Games that barely anyone plays, but everyone should play

I had a nice chat where we were talking about expanding game horizons. I've played only a few games and I'm interested in expanding my own palette of games. I think, however, that everyone would benefit if they do this too, right? So yeah, this would be the thread for these kinds of games.

I don't have a large library of stuff I can talk about, but I've heard good things about Shin Megami Tensei, which is a niche JRPG series with a small, but devoted following, and I've seen gameplay of Persona III. It might be popular in Japan, but it's hardly known in the U.S. hence the small following. Hell, if it were more popular, it would probably a target for its hellish themes and all (like how Pokemon is).

Anyway, feel free to discuss the more obscure games, or at least, the games the more general gaming population doesn't really talk about. That doesn't involve me because I hardly know any games outside of Nintendo games. :P

Darkspore. Ah yes, I loved that game, even though it had freaking online DRM. I remember playing it, it was tons of fun; hell for a short time I even changed my avatar to one of the characters in that game.

TotalBiscuit did a playthrough of it


and his opinion on it

"You know, its really nice to be pleasantly surprised, because you go into a game with low expectations and it turns out the beta is a really, really tight hack and slash, with NO visible problems... urg! it's good! it's good folks! Can you see how good this is? I certainly hope so. This is really promising, really damn promising! I hope EA just doesn't let this rot and die! I've seen some advertising for it, but it's not like it's going to be a AAA title, they're not gonna put a lot of marketing power onto it. Now to me, this seems like a perfect pc game..."

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it's dead now, though

Super Nintendo

Bahamut Lagoon
Treasure of the Rudra
Seiken Denenetsu 3
Front mission: gun hazard
Eternal Filena
Gunman's Proof
Lufia 2

Playstation

Tales of Eternia(tales of destiny 2 outside of japan)
Tales of phantasia
Persona 2: innocent sin
Front mission 2
Vandal Hearts 1 & 2
Legend of Dragoon
lunar silver star story
lunar 2 eternal blue
tomba
tomba 2

Playstation 2

Ateiler Iris 1 & 2
Mana khemia 2
Shin Megami tensei nocturne
Chaos Legion
Shinobi
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha 1 & 2



playstation portable


star ocean the first departure
star ocean the second evolution
legend of heroes trails in the sky
legend of heroes: the prophecy of the moonlight witch
legend of heroes: song of the ocean

PC

Magicians & looters
bunny must die
dungeon defenders
dungeon defenders 2
noitu love 2
dust: An elysian tale
agarest: generations of war
Torchlight 2


DS

Soma Bringer
7th dragon
Tales of innocence
Shin Megami Tensai devil survivor 1 & 2
Fire emblem 12


that's all i got for now

also most of these games are japan only but have fan translations

The highest ratio of (how great the game is/how many people play it) would definitely have to go to Allegiance, the space-flight/RTS MMO that's currently only played by a dedicated fanbase of less than 200 people. FANTASTIC GAME I don't even know where to begin. The game was released ~2000, was a critical success but a commercial failure, and Microsoft eventually turned the license over to the loyal fans who maintain the servers to this day. Back when I first started playing it around 2010 or so there was maybe 300 active players and you could find games every night, but right now you can only play on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (usually). Great game though, it's in my top five.

There are also a few RTS games that have been kinda forgotten recently. Star Wars: Empire at War was pretty great although it was also fairly popular so I'm not sure if it qualifies. One that surprised me was Battle for Middle-earth, a LotR RTS made by EA that actually ended up being really good considering how simplistic it was (for an RTS).

Also obligatory mention of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and TIE Fighter, although those were all fairly popular back in the day. LucasArts was a great gaming company WHY DID YOU SHUT THEM DOWN DISNEY

From what I've heard, Grim Fandango was a great game, but it sold horribly, probably because it came out around the same time as other gems like Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Among games I've played, Dynamite Headdy.

Zero Escape
Ace Attorney
The World Ends With You
Mount Your Friends
100% Orange Juice


Dunn

Pretty sure quite a few play Ace Attorney

I think the only games I own that fit this bill would be the Tales series and the Etrian Odyssey series.

deBlob was decent fun but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Gravity Rush
Freedom Wars
Killzone 2, 3, M, SF
Shadow of the Colossus
Magical Quest 1, 2, 3 either on GBA or SNES but you need to have a english patch for 3 on SNES but GBA is fine
Knuckles Chaotix
Wonder Boy the Dragon Trap
Battletoads
Gunstar Heroes
Burning Rangers
Tearaway on Vita or PS4
de Blob 1 and 2
Lone Survivor

words cannot express how much of an underrated and overlooked gem this game is.

