gaming Most underrated video games?

[AppleGearRising 525]

that's cute- Okamiden

amazing how those guys, with a more limited hardware, made a game as fantastic as it's predecessor, but sadly, EVEN more overlooked than Okami

 

other underrated games:

-zelda spirit tracks: yeah, I only heard ocarina ocarina, now Twilight twilight princess, FUCKING SPIRIT TRACKS WAY BETTER THAN TEILIGHT PRINCESS

-Demon's Crests: pretty overlooked game, and it's much better than any gargoyle's quest, with a dark, but fantastic soundtrack

-Castlevania Order of Ecclesia: yeah, it's true that CV series was decaying before Lords of Shadow, but OoE was undoubtedly, the one of the best metroidvanias ever, with many different environments instead of exploring a castle the whole game, it's hard, and a female lead, who is not related to other leads in any way

-Castlevania Lament of Innocence: ok, it's not as good as Lords of Shadow, true, but damn hell, it a lot better than I expected, it didn't deserved to be overlooked as it is

-Doom 64: just different graphics, that's all, but it's the same gameplay as Doom and Doom 2. aside of being in the N64, how it was so overlooked is beyond me

I have both Okamiden and Spirit Tracks and I couldn't agree more!

[Koelath 444]

Okami was criminally overlooked! :okiedokielokie:

Okami was shafted in basically every way. Capcom failed to market it (as is a publisher's job) so they deemed it failing expectations and shut down the whole studio (who then regrouped as Platinum Games and resumed releasing amazing-yet-overlooked games like Vanquish A.K.A That-Game-Nobody-Played-Because-They-Were-Too-Busy-Playing-Lame-Halo-Instead). Then it got an inferior port by some other random studio with all credit to the real creators removed. Then it got an inferior (but still alright, sorta) sequel.

 

At least it got acclaim later on...

[Castle Bleck 19,209]

@SomariFeyWright,

 

Fans: BESTIALITY!!! This is not Sonic Next-Gen!

 

Me: *browses Internet and sees too many Sonic fangirls to count*

Edited February 5, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Koelath 444]

Spec Ops: The Line

And NFS Rivals, the game has it's bad rating thank to NFS:MW.

 

If anything, Spec Ops is overrated. The first few hours at least are just boring slogs through endless sandy shootouts. The only worthwhile part of it is its alleged message.

[Discordian 6,013]

*Skims topic for Scurge: Hive*

 

*Is thoroughly disappointed*

 

>8(

 

This is my disappointed face. Deal with it.

 

The entire Wild Arms franchise is pretty overlooked. A lot of people play the first game in the series and write off the rest. No one believes me when I say the first is not only the worst (note: Not saying it's a bad game) in the series and the rest is VERY different, especially 4 and onward.

 

I both love and hate topics like this. I love them because it gives me a chance to advertise great games I think people should play but have never heard of or overlook for one reason or another. I hate them because no one actually reads these topics usually and a lot of people list a ton of games that are niche but still popular or ramble off a ton of games that have no meaning to anyone ever. Myself included.

Let's start off with the bombshell here.

 

Sonic '06.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong. It was a bad game. The controls were mediocre at best, the glitches were ungodly painful, the Silver battle was downright laughable with how poorly it was executed, the story sucked, and that's why it's a terrible- Oh crap, I'm missing my own point.

Yes, it has all of those flaws, and it's a bad, BAD game, but GOD, it isn't so bad that people need to preach its suckiness. At the very least, it's laughably bad, and I still play it from time to time.

I would go so far as to say that Sonic 06 had a lot of great ideas. Like the way they handled characters besides the main three controllable characters and how they appeared for certain parts of levels but didn't get in the way of the main Sonic gameplay. It had a way of satisfying those who love playing as just Sonic while giving variety while also giving people who like to play as MORE than just Sonic, such as myself, a good taste of awesome.

 

It was also the last game in the series to have a more serious story and I miss those kinds of stories in Sonic. I think the games are the only Sonic medium that even use the cartoony and silly format for story anymore. The comics and any of the cartoons have far more serious stories while still remaining cartoony. Something the recent games have failed to achieve.

