Games you can't remember the title of.

[SecondTalon]

I dont remember much of the game, but it was kinda Similiar to Dick Smallwood in the gameplay and art style.

System : PC
Year : 1990?
Perspective : Top down, Side scrolled to different screen when exiting current screen
Art Style : cartoon like graphics, Possibly 3D in 2D world...Blood?
Environment : forest, with foresty stuff in.
Mood : kinda grim, bright colours
Genre : Action RPG, maybe.
Gameplay : Simple top down game, arrows to move.

Thats all i remember, Sorry. Be great if anyone knew what it is.

Mmmmaaaayyybe Quest For Glory 1?
Original and VGA Remake

[AvatarIII]

Morrowind? One of the Tomb Raider games, perhaps?

surely if the graphics are close in quality to Mario 64, Elder Scrolls II Daggerfell would be a closer match?

[IronfistJ]

* Background: PC DOS game from the late 80's (I played it on my 386). I think the name might have started with a G. It was a platformer I guess, there was definitely no constant scrolling. It would load one scene/area at a time and when you moved to the edge of the screen it would load the next scene/area.
* System: PC, MS-DOS
* Year: Mid-Late 80's
* Perspective: Size view (not scrolling)
* Art style: Simple color graphics, low detail
* Environment/Mood: Sci-Fi, you play as an alien who is collecting items (possibly to fix your ship or something?). I think in the first scene you have just exited your ship.
* Genre: Sci-fi platformer
* Gameplay: You played as an alien and there were platforms you could jump on and items you had to collect. You could definitely die (I remember dieing a lot) so there must have been enemies of some type. I never got very far in it, I'm pretty sure that when you died you had to re-start at the beginning.

[ConMan]

Except for the scrolling, it sounds a lot like Commander Keen. Unfortunately, the Wikipedia entry there specifically mentions that they'd developed a method for smooth scrolling, in direct opposition to your "one screen at a time" description.

[Felstaff]

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure?



Only problem is, like Commander Keen, that was definitely side-scrolling. I only thought this because you start from your spaceship. One game with static screens from that period is Starquake, but again you don't play an alien, but a blob-dude on an alien planet, looking to pick up stuff.

[RetSpline]

Hmm, the template doesn't really fit what I'm looking for all too well, but I'll fill it out and put extra information afterward.

Background: It's one of those browser-based MMOs. No graphics except for the galaxy map showing different planets. I played the game a few years ago, but I think it'd been running a few years prior to that. Let's say it started somewhere in the 2006-08 range? I think the game was most noted for combining the roleplaying in the forums with the actual game mechanics. Actions and events that were roleplayed out had an effect on the in-game universe.
System: Computer, on the internet.
Year: 2006-ish?
Perspective: Text primarily.
Art style: Yellow-ish text on a predominantly red or maroon background, if I remember correctly.
Environment: Various planets in a sci-fi universe.
Mood: =/
Genre: Sci-fi
Gameplay: The most basic way I'd describe it is a player-driven economic and military simulation. You created a royal family, with a crest and everything, then chose an economic sector to go into. The options were things like Agriculture, Transportaion, Construction, Research, Military, Exploration, and a few others I can't really remember. In addition to managing your business by constructing buildings, you also controlled your randomly generated family of minor nobles, defined by their name, gender, and a handful of stats representing their administrative abilities and dueling expertise. As time went on (an in game year was something like a few real-life months or so) family members got old and died, were born, grew up, and you could put them into school. As I remember it, the combat system wasn't extremely detailed and usually only the upper echelons of the player base took part in it, trying to secure themselves as the emperor of the galaxy.

Again, the most notable part of the game was the extensive roleplaying community that also bled over heavily into the actual game. I never took much part in it, but I could see the way it changed the actual game mechanics. I'd like to check out the game again after all this time, but I don't remember anything about the name or how to search for it, so hopefully someone here has heard of it.

