Underrated Retro Games

Guppy

Guppy

Level-Headed Mud Spider
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
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Name some of your favorite old games that were under appreciated or might have passed under the radar to most back in the day, and give the game(s) a brief description and a screenshot (or video). So don't just drop a name or list (plenty of these in other threads), and for the sake of clarity let's just say "retro" stops at the 6th generation of consoles (PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast & NGC). Anything older is game.
 
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Chaos Seed (SFC, Sega Saturn)

I only knew about this game about a decade ago or so when I got this as part of a package of used Super Famicom cartridges I imported from Japan, and since then I've always put Chaos Seed in my favorite list of SNES games. It's basically a Tower Defense type of game with elements of resource management and action with an isometric point of view. It's unique even to this day as you play as a dungeon master (mistaken for a villain) with adventurers raiding your place and seeking to kill you and your helpers. Even in the Tower Defense genre, it differs itself because your avatar is in the center of the action and not simply issuing commands off screen like many other strategy games. I can say it's most likely the most complex SFC/SNES title I've ever played (made by the Lufia guys), as the mazes you get to create have to follow a certain flow and pattern (based on Chinese Feng Shui) for the rooms to be effective. And it's not even all that there is to the mechanics and systems of the game.
Sadly it was never released to west (neither SFC or SS version), but I learned a few years ago that there is an English translation patch available. It's really one of a kind type of game and one of the prettiest too for the SFC.
 
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Probably the first that will always come to mind for me:
Ranger X (Genesis/Megadrive)
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I never played this as a kid unfortunately, but that allowed me to discover it a few years ago without being biased by nostalgia. Excellent, explode-y giant robot action game with some of the best graphics on the system (incredible color depth and some really cool faux-3D effects) and a control scheme that's unlike anything else I've played. One button to shoot left, one button to shoot right, while the up button activates thrusters and allows you to fly all over the screen.
Along with its more obvious qualities, it also manages to be surprisingly inventive; for example, sunlight recharges special weapon powers, so there's always a different way of recharging in every level. In a forest level, you have to fly above the tree line, in an underground cave level you have to shoot rocks to open holes and let the light in, etc. Tons of cool little details like that.
There's even a stealth mission where you have to avoid spotlights while infiltrating a base, and an entire level that progresses vertically, up the side of a building.
It got almost no coverage when it first came out because Sega were putting all their advertising into the Sega CD at the time, and most people that have tried it later disregard it after about a minute because the controls are "weird."
It is, very simply, one of the flashiest, most exciting 16-bit actioners that most people seem to be completely oblivious to.
 
Rollcage Stage II (PS1, PC)

I consider this to be one of the best games ever made (it frequently jostles with Sonic 3 & Knuckles for top spot).

Ever played Mario Kart and thought, "I wish there were a game like this, only with speeds of up to 900mph and driving on walls and machine guns and explosions and buildings you can destroy and make them fall on other racers?" Well, this is the game for you.

You got your standard campaign mode where you race in a series of leagues; win a race to unlock a car. Then you have a training mode which teaches you the basics, and a challenge mode, "Scramble", where you get to the end of a twisted and confusing track as quickly as possible.


You also have time trial modes, one of which asks you to complete one lap of every track in the game, and a demolition mode where you have to destroy everything in the map. And of course, there are multiplayer modes, featuring standard racing, demolition, a combat mode, and rubble soccer (later ripped off by Rocket League ;)). And all while listening to an awesome soundtrack.

What makes the game so good, aside from the perfectly executed ideas and the wealth of game modes, is the perfect balance between "seeing your opponents get brutalised" and "not getting completely knocked out of the race with one weapon". See, when you get a forcefield and turbo and decide you want to send a car into outer space by using the two together, you get to see the car spinning majestically towards the heavens. On the other hand, if it's you on the receiving end, you can be reassured that you won't get stuck upside down (as the cars can drive either way up), and that the high acceleration of the cars in the game mean you can get straight back into action. It's easy to spin out, but the physics engine of the game is designed to make you keep moving forwards, so it's always controllable even at high speeds.

The leader missile is not nearly as broken as its Mario Kart equivalent (the blue shell) - it travels at about the top speed of the cars, meaning you can prolong your agony simply by driving real fast; you also get shields which can protect you from one hit, or you can just employ the old trick of "hit the brakes and hope the person in second overtakes you before the missile does". And collecting a weapon while you already have that weapon will turn it into a powered up version, meaning more missiles and more damage.

So you've done everything in the game and you think "this is good, but... it's just not fast enough!" Well, if you complete the aforementioned Scramble mode you get an option to double the game speed. No, I'm not joking.
 
