Underrated Games

[Ishin Ookami]

Well, we have a thread going on about overrated games... howsabout we start talking about games that are underrated, AKA damn good but just didn't get the hype they deserved. here is my list.

Zone of Enders: The Second Runner.

I have a grudge against every blasted MGS fanboy out there. Basically the first ZOE was already a above average title, that came with the MGS 2 demo. People heard about this, bought the game for the damn demo, and used the game for a coaster. When the sequel came out, which fixed everything that was mediocre about the first ZOE and improved everything that was right, Noone cared. One of the most technique ridden, awesome looking, original and damn fun games ever produced, and the whole series is now discontinued.

Sky Gunner:

This game is what happens when the space batlle sequence from Ace Combat and a hayo Miyazaki film get together and make sweet sweet love. Awesome controls, intense and original aerial combat, great graphics and just a overall awesome package. And has anyone even heard of the game?

Zelda: Links Awakening.

My favorite old school zelda title, even held in greater honor than A link to the Past. Shame it came out for the original game boy, cuz it is just so perfect.

Fatal Frame:

I love this franchise as much as I'm afraid of it. Good storytelling, great combat, and bloody hell if it hasn't made me scream like a little girl. I have a reputation for being one of the more gutsy amongst my friends on account that I've been able to finish all three, many have tried to play Crimson Butterfly, only to get as far as chapter three before going all fetal and begging for mercy.

Tenchu

Despite my aforementioned grudge against MGS fanboys, I do respect the series. However Tenchu I have always held in higher regards. On every technical aspect, MGS is the better franchise, and always has the better games, but I just love Tenchu's aspect of being the stealthy hunter, instead of the hunted. Oh yah, and Ayame rocks. She is one of the coolest female characters in all of gaming history.

[NeoCracker]

Lufia and BoF are the most underrated Series I know of.

[Polnareff]

Zone of Enders: The Second Runner.

I have a grudge against every blasted MGS fanboy out there. Basically the first ZOE was already a above average title, that came with the MGS 2 demo. People heard about this, bought the game for the damn demo, and used the game for a coaster. When the sequel came out, which fixed everything that was mediocre about the first ZOE and improved everything that was right, Noone cared. One of the most technique ridden, awesome looking, original and damn fun games ever produced, and the whole series is now discontinued.

I'd say that the first one is way more underrated. You said it yourself, people used it as a coaster (I didn't, I bought the game to play the game). ZoE2 is actually pretty well-known as a PS2 game, and on lists of PS2 games that people should buy, ZoE2 always shows up.


Sky Gunner:

This game is what happens when the space batlle sequence from Ace Combat and a hayo Miyazaki film get together and make sweet sweet love. Awesome controls, intense and original aerial combat, great graphics and just a overall awesome package. And has anyone even heard of the game?

I've never played this before (wanted it for ages and still can't find it, forget buying online), but it's mostly underrated because it got so few copies printed. Seriously, the game is too hard to find. I can find Rhapsody and the original Xenogears in stores 20 times each before finding Sky Gunner. And I have. [/end rant]

I agree with your other entries, though. Tenchu is a great game (though the controls need work still). Link's Awakening is infinitely more interesting than Link to the Past, and Fatal Frame is probably creepier than SH and RE combined, and that's saying something there.

Here are mine:

Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3):
The most underrated fighting game in existence. Capcom really outdid themselves with this game. With its remarkable characters, great music, fun gameplay system, and its inherent quirks, it is probably the best 2D fighter Capcom ever released on CPS-2.

Panzer Bandit:
Okay, so it's underrated mostly because of it only being released in Japan. Meaning I'm being hypocritical. But that's no excuse since a lot of well-known games are imports (see Jump Super Stars for example). This game is a great side-scrolling 2D beat-'em-up with a lot of flair. It's kinda like if you put Shonen Ninja Sasuke and Gunstar Heroes into a big blender and added Fatal Fury's plane-changing system for good measure. There's even a Battle Royale mode for your delight in case you wanna beat up some friends.

Rapid Reload:
Known in Japan as Gunners Heaven, this game packs more enemies, chaos, and cool weapons into one level than Gunstar Heroes does into its entire game (maybe not its entire game but you get my point). And that's saying something. It requires you to think on your toes a bit more too. The enemies are meaner, the AI is smarter, and everything that can kill you will probably end up killing you if you don't react quickly. People always say that Gunstar Heroes is the epitome of side-scrolling shoot-em-up fun but I disagree.

Breath of Fire III:
Classic story. Great characters. Memorable settings. What more can I say?

[Fatal Impurity]

The Grandia series of course!

People know of it.

People even really like it.

Yet it still fails to sell truck loads eventhough its one of the most solid and enjoyable RPG series out there!

Also the Dreamcast! (i know its not a game but it was still HUGELY under-rated!)

