Your Unpopular Video Game Opinions

[Tactician Karina]

Mostly FE opinions again, though some other game opinions as well:

While I do agree that Kliff is great in any class, and I know people enjoy him as a mage (which makes sense in Gaiden/SoV don't get me wrong), but I actually liked him more in the cavalier class tbh.

I hope the kitsune and wolfskin race return in future FE games, even if they are considered overused and unoriginal tropes/archetypes (though honestly, FE isn't even all that original in it's fantasy anyway, so why complain about it lol)

Pelleas is severely underrated in Radiant Dawn.

Takumi isn't all that great of a character in Fates. While I do like that he doesn't go into blind adoration of Corrin like other characters (well Saizo too) do and is great compared to other archers in the series (as the class itself isn't all that great, but I still love using them lol) even if he drops off later on towards endgame, that's all he has going for him and I personally can't see how he is so great outside of the two points I mentioned. I consider him a poor man's Shinon from PoR/RD, as I think Shinon does the jerkass personality a lot better.

I actually like leveling up my units to lv.20 before promoting them. This is one of many reasons why I see people hating on GotHW, but then again I do like grinding in video games in general so. But having the option to promote earlier is nice too.

I actually don't mind FE lords having blue hair, sure seeing other hair colors for lords is nice too, but I don't think it's so bad that any other future lord after Three Houses could potentially have blue hair. (then again I like blue, so I'm biased lol)

Some Touhou fans hype up the characters powers/abilities too much, some are cool yeah, but I don't think any of the 2hu girls are any stronger than any other fictional character with similar powers/abilities.

I like that Seychelles is the playable character in Gakuen Hetalia Portable, compared to having a faceless avatar-like girl like most other female oriented VN's have. The game gave her better development compared to her other minor/brief appearances, and I think she gets too much hate. It's to the point where people even disliked her in the webcomic and anime itself.

 

[prog rocker]

I'm just tired of Pokemon because I'm tired. The staleness certainly does play into that, but it's not the only thing. I think I'm just at that point now where I'm moving on to other games. I don't even pay attention to new announcements anymore. These days I find myself a lot more invested in other monster-catching RPGs like Yo-Kai Watch.

Is Yo-Kai Watch that better than Pokémon? The inability to have attacks that are not the default, the excessive amount of Jibanyan clones, the excessive amount of puns and the Spanish version were massive turn-offs for me. Sure, I play in English, but after seeing some episodes from the anime in LA Spanish I can say that maybe Yo-Kai Watch is not for me...

EDIT: I realized later that my post sounded combative, which is not what I intended. I guess this is what happens when you are extremely tired to think straight, but not enough to be sleepy. I apologize for that.

 

[Blockhead Pippi]

Yeah it did sounded combative, frankly.

I get that Yo-Kai Watch isn't for everyone, and when the localization of the first game was announced I was skeptic too. But I gave it a try and found that I really enjoyed it. So much in fact that I bought every game released in English so far (save for one version) and even the manga of it. It has its flaws (namely the horrendous RNG but I've experienced far worse cases of that in other games; looking at you Dragon Ball Fusions), but I genuinely found it to be a good and highly enjoyable series. I certainly find it to be a lot more engaging than Pokemon at least.

And the excessive Jibanyan clones can be explained simply because Jibanyan is supposed to be an unique, one-of-a-kind Yo-Kai that became popular enough for them to make variations of. I wasn't fond of the reskins/recolors at first either, but frankly, that's YKW's style. Tons of RPGs have recolored enemies and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Moving on now.

I love the Generation 1 games, but they're a broken heap. They're buggy. The type imbalance is utterly ridiculous. And the mechanics are all over the place. And I'm not afraid to say any of those things. No game is perfect and some of the most critically-acclaimed games have really not aged well whatsoever. I still love Generation 1 and it'll always remain my top favorite, but I can at least acknowledge that it is far from perfect. Oh so very far from perfect.