Mr. OL said:
Probably the first that will always come to mind for me:
Ranger X (Genesis/Megadrive)
sdhhkw.jpg
msyxdj.jpg

hs2wpg.jpg
sgiwqr.jpg

I never played this as a kid unfortunately, but that allowed me to discover it a few years ago without being biased by nostalgia. Excellent, explode-y giant robot action game with some of the best graphics on the system (incredible color depth and some really cool faux-3D effects) and a control scheme that's unlike anything else I've played. One button to shoot left, one button to shoot right, while the up button activates thrusters and allows you to fly all over the screen.
Along with its more obvious qualities, it also manages to be surprisingly inventive; for example, sunlight recharges special weapon powers, so there's always a different way of recharging in every level. In a forest level, you have to fly above the tree line, in an underground cave level you have to shoot rocks to open holes and let the light in, etc. Tons of cool little details like that.
There's even a stealth mission where you have to avoid spotlights while infiltrating a base, and an entire level that progresses vertically, up the side of a building.
It got almost no coverage when it first came out because Sega were putting all their advertising into the Sega CD at the time, and most people that have tried it later disregard it after about a minute because the controls are "weird."
It is, very simply, one of the flashiest, most exciting 16-bit actioners that most people seem to be completely oblivious to.
Click to expand...

I was lucky enough to play Ranger X as a kid thanks to having older brothers who, when they weren't buying sports games, they would occasionally buy cool games.
I still own the PAL copy we had back in the day and also I own the Japanese version. The reason I bought the Japanese version which is called "Ex Ranza" was a small yet cool bonus level when you input a code:


Anyway, I can also recall reviews from back in the day that whinged about the "awkward" or "confusing" controls, those same reviewers must be dumbfounded with new controllers nowadays.
 
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Honoo no D/Toukyuji: Dodge Danpei: Sega Genesis/Megadrive

Based off of the manga/anime of the same name, there were a bunch of games based on this title, but only 2 ever made it to a Sega console (the other, a more strategy-based game on the Game Gear, is a superb title as well, but not as good as this one).

Dodgeball games are super rare, thus when I came across this, there was a steep learning curve (playing it on an emulator didn't help either). After being enthralled, I picked it up off of eBay and it stayed in my Genesis for a long time.

Early Genesis sports games were mainly, very limited, however Dodge Danpei had a decently-complex system and a steep difficulty curve; and I love it. So many different players, so many different throw styles and combinations, plus the story mode is awesome and follows the source material quite well.

 
Pirates! Gold has got to be the most under rated retro game I've ever played...
 
@Kodama Sid Meier's Pirates! Gold is one of my top 10 games ever actually! Though I no longer have the MD cartridge I managed to find the original Commodore 64 version in a garage sale.
 
Mischief Makers for the Nintendo 64 is definitely the most underrated game on the system for me. I personally think it's a masterpiece of 2D action platforming design, up there with Ristar, Rocket Knight Adventures and Sonic 3 as the best I've played in the genre. The designers pretty much go through every avenue of what they can do game design wise with the grabbing, shaking and throwing mechanics, heck there's even an Olympics part to the game that makes use of it all. That's without going into the charming NPCs and detail they made the game on obviously an average budget and yet produced the best game in Treasure's catalogue, in my opinion. And yes, the bosses are awesome, just like Treasure's other games but it's really the charm and heart of the game that makes it my favourite. Up there with Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Goemon and Star Fox 64 as my favourite game on the N64.

 
Popolocrois series. It’s a pretty good old school J-RPG. It has a good story, lovable cast, and a wide world to explore.

I also enjoyed Goemon for the N64. It was really fun for me back in the day.

And I thought Zombie’s Revenge was an excellent presentation in turning beat em yos into 3D

The old school Fire Pro games. When I played world, I looked back on the older titles and they hold up very well
 
Remember the Top Gear games on SNES? I used to play them all the time around age 8-12.
 
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.It's easily one of the best graphic adventures of all time.It was amazing the to be able to play 3 completely different stories that branch at the end.
 
DISCLAIMER: I haven't watched any of these videos, just flicked through em on mute, so if the audio (read: probable annoying cunt talking over it with an excruciatingly painful voice) is a bit wank, please accept my half-arsed apologies.


Die Hard Vendetta
I used to be pretty obsessed with Die Hard. To the point where I'd check for news every couple of days for the fourth film long before it was even announced (I even remember telling myself to stop because it's just wishful thinking)

Besides that I'd never massively been into FPS games. I liked em, but I always preferred exploratory games, one of the reasons I loved Shenmue and Sonic Adventure so much. Up to then the only ones I'd really played were the Doom games, Duke Nukem 3D, and Halo multiplayer round at my mate's.

There was one I'd always see at GAME that I proper wanted but didn't have the PC to handle it, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza. So when I saw I'm a Gamecube magazine about Vendetta I... well, the pages are stuck together now, put it that way.

Though heavily scripted, the moments of in game interaction just blew my fucking mind (maannn)! This was Die Hard 4 to me. The game just seemed like it was on another level, and kinda set me in the "mentality" that would go onto fall in love with the stealth genre.

I've no doubt in my mind that going back to it now would reveal it to be nowhere near as good as I remember, but this was the first time I ever played a game and felt I was living out a fantasy... being John Mc-fucking-Clane.

