We hear about it all of the time. Some games just start off slow, the controls are hard to get used to, there are awful camera angles, the game is a ripoff of another game. But something compels us to keep going and suddenly, you're having fun and feel somewhat accomplished with the game? 

I'm currently working on playing through all of (Well as many as I have access to) the Mario games and I got to the two games I was dreading. Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. 

Super Mario Sunshine...I never owned my own Gamecube and as someone who never had one, my fingers just never got used to the controls. Throw in a few awkward camera angles/glitchy moments and I was out. In fact, when I started the playthrough, I jumped to a spinoff (Mario + Rabbids: Battle Kingdom) instead of giving it much of a shot...which I ended up beating before I even gave Sunshine another chance. Then I decided to skip Sunshine and play Galaxy but decided to go back. 

To be honest, Super Mario Sunshine is a lot of fun once you do get used to the controls. The puzzles leave you feeling satisfied once you've figured them out. The world feels more cohesive than 64 because it all has the vacation feel (well so far. Not sure about the levels I haven't played yet). 

Super Mario Galaxy...From what I have played, I don't know what was going on when I decided to hate on it so bad back in the day. I did hate using the Wii Remote but there was the Pro controller that I should have tried playing with. I am only on the 2nd world (went back to play Sunshine) but the game looks stunning. I get that these are remasters but I recall it looking great on the Wii as well. 

Overall, I think I should just shut up and get used to controls but I really apologize for my behavior towards either of these games in the past. I'm having a lot of fun

So what games do you guys love that you initially disliked? 

I don't think there's any I outright disliked until I got into them more.
I was pretty meh on Minecraft at first. I understood a lot of the appeal but barely put any time into it. Now, I think it's a great game even if I'm not good at mining precious resources or building.

Xenoblade Chronicles.

My friends got me the Limited Edition (red classic controler) for my birthday in 2011. I tried the game. Absolutely hated it. But since it was a gift, I tried to force myself to beat it. Reched the Mines on Colony 6 and ended up putting it down.

I tried to play it again from scratch months later. Same story. Couldn't get past the Mines and stopped playing. I felt like the game was absolute trash, with a confusing battle system and I got lost frequently. At the time, I wasn't used to playing games with big worlds.

But one day, I decided to give it one more try. Only this time I would... You know, actually learn how to play? I started paying more attention to the tutorials and I read the instructions manual (btw, the thing was HUGE).

And then everything finally clicked. My problem was that I was so overwhelmed by such a different game compared to the other things I used to play, that I had trouble getting used to it... And I started to hate it. And in return, I didn't care to learn how to play. Silly me...

After that, I had an absolute blast with the game and it became one of my favourites of all time. Beat it on Wii, then on the New 3DS, then on the Wii U VC and then one more time on Switch (DE). And I'm sure I'll eventually do it again. What a marvelous game and how stupid I was back in 2011 xD

Elder Scrolls Oblivion, thought it was garbage running through the dungeon fighting rats. Stopped playing it for a year or two before coming back to it and really enjoying it.

Dark Souls II. It was the first Soulslike I bought and I hated it. It was obtuse; there was no explanation for all the items and features and what they did; there was no knowing where to go next once you hit the main portion of the game, so I'd end up getting slaughtered tackling a high level area far too early; the controls (PC port) were... bad; it felt like you needed a Wikia to make any progress; and so on. I gave up after a few hours and didn't return.

But then The Surge came out and I decided to give the genre another shot by trying that out. I ended up loving that game. So I decided to give Dark Souls II a second chance, armed with more knowledge of the genre and how you were supposed to approach it, and it all just clicked. From there I didn't look back and I've loved every FromSoft Soulslike I've played since.

Valkyrie Profile 2.

I got it originally as it was a SquEnix RPG at the end of the PS2 era, couldn't go wrong. I got only a part way in until I hit a difficulty curve and kinda gave up on it. Exchanged it. a decade later, I got it again and actually looked at how to play, basically, what the Einherjar actually were, as I just had the main team before then. I ended up breazing past the big I got stuck on and ended up experiencing the story properly, some great stuff and great twist too.

Sekiro, really disliked it at first, took me a while to like it. I still dont rank it very high on my Fromsoft's games list, but it definitely grew on me as I kept playing.

Dead Space games.

At first I disliked it due to the zero gravity sessions and I didn't found it scary at all. Then I gave it a second try with more dedication, and it became one of my favorite trilogies in gaming.

The first one that comes to mind is Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. It makes a very rough first impression: lots of exposition, stiff combat, tedious farm work. But I stuck with it, and absolutely fell in love with it.

Final Fantasy VII