Can anyone recommend games from the 80s that are masterpieces and hidden gems?

PrefectAboro

PrefectAboro

Member
Would really love to