[LobsterJonn]

Hi,
I hope someone can help me find this game as I would really like to play it again :)

* Background: I played this game some 10 years ago on my moms computer when I was a kid. We got the computer from somewhere and it already had some stuff on it including this game and also Worms 2 from 97 and Caesar III from 98.
* System: Windows 95/98
* Year: Late 90's
* Perspective: 2D Top Down
* Art style: Sprite based, simple graphics but fairly good for it's time (and my time)
* Environment: The part of the game I remember the best are the scenarios that take place on plains with castles scattered all over the place. All levels are very similar in that they are big areas with castles scattered around.
* Mood: Not really a dark moody game but certainly not happy either.
* Genre: Fantasy, Turn based RPG
* Gameplay: The game could seem like a basic version of Heroes of Might and Magic (the older ones) where you have a number of castles and those castles produce units with which you take more castles. If I remember correctly it does not cost money to buy units, but instead it takes a number of turns to get them. You also have hero units that can be the leader of a group. Each group can have a maximum of 8 (I think) units in it. You move around by clicking with your mouse or by using the arrow keys. Units can move around on their own without any hero unit to accompany them. To win the game you have to take over all the castles in the scenario. I think it can be played as local multiplayer (on the same machine), but I only did the single player campaigns. Some of the units I remember are the Pegasus, which gives a flying sounds when moving around, Ogres, which gives a trampling sound and also some archers which sounds like they are running.

That's most of what I remember about it, hopefully it is enough.

EDIT: I believe I found the game already. It's called Warlords III, now I just need to get it so that I play it :)

[Osha]

I used to play an old game on my computer around year 2000-2001. It was downloaded from a game website; There was this annoying repetitive background music sort of christmas-y and techno mixed together and the main character was like a dog with a hat, it was a side scrolling game where you use the arrow keys an the spacebar to jump (a lot!) & you would collect presents and coins and candy canes!

I forgot the name and its driving me crazy?!
Does it sound familiar?

I realize this reply is coming quite late, but that sounds EXACTLY like Happyland Adventures X-Mas edition by free lunch design.

[lucifer11]

Background: Its a space exploration, rpg, turn based strategy game i think. I played it about 10 years ago or so. Found it on some random game compilation CD-R which published by a gamer magazine i suppose.
* System: Possibly Windows XP
* Year: It was early 2000s for sure(most likely 2002) but the CD-R might be from 99.
* Perspective: It was very similar to starfarer (which called 2D top down?)
*Combat:It consists 2 parts, in first part you are fighting with space ships in starfarer like battle mode. Second part was well it was almost like Heroes of might and magic 3 battles. After defeating space crafts or planets, you either negotiate or fight with enemy crew/aliens whatsoever. The second part was clearly turn based as i remember.
* Environment: Space, galaxies, planets. Completely free space exploration.
* Mood: It was kinda dark, as "star control" dark.
* Genre: RPG, Turn based Strategy, Space Exploration.
* Gameplay: I think there were stats or level system of some kind, i cant say for sure. The game starts with a space ship which you can add crew members or collect supplies from planets. Space ship was controlled from WASD keys or arrow keys on the keyboard. It was a bit hard to control the spaceship due to gravity and such factors at first, i think fuel was an issue at some point. Playing the captain was the only option. It was possible to capture enemy forces and use them in the next battle.

I havent seen it since ages, i thought someone here might now something about it. I could play it all day
peace

[Serrin]

Background: I'm looking for a pirate game my girlfriend remembers from her childhood (teenagehood?). So there's a layer of noise between the source and this post, but I'll do my best.
* System: PC.
* Year: ~1996-2000. Although it could be older, but probably not.
* Perspective: Not entirely sure. She thinks it's first person, but that also you see your character at times. But it was definitely 3D perspective, so first or possibly third over the shoulder, but that wasn't in style back then.
*Combat: There was combat. Sort of. She says it's adventure game combat, like you have to swing the sword in time. I hope that means as much to you all as it does to me.
* Environment: An island. You don't start on the island, you get to it later, but most of the game happens on the island.
* Mood: Uh...piratey.
* Genre: Point and click adventure, with the ill fortune to be a first person...point and click adventure.
* Gameplay: You talk to people, you try and solve puzzles, and you're always looking for a treasure of a legendary pirate, and you find the treasure by following the legend.

This is really fuzzy, and we don't have much to go on, so any or all of the above could be wrong, but we've spent hours searching for every 90s game with the word pirate in it.

Solved: It was Redjack: Return of the Brethren.

