Have you ever discovered a hidden gem of a game?

Eric the Orange

Gone Gonzo
Apr 29, 2008
3,245
0
0
I recently got a game called "Glory of Heracles", which I had never heard of before and I was pleasantly surprised as it was pretty damn good. So my question to all of you is have you ever found a hidden gem of a game? and how did you come upon it and how did you like it.

For me I did something I rarely do and blind bought it as it seemed kinda like an old school JRPG and was only 20$. My guess for the reason I never heard of it is because it is a JRPG and those are a very niche in the west. I liked it a lot, it has a very interesting mana element system.

As a follow up question, I really do wonder, has anyone else even heard of or played this game?
 

Kahunaburger

New member
May 6, 2011
4,141
0
0
Sweet - another chance to plug Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php]. Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php] is a really good game, with above average writing, excellent tactical combat, awesome music, and a very good visual style. Also, it's free. Seriously, you should stop reading this post and go download Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php] right now.
 

Erttheking

Member
Legacy
Oct 5, 2011
10,845
1
3
Country
United States
I find myself enthralled with an old game for the SNES called UN squadron, not sure if that one counts.
 

GrandmaFunk

New member
Oct 19, 2009
729
0
0
Mount&Blade:Warband

it's not completely unknown but I get the feeling that so many more ppl would really get into it if they tried it out.
 

Lilani

Sometimes known as CaitieLou
May 27, 2009
6,581
0
0
I found the singing vortiguant in HL2 this week. He actually has a LOT of dialog, and it's a very interesting encounter. Also, the turret quartet in Portal 2 is pretty wicked.

EDIT: Gah, totally misinterpreted the title. I personally loved the original set of the Catz and Dogz games, which as far as I know not too many knew about.
 

Swyftstar

New member
May 19, 2011
653
0
0
I bought Sacred 2 used for about 15 bucks as something to pass the time with while waiting for big releases. Next thing I know, all my friends had it and we were playing precious little else for months.
 

Hikaru CF

New member
May 28, 2009
126
0
0
I got quite a nice actiony JRPG called 'Infinite Undiscovery' that has a really fun battle system and a decent story. It also gives you the option of replaying it on a harder difficulty when you beat the story so I've spent quite a long time playing it.
 

pyrosaw

New member
Mar 18, 2010
1,837
0
0
Anachronox was a pretty good. Ion Storm made it right after they made Deus Ex. I like it, even if the dialog is kinda corny. It feels like a point and click adventure game, but with turn based combat and RPG elements.

Monday Night Combat is also pretty damn great. Tower defense, great third person gamplay. Kind of like Team Fortress 2, a tower defense game, and DOTA.

AAAAAAA(etc.) a Reckless Disregard for Gravity is a futuristic skydiving game. That's the best I can explain. It's so unique and great, and has such a good sense of humor.
 

piplink

New member
Mar 11, 2011
135
0
0
on GOG.com i found a game called empire earth. it's free and it's a REALLY good RTS, it combines warcraft and civilization, you build up your empire from the stone age to the space age. FUN!
 

Wolfram23

New member
Mar 23, 2004
4,095
0
0
Well "back in the day" I was pretty uninformed about games and just picked up whatever had a nice cover and an interesting "back of the box". We're talking SNES mostly here. So definitely played some awesome games I'll never remember... anyway...

Most recently? Well probably the last one was Demon's Souls. I know it's not a "hidden gem" anymore but I pre ordered it online before there was any real hype around it. I don't think it really picked up steam until several months later... so for me it was a hidden gem just because it was not mainstream and I didn't really know anything about it besides that it would be really, really hard.
 

Baralak

New member
Dec 9, 2009
1,244
0
0
piplink said:
on GOG.com i found a game called empire earth. it's free and it's a REALLY good RTS, it combines warcraft and civilization, you build up your empire from the stone age to the space age. FUN!
It was actually only free for a couple of days as part of a promotion. I made sure to grab it, though.


Also, Breakdown on the original XBOX. It's like a FPS and first person brawler with a crazy good story and psychic powers. There was even a fan project to make a novelization of the game. The story's that good.

Also, Bujingai: The Forsaken City on PS2. It's a hack n slash starring j-pop megastar Gackt in a game inspired by Wuxia films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. REally fun hack n slash, and very flashy, even if the story doesn't make a lick of sense.

Gungrave and it's sequel, Gungrave Overdose are fun PS2 shooters. it's like Devil May Cry, but without swordplay, and a story revolving around a mafia reviving dead people to be grunts.

I'll also throw in Arc Rise Fantasia. It's a JRPG on the Wii. The graphics and art style are similar to the Tales games, but this game has atrocious voice acting, sadly. It has a fun combat system, an interesting story, and a very in depth customization system. REally recommended if you can get used to the voices.

There's also Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. It's, literally, LotR: The turn based RPG. There are no towns, though, so you find everything in dungeons. You're a party that follows the actual Fellowship, while helping out in battles with them, such as being Gandalf's back up against the Balrog. there's also an "Evil Mode" Where you play through random battles as monsters, fighting the main party. Beat them, and you'll unlock special equipment for you to use in the main game. I wish more games did something like that.

There's a bunch more I could recommend...
 

Bad Jim

New member
Nov 1, 2010
1,763
0
0
A shoot em up called Space Phallus, a free game. Yes, it's as disgusting as it sounds. The 8-bit graphic style is a good choice, because frankly I wouldn't want to look at anything more detailed.

But I played it anyway for a giggle, and then spent an entire day playing it because it is actually a really good schmup. I just wish it was a bit longer, because when I finished I felt rather unsatisfied. No I don't mean that, I mean it needs a few more levels.
 

omicron1

New member
Mar 26, 2008
1,729
0
0
Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece was a brilliant find, and is still one of the most truly innovative, enthralling games I have ever found.

Likewise, an old eurogame called Imperivm (also known as Celtic Kings: Rage of War) which mixed RPGs and RTS long before Warcraft III made its big hit. It also featured such concepts as supply lines, making for a compelling package.
 

RandV80

New member
Oct 1, 2009
1,507
0
0
Kahunaburger said:
Sweet - another chance to plug Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php]. Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php] is a really good game, with above average writing, excellent tactical combat, awesome music, and a very good visual style. Also, it's free. Seriously, you should stop reading this post and go download Spirit Engine 2 [http://thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php] right now.
Yes Spirit Engine 2 is a great little indy game, worth the money when I bought it a few years ago. It's made by a Western developer but leans more JRPG-ish, but has some real nice innovations to the genre between it's tactical RPG combat and the versatile character story structure.

In more recent memory from the 1st Humble Indy bundle I gotta nominate Aquaria, which ended up being the favourite game I played that year. Anyone who's a fan of the 2d Metroidvania type of game owes it to themselves to check it out.
 

Phlakes

Elite Member
Mar 25, 2010
4,282
0
41
Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. It took the four levels of the arcade game and made them an introduction, then transitioned into wonderful puzzle platforming. And it introduced a lot of moves that didn't appear again until 64.

And it has this-

 

vrbtny

Elite Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,959
0
41
Nuclear Dawn. Seriously, try the free weekend trial on Steam. You will be pleasantly surprised.
 

Amaror

New member
Apr 15, 2011
1,509
0
0
GrandmaFunk said:
Mount&Blade:Warband

it's not completely unknown but I get the feeling that so many more ppl would really get into it if they tried it out.
This,
never heard of it before bought it at a steam midweek madness for 15 Euros and played it for 50 hours. F***ING GREAT GAME!