What it says on the tin, I'm sure most of us are RPG vets, so I'm sure we've all played a few duds here and there. So what do you personally consider the worst/weakest entry on all the platforms or gaming eras you've played in? A small blurb of why can be helpful too!
NES - Uh. Dragon Warrior? I also put this in the top ones for the system, but like I said then this and FF are the only ones I think I played on NES and FF was better in virtually every way.
SNES - Maybe Paladin's Quest? It wasn't so bad, but most of the SNES RPGs I played were definitely better. Also magic using HP is stupid. This or the D&D first person dungeon crawler one was probably worse.
PSX - Legend of the Dragoon maybe. The combat was really bad so I couldn't get into it.
PS2 - Suikoden IV. Lacks everything that made Suikoden good. 4 person party makes regular battles pretty much like a generic RPG. Yet somehow it's even more bland than your average RPG like it's more generic than generic. The story is boring too and the characters blah. There might have been worse games that I played briefly and dropped almost immediately, but this along with FFXII stands out in memory as being games I completed despite not really liking them, and S4 was definitely worse.
PS3 - Probably something like Mass Effect, which I briefly gave a shot but really couldn't get into at all. Between this and FFXIII, I found this less playable.
PS4 - Not sure but maybe Skyrim. Despite not being in a style I prefer, I gave the game a shot. I had some enjoyment, but ultimately it just serves as a reminder that I pretty much always find western RPGs to be user unfriendly. Having to run from (extremely overpowered) shopkeepers because I accidentally steal something more than once is not my idea of fun. Nor is dealing with the consequences that killing them appears to create permanent problems. I also have some WRPG user unfriendliness issues with Witcher 3, which stopped me from getting far in that game, but Skyrim was worse.
Switch - Xenoblade Chronicles 2. First off, hate the battle system. I don't like that it's basically auto-battle and I'm jist controlling some timed special moves. Second, the story seemed uninteresting as far as I got, and having to deal with some overwrought DBZesque FMV battle sequences that drag well beyond the length of the actual gameplay fights so near the start of the game does not set a great tone.
Quick note that mostly concerns modern consoles with multi-platform releases: I'm just listing the version I played. Just because I don't list Two Worlds for XBox 360 doesn't mean I think it's better than the game I listed, it just so happens I played the PC version. :p
NES - Final Fantasy 2
Now, that's not to say FF2 is a bad game. It's true I consider it one of the worst FF games, but it was still entertaining enough for me to not call it bad. I just haven't played that many NES RPGs.
SNES - The 7th Saga
Incidentally, this game was actually published (though not developed) by Enix. I'll admit I didn't play it that long (probably an hour), but in that time I saw enough to see I wouldn't like it. Combat just didn't feel right, enemies felt way too strong (which at the very start of a turn-based RPG is just a blatant sin) and well, I just couldn't find any redeeming factors.
SEGA Genesis - Phantasy Star 2
Granted, I've only played two RPGs for the Genesis: this and Phantasy Star 4. But where I loved 4, I just couldn't get into this one.
Gameboy - Final Fantasy Legend
Now, for you SaGa fans, don't worry, I won't bash this game or anything. I just couldn't get into it and the only other Gameboy RPG I've played was Pokemon, which devoured a lot of 11-year-old-me's time.
Gameboy Advance - Medabots (Metabee version)
A game in which a little boy gets his first robot and goes on a journey to collect all the robots, fighting other robot trainers and become robot champion. Now replace the word "robot" with "pokemon" and you'll see why I'm a little suspicious of this franchise that started less than two years after Pokemon. (This is not actually the first game in the franchise, just the first localized one)
Anyway, that aside (because I'm perfectly capable of enjoying unoriginal things), on paper, this would actually be perfect for me. I like the pokemon games, I like robots. Sadly, the gameplay left much to desire.
Gamecube - Tales of Symphonia
Now, with this one I need to make a distinction: This is my opinion *now*, rather than back during the Gamecube era. Tales of Symphonia has just aged incredibly badly (probably because it's the first 3D Tales game). This might be a bit unfair, so I'll also mention what my choice would have been otherwise: Baten Kaitos Origins, the prequel to Baten Kaitos. Anyway, all these games are actually still plenty enjoyable. Gamecube may not have had many RPGs, but of all the ones I've played, none were actually bad (no, I did not play Pokemon XD).
