underrated game franchises

[Jazoni89]

What is your most underrated franchise in gaming.

I've got two, the first one is the Onimusha series.

The games do suffer from Resident evil syndrome with it's controls and back tracking, but i found the storyline's of the games very interesting, and the gameplay solid. Its such a shame that capcom would rather milk the Resident evil franchise to a early grave, than make a new Onimusha game *sigh*.

Monster Hunter is another Capcom franchise i think is underrated. It's such a shame that most of the releases are only in Japan due to the low reception of the franchise in the west. Which is strange given that the games are generally very good.

I want Monster Hunter Frontier god dammit!

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Grandia.

No one ever talks about this series.

This is a linear JRPG done right. With an utterly brilliant combat system that allows for interruptions and cancellations of enemy attacks, and full battlefield movement.

With an amazing musical score...


I dare you not to fell happy listening to the second tune.

 

[Chased]

Monster Hunter is another Capcom franchise i think is underrated. It's such a shame that most of the releases are only in Japan due to the low reception of the franchise in the west. Which is strange given that the games are generally very good.

I want Monster Hunter Frontier god dammit!

I hear Monster Hunter is extremely popular in Japan.

I haven't played it but the Tales series (like Tales of Symphonia) is supposedly good.

 

[Mitsozuka]

Myst. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Myst and its ilk deserve a more prominent place in gamer's hearts than they have.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I have the original Monster Hunter, and all that got was an astounding "Meh." While serviceable, I cannot bring myself to like the heavy grinding for minimal upgrades or generally slow progression. As such I can't bring myself to spend money on the later installments.

I can't think of many. I did enjoy the Tenchu series, but that seems to have taken a steady nosedive.

Submatrix event.

 

[Jazoni89]

Grandia.

No one ever talks about this series.

This is a linear JRPG done right. With an utterly brilliant combat system that allows for interruptions and cancellations of enemy attacks, and full battlefield movement.

With an amazing musical score...


I dare you not to fell happy listening to the second tune.

Funny you mentioned that.

I've got the PS2 version of Grandia 2 from Amazon coming in the post even as we speak.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Stuntman... Canned after two games and I have no idea why. Sure, it was all trial-and-error, but that doesn't automatically make it bad.

I dare you not to fell happy listening to the second tune.

Challenge accepted.

Challenge failed.

 

[GothmogII]

The Breath of Fire series by Capcom. All RPG's, they all follow a character by the name of Ryu, and although the stories are mostly different from game to game they do have quite a few links, most prominently Ryu there who in every game usually has the power to turn into a mighty dragon or use similar abilities. It kind of goes from Medieval fantasy to steam-punk toward the end of the series not unlike the Final Fantasy games. There's only been five games in the main series, and while Dragon Quarter may have been the nail in the coffin I really wish they'd revisit it.

That said, I think it's a shamefully under-rated series and more people should play them.

That said, BoF III is my favourite not least of all for the music:

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[Mr. Omega]

Bomberman. The fact that he never got a chance to shine again after Act Zero is a shame. Super Bomberman (SNES. Fun little game...) and Bomberman 64: The Second Attack (One of the best soundtracks on the N64...and that's not something you say lightly) were big parts of my childhood, and Generation was an ok game on the Gamecube. But Act Zero was too much for the little guy...

Advance Wars. Do you like Fire Emblem? Do you like turn-based strategy at all? THEN GO PLAY THIS GAME SERIES! Sure, Dual Strike is a little silly, but it's still very good, and 1, 2 and Days of Ruin are absolutely amazing strategy games. There better be a new game on the 3DS. And like Bomberman 64: TSA, it has an amazing soundtrack!

 

[Weaver]

The King's Bounty series.

 

[Awexsome]

Advance Wars. Do you like Fire Emblem? Do you like turn-based strategy at all? THEN GO PLAY THIS GAME SERIES! Sure, Dual Strike is a little silly, but it's still very good, and 1, 2 and Days of Ruin are absolutely amazing strategy games. There better be a new game on the 3DS. And like Bomberman 64: TSA, it has an amazing soundtrack!

Seconded for Advance wars.

When comparing the two different versions of it really the Black hole/Dual stike version and the Days of Ruin game they both have their strengths. The CO's with their crazy, borderline OP'd powers does add a nice touch to it for the Black Hole series. Plus almost all of the CO's themes that play during their turn is really catchy. The Days of Ruin series is a bit more balanced combat-wise and they finally got Aircraft Carriers right instead of them being useless.

For my nomination I vote in the Tales series. Symphonia and Vesperia are my two favorite RPGs out there. Even including the greatest WRPGs.