games you dislike that everyone likes and vice versa

[StarSock64]

but from what I've read, don't you only control the main character's choices in battles and your teammates act on "tactics" that they've been assigned?

From what I remember on XIII, though, you can actually manually assign your teammates commands each turn - but in the later stages of the game, it takes forever and you're better off just keeping them tactics-based, lol

I'm pretty sure you can't control your teammates in XIII at all, and it's not turn-based

You don't control your teammates in P3, either... but like, that's a pretty loose and shallow connection, because that kind of system is really common in RPGs to begin with. Most things about P3's system are really traditional, so saying XIII is like P3 is like saying "XIII is like every RPG," to me...which is pretty silly

[Jermungandr]

I don't get the appeal of Tetris.

There, I said it.

It's not to say that I dislike the whole "falling object puzzle games" genre, but Tetris in particular never holds my attention for more than a few minutes. The only thing I really find interesting is the music, and that's only if we're talking about the classic versions.

Now Tetris 2, that was a good game. But ... didn't actually have anything to do with the original Tetris whatsoever. Everyone tends to forget that one exists, though.

[Koopaul]

I generally hate the falling puzzle genre. But that's not about one specific game.

[Pik]

I don't get the appeal of Tetris.

There, I said it.

It's not to say that I dislike the whole "falling object puzzle games" genre, but Tetris in particular never holds my attention for more than a few minutes. The only thing I really find interesting is the music, and that's only if we're talking about the classic versions.

Now Tetris 2, that was a good game. But ... didn't actually have anything to do with the original Tetris whatsoever. Everyone tends to forget that one exists, though.

The appeal of Tetris is it's accessibility and easy-to-grasp rules, I guess. It's a fun game that's well designed, even if it's simple. Whenever I play Tetris, I often end up playing longer than I initially went in for.

I really hate Earthbound.
A lot.
The whole series.

Also Super Metroid and Metroid Prime (all three of them) are terrible.

Mario Galaxy (both of them) is the worst of all the 3D Mario games.

Ah man... this post is a pain to read, all five sentences having a worse effect than the last. But they're still valid opinions to have, even if I disagree. We do agree about Binding of Isaac and Borderlands, though.

[Goemar]

...how can someone hate Mother 3...

As for me, the "Souls" games (Demon's Souls being the one I played). No it wasn't too hard and all that, I just didn't think it was very good. I completed a run through it as it apparently gets better once you beat it once - but no. The controls, movement and "combat" (if you can call it that) are just terrible. It was like playing a very pretty but unprofessional college student game.

Oh, The Binding of Isaac is terrible as well.

Oh god it really is. After hearing so much about it I was pretty excited when it was free on PS+ (specially after Destructoid gave it a 10/10) but it's basically a well polished "My first TGF/Game Maker" game. Utterly terrible. I honestly have no idea why it's considered good.

[Pik]

I can see how people would dislike the first two, but 3 is such a solid game. (Same with Mario Galaxy) That's the point of an unpopular opinion thread, though.

As for Binding of Isaac, it was "good for Newgrounds" and then got too popular, I suppose. For a free game people liked it, but I didn't see the appeal.

[Koh]

I don't get the appeal of Tetris.

You clearly haven't played competitive Tetris 

[Omega]

Oh, The Binding of Isaac is terrible as well.

Oh god it really is. After hearing so much about it I was pretty excited when it was free on PS+ (specially after Destructoid gave it a 10/10) but it's basically a well polished "My first TGF/Game Maker" game. Utterly terrible. I honestly have no idea why it's considered good.

I like The Binding of isaac because of its replay value, no two runs are the same because theres over 400 items in the game that have different effects, you might have one run where your tears are rapid, and dealing explosive damage, another where you have a legion of followers shooting tears along with you.

[Vipershark]

I don't get the appeal of Tetris.