The Dreamcast had so many brilliant and classic games (many of which are still being played today due to the HUGE amounts of Dreamcast to gamecube/ps2 ports) and was a pionier in networked games consoles being the first home games console to truly bring the online gaming experience to the average home!

[Auragaea]

Ephemeral Fantasia.

[Dreddz]

Well, I would say Ico, but after SOC, suddenly everyone knew about the game ( and claims they had the game all along, pfft ).

The Rival Schools series is also underrated, but I guess fighters in general are nowadays.

Oh, and Grandia of course.

[Wolf Kanno]

Breath of Fire series. Specifically Dragon Quarter. The gameplay was new and fun, the characters were infinetly more deep than past installments and the story... oh my god the story was dark and creepy. It definetly had a 1984 vibe to it and the fact you could kill yourself by using the over powered dragon form made the game far more strategic than most RPG's I know.

Suikoden 1, everyone knows about Suikoden II, but what about the first game. It's surprisingly more deep and well written than most games released around it's time. McDohl is still my favorite main character from the entire series.

Lufia series, if you've actually played them, you know they are pretty damn solid. The first game has a real strong original story while the second game has a wonderful new combat system that is just wonderful to play. Too bad the third installment is pretty mediocre...

[Slothy]

The Dreamcast had so many brilliant and classic games (many of which are still being played today due to the HUGE amounts of Dreamcast to gamecube/ps2 ports) and was a pionier in networked games consoles being the first home games console to truly bring the online gaming experience to the average home!

Agreed. Frankly, I would have rather seen both the Gamecube and Xbox fail over the Dreamcast. I can't put it ahead of my PS2 as far as receiving my love, but had it lasted longer, it may give it a good run for its money.

As for my picks, I'll go with both ZOE and ZOE2 for reasons mentioned before. Everyone may have heard of ZOE2, but not many people bought it, myself included. Which reminds me that I have to track down a copy someday.

Also, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 was great. It's hands down my favourite N64 game not just for being a fun platformer/adventure game, but for being one of the wackiest gaming experiences ever.

I'll also throw Mischief Makers on my list simply because it's a great game. Very unique gameplay, and incredibly fun and original, and like Goemon, pretty wacky fun.

[Fatal Impurity]

I'm gonna put Star wars Episode 1 podracer (on the N64 ive never played the other ports) on my list just for the fact that the game was miles ahead for its time and still remains as one of the most solid fun racers ive ever played, and strangely enough for a racer it had oodles of depth as it let you customise, replace, and repair your craft as you saw fit in order to succeed...plus the inclusion of nifty well balanced (and often treacherous) shortcuts which made the game tactical and made it so experienced players were rewarded for learning the in's and outs of the game.

Whilst this may not seem so breathtaking now if you think about the breakneck speeds and the fact that the game was released way back in 1999 when most if not all of these features were unheard of or were a rarity. (Gran Turismo being the only racer i think of with anywhere near the same amount of depth, but it lacked the "funfactor") There is also the graphics (for the time) to consider which were highly detailed and smooth (for the time) plus the game had the benefits of the N64's short/non-existent load times. This game truly does deserve classic status eventhough it only got mediocre reviews!

[JKTrix]

Zone of Enders: The Second Runner.

I have a grudge against every blasted MGS fanboy out there. Basically the first ZOE was already a above average title, that came with the MGS 2 demo. People heard about this, bought the game for the damn demo, and used the game for a coaster. When the sequel came out, which fixed everything that was mediocre about the first ZOE and improved everything that was right, Noone cared. One of the most technique ridden, awesome looking, original and damn fun games ever produced, and the whole series is now discontinued.


This is one of my favourite games ever. In fact, I just received the Japanese 'Special Edition' yesterday. (It was on sale somewhere, got a bunch of other stuff too :P)

It was rated pretty well, but it is generally overlooked by many many people. It's too bad.

I wasn't even interested in the PS2 until I heard about this game. I had been watching the anime on Fansubs and I had the GBA SRPG and was completely taken by the series in general. I don't think the series is quite 'Discontinued'... just no plans for a new game yet :P Kojima has mentioned a 'ZOE3' on a couple of occasions, but it was more of a passing joke (in fact, I heard it live, straight from his mouth, when I was in Japan for TGS last year. Too bad I didn't know what the heck he said, I just heard "ZOE3").

Jehuty is in MGS3.

[chionos]

[quote]Zone of Enders: The Second Runner.
Breath of Fire III:
Classic story. Great characters. Memorable settings. What more can I say?
Yes, really the entire BoF series in general.

Secret of Evermore ~ I don't know what it is about the game, but I loved it the first time I played it, and have played it many times sense, and still love it.


Well, I would say Ico, but after SOC, suddenly everyone knew about the game ( and claims they had the game all along, pfft ).
I agree Dreddz. Ico was fantastic, and I'm glad that SOC brought more attention to a great game, but nobody likes a hypocrite. Some game reviewers were guilty even; gave it a bad review when it came out then praised sony and Ueda to high heaven when it became more popular and won all the awards.

