Thirty greatest video games that time forgot

[Flatfrog]

why is the guardian talking about retro video games?

I'm not complaining but why?

They have a gaming blog - obviously the guy who writes it was feeling like shouting out some love for some forgotten classics.

A few weeks ago Charlie Brooker did a piece focusing on some important video games that influenced the medium and the world in general, and it was mostly the old favourites; I think this piece was slightly in response to that, saying that there are other games out there that were influential in a less obvious way.

And he's got copy to fill.

 

[Gxas]

YOU ARE A GOD AMONG MEN! (I never check Ebay usually, because I've had bad experiences in the past, but this is quite worth another shot)

I AM YOUR GOD NOW, BRING ME YOUR VIRGINS!

Vagrant Story isn't exactly rare or valuable, I paid 4? for my copy years ago. Some folks on Amazon have simply unrealistic expectations.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00001X50L/sr=8-1/qid=1390429035/ref=olp_page_3?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&condition=used&me=&qid=1390429035&shipPromoFilter=0&sort=sip&sr=8-1&startIndex=20

True, I guess that childhood nostalgia could paint the game as more rare than it actually is. I mean, in terms of Musashi on Amazon, it was upwards of $250, which is absolutely ABSURD for how good the game truly is.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I've never even heard of most of those, except for Eternal Darkness, that game was awesome.

 

[The Madman]

I remember really liking Oni when I played it ages ago. As I recall the level design was a bit iffy with lots of giant open levels and drab visuals, but the gameplay was solid and the story was entertaining. No idea whether it still holds up today but I remember it fondly.

Freedom Fights is great too! Seriously, that game deserved to do better than it did and even today I'd love to see a sequel. I'm not even American and that game got me all patriotic and stuff, plus it had a killer soundtrack. Some of Jeremy Soule's best work.


I also own Sacrifice but still haven't gotten around to playing it, same with Eternal Darkness.

If I were to add a game to that list it would be: Anacronox such a fun little forgotten game.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I'm pretty sure that when it released, Freedom Fighters was reviewed fairly well. It was always a game I wanted to try anyway. Gitaroo Man was my favorite game on the PSP but now that I know it's on the PS2, I know that I have some hunting to do.

Ya know what games I liked but seemed to have been forgotten? A number of Xbox exclusives such as Break Down (first person punching game), Whacked! (party game made of mini-games with demented humor tossed in), Crimson Skies (arcade-ish flight-combat sim), Otogi: Myth of Demons (arcade beat-em-up with emphasis on destroying everything) and, Mechassault (3rd person shooter where you are a Mecha...and destroy cities.)

 

[The Madman]

Mechassault (3rd person shooter where you are a Mecha...and destroy cities.)

Can't speak for the others, but Mechassault is part of the Mechwarrior series which is still pretty strong today. Not exactly a forgotten game or series.

 

[Kinitawowi]

As far as this place is concerned, you could basically replace this entire list with "anything released pre-Crash and anything not released in the USA", because the British bedroom coding scene never happened. (Really glad to see a mention of the almighty Chaos in today's dispatches.)

However, for the list we have.


I've never understood the love for 3D Deathchase. Yeah, it's neat and all, but I thought Stoo Campbell declaring it the Number One ZX Spectrum Game Of All Time in Your Sinclair was a mistake; if technical achievement is the barometer then I'm more impressed by the conversion of R-Type.

Aliens was shite. It just was. Sorry.

The only other one I've actually played was Pyjamarama, and if they had to pick a Wally Week game then surely Everyone's A Wally was the right choice; its multiple playable characters through separate but interconnected storylines influencing everything from Head Over Heels to Maniac Mansion and beyond.

Little Big Adventure was massive in my high school, but never spent much time on it myself.

Zillion gets a shoutout in Bayonetta, for the record. And if they're going to big up Herzog Zwei then surely they should have gone all the way back to Stonkers.

 

[Foolery]

2. Needs more Zookeeper (or just Taito in general. I feel like Taito as a whole has been very under appreciated in gaming's history)

Fuck yeah, Taito! New Zealand Story and Bubble Bobble. I'm sure most people recognize those.

Anyway, the only title in the article I've actually played is Oni. If I were to add anything to that list, it'd probably be Drakan.

 

[Signa]

I'm sad that No One Lives Forever didn't get a nod.

 

[Raggedstar]

Heard of a few of those games (Neverhood, Oni, Vib-Ribbon, ChuChu Rocket, though Eternal Darkness I would hardly call "forgotten"). In fact, I almost picked up Oni at a Goodwill and I kind of regret it. Can't say much else really interest me in that list.

