Games that remind you of another

[Trix_]

A few months ago I discovered this game called El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron and the religious themes reminded me a lot of Shin Megami Tensei. As you can see, the title is a direct reference to Christianity. It's on my backlog and looks pretty interesting.

I also found out about the series Tokyo Majin Gakuen last year or so... I don't know much about it, but the spin-off Kowloon High-School Chronicle made me think of SMT as well.

(BTW, one of the characters looks a lot like Spike Spiegel)

Are there any titles that you find similar to each other, despite not being related?

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Ghost Trick Phantom Detective, kinda reminds me of Touch detective, mostly cause of the weird and supernatural vibes.

Hotel Giant reminds me of The Sims.


Side note: That Kowloon High-School game looks awesome, now i wanna try it out.

 

[Trix_]

Ghost Trick Phantom Detective, kinda reminds me of Touch detective, mostly cause of the weird and supernatural vibes.

Hotel Giant reminds me of The Sims.


Side note: That Kowloon High-School game looks awesome, now i wanna try it out.

Oh man, Hotel Giant, haha. I downloaded the second game a few times but there were so many things you had to do before you opened your hotel, so I gave up on it. I'm horrible at tycoon games anyways.
It's cool that you know about it. Apparently the original version is on Steam now.

Hm, speaking of The Sims, I played a few games that were clones. One of them was Singles. It was meant to be an adult counterpart of The Sims, but it was low budget, so there weren't many things to do... it got boring quick. Once in a while I install it just to pass the time, but I would rather play Sims, because there are more interactions and places to go.

However, I appreciate that in the second game there were some unique features. For example, your clothes got dirty so you had to wash them, and the house needed to be vacuumed occasionally. These mechanics would later be added to The Sims 3 and 4. There are also details like your Single drinking a glass of water while eating, or the need to wear a towel after showering. In fact, if your character is seen naked or in a towel, they get embarrassed and run away.
Singles has a spin-off called Kiss Before Midnight that is supposed to be a card game with dating sim elements, and I even found a Russian version that is based on a reality show. It's likely unauthorised and looks pretty ugly, but I wonder how they modified the game to allow more characters in the household. I was working on a translation for it, but I never finished the project. The translation was meant for myself, because I don't know much Russian. It was based on Google and DeepL haha.

Anyways, before Stardew Valley, someone made Shepherd's Crossing which was like Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, but with a focus on animal husbandry. An interesting aspect is that the first installment doesn't have a currency system, so you have to rely on bartering.

I haven't played this yet, but I have some curiosity.

 

[RageBurner]

Gunners Heaven for the PS1 (localized under the much lamer name of Rapid Reload) is pretty much a Gunstar Heroes wannabe. Probably better than the junk we got on the GBA later on.

 

[Trix_]

Gunners Heaven for the PS1 (localized under the much lamer name of Rapid Reload) is pretty much a Gunstar Heroes wannabe. Probably better than the junk we got on the GBA later on.

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OMG I may have heard of this one. I used to play Gunstar Heroes with my brother.
The GBA game was a bit too different for my liking, but I've seen people who enjoy it...
Cogumelando (Brazilian YouTuber) likes to play the GBA version too xD

 

[RageBurner]

OMG I may have heard of this one. I used to play Gunstar Heroes with my brother.
The GBA game was a bit too different for my liking, but I've seen people who enjoy it...
Cogumelando (Brazilian YouTuber) likes to play the GBA version too xD

The problem I have with the GBA version is that it is basically a rehash of the Mega Drive/Genesis one with worse music and less mechanics (no weapon combination! that was the whole system the game hinges on!).

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Shepherd's Crossing

I have also been curious about it, i have seen that it even has a combat system in which you use your hunting dogs.


For another interesting Harvest Moon inspired thing, they actually made Innocent Life, which is literally sci-fi Harvest Moon, i haven't played it, but the idea is intriguing.

Since my memory has been juggled, the original 7th Dragon for the NDS, reminds me of Etrian Odyssey (which makes sense as 7th Dragon was made as competition against Etrian Odyssey).

 

[RageBurner]

Since my memory has been juggled, the original 7th Dragon for the NDS, reminds me of Etrian Odyssey (which makes sense as 7th Dragon was made as competition against Etrian Odyssey).

Ahh that explains its existence. I wasn't sure if it was a spinoff or a competing game.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Ahh that explains its existence. I wasn't sure if it was a spinoff or a competing game.

I personally like 7th Dragon more, but i have been told its a hot take.

 

[RageBurner]

I personally like 7th Dragon more, but i have been told its a hot take.

Are you a mind reader, Freedom Fox? I was about to ask you this very thing!

 

[RageBurner]

So, next, if you'll humor me, WHY do you prefer it? I don't have a strong connection to either series, so I'm curious, here.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

So, next, if you'll humor me, WHY do you prefer it?