[rjh82]

Thank you all in advance for your help. This game has been on my mind for years and lately I'm obsessing about it.

* Background: It was a futuristic action combat flight sim. I must have played a demo from a PC gamer disc or something like that. In some ways it reminds me of Star Fox--the graphics engine used polygons with no textures. The action took place above an Earth-looking planet, with green land and blue water. The landscape was not flat, and the ocean (comprised of blue triangles) may have even moved with waves.
* System: DOS
* Year: early or mid 90s
* Perspective: 1st person - I think. I don't remember seeing the design of the player's craft. But I don't remember any elements of the HUD either.
* Art style: Fairly bright. VGA or SVGA software rendered 3d graphics. Polygons with no textures. I think the landscape was largely green, brown and blue. Objects in the environment may have been pink, orange and yellow.
* Environment: The atmosphere above an Earth-like planet, in the future.
* Mood: I don't remember the plot. But it was fairly bright.
* Genre: Action combat flight sim
* Gameplay: Swooping around dramatically and shooting stuff on the ground.

--Also, shouldn't there be a 20q-style game or dichotomous key for identifying games? I used google, but I couldn't find anything.

[Felstaff]

Thank you all in advance for your help. This game has been on my mind for years and lately I'm obsessing about it.

* Background: It was a futuristic action combat flight sim. I must have played a demo from a PC gamer disc or something like that. In some ways it reminds me of Star Fox--the graphics engine used polygons with no textures. The action took place above an Earth-looking planet, with green land and blue water. The landscape was not flat, and the ocean (comprised of blue triangles) may have even moved with waves.
* System: DOS
* Year: early or mid 90s
* Perspective: 1st person - I think. I don't remember seeing the design of the player's craft. But I don't remember any elements of the HUD either.
* Art style: Fairly bright. VGA or SVGA software rendered 3d graphics. Polygons with no textures. I think the landscape was largely green, brown and blue. Objects in the environment may have been pink, orange and yellow.
* Environment: The atmosphere above an Earth-like planet, in the future.
* Mood: I don't remember the plot. But it was fairly bright.
* Genre: Action combat flight sim
* Gameplay: Swooping around dramatically and shooting stuff on the ground.

How close to Stellar 7 are we talking about in terms of basic polygonality?

[Lostdreams]

Thank you all in advance for your help. This game has been on my mind for years and lately I'm obsessing about it.

* Background: It was a futuristic action combat flight sim. I must have played a demo from a PC gamer disc or something like that. In some ways it reminds me of Star Fox--the graphics engine used polygons with no textures. The action took place above an Earth-looking planet, with green land and blue water. The landscape was not flat, and the ocean (comprised of blue triangles) may have even moved with waves.
* System: DOS
* Year: early or mid 90s
* Perspective: 1st person - I think. I don't remember seeing the design of the player's craft. But I don't remember any elements of the HUD either.
* Art style: Fairly bright. VGA or SVGA software rendered 3d graphics. Polygons with no textures. I think the landscape was largely green, brown and blue. Objects in the environment may have been pink, orange and yellow.
* Environment: The atmosphere above an Earth-like planet, in the future.
* Mood: I don't remember the plot. But it was fairly bright.
* Genre: Action combat flight sim
* Gameplay: Swooping around dramatically and shooting stuff on the ground.

--Also, shouldn't there be a 20q-style game or dichotomous key for identifying games? I used google, but I couldn't find anything.

There are quite a few list sites with tags and screenshots. They usually do pretty well.

edit: Crap, the one I found with good screenshots also hosts N64 roms soooooo.. *link removed and PM sent instead*

[rjh82]

How close to Stellar 7 are we talking about in terms of basic polygonality?

Just a little heavier-duty than that. The landscape was mostly not flat, for one thing, a bunch of triangles. There were no textures on the surfaces, but I think there may have been some primitive lighting or shading. I don't remember there being any cockpit/frame. I remember the experience of flying in the environment seemed really cool at the time.

[SecondTalon]

But less than Fury³, Yes?

