Your favorite games! ... That no one knows about.

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Apr 28, 2008
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Zhukov said:
Well, I loved the hell out of Oni back in the day. Not many people know about that one.

It had a move where you could plant your foot in a guy's face, force him down to the ground, twist the gun from his hands and, if you timed it right, shoot him in the face, all in one fluid motion. Or you could sling your arm around a guy's neck, then swing your self around him like a pole, kicking at any other nearby enemies. Oh, and there was a thing called a 'willow kick' that was literally a nut shot with a stun effect, and no, it didn't work on female enemies.
This is the game I was going to say. ONI's amazing and I really hope it finds its way onto GoG one of these days.
 

Z of the Na'vi

Born with one kidney.
Apr 27, 2009
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Same thread, different title. Creativity is dead.

OT: Metal Arms: Glitch in the System. It's available to download right now on the XBL Marketplace under "Xbox Originals" and you should all play it right now. I'm super cereal. Robots. Shooting each other. Possession. Kickass soundtrack.

Do it.
 

DarklordKyo

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Nov 22, 2009
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Mischief Makers, my all time favorite N64 game (yes, it even beats out classics like Mario 64 and Banjo-Tooie, even if only slightly).

 

SquidSponge

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Apr 29, 2013
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Hostile Waters. Damn, that game was good. The premise was that you have this aircraft carrier, effectively a floating tank factory, and took it around a series of islands using it to create units to beat the crap out of the bads. There was also this thing where you slowly unlocked AI subordinates, old soldiers who had their personality and skill sets "saved" electronically at the moment their body died. But you could also take manual control of any unit at any time when you wanted to get shit done. The vehicles all had equipment "slots" so you could customise them - eg adding armour or stealth fields - or leave them empty to save resources. I also liked that if a mod could fit in the slot, there was nothing stopping you from doing crazy, creative stuff like putting stealth generators on the massive, moving fortress-type tanks. Some of these ideas worked out, others didn't - the stealthed behemoth(?) tank was actually a viable option, if you chose the other mods well and took out the enemy radar first.

Warzone 2100 - the missions were a little repetitive, and the story uninspired (welcome to video games, I guess), but it was fun anyway. The unique selling point about this game was designing your own units - everything except cyborgs (infantry-class units) was completely modular. For example, you could put a heavy chassis (high HP) on half-tracks (balanced speed/HP) with a machinegun (good vs. infantry and air). Best thing about Warzone 2100? It's now abandonware so you can get it free (not sure about Escapist link policy, but I assume everyone's Google-Fu is up to the task).

I'd like to second Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Brilliant game. I think most people have heard of it, but few actually played it. The magic system was hella clunky, but the swordplay was one of the single most fun experiences I've ever had in a video game. Messy and intuitive, rewarded finesse and punished mistakes just harshly enough. There's not much more satisfying than having a drawn-out swordfight with an orc, with no-one getting very far, before unleashing an unexpected kick and impaling the bugger on one of those spiked trellises (which are absolutely everywhere, for no apparent reason).
 

Kinitawowi

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Nov 21, 2012
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Hamte Damte on the ZX Spectrum.

Basically a Swedish clone of Bubble Bus's much better known Starquake, which was a homage to Ultimate's even better known Underworld, except that the mechanics were a lot cleverer this time round. While Starquake was all rough and tumble, making Hamte an egg meant you needed a lot more control over your platforming. It obviously isn't as free about its map design, because you don't have the flight ability that Starquake provided with the teleport pads, but it's still a damn fun game.

That I never saw in a single shop. Or commputer magazine. I have literally no idea where my Dad got it from.
 

OtherSideofSky

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Jan 4, 2010
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Mischief Makers on the N64: Maybe not the best Treasure game, but it's got a fun aesthetic, the grabbing and shaking-based gameplay was enough of a twist on the normal platformer formula to keep it interesting, there was decent stage variety, and it didn't overstay its welcome. Also, I'm still not entirely sure what an 'Ultimate Intergalactic Cybot G' is.

Henry Hatsworth on the DS: An action platformer on the top screen and a Bejeweled-esque puzzle game on the bottom screen, with lots of interaction between the two. The game also has memorable visuals and music, some pretty funny moments, and provides a pretty decent challenge on top of that. Plus, you get a super mode where you control a tea-powered robot suit.

