

[Guaraná]

I had more fun with Sega Saturn than with Nintendo 64.

Dreamcast is overrated.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

I think I like how the best looking 6th gen and Wii games look more than how PS3/360 games look. The latter went hard on realistic looking graphics but I don't think the hardware was quite there yet to do them well, with only a handful holding up, if you ask me. But 6th gen and Wii games have a much more stylized look to them and I find that that allows them to hold up better or at least have their flaws not detract from the experience as much. All they really need is a remaster with improved resolution and textures and they'd be good to go on modern TVs

 

[Sejes]

I dont know if these opinions are controversial, but super metroid & chibi robo are perfect games.

Breath of the wild is the most overrated Zelda, most of the game is dull, the dungeons are uninspired and copy and paste, the overworld is too empty and boring, and the side quests (korok seeds) are the most waste of time quests in gaming.

awe

1. I think Digital Foundry is one of the worst things to happen to gaming despite being an enthusiast and loving the tech behind hardware and software and enjoying the presenters.

It’s peak internet hyperbole now and nothing but console warring fodder these days, to the point that I see too many people miss out on a good game. Worse is when someone says a game feels great to play or looks nice and the retort is “I’ll wait for digital foundry”. “Game dropped some frames. Trash”. If I had a dime for every time someone utters “looks rough” I’d be rich.

It’s not the content they make but the domino effect it created within the gaming community.

2. I enjoy actually playing video games.

as someone who is a gamer but not a tech head i appreciate their breakdowns, ive learned a lot.

and i like how their reviews are actually insightful game critique too. for instance their metroid dread breakdown had interesting perspective on european game design influence.

 

[xsquiddox]

Waluigi for smash bros.
It's mostly a meme and while it would be nice imagine if it was Waluigi instead of Sora for the final Smash Utimate character.

 

[OTBWY]

I don't think Megalovania is a good track. Tbh I don't like Toby Fox's Pokemon SW/SH entry either.

 

[excelsior]

Overall I like Chrono Trigger, but I sympathize with your opinion. I’ve never quite understood its status as the greatest JRPG or one of the greatest games of all time. Individually there’s a lot I like about it, like the art style, soundtrack, combat, and general atmosphere, but I found the characters kind of slight and wasn’t terribly invested in Lavos as a central villain. Solid game, I dislike the term overrated so I’m not going to call it that, but I can think of many JRPGs I prefer.

The problem with terms like 'overrated' is they come from an expectation that everybody's going to enjoy the same thing which has never proven to be true. Video games may have started in a niche area where many products were meant to appeal to similar audiences but as the medium has matured so has it's ability to capture more diverse audiences. No game is for everyone and so when something like Chrono Trigger is put on a pedestal it seems to be without the understanding that there will now be a greater diversity of perspectives on the experience it offers.

For my particular reasonings on the game itself, I agree with you that the characterisation is lacking - I certainly didn't feel I connected with the characters. I also found the time travel element lacking in it's presentation as there wasn't a great deal of scope there. Both of those I think can be explained by the limited storage capacity available. On top of that the combat is something I didn't engage with. There's a presentation of enemy's being positioned in the battlefield in a way where you might have to strategise, but it's never really utilised in the enemy design. You're also given a good amount of special attacks as the game continues, but they're really more about flash than adding depth to your range of options, with many being simple 'do even more damage' replacements to those previously earned. So you end up with a range of options, but the biggest issue there is there really isn't a reason to use them. The combat is simply so easy that you can mash 'a' to win for normal enemy encounters (I played it this way exactly), without fear of losing. Bosses are do your highest attack and have one healer. I found nothing more to it than that. Now, don't get me wrong there are plenty of 16bit RPGs that are similar in that, and I don't expect high strategy gameplay either - but when there's turn based combat I do expect some reason to think about what attacks I'm selecting if I'm to enjoy the gameplay.