 

[The_Echo]

Oh man, FreQuency. I played the demo for the sequel Amplitude once upon a time and fell in love.

What a great way to construct a rhythm game.

I need to pick up a copy of those games. I'm a bit surprised Amazon has them for reasonable prices.

 

[lord.jeff]

Hooray for the Chu Chu Rocket love, easily my favorite party game.

 

[white_wolf]

I played Alien trilogy on the genesis and that was ok I just wish I got to find and help Newt and Ripley actually spoke. But I have to disagree on bustagroove really? Terrible concept and game overall. I agree with Tenchu but what about Mr.bones, Thunder Strike, Vagrant Story, or Alone in the dark?

 

[Aris Khandr]

Bust-A-Groove and GuitarooMan are the only two games from that list that I have played. And I unapologetically love both of them. Bust-A-Groove is the reason I got a Playstation, even though the game was sold out and I never did end up finding a copy. Both games are on my list of "I really want the soundtrack to this game, but can't justify spending $35-40 on it". Wish they'd get a decently priced digital release. A PC release for the games themselves wouldn't hurt my feelings any, either.

 

[DirgeNovak]

Eternal Darkness doesn't belong in that list. Everybody remembers that game. Hell, I've not played it (yet) and I remember it.
Freedom Fighters was indeed awesome. I really want to replay that.
I missed The Warriors, Oni and Tenchu, but I know of them.
I have never heard of the other games.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

What about the Dizzy games? Crap, i guess every game we mention on this thread means they are not forgotten because we just remembered. lol

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

I can't speak as to most of these, but "Little Big Adventure" was just pure awesome. It was a true stealth puzzler with a great story, a great cast and (at the time) some ridiculously good animation and graphics. I absolutely loved that game but, like many of them, I never finished it. I got to the section with the friendly dragon, but no further.

Still, absolutely fantastic game.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

I played Alien trilogy on the genesis and that was ok I just wish I got to find and help Newt and Ripley actually spoke. But I have to disagree on bustagroove really? Terrible concept and game overall. I agree with Tenchu but what about Mr.bones, Thunder Strike, Vagrant Story, or Alone in the dark?

I hardly think those games are UNKNOWN. Hell, even I've played two of them, and I'm at best a part-time gamer. "Alone in the Dark" spawned its own franchise. It'd be like me saying that "System Shock" deserved a place on the list. Everybody knows OF that game even if not that many people actually got to play it.

 

[TheSchizoid]

I remember wanting to play Oni, but I never did.

Warriors was a fun co-op game. The biggest problem I had with it was the split screen camera. If you and your partner were in the same area, you shared the same camera. If you split up far enough it would automatically split screen. Which sounds pretty decent but it was a side-by-side split instead of top/bottom. And if you were Player 2 using the right side of the screen but on the left side of the map? You could lose a bit of health in the confusion.

Eternal Darkness is great but forgotten by no one except Silicon Knights. Make 2 and 3 already you jerks!

Played a Devil Dice demo. That's all I remember about that.

Tenchu was awesome for its time. A true ninja stealth game. Tenchu 2 was...not as good.

Mischief Makers! I played a friend's copy once and thought it was pretty good though I only played a few levels.

I still have a copy of ChuChu Rocket. Not a bad little game. Not a great little game either. Just a good one.



Other than a few other games on the list, I didn't know many more to have forgotten about them. If I had to add any to this list I might say Blast Corps for the N64. I also agree with Vagrant Story being on this list. I never finished it but I loved what I played. Or what about Legend Of Legia or Legend Of Dragoon for PS1? Or Illusion of Gaia for SNES? Though, what qualifies as "forgotten"?

 

[trollnystan]

I was going through the list going, "No. No. Nope" When I squealed out loud: "LITTLE BIG ADVENTURE!"

That game is childhood right there. LOVED it to pieces as a kid so I got on GOG.com a while back, but the controls haven't aged well. Still, a great game.

The only other games I recognised on the list were Alter Ego, Tenchu, and Oni. Only tried Alter Ego of those three, unless a sequel to Tenchu counts.

As for games I feel time forgot? I suppose that's Defender of the Crown (Wikipedia article); another game I adored as kid, but never hear about nowadays, or have heard anyone ever talk about it really. The closest modern(ish) game I can compare it to is Mount & Blade, which is one of the reasons I enjoy that game so much I think. In fact, I think I'm gonna go play it now.