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[maxcriden]

A lot these I'm seeing aren't really so much obscure as they are just and forgotten like Gladius and Haunting grounds.

The Muchables - Wii

What makes The Munchables special? I'm especially interested in this one as I have a copy coming later this week courtesy of a generous GAFer.

 

[FlyingSaucer]

Prince of Qin, a quote fun Baldur/Diablo 2 Chinese CRPG that someone here on GAF made me discover (can't recall the topic, sorry ) : you have an historic setting and plot, an enormous world and a really fun elemental system to play with. The (maybe) only downside may be the lack of availability on Steam and other classic resellers, and graphics that feel a bit old (but frankly, they work perfectly well). As I have a fascination for the concept of Chinese-themed RPGs, and such titles are generally very rare, I was very glad to get a chance to play it

 

[krizzx]

What makes The Munchables special? I'm especially interested in this one as I have a copy coming later this week courtesy of a generous GAFer.

Picture it as kind of like Katamari Demacy with eating instead of rolling things up.

 

[krizzx]

Pathologic - PC

It was very original. This is a kind of like a survival detective game. At least that is what I would call it based on what you do. This game is all about figuring things out quickly and managing your resources day to day to make sure the important people in the game stay alive.

 

[User 479360]

Was Folklore really that good? I bought it new during the early days of PS3, but have yet to open it.

 

[krizzx]

Koudelka - PSX

I can't remember the last time I saw a Survival Horror RPG

 

[Castef]

Two Worlds 2

A surprisingly good open-world RPG with nice combat system and a well developed, living world.

 

[Flachmatuch]

Armada on the Dreamcast was a spaceship RPG with Asteroids controls. Could be made into a dual stick shooter now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlYbdFR6PIE

In any case, the DC had loads of awesome games. Chances are, it had more variety and innovation in its two years of existence than PS4/Xbone will have in their entire lifetimes.

Record of Lodoss War on DC and the Shining Force RPGs on PS2 by Neverland. They're action RPGs similar to Diablo. Lodoss was more or less open world too. I know a lot of people at the time of their release disliked the SF games but I don't like SRPGs (with very few exceptions) and I loved these. PS2 had even more awesome games than DC and there are loads of threads about overlooked PS2 gems.

The two Kingdom under Fire games for the original Xbox. They are a combination of RTS and ARPG gameplay. Loved how everything in battles was animated, eg. when your archers use fire arrows, they line up and one guy goes in front of them and lights their arrows before they fire. And so on. There are loads of enemies in battles and the action gameplay is pretty musouey. Awesome, awesome games. Very difficult too (at least for me they were.)

 

[krizzx]

Two Worlds 2

A surprisingly good open-world RPG with nice combat system and a well developed, living world.

Ummmmm, that is Two worlds 1.

This is Two Worlds 2.

It was an interesting game, albeit a little unbalanced and confusing. That goes for both of them.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

What kind of game is this one?

Since no one ever answered your question, I'll chime in. Blackthorne is like Prince of Persia...with guns!!! It has that PoP mocap-like feel and you have to master it to traverse the levels. But your also given lots of guns and ammo and get into plenty of firefights.

Oh, and it was made by Blizzard! You should play this.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Rocky Rodent:

It was essentially a really quirky hybrid between Sonic and Mario. It's actually pretty good.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Going to be real lazy and repost this:

The Schwarzschild games from Kogado are influenced, if not inspired, by Legend of the Galactic Heroes: they're grand strategy wargames focused on unique interstellar politics and geography. Dynastic implosion always looms on the horizon! The title references Karl Schwarzschild, who famously provided the first solution for Einstein's theory of relativity. And no, it's not pronounced Schwarz Child...more like Schwarz Shield, because it means "black shield" in German.

So it's a niche Japanese wargame franchise using a German name, no surprise there. But there's something to this name. The Schwarzschild radius, after all, is the radius of a sphere such that the total mass of said sphere, once compressed, would engender an escape velocity equal to the speed of light. Black holes are primarily former stars that, with mass intact, have become smaller than their Schwarzschild radius. Internal collapse and failed diplomacy are as valid in these games as standard military conquest, as is improper financial strategy. There's this metaphor underlying the imperial campaigns players embark on that I really appreciate.

