xkcd

by **schmiggen** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:02 am UTC

"Live-a-live" for the snes -- I've never heard of it at all, just found it randomly on a ROM site a loooong time ago. You played as one of like 7 or 8 characters, each of which had its own game (I think they were all RPGs)entirely to itself, with at least slightly varying combat systems and such. I think if you beat all of the games, there was a final game where they came together or something, but anyway, it was unique and awesome. In one game, you're a caveman and all the dialogue (at least in the parts I played through) was done in speech-bubbles with pictures in them. No words! But it worked.

Also, can we use non-video-games? I think outdoor large-scale capture-the-flag is one of the most fun of all games I've ever played. I need to build up a group of people to do that with again. Works best at night

by **-Malice-** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:02 pm UTC

I also found Riven great fun, intriguing and just the right level of challenging.
Despite "Exile"'s 'fuller' 3-D, I still preferred Riven. Not played the fourth and fifth games yet.

Another underrated favourite of mine is Anachronox. perhaps not so underrated, but under-appreciated. Of course, its sequel (basically 50% of the sory) not produced due to economic problems meant that it had a hard fall, but I have yet to play such a unique and fun, novel RPG that had me as hooked as the story of FFVII on the PSX

by **Matthias** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:52 pm UTC

Septerra Core. It's a good isometric RPG with quality voice-acting throughout and a compelling overworld. Also cheap: I found a copy at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks, bundled with some giant robot game. That was several years ago.

by **CrackTheSky** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:21 pm UTC

Twasbrillig wrote:Majora's Mask. Not many people loved it, but I think it may very well be the best Zelda game ever made. Buckets of fun over and over (and over and over and over and over...) again.

QFT

Easily the best Zelda game ever. It actually got very positive critical acclaim, but most gamers preferred OoT and I've found that MM gets a lot of flak for its gameplay elements and the differences between it and OoT.

Matthias wrote:Septerra Core. It's a good isometric RPG with quality voice-acting throughout and a compelling overworld. Also cheap: I found a copy at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks, bundled with some giant robot game. That was several years ago.

I got that bundle a couple years back. The game it was bundled with, Shogo, absolutely sucked balls. Unfortunately I never had the motivation to really play Septerra Core, but it's something I keep in reserve in case I ever feel like an FF-like RPG.

by **wishmaster** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:31 am UTC

alter echo did to my reflexs what myst did to my brain. it takes place on another planet, and you can change into three diffrent forms. it's one of the best games i've ever played and nobody i've talked to has heard of it.

by **anoshinri** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:19 am UTC

schmiggen wrote:"Live-a-live" for the snes -- I've never heard of it at all, just found it randomly on a ROM site a loooong time ago.

It was never brought to the USA (sadly.)

AGTP translated it a long while ago. Most bigger rom sites should have a copy.

Also note: Amazing game. All of the characters feel different in play style, and they all have something resembling motivation. Orsted (the Knight) is by far my favorite. His storyline is one giant plot twist

by **thecommabandit** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:43 am UTC

schmiggen wrote:Also, can we use non-video-games? I think outdoor large-scale capture-the-flag is one of the most fun of all games I've ever played. I need to build up a group of people to do that with again. Works best at night

You sir, are a genius. I have to somehow get a large enough group of people to do that somewhere. Bonus points if it's in a city centre; nothing better than watching people confused as you run past them carrying a red flag as three people in red t-shirts are chasing after you trying to tackle you and take back the flag.

by **Skateside** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:25 am UTC

thecommabandit wrote:
schmiggen wrote:Also, can we use non-video-games? I think outdoor large-scale capture-the-flag is one of the most fun of all games I've ever played. I need to build up a group of people to do that with again. Works best at night

You sir, are a genius. I have to somehow get a large enough group of people to do that somewhere. Bonus points if it's in a city centre; nothing better than watching people confused as you run past them carrying a red flag as three people in red t-shirts are chasing after you trying to tackle you and take back the flag.

I think between you two, you've defined the activities for the next XKCD meet

by **MFHodge** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:11 pm UTC

One of my favorite puzzle games of all time is Wario's Woods. Wicked learning curve but once you're good at it, you can do amazing combos. I've spent a lot of hours on this one.

by **Akula** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:55 pm UTC

The Top Spin Tennis series.

Probably the best sports game out there when it comes to multiplayer. Playing against another experienced player is heated and tense.

On a somewhat related note, I do wish the self-styled "Serious" gamers would stop trying to impart a sense of superiority because I happen to think Madden is a lot of fun.

by **Endless Mike** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:10 pm UTC

Top Spin is great, but I find Virtua Tennis to be a hair better and easier to pick up for new players.

by **Aleril** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:52 pm UTC

Tomba! I found endless amounts of fun with this game, and finding the secrets are actually fun!

by **SecondTalon** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:42 pm UTC

Mindrover.

