Talk about a game that you like but you're sure no one else knows about

[hazabaza1]

Wow, I've never heard of most of these! I guess my gaming tastes aren't very obscure...the only fairly obscure game that I love is El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. I'm sure most people have heard of it, though there can't be that many that played it, given the sales. A pity, it was downright amazing.

That was indeed a fun game. Very vibrant, too.

OT: Uuuuh... Nier? I dunno. Shadows of the Damned maybe?
Yeah, I don't really know "obscure".

Actually, there was a gamecube horror series called "Obscure" that I think is actually quite Obscure. Looked alright, in a B-movie type of way.

 

[BlueKenja]

Hmm let's see...

The Crystal Rainforest - a game we had preloaded on our old Macs back in Primary School. Weird combo of point and click and mini-games. Never beat it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJXLfXZuBiA

Heart of Darkness - A PSX / PC platformer/action game where you played as an inventor kid who gets sucked into the world of darkness in an attempt to save his dog. Story is kinda cliche but the sections where you're unarmed are genuinely threatening and creepy, very nice graphics too...and you die in so many interested ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyZfME5XYY

Outcast - A PC action/adventure that used voxels for its graphics, very fun, decent story, interesting main character, full feeling realised world and a fantastic soundtrack by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQFMcerLOc

 

[octafish]

Silent Storm, it was pretty much Jagged Alliance set in World War II but due to a truly stupid plot twist that altered the gameplay massively, its sales suffered. (The plot twist turned the game from a turn based RPG/Shooter/Action game, into a turn based stealth thing)

Eh SS doesn't really hold a candle to JA. For one thing the roster was too small and the soldiers had no character, the skill progression and perks were broken, and it wasn't as hard. Well maybe that timed mission with the experimental VTOL Focke-Wulfe, you really had rush through that one. I never had a problem with the Panzerkleins except that they slowed the pace of the game down, it was ridiculously easy to get a full squad in suits stomping through the game virtually invulnerable. Modding them out made the game infinitely more enjoyeble though. "For George!"

Not so much obscure as just very old I'm going to say Head over Heels and Hover Bovver for the C=64. It is wrong to call any Jeff Minter game obscure among people of my vintage.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Interestate 76: NitroRiders

Cars + mounted guns + vigilante justice = crazy fun, not much more needs to be said!

 

[Tumedus]

I don't know how obscure these are anymore, but I really enjoyed Shadowrun for the SNES.

Also gotta give some props to Pac-Man Vs. on the GBA. Playing as a ghost with limited vision against your friend's pac-man was just great.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Damn, I'm not used to talking about this game either.

My theory is that there were too many quirky PC games at the time so it got overshadowed, and that this one was too weird for that crowd, which kinda makes sense since there were things in that game that was bat shit bonkers.

I guess there was a reason why I found it in the bargain bin. :/

Hmm. I don't think it was *that* crazy. Maybe if you didn't connect the dots and interpreted the "weird" sequences correctly, it could seem like some events were random mishmashes of... stuff. But everything (I can still remember) was a clever metaphor for something else. Basically the entire game through you're supposed to wonder whether the protagonist is seeing reality, a dream or madness (or a combination)

There's not supposed to be a definite answer to all of it, but that's the beauty of it. Every part of the game is open to interpretation, and all the while it spins a bigger story, also open to interpretation.

I guess that's why I love that game so much, it does something only the most brilliant movies could do in the past.

I haven't played the game in years (I can't seem to find my copy ) and I vaguely remember the story, which I thought was brilliant and really engaging of that I do remember.

The design of the game was something I thought was really great about the game and hit the story and feel of it really well, and even made the weird things....weirder.

Still, it's a shame it didn't take off or even at least do well.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Project Zomboid-

It's a game that's currently in a minecraft like-alpha and seeking approval on steam greenlight.

