I keep finding out about obscure NES/Famicom and other games from the 8-bit era these days. There seems to be a ton of them that no one has heard of.
Here's one I found out today that looks freaking cool, like an anime style Shadowgate:
This is more of a catch-22 situation really. The rival band in Scott Pilgrim was named after the game, and therefore the game got less obscure. But now Scott Pilgrim is much more popular than Clash at Demonhead ever was, so most people don't even realize that the band in the movie was named after the game. And now even Scott Pilgrim is fading into relative obscurity / cult status itself, which adds another layer of abstraction.Clash at demon head was part of a big movie. I’m mean their are shirts with it on them these days lol. Not too obscure.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World has a strong cult following but it was a bomb in the box office. So I wouldn't say it really raised the profile of the NES game.Clash at demon head was part of a big movie. I’m mean their are shirts with it on them these days lol. Not too obscure.
Opposite, I thought for sure I'd pop in and know a game or two but nah. Thought maybe Flying Dragon actually from the box art but looked at some gameplay on YouTube and... nah.I’m in this thread all “sweet let’s see some cool 8 bit games I missed” then realize my 10 year old self played all the ones listed (got me a sweet copy of Little Samson from a local video store that closed down in the late 90’s, rip VideoVision) but I said “GOTTDAM”…I feel old right now.
Flying Dragon LET’S GOOOOOOO
I'd consider this one pretty obscure. It had decent graphics (Castlevania II-esque), an interesting co-op system, and a great soundtrack.
I've watched some let's plays of this one, and it looks good, but I haven't tried it yet.
The magic of Scheherazade was such a unique game. Different styles of gameplay made it great.Culture Brain very quietly made some of the best games on the NES. Little Ninja Brothers, Kung-Fu Heroes, and the Magic of Scheherazade were all very good games that not a whole lot of people remember.
The fami cover is AWESOME! I really enjoyed this and 8 eyes on the nes. Animal partner games ftwI was gonna post this. I still have my famicom cartridge.
This video has ALL Nes games (Us/Eu/Jp).
watch the video and write down/take notes the ones you liked;
I don't know how obscure it might be since back in the NES era I was still living in my dad's testicle.
But anyawy, here's a cool game that plays a lot like Zelda II:
That is a great video, but for the purposes of this thread, that's like someone asking for a specific biology topic and you just giving them a pile of books.
This is my go-to "obscure awesome NES game"
Essentially an early metroidvania, with branching paths that often required additional weapons or power ups to proceed. An action / platformer similar to metroid or mega man, but all wrapped in an anime (of the time) aesthetic.
The game still holds up surprisingly well for something that came out in '89.
Not obscure in the slightest, as that is just a name and character skin swap change of Contra for the EU region.Picture of Probotector
Twister: Mother of Charlotte on ZX Spectrum
Jeff Minter'esque, trippy game with pseudo-3D, collecting obscure symbols, fighting flying witches, goats and bull heads, as well as some kind of satirs(?) who seem to occassionally piss(?)
The Black Onyx (ザ・ブラックオニキス, Za Burakku Onikisu) is a 1984 role-playing video game released in Japan, developed by Bullet-Proof Software, with development led by Henk Rogers.[1] It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801, and ported to several other platforms. The Famicom version featured completely redesigned gameplay, a new map, and was retitled Super Black Onyx (スーパーブラックオニキス). The Game Boy Color port was developed by Atelier Double and published by Taito. The Game Boy Color port added enhanced visuals and included an option to play through the game with the original game's visual style.[2]
Because of memory limitations, another part of the game was released separately on some platforms as The Fire Crystal (ザ・ファイアクリスタル) (which added a magic system). Two other parts were announced, The Moonstone (ザ・ムーンストーン) (which allowed the party to explore the wilderness), and Arena (アリーナ) (which allowed the party to take part in Arena battles).
The SG-1000 version was one of the last releases for that console, succeeded by Portrait of Loretta.[3]
If you enjoy these games and feel like replaying them on something modern, check out the 8-bit Adventure Anthology
The OP mentions Shadowgate, but I don't as often hear people mention Uninvited or Deja Vu, which are games developed by the devs of Shadowgate and play exactly the same, just with different themes. Of the three, I personally enjoyed Uninvited the most as it takes place in more horror setting than Shadowgate. Its fun for a single play through (since once you know what to do, there is no reason for a revisit), and the menus are a bit clunky by today's standards, but I still enjoyed all these games, and think they qualify as obscure.
Culture Brain very quietly made some of the best games on the NES. Little Ninja Brothers, Kung-Fu Heroes, and the Magic of Scheherazade were all very good games that not a whole lot of people remember.
Oh cool, didn't know these got a trilogy release on Steam. I have all three loaded on my NES classic, so I doubt I will pick them up, but cool to see they got a re-release on more modern hardware. I will always associate these games on the NES, but man having a mouse would be a real nice for these games lol.If you enjoy these games and feel like replaying them on something modern, check out the 8-bit Adventure Anthology
It's also on PlayStation I belive
The OP mentions Shadowgate, but I don't as often hear people mention Uninvited or Deja Vu, which are games developed by the devs of Shadowgate and play exactly the same, just with different themes. Of the three, I personally enjoyed Uninvited the most as it takes place in more horror setting than Shadowgate. Its fun for a single play through (since once you know what to do, there is no reason for a revisit), and the menus are a bit clunky by today's standards, but I still enjoyed all these games, and think they qualify as obscure.