Folklore on the PS3: It can get a bit repetitive, but there's a lot to like about a real time Pokemon-esque murder mystery instpired by Celtic folklore.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom on the PS3: The boss fights could have used some work (especially the one in the desert with all the ships), but there weren't that many of them and the action/puzzle sections in between were a blast. I loved the visual design, and I thought mechanics of commanding and working with a big AI partner were very well integrated into pretty much every aspect of the game.

Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber: More people probably know about this one, but I don't here it talked about much (even compared to other games in its series) and I'd like to see more games attempt its mix of real time and turn-based strategy gameplay. It made me feel more like the commander of an army, and less like an omnipresent force inhabiting the bodies of 8-15 assorted dudes.
 

Branovices

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Oct 15, 2008
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Let's see... Eador: Masters of the Broken World, Warlock - Master of the Arcane, and Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale spring to mind as games I love and play but few have heard of.

Mount & Blade doesn't really count as obscure anymore as it's gotten quite popular, but it still seems like it -should- be one of those games I love but nobody's heard of.
 

Ryan Ambrose

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Jun 19, 2013
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Perfect Weapon, for the PSOne.

The story is reminiscent of Shurato if my memory serves me right. A boxer is knocked out mid-combat (or after a fight when he is in the locker room, I guess) and awakens in an alien world with some pretty cool landscapes and lots of lens flare before J.J. Abrams made us hate the damn thing.

It played similar to a brawler with a fixed camera perspective and pre-rendered levels and progress was fairly linear as you fought wolfes and some rather otherworldly humanoid shaped foes. It's a fairly obscure game in the PSOne library.

That is as far as I can remember about the plot but boy was it amazing for its time, kind of impressed me the same way Outcast did back in the day.

Also the soundtrack really reminds me of port-royal. Google them.
 

BleedingPride

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Aug 10, 2009
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Giants Citizen Kabuto... No...? Anyone...?
Seriously though, for its time that game was a genre breaker and it was flipping hilarious.
 

Ushiromiya Battler

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Feb 7, 2010
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Mikeyfell said:
Record of Agarest War!

I mean it must be popular somewhere because it got 2 sequels... (Probably Japan}
But it's the best game of the console generation and sadly it never gets the love it deserves.
I loved that game, but every person that watched me play it couldn't stop whining about 2/3 of your love interests look like 10 year olds.

Magical Diary, dating sim game on steam. Kinda like harry potter
 

Iwantstuff

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Jun 20, 2013
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I've never really cared whether my games were obscure or not, as long as I heard about them and had fun with them. That said, I haven't seen anyone outside of my family who've played the Rune Factory games, and they're some of my favorites. Can't wait for 4 to come out.

Also, Custom Robo for the Gamecube was absolutely amazing. Me and my brother spent so much time on that one messing around with part combinations.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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The Wykydtron said:
The adventure game logic wasn't that bad (at least to where i'm up to) I can actually figure things out on my own!
Have you got up to where Mitzi shows up yet? (I think that was her name.)

She instantly makes the game about 60% better.

Some quick hints for the sillier puzzles:
- The phone number is under the lamp.
- You need to hang the scented rag on the heater.
(They'll make sense when you get up to them.)

Also, when Susan and Mitzi are planning to scare a guy, pick the crazy conversation options. They have genuinely funny results.
 

DocMcCray

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Oct 14, 2010
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I wouldn't say no one knows about this game, but I would wager not many played it:

Rising Zan intro:
Quirky game with interesting bosses and pseudo minigames that were just a riot!

Graphics haven't aged well, but the amount of creativity that went into this game is almost unparalleled.
 

Hawkeye21

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Oct 25, 2011
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I am almost thirty, and I still laugh like an idiot at this game. *sigh* They just don't make games like these anymore...

-Has the peasant spoken yet?
-Not yet, sire.
-What kind of torture have you performed on him?
-Well, we started off with removing the guys tongue, right? But he still hasn't said a word!


(while reattaching a guys leg):
-Right! Now, take a scalpel and make a small circumcision...
-Don't you mean inci...
-DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, WE DON'T HAVE TIME!
 

Branovices

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Oct 15, 2008
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Iwantstuff said:
I've never really cared whether my games were obscure or not, as long as I heard about them and had fun with them. That said, I haven't seen anyone outside of my family who've played the Rune Factory games, and they're some of my favorites. Can't wait for 4 to come out.
I love the Rune Factory series! I never thought of it as obscure, but yeah... outside of my best friend who bought it on a whim and introduced me to the series... I can't think of anyone else I know that likes it.
 

