Worst Jaguar games?

[kevincal]

Its slightly rare cus it was released in late 95 and hardly anyone bought it. not a ton of copies out there.

[NeoGeoNinja]

Double Dragon V is definitely worse than Bruce Lee.

 

I made a single, dedicated vote for the worst game on that list imo:

 

Fight for Life.

 

For me, it runs: Bruce Lee > DDV > FFL.

 

Kasumi Ninja & Ultra Vortek are actually much better fighters by comparison. Kasumi shouldn't even be on this list tbh.

 

 

 

(Nor should Myst tbh i.e. list isn't very objectively composed)

[kgenthe]

The answer is Checkered Flag.

 

Checkered Flag starts out promising enough with a clean title screen featuring a polygonal logo and a catchy title track.

 

But once you start a race, that hopeful feeling is lost. The frame rate is awful. It moves with far less grace than Virtua Racing for the 32x or even Stunt Race FX for the SNES. It’s embarrassing for sure, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

The controls are broken. They are not just flawed and unresponsive, they are flat out broken. The longer you hold left or right, the quicker it steers in that direction. If you hold a direction too long, you careen straight into a wall. I’m not talking about a 1 second button press here, the urgency at which your car will find the wall is truly astounding.

 

It’s as if no one ever bothered to play test this. However the instruction manual clearly lists an entire team of testers. It doesn’t take an expert to determine there may be some flaws with the controls. How this got past an entire team…. I think the instruction manual is lying.

 

At this point nothing else matters. You can’t navigate turns, you can’t pass, you'd be hard pressed to complete a lap without wiping out. It’s just not possible. Just when you think you have it under control, you’re flipping through the air.

 

Checkered Flag's plunge into Superman 64 territory doesn’t stop there either, the soundtrack is awful, the engine sound is lackluster, the A.I. is pointless, and the track design is uninspired. What happened to that title screen music? Why does the A.I. stop in the middle of the road? What is the point of hairpin turns if you can’t drive through them?

 

The only reason to play Checkered Flag is to experience for yourself how terrible it really is. All the words in the world can’t convey what it feels like to try and play this game.

 

What’s remarkable is that this game came from a company called Rebellion, who developed the well-received Alien vs. Predator one month earlier. The titles couldn’t be more different.

There isn’t a single redeeming quality about Checkered Flag. Some will try to defend the game, those people are high. The game isn’t hard or challenging in any meaningful way. It’s hard because it’s broken. It should have never been released. It’s very existence is part of the reason the Jaguar has such a bad reputation.

 

The answer is Checkered Flag.

[Lentzquest]

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is the absolute worst IMO. I would play Checkered Flag or DDV any day over Dragon. While all three have zero redeeming qualities, I find Bruce Lee to be the most unpleasant (even infuriating) experience that the Jag has to offer.

[BassGuitari]

I've only played maybe 15 or 16 Jaguar games. A few are pretty good, most are pretty average. But only two stand out in my mind as being irredeemably bad: White Men Can't Jump, and Blue Lightning. And of those two, White Men Can't Jump is worse.

Never played Double Dragon V, and I'm okay with that.

[NeoGeoNinja]

If there's one thing this poll has done for me so far, it's shown me that I REALLY need to play WMCJ for myself, just to "see"

 

Also, for those somehow citing that Dragon: TBLS is the worst game on Jag? Seriously... it really isn't. I'm not saying it's good, before we head down that avenue, but it's definitely not as bad as FFL or DDV. Once you figure out Bruce Lee and understand how to deal with the differing opponents, it's actually alright. But if you're not really into fighting games or strategising and prefer to just button press and slide a few quarter-motions in for good measure, chances are, things won't work out too well for you in Dragon...

[Austin]

Speedster II.

 

I like how they call it "Speedster", as if it was supposed to move fast or something (which it clearly doesn't, judging by the video, haha).

 

 

If there's one thing this poll has done for me so far, it's shown me that I REALLY need to play WMCJ for myself, just to "see"

 

Oh man, this was a real poll? Shit.. I just selected everything and clicked "submit".

 

In all seriousness though, WMCJ is pretty bad. Heed these words of wisdom, and keep your WMCJ activity relegated to YouTube videos. It will be best for everyone.

 

 

Also, for those somehow citing that Dragon: TBLS is the worst game on Jag? Seriously... it really isn't. I'm not saying it's good, before we head down that avenue, but it's definitely not as bad as FFL or DDV. Once you figure out Bruce Lee and understand how to deal with the differing opponents, it's actually alright. But if you're not really into fighting games or strategising and prefer to just button press and slide a few quarter-motions in for good measure, chances are, things won't work out too well for you in Dragon...

