Before I begin, I thought it was necessary to mention that my wife is a co-author for some of these articles, I am sure you can tell which ones are mine and which are not. Anyways, I would like to talk about a few games that I have played that started off horribly but ended up being awesome games in the end. The reasons why they were horrible at the start was that I found some of them boring, I found some of them to have awful graphics, or something along those lines, but over time, the more I played the more I became hooked to them.
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - I remember the first time I played this game, I had rented it and I just could not get into it because it took place in a jungle and there was not a whole lot of action going on and I really questioned whether or not it would get better. I let some of my friends give it a try and they felt the same way. I remember that I didn't get far at all before I returned it. A few months passed and I decided to purchase the game and to be patient with it, and I did and the more I played it, the more intrigued I became. While it didn't get my attention like the previous MGS games did in the beginning, I kept playing it and it was about the time that I fought the first boss that I could not put the game down. Eventually I got to a part of the game where Snake is running from Ocelot and his men, and then he reached a waterfall and decided to jump, it was then that I knew this game was going to be epic. There was also the scene where you are being chased by the Soviet general and the Metal Gear, and no one can ever forget the battles with The End and of course the final battle with Boss and of course the end of the game with Snake and Eva. I have to say that MGS3 was my favorite out of the entire series mostly because it explains so much about the MGS series as a whole, if you havent played this game, I highly recommend it.
2. Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time - I remember that there was so much hype concerning this game and I was one of the lucky people to get a set of action figures for pre-ordering this game, but when I played it I was disappointed at first. Part of my disappointment was that I had played A Link to the Past before and I loved that game, and at first, the scenery of Ocarina of Time was a bit ugly looking, but I played the game, and I think about the time I reached the first dungeon as adult link, I could not stop playing this game. I loved the fact that there was so much to do, looking for Poe's, riding your horse, journeying all over for the Biggoron Sword, and much more. This game was truly a masterpiece as well and an unforgettable gaming experience, and it laid the foundation for future Zelda games, particularly the Twilight Princess.
3. Legend of Zelda : The Adventure of Link - I had played this game when I was younger for the NES and I have to say that I HATED it! I could not get far at all, and I kept dying in those dungeons and worst of all I never even completed one dungeon. Years later I got a Legend of Zelda collection disc for Gamecube that had this game as well as Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, and the original Zelda game. So I finished the first Zelda originally for the NES, and then I decided to play the Adventure of Link. With the help of a strategy guide from Youtube I was able to beat the first dungeon and then I decided to play on. After reaching the 3rd dungeon or so, I was hooked, my abilities became increasingly strong, I gained new items, techniques and I felt invincible, and before I knew it I made it to the final dungeon and I was fighting Shadow Link! This game was amazing overall, although fans in general hated this game, it was great and it was where Shadow Link was first presented and although I still dislike the music it was a good gaming experience.
4. Resident Evil 4: Resident Evil 4 for me didn't start off so good, I remember going into that village that looked incredibly ugly but I sensed that there was something awesome that was going to happen eventually. By the time I got to the Spanish castle and was fighting the gladiator like enemy with hand claws I couldn't but the game down. Many of the characters such as the Presidents daughter (especially in her alternate costume), the monster underneath the castle, the reappearance of Ada, and the cult members with the goats masks also made this game awesome. One of my favorite parts of the game was where the cult members were trying to carry off the President's daughter and you are armed with a sniper rifle and have to take them out, I have to say making a head shot without shooting the girl was quite a challenge, but if you could do it, you felt like a total bad ass. I have to say that this game was even better than Resident Evil 5, at least in my opinion.
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of Castlevania (Like MGS it is from Konami), although I did really enjoy Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo. I remember hearing of Symphony of the Night years ago and I then I saw it on Playstation Network for a cheap price so I decided to download it. At first the game was kind of boring for me since my weapons were so powerful everything would die incredibly fast, and then my weapons were taken away, and then the game got very challenging, until I was able to acquire better weapons. After I did get better weapons, I was again in trouble, because when the castle turned upside down, it seems that all the enemies were incredibly powerful. I didnt like this game at first, but as I continued many of the enemies looked so unique, and then I was able to turn into a bat and fly, and I also enjoyed the fact that I was able to get strange weapons like the Nunchaku and Tonfa. This game was incredibly awesome once I got into it, the music was great as well, and when I finally beat it, I wanted more!
So what is the point of all of these games? Well, it just goes to show you that you can not judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a game by only playing it for a little while. It made me think that there are probably many more great games out there that just need a chance. For me, I never got into Final Fantasy, but I am planning on giving it a shot because I have heard that they take awhile to get into, but in the end they are worth it. In the meantime, if you haven't played through these games, I highly recommend then, they are truly amazing.
