I'm glad there's an article on this, since it gives me something to push off of and muse about for a bit. The last time the topic of overrated games came up, I simply posted a list of games I thought were overrated, which wasn't that interesting for me.
What makes a game one of the most overrated of all time? I've seen a lot of people call a game overrated because it got decent (say, 8/10 or higher) magazine scores, but when they played it, they didn't think much of it. Well, gee, every month, Game Informer gives dozens of games scores of 8+/10, and I doubt very many are even particularly good. So, hundreds of games are overrated, and it takes something a little more to make a game one of the most overrated of all time.
As an example, Sonic the Hedgehog might be overrated, but it's a rather garden variety example of an overrated game. For one thing, after I put some effort into it, I didn't think it was too bad of a way to spend a couple of nights. And while it might have been extremely popular at one time, I doubt few serious gamers truly consider it to be the pinnacle of platform gaming anymore.
Of course, a few standards for being highly rated are
-High magazine scores
-Placement in "best of all time" lists (EGM's, Nintendo's, IGN's, even some fans, etc)
-High web scores (gamefaqs, etc)
-High ebay prices
-Repeatedly being refered to in 'net conversations as being among people's top ten favorite games (which might be a little less cheap than getting a 10/10 at gamefaqs)
-High sales figures (like Halo-calibur)
Most of those standards would have to be fulfilled, imo, for a game to be one of the most overrated of all time if it's not that great.
If a game is downright terrible, though, then only a few of those standards might be enough.
And, of course, the very most overrated games would be those that fulfill a lot of those standards AND are downright terrible.
I don't think I'd call any game I actively like to be one of the most overrated of all time, even if I just kinda like it, while some people think it's the single greatest game of all time. So, while I don't think Soul Calibur is one of the greatest games I've ever played, it was enjoyable enough, and had a good soundtrack, so it doesn't strike me as one of the most egregiously overrated games I've played.
One tricky case, for example, is Mortal Kombat. I would put this on my most overrated games (really, series) of all time list, but how to rank it? Even EGM said in their recent top 200 feature that they now know it kind of sucks. On the other hand, that didn't dissuade them from putting it in the top half of the list, above even Castlevania 3.
I didn't even put Final Fight on my last overrated list, but seeing it on FO's makes me think I should have, and probably high on it. I guess I thought RCR represented the beat'em'up genre, but
1) While RCR is a mediocre game praised as being one of the best ever, Final Fight is a TERRIBLE, truly bad game praised as one of the best games ever. (Final Fight 2 was just about as bad, also. )
2) While at the time I thought RCR might have been rated more highly than Final Fight, now I'm not so sure. Final Fight has also recently had decent showings on some "GOAT" lists.
Here's my attempt (off the top of my head) at a list of most overrated games of all time. Maybe I could even flesh it out into an article sometime. I'm expanding my list to 15 (since everyone likes numbers divisible by 5), and reordering what I had last time:
15) Super Mario Land (highly praised -- but no one seriously likes it, do they??; bad)
14) Castlevania 4 (rated highly at some places; point at which the Castlevania series jumped the shark)
13) Final Fantasy 7 (considered by some to be the greatest game of all time; mediocre)
12) Halo (highly praised; mediocre)
11) Dracula X (highly praised, expensive; mediocre at best)
10) Tetris (considered by some to be the greatest game of all time; not that great)
9) River City Ransom (popular among vocal gamers; mediocre at best)
Mortal Kombat (once popular; terrible)
7) Pong (gets a lot of respect it really doesn't deserve)
6) Wind Waker (highly praised -- but notable amounts of dissent; kinda bad)
5) Duck Hunt (highly praised -- but mostly only by idiots; bad)
4) Katamari Damacy (highly praised, loved by fans; mediocre at best)
3) Sim City (highly praised, terrible)
2) Final Fight (highly praised, terrible)
1) Lunar (highly praised, terrible)
"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood."
-Orwell
What makes a game one of the most overrated of all time? I've seen a lot of people call a game overrated because it got decent (say, 8/10 or higher) magazine scores, but when they played it, they didn't think much of it. Well, gee, every month, Game Informer gives dozens of games scores of 8+/10, and I doubt very many are even particularly good. So, hundreds of games are overrated, and it takes something a little more to make a game one of the most overrated of all time.
As an example, Sonic the Hedgehog might be overrated, but it's a rather garden variety example of an overrated game. For one thing, after I put some effort into it, I didn't think it was too bad of a way to spend a couple of nights. And while it might have been extremely popular at one time, I doubt few serious gamers truly consider it to be the pinnacle of platform gaming anymore.
Of course, a few standards for being highly rated are
-High magazine scores
-Placement in "best of all time" lists (EGM's, Nintendo's, IGN's, even some fans, etc)
-High web scores (gamefaqs, etc)
-High ebay prices
-Repeatedly being refered to in 'net conversations as being among people's top ten favorite games (which might be a little less cheap than getting a 10/10 at gamefaqs)
-High sales figures (like Halo-calibur)
Most of those standards would have to be fulfilled, imo, for a game to be one of the most overrated of all time if it's not that great.
If a game is downright terrible, though, then only a few of those standards might be enough.
And, of course, the very most overrated games would be those that fulfill a lot of those standards AND are downright terrible.
I don't think I'd call any game I actively like to be one of the most overrated of all time, even if I just kinda like it, while some people think it's the single greatest game of all time. So, while I don't think Soul Calibur is one of the greatest games I've ever played, it was enjoyable enough, and had a good soundtrack, so it doesn't strike me as one of the most egregiously overrated games I've played.
One tricky case, for example, is Mortal Kombat. I would put this on my most overrated games (really, series) of all time list, but how to rank it? Even EGM said in their recent top 200 feature that they now know it kind of sucks. On the other hand, that didn't dissuade them from putting it in the top half of the list, above even Castlevania 3.
I didn't even put Final Fight on my last overrated list, but seeing it on FO's makes me think I should have, and probably high on it. I guess I thought RCR represented the beat'em'up genre, but
1) While RCR is a mediocre game praised as being one of the best ever, Final Fight is a TERRIBLE, truly bad game praised as one of the best games ever. (Final Fight 2 was just about as bad, also. )
2) While at the time I thought RCR might have been rated more highly than Final Fight, now I'm not so sure. Final Fight has also recently had decent showings on some "GOAT" lists.
Here's my attempt (off the top of my head) at a list of most overrated games of all time. Maybe I could even flesh it out into an article sometime. I'm expanding my list to 15 (since everyone likes numbers divisible by 5), and reordering what I had last time:
15) Super Mario Land (highly praised -- but no one seriously likes it, do they??; bad)
14) Castlevania 4 (rated highly at some places; point at which the Castlevania series jumped the shark)
13) Final Fantasy 7 (considered by some to be the greatest game of all time; mediocre)
12) Halo (highly praised; mediocre)
11) Dracula X (highly praised, expensive; mediocre at best)
10) Tetris (considered by some to be the greatest game of all time; not that great)
9) River City Ransom (popular among vocal gamers; mediocre at best)
Mortal Kombat (once popular; terrible)7) Pong (gets a lot of respect it really doesn't deserve)
6) Wind Waker (highly praised -- but notable amounts of dissent; kinda bad)
5) Duck Hunt (highly praised -- but mostly only by idiots; bad)
4) Katamari Damacy (highly praised, loved by fans; mediocre at best)
3) Sim City (highly praised, terrible)
2) Final Fight (highly praised, terrible)
1) Lunar (highly praised, terrible)
"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood."
-Orwell
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