"Black shield" also describes the pseudo-fantasy decor of each rival power vying for suzerainty. Whether they're kingdoms or more modern political systems, these interstellar powers have more to them than is said in a first impression. The black shield might represent the black holes at the centers of galaxies, or the void of vacuum illuminated only by star systems. And it's a good sign that the internal team making this at Kogado didn't simply slap a cool German name or set of words, then calling it a day. The series lasted from around 1989 to 2005 on its own merits, not through fanservice (I.MAGiC's Mobius Link or Kogado's own Power DoLLS) or a change in genre.

Here's some footage of the Windows remake of IV: The Cradle's End.

 

[Xianghua]

I recommend soul calibur: lost swords. single player content is in some way better than SC5 and still being supported too.

 

[ichtyander]

Nice thread, gonna have to look into some of these games.

One game I always like to mention is The Void (aka Tension aka Turgor) by Ice Pick Lodge (Pathologic).

It's a first person adventure, resource management, action weirdness where you seduce naked women, grow and harvest Color in an ecosystem consisting of the environment and your own body, draw glyphs in the style of Arx Fatalis for interaction or battle giant, grotesque monsters to survive another day in the afterlife, with hopes of being reincarnated.

You are a soul, stuck in the Void, a sort of purgatory inhabited by the beautiful, entrapped Sisters who long for Color and the disfigured, monstrous Brothers who roam the Void, jealously keeping the Sisters for themselves. The Void is a wild and incredible place, full of desolate, abstract locales, impossible places and monolithic structures. It also has its own ecosystem which is crucial to your survival.

All throughout the Void are little colored "plants" that hold Lympha, a raw form of Color. However, to make this resource usable for interaction, combat, health, stats etc. you need to process it. You do this by harvesting Lympha within "Hearts" inside your "body". These Hearts slowly process Lympha into a usable Color which you then spend by drawing glyphs on screen for a wide variety of uses. Suffice to say, you need to explore the Void, constantly harvesting Color all the while fighting surreal creatures, seducing Sisters and avoiding the wrath of the Brothers.

The general progress of the game follows your struggle to keep your Color containers filled, give Color to the Sisters to satisfy their hunger thus opening new areas and things to do and fight the Brothers in boss battles to survive. The gameplay outcomes can be varied and things can be solved in different ways. You can seduce a Sister and give her lots of Color but this will enrage a Brother responsible for her and you might get into more trouble than you bargained for.

The Void is probably the most unique game I have ever played. But with a lot of games like this, I've usually felt disappointed with some aspects like gameplay, story etc. This is not the case with The Void, for the most part. It is rough around the edges but it offers a satisfying, surreal and unique adventure I think everyone should experience.

 

[krizzx]

Nice thread, gonna have to look into some of these games.

One game I always like to mention is The Void (aka Tension aka Turgor) by Ice Pick Lodge (Pathologic).

It's a first person adventure, resource management, action weirdness where you seduce naked women, grow and harvest Color in an ecosystem consisting of the environment and your own body, draw glyphs in the style of Arx Fatalis for interaction or battle giant, grotesque monsters to survive another day in the afterlife, with hopes of being reincarnated.



You are a soul, stuck in the Void, a sort of purgatory inhabited by the beautiful, entrapped Sisters who long for Color and the disfigured, monstrous Brothers who roam the Void, jealously keeping the Sisters for themselves. The Void is a wild and incredible place, full of desolate, abstract locales, impossible places and monolithic structures. It also has its own ecosystem which is crucial to your survival.



All throughout the Void are little colored "plants" that hold Lympha, a raw form of Color. However, to make this resource usable for interaction, combat, health, stats etc. you need to process it. You do this by harvesting Lympha within "Hearts" inside your "body". These Hearts slowly process Lympha into a usable Color which you then spend by drawing glyphs on screen for a wide variety of uses. Suffice to say, you need to explore the Void, constantly harvesting Color all the while fighting surreal creatures, seducing Sisters and avoiding the wrath of the Brothers.



The general progress of the game follows your struggle to keep your Color containers filled, give Color to the Sisters to satisfy their hunger thus opening new areas and things to do and fight the Brothers in boss battles to survive. The gameplay outcomes can be varied and things can be solved in different ways. You can seduce a Sister and give her lots of Color but this will enrage a Brother responsible for her and you might get into more trouble than you bargained for.

The Void is probably the most unique game I have ever played. But with a lot of games like this, I've usually felt disappointed with some aspects like gameplay, story etc. This is not the case with The Void, for the most part. It is rough around the edges but it offers a satisfying, surreal and unique adventure I think everyone should experience.