Can it be program robot AI tiem nao?

The Website wrote:MindRover is 'the Intelligent Robot Simulation' or perhaps you can call it a 3D strategy/programming game. This is a new genre that encompasses the depth of play found in strategy games with a new concept in player control. You get to program the intelligence of robotic vehicles.

You are a researcher on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. In your free time you re-program the rovers to race around the hallways, battle it out with mini lasers and rocket launchers, and find their way through mazes.

Once you have chosen a challenge, equip your vehicle (hovercraft, wheeled or treaded) with various sensors, movement components, and weapons. Then program the behavior of your vehicle in a graphical interface where you wire the components together and set their properties. Then let it go in the arena and watch how it does!

You can stop the competition and tweak your vehicle at any time until you really like what it does!

The competitions take place in a 3D world in and around the space station. [/quote]

by **Marlowe** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:39 am UTC

I'm at a loss to distinguish between "Underated" and "No one bought it". These would be my three in both categories:

- Oni! Fantastic, if unpolished kung-fun/shooting hybrid.
- Blade Runner. I loved it, but it isn't all that well remembered.
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. Isometric steampunk RPG Gee Willikers not made by Black Isle!

Or, the original "Thief", "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" and "Wasteland"

by **SecondTalon** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:05 am UTC

"Underrated" would be a subset of "No one bought it"

No one bought it, but it wasn't crap.

by **JayDee** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:36 am UTC

Marlowe wrote:Or, the original "Thief", "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" and "Wasteland"

I don't know about Thief. I found out about it from it being lavishly praised in magazines (I think it was #2 in a top 100 of the magazine I got the demo with) and I bought it as a budget re-release. I got the impression that it was rather highly regarded, and that it sold fairly well. They made a multiple sequels (and used the engine to make a System Shock sequel.)

by **Slice84** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:12 am UTC

I'd have to vote Vagrant Story for PS. Great story, pretty deep item forging system, and I thought great graphics for the time. The battle system was also pretty unique, a bit like a cross between Fallout and Parasite Eve (another underrated game.)

Also, Otogi 1 & 2 for Xbox. Fantastic atmosphere and great visuals IMO.

by **segmentation fault** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:04 pm UTC

in light of the No More Heroes thread falling to the bottom and only having 4 replies, i am going to say No More Heroes.

by **__Kit** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 5:49 am UTC

Sheesh I wish I could remember half the names of the games I plaey on N64 when I was younger. Banjo Kajoozie was bad ass, my friend disappointed it's not available on Wii. After a quick wiki apparently there is one being realsed on the 360 this year.

by **zombie_monkey** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:34 pm UTC

Garm wrote:The original Dark Reign. That was an amazing game. Stuff like user defined unit behavior was in that game. That stuff has only recently found it's way into other RTS games. It also had a good random map generator. That's always been the failure of the Blizzard games to me. The maps are always the same.

I'll second that strongly! Dark Reign was among the few RTS games I really liked. Other also good underrrated RTS - Warwind 2 and Z, well I don't know if Z was underrated.

by **Narsil** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:37 pm UTC

schmiggen wrote:Also, can we use non-video-games? I think outdoor large-scale capture-the-flag is one of the most fun of all games I've ever played. I need to build up a group of people to do that with again. Works best at night

On the topic, I've always wanted to assemble a game of assassins at my school.

by **Jvr_Rz** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:22 am UTC

Jet Force Gemini for the N64. It's got the platform-jumping and exploration of Mario 64, and the suspense-sniping and action shooting of GoldenEye. And you'll also have to go back to every level to rescue all Tribals, hidden everywhere.

Kind of like a great 3D MegaMan + extra hidden items and levels and stuff.

by **malec2b** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:30 am UTC

Jvr_Rz wrote:Jet Force Gemini for the N64. It's got the platform-jumping and exploration of Mario 64, and the suspense-sniping and action shooting of GoldenEye. And you'll also have to go back to every level to rescue all Tribals, hidden everywhere.

Kind of like a great 3D MegaMan + extra hidden items and levels and stuff.

I've been wanting to get that game since I'm a big fan of both Rare and platformer games.

World Heroes Perfect is another good game that noone seems to have heard of. It was a Neo Geo fighting game, but it was a lot simpler than other fighting games which made it more fast paced. And the characters are based of historical figures and it all has a good sense of humor.

by **SomeoneElse** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:18 am UTC

panther3751 wrote:Zork: Nemesis by Activision/Infocom is pretty awesome but underrated.

When released, it suffered in two ways: 1) Myst came out about the same time, and 2) compared to other Zork games, it's very dark and creepy.