I think this simplicity though has a lot to do with why the game is so popular. The combat is undaunting. whilst being presented in cinematic way that adds a feeling of dynamic - and this cinematic style of presentation is found throughout the game. Of course the music adds a great deal to that as well as the artwork. I think this combination of presentation, easy, yet flashy combat, as well as offering a shorter adventure with no need for grinding allowed more people to enjoy it who may not ordinarily play JRPGs. It would make an ideal gateway into the genre for sure. One of my own problems is that I'd played many JRPG's before Chrono Trigger which I think have learned and evolved the genre, but also that I'm an enthusiast for a more enriching experience in the interactive elements such as combat, whereas I believe many are content with something simple that excels in presentation.

 

[Christo750]

I have another one that I was thinking of yesterday, though IDK how "unpopular" it is now.

Horizon Zero Dawn is incredibly *standard*. The hype for it only lives off its visuals. Ghosts of Tsushima, same thing.

 

[MrFlibble]

Single player first person shooters are universally terrible and seem to have got progressively worse each generation. Back when they were starting out we got big, open levels with multiple routes like Doom and Quake, stuff like Goldeneye introduced more missions objectives with harder difficulties and now we get point and click long, corridor shooters with brain-dead enemies. Given how much gaming has advanced in the last 20+ years, I can't believe how much first person shooters have regressed.

 

[Uniomni]

No genre falls shorter from what they should be than JRPGs, which are, by and large, terrible.

The core elements of a JRPG should be: interesting plots, good characters with good growth arcs, meaningful character ability decisions and challenging battles.

Instead what you get is a bunch of tropey, sexualised teen characters out to kill god, no meaningful choices (as you can typically get all abilities anyway) and 90% of the battles are trash mob "press A to win" wastes of time. God, the time wasting. So many of these games take 60-100 hours when they could say what they want to say in 30.

I *want* to like them. I always have. But I can't.

Spoiler: JRPG fans don't click here

Persona 5 is the worst

Spoiler: Click for hypocrisy

I love Xenoblade Chronicles 2 because is so outrageously blantant about all these tropes that it loops around and becomes entertaining again

Agree with you 3000%.

The league of distance between jrpgs 20ish years ago vs now is daunting, and it largely doesn't come out in favor of the ones today.

 

[Oheao]

That's not controversial though.

Even as a N64 fan, there's shit i just can't deny

Title says unpopular, poor 64 didnt even have rpgs

And here I thought I was making a controversial statement for this website

 

[The Giant]

Sonic games have never been good.

 

[OTBWY]

And here I thought I was making a controversial statement for this website

I am 100% there with you when it comes to RPGs alone. Theres no competition. However, there are just certain games on the N64 that I think were groundbreaking and industry changing that for me go beyond just the love I have for rpgs. So it's kinda yes and no for me.

 

[SlipperyFishes]

The Last of Us is an over rated game with terrible AI that leans too much into cover shooter mechanics.

 

[SlipperyFishes]

3D Sonic games have never been good.

Correction

 

[Raccoon]

LA Noire is way more fun than any GTA ever made.

LA Noire is an awesome game with a great campaign

 

[Reinhard Schneider]

And here I thought I was making a controversial statement for this website

Well, we're all gamers here. While N64 had some genre defining and a lot of generation defining games, Playstation had more game and genre variety, and it was a more balanced hardware.

Subjectively speaking, i prefer the N64 by a country mile, objectively? Playstation had the advantage

 

[Yzz]

Well, we're all gamers here. While N64 had some genre defining and a lot of generation defining games, Playstation had more game and genre variety, and it was a more balanced hardware.

Subjectively speaking, i prefer the N64 by a country mile, objectively? Playstation had the advantage

In my country, and I assume in many others, the n64 was the cool console with the cool games, and the psx was the console your parents got you because it was cheaper. I think that's the reason why saying psx > n64 seems weird to some people.

Even to this day, a lot of 90s kids don't care about psx classics like SoTN, FFVII, even MGS1.

 

[Brock Reiher]

Sonic Forces is the best 3D Sonic since SA2, and is a better/more accurate celebration of the series than Sonic Generations

 

[Clix]

The PS1 is better than the N64

That's not controversial though.

Even as a N64 fan, there's shit i just can't deny

I’ll up you two even one more.

Sega Saturn > N64 and PS1

And I’m saying that despite OoT and MM being my favorite games of that generation.

