The Underrated Game Thread

[Link Antilles]

Since I am always on the hunt for a great-overlooked games, I figured this would be good thread to start.

Guidelines of the thread:

-The idea of this thread is to share with each other games we enjoyed, but found they did not receive the attention/praise/sales/etc. we think they deserved. In saying so, please give a decent sized opinion/summary about the game. In other words, don't just say the game is good or great, tell us why.

-Bold the name of the game and give the system(s) it's on.

-Try limiting it to one or two games per post. Don't just give a list, talk about the games.

With that out of the way, who is first? -I will post a few games every now and then, later.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Extermination
PS2

*It's been a while since I played this; so forgive me if anything below is slightly off*

A sci-fi/horror title that was expected to be a blockbuster hit but fizzled into oblivion. You are a member of the marines answering a distress call to a base in Antarctica. When you arrive, you find that the base has been contaminated by a virus. Playing along the lines of Resident Evil (Actually, I don't have proof on hand, but I do believe I remember hearing that one of the producers of Resident Evil was involved.) you have to survive.

There are several things that this game does right that Resident Evil didn't do:

Normal 3D control system. It doesn't feel like your piloting a tank for a character this time around.

You can get infected. You have to vaccinate yourself from the infection regularly. If it gets too high, you die and become one of them. This adds a refreshing new edge to the survival horror style.

Some minor problems are a bit of annoying backtracking, and the sub-par voice acting.

Ultimately, for a fan of games like Resident Evil or Dino Crisis, this game is quite enjoyable.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors
SNES Sega Genesis
I don't quite remember the background story, but ultimately, you are a kid armed with a water gun (and whatever else you can get your hands on that can be thrown) and you go from level to level killing zombies, aliens, mummies, ect. while rescuing your clueless neighbors. The more you save, the higher the score. An enjoyable game which managed to parody tons of famous horror scenarious in a comical way. Resident Evil wasn't the first original console game to feature zombies....

[Myoti]

Terranigma
SNES

Incredible action-RPG from Enix, and the sequel to Soulblazer and Illusion of Gaia. This game far outdoes its predessecors (sp) in every aspect, including beautiful graphics for the time, amazing music, great gameplay, and a well done storyline that keeps you going to the end.

The plot follows a man named Ark who, after unleashing a strange power on his village, must leave on a quest to ressurect the world. He meets many strange creatures and characters as he slowly regenerates the world, one piece at the time...

It's a great SNES game, one of the best I've seen Enix come out with and defientely worth a play.

[Locke]

Jet Force Gemini

Between Perfect Dark and Goldeneye I was playing this.
The third person madness ( you could use the dog!) plus multiplayer made for some fun saturdays.

Plus the girls were kawaii.

[Debitt]

Jade Cocoon 2
PS2

Okay...another fighting monster game, yes, but I really enjoyed the strategy involved in this game. Rehatching your monsters or combining them with other monsters always involved a lot of careful precision, and the battle system was a lot more..inventive than Pokemon or Digimon's.

*O*\ plus evil(!) Kahu = hot.

Oh, Locke, I agree with Jetforce Gemini. >D I owned at the multiplayer.

[LorentzForce]

Anachronox
PC

"Welcome to Anachronox... An abandoned alien city planet at the centre of the universe, now home to low lives, thieves and scoundrels."

"Here we join Sylvester 'Sly' Boots and the cast of 6 other unlikely heroes on their quest to discover WHO or WHAT is trying to destroy the universe. They are the only ones that believe it is happening, and the only ones that can do something about it..."

"Travel galaxies, explore bizarre planets and journey through more than 100 levels. In your quest to find the truth, fight over 90 different enemies in exciting turn-based real-time battles. Revel in the most detailed, interactive RPG to hit the PC!"

That is what says at the back of the box of the game. In short, it's an RPG title, 3rd person viewpoint, and uses extremely heavility modified Quake 2 engine to make things look very, very cool.

Made by Ion Storm, creators of Deus Ex (which in my opinion is the most awesome game ever made in history of all that is mankind, but it's not really that underrated), designed by Tom Hall (former id member), inspired by Chrono Trigger... I don't know, it just goes on.

The gameplay and the storyline is just awesome, once you start playing the humour and awesomeness of the characters just draw you in, and never lets you go. Then you keep playing... And playing...

As for graphics, the Q2 engine was used only because the developers were concentrating too much into storyline and gameplay that they just stuck with what they could use. Mind you, the graphics look much more cooler than Q2; it's modified afterall.