Ace Combat series ~ I guess it sells well enough to not be considered underrated, but nevertheless I think it's underappreciated by the gaming community in general. I especially like AC4. Namco has a certain style that I enjoy. I love Soul Calibur's fighting, and I think they did an ok job with xenosaga(though it doesn't do xenogears a bit of justice).

Klonoa 2 ~ another Namco game, and it's incredible. I don't know why I even bought it in the first place, as I'm not much of a platformer, but I'm glad I did. It reminds me of a game on sega saturn that was an incredibly inventive platformer. Can't remember the name of it though.

[black orb]

>>> Front Mission 3, well im sure nobody like this game but I think its awesome..

[Pete for President]

Tenchu

Despite my aforementioned grudge against MGS fanboys, I do respect the series. However Tenchu I have always held in higher regards. On every technical aspect, MGS is the better franchise, and always has the better games, but I just love Tenchu's aspect of being the stealthy hunter, instead of the hunted. Oh yah, and Ayame rocks. She is one of the coolest female characters in all of gaming history.

Tenchu 1 and 2 are definately underrated, after 2, when the creators made changes in production teams etc, the series went downhill. The atmosphere (especially in Tenchu 2 imo) was near perfect.

[Roto13]

Also, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 was great. It's hands down my favourite N64 game not just for being a fun platformer/adventure game, but for being one of the wackiest gaming experiences ever.

May I kiss your ring?

That game was fantastic! Singing shoguns, a giant space peach, fighting robots, hitting stuff with a tobacco pipe, what's not to love?

[Cruise Control]

Lufia.

While Timesplitters isn't underrated, no one ever hears of it. Everyone that plays it admits its awesomeness though.

[Shoeberto]

While Timesplitters isn't underrated, no one ever hears of it. Everyone that plays it admits its awesomeness though.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people know about Timesplitters; it just gets overshadowed by bigger games like Halo. I guess in that regard it is pretty underrated.

Tomba! is definitely an underrated gem. I remember the second one being crap but the first one is great.

[Rostum]

Also, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 was great. It's hands down my favourite N64 game not just for being a fun platformer/adventure game, but for being one of the wackiest gaming experiences ever.

May I kiss your ring?

That game was fantastic! Singing shoguns, a giant space peach, fighting robots, hitting stuff with a tobacco pipe, what's not to love?

I'm going to have to agree with this. It was quite boring at first, but once you get into it you can't stop! Such a wacky, yet fantastic game.

[Madame Adequate]

Both Vandal Hearts. It's been lost amongst FFT, Tactics Ogre, and the like, but they are easily the best pair of SRPGs around. Although FM3 comes close.

Breath of Fire III. One of the finest PS1 era RPGs, beats the crap out of 95% of the rest.

X-Com. Well, the first two at least. I don't know whether underrated is the right word, because pretty much everyone who plays them sees how amazingly great they are, but they seem to be pretty unknown, so I include them here.

Edit: And yeah, Fatal Frame games are the only ones which can really scare me anymore, as opposed to just startling me.

[NINJA_Ryu]

Time to bring out some of my old, ancient games, predating even my time....

Well, two at least ^^

Dune for DOS, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (DOS methinks)?????
I was reared on those games, and quite frankly, the horrible pixels were fantastic! (an entire body had about 20-30 pixels.) But i love them so.

And also, Second Sight? ITs like Psi Ops The Mindgate Conspiracy's little brother. Still excellent psionics, trippy story, I loved the game to death.

[Madame Adequate]

Oh yeah! Eternal Champions! Best 2D fighter of the era, beat the crap out of SF and MK.

[Meat Puppet]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

[Erdrick Holmes]

Halo- More people hate it just because its an XBox game than people who actually like it because it's fun.
Guilty Gear games- 2D fighting done right, too bad it wasn't promoted much overseas
King of Fighters games- Dated 2D graphics made people push it aside
Dragon Warrior VII- You can piss and moan aboput the graphics all you want, that doesn't change the fact that this is the best PS1 RPG ever made
Phantasy Star Universe- This game was amazing, yet people only don't like it because it got a bad wrap from game reviewers like Xplay and IGN, yet it's actually a fun game on it's own, online or off.
Monster Rancher 2- Holy Feck, was I the only one here that absolutly loved this game?
The Chronicles of Riddick- This was the best first person adventure game ever made. Whine about how the movie sucked, that still doesn't change the fact that this game was incredible.

[Markus. D]

Also, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 was great. It's hands down my favourite N64 game not just for being a fun platformer/adventure game, but for being one of the wackiest gaming experiences ever.

May I kiss your ring?

That game was fantastic! Singing shoguns, a giant space peach, fighting robots, hitting stuff with a tobacco pipe, what's not to love?