 

For all intents and purposes Sonic 06 was the real Adventure 3. Some people don't want to admit it because the name is different or because the game sucked but it was overall a design improvement on what the previous two Adventure games did in every way. I know there's been word going around about how Sonic Team still wants to make an Adventure 3 but I think they mostly say that to appease the fans who rage at the fact that there isn't one actually called that yet, though Unleashed's Japanese name is close and I believe it was actually meant to be some sort of sequel or spiritual sequel to the Adventure games.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Discordian

[Koelath 444]

Final Fantasy 13. All I ever hear is how terrible this game is...And I just don't get it. Honestly, the usual criticisms against it make no sense at all to me.

1) "The character designs are generic!" - ...Okay, let's be clear here: Most people use 'generic' to mean bland, uninspired, etcetera. That isn't what it means, but whatever, let's roll with that. Final Fantasy 7 is the most psychotically popular entry in the series (overrated) and its character designs are just as bland. Some guy with Goku hair. Some chick. Some other chick with a ponytail. Big aggressive black guy. Yeah, don't tell me about generic. And speaking of,the first definition of 'generic' according to Google: "characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things"...Okay, yes. These character designs are generic in that sense, as they belong to a group called "JRPG characters". Adventure Time characters are equally generic if we're getting into the legit meaning of the term, and they range from a rainbow unicorn (Lady Rainicorn) to a giant monster made of tentacles and claws and teeth and weird eggsac clusters (Hunson Abadeer).

2) "The tutorial is thirty hours long!" - Take your hyperbole and get out of my house. The "tutorial" isjust a series of random encounters with 'tutorial' flashing on the screen before the battle. These battles are scattered throughout the game, yes, but the battles themselves take seconds. Some harder ones may take a couple minutes. Even adding all that time up, I highly doubt anyone would come even remotely close to thirty hours.

"Until I have full control, the tutorial isn't over!" - Some claim that being limited to certain party members qualifies as 'tutorial' territory, and thereby justify the above claim. In Final Fantasy 8, you are forced into predefined parties during the very last area of the game. Is that a tutorial? No. It's a requirement of the events going on in the story. The group splits up, so the game makes you go with one or the other. That's the same thing going on here in 13. Take your flimsy justification for hyperbole and get out of my house.

3) "The game plays itself!" - Okay, this is the big complaint. But let's be accurate here: The game does not play itself. Walking, inventory management, menu confirmations, all of this requires player input. What this complaint really means is "Battles play themselves", in reference to the game's auto-queuing of combat actions with a single button press. And still...This is wrong. Use of items, abilities, techniques...All require manual input. Not to mention the constant on-the-fly switching of paradigms. The auto-queue is not meant to automate battle, it is meant to create a quicker pace. And it does. Yet I haven't faced a battle yet where all I did was mash X. Even in ordinary non-boss encounters, I find myself monitoring HP (ally and enemy), stagger meters, attack effectiveness, enemy resistance and weaknesses, etcetera and constantly switching out paradigms on-the-fly to adapt to various combat situations. If that is "the game playing itself" then maybe you just have crazy standards.

4) "But I never even needed to switch paradigms!" - This one's exclusive to people who allege that they won every battle with nothing but the auto-queue option. And to them I say...Congratulations. So what? If I can win every battle in a game by relentlessly mashing a single button, that isn't the game playing itself. That's the game lacking difficulty which, while a valid criticism, is never a criticism I see put forth against this game. And really, how many JRPGs like this have players groaning as they hit yet another encounter and mash away at the X button trying to end it as soon as possible and resume the task at hand? The auto-queue also serves to alleviate that frustration by setting up multiple attacks with one button press if you choose that option. It isn't playing for you, it is giving you the choice to play with less drudgery.

