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7->"''From a bygone era of gaming where every major movie release had to have a shoddily-produced video game tie-in to generate extra hype. An era where the movie cast was contractually obligated to mutter their lines as the same character with a sleazy corporate executive named Todd breathing down their neck in the recording booth. And they clearly only did it for a paycheck and didn't want to be there because they thought gaming was a cultural dead end for storytelling. An era where a movie studio would tell a development staff to rush out a game as fast as possible to coincide with the movie release, not understanding that game development is a painstaking and laborious process that requires finesse and years of careful crafting to pull off correctly. 'Nope, get it done in eight months or we'll sue!' Which resulted in many of gaming's most forgettable and sometimes most embarrassing moments.''"
8-->-- '''WebVideo/GodzillaMendoza''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruYltMEkUAk The Not Very Incredible Hulk Game (Feat. Yuri Lowenthal!)]]
9
10...is that they tend to be mediocre at best. But why is this so?
11
12There are two ways to sell games: Quality of game, and reputation of name. Most games that sell fall into at least one of the two categories. So... video and card game developers could take some time to develop an original property made with care, imagination and the ultimate goal of developing a brand new franchise. Or, they could just buy into an already-popular property via ''{{licens|edGame}}ing'' — permission to build a game around a TV show, or a movie, or a comic book, or a work of literature, or anything really ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Cheetah:_Wild_Wild_Quest and]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo!_Noid we]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool-Aid_Man_(video_game) mean]] ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Spot anything]]'' [[note]]Although the last one was pretty good.[[/note]]).
13
14Given the built-in customer interest and sales potential in a licensed property, there's considerably less incentive for developers to make an actually good game. This is most obvious in VideoGames, but it also applies to BoardGames and {{Trading Card Game}}s. {{Pinball}} games [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames tend to avert this,]] as it's ''very'' hard (but not impossible) to screw up pinball. The situation varies in the TabletopRPG world; some licensed games are pretty poor, but many are okay and some are famously good. It helps that the writers are often dedicated borderline {{fanboy}}s who are in the business for love (it's not likely to be for the money), and who know the subject-matter inside out.
15
16Of course, the ability of licensed games to sell on name alone is a major reason for their poor quality, but it's hardly the only one. Developers are often pressured by [[ExecutiveMeddling movie studio execs]] to have the game [[ChristmasRushed ready for release alongside the movie]] (which, in the studio execs' eyes, practically equates these games to tie-in action figures, lunchboxes, and other low-grade merchandise), which can shorten development time. Stretching the plot of a [[StoryToGameplayRatio 100 minute movie into a twenty hour game]] can lead to a lot of filler material or serious diversions from the movie's plot. Sometimes the diversions are not the fault of the developer, but rather down to the game being based on a [[EarlyDraftTieIn draft or early version of the property, only for the final product to radically depart from the initial concept - a character heavily featured in the game can be cut entirely or a major concept is removed or changed due to poor audience tests]]. This can happen late enough so there is no time to alter the game to more closely match the finished property.
17
18Licensed games also attempt to emulate the most popular genres at the time in an effort to maintain appeal — side-scrollers and {{Fighting Game}}s were popular in the TheNineties and more recently, ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' clones and shooters are common as well. Sometimes they will be a confusing [[GameplayRoulette mesh of gameplay genres]] as the developers attempt to figure out just what their license could be used for to fill up enough game time to push it out the door, and that's assuming the product isn't chock full of {{Game Breaking Bug}}s because of the short Q/A window. Perhaps worst of all, many licensed games are made by people with little (if any) knowledge of the franchise they are licensing. So games based on these franchises tend to completely miss what made the franchises popular to begin with. Thus, many licensed games are designed in a manner that has nothing to do with the plot or general style of the franchise (for example, The Riddler, instead of inflicting riddles on Franchise/{{Batman}}, might just try to riddle him with bullets throughout the entire boss fight).
19
20And despite what one might expect with a title based on a lucrative property, there is often ironically ''less'' money available than usual for a company to spend making a licensed game; a significant amount of the funding that would normally be channeled into the title's actual development is instead used up ''before'' development just to buy the license in the first place. Also, a bad non-licensed game might be cancelled or delayed. A game that has a license lined up for it is either obligated to release in a specific time frame, or the publishers will decide to shove it out the door for an easy buck from fans of the license; another reason why so many licensed games are contenders for worst game ever, period.
21
22Another thing to note is that back in the TheEighties, plenty of product licensees in the US did not know what to expect from the video game industry and who would be the most appropriate to give a license to, so they did the sensible thing and grabbed a telephone book to search for the first game development studio that showed up on the pages. The video game corporations Creator/{{Atari}}, Creator/{{Activision}}, Creator/{{Accolade}}, Creator/{{Acclaim}} and Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment (summed up in chronological order for ease) had given themselves their own brand names exactly for this reason. It is only as of the late 90's, with a very recognizable AAA video game development industry, that this trend was put to a halt.
23
24As of TheNewTens, the video games version of this phenomenon has largely (though not completely) faded away. The first reason is that the economics of game development made licensed games less viable: as video games were established as a multi-billion dollar industry, media and sport licensors caught on and greatly increased the cost necessary to get a license. This meant getting any random IP for the sake of name recognition became a less viable tactic, and along with the rise of cost of retail video game development, restricted the profitable licenses worth acquiring to only the biggest video game publishers or the licensors themselves, with companies such as Creator/WarnerBros investing heavily into video game publishing and treating video games of their properties just as seriously as any other component of the ExpandedUniverse. Indeed, video games have increasingly been seen as a narrative medium in their own right, making a straight adaptation of a film a less inticing proposition in the first place. How can it have a compelling story if you've probably already seen the movie and know what to expect? Mind you, this isn't as much an issue for non-film licenses, e.g. a game based on a comic book or less serialized TV series can just tell an original story, but it can still fall victim to the other problems mentioned here.
25
26The second reason for the downfall of this trend in video games is that, quite simply, consumers eventually caught on to the poor quality of licensed games and stopped buying them. This, combined with the death of the worst offenders of this such as Acclaim and Creator/{{THQ}} (which itself stated its desire to stop being associated with bad licensed games marketed for kids before its bankruptcy), means licensed games are far less numerous in recent times and are more likely to either be {{Mobile Phone Game}}s that aren't much worse than other mobile games not tied to an existing IP or blockbuster titles that aren't mandated to tie into some upcoming release, averting the development issues that made most licensed games bad. "Traditional" rushed cash-ins still exist, but they're nowhere near as common as they used to be.
27
28Of course, [[VideoGameMoviesSuck movies based on video games]] don't tend to go over well either, for much of the same reasons. It's a kind of cross-media PortingDisaster.
29
30A related phenomenon is that, prior to MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, wherein many non-videogame companies - up to and including Quaker Oats - had a gaming division.
31
32[[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames There are exceptions]], of course. A pretty good chunk of the exceptions were either released years after the source material or were based on a franchise that had been running for years, thus relieving the time pressure often inherent in licensed games. Mediocre licensed games are so numerous, it's probably easier to list only JustForFun/{{egregious}} examples. ''[[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames Exceptions should be listed on their own page.]]'' See SpiritualAdaptation for a way some games go around this, intentionally or not.
33
34----
35!!Note: Examples are listed by the medium of the source material or license the game is based on.
36
37[[index]]
38* TheProblemWithLicensedGames/AnimeAndManga
39* TheProblemWithLicensedGames/ComicBooks
40* [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
41* TheProblemWithLicensedGames/GameShows
42* TheProblemWithLicensedGames/LiveActionTV
43* TheProblemWithLicensedGames/WesternAnimation
44[[/index]]
45
46[[foldercontrol]]
47
48[[folder:Advertisement]]
49* ''Animal'', a point-and-click adventure game based on Peperami (the British equivalent of Slim Jims), about the titular Peperami stick Animal going on an adventure to rescue a kidnapped professor and complete his inane cloning experiments for marketing purposes. Said adventure is filled to the brim with Animal (who is normally entertaining in the short-burst commercials he stars in) constantly making annoying remarks (with the LemonyNarrator not helping things either), {{Pixel Hunt}}s in dark and crowded environments that are never consistent with what reoccurring elements you can interact with, and somehow combines {{Railroading}} ''with'' {{Moon Logic Puzzle}}s. Vinny of {{WebVideo/Vinesauce}} covered it in one of his streams, and it didn't take long until his chat audience was ''begging'' for him to quit and find a new game to play.
50* For a short time, Burger King had three Platform/{{Xbox}}[=/=]Platform/Xbox360 games that starred their namesake [[Advertising/TheBurgerKing King]] character. Gameplay's simplistic and boring, the graphics are underwhelming for the platform and reviews ranged from bad to awful. Their only redeeming quality is that they were $4 and the main character is Creepy Burger King Mask Guy, which puts them dangerously close to SoBadItsGood territory. (The game ''Sneak King'' involves ''sneaking up on'' hungry people and ''forcing'' them to eat Burger King food.) With these in mind, they sold millions and became {{Cult Classic}}s for many gamers.
51** The graphics are ''somewhat'' justified by the fact that they are playable on both the Xbox 360 and the original Xbox, with the game made to take advantage of the 360's backwards compatibility. It doesn't explain the texture pop-ins that sometimes look ''worse'' than a [[Platform/PlayStation [=PS1=]]] game at times.
52** ''Sneak King'' plays much like a kid-friendly version of ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' or ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''. Think about that for a second.
53* ''VideoGame/ChesterCheetahTooCoolToFool'' and ''Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest'' are two of the sorriest 16-bit MascotWithAttitude platformers. The snack food mascot may be TotallyRadical, but he doesn't seem like the fastest animal on land in either game.
54* ''Chuck E. Cheese's Party Games'' is just a boring pack of minigames that can be played with tokens in order to win tickets. Running out of tokens requires you to do pizzas in Pasqually's Pizza Parlor in order to win tokens. Not to mention in order to beat the game you must claim the golden chest which costs [[FakeLongevity 30,000 tickets when you can only win only few tickets around 5-100]] and gets boring whenever you will play the same games again and again. There's even an [[ThatOneAchievement achievement]] that requires you to claim the golden chest with every character meaning that requires ''''[[FromBadToWorse 300,000 tickets]]'''' in total. [[SarcasmMode Have fun!]]
55* The American vehicle manufacturer Ford and its racing association Ford Racing has their series of games based of that association. One notable game of the series is ''Ford Racing Off Road'' (or simply ''Off Road'' in PAL regions) which is easily the worst of all the series to the point of killing the franchise for good. The game is [[NintendoHard brutally hard]] with aggressive AI, wonky physics and handling. It is also notable of having a [[LuckBasedMission luck-based minigame]] named "[[ThatOneLevel Expedition]]" in where the player must collect five artifacts scattered on the track in a very strict time and every restart, the artifacts locations dissapear making the game frustrating. Worst of all, it gives with NoEnding not even [[AWinnerIsYou a congratulatory screen]] after all the hard work of completing every race in both Career and Tournament modes.
56* A somewhat ironic example: Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson is certainly no stranger to licensed merchandise, and video games based on their bikes are no exception. While the Creator/{{Sega}}-produced arcade games ''L.A. Riders'' and ''King of the Road'' were released to more or less positive reception, the ones for home consoles and PC are largely viewed as [[UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} bargain bin fodder]]. As to why Japanese developers were able to adapt the H-D franchise better than studios from the very country where the Motor Company originated, or elsewhere, that's a mystery.
57** One such example is the Platform/{{Wii}} game ''Harley-Davidson: Road Trip''. You play the role of a motorjournalist for HOG Magazine (based on the real-world publication of the same name), and are given a series of assignments on a motorbike by the company. The game was largely panned as a mere cash-in, with mediocre graphics, poorly-conceived gameplay elements and a hidden object-esque photography mode where you get off your bike and take pictures of random objects which have practically nothing to do with Harleys. There is also a free ride mode where players can cruise on a given track, but you'd be better off riding a motorbike in RealLife due to the lack of interesting scenery.
58* ''Smarties Meltdown'' for the Platform/PlayStation2 is a 2006 platformer by Europress and Koch Media based on the British chocolate candy (not to be confused with the American fruit tablet candy of the same name) that are comparable to America's Advertising/MAndMs. The ''entire game'' takes place in a Smarties factory [[RecycledInSpace in space]], which leads to a lack of variety in level environments. The entire game just feels tacky and cheaply made, with the actual levels being frustrating to navigate due to not being designed around the game's tank controls (an already long-obsolete control scheme for a platformer by 2006). The music is minimalistic, there's a [[ExcusePlot generic]] story about saving your friends from a MadScientist, a [[DifficultySpike sudden last level jump in difficulty]] if one makes it that far, and [[AWinnerIsYou a short and unsatisfying ending]] where the credits don't even roll. Also [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the game's interface is written with Comic Sans]]. This alone makes it feel like most of the budget went to the publisher gaining the Smarties license and hiring Dave Benson Phillips (a 1990s British children's presenter most recognizable for ''Series/GetYourOwnBack'', who at the time of 2006 was not very relevant to the public) to voice the game's main protagonist, Big Blue.
59
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
63* ''[[{{Animation/Pucca}} Pucca's Kisses Game]]'' for the ''Platform/WiiWare'' service attemps to mix Auto-Runner with Point and click adventure and does it ''[[FakeDifficulty very]]'' [[{{Waggle}} poorly]].