I was tempted to post this after Pathologic and Cargo as well. Ice pick lodge made some great games. Don't know what they were thinking with Knock-Knock though.

 

[djtiesto]

What makes The Munchables special? I'm especially interested in this one as I have a copy coming later this week courtesy of a generous GAFer.

I played the game and while it's not jaw-dropping amazing, it's an entertaining Pac-Man style game with Katamari-style progression. Cute and attractive graphics too.

That game "The Void" looks pretty interesting... I'll have to check that out!

 

[krizzx]

I played the game and while it's not jaw-dropping amazing, it's an entertaining Pac-Man style game with Katamari-style progression. Cute and attractive graphics too.

That game "The Void" looks pretty interesting... I'll have to check that out!

Its great. I can't think of another game like it. Which makes me sad

 

[maxcriden]

Picture it as kind of like Katamari Demacy with eating instead of rolling things up.

Since no one ever answered your question, I'll chime in. Blackthorne is like Prince of Persia...with guns!!! It has that PoP mocap-like feel and you have to master it to traverse the levels. But your also given lots of guns and ammo and get into plenty of firefights.

Oh, and it was made by Blizzard! You should play this.

I played the game and while it's not jaw-dropping amazing, it's an entertaining Pac-Man style game with Katamari-style progression. Cute and attractive graphics too.

That game "The Void" looks pretty interesting... I'll have to check that out!

Thanks for the info, guys!

 

[krizzx]

Cuibvore - GC

Its a game about going from being prey to strongest predator through eating your predators and reproducing stronger offspring.

 

[Jamie OD]

Sheep, Dog 'n' Wolf for the PS1

It was a stealth game where you played as Wile E. Coyote's cousin and your task was to kidnap a sheep on each level without the Sheepdog catching you. It being Looney Tunes you of course had an arsenal of ACME products at your disposal. I remember really enjoying it at the time.

 

[Kozak]

Before he had a bad fur day, there was "Conker's Pocket Tales"

Best game on the GBC. Such an extensive game.

Heres my recommendations:

 

[cacildo]

A lot these I'm seeing aren't really so much obscure as they are just and forgotten like Gladius and Haunting grounds. Those were some highly rated games for their time if I recall.

The Muchables - Wii

Suddenly i miss this type of Wii game

I feel like there was a lot of em back on Wii days, but cant remember any of those "a lot"

ah, here´s one: the blob

 

[Straid]

Apparently this game got awful reviews, but I don't remember it being particularly bad. Pretty simple card-based action game.

It's also set in the Souls series universe (developed by From Software).

 

[koma]

Steal Princess is one of the best obscure DS games ever. I loved it. The puzzles, the characters, the humor, everything felt just right (and fun) to me. It's like a collection of the most crazy, hardcore and complex rooms to resolve from 16bit era Action RPG. You really have to think outside the box to be able to complete some of the situations.

Check the trailer: http://youtu.be/hZzAZX7M2vo

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Given how bloated Steam's catalog tends to be these days, it's easy to miss unexpected gems like Lethal League.

It's a formula I never knew I wanted: Battle Pong with parries, super moves and characters who all have different attributes (jumping arc quirks + swing range + ball trajectories etc.) to distinguish themselves from the rest. The devs were also sensible enough to have its online multiplayer run on rocksolid GGPO netcode unlike Niddhog, Towerfall Ascension or Samurai Gunn and it's also cheaper than all three of those, to add insult to injury. What makes this game so surprisingly good is that it has a lot of nuanced depth to it despite its (at first glance) simplicity as it's continuously ratcheting up its pace; charged swings heavily increase ball speed and reduce hitlag to near zero IF you can time it right, bunts have the latter advantage too but increase meter gain at the risk of the enemy being able to intercept it (with the benefit of 4 directions to choose from), parries deplete all of your super bar upon use no matter how full, you can stun the other player by clashing with his swing, ... The list goes on and it all adds up to precise, mindgame-centric dueling as soon as you're aware of a given character's possible angles (with hitlag timing displayed at the bottom of the HUD) and all the relatively minor intricacies.

The way it ramps its speed tends to be on the ridiculous side too, moreso during 4-player FFA's or 2 vs 2 team fights.