 

[prog rocker]

Yeah it did sounded combative, frankly.

I get that Yo-Kai Watch isn't for everyone, and when the localization of the first game was announced I was skeptic too. But I gave it a try and found that I really enjoyed it. So much in fact that I bought every game released in English so far (save for one version) and even the manga of it. It has its flaws (namely the horrendous RNG but I've experienced far worse cases of that in other games; looking at you Dragon Ball Fusions), but I genuinely found it to be a good and highly enjoyable series. I certainly find it to be a lot more engaging than Pokemon at least.

And the excessive Jibanyan clones can be explained simply because Jibanyan is supposed to be an unique, one-of-a-kind Yo-Kai that became popular enough for them to make variations of. I wasn't fond of the reskins/recolors at first either, but frankly, that's YKW's style. Tons of RPGs have recolored enemies and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Moving on now.

I love the Generation 1 games, but they're a broken heap. They're buggy. The type imbalance is utterly ridiculous. And the mechanics are all over the place. And I'm not afraid to say any of those things. No game is perfect and some of the most critically-acclaimed games have really not aged well whatsoever. I still love Generation 1 and it'll always remain my top favorite, but I can at least acknowledge that it is far from perfect. Oh so very far from perfect.

Yeah, which is why I'm sorry. It's one of those things you type and then you wonder why did you word it that way. Typing while being sleepy makes me sound terribly grumpy.

I forgot mentioning among the flaws of Yo-Kai Watch the RNG that you mentioned and the Crank-a-kai which I find unfair, although apparently they more or less fixed the second.

Palette swaps are not necessary a bad thing, I recognize that. However, I do have a thing against mascots that are shoven down your throat at every opportunity coughPikachu*cough. In fact, I dislike Jibanyan for more or less the same reasons as Pikachu.

Maybe I'll give it another try at another time.

I agree completely with what you said about Gen I, except that I would rank it the lowest in my case. Having replayed Yellow recently made me think that I would not touch that game again if it wasn't because I'm doing an only one Pokémon challenge that involves beating all the games with all the evolution families. Also, the music is kinda high-pitched at times to the point I can understand more or less why the Lavender Town creepypasta exists.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Eliwood > Hector >>> Lyn as far as the Fire Emblem 7 lords go.

Eliwood always seems to get the short end of the stick from a lot of FE fans and even from the devs at times (just look at Fire Emblem Heroes and which two lords have a legendary form and which one doesn't), but I liked him as the "softest" of the three protagonists. He was the most open to showing his emotions and he's just such a sweet guy that how could you not like him, you know? Lyn has a cool design and I know is kind of a "waifu" for people and I don't dislike her by any means, but you could just cut her from the Eliwood/Hector story and little would even have to change, it's just hard to care about her as a main character when that's the case, at least for me.

I love the Generation 1 games, but they're a broken heap. They're buggy. The type imbalance is utterly ridiculous. And the mechanics are all over the place. And I'm not afraid to say any of those things. No game is perfect and some of the most critically-acclaimed games have really not aged well whatsoever. I still love Generation 1 and it'll always remain my top favorite, but I can at least acknowledge that it is far from perfect. Oh so very far from perfect.

Part of why I also love Gen 1 is how rough the games are, honestly. They may be mechanically worse than all that followed them, but there's something about how things are imbalanced and how the game seems to be held together with glue at times that makes it feel more... authentic? I don't know how to word it, but it's like the Pokemon equivalent of the Wild West vs the more established town on the East Coast at the time, where things weren't quite homogenized yet and it lacks that very commercial polish of a cash-cow franchise that the current games have. That's a horribly-explained metaphor, sorry aha... Obviously it's nice to have games that function like they're supposed to (lol at the error with Ghost-type in Gen 1, what a mess), but I have a blast whenever I go back to Yellow version because it has heart and character in its flaws to me.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Gen 1 was before my time, but I get some sort of vibe I can't quite explain from it. I think it's how Pokémon are presented as wild and mysterious. For some reason, Alakazam being considered one of the most intelligent Pokémon is a major source of this vibe.