64* ''Animation/TreasureIsland1988'' received a beat-em-up/platformer sequel in the mid-2000's that looks appealing on the surface thanks to the original director, David Cherkassky, returning to oversee the art, which leads to the graphics doing a very good imitation of the TV movies' art style; plus, it also features several of the original voice actors including [[EnsembleDarkhorse Dr. Livesey's]]. Unfortunately, the game is very simplistic and repetitive, can be beaten in less than an hour, has a paper-thin plot that makes no sense even by the original's slapstick standards, and most of the characters either barely appear or are absent entirely. Most agree that it could have had great potential but in practice is more like a nice-looking tech demo.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
68* ''WesternAnimation/BebesKids'' isn't a great movie to begin with, but its [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] licensed game, developed by Creator/RadicalEntertainment, is one of the worst to be found on that system. Wretched controls, hideous graphics, dull music, unintelligent yet tough enemies, a two-minute timer... and that's just the first level. It doesn't get better from there.
69* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' received a video game adaptation for the Platform/PlayStation2 and the Platform/{{Wii}} that went way too far in becoming a PragmaticAdaptation. The game is more than playable and does a solid job of recreating the source material and getting some of the voice actors of the movie to reprise their roles. It finds its spot here, however, due to the mediocre graphics and dull gameplay consisting of bland minigames and mission objectives. The story falls short as well since the game can't seem to make up its mind on whether or not it wants to follow the movie or just do its own thing. Chunks of the story are omitted, with heavy BroadStrokes and awkward character dialogue [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits that explains the game's]] controls, which to some defeats the purpose of the game even more, as one is just better off just sticking to watching the movie. On the higher note, the soundtrack is [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic excellent]], and the GameOver screen [[ItsAWonderfulFailure is very memorable]]. The Platform/NintendoDS version of the game, however, [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames is a different story]].
70* Don't expect much going into the Console and [[Platform/NintendoDS DS]] versions of ''WesternAnimation/HappyFeet'' the video game. It is essentially a weak ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' clone with bland fishing and sliding levels spliced in between.
71%% * Whatever you do, don't buy the ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' video game. It's Creator/{{DreamWorks|Animation}} meets ''VideoGame/Superman64''
72* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' has two different game adaptations, both of which (especially the Platform/PlayStation2 and [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] versions) are quite dreadful:
73** The [=PS2=] and [=GameCube=] iteration was developed by the same studio as ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsRevengeOfTheFlyingDutchman''. It's a 3D platformer with a ''fixed'' camera angle, poor graphics (with one of the worst-looking models of Jimmy ever made), horrendous controls that can lead to cheap deaths, [[ObviousBeta plenty of glitches]], only six levels consisting of the same thing over and over again, a very poor grasp of the source material, and absolutely terrible level design; it's clear no part of the game was designed around the camera system, or even the basic controls. In one part of the game, you need to jump up from a ledge to a higher platform, a simple task that any platform game will have plenty of--only nine times out of ten, Jimmy can't jump high enough to consistently reach it. Other parts of the game position the camera in such a way that it hides BottomlessPits by making platforms seem connected until it's too late.
74** The other version, developed for [=PCs=], while not outright horrendous, still isn't good enough to avoid falling into this trope. While it wasn't as frustrating to play, it has very dated graphics that barely stand up next to an early Platform/PlayStation game (despite releasing in 2001!), the controls are very slippery (though considering what happened to the [=PS2/GameCube=] versions, it could have been worse), the animation is very limited and eye-gouging (characters look like lifeless puppets and are ''completely motionless'' during conversation), the game is very short-clocking in at about two hours, the gameplay, while more functional, is very dull and uninteresting primarily consisting of one FetchQuest after another, and it bears very little resemblance to the movie in terms of plot (though still more than what can be said for the [=PS2/GameCube=] versions). About the only redeeming factor is the original voice cast being present.
75* While ''VideoGame/TheLEGOMovieVideogame'' [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames is the opposite of this trope]], its sequel, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame]]'', isn't. Many of its issues are due to being built off of ''VideoGame/LEGOWorlds'', which includes all the flaws from that game (such as the camera system clipping through the terrain in several parts, for example). The real kicker here though, is that the game does a half-assed job at adapting the story. None of the cutscenes are voiced (or recreations of the scenes from the movie!), with only Lucy narrating everything, and the ending is blatantly unfinished. Many of the side quests drag on for too long, the worlds are uninspired, none of the characters have their own unique abilities, and the Platform/NintendoSwitch version of the game [[PortingDisaster has a plethora of performance problems.]] The result is an ObviousBeta that many fans consider to be the worst [[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame LEGO game]] ever released.
76* ''WesternAnimation/ThePolarExpress'', a multi-platform adventure game based on the hit movie. The graphics are okay for the time, nothing phenomenal and they don't reach UnintentionalUncannyValley like the film. The gameplay features various {{Unexpected Genre Change}}s, though they're poorly played out. The voice acting for some of the characters isn't so great either. The worst part of the game has to be the timespan; it can be beaten within a few hours or less, one sitting and it makes you feel you're missing out.
77* ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' is infamous for spawning numerous horrible licensed games. Swedish gaming magazine ''LEVEL'' once gave a ''Shrek'' game 4/10 and noted that it's surprisingly good for a ''Shrek'' game. For a few more specific examples:
78** There are multiple racing games, one of which, ''Swamp Kart Speedway'' for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance, sticks out with its hideous graphics and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XSrNlYtamM bizarre, awful menu music]] on top of being a blatant ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' rip-off. The worst part about that game is that every time a racer passes you, they go "Bye-bye!" (taken from the scene in the movie where Shrek tries to explain to Donkey how "ogres have layers"). And the same "Bye-bye!" sound is used for every single character.
79** ''Fairy Tale Freakdown'' is also a good example, being very easy, having bad controls and the mugshots of the characters [[UnintentionalUncannyValley trying too hard to emulate a CGI appearance]] (the game was released on the ''Platform/GameBoyColor'').
80** Even more insulting is that the first ''VideoGame/{{Shrek}}'' game was supposed to show off the hardware capabilities of the Platform/{{Xbox}}, and was actually supposed to be an original IP before being repurposed into a ''Shrek'' game. The end result is a wannabe TechDemoGame that impressed absolutely nobody, suffering from mediocre gameplay, terrible CameraScrew, and abysmal audio. Its supposed UpdatedRerelease for the Platform/GameCube (named ''Shrek Extra Large'') is ''[[PortingDisaster even worse]]'', with a graphical downgrade and poor frame rate issues.
81** ''Shrek Treasure Hunt'' already has an incredibly lame premise where you're just going around collecting items for a picnic, making the title rather questionable at best. Not only is the game thoroughly unengaging and dull, it's particularly brought down by its absolutely ''horrendous'' visuals, and despite hardly looking at all graphically impressive by [=PS1=] standards, the frame rate borders on ''slideshow'' territory. This is completely inexcusable considering the game came out in 2002, a decent amount into the sixth generation's lifespan, so the developers should have been more than familiar with ways to mitigate it by that point.
82* ''[=SpongeBob HeroPants=]'' (a video game tie-in to ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater''), is the second of two ''Franchise/{{SpongeBob|SquarePants}}'' games released under Creator/{{Activision}} and a direct follow-up to ''[[VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsPlanktonsRoboticRevenge Plankton's Robotic Revenge]]'' while suffering from many of the same problems. Dull platforming, tiresome combat, mediocre graphics (doesn't help that it was stuck on handhelds and the then previous-gen Platform/Xbox360), and a plot that barely has anything to do with the film except for the fact that the cast's superhero forms return (including a [[UnintentionalUncannyValley horrifically-rendered photorealistic CG Sandy]]). It served as a FranchiseKiller for the [=SpongeBob=] video game franchise until Creator/THQNordic got the publishing rights to the series back and put out ''Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated'', a remake of ''[[VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom Battle For Bikini Bottom]]'' which revived the series. Though [=SpongeBob=] still wouldn't get any entirely new games until ''[[VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsTheCosmicShake The Cosmic Shake]]'' in 2023, which proved that the series is back on track.
83[[/folder]]
84
85[[folder:Literature]]
86* The Platform/{{NES}} game based on ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' has Tom on a mission to save Becky who has been kidnapped by Injun Joe. Sounds somewhat like what might have been in the book. Except on the way, Tom has to go through different levels with pirates, purple gorillas, demons, giant octopi, enormous alligators, a giant helicarrier airship, and a Loch Ness monster. It goes without saying that none of this was in the Creator/MarkTwain book.
87* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' games:
88** ''Animorphs: Shattered Reality'' for the Platform/PlayStation is a classic example. Horrific controls, crappy graphics, annoying and downright weird sound, no sense of storyline whatsoever, and the main gimmick only being used in specific (rare) instances in-game; [[FridgeLogic these things make baby Andalites cry.]] This is not made any better by the fact that the game looks like a re-skinned ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot''. Even the animations look almost exactly like Crash's, and the Wumpa fruit has been changed to "A" coins.
89** By far the worst of the trifecta has to be the Platform/GameBoyColor game, simply titled ''Animorphs''. While ''Shattered Reality'' is a straightforward PlatformGame and ''Know the Secret'' is an ActionAdventure title, ''Animorphs'' is a RolePlayingGame that, to put it altogether too mildly, takes a great deal of inspiration from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games. Boasting a largely incomprehensible script, forgettable music (criminal in that the music of the previous two titles is one of their few redeeming features), no strategy of any kind, lackluster gameplay, a faulty [[PasswordSave password system]] in place of a save feature, many GuideDangIt moments, and [[ObviousBeta a truly horrid amount]] of [[GameBreakingBug game-breaking bugs]], it's quite clear that this is the one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' title that truly deserves the label of UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}}. The game received bad reviews from Website/{{IGN}}, though oddly enough, Nintendo Power gave it a 3 out of 5.
90** ''Animorphs: Know the Secret'', while not as offensive as the [=PlayStation=] game, is pretty subpar and has trouble being consistent with the books (such as assigning the wrong signature morphs to the wrong characters).
91* ''VideoGame/DrJekyllAndMrHydeNES'' is a game for the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], loosely based on the book ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson. Featuring mangled controls, FakeDifficulty everywhere (the [[DemonicSpiders mad bombers]] can easily take your health away in one bomb if you're right in the bomb's way and Jekyll moves really slow), EverythingTryingToKillYou including cats, dogs, birds, etc. Hyde's levels aren't much better. You have to press Up+B to shoot a fireball, which isn't so bad...but sometimes it only works when it wants to. The Hyde levels are technically "timed" in a sense if you catch up to where Dr. Jekyll went insane, you'd instantly get a GameOver (but at least you get continues). Furthermore, [[BadExportForYou the American version inexplicably removed two levels that were in the Japanese version and repeated two levels to compensate]]. WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd considers this the worst game he's played that involves actual gameplay.
92* ''Extreme Sports with Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' would have been passable as an [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game, but it came out in late 2000 for Platform/GameBoyColor. Every event in the game is the same, a downward course with terrible controls, only made different by the graphics like boating, skateboarding, or snowboarding. The game has no background music and sound effects right out of the Platform/Atari2600. If you do manage to beat the game it won't take long, only about ten minutes.
93* Creator/RayBradbury helped write a text-adventure, semi-canonical sequel to ''Literature/Fahrenheit451''. Even by text adventure standards, it's pretty frustrating. [[TheManyDeathsOfYou You can be killed for something as simple as crossing the street at the wrong times of day]], there are several times you have to [[LuckBasedMission fight off a Hound or Fireman...and the result is based on if the computer feels charitable]], and you advance the plot by contacting members of the [[LaResistance Underground]] using literary quotations as pass-phrases. However, the parser system is pretty craptastic, and if you so much as leave out a punctuation mark, then you lose your chance to use the phrase, and have to leave the building and come back to try again. Worse, it has plenty of YouCantGetYeFlask moments as "Talk to man" works sometimes, while others you have to use "Ask Man" with no indication as to what. Top it all off with a DownerEnding, plus a side order of FridgeLogic, if you manage to put up with the game's quirks long enough to reach a conclusion.
94%%* ''Hyborian Gates'', based on Creator/RobertEHoward's writings, features 100% recycled Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell art.
95* Many of the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' non-movie games:
96** The [[Platform/SuperNintendo SNES]] version of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is really bad, even by the standards of that console's generation. Good luck trying to get anywhere in ''that'' game. If you [[GuideDangIt lose your instruction booklet]], you're pretty screwed, as it has the layouts of all of the (very large) cave maps. If a character dies, [[{{Permadeath}} their death is permanent]], and you're usually [[{{Unwinnable}} unable to advance the plot without them]]. However, it doesn't tell you this, so much time can be wasted before you realize you screwed yourself over by letting Pippin get eaten by a dog.
97** ''[[VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' for the GBA (licensed from the book, not the movie) is a tedious {{RPG}} riddled with bugs, some of them [[GameBreakingBug game-breaking]].
98** ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsGollum'' already received some skepticism over its very premise from the word Go (a StealthBasedGame with Gollum as the main character [[AudienceAlienatingPremise left players and LOTR fans alike scratching their heads]]), but when the game released, it was released in...[[ObviousBeta a very un-precious state]] with more [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable game-ending glitches]], bizarre graphical glitches, and [[GameBreakingBug Game-Breaking Bugs]] than you could shake an Orc club at.
99%%* A company called Cactus Game Design produces the card game ''Redemption'' - based on the Bible. Also an example of TheMoralSubstitute.
100* The ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' video game adaptation. For RPG elements, it isn't too awful, just badly cliched, but the gameplay mechanics -- especially the combat engine -- suck horribly.
101%% * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a spinoff card game, called ''Game of Thrones''. When first released, it was a fairly traditional [=CCG=], with base decks augmented by booster packs. Starting in 2007, though, it converted to what the makers call a [="LCG"=], or Living Card Game. A $40 starter set will get use the starting decks for four main Houses, with additional sets for players wanting to play as other Houses or with expanded options for one of the 'core' Houses (Stark, Banatheron, Lannister, and Targaryen). Since then, though, the makers have released monthly "chapter" packs: 60-card booster packs with identical contents to eliminate random collections, arrayed in six chapter arcs built around a general theme or region, much like [=M:tG's=] card block system. One of the longest lasting card games on the market aside from [=M:tG=], Franchise/YuGiOh and the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} [=CCG=], in continuous production since 2002.
