Hidden Gems!

[Smiley Cat]

There is a game called Rocks N Gems on a PS1 demo disc that i consider a hidden gem
its not an official game or anything
i had forgotten about it for years until i found it again here:

https://cdromance.org/psx-iso/83-in-1-net-yaroze-collection/

View attachment 827

Not sure if you know about this or not, but that is actually a clone of a classic retro game called "Boulder Dash".
There are a ton of Boulder Dash clones across many platforms. It was really a true classic.

As a kid I played Boulder Dash 2 on the C64 quite a bit. It was a really fun game but sooo hard (at least to me as a kid). Getting crushed by rocks was my childhood. ?

 

[Boo Man]

Not sure if you know about this or not, but that is actually a clone of a classic retro game called "Boulder Dash".
There are a ton of Boulder Dash clones across many platforms. It was really a true classic.

As a kid I played Boulder Dash 2 on the C64 quite a bit. It was a really fun game but sooo hard (at least to me as a kid). Getting crushed by rocks was my childhood. ?

oh ok that makes sense, i kinda figured it was a clone or something but had no idea "Boulder Dash" is the original. ill definitely check it out thanks!
and yeah these games are super hard but funny, i laugh every time i die and i die alot on that game XD

 

[symplily]

my hidden gem would be Disruptor, pretty cool fps from psx

 

[Smiley Cat]

my hidden gem would be Disruptor, pretty cool fps from psx

Really, that's such a great game! Super cheesy cutscenes, and fun gameplay.

I mostly just remember the last level being really hard because tough enemies teleport in to your position in pairs (one in front and one behind).

But that was so long ago... Maybe nowadays I could handle it... I must try!

 

[symplily]

Really, that's such a great game! Super cheesy cutscenes, and fun gameplay.

I mostly just remember the last level being really hard because tough enemies teleport in to your position in pairs (one in front and one behind).

But that was so long ago... Maybe nowadays I could handle it... I must try!

My favorite part was how the soundtrack altered depending on the situation you were in, achieving greater immersion.

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

Dossun! Ganseki Battle on SFC. It plays like a precursor of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Threads of Fate on the PS1.

Absolute blast.

Super Bomberman: Panic Bomber! on the Super Famicom, too.

 

[Kacho]

Mischief Makers for N64.

It's a bit on the easy side (especially for being developed by Treasure) but it's without a doubt one of the more original platformers of its generation. They make use of the grab and shake mechanic so well and the whole game is filled to the brim with charm. I want recommend it hard enough if you're a fan of platformer.

 

[The Almighty Hamster]

Aero Blasters for the PC Engine is pretty good. Hudson Soft produced a lot of Japanese regional exclusives.

AREA-51 ! ! !

This game had so much potential, it could have been the Halo-equivalent for the PlayStation 2 but became bogged down with too many mechanics and a more linear-based story lasting 7 hours. The online mode was pretty fun. If you have some time to kill, give this a go. It's a fast-paced FPS and basically one massive piss-take out of sci-fi / conspiracy theories. It's the sequel to the arcade light-gun game of the same name.

 

[Sayo Sayo]

I just discovered 白熱! ぷよりんぴっく! (Challenge! Puyo Olympics) which is basically a Puyo/Madou Monogatari sports-themed minigame developed by Compile, it was released on a Disk and also included as a bonus with the PC version of Puyo Puyo Sun.

It has some interesting costumes

 

[TheImmortalP]

I feel like I've asked this everywhere else. I've tried googling, gamefaqs, and reddit, but no one seems to actually know some titles that actually are under the radar.

When I say actually under the radar, I'm talking titles that were never popular, and still aren't.

Genres that I'm interested in:

Action games, Action-Adventure, RPGs(that aren't super tactical), And Story-Rich pure adventure titles(not to be confused with puzzle games.)

Examples of what I'm looking for:
7 Blades for example is extremely under the radar, it's my pick for the most fun game on the PS2
Eternal Ring is an another example. It's a very under the radar title from before From Software got big, and is still pretty unknown
Growlanser Generations was actually pretty under the radar, as it was Working Designs final game, and it did pretty terrible, and as far as I know there's no cult following. It is very under the radar. Also, despite being a tactical rpg, it's doesn't actually require you to be strategic, and the story and characters are so compelling. I'd love to find more like it.
Ring Of Red is way too damn hard for me, as it requires a lot of strategy. It's not for me, but it is very under the radar, so please do recc under the radar titles like this.

