Games that make you mad.

[4Ks]

There's are plenty of "worst games" threads here on AA, but this is a topic I've never seen before. Be it good or bad, post what games just make you mad (*rimshot*).

 

The only game that's ever really made me mad is Test Drive: Off Road. When I was about 5 or 6, I just couldn't get past the last track in the tournament mode (Winter Wonderland or something like that). I became frustrated to tears everytime I tried to play it, and wound up losing by a tiny margin after getting flipped over on the last curve. I don't quite remember, but I think I actually threw my controller at the offending car once.

[Austin]

The final track in Scorcher for the Sega Saturn used to make me angry. It's quite a devious design and took many, many hours in practice mode for me to be able to get through it without falling off at all.

 

Also, Deathsmiles has me a tad bit annoyed right now. The game itself is pretty manageable for the most part and I can get to the final bosses without continuing.. But it's that final point in the game that really, really gives me trouble. I have played some difficult shooters in my day, but the final boss forms in this game just seem downright unfair. The fact that the rest of the game isn't quite up to Cave standards in terms of difficulty just compounds my annoyed feelings further.

[mckafka99]

Slogging my way through Highlander (Jaguar) had no shortage of infuriating moments. It took me a long long time to get beyond being so furious that I would even bothering trying to get past some of the first challenges. In the end, I still am not sure it was worth it.

[Rex Dart]

So, so many... Bubsy on Jaguar comes to mind. It had so much potential to be a halfway decent game, but it's such a crusty turd. It feels like a student programming project.

[zylon]

Just a few from quick memory.

2600: Threshold, ET, Reactor, ROTLA

INTV: Most of them

5200: Berzerk, Jungle Hunt, Vanguard, Qbert, Astrochase, Frogger

A8: Jungle Hunt

SMS: Rocky, AK in Shinobi world, Shadow of the Beast, Rambo III, Shadow Dancer, Secret Command, AK in High-tech World, Lucky Dime Caper, James Bond, Outrun Europa

NES: Super Mario Bros., Robo-warrior, Zelda II, Faxanadu

Genesis: Rystar, Sword of Vermillion, Cyberball

N64: All Turok games

[Itchy Koala]

Kaboom. Any online shooter. Need for Speed Most Wanted

[VectorGamer]

Eagle

 

I tried and tried to increase my score past 52K on this game and I just can't do it.

[Skylark68]

One game that really made me mad was Kung Fu Master for the Apple II. That was a terrible port. I got so mad at it one time that I physically took the floppy and bent it up and then cut it into pieces. I couldn't understand how it could be so terrible while the NES version was almost arcade like (I was only about 10 or 11 so cut me some slack).

[Hatta]

Donkey Kong 64. The game gives you practically no direction as to where to go next. So you spend a lot of time wandering around looking for the next level. When you finally find a level, the goal is to collect things, so you spend a lot of time wandering around the level looking for things. Of course, you never find everything your first pass through, so you end up wandering around the same levels over and over until you find what you missed the first time.

 

That's crappy game design right there, but the implementation compounds it. There is so much pop-up in the game that it's absolutely useless to climb a tree and look around. There could be a banana on the next tree over, and you'll never see it. Why the hell did they put that in the game then? Even with all that pop-up, they couldn't get the frame rate up to a reasonable level. It's hard to watch, and I almost never get motion sick. And that's with the expansion pak! Somehow Rare was able to take a what they accomplished with Banjo Kazooie, and ruin it in every way possible.

[Emehr]

Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES) - all of those flying enemies and enemies that respawn when you backtrack just a step. Hulk smash!

 

Donkey Kong 64. The game gives you practically no direction as to where to go next. So you spend a lot of time wandering around looking for the next level.

 

That pretty much describes my experience with Super Mario 64. I never did understand the acclaim for that game. Super Mario Galaxy, on the other hand, is some primo stuff.

[PAC MAN FEVER]

all the mega man games (I'm pretty bad at them)

[tz101]

NES Castlevnia. I could never get past Franky and Igor, no matter how hard I tried.

[BassGuitari]

i think the only game that might have made me literally angry in recent memory is Tecmo Super Bowl.

 

Nothing like a fumble at the buzzer in a tied or otherwise close game and watching the slowest possible defender break about seven tackles take it all the way back for the win...

 

Or having your defense just get thrown out of the way by the likes of David Meggett, Bo Jackson, Tom Rathman, or freakin' Michael "Molasses" Haddix (on those occasions I'm NOT playing with the Packers )...

 

Or barely missing the max on the kick meter on kickoffs or punts and shanking an onside instead...

 

Or mistiming a quarterback rush and blowing the tackle that would have been a safety, as said quarterback dumps the ball off to some tight end, who then picks up a cool 30 yards and a 1st down...

 

Or when your starting quarterback AND your best wideout get injured...during the playoffs...

 

But...when those things happen to the other guy, it sure is sweet.