I'm going to have to agree with this. It was quite boring at first, but once you get into it you can't stop! Such a wacky, yet fantastic game.


don't forget its zany platformer sequel. that was honestly the most amazing thing ever!

[Shoeberto]

Halo- More people hate it just because its an XBox game than people who actually like it because it's fun.
...
The Chronicles of Riddick- This was the best first person adventure game ever made. Whine about how the movie sucked, that still doesn't change the fact that this game was incredible.
Neither of those were underrated, though. Halo does have a sect that hates upon it endlessly but considering it's been the most succesful FPS with the most mainstream appeal probably ever, it's hard to call it underrated.

And I remember there being a lot of praise around Riddick when it came out, and nothing seemed to indicate that it didn't sell well considering it was riding on a then-big movie franchise.

[Roto13]

Also, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 was great. It's hands down my favourite N64 game not just for being a fun platformer/adventure game, but for being one of the wackiest gaming experiences ever.

May I kiss your ring?

That game was fantastic! Singing shoguns, a giant space peach, fighting robots, hitting stuff with a tobacco pipe, what's not to love?

I'm going to have to agree with this. It was quite boring at first, but once you get into it you can't stop! Such a wacky, yet fantastic game.


don't forget its zany platformer sequel. that was honestly the most amazing thing ever!

Indeed it was. That was really awesome, too. 2 Player biggybacking action!

[Gnostic Yevon]

Kessen. It's a series of RTS games for ps2. Especially the second in the series -- I've never played a better RTS.

Grandia and Suikoden

Star Ocean

Pre-DQ8 Dragon Warriors

[Ramza Beoulve]

Monster Rancher 2- Holy Feck, was I the only one here that absolutly loved this game?

It was just great!!!!! n.n

Let me see my game collection...

Legend of Mana.- It was an incredible game, with three full stories, and a bunch of sidequests!!!!

Robotech Battlecry.- Smurfing great game!!!!

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution.- One of the best fighting games I have know

:moomba:

[Yuriev's ghost]

Snowboard Kids 2: I found this game more entertaining than any other racing game for the N64. I actually have no idea how popular it is but considering I’ve never heard anyone mention it ever, I’m presuming not as much as it deserves.

Xenosaga Episode II: Not even half as bad as it’s bad out to be. There are many elements in this game that I preferred to Episode I and wished they had carried over to Episode III.

The Legend of Zelda - Majora’s Mask: Better than Ocarina of Time by a mile, even if it did recycle most of its predecessor’s character models. I can’t believe that there are people who don’t actually like it.

[o_O]

Tomba! is definitely an underrated gem. I remember the second one being crap but the first one is great.

I was gonna say exactly that.

[Tavrobel]

Snowboard Kids 2: I found this game more entertaining than any other racing game for the N64. I actually have no idea how popular it is but considering I’ve never heard anyone mention it ever, I’m presuming not as much as it deserves.

It's not. The first is better, simply because of Shinobi. Though both are massively underrated and unknown, I would not say that they are the best; definitely worth mention, nevertheless.

Advance Wars. If you need to burn time, play the first and second.

[NeoCracker]

Snowboard Kids 2: I found this game more entertaining than any other racing game for the N64. I actually have no idea how popular it is but considering I’ve never heard anyone mention it ever, I’m presuming not as much as it deserves.

Xenosaga Episode II: Not even half as bad as it’s bad out to be. There are many elements in this game that I preferred to Episode I and wished they had carried over to Episode III.

The Legend of Zelda - Majora’s Mask: Better than Ocarina of Time by a mile, even if it did recycle most of its predecessor’s character models. I can’t believe that there are people who don’t actually like it.

I can't comment on the first, but the second too are underated. I say LoZ: MM, was far underrated, though about as fun as OoT.

[escobert]

Saga Frontier. This game was just AWESOME to me! also Romancing Saga. Not many people seem to enjoy the Saga games but those of us that do, really enjoy them :p

[Wolf Kanno]

Legend of Mana.- It was an incredible game, with three full stories, and a bunch of sidequests!!!!

Robotech Battlecry.- Smurfing great game!!!!

:moomba:

Holy crap! :eek: How could I forget these two little gems. I love Robotech Battlecry... I only wished they didn't screw up it's sequel...

Also, I love Front Mission III as well Black Orb, I only was able to finish Emma's storyline but god was it wonderful.

I would also like to add Threads of Fate (Dew Prism) and Brave Fencer Musashi, wonderful examples of Square's brilliance.

[Madame Adequate]

Monster Rancher 2- Holy Feck, was I the only one here that absolutly loved this game?

Actually, nope. I was quite fond of it too.

[Roto13]

I don't think Majoras Mask was underrated since it got amazing review scores and sold about a bazillion copies. :P It's just that the people who don't like the saving system and stuff happen to complain pretty loudly.

