What's a game you LOVE even though you know it's not objectively the best game you've ever played?

I'm prepping for a TTRPG that's heavily inspired by JRPGs and was thinking about my favorite game of all time: Final Fantasy X-2. Objectively, I know there are many legitimate criticisms one can levy at it. It's still the first game I ever 100% (I'm not a completionist by nature), and the only game I've 100% five times. I've bought it three times: first when it came out, years later on a personal PS2, and pre-ordered it for the Switch. I don't care what criticism it gets: it's still a game that's fundamentally about breaking free as a woman and chasing what you want, despite years of heavy criticism from others. And simpler than that, it's a game that knows that the point of a game is to be entertaining and it brings that in spades.

So what's your game that you irrationally love beyond its actual offering? (Not "like", not "am pretty fond of", but "7/10, put 300 hours in, hell yes I want to play it again.")

Quote from ChoIzanami

For me that might be Final Fantasy IX.

A lot of people talk about how clichée the characters are and how they struggled with the story. But for me it was like entering another world. I LOVE all the characters, I loved the world building, I loved the music, the flair, the story, the character developement, the MogNet, the chocobo quest, the locations, everything!!

Maybe because it kind of hits home so much for me. Home is actually a very present motive in the game, as well as finding out, who you are, what you want to do and what life is actually about. My mental health is poor and a lot of the motives, like not feeling at home, wondering, if you are actually meant to be alive, what your purpose is and what life should be worth, are all things that spoke to me. There is not one character whose journey I couldn't at least partly relate to and that goes for side charas like Beatrix or Blank, too. And I just love the dialouge in so many places. We were gifted the game by a friend, who wasn't playing it, and as the CDs were a bit damaged, some of the cutscenes were broken. So we got a new version a few years later and then I bought the digital version of it for the newer consoles.

That's a great choice! When both VIII and IX were announced to get a Switch port, I was more excited for VIII, but I actually think IX has held up better over the years. There are some frustrating parts, but the core of the story has a lot of heart. I can see why you'd love it.

Quote from BEYBLADE

MAD MAESTRO for the ps2 a very random ass rhythm game based on classical music and saving the world from weird alien chaos, that i became obsessed w/ in middle school

tbh the first time i played it i HATED it but i was a wee beb, and with a controller that wasnt compatible with the game (it needed the button sensitivity but my controller at the time didnt have that and i had no clue lmao). then i decided to play it again one day and it became so beloved to me lmao.
its not BAD its just really short, really random, very obscure, and i still love it. it had sequels in japan that never came to the us bc, game did not do too well at all here mad maestro my bundle of joy LOL

I've never heard of it, but PS2 did have a lot of those gems! I like the kind of out there games a lot too. They stick with me more than sometimes the "better" games that are a bit more formulaic or traditional.

Quote from BEYBLADE

cant believe a bot just linkbot-ified my post in a quote

Such a random thread to get these random bots on it too.