Demolition man. The handles and artwork on the game just look so stupid when you first see it. I just avoided it like the plague. They had it up at stonehedge and I'd never play it. Then one day someone selected it for league play so I had to play it and it was so buttery I was hooked. The ramps and the multi balls and the sounds are just fantastic.

I just posted a similar post prior to seeing this. WOZ was mine. Hated it at a show, love it in a HUO setting.

Avatar, Family Guy, Addams Family.

CFTBL - Didn't like it the first few times I played it, but has grown on me the last couple years.

EMs.

I also never cared for Indiana Jones in the arcade. Path of Adventure never worked, mode start hole sucked, and it was always too loud in the arcade to hear all the music/callouts. Now that I have one that is completely dialed in, I can't believe how awesome this game is.

Iron Man, because it used to absolutely kick my ass every time and I'd walk away frustrated. Now my skills have improved so that once in a while I can get a little deeper in the game and I love it. A buddy of mine has a HUO and I've told him several times to please let me have dibs on it if he decides to sell.

CFTBL
Iron Man
Ripley's Believe it or Not
WH20

Roller coaster Tycoon. Oh wait, I still hate that game. That stupid troll I tell ya.

POTC, Tron. Tron was too challenging for me because I was a noob the first time I played it and now that I've been at it a while longer, I love it.

TZ. Absolutely hated it when I first played it. Now I love it.

RCT.....I hated the game at first. Then played the hell out of one at Disney World (it was the only pin at the hotel) a few years ago and fell in love with it. Picked one up a couple months ago after it came up locally

This has nothing to do with the machine, although I think it is a great machine but the Axel hole can be a jerk. But why does Welcome to the Jungle get some much air play? GNR had many, many better songs yet Jungle gets more play than all of them.

+1

TOM for me. Didn't care too much for it. Finally brought one into the house and the family finally showed interest in the hobby literally overnight. It's the game that saved my obsession.

For me it was No Fear.
Hated it the first time I played it.
Now I'd like to get one. Not sure what changed my mind, but I completely changed my opinion.

RBION

I felt that way about Black Hole when it first came out. I loved the look, and there were actually lines to play it! It was pricey, too-- 50 cents, precious to a 9th grader. Still I wanted to know what the buzz was about. I thought it was great when I started, fantastic when I went down onto the lower playfield, and got thoroghly annoyed when I lost it on the reversed playfield and out the side drain every time I went down there. It was such a different experience and so difficult that I only saw it as a quarter-sucker and a waste of time waiting to play.

Now I own one. Those same features that robbed you in the arcade make it awesome as a home machine on free play. Beautiful, always captivating and endlessly challenging.

Iron Man - The location I went to at the time swapped it's TSPP with a new IM. I was very underwhelmed. Now after playing competitively for a while I see IM's merits.

WH20 - The whistle soundfx really annoyed me the first few times I played the game. Then, for the hell of it, I picked one up expecting to use it as trade bait but ended up really loving the game. It's now a permanent addition to my lineup... unless a BBB comes along...

Metallica - 100% not interested in the title when it was announced. The moment I played it I fell in love with it and I NEED ONE.

DE Simpsons

Only bad game is one that isn't in good repair. I like them all when they are in working order, but really love AC/DC, and TZ.

BSD was a game that I thought was ok at first but is now one of my favorite games of all time.

Avatar, totally didn't understand it , an it kicked my ass time after time, now I love it an am lucky theres one on location near me to get my fix, would definatly add one when the time rite...

MOST people hated my BBH, then I explained a few of the very simple objectives and told them to get their red neck on! Converted a lot of people here in Western Australia.
Fantastic for comps due to quick ball times. Best game ever!

Dracula !

Mustang. Horrible Theme. Started out with lackluster code (still needs lovin) Absolutely love playing it now though.

Metallica. Found it dreadful when it first came out. Eventually picked one up and with the last code update it is fantastic when you get to Crank it Up

3 games immediately come to mind for me, CFTBL, The Shadow, and BSD

Not sure what it was that turned me off these to start, but all 3 are now favorites.

XMLE. The new code changed everything except callouts. Now it's in the lineup

Shadow
Last action hero
Wh20
Family guy

Avatar for me as well. At our launch party I almost flipped it over it made me so mad. Now, after 100's of plays in league, it is a solid 6 or 7 for me. Really a fun game with some great MB's. We do still call it Avaturd for some reason.

Next would be TWD. Again, at our launch party pretty much everyone despised it. Now with better code and some more time on the game, most of our league players like it OK. For some reason, we do still refer to this one as The Walking Dud!

+1
I remember seeing BSD back in the 90's at auction all the time. No one wanted this game. Not knowing the rules then, the few games I played did not blow me away. Years later, and a much better player I really got some playtime in on one and was hooked.

Metallica. The first time I played it, it was on an MOPLE and I could not stand it. That hammer! I also think I inadvertently picked a song I loathed.

Nowadays the pro with one of the songs I actually like playing is one of my favorites.

Feel ya on this. I choose the same song every time because it is the only Metallica song I can stomach.

TZ. Took about a month of playing almost every day.
Hated it the first 2 weeks. Started to get the rules and appreciate it a bit the next two weeks.
And after a month of daily playing I finally got it and started to love it.

TZ took too many quarters before I knew what was going on. Not it is a good to great game to me.

I hated Creature at first. Oh yuk. Now it is one of my top 5 loved games.

Mustang. Played it a lot at TPF last year and hated it. Then the code got updated and I played it some more throughout the year. I really like the game now.

The first TZ I played was absolutely brutal. Pops to drain before even flipping the ball, no ball save, magnets in outlanes (or it seemed). Just did not like it. Love it now.

Pinball in general, I hated it at first. It was too hard. I thought they were solely made to rob kids of quarters as fast as possible. Then I bought one for home years later and that all changed.

I never hated it, but I didn't care of Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure for years. Then a year or two ago I happened upon one at a local barcade and it just clicked for some reason. It ended up going from a middle of the road pin for me to a top 10 pin.