Examples of what I'm not looking for:
Shadow Hearts(My favorite rpg from asia!), Valkyrie Profile 2, and Radiata Stories is an example of a title that isn't really known by a lot of people who don't really know the ps2, but if you still really love the system and you were big on rpgs during the systems lifetime and you had the internet, you've known about them for decades. These are not what I mean when I say under the radar. They have a decent sized cult following too.
Clock Tower 3, Haunting Ground, and Rule Of Rose have a huge cult following, and are not what I mean when I say truly under the radar.
Dues Ex got a ton of attention on the PC, which is my main platform of choice. This is not what I mean when I say under the radar.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

My favorite under the radar RPG for the PS2 is Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land. I might write a review on it. one of these days. Apparently, the Wizardry series is still popular in Japan and a dev over there bought the rights to the IP. They continue to make games in the series over there and they have some interesting takes on the dungeon crawler formula. There's a sequel to that game, called Busin 0: Wizardry Alternative, that didn't get localized, but there's a fan made English guide for it floating around the internet. So there's two under the radar games for you.

 

[Spike's iconSpike]

Some ideas, probably not obscure but neither mainstream at least in the west:

Extermination
Bujingai
Disaster Report / Raw Danger series
Red Ninja

 

[PhrawzT]

Aqua Aqua, Dynasty Warriors 3 and Klonoa 2 are some PS2 games that I sank a lot of time into that don't get much attention.

 

[BinaryMessiah]

Adventures of Cookies and Cream
Okage
Under the Skin
Cy Girls
Kim Possible: What's the Switch?
Echo Night: Beyond
Galarians: Ash
Enthusia: Professional Racing (a racer by Konami that was overshadowed by GT4)
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
Samurai Western
Trapt
Stretch Panic
Evil Twin: Cyprian's Chronicles

Just a few examples that are all "under the radar," but the more known term is "hidden gem," which I find is a now outdated term as video games are well documented online, and it's down to an individual to find a hidden gem for themselves rather than discovering something new that no one has ever played yet.

 

[Don Patch]

Adventures of Cookies and Cream
Okage
Under the Skin
Cy Girls
Kim Possible: What's the Switch?
Echo Night: Beyond
Galarians: Ash
Enthusia: Professional Racing (a racer by Konami that was overshadowed by GT4)
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
Samurai Western
Trapt
Stretch Panic
Evil Twin: Cyprian's Chronicles

Just a few examples that are all "under the radar," but the more known term is "hidden gem," which I find is a now outdated term as video games are well documented online, and it's down to an individual to find a hidden gem for themselves rather than discovering something new that no one has ever played yet.

The Kim Possible game is deceptively awesome. A 2D platformer. Stunning character animation. A real hoot.

 

[symplily]

View attachment 1732650701942.webp

 

[Blamhammer]

I thought i'd grabbed all of From Software's work on the PS2, yet I missed out on this Shadow Tower?!

Another +1 for Samurai Western, it's pretty darn slick and the presentation is sharp. Gameplay is quite good too.

Darkwatch is a Action FPS game that I never knew existed. It gets straight into the thick of things and is quite fun.
...
Quite a lot of western\samurai action games on the PS2, I guess they're still making them on modern systems but their numbers have fizzled out a bit.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

You might wanna try Altered Beast’s ps2 remake.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Snoopy vs the Red Baron, Quake III: Revolution and Xiaolin Showdown are extremely forgotten gems, and three of the best multiplayer games on the console.

This is the hill I choose to die on.

 

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

We got:

Nightmare of Druaga

Eternal Poison

Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance

Fighting Beauty Wulong

Tsugunai: Atonement

 

[RetroLaw]

It's hard to tell what's under the radar.

I guess games like Urban Reign aren't considered under the radar anymore.

What about Sword of Etheria ?

I also second Fighting Beauty Wulong, Beat Down, Red Ninja and Okage, all pretty fun games.

 

[spacebear]

Gamera 2000 is a 3D Shooter with a unique gimmick where you can use a kaiju for strong attacks.
View attachment 829

Goiken Muyou II is a pretty obscure fighting game that is as simple as virtua fighter. the mechanics are not as deep but it's still a very solid 3D fighting game.
View attachment 830

Gamera 2000 is so damn good man. It's also funny yet strangely fitting Gamera has so few games and his best one is one where you're not even playing as him.

 

[Momo Momomo]

i have a real softspot for Blood Will Tell! but that ones starting to pick up a cult following, so you might have already checked it it out.

if you've already tried it, i recommend Genji Dawn of the Samurai. it's a lot better than its reputation, i personally really like it

 

[Abecero]

I think you'd quite like Steambot Chronicles.

It's main genre is an explorative 3d mech fighting game, but you also have like a rhythm minigame, mech customization, different kinds of jobs to make money and such, dialogue/story choices with some that quite alter your character/story, its really a gem of a game that's barely remembered nowadays.