Also, using Q2 engine for an RPG game means that the actions and the movements are just so much more fluid, and you get all 360 degrees of viewpoint to the world. It's third-person viewpoint throughout the game, and only so you can see more than you can in first-person viewpoint

Any minor points? Two; it's really hard to find the game in stores, and that it requires a patch to play on Windows 2000 and XP. Mind you, finding the patch is just done on Google, so. I was crying when I found this game at a bottom shelf at EB when I just passing by it...

Overall, I love this game. I consider it the best RPG ever made for PC, on par with Chrono Trigger on consoles. You just wait and see until you get the most awesome character in the game... Too bad Ion Storm forgot to advertise it.

[edit] Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Half-way into the game you can access the most unique "magic" combat system ever, capable of near infinite (somewhere around in billions) of possible attack combos. The sheer amount of possible combos are dazzling.

[Nate]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Just wanted to say, I love that game, but MAN is it freakin' hard. My personal best is level 103 in one session.

Moving on...

Legend of Legaia
PS1
Mention this game to anyone but the most hardcore RPG fan, and you'll get blank stares...which is a shame because it stands as one of my favorite RPGs ever. You start out as Vahn, a young boy in the village of Rim Elm, a town enclosed by a giant wall. For you see, there are creatures called Seru in this world. Normally, they are worn by humans to give them super strength and abilities, but that was until the Mist came...the Mist, a white fog that turns regular Seru into bloodthirsty killing machines. One day, while Vahn's girlfriend's father is out hunting, he is killed by a Mist-mad Seru...followed by an evil wizard appearing, telling Vahn's village to surrender or be destroyed. In the midst of this, Vahn finds a Seru that seems to be immune to the effects of the mist. Should he trust it and put it on, or is it a trap...?

The combat system was very unique, allowing you to choose what type of attack to use (High, Low, Left, or Right), and if you strung them together in certain patterns, you could use Arts that would deal tremendous damage to the enemy. Decent music, and good voice acting.

The only problem is this game seems to run slowly on PS2...causing sound effects to become out of sync with what's going on onscreen. It's irritating, so if you play it, make sure you have a PS1.

[Michael]

Parasite Eve - PS1

Wonderful, beautiful game. Excellent plot and characters. Neat battle system. Made me interested in science. It's short, but sweet. It's also an RPG that's set in the modern day, which is pretty rare.

Final Fantasy VIII - PS1

That's right; FF8. I can't say which FF was the best, but I can say which one I enjoyed playing the most; FF8. The other FF's were driven by a quest, a goal, some driving force that kept you playing to the end. But FF8 was unique; the characters drove the plot. You got to watch Squall change all throughout the game, as he met his challenges and overcame them. Also--unlike Cloud--Squall was human, he had his faults, but he had his strengths too. This is the most underated FF. Some may disagree, but that's my opinion.

Grandia II - Dreamcast/PS2/PC

A very underated RPG. You know when you go into a town in and RPG, and you talk to the townsfolk. Usually, you don't say anything in response to them, but in Grandia II, the characters would sass them back or give them advice or just agree. And that was only one thing that made G2 different, it was another character driven game, and it rocks. Play it.

[Myoti]

Made by Ion Storm, creators of Deus Ex (which in my opinion is the most awesome game ever made in history of all that is mankind, but it's not really that underrated), designed by Tom Hall (former id member), inspired by Chrono Trigger... I don't know, it just goes on.

What is Deus Ex? I've heard of it, but never really seen it.

Michael, I agree with you on FFVIII. Before I really got into the FF games, I thought FFVIII was the worst one (mostly from what others told me), but my best friend kept telling me that it was actually really good and let me borrow it. Honestly, it's incredible, a major improvement over FFVII at teh tiem (though I still do like that one). I don't understand how any RPG fan could not like it.

[Debitt]

Michael - Grandia II is one of my all time favorite games...EVAARRR!11!!!11!!!!1!!

You get 1315245234 cool points in my book. =3

[Godly Paladin]

Nice to see ZAMN, Azier.

My nomination would be, for the Sega Genesis:

Beyond Oasis

It's an Action RPG that everyone likes to compare to Zelda III, but Oasis is so much more. It has a fighter-style combat system with a bunch of moves, as well as multiple types of weapons: bow, metal bow, bombs, swords, a dagger... The graphics and sound are incredible for the Genesis, and I also think that Oasis can claim one of the best environments for its era. It has a primitive physics engine and a bunch of complexities with the enemies, etc. Not to mention gorgeous backgrounds and killer action. A neat trick is the ability to summon elementals from various things, like water and fire, in order to solve puzzles and fight enemies. The only problem is that it's short, but it has insane replay value. (A boatload of secrets to find.) I played this game nonstop for almost a year after I got it. My favorite game of all time.

