A taihenge (たいへんゲー - taihen, Japanese for rough + game) describes a game that is janky, unpolished, and usually unpopular, that is still beloved by a niche community. A taihenge is not to the extremes of kusoge, but still is not considered a good/great game by most people.
The term was developed in the English-speaking world to combat the overabundant misuse of the word kusoge outside of Japan for any game that is a little rough around the edges, especially when it came to early games in a genre that did not yet have any of the staple features and core gameplay cemented, as well as experimental games and budget indie titles. The word and concept is slowly seeing adoption internationally, including in Japan.
The term was developed in the English-speaking world to combat the overabundant misuse of the word kusoge outside of Japan for any game that is a little rough around the edges, especially when it came to early games in a genre that did not yet have any of the staple features and core gameplay cemented, as well as experimental games and budget indie titles. The word and concept is slowly seeing adoption internationally, including in Japan.
This girl told me she was a connoisseur of kusoge but it turned out nothing she played was all that terrible. I'd classify them as taihenge at worst.
by Ninja Rap May 26, 2022
by Yaboi SkinnyDick September 16, 2020