Basically it's an isometric zombie survival RPG that boasts that "Death is inevitable" and prides itself on showing you how you lived out your last days. You have to balance needs and keep yourself alive. It's still in a pretty early alpha but it's a lot of fun, although still very buggy. There is a free demo available on their website

http://projectzomboid.com/blog/

and you can buy it for about $8 USD to get access to newer versions (since the free demo is a MUCH earlier version of the game and it is pretty limited)

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Well i'll shove Rockman on the Vic 20 on the list since noone has ever acknowledged it once on this website. It's a puzzle game where you have to mine out diamonds and avoid falling rocks and the like. It was the beginning of Boulderdash (which they have recently remade) and allowed you to select your level depending on how you completed a level. It's the game that turned me into a gamer.

Armaggedon man on C:64 is pretty obscure aswell...only ever seen it on a massive compilation box set. Basically you had to defuse global nuclear conflicts through harsh language and encouraging nations to defend themselves. You could make libya build more nukes and then reprimand them until they nuke everyone! Quirky little game and one i hold fondness for all these years later.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Hmmm, I've got tons of obscure games lying around... But obscure games I actually like?

I mean, I could talk about that Woody Woodpecker game made with the Gift engine. Or maybe XII Stag. But they're not exactly fantastic games.

Hell, the only game that I really like and still fits the label of being obscure, is probably Bombastic for the PS2. It's the sequel to Devil Dice (and the third game in the series, if counting by Japanese releases) and it is the most hectic, most fun puzzle game I have ever played, especially in multipayer. Five players simultaneously? Yes please.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Pretty sure everyone and his cat knows about it but I really recommend Rayman Origins if you haven't played it. Don't be scared off Dark Souls either.

As for more obscure games I really enjoyed Little King Story on the Wii it's really funny and a bit of a break from all the grimdarkishness.

 

[Quadocky]

Blaze and Blade: Eternal Quest (PC)

People know about it yes, but it didn't leave a lasting impression and was quickly forgotten. However I really enjoy this game. Its basically an Action RPG in a sort of Gauntlet/Secret of Mana style but with platforming elements occasionally. It had local Co-Op, sadly no one ever wanted to play with me.

Interestingly enough, it was originally a Playstation game available only in Japan, for some reason it was ported to PC and sold in the USA and Europe. The port itself was done by Conspiracy Entertainment (a company known for developing all sort of forgotten 'shovelware' titles) and published by THQ/SouthPeak Interactive. The game was developed by T&E Soft. There was a sequel that was Japan only called Blaze & Blade: Busters. It was basically an upgraded version of the first game.

Only notable feature in this game? No game breaking bugs that I am aware of. In fact this game may be one of the first bug free RPG games I have ever played.

 

[GTwander]

Actraiser wasn't the best game to open the thread with, but I can at least understand posting it as how many might not have heard of it since so many gamers here only started with the PS2.

My personal obscure favorite is Super Ninja Boy on the SNES. It's like Final Fantasy mixed with Double Dragon. It hasn't aged well, since the random battles are vicious, but a good emulator can alleviate most of the woes.

I raise the OP's Actraiser with The 7th Saga, and I raise your Super Ninja Boy with it's predecessor Little Ninja Bros.

Then, for good measure, I throw in Blaster Master... and not the epic NES version, the mediocre one for PS1. Or Xexyz.

 

[Catie Caraco]

Every time this thread makes its rounds I bring up Kabuki Quantum Fighter and the usual suspects.

Kid Nikki: The Radical Ninja
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
Golvelious
Gimmick
MC Kids
Kickle Cubicle
Kuon
Gamus Obscurus: Return to Pretension - Delux Director's Cut

MC Kids was the first game I ever owned on the NES. I kid you not. My parents bought a 'refurbished' (read, used) one from a family friend for my 6th birthday and they threw in MC Kids for free. Hardly surprising. Two days later I got a bunch more games from my aunts (Mario, Zelda, Duck Hunt, Contra, Hogan's Alley, Double Dribble, a weird Willow tie-in, Final Fantasy 1, Athena..)
but for the first two days I could only play MC Kids. To this day I love the music.

