In the real world, a butterface is an otherwise attractive woman with an ugly mug--everything looks nice "but her face". A butterface game is one that is that has ugly-looking graphics, but manages to impress with superior gameplay. These games may not look nice, but they have personality.
Puzzle games are the poster child for enjoyable ugly games, but Tetris was, and continues to be the shining example of a fun but fugly puzzler. Back in the day of the Game Boy, its monochrome bricks on a white background belied the enjoyment millions of gamers had with the portable. Nowadays, a few colors and snazzy backgrounds have been added, but we're really playing for the crazy-fun multiplayer in titles like Tetris DS.
Some may say we've been spoiled by previews of the sweet-looking 360 version, but the Guitar Hero franchise started off on a fugly foot on the PS2. No progressive scan, lackluster backgrounds, heck, even the controller included looks pretty awful. Luckily, none of that matters when you're rocking out like a mofo.
One of the PC's best games last year was one of the ugliest. The visuals in Defcon were very simple; basically the kind computerized map of the world you'd find on the screen of a computer in a military complex. Still, it conveyed the magnitude of destruction in modern war better than the SOCOMs and Ghost Recons of this world.
There's a bit of a divide in review writing. Should a stylish-looking but minimally graphics-intensive game be considered good looking? We here at Games.Net say no; an ugmo in a hat is still an ugmo. WarioWare: Smooth Moves may have a distinct visual style, but the graphics stink. What's good for the GBA is not good for the "new-gen" Wii. There may be hundreds of minigames at your disposal in this game, but they're all pretty lousy-looking.
Tobal No. 1 is an under-appreciated gem, and it's graphics are largely the reason for that. The game sold decently back in the day because of an included demo for Final Fantasy VII, but the blocky fighters were a tough sell against the Tekkens and Toshindens of the era. It's a real shame, since the game played masterfully, and the amazing-looking sequel never saw a US release as a result.