5) "The plot is so ridiculous that the game needs its own encyclopedia!" - This is a "criticism" aimed at the game's in-menu datalog, which compiles enemy profiles, characters info, and story events into neat little text entries. But again, this "criticism" is utterly misrepresentative. The plot is not terribly difficult to follow at all. If anything, the datalog is a valuable convenience. Who hasn't gone away from a game for a length of time then come back to realize they have no clue what's happening in the story? The datalog recaps, much like the combat queue option, are there to relieve potential frustrations. I've never once needed the datalog to follow the events going on in this game but sometimes, after a long hiatus, I do need the datalog to recap recent plot developments for me.


Frankly, I'm loving this game. The world is a nice fusion of magic and machinery ala FF7 and FFX. The lore and universe established is by far one of my favorites in the series, even with the over-abundance of the "see" sound - l'cie, fal'cie, cie'th, it can get kinda brain-addling in the beginning before you learn the meaning of each term. The quickened pace of battles is much appreciated, even when it does get too frantic. The method for obtaining summons (eidolons) is new and interesting, adds a small sort of puzzle element to figuring out how to best them. And the way they're used in battle is both new, pretty cool, and quite fun. Reminds me of FFX's Aeons, but adds new twists of its own too. If any game was gonna follow in FFX's footsteps of having a direct sequel, I'm glad it was FF13. I can't wait to complete the game and grab the others.


Really, the biggest criticism I have is that Vanille's voice actress is kinda s###. She lapses into this very heavy Australian-or-maybe-British accent at random moments and totally destroys my immersion because it's an awful voice for the character. When she's doing the right voice, it's great but...I really can't believe they didn't make her re-do the parts she flubbed. And there may be a few too many elements in the game. I mean, equipment customization was a bit much already (why would I ever buy new equipment now?) but then there was this out-of-nowhere segment with the player character driving a big attack robot through waves of enemies. That's almost GTA4 levels of trying to put too much stuff in the game.

In short: Pretty much every criticism I've seen of this game is misinformed or misrepresentative and the hate against it is ridiculously overblown. I'd call that criminally underrated.

 

[Raritas 6,820]

Divinity: Ego Draconis was highly underrated I think. I hardly heard anything about it, but I really liked it. It might not be the best western RPG but it's certainly a good game. 

 

Not sure about this but I hardly hear anything about Ratchet and Clank either. I know it's an old franchise now but I never really found too many fans on my travels round the internet. I'm probably wrong though lol

[~Silver Essence~ 2,622]

Ico

God Hand

Katamari series

Patapon series

Wipeout series (racing series)

Beyond good and evil

Sonic lost world (Too hated upon)

Resident evil revelations

 

Try them, they're my all time favorites.

[BreakingJesse 111]

Final Fantasy 13. All I ever hear is how terrible this game is...And I just don't get it. Honestly, the usual criticisms against it make no sense at all to me.

 

1) "The character designs are generic!" - ...Okay, let's be clear here: Most people use 'generic' to mean bland, uninspired, etcetera. That isn't what it means, but whatever, let's roll with that. Final Fantasy 7 is the most psychotically popular entry in the series (overrated) and its character designs are just as bland. Some guy with Goku hair. Some chick. Some other chick with a ponytail. Big aggressive black guy. Yeah, don't tell me about generic. And speaking of,the first definition of 'generic' according to Google: "characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things"...Okay, yes. These character designs are generic in that sense, as they belong to a group called "JRPG characters". Adventure Time characters are equally generic if we're getting into the legit meaning of the term, and they range from a rainbow unicorn (Lady Rainicorn) to a giant monster made of tentacles and claws and teeth and weird eggsac clusters (Hunson Abadeer).

 

2) "The tutorial is thirty hours long!" - Take your hyperbole and get out of my house. The "tutorial" isjust a series of random encounters with 'tutorial' flashing on the screen before the battle. These battles are scattered throughout the game, yes, but the battles themselves take seconds. Some harder ones may take a couple minutes. Even adding all that time up, I highly doubt anyone would come even remotely close to thirty hours.

 

"Until I have full control, the tutorial isn't over!" - Some claim that being limited to certain party members qualifies as 'tutorial' territory, and thereby justify the above claim. In Final Fantasy 8, you are forced into predefined parties during the very last area of the game. Is that a tutorial? No. It's a requirement of the events going on in the story. The group splits up, so the game makes you go with one or the other. That's the same thing going on here in 13. Take your flimsy justification for hyperbole and get out of my house.