[Daimon]

* Background: I played it around 10 years ago, maybe seven at the least.
* System: Windows computer
* Year: Around 7-12 years old.
* Perspective: Seemed to be a third person point of view from what I barely remember.
* Art style: Can't remember much except one scene, so I have nothing.
* Environment: Looked like some alien flat world, the one part I DO remember, with a little upgrade shop in the middle of it.
* Mood:
* Genre: Third person shooter? Rpgish? Can't remember.
* Gameplay: All I remember was controlling maybe two characters in some flat-plain, and there was this little upgrade shop. I went into it, bought some stuff (it was a transparent light-blue kind of thing), then went outside on my character who looked like AL from FMA, and got destroyed. It seemed to be futuristic, possibly.



I barely remember anything about it, sorry.

[Thirith]

System : Amiga, C-64
Year : late 1980s
Perspective : Side view, screen by screen (i.e. not continuous scrolling); not 100% certain on this
Art Style : 2D, cartoonish, brighly coloured
Environment : Deserty at the beginning? Rocks, rocky hills, that sort of thing
Mood : Bright, primary colours, cartoony, cheerful mood
Genre : Action adventure
Gameplay : At the beginning of the game you choose a character (or several?) from a list of late 19th century national stereotypes with different abilities, e.g. the Indian who can charm snakes, the Imperial Brit (in red uniform and pith helmet), the cowboy. You then run around with this character (I think you're able to switch freely between your characters), collect objects, try to overcome obstacles. The characters can solve the puzzles differently; one might be able to kill a snake with a stick he's carrying, another might use a flute to charm it etc.

[emceng]

Ok, reposting this, as I don't think i ever got an answer

Background:
* Year: 1999-2000, and new then. So release of 1999 or late 1998
* Perspective: Top-down, somewhat like Dungeon Siege. I am pretty sure it was fixed camera too, so no rotating view.
* Art style:
* Environment: Don't recall much, except walking out of a cave into a snowy area. This was maybe halfway through the game, so it was the beginning of say the third chapter.
* Mood: Standard D&D feel, I think it was D&D rules, though I don't remember.
* Genre: 3rd person RPG
* Gameplay: I thought it was Icewind Dale or Baldur's Gate, but if I recall correctly, it was strictly a single character game - no party with you. The one part I distinctly remember was playing as a mage and having some sort of meteor spell. It would take a while to cast, but if you could kite a bad guy at the right distance, this huge flaming rock would drop from the sky and smash them.

[Lostdreams]

Sounds a lot like Nox.

[emceng]

Sounds a lot like Nox.

I am pretty sure that's it. Thanks!

[mikemontana2012]

hello guys i have a question
i played this game around 1998 2002 or maybe 2004 in between
it was a tetris liked game where you could create your own funny creature and i think they used my favourite game melody from the cardigans as soundtrack in the menu it was on the pc in the tetris game you had a bunch of powers like a bomb and eartquake i think please can somebody help me out really thanks and sorry for my bad english but im from the netherlands:P

[evandy]

Here's a harder one...

PC game (DOS or Windows), in the 1990's. Spaceflight game in the general style of X-Wing and TIE-Fighter. You were saving humanity (Earth??) from aliens. They made a HUGE deal of being physics based. You could actually flip 180 and wouldn't chance vectors.

[New User]

Descent was hyped for its "six degrees of freedom," but I don't know if it was hyped for being "physics based." Still, being able to flip all around and fly in any direction at will was a big point of the game's appeal, I believe.

[evandy]

Nope, not descent. I seem to remember the box having the title in bold lime green.

[matches64]

I keep trying to remember the name of a 2d game I used to play when I was about 8. I'm 21 now so the late 90's... I remember using a blue character that I thought resembled Kirby. You could make up your own scenario. The background was called wallpaper and you could choose one and then choose water,sharks, bricks, etc in a menu that was at the bottom of the screen I believe. You could also place fans wherever you wanted to make it harder to beat. Please help me it's killing me haha

[Thirith]

My guess would be I-War. I can't remember any other space sims that used Newtonian physics right now.

[SecondTalon]

So, yeah.. if y'all have suggestions on how to improve the Template as it doesn't fit what you need, I'm all ears.

Otherwise.. use the damn template? Please?

[juststrange]

Thank you all in advance for your help. This game has been on my mind for years and lately I'm obsessing about it.

