As children, we don’t always have the greatest sense for what is exactly good. Critical thinking skills come later, and you’re able to finally work out why you like the thing you like so much. For me, ThePlayStation 2was the first console I properly had to play for myself and gather games for. And I gathered a lot.
In the around 100 or so PS2 games I had, which was a lot for a rural child like me, I played some certified bangers. But I also played quite a few bad ones. The critical thinking skills hadn’t developed yet, you see. Yet despite how awful some of these games were, I can’t forget them. Sometimes the bad can leave just as strong an impression. At least it did for me.
Now, I don’t actually think Sonic 06 was an inherently terrible game. Had it been polished up to not be quite so disastrously broken, I think there was a decent game under there. I enjoyed it, being one of my first Xbox 360 games, and its reputation is definitely a bit overblown. OK,maybe Sonic shouldn’t have had a romance with an actual human, but that’s detached from the gameplay.
However, being fair here, I did play Sonic 06 and it is a very broken game. Running on water did not work, Silver’s boss fight was just “it’s no use!” over and over again, and you would be lucky if you didn’t clip through the terrain at any given time. But it felt like a grand adventure all the same, and I could never hate it for that. Plus, I simply adored the main menu music.
Another concession I have to grant. I recall loving this game as a child. Me and my friend, actually. I loved how her health bar was like a long string of diamonds, and I enjoyed the flexibility of her combat. That said, I also haven’t played the game since then, over 20 years ago, so I might just be looking through the veneer of nostalgia-glazed, rose-tinted glasses.
But when researching this article, it was frequently found in the middling areas of some of the worst PS2 games. And I have to be honest, it made me a little sad. Halle Berry and her digital likeness deserve better than that, and so does my memory of the game! The world can never get me to hate you, Catwoman: The Game (2004).
4Monopoly Junior
Maybe It Wasn’t terrible, Maybe I Just Kept Losing
This isn’t one I could find much conversation about online. I supposeMonopoly Junior for the PCwasn’t exactly a ground-breaking release in the gaming industry. In the days before even dial-up internet, though, it was one of the biggest joys I could find on PC. In particular, I remember my sister and I playing the game a whole bunch. Those are good memories.
So why am I calling it a terrible game? No one else online seemed to be saying as such, so why am I? Well that’s easy - I kept losing. Like the venture capital economic system it’s based on, Monopoly Junior came down to a tiny bit of planning and a whole bunch of luck. And to that end, I despite Monopoly Junior for trying to turn me into a venture capitalist from such a young age.
3Avatar: The Burning Earth
An Easy 1,000 Gamerscore Though
In the transitionary period between the PS2 to PS3, just about every major game, adaptations of existing media especially, got a version on every available console. And they were just about always a completely different game, too. Really, it was unfair to call them the same name. When I originally played The Burning Earth, it was the DS version. And that was a very pretty, very fun game. I couldn’t comprehend why people didn’t like the game!
And then I played the Xbox 360 version, and it all clicked. This was a hilariously surface level game that made no effort to adapt the show into video game format. It felt lesser in all regards, and had nothing graphically to make it stand out compared to both the show and the DS version. So I got the 1,000G you could get in the first combat encounter and never completed the game. I have no nostalgia for it. The DS version, however, I adore to this day, and that will never change.
2The Quest For Aladdin’s Treasure
No, Not The Disney One
When I was younger, my older brother liked to buy me video games on his way back from work, and would leave them on the kitchen table for me for when I got home from school. It was like a little reward for surviving the school day. I loved it so much, just a little unsaid gesture. I got some great games this way. The Quest For Aladdin’s Treasure was not one of them.
Of course, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that, but I didn’t play the game for very long. It was a flavourless experience, stripping away the colour from this gorgeous region, and being obscenely clunk to top it off. It boasted some prestige voice talent in Matthew MacFadyen and Keeley Hawes, though that was hardly enough to make it good. So it’s not strictly the game I’m nostalgic for, but my memories of my brother buying it for me even though he knew nothing about games.
1Adiboo And The Energy Thieves
I Don’t Care If It Was For Children, It Was Still Awful
There are some games, such as Adiboo and the Energy Thieves, that aredesigned as edutainment. Games to stimulate the minds of a child while also giving them a fun time. To my memory, this game was a failure in both regards. It was not an enjoyable experience, and the only thing it taught me was how to hate it with a passion.
Yet despite that, I can’t forget it. This damn game has been carved into my mind. I do not remember when or where I got it, or where it is now. But it is burned into my memory. Is nostalgia the right word for that? It is part of my past, and I do look upon that period fondly, though not this game in particular. It’s a complicated feeling. And until I resolve it, Adiboo gets to remain marked as nostalgic, despite the displeasure he garners from me.
