Underrated Video Games

[Rodgerwilco]

Chrono Trigger should have gotten a better rep. It has a great a great time travel story, an intuitive combat engine, new game+ and a great cast of character. I know that some will say I'm stretching with this pick, but with only Chrono Cross as the only real sequel in the franchise, this is due for a revival.

I actually jsut recently started a new game of Chrono Cross. I never actually finished Trigger, only palyed it briefly as a kid. I feel like Chrono Cross kind of fell through the cracks, since Squaresoft was cranking out hit FF games one after the other back then.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Freedom fighters - I loved that game so much. Never hear it come up in video game discussions. I still remember all the cheat codes.

Yesssssss, good call. A bit janky but so good.

And that soundtrack, I think it's the first time I heard of Jesper!

 

[robertmac43]

I don't know if this necessarily underrated and more just under played because it was a PSP game but I'm going with Logan's Shadow.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

The original Saints Row I thought was pretty underrated. It was the first "next gen" GTA style game during the Xbox 360-PS3 console cycle.

I just remember the online multiplayer was so much fun. It had wacky game modes like 'Protect the Pimp' where a team had to protect its pimp while the other team had to kill the pimp, the pimp could pimp smack people which was a one hit kill. It was an elimination game where you only had one life per round and alternated between protecting and killing the pimp. Another fun mode was Blinged Out Ride where you had to drive a car around to get modded, while trying to destroy the other team's car. These modes sound so dumb as I describe them, but they were a lot of fun at the time. The rag doll physics were also pretty ridiculous and amusing.

 

[RandV]

The big one for me from the late 90's PC era is Die By The Sword, with it's expansion pack Limb from Limb. Before motion controls were a thing it pioneered a physics based 1-1 sword arm control scheme that they called VSIM using either the mouse or the keyboard numbpad... unfortunately the learning curve was too steep for most people so it never went anywhere. Take the time to learn it though and it was a ton of fun, with an arena plus story mode and combined with monty python holy grail-like aesthetics. I mean what other game can you take a target swing to hack off an orcs leg, pick it up and try to beat the orc to death while it still hops around on one leg trying to kill you?

 

[x Tame Impala]

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

The Campaign was exceptional and the multiplayer was so unique and so fun.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I actually jsut recently started a new game of Chrono Cross. I never actually finished Trigger, only palyed it briefly as a kid. I feel like Chrono Cross kind of fell through the cracks, since Squaresoft was cranking out hit FF games one after the other back then.

That's surprising since Chrono trigger is one of the shorter JRPGs you can play

 

[guinness]

The mention of a PSP game made me think of Exit, also I need to go play Mutant League Hockey again.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Speaking of Mutant League Hockey, I miss NHL Hitz, it was so much fun, probably my favorite hockey game to play.

Sticking to the Mutant League theme, someone did make Mutant League Football on PC not too long ago. I have it, it's actually a lot of fun. It even has a demo you can try.

 

[Pay Carl]

The first Infamous, its a great game because it introduced a lot of new mechanics or popularized them.

Advanced wars 1 and 2

That dodge ball game on advance... cant remember the name. **** it was amazing.

Edit: aptly named Super dodgeball advance.

Marvel Nemesis

Xmen Legends 1 and 2

This is bizarre

I have a very vivid memory of my mom taking me to the store to buy one of the Advanced War games when I was a kid (probably like 10-12 I would guess)

When we got there I told her what game I wanted (she didn't know til we got there), and I told her Advanced Wars. Obviously as a Mom to a young kid she was concerned about me getting a war game so I remember her saying "why don't you get this dodgeball game instead" and it made me feel really guilty

It became one of those random small things you remember many years later, and how weird is it that you reference both games in one post. Bizarre

Advanced Wars was great btw. Never got dodgeball, but now after reading that apparently it was great maybe I'll have to find a used copy

 

[Pay Carl]

As far as what I would say is underrated...

There was this racing game called "Circuit Breakers" on the PS1 that was amazing game to play with a group of friends. Came out in 1998 and my childhood friends and I will still play it when we get together every year or so

oh and Ape Escape but I feel like that was pretty popular

 

[Shareefruck]

I actually prefer Advanced Wars over Fire Emblem, almost entirely because I find the aesthetic, art style, and general Anime feel of Fire Emblem kind of gross. Call me superficial, but that kind of thing seems to make a big difference to me.

 

[Mrb1p]

As far as what I would say is underrated...

There was this racing game called "Circuit Breakers" on the PS1 that was amazing game to play with a group of friends. Came out in 1998 and my childhood friends and I will still play it when we get together every year or so

oh and Ape Escape but I feel like that was pretty popular

Ape escape! Yes!

 

[aleshemsky83]

I actually prefer Advanced Wars over Fire Emblem, almost entirely because I find the aesthetic, art style, and general Anime feel of Fire Emblem kind of gross. Call me superficial, but that kind of thing seems to make a big difference to me.

I dont know why you would call it gross, but sure, aesthetics and art style matter. Perfectly reasonable

 

[Rodgerwilco]

That's surprising since Chrono trigger is one of the shorter JRPGs you can play

Yeah, I was only 3 and a half years old when it came out though... lol.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Nuclear Strike PS1 (1997) -

Nuclear Strike is similar to some of the other titles earlier in the thread. It's a helicopter-based assault game where you go around completing different mission objects in various aircrafts, mostly helicopters. For being such an early title, Nuclear Strike really felt polished and, in my opinion, the strongest part of this game is the control. Many earlier games of this style come across as clunky or difficult to control, but even in 2018 NS plays very well. I just recently played through the first few missions and it holds up over time for sure.