Playstation 1 - Vagrant Story
This is probably the entry that'll get me the most side-eye. I just did not enjoy Vagrant Story at all. I felt like the gameplay was a clunky and unintuitive mess. I can't judge the story because the gameplay stopped me from ever reaching a point where I felt like there was enough of a story to judge.
Playstation 2 - Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
Apparently based on an anime, although I had no idea at the time. All I know is I thought the combat was terrible, which was enough to stop me from even getting off the ship you start on. :p
Xbox 360 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Now, there may be a handful of mediocre JRPGs on the XBox 360 (such as Infinite Undiscovery), but I could still get into them more than I could get into Oblivion. Why? Well, I'm just not that into western open world RPGs. Also, the Elder Scrolls combat is utter garbage. :p
Wii - Pandora's Tower
The third and least known subject of Operation Rainfall. I don't know if I'd say it was actually a bad game, I just couldn't get into it and didn't see anything that made me think the game had promise. FFCC The Crystal Bearers was another contender here that I couldn't get into, but that one did show some promise.
Wii U - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Now don't get me wrong, overall it's not a bad game. The story and writing is pretty laughable but the combat's fun. It's just that the only contender here is Xenoblade X, and I love Xenoblade X.
Nintendo Switch - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Because yes, I did in fact buy it again for another console. And it's still not a bad game despite the bad writing/story, but its contenders were still better. :p
Nintendo DS - Blue Dragon Plus
First off, I'll admit there's some bitter-ness mixed in here with what I actually think of the game itself. Of the two Xbox 360 RPGs Mistwalker had, it decided to completely abandon Lost Odyssey, which I loved, and expanded Blue Dragon, which I didn't like.
That aside though, taking a console RPG and making an RTS sequel to it on a handheld didn't work out too well for FFXII and it works out even worse for Blue Dragon.
Nintendo 3DS - Fire Emblem Fates
I'm one of the few people who disliked the direction Fire Emblem Awakening took the series. I can't quite pinpoint the problems I have with that direction, but regardless, Fates carried on in this direction and added a worse story on top of it. (Three Houses was more to my liking again, which is why that wasn't my Switch entry)
Playstation 3 - 3D Dot Game Heroes
Ideally, this wouldn't be my PS3 entry. The game itself would've been fine, BUT...the performance is terrible and the game just crashes all the damn time. The actual unplayability of this game pissed me off, and that's why it's on this list.
Playstation 4 - Secret of Mana Remake
Look, my heart has a soft spot for Secret of Mana. It's what got me into RPGs in the first place and I loved it. The thing is, the gameplay has issues that have aged very, very badly. The remake should've fixed those, but it didn't. The remake keeps the entire damn gameplay the same, including the many issues and including the aged feel of it, and that makes this a bad 2018 game. I don't have quite the hate-on for things the remake *did* change like other people do, though. I'm fine with either graphical style, and while I prefer the original version of most themes, I don't dislike the new versions of the various themes either.
PSP - Crimson Gem Saga
Not so much bad as just..supremely generic. It takes the most generic parts of the hundreds of RPGs out there and mashes them into one generic blob. It was just a boring game that didn't really try anything, which to me is worse than being a bad game that at least tries.
Playstation Vita - Tales of Hearts R
Not a bad game, really. The story premise is okay, and the gameplay is, well, Tales. Unfortunately for Tales of Hearts R, I love each and every single one of its contenders on the Vita.
PC - Risen 2
Honestly, with the long and varied history I have with PC RPGs, it's impossible to say which one I actually thought was the worst. But Risen 2 is the first that came to mind and is definitely up there. Again, I'm not really a fan of western open world RPGs, and then Risen 2 adds a lot of clunky and janky things on top of that.
NES
Hydlide - Oof, still probably one of the worst games I own. Hydlide plays like the bastard child of Zelda, Ys, and Dragon Quest rolled into one. Little direction in the game, a tiny map, high difficulty curve, and unintuitive combat makes this game more of an exercise in testing ones patience
SNES
Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - I was initially going to give this to Romancing SaGa 1 due to its myriad of scrappy mechanics, but at least I finished that game. Fortress of Doom eventually asked me to do too much bulltrout to continue on. Though part of me stills wants to replay this and get a better reassessment.