102%%* There was a ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' trading card game, using the same engine and mechanics as ''Series/BabylonFive''.
103* The Platform/{{NES}} ''Literature/WheresWaldo'' game (released by Creator/{{THQ}} in 1992), owing to the severe graphical limitations of the system, is barely playable (as all the people in the crowds are identical stick figures, and thanks to palette limitations, Wally/Waldo himself isn't always wearing the same colors!) and has none of the visual fun that makes the books memorable. The [[Platform/SuperNintendo SNES]] and Platform/SegaGenesis game ''The Great Waldo Search'' is better, but still not that great, being one of the shortest games on either system. Every time you make a menu selection, you get to hear the same low pitched "Where's Waldo" voice sample. Every. Damn. Time.
104* Windham Classics in the early '80s had several brilliant games; their ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' text adventure that incorporated elements from the first two ''Oz'' books, their ''VideoGame/BelowTheRoot'' game that became one of the first video games to be a canon sequel to a non-video game work, their witty ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' game, their faithful ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' text adventure... and then there's their attempt at ''Literature/SwissFamilyRobinson'' that has an awful parser, a very bad mapping system, and poorly written instructions, and was obnoxiously short even by the era's standards.
105
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107
108
109[[folder:Music]]
110* ''Music/FiftyCent Bulletproof'' is a buggy and uninspired third person shooter (or in the case of PSP version, top-down shooter) with a very stupid plot that could easily fit a single music video. At least it earned the SurprisinglyImprovedSequel ''VideoGame/FiftyCentBloodOnTheSand'', which has better gameplay and a more outlandish tone that pushes it into SoBadItsGood.
111* While ''Vendetta'' and ''Fight For NY'' were [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames warmly regarded]], ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam: Icon]]'' is a [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre at-best]] fighting game [[InNameOnly which has fuck-all to do with its predecessors]] and was criticized for [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks making changes to a proven formula]]. ''Rapstar'', meanwhile, is a karaoke game which is divorced from the other [[Creator/DefJamRecordings Def Jam]] games. This otherwise forgettable dud is remembered more for the legal troubles it caused, which ended up [[CreatorKiller putting 4mm Games out of business]] and hindering the development of ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''.
112* ''VideoGame/GuitarHero: Music/VanHalen'', unlike the [[Music/{{Aerosmith}} other]] [[Music/{{Metallica}} two]] band-centric entries of the series, is widely seen as a disappointment and the nadir of the series. A lackluster selection of supporting acts (with only the odd shiny nugget, such as "[[Music/JudasPriest Painkiller]]' and "[[Music/DeepPurple Space Truckin']]"), the headliners' selection all but ignoring the Sammy Hagar era, a dearth of extra features meaning that the game can be beaten in one afternoon, and essentially being more of the same with a Van Halen coat of paint - all of these helped cement, once and for all, the perception that Creator/{{Activision}} saw ''GH'' as nothing more than a CashCowFranchise, even as it was losing steam in the wake of the recession. Unsurprisingly, it came out early in 2010, the same year the series died its first death.
113* ''KISS Pinball'' for the PC and Platform/PlayStation consists of two pinball boards which are both utterly generic aside from the graphical styling and a few voice clips. The soundtrack is made of generic rock riffs and contains no Music/{{KISS}} songs. The Platform/PlayStation version also suffers from nauseous camera panning.
114* The ''VideoGame/MakeMyVideo'' quartet (C+C Music Factory, Music/{{INXS}}, Kriss Kross, and [[Creator/MarkWahlberg Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch]]) are often considered ''the'' worst games ever put out for the Platform/SegaCD, and some of the worst InteractiveMovie games on top of that. Gameplay, such as you can even call it that, amounts to arranging clips of poorly compressed and grainy video for three songs per artist, with no reward outside of sitting through your creation.
115* ''VideoGame/RevolutionX'', featuring Music/{{Aerosmith}} is a mixed case. It makes for a rather decent, albeit NintendoHard (especially if you're playing alone) light gun arcade (making it essentially SoOkayItsAverage), but the home conversions for [[Platform/SegaGenesis Genesis]] and Platform/{{SNES}} are nothing short of awful, with severely downgraded graphics, limited continues (thus ratcheting up the difficulty in getting to the end) and the music looping indefinitely to the point of annoying the hell out of the player. And worse yet, the SNES and Genesis version could offer Super Scope & Menacer support (it's still a rail shooter, after all), but nope.
116* ''Spice World'', based on the Music/SpiceGirls. It's a MinigameGame padded with interviews with the girls, and there's only about three of the minigames, and it has an uninspired ending. If you want to experience it for yourself, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clR0PLFCzco click here.]]
117
118[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
121* ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' on the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] is a good example of how ''not'' to balance a video game. To start with its many issues, it is incredibly NintendoHard, and it is guaranteed to cause several {{Game Over}}s. While it has a PasswordSave - it only keeps track of what case the player starts at. Any clues or weapons obtained after a GameOver will have to be collected again. The game also has no idea whether it's following the movie or not, such as using characters' likeliness from the film but not the story proper. There are a lot of DemonicSpiders and GoddamnedBats during the overhead and side-scrolling segments, many of which pose a threat to Dick Tracy himself. Platforming is extremely suspect, especially during the pier levels where Tracy's SuperDrowningSkills come into play. You also have to interrogate suspects to see if they're involved with the crime or not, and you can't back out once you talk to them. There's also a lot of {{Railroading}} involved - even if you collect the last clue that says the suspect did it first, you must have every clue beforehand. Then the last case throws a curveball at the player: after finding the final clue that tells the player they need to arrest Big Boy Caprice, [[GuideDangIt the game doesn't tell you where he is]] [[spoiler:(he's at the Club Ritz)]] or why Pruneface is there as one of the six suspects in the first place when he doesn't appear at all. At least the graphics and soundtrack are good, but that is what keeps this game from truly being bad.
122* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' has a string of licensed games that are as lazy as the cat himself.
123** The Platform/{{Famicom}} game ''A Week of Garfield'' starts going wrong with its ExcusePlot, where [[CharacterDerailment Garfield inexplicably wants to save Odie]]. In actual gameplay, it's a side-scrolling platformer with ugly graphics and primitive level design. Beating a level requires jumping around randomly to make a key appear. Difficulty comes mainly from having to face enemies like spiders with a pathetic kick attack and no MercyInvincibility or extra lives. The array of weapons Garfield can use are limited and inaccurate.
124** The Platform/Commodore64's ''VideoGame/GarfieldBigFatHairyDeal'' is an adventure game. The problem is that it's ripe with {{Moon Logic Puzzle}}s and {{Red Herring}}s, plus it has [[GuideDangIt absolutely no hints]] for what you have to do. It's even UnintentionallyUnwinnable if Garfield ends up eating an important item he happens to be carrying around. The graphics are also rather ugly, and the soundtrack consists of one looping track. The [[PolishedPort Amiga release]] helps it out a bit, but it's still not a game worth recommending.
125** Garfield had a string of generic platformers between the Platform/GameBoyAdvance and Platform/NintendoDS, the worst being ''Garfield: The Search for Pooky''. The game's start screen is written in Comic Sans and miscapitalizes the title, which sets the tone perfectly. The cutscene graphics are poorly cropped directly from the comic, ripe with scaling and coloring errors, and the dialogue is awkwardly written. [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/garfield/images/9/98/Search_for_Pooky_screenshot.png It has to be seen to be believed.]] The gameplay suffers from weird physics and boring sidescroller levels.
126** ''Garfield Kart'' and its remaster ''Garfield Kart: Furious Racing'' are two of the fat cat's most famous video game outings... for all the wrong reasons.
127*** The original game for the Platform/Nintendo3DS garnered [[MemeticMutation much ridicule from gamers over its absurd premise]], and when they finally got their hands on it they found the game was hardly any good in practice either. The presentation is bland, the gameplay is exceedingly run-of-the-mill, the karts control very poorly, extra content is frustrating to unlock, and there's hardly anything distinctly "''Garfield''" about it besides the playable characters. The game is also absurdly easy due to the rampant ArtificialStupidity of the AI drivers. Sharing a system with ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'' (which, mind, was ChristmasRushed onto the [=3DS=] as an emergency and ''still'' ended up a stellar game for the system) only serves to highlight how bland and unambitious the game is compared to other kart racers at the time.
128*** The upscaled port for consoles and PC, ''Furious Racing'', manages to be even worse than the original game. That it adds very little new content that isn't already in the original game is problematic enough, but the game also has the misfortune of being [[PortingDisaster an absolute trainwreck]]. The AI drivers go from being [[ArtificialStupidity dumber than Odie]] to [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard playing so unfairly]] they put the infamously unbalanced RubberbandAI in ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'' to shame (not helped by the addition of hat power-ups that can give AI players either additional or more accurate ammunition to hit you with) and make finishing most races in a position higher than third a chore. The game and physics are poorly designed for the new speeds the karts can reach, as races are absolute chaos on higher difficulties with karts regularly shooting off the track due to not being able to turn quickly enough, dropping through the track or through walls, driving ''on'' walls if you hit them right, and going flying out of control or being flipped completely over from so much as hitting an anthill. Add the game's broken and unhelpful respawn system that resets the player's position if they so much as brush their kart against a wall, and you get a game whose only true merit is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyYZMnARS1w getting your friends together]] [[SoBadItsGood to revel in how hilariously broken it is]].
129* ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' games:
130** ''Pinball/PopeyeSavesTheEarth'' is often named as the worst modern-day {{Pinball}} game ever made, and with good reason. The ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' characters are shoehorned into an {{Anvilicious}} GreenAesop ExcusePlot (Popeye saves endangered critters from Bluto the corporate polluter, really), while the game is a clunky affair where half of the table is blocked by the giant white toilet-shaped hull of Popeye's boat. It wasn't any better for Creator/WilliamsElectronics, as the game required customized tooling which raised its price, and the company got threatened with lawsuits when they tried to use a minimum orders clause to force distributors to buy machines they didn't want. About the only good thing you can say for the game is that it keeps small kids entertained with an inoffensive theme.
131** The 2021 game for the Platform/NintendoSwitch was developed by Sabec, developers of such venerated classics as ''Calculator'' and ''Piano''. Wildly overpriced at $12.99, it's an arcade-y EndlessGame where the player must collect hearts or letters thrown by Olive Oyl, essentially a low-budget remake of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s 1982 arcade title. The gameplay is utterly mindless; the stages (all three of them) consist of low-poly, seemingly untextured models purchased on the cheap from a stock model library, and are much too large to support the gameplay; and [[ObviousBeta glitches]] wreak havoc on any genuine attempts to play the game--swimming around or even ''opening the HOME Menu'' can cause Popeye to die for no reason.
132* ''[[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular]]'' for the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem is a compilation of sports-themed mini-games similar to ''VideoGame/TrackAndField''.[[note]]The game was originally released in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} in 1988 as a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck game, but due to Creator/{{Capcom}} holding the exclusive North American license for Creator/{{Disney}} games, Creator/{{Kemco}} had to use ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' characters instead when they released the game in UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica one year later.[[/note]] The game only has three characters from the ''Peanuts'' franchise; Snoopy, Spike, and Woodstock. Each event has questionable controls, and some events, such as "Pile of Pizza" and "River Jump" are near-impossible to complete as a result. Watch WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd review the game [[https://www.twitch.tv/videos/200483345 here]].[[note]]Skip to 22:33:42.[[/note]]
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
136* ''Wrestling/{{ECW}}'' had two disastrous video game adaptations at the end of its lifespan:
137** The first was ''Hardcore Revolution'', which Creator/{{Acclaim}} clearly made it to ride the coattails of ''WWF War Zone'' and ''WWF Attitude''. Not only are the controls worse than both of those games, the exclusive match types aren't even worth it. The AI's tendency to cheat does not help things either. The fact that it's ''Attitude'' [[DolledUpInstallment with an ECW coat of paint]] did not do well with ECW fans.
138** Then came ''Anarchy Rulz'', which has been considered one of the worst professional wrestling games of all time. The cheating AI still exists and it does little, if anything, to address the problems from ''Hardcore Revolution''. It was the last video game to have the ECW license.
139* ''Wrestling/HulkHogan's Main Event'' for the Platform/Xbox360, which fails to take advantage of the Kinect capabilities as promised. Unlike the other wrestling games listed here, this isn't a product based on a wrestling company, although it does promote Hulk Hogan's former role in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]].
140* Wrestling/{{WCW}}:
141** ''WCW Nitro'' on the Platform/PlayStation, which looked good on paper and in screenshots, but quickly falls apart once you pick up a controller. The game has a very limited moveset (shown [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/199285-wcw-nitro/faqs/4311 here]]) done with ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' like button combos, with most moves being shared among all the wrestlers, giving players the weird visual of guys doing moves they'd never do in real life (ever see Wrestling/KevinNash do a piledriver?) The fully digitized graphics look nice in photos but the actual animation is pretty rough, not helped by the nausea-inducing camera that constantly rotates around the ring. Add in the lack of any special features and game modes and really the game's only redeeming quality is the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1qYK01Q28 hilarious FMV promos]] you can view in the wrestler select screen. Still, WCW was hot at the time and [=PS1=] owners didn't really have any better options, so the game still sold like crazy, giving us...
