Hidden Gems: The Games that Seemingly Only You Played

[SpiderJerusalem]

It's first party, huh? That's awesome. I actually had no idea about either of those things. Hell, and I even go to GameFAQs from time to time to check things.

Actually, I should correct myself, Google tells me it was published by Enix (pre-merge) in Japan and Nintendo in Europe/NA

 

[Pass]

-snip-

That game was the highlight of PS2 RPG's for me, I still have my copy and I rarely keep my games.
The music was just great too, I still listen to it sometimes.

OP: I'd like to put in my vote for Alundra.

When it came out at the time, it was THE Zelda clone, people just passed it off at a company trying to cash in on another's success. However, after just giving away my SNES to an orphans house, I needed my Zelda fix, so I bought the old, cheap rental box from Blockbusters. I couldn't put it down.

It was dark man, everyone dying, entering disturbing dreams, killin' bees... truly black. Sure, it was very Zelda but at the same time it really wasn't, it had actually challenging puzzles, a (not very, but pssh) deep storyline, brutal difficulty and just felt... better, to me.

And then the sequel comes out and feels like a completely different game...

 

[TimeSmash]

I just started playing Lufia: Rise of The Sinstrals on a GBC emulator, which I don't normally endorse, but emulators are the way to go for a rare game.

Since I'm playing less of Dragon Warrior III, it's not a rough transition but you can see how much work was put into the GBC port of the game. It runs so smoothly, not that Lufia doesn't, but Dragon Warrior III really really shines. Will update on progress of Lufia II as well as opinions

 

[Minato]

Lufia 2 on the SNES is one of my favorite JRPGs. I've never beaten Lufia 3 on the GBC, but I probably should someday.

Dragon Warrior 3 is a really good game too. One of the best DQ games for me.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Yeah, Lufia 2 is REALLY good. It's sort of like an older FF game mixed with Link to the Past puzzle stuff. Plus...playing through the whole game already knowing how it's going to end, like a certain other RPG, actually kind of adds to it instead of taking away from it.

I also, kind of remember some SRPG called Vanguard Bandits that seemed to spend a bunch of it not taking itself seriously and poking fun at things being pretty good. I might have to replay it some day.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

Hotel Dusk and Last Window on the DS seem like this to me. It's a real shame Cing went under.

Nintendo would be smart to revive that IP, they don't really have anything in that genre at the moment and it's a really good one. Maybe make it an eShop exclusive like Dual Destinies.

 

[SpiderJerusalem]

Hotel Dusk and Last Window on the DS seem like this to me. It's a real shame Cing went under.

Nintendo would be smart to revive that IP, they don't really have anything in that genre at the moment and it's a really good one. Maybe make it an eShop exclusive like Dual Destinies.

I think with the rise of adventure/point and click games, Hotel Dusk could be a popular series. People love Phoenix Wright, Ghost Trick, Zero Escape (all handheld series) so Hotel Dusk could be up there

 

[TimeSmash]

So wow Lufia on GBC is actually pretty crazy in depth battle-wise. Still getting the hang of it but I found this Alumina Sword in the first dungeon and still have it equipped, it is amazing. I freaking love Aima also

Also want to mention Trace /\/\emory on here for DS

 

[LivewiresXe]

I think with the rise of adventure/point and click games, Hotel Dusk could be a popular series. People love Phoenix Wright, Ghost Trick, Zero Escape (all handheld series) so Hotel Dusk could be up there

Now, I don't want to say that there's a trend of Graphic Novels getting rated high and being good on handhelds...BUT...

 

[finalark]

I really want a sequel to Hotel Dusk. Well, there was one, but I never got to play it because NA didn't get it.

 

[Overtaken]

Spoiler

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Spoiler

 

[Sabrewulf238]

I'm not sure Black & White counts as a hidden gem, it was pretty popular when it came out....at least it wasn't hidden.

 

[finalark]

I'm not sure Black & White counts as a hidden gem, it was pretty popular when it came out....at least it wasn't hidden.

Same goes with Leisure Suit Larry. I've never played one of those games, but I've certainly heard of it and it was popular enough to make a number of sequels.

Then again, it might be another one of those games like Ico and NiGHTS that everybody seems to talk about, but hardly anybody has actually played.

 

[LivewiresXe]

I think I actually HAD NiGHTS and the controller when I had a Sega Saturn years back. Which...I sold to one of my real life friends for cheap because I didn't think I'd have the room. Man, what was I thinking?

 

[mimgrim]

I have never met a single person who has ever played this game. It a very charming game imo. The battles are pretty fun and the story is pretty good, nothing spectacular though. It's a good cheap game to get, if bought used that is.

