Video games you think are underrated

[Elijah_Morendale]

Because someone mentioned the creation of such a thread in the other one...

Games I think are underrated that deserved more attention than they got:

Psychonauts
Killer 7
The Red Star
Custom Robo
The Guardian Legend (one of the best damn NES games ever, and it seriously needs a proper remake)
Trace Memory
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
The King of Fighters '94 through XI

And let's keep our rampant fanboy tendencies out of this one *looks at Lucien*

[Veatrix]

Hands down, Beyond Good and Evil for the XBox and PS2. Twas such a great action-adventure type thing. Short, though.

[Artifex Felicis]

Star control II

[Reiko]

Y's: Ark of Napishtim

Unpronounceable title and viewed as a Zelda clone of out of date Zelda but really it was happy with that and it was a good Zelda type of game that really did things that Zelda games don't do, like giving characters that you can grow attached to and some real honest to goodness magic as well as some really challenging fights.

Phantasy Star 4: this game is the best of the series and maybe even the only good game in the series. It had things the others didn't like decent balancing and also had a great plot as well. One of great games of that time with Chrono Trigger and FF6.

[Lucien]

The Legacy of Kain series, especially Blood Omen 1.

[Mathias]

I definitely agree on Beyond Good & Evil... Somewhat on Legacy of Kain (Soul Reavers were good... BO 1, good... but BO 2 and Defiance were lackluster and proved that the series was destined to die.)

And, I know there are some good reasons that it wasn't well-received, I still think Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, should've gotten a few more stars. It had flaws, but it was still a pretty solid game.

[Lucien]

No. Soul Reaver 2 and Blood Omen 2 were not good games. But the story throughout the series, and Defiance, were really, really good. The story is one of the best I've ever seen in a game, actually.

[Rajani Aishwara]

Shadow of the Collossus(sp)

[Mathias]

I don't even dare to disagree about the story. It is an amazing arc, that can't be denied. But, I think they "milked," it a little and lost a lot of their integrity over the sequels. SR2 isn't as good as SR1, but I still think it's good. A hell of a lot better of a sequel than BO2.

Edit:
SotC got a LOT of praise. It was pretty popular for an hour, and then died, because it was too short/not enough to do, sort of like BG&E, however. The only difference is, it was lauded as being "artsy," and "unique," because you got to run around a giant fucking desert for an entire game, looking for giant, walking buildings. Whoop-dee-doo.

[Lucien]

Oh, Blood Omen 2 is the worst of the series, no question. Not only doesn't it continue the story in any way interesting, it actually contradicts the story in several places.

Janus was trapped at the end of Blood Omen 2. But Defiance and Soul Reaver 2 placed his heartless corpse in a tomb.

Not to mention the game's mechanics were some of the worst I've ever played. It was near impossible to fight a fair battled without screaming in frustration.

[Veatrix]

I'm not sure if it was popular, but the Monster Rancher series, particularly the second one, was highly addictive and totally awesome. If not childish.

[Reiko]

A couple more

Lufia 2: this prequel to the horridly bad Lufia was everything the first wasn't, a good RPG. It's plot was wonderful even though players to the first game knew what happened at the end but everything that led to it was wonderful and the gameplay was just as good, having some of the most challenging puzzles ever.

Wild Arms Series: One of my favorite JRPG series ever and yet most games get a luke warm response at best. The games do keep it basi but that's often why the combat systems are so fun and the plots aren't bad either as they do rise above the 'it's just FF in the wild west' deal with some pretty good themes.

[Rajani Aishwara]

SotC got a LOT of praise. It was pretty popular for an hour, and then died, because it was too short/not enough to do, sort of like BG&E, however. The only difference is, it was lauded as being "artsy," and "unique," because you got to run around a giant fucking desert for an entire game, looking for giant, walking buildings. Whoop-dee-doo.
Sounds to me like you're underrating.