142** ''WCW Thunder'', the sequel to ''Nitro'', which improved '''nothing''' and even added a GameBreaker in the test of strength move, which allows you to drain an opponent's health just by tapping the circle button. Do this 3 times, hit your finisher, and you can win any match against the CPU in 30 seconds and blow through the world title mode in under 10 minutes. Fortunately the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmO0LzkZTug&t=315s halirious promos]] returned, unfortunately this game was also ported to the Platform/Nintendo64 (titled as ''WCW Nitro'') as a cheap cash grab (which lacked the select screen promos due to hardware limitations). The worst part was that the [=N64=] got [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames two really good]] WCW games, while [=PS1=] players got the shaft.
143** ''Backstage Assault'', built on the already questionable ''Mayhem'' engine[[note]]Which wasn't really ''bad'', just nowhere near as good as the engine from previous developer AKI, who had jumped ship to the WWF and released ''Wrestlemainia 2000'' around the same time[[/note]], removes any semblance of wrestling and just goes for a clunky backstage brawler.
144* Wrestling/{{WW|E}}F games have a long history of being this trope:
145** While most of Creator/{{THQ}}'s ''wrestling'' games based on Wrestling/{{WWE}} tend to be well regarded, two of their attempts to branch into different genres were not so lucky. First there was ''Betrayal'', a Platform/GameBoyColor BeatEmUp panned for "[[ArtificialStupidity idiot AI]]" among other things. Then there was ''Crush Hour'' for the Platform/PlayStation2, [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] and Platform/{{Xbox}}, which is essentially a poor man's ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' whose only redeeming feature is the {{Narm}}tastic commentary provided by Wrestling/JimRoss ("TWISTY ROCKETS!").
146** ''WWF Wrestling/WrestleMania'' for the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] is the first Wrestling/{{WW|E}}F-licensed game, and easily the worst. The entire game consists almost entirely of punches and kicks. The only grappling hold (in a ''wrestling game'') is a body slam. On top of that, the controls are just awkward and unresponsive, making the simple act of pinning the opponent difficult. The quality of the game (or lack thereof) can't even be blamed on system limitations, as decent wrestling games do exist on the NES (''VideoGame/ProWrestling'' and ''Tecmo World Wrestling'' come to mind).
147** ''WWF Wrestling/KingOfTheRing'' was released at the end of the NES' life cycle. It has worse visuals, fuzzy DPCM samples, and wrestlers sharing the same moveset. While it does have the nice draw of making your own wrestler, it only goes as far as modifying their attributes.
148** ''WWF Raw'' for the Platform/{{Xbox}} was criticized for its grappling system, lack of play modes that previous WWF/WWE games had, and only having 35 wrestlers on its roster. It's a regression from wrestling games that came out the year before on previous gen consoles.
149** ''WWE 2K20'' was the first WWE game developed by Visual Concepts[[note]]Mainly known for their well regarded ''2K'' sports games series, which was created after Electronic Arts refused to provide any of their sports games to the Platform/{{Dreamcast}} (though as of 2022 the only license they have left is the NBA)[[/note]]. For one, it's a noticeable step down from 2K19, the last WWE game that was developed by Yuke's. It's also an ObviousBeta, as many bugs were present at its release. It also eschewed features out from the previous installment. It was so critically reviled that the developers skipped the next year to work on the next installment (meaning there is no ''WWE 2K21''). Thankfully, ''2K22'' was seen as a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel, fixing many issues that 2K20 had.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Sports]]
153* While ''VideoGame/FIFASoccer'' games in the late 2010s normally rate with [[CriticalDissonance wildly deviant reviews]], ''FIFA 20 Legacy Edition'' for the Platform/NintendoSwitch is nigh-universally panned as nothing more than a [[MissionPackSequel reskin of previous games]], with the new features of mainline ''FIFA 20'' nowhere in sight. The highest professional Metacritic review is a Spanish site at 65, with the majority giving it sub-50 ratings; [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/09/27/fifa-20-legacy-edition-switch-review IGN]] in particular gave it a '''40 out of 100''' and called it a "macrotransaction". As for fan reviews, with the exception of a few devout fans who will give it a 10 out of 10 no matter what, the reviews are almost unanimously negative, and the user Metascore sits at '''0.2 out of 10''' because of it.
154** History repeated itself with the sequential releases of ''FIFA 21 Legacy Edition'', ''FIFA 22 Legacy Edition'' and ''FIFA 23 Legacy Edition''. All of which were barely changed from the Switch release of ''FIFA 19'' and released at full retail price. When Simon Cardy of IGN reviewed ''FIFA 21 Legacy Edition'' he [[https://www.ign.com/articles/fifa-21-legacy-edition-switch-review snarkily copied and pasted his review of FIFA 20]] to mock [=EAs=] laziness, giving each of the aforementioned titles a pitiful 2 out of 10.
155* George Foreman lent his name and likeness to two Acclaim boxing games in the 1990s, both of which fall under this trope:
156** The first, ''George Foreman's KO Boxing'', suffers from extremely monotonous gameplay that suffers from severely broken hit detection, along with a severe case of TheComputerIsACheatingBastard, turning every fight into an aggravating LuckBasedMission. It does feature the novelty of voice acting by Foreman himself, albeit the Genesis port conspicuously freezes up every time it delivers a speech sample. The 8-bit versions of the game are even worse, with the NES and Game Boy versions feeling like lame ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' clones, and the Master System and Game Gear versions being probably the worst of the lot, ending up as {{Reformulated Game}}s that go for a more ''Street Fighter''-like perspective, but ratcheting up the difficulty to completely absurd levels while making the controls even worse.
157** The second, ''Foreman For Real'', is admittedly an improvement on its predecessor, with reasonably impressive graphics and sound for a 16-bit title, even if it loses the voice acting from Foreman. However, the gameplay is still monotonous and repetitive, and, in the complete opposite of ''KO Boxing'', it's actually pretty easy to exploit weaknesses in the AI and win every match in a CurbStompBattle.
158* ''VideoGame/IzzysQuestForTheOlympicRings'' is what you would get when someone decided that the 1996 Summer Olympics mascot should receive their own game. The game is all about the 1996 Olympics mascot "Izzy" embarking on a quest to recover the Olympic Rings from the Ring Guardians so he could travel to Atlanta to light the flame and save the games. The game is as bog-standard as it gets, with uninteresting level design, repetitive gameplay, and horrendous slowdown especially for the [=SNES=] version. The game does have decent graphics and fun spritework, but that wasn't enough to save it from the heap.
159* [[{{Sequelitis}} The later entries]] in the [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA Sports]] UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} series suffered this, especially the two 7th generation entries, '08 and '09. Both were noted for mediocre gameplay, muddy graphics and buggy netcode that occasionally crashed online races, and '09 even went so far as to remove the manufacturer logos from the cars, rendering it an inaccurate visual representation of the sport. At least one review called the series "The Casey Mears of EA Tiburon".[[note]]Two things for context: 1) Tiburon also works on the ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' and ''VideoGame/NCAAFootball'' games, as well as Tiger Woods Golf. 2) Calling something the "Casey Mears of anything" is code for HighHopesZeroTalent among NASCAR fans, given that Mears was fired from Hendrick Motorsports after the '08 season due to poor and declining performance.[[/note]] Sales collapsed hard across all platforms, and EA dumped the license after shoving a Wii-exclusive kart racer out the door in early 2009. [[BrokenBase No one can agree]] whether the new Creator/{{Activision}}[=/=]Eutechnyx NASCAR series is a victim of this or not.
160** Creator/{{Activision}}-era games ''NASCAR: The Game 2011'' and ''NASCAR The Game: Inside Line'' (the latter was re-released for the PC market on July 24, 2013 through Platform/{{Steam}} as ''NASCAR: The Game 2013'') were each riddled with dozens of problems and [[NintendoHard so difficult that even some Sprint Cup drivers had trouble playing them]]. Because of these issues, Creator/{{Activision}} ended up losing their contract to Deep Silver when it came time to start development on ''NASCAR '14''. However, Eutechnyx remained the developer, and reviews indicate that, while vast improvements were made, they're still a long way from resolving the game's issues.
161** Deep Silver and Eutechnyx eventually lost the license to Dusenberry Martin Racing, who brought in Monster Games, the developers behind the beloved ''NASCAR Heat''/''Dirt to Daytona'' games from the early [=2000s=]. They even acquired the ''NASCAR Heat'' name and titled the first installment ''NASCAR Heat Evolution'' to lure in fans of those games and build hype. That hype collapsed when the duo put out a bug-infested mess that was widely regarded as a [[ObviousBeta thinly-disguised alpha build]]. DMR immediately rebranded as [=704Games=] but ''NASCAR Heat 2'' only got slightly better reviews, as while there were fewer bugs, it was also missing features that had been present in previous NASCAR game series. Consensus on subsequent entries in the "new" ''NASCAR Heat'' series was "[[SoOkayItsAverage adequate, but]] never quite [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]]", with ''NASCAR Heat 4'' agreed to have come the closest.
162** For ''NASCAR Heat 5'', the rights were handed to Motorsport Games, who immediately removed Monster for a team made up of 704 staffers, with the resulting product being widely criticized for being a MissionPackSequel. Motorsport quickly pivoted to the next release, simultaneously announcing that the ''Heat'' branding was being dropped while also declaring that their own internal development team had been readying a game for ninth-generation consoles since 2019. Said game, ''NASCAR '21: Ignition'', was [[HistoryRepeats hyped to high hell and back]] by the publisher - only for streams of the early release version to reveal ''another'' [[ObviousBeta bug-infested alpha build]] masquerading as a AAA release. (Common glitches include: spotty collision detection that causes cars to react like they hit an invisible brick wall for no reason or simply phase through the track into a bottomless void; ArtificialStupidity that can't maneuver around stalled cars a full straightaway in front of them, then can't figure out how to back up once wrecked, creating massive wads of cars that clog entire tracks and break races; and a spotter that randomly starts yelling "Two-Two-Two-Two-Three-Three-Three-Three" for up to a minute at a time if the player car stays three wide for too long.) Motorsport Games then displayed some of the worst PR mismanagement of the fallout ever seen in gaming or racing circles, eventually culminating in the cancelation of the planned stand-alone follow-up in favor of DLC to update the driver rosters and rules, while also quietly giving their CEO ''a 632% pay raise''. Around this time, reports came out claiming that NASCAR was looking to sever ties with the publisher immediately, as was UsefulNotes/IndyCar,[[note]]their own game was originally slated for fall 2022, but was indefinitely delayed that spring, and eventually canceled when the sanctioning body formally cut ties in November 2023[[/note]] with overseas licensers like the British Touring Car Championship and the FIA/[[UsefulNotes/TwentyFourHoursOfLeMans Le Mans]] having already started the process of canceling their agreements[[note]]Le Mans remains the last prominent sanction still officially under contract with Motorsport as of November 2023, with the BTCC fully terminating their agreement mere days after NASCAR announced their new publisher/developer[[/note]] amidst a slew of lawsuits and allegations of the company's executives creating the parent company as a Ponzi scheme, complete with documentation of previous such allegations dating back to 2004, coming into the public record. Thanks to all of this, most critics and fans have dubbed ''Ignition'' "[[WorstWhateverEver the worst NASCAR game of all time]]".[[note]]prior common candidates for that indignity include ''Heat Evolution'' and ''NASCAR: The Game 2011''[[/note]]
163** About two years later, after a single DLC update for ''Ignition'' and a few DLC packs for ''Heat 5'' for some reason (all of which introduced new bugs to both games), NASCAR approved the transfer of the console license from Motorsport to [=iRacing=], makers of a massively popular online-only racing simulator who have hosted NASCAR-based content[[note]]among ''many'' other series[[/note]] since 2010...not to mention that the site itself originated from the engine used to power ''NASCAR Racing 2003 Season'', the final entry in a series of critically acclaimed PC simulation games that served as a "hardcore" alternative to the EA Sports and Monster Games series prior to the former's exclusivity grab[[note]]commonly cited as the beginning of the decline in both the EA Sports series and NASCAR games in general[[/note]]. [=iRacing=] has revealed their intention to build a console game from the ground up rather than simply repackage the existing online product for console access, with a target date of fall 2025. Time will tell if this game can finally avert NASCAR's long run on this page.
164* ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' games were good at avoiding this until ''Ride'' and ''Shred'', but ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5'' takes the cake of skateboarding disappointment. For starters, the game weighs 4.6 GB, while the day-one patch is larger, being 7.7 GB. But that was only the beginning. The game frequently crashes, has a lot of glitches, [[GameBreakingBug half of which can break the game]], lack of the actual Create-A-Skater mode, [[ObviousBeta poor online capabilities]], bland maps and lots of the exact same challenges, save for different objects. The fact that the contract between Activision & Tony Hawk to make games [[AshCanCopy ended the day it was released]] doesn't help in the slightest. You can watch the review [[https://youtu.be/KY1CDKt5018 here]]. The game [[FranchiseKiller stopped the franchise dead in its tracks for several years]] until a remake compilation of the first two games [[WinBackTheCrowd gave the franchise some shred of dignity back]].
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167
168[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
169* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' games:
170** ''Heroes of the Lance'' is an excellent contender for "worst ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game ever". If the drab graphics, clunky controls, repetitive music and rotten hit detection don't turn you off, maybe the fact that the game has a nasty {{Unwinnable}} condition will do it for you (as described there). [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Watch Spoony]] [[https://youtu.be/oTfCi59KCx8 suffer through it here]].
171** Even worse is ''Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor'' (not to be confused with the VideoGame/GoldBox game simply titled ''Pool of Radiance'', which averts this trope). Aside from horrible balance issues and a thoroughly dull campaign, it has one [[GameBreakingBug spectacularly awful bug]]--if you install the game to anything other than the default filepath then try to ''uninstall'' it... kiss the entire contents of your hard drive goodbye!