I really wish this game had more recognition. There are so many great meme's that could be made out of it. Like when Agan says "Exit stage left" I eventually created a meme as a reply to a post saying "Gamefaqs stage left", or when Morte says "Talk talk talk. whn are you going to man up and fight." (or something along those lines), or when Morte and Kyrie first meet where Kyire say "Whaddayamean?" and Mort replies with "Whaddayamean whaddayamean". I loved the humor to the story, and the story as well despite certain holes in it. There are so many witty references you can make to the game, but it sucks when no one knows what they are!

Despite lackluster graphics, it's on the Wii after all, and an inconsistent main character between the two games. The game is still rather fun, despite having to deal with the gimmickyness of the Wiimote and Chuck for the first game and the lackluster CCP for the second game, and I love all the conspiracy theories they fit into it. Not to mention the ****ing cliffhanger at the end of Conduit 2. Like seriously. That just blew my mind.

Now this is a really charming game. I mean c'mon. Your playing as a unicycle ffs. What's better then that? But really the game is a lot of fun. It should be a must have for the N64.

 

[Ragna22]

Space Station Silicon Valley for the N64 which is in a way a puzzle game, your character is the core of a robot and the idea is that you can take over the bodies of dead animals and robot animals and you need to take over certain animals to complete specific tasks like only the sheep can glide so you need to kill a sheep, take it over and use it to glide to a spot you couldn't get to otherwise, there are more complicated tasks than that of course that make you have to use more than just one or two animals.

To me one of the best dynamics of this game is that the other animals treat you differently depending on what animal you are, and this applies to the AI animals as well, if you're playing as a dog, another dog in the same level just runs around the area like normal but if you play as a sheep that same dog will start attacking youif you come close and this is cool because there are strategies you can make from it, for example in one of the snow levels there's a polar bear tank hybrid who has two penguin's that follow him around, you start the level off as a penguin yourself so the polar bear won't attack you, but he WILL attack a nearby husky on skis, that same husky is near impossible to beat as a penguin so the best course of action is to lead the husky back to the polar bear and let the polar bear kill him for you and the husky won't even fight back because it's afraid of the polar bear.

Overall fun game in my opinion though I am willing to admit that there are signs that the game was released unfinishedlike for example it's literally impossible to beat the game 100%, see each level has around 30 orbs to collect and most levels have trophies to collect but they're all optional, the problem though is that I guess the designers forgot to code some of the trophies and orbs properly because there are some that you can't collect, you can pass through them but you can't collect them.

 

[LivewiresXe]

I remember really loving Sands of Destruction and how unique a lot of it was. However...that being said, the anime is really bad and totally different in terms of what happens to where I legitimately have no idea which of the two is considered 'canon'.

 

[Redd]

Rocket was an awesome game!

I personally love River City Ransom EX on GBA. Didn't sell that many copies, kinda got lost in history.

 

[mimgrim]

I remember really loving Sands of Destruction and how unique a lot of it was. However...that being said, the anime is really bad and totally different in terms of what happens to where I legitimately have no idea which of the two is considered 'canon'.

The manga is also extremely different from the anime and game. The manga is much darker, Kyrie actually gets pushed to the limit so much that he yells at Morte, this is because Morte blew up a whole town filled with people. The anime is lighthearted and silly. The game is in between.

I think the game came out first however. So I go by the game for canon. The game is the best anyway.

EDIT - Never mind. I just looked it up and the game came out last. Still. Game was the best on and so it is the one I use for canon lol.

 

[DatKarpTho]

Glover

They also played it in game grumps but they complained about it being bad

Glover was awesome.

^ I like this guy. Glover was my favorite Childhood game.

 

[Deleted member]

I don't think that many people are aware that this game even exists. Videos of this game are pretty scarce.
It's pretty much a street racing game where you challenge rival teams. However, you beat them by depleting your opponent's health bar instead of getting to a checkpoint like in other street racing games like Midnight Club. The game has a great sense of speed and the racing itself is more towards arcade style rather than a game like Gran Turismo. The soundtrack to this game is also pretty damn good.
If you're a racing fan, I would try to pick this game up, maybe even the 3rd game as well that is also on the PS2 (keep in mind that beating it is impossible without an Action Replay).

 

[LivewiresXe]

The manga is also extremely different from the anime and game. The manga is much darker, Kyrie actually gets pushed to the limit so much that he yells at Morte, this is because Morte blew up a whole town filled with people. The anime is lighthearted and silly. The game is in between.

I think the game came out first however. So I go by the game for canon. The game is the best anyway.

EDIT - Never mind. I just looked it up and the game came out last. Still. Game was the best on and so it is the one I use for canon lol.