 

[petran79]

QWAK

I used to play that platformer game on my netbook few years back, but it still holds up well.
Based on an old classic platformer for the Amiga. There was an obscure GBA version (only 300 cartridges) but there is also the much better PC and Mac version (also Ipad).
By former Psygnosis and Team 17 veteran Jamie Woodhouse (Nitro for Psygnosis, All Terrain Racing for Team17)
Closest to the old Taito platformers (Bubble Bobble, Snow Bros etc) you'll get

here's his opinion regarding Psygnosis btw

http://britishindie.com/2009/10/jamie-woodhouse-interview/

I thought Psygnosis were a pile or crap, and I left (after Nitro) not wanting anything more to do with them. I got the impression they were more concerned with making a quick buck, rather than nurturing positive win-win relationships with talented developers. Okay, not good to dwell on the past but I do think a lot of people involved in games, are cock-suckers, and just in it for a quick buck, and have no soul or creative instinct what-so-ever.

 

[maxcriden]

Oh, weird. I want to see how hard it is to find the GBA version of that game.

 

[TheSlySoul]

Gitaroo-Man for PS2/PSP

It is pretty hard to explain this game. Imagine you are a Power Ranger that uses a guitar to fight evil. If that concept alone gets your attention, then you will like this game. Great OST and very tricky to master. This game often gets ignored in the rhythm game genre but it is easily one of the best in it. Below is a video that shows it off.

Music Sample

Edit: Yuriofwind did a good video of explaining why it is a gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-tGXP772y4

 

[VLiberty]

Sheep, Dog 'n' Wolf for the PS1



It was a stealth game where you played as Wile E. Coyote's cousin and your task was to kidnap a sheep on each level without the Sheepdog catching you. It being Looney Tunes you of course had an arsenal of ACME products at your disposal. I remember really enjoying it at the time.

Visually, this looks incredible for a PS1

 

[Dee Dee]

I wanted to post about Sacrifice, but all I remembered about the game was that I enjoyed it A LOT, and that I never heard about it again or before I played it and LOVED IT SO MUCH.

What still surprises me: It is totally not the kind of game I would gravitate to. I played point and clicks and stuff like The Settlers on PC, and nothing else. But it came as a demo with some game magazine my brother read. I tried it (hey, why not) and loved it. I actually went and bought it (by the time I discovered it it was already in the bargain bins). I hardly remember stuff about it - this was in 2000! So I looked it up, and actually found this very long video from the game station:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7jw6tord7Q

It features Totalbiscuit and Presshearttocontinue goshing about the game for 30min, and helped me get my memory of it back. I can highly recommend the video, the game is much more complex and awesome than I remembered! They had Tim Curry as a voice actor for one of the gods!
I was pretty happy to learn that the game was not as obscure as I thought, and actually critcally acclaimed. It was my favourite game that year, even though that does not say much, since I did not know any gamers or people who were knowledgable about games, and I was not up to date about PC games at all. My PC sucked, I had about 40 GB of memory space. Man, the times!

I remember the altar system. You collect souls from stuff you killed. Summoning helper demons costs souls. If you collect a heathen (red) soul, you have to cleanse it at an altar first before your can use it. Basically you are up against other people hunting for souls to form an army, so it is a game about resource management in a way.

Choosing an altar to sacrifice souls at means choosing which spells and helper demons you will be able to summon. So you had different loadouts and different characters to play with.

It was fun trying out the different creatures and spells. I loved all the spells. They felt so satisfying to cast! Summon creatures and form an army! There seemed to be no end to the number of creature designs!

The gameplay was unique - you sacrifice your creatures on an opponent's altar to desecreate and destroy it. On the way, you collect the souls of your fallen creatures - and the enemies creatures - then you convert these enemy souls to get more ressources for yourself. Of course killing the enemy avatar helps too. It was so frantic at times, and sacrificing a lot of monsters or even yourself was part of the strategy - at the same time it reduced the number of ressources on the whole map, so your own army shrank and it was harder to rebuild it at the same time. So hitting your opponent's altar with a lot of your creatures shifted the balance in their favour more than often.

Here is a picture of a heathen souls that you have to bring back to your altar before you can use it:

I am sorry I recall so little about the game, except the pure glee I had playing it. For the longest time I thought that this was the first action rpg I enjoyed, only to now, after years, realize it was an strategy game all along. Ha!

It is on GOG.com, and it is a crime that you are not checking it out right now! Such a fun and addictive game.