Here's an unpopular opinion: Gen 1 designs aren't that bad as a whole. Everyone just cherry-picks the easy targets.

 

[prog rocker]

Here's an unpopular opinion: Gen 1 designs aren't that bad as a whole. Everyone just cherry-picks the easy targets.

People say that? I don't find the designs bad, either. In fact, it is one of the few things about Gen I that I still like.

 

[Tactician Karina]

Eliwood > Hector >>> Lyn as far as the Fire Emblem 7 lords go.

Eliwood always seems to get the short end of the stick from a lot of FE fans and even from the devs at times (just look at Fire Emblem Heroes and which two lords have a legendary form and which one doesn't), but I liked him as the "softest" of the three protagonists. He was the most open to showing his emotions and he's just such a sweet guy that how could you not like him, you know? Lyn has a cool design and I know is kind of a "waifu" for people and I don't dislike her by any means, but you could just cut her from the Eliwood/Hector story and little would even have to change, it's just hard to care about her as a main character when that's the case, at least for me.

His stats and boring personality are what cause him some hate from some western fans, which is also why I heavily prefer Roy over Eliwood (personality wise). That being said I do still like him and don't think he's that terrible of a lord like some believe, his design is quite nice and I think his support with Ninian is the best with Hector's support not too far behind (his Marcus support is alright as well, and Lyn's is meh, but that's about it). But yeah when you have previous lords that get more love than him, both in western and Japanese fanbase, and how he's not too different from some of them, Hector and Lyn are going to look better by comparison. Lyn also has the one up of having the tutorial route and being most FE fan's first lord, so some nostalgia and fondness are still gonna hang around.

People say that? I don't find the designs bad, either. In fact, it is one of the few things about Gen I that I still like.

Yes and quite often. It mostly started when some fans will say gen I designs are better than other gens designs, so people will make comparisons with Pokémon from various gens (mostly they'll pick gen V) and say so and so gen actually has detail, or actually looks like monsters etc. Honestly I'm indifferent to most gen I designs, there are some I really like and some I don't, but I don't think they're all bad or anything. There are a lot of faults in gen I, but I think designs are so far below that it's a minor complaint at best and like somebody else said, it's mostly cherry-picked Pokémon.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

People say that? I don't find the designs bad, either. In fact, it is one of the few things about Gen I that I still like.

Every discussion of Pokemon designs involves someone complaining about inanimate object Pokemon.

 

[prog rocker]

Every discussion of Pokemon designs involves someone complaining about inanimate object Pokemon.

Or anthropomorphic Pokémon.

 

[Poke Dragon]

Both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are overrated, they don't offer much on creative items. "But what about the Lens of Truth?", well, all it does is reveal hidden places, that's it, nothing special about it.

 

[prog rocker]

Not sure if unpopular: I don't like Sakura from Street Fighter. Her personality doesn't bother me, the problem is that it makes me feel like I'm a perv because every time she jumps, she shows her panties, something that makes me horribly uncomfortable.

Also: I don't like obvious fanservice characters, like R. Mika from Street Fighter, Morrigan (both the one from Dragon Age and the one from Darkstalkers), Mileena (Mortal Kombat), etc.

 

[Tactician Karina]

Takumi Nishijou is my favorite protagonist from the Science Adventure VNs. Takuru Miyashiro is not too far behind either as well.

I find Key's earlier VNs character designs to be ugly imo.

Sain should be in FE Heroes.

Flora's death in FE Fates: Birthright wasn't sad at all to me.

The Shepherds militia in FE Awakening should've been more invested in the story. I did like the group dynamic they had in the earlier chapters, but I didn't like how they started falling off as the story progresses. One of the flaws and dislike I have for the game sadly.