Personally, I think the game stands out well on its own compared to the other Zork titles. Maybe it isn't like other Zork games in tone, but it doesn't need to be. It's got a brilliant story and excellent puzzles without having a grue pop out at you in the darkness. (Even though I love the tone of old Zork games.) Nemesis might not be silly, but its darkness and creepiness lends well to the story.

As for its first downfall, being compared to Myst when it was released ... I've played both games, and perhaps it's dependent on preference, but I prefer Zork: Nemesis. I actually gave a hoot about solving puzzles, the atmosphere was creepy and drew me in, and the puzzles were hard but not head-smashingly challenging. (Mind you, this was when I was younger, so perhaps your millage will vary.)

So I recommend Zork: Nemesis to all of you first-person-adventure-puzzle fans out there. It's an awesome game and it's extremely underrated. Play it!

I never really got Nemesis (mainly because it was probably too "mature" for me at the time), but I loved Zork: Grand Inquisitor. Its a pretty great adventure game actually, never really mentioned much. I'll have to play Nemesis soon though, I forgot about that game.

Whilst we're on adventure games, I should throw Discworld I and II into the mix, if they can be counted as underrated - I guess they're not as well remembered as Monkey Island. Hilarious stuff, with great voice actors such as Eric Idle (Monty Python), Tony Robinson (Blackadder) and Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who).

Psychonauts.. was that really underrated? I was under the impression that it was lauded by critics everywhere, but sold nothing. Same with Beyond Good & Evil. Both top tier games that failed sales-wise, but are much loved and i'm sure they'll be remembered in years to come as The Best Games That Sold Fuck-All.

by **malec2b** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:47 am UTC

SomeoneElse wrote:Psychonauts.. was that really underrated? I was under the impression that it was lauded by critics everywhere, but sold nothing. Same with Beyond Good & Evil. Both top tier games that failed sales-wise, but are much loved and i'm sure they'll be remembered in years to come as The Best Games That Sold Fuck-All.

I think that that is what alot of us are considering as "underrated". I suppose it's a bad way to say it, but the games I'm listing are games that were good and possibly got good ratings, but sold horribly.

by **Ruins** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:36 am UTC

I feel "The Witcher", an action-RPG game for the PC based on a series of fantasy novels (Russian from memory), is very underrated in both advertising representation and probably sales. The reviews for it are pretty good, and after playing through it last week, it was well worth the money for the story alone. The nice alchemy system and interesting side games (drunken fist fighting, drinking contests, dice poker and bedding damsels) is just added value.

I guess the fact that it targets adults with its storyline (war, racism, making decisions between the best of two-evils) probably has something to do with the poor sales and marketing effort. Oh, and for those thinking of getting the game, the US version is censored, so get the UK one.

by **dbsmith** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:46 am UTC

Howsabout Betrayal at Krondor? Anyone play that? Fantastic game i thought, big world to explore, cool combat, great story, and all for around 50mb....

by **CrackTheSky** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:06 am UTC

Jvr_Rz wrote:Jet Force Gemini for the N64. It's got the platform-jumping and exploration of Mario 64, and the suspense-sniping and action shooting of GoldenEye. And you'll also have to go back to every level to rescue all Tribals, hidden everywhere.

Kind of like a great 3D MegaMan + extra hidden items and levels and stuff.

x2. GREAT game. Finding all the Tribals without any help (i.e. no FAQs or strategy guides) is one of the great video game challenges of all time. I've never been able to do it, nor even really come close, and I've put ungodly amounts of time into it.

by **Bisyss** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:01 pm UTC

Skateside wrote:Zone of the Enders

Yes! It's a damn shame that most people only bought it for the MGS demo.

aion7 wrote:Action/puzzle/platformers anyone. That's a genre that needs more attention.

The Lost Vikings by Blizzard (yes that Blizzard), and Mario and Wario (a very atypical Mario game) (Both were for SNES) were good examples of that great genre. As a bonus The Lost Vikings has been known to cause me, and others, to laugh, ans in out loud whenever the characters talked.

On this theme - Sheep, Dog 'n' Wolf. Probably one of the best Loony Tunes-based games released, and I'm the only person I know that's played it.

Also: Hogs of War. It's how the 3D Worms game should have been done.

by **Izawwlgood** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:06 pm UTC

Wow, I heart you all. Ahem, you know, for being awesome.

Any games like uplink hacker elite?
Continuing on:
Escape Velocity (all of them)
MDK
Dragon Warriors Monsters (GB)
Metroid II: Return of Samus
And for the ultimate win: Panzer Dragoon Orta (vague ancient languages, flying battleships, morphing dragons, and a beautiful girl imprisoned in a tower her entire life... *needs to change shorts*)

by **schmiggen** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:05 am UTC

dbsmith wrote:Howsabout Betrayal at Krondor? Anyone play that? Fantastic game i thought, big world to explore, cool combat, great story, and all for around 50mb....

