Jagaur games that get a bad rep, maybe not so bad?

[slackerwithin]

Hello,

 

Anyone have any thoughts on games that have a bad rep, but are really not that bad at all. I have many Jaguar games, but have always stayed away from say checkered flag or supercross even katsumi ninja. Is it possible that these games are not as bad as some people say..I mean..I know some people like them, but most reviews and web searches turn up negative for these and others...Any thoughts?? Any other games that can be put in this catagory??

Edited March 20, 2011 by slackerwithin

[+Sauron]

Considering this is the Jaguar we're talking about here, at least half of it's commercial library can quite easily be listed in this thread. Many of its released games were poorly polished piles of rubbish. How much fun people will find with any specific game will largely be left to that individual's willingness to find anything good in it. The quote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" certainly applies to Jaguar games.

[Austin]

Kasumi Ninja is pretty bad, but it's at least playable.. Some people have managed to successfully control Checkered Flag and Supercross 3D, but I've yet to find out how.

[+remowilliams]

Some people have managed to successfully control Checkered Flag and Supercross 3D, but I've yet to find out how.

 

Checkered Flag and Supercross 3FPS are both horrific crap. So it's not just you.

[n5x]

Kasumi Ninja is pretty bad, but it's at least playable.. Some people have managed to successfully control Checkered Flag and Supercross 3D, but I've yet to find out how.

Like! (as in know what you meant lol)

Edited March 20, 2011 by n5x

[GKC]

Checkered Flag good, Kasumi Ninja nasty crap.

[jaybird3rd]

Considering this is the Jaguar we're talking about here, at least half of it's commercial library can quite easily be listed in this thread. Many of its released games were poorly polished piles of rubbish. How much fun people will find with any specific game will largely be left to that individual's willingness to find anything good in it. The quote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" certainly applies to Jaguar games.

I agree. This is my opinion only, but of the entire Jaguar library, I'd say that about 25% of its games are "great to good", 30% are "average", and 45% are "mediocre to awful". Everyone assigns games to these categories differently, and there are always outliers (those few people who love Checkered Flag, for example), but most Jaguar fans seem to be in agreement about which games belong in the "mediocre to awful" category. These would include the ones that have been mentioned (Checkered Flag, Supercross 3D, Kasumi Ninja), and I would also throw in Blue Lightning, which was a very underwhelming pack-in for the JagCD.

[Gaztee]

I always put kasumi ninja in the crap category. However, after seeing how some hardcore Italian jag fans played the thing to death, I changed my mind. They truly managed to master the game, to a point where the indeficienies in the control method worked to their advantage. It brought home to me that maybe we just didn't try hard enough to get to grips with it!

I've seen a few -ve reviews of atari karts, but I love it!

[+Sauron]

I'll agree with Kasumi Ninja. It is a crap game, but there's fun to be had with it. It's almost genious in how bad it is in the same way that the film "Plan 9 From Outer Space" was pure genius. It's like it was meant to be a testament to awfulness from day one.

[LinkoVitch]

Only way to tell I guess would be to fire them up yourself and see how you get on with them. Perhaps a fun way to spend an afternoon with some mates, come up with a scoring system and sit there and play each game for no less than 30 minutes. Maybe leave the games you think are really good to last so that the evening ends on a high

 

There are very few good jag games in my opinion, but as you say there are probably soom I like others detest, person preference (and perversion ) etc.

[jaybird3rd]

Only way to tell I guess would be to fire them up yourself and see how you get on with them. Perhaps a fun way to spend an afternoon with some mates, come up with a scoring system and sit there and play each game for no less than 30 minutes. Maybe leave the games you think are really good to last so that the evening ends on a high

Yes. Use reviews and other opinions as guides to help you avoid wasting money on bad games, but by all means, play the games yourself and come to your own conclusions. You might find that you like certain Jaguar games (not necessarily the worst ones) that most others don't.

 

Related to that ... instead of trying to find "good" Jaguar games among the ones that most people think are "bad" (again, those games usually get that reputation for good reasons), the OP might find it more worthwhile to look into underappreciated Jaguar games. These are the games that are usually lumped into the "average" category because not enough Jaguar fans learned to appreciate them on their own terms. Personally, I'd say that games like Zoop and Raiden meet this description: they tend to get criticized because they didn't try to "push the Jaguar to its limits", but they're solid games which make good use of the Jaguar's sound and 2D graphics capabilities. I'd also mention Breakout 2000: opinions seem to be mixed on this one, but it's a fun game that I always enjoy coming back to.

[Austin]

It brought home to me that maybe we just didn't try hard enough to get to grips with it! I've seen a few -ve reviews of atari karts, but I love it!

 

I personally reviewed Atari Karts unfavorably a few months back (link), but after watching

video submitted in the Jaguar HSC, I wanted to play it again, as if like I would have enjoyed it more having known how to play it more efficiently. I think that is the case with several Jaguar games.

