The Games that Time Forgot

[Joey245]

..But we didn't forget.

Basically, this is where you post older games that you know of or own that nobody seems to remember much anymore. They can be either really obscure, unpopular, or just didn't sell well. These are games that the consumers forgot about, but that we hold dear.

Since Extra Credits set 2008 as their year for their video about recent games no one's heard about, we'll make games that were released either in or before 2008 able to be posted here.

I'll start.

Aquaria: This was an indie game that was released in late 2007. It's basically a cross between Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Ecco the Dolphin, with a hint of Metroid thrown in for good measure. It's one of my favorite games of all time.

Psychonauts: A platformer/action adventure game released by Tim Schafer, and one of the treasures of gaming. Set at a psychic summer camp, and going in all sorts of wild directions from there, it's one of my favorites.

Jade Empire: I can't be the only one that remembers this game. It's a game that BioWare put out in between KOTOR and Mass Effect, and honestly, might be one of the best things they've ever made. It's set in ancient China, features martial arts combat, and rich settings.

How about you?

 

[-Drifter-]

I'm doing an interactive play-through of Sacrifice. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.264999-Poll-Sacrifice-Part-1] Getting near the end actually.

 

[Mr_Universal]

Redneck Rampage....best game ever

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

[HEADING=2]Gunstar Heroes[/HEADING]

A Genesis epic.

It's on Steam, 360, PS3, and Wii now.

GET ON THAT SHIT.

Old school 2D shooter, with none of the frustration they used to spawn.

 

[StBishop]

Psychonauts: A platformer/action adventure game released by Tim Schafer, and one of the treasures of gaming. Set at a psychic summer camp, and going in all sorts of wild directions from there, it's one of my favorites.

Jade Empire: I can't be the only one that remembers this game. It's a game that BioWare put out in between KOTOR and Mass Effect, and honestly, might be one of the best things they've ever made. It's set in ancient China, features martial arts combat, and rich settings.

There's a Jade Empire refference in DA2 btw. Also, Mike Laidlaw (Creative Director for DA2) worked on JE.

Psychonauts might count almost anywhere else, but on the Escapist Forums it's pretty much required playing.

OT: I'd say "Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magicka", but it's got a huge following, I'm pretty sure a patch was released for it only a couple of years ago (don't quote me on that it's a hunch)

There was a PC game in a PCGamer magazine from 2002 which told of a fabled game called somrthing stupid like "I of the Dragon" (Get it eye, I, har har!).
I think it got cancelled but it was an RPG where you were a dragon, had flight and everything. I think instead of picking race + class you picked type of dragon (fire/ice/poison or acid what ever) and each may or may not have had different skill sets (fast/tank/high damage).

That's been forgotten. But I think it was either a troll or cancelled.

 

[Xerosch]

Wow... there's quite a lot, actually. And seriously: If you don't know one or two from my list you should check them out asap!

PC
- Realms of the Haunting (Cheesy acting, but SO GOOD!!!)
- Gabriel Knight (One of the first mature Point & Click adventures)
- Crusader - No Remorse (Badass Boba Fett in a Blood-Frenzy-Mode)
- Thief: The Dark Project (Not completely forgotten, but often overlooked)
- Zork Nemesis (Rarely meet a game that can top this game's atmopsphere)
- Wheel of Time (Great story and charming gameplay)
- No one lives forever (Seriously, why wasn't that continued? The two games are hillarious!)
- Blade Runner (Blocky characters but captures the film's atmosphere very well)

Consoles
- Condemned (Forget the second one, the first one is a fantastic experience)
- Xenogears (The JRPG with one of the greatest plots and characters ever)
- Lost Odyssey (More Final Fantasy than everything official since part IX)
- Arc the Lad 2 (Very simple gameplay with a charm that sucks you in)
- Wild Arms 2 (See 'Arc the Lad 2')
- Darkwatch (Mindless FPS, yet tons of fun)

Yeah, I could go on for a few hours.

 

[Blemontea]

Billy Hatcher and the giant Egg, i played five minutes of the game... But thats not the main point. When it came out it was a big fucking deal, you could hear about it anywhere. Nowadays... nothing you can barely hear about it anywhere.

I have twitch that says Fatal Frame is fading away. Though FourPlayer has a history with the game maintaining its popularity.

 

[kortin]

Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon! :O

 

[MightyMole]

Not a whole lot of people seem to be familiar with the game "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth", which is a shame really. The game had some great gameplay and the setting is great. Its pretty much a combination of Condemned and Amnesia. It was only for PC and Xbox, but I'm sure you can find it for PC cheap and it is Xbox 360 compatible if you take that route.

The Fatal Frame series seems worth mentioning, as it seems to be more of a cult classic. Not a whole lot of people have heard of it unless you are into the horror genre. Or at least that's what the sales figures lead me to believe. May be worth a shot if you have the means to play a demo or something without having to pay for it, as it is a kind of game that not everybody would like.

 

[Snork Maiden]

[HEADING=2]Gunstar Heroes[/HEADING]

A Genesis epic.

It's on Steam, 360, PS3, and Wii now.

GET ON THAT SHIT.