Magikrazy said:

Pretty sure quite a few play Ace Attorney

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Maybe they do *here*

Also deBlob is great, rip Bluetongue / Melbourne AAA gamedev industry.

if you really want to expand your horizon, I recommend reading hardcore gaming 101. The writing and fact-checking isn't always great, and some of the opinions expressed are downright bad, but beside lurking on enthusiast foras, it's a good way for one to se faire une tête. you'll develop your critical thinkin later.

Anyway, Glowsquid's recommended diet for the learning gamer™might be shmup heavy. I don't expect anyone to try even a quarter of this list, but what the hell.

NES:

Battletoads
Contra and Super Contra
Jackal
Kickmaster
Shatterhand
Power Blade
Mega Man Series
Ninja Gaiden series
Vice: Project Doom

SNES

Contra III
Final Fight 3
Gradius III
Ninja Warriors
Super R-Type
R-Type III: The Third Lightning
TMNT IV

Turbografx 16/PC Engine

Blazing Lazers/Gunhed
Legendary Axe
Super Star Soldier
Soldier Blade

PC Engine CD

Gates of Thunder

Genesis

Alien Soldier
Bio-hazard battle
Comix Zone
Contra Hard Corps
Shadow Dancer
Streets of Rage 2
Shinobi III
Thunder Force III
Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force

Segacedi

Android Assault
Silpheed
Thunderstrike

Playstation 1

Ace Combat 2
Armored Core
G-Darius
Gradius Gaiden
Gunner's Heaven
Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012
R-Type Delta
Twisted Metal II
Wipeout series
Zanac X Zanac

Arcade

Aero Fighters
Alien vs Predators
Battle Circuit
Batsugun
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Darius Gaiden
Donpachi
Dodonpachi
Galaxy Force II
Final Fight
Gunforce II
Outzone
Rayforce/Gunlock
R-Type series
In the Hunt
Smash TV
Strider
Strikers 1945 series
Violent Storm
Undercover Cops (Japan or Alpha Renewal versions)

NeoGeo (subset of the above)

2020 Super Baseball
Baseball Stars 2
Kizuna Encounter
Last Resort
Metal Slug series
NAM-1975
Pulstar
Twinkle Star Sprites

A lot of people here played Fire Emblem, but its still a relatively niche series.

Ghost Trick.

That's I have to say.

just play it.

Sylveon said:

Ghost Trick.

That's I have to say.

just play it.

Click to expand...

Although you are probably not talking about this kind of Ghost Trick

One arcade game that is so underrated is Avenging Spirit. It's so fun, especially if you like possession.

Wario Land: Shake It

buy it now please

Groose said:

Wario Land: Shake It

buy it now please

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That's not quite "obscure" enough for me since its IP is well... Wario.

I haven't heard people talk about Dark Cloud or Baten Kaitos (and its sequel is Monolift Soft game, you know, the guys behind Xenoblade Saga.) It would be interesting if Kalas or Sagi was in Smash Bros. :P Anyway, if Paper Mario was like a cards-based battle system in Baten Kaitos, that would definitely be interesting, considering the papery theme.

Everyone should play Mario Kart Super Circuit. It's the best game ever.
Everyone knows about it, but they hate it.

I've played MKSC, honestly the gameplay is far too loose for me. The fact that it's a 2D sprite-based game trying to emulate a 3D landscape makes it fail hard.

Stanley the Troll said:

I've played MKSC, honestly the gameplay is far too loose for me. The fact that it's a 2D sprite-based game trying to emulate a 3D landscape makes it fail hard.

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That may be bad to you, but I personally love those graphics. Especially since Mario Kart DS kept those graphics.

Megamario15 said:

Everyone should play Mario Kart Super Circuit. It's the best game ever.

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nah

it's not even obscure what the hell

Any Mario game (legit game by Nintendo) is not obscure in my books. Even those stupid ones are not obscure.

"Obscurity" is relative, sure, but some of these games listed here would make Super Circuit look world-famous.

Oh yeah, indie games go here too. I've heard several things about Shovel Knight and Super Meat Boy, though, so again, "obscurity" is relative.

Obscure Nintendo games work, though. I don't think anyone here talks about Drill Dozer (made by same people who rather whore out Pokaymon).