Unpopular Opinions Vol. 2

Are you in the small group of people that actually likes the Star Wars prequels? Perhaps you even like Micheal Bay's take on the Transformers or you actually enjoyed the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Or maybe, just maybe, you think The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time isn't the greatest game of all time and that better Zelda games do exist that aren't subtitled A Link to the Past. Welcome to Unpopular Opinions, where perspective, mine anyway, greatly differs from the majority.

Star Fox Zero is Not a Bad Game

One cannot discuss Star Fox Zero without bring up what has become the major sticking points for critics, the controls.

Like many, I was stoked to hop back into the Arwing with Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox gang for a brand new outing as it had been 10 years since they'd last took flight. I had already pre-ordered the game, paid it all off and could not wait for the weekend to be over so I'd have some off days to sit down with it. But then, I caught wind of what players were saying from reviewers. The motion controls made Star Fox Zero a horrible game. Hones Game Trailers said the game was the final nail in the coffin for the franchise. Jim Sterling gave the game a 2/10. This had me worried that I wouldn't like Star Fox Zero due to most critics blasting the game.

Since I already forked over my $60, I decided to see for myself if I'd like the latest re-imagining of Star Fox. I failed the first mission because I wasn't used to the setup for all-range mode and I couldn't juggle looking at the GamePad and TV screen. But after a second go, I was looking at the words "Mission Accomplished" with a smile on my mug. Most of my fears of the motion controls were for not as dogfights now feel perfectly natural and all-range mode is a walk in the park for me.

I guess I was one of those people that took to Star Fox Zero's controls rather quickly. But not everyone is going to adjust as fast as I did. For some, it will take time before they get used to it, or "get good" as the kids put it these days. However, it seems quite clear that most critics weren't willing to put that time in and simply wrote Star Fox Zero off as a bad game for not using a standard control scheme. Not every critic had this mindset, but you can tell there are those that already came in with their pitchforks raised. Clearly crying about a new way to control a game and saying it sucks because you aren't used to it is much easier than taking some time to learn.

Mega Man 2 Has Flaws That No One Points Out

Ask any critic or fan what their favorite Mega Man game is. More often than not, the answer will be Mega Man 2. I am fully aware of this game's importance in the Mega Man series and the 8-bit gaming era. It was the first Mega Man game I ever played and I love it. But I will not let that love blind me to it's faults that often go by unnoticed by fans and critics alike.

Critics say the Mega Buster (introduced in Mega Man 4) is a game breaking weapon, that makes the special weapons obtained from defeated Robot Masters useless. It's Mega Man's default weapon so it never runs out of energy so it can be used to your heart's content. So are we just going to pretend the Metal Blade in Mega Man 2 isn't absurdly broken? It absolute mercs most common enemies, is the weakness of several Robot Masters, can be thrown in eight different directions and is spammable. In case you haven't figured it out, the Metal Blade craps on every other weapon in Mega Man 2. Yeah, it uses weapon energy but the odds of you running out are pretty freaking slim since it doesn't use much ammo.

Speaking of special weapons, one is required to take out the final boss. But what if you used up a ton of weapon energy fighting all the Robot Masters again and during that Wily battle in the previous stage? You say you'll just grab some weapon ammo in the final stage? Surprise, sucker, the last level of Mega Man 2 has no weapon energy for you to refill your weapons with. The only way to gain that energy back is to get a game over, which brings me to my next problem.

Mega Man 2 gave us the oh-so-useful Energy Tanks to replenish Mega Man's life energy when on the verge of death. But if you get a game over, kiss your E-Tanks goodbye. This is especially problematic for newer players who may struggle with the game's tougher bosses. This combined with the previously mentioned fault means the game ends up screwing you over on two counts. How? How is it that these flaws are never mentioned? I know love can be blind sometimes but come on!