 

Dragon never even felt like a legitimate fighting game to me, which is probably the biggest thing going against it. Now that I think of it, it felt more like "Yie Ar Kung-Fu" for the 16-bit generation, but still not even half as fun to play. I agree though, once you get used to it and figure it out for what it is, it's not awful. Not that it's great either, but there's worse on the system.

[NeoGeoNinja]

Dragon never even felt like a legitimate fighting game to me, which is probably the biggest thing going against it. Now that I think of it, it felt more like "Yie Ar Kung-Fu" for the 16-bit generation, but still not even half as fun to play. I agree though, once you get used to it and figure it out for what it is, it's not awful. Not that it's great either, but there's worse on the system.

 

My thoughts, precisely

[high voltage]

Good poll, I'd have to go with Supercross 3D

[WozzyCat]

If there's one thing this poll has done for me so far, it's shown me that I REALLY need to play WMCJ for myself, just to "see"

 

 

Oh it's bad, it's real real bad.

The only good thing about White Men Can't Jump on the Jaguar....is that mine came brand new shrinkwrapped together with a brand new in box shrink wrapped Atari Jaguar Multitap hardware (which I have not actually used as of yet, as I still only have one Jaguar gamepad).

The Jaguar cartridge game WMCJ is so bad, it makes the Atari Tengen Roadrunner game for NES game look awesome.

[+save2600]

^

 

Umm… Atari 2600 Road Runner is better than Jaguar WMCJ.

[ovalbugmann]

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a goto game for me, when feeling angry or frustrated and the need to hit the bag. lol. I've always liked it, its not a button masher its all about timing and strategies with the different opponents. It's quick, challenging, has a decent amount of moves and after some time spent with it, can be enjoyable. Its nothing like the 7800's Karateka, or Jags' DDV, yeah you can get beat down in Dragon but the more you play the better you get at it, each character has a fighting style programmed in, after days and then a few weeks at it you can kick ass in it. What I like about it is the fast, precise controls, and Bruce Lee's victory yell is funny, I like fighting games tho. At least its playable, hard but playable and has depth, not like many of the others on that list -I sometimes play them just cause they're on the Jaguar, lol

[NeoGeoNinja]

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a goto game for me, when feeling angry or frustrated and the need to hit the bag. lol. I've always liked it, its not a button masher its all about timing and strategies with the different opponents. It's quick, challenging, has a decent amount of moves and after some time spent with it, can be enjoyable. Its nothing like the 7800's Karateka, or Jags' DDV, yeah you can get beat down in Dragon but the more you play the better you get at it, each character has a fighting style programmed in, after days and then a few weeks at it you can kick ass in it. What I like about it is the fast, precise controls, and Bruce Lee's victory yell is funny, I like fighting games tho. At least its playable, hard but playable and has depth, not like many of the others on that list -I sometimes play them just cause they're on the Jaguar, lol

 

Agreed. Pretty much what I said earlier: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/228210-worst-jaguar-games/?p=3045719

 

[Lost Dragon]

Always wondered just how Kasumi Ninja would have turned out had it stuck to the original concept of having a story mode.1st i ever saw of it was in a very early Jaguar preview feature in Gamesmaster magazine, it looked quite different with 2 smaller, but high res.looking characters (White garbed IK+ type fighter high kicking a crouching black garbed Ninja, in front of some kinda temple door, very colurful backdrop of a cloudly sky as well).

 

Do people think it needed a lot more than just polishing up of code to improve animation, frame rate etc to make it stand out? indeed had it been taken back to the drawing board, reworked as something other than Atari's answer to Mortal Kombat (at that time) would it have been better recived?.

 

Also in same preview, mag claimed Virgin were porting Aladdin to Jaguar.Chalk up yet another vapourware claim i wonder?

[Lost Dragon]

No wish to start a seperate thread, but this thread has gotten me thinking, basically:

 

Which games would A.A posters feel did the Jaguars reputation the most harm?

 

The SNES/MD ports alone are 1 thing, ports nothing new, existed way before and after the Jaguar, Xbox had PS2 ports etc, sure they did the Jaguar image no favours, but i'm thinking more along lines of the Jaguars 'tick box' type games (we need a Mortal Kombat/Mario Kart/Virtua Racing/Virtua Fighter type game to be taken seriousily...)

 

I do recal the UK Press (likes of Edge, C+VG etc) really gunning for Jaguar Raiden (44%) C+VG, which was last thing they expected to see on Atari's 'flagship 64-bit console' (i know it was intended for earlier hardware but still...), espically with as Edge described it, the ST-style status panel running along 1 side of the screen, ditto Humans/Dino Dudes.