I actually like Kris as an avatar in FE New Mystery of the Emblem. I know I mentioned this one a while back, but I'll expand a bit more. I like seeing Marth from a different point of view, and it just reaffirms my likeness for the character. Also, they have an amazing friendship.

Deen >>> Sonya in Gaiden/SoV. Nothing against Sonya, she's cool and her design in both games is neat and yeah she has a bit more involvement in the story, but I find Deen to be more cool looking. Especially with his design upgrade from Gaiden to SoV, also having more myrmidons in the party isn't bad at all.

 

[hanecco]

Gen 1 was before my time, but I get some sort of vibe I can't quite explain from it. I think it's how Pokémon are presented as wild and mysterious. For some reason, Alakazam being considered one of the most intelligent Pokémon is a major source of this vibe.

I'm also way after Gen 1's time.
That's something I particularly like about the older Pokemon games (Gen 1 - Gen 4, the feeling decreasing as you go further down the line). It makes the game feel more like an adventure that could be potentially dangerous, rather than... I don't know. A somewhat bland excuse for you to steamroll the gym leaders and League? That's a rather harsh description, but oh well.

Now for some of my unpopular opinions.

I want more Pokemon games like BW (specifically BW) - those were my first Pokemon games, prior to which I knew just about nothing about Pokemon except "Pikachu? I think?"
BW actually tried to do something new and change up the franchise from the ground up. The boldest moves were probably to limit it to Unova pokemon only during the main story, and to have the story deal with a relatively controversial issue in the Pokemon world - whether or not Pokemon battling and ownership by humans is cruel. The setting also felt fantastically modern and fresh, showing us a different interpretation of the rural and small-towny worlds in the older games. This is why the new style of Pokemon designs actually fit with it, and feel out of place in more traditional regions like Kalos and Alola.

(The more recent attempts to change things have mostly been superficial or gimmicky, such as Megas/Z-Crystals, the move to 3D graphics, and so on.)

... You know, when I discovered the older games in the franchise, I wondered why each region didn't have its own unique set of pokemon like Unova did. I understand it's because the Gen1 - 4 regions are meant to be connected in some way.

• There is no good reason to play RS and DP over Emerald and Platinum, except nostalgia.
• DP are the absolute worst Pokemon games, due to their terrible dex and slow pacing.
• Pokemon games work well with heavy stories and without. Both approaches are great. I'd say this is unpopular since people tend to favour one over another.
• BW > B2W2. That's not to say B2W2 is bad, of course.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Soulcalibur III was the best Soulcalibur game. Mainly for the large amount of single-player content that was available, and for the fact that the story mode for each character was fun and I liked having two endings for each one (even if the only thing that decided which you got was a QTE at the end). Most characters had their best designs in that game too IMO, and the stages are cool. Since I don't play competitively, it never bothered me how unbalanced that installment in the series was. It also was the only one post-SC1 to lack a 3rd party character, and that makes me very happy since I don't like when they add those.

And one other quick one: I actually like QTEs in games. I like having to stay on guard and pay attention, it's like a fun kind of stress. As long as the game doesn't send you far back in progress (like, SUPER far back; I think RE4 always felt fair with how it handled things, for instance), I enjoy seeing them and think they got too much of a bad rap.

 

[Aulos]

@SnowyGlacier I agree with you entirely about B/W. I also put B/W over B2/W2 pretty much solely because of the main adventure only having new Pokemon. Prior to B/W, I was stuck in a circle of mostly using the same Pokemon I could always rely on since Gen I. B/W forced me to actually try new Pokemon, and I adored a lot of Pokemon from that generation, as well. B/W felt very refreshing for this reason.

 

[prog rocker]

Soulcalibur III was the best Soulcalibur game. Mainly for the large amount of single-player content that was available, and for the fact that the story mode for each character was fun and I liked having two endings for each one (even if the only thing that decided which you got was a QTE at the end). Most characters had their best designs in that game too IMO, and the stages are cool. Since I don't play competitively, it never bothered me how unbalanced that installment in the series was. It also was the only one post-SC1 to lack a 3rd party character, and that makes me very happy since I don't like when they add those.

