gaming Underrated Video Games

[Commander Bubbles 1,343]

Crimson Skies and Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge were some great flight combat games that sadly never got the attention they deserve. Set in 1937 in an alternate history where the USA is split into a bunch of nation-states and air travel becomes the main way of transportation, air pirates roam the skies. It was a pretty neat concept, and the arcadey physics of the game and its overall style really made you feel like Indiana Jones when you were playing it. The sequel, High Road to Revenge, had a more arcadey feel to it than the original PC version, but both games were excellent nonetheless. Still have copies of both versions, and I still play them today.

[That Guy 100]

Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Shards is a clear shot for me!

NN is one of the BEST RPG i've ever played in my gaming history, all the characters are brilliant and the soundtrack is just sublime ;3;
another thing i love about it is that they still go with the dice roll mechanism, and that there will never be the same item at the same spot twice!

Dragon Shards is another D&D game, but this is kinda more to... well i woulndt say RTS, its something ok!
but its just so awesome! with all the different characters from D&D there isnt much i can ask for now

[qqq 217]

I enjoyed playing "Sly 2: Band of Thieves". It's a stealth game at heart but strangely had many different ways to play it. Most missions are traditional sneaking about and nicking stuff, but there are also missions in which you find yourself using explosives to sneak past by creating distractions or by simply blowing people up.

[Victor van Dort 202]

LA Noire. It may seem popular to some but it deserves a much larger following. The graphics are OK, the script is great, but what really got e was the fact that it was open-world and the music.

Metal arms: Glitch in the system. The first shooter I played, and probably the best. This thing has a great campaign storyline-wise and gameplay-wise. The multiplayer, while not fit for online, is just as good. The maps in it are awesome.

[Jammo 986]

Sierra's Kings Quest VI. It was actually a pretty big hit when it came out but no one ever talks about it anymore. It deserves more praise as it is essentially the Ocarina of Time of point and click adventures. The one that hit every right mark and critical acclaim.. But this one fell into obscurity since it belongs to a long dead franchise which had as many misses as hits.

 

Final Fantasy V and IX. Both the most overlooked of their generations. V had some of the deepest character costumization the series has ever seen, even if it's script is often pretty weak. IX combines a lot of the best aspects of the older games and the newer games, while putting fresh new spins on established tropes.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Jammo

[Skygunner 352]

Let's start the list off with someting most of you have probably heard of, just never botherd to play,  or finish.

 

 

Beyond Good and Evil

 

Easily one of the most high profile games on this list I'm about to splurt off,  Beyond Good and Evil  is a 2003 (for you americans) released game on the PS2, XBox and GameCube.   It was a throw back to the Banjo Kazooie style Adventure game with some minor puzzle solving and oh yeah...stealth elements. By the gods the stealth elements, if you want a nerve racking experience where a Camera is your only weapon (and there aren't any ghosts to take pictures of, Sorry Fatal Frame enthusiasts ) then this is the game for you.  The entire world and story is insanely in depth,  topped of with wonderful for the time graphics and one of the richest soundtracks ever.  For example

 

 

At its release it was just overshadowed.   Never took off.  As such copies of the original game are actually sorta rare, but that's ok as most counsels love money and decided to rerelease an HD remake on virtual counsel. So once you're done reading my magnificent words, prance on over and check to see if your favorite counsel has it available,  drop the cash and enjoy one of the most satisfying games you've played in some time.   Not to give spoilers but the game was supposed to be part of a trilogy, and has much more story than the first game has to offer,  so it's ending is a little lack luster.  No fears,  the creator has been dropping hints that it'll be getting its long overdue sequel......eventually.

 

 

 

Vectorman

 

This game is a tragic story.  Released for the Sega platforms in late 1995,  it is one of the last major games on the Sega. Unfortunately by this time the PS1 had been out and about,  hype was building for the upcoming N64 and Sega was a dying breed.  The game was very simple in concept,   side scrolling shoot-em-up with a platformy feel..  The controls were simple but it was a true testament of what the Sega Genesis could do.