172** ''Dungeons And Dragons Daggerdale'' is a SoOkayItsAverage ''Diablo''-clone.
173** The ''Dragonlance'' {{M|ultiUserDungeon}}UD was plagued by a number of issues, including being released at a time when [=MUD=]s were dying off as a genre. The game's economy would have suffered from runaway hyperinflation if not for the ludicrous rental fees needed for lodging; any time the player logged off the game, they would be charged a thousand gold per ''hour'' when the average enemy dropped 5 to 20 gold. Buying a house was counter-productive, since it meant paying ''more'' money; after paying an exorbitant amount of gold to get the house, you ''still had to pay rent'', now at a higher rate. Failure to earn enough money before logging off for the night resulted in having random pieces of equipment repossessed to cover the cost, and many a player would log in to find their character completely naked with no weapons or items. All characters had to be approved of by moderators before they could be played, and characters of a given race had to be roleplayed as stereotypical as possible (snarky thief Kender, racist elf, etc.) and any piece of backstory or attempt to break the mold would result in your character being frozen. As in, encased in a block of ice as a "soft ban". How long your character was frozen was arbitrary, and only the mod who froze you was allowed to unfreeze you which had to be done manually. Lastly, special events in the game amounted to following the moderators' overpowered max level characters as they did all the work and then handed out participation awards. By the time things started to change, over 90 percent of the player base was gone and the changes were half-hearted attempts at bringing people back in without completely fixing the way the game was managed.
174** ''TabletopGame/{{Spellfire}}'', a hastily put together CCG based on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and mostly reused art, created by Creator/{{TSR}} to cash in on the Magic fad while it lasted. Three years later, TSR went ''bankrupt'' and was bought by WOTC, the creators of Magic... but not before being reduced to using photos of TSR employees in extremely crude costumes as card "art."
175** ''Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft'' was a [[Platform/PlayStation PS1]] & DOS FightingGame based on the TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} setting but due to a TroubledProduction the game doesn't utilise the setting in any meaningful way, leaving the game with a generic fantasy tone. Semantics regarding the IP aside, the game has horrible collision detection, an unruly camera that can barely keep up with the action, a poor UI (consisting of a torch as a LifeMeter which does a poor job conveying how much health each opponent has) and a lack of endings or training mode. WebVideo/MattMcMuscles, a fighting game aficionado, considers it the Worst Fighting Game of all time.
176* Creator/GamesWorkshop has had many truly horrible licensed games put out based on its various properties. This is because GW has in the mid 2010's made its license much more available, usually getting a piece of the pie rather than a flat fee. This has resulted in some great games from studios that usually couldn't afford this license to some garbage that should have never seen the light of day.
177** ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Storm Of Vengeance'' is usually hailed as a five-lane game with no humor and no charm and a slapped on ''Warhammer 40,000'' theme.
178** ''Warhammer 40,000: Regicide'' is chess with ''Warhammer 40,000'' pieces and a couple of game modes which add randomness and hit points and so on to chess.
179** ''Dawn of War: Soulstorm'' is not this trope even though it is very much hated; its production was troubled for other reasons. The Dawn of War series is generally well-received with Soulstorm being the black sheep of the family.
180* Steve Jackson Games' ''TabletopGame/IlluminatiNewWorldOrder'' is a collectible version of their previous classic ''TabletopGame/{{Illuminati}}''. Unfortunately, they borrowed many mechanics and cards from the non-collectible version without thinking about how deckbuilding would allow them to be exploited, and most games of ''INWO'' were immediately won by whichever player went first.
181%% ** ''Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft'' for the Platform/PlayStation is a D&D ''FightingGame'' based on their ''horror setting''. The game was so hideously bad, it's often credited with killing the setting it's based on.
182* You’d think that ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' wouldn’t fall into this trap since it’s based on video games. However, the ''Pokémon Play It!'' CD-ROM game, meant to introduce fans to the trading card game, is mostly remembered for having awful, ''awful'' CG character designs, and less than stellar graphics in general. While it plays fine, it's rather slow-paced and limited in scope (only four decks total, which version 2 expands to seven). The online Trading Card Game released on tablets is viewed as somewhat better, though.
183%% * ''TabletopGame/QueensBlade'' was originally a fighting-book game using the Lost Worlds game books, but of course featured sexy fantasy women. This spawned a CCG ([[NoExportForYou only released in Japan]]), two PS games, and an anime series.
184%% * ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' had a short-lived trading card game, but when they came out with their new "half-edition", they actually took a lot of the original artwork and blew it up into quarter- to full-page spreads in the new rulebook.
185* Released to much fanfare and to-do, the Platform/Xbox360 game ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' was widely panned as SoOkayItsAverage. It captures very, very little of the essence of the setting and is a fairly dull online shooter. The [[PortingDisaster PC port is even worse]], for all the reasons already listed, as well as requiring Windows Vista (at a time where it was still incredibly expensive and ridiculously buggy) to even install it.
186%% * There were three Trading Card games based on ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' table-top [=RPGs=].
187%% ** First ''Jyhad'', which was canceled and revived as ''Vampire: The Eternal Struggle'', which is still going (but largely only available through White Wolf's website). This is based on ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''.
188%% ** Then an entirely separate game, ''Rage'', based on ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse''. This was published by two separate companies with two separate rulesets, one of which continues to receive fan expansions.
189%% ** Lastly, there was ''Arcadia'', based on ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming''.
190
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Theme Parks]]
194* ''Six Flags Fun Park'' is a strange MinigameGame released for the Platform/{{Wii}} and [[Platform/NintendoDS DS]] that is more or less a gruelling experience with a [[UnintentionalUncannyValley hideous art style]], bland {{Waggle}} filled gameplay and practically has [[InNameOnly nothing to do with]] the titular amusement park and might as well have a generic name (though this could be due to licensing reasons).
195* '' Ride/UniversalStudios Theme Park Adventure'' for the Platform/NintendoGameCube. The game is a MinigameGame where you play as a random kid in the eponymous theme park trying to get on the rides based on Creator/{{Universal}}'s [[Film/{{Jaws}} famous]] [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture movie]] [[Franchise/JurassicPark franchises]]. The game is saddled with extremely monotonous and boring gameplay. In order to get on any of the attractions and rides in the park, you don't do anything reasonable like trying to get tickets, no. You have to run around the park picking up garbage, and there's a ''lot'' of it. Navigation around the park is difficult as the camera doesn't follow your character, and you're given no map, so it's very easy to get lost. To make matters worse, the minigame attractions themselves are very brief, one-note, have bad controls, a bad camera, or contain all of the four problems, making the excruciating, convoluted effort to get access to them not even worth it. The WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd looks at the game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVf9-wEzGvc here]].
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:Toys]]
199* Two of the games from the ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'' for the Platform/NintendoDS, namely ''Julie Finds a Way'' and ''Kit Mystery Challenge'' were given scathing reviews, mainly due to piss-poor gameplay and controls. The ''American Girls Premiere'' game for the PC and Mac is [[SoBadItsGood/VideoGames a different story, though]].
200* ''The Franchise/{{Barbie}} Diaries: High School Mystery'' for the Game Boy Advance has extremely blurry graphics, a dull soundtrack, and is ''extremely'' difficult and tedious for its target audience of young girls.
201
202* Toys/{{LEGO}} generally did well with licensed games, even prior to the Creator/TravellersTales VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame era. Unfortunately, they still produced a few duds along the way:
203** Most of the LEGO games made in the 90s or early 2000s have CultClassic followings, but ''LEGO Creator: Knights' Kingdom'' and ''Creator: Franchise/HarryPotter'' are not among them. Both are built on the same engine and mechanics, and both are equally bad spinoffs of [[VideoGame/LEGOCreator another much better received LEGO game]]. The UI is quite confusing and unintuitive, both games treat the player [[ViewersAreMorons like a complete toddler,]] to the point of including completely mandatory and unskippable tutorials that go on forever, and both have very corny voice acting. The only thing noteworthy about either game is the fact that the latter holds the title of the first (and only) LEGO game from the pre-TT era to be based off both the toy and another existing property.
204** ''Toys/RockRaiders'' has a very well-received, if flawed, real-time strategy game on the PC that has a very dedicated cult following and active modding scene to this day. That said, most people would rather forget the PSX iteration was a thing. It completely forgoes the RTS-oriented gameplay in favor of an action platformer with ugly visuals, bad controls, and almost no original ideas. There's even an UrbanLegendOfZelda floating around that Sony's European branch initially declined the game due to its low quality, which would explain why the PAL version of the game that did eventually release is so drastically different from the original NTSC version, though many still argue it's not different enough to save it from this trope.
205** ''VideoGame/LegoRacers'' has a reworked iteration on the Platform/GameBoyColor, and it's an eyesore to put it lightly. The game is what can best be described as a ''VideoGame/PolePosition'' clone, but worse in every single way, including dull, repetitive visuals, very loose and slippery controls, and a draw distance so low that it's impossible to see what's coming. The sound design is also painful, with obnoxious sound effects and poorly remixed music from the original console/PC version.
206** Among ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' [[VideoGame/{{Bionicle}} video games]], there are two major multi-console licensed games, neither of which received very good reviews. In general, given how complex and ''huge'' the ''BIONICLE'' lore is, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot it's something of a disappointment to see such potential squandered on generic shooter gameplay]].
207*** There are many things wrong with ''Bionicle: The Game'', a near-NintendoHard action-adventure shooter-platformer mishmash that was released [[ObviousBeta barely finished]] in 2003. The controls render it almost unplayable, since the view doesn't change to follow the player, so you have to position the camera manually while simultaneously running, jumping, attacking, blocking and sometimes gliding. The camera keeps bumping into things and in some parts even moves from itself, throwing you off course (and off platforms) easily. The game features odd animation and amateurish voice acting, and the visual design is rather ugly, while the gameplay is surprisingly repetitive, despite the varied landscapes you play in. The game tries to superficially follow the franchise's MythArc, but only manages to keep one or two key points, so there is no cohesive narrative. Meanwhile, the presentation could not ''possibly'' have been any more {{Narm}}y -- the way the characters spout the cheesiest of clichéd lines while keeping a straight face, and with just how anticlimactic and random the final cutscene is, you would think the game was meant to be a parody, but the punchline never comes... unless you count the final prize for completing the game -- [[AWinnerIsYou a nonsensical outro and another look at the loading screen]] -- but then, the joke's on you.
208*** The Platform/GameBoyAdvance version of ''The Game'' isn't as well-known as the PC and console versions, but that's probably for the better. The controls are terrible and they tried to introduce some sort of camera system, but it's just laughable and doesn't really help you. The targeting system doesn't seem to work most of the time, the graphics are terrible, and the perspective is really butchered. The music is fairly decent, but that's about the only redeeming quality; the game is almost unplayable.
209*** The creators of ''Bionicle Heroes'' thought the game wouldn't be as fun if it stayed true to the story. So they took a BroadStrokes approach, and rewrote it from scratch, explaining that the evil Piraka have used the [[MaskOfPower Mask of Life]] to transform Voya Nui's creatures into random monsters. That was an easy way of making {{Mooks}} out of characters who had no business wandering about on the island (though they're still referred to in-game as being not copies, but the ''real'' things). In the end, it received slightly better reviews than ''The Game'' but proved to be even more divisive than its predecessor among the fanbase for its excessively [[DenserAndWackier comedic tone]], a ''stark'' contrast to the rest of the franchise and even by Traveller's Tales standards, and making the characters completely unrecognizable. Three of the bosses are characters that have been dead for 1000 years and another one [[AdaptationalVillainy isn't even a villain]] (in fact, he was the BigGood of the 2006 saga no less). Even if the game is completely non-canon, it still [[ExcusePlot lacks an actual story]], which most other LEGO games do have, outside of a poorly-voice acted intro cutscene, after which the game drops all pretense of story. The gameplay itself, meanwhile, is repetitive and tedious: you just walk on a mostly predetermined path (only one character can jump, and you don't have control over even that), shoot mindlessly, and at random intervals open secret areas. That's it. It's also way [[ItsEasySoItSucks too damn easy]], as you spend more than half of the game in an invincible GoldenSuperMode. When you beat the six main bosses, they become playable, but what fun you have with them is lost after a while, because when you acquire the final boss, he overrides them. At least the level design is visually pleasing and creative, the unlockables are kinda fun, and the game has a nice soundtrack. The Platform/NintendoDS and Platform/GameBoyAdvance versions on the other hand, while not as well-known as the PC and console versions, [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames fare better enough to escape this]].
210** ''LEGO Friends'' qualifies for two reasons. First, it's InNameOnly as it has absolutely nothing to do with LEGO at all, to the point that the characters are all humans. Second, it hits so deep into the GirlShowGhetto that even most Barbie merch would blush. While it's understandable that LEGO would take a back seat as it did in the Scala line it was originally based on (it used human dolls over sets that were still built with LEGO, if to a lesser extent than your average set), the game is mostly about a bunch of teenage girls who run their band Tuff Stuff. Most of the game is just stereotypical teenage girly socializing while trying to make music for their band, and is one of the most bizarre choices for a LEGO game adaptation. Unsurprisingly, LEGO never bothered with games based on the girl-oriented product lines afterwards.
211* The ''Franchise/{{Tamagotchi}}'' virtual pet toys' [[VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}} first Game Boy adaptation]] is notorious for how easy killing a Tamagotchi is (even moreso than the Tamagotchi Ocean, which is considered NintendoHard) and that they can die of old age eventually. The entire Game Boy trilogy's death scenes are also infamous for their disturbing ways of playing out, even to some adults.
