The unjustly ignored games

[L4Y Duke]

This thread is for you guys to list those games which were awesome, but were left on store shelves while the rest of the populace waited like mindless sheep for the latest installment in a franchise.

Mr. Yahtzee correctly stated that Psychonauts was one of these games, with a well-written story and great gameplay, but was left behind by pretty much everyone.

I'm going to add X2 - The Threat to this list. It's a space sim with plenty of depth and options to it. Plus, dual monitor support.

EDIT: I think I'll start writing a list of these, for the new people who want to post, so that they can easily see what has beem posted already, m'kay?

The Halls of the Forgotten Gems:
Psychonauts
X2 - The Threat
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
The Orange Box (under debate)
Nocturne
Gangland
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
[insert the games made by Atlus here]
Hostile Waters
Crystal Caves
Viva Pinata
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Dungeon Keeper
Delirium
Descent
Beyond Good and Evil
The Neverhood Chronicles
Space Station: Silicon Valley
Tie Fighter
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Paper Mario (N64)
Kirby 64
Pikmin 2
Mother/Earthbound
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
Stubbs the Zombie
UFO: Aftermath
Pro Evolution Soccer
Homeworld (+ sequel)
I Cold Blood* *(could be a typo of In Cold Blood)
Sierra RPG Arcanum
Torin's Passage
Trama Center
Etrain Odessy
Yggdra Union
Persona 3
Luminous Arc
Mount And Blade (unreleased)
Baten Kaitos Origins
Project Zero
Ground Control (+ sequel)
Oni
Okami
Digital Devil Saga - Shin Megumi Tensei
Final Fantasy Tactics
Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System.
C&C: Renegade
You Are Empty
Killer7
Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time
Knights of Honour
Gangsters 2
Tropico 2
Stronghold (+ expansion)
Shiren the Wanderer
Front Mission First
Terranigma
Super Dodgeball
Disciples II
Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns
Shadowflare
Suikoden (+ sequels)
Planescape Torment
Freespace 1 & 2
SIN Episodes
Dystopia
Shadowgrounds
Freelancer
PREY
The Colonel's Bequest and The Dagger of Amon Ra
Planet's Edge: The Point of No Return
Castles
Loom
Syndicate / Syndicate Wars
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
System Shock 2
Clive Barker's Undying
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Forbidden Siren (+ sequel)
Lord of the Rings: TTT (GBA)(acronym?)
Sword of Mana (GBA)
Darwinia
DarkStone
Sega Dreamcast (console)
No More Heroes
Zack & Wiki
Skies of Arcadia
Onimusha 2
Panzer Dragoon
Sonic CD
Thief (series)
GTA II
SWAT 4
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Outcast
Azurik: Rise of Parathia
Snatcher
Policenauts
X-Wing Alliance
Voodoo Vince
Tropico
Theme Hospital
Dark Messiah
Rocky Rodent
Seaman
Rez
Streets of Rage 1/2
B.O.B
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Smash T.V.
General Chaos
Mutant League Football
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Revolution X
Barkley Shut Up and Jam!
Jagged Alliance 1/2
No-one Lives Forever 1/2
War of the Worlds
Freedom Force 1/2
MDK 1/2
Railroad Tycoon (entire series)
Sniper Elite
Warlords Battlecry III* *number may be incorrect
Battle Realms

 

[Rabid Toilet]

I'd definitely agree with Psychonauts, and I'd also add ICO and, to a lesser extent, Shadow of the Colossus. Both brilliant and beautiful games, which, for the most part, got passed over for Halo 2 and such.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I think I'd have to say the orange box. It's not exactly unknown, and if you say half-life people will usually go "Oh right, yer". But really I'm the only person I know in person who has the orange box, which is a shame, especially with TF2 is one of the best multiplayer experiences I've ever had, and Portal may be my faviourt game of all time. It's kind of sad to be sat there having to listen to my friends rave about a game like instead Rainbox Six Vagas *shivers*

 

[mathias53]

I think I'd have to say the orange box. It's not exactly unknown, and if you say half-life people will usually go "Oh right, yer". But really I'm the only person I know in person who has the orange box, which is a shame, especially with TF2 is one of the best multiplayer experiences I've ever had, and Portal may be my faviourt game of all time. It's kind of sad to be sat there having to listen to my friends rave about a game like instead Rainbox Six Vagas *shivers*

I agree, i know maybe 2 other people that have the orange box in my entire highschool of 1600 kids

 

[J9387]

Outside of the internets, the people I know who own The Orange Box or have even heard of it can be counted on one hand.

Another game would have to be Battalion Wars for the Gamecube, quite good, but it flew under the radar.

 

[broadband]

i remember nocturne, the gameplay wasnt good but the enviroment, the idea and some chars, i wish that it would had a secuel

 

[stompy]

Most people I know on a personal basis either: a) have The Orange Box, or b) know of it. Most of these people bought it just for Portal (X360), kinda like me (then I found HL2).