 

 

Just have a listen to that music

 

You will probably never beat the game, as it was rather lengthy and difficult,  but that's ok,  You could play it for hours on end exploring massive leves all the while rocking out to some of the best music on the Genesis.  Dont' worry,  Vectorman is currently available on all current major systems, including your PC because it's on steam.  (For 3USD  http://store.steampowered.com/app/34280/ ) Or just use a ROM.   Don't feel bad about it,  its developer Blue Sky went south a long time ago,  so they wouldn't be seeing any of your money regardless. 

 

 

I'll think of a few more. 

[Aeon Of Dreams 115]

I have always been a fan of Bungie's Marathon series, it is now free for those who want to try it out.

 

Also, Alan Wake is not that well known even though it was very good, especially in the music and story department.

 

BlazBlue is spectacular  for those of us who love fighting games. But it also has some of the best characters I have ever seen, and I am quite serious there (not that my word means much here....).

Edited January 28, 2013 by The Oneiromancer

[Fridge 382]

Two older games for the PC I'd suggest would be Thief 2 and System Shock 2. I know that the graphics compared to now are shocking but the gameplay is amazing.

 

And its not underratted since it swept the board at all the gaming awards but try the Walking Dead game (all 5 episodes)

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

I think that Mirror's Edge is definitely an underrated game. It was kinda short, but it was an awesome concept, and what was executed was executed pretty well.

 

[Mr Dash 1,818]

On the Dreamcast, Shenmue. On the Dreamcast and Xbox, Shenmue 2. The Shenmue series, even though it is hasn't been completed, is my all time favorite video game. It was first to do many of the things that we take for granted in games these days. But sadly it wasn't finished.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the N64. It was a bit overshadowed by Ocarina of Time. Plus it is quite dark and emotional for a Zelda a game.

 

I agree with AtomicBassCannon on Mirrors Edge as well. Very fun game. I went through the game without firing a single gun. Supposedly there is going to be a Mirrors Edge 2. Fingers crossed.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Mr. Dash

[uuunph 288]

I don't think anyone's mentioned this one yet, the Disgaea series. It's a really niche game. The sheer amount of content they pack into the games is ridiculous. It's a huge grindfest; leveling up to 9999 and then reincarnating so that you leveling back to 9999 countless times so that you can acquire gargantuan stats. And don't even get me started on the farming innocents like statisticians and gladiators  to make godlike equipment. Seriously, the post game content is where most of your time will be spent. The series has great humor too and the skill animations are way over the top. 

 

Quite a unique game series, and I suggest that anyone interested in SRPGs give it a try.

Oh man, this. Which Disgaea's do you have? I have the second one. I remember grinding the first secret world a lot, where you'd throw the archers on top of each other, and then kill the super-high leveled archer in one hit with a tower attack, leveling up to 9 humans and one monster. I still never got too high of a level. I must have still been in the hundreds, IIRC. Was quite a while ago. Did you get those lvl 9999's you were talking about? Did you also farm innocents? Because I read the guides to maxing out equipment, and it sounds really painstaking.

 

What I loved the most though, was leveling up the characters, and then unlocking new classes. I would always keep at least one of each class type. And to think, it's only the colour scheme that changes, but it seems so satisfying to reincarnate my T1 Fighter into a T2 Warrior, etc. Man, I really loved the Aqua Demons. They're just so adorable!

 

And Adell was a totally badass normal. No need to be like all the other heroes with huge-ass swords, just his FISTS OF FURY.

[Mutemutt 772]

*snip*

 

I have Disgaea 3 and 4. I played  2 on the ps2 and then bought it for my psp, then went back and bought the first one for the psp as well. I can't play 1 or 2 anymore since my ps2 went missing and my psp broke though.

 

Yeah, got to 9999 multiple times on all of the Disgaeas except the first one. I remember doing that same thing with the tower attacks on the fused archers for a while, then going through the Cave of Ordeals to find the best grinding spot at Cave of Ordeals 4, where all the enemies are on that double exp spaces shaped perfectly for big bang. 