**The above photographs were from Wikipedia.org **
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - I remember the first time I played this game, I had rented it and I just could not get into it because it took place in a jungle and there was not a whole lot of action going on and I really questioned whether or not it would get better. I let some of my friends give it a try and they felt the same way. I remember that I didn't get far at all before I returned it. A few months passed and I decided to purchase the game and to be patient with it, and I did and the more I played it, the more intrigued I became. While it didn't get my attention like the previous MGS games did in the beginning, I kept playing it and it was about the time that I fought the first boss that I could not put the game down. Eventually I got to a part of the game where Snake is running from Ocelot and his men, and then he reached a waterfall and decided to jump, it was then that I knew this game was going to be epic. There was also the scene where you are being chased by the Soviet general and the Metal Gear, and no one can ever forget the battles with The End and of course the final battle with Boss and of course the end of the game with Snake and Eva. I have to say that MGS3 was my favorite out of the entire series mostly because it explains so much about the MGS series as a whole, if you havent played this game, I highly recommend it.
2. Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time - I remember that there was so much hype concerning this game and I was one of the lucky people to get a set of action figures for pre-ordering this game, but when I played it I was disappointed at first. Part of my disappointment was that I had played A Link to the Past before and I loved that game, and at first, the scenery of Ocarina of Time was a bit ugly looking, but I played the game, and I think about the time I reached the first dungeon as adult link, I could not stop playing this game. I loved the fact that there was so much to do, looking for Poe's, riding your horse, journeying all over for the Biggoron Sword, and much more. This game was truly a masterpiece as well and an unforgettable gaming experience, and it laid the foundation for future Zelda games, particularly the Twilight Princess.
3. Legend of Zelda : The Adventure of Link - I had played this game when I was younger for the NES and I have to say that I HATED it! I could not get far at all, and I kept dying in those dungeons and worst of all I never even completed one dungeon. Years later I got a Legend of Zelda collection disc for Gamecube that had this game as well as Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, and the original Zelda game. So I finished the first Zelda originally for the NES, and then I decided to play the Adventure of Link. With the help of a strategy guide from Youtube I was able to beat the first dungeon and then I decided to play on. After reaching the 3rd dungeon or so, I was hooked, my abilities became increasingly strong, I gained new items, techniques and I felt invincible, and before I knew it I made it to the final dungeon and I was fighting Shadow Link! This game was amazing overall, although fans in general hated this game, it was great and it was where Shadow Link was first presented and although I still dislike the music it was a good gaming experience.
4. Resident Evil 4: Resident Evil 4 for me didn't start off so good, I remember going into that village that looked incredibly ugly but I sensed that there was something awesome that was going to happen eventually. By the time I got to the Spanish castle and was fighting the gladiator like enemy with hand claws I couldn't but the game down. Many of the characters such as the Presidents daughter (especially in her alternate costume), the monster underneath the castle, the reappearance of Ada, and the cult members with the goats masks also made this game awesome. One of my favorite parts of the game was where the cult members were trying to carry off the President's daughter and you are armed with a sniper rifle and have to take them out, I have to say making a head shot without shooting the girl was quite a challenge, but if you could do it, you felt like a total bad ass. I have to say that this game was even better than Resident Evil 5, at least in my opinion.
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of Castlevania (Like MGS it is from Konami), although I did really enjoy Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo. I remember hearing of Symphony of the Night years ago and I then I saw it on Playstation Network for a cheap price so I decided to download it. At first the game was kind of boring for me since my weapons were so powerful everything would die incredibly fast, and then my weapons were taken away, and then the game got very challenging, until I was able to acquire better weapons. After I did get better weapons, I was again in trouble, because when the castle turned upside down, it seems that all the enemies were incredibly powerful. I didnt like this game at first, but as I continued many of the enemies looked so unique, and then I was able to turn into a bat and fly, and I also enjoyed the fact that I was able to get strange weapons like the Nunchaku and Tonfa. This game was incredibly awesome once I got into it, the music was great as well, and when I finally beat it, I wanted more!
So what is the point of all of these games? Well, it just goes to show you that you can not judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a game by only playing it for a little while. It made me think that there are probably many more great games out there that just need a chance. For me, I never got into Final Fantasy, but I am planning on giving it a shot because I have heard that they take awhile to get into, but in the end they are worth it. In the meantime, if you haven't played through these games, I highly recommend then, they are truly amazing.
**The above photographs were from Wikipedia.org **