Stern machines are much better than their reputation. Both in terms of game design and technical quality. They're often spoken bad about which is a shame.
I think it comes down to two things. They're rare to find in the wild hence not a lot of people have really played more than a few of them. And they are heavily theme-based and mostly on movies and TV, which for natural reasons, and for good and bad, affect players attitude towards them.
More power to them.