And one other quick one: I actually like QTEs in games. I like having to stay on guard and pay attention, it's like a fun kind of stress. As long as the game doesn't send you far back in progress (like, SUPER far back; I think RE4 always felt fair with how it handled things, for instance), I enjoy seeing them and think they got too much of a bad rap.

Well, I think QTE can be good depending on the game and how they are implemented. For example, in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm the timing was pretty strict, and the commands generally had around 8 buttons each, and if you failed them you lost health, meaning you had to start the whole battle over. Doesn't help that difficulty settings didn't affect them, making things frustrating.

Worse, sometimes you had to do various in a row, with the second boss having around 24 button presses.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Well, I think QTE can be good depending on the game and how they are implemented. For example, in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm the timing was pretty strict, and the commands generally had around 8 buttons each, and if you failed them you lost health, meaning you had to start the whole battle over. Doesn't help that difficulty settings didn't affect them, making things frustrating.

Worse, sometimes you had to do various in a row, with the second boss having around 24 button presses.

Yeah, when they're implemented in a way that you have to redo a lot of stuff, then I see the issue with them. I had the first Naruto: Ultimate Ninja game on PS2 and thought the QTE button prompts were fun in whatever the super attacks were called, but I don't think you lost health in that game (I think it just did less damage), which seems like a good way to handle it compared to the situation you describe, which does sound annoying to deal with. I feel like modern games are better about it and have made them enjoyable more often than PS2/early PS3-era games were, when there were more "press X not to die"-type things.

 

[Tactician Karina]

PvP >>>>> Front Line in Touken Ranbu, simply put it's better to have battles where swords don't break, especially if you want to train a certain character. (also bless any player that keep low level swords as their primary group, it's nice getting those koban bonuses)

Bentley has better gameplay inputs compared to the other playable side characters in Spyro: Year of the Dragon. With Agent 9 being too stiff and kind of difficult.

Speaking of Spyro, the second game in the original trilogy is the weakest, still fun and not a bad game though.

Crash Bash was a fun game, but damn the AI was terrible in the Crystal, Gem, and Relics challenges being upped to ridiculous levels. Also this game is way better playing with another person than solo.

Pierce Villiers is best boy in Alice in the Country of Clover VN.

Sanae Kochiya >>>> Reimu Hakurei from the Touhou series. Also Junko's theme is mediocre to me, and Hecatia Lapislazuli has the best design so far. (and those Hot Topic memes about her were never funny to begin with)

 

[prog rocker]

Yeah, when they're implemented in a way that you have to redo a lot of stuff, then I see the issue with them. I had the first Naruto: Ultimate Ninja game on PS2 and thought the QTE button prompts were fun in whatever the super attacks were called, but I don't think you lost health in that game (I think it just did less damage), which seems like a good way to handle it compared to the situation you describe, which does sound annoying to deal with. I feel like modern games are better about it and have made them enjoyable more often than PS2/early PS3-era games were, when there were more "press X not to die"-type things.

Wait, QTEs in a special move? That actually sounds interesting and I feel that I would like that. At least I would have something to do aside from watching

And the thing with QTEs causing damage in the game I mentioned: The QTEs only showed up during boss fights. At some points, a cutscene would start and you had to press buttons to dodge the boss's attacks or to cause damage to the boss. The QTEs are also used to deal the final hit to the boss, so even if you did everything perfectly beforehand, you could still fail there. The bosses were Gamabunta (managed to beat this in the tenth try), the One-Tailed Beast (almost impossible to beat) and Orochimaru's snake (didn't reach this one).

I think read somewhere that they fixed the QTEs in the other games in the series, but I didn't try them out, so I can't tell.