 

3) "The game plays itself!" - Okay, this is the big complaint. But let's be accurate here: The game does not play itself. Walking, inventory management, menu confirmations, all of this requires player input. What this complaint really means is "Battles play themselves", in reference to the game's auto-queuing of combat actions with a single button press. And still...This is wrong. Use of items, abilities, techniques...All require manual input. Not to mention the constant on-the-fly switching of paradigms. The auto-queue is not meant to automate battle, it is meant to create a quicker pace. And it does. Yet I haven't faced a battle yet where all I did was mash X. Even in ordinary non-boss encounters, I find myself monitoring HP (ally and enemy), stagger meters, attack effectiveness, enemy resistance and weaknesses, etcetera and constantly switching out paradigms on-the-fly to adapt to various combat situations. If that is "the game playing itself" then maybe you just have crazy standards.

 

4) "But I never even needed to switch paradigms!" - This one's exclusive to people who allege that they won every battle with nothing but the auto-queue option. And to them I say...Congratulations. So what? If I can win every battle in a game by relentlessly mashing a single button, that isn't the game playing itself. That's the game lacking difficulty which, while a valid criticism, is never a criticism I see put forth against this game. And really, how many JRPGs like this have players groaning as they hit yet another encounter and mash away at the X button trying to end it as soon as possible and resume the task at hand? The auto-queue also serves to alleviate that frustration by setting up multiple attacks with one button press if you choose that option. It isn't playing for you, it is giving you the choice to play with less drudgery.

 

5) "The plot is so ridiculous that the game needs its own encyclopedia!" - This is a "criticism" aimed at the game's in-menu datalog, which compiles enemy profiles, characters info, and story events into neat little text entries. But again, this "criticism" is utterly misrepresentative. The plot is not terribly difficult to follow at all. If anything, the datalog is a valuable convenience. Who hasn't gone away from a game for a length of time then come back to realize they have no clue what's happening in the story? The datalog recaps, much like the combat queue option, are there to relieve potential frustrations. I've never once needed the datalog to follow the events going on in this game but sometimes, after a long hiatus, I do need the datalog to recap recent plot developments for me.

 

 

Frankly, I'm loving this game. The world is a nice fusion of magic and machinery ala FF7 and FFX. The lore and universe established is by far one of my favorites in the series, even with the over-abundance of the "see" sound - l'cie, fal'cie, cie'th, it can get kinda brain-addling in the beginning before you learn the meaning of each term. The quickened pace of battles is much appreciated, even when it does get too frantic. The method for obtaining summons (eidolons) is new and interesting, adds a small sort of puzzle element to figuring out how to best them. And the way they're used in battle is both new, pretty cool, and quite fun. Reminds me of FFX's Aeons, but adds new twists of its own too. If any game was gonna follow in FFX's footsteps of having a direct sequel, I'm glad it was FF13. I can't wait to complete the game and grab the others.

 

 

Really, the biggest criticism I have is that Vanille's voice actress is kinda s###. She lapses into this very heavy Australian-or-maybe-British accent at random moments and totally destroys my immersion because it's an awful voice for the character. When she's doing the right voice, it's great but...I really can't believe they didn't make her re-do the parts she flubbed. And there may be a few too many elements in the game. I mean, equipment customization was a bit much already (why would I ever buy new equipment now?) but then there was this out-of-nowhere segment with the player character driving a big attack robot through waves of enemies. That's almost GTA4 levels of trying to put too much stuff in the game.

 

In short: Pretty much every criticism I've seen of this game is misinformed or misrepresentative and the hate against it is ridiculously overblown. I'd call that criminally underrated.

 

 

You are my hero.

Nobody seems to agree with me that Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy (compilation of all Final Fantasy XIII games, Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito) is a good compilation, and instead everyone absolutely hates it, when it's actually just as good as Compliation of Final Fantasy VII (compilation of all Final Fantasy VII games and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)

[Discordian 6,013]

To the Final Fantasy fans above giving the FFXIII franchise the love it so richly deserves: I agree.