[LinkoVitch]

Raiden is one of my favourite jag games, and I also quite enjoyed zoop too! Dino dudes can be fun (and damn frustrating). Ruiner pinball I also quite enjoyed too

[Austin]

Raiden is one of my favourite jag games, and I also quite enjoyed zoop too! Dino dudes can be fun (and damn frustrating). Ruiner pinball I also quite enjoyed too

 

Agreed entirely! Despite not really pushing the hardware, all of those games are enjoyable, IMO... Even ZOOP, which no one seems to like these days.

[sheath]

I'm working on Checkered Flag. I'm having a very hard time seeing it as a "sim" as some have claimed. It breaks one of my cardinal rules in (good) racing games, touching a wall or another car stops the action. The original Wipeout did this too, so I'm willing to see if I can work around it.

 

The lower than Genesis Virtua Racing framerate and relatively insensitive digital pad for the Jaguar are not helping me out on this though.

[Crazy Climber]

I think a major problem with early 3D stuff is that it has aged very poorly. If you didn't play it back in the day it will be tough to appreciate now. N64 is the same, they were groundbreaking at the time but we have gone so much further with 3D now that some of the old stuff, especially the bad games, can almost feel unplayable. Only my opinion...

[+wood_jl]

I think a major problem with early 3D stuff is that it has aged very poorly. If you didn't play it back in the day it will be tough to appreciate now. N64 is the same, they were groundbreaking at the time but we have gone so much further with 3D now that some of the old stuff, especially the bad games, can almost feel unplayable. Only my opinion...

 

Agreed that some of the stuff hasn't aged too well, but it's hard to put N64 3D in the same category as the Jag stuff.

[+remowilliams]

Agreed that some of the stuff hasn't aged too well, but it's hard to put N64 3D in the same category as the Jag stuff.

 

Agreed. The Jag was built as a very flexible machine that could sometimes pull off decent simpler 3D stuff, but more often failed at it in practice. The N64 was built as a 3D powerhouse from the beginning, with capabilities far beyond what the Jag could, or did do.

 

I can still enjoy the beginnings of 3D though on the older systems, I just play them an enjoy them 'in their time'

 

 

There are very few good jag games in my opinion, but as you say there are probably soom I like others detest, person preference (and perversion ) etc.

 

Probably no surprise that I agree. Most of the original Jag library is dire, especially when they pushed it in directions it wasn't prepared to go. But stuff like Doom (2 system link!) and AVP (as slow as it is even), and of course the utterly sublime Tempest 2000 (with a spinner) make it worth it. And then there's always the fun indie releases that folks have done.

[+save2600]

I've already admitted I like Cybermoprh for what it is. Some good old fashioned cartridge (pop it in and play a quick round or two) fare to be had here. Not every game has to have excessive story lines and missions. Will always wish they would have fit Battlemorph onto cart though.

 

 

[+Sauron]

I've already admitted I like Cybermoprh for what it is. Some good old fashioned cartridge (pop it in and play a quick round or two) fare to be had here. Not every game has to have excessive story lines and missions. Will always wish they would have fit Battlemorph onto cart though.

 

Cybermorph isn't a GREAT game by any means, but it certainly was fun, especially at the time it came out.

[sh3-rg]

Cybermorph isn't a GREAT game by any means, but it certainly was fun, especially at the time it came out.

 

Yea, back then it was big, I'd seen the screen shots but when I saw it moving I was impressed. Draw distance/pop-up & all that wasn't an issue for me, that game made me glad I'd bought the Jaguar.

[slackerwithin]

Thanks everyone. I guess I will continue to pass on some games. I like raiden also. Maybe I will give Dino dudes I shot next. Too bad about checkered flag. I love racing games, but if I can't control car forget it. Is club drive worth a shot??

Edited March 20, 2011 by slackerwithin

[+Sauron]

Dino Dudes is moderately fun. I would rate it as an average puzzle game. Club Drive certainly has some issues, but apparently some fun can be had from it. I, however, just never got far enough into it to discover that for myself.

[Austin]

Yeah, don't expect to be impressed in any way by Dino Dudes, but it's a solid puzzle-oriented game if you're into that sort of thing. I believe it's also one of the best versions (or the best version) of the game available (originally "The Humans" on other platforms).

 

I found Club Drive to be a mixed bag.. Due to how the engine handles the physics, it is *always* a bumpy, disorienting ride. I was never really able to get into the race modes because of that, but I do remember having a blast with two-player tag mode. I can't remember many other times where I've laughed so hard in a multi-player game (in a good way)! Oh, and finding the secret Atari headquarters building was cool, too.

[LinkoVitch]

RE N64 games. I have always found they look out of focus and blurry, compared to anything else its weird. I tried the extra RAM pack for it just in-case but no improvement. Pretty sure that was over RGB too..

 

anyway back on topic, ClubDrive is brilliant fun and a lot of laughs as has been said multiplayer. We played last year I think at e-Jagfest as a tournament. Whole room full of people cheering and laughing, it was excellent.