 

[Shareefruck]

I dont know why you would call it gross, but sure, aesthetics and art style matter. Perfectly reasonable

Just looks really dated, amateurish, stiff, and ugly to my eyes (I'm mainly talking about the ones released at around or before the time of Advanced Wars, btw, although I don't love the way the new ones look either).

Something about Anime aesthetics in videogames tend to put me off in general, though, even when it isn't necessarily that bad.

 

[Pilky01]

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

The Campaign was exceptional and the multiplayer was so unique and so fun.

Splinter Cell is one of the first online console games I ever got into. I freaking loved the 2 v 2 spies versus mercs game mode. Sneaking around the movie theatre was so freaking cool.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Ico
such a classic IMO

 

[PeakMcOil]

Grand Prix 2 for PC was an incredible game. 12 year old me logged stupid amounts of time on that game. I would do practice laps, check the telelmetry, and get the tuning just right for every track, seasons with full length races and qualifying sessions.

It even had a pretty good damage model and replay function, complete with a tv style mode that had cameras all over the track.

Been looking for it on GOG and elsewhere but haven't found it.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Just looks really dated, amateurish, stiff, and ugly to my eyes (I'm mainly talking about the ones released at around or before the time of Advanced Wars, btw, although I don't love the way the new ones look either).

Something about Anime aesthetics in videogames tend to put me off in general, though, even when it isn't necessarily that bad.

That looks like one of the earliest fire emblems, which I assume would have come out in the 80s or early 90s. Anime looked very different in those days. Advanced wars is actually very anime influenced itself. Maybe a bit more american Saturday morning cartoon flavor but I still see anime in it.

Blazing sword (just fire emblem 1 in NA) and shadow dragon would be closer to the time of advanced wars.

 

[Shareefruck]

That looks like one of the earliest fire emblems, which I assume would have come out in the 80s or early 90s. Anime looked very different in those days. Advanced wars is actually very anime influenced itself. Maybe a bit more american Saturday morning cartoon flavor but I still see anime in it.

Blazing sword (just fire emblem 1 in NA) and shadow dragon would be closer to the time of advanced wars.

The example I had, Thracia 776, came out in 2000, whereas Advanced Wars came out in 2001, and Blazing Sword came out in 2003. That said, while I think it's progressively gotten better, the art style, aesthetic, & costume design still looks ugly and garish to me in general.

Even something like this:

Just a personal preference.

And obviously I'm not saying I dislike the way something looks just because it's technically Anime. Some things lean more heavily towards certain Anime aesthetics that look bad to me than others. Advanced Wars has a really nice and charming look, to my eyes.

 

[PK Cronin]

Nuclear Strike PS1 (1997) -

Nuclear Strike is similar to some of the other titles earlier in the thread. It's a helicopter-based assault game where you go around completing different mission objects in various aircrafts, mostly helicopters. For being such an early title, Nuclear Strike really felt polished and, in my opinion, the strongest part of this game is the control. Many earlier games of this style come across as clunky or difficult to control, but even in 2018 NS plays very well. I just recently played through the first few missions and it holds up over time for sure.

I spent a significant amount of time playing Desert Strike for Sega Genesis (I think). I've also played the other titles and they were a lot of fun, despite the fact that I wasn't very good at them (at least the earlier ones).

 

[Gardner McKay]

Lufia 2. There were some issues with the final release in the US but man, that game had so many great things - With the Ancient Cave being at the top of the list. 99 floors, completely randomized each time, start with no equipment and find stuff along the way... so addicting.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Downhill Domination (2003, PS2)
I loved this game. It was a great, adrenaline rush blast. It's downhill mountain biking where you can pick up power ups, including weapons, and you race to the bottom. A bit reminiscent of Road Rash in that you could punch your opponents off their bikes. The levels were pretty crazy, almost like Mario Kart, but the game provided you with a lot of freedom in how many lateral routes you could choose going down the races. Doing tricks gave you a bonus to your stamina. Playing two-player splitscreen was a lot of fun as well. I believe there was some customization for your bikes and upgrades for different things.




Amped 2 (2003, XBox)
The main appeal of this game, outside of being a 'realistic' snowboarding game which is about as rare a genre as you can find, was that the scores for your tricks weren't just judged on how crazy they were but rather how stylistically pleasing they were. For instance, sometimes doing a slower 360 with a grab would earn more points than a few backflips. It was a nice touch and a cool direction to take the genre in. Another odd yet charming part of the game was the online play. IIRC, you would just join a game and you'd be put onto a course with other people and that was it. No game modes. No formal start or ending to the game. In any other game, it would basically be a lobby for before the game starts. But then I thought of the snowboarding culture and how laid back everyone is, and realized this was some meta stuff. Really though, it's just because the online was probably an afterthought and they didn't put much time or effort in.




Blood (1997, PC)
A pretty over-the-top FPS game with ridiculous amounts of gore. Plenty of different weapons to choose from, the levels and map design were intricate and fun, and you could kick around people's heads after killing them so there's that.