From the voice acting of Reginald VelJohnson to the almost perfect recreation of Nakatomi Plaza (yes, I watched that first film so much that I scrutinised every tiny detail) this game to me was the first time since Shenmue II I felt I was playing something truly next gen.

If you're not one of those people that has become too used to modern games, and can go back to older 3D titles n can still enjoy them as you would've if you'd played it back then, I honestly can't recommend it enough.

I'd say my rose-tinted glasses would only tell you to prepare for disappointment for three things: no Bruce Willis, some of the nods to the films are a little too on the nose, I remember thinking the final level was a bit shite.


Alex Kidd: Hi-Tech World

One of the first Master System games I owned, along with the built-in Hang-On, this was the first time I had to get a pen and paper out for a game.

Probably piss easy if I was to play it now, the game asked so much of a young kid that it felt like the most difficult thing I'd ever played.

There's no way I can recall everything you had to do, but it was essentially broken down into a couple of cycles of two game types: side-scrolling "point-and-click adventure" style gameplay, followed by platformer action. I remember being taken aback by this when I first got to the next section, as it took me fucking ages.

Apparently it was just a re-skin of another game, but - as an old member used to call himself - who really cares?

It may not be great for any of us to play, bit I'd defo say get one of your kids, nieces, nephews, etc to play it. Fucking loved that game!


Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System)
Moving onto Alex Kidd's successor, Sonic was another obsession of mine, albeit when I was younger. I fell in love with the series since it was as plastered all over the fucking place in the 90s. Seeing family play the first two, catching brief parts of the cartoons, reading the Where's Wally-esque books (which I since bought my nephews... for them, obviously ?), these all contributed to a yearning for a Sonic game.

Though we didn't have a Mega Drive, SEGA were "kind enough" to develop an 8-bit entry to promote the Game Gear, and capitalise on the Master System's somewhat surprising success in PAL territories and South America. This became my true introduction to the series, and I have to say, it gave me a vastly different outlook on it to the kids who started off with the Mega Drive original...

Sure, you could go fast (ish), but speed was more of a part of the character's traits than the game itself. Sonic was a fast hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog didn't have fast gameplay. It was just a damn fun platformer, and that - along with Sonic the Comic - eventually helped dislodge Batman from being my favourite piece of fiction (though he'd obviously later go onto reclaim the prestigious title)

I haven't played it in years, and it's apparently a hell of a lot easier than I remember, but it's said to still be as fun. One thing I would say though, if you're gonna play it, defo get the MS version. One of either Sonic Adventure DX or the Gems Collection had the Game Gear version. It was ever so slightly different, but to the point of being a put-off. Same with all the 8-bit versions actually, but especially Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The tiny screen made boss battles nigh-on impossible!

If you've never played it though actually and are one of those people who reckon the original's one of those 100 games to play before you die, then you defo have to give it a try. It's probably an interesting look into the series as well, due to the differences being big enough to give alternative first impressions of what a Sonic game is.

Anyway, there's probably more I could talk about if my brain would allow me access to the memories, but for now these are the three that spring to mind.
 
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Snatcher on Sega CD:

A Kojima game made by a non Kojima team for a game console that is a fucking mess. This game is surprisingly amazing, and does have a pretty amazing story. I recently got a friend to play the game by admitting that part of the game was so sad that it actually made me cry. It's kind of a visual novel style with menu prompts. The gameplay might be just be passable, but the story line more than makes up for it

 
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cornchipz said:
Snatcher on Sega CD:

A Kojima game made by a non Kojima team for a game console that is a fucking mess. This game is surprisingly amazing, and does have a pretty amazing story. I recently got a friend to play the game by admitting that part of the game was so sad that it actually made me cry. It's kind of a visual novel style with menu prompts. The gameplay might be just be passable, but the story line more than makes up for it
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Snatcher is still top 10 of all time material for me. I absolutely adore that game. Don't forget about that music and those graphics! Absolutely stunning 16-bit era game. Graphics for the game were drawn by none other than the Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama!

It's right next to Shenmue as the best game set at Christmas. The atmosphere in that game is incredible.
And just out of curiosities sake, spoiler tag obviously but what part of the game made you cry?
 
Henry Spencer said:
Snatcher is still top 10 of all time material for me. I absolutely adore that game. Don't forget about that music and those graphics! Absolutely stunning 16-bit era game. Graphics for the game were drawn by none other than the Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama!

It's right next to Shenmue as the best game set at Christmas. The atmosphere in that game is incredible.
And just out of curiosities sake, spoiler tag obviously but what part of the game made you cry?
Click to expand...

It was a combination between finding out that Harry was killed by the Chief, and then in Act 3 finding out that Harry is your son.

I feel like an idiot, it's been so long since I posted in a forum, I had to look up the BBcode to do a spoiler. It was what I thought it was, but I wanted to be sure before I spoiled the game.
 
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