Similar to the top3 and weakest threads, this one asks you to list a game you consider to be really good but often overlooked. You can break this down to eras as well if you want to add multiple PC titles.
Similar to the top3 and weakest threads, this one asks you to list a game you consider to be really good but often overlooked. You can break this down to eras as well if you want to add multiple PC titles.
Genesis: Vectorman - Not really a "hidden gem" maybe since it was well received at the time and makes it way into many "classic" game bundles to this day, but I have literally never had or witnessed a conversation about this game since the day it was released. It's not talked about at all.
PS1: Threads of Fate - y'all have heard every dumb thing I have to say about this game square can forget ff7 remake where is the goddamn sequel to this game
PS2 on: i only played the POPULAR STUFF or I have a terrible memory maybe both
I don't have one for each console but I have a definite one that comes to mind.
NES: The Guardian Legend - I pretty much never hear this title uttered unless I'm the one talking about it, but it's easily one of my favorite NES games. Part Zelda-like top-down exploration game, part space-ship shooter with awesome weapons to collect and great bosses, this game did hybrid-genre before genre hybridization was fashionable.
Just based on personal experience of course, so others may not consider some of these "hidden" if they happen to frequent places with more fans of them :p
Also gonna go ahead and limit myself to one entry per series because I realised otherwise I'd end up with multiple Super Robot Taisen entries on the list, which I didn't really want to do.
SNES - Treasure of the Rudras
This one's kinda understandable, since it never officially left Japan. Nevertheless, I really liked it, and nobody ever talks about it. The magic system was very unique, rather than having a list of spells to cast, you enter text and that text generates a spell.
GBA - Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations 2
This one's also on my "best" list, but I feel it belongs here too, because it's a great SRPG and I don't know of a lot of people outside of the Super Robot Taisen fanbase who know of the game.
Gamecube - Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Again, also on my "best" list, but nobody ever seems to remember Monolith Soft stepped away from Xeno for a while and made this gem.
Xbox 360 - Magna Carta 2
Not to be confused with Magna Carta: Tears of Blood for PS2, this one I felt has far better (and less confusing) gameplay, and it's story-wise unrelated. The story is solid if somewhat cliche and the music was pretty good as well, though not too memorable. Overall a good game and I actually don't know anyone else who has played it.
Playstation 1 - Rhapsody: A Musical Story
Nippon Ichi's first step into RPG space, this was a solid SRPG. A bit short and easy, sure, but very enjoyable. Nippon Ichi would of course go on to make the now-fairly-famous Disgaea series and a bunch of other SRPGs, and this is basically the foundation for that.
Playstation 2 - Ar Tonelico 2
Also my favorite PS2 game, but very rarely do I see mention of it when I don't specifically look for it.
Playstation 3 - Cross Edge
A crossover turn-based RPG with characters from several different game companies. The story's pretty standard crossover stuff but enjoyable, and the combat is like a mix between Xenogears and Valkyrie Profile.
Playstation 4 - Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force
Insofar as any game in these times can be hidden, anyway. A very solid RPG, I'd say Compile Heart's best one. Incidentally, some names of Final Fantasy fame worked on this as well, namely Amano and Uematsu.
PSP - The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch
Amusingly, this is not actually the second Legend of Heroes game, it's the third. They went and pulled a "Final Fantasy II" on western audiences. :p
Anyway, no, not Trails, I can't consider that hidden anymore, at least around here, where I've advertised it enough already. Older Legend of Heroes games, however, are often quickly dismissed, and in some cases that's a little unfair. One such case is Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch, the first game in the "Gagharv trilogy". Although it's not on the same level as Trails, it's still a very solid RPG about two people going on a pilgrimage and discovering the world. You can definitely see the influence it had on Trails, with a big focus on worldbuilding and characters while leaving the larger story arc bubbling in the background.
Nintendo DS - Sands of Destruction
While the story of this game might seem a little generic, I think it's actually pretty good. The gameplay does have some rough edges and the voice acting is, well, about what you'd expect from a DS game, but overall I enjoyed the game.
SNES
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals - Not too much of a hidden gem considering how much I talk about it, but I do consider this to be one of the better JRPGs released on the SNES that wasn't actually produced by Square or Enix.
Wii
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon - Though I found this game to be more like an adventure game than Action-RPG, this is a really somber and haunting title that really went under the radar. You play a young boy exploring a ruined Tokyo trying to find another living person in the aftermath of a severe calamity. Unfortunately you mostly just find ghosts and use the heroes power psychometry to discover bits and pieces about what really happened to the world. It has a really cute art direction, but a pretty dark and bleak story.
