Hidden Gems?

thedestinedblade

Radiant Cool Boy
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    What are some great games that you think didn't receive the recognition they deserved? In other word, underrated. For any platform is fine.

    Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - It's probably the only SRPG/RPG I can think of that was actually released for the N64. The gameplay is fun yet challenging, much like the first Ogre Battle game, and story and music are top-notch as well. The game recieved high scores from many reviewers despite being a commercial failure in the U.S.

    ICO (PS2) - Maybe not as unheard of as it once was, but this game is truely a unique experience. The only game I can recall where not having dialogue actually worked. The puzzles do require thought, as I did find myself lost for awhile. If you haven't played it, you need to!

    Your turn. :D
     
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    Mother 3.

    >=[ Didn't even get translated into English.

    So we all pirate it, download a fantranslation and they lose money.

    Serves 'em right.
     
    Mother 3 didn't get translated because it was released at the end of the GBA's life span.
    They wouldn't have made enough money to cover the cost of localization.

    It's business 101.
     
    Mother 3.

    >=[ Didn't even get translated into English.

    So we all pirate it, download a fantranslation and they lose money.

    Serves 'em right.

    They would have potentially lost more money translating it and bringing it over to other countries themselves.

    As stated, it was at the end of the GBA's lifespan, but the other reason was how badly Earthbound (Mother 2) did when it was released in America; even though cartridges of that can go for over a hundred dollars now. A third reason is the lack of Mother 1 in America.

    However, the director of the series has stated that if they re-release the trilogy, he hopes he can get them to translate the games. We can hope they ride on the success of Fire Emblem in America solely due to Smash Bros.

    Back on topic... I recently posted this in an extremely similar thread on another forum I visit, but it works here too. Evolution for the Dreamcast. I don't know anyone who knows about this RPG. It was a great treat, well-designed for the time, and was so innovative that Square hijacked the battle system from Evolution for use in Final Fantasy X.

    And one of your party members was your butler. Equipped with a shotgun. Amazing.
     
    This is a pretty well known one, but River City Random back on the NES was a good enough game to receive further attention that didn't.

    The Battle Clash/Metal Combat series for the SNES Super Scope were also quite fun.
     
    Mario Tennis Power Tour. Like a number of other Mario Sports games, it's made by Camelot... but this game is unique in that it's very evocative of Camelot's other notable series, Golden Sun. The music sounds like it could be from an epic RPG (yet somehow still fits the tennis gameplay), there are a bunch of small elements that will remind you of Golden Sun (the yes/no choices are near identical), and it's just an incredibly fun and addictive game.

    Feel the Magic: XYXX and The Rub Rabbits are a pair of minigame collections from Sega, and, in my opinion, warrant the purchase of a DS. Even if they were the only games for the system, I would own it just for them.

    There are a bunch of Gamecube games I'd consider hidden gems, so I'll just list them: Geist, Baten Kaitos, Chibi-Robo!, Cubivore, Eternal Darkness.

    I consider Zak and Wiki to be a hidden gem for the Wii, but that's really only if you like adventure games, and if you overlook its fair amount of critical acclaim.

    Any older games that I would once have considered hidden gems, like Mischief Makers or Cool Spot, have become widely-known cult classics.
     


    Back on topic... I recently posted this in an extremely similar thread on another forum I visit, but it works here too. Evolution for the Dreamcast. I don't know anyone who knows about this RPG. It was a great treat, well-designed for the time, and was so innovative that Square hijacked the battle system from Evolution for use in Final Fantasy X.

    And one of your party members was your butler. Equipped with a shotgun. Amazing.

    Lol, never realized it, but you're right. I wouldn't say it's exactly like FFX's but it's closely similar. It has the turn order bar, but I don't remember if it show's how each move will affect the order of turns like in FFX.

    Evolution 2 wasn't bad either except for the last boss! :/ They re-released both games as one for the Gamecube and obviously cut down on a lot of content from the first game.
     
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    Not many people have heard of this game, but it's called "Quest: Brian's Journey." Despite it being sort of weird (I can't explain how weird it is... :/) and having bad graphics, being for the GBC, it's quite a good RPG game.
     
    I don't know about america, but as a series, Star Ocean is severely underrated here in britain.
    Most people I know didn't even hear about it until SO4 was released.
     
    Cool Spot is awesome! I really consider that a hidden gem, as there is something about it...

    Another one I consider is Ghostbusters for the XBox 360. Not heard much about it, but I own it and it is really good, just like a sequal to the films.
     
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