Annoying things in awesome games

So there are quite a few games on the Genesis that I would call my favourites and give them really high scores, but most of them somehow manage to have 1 or 2 things that just piss me right off. Now don't misunderstand, I do love all of these games, it's just the one aspect in them that's like a slap in the face. Almost like fate taunting me to say "ha ha, nothing's perfect".

- The double jump in all the Shinobi games. Fucking annoying as hell. Every other game you just hit the jump button twice to double jump. Shinobi - you gotta hit it twice but it only works at one particular thenth of a second in his jump sequence... wtf Sega... :mad:

- X-Men 2 and the lame ass lack of cut scenes. The graphics are awesome I get it, but seriously at least an opening cut scene or something would've been nice. Green on black wall-o'-text just isn't right for a game that looks this good. Also, why the hell does Cerebro look like a Commodore 64? Geez, even that terrible Wolverine game had nice cut scenes. :daze:

- Pier Solar not letting you revisit the entire world when you're at the end of the game. I seriously hate it when RPGs do that for no reason. It's one thing if you blow up a planet and can't revisit it for obvious reasons. It's totally different when you have: A - a magic vehicle that lets you teleport all over the world, B - access to a dragon that can fly you anywhere, C - can walk places and you still can't explore the entire world map. That's just cruel... especially since Verahansha is like the coolest part of the game. :(

- Flink (CD Version), hey here's a game that looks awesome, sounds awesome, has some great innovative gameplay and really nice level design... the jumping just doesn't work well. FFFFUUUUU :bang:


What do you have?

In before Pier Solar Defense Force (j/k).

But seriously man, I hear you about Shinobi's double jump. I can't figure out the trick of it, but it murdered me a couple times on the falling rocks level in Shinobi III last night. It's way worse in Revenge of Shinobi IMO. I don't get why you can't just double jump at any time during your first jump - why does there have to be a little sweet spot? Ah well.

LOL X-Men 2. Not even a title screen.

- Why does NTSC Crusader of Centy have a translation edited by a third-grader? So many typos!

- Why does Jet Grind Radio only boost when it wants to? Why can't you boost all the time? It would make the game faster and more enjoyable!

- Why is Beyond Oasis so SHORT?!

I'm expecting at some point someone is going to say "DEM BARRELS IN S3" haha :P

I'm a fan of Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi III's precise double jump. I can't stand games that let you double jump anywhere in the jump, it just feels sloppy to me. X-Men 2 is just a great action game, no cutscenes is like saying Shinobi III needed a plot. ;)

Let's see if I can keep with the spirit of the thread. Outrun Arcade or Master System, Genesis and PCE. I really wonder why it took Sega until Daytona to come up with the awesome powerslide mechanic. Outrun would have really benefited from either Daytona or Outrun 2's powerslide mechanic that lets you maintain speed while making sharp turns. But that seems rather academic, hardly any games back then had powerslides.

I hate any action/platformer that has bottomless pits, every single one of them should be remade to have sub levels that are more difficult and have amusing secrets instead. The Castlevania games are the worst offenders at this aside from the 2D Mario games.

Earthworm Jim: That damn submarine in the stage "Down the tubes"! Especially the second time you have to go into that thing - it almost drove me insane! I think without the hidden air refill station I never would have found the patience to actually complete that level.

I've been playing Sonic 1, 2, and CD (all for the first time) and for the most part I've been really enjoying them, but as expected there are a few parts that drive me insane. In particular, the part in Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic 2 where the water rapidly rises and you have to ascend the moving blocks gives me a hard time. At the moment, the "race" with Metal Sonic in Sonic CD is also really pissing me off.

As for non-Genesis, the example that instantly popped into my head when I saw the thread title is that damned beeping when you're low on health in any Zelda game. I found Zelda 1 and Link to the Past to be the worse, but it's annoying in all the games. Seriously shut the hell up, how am I supposed to focus on finding health with that incessant ringing!

I also like the double jump in the Shinobi games. It does require some skill, but that´s what the games are about; once you get the hang of the timing you can execute the double jump without problem.

Annoying for me are:

-high random encounter rates in RPGs like in Phantasy Star II and lately Star Odyssey. They can really kill an otherwise interesting game for me at times. I just get the feeling that while I´d like to play, I can´t find the drive in me to overcome the problem to enjoy the good rest of the game.