212* Games based directly on the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toys:
213** ''The Transformers'' for the Platform/Commodore64 and Platform/ZXSpectrum back in the mid-1980s, published by Ocean Software. Memorable incidents include Autobots dying from a fall of any distance, Autobots dying from landing on a slope after flying, Autobots dying from not being pixel-perfectly positioned when switching characters, Autobots dying from the bizarre collision detection, Autobots dying for no apparent reason, Autobots dying... perhaps the game was designed by Decepticons? Except for the fact that the Decepticons are even MORE fragile, as the game inverts the typical 'touch me and you die' game mechanics -- any Autobot who is flying or in vehicle mode will instantly kill any Decepticon by ramming them. This means that Bumblebee, who has ridiculous amounts of shields, is a death machine in car form.
214*** According to [[http://www.crashonline.org.uk/36/denton.htm this interview]], even the development team thought this particular ''Transformers'' game was awful.
215** ''VideoGame/TransformersConvoyNoNazo'' was created to tease the death of Optimus Prime in between the second and third seasons of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', the cause of which had not been revealed yet in Japan due to [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie the movie's]] delay. Predictably, it's lazy, rushed, and hardly playable thanks to having ludicrous amounts of FakeDifficulty — Ultra Magnus can [[OneHitPointWonder take only a single hit before dying]]. Collecting all seven RODIMUS letters will let you replay the game as Rodimus Prime, who has a different vehicle mode sprite, but is budget-savingly a PaletteSwap of Ultra Magnus in-game and controls identically. Struggle through the same tedious procession of flat, enemy-filled stages twice, and the game has an embarrassing AWinnerIsYou ending to reward you for your efforts.
216** Somehow, the people at Takara thought the game deserved a sequel in the form of ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters''. Despite numerous improvements (can take more than one hit before you die, save feature, more than two characters), it's still as bad as ''Mystery of Convoy'' and is riddled with errors. All but one of the playable characters share a sprite, the one who doesn't is depicted as the wrong character, etc.
217** While ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' and ''VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron'' are well-regarded by critics and fans alike, the sequel ''VideoGame/TransformersRiseOfTheDarkSpark'' (doubling as a crossover with the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries live-action movies]]) fares much worse, suffering from poor optimization, excessive amounts of recycled assets, monotonous gameplay, and a nigh-incomprehensible story plagued by {{Continuity Snarl}}s for both continuities.
218** ''Transformers'' has a weak trading card game primarily based on the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries live-action movies]]. It's a "3D Battle-Card Game" that certainly has its flaws: characters are represented as punch-out buildable cards that can either be built as vehicles/animals or out-of-proportion, poorly rendered robots ([[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/thumb/1/10/3DBattleCard_OptimusPrime.jpg/300px-3DBattleCard_OptimusPrime.jpg here's Optimus, for those interested]]), and the game can easily be played without the card models. Only two sets were released.
219* The video game for ''Toys/TheTrashPack'' was heavily reviled by both fans and reviewers alike for being a high-priced video game that only contains four minigames and a checklist for the first wave of figures.
220
221[[/folder]]
222
223[[folder:Video Games]]
224%%* ''[[VideoGame/DotHack .hack]]'' had a trading card game.
225%%* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' developed a trading card game, and released initial card sets, through the project got dropped well before it could be called complete (the player base has continued development somewhat). It did have one noteworthy feature, a website app and proxying rule which allowed players to generate and print tournament-legal cards representing their characters.
226%%* Later versions of VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV came bundled with their self-made [=CCG=].
227%%* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'', of course, has a card game based on its series; ''Lord of Vermillion'' uses iconic monsters from the series, and marries traditional card gameplay with a video game interface (similar to Sony's ''The Eye of Judgment.'') The sequel also includes characters from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX IX]]'', and ''VideoGame/RomancingSaga'', along with {{guest fighter}}s from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', ''VideoGame/TheKingofFighters'', and [[Creator/{{Sega}} Sangokushi Taisen]].
228%%* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' had a [=TCG=] Japan, covering from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' through to ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776''.
229* In a twist on this trope, ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}: The Great Quest'' got a license to make a game about a classic arcade game. While some ''Frogger'' games before and after were actually surprisingly good, this one attempted to make it into a 3D action platformer and failed miserably. You attack enemies by spitting at them, and when close enough you use frog-fu (no, we're not making this up, this is the exact terminology the game uses). The controls are horrible, the only difficult thing is figuring out what the heck you're supposed to do, there is no replay value unless you want to start the whole game over again, and the voice acting is somewhere between bad and the kind of voice that makes you want to take a hammer to your head. The story has some [[EntitledToHaveYou very uncomfortable implications]], and very few, if any, of the characters are likable at all.
230%%* Deserving special mention are ''Franchise/KamenRider Battle: Ganbaride'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSentaiBattleDiceO'', games based on two legendary {{Toku}} franchises that are played using arcade machines. In fact, each franchise has a series (''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' and ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'' respectively) that really carry the MerchandiseDriven aspect to the endzone: in both shows, the protagonists' [[TransformationTrinket Transformation Trinkets]] run off of modified versions of the game cards; Decade's Trinket is modeled off of part of the game console (which was changed to match up with ''Series/KamenRiderOOO''), while the Goseiger have a ''Dice-O'' arcade cabinet that turns into a RobotBuddy '''and''' HumongousMecha.
231%%* Beloved fighting game ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' had a trading card game, published by Topps. It [[OnlyInItForTheMoney wasn't]] [[RockPaperScissors that good]].
232%%* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
233%%** It had its own GBA game [[CardBattleGame which incorporated cards]].
234%%** It also had a very short-lived TCG, which suffered from some problems in translation and export
235%%* ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' has "Ultimate Team" mode, which is a TCG within the game (but for real money of course).
236%%* The ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series had a [=TCG=], made by Decipher, which lasted less than a year.
237* ''VideoGame/PacMan'' for the Platform/Atari2600, one of the most infamous examples. See PortingDisaster and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_(1982_video_game) that other Wiki]] for details.
238%%* There was also a ''VideoGame/SimCity'' [=CCG=].
239* ''VideoGame/SonicBoom: Rise of Lyric'' (a RecursiveAdaptation, since [[WesternAnimation/SonicBoom the cartoon it's based on]] is in turn adapted from the regular ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series) garnered a number of criticisms since its release:
240** The textures and other graphical effects are subpar, looking more like a [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] game from 2002 than a Platform/WiiU game from 2014.
241** Its slower pace than most other ''Sonic'' games has been routinely compared to [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed the infamous Werehog]], with monotonous use of the "Tetherbeam" mechanic to destroy enemies.
242** Some also hated the constant chatter from the heroes during gameplay (especially since the game's attempts at humor tend to fall flat).
243** Perhaps the most damning thing, however, is the [[ObviousBeta slew of bugs]] and general lack of polish that the game exhibits. Among others:
244*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDCzoqhjP7M This video]] quickly went viral for many reasons: the fact that spin dashing into an NPC triggers a cutscene, Sonic's allies can clip ''through them'', the aforementioned lackluster dialogue and graphics, the fact that an invading battleship makes no noise at all and (despite the characters claiming it's attacking) ''doing absolutely nothing'', and finally the cheery music [[SoundtrackDissonance remaining while said battleship invades]].
245*** Then there are the gameplay-related ones - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IW2KAAN8NE&t=7m29s for starters]], in one section that's shown from a side perspective (i.e. like a 2D sidescroller) the player can inexplicably ''clip through the back wall'' by moving into it.
246*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSxzOxGb_bE Another infamous glitch]] has the player trying to move against an invisible wall, only for Sonic to grab onto its top as if it were a ledge and then fall through the level endlessly, [[GameBreakingBug necessitating a reset.]]
247*** There's also [[https://youtu.be/IdVqWL0BHMI?t=643 an infinite jump glitch]] involving Knuckles and pausing the game mid-double-jump that allows you to ''[[SequenceBreaking access the final area almost immediately upon reaching the hub world.]]'' Notably, the developers caught wind of this one and patched it out.
248*** Finally, there's the fact that, when the player is enclosed in a force field and made to fight enemies in order to get out, dying can cause you to respawn ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8V0vM_ra6M outside the force field]], [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable with no way to attack enemies and progress.]]''
249** All of this led to people nicknaming the game [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 "Sonic '06 2" and "Sonic '14".]] Creator/{{Sega}} was quite aware of its lack of quality, since they [[NotScreenedForCritics withheld review copies]] and tried to take down early LetsPlay videos. It wasn't enough to save the game from absolutely flopping and killing off the ''Sonic Boom'' subseries before it could truly take off.
250%%* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has a trading card game. In true ''Touhou'' fashion, it's actually named ''Rumbling Spell Orchestra''.
251%%* The online card game ''Tyrant'' was based on the Facebook game ''War Metal''.
252%%* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' had a trading card game, made by Creator/MargaretWeis, who also took the opportunity to make a CCG of her own [=IP=], ''Star of the Guardians''. Outside of a few "hardcore" fans neither was received well.
253%%* ''VisualNovel/{{Yarudora}} series vol.3: VisualNovel/{{Sampaguita}}'' has a [[http://tradingcardsfan.conceptbb.com/t1458-sampaguita-trading-collection Trading Card Collection]] set. [[CuttingOffTheBranches It uses the Good End 2 route as the canon storyline]], with Good End 3, Normal End 2, Bad End 1, and Bad End 9 as Parallel Stories.
254* Any Creator/{{Nintendo}} game not actually made under its name is crap, but the most infamous examples are the four games made for the [[Platform/PhilipsCDi CD-i in]] the mid-1990's. The three ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames Zelda]]'' games in particular have awkward controls and repetitive gameplay, while ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' has equally repetitive gameplay, where Mario must close all the doors to the seven hotels to save Princess Peach, completely abandoning the core mechanics of any official Mario game, where every enemy can be killed just by stepping on it. The cutscenes of each game, despite being a haven for YouTubePoop, don't fare much better, suffering from poor voice acting and awful character designs and animation. [[DisownedAdaptation Nintendo executives hated the games]], and a second ''Franchise/{{Mario}}'' CD-i game, ''Mario's Wacky Worlds'', was eventually aborted.
255[[/folder]]
256
257[[folder:Web Animation]]
258* ''WebAnimation/ExtraCredits'' discusses this in one episode and explains the roots of this problem. Back when the civilian internet and video game magazines didn't exist, parents purchased games for their children based on franchises their kids liked being on the cover. Because these games would sell regardless, making them became less about making a good game and about cutting corners and production costs whenever possible, resulting in some very shoddy games.
259* ''VideoGame/RWBYGrimmEclipse'' is criticized for a bland and shallow combat system (Remember: This is a game based off [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} an animated web series]] that prides itself with its over the top fight scenes), tedious grinding, unfair difficulty and railroading level progression, all taking place in empty and overly-spacious environments. Cases were also made against ''RWBY Deckbuilding Game'' (despite its polish, the niche genre and overtly complex system made it not catch on and last only one year), ''RWBY: Crystal Match'' (too casual and shallow), and ''Videogame/RWBYAmityArena'' (mostly for GachaGames [[AllegedlyFreeGame elements]] and unbalancing).
260[[/folder]]
261
262[[folder:Web Original]]
263* A very rare and ironic in-universe example occurs in ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough''.
264--> '''Strong Bad:''' Say it with me, The Cheat: Licensed video games are never good.
265* Discussed in ''WebVideo/{{Kohdok}}'''s "The Seven Deadly Sins of TCG Design", which examines the reasons why so many {{Collectible Card Game}}s fail to catch on. The fifth sin is licensing -- like licensed video games, licensed trading card games usually turn out bad. Common issues include games being [[ChristmasRushed rushed]], ExecutiveMeddling in general, and an [[DancingBear over-reliance on gimmicks]]. Kohdok also states that trading card games based on movies don't work because a single movie doesn't provide enough content to keep a TCG going for years.
266* ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'' is a {{downplayed|Trope}} version of this trope, since its presentation is [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames legitimately good]] (the graphics and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic music]] are top-notch, and the essence of the Nerd himself comes across well), but the [[NintendoHard sheer difficulty]] turned some people off from it, as well as the fact that the game follows some of the game design conventions the Nerd [[BerserkButton absolutely hates]] (though not without irony).
267** In the original version of ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdIIAssimilation'', "Area 52" was a satire of poor movie tie-in games, specifically being based on ''Film/AngryVideoGameNerdTheMovie''. The ''AVGN I & II Deluxe'' version removes the movie references, however, making the world feel like a generic sci-fi world as a result.
268* In-universe example with ''[[ShowWithinAShow Charleyyy and Friends]]: The Video Game'', from the ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'' video, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEhhOVEAvfg Bowser's Video Game]]". The game's atmosphere and humor are very accurate to the show it's based on. However, despite being advertised as [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids an M-rated game]], it surprisingly lacks a lot of the advertised adult content. In addition, the game suffers from unresponsive controls, Charleyyy loses health from ridiculous things such as not having any mail in his mailbox and not having any gas in his car, there are [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading tons of loading screens]], and, as proven by Bowser Junior, the game [[ItsShortSoItSucks can be beaten in ten minutes]], complete with an AWinnerIsYou ending.
269* In-universe: in ''Website/CollegeHumor's'' ''WebVideo/HardlyWorking'' video on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHEwh4iBBFE Most Retro Video Game System Ever]], the Skaris One-Bit has a ''Film/GoldenEye'' licensed game... which consists of the screen flashing a square on and off a specific number of times, indicating that you should read a specific page of the included book, while playing a horribly beepy and discordant song in the background.