FootloosePhoenix

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Dec 23, 2010
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Radiata Stories anyone?
Anyone?
...Anyone?



I never thought this game was rare or anything, but nobody seems to know what it is or, at the very least, give the slightest shit over its existence. It's far from a perfect game and you'd probably need a soft spot for JRPGs in order to really enjoy it, but I certainly loved it during my early PS2 days. Which reminds me, I should replay it now that the ol' slim is hooked up to my TV again.
 

Kae

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Nov 27, 2009
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Shadowman is a pretty awesome game, it's a metroidvania style game made by Acclaim Iguana, actually reminds me of Metroid Prime 2 a lot, but I think a few members of Retro studios are ex Iguana, it's for N64, Dreamcast and PC, I used to have the N64 and PC versions.

Re-Volt, by the same people as Shadowman it's a RC car racing game and it kicks ass, it's just pretty damn good, again N64, Dreamcast and PC, I had the PC version but I lost it, it has a ton of mods.

XIII, a cell shaded shooter where you play a spy, the objective system is very Goldeneye and like James Bond you get some cool gadgets, the shooting is pretty solid and the story is very good, also Adam West is in it, used to be on GOG but it's not there anymore, odd, anyway it's on PS2, Gamecube and Xbox too, should be rather cheap.

Eternal Darkness is also somewhat obscure, horror game for the Gamecube, pretty if awesome if a bit flawed, has an insanity mechanic that would be better if it wasn't very easy to heal, but if you want more fun out of the game I'll recommend to try to keep it low, it's an interesting game.

Eh... I'll think of more later.

Hero of Lime said:
Would the Golden Sun games on the Gameboy Advance count? I would like to think they stood out compared to other RPGs on the GBA. Lots of people seem to remember them, but I doubt many gamers care about those two as much as I do.
Well those games are awesome, the first one was the first RPG I ever finished, so it means a lot to me, it's made of awesome, I never finished the second one though, I should probably dig it up...
 

The Wykydtron

"Emotions are very important!"
Sep 23, 2010
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PoolCleaningRobot said:
Woot! I have an obscure game that I've been playing lately: X-Men 2 Clone Wars for the Sega Genesis. It was easily one of the best games for the console but its not exactly well remembered. It was side scrolling jump and shoot/fight game and it was fun as hell. I played it again recently via emulation (no amount of blowing will bring back my genesis) and was glad to know it wasn't just my nostalgia telling me it was good. The level design was excellent, the characters were well balanced, the co-op was awesome, and even the music was great.


I also second whoever said Team Buddies. That game's multiplayer was the shit

The Wykydtron said:
Hmm, while it has had a fair share of discussion on this very site a long while ago, Katawa Shoujo must still be pretty obscure.
I think its just obscure on the escapist seeing as it has like a 1000 pages of fan art and image macros [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/katawa-shoujo/photos]
It depends on what perspective you take the word "obscure" to really. None of my friends who all play games have ever heard of it, you would never hear it talked about in The Outside and so on.

I did hear it talked about rather highly in the few threads it was in so I went and downloaded it once I got my new, not a shitty laptop PC.

I still can't believe it was developed by some random guys on 4Chan who decided to collaborate over this sudden new idea. How the hell did it turn out so good?

I suppose those weirdos who frequent and, god forbid actually post on 4Chan would have picked up on it pretty quickly.
 

The Wykydtron

"Emotions are very important!"
Sep 23, 2010
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Zhukov said:
The Wykydtron said:
The adventure game logic wasn't that bad (at least to where i'm up to) I can actually figure things out on my own!
Have you got up to where Mitzi shows up yet? (I think that was her name.)

She instantly makes the game about 60% better.

Some quick hints for the sillier puzzles:
- The phone number is under the lamp.
- You need to hang the scented rag on the heater.
(They'll make sense when you get up to them.)

Also, when Susan and Mitzi are planning to scare a guy, pick the crazy conversation options. They have genuinely funny results.
I'm up to where Mitzi and Susan are investigating which apartment that one guy lives in by walking around the flat doing whatever. I literally got there, decided it was a good stopping point because lol 3AM, saved and never when back to it again.

WHY?! WHEN WAS MY ATTENTION SPAN SO SHIT?! T_T