Your favorite Guilty Pleasure Games

[King]

Just like Guilty Pleasure movies, what's you favorites Guilty Pleasure Game? You know, a game that you know it's bad but still enjoy it. Mine have to be Sonic R. Many ppl states it's one of the worst Sonic games ever. Much more worst then Sonic '06. But whatever. I LOVE THAT GAME. I love the music, I love the short game play. I just enjoy it.

Your's?

[creativerealms]

Shadow Madness. The game has some of the worst Playstation graphics ever. The models are probably as bad as Bugsy 3D. Hell Star Fox probably had better 3D graphics. The RPG Battle system was broken, gameplay in general was broken and a total mess. The game is quite horrible actually. It has a decent score and a good story but not enough to really make it a good game in anyway at all. yet I like it and I have beaten it twice.

[SirLemming]

I understand the concept of guilty pleasure movies, but I'm not sure about guilty pleasure games. If it's fun to play, then it's doing what a game is supposed to do.

I guess what I would consider a guilty pleasure game is Duke Nukem 3D. I actually only played it a few years ago. Content-wise, it's pretty tame by today's standards, but there is a general misogynistic sort of attitude throughout it that makes me feel a little uneasy for enjoying it.

On the other hand, Plants vs. Zombies would be a guilty pleasure movie because it's an incredibly stupid story concept, but it's not a guilty pleasure game, because the gameplay is fantastic and that's all that really matters.

[Geek Princess]

I saw this thread and my mind immediately jumped to "Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six" for the NES. I maintain that the Sinister Six is my favorite villain team, and their first issue (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1) is my favorite comic book stories. For the game itself, idon't care if I can only get halfway through the Sandman level before the controls start getting finnicky and I'm unable to press on, I still play with hope that one day, luck will favor me getting to fight Doctor Octopus. And say what you will aout the music, I like it.

I also enjoy Fire Emblem Gaiden. Well, okay. So I DID enjoy it. That enjoyment turned to frustration, then anger, then a masochistic drive to finish it for the minimal bragging rights. Then I remember the happy times playing it back in junior year and it goes right back to enjoyiment. Either way, the game is't generally well-liked due to the more conventional RPG elements it incorporates, such as the ability to grind as opposed tohaving a set number of maps and battles, thus making it easier. Which, hey, fun is fun, no matter if there's an abusable mechanic or not. Plus, who has the patince to grind on that game?

[PC!]

I love Sonic '06, despite how bad people say it is. Sure, it's glitchy, but it's never hampered my playing it any more than any other glitchy game out there.

I guess Pokemon would count. I don't care how "kiddy" it is. It's easily one of the most, if not the most addicting game I've ever played in my life.

[Conekiller]

.hack series for me! Both of them!

[defunctzombie]

The Lego games. I'm a little old for them, but I think they're great.

[Daxdiv]

I guess I'll go out and say the Leisure Suit Larry Games. I like the humor in most of them and the point-click aspect of the old games. I haven't played the new game yet, cause I heard it sucked, but according to my friend it is an easy 1000/1000. Though I did play LSL:MCL, I know the game was average, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. After all it didn't pretend to be something it wasn't.

[mookie75]

The Lego games. I'm a little old for them, but I think they're great.

There's no such thing as being too old for the Lego games! I'm 34 and I just got done playing some Lego Indy. :p

[River26]

Games that had that bar (bottom of screen). For those that play future fighting games or RPG gamers. Y'know what I mean. Whatever fighting game has it (King of Fighters XII, BlazBlue, TMNT: Tournament Fighters - SNES ver. y'name it) or any Tales of RPG game.

You'd know that once this bar reaches it's maximum. It's like open season on your opponent. Which you get to perform these "mystic arte-induced attacks" that have these flashy animation.

Such games are as follows

Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Vesperia
BlazBlue
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES)
Street Fighter Alpha, SFA 2 & 3
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)

[Classic Speedy]

Cruis'n USA. I know there are much better racing games I could be playing, and the traffic AI is horribly predictable (a new car appears on the other side of the road literally every four or five seconds, like clockwork), but I find myself playing it most every time I turn on my Wii for some old school gaming.