[Cz]

The PS1 puzzle game Kula World (known as Roll Away in America) was brilliant for its time, but never really caught on. It's pretty hard to find nowadays, but if you ever see it for a reasonable price, I'd highly recommend picking it up.

[Fatal Impurity]

Xenosaga Episode II: Not even half as bad as it’s bad out to be. There are many elements in this game that I preferred to Episode I and wished they had carried over to Episode III.

Agreed! Yeah so people do have a point when they say its mostly just a huge cutscene but i find that can be a good thing sometimes as the plot is fleshed out properly and it seems more movie like...sure it can degenerate into tedium at times but generally its good!


The Legend of Zelda - Majora’s Mask: Better than Ocarina of Time by a mile, even if it did recycle most of its predecessor’s character models. I can’t believe that there are people who don’t actually like it.

Eventhough i think OoT is better than Majora's Mask i see where your coming from and agree with you. I really liked it as it took Zleda in a completely whole new direction with the "3 days countdown to doom" thing...


I don't think Majoras Mask was underrated since it got amazing review scores and sold about a bazillion copies. :P It's just that the people who don't like the saving system and stuff happen to complain pretty loudly.

Actually it may of sold a "bazillion" copies (which i dont think it did as its rare as rocking horse crap these days plus i dont remember many people buying it at the time) but practically every Zelda fan ive ever met has either cursed the name of Majoras Mask, or asked me what the hell i was talking about! Plus practically every none Zelda fan ive talked to about Majora's Mask seems to of never of heard of the game! (even though they know of and have played/enjoyed OoT) The fact remains that many people probably didnt buy/like it, due to it being in the shadow of its predessor OoT and this is probably why alot of mags only gave it mediocre reviews. So how exactly is Majora's Mask NOT underrated?
[!] / message [/!][!] sig [/!][!] / message [/!]

[Yuriev's ghost]

I don't think Majoras Mask was underrated since it got amazing review scores and sold about a bazillion copies. :P It's just that the people who don't like the saving system and stuff happen to complain pretty loudly.
FFX-2 got excellent reviews and sold something like 5 million copies and only about 1 in 10 FF fans seem to be of the opinion that it was better than rat excrement.

[Bunny]

Sales figures, especially on big name games like Final Fantasy and Zelda, aren't really reliable in terms of popularity. Lots and lots of people buy the name, not the game itself.

[Roto13]

I don't think Majoras Mask was underrated since it got amazing review scores and sold about a bazillion copies. :P It's just that the people who don't like the saving system and stuff happen to complain pretty loudly.

Actually it may of sold a "bazillion" copies (which i dont think it did as its rare as rocking horse crap these days plus i dont remember many people buying it at the time) but practically every Zelda fan ive ever met has either cursed the name of Majoras Mask, or asked me what the hell i was talking about! Plus practically every none Zelda fan ive talked to about Majora's Mask seems to of never of heard of the game! (even though they know of and have played/enjoyed OoT) The fact remains that many people probably didnt buy/like it, due to it being in the shadow of its predessor OoT and this is probably why alot of mags only gave it mediocre reviews. So how exactly is Majora's Mask NOT underrated?
[!] / message [/!][!] sig [/!][!] / message [/!]
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/197770.asp

It's not underrated in the fact that it was rated very highly. Notice that the user voting is only a few percentage points lower than the average reviewer ranking.

I don't think I've ever known a gamer (Zelda fan or not) who hasn't heard of Majoras Mask.

[Jowy]

Saga Frontier. This game was just AWESOME to me! also Romancing Saga. Not many people seem to enjoy the Saga games but those of us that do, really enjoy them :p

HOLY CRAP I LOVE SAGA FRONTIER

Most underrated game? Intelligent Qube. GOD I wish they made more than six copies of that. The demo that came with my PS1 forever ago was addicting as all hell.

[Cruise Control]

Most underrated game? Intelligent Qube. GOD I wish they made more than six copies of that. The demo that came with my PS1 forever ago was addicting as all hell.<3 I bought mine of Amazon!

[licence]

Tomba! is definitely an underrated gem. I remember the second one being crap but the first one is great.

I was gonna say exactly that.

Me too.

I'm goona put Beyond Good and Evil in here as well. I don't know what reviews are like for it, but it doesn't seem very well known to casual gamers even though it was bloody brilliant.

[Roto13]

Beyond Good and Evil got good reviews and people who played it liked it, but not a lot of people bought it. I did. :P

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/561645.asp?q=Beyond%20Good%20%20Evil

[edczxcvbnm]

Bigfoot for the NES. Underrated!

[RiseToFall]

-Beyond Good & Evil - I thought I would be the first one to mention this, but license and Roto beat me to it. Wonderful game, everyone who doesn't have a copy, go out and buy it. The game is only about $9.99 now, and is on every last gen system, there's really no excuse not to have it.