[Yojimbo]

What is Deus Ex? I've heard of it, but never really seen it.

Deus Ex is awesome. The story is set in the near future and you are JC Denton an agent with nano technology infused in you for the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition. Long winded name but anyway there's lots of terrorism, poverty, a new worldwide plague that threatens to kill of much of humanity. And *shockingly* everything is not as it seems with UNATCO and so forth. It's a real good story that's executed very well. It blends pretty much every good conspiracy theory you've ever heard of from Area 51, to the Illuminati, MJ12, population control, all that jazz and makes it all work together.

It is a FPS/RPG using the Unreal Engine. You can choose a number of different styles to play JC. You can be Rambo going in guns a blazing, or a hacker/assasin type character, or anything in between. Bust a door open, use a vent, lock pick it open, go find the computer and hack it open, there's always more than one way to get past a situation. It's one of my favorite games of all time you should deffinetly check it out.

[Ky Kiske]

Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Insanely addicting and nobody plays it...confounding....

Lunar: SSSC
A game with characters that had actual wit and charm *faints*

Phantom Brave
A very heartwarming story and unlimited customization make this in some respects an infinite game

Skies of Arcadia
A game that is more about fun and adventure rather than go kill bosses, save the world.

Suikoden series: remain the most underrated series of games ever.

[cbwing0]

Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Insanely addicting and nobody plays it...confounding....

No one plays it anymore. I loved it in it's day. I still have the disc somewhere...


Power Stone/Power Stone 2 (Dreamcast) - The Power Stone series introduced several innovative concepts to fighting games which have yet to be successfully duplicated by any other game in the genre.

The most striking feature of the game were its environments, and the level to which the player could interact with them. The stages were fully 3d (not the faux 3d "8-way run" nonsense of a Soul Calibur or Tekken). Your character had complete freedom to move, run, jump, and climb around the stages.

Power Stone 2 also had multi-part, brancing stages. This meant that levels would have as many as 3 totally separate areas that changed the nature of the fight. I won't get into the little quirks that set the stages apart, but needless to say, they were great.

Just about anything in the levels could be used as a weapon. For example, you might find a table with some chairs. Each of the chairs and the table could be used against your oponnent. Parking meters, mailboxes, lampposts (for the strong characters), and a host of other items that would be mere scenery in any other game were an essential part of strategy.

In addition to the unique objects in each stage, certain weapons and other items would randomly appear throughout the stages. Power Stone 2 added several item types to this mix, with movement enhancing items (skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, etc.), Pets (dragons, cats, etc. that would attack nearby oponnents), and environmental weapons (usually stationary objects like gun turrets and missile controls that could be used by any player). Health-restoring food was also available to players. Looking back at GameFaqs I see that there were also aesthetic items. These had no practical value, but they did let you customize the look of your character in a number of ways.

The number of items that could be found in a stage in Power Stone 2 was mind-boggling. There were over 121 regular items, along with the aesthetic touches and essences.

New items were acquired either by purchasing them (with money earned from "Original" mode, which was difficult due to the fact you were not allowed any continues), or by combining existing items. Often this would yield new items, or just more valuable items that could be sold to buy new ones. Any found items would then be fair game to appear in any of the stages.

I should probably get around to the reason that the game is called "Power Stone." Power Stones were special items that appeared in the stages that if collected, would give your character a number of powerful advantages. First, you could perform very powerful special attacks against your opponents. Each character had their own super moves and altered appearance after collecting enough (3) stones. Transformed characters could also ignore interruption/knockback from certain attacks, and had the strength to lift any of the heavier items in the stage. After collecting the stones you would have a power meter that drained slowly over time (faster if you performed super moves). There were never enough stones in the stages that more than 50% of the players (a 4 player game, so 1-2) could be transformed at any one time. Certain attacks would also knock Power Stones away from opponents, and it was important to know what those were.

Another great feature of the game were unlockable extra options. Along with new characters, completing arcade mode would unlock extra gameplay options, most of which gave the player tremendous ability to alter the game mechanics. Players could choose whether or not to use all of the items, or just the items from the first game. The rate at which the Power Stone timer drained, damage taken/dealt while transformed, and several other rules could also be changed according to player wishes.

Power Stone was a launch game for the Dreamcast, but it was somewhat eclipsed by the popularity of Soul Calibur, which was also released at launch. Power Stone 2 was released towards the end of the Dreamcast's life, so it was understandably overlooked by most people. I recommend these games for any fighting game fans; especially those looking for something fun and different. Other gamers would do well to play it just to see how great ideas can be forgotten in favor of cookie-cutter genre formulas.