-short or ridiculously easy games: As GK said, Beyond Oasis is too short for an action-adventure. Same goes for Soleil/Crusader of Centy. What´s with Sega delivering great games with a playtime of only about 8 hours while the SNES competition of the same genre always delivers 15+ hours?
Also World of Illusion is a gorgeous game and highly enjoyable. But it´s non-existent difficulty result in it being finished on the first afternoon. That´s a huge drop in motivation once you have finished the game.

-block buttons. I never was a MK fan. Maybe I would hold the series in higher regard, but pressing a button in order to block sucks big time.

-1-hit-kills. Contra:Hard Corps anyone? Such a fun game, but since I die by a single hit in the western versions and have limited continues it is just not doable for me.

I really like the way the double jump works on the MD Shinobi games, it sucks if your not used to it though!

- The broken spindash, shitty bonus stages and time travelling mechanic in Sonic CD.

- Shitty music in good games (Eliminate Down)

- Shitty looking weapons when maxed (Eliminate Down)

- Horrible sound effects that really hurt the ears, not exaggerating here, they really provoke physical pain (Eliminate Down)

- Poor color choices making the game unpleasant to look at (over 50% of the genesis library)

- Shitty hacked up ports (The Amiga suffers the most from this, but the genesis too, FUCK LORDS OF THUNDER)

- That one additional game mechanic that makes the game much worse than it needs to be (the breathing in the Ecco games for example, The freeroaming stages in Soulstar)

- That one MISSING game mechanic that makes the game much worse than it needs to be (the lack of shadow in Landstalker for example, the lack of a "health bar" option in the US Contra HC)

- Too Short/Easy (See 108 Stars post)

- Too Repetitive/Hard (See 108 Stars post)

Dang, I'd never thought about a shadow in Landstalker. That would have fixed EVERYTHING.

I have to agree with the double jump in the Shinobi games. I love those games but sometimes my playing is just off and I have trouble with that.

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Originally Posted by Genesis Knight

Dang, I'd never thought about a shadow in Landstalker. That would have fixed EVERYTHING.

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That, and not making the game isometric with funky controls. I can't stand that game.

The Polo Solo spoilers are wonderful, just so you guys know.

As for my contribution to the thread... In the mine cart section of Stage 2 in Rocket Knight Adventures, there's two parts where you have to defeat hog army troops and it feels like it takes forever to get past them. It really breaks the flow of an otherwise fast paced game. I swear they put 20 or 30 re-spawning pig soldiers in both parts.

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Originally Posted by Kamahl

- The broken spindash, shitty bonus stages and time travelling mechanic in Sonic CD.

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Yet somehow I've been able to complete Sonic CD with all the Time Stones and good futures for all stages on at least two occasions. The real irony here is I've never been able to do this with Sonic 1.

I need to play more to really comment

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Originally Posted by 108 Stars

-1-hit-kills. Contra:Hard Corps anyone? Such a fun game, but since I die by a single hit in the western versions and have limited continues it is just not doable for me.

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I need to get better at playing shoot-'em-ups (or at least these particular ones) because this is how I feel about Gleylancer, Slap Fight MD, Grind Stormer :argh:

Also I've seen this mentioned elsewhere here so I have to ask: what is Polo Solo?

Pier Solar maybe? Djshok seems to have a big one in the OP.

Oh, heh heh, it's a joke that surfaced many pages back in the Pier Solar thread. Long story short so you guys don't have to go thread digging, there was a New Zealand (pretty sure) fan of Pier Solar who seemed to have dyslexia, or perhaps a loose grasp of English, who posted videos on YouTube, including his unboxing of Pier Solar Classic Edition. Everyone could swear when he said Pier Solar, it sounded like Polo Solo and nobody could figure out why. He gained a nice little cult following from that. :D

Oh ok =P Well carry on then

Also

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Originally Posted by Genesis Knight

- Why does NTSC Crusader of Centy have a translation edited by a third-grader? So many typos!

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Because ATLUS!!11!!!11111 (Actually, there is one thing about Soleil's development I am wondering, but I will save that when I can figure out what's up with the JP and EU finals, which don't seem to show the strangeness I'm seeing in the prototype and US/South Korea finials... It's with ROM content; not with the actual game.)

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Originally Posted by djshok

- Pier Solar not letting you revisit the entire world when you're at the end of the game. I seriously hate it when RPGs do that for no reason. It's one thing if you blow up a planet and can't revisit it for obvious reasons. It's totally different when you have: A - a magic vehicle that lets you teleport all over the world, B - access to a dragon that can fly you anywhere, C - can walk places and you still can't explore the entire world map. That's just cruel... especially since Verahansha is like the coolest part of the game. :(

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this for me

-Double jump in RoS

-tails getting hit during the bonus levels and fucking up your chances of getting the choas emerald in Sonic 2

-B-ball bonus levels in Dynamite headdy (WHY CANT I END THEM!)