What the? The game was last? Well, now I don't know what to think.

 

[BoomToon]

Brave Fencer Musashi

One of the most under rated RPG's in my opinion and is still one of my all time favorite games. Loved the story, had some humor, and interesting characters. Definitely has a Zelda feel to it but it's unique in it's own way (such as being able to absorb abilities). No one I know has ever even heard of it but this game was a staple in my childhood. Highly recommended!

 

[Minato]

Brave Fencer Musashi

One of the most under rated RPG's in my opinion and is still one of my all time favorite games. Definitely has a Zelda feel to it but it's unique in it's own way. No one I know has ever even heard of it but this game was a staple in my childhood. Highly recommended!

If only this game was allowed to be on US PSN. I own the PS1 copy but it'd be nice to play it on my Vita. One of my favorite games from the PS1. The gameplay, story, and characters were all good and fun.

 

[BoomToon]

If only this game was allowed to be on US PSN. I own the PS1 copy but it'd be nice to play it on my Vita. One of my favorite games from the PS1. The gameplay, story, and characters were all good and fun.

I still have my PS1 copy too. I keep it on my shelf with a bunch of collectable stuff because I love this game so much haha

Is there a reason why it's not allowed on PSN? I've always hoped it would reach PSN.

 

[Delta-cod]

Evolution Worlds

FOUND ONE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Over the past summer I was looking through one of my friend's games and found out that he had it and also loved it. And we both freaked out a little because nobody else we knew even knew about these games.

 

[Minato]

I still have my PS1 copy too. I keep it on my shelf with a bunch of collectable stuff because I love this game so much haha

Is there a reason why it's not allowed on PSN? I've always hoped it would reach PSN.

My guess was due to voice actor contracts for the US. I feel like they would've done it if they could. It's on the JPN PSN's at least.

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

Funny thing.
Everyone knows Frogger. But very few people know that he had a series of adventure games.
Frogger: Temple of the Frog was an amazing experience in my opinion, and is one of the games I've replayed the most.

 

[finalark]

Funny thing.
Everyone knows Frogger. But very few people know that he had a series of adventure games.
Frogger: Temple of the Frog was an amazing experience in my opinion, and is one of the games I've replayed the most.

That reminds me of this:

Spoiler

I haven't played that since I was a kid, but it was an adventure game about Frogger (and the game that introduced me to him). Honestly, all I really remember about it is that it was really hard at times and some of the death animations were surprisingly graphic for a kid's game.

 

[TimeSmash]

Just started playing Mother 3. Albeit, again on an emulator so the whole Sound Battle thing doesn't work, but it's epic.

 

[ZipZopZoopityBopBillCosby]

Only one of my friends that actually played it.

 

[finalark]

Only one of my friends that actually played it.

I borrowed this from one of my friends a long time ago. Personally, I couldn't get into it. I'm actually surprised that Sony decided this would be it's Halo killer since it was a fairy obscure title until Sony decided to make it one of their A-list franchises.

 

[Specs45]

I don't know many people who have played this even though this was practically similar to secret of mana. Was an awesome game in my opinion.

 

[LIQUID12A]

When I was a kid I was the only one around my buddies who played this. And back then it's one of the few games I could boast about 100 percenting, despite the piss hard difficulty of the final levels.

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

At least in the States, The Professor Layton Series counts.

 

[Saikyoshi]

Spoiler

I'm a total sucker for character customization, and this game has the most customizable character possible. Not a bad story, either.

Spoiler

A really simple - and really, really hard - little pick-up-and-play title. The concept is simple; run around a course, set up dominos , and knock them over to push switches. It's stupidly hard to master, though, and I STILL haven't unlocked all the characters.

Spoiler

This game WAS my childhood. I really have to get to playing it again sometime.

Spoiler

I always liked this one, but I knew it was just a simple little thing and would never get anywhere.
So imagine my surprise when they actually added it to the 3DS Virtual Console.

Of course I bought it immediately.

Spoiler

This was where I spent most of my computer time. Simple art program, simple music program, does nicely in both.

Spoiler

This was on my school computer. I can't believe I'm not the only one who remembers it.

 

[finalark]

Spoiler

This game WAS my childhood. I really have to get to playing it again sometime.

I played the DC version of this game a few years ago with three of my friends.

IT'S HARD AS ****. And surprisingly really grindy and time consuming.

 

[Redd]

GAUNTLET LEGENDS. We used to play that for days. Gets really tough. Dark Legacy was cool too but the original wins imo.

 

[Crazc]

playground for wii

might not be as much of a hidden gem as i think it is, but it is still hella fun to play with friends

 

[mimgrim]

Just edit it out lol.