-Oddworld: Strangers Wraith - Has more innovation in it's gun's than most games have in their entirety.

-Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - I just don't understand why barely any people bought this game. I absolutely <3 the series, and it's Finnish developers Remedy.

- Ico - I've heard it been called the overrated underrated game, and I kind of agree.

- Grandia - I'm a huge fan of the games, and this series needs more people to support it.

-Psychonauts - Such a great platformer, and it really disappointed me that barely anyone has bought the game.

-Anything developed by Clover. I honestly think even the Viewtiful Joe games are underrated.

Keep a look out for: Alan Wake - It's coming to PC and 360, and is being developed by Remedy. (Makers of Max Payne Series) So far it's looking absolutely wonderful and I just want this game to get the recognition that it will definitely deserve.

[Ishin Ookami]

Tenchu

Despite my aforementioned grudge against MGS fanboys, I do respect the series. However Tenchu I have always held in higher regards. On every technical aspect, MGS is the better franchise, and always has the better games, but I just love Tenchu's aspect of being the stealthy hunter, instead of the hunted. Oh yah, and Ayame rocks. She is one of the coolest female characters in all of gaming history.

Tenchu 1 and 2 are definately underrated, after 2, when the creators made changes in production teams etc, the series went downhill. The atmosphere (especially in Tenchu 2 imo) was near perfect.

Wrath of Heaven was pretty good, I hated the combat engine, but liked how the developers kept the stealth aspect true to the series, and the gameplay was much more streamlined. But the storyline was utter crap. "The magic eye compels you Rikimaru." When I first heard about that plot device I thought it was a joke, or a bad translation as I was reading the games script on GameFAQs. Oh yah, and Ayame seemed neutered and nowhere near as cool as she was in the first two games.

Fatal Shadows I felt was a step up, it was more challenging, the story was infinitely better, the new moves were cool and the stealth aspect was stressed out even more making the game even cooler. Oh yah, and Ayame had her edge back. Just the way she pissed off Rin just for fun made me applaud. But the combat engine was even worse, I groaned inwardly whenever a boss battle started.

As for the PSP tenchu, I can't comment since I haven't wasted my money on that crap system, and don't intend to until they get a few more must play games, and lower the price.

One thing I have always loved about tenchu is the music. It's always just so awesome and touching, even at it's worse (intro theme for WofH) it's still pretty damn good.

[MJN SEIFER]

Bushio Blade is pretty underated. Amazing when you discover who made it...

[Evastio]

The only underrated series I can think of that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Twinbee series.

[Lionx]

Klonoa 2 ~ another Namco game, and it's incredible. I don't know why I even bought it in the first place, as I'm not much of a platformer, but I'm glad I did. It reminds me of a game on sega saturn that was an incredibly inventive platformer. Can't remember the name of it though.

I agree...and if you liked the second one, you should find the ever ellusive first one..its even better ^^

[Ramza Beoulve]

Klonoa 2 ~ another Namco game, and it's incredible. I don't know why I even bought it in the first place, as I'm not much of a platformer, but I'm glad I did. It reminds me of a game on sega saturn that was an incredibly inventive platformer. Can't remember the name of it though.I agree...and if you liked the second one, you should find the ever ellusive first one..its even better ^^QFT!

[ThundagAuron]

Primal. One of my top games ever, I was in absolute awe of it, and still am. Brilliant graphics (Best on PS2 IMO, next to MGS3 & GoW), wonderful story, perfect voice acting, great soundtrack, solid 25-30 hour length and unlockable interviews and stuff.

+4 on Beyond Good & Evil

ICO & SoTC. Perfect Games.

Jazz Jackrabbit 2. Woot Woot.

[Slothy]

I actually had a post done up two days ago while my computer was acting up with me. Suffice it to say it was lost and it took me until now to be bothered retyping it all (it's long ok).

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - I'm talking about the PSX original here. Despite the rediculous amount of slowdown in this game, it was a very fun 2D adventure game. It had one of the coolest, most in-depth worlds of any game going, even today, along with the best anti-hero in gaming. Not too mention sucking someones blood from ten feet away for the first time was awesome beyond words.

Star Wars: Starfighter - I think this one got kind of overlooked coming out not long after the PS2's launch. It was a really cool flight combat game, and I liked it more than the Rogue Squadron series myself. That's some pretty high praise right there.

Ring of Red - Another title that got lost in the early days of the PS2, and suffered the misfortune of coming out around when Onimusha came out. It's a very cool strategy game involving a variety of mechs, and is probably one of my favourite strategy games of all time. I put more hours into this than I can count, even neglecting food and drink for hours on end because I was so caught up in the game. Well worth checking out if you can find a copy.

Edit: Just noticed ThundagAuron mentioned Jazz Jackrabbit 2, and I've got to agree with that choice. Awesome game.

