We all have beloved franchises that we stick by through thick and thin. So, why wouldn’t you want to see those characters digitized and playable in exquisite video gaming format? The marriage of video games and licensed entertainment is a no-brainer. Since the dawn of the arcades, licensed material was the prime candidate for playable content. Game developers realized early on that as long as there was a Scrooge McDuck, we will want to be Scrooge McDuck. Heck, even Donkey Kong was originally supposed to be King Kong.

Unfortunately, not all of these games are good. In fact, a great many of them are absolutely abysmal. Since licensing fees are so expensive, a lot of these were cheaply developed. It’s hard not to read into the cynical nature of this process, and you don’t really see these kinds of games on consoles anymore. Though one will sneak onto a console every now and then, as mostly seen on mobile platforms. Needless to say, if a publisher can cut corners and still make their money back, more often than not they will. This made for some interesting titles. And by interesting, we mean nearly unplayable disasters.

Below is a list of 25 games that we all just pretend were never made, despite our undying fandom to the franchises they belong to. Some of these games you have never heard of, and we recommend you forget them just as soon as you've read their entry. So, unpack those repressed memory banks and walk with us down the yellow brick road of failure.

24 NES: Friday The 13th

via https://games.avclub.com

This game will make you want to scream! You won't be screaming because you are scared, however, some would say the thought of playing this game ever again is frightening. You will scream because this game is hard.

This is one of the most punishing titles ever released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It's barbaric.

As if, Jason's ghost was somehow getting revenge on those Crystal Lake teens through the game cartridge. Oh, and he's purple. Ya know, just how we remember him. Purple. The color of fear.

23 SEGA Genesis: Beavis And Butthead

via YouTube.com

Remember farting? This game sure does! Beavis and Butthead was released in 1994 for the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo. Both versions were very different but equally bad. Since this was cashing in on the wave of MTV loving burnouts who ruled the mid-to-late '90s, not much thought went into the development of the game. They look fine, but when you start playing them you realize the importance of clear hitboxes very quickly. The problem here is that these two cartoon clowns don't translate well into a video game. Like, who is their greatest enemy, responsibility?

22 PSP: Dragon Ball Evolution

via Giant Bomb

Who knew that this game was based on a movie with the same title? Bet you didn't. To know this, you would have had to know that this game existed at all, and hopefully, you didn't.

This was a fighting game on the PSP. While the PSP is an underrated portable console, Dragon Ball Evolution is perfectly rated with a Metacritic score of 28%.

Yikes!

A lot of people playing or reviewing the game at the time complained about how easy it was. Apparently, hitting one button over and over again would win just about every match. If only that button was the "off" button maybe those players and reviewers would have been spared.

21 SEGA Genesis: The Itchy and Scratchy Game

via YouTube.com

Welcome to the underworld of platforming! This Simpsons spinoff title was a great idea but terribly executed. Like most of the Simpsons games, there is very little instruction on what to do and where to go. You have a timer constantly running down, and it is unclear how to clear your path of enemies. I suppose you could say this is a puzzle game, but the real puzzle is why are you still playing this game? Like Beavis and Butthead, this game looks pretty good but unfortunately, looks aren't everything.

20 SNES: The Lion King

via YouTube.com

Mega Man is hard in a good way. The Lion King is hard in a broken way. Some of the levels are designed in such a manner that you can't really tell where to go or what your objective is.

Each level feels like it belongs in a separate game.

For example, level 4 is modeled after the stampede scene from the film, but they don't tell you what you're supposed to do, so you just die immediately. Then you have to replay all of the previous levels again to get back to where you were, before trying to figure out what you did wrong. This game makes Mufasas out of all of us.

19 PS2: Aquaman, Battle For Atlantis

via YouTube.com

Aquaman is no one's favorite superhero, but one could see how an Aquaman game could be fun if handled by the right team. This is not that game. Aquaman: Battle For Atlantis was so bare and lifeless upon release that it sold for $19.99 and as one IGN review put it, "Even at that low price, though, it's a waste of money." Everything from Aquaman's design to the gameplay was vile. It's hard to imagine a reason as to why they would release something like this. Perhaps, there was a licensing reason, which would make sense considering this gives off serious "Corman's unreleased Fantastic Four" vibes.

18 Wii: Hannah Montana, Spotlight World Tour

via YouTube.com

What is worse than being awful, you ask? Probably, being so mediocre that you simply disappear into obscurity. Such was the fate of Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour. It's easy to understand why they would make this, and it's equally understandable why it's only just fine. Though being very forgettable, not everyone hated this game. This raises a deeper question about the nature of the gaming industry. Are popular flash-franchises destined for mediocre games? Why can't they be just as good? It really makes you wonder.

17 PS1: Simpson’s Wrestling

via YouTube.com

Bad Simpsons games should break your heart, if for no other reason than the wasted potential. A fighting game that takes place with Simpson's characters is an absolute dream of an idea. However, the PS1 ran this baby at maximum CLUNK. Between the bad controls and the repetitive fighting mechanics, this is another title that felt very slapped together. However, this is a game that definitely deserves another look. The concept alone is so good, it's a real shame that Simpson's Wrestling couldn't be worse.

16 SNES: Hook

via: YouTube.com

First of all, this game is actually great. This and the arcade version of the same name (though wildly different gameplay) were both excellent. However, the film that the game was based on is notorious for being a huge blight on Steven Spielberg's film career.

While it has garnered a huge cult following, most people agree that Hook is bad.

This is the most logical reason for why this game was not a bigger hit. The sprites are beautiful. The environments are well realized. This one is totally on us, fam.