Clay Fighter. I know it has poor hit detection and a game engine that pales in comparison to Street Fighter 2, but it has a goofy charm that I like.

Need For Speed 2. Like Cruis'n USA, there are far better racing games, the framerate sucks (in the PS1 version), it's hard to come out of a powerslide, you crash and flip WAY too easily, and 3 blows it out of the water in every conceivable way, but for some reason I can't hate it TOO much. Maybe it's because you can race as an outhouse, a crate, a log, and a T-Rex, among many other hidden "vehicles". Maybe it's the Monolithic Studios track, which lets you race through various sets on a studio lot. Or maybe it's just because of nostalgia from my PS1 days when we didn't know any better.

[Gold Guy]

Bratz: Rock Angelz. I know, I'm a guy, but still.

[BrendaBat]

Rhapsody: I know the gameplay was bad (though it was improved in the DS port) and the songs are dorky. But I just can't help loving it.

[WolfieKiwi]

Driver 2, I guess. Just fooling around in "Take a Drive" mode was surprisingly fun. Even when the police cars started hounding on you for the most simplest mistakes, it was still a thrill to shake them off.

Of course, it gets insane when the chase goes on and you have more than six of them on your tail. Usually by that time, though they have a route blocked somewhere up ahead and it's an automatic game over trap.

[Simpler Simon]

Clay Fighter. I know it has poor hit detection and a game engine that pales in comparison to Street Fighter 2, but it has a goofy charm that I like.

Agree with Clay Fighter, I've got all the games across the SNES and N64 and they're fun to pull out every so often.

Street Racing Syndicate: The "guilty pleasure" part of this comes from the videos of import models dancing around that you can unlock. Cheap thrill yes, but the actual racing is also pretty solid.

House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return: The guilty part of this being that I should not be contributing money to another cheap, cash-in port on the Wii. But the rail shooting is flawless and these games are so hilariously B-movie that you can't resist.

Leisure Suit Larry Magna Cum Laude: It's so juvenile in the gags and digital titillation, but it's a hilarious video game representation of all those 80s college movies.

Any Mortal Kombat Game: Even with the new 3D ones you still get the diehards that blast it every chance they get when compared to Street Fighter and SoulCalibur. But I think the MK series has proven itself as a "legitimate" fighting franchise.

[Eddy]

Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak for the Game Boy Advance. Clearly made for the little ones, but I had a lot of fun with this game.

[garfield15]

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is charming, fun and cartoony and I'm proud to say it's number 1 in my collection of PS2 games. I love the game very much mainly since it was the first game I played on the PS2 (and that was a demo at Sony Wonder)

Also Jak X assuming not a lot of people liked it.

[Novapocalypse]

I would probably say...
Sonic Heroes, Toy Story 2(the game), and Spider-Man 3(game).
Granted, none of those games were considered terribly unplayable bad, but not very well recieved, and they are the only ones I can think of right of the bat.


Also Jak X assuming not a lot of people liked it.

Are you serious? I loved that game! I mean it didn't have a top notch story but I thought it was hella fun.

[Geek Princess]

Rhapsody: I know the gameplay was bad (though it was improved in the DS port) and the songs are dorky. But I just can't help loving it.

You kiddin'? Rhapsody's one of my favorite games, no guilt involved! I liked the gameplay, and the soundtrack's one of the best parts of the game! Haven't played the DS port, though.

[Mynd Hed]

Bratz: Rock Angelz. I know, I'm a guy, but still.

Coming into this thread, I was going to say something generic about how there shouldn't be any such thing as a "guilty" pleasure, that you shouldn't have to justify or get defensive about what you enjoy.

But on second thought, y'know, I think it's okay for you to feel a little guilty about liking that. (-:

[SirLemming]

This thread is starting to make sense now.

I remember back when I was in 7th grade, my sister was playing JumpStart 3rd Grade. And on more than one occasion I found myself "helping" her play it.

[garfield15]

This thread is starting to make sense now.