Also, has anyone else hear heard of Athena? It was a platformer where you played as a blue-haired, pink clad heroine fighting all sorts of strange, psuedo mythological creatures, like man-pigs (think Circe) and reverse-centaur things that made me think of Knights in chess. (They had horse heads on man bodies). You started just kicking things but as you killed monsters and smashed blocks you found armor and weapons. I remember also finding wings and a mermaid level...

As a young girl I ate this game up because it was the only one I had where the player character was obviously female.

Also, has anyone heard of Pod? It's a PC racing game that game with my family's Gateway PC we got in 1995. It was weird, I believe the story was you were on an alien planet that became infected.. maybe by Pod? I'm not sure. But you were racing to be on one of the last transports to leave the planet. I had so much fun with it, but it was ugly as f*ck.

 

[Baron_Rouge]

Wow, I've never heard of most of these! I guess my gaming tastes aren't very obscure...the only fairly obscure game that I love is El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. I'm sure most people have heard of it, though there can't be that many that played it, given the sales. A pity, it was downright amazing.

I think that was because people didn't like the $60 price tag on it

Perhaps, but I definitely got my money's worth. I have no regrets about buying it, and I'm sure many people who played through it will feel the same.

 

[Basement Cat]

I've got one that no one under thirty five probably knows about.

It was a black and white PC game played on the first generation IBM home computers in the early eighties called "Lander" or "Moon Lander". It was a little more complicated than Pong, but not as complicated as Pac Man. The challenge was safely landing a moon lander (duh!) on the moon i.e. A vaguely pyramid shaped blob slowly dropped from the top of the screen and you used keyboard arrows (this was before the invention of the mouse) to move right or left and the space bar to run your thrusters to slow your descent--all while maneuvering to avoid horizontally moving asteroids (if I remember correctly0.

Another PC game from the late eighties is Karatika (or is it Karateka?), where you were a martial artist who fought his way from left to right against baddies until you faced and took out a final Boss.

Some of you may have heard of one version or another of Karatika. I thought there was only one version though someone once mentioned there were others. I dunno.

 

[Nuuu]

There's this game called "Off". It's a French game that was made in RPG Maker, and it's FREE!

And LPer I'm subscribed called agentjr has been playing this. Certainly looks very interesting.

I'm suprised to find someone else on the escapist who watches agentjr. I agree, Off was a really good game.

I loved this game when i was young, still havent got around to beating it, always got bored RIGHT before the final boss, but still it's a really fun game.

 

[Mizu Bozu]

Spelling Jungle!

I used to play the shit out of that game when I was a kid.
I wonder if it's obscure as I always thought it was...

ActRaiser? You're going to have to get more obscure than that, my friend.
When it comes to obscure games, I like to pull out an old DOS game

Jazz Jackrabbit? You're going to have to get more obscure than that, my friend.

OMG Deja Vu. I totally remeber that! That was a hard spelling game when I was a kid.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

Another, rather queerly titled, game is Xexyz.

 

[DioWallachia]

Maybe, but given the marketing videos of Mass Effect 2 and the Casey Hudson opinion on having a final boss in ME3 would be "..So video-gamey..", i would say that they believe that the possibility of talking or arguing the final boss to death isn't something a game HAS accomplished yet.

Its obscure for the game developers, not for the gamers . So from a certain point of view, it IS obscure.

Here are the videos in question:

Spoiler

Um, Fallout 3's main boss (the president computer terminal guy) can be defeated in a number of ways including talking it into suicide.

I know, i am just illustrating that for a certain angle, game developers know jack shit about gaming history AT ALL. A game that is "supposed" to be a cerebral RPG with dialog as the main draw is NOTHING compared to previous attempts like Planescape: Torment.

Kinda ironic since Jennifer Hale worked in BOTH games, and you would think that after the background check they would at least take notice of this game as a foundation to base and improve THEIR dialog system.

Bonus points since Both Baldur's Gate AND PS:T also has the same engine AND Advanced Dungeons & Dragons systems. They just didnt care apparently, they are ALL into telling you (like in the video) that THEIR games are different and something that NO ONE has ever seen.