GBA
Demi Kids: Light/Dark - Did you really think the MegaTen team wasn't going to capitalize on the Pokemon craze, especially when Nintendo kind of stole their whole gameplay premise? Of course not. This is a pretty lighthearted take on the franchise that really feels closer to Digimon than Pokemon. Playing as a hero who allies with a demon and visit the world of Makai to set things right. These were actually some of the first non-Persona entries to get a western release and were popular enough in Japan to spawn sequels and an anime.
DS
Digimon World: Dawn/Dusk - Pokemon gets all the love when it comes to Mon titles, but I prefer Digimon instead. These were pretty good games for the system with some serious min-max mechanics that kept the gameplay going long after the plot was done.
3DS
Ever Oasis - Made by the creator of the Mana franchise, this was pretty much a spiritual successor to that franchise with a fanciful and colorful world. I loved that you could recruit characters to help you on missions and the town building aspect was interesting. You play a young boy trying to build a thriving town in the middle of a desert with the help of the elemental spirits and various tribes of the world.
PS1
Jade Cocoon - This was a funky Pokemon style rip-off if it had been envisioned by Hayao Miyazaki. Had some really cool visuals and designs made by ex-Studio Ghibli staff and the story and setting have a serious Princess Mononoke vibe to it. You play a boy who must collect the twisted monster of the forests to use as guardians to have your beloved purify them and use them to try and stop the encroaching magical beasts from wiping out the last of humanity.
PS2
Metal Saga - It amuses me to no end this is actually getting a remake soon. This was a quirky open-ended JRPG that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where people salvage tanks from scrap heaps. The premise sounds dark, but this game is actually wacky and never takes itself too seriously. It had multiple endings, including one that is active in the first ten minutes of the game where you can heed your mom's advice and choose not to go on an adventure. Did I mention you can recruit dogs with weapons strapped to them?
PS4/Switch
I am Setsuna - Not necessarily unknown to most people, I just feel its criminally underrated despite basically playing like a Chrono Trigger 2. It does the whole "Protect the Living Sacrifice to the promised land" story that's overused better than FFX or Tales of Symphonia if you ask me and has a killer soundtrack.
Sega Saturn: Devil Summoner and Soul Hackers.
Whoa, someone who's played and enjoyed a Sega Saturn. You could probably list most good games for that console as hidden gems. My pick would be Dragon Force, as I rarely see even Sega fans acknowledge its existence. And for someone like me who hates battle grinding and simplistic point-and-click map design in strategy games, I could not get enough of this one. Generals squaring off and doing a 100v100 fight was such a fun spectacleQuote:
Originally Posted by Rain1
As for games on consoles people actually owned
For Genesis/Mega Drive I would say Light Crusader. I think I've only ever seen the game mentioned once in any time I've spent watching retro game reviewers on YouTube and whatnot. I only played it once, but I remember not being able to put it down. It's an isometric action rpg similar to Landstalker, but with a more adult, serious, and depressing story, design, and atmosphere. So I guess think Alundra, but with less Zelda influence. I should play it again...
For PS3/360/PC of the age, I'll never stop singing the praises of LotR: War in the North. It's by the same people who did Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and the Champions of Norrath games for PS2. It was their final game before getting absorbed and demolished by Activision. And sadly they didn't get a chance to polish the game so there are still a few game breaking bugs you'd have to watch out for. But it's one of the most fun co-op games I've ever played. And while it rides on the coattails of LotR, it has a fairly original and engaging story completely separate from everything going on in the books and other games. The characters are likable and endearing. But the real meat-and-potatoes is the combat, where you get cinematic kills while dealing with whole hordes of enemies. Kinda plays like a Diablo game from third person. So much fun to decapitate or brain someone at the end of a fight, or call in your eagle friend to wreck an entire group of orcs that were giving you trouble
Has anyone played Tomodachi Life on the DS? It was popular enough for its time, but I think everyone has forgotten about it, and that's a shame. Its one of the craziest and best Sims rip-offs out there. Using Nintendo Miis to fill up a weird hotel on an island where you're some kind of diety and can't actually play as any of the characters. You give them gifts, clothes, food, bedroom accessories, etc. While they find jobs, and do rap battles, or opera songs and donate to your needs and lots of insane shenanigans happen. You can watch inside their dreams or play guessing games with them. Sometimes they'll marry each other and have kids. It's pretty surreal and epic for a DS game and I'm surprised they haven't made another
I'll stop here, it's hard to think of ones for the other consoles. But I may come back with more later