Biggest gaming disappointment?
After seeing the "Most Underrated Game" thread going strong for awhile (and seeing plenty of games in it that weren't underrated at all 
), it got me thinking about games that were disappointments compared to my expectations.
I can think of lots of games that had tons of hype, only to be an inevitable letdown. Sometimes these were games that weren't necessarily hyped through advertisement, but instead you had expectations built up because you thought the game looked neat and you waited years to get a chance to play it.
My biggest gaming disappointments:
Mysterium (Gameboy) - I remember reading the NP issue about this game over and over. Finally, over a decade after its release I downloaded the ROM to play on an emulator. What a letdown. The combat is ridiculous and doesn't even belong in the game. The clues to how the alchemy works are limited and its actually possible to get stuck by not following the right alchemical path.
Sword Master (NES) - this game has some fun factor, but I had grand expectations for this title (again from reading about it MANY times in NP) that just weren't matched by the actual gameplay. A number of facets of the game are "broken" with enemies that just don't seem to behave like they should, and plenty of situations that you can tell involved only limited playtesting.
Turok Evolution (PS2) - I LOVED Turok on the N64, so I had high hopes for this one. Needless to say it was a steaming pile, and was one of the nails in the coffin for me ditching the PS2 for the Gamecube.
Anyway, these don't necessarily have to be BAD games (see Sword master, above), but what games were you disappointed by after all the hype or false nostalgia?
Comments
The comment about ditching the PS2 because of that game migth be a little exaggerated, but basically it marked the system "jumping the shark" for me. The only game I was holding out for at the time was DQ8, and it kept getting delayed. The Final Fantasy series had degenerated into playable movies with some auxillary level grinding, so that flame was dead. San Andreas had none of the cool factor of Vice City. Basically, there was nothing to interest me about that system anymore, so it was time to move on.
I was pretty disappointed in Final Fantasy 7. People hyped that game so much and it was mediocre at best. People always argue with me about it and I always say the same thing. If you ask two different people what the story line was you'll never get the same answer.
Since you've mentioned it, I think it would be fair to add Metal Gear Solid 2 to the list. It was a great game for awhile, but having to play as that weenie Raiden? I mean, what the fuck? I get a Metal Gear Solid game, I damn well better be playing through the game as Solid Snake. Plus the plot of that game was EXTRA ridiculous.
I'm gonna add mgs4 to the list, its still an awesome game but as i look back on it, it kind of
let me down, they threw alot of characters in there for nostalgia, that really didn't add to the story, and i would have
liked it to be alot less linear.
The second game is Star Wars The Force Unleashed, the idea for the game is amazing but only 5-6 hours of game play make it not worth the price tag and the whole lightsaber = glowstick really sucked.
Now that I think about it i had reserved all these games and they all were letdowns, maybe i shouldn't reserve stuff anymore.
I was also extremely bummed that Return of the Jedi was never made, since at the end of The Empire Strikes Back it mentions it... I always wondered why they never made it, I guess it was just too late in the life of the NES?
I agree that TMNT 2 was less great than it should have been. I'm guessing that onscreen character limits prohibited having the four player experience.
I love how you guys keep saying TP why do people hate that game? its everything OoT is but more. I would put money if we had a time machine (yes a time machine!) and went back to you playing OoT and a Nintendo Rep asked you what you wanted Zelda to be like now it would be all that you got. The game is not short it took me 60 hours with side quests (all poes and hearts). The game had the best music of any Zelda and improved on old music (Midna's theme is my favorite Zelda theme). I understand its hard to let a game that you loved so much in the past like OoT and say its not as good as another game but thats all it is. I have a really hard time saying any Zelda game is better than LttP but still TP is better. I would rather have Midna as a charcter than Sheik she is the best Zelda character other than the main 3.
I don't hate TP, it just has plenty of facets that didn't meet the mark.
EDIT to add: You're smoking something if you think that TP is better than LttP. Comments like that are fighting words in some places
I'd have to say the Sega 32X was a huge disappointment. It had so much potential, but being hella buggy coupled with having no 3rd party support really killed a great idea.