Shadow got a lot of acclaim from the critics. Good reviews, sold REALLY well in Japan, so on and so forth. However, I worked at a GameStop when that game came out and I saw first hand how underrated it was. People I knew would love the game (and usually took my advice when I recommended one) turned a deaf ear and didn't give the game a second thought. Shadow was like one of those really good independant movies that won several oscars and SAG awards, but it's release was overshadowed by Pirates of the Carribean or Star Wars.

[Reiko]

SotC is one of those games it takes a certain type of gamer to enjoy, it's really a niche game that takes a bit to enjoy of coarse that kinda makes it a good choice for underrated games.

Okami: this one had a bit of a following and good reviews though sadly it kinda got overlooked. It was one of my best gaming experinces last year and it seems the only reason people care about the game is that Capcom's greedily porting it over to the Wii where it might get overrated like Twilight Princess on the Wii. I'm really kinda pissed that Capcom would do that after disolving the studio that made Okami.

[Mathias]

We should've learned by now that Capcom is filled with assholes.

[Vampiric Angel]

Here are a few of my personal underrated favorites:

Vagrant Story
Altered Beast
The Legend of Dragoon
Advent Rising
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Indigo Prophecy
Disgaea - Hour of Darkness

EDIT: Shadow of the Colossus is also on that list, but it's been mentioned enough.

[Max Dirks]

Breath of Fire II

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Indigo Prophecy was win and awesome on a DVD.

[Angel of Light]

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Great game, really messed with your head, never really took off that well. It was even a launch title.

[Corvus MacCallum]

ICO (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YSXwreNIuYE) - The true underrated game, Shadow got its massive critical acclaim as did ICO but Shadow was riding on the lesson of ICO and taught people to actually look at it this time round. There are a good number of games where I'll be awed by the scale, not many but ICO really is, the castle you have to escape from is just so huge and built on a scale perfect for making their escape from it intensely futile feeling.

Global Defence Force (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rk_Eoqag1gQ) (PAL/PS2) - A straight up action game, you are a soldier in the GDF armed and ready to tackle a return invasion of aliens, use bazookas, grenade launchers, flame-throwers and many regular firearms as a regular soldier and slaughter your way through literally hundreds of B-movie grade enemies. Giant ants, spiders, UFOs, huge alien walkers and just so much more. Just a blinding old-skool action game that lets you do something few games allow these days, pick up and play.

Metal Saga (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OxV4aPiOmrA) (PS2 NTSC) - When have you ever played a non-linear RPG on a console?... there are over 400 events if memory serves on the claim for the box, an immense amount of items that can be game-saving, useless or funny, a collection of around 14 tanks you can acquire and customise to a pretty good degree. There is just so much to this game, its graphics haven't aged particulary well but its still a fantastic change of pace for RPGs on a console.

Can also recruit one of four dog breeds (at a time, you're free to switch at any time) that can mount cannons on their back for heavy fire power.

Super Robot Wars Original Generation 1 and 2 (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bWuN9SrtjFs) (GBA) - Since I came across them after hitting the net have always been a huge fan of the Super Robot Wars series, turn based strat with basic levelling and upgrading that to me has always worked far better than games like it such as Fire Emblem or Knight of Lodis. These two are the only SRWs that are in english due to massive copyright issues ( the regular series is a massive cross-over of nearly all forms of mecha anime and manga) , this one however is a purely self contained story mixing their original heroes from previous games and many made just for this one.

[Saxon]

Loved Indigo Prophecy and Beyond Good & Evil, they both seem like things that should have sequels at one point or another. Okami took a while to beat, but it has to be one of the most beautiful gaming experiences I've ever had. It took an ingenius game mechanism with the cosmic brush and just ran with it, which you rarely see these days.

I'll toss a pair of games into the hat that I've heard nobody talk about, but needs the credit they deserve: Mark of Kri & Rise of the Kasai.

[Messenger]

America's Army(PC Version)-It's a awesome game and it's free to download if anyone has a decent PC and wants to try it just go to the website. If you do like Shooters it's a must try.