 

These in the early days along with actual versions of Ch.Flag II+Club Drive not matching faked preview/advertising shots and as for Aircars..yikes

[Lentzquest]

 

Which games would A.A posters feel did the Jaguars reputation the most harm?

 

Cybermorph did the most harm by far. For what it's worth I've always really enjoyed the game, but this is the title that was available for play on every kiosk in every game store back in the day. Back then the pack-in was integral to the success of the system (SMB/Duck Hunt, Sonic, Super Mario World, etc). We all know on this forum that it wasn't meant to be a Star Fox slayer, and that it's a free-roaming scavenger hunt versus an on-rails shooter. But the game does look a lot like Star Fox at first glance, so prospective buyers would approach the kiosk and be immediately turned off as they crashed a few times and got snarked at by a floating head. Cybermorph did the most harm to the Jag's reputation in multiple ways:

 

-Bad first impression. Cybermorph was the first (and often only) exposure most people ever got to the system. It needed to be something immediately intuitive and crazy fun right off the bat. It isn't. If the first impression is a complete turn off, don't expect people to come running back when you're waving around Tempest, Doom, or Rayman.

 

-Looks like Star Fox, but doesn't play like it. Cybermorph has a learning curve that Star Fox doesn't. Navigating the ship well takes a bit of time. It's a pretty fun game once you "learn to fly", but most people aren't going to devote twenty minutes or so to figure things out when standing in a Baggages or Electronics Boutique. Also Atari had to expect the public to compare the two games, it's unavoidable when some aspects look nearly identical and Star Fox was at the height of it's popularity.

 

-Dark, bleak aesthetic. The game doesn't certainly didn't sell a lot of systems to parents with younger kids. Hell it's bleak palette is almost depressing. Game companies should never underestimate the sales power of begging kids.

 

-No music during missions, only ambient sounds. This goes in line with the dark depressing colors. Again, Star Fox has an instantly unforgettable soundtrack that helps jazz up the minimalistic polygon look. Cybermorph has nothing. It's a brand new advanced system, show off the Jag's sound capabilities! Hindsight is 20/20, and I realize Tempest 2000 wasn't fully developed yet; but Tempest or something like it really should have been the public's first exposure to the system.

 

-Ultimately Cybermorph's reception was tied to the reception of the system itself. The Jag honestly never stood a chance in the mid-90s game market, but failing to step onto the field like a boss really crippled them further.

[Austin]

Always wondered just how Kasumi Ninja would have turned out had it stuck to the original concept of having a story mode.1st i ever saw of it was in a very early Jaguar preview feature in Gamesmaster magazine, it looked quite different with 2 smaller, but high res.looking characters (White garbed IK+ type fighter high kicking a crouching black garbed Ninja, in front of some kinda temple door, very colurful backdrop of a cloudly sky as well).

 

Do people think it needed a lot more than just polishing up of code to improve animation, frame rate etc to make it stand out? indeed had it been taken back to the drawing board, reworked as something other than Atari's answer to Mortal Kombat (at that time) would it have been better recived?

 

Kasumi Ninja would have turned out better had Atari made a better effort to clone Mortal Kombat. What we have in the existing Kasumi Ninja wasn't a bad start, honestly--decent visuals with lots of background scrolling, large characters, some blood, finishing moves, etc. It's just half-baked. Here's what I think Atari could have done to make it a solid competitor to Mortal Kombat, and potentially a system seller:

 

- Ditch the 3D selection screen and replace it with a more traditional fighter select screen (ala what Ultra Vortek did). The 3D selection is slow, clunky, and holds up the flow of the game.

- Include high quality music that gets the player pumped. The current soundtrack in Kasumi Ninja is a joke.

- Going along with the last point, ditch the crappy announcer. Mortal Kombat was in your face, with booming firmness and attitude. "Round 1: FIGHT" (thanks, Steve Ritchie!). The announcer in Kasumi Ninja has a dinky voice. "Wound Wone: Fwight!" It hurts the experience.

- Redesigning the characters to look less cheesy. Some of them are fine (like the two main Ninjas you play as in the story mode), but the rest of the cast is horrific.

- Likewise, the move set for each character should have been reworked and fleshed out further. Also, the standard base/stock attack options should have been expanded upon as well (uppercuts, roundhouse kicks, sweeps, high punch, low punch, etc). The amount of moves available in Kasumi Ninja is minimal at best and most characters rely on their projectile attacks. Mortal Kombat had this, but thanks to a fleshed out stock move set there was far more strategy involved.