[Myoti]

DEus Ex defiently sounds interesting, and the Power Stones sounds like an idea I had. (wishes he had more money to get this stuff)

[SnoringFrog]

ZAMN and JFG were both great games, I still haven't beat JFG. I can't think of any underrated games right now, sorry, both of mine were taken.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Dino Crisis

A spectacular game series that is unfairly rarely talked about. Dino Crisis 2 in particular is one of the best action games Capcom ever put out.

Dino Crisis 1: Three years ago, an award winning research scientist, Dr. Edward Kirk, perished in an accident during one of his experiments. He had been working on the development of pure energy technology, code-named Third Energy.

The unexpected explosion occured soon after the government terminated funding of the research, assessing the process as non-productive. To most of the world, the entire incident was just an insignificant piece of news.

Earlier this year, a military agent sent to Ibis island on a seperate mission brought back surprising information. He reported that Dr. Kirk was alive and continuing his research at a military facility in the Borginia Republic. Now special agent Regina heads for the isolated island. She is accompanied by her team, an elite task force specially trained to handle sensitive military situations. Each member is a specialist in a particular field.

Their assignment: Infilitrate Ibis island, find Dr. Kirk and return him unharmed to the home country. It is supposed to be just another routine mission....


Upon arriving upon the island, things are horribly wrong. The island is run amuck with dinosaurs. Those on the island have all perished. Now, their mission has become one of survival. The game plays very similar to Resident Evil. (Think of it as RE with dinosaurs). It's every bit as good as an RE game, and while there are some flaws, survival horror fans will not be disapointed.

Score: 7/10

Dino Crisis 2: One year has passed since Regina's fight for survival against raging dinosaurs and the capture of the rogue scientist Dr. Kirk. Despite dangers, the government has recklessly resumed massive research on Third Energy. The heedless quest for immediate results and neglect of precautions has predictable consequences. Another "accident" looms.

Suddenly, a military base, a research institute, and an entire town mysteriously vanish! Now a special mission to rescue survivors, uncover the mystery and recover the missing research data begins.

Armed with the latest in heavy artillery, a hand picked team heads into the unknown - a mysterious jungle from another time. Only Regina has an inkling of the adrenaline pumping prehistoric challenge the team will soon encounter - pure terror!

Dino Crisis 2 is in a completely different genre than DC1. No longer a survival horror Resident Evil style game, it now plays on the same lines as an Onimusha game. The action is nonstop, and there are tons of weapons to collect and choose from. This game is a masterpiece of the action genre and deserves a home on any PS1 or PS2 owners library. This is one of the very few action games I would label as 'perfect'.

Score: 10/10

[mastersquirrel]

Beyond Good and Evil
PC, Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox

This is a game that is too often over looked. I is an action/adventure title in which you play the part of Jade. Jade is a reporter on the planet of Hillis which is being attacked by a race called the Domz. Another group called the Alpha Sections claim to be holding the Domz at bay and saving Hillis from destruction.

However, an underground resistance has formed called the IRIS Network who claim that the Alpha Sections are not who they claim to be. Jade gets caught up in the situation and ends up trying to find the truth behind all the lies.

The majority of the game play is stealth which is very well done. You will find yourself sneaking around in tight areas trying to avoid being spotted by the Alpha Section soldiers. This is fun, however, sometimes you must go and find things such as fuses to continue through an area and that can be annoying at times.

The combat system is quite simplistic. One button is to attack and one is to dodge. With some enemies you must use your partner’s special moves to be able to defeat them. Even though it’s simple, it doesn’t drag down how enjoyable the game is.

That graphics for this game are gorgeous. The character models are very expressive, especially the faces. As Jade is doing certain actions her facial expression will change to show her emotions.

All in all the game delivers a well done, cinematic experience that I found very enjoyable. I’m even currently working on writing a fanfic about it.

[Myoti]

Sparkster
SNES
I stumbled upon this game one day and found it to be pretty enjoyable, though quite difficult. It is, in a way, known as "Konami's answer to Sonic".

Basically, you're a possum (my bro was estatic; he loves possums) named Sparkster, dressed in "rocket armor" and carrying a big sword. You can charge up your rockets to go flying around and damaging everything in site in order to defeat an evil Lion army.

The game is comical and cool and definetly worth a play. The original was known as "Rocket Knight Adventures" for the Genesis, but I have yet to play it.