-entering the blood code in MK1

-Boss not flashing when being hit in Thunder force 4

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

-Boss not flashing when being hit in Thunder force 4

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Oh yeah, just the red flash marks instead of white. I forgot about that

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Originally Posted by Genesis Knight

Dang, I'd never thought about a shadow in Landstalker. That would have fixed EVERYTHING.

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But EVERYTHING that is wrong with Landstalker is still just a tiny little detail. Near perfect game there. Had they added shadows it would be unparalleled.


I just remembered something:

Missing hit feedback. Turrican 1 is about as popular as a game can get with German retro gamers, but after testing all versions I know what is off that just makes it barely playable for me who grew up with standards defined in games like Contra: hit feedback.

In Turrican enemies can walk right through you and continuously drain life without your character reacting. No flickering, no being thrown back at contact, no short invincibility for a second. This makes an otherwise fascinating game with huge levels to explore akward to play. You just get careless without the hit feedback. Thankfully they changed that for Mega Turrican (which is regarded as the series´ low point here though).

German's don't like Mega Turrican? Huh.

B.O.B. is another game that has no damage feedback at all. Of course the whole game sucks there.

Mega Turrican is hated more due to the shift in focus to consoles than any problem with the game itself.

Still there are a number of things that Turrican 2 has that make it better:
- The weapons are cooler
- There's more exploration
- Multi-directional laser instead of the annoying hook
- The shooter segments.

Worse aspects include:
- The graphics (debatable for turrican 3, terrible use of dual playfield mode in that game)
- The music (some compositions are better but the sound quality sucks)
- The lack of hit feedback
- The invincible, unlimited ball (some people like this though)

The bats, or whatever they were, in the last level of El Viento really dampen the fun.

For a more off-the-wall suggestion: the lack of saving in Wirehead means having to replay through long, tedious stretches of the game. Otherwise, it's about as good as FMV gets -- which in this case is pretty fun, as long as you're willing to make a map. There are even a couple of secrets...

Landstalker was the first game I thought of, BTW.

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Originally Posted by sheath

I'm a fan of Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi III's precise double jump. I can't stand games that let you double jump anywhere in the jump, it just feels sloppy to me.

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I agree on the ninja double-jumps; Hagane's are the same and I only mind them because the basic jump mechanic is minutely off/laggish, which is multiplied in double-jumping. Chakan, which requires doing double jumps out of rolls off ledges, really pushes the skill.

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Originally Posted by CapnCrunch53

As for non-Genesis, the example that instantly popped into my head when I saw the thread title is that damned beeping when you're low on health in any Zelda game.

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Yes, every game with this, unless it's your sonar.
Also, text-page beeps, typewriter sounds, and the strangely endemic ugly negative noise in JRPGs (Blue Breaker's sounds like a trunk being kicked across a floor).
Confirmation sounds can be worse: ahem, Shining Force 1/2/CD.
Landstalker = I hate his flat face. I just can't behold it. Why didn't they make him look as he does on the cover?
Phantasy Star 2 = Stealing with Shir. This is the only true grinding in the game, and I've never found a Game Genie code to begin with everything so I wouldn't have to spend god knows how long trying to nim a moondew. Walking back and forth through a door just doesn't scream Adventure to me. Also, the visiphone really wasn't needed.

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Originally Posted by djshok

- Pier Solar not letting you revisit the entire world when you're at the end of the game. I seriously hate it when RPGs do that for no reason. It's one thing if you blow up a planet and can't revisit it for obvious reasons. It's totally different when you have: A - a magic vehicle that lets you teleport all over the world, B - access to a dragon that can fly you anywhere, C - can walk places and you still can't explore the entire world map. That's just cruel... especially since Verahansha is like the coolest part of the game. :(

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For no reason? It would have been a shit-ton of scripting necessary to do if you could have visited the entire world again, especially Verahansha. There simply wasn't time for it since the game was already delayed two years.

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

-tails getting hit during the bonus levels and fucking up your chances of getting the choas emerald in Sonic 2

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Sonic and Tails' ring counts are kept separately, so Tails can only lose the rings that he has picked up. Still, it's easy enough to get all of the rings needed by yourself. Then it's just a matter of remembering where all the bombs are. This one I don't see as that big of a deal.

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

-B-ball bonus levels in Dynamite headdy (WHY CANT I END THEM!)