I remember back when I was in 7th grade, my sister was playing JumpStart 3rd Grade. And on more than one occasion I found myself "helping" her play it.
That game is sending subliminal messages. I swear to god, I can't stop "helping" my little bro beat the levels.

[Doctor Nick]

I used to love the game Aladin on Sega.

[Classic Speedy]

I used to love the game Aladin on Sega. No reason to feel guilty about that. That game's awesome.

[ensatsu-ken]

I'm not really sure what would really count as a guilty pleasure for me, since if I like something, I don't give a crap about what anyone else has to say about it, in terms of whether its good or bad. However, a lot of people I have talked to seem to hate having to play as any of the characters in Sonic Adventure who weren't either Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles, yet I must say that I had no problem enjoying playing as E-102 Gamma, Amy, and yes, even Big the Cat.

Sure, the latter of those 2 were very annoying characters (even though Sega was clearly trying to make them funny/comic relief characters), and they didn't add anything to the story line, but the gameplay for them was fun, and all of their levels were pretty well designed, IMO (in the sense that I had fun playing as them in their levels). So, yeah, that's really all that I can think of as a guilty pleasure, in that I enjoy playing as the characters which pretty much everyone else seem to hate.

Well, I suppose I could also mention the Dead or Alive games. Of course, there really isn't anything wrong with them past the 1st one, IMO. I just know that a lot of hardcore fighting game fans knock on them for their unbalanced combat and "supposedly" broken gameplay (and also because they just hate Itagaki :p ). I say that they are far from broken, and while they don't have the depth or balance of games like Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, or Street Fighter games, they are still pretty fun, and DOA 3 and 4 actually have enough balance to them to the point in which they are not just straight-up button mashers (they do involve some level of skill in terms of knowing how the combat system works in each respective game, in general), even though button mashing does still play a role in both games, clearly enough.

The main point is if the game is fun, though, and DOA 2-4 are pretty fun for me. Sure, their not exactly the most balanced fighting games out there, but one thing that I will say that they have that I have yet to see from any other fighting games is unrivaled fluidity in combat animations. Seriously, Team Ninja games just have such stellar animations, and the DOA games basically define that.

At any rate, I guess they really don't count as guilty pleasures, but I only thought of it in this thread because if I ever come across a hardcore fan of any sort of fighting game franchise that's not DOA, I will often get bashed for even saying that I like it (of course, considering that this mainly happened to me back when I used to be a regular on the "Game Spot" forums, I suppose its not too surprising, when I think about it).

[SirLemming]

Well, if I liked DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball I would definitely feel guilty about it. Then again, I'm not sure there's any other way to feel about it.

[ensatsu-ken]

Well, if I liked DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball I would definitely feel guilty about it. Then again, I'm not sure there's any other way to feel about it.

Maybe I would have liked that game if....well, you know, there was some more focus put on the volley ball part actually being fun, rather than the game being the obvious fanservice for horny/perverted fanboys that it is. Even then, I wouldn't mind so much, but after having played NGB, I was extremely ticked off to hear that Itagaki actually had the nerve to work on another one of these....errr, I guess that they still quallify as games, before working on NG2.

In fact, if he had not wasted any of his time with DOAX2, it would have given him and Team Ninja to work on NG2, meaning that it wouldn't have been so rushed, which would mean that it could have been nearly flawless when it had come out, without all of those annoying glitches and the occasional cheap enemy AI. Instead he spent quite a good bit of man power on making this game which he even had the nerve to admit was really just a "hobby" of his, and for that, NG2 indirectly had to suffer. It is for this reason that I hate that game even more than I normally would, as it actually hindered the true completion of what should have been the best NG game ever made. :mad:

[Looneytunes]

I do not have any games that I am ashamed of having, but the two that I mostly do not enjoy having are "Voodoo Vince" and "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" by the X-Box. I still have not played "Grabbed by the Ghoulies", never did, do not know why I even have it, but when I first played "Voodoo Vince", I thought it was going to be interesting, and it eventually turned out to be terrible. I still have it, though, but the only reason is that it has a similar atmosphere to that of "Donkey Kong 64", otherwise it is not that entertaining, but no disrespect to any fans, really.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons

[Classic Speedy]

but when I first played "Voodoo Vince", I thought it was going to be interesting, and it eventually turned out to be terrible. I still have it, though, but the only reason is that it has a similar atmosphere to that of "Donkey Kong 64", otherwise it is not that entertaining, but no disrespect to any fans, really.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons You're the first person I've heard say that Voodoo Vince was bad. Just curious, what about it did you think was so terrible?