GB
Final Fantasy Legends (SaGa 1) - I honestly love this game, but for being on the RPG starved Game Boy, someone had to be on the bottom. The issue is that SaGa 2 is a better game overall and the Pokemon titles have more longevity.
GBA
Sword of Mana - Again, this isn't a bad game per se, but I feel the attempts to modernize FF Adventures and trying desperately to awkwardly insert the later Mana aesthetics and style backfired. If the leveling system had more pull and the game dropped LoM's crafting system that bogs the title down into a grinding mess, this game could have been a home run.
DS
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - Probably one of the worst examples of executive meddling SE has ever done. Changing what would have been a new IP into an old one to bank on its name brand recognition would have been bad enough if SE also then decided to not even bother asking most of the XII staff to work on the project and instead leave this in the hands of Toriyama's team. The game's plot can't really appeal to anyone and the RTS mechanics leave much to be desired, making this a real sore spot for everyone involved including the players.
Wii
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - Not a bad game again, but its plot feels redundant in most places and while there are some cool gameplay changes like moon phases and Band attacks, these ideas have been executed much better in other games. The final dungeon slog is one of the worst parts of the game. While I can forgive a lot of this for being a mobile port, its a shame Tokita's team didn't go in and revamp parts of it when it got ported to WiiWare.
3DS
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance - Barring a few issues such as the usual ease of the difficulty, the Pet system, and how overpowered Flowmotion is and how it trivializes most of the movement skills; KH3D is actually a pretty solid game through and through. The plot on the other hand is a train wreck and largely killed my interest in the franchise which is a bit unforgivable to me.
PS1
Persona: Revelations - The original Persona is the poster child of awkward localization that was rampant in the 90s. Trying to strip out all the Japanese elements in a a game taking place in fictional Tokyo expy doesn't fare too well. The experimental battle system also doesn't do the game any favors making combat way more tedious than it should be. The game has some narm charm for sure, but stick to the more user-friendly PSP remaster if you can.
PS2
Drakengard - I honestly had too many options for this system, and while I could easily have hit acceptable targets Star Ocean 3 and FFX-2, or simply dive into my dislike of FFX itself; this game managed to float to the top of all the scummy games I've played on this system. The real shame here is that Drakengard has a really interesting and mature story going for it. I honestly want to finish this game cause the narrative is really good, but holy hell I absolutely hate the gameplay. I despise Musou type games and that's pretty much the core here outside of a really bad flight simulator gameplay with the dragon. Making matters worse is that if you want to see all the endings you have to level up all of the games bajillion weapons and that requires serious grinding. The gameplay sunk this game badly for me and even its cool story couldn't keep me engaged as the repetitive gameplay shaved away my nerves. SO3 and X-2 may both be cringy as hell with questionable writing, but at least I managed to finish the games.
PS3
Final Fantasy XIII - While I'm sure there are more trashy games on this system than XIII, I still despise this game. This game just feels like SE took the beta and polished it to look like a finished product because its so streamlined that you have to wonder what happened to the rest of the game. The plot is embarrassingly bad, and that's coming from a franchise that had an entry with several fake deaths and trip to the moon as well as Charlies Angel rip-off where the social disharmony is saved by an idol singer. The cast is too cringy to be engaging. The gameplay could have saved it, but its too basic for its own good and gets repetitive fairly quickly, especially when combined with the awful and counter-intuitive equipment system. This game just feels half baked despite having more resources poured into it than most of the other trashy games I can think of on this system.
PSP
Crisis Core - I hate Genesis, and I hate all the pointless retcons in this game. The core game is okay but gets boring really fast. The gameplay is uneven with difficult but repetitive side missions while the main plot has more interesting gameplay mechanics that are too often downplayed and simple for their own good. There are some neat ideas in this game like Materia fusion, but it can't save the game from its boring combat and mission structure or awful writing. Also, smurf Genesis.
PS4
Fallout 4 - This is not a bad game per se, but compared to other RPGs I've played on this system, its the one I'm the least interested in going back to. The setting is superb, but the writing is hit or miss and the open world structure makes it too easy for me to get distracted and bored. I could have done without the item crafting elements as well.