 

A lot of the hate directed towards the games is very...concentrated. They pick out specific instances in the game or overgeneralized themes as if they made up the entire game or the entire personality of the characters. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullsheeeeiiiit.

 

You can spam the X button in most RPGs. Playing the game RIGHT and just playing the game are two different concepts entirely.

[Koelath 444]

You are my hero.

Nobody seems to agree with me that Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy (compilation of all Final Fantasy XIII games, Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito) is a good compilation, and instead everyone absolutely hates it, when it's actually just as good as Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (compilation of all Final Fantasy VII games and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)

I can't say much for the compilation seeing as Type-0 has never gotten an English release to my knowledge and Agito (which also has no word on Western release plans) and XV aren't out.

 

But the VII compilation does get entirely too much praise. Bizarrely enough, this praise comes despite it committing one of the crimes the Twilight series is often attacked for, which is arbitrarily altering pre-established rules for the sake of forcing a story into a predefined box. Twilight did it with its..."vampires", FFVII did it with "Meteor (which is a basic spell in every other title in this entire franchise) can somehow destroy the planet now!"

 

I'd say X-2 is rather underrated too. All the complaints are basically "It's different, now it sucks!"...Granted, continuity-wise it makes little sense coming off of FFX's story but then FFX's story had some nonsensical details itself. Fanservice-y as it was, I do wish they'd bring that class-based battle system back again...

 

And a lot of the minigames in the series get an odd amount of hate. Everyone loves the Gold Saucer, but I spent way more time with Triple Triad.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,329]

Some games that are based off of tv shows. Like a Spongebob game called battle for Bikini bottom. It's like Banjo kazooie meets Spongebob.

[chaoticgeek2 71]

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Sonic Unleashed

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

[NomDeSpite 452]

Many people posting in this thread don't understand the meaning of the word "underrated". It means the game is better than most people give it credit for, especially the media-reviewing class, the Roger Eberts of the world. I'm seeing alot of games posted here that were lauded by critics and players alike (Ico and the Katamari games for example).

 

That said, I'm posting: Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4. Only a few critics like this series (such as Chris Baker at OPM back in the day) but the massive fanbase it has speaks volumes. I still break out DW3 to this day, more than 12 years after its release.

 

The PS2 version of Shinobi also received "good but not great" reviews, yet this game is every bit as good as Devil May Cry. It's simple and more difficult, its fast paced and the combat system is excellent. Few games have ever got my heart racing like that one.

 

- - - - -

 

@@AppleGearRising, Skies Of Arcadia is awesome. One of the best Dreamcast games ever. I wish more people had heard of it.

[Coffee Cream 74]

One game that I don't remember hearing a lot about was Jet Set Radio Future. A lot of people enjoyed Jet Grind Radio more but unfortunately I never experienced it. I gotta say, I LOVE the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack and the gameplay was pretty sweet, although sometimes the controls bugged me. 

[Judgement 445]

Blazblue

Disgaea

Shin Megami Tensei

I plan on getting "Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc" when it comes out on Tuesday. That game seems underrated.

[GameytheGeemer 147]

While this can be argued that this isn't the definition of Underated, I would have to say a namco RPG back on the Gamecube was one of the most under the radar games ever. It was given good ratings, but it wasn't rated by many people.

 

Namely Tales of Symphonia.

 

I swear, this is one of the best games ever for the Gamecube.

 

It has a great storyline, the pacing is rather good, the characters are fleshed out and we can relate to them, the music is FANTASTIC, and I like the main villain. Even if his goals are old and played out, he has good reason and stuff.

[Guest]

( damn phone browser erasing my posts > )

Also Skies of Arcadia, why does no-one remember this awesome game anymore?

You mean that Dreamcast game ? It looks pretty cool, I've been trying to find it to no avail (yup, too lazy to order it online )

 

I guess a lot of indie games count, so I'd say Cargo Commander (2d exploration/shooter thingy) and Gimbal (spaceship battle game with fully buildable ships).