Also, this topic is more for games you know aren't award-winning but you still enjoy. If you hate Voodoo Vince, sorry to say but it doesn't fit the topic.

[Desensitized]

TMNT1 on the NES.

It's a pretty bad game, all things considered. Broken controls, horrid level design, and has some pretty cheap difficulty. That said, something about it is pretty fun to play with. Even when I was a kid, I knew it wasn't very good, but it was still somehow fun.

It's definitely dated better than TMNT2 has. At least you can hit enemies without taking damage.

[King]

I always enjoy the Street Fighter EX series. Not as decent like the other Street Fighter series games, but it's fun to play it.

Same goes with MegaMan 64! LOVE IT! And as well the spin-off for that game.

[Kevin the Geek]

I guess my favorite guilty pleasure game would have to The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage for PS2. It's actually a fun game, if you're a fan of The Powerpuff Girls, and can find it at a cheap price.

[Looneytunes]

You're the first person I've heard say that Voodoo Vince was bad. Just curious, what about it did you think was so terrible?

Also, this topic is more for games you know aren't award-winning but you still enjoy. If you hate Voodoo Vince, sorry to say but it doesn't fit the topic.

Then maybe, once again, the original poster should have been specific, god! And, though I appreciate that "Voodoo Vince" has a similar atmosphere to that of "Donkey Kong 64", it does not have a very interesting story, and the characters do not help either. I mean, come on, you get to play as a voodoo doll? I have nothing against voodoo dolls, but that does not mean that I would play as one, and it also has no magic, no charisma. It is very dull, at least to me. Anyway, I cannot provide any more reasons than these, so yeah, that is all I can say about the game, but in response to games that I enjoy that are not award winning, I cannot think of any, not to be boastful or anything, but many of the games that I have are great. I will try to think of something.

But, to the person who mentioned "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1" for the Nintendo, why do you think it is a very bad game? I think it is a classic. It might not be as great as "the Arcade Game", no TMNT game is, I might offend, but it is just as entertaining, I think so anyway, and I know you said you like it, I do too, but why do you think it is so bad? I am just curious.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons

[SirLemming]

Then maybe, once again, the original poster should have been specific, god!
The phrase "guilty pleasure", which includes the word "pleasure", implies that you enjoy the game. You indicated that you did not enjoy Voodoo Vince, therefore it really isn't a guilty pleasure.

[WolfieKiwi]

Just thought of another one...Sheep Raider.

I don't think it got much attention, but it was a great game from what I can remember. The gadgets were interesting, the controls worked fairly well and there was that strange satisfaction every time you got away with one of Sam Sheepdogs' sheep.

So...what makes it a guilty pleasure to me is because it's a game based off a cartoon and no one I know personally has heard of it.

[King]

Here's another one, mortal kombat 4! Design of the characters looks lazy and it's kind-of hard to play (IMO), but it's fun. And the ending of the game!....:sweat: See it for yourself. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_QiXFldb5s&feature=channel_page

[Looneytunes]

The phrase "guilty pleasure", which includes the word "pleasure", implies that you enjoy the game. You indicated that you did not enjoy Voodoo Vince, therefore it really isn't a guilty pleasure.

O-k, here are some I enjoy, but are not award-winning. Here are some good ones. (There might be more, but these are the only ones I can think of right now)

"Donkey Kong 64" (N64)
"Mario Tennis 64" (N64)
"The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare" (SNES)

And, I thought this thread meant which games you enjoy playing, but are ashamed to like.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons

P.S. I would also list "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1" (NES) as someone else has mentioned, but come on, the game is a classic and one of the best TMNT games ever.

[SirLemming]

And, I thought this thread meant which games you enjoy playing, but are ashamed to like.
That works too, as long as you actually enjoy it.