[tz101]

Ah, the game that is Tecmo Super Bowl. That game never made me mad, but is a classic, and far better than the Madden games for certain.

Edited March 31, 2011 by tz101

[Rik]

Not really mad, frustrated is more the word for me playing MAME Ghouls N Ghosts.

[+thegoldenband]

The perfect storm to get me angry:

 

1. Start with a game that's full of cheap shots and unavoidable deaths.

2. Add in control problems and/or graphics issues that keep you from seeing clearly (e.g. flicker), so that it feels like when you fail, the game is screwing you over rather than playing fair to begin with.

3. Throw in limited continues, and/or make it so that if you get killed once, it's a waste of time to keep playing and better just to commit suicide.

4. Finally, add in unskippable intros, cut scenes, or other little delays to force a frustrated gamer to wait purposelessly.

 

Probably the biggest offender I've encountered in recent history is Sol-Feace for Sega CD (aka Sol-Deace for Genesis), which has all of the above issues (except for control problems).

 

The interesting thing is how big a factor #4 is for me. I actually am pretty tolerant of cheap shots in games, and can deal with control issues as long as they're relatively consistent. But if I'm trying to play a level over and over again, and have to wait 15 seconds or more every time I lose a character or get a game over, it drives my frustration level through the roof.

 

I have other pet peeves too -- excessive random encounter rates in RPGs, for example, or cheating AI in racing games -- but those are the big ones.

 

Some others that come to mind:

 

Intellivision - Star Strike (buggy controls, frustrating gameplay dynamic, graphics are hard to parse)

SMS - Air Rescue (huge control problems make the final level incredibly frustrating), Secret Command (lots of cheap shots, especially in the final level)

Genesis - Castle of Illusion (Mickey is just too slow, and cheap shots abound), Sword of Vermilion (constant random encounters)

SNES - Skuljagger (this game used to drive me nuts), Super Mario Kart (cheating AI)

Dreamcast - Worms World Party (in one-player mode, the loading times are inexcusable and unnecessary - you have to wait 30 seconds or more to retry a level)

Game Boy Advance - Super Monkey Ball Jr. (bad controls)

 

There were probably tons of NES games that had the same effect on me, but I can't think of them right now.

[+Cafeman]

I was playing Earthworm Jim 2 (Saturn version) several nights last week. Coming off playing EJ1 before that, I was really getting mad at the game. Flyin' King and Puppy Love were really ticking me off. I tried again and again and finally got better at the levels. I like Puppy Love more now (there are 3 levels of it, each with 3 rounds) but I HATE Flyin' King.

[Petran79]

Ghost busters 2 was very frustrating, especially the control

 

Waxworks. I try any of the 4 stages and i either die from traps and enemies or am lost in the mazes. I gave up

 

Weird Dreams. One wrong move and you are dead. I never finished it.

 

Mike the Magic Dragon. Always wrong password!

 

Warlocks Quest.creepy platformer yet too hard.

 

#1 frustration game prize goes to Fiendish Freddy. So fun yet so difficult and i want to beat that midget clown to death, though in the end he gets what he deserves

[toptenmaterial]

NES Castlevnia. I could never get past Franky and Igor, no matter how hard I tried.

 

 

Castlevania: the all-time king of cheap deaths. I played it at length today. The first time around, I made it all the way to Frankenstein, then died as I killed him!! Not to mention medusa heads, flea men, bone pillars, rigid controls and too many cheap deaths to name. And perhaps worst of all, it's fun enough that you don't give up!

 

Edit: I think the Castlevania controls have basically the same feel as NES DK jr, another terribly frustrating game that I love, though I'm much better at that one.

Edited April 3, 2011 by toptenmaterial

[GKC]

Any game that uses up on the directional pad to jump. I was reminded of how irritating this is while playing Zool 2 for the Jag HS club. Even though I like the game, this is a very frustrating aspect of the game.

[gooch3008]

Dr.Jekyl and Mr. Nude for NES. Argh.

[Segataritensoftii]

Space Station Silicon Valley and its impenetrable shooting gallery level. To this day, I've never, ever completed it.

[TheGameCollector]

Practically every game makes me mad at some point. I start cussing at the game every time something doesn't go my way. I'm a spoiled brat but it's ok. It's a great way to vent my internal anger at other things in life in a way that doesn't hurt anyone else. Ahh video games are such a release and then you feel better when you finally do it right.

[gooch3008]

Dr.Jekyl and Mr. Nude for NES. Argh.

 

Lol

 

Before anyone points out my typo, just wanted to say my phone changed hyde to nude. Its still funny though heh.

[toptenmaterial]

Dr.Jekyl and Mr. Nude for NES. Argh.

 

Lol

 

Before anyone points out my typo, just wanted to say my phone changed hyde to nude. Its still funny though heh.

I thought you did it on purpose, it's a great one!!