Conflict Desert Storm- These game's were really fun if you played split screen with a bunch of buddies. Tactics were actually needed to win a level sometimes.

Killswitch-I loved this game it had amazing graphics for the PS2 and combat was pretty intense.

[Veatrix]

Loved Indigo Prophecy and Beyond Good & Evil, they both seem like things that should have sequels at one point or another.

I heartily disagree with the sequel business for Beyond Good & Evil, it'll ruin the already "innocent" franchise. It'll likely be a way from Ubisoft to get more money from the fans who want more. Unless it's AMAZING, LIKE DROP DEAD GORGEOUSLY AMAZING, then no please.

[Saxon]

I heartily disagree with the sequel business for Beyond Good & Evil.

If you watch the end of the credits, theres a scene that shows that the aliens aren't quite as dead as you think they are. Giving way to a potential sequel later. Plus, if done correctly, a game's longevity can be sustained through several incarnations. Now I agree if your talking about sequels like games who've been beaten to death like Final Fantasy, but I would've liked to have seen a little bit more with Jade and a lot more storybuilding. One game for a story like that just isn't enough.

[Serilliant]

Phantasy Star 4: this game is the best of the series and maybe even the only good game in the series.

Lufia 2: this prequel to the horridly bad Lufia was everything the first wasn't, a good RPG.
Wow. Get out of my head. Those were literally the two that I thought of the moment I saw this thread. I disagree that the earlier Phantasy Stars and Lufia 1 were bad games, though. The finales were certainly better, but their predecessors were pretty good too, in my opinion.

I remember writing a letter to... some gaming magazine when I was really young about their review of Phantasy Star 4. It was my favorite game for quite a while.

[Reiko]

heh sorry^^ I tend to overreact to certain problems and in RPGs Pacing is a biggie. If an RPG ends up forcing too much grinding I Grow to loath a game. Both the early phantasy stars and Lufia had some really bad issues with grinding and that kills a game for me.

[Corvus MacCallum]

Oh yes brings me onto a point I completely forgot about with Metal Saga, by holding down either the L2 or R2 button, can't remember which it skips all battle animations, making level grinding far faster than most RPGs offer.

I really disagree about Fahrenhiet (Indigo prophecy for the NTSCers) being underrated, the game had a great few opening bits but completely and totally fell apart pre-middle all the way to the end and in interviews the director said he was only looking to grab people from the start.

Nother title for the grab-bag

Metal Slug 3d (NTSC-J PS2) - Yes they did make a 3d one and its as import friendly as games get, nearly every menu is in full english but most importantly, all dialogue is spoken and its in full (badly acted) english. The game also has the exact feeling of the Metal Slug games and while not having all the amusing animations it still has that perfect metal slug look. Able to customise the Slug too and a good variety of levels about 12 or so.

[Serilliant]

Both the early phantasy stars and Lufia had some really bad issues with grinding and that kills a game for me.

Play Dragon Warrior II :)

First RPG to include a party system. Unfortunately, when coding experience points, the programmers made a grave error. Rather than receiving the correct amount, each character would receive one-third of what they were supposed to since the points were divided among your three characters. Three times less experience means three times more grinding. Happy times were had by all. Fortunately, this was still an era when RPG gamers were masochists and the only difficulty that could be in a game was "and the next boss is 15 levels higher than the last!" so the tedium of grinding was embraced.

Ahh... good ole Dragon Warrior II. Another underrated game. Back before RPGs turned mainstream and the programmers decided to make them 'fun' to appeal to a larger market.

[Bleater]

Power Stone
Fatal Frame
The Deception series (although admittedly they were pretty much all the same game)
Lunar 2
Messiah
The 7th Guest/The 11th Hour
Populous

[Sighter Tnailog]

Lufia 2: this prequel to the horridly bad Lufia was everything the first wasn't, a good RPG. It's plot was wonderful even though players to the first game knew what happened at the end but everything that led to it was wonderful and the gameplay was just as good, having some of the most challenging puzzles ever.