 

I farmed innocents mostly statisticians (gladiators later on) so that I could level faster. Nothing beats getting to 9999 in less than 30 minutes. I've never maxed out my equipment with anything but statisticians usually because I would get lazy/bored.

 

I always end up using the generic classes more than the main characters. Making powerful characters that use weapons they're not suited for is probably my favorite thing about generic classes. There is always a gun toting galaxy mage on my team in the post game  .  My favorite unique characters would have to be Flonne and Raspberyl. 

Edited January 29, 2013 by Cota

[uuunph 288]

I always end up using the generic classes more than the main characters. Making powerful characters that use weapons they're not suited for is probably my favorite thing about generic classes. There is always a gun toting galaxy mage on my team in the post game  .  My favorite unique characters would have to be Flonne and Raspberyl.

Oh right, Cave of Ordeals! That's what it was called. I remember doing that same thing on the fourth level for that. Do the other games also have "Dark Worlds"?

 

Yeah, I loved using generic classes. I had this pretty OP Thief-class equipped with a bow that'd always wreck everything. I don't know how, but she was always a lower level than some of my main characters, yet she easily had the highest damage output, survivability, and could well, steal things. And thieves can also move faster, so yeah, easily my most used character.

 

Somehow, I feel that the characters you create have more of a personality, even though they never talk. Found that kinda odd, but it's cool, definitely. Not sure how that's supposed to work.

[Scootalove 10,684]

The Spiderman video games. Even though, they were entertaining to everyone who played people still think the Amazing Spider-Man the Video Game was better then the original.

[Admiral Colt 61]

Now this game actually did pretty well in Japan, but not here in America.

 

Radiata Stories: It was a Square-Enix/Tri-Ace game. It was a real time combat RPG. It was so fun, and I replayed it so many times. It's one of the few Square-Enix games that I really ever replayed several times over again. It deserved so much more buys here in America than it got. It came out for the PS2 back in 2004 or 2005 I believe. It's made it into my top 5 games of all time list.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Colt-Fortune

[Mutemutt 772]

Oh right, Cave of Ordeals! That's what it was called. I remember doing that same thing on the fourth level for that. Do the other games also have "Dark Worlds"?

 

Sort of. They got rid of the Dark Sun, so things are a little less random. Disgaea 3 and 4 have X Dimension stages which you unlock with illegal tickets (or something like that. It's been a while since I've played) you find in the item world. It's still the same stages with increased difficulty though, so it is essentially the same. I don't think I ever got around to finishing some of those stages, since they're more of a "puzzle" hard than a "These enemies are too strong" hard.

[Radiance64 7,052]

The Zero Escape series:

Awesome visual novel/puzzle games, with mature, twist-filled storylines and underlying choice systems. The games so far are 999 for the Nintendo DS and Virtue's Last Reward for 3DS/PSVita, and a third one is on the way. I've really fallen in love with the series and both games are rather well-reviewed, but they are admitedly kinda niche, although you would likely enjoy them if you like traditional adventure games or other games with choice systems(of which there are many), as long as you don't mind more cutscenes than gameplay.

[weegeez 150]

Zack and Wiki, incredible puzzle game for wii that integrates amazing use of the motion controls, would recommend for just about anyone

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

My favorite game of all time is Skies of Arcadia: Legends (the Gamecube remake). Honestly, I can't explain why except that when I first played it, the story and characters seemed so awesome, and now it's mostly just pure nostalgia for me. It's a great game that I would definitely recommend.

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Looking through this thread I guess I can truly say that THE MOST underrated game would definitely have to be Scaler.

That game honestly blew my mind with the awesome level design (it was the most fun I had watching a character grinding on a vine).

The music in the levels was just downright awesome!

Here's an example:

(One of my all time favorite levels too)

 

And the best part...

You can change to any monster suited for that environment you're in

 

I gotta say,

It's the most fun I've had outside of the usual Ratchet and Clank games I normally play :3