270* While most official (or officially-approved in the case of the games in htfgames.com) ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' games tend to be SoOkayItsAverage due to being plain arcade games or just one of those "generic" Flash games, the absolute low point when it comes to the games is probably ''Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm'' for the Platform/{{Xbox}} and PC. Before the smartphone games, it was the only major release (the older mobile games are rather obscure), and it's the only one to be released for a console, at that. Graphically, it stays true to the show... but perhaps too much. The mostly-solid bright colors look unpleasant, the Happy Tree Friends' 3D models look plain (what with the stiff, flat face whose expressions only change when they gets certain injuries), and the blood and gore graphics are very dull and cheap-looking. Gameplay-wise, it's just an uninspired ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'' clone minus the behavior-changers (you can only freeze, thaw out, scare off, or burn the Happy Tree Friends) and with more ArtificialStupidity. While every level has environment-based gimmicks and traps, they all feel the same. The game's rather short (at around 2 hours for an experienced player), it doesn't make use of all the ''HTF'' characters (not counting the episode that comes with the game and the Xbox achievement icons, only 8 out of 20--Lammy and Mr. Pickels didn't exist yet--main characters are in-game) and [[BonusFeatureFailure the special episode it promises is already readily-watchable on YouTube]] ''in its entirety.''
271* ''WebVideo/TheIrateGamer Game'', despite being hyped for years, looks like it was made in a week. It's a platformer for mobile devices with really bad controls even by those standards, dull levels, minimal enemies, pointless ladders (you can't go up), and overall lazy design. The only upside is the art for the comic book-style cutscenes. The game only lasted 3 months on the [=iOS=] App Store before getting pulled; it was revealed that it was a reskin of a different mobile game that sells its assets to potential game makers. The Irate Gamer himself made a (now deleted) glowing video about it, comparing it to Angry Birds. Years later he realized he was scammed.
272* ''Race With Ryan'', a WebVideo/RyanToysReview MascotRacer, was criticized for being a $39.99 game with only ''six'' tracks, 21 racers that turn out to be 7 racers each with 2 variations, and the annoying photorealistic Ryan who appears on the screen frequently shouting out poor quality voice clips. Otherwise, with its beautifully-designed tracks and good controls, it's a SoOkayItsAverage game.
273
274[[/folder]]
275
276[[folder:Specific Companies]]
277* Creator/{{Acclaim}} and Creator/LJNToys (which merged in 1990) were really, ''really'' bad for this during the 8- and 16-bit days. Acclaim didn't learn its lesson and continued to publish crap until its eventual bankruptcy (and limited {{revival}} as a distributor of Korean {{M|assivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame}}MORPGs. Acclaim and LJN were so bad at this that they received extreme scorn as WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd's most hated game companies.
278** ''Bigfoot'' on the Platform/{{NES}} runs right into this trope. Developed by Beam Software and published by Acclaim, it has a [[SomeDexterityRequired convoluted control scheme during side-scrolling races]], having rubber-banding AI and zero continues or passwords. If you don't have $1,000 to enter a race, then you automatically get GameOver. The overhead races aren't much better, because you can easily get stuck in a tree and wreck your truck without warning.
279** ''VideoGame/SpiderManAndVenomMaximumCarnage'': Subverted, as the [[Platform/SuperNintendo SNES]] game has good controls, good music, and is actually all-around decent[[note]]It's probably best known for being one of the few SNES games that has a colored cartridge, in this case red. The port of Doom also had a red cart, and Killer Instinct had a black cart[[/note]]. When the Nerd declared it SoOkayItsAverage, then discovered it was made by LJN, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation it blew his mind and made him suffer a breakdown]]: "IT'S NOT SHIT! '''''[[SkywardScream IT'S NOOOOOOOOOOT SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!!]]'''''"
280** Acclaim subverted this with games such as ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowMan'', which were genuinely good games -- but they were too little, too late to help the company, and while ''Shadow Man'' received good critical reception, it failed to be a success in stores and became more of a cult hit, despite getting a sequel.
281* Blast! Entertainment Ltd. was a short-lived studio (it lived 2006-2009) that published nothing but those types of games. All of them were so bad that no one with a clear mind would ever buy their games.
282** They made the [=PS2=] version of ''Film/HomeAlone'', which is [[InNameOnly tenuously related to its source material at best]] (not even appearing to be set during Christmastime), has weak graphics, and the gameplay it features is very slow and boring.
283** Their most infamous title is ''Series/LittleBritain: The Video Game'' for the [=PS2=], which was nominated by various UK critics for being the worst licensed game ever made at the time of its release. The same critics also noted that it was the worst game they ever played on that system.
284* Brash Entertainment did ''nothing'' '''but''' these games, with their ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' and ''Film/{{Jumper}}'' tie-ins receiving some of the absolute lowest scores of the 7th generation. The studio was quickly shut down 18 months after being formed. [[note]]Incidentally, Brash were working on a ''VideoGame/{{Saw}}'' game just as they went under; Creator/{{Konami}} eventually snagged the publishing rights from their ruin and the final game ended up being somewhat decent. Well, except for the combat system.[[/note]]
285
286* Capstone Software was a home computer developer active in the 80s and 90s best known for their FPS titles such as ''VideoGame/{{Witchaven}}'' and ''VideoGame/OperationBodyCount'', but the majority of their games were licensed titles of dubious quality.
287** Their ''Trump Castle'' games were a series of mediocre gambling themed game collections created only to promote the Trump casino brand.
288** ''Literature/TheDarkHalf'', a point and click adventure game based on the Creator/StephenKing novel of the same name. The game featured confusing puzzles and uninspired visuals, earning a mostly negative reception from critics.
289** ''Series/MiamiVice'' received a little-known DOS game by Capstone ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCxCvrLbIx0 reviewed here]]) that suffers from terrible controls, convoluted gameplay, and [[ObviousBeta ridiculous bugs]]. The game is like a puzzle/platformer hybrid controlled entirely by the mouse and spacebar. In the linked review, the reviewer could not figure out how to pass the second level because there's nothing to be anything to really indicate the goal of the level. He also encountered several strange, albeit unintentionally amusing glitches, such as Crockett and Tubbs's sprites becoming cloned and their inexplicable ability to walk across thin air where no platforms are indicated.
290** ''William Shatner's Series/{{TekWar}}'' was an early FPS on the Build Engine (the same engine that powered ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'') and is considered one of the worst games to ever run on the Engine (and that's saying a lot), with graphics crunched into hideous pixelated unrecognizability, clunky and irritating gameplay, and some utterly dreadful level design. The game also features FMV sequences with Creator/WilliamShatner chewing you out if you kill too many enemies, despite killing bad guys being the point of the game, which gets annoying fast; and a seizure-inducing final mission in cyberspace full of garish visuals and confusing objectives.
291** ''VideoGame/Zorro1995'' was a clone of the original ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'' games featuring sluggish controls and unforgiving platforming.
292
293* Creator/DataEastPinball was a repeat offender of this trope when they first started getting into {{Licensed Game}}s in TheEighties and early Nineties; the strategy was to spend lots of money buying {{Pinball}} rights to then-popular themes, then apply them to whatever pinball game was in development at the time. While the tables themselves ranged from "SoOkayItsAverage" to "GuiltyPleasure", they were also often considered a waste of the license (as with ''Pinball/BackToTheFuture''). This situation improved over time, with games like ''Pinball/TalesFromTheCrypt'' and ''Pinball/{{Jurassic Park|DataEast}}'' ranked among the best games from TheNineties.
294* Creator/{{Disney}} usually has a solid track record when it comes to licensed games, which can be seen on [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames the other page]]. Unfortunately, not all of their games are winners:
295** ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' had two excellent [[VideoGame/AladdinCapcom video]] [[VideoGame/AladdinVirginGames games]] on 16-bit platforms. The European-only Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem developed by NMS Software was vastly inferior to its 16-bit counterparts. It has limited palette choices, questionable music choices (A Whole New World for the final level?) and the Jafar fight being ridiculously easy.
296** ''VideoGame/AliceInWonderland2010'', the video game adaptation of Creator/TimBurton's [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 film]], was a decided letdown to fans of the movie. Many of the battles are unintuitive, and the player doesn't even play ''as'' Alice -- rather, as five residents of Underland (though they do fortunately consist of fan-favorites such as the Mad Hatter), who have to make their way through the entire map while preventing [[TheLoad Alice]] from being captured. It's not horrible, but it's extremely disappointing.
297** ''VideoGame/ArielTheLittleMermaid'' was developed by Creator/BlueSkySoftware for the Platform/SegaGenesis, and so could offer fancier graphics than Creator/{{Capcom}}'s [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game ''VideoGame/TheLittleMermaid'', which is better in almost every other way. It also ''tries'' for greater complexity of gameplay, but ends up forcing the player to swim around labyrinthine levels with unresponsive controls and terrible collision detection hunting for [[ForcedTransformation transformed]] friends to shoot musical notes at; these musical notes are also a very weak primary attack. Flounder and Sebastian can be summoned, but don't really help much. After slowly putting down FinalBoss Ursula, the ending consists mainly of a [[AWinnerIsYou "Congratulations!" screen]].
298** ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' had two games for the Platform/SegaGenesis by Creator/{{Sunsoft}}, each based on one of the title characters. ''[[VideoGame/DisneysBeautyAndTheBeastBellesQuest Belle's Quest]]'' was a fairly lame collection of minigames, and ''[[VideoGame/DisneysBeautyAndTheBeastRoarOfTheBeast Roar of the Beast]]'' was an uninspired platformer. The Platform/{{NES}} and Platform/{{SNES}} [[VideoGame/DisneysBeautyAndTheBeastSNES games published by]] Creator/HudsonSoft and developed by Creator/ProbeEntertainment did not improve much on the gameplay of ''Roar of the Beast'' either.
299** Unlike the Platform/PlayStation, Platform/Nintendo64 and PC versions, the Platform/GameBoyColor version of ''VideoGame/ABugsLife'' has simplistic graphics with a weird color scheme (Flik and Dim, who are both blue in the movie and console versions, are consistently colored ''purple''), repetitive stages, FakeDifficulty and annoying sound effects.
300** ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'' wasn't a great movie to begin with, but while many would tell you that its own licensed game [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames belongs on the other page]], the same unfortunately cannot be said for ''[[{{Sequelitis}} Chicken Little: Ace In Action]]''. For its merit, it features voice talent from Creator/AdamWest and was developed by Avalanche Software, but the gameplay is extremely basic and essentially amounts to a handful of [[{{Minigame}} Minigames]] strung together, has graphics that feel [[UnintentionalUncannyValley rather unsettling]] especially during cutscenes and the entire story is an ExcusePlot ''[[FramingDevice within an Excuse Plot]]''. Put them together and you got yourself a [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre game]].
301** ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' has [[VideoGame/DarkwingDuckCapcom a stellar NES licensed game]] published and developed by Creator/{{Capcom}}, mainly because it uses a modified version of ''VideoGame/MegaMan5''[='=]s game engine. [[VideoGame/DarkwingDuckInteractiveDesigns The game developed by Interactive Designs for the]] Platform/TurboGrafx16, on the other hand, is vastly inferior. It suffers from a lot of problems, such as stiff and sluggish controls which only serve to make the [[PlatformHell platforming parts even harder]], boring music, unfair difficulty[[note]]If Darkwing stays in one spot, such as a platform, for too long an anvil lands on his head. That costs one of your lives, naturally.[[/note]], and only four bosses (Tuskernini, Megavolt, Moliarty, and Steelbeak; the Platform/{{NES}} version at least lets you fight the other members of the Fearsome Four).
302** ''VideoGame/DisneyPrincessEnchantedJourney'' is a really easy game with zero challenge at all. Minigames are dull and basic, the Bogs are the only enemies in the entire game and are very weak, the player can't get killed by all means, clunky controls especially in Wii version, can be completed within a few hours or less and the only unlockables in the entire game is just the Belle minigame in where the player must avoid the Bogs after completing all of the princesses worlds and the Golden dress that can be unlocked after beating the game. To top it off, in [=PS2=], the save file size in the memory card is '''1,200KB''' which is unnecessary for a game that lacks replay value especially in [=8MB=] memory cards even compared to many popular game franchises from that console like ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'', ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' which has far more replay value and requires either more-or-less [=KBs=] to save those games than this game.
303** The Platform/SegaGenesis is home to some of the most memorable Creator/{{Disney}} licensed games, but ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'' isn't one of them. Developed by Creator/{{Infogrames}} and mostly based on "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment (Wizard Mickey is the playable character, and level 1 combines that with "The Nutcracker", with the other three being amalgations of the other segments), the game suffers from sloppy programming, awkward controls, haphazard level design, tinny music that hardly does the film's soundtrack any justice, gameplay that alternates between [[NintendoHard Sega Hard]] and FakeDifficulty... and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Chernabog]] [[DemotedToExtra isn't even the]] FinalBoss [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot despite the final level taking place on Bald Mountain.]] Once you complete the game, you are rewarded with [[AWinnerIsYou a cheap animation of Mickey shaking hands with Leopold Stokowski]]. The worst part is that [[ChristmasRushed the game was rushed out to tie in with the film's 1991 VHS release]], and one of the developers admitted in an interview that the game needed at least two more months of development to iron out its flaws. The game ranked #6 on ''Mega'''s "10 Worst Mega Drive Games of All Time", and is reviled by Genesis fans across the net, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N43TFSTbpdQ including]] WebVideo/UrinatingTree. Adding insult to injury, Roy Disney insisted that [[NoAdaptationsAllowed no adaptations of his uncle's work be made]], so he demanded that all future sales and advertising cease and every unsold copy be destroyed.