[Kanrad]

Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter
PS2

For all of you who missed this game, it's a pain to find, but truly awesome RPG. Nothing like the old BoF games, an entirely different combat system that mixes real-time strategizing with turn-based hack&slash. And Ryu starts out as a lowly wimp, not a sword-slinging power-house. And Nina's not a princess anymore. Completely different take on the popular BoF characters; very interesting overall. Also, check out the SOL thing. It's cool. Just remember - losing can pay off.

[Michael]

About Suikoden:

I don't know if I'd call them underated, they're great games but it costs an arm and a leg to get them. They're generally regarded among gamers as being very good (OK, the first two.) The same thing goes for Valkyrie Profile; it's too rare to be called underated.

I completely agree with Dino Crisis.

[Joshua Christopher]

Klonoa: Door to the Phantomile

One of my all time favourite games. It had a NiGHTS-esque "dream" theme, and a surprisingly dark--and very good--storyline. Though it looked like a platformer, it was actually a mix of puzzles (perfectly integrated into the game so you didn't even notice) and platforming. Klonoa has the ring of awesomeness. It would inflate his enemies, which he would then hold. While holding the inflated enemy you could either use it to double-jump or throw, to beat other enemies, solve puzzles, or defeat bosses. To add, still to this day I can't beat the final boss. x_x

[Slater]

Hybrid Heaven
Great realtime RPG for the N64. I don't know why I bought it, but I am so glad that I did. Alas, nobody else seems to have noticed it! It is the best fighting game I own.

[Fireproof]

Most of the Pokemon games deserve far more credit than they get, and Star Ocean 2 is a major diamond in the rough.

[Ninja Rob]

Wild Arms 2
Though having low-quality graphics, this turn-based RPG for the original Playstation was certainly fun to play. Alas, I never hear any praises for it. In fact, I don't hear anything about any of the Wild Arms games. 'Tis a shame.

[Nate]

Indeed, the Wild ARMs games are some of the most underrated games there are...they're better than the Final Fantasy games, IMO.

I wasn't that impressed with 2, though it IS good. The first is definitely the best, and 3 is also great.

I can't wait for Alter Code F.

So yes, my underrated game is Wild ARMs for Playstation.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Most of the Pokemon games deserve far more credit than they get, and Star Ocean 2 is a major diamond in the rough.

Ever played Pokemon Puzzle League? I tried it once and was quite hooked. It's one of the more underated Pokemon games.

[enishi]

YES! some people acknowlege some awesome games: BOF-dragon quarter, Lunar .. ff8. all are indeed underrated and deserve so much better. i have too many favorites, but i guess ill also go with Lunar. its a great game, and id pick it up and play it anytime

[Yojimbo]

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

This is one of the games that just cannot get attention no matter how much it tries. The graphics aren't neccesarily bad enough to where they get attention just for that, yet they're not good enough to get praise either. The enviroments are your typical fortress/highrise office building/docks all very bland. It's just one of those games that you can't just watch, you have to play it for it to really wow you.

The story is so-so a bunch of rogue psychic government soldiers are about to take over the world. And good o'l lap dog Nick Scryer has to stop his former comrades. But to slip him in their compound his memories had to be erased along and most of his powers along with it. A good excuse to strip him for a fresh start and some drama. Your powers are regained throughout the game through convenient and sometimes funny training flashbacks.

The cool thing is your psychic powers obviously. It makes the game. Literally you almost feel the power as you pick up guys with Telekenesis and fling them into a gasoline tank or onto an electric fence. Or throw a wave of your Pyrokenesis into a column of goons. Or my favorite, mind control guys to open doors/turn on comrades/and then promptly blow their own brains out. This game makes you feel more like a superhero than most of the real superhero games out there. Every fight is exillerating and keeps you on your toes. You have the usual assortment of guns but your powers are the key and if you don't use them properly in certain situations then you can easily die even from the lowliest goons.

I know it got good reviews across the board, but it never really did well commercially.

Three others I can think of are Ico, Psychonauts, and Panzer Dragoon Orta. I'll get to those.

[Godly Paladin]

Sparkster
SNES
I stumbled upon this game one day and found it to be pretty enjoyable, though quite difficult. It is, in a way, known as "Konami's answer to Sonic".

Basically, you're a possum (my bro was estatic; he loves possums) named Sparkster, dressed in "rocket armor" and carrying a big sword. You can charge up your rockets to go flying around and damaging everything in site in order to defeat an evil Lion army.

The game is comical and cool and definetly worth a play. The original was known as "Rocket Knight Adventures" for the Genesis, but I have yet to play it.

Yay! The original is par excellance. Sparkster for the Genesis is totally different form the SNES version, and all I can say about it is "meh."