[radyk05]

Eternal Darkness for the 'Cube.

[Madame Adequate]

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - I'm talking about the PSX original here. Despite the rediculous amount of slowdown in this game, it was a very fun 2D adventure game. It had one of the coolest, most in-depth worlds of any game going, even today, along with the best anti-hero in gaming. Not too mention sucking someones blood from ten feet away for the first time was awesome beyond words.

Yes. All entirely true. The series started to take off more with Soul Reaver and all that, but the original was a hell of a good game. Sadly it's way rare and I don't have a copy at this time ;_;

Also; Jumping Flash. The original 3D platformer, a PS1 release game (Or near enough), and frakking brilliant.

[escobert]

Bushio Blade is pretty underated. Amazing when you discover who made it...

Yes, it's a awesome game.

[Doc Sark]

I think the Shadow Hearts series is underrated, particularly in Europe where the third title in the series isn't even being released since Midway decided not to publish it. Shadow Hearts was the game that saw me through to FFX, and in many ways I enjoyed Shadow Hearts more, with it's subtle humour and lecherous lead character. The justice ring (while not everyone's cup of tea), I found engaging and it made me concentrate on fights more than in a more traditional turn-based battle system, which made it more engaging for me.

[Ishin Ookami]

I've thought of more games to add to my list...

For the PSX

Evil Zone:

This game you could think of as the predacessor to the DBZ: Budokai/tenkaichi series. It was an anime themed fighter that wasn't deep, but very fun. Also some of the characters were actually very cool. Each character and their quest played out like a thirteen episode anime series. Keia, the conceited pretty boy had a series that played out with having having a talk show that dispensed advice to all the other characters, and Gally was a bounty hunter who basically starred in his own action series while trying to sneak in a drink every now and then without his strict wife knowing. Man I just love the part where he buys a schoolgirl outfit and asks her to try it on. The fighting engine was fairly shallow, but still fun.

Fear Effect 2:

Retro Helix. I hate RE's tank like controls, yet this game that employs them I love. Blame it on the witty and mature story and ingenious puzzles.

Silent Bomber:

some of the worst voice acting on the planet, and the cheapest final boss ever, yet the game itself is a helluva lot of fun thanks to it's simple yet intense contra meets bomberman concept and cool designs.

Omega Boost:

An on rails space shooter with gorgeous graphics. It's pretty much what Afterburner would have been if instead of a F-14 tomcat you were piloting a kickass mech. Awesome bosses just made the game that much cooler, like an R-type style game done in 3D, and done right. Oh yah, and the soundtrack was awesome. Espescially the intro sequence.

PS2

Atelier Iris: Azoth of Destiny/Eternal Mana

Both these games are equally awesome, yet many critics shun them because they look like something that crawled out of the 16-bit generation. Meanwhile in Japan these games have long made Final Fantasy its whipping boy. Mostly due to the fact these games pack tight story lines with awesome characters and witty dialogue that mocks RPG conventions. Like where you toss money into a pond to summon the lake spirit, and the lake spirt chews you out for disturbing her nap and going on and on about how annoying that is. And the item synthesis system for both games just rocks, as do the boss battles.

Star Wars: Episode 1 Starfighter.

props to the guy that mentioned it before me, I wouldn't say this game is superior to Rogue Leader, but it is still a helluva lot of fun with some slick graphics and intense battles. I'd still say rogue leader is more polished and epic feeling, but this one is no slouch either.

Game Boy Advance

Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 1 & 2

So popular it has it's own anime series in japan, these games are RPG/Strategy games that by far surpass FFT in terms of gameplay and story telling. Awesome titles that deserve far more hype than they get.

[Wolf Kanno]

Evil Zone:

This game you could think of as the predacessor to the DBZ: Budokai/tenkaichi series. It was an anime themed fighter that wasn't deep, but very fun. Also some of the characters were actually very cool. Each character and their quest played out like a thirteen episode anime series. Keia, the conceited pretty boy had a series that played out with having having a talk show that dispensed advice to all the other characters, and Gally was a bounty hunter who basically starred in his own action series while trying to sneak in a drink every now and then without his strict wife knowing. Man I just love the part where he buys a schoolgirl outfit and asks her to try it on. The fighting engine was fairly shallow, but still fun.

Best $5 I ever spent. I love this game. I especially like how every character spoofs popular anime cliche's (CLAMP fans will notice quite a few similarities between Keia and Seishiro Sakurazuka;) ) It's shallow but fun. I swear they were trying to make an anime and mid production they were told it was supposed to be a fighting game.

[Raistlin]

Glancing over this thread, I agree whole-heartedly with the suggestions of Breath of Fire III and Kessen. While probably not a top-5 on the PS1, it was definitely close, but was unfortunately overshadowed by the FFs (like a lot of other series such as Lunar and Suikoden were). BoF III is a great game.