304** The ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' tie-in game isn't a trainwreck by any means, but it still contains a horrible case of LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading (sometimes ''more than a minute per level!''), ugly visuals, [[TheOtherDarrin obvious soundalike actors]], and gameplay that is little more than a lame GameplayRoulette that tries a little too hard to follow the movie shot-for-shot, which ended up constraining it a bit too much. Many of the stages are quite uninspired as well, ranging anywhere from PassThroughTheRings to sliding puzzles. The Gamecube version in particular deserves special mention as it doubles as a PortingDisaster, with ''incredibly'' noticeable lag on quite a few of the stages that makes the already lousy visuals even harder on the eyes.
305** ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' for the Platform/SegaGenesis looks rather nice, at least in the first couple of levels, and Goliath is very mobile, but the combat is atrocious; attacks never seen to deal a consistent amount of damage, with fights either ending in half a second or turning into long-protracted affairs. Goliath's grab attack is AwesomeButImpractical since the hit detection on it is terrible and most enemies you can grab will just start meleeing you the instant you get into range to use it. On top of that, the difficulty curve is [[NintendoHard extremely steep]], capped off with having only one continue and no passwords.
306** ''VideoGame/GravityFallsLegendOfTheGnomeGemulets'' for the Platform/Nintendo3DS. While its spritework, dialogue, and characterization are well-done and show-accurate, thanks to Creator/AlexHirsch overseeing the project, the game suffers from incredibly monotonous gameplay, music that sounds more fitting for a western, boring boss battles that are blatant rehashes/reskins of one another, and the game itself being far too easy. The game is ''very'' low on the creepiness factor, and this is ''NightmareFuel/GravityFalls'' we're talking about.
307** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' licensed game is a mixed bag. It features a decent variety of gameplay, the controls are tight and responsive, and you even get Creator/SamuelLJackson as Frozone narrating the tutorials. However, most of the levels are [[MarathonLevel long]], tedious, repetitive, and at times confusing or downright [[FakeDifficulty unfair]], with [[PlatformHell overly-precise platforming]] that often forces the player to backtrack. The game also suffers from FakeLongevity in the form of {{Padding}} that often has you doing the same things over and over again (you have to fight the Omnidroid ''[[RuleOfThree three times]]'', with each fight being nearly identical and lasting an eternity). It's not the worst licensed game ever, but it's not as great as it could be, either.
308** ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': ''Revenge of Monkey Fist'' for the Game Boy Advance was the first game based on the series, and easily the worst. While the bad graphics were forgivable (it was released early in the GBA's lifespan), what wasn't forgivable was the simplistic gameplay (all you do is run from left to right with the occassional gadget section), and pathetically easy boss battles (only Drakken puts up a challenge). Interestingly, the game was developed by Digital Eclipse, who also did the well received video game based on ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' for the same platform.
309** While the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and Platform/SegaGenesis versions of [[VideoGame/TheLionKing the 1994 game by Westwood Studios]] belong on [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames the other list]], these ''[[Franchise/TheLionKing Lion King]]'' games are vastly inferior;
310*** The [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and Platform/GameBoy versions of ''VideoGame/TheLionKing'' are considered [[PortingDisaster porting disasters]] of their [[Platform/SuperNintendo SNES]] and [[Platform/SegaGenesis Genesis]] counterparts. The Platform/GameBoy version just cannot handle the combat from the 16-bit games. Moreover, the game slows down and flickers when a few enemies appear on screen. The NES version is even worse, because not only is it an ObviousBeta, it is also a porting disaster of the Game Boy version with the only upgrades being the resolution and color graphics. To twist the knife further, [[CoversAlwaysLie the game box claims there are ten levels, but there are actually six]], meaning the player can never play as Adult Simba. Mercifully, the game was [[NoExportForYou released only in Europe]]. Twisting the knife even further, there exists [[https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Lion_King a bootleg NES port]] that is widely considered to be superior to the ''official'' NES release.
311*** While ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}: Simba's Mighty Adventure'' for the [[Platform/PlayStation PS1]] follows the plots of [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 the first]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride two movies]] fairly well, and has high-quality video clips from said movies (albeit [[TheOtherDarrin dubbed with the game's voice actors]]), the game suffers from sub-par graphics, even for [=PS1=] standards, unresponsive controls that lock on occasion, Simba's attacks (rolling and roaring) getting him hurt more often than the enemies, collecting the tokens required to beat the levels [[ItsEasySoItSucks being far too easy]], and mediocre unlockable bonus games. Things only got worse when it was ported to the Platform/GameBoyColor. Hardware limitations obviously meant the video clips couldn't stay, and in turn players received even sloppier graphics, repetitive gameplay, and none of the memorable music from the films, with one incredibly annoying song playing throughout the ''entire game''.
312*** ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf'' for the Game Boy Advance isn't a complete trash fire, it still doesn't make it that far past "mediocre". It controls decently well and has a clever tag-team platforming mechanic, but suffers from shallow gameplay, bland level design, no bosses at all, and a very short game time. If you don't go for OneHundredPercentCompletion, you can beat it in a little over an hour. If you do decide to go for it, be prepared to deal with tons of frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay with item placement that frequently requires the player to be psychic.
313** While ''VideoGame/MonstersIncScreamTeam'' is a [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames well-regarded]] [=3D=] platformer in its own right, the same can't be said for the far more obscure [=PS2=]-exclusive ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' game, which has [[UnintentionalUncannyValley ugly]] graphics that look about on par with a [=PS1=] game, poorly designed platforming with extremely difficult sections early on in the game (the second level features a mail train segment which lasts a long time and instantly kills Sulley if he falls at any point while the third level has both a chimney segment which requires pinpoint-perfect reflexes and accuracy and a zipline that takes you right back to the beginning of the level [[GuideDangIt without telling you]]) and [[DemotedToExtra demotes Mike to an NPC]]. To top it all off, the game adapts the movie's plot [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole so badly]] that it comes off as a RandomEventsPlot, and has an insulting AWinnerIsYou ending that doesn't actually resolve anything the game brings up.
314** On one hand, ''VideoGame/TheNightmareBeforeChristmasOogiesRevenge'' has a lot of good things going for it. Most of the movie's original cast is back, the graphics are good, the story serves as a decent sequel to the first movie, and the songs are good (even if they're just the ones from the original movie with new lyrics, though there is one new one). However, its ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''-style combat is very repetitive with a poor camera, and the player frequently has to backtrack to do something as simple as refill their health. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking It also takes several seconds just for the pause menu to appear.]]
315** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' is regarded as one of the best comics ever created in Italy and one of the best Creator/{{Disney}} comics in general. The videogame based on it, however? They cut all the 30+ years of history the character has, only introduced a handful of the beloved [[OldHeroNewPals "new" characters]], and made repetitive stages and boring boss battles. It's a shame that this is what most people [[NoExportForYou outside of Europe]] think about when they think "Paperinik".
316** There were two video games based on ''Film/TheRocketeer'': the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem verison developed by Ironwind Software and Creator/RealtimeAssociates and published by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Bandai]] in 1991, and the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem verison developed by Creator/NovaLogic and published by IGS in 1992. The NES game has colorful cutscenes that follow the movie, but still suffers from an overabundance of enemies who can easily kill you while it's hard for you to kill them, as well as a jet pack that requires you to find fuel for it, and even then, should only be used sparingly. While the game does provide a password system, you still get a GameOver after losing one life. The SNES game, despite being on a more advanced console, is even worse, as the first few levels require you to beat an airplace race, and in order to win it, you must pay close attention to what's going on in the tiny box in the HUD, not what's going on on the main screen, when it should be the other way around. In the shoot-em-up levels, which appear later in the game, you can actually destroy your health power-ups, and while enemies can change direction to attack you, you can't. Your reward for beating both games is an AWinnerIsYou ending. ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' has reviewed both these games, saying that the SNES version in particular may have surpassed ''VideoGame/TheWizardOfOz'' and ''VideoGame/HongKong97'' as the worst SNES game he's ever played.
317** ''[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Tipton Trouble]]'' is dull, repetitive, and lazily put together. In the words of Creator/ColeSprouse, "The best way to beat that game is to eject it and physically destroy it."
318*** Its GBA sister game, ''Tipton Caper'', doesn't fare much better. It's a dull clone of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' with tedious and simple puzzles, lousy stealth segments, and movement speed so painfully slow you'd swear the twins themselves are just as bored as you are.
319** ''WesternAnimation/TheDisneyAfternoon'' inspired [[VideoGame/DuckTales a]] [[VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers few]] [[VideoGame/GoofTroop classics]], but ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' resulted only in mediocre at best games. [[VideoGame/TaleSpinCapcom The NES game]] by {{Creator/Capcom}} is regarded to be an okayish side-scrolling shooter that's probably Capcom's weakest Creator/{{Disney}} tie-in — albeit still the best game based on this show. [[VideoGame/TaleSpinSega The Sega Genesis game]] is a generic platformer with murky, unappealing graphics, and boring level design. The Platform/TurboGrafx16 game is seen as the bottom of the barrel, however, as despite having better graphics than the [[Platform/SegaGenesis Genesis]] game, it's brought down by atrocious controls, severely faulty collision detection, and all-around uninspired gameplay (faults it shares with the even more notorious ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' [[VideoGame/DarkwingDuckInteractiveDesigns tie-in game]] on the same system, which was developed by the same company).
320** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' has a phenomenal tie-in game released for fifth-gen consoles. To tie in with its follow-up [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan TV show]], another Tarzan game was made called ''VideoGame/TarzanUntamed'' for the [[Platform/PlayStation2 PS2]] and Platform/GameCube, and to say it's a disappointing follow-up is an understatement. The game features bland, uninspired linear level design that is extremely on-rails with almost no freedom of movement, the visuals are dull and ugly (even being outshined by the aforementioned game despite being released on far inferior hardware), the controls are stiff and heavy, all three bosses require ButtonMashing to defeat, which can be difficult without the use of a turbo controller, and the game is extremely short.
321** ''Franchise/ToyStory'' has had its share of licensed games over the years, and while many of them [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames are very well put together and fun]], there are a handful of exceptions. Coincidentally, most of them are handheld ports of the franchise's console game entries:
322*** The Platform/GameBoy port of [[VideoGame/ToyStory the first game]], based on [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the first movie]]. The gameplay feels very slow and plodding, the graphics try and fail to emulate the movie, controls are terrible, and it's missing many of the levels that its console counterparts have.
323*** The Platform/GameBoyColor version of the ''VideoGame/ToyStory2'' game. Like its predecessor on the Game Boy, the controls and physics are terrible, the graphics are boring, the music is annoying and the game doesn't seem to understand the source material very well; [[AdaptationalVillainy having the LGMs and Rex as enemies]] with no reason for it.
324*** The Platform/NintendoDS version of the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' game. The controls were stripped down completely, it feels less imaginative than its console counterparts, and it lacks the game's most popular feature, the Toy Box mode[[note]]the same one that would serve as the inspiration for ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity''[[/note]].
325** ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' is one of the most successful video game movies out there. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], its own video game adaptation has been panned for its subpar graphics, being [[ItsShortSoItSucks short]] (it has only 18 levels), repetitive (the levels all feel the same), [[ItsEasySoItSucks easy]] (there is '''no''' penalty for death) and having a ton of wasted potential. The mobile game, however, belongs on [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames the other list]].
326** While Disney's video games have a good reputation, their BoardGames are a different story. Many of them, like ''Anna & Elsa'', are just standard boring RollAndMove fare with little or no player input. At least ''TabletopGame/{{Villainous|Ravensburger}}'' is pretty enjoyable.
327* Anything made by DSI Software is guaranteed to be garbage.
328** ''Advertising/MAndMs Kart Racing'' might be their worst game. Every character speaks in the same male voice, ''even Green''. This should speak volumes about how much effort was put into it. The DS port is, however, a [[SoOkayItsAverage passable if uninspired]] racing game that is much less buggy and has no voice acting.
329* ISCO is a contract developer to run away from really fast (being the contract developer hired to make ''VideoGame/TransformersConvoyNoNazo''). The reason they get their own section is because all of their games tend to have the same problems, which are ugly graphics, bad sound effects, awful controls and lack of playability. They are so horrible that after playing their games you will probably never look at [[Creator/LJNToys LJN]] the same way ever again.
330%%* Just pick any film made between 1988 and 1993, and there's a good chance Ocean Software made a side scrolling platformer (possibly with extra top-down levels) out of it...regardless of how suitable the subject matter is.
331* Creator/PackInVideo developed a good chunk of video games based on either movies or TV shows in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Some were either [[SoOkayItsAverage otherwise average]] or just bad. Some of those games include ''VideoGame/KnightRider'', ''Film/{{Predator}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Rambo}}'', and ''Film/DieHard''...all of which were released on the Platform/{{NES}}, published by either [[Creator/LJNToys LJN]] or Creator/{{Acclaim}} (although ''Film/DieHard'' and ''Predator'' were published by Creator/{{Activision}}).
332* Creator/RadicalEntertainment was responsible for quite a number of bad licensed games in their early years; the aforementioned ''[[Film/TheTerminator Terminator]]'' for the Platform/{{NES}} was their first game, no less. It makes one wonder how the hell they went from dreck like ''WesternAnimation/BebesKids'' to great games like ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun''.
333* A lot of Creator/{{THQ}}'s input from the early [[TheNineties '90s]] consisted of crappy licensed projects, with such games as ''Film/HomeAlone'', ''Literature/WheresWaldo'', and ''Film/WaynesWorld'' under their belts. They were also the GBA's equivalent of Creator/{{LJN|Toys}}, right down to being founded by the same person. Thankfully, most of their console games slowly started to improve through the 2000s. Several of their Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/{{Pixar}} games from that era are usually on [[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames the other page]].
334* Tiertex Design Studios were a British game studio that developed several licenced games that were this, particularly on the Platform/GameBoy. These included ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', ''Film/SmallSoldiers'', ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''.
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336[[/folder]]

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