Even though the soundtrack of 7th Dragon was made by the same composer as Etrian Odyssey, i believe his work in 7th Dragon is far better.

THAT Battle theme, i love it so much.

I also prefer how the job system works in 7th Dragon, which encourages you to try and find the many quirks and unexpected synergies, and i love that the game invites you to find ways to break it.

And, the EX action command in 7th Dragon is just *Chef's Kiss*

I also really like how the plot handles the whole world ending thing, as you really do feel that things are going to hell in a hand basket, and every little win does feel meaningful.

 

[Trix_]

I have also been curious about it, i have seen that it even has a combat system in which you use your hunting dogs.

For another interesting Harvest Moon inspired thing, they actually made Innocent Life, which is literally sci-fi Harvest Moon, i haven't played it, but the idea is intriguing.

Since my memory has been juggled, the original 7th Dragon for the NDS, reminds me of Etrian Odyssey (which makes sense as 7th Dragon was made as competition against Etrian Odyssey).

Oh yeah, I found out that there's combat in the game recently. I wonder how it is.

I only tested Innocent Life briefly, but people say that it's somewhat slow. I have an interest in it, but it's not a priority.
In regards to HM I mostly played the GBA titles when I was a kid, and at the time I had no idea what to do. I remember that an old man gave me a cow once xD
Since you mentioned spinoffs, I have Rune Factory 5 here, which is said to be one of the worst in the series but the full 3D environments got my attention.
I also wanna check out Legend of the River King soon. It's developed by Marvelous too. It's fishing themed.

I thought of some casual games that are similar to each other but have no relation...

There's one called Ciao Bella: La Bella Romanza which is a hybrid of time management and life sim... I never beat it... it's a bit annoying to get through the stages.

Years later I discovered Catwalk Countdown which has similar elements and art style. Sadly, at the last level I got hit with a game breaking bug that would freeze the game. This happened more than once so I never got to see the ending.

There's also a series called Chocolatier where you run a chocolate factory. It was successful among its audience, so naturally other companies had their own ideas...
There's Rare Treasures - Dinnerware Trading Co. and Winemaker Extraordinaire. I had forgotten the title of the former until someone mentioned it on a forum the other day.

Another example is My Tribe... it's a shameless rip-off of Virtual Villagers, but I preferred it due to the graphics and because the mechanics were easier for me to understand.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Here is another one, but its mostly gameplay wise.

Puzzle Agent, reminds me a lot of Professor Layton and the curious village, but, only because of all the puzzle minigames.

I think Puzzle Agent was inspired by Layton's game, but i am not sure.

 

[UnDubious]

Ahh that explains its existence. I wasn't sure if it was a spinoff or a competing game.

7th Dragon was made by the creator of Etrian Odyssey, but after he left Atlus and joined imageepoch. So that's why they're similar. It was published by Sega, but a few years before they bought Atlus, so I guess it was competing with it. Don't know about the first game but 7th Dragon 2020 is really good.

 

[Trix_]

Here is another one, but its mostly gameplay wise.

Puzzle Agent, reminds me a lot of Professor Layton and the curious village, but, only because of all the puzzle minigames.

I think Puzzle Agent was inspired by Layton's game, but i am not sure.

I've heard of Puzzle Agent... the art style is pretty cool and reminds me of some cartoons from the 00s...

Since you mentioned Professor Layton... I thought about Ace Attorney.
There are straight up homages such as Aviary Attorney, Regeria Hope and now Trails of Innocence.
I haven't played any of these however...
Aviary Attorney is a parody and as the name implies, it features birds and it's set in the Victorian era or something of the sort.

I believe that Regeria Hope was abandoned, so there's only one case available. Correct me if I'm wrong.
It was launched as a mobile game because there weren't any ports of AA at the time.

Trails of Innocence was released quite recently and the production values are kinda impressive for an indie title.

I always recommend Hotel Dusk and its sequel to fans of AA. They are really nice games, and it seems like there's a spiritual successor called Chase Cold Case Investigations, which I have yet to try...

If you emulate Hotel Dusk, you might have trouble with certain puzzles, so I recommend checking a guide when the time comes. I played through both installments a few times already.

I also tried out Famicom Tantei Club II for SNES... the issue was that I got stuck and didn't want to rely on a walkthrough, so I gave up. The remakes were well received.
I've always heard about Detective Grimoire, however I don't care much about it... the remake is said to be excellent, but for some reason it doesn't appeal to me.
And there's also Jake Hunter Chronicles, Again - Interactive Crime Novel, and a few others that are on my backlog.

 

[TotzOnGaming]

The Gunforce Games and Demon Front were cool Metal Slug-likes.