- Lastly, the response rate for button presses needed to be cranked up. The game can be somewhat unresponsive and laggy compared to the first three Mortal Kombat games.

[Lost Dragon]

Great responses already!

Re:Cybermorph:Very interesting 1st choice there.Seemed to impressive cynics like Edge magazine (8/10) enough to take the Jaguar seriousily after they'd mocked it when 1st shown the hardware, yet as a flagship game for the Jaguar, it was a very mixed bag:

Gouraud Shaded landscapes, the morphing of your craft, the amount of colours on screen, free-roaming etc all big thumbs-up for the hardware, but then you had awfully basic 3D models for the craft and buildings, seemingly plonked in there and highlighting lack of creative (design) flair from ATD artists.

Sound wise:Baldy Locks voice was sweet (but soon got on my tits), but the sound FX were far too harsh.

And yep, so many people went to it (be it in demo pods or came round yer house etc) expecting 64 Bit Starfox basically and thus came away thinking WTF is this sh*t?.It simply was'nt a game you could just pick up n play.

Atari must have loved the press reaction, but then wondered why this was'nt translating into hardware sales.

[Lost Dragon]

Austin's comments on Kasumi Ninja are great.I recal a review (C+VG?) saying the 3D selection screen was'nt really needed, but made a change, but as he points out, just had a negitive effect on the game itself.

 

The blood aspect? i've never quite got my head around, Atari were either trying to go the B-Movie route and go OTT or honestly thought more=better, but it just ended up making the game more of a laughing stock.

 

I think after Kasumi Ninja and Ultra Vortex got slayed at review (K.Ninja 51% from C+VG) Atari should have given up on MK clones.Never seen Realm Of The Fighters running, so cannot comment.

 

Do we think games like Club Drive 72%, C.Flag II (72%), Super Cross X (17%) (all C+VG scores) harmed the Jaguar more than say dissapointing conversions of Daytona USA and Virtua Racing to Saturn, Hexen+Duke Nukem 3D to Playstation and titles like Cosmic Carnage on 32X?

[Lentzquest]

I never really minded navigating the 3D character select screen in Kasumi Ninja, but not being able to select a fighter until after you've defeated them was maddening. It's a royal pain to have to trudge through a whole fight with someone you don't like before you're able to select your favorite character.

[WozzyCat]

^

 

Umm… Atari 2600 Road Runner is better than Jaguar WMCJ.

Heh heh.

Well....kinda yeah! LOL.

WMCJ on the Jaguar really sucked hard. As a matter of fact, WMCJ could probably have been put on the Atari 2600 and graphically looked about the same, if not better. Come to think of it, the Atari 2600 Basketball cartridge game was way more fun than the Jaguar WMJC.

Although I have WMCJ for my Jaguar, I choose not to show it to anyone, and I even refuse to play it myself just because it is soooo bad. Let's face it, it is a sham of a game for that time period frame (1993 to 1996).

It's the equivalent of a Darwin award for game programming.

[JagChris]

Why does everyone hate WMCJ. Hyperbole aside(2600 game...right) its fun to play especially two player. Sorta NBA Jam-ish with more 3d. As far as a BIT_MAP game its beautiful. Thousands of colors. The basketball courts are IMO beautiful to look at and see scaling in and out.

[WozzyCat]

Why does everyone hate WMCJ. Hyperbole aside(2600 game...right) its fun to play especially two player. Sorta NBA Jam-ish with more 3d. As far as a BIT_MAP game its beautiful. Thousands of colors. The basketball courts are IMO beautiful to look at and see scaling in and out.

Well, when I have some time this weekend, I will try to play WMCJ, yet again, on my Jaguar.

I will attempt to keep an open mind and take your comments into consideration while I play it.

But...if it sucks as much as it has for me in the past, I am going to be tempted to take a claw hammer and smash the cartridge into oblivion. :-)

[Songbird]

And here I was thinking "I actually played WMCJ all the way to the finale game..."

 

I'm not saying it's held up well over the years, but I enjoyed back in the day.

[JagChris]

It's not the greatest game in the world but its fun. Terribly underrated. For a graphics game, look at it for its bit maps. Not polygons. Bit maps. Its beautiful. The courts scale and rotate in 1000s of colors.

 

Get a friend to play it with you mano y mano. It's a blast.

 

Well, when I have some time this weekend, I will try to play WMCJ, yet again, on my Jaguar.

I will attempt to keep an open mind and take your comments into consideration while I play it.

But...if it sucks as much as it has for me in the past, I am going to be tempted to take a claw hammer and smash the cartridge into oblivion. :-)