I second that! But I would add that the original Lufia, in its own way, was a lot of fun for having just a simply ENORMOUS world to explore and work your way through, especially for a game of its era. Its main problem, I think, was related to balance issues on a few bosses and the difficulty of being unable to select a single monster to concentrate fire on.

But I love the ways in which Golden Sun "quotes" some of the aspects of Lufia 2 in its system, such as putting a fire Djinni in a dungeon location that is reminiscent of where you find capsule monster BLAZE in Lufia 2.

[Dissinger]

Speaking of Golden Sun...

Golden Sun 1 + 2

It was really unique in that your characters from the first one where still around, still trying to do something. The best part was finally when you get to a certain part, your old party joins thenew one, and if you transfer data accordingly, they have all the overpowered (now barely breaking even) gear they had at the end of the first.

The challenges were unique and engaging, and the system of fighting was rather innovative. As you went through a boss battle you literally had to balance weakening yourself by using Djinni and throwing everything you had at the boss.

It was AWESOME.

Though few people played it around hwere I'm from.

[Saxon]

I played the first and loved it, only to hear my bastard of a brother gave it away to extended family. The second frustrated me to no end, I don't know what part I got stuck on, but I never managed to beat the game because I ended up wandering around the map in confused circles and was unable to figure out how to move on with the main quest for whatever reason. :confused:

[Corvus MacCallum]

It does have one flaw though, in that your party won't change their target during combat, if the enemy they targetted died before they act they do nothing, its a shame, but definately not enough to spoil such a great two RPGs.

[Elijah_Morendale]

D'oh! How dare I forget the two Golden Sun games? *slaps hand*

I really enjoyed the first one, but just couldn't get into Felix's side of the story for some reason.

[Sighter Tnailog]

It does have one flaw though, in that your party won't change their target during combat, if the enemy they targetted died before they act they do nothing, its a shame, but definately not enough to spoil such a great two RPGs.

I think it actually adds a level of strategy to the game. You have to plan ahead and try to split your strength in such a fashion as to make sure you're making the most of your strong hitters every turn. I didn't see it as a flaw as much as an integral part of the battle system.

[Atzar]

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - This was the second FE in North America. The first was given the props it deserved, but this one was persecuted for a couple of controversial changes. I'm one of the people that liked the changes, but the fact remained that the overall structure was still as sound as ever - something that most people overlooked.

Super Mario Sunshine - How, exactly, is this game worse than 64? I thought this game was better in every way, with the possible exception of the fact that 64 had more levels. Yes, 64 was revolutionary... but did a tried-and-true formula stop SMB3 and SMW from being great? Or LoZ: LttP? Or DKC2 and DKC3? I didn't think so.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I think you're deserving of a few points for mentioning the DKC games. I also think FLUDD is what killed Sunshine for the vast majority of Nintendo's fans. There was just something about a talking water pump that... yeah. There's a cool kind of too-Japanese, like WarioWare, then there's the weird kind of too-Japanese.

[Sighter Tnailog]

I don't know...I just didn't have a whole lot of fun playing Super Mario Sunshine. I thought that the whole thing just felt smaller and less ambitious than 64.

[Atzar]

Hmm. I guess I'm just one of the weird ones that enjoyed the changes. FLUDD was ok, although my favorite part of the game was the hidden levels that took FLUDD away.

[Elijah_Morendale]

To each his own.


On that note, has anyone else played Mario Galaxy?

[Reiko]

Mario Galaxy doesn't belong on this list. I've heard enough about it being the best platformer of all time.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I wasn't saying that it was underrated, I was merely asking if anyone other than myself has played it.


Silly.

[Ataraxis]

I'm playing it, and it seems pretty nice up til now, if not a bit easy. I'm sure difficulty will pick up farther into the game, because three hits to kill a boss is just too quick!

Mario should ditch Peach. Rosalina is totally digging him.