 

[Apopheniac]

There are no unpopular opinions about JRPGs. Every single possible critique or criticism has been made already. The genre has been debated to death.

 

[NabiscoFelt]

There are no unpopular opinions about JRPGs. Every single possible critique or criticism has been made already. The genre has been debated to death.

Unpopular opinion: JRPGs good

 

[Mekanos]

The PS1 undeniably has a bigger and more varied library than the N64, but I'd probably take the top 5 N64 games over the top 5 PS1 games. It's close!

Generally speaking I feel like PS1 had a lot of really solid isometric and 2D games but its 3D games have not held up as well on average as the N64's.

 

[NarohDethan]

I have another one that I was thinking of yesterday, though IDK how "unpopular" it is now.

Horizon Zero Dawn is incredibly *standard*. The hype for it only lives off its visuals. Ghosts of Tsushima, same thing.

Those are prettier Ubisoft games but people treat them like they’re something special lol

 

[lightning16]

Alright already seeing a lot of unpopular JRPG opinions so I'll be the one to say it: JRPGs today are better than ever. Funny enough, it's the absolute most popular JRPGs of today that disappoint me the most (current single-player Final Fantasy, Pokemon, and Persona 5) but basically everything else is strong at the moment. ~2013 through today is probably my favorite time for the genre. I still enjoy older JRPGs too and you can find lots of good 7's and 8's going back through the SNES from any era, but most of my personal 9+ types of games are from current times. I think the biggest thing JRPGs have really gotten better at over time is battle systems in particular. So many really great ones today.

 

[AquaWateria]

Jrpgs are better than ever and are actually far more entertaining than what Wrpgs offer these days.

Hollow Knight is worth 60 dollars and provides more content than most AAA titles in the industry.

 

[Jencks]

Most of what people consider "good" video game stories (or stories in general to be honest, many films and books suffer this as well) are bland, dull, and not worth the amount of time dedicated to them. More often than not they just come across as a sequence of events happening rather than an actual story crafted with greater meaning or themes in mind. Too much writing with too little intent.

 

[Shroomy]

DMC wasn’t that bad of a game. Yes, the story and it’s presentation…was a choice, but the actual gameplay was fine and even fun to play.

Kickmaster is an underrated classic made by Taito and deserves to be up on the Nintendo Online thingyma-bob and should get a remake.

 

[dman2000]

Most RPGs, especially action RPGs, range from mediocre to terrible.

 

[The Giant]

Correction

Nah mate, still wrong

 

[bellydrum]

Edit: jeez this was supposed to be a sarcastic thread

No genre falls shorter from what they should be than JRPGs, which are, by and large, terrible.

The core elements of a JRPG should be: interesting plots, good characters with good growth arcs, meaningful character ability decisions and challenging battles.

Instead what you get is a bunch of tropey, sexualised teen characters out to kill god, no meaningful choices (as you can typically get all abilities anyway) and 90% of the battles are trash mob "press A to win" wastes of time. God, the time wasting. So many of these games take 60-100 hours when they could say what they want to say in 30.

I *want* to like them. I always have. But I can't.

Spoiler: JRPG fans don't click here

Persona 5 is the worst

Spoiler: Click for hypocrisy

I love Xenoblade Chronicles 2 because is so outrageously blantant about all these tropes that it loops around and becomes entertaining again

I disliked this post until your last spoiler lol

 

[hologram]

Popular opinion: these kinds of threads were the worst part of Era and will likely be the worst part of Famiboards, too

EDIT: This was posted before the thread title changed. Before, it was "Unpopular gaming opinions" which of course tends to attract negative opinions. This positive version of the thread is great!

 

[mentok15]

Sonic > Mario.

 

[NabiscoFelt]

Someone should make a popular opinions thread

 

[Terrell]

The PS1 undeniably has a bigger and more varied library than the N64, but I'd probably take the top 5 N64 games over the top 5 PS1 games. It's close!

Generally speaking I feel like PS1 had a lot of really solid isometric and 2D games but its 3D games have not held up as well on average as the N64's.