[Desensitized]

P.S. I would also list "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1" (NES) as someone else has mentioned, but come on, the game is a classic and one of the best TMNT games ever.It's not a classic, IMO. The game offers cheap difficulty, stiff controls, dumb level design, and is an eyesore to look at. It's a pretty bad game, all things considered. Not the worst, but I don't know how it could be considered good.

Yet, it still manages to be pretty fun despite all of it's flaws. I'm not really ashamed to admit I like playing it, but I could never call it a good game.

[creativerealms]

But, to the person who mentioned "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1" for the Nintendo, why do you think it is a very bad game? I think it is a classic. It might not be as great as "the Arcade Game", no TMNT game is, I might offend, but it is just as entertaining, I think so anyway, and I know you said you like it, I do too, but why do you think it is so bad? I am just curious.



It's a game that tricks you in to thinking it's very good. The first level is quite good all things considered, but then once you get to the dam the game becomes almost imposible and you see just how broken it is.

Plus the donny trick. Donny is quite broken in the game compared to his brothers making him much more useful. Don't let Donny die.

[Classic Speedy]

Plus the donny trick. Donny is quite broken in the game compared to his brothers making him much more useful. Don't let Donny die. Feh. Leonardo was always my favorite in the game. I didn't like how Don's bo stick went over short enemies.

Ralph was definitely the worst, though. He's useless with his severely limited range, a complete waste.

[Daxdiv]

Ralph was basically my meatshield in the game when I decided to download it from the Virtual Console. I just used him when I knew I was going to die and had to protect Donny and all cost.

[JTurner954]

Count me in as another fan of TMNT1. And I can't help but laugh when people complain about the dam level :sweat: which I can beat with little difficulty (memorize the bombs and switch at least once between turtles and it's a snap). AVGN's video on it was pretty funny. I found myself yelling at the screen trying to help him out (Use Don against the chainsaw guy; don't climb the ladder).

I'm also a fan of Bugs Bunny games like Birthday Blowout and Rabbit Rampage. Knocking out Tweety and Sylvestor in Birthday Blowout and re-enacting classic Bugs Bunny scenes in Rabbit Rampage (the bull fight, boxing, etc.) and fighting Daffy Duck was a lot of fun.

Captain Commando is a Final Fight ripoff but it's still fun to play and laugh at.

I also like music games so it should come as no surprise that I love playing Bust a Groove ... think of it as an early version of DDR.

And of course there's Monster Party which I wish AVGN would do an episode on. The Irate Gamer's Youtube video isn't too bad , but there is stuff left out that James could easily make an episode out of. That stuff (tricks with the bat among others) makes the game a lot of fun.

[Desensitized]

I've never understood why people get hung up on the dam level. It's the level after that which annoyed me as a kid. It's not straightforward at all, and there is no clear path to the goal. It's mostly a guessing game to find the way out.

It's just poorly designed.

The dam is just difficult because of the unforgiving collision detection, but I still have the path to the goal memorized.

[Invidente 7]

I know the game freezes (that never happened on my copy) but going around and taking care of crimes on your police car is awesome, and while the blod and gore feel cheap add-ons, the whole idea of taking out perps in non-lethal ways is genuinely interesting...that and the boos fights were awesome :evil:

[Mek]

Eternal Sonata - I've pretty much grew out of JRPGs since I touched Knights of the Old Republic, though I did enjoy FF12 and the Xenosaga series. But Eternal Sonata is a classic example of a JRPG and it's way cutsey, but I love it. It's just... fun.

Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant - I know a lot of people hate the newer Crash games, mostly due to the story, but they're sure fun... and this is coming from an old school*Crash fan.

Sonic Heroes - That's right, I went there.

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity - A lot of F-Zero fans dislike this one for a variety of reasons and yeah, it's boring. But for a simple racing game, it's nice.

The entire 'Dead or Alive' series - I say this because I consider myself to be a feminist in most regards. I don't care about the fanservice (even if I do find it disgusting at times), I just find them ALL to be fun games to play. Yes, even Xtreme Beach Volleyball.