Description of the games below :

 

In Cargo Commander, you play as a worker deep in space gathering cargo from containers while avoiding necromorph-like creatures, armed with your trusty arm drill/cannon. And after a tough battle, you can blow off steam by pressing the F key

 

In Gimbal, you build ships using different components (thrusters, airframes, moving parts, weapons....) and battle against other players from a top down perspective. The customisation on ships is really good, you can for example map your thrusts very precisely (the game does respect Newtonian physics !)

 

 

[Zhortac 1,473]

Final Fantast Mystic Quest

Halo 3:ODST

Zelda Majora's Mask

 

Probably a few other games that were knocked down because of stupid reasons, and yet they have pheonominal soundtracks.

[Guest]

Apologies for the double post, I'm having issues with editing.

 

I have forgot to mention the amazing Tagap 2 (never been able to play the first one without crashing).

Description below :

 

 

Well, it's a 2d shooter about cybernetic penguins saving the world ! It is absolutely ridiculous and funny, sometimes mocking video game clichés, it has a very good and varied soundtrack, and it's absolutely hilarious to play. And it did I mention the main characters, enemies and villain are frickin' PENGUINS ?!!

And it's free !

 

 

[Guest]

Hidden & Dangerous 2 - the best TP WWII game ever made.

[Cosmonaut 76]

LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2.

 

Kerbal Space Program?

Edited July 23, 2014 by Lundmunchkins

[Twilight Dirac 720]

 

 

IMO, Alpha Protocol is the absolute most underrated game ever made. It's a stunningly well-thought-out stealth action RPG with excellent characters and engrossing gameplay, but it was sentenced to life below the radar just because it was buggy.

 

I have to agree with you here.  I really enjoyed this game and its definitely worth the time and the money.  That being said, its still a poor man's Deus Ex. 

 

 

 

Final Fantasy 13. All I ever hear is how terrible this game is...And I just don't get it. Honestly, the usual criticisms against it make no sense at all to me.

 

You mean criticisms like this:  http://spoonyexperiment.com/game-reviews/final-fantasy-xiii-part-1/

 

I am not certain if these are really considered underrated but here are some excellent games:

 

Deus Ex/Deus Ex HR - Probably my favorites FPS/RPGs of all time

 

System Shock 2 - Granddaddy of the Bioshock series, worth it if you can get it to run

 

E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy - Deus Ex meets Warhammer 40k plus 16 player coop, I really wish my friends liked this game more

 

Final Fantasy 6 - Best Final Fantasy hands down

 

Mastery of Magic - Best fantasy grand strategy game I have played.  Many have tried to replicate it, none have succeeded

 

Master of Orion 2 - Best 4X Space grand strategy game, I still haven't found anything else in the genre that is nearly as satisfying, although I keep meaning to try Distant Worlds.

 

Ultima Series - RPGs made of pure awesome.  Somehow manages to blend sandbox RPGs like Skyrim with more story focused RPGs without sacrificing the elements of either.  I absolutely loved this series until EA ran it into the ground with Ultimas 8 and 9.

 

Advanced Wars Days of Ruin - My favorite Advanced Wars game.  I love how it pushed those annoying teenage anime generals from the other titles into the background and just got to the business of strategy and warfare.

[Vae Victis 742]

Legend of dragoon all the way. Original story,an awesome ost, memorable characters, and awesome, desperate battles. It made greatest hits on the ps1, but even still, not many had played it, as the ps2 launch was soon after the games release, and of course, final fantasy dominated the rpg market. Its on psn and I reccomend it highly.

[Magnum Flare 553]

Blue Dragon. That game was my very first XBOX 360 game. Great RPG, rarely heard this from people.

FF 13 and FF 13-2. Seriously this game is quite a masterpiece. 

Not sure, but Saboteur is underrated I think. This game is great overall.

FEAR 3. Great game.

NBA Street / FIFA Street. I'm not into official FIFA, but when we go street, I'm game.

 

EDIT: I forgot one game! Rogue Galaxy of PS2!

Edited July 27, 2014 by Metagross