:O

A game on R.E. Feist's Midkemia? Or just a horribly disappointing coincidence of titles?

by **Amnesiasoft** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:10 am UTC

Bisyss wrote:
Skateside wrote:Zone of the Enders

Yes! It's a damn shame that most people only bought it for the MGS demo.

Wait, it had a Metal Gear Solid demo on it? Meh, never really cared for Metal Gear. But Zone of the Edners was an awesome game.

Bisyss wrote:On this theme - Sheep, Dog 'n' Wolf. Probably one of the best Loony Tunes-based games released, and I'm the only person I know that's played it.

Do you mean that Sheep Raider game? If that's what you're talking about, I've played it.

Edit: Yup, it was called Sheep Raider over here, but it's the same game.

by **JayDee** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 1:20 am UTC

schmiggen wrote:A game on R.E. Feist's Midkemia?

Sure is. Co-written by the man himself, I understand. Link.

by **demon** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 2:14 am UTC

Ruins wrote:I feel "The Witcher", an action-RPG game for the PC based on a series of fantasy novels (Russian from memory), is very underrated in both advertising representation and probably sales. The reviews for it are pretty good, and after playing through it last week, it was well worth the money for the story alone. The nice alchemy system and interesting side games (drunken fist fighting, drinking contests, dice poker and bedding damsels) is just added value.

I guess the fact that it targets adults with its storyline (war, racism, making decisions between the best of two-evils) probably has something to do with the poor sales and marketing effort. Oh, and for those thinking of getting the game, the US version is censored, so get the UK one.

It's actually Polish - the author is Andrzej Sapkowski. The novels are finally going to get translated to English properly and a few of his short stories already have English translations, I believe. And the game? It's all the rage in Central/Eastern Europe, apparently - or so the marketing folks at CD-Projekt or whatever the company that released the game is called these days would like us to believe:) I know my friends really love it, but they're fans of the author, and the game contains porn. Just a tiny little, but still. And apparently it adds greatly to the overall enjoyment of the gaming experience in this case xD

by **Pai** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:04 pm UTC

EarthBound and Okami

by **11-Sodium** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:31 am UTC

I also thought Majora's Mask should not have been completely overshadowed by Ocarina of Time, and Link's Awakening is one of the best games for the GameBoy.
Escape Velocity (I have only ever played Nova) was underrated, too.

Another game that is really obscure but great is Legend of Legaia. The battle system was based on the tactical arts system, which resembled fighting games involving combinations of up, down, left, and right, and it had a decent length and story. The sequel, Legaia 2 Duel Saga, was better balanced, but I didn't care for it as much, for some reason. Part of the problem may have been that there were no direct connections between the games' stories, and the fact that the magic system was much less versatile.
Both games deserved more attention than they received.

by **Skateside** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:00 pm UTC

Amnesiasoft wrote:
Bisyss wrote:
Skateside wrote:Zone of the Enders

Yes! It's a damn shame that most people only bought it for the MGS demo.

Wait, it had a Metal Gear Solid demo on it? Meh, never really cared for Metal Gear. But Zone of the Edners was an awesome game.

The original Zone of the Enders was released with a demo of Metal Gear Solid 2, which took the player from the start of the game all the way through to the first boss on the tanker mission. Most people bought ZOE for that reason, which is admittedly a good sales technique, but it's a shame that most copies of ZOE ended up in pre-owned sections minus the MGS2 demo and no-one really sat down to play ZOE. ZOE2 was even better, and even more obscure - but didn't have the kid that won't kill!! :twisted:

by **DYRE** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:47 pm UTC

11-Sodium wrote:Another game that is really obscure but great is Legend of Legaia. The battle system was based on the tactical arts system, which resembled fighting games involving combinations of up, down, left, and right, and it had a decent length and story. The sequel, Legaia 2 Duel Saga, was better balanced, but I didn't care for it as much, for some reason. Part of the problem may have been that there were no direct connections between the games' stories, and the fact that the magic system was much less versatile.
Both games deserved more attention than they received.

Yes.
Actually, Legend of Legaia is my favorite game on the Playstation, although I didn't like the sequel very much. Eh. Still, it's definately a great game, and anyone who (Likes RPGs && has a (Playstation || Playstation Emulator)) should get it.

by **Amnesiasoft** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:42 pm UTC

Skateside wrote:stuff

So, basically, just like Crackdown except replace MGS with Halo 3 Beta?

Website · by **Leesam** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:56 pm UTC

SexyTalon wrote:Mindrover.

Can it be program robot AI tiem nao?

YES! I played endless hours of this game with/against one of my buddies years ago. I've actually been thinking of picking it up again the past few days.

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