Kessen is just a fun RTS. I personally liked the first more than the second.

[black orb]

Evil Zone:

This game you could think of as the predacessor to the DBZ: Budokai/tenkaichi series. It was an anime themed fighter that wasn't deep, but very fun. Also some of the characters were actually very cool. Each character and their quest played out like a thirteen episode anime series. Keia, the conceited pretty boy had a series that played out with having having a talk show that dispensed advice to all the other characters, and Gally was a bounty hunter who basically starred in his own action series while trying to sneak in a drink every now and then without his strict wife knowing. Man I just love the part where he buys a schoolgirl outfit and asks her to try it on. The fighting engine was fairly shallow, but still fun.

Best $5 I ever spent. I love this game. I especially like how every character spoofs popular anime cliche's (CLAMP fans will notice quite a few similarities between Keia and Seishiro Sakurazuka;) ) It's shallow but fun. I swear they were trying to make an anime and mid production they were told it was supposed to be a fighting game.
>>> I liked that game too, after Kamen Rider Danzaiver is the most awesome Sentai hero ever..

[Slothy]

Yes. All entirely true. The series started to take off more with Soul Reaver and all that, but the original was a hell of a good game. Sadly it's way rare and I don't have a copy at this time ;_;

You know, the funny thing is, even though it's definitely rare, I was in the local Zellers four or five years ago and even though it was years after the game was released they had at least two dozen copies on the shelf. Likely old stock they were trying to move, but surprising none the less. If I hadn't already had my copy for a few years at that point I would have grabbed one. I still couldn't believe my eyes at the time though.

[Fatal Impurity]

I'm goona put Beyond Good and Evil Majora's Mask in here as well. I don't know what reviews are like for it, but it doesn't seem very well known to casual gamers even though it was bloody brilliant.

And in reply to roto's earlier statement its not always really the reviews that make it underrated but rather the lack of people that have played/know about it...as ive said earlier ive not seen very many people aware of Majora's Mask, eventhough you have.

I know you may think that a game is only strictly underrated if the said game gets a bad review or fan response, but low sales and/or rarity/awareness may also be considered the definition of underrated...

[Roto13]

But it sold incredibly well and it was well received by critics and fans. You say you don't know many people who have heard of it, but a lot of people obviously have considering its sales. If memory serves, it was a Players Choice game back when a game needed to sell a million copies to qualify for PC.

[Moon Rabbits]

Lufia and BoF are the most underrated Series I know of.

BoF isn't underrated, it just sucks. Anyways, I think Syberia is woefully underrated. It's not for everyone, being an adventure game 'n'all, but it's so deliciously great with it's story telling.

[Roto13]

Lufia and BoF are the most underrated Series I know of.

BoF isn't underrated, it just sucks.

:twak:

Go sit in the corner.

[Ishin Ookami]

Lufia and BoF are the most underrated Series I know of.

BoF isn't underrated, it just sucks.

:twak:

Go sit in the corner.

I wouldn't say Breath of Fire sucks, I played BoF III on the PSX and found it to be alright, pretty much on par with FFVII. Nothing spectacular overall, yet nothing I regret playing either.

Oh yah, another series I absolutely love but didn't see it get much fanfare during it's day, the Mega Man Zero games for GBA. I loved these games, they had everything that made MM awesome for it's time. Cool bosses, great platforming gameplay, secrets galore and an awesome storyline. I'd actually rank any of the MMZ games higher then the GBA metroid titles which I also love. Yet the only way you would know about them was if you were actually looking for a MM title, I really wish capcom and the industry would have given this series more fanfare then it actually got.

[Elite Lord Sigma]

Let's see...

Skies of Arcadia: Nearly everybody (including myself) who has played it will say that this game is a masterpiece. Sure, it has a really clichéd story, but it does it so well that it makes most other RPGs look bad in comparision. The soundtrack was wonderful, but how it got butchered in the GCN remake is an unspeakable crime.

Okami: Almost everybody has complemented on this amazing game. I have not played it yet, myself. Because of this game's low sales causing Clover to dissolve, that's a real failure of the consumers.

Psychonauts: I haven't played this either, but nearly everybody who has played this likes its quirky nature. There's something wrong when a crappy Jaws GTA clone doubles the sales of this game.

[Madame Adequate]

Skies of Arcadia: Nearly everybody (including myself) who has played it will say that this game is a masterpiece. Sure, it has a really clichéd story, but it does it so well that it makes most other RPGs look bad in comparision. The soundtrack was wonderful, but how it got butchered in the GCN remake is an unspeakable crime.

Thing is, they were fully aware of the clichés when they made the game, so they worked with rather than against them. And they did a damn fine job, because even with them I found it one of the most worthwhile, engrossing, and enjoyable games around in plot as well as gameplay terms.

I think it just proves that the plot itself can be secondary to the telling. But then the best stories do tend to be "How" rather than "What".