[Elijah_Morendale]

The levels themselves will pick up in difficulty. The boss battles? Don't really count on it.

Bowser's final level is pretty epic for a Mario game, however. ^_^

[Ashiakin]

Gothic 2. (http://www.amazon.com/Aspyr-11131-Gothic-2-Gold/dp/B000BNJMIM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1196655969&sr=8-1)

If you can get past the somewhat clunky controls and the fact that you die every two minutes so you have to save often, it's really one of the best games out there. It's a great combination of freedom and structure and it's certainly a challenge (especially if you get the expansion, which makes an already difficult game even harder.)

[Seth_Rahl]

Hmm...undderated....I'll have to go with Godhand. That game was actually pretty fun. And also Legend of Musashi 2.

[Saxon]

I was never one for westerns, but Gun turned me on to it. The voice acting was great, the gameplay was excellent, and the story was exquisite. I'd like to think it would have been better known if it was a little more hands-on and didn't just drop you after the game ended. ;)

[Lucien]

Gun has nothing on Red Dead Revolver.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dead_Revolver)
Now that was a fun-fucking game. Midget clowns, fat pig guys that explode, English Dandy Shooters. Man, it was classic.

[Vampiric Angel]

I'll toss a pair of games into the hat that I've heard nobody talk about, but needs the credit they deserve: Mark of Kri & Rise of the Kasai.

Wow, I just read back on this post and I somehow missed this snippit of it. I agree wholeheartedly, the battle system was one of the most innovative I had seen in a while and the way they introduced the stories and different levels was just beautiful.

[Broken Dragon]

Gun has nothing on Red Dead Revolver.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dead_Revolver)
Now that was a fun-fucking game. Midget clowns, fat pig guys that explode, English Dandy Shooters. Man, it was classic.

Seconded. I have fond memories of getting hammered with my friends and playing Red real screwed up because I thought I'd be able to do better drunk.

[Blitzkrieg]

Bleach: Blade Battlers 2. A game that no one on here has probably played, save myself. xD

[Camella]

Bloodrayne.

Honestly, I can't get enough of that game.

[Veatrix]

The Suikoden series. Sadly overshadowed by more popular RPGs like Final Fantasy, this little gem is outstanding, particularly the second one, for the PS, which is one of my most favourite games.

[Bloodrose]

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

I thought it was a pretty solid game underneath, but for most players the experience is marred by the multitude of bugs, glitches, and the very restricted world that accompany it being the first game developed and released on the Source engine.

You can tell right from the start that they hadn't completely worked out how the engine behaved before releasing the game...

[Kovalai]

Luca Blight is scary as hell
I've played a Bleach fighting game that I think you're talking about? It was like Powerstone (powerstone! Squee!), but for the PS2, and bleach.

Disgaea is totally underrated. I mean, sure, everyone who's played it thinks it's awesome, but they don't think it's awesome enough. In the same vein, Bioshock is ridiculous. And Super Metroid will always be one of my favorite games ever, but I don't know if it's actually underrated, but I can imagine it could be

Lastly, Prince of Persia 1-3, but particularly three, since I played it more recently. Man, I seriously miss puzzle platformers

[Lucien]

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

I thought it was a pretty solid game underneath, but for most players the experience is marred by the multitude of bugs, glitches, and the very restricted world that accompany it being the first game developed and released on the Source engine.

You can tell right from the start that they hadn't completely worked out how the engine behaved before releasing the game...

That game was like the Matrix meets Underworld!

There were vampires, and they ended up moving in agonizingly slow motion. That lag was the worst I have ever seen in my life. One minute a wall breaks down due to a Sabbat attack, the next? I'm dead. He had time to claw me to death in that one, tiny skip.

The story was alright, pretty good actually. But it ended up being less RPG and more Vampire: The first person shooter.


Prince of Persia is not underrated. It's really, really not. It made a name of Ubisoft, and everyone has at least tried it, and the gameplay is amazing, and God himself helped make the game.

