Eighteen Games That Were Huge Letdowns (Updated for 2024)

Today I'm going to look at nine eighteen games that I had high initial expectations for, expectations that were shattered once I got ahold of them. This is a bit different from my Games I Tapped Out On Midway Through and Games I Didn't Enjoy But Still Finished lists in that, whether I finished these games or not, they didn't live up to the hype in any way.

Note: There are a few "no-brainer" entries that won't be on the list (for instance, No Man's Sky) because I haven't played them. Also, there are some games that very much deserve to be on this list (Fable) but won't because I played them well after release (aka after I knew better than to expect anything). In short, this list is limited to things that I played while the hype was still strong, only to find them to be a huge letdown. Also, nothing on this list is necessarily a bad game. Some of them might fall into that category, while others might just be things that didn't jive with me personally.

Note 2: Previously posted in January 2018 with nine entries. Updated with nine new ones.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Finale - Turtle Rock, Ganon's Tower

THIS IS IT.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #6 - Misery Mire, Ice Palace

You're reading the title right: I did Dungeon 6 before Dungeon 5. This is to have the Cane of Somaria for some of Dungeon 5's more tedious puzzles. Time to wrap up this game.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #5 - Skull Woods, Gargoyle's Domain

 
How are you celebrating the end of the world? I'm celebrating with a spirited game of A LINK TO THE PAST. Today I'm taking out two dungeons, collecting more items, and getting the red sword. A LINK TO THE PAST: The latest from SouljaGame Console!

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #4 - Dark Palace, Swamp Palace

While Mordor in Lord of the Rings prominently features both an evil mountain and an evil tower, Zelda combines the two. And somewhere, a lawyer for the Tolkien Estate just popped a chub.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #3 - Tower of Hera, Hyrule Castle

I'm STILL waiting. I mean come ON.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past #2 - Eastern Palace, Desert Palace

Link is now a wanted man! I think he could solve most of his problems by taking off the hat.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES, 1991)

OH MY GAWWWWWD.

Nintendo Power Review #1 - Volume 34

Join me for the first of many video reviews of retro Nintendo Powers. Got more image-based posts on the way, as well.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part VII

As Link battles a knight miniboss, I can't get over that one heart by itself on the second row. I need to get a couple more hearts before the final boss. Unfortunately, the final boss happens TODAY.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part VI

 The Temple of Droplets features puzzles where you use sunbeams to melt ice. The amount of imagination that went into this game knows no bounds.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part V

Our next stop is Lake Hylia. That isn't it on the left there. It's a lot bigger than that, and it's our next destination.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part IV

The hat speaks. Forget about what to wear, I'll be happy if this brash punk can get through a formal occasion without making a drunken scene.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part III

"...The tongue tornado!"

Wait, this is the swordplay class, right?

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Part II

This might well be my favorite 2D Zelda. It's so picturesque and moody in a good way. I really like the shrinking mechanic and how it alters your perception of the world.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Game Boy Advance, 2004)

This game came out two days after the 2004 presidential election.

Ouch.

The Legend of Zelda Retrospective

A while back I gathered up some friends to reflect on the Zelda series. This means a smorgasbord of guest writers for a smorgasboard of great games. Join us for this trip down memory lane as we look at what is arguably the greatest game series of all time.

Big shout-out and thank you to all of the contributors.

-JD

Zelda II: Adventure of Link, Part 3 - Shadows

Previously on AMC's The Adventure of Link... Our hero fought Not-Agahnim and rescued young Damien from the clutches of Maze Island. Now, in the final chapter, Link must face... Link? Featuring a live performance of "Forty Six and Two" by Tool!

Zelda II: Adventure of Link, Part 2 - Hammer to Fall

Holy Crusader Link sets sail for more palaces. I'm surprised Nintendo allowed a religious symbol into these games considering they're the same company that censored "Holy" to be "White" and "Pearl" in some of the Final Fantasy titles.

Zelda II: Adventure of Link (NES, 1988)

 Time to cover a Zelda game that I sorta skipped over before. If I don't cover it, it'll bother me, so here we go. This one suffers from the same thing that Castlevania 2, Dragon Quest 2, and Final Fantasy 2 on the NES suffered from: It reinvents something that was working fine before, to mixed results at best.