* Background: It was a futuristic action combat flight sim. I must have played a demo from a PC gamer disc or something like that. In some ways it reminds me of Star Fox--the graphics engine used polygons with no textures. The action took place above an Earth-looking planet, with green land and blue water. The landscape was not flat, and the ocean (comprised of blue triangles) may have even moved with waves.
* System: DOS
* Year: early or mid 90s
* Perspective: 1st person - I think. I don't remember seeing the design of the player's craft. But I don't remember any elements of the HUD either.
* Art style: Fairly bright. VGA or SVGA software rendered 3d graphics. Polygons with no textures. I think the landscape was largely green, brown and blue. Objects in the environment may have been pink, orange and yellow.
* Environment: The atmosphere above an Earth-like planet, in the future.
* Mood: I don't remember the plot. But it was fairly bright.
* Genre: Action combat flight sim
* Gameplay: Swooping around dramatically and shooting stuff on the ground.

--Also, shouldn't there be a 20q-style game or dichotomous key for identifying games? I used google, but I couldn't find anything.

Terminal Velocity? Thats the classic I can think of from the time.

[ShadedKnight]

Ok, this has been bugging me for years, but since I made an XKCD account, I decided to take a shot that people might be able to help me. Be forewarned, some of these qualities may be reminiscent of another game I played at the time, sorta have trouble separating them in my mind.


* Background: I played this game at some point when the PS2 was pretty big, it was pretty much the only system I was using. I remember renting this from Gamefly or some-such.
* System: Almost certain it's PS2.
* Year: Sorry, can't really remember the year, I probably played it about 5-10 years ago.
* Perspective: Isometric? 3D.
* Art style: 3D and fantasy-ish, lots of monsters.
* Environment: Sometimes a field, sometimes other environments like a watery cave, I think it depended on the element you were fighting.
* Mood: Not really bright, but very colorful.
* Genre: Not really sure what the genre would be, almost a strategy game.
* Gameplay: Summoned monsters on a playing field sort of, the monsters moved from the left to the right from a set spawning point. The field was divided into two halves, and you had to rush to get some sort of orbs that you could also steal from your opponents half. You were a demigod of a certain element that you chose, even sometimes mixing elements if you wanted. I remember one special attack was sort of a green rush across the field I guess? You were just continually at war with all of the other elemental demigods.

[Felstaff]

Gods? Demigods? Elements? Fighting? Sounds like Wrath Unleashed.

[ShadedKnight]

Gods? Demigods? Elements? Fighting? Sounds like Wrath Unleashed.

Well, it may be, but I seem to remember it looking more like one of the battle sequences of that game more often, one of those fields divided in two and summoning more monsters into a field like that as one of the characters just running around while your monsters walked straight to the center. I don't know, maybe I'm just mashing a couple of games together, or maybe it's a mode that I don't know of on that game.



EDIT: Blah, just looked through a pretty comprehensive list of ps2 games and didn't find it. Alternate ideas: Possibly Xbox, or some other game system? Possibly a figment of my imagination? If the latter is true I should make it into a game myself

[gamer92]

hi i remember a game i used to play either late 90s or early 00s All I can remember is you play as a mouse trying to find some kind of gold or treasure to save the mansion where they live. you have to search the house and pick up thing which will help you on your journey some things you pick up may unlock secret rooms in the mansion and some things you have to put together such as two ends of a key. I can also remember that you start in a huge passageway with a set of stairs in the middle leadind upstairs and some doors on the bottom floor. two of the doors on the bottom floor are a kitchen and the other a living room with lots of books in it. up stairs there is aroom with lots of children toys and i think you play a darts game to unlock a safe behind it with a key. If there is anything else i can remember i will repost. Can anyone please help me?

I can also remeber something else. you played it in the first person perspectinve and there was another character with you I think it was like a flea or something everytime either the mouse or flea spoke it came up at the bottom so you could read it this happenend a lot when you clicked on something usefull and it was for windows 98 i believe

[Technical Ben]

hello guys i have a question
i played this game around 1998 2002 or maybe 2004 in between
it was a tetris liked game where you could create your own funny creature and i think they used my favourite game melody from the cardigans as soundtrack in the menu it was on the pc in the tetris game you had a bunch of powers like a bomb and eartquake i think please can somebody help me out really thanks and sorry for my bad english but im from the netherlands:P

Sounds like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrisphere. Never knew they did a PC version. I'd pick it up if I found a copy because I loved the N64 version. Although I have no idea about the music, that does not seem to match to me. You can search the soundtracks on Youtube though (PC and 64 version).

