It’s Okay to Like Bad Games
How to own your embarrassing taste
Sometimes, the internet makes you feel a little dirty for enjoying something. Maybe it’s not the most popular, or it isn’t the stalwart of quality people claim Mass Effect is. Perhaps it’s straight up shit, but it resonates with you in some way. If you put yourself out there and share your fandom, angsty commenters on the inter-webs will make sure you know of your fault. Some of us get offended and try to defend our interest in Chameleon Twist, while others start questioning whether their quality barometer is properly calibrated.
That last bit isn't true. No one does that.
I'm here to tell you it's alright to like "bad" games. It's cool to enjoy any sort of medium which is looked down upon by the masses, in fact. It's even alright to wear your love of Earth Defense Force on your sleeve, as long as you don't mind getting some hate now and again. You are going to get hated on for something else at some point anyway, so why bother hiding it? Earth Defense Force is cool.
I like Space Station Silicon Valley. Going back to it now is difficult, but I still enjoy it. Sure, the controls are clunky and the player spends a lot of time fighting a frustrating camera and physics system. The level design is a bit uninspired. Yet, I still find the game fun to this day. Donkey Kong 64 is a drag. I’m a Rareware fanboy from my head to my nethers, but DK64 sucks. The game’s frame rate is atrocious. Switching between Kongs is a chore. Each level is littered with frustrating and repetitive minigames, which make the latter half of the game completely unenjoyable. The baddies serve no purpose, and most of the animal buddies that helped to make Donkey Kong Country so charming aren’t even in the game. I’ve played DK64 5 or 6 times, and only finished it once. I quit once I get to Fungi Forest every subsequent time. By that point, the game devolves to a mini-game fest that just isn’t fun. Rare went overboard with the game after the success of Banjo-Kazooie, losing most everything that made BK special in the process.
Sure, the controls suck, but this is pretty cute.
People love Mega Man Legends. I love the series myself...but they aren’t great games. I even wore a Save Mega Man Legends 3 t-shirt on television once. Yeah, I’m a real advocate. I’m opening myself up to some real nasty feedback here, but it’s true. All 3 games in the series have blatant issues. Clunky controls (the camera...oh god, the camera), sparse and repetitive dungeon design, and the emotionless mundane voice acting come together to make a game that is...surprisingly enjoyable. I played through the series again last year, and enjoyed the hell out of it. I could ignore the problems because I was having such a great time. That’s something that doesn’t happen with new games. Technical issue and poor design choices are glaring obvious, and ruin the entire experience. Nostalgia is strong, and the love for a series is even stronger.
I’ll go as far as saying my favorite game series, Mother (Earthbound for us uncultured North Americans), isn’t the strongest in the gameplay department. The first two games in the series are quite barebones in terms of mechanics. The first game is simply a Dragon Quest rip-off, complete with horrible balancing issues making the game borderline unplayable. That hasn’t stopped me from playing the game to completion several times during my long and admittedly boring life. Mother 2/Earthbound isn’t that much better. It’s much more playable, but in comparison to the other RPGs of the era, it was lacking. The art style, which I adore, was seen as childish and lazy. A very poor US marketing campaign didn’t help matters. The battle system hadn’t changed much from the original Dragon Quest formula, while Final Fantasy had moved on to bigger things. Mother 3 is the greatest RPG ever made (don’t debate me), but it’s strength lies in expert storytelling and character development. I do love the rhythm based battle system and the art, but again it’s easy to dismiss it as "behind the times", whatever that means. That’s an argument I’m not fond of, considering most of my gaming exploits are spent on old games.
These little guys have more personality than every other Mega Man character combined.
There are people out there that love Fable. Fable. I don't get it, but more power to you. Who am I to say your time has been wasted playing the slapdash, half-ass designs of Peter Molyneux, or as I call him, The Jester. I kinda liked The Lost Chapters. Enjoy away, friends. It's not my, or anyone else's place, to tell you what to like or dislike.
Devil May Cry is fucking garbage. Repetitive, boring drivel strung together by a nonsensical plot and voice acting that makes the first Resident Evil look like Citizen Kane.
Did I piss you off just now? Well, don't let that happen. It's natural to be upset when someone tells you something you love is trash. This is a typical, knee-jerk reaction. If we all went through life on knee-jerk reactions, we'd be right fucked. Most of us wouldn't be reading this right now, due to being dead. Hopefully you've got SOME semblance of self-control. Some more than others. Use that to calm yourself.
Far too many people see a statement against their beloved IP as a personal attack. A quick skip over to YouTube reveals a large contingent of people who identify themselves based on the games they like. That is just sad. Games are a very important part of my life. I keep track of my own personal history through video games. I can remember exactly when I played one of the most entertaining shows of my life, because Batman: Arkham City had just been released. I recall the exact day I went on a perfect date with my then significant other because I had won a Street Fighter IV tournament the night before. It was also our anniversary, so that helps. Maybe that isn’t a great example.
Games are a big part of me, but they aren’t ALL of me. There’s music, lots of it. Other forms of media, even tons of individual games as opposed to one specific franchise. Relationships, social groups, political/social views, my choice of clothing. All of this is what makes me who I am, and keeps me from getting upset when someone tells me I’m stupid for being a fan of the English dub of Case Closed/Detective Conan. Yes, I know it’s all about subtitles and I’m a stupid "pleb" or whatever. I’m sure you’re better than me. Whatever you say, anime avatar on Twitter.
Stop identifying yourself by the game you love. Stop worrying about the quality of that series, or the public image it may possess. There are people out there who still buy Ubisoft games, and argue the merits of each franchise despite them being exactly the same. Is that stupid? Absolutely, but we shouldn't waste any more time than that discussing it with them. Keep those conversations between your friends, not strangers on the internet. Have some pride in yourself, instead of in the media you consume (and didn't create yourself).
It's OK to like bad games, and it's OK for others to disagree with you. It's not OK to be rude to others, and it's not OK to let the opinions of those rude people hurt you.
Keep playing Dynasty Warriors, and be proud.
(But Dynasty Warriors is trash, and you know it).
This article was written by Super Jump contributor, Casey Corrigan. Please check out his work and follow him on Medium.