That, and the PS1 is one of those consoles that is a better experience through emulation primarily because of how much time was spent on loading screens on original hardware. Good gravy, you could sneeze while playing and end up waiting 10-30 seconds before you could play again on so many games. Going back to play these games on the actual hardware is an exercise in waiting to be entertained. And if you're playing a 3D game, you're not likely to be waiting for a well-aged experience.

 

[Glom]

Most of what people consider "good" video game stories (or stories in general to be honest, many films and books suffer this as well) are bland, dull, and not worth the amount of time dedicated to them. More often than not they just come across as a sequence of events happening rather than an actual story crafted with greater meaning or themes in mind. Too much writing with too little intent.

Finally, someone said it. The problem is people confuse story and plot. Plot is what happens but story is what it's about.

Which leads me on to my unpopular opinion: BOTW's story is good, actually. It doesn't have a lot of plot (or rather leaves that up to the player) but the story does something not so common in the series: it gives Link a need. Many games just have Link doing the thing without personal motivation because someone needs to. Some games, like Skyward Sword, give him the immediate task of rescuing a loved one, which is a personal motivation, but an external one.

But in BOTW, he is given a motivation of first finding out who he is (which is more than just having the Calamity Ganon plot explained to him), which then segues organically into making up for his failure and overcoming his burden as he achieves the first goal. It's the story of Link's journey to rediscover, rebuild and redeem himself.

It's more than just collect the plot coupons you don't care about, but oh no, plot twist, the plot coupons didn't work, so now you have to collect another set of plot coupons you don't care about.

Popular opinion: these kinds of threads were the worst part of Era and will likely be the worst part of Famiboards, too

The problem with threads likes this is that people interpret unpopular opinion as being not liking something popular rather than liking something unpopular.

 

[Yoshifan31]

There are no unpopular opinions about JRPGs. Every single possible critique or criticism has been made already. The genre has been debated to death.

Idk if it’s an unpopular opinion but like

Is it me or JRPGs are never really debated about their gameplay, people seem to solely prefer a game over another mostly based on things like story, characters and themes

For example the average FFIX fan will always gush about how it goes back to the medieval setting and it’s Sakaguchi’s favorite and the protagonist isn’t emo therefore it’s better than VII or VIII

But all three of those games are ATB RPGs where you learn skills by equiping things, you have multiple discs, you get huge story dumps during the last discs, you have a very important minigame, you have Chocobos and you have some kind of secret in the corner of the map. The three games are very similar, if you like one you should like the other two but people gotta be drama queens on the internet, they want to make other people know what kind of fan they are so they will often draw lines in the sand like this. Same thing with people that like SMT but dislike Persona, the games literally have the same battle and progression systems minus minor differences

 

[AquaWateria]

Idk if it’s an unpopular opinion but like

Is it me or JRPGs are never really debated about their gameplay, people seem to solely prefer a game over another mostly based on things like story, characters and themes

For example the average FFIX fan will always gush about how it goes back to the medieval setting and it’s Sakaguchi’s favorite and the protagonist isn’t emo therefore it’s better than VII or VIII

But all three of those games are ATB RPGs where you learn skills by equiping things, you have multiple discs, you get huge story dumps during the last discs, you have a very important minigame, you have Chocobos and you have some kind of secret in the corner of the map. The three games are very similar, if you like one you should like the other two but people gotta be drama queens on the internet, they want to make other people know what kind of fan they are so they will often draw lines in the sand like this. Same thing with people that like SMT but dislike Persona, the games literally have the same battle and progression systems minus minor differences

Naw the battle system isn’t the same at all with SMT and Persona. The press turn system in SMT completely changes the way you play the game. It’s far more challenging and intense compared to Persona imo. Having the ability to stack buffs with the enemy also having that ability changes the flow of the combat. It allows battles to either go by quick or long depending on how you utilize your attacks. Lastly SMT wants you to carefully analyze your opponent so you can make the right call. In fact there are times where dying is necessary in that it allows you to learn from your mistakes to make better calls when you fight the boss again. Nothing like that happens in Persona in fact buffs aren’t as vital as they are in SMT. A good example is the Matador fight in Nocturne as it’s basically the first real fight that teaches you what SMT is all about.

SMT is definitely a series where it’s gameplay is praised and talked about.