I used to be the same way for years until one day it just sort of suddenly clicked. Like, I could play Tetris and know what to do and know that clearing lines was the goal of the game, but I got no enjoyment out of it and it would bore me really quickly and I never understood why everyone loved it so much. It was just... Tetris. It was boring. Where was the action?

Then one day I was playing Tetris DS and I had an almost physical reaction in which I suddenly just *understood*. The game quite literally /felt/ different afterwards and it was as though some whole new layer of complexity and enjoyment was opened up to me and I got really into it.

I would say that a lot of the complexity/competitiveness/fun probably came out of understanding the "Tetris" mechanic (that is, clearing four lines at the same time) so that the game becomes less about just clearing lines and more about thinking ahead and making setups that will allow you to get more than one line with one piece.

I think the best way I can explain it is by using a completely different game as an example.

If you're familiar with Puyo Puyo/Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine/Kirby's Avalanche, then you might be familiar with the difference between casual and hardcore play in those games. If you play casually, it's a pretty basic line-up-four-of-the-same-color game and generally is pretty slow paced and not very exciting. You do what you can to not die and that's pretty much that. Playing competitively on the other hand is completely about lining up as many chains of color matches as you possibly can to wreck the opponent with garbage as hard as possible before they can do the same to you. It's all about thinking ahead in order to set up patterns that will fall into place when the right conditions are met, while simultaneously making sure the opponent can't sabotage you.

I think this video shows the difference in playstyle pretty well. Granted, this is the second level in the game so the computer isn't exactly trying but what you're seeing here is essentially a hardcore player on the left and a "normal" player on the right. The normal player slowly drops blocks and tries to line up four that match, while the hardcore player instead opts to start creating patterns that come into play by the end of the video. Note how everything is carefully put into place so that once the last piece is played, the entire field begins falling in a domino effect where one piece affects the next piece, and so on.

Playing Tetris uses effectively similar concepts but with planning your block placement to clear as many lines as possible in a single drop as opposed to trying to destroy an opponent.
First off, I'll show you a video I made back in 2008 of me playing (very badly, I hadn't set up the controls for this recording so half of me playing so bad is me hitting the wrong buttons) casually and it's a really boring video.

Note how I clear some lines, but there's not really any sort of understanding or plan to it and I kinda just put stuff in whatever placement and leave holes and such.

Now, compare that to high level Tetris play.

You've probably seen this video before, but note the strategy that's being used. The player carefully builds a wall that fits together so that any time he gets an I drop, he scores a Tetris. For me at least, this is where the enjoyment comes from. Other people might play differently and can share their experiences on that but this is what I get out of Tetris.


...to be fair, the old NES and GB versions are pretty boring and I can see how someone wouldn't enjoy playing those as opposed to the newer versions. Newer features like the Ghost and being able to use Hard Drop and infinite spins make the game a lot more accessible. I'm pretty sure Tetris DS is still considered the best game in the series, so if you can find a copy of that then it's probably your best shot at really getting what makes the game good. Tetris' enjoyability comes from the fact that it's super simple, yet super complex.

[Pik]

Damn, this dude is passionate about Tetris. Good write up.

[Helmo]

I like Pokemon Tetris, you unlock a randomly cycling Pokemon when you chain a big combo. (It's probably one of the worst versions technically, it has horrible music and graphics as a result of the system)

I'm really suprised Game Freak hasn't made a sequel for DS or something....

[Vipershark]

If you want to talk about terrible falling block puzzle games, Dr. Mario is the game for you.

[Shade]

I've only played legit Tetris once... Does Kirby's Avalanche count?

Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine?

I think that counts.

[Vipershark]

No, Kirby's Avalanche and MBM are reskins of Puyo Puyo, not Tetris.
I guess it should also be noted that "Tetris Attack" (and the Puzzle League games) is not actually a Tetris game at all but is instead a reskin of Panel De Pon.

Tetris is its own game.

[Gwen]

If you want to talk about terrible falling block puzzle games, Dr. Mario is the game for you.

Why in the world does this post exist?

Dr. Mario is awesome!