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I played those damn bonus levels so many times and I never understood why they would sometimes end really fast and sometimes would go on forever. I eventually figured out that they will go on indefinitely unless you blow up the basketball shooting machines. To do that, you need to shoot a basketball through a hoop with the "00" sign on it (that's what it looks like to me, anyway), instead of the star. They only appear on the bottom row, and the order is *, *, *, 00.

You can see them in this video:

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

-tails getting hit during the bonus levels and fucking up your chances of getting the choas emerald in Sonic 2

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THIS, A THOUSAND TIMES THIS!!!! FUUUUUUUUU-

Just got reminded of this whilst responding to another thread:

No password system for Fantastic Dizzy; game is near impossible to complete in one sitting. Don't understand the logic with that. :daze:

I can understand why some linear-plotted RPGs don't let you revisit previous towns/cities/worlds, as it would confuse the player more and more as one advances in the storyline. But I do agree that at the end of every RPG, or even at the end of each mission (once you know you've completed the actual mission), there should be leeway to roam around and explore. One of my favorite things about some RPGs is just that, being able to continue on exploring, perhaps even leveling-up to your max, perform some sidequests, etc.

As for the title of the thread:

1. Earthworm Jim - "Down the tubes"--an unnecessarily abrupt halt in the fluidity of an otherwise perfect gameplay.
2. Extreme, insane difficulty in games that could've been enjoyed far far more (i.e.-Contra: Hard Corps, etc.)

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

-tails getting hit during the bonus levels and fucking up your chances of getting the choas emerald in Sonic 2

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AHHHH definitely! Thats why I usually play as sonic alone or tails alone.

- The overhead stages in Thunderforce 2. Its torturous and dull especially since the side scrolling levels are actually really good. Its like you have to earn the right to have fun with this game.

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Originally Posted by Zebbe

For no reason? It would have been a shit-ton of scripting necessary to do if you could have visited the entire world again, especially Verahansha. There simply wasn't time for it since the game was already delayed two years.

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I meant from a game plotline perspective that there is no reason for you to not go back, ie: you didn't blow the place up, or do something so bad you're not allowed back. Also, I don't know much anything about game programming so I don't know how much certain things take, but would it really have been that much more work? Honest question, not trying to be a dick or anything, but the entire environment and how the character reacts to it is already there so wouldn't you just be recycling a lot of the same code? The only thing that might need to change is some of the npc text, but even if it didn't and they just said the same thing they did before it wouldn't be so bad, at least you could go back and explore some of the areas you might have missed. I'm pretty sure I missed some stuff there thinking: "ah I'll just go back to it at the end". I understand if you guys were short on time, but it still kinda sucks from a player point of view. Not that it's a HUGE issue, I'd rather have backtracking left out than something more important like a cool final boss.

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Originally Posted by jerry coeurl

Sonic and Tails' ring counts are kept separately, so Tails can only lose the rings that he has picked up.

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This is it. And Tails can never interfere with Sonic's getting rings, he only picks up those you've missed. It's aurally vexing to hear him spiked every ten seconds, but no more.

I treat tails the same way I treat controller lag in modern games. I just play the entire half pipe as though I'm a baby dragon with a long tail.

This:

http://www.gamepodunk.com/uploads/12...1_219_7532.png

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Originally Posted by Phantar

Earthworm Jim: That damn submarine in the stage "Down the tubes"! Especially the second time you have to go into that thing - it almost drove me insane! I think without the hidden air refill station I never would have found the patience to actually complete that level.

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I would have liked to have known of this!

And I managed to beat the entire game on GBA once. What an experience that was!

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Originally Posted by Kogen

This:

http://www.gamepodunk.com/uploads/12...1_219_7532.png

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Oh ya...I hate this part. But good thing that they give you an extra life if you lose.

I can't recall a time when I had issues with Revenge of Shinobi's double jump. You have to jump at max height (hold down the jump button), and then press it again just before you stop moving up. You can't double jump unless you are at that height and you can't double jump while you're coming down from your big jump.

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

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Originally Posted by Kogen

This:

http://www.gamepodunk.com/uploads/12...1_219_7532.png

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Oh ya...I hate this part. But good thing that they give you an extra life if you lose.

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Everyone on Taiwanese auctions sites love that part so much it's what you'll see in search results for that game, legit or bootleg! =P

What a great thread!

I think games that would be great, but for poor touch detection - again, some of the jumps in Revenge of Shinobi leap to mind.
Also, the Tails ring issue in Sonic 2 Special Stages is really annoying.
The globe collection section in Ecco 2 bugged the hell out of me.