Oh, also, Rock, Paper, Shotgun goshed about it as well:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/10/24/retro-sacrifice/

 

[krizzx]

Alien Soldier - Sega Genesis/Megadrive

 

[The Fat Bulgarian Kid]

Sorry for the double post internet kind off died..

 

[The Fat Bulgarian Kid]

Obscure 1 and 2
Survival Horror, characters with different abilities, if a character dies he is gone for good, several endings depending on the stuff you do ingame and has couch co-op.

 

[Salvatron]

If RPGs were evaluated sans their battle systems and ability to finish their stories Anachronox would be the considered one of the best RPGs of all time. That is all I will say about that.

Hell yeah. Anachronox. Hilarious game.

 

[DD]

Nimbus: fantastic indie game that no one knows about, sadly. The level design is absurdly great.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/50000/

 

[krizzx]

Spore Hero - Wii

 

[krizzx]

Elebits - Wii

This was definitely an overlooked game. It was one of the best third party uses of the Wiimote and physics on the Wii. I wish I could find another game like it.

 

[maxcriden]

Elebits - Wii

This was definitely an overlooked game. It was one of the best third party uses of the Wiimote and physics on the Wii. I wish I could find another game like it.

I think I have Elebits coming in the mail from a GAFer this week. I'm eager to check it out!

 

[krizzx]

Echo Night: Beyond - Playstation 2

 

[The Albatross]

This came has a clique following but:

No One Can Stop Mr. Domino is an awesome puzzle game for PSX. I had no idea what it was until I got a demo disc from OPM or something that had "Grandpa's in the house" level on it... It took me and my friend days to figure out how to even play it or what the point was, but when we figured it out, we loved it. Half of the fun was figuring out wtf to do.

Bought the disc game some years later and used to play it with friends. It was pretty damn hard and the game was so bizarre that it was a lot of fun.

 

[krizzx]

Galerians - Playstation

 

[maxcriden]

This came has a clique following but:

No One Can Stop Mr. Domino is an awesome puzzle game for PSX. I had no idea what it was until I got a demo disc from OPM or something that had "Grandpa's in the house" level on it... It took me and my friend days to figure out how to even play it or what the point was, but when we figured it out, we loved it. Half of the fun was figuring out wtf to do.

Bought the disc game some years later and used to play it with friends. It was pretty damn hard and the game was so bizarre that it was a lot of fun.

I think I've heard of it. What is the gameplay like? Man, N64 and PS1 were really experimental times for 3D gaming.

 

[krizzx]

Domino Rally - Wii

Sequel to no one can stop Mr Domino.

 

[Sodding_Gamer]

Kingsley' adventure on Playstation. Don't know a single person who has ever played it apart from myself. I only played it on a demo disc but I must of replayed that demo disc over 100 times. It was really cute, had memorable music and was downright weird at times. I don't know if it was reviewed well as I'm speaking purely with Nostalgia shaded glasses so it could of been really shite. Anyhow here are a few pics. Would be nice to know if anyone else on gaf played it too!

 

[D3RANG3D]

isn't Blackthorne free on the blizzard store? at least, that's what lazy gamer said.

as for my pick for forgotten gem, CATRAP! (or PITMAN in other regions)


it's a puzzler on the original Game Boy. you're either a catboy or a catgirl and you have to kill all the enemies on the screen by simply touching them. you can't jump, so to cross pits you can push blocks down or later use your girl/boy as bridge.

and here's a (now totally nothing new but back then) cool thing: you can rewind time! oh yes, fuck braid, fuck the prince of persia - CATRAP DID IT FIRST! (I think) also, when you rewind time it does an awesome sound effect, like DOOLEEDOOLEEDOOLEEDOO!

soundtrack is great too, check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smh-OC7YqxI

My brother was going to ebay some of his gameboy games, and I saw that and he this let me have it :3

 

[maxcriden]

I was so happy to see this bumped. Let's keep those obscure recommendations coming!

 

[D3RANG3D]

I had no idea these existed they're pretty good.

 

[koopas]

Koudelka - PSX


I can't remember the last time I saw a Survival Horror RPG

Been looking all over for this as of late after watching a let's play. Great VA

 

[Moza]

Breakdown. One of the most unique experiences on the original Xbox. First person action game. Had it's faults but was a fresh take on a genre. Still one of the games I look back on fondly.

 

[Mobile Suit Gooch]