I remember a time when there were no bad games.

[LordOfChaos43]

I mean, i still think Final Fight on the SNES is a great game. when i was a kid playing it on the SNES i had no idea that the game even had an arcade version so all i knew was the SNES final fight and i really enjoyed it. I also played final fight 2 & 3 but remember the first final fight the most. That being said I still prefer Final Fight 2 over the other ones but the original final fight seems to get a lot of hate for its SNES port.

[NE146]

I also find it hilarious that many people thought the 2600 version of Pac-Man sucked. I mean what did they expect??? They thought the Atari 2600 was capable of reproducing the arcade graphics identically???

 

Of course we know now that the VCS is capable of an amazing Pac-man... but that's with today's advantages. I for one in 1982 (I was 13) was 100% keenly aware that it would be a downsized "version", just like all other VCS ports we got prior to that. But the key was how close would they get the spirit of the game. Missile Command and PB Frogger for example totally nailed it despite being downsized, but VCS pacman simply missed it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it.. I personally liked it for what it was (I actually won a VCS contest from my skills in 2600 Pacman). Just saying.

 

A little color goes a long way and I think though the original version for all it's flaws would have gone over a WHOLE lot better, if nothing else by simply making the colors match the arcade. Then it at least showed they were trying to match it a little.

 

Yeah this screenshot is from the hack but it gives the idea.. even with non-colored ghosts, and a pacman that couldn't look up and down it'd still look like they tried.

 

[+frankodragon]

One other game I thought was going to be fun to play, but then turned out to be frustrating was Action Fighter for the SMS. Okay, it was a Spy Hunter clone, that looks cool, but then when it turned into a vertical shooter, with all the cheap deaths such as enemy bullets that are hard to see; those same bullets would sometimes get ya in the rear of your ship even when you're on the bottom the screen. With your standard weapon, it take 4-5 hits of your firepower to defeat one enemy craft and when just as you die, here comes the power-up.

[high voltage]

The thing about Atari (or Coleco and others) was that you never thought about them as bad games, for example sports games I hate, but they were not bad, they just weren't for me.

[+GoldLeader]

Or maybe it's just easier to be swayed nowadays....Since we used to believe what we saw in print, and if "print" is similar to, let's say, The Internet....Maybe...Just maybe, it's easier to be swayed nowadays since Everyone's opinion is on the Internet...

[Chuck D. Head]

 

Huh? You can shift gears in that game?? I tried the game again recently and couldn't find anything to make it go faster.

 

Yup, it's a four-speed!

 

[Silverfleet]

Back in the day, there was no internet to tell you what was good or bad. You had the kids on the playground and a couple gaming mags, whose views were slanted at best. That said, I used to buy games I had never heard of based on the cover or the pictures on the back of the box. One game that I would consider "bad" now that I played the ever loving crap out of was Bad Dudes on the NES.

 

 

Look at that cover! Tell me that an 8 year old you would think that it looks lame. Yeah, I didn't think you would.

 

I gladly dished out $39.99 of my birthday cash and allowance money for this one at a BJ's Wholesale Club back in the day. It looked awesome! And you know what? I loved it. Beating the crap out of ninjas, the music (which does admittedly kick ass) and the digitized "I'M BAD!" at the end of every level was enough for me to sing it's praises. I told all the kids on the playground how amazing Bad Dudes was, and they believed me.

 

But today, it's terrible. The graphics are choppy, hit detection blows, and it's frustrating to play. Yet, I have nostalgic tinges even as I type this. There were bad games, but most of us were blind to the fact because there were games, period.

[mmertes]

Space Ace for the SNES was so bad, it actually brought me to tears. Easily my worst weekend rental experience...EVER!

[GameGirl420]

 

Yup, it's a four-speed!

 

superbug.jpg

 

No wonder lol. I tried it on MAME. You own that cab?? Looks nice!

[mr_me]

Some games just have to be played with the proper controls. We use to play a game similar to Super Bug called 'Fire Truck'. A second player steered the back of the fire engine; it was lots of fun. And that was when newer generation games were there sitting beside it.

 

I definitely remember bad games in the arcades in the early eighties as well as for home consoles. I remember renting games and thinking im defnitely not buyjng that game, and even returning games to the store that I felt were just not good enough. I can also say that there were times after being shown a game at a friends house, i had zero interest in playing. But for sure there were plenty of great games.

[+thegoldenband]

Some games just have to be played with the proper controls. We use to play a game similar to Super Bug called 'Fire Truck'. A second player steered the back of the fire engine; it was lots of fun. And that was when newer generation games were there sitting beside it.

 

Fire Truck is incredibly fun. I never played it BITD but when my wife and I tried it at Funspot, we were hooked. It's my #1 pick for the game most overdue to get a high-quality VCS port.

[Chuck D. Head]

 

No wonder lol. I tried it on MAME. You own that cab?? Looks nice!

 

No, I don't. At least not yet; it is on my wish list though. I would probably rather have a Sprint / Sprint 2, but Super Bug would do just fine for my B/W raster game entry.

 

Edit: Although, if I had the cash and space, I would loooove to have a Sprint 8 and a Fire Truck and invite all y'all over to play!!!!

[Silverfleet]

I remember playing Fire Truck when I was a kid and not understanding that you needed a second player to steer the rear. I thought it was terrible.

 

I think that was the first "old game" (as in 1970's, pre-color era) game that I remember seeing in an arcade. Something about it seemed so strange and primitive about it, but I thought it was really cool at the same time.

[+save2600]

Yeah, the Swordquest games SUCKED big time and I was lumbered with both Earthworld & Fireworld. haha Wasn't interested in the contest and even as a kid, knew it was pointless to even try. Would pop them in now and again, but never played more than a few of minutes at a time.

Rented Amidar from a video rental store that had a small section of Atari games back in the early 80's. Game was slow and a bit on the difficult side, but worth the $2-$3 rental though as I would have been disappointed in it as a full blown purchase.

Had Journey Escape BITD and liked that game well enough (for a "bad" game), today it borders on frustrating, but nostalgia kicks in and I find myself enjoying it and the music more than I should. lol Same with Bermuda Triangle, but NOT Bugs. Hardly ever wanted to play that one either back then and just sat unloved in my makeshift box where I used the top half of our Trivial Pursuit box as my 2600 game container.

Fire Fly is another good example of a bad game that I hardly ever played after purchasing. But even some of these considered "duds" today, I had fun playing back then and didn't consider them bad games per se:

Atari Video Cube
E.T.
Golf
Riddle of the Sphinx
Sneak 'n Peek
Spacechase
Street Racer
Tutankham