Yeah, no. It's beyond well known. Critics and players alike have lifted it to Devil May Cry status.

[The House of Dying Lights]

I think only Suikoden 1 and 3 were really underrated. 2 is nearly godlike in it's credits, so it wouldn't fly here, and I was just on whole disappointed with 4 and 5.

Thank god there are people out there that have heard of the Indigo Prophecy. Such an underrated game, so great. The gameplay isn't too difficult. It's the puzzles that will get you. Like being in the asylum when you can't see a god damn thing and the murderer's are milling around. I died like eighteen billion times before I finally got the hell out of there. Plus a Soundtrack by Theory of a Deadman. *drool* Just on whole a kickass game that so few people have played or heard of or adore like they should.

[Vampiric Angel]

If only everyone could have experienced the first time you actually use your powers while fleeing from the cops, no doubt the best part of the entire game.

EDIT: The battle system was so simplistic that it made it that much more difficult. Combining both thumbsticks to interact during the action sequences was a stroke of genius. Definitely need quick reflexes for that. But the learning curve is low so you get into it.

[Seth_Rahl]

Did I already mention Godhand?

Ehrgeiz. I"m surprised no one has mentioned this. The game was a gem amongst diamonds during the time it came out, and really only got recognition from the fact that it was Sony and featured FF7 characters as playable. But once I got my hands on it, as I too had been sucked in by the promise of whuuping Sephy's ass using Vincent, I found that it had a pretty decent battle system and the RPG was enjoyable as well.

[Vampiric Angel]

Einhander - A great side-shooter game for the PS1 that didn't get much praise. It was fun and at times, brought me back to my Galaga days.

[Red Lightning]

Ooh yes, that was a fun game.

[The Writing Writer]

Ogre Battle 64


So many hours...so many.

[Red Lightning]

Folklore for the PS3. I loved it. Every single bit.

[Rith]

Socom 2 / Socom 3 / Socom: Combined Assault

Great, great, great, great, great 3rd person shooters. DONT PLAY OFFLINE, IT GETS REPETATIVE. PLAY ONLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've sayed up for literally 70+ straight hours playing Socom 2 with my neighbor (good times). By day 3 we passed out in our gaming chairs, controllers in hand, and headsets still on in the middle of a game.

If you're into realistic shooters check it out for the PS2, it's by far the best realistic shooter out there.

[Storm Veritas]

Shadowrun for the SNES. Most fun stupid game ever.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure


If you have a Wii, you owe it to yourself to play a third party game that finally gets the idea of why Nintendo made the system in the first place.

Go figure, Capcom finally did something right.

[Death Knight]

AVP 2. I loved every minute online playing as Aliens and Predators it kept going on all nighters haha Me and all my friends played it along with the other thousands which now I would assume is only a couple hundred. None the less it was the best game based on the Aliens and Predator series.

[Lachan]

phantom crash-the best mech game ever
Earth defense force 2017
seventh cross evolution
phantom dust

[Wizo]

Ikaruga for the gamecube and Dreamcast. Best Shooter Game alive.

[Elijah_Morendale]

Ikaruga was great. I wouldn't go so far as to say best shooter game, especially when Compile was around back in the late 80's to mid 90's...

Zanac and The Guardian Legend, specifically...

[Veatrix]

Thread revival!

Anyone know any really great, underrated games for the SNES, including the aforementioned Shadowrun? I just downloaded an SNES emulator and I'm looking for something interesting to play.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Earthbound
Earthworm Jim 1 and 2
Chrono Trigger
Yoshi's Island
Kirby Super Star
TMNT 4: Turtles in Time
Batman Returns -or- Pirates of Dark Water
Secret of Mana/Evermore
Contra 3
Actraiser

That should be enough to start you off. Great games, underrated or not.

[oren]

YES Kirby Super Star! Haven't played it in a long time though.

I have no idea what games are underrated. Every time I pick a game that just comes out it ends up as players choice. Though I have to admit I only played some of them because they had good looking male leads. -coughs-