15 NES: Dragon Ball, Dragon Daihikyō

via: YouTube.com

Yet another Dragon Ball entry to flesh out our list, and believe us it definitely won't be the last. With such a rabid fanbase it's almost like these kids will buy anything; or this what the publisher of Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō must have thought before shipping this off. It is the first Dragon Ball game, but we are glad it's not the last. Sure, it's old, and old games don't tend to hold up today, but this never held up. It was a confusing mess, and its release was before the Dragon Ball franchise really took in the states, so...why does it exist? 

14 Nintendo DS: The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Tipton Trouble

via Youtube.com

The Nintendo DS was like the modern day smartphone of yesteryear; meaning a lot of terrible games were ported here to meet an obscure end. This game would have been a contemporary version of the Hannah Montana game, begging the question, "does every show deserve a game?" The answer is "NO!" But, they all got one anyways. You control each brother separately and solve puzzles this way. It's like the game Brothers minus all of the charm, fun, and general appeal. This is a game that was likely bought for somebody's little brother or sister too young to understand bad game design. Ignorance, in this case, is truly bliss.

13 SEGA Saturn: Street Fighter, The Movie (The Game)

via YouTube.com

Not since The Bible: The Movie (The Screenplay) have I read such a clunky title. Well, the title Street Fighter: The Movie (The Game) isn't the only thing clunky about this lost '90s gem. This game poses the question, what if Street Fighter was more like Mortal Kombat with none of the fun from either games. Being that it was a movie tie-in and had very little to do with actual Street Fighter only hurt it. Oh, and they used the same motion capture technique as Mortal Kombat to get those gross looking hyper-realistic character models, accentuating the "yuck."

12 PS3: Rambo, The Video Game

via www.mobygames.com

Rambo: The Video Game is on-rails. Yes, you heard correctly. This game is an on-rails shooter. Calling it a first-person shooter would be technically incorrect, though the game is definitely advertised that way. The game is a breeze, and definitely not worth its $59.99 price point. While reviews of this game at the time were scathing, they didn't really capture what was so annoying about this release. Irritably, no one except Rambo fans wanted this, and yet they released something that only alienated the few fans left.

11 SNES: Aladdin

via http://nerdbacon.com

Back in the SEGA Genesis / SNES days, developers would sometimes make two separate versions of the same title and release them on separate platforms. This happened above with Beavis and Butthead, and it happened here with Aladdin. In this case, the SEGA Genesis version is very solid. The SNES version, however, is a huge disappointment. It was like cruel and unusual punishment having to look over at your friend having a blast with his Genesis copy, only to turn back to a giant 'Game Over' screen.

10 SNES: The Simpsons, Bartman Meets Radioactive Man

via http://game-over-dex.wikia.com

The problems with Bartman all revolve around its controls. Frustratingly enough, there is probably a good game somewhere in here. The graphics looked pretty nice for its time; The colors pop, and the concept is attractive. However, the actual feel of Bartman Meets Radioactive Man pushes you away. It's hard to maneuver and even harder to land attacks, which is death for a 2D-platformer. Given some more time and play-testing, this title could have been an instant classic in the vein of Duck Tales instead of what it is, lame.

9 Wii: Iron Man 2

via YouTube.com

Though this game was released on multiple platforms, I never want to miss a chance to talk smack about the Nintendo Wii (Nintendo's most hilarious home console). This game was bad no matter which way you looked at it, but obviously, the Wii release was by far the worst.

Bad graphics. Uninspired gameplay. Bugs galore.

What a shame! Who doesn't want to fly around as Iron Man? However, to look past all of the glowing mistakes in Iron Man 2 requires a superpower of your own.

8 Game Cube: Star Wars, Bounty Hunter

via YouTube.com

Boba Fett is way cool. Jango Fett is way LESS cool. During the reign of the terrible Star Wars prequels, Lucas Films went all in on new characters that would tie in easily with the films. Unfortunately, these are bad films with bad characters. Jango Fett is an underdeveloped, half-hearted attempt to cash in on Boba Fett's popularity. But, it's like his dad? Forget the fact that Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a bad game with bad ideas and bad controls, just let us play as Boba!

7 N64: Superman 64

via http://firsthour.net

They have never made a great Superman game, but picking the worst of the bunch is not hard at all. Superman 64 is not just a bad licensed game, it's one of the worst games ever made.

They somehow made flying unappealing. 

Get ready to fly through rings... lots and lots of rings. Try and remember the last time you saw Superman fly through a ring. It didn't happen, like ever. Who would even put the rings there, Lex Luthor? Even he's not that evil.

6 PC: Survivor

via http://www.impulsegamer.com

Survivor is one of the most popular shows to ever air on network television. It has an amazing run of 37 seasons and was instrumental in popularizing reality television as we know it today. Whether you like it or not, Survivor has permeated culture forever. The game tried to emulate the experience of forming bonds with other cast mates and completing objectives based on actual Survivor events. Turns out, the digital version of the show, at least as it was designed in the 2001 PC version, is grueling and tedious. Reviews at the time hovered around the "2.0" mark, which some would say is still too high.

5 SNES: Batman Forever

via: emuparadise.me

A co-op Batman game sounds like a dream come true. One player can play and Batman and the other as Robin. That is the promise of Batman Forever for the SNES and SEGA Genesis. However, you might have noticed a trend on this list of games having vague objectives, bad controls, and being incredibly difficult. This game has all of those issues and more. While it was graphically impressive for its time, reviewers could not get over the clunk. As if Batman weighed a million pounds, he was difficult to wield, which is pretty much the opposite of what you want from a Batman game.