Old school 2D shooter, with none of the frustration they used to spawn.

Forget Gunstar Heroes, how about EVERY TREASURE GAME EVER. The *only* one I see people ever moot to any great deal is Ikaruga, but every single one is bloody fantastic. Treasure are easily my favourite developer ever.

 

[LobsterFeng]

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. I thought this was a great game that deserves to be put in the great Star Wars games club.

 

[Wayneguard]

The Disciples series. It's a high fantasy, turn-based strategy game with rpg elements. It's also fucking fantastic. The gameplay is great on its own but the artstyle is what sells the game.

 

[Snork Maiden]

The Disciples series. It's a high fantasy, turn-based strategy game with rpg elements. It's also fucking fantastic. The gameplay is great on its own but the artstyle is what sells the game.

Hah, great Avatr for the comment! is Disciples 3 any good? I played one to death (horribly flawed, but also totally rad) and gave 2 a good run out, but haven't really looked at 3 yet.

 

[The Night Shade]

Nosferatu:Wrath Of Malachi great atmosphere with cool ideas and a pretty decent execution

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

[HEADING=2]Gunstar Heroes[/HEADING]

A Genesis epic.

It's on Steam, 360, PS3, and Wii now.

GET ON THAT SHIT.

Old school 2D shooter, with none of the frustration they used to spawn.

Forget Gunstar Heroes, how about EVERY TREASURE GAME EVER. The *only* one I see people ever moot to any great deal is Ikaruga, but every single one is bloody fantastic. Treasure are easily my favourite developer ever.

Astro Boy: Omega Factor, ftw.

 

[Worgen]

Psychonauts: A platformer/action adventure game released by Tim Schafer, and one of the treasures of gaming. Set at a psychic summer camp, and going in all sorts of wild directions from there, it's one of my favorites.

Jade Empire: I can't be the only one that remembers this game. It's a game that BioWare put out in between KOTOR and Mass Effect, and honestly, might be one of the best things they've ever made. It's set in ancient China, features martial arts combat, and rich settings.

There's a Jade Empire refference in DA2 btw. Also, Mike Laidlaw (Creative Director for DA2) worked on JE.

Psychonauts might count almost anywhere else, but on the Escapist Forums it's pretty much required playing.

OT: I'd say "Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magicka", but it's got a huge following, I'm pretty sure a patch was released for it only a couple of years ago (don't quote me on that it's a hunch)

There was a PC game in a PCGamer magazine from 2002 which told of a fabled game called somrthing stupid like "I of the Dragon" (Get it eye, I, har har!).
I think it got cancelled but it was an RPG where you were a dragon, had flight and everything. I think instead of picking race + class you picked type of dragon (fire/ice/poison or acid what ever) and each may or may not have had different skill sets (fast/tank/high damage).

That's been forgotten. But I think it was either a troll or cancelled.

I of the dragon actually came out, Ive got a copy, its buggy as hell unfortinatly

 

[StBishop]

Psychonauts: A platformer/action adventure game released by Tim Schafer, and one of the treasures of gaming. Set at a psychic summer camp, and going in all sorts of wild directions from there, it's one of my favorites.

Jade Empire: I can't be the only one that remembers this game. It's a game that BioWare put out in between KOTOR and Mass Effect, and honestly, might be one of the best things they've ever made. It's set in ancient China, features martial arts combat, and rich settings.

There's a Jade Empire refference in DA2 btw. Also, Mike Laidlaw (Creative Director for DA2) worked on JE.

Psychonauts might count almost anywhere else, but on the Escapist Forums it's pretty much required playing.

OT: I'd say "Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magicka", but it's got a huge following, I'm pretty sure a patch was released for it only a couple of years ago (don't quote me on that it's a hunch)

There was a PC game in a PCGamer magazine from 2002 which told of a fabled game called somrthing stupid like "I of the Dragon" (Get it eye, I, har har!).
I think it got cancelled but it was an RPG where you were a dragon, had flight and everything. I think instead of picking race + class you picked type of dragon (fire/ice/poison or acid what ever) and each may or may not have had different skill sets (fast/tank/high damage).

That's been forgotten. But I think it was either a troll or cancelled.

I of the dragon actually came out, Ive got a copy, its buggy as hell unfortinatly

Really? That's both awesome and disappointing. It shits me to tears that every time I asked anyone at EB Games they would give me a blank stare, to the point where I actually went back and made sure the game was called I of the Dragon and made sure I wasn't imagining the whole thing.

 

[Sixcess]

Two from the PS1

Fear Effect: Near future sci-fi/horror action adventure, with pre-rendered fixed camera backgrounds with cel shaded characters. Really well written, and the voice acting was the absolute best of its era. Got a sequel the following year which was equally good, but then it's next gen 3rd instalment was cancelled and it slipped into obscurity.

Disruptor: I always wonder why when people write about Insomniac Games they mention Spyro and Ratchet and Clank, but not this - their first title, and their first FPS. Nice graphics for its time (the very end of the era when FPSs still used sprites), lots of high tech weaponry and psionic powers. I don't have a PS3 so I've never played the Resistance games, but judging from the weapon design and the music they're spiritual successors to Disruptor.