However, if it was a 2d tetris game, my game radar is very off.

[Jorpho]

Sounds like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrisphere. Never knew they did a PC version.

They didn't.

[fazelanvari]

* Background: Played when I was about 5. Game was rented for NES
* System: NES
* Year: about 1990
* Perspective: Overhead, top to bottom scroller
* Art style: Similar to all top down, top to bottom scrolling shooters of that era
* Environment: Grassy and urban (never got too far since I was so young)
* Mood:
* Genre: Shooter
* Gameplay: You were this little spaceship dude and you killed other spaceship dudes. You could collect power ups that would cause your spaceship to grow appendages (legs, arms, more guns, etc). Fully powered up, you were a walking mech dude instead of a flying spaceship. Never seen or heard of it since.

[sam_i_am]

I've been trying to find this game for a while.

* Background: It was an educational game at the school I was at. I would have played it sometime in the mid 90s but it almost certainly was older than that
* System: It was a real old computer, and the game came on a 5 1/4" floppy. IT might have been an apple 2, but I'm not certain.
* Year: 80s? 90s?
* Perspective: the same perspective as a 2-d platform game.
* Art style:
* Environment: black and white
* Mood:
* Genre: ecucational( was alongside games like number munchers and Oregon trail)
* Gameplay:

I believe the goal was that you had to deliver this pizza, but there were large monsters in your way.
You had to use a system of pulleys and levers to lift the monsters up high enough so that you could run under and deliver the pizza.

Edit: after some Internet searching, I found information on a game called "pizza to go" by a company called "mecc", and judging by it's description, it sounds about right

[Jorpho]

* Background: Played when I was about 5. Game was rented for NES
* System: NES
* Year: about 1990
* Perspective: Overhead, top to bottom scroller
* Art style: Similar to all top down, top to bottom scrolling shooters of that era
* Environment: Grassy and urban (never got too far since I was so young)
* Mood:
* Genre: Shooter
* Gameplay: You were this little spaceship dude and you killed other spaceship dudes. You could collect power ups that would cause your spaceship to grow appendages (legs, arms, more guns, etc). Fully powered up, you were a walking mech dude instead of a flying spaceship. Never seen or heard of it since.

I'm thinking Twinbee, but for the NES, it would have been Stinger.
http://hardcoregaming101.net/twinbee/twinbee.htm

[fazelanvari]

* Background: Played when I was about 5. Game was rented for NES
* System: NES
* Year: about 1990
* Perspective: Overhead, top to bottom scroller
* Art style: Similar to all top down, top to bottom scrolling shooters of that era
* Environment: Grassy and urban (never got too far since I was so young)
* Mood:
* Genre: Shooter
* Gameplay: You were this little spaceship dude and you killed other spaceship dudes. You could collect power ups that would cause your spaceship to grow appendages (legs, arms, more guns, etc). Fully powered up, you were a walking mech dude instead of a flying spaceship. Never seen or heard of it since.

I'm thinking Twinbee, but for the NES, it would have been Stinger.
http://hardcoregaming101.net/twinbee/twinbee.htm

Unfortunately, it is neither of those.

[Timicaro]

Hey I look for a name of a game , i can remember it's name , the game was about a crashing cars , i played it in 2000 OR 1998 When I Was A Kid , The Game : I PLayed With A Red car in beginning and started killing some clowns and it was a race that i challenge other chellenger's cars , i remember , the last challenger was a tructor , a big yellow tructor , like the tructors that used to pick up phosphate , the game was a game of 2D Or 3D a LOwer Quality But cool at playing , please this is my email : (removed)fr If Someone could remember it or it name contact me , I Really wana play it again , i search for it on google but i couldn't find it , please help me .

[Deva]

Initial guess: Twisted Metal.

Which game console was it for?

(Amendment: Consider consulting this list also. Sort it by year.)