For underrated games, I'll have to go Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. Most people I know haven't heard of it, and once, when I was talking to this guy 'bout it, he's all like "Brother's in Arms isn't really a good tactical shooter. If you want a good one, play Rainbow 6: Vegas." I wanted to point out how they were really different games, what with BiA placing a lot more emphasis on using your squad, rather then being your own Sam Fisher, with some live bait, but decided against wasting my breath.

Oh, and sorry if BiA isn't a really ignored game in the US or UK, but here in Australia, or at least where I am, practically no-one knows of it.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Odin Sphere, Grim Grimoire, Etrian Odyssey, and pretty much every other Atlus game that is only experienced by a select few hardcore fans.

 

[Corsair256]

I'm sure I've already said this before plenty (and on this forum too even?), but every time this kind of topic turns up I have to say Hostile Waters.

UK PC Gamer (back in the good old days) got really excited about Hostile, with a big old preview and the demo and all that, but when it hit release it was really underwhelming. For some reason the hype just silenced and it hardly got the shelf space it deserved. People missed out heh.

 

[WingedFortress]

Wasnt that underrated game thread like a page ago?

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Wasnt that underrated game thread like a page ago?

I'd like to think an underrated game is a bit different from an ignored game. My pick, for example, of the many great Atlus games, all received very high scores from various reviewers, so I wouldn't call them underrated. Unfortunately, nobody bought the things, which is a great shame, so I'd still call them ignored.

 

[Zephyros]

I just registered because I had to contribute to this thread - Beyond Good and Evil. It got released at the same time as Prince of Persia, and for some completely baffling reason, it got left in the dust. Nobody played it, nobody had heard of it. I played both PoP I and BG&E and I sincerely thought that BG&E was the seriously better game. Everything about it was excellent, and I was confused why (A) noone had heard about, and (B) was completely ignored for a sequel.

There is talk now for this game to get a deserved sequel, but unfortunately, I've been hearing that rumour since the game came out.

Also, just as an aside, another game to get completely ignored when it was released was the game "Ogre Battle 64". Anybody remember the Ogre Battle series? There were 2 Ogre Battle games and two Tactics Ogre, the most recent being "Knight of Lodis" for the GBA. Ogre Battle 64 was a truly unique game, but once again, it was largely ignored on release - even now,very few people have heard of this jewel of a game. And now Quest, the game's publisher, is dead, lost into and sucked dry by the massive non-entity of "squeenix". Sigh.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Wow, where to begin...

I'll start with a personal favorite of mine, The Neverhood Chronicles. This 1996 claymation spoof on Myst-style adventure games was pure genius (incidentally, the game is the inspiration for my user name). Created by Doug TenNapel (the same guy who brought gamers Earthworm Jim), the game's wacky, slapstick humor was its main selling point for me. The offbeat soundtrack by Terry Scott Taylor only added to the quirkiness factor.

Another game similar to the Neverhood in its humor was Space Station: Silicon Valley for the N64. Its gameplay of killing, then posessing robotic animals was a stroke of genius, particularly when every species had its own unique talents that would allow you to complete various puzzles and fight off other animals. I still bust a gut at the opening scene, when the "heroes" of the game start off their adventure by crashing into the station. The reason: they were fighting over who controlled their spaceship's radio.

Though a fair number of old-school PC veterans remember it, I find it sad that so many people don't know the greatness that was Tie Fighter. It was perhaps the best space combat simulator ever made, with top-notch gameplay and a great story to boot.

As for GTA-style "sandbox" games, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction is a great one. It's like GTA, except most of the vehicles you jack are military. Add in fairly destructible environments and the ability to purchase airstrikes, and you have all the elements of an explosive winner.

Unlike many gamers in their teens and twenties, cuteness isn't necessarily a turn off for me when it comes to games. Consequently, I've played a fair number of absolute gems that others think are just "kiddy" tripe. Paper Mario (the N64 one), Kirby 64, and Pikmin 2 are a few that come to mind.

Those are just a few that come to mind. I'd list more, but you get the idea (oh yeah, and the Mother/Earthbound series before I forget).

 

[jezz8me]

Wow gangland sounds freaking awesome. Need to find a copy.

The Orange Box: I do not know person who has not heard of it if they at all play games

Mercenaries: definitely not ignored people loved this game and the sequel is getting good publicity. Should be awesome.

Beyond good and evil is seemingly ignored but it is a praised game among gamer communities. I would call it cult as opposed to ignored. Saying that i never have played it but do want to.

 

[portuga-man]

Raptor, a overhead shooter for the pc back in the nineties. Good game, but everyone was playing the genesis/snes to care

 

[L4Y Duke]

Wasnt that underrated game thread like a page ago?

Yes, but underrated implies that people didn't think as highly of it as they should have. Unjustly ignored games get high praise from the few people who do play it.

I do admit there is quite a lot of overlap, though.

 

[jezz8me]

There was a pikmin 2?

 

[Melaisis]

Not again...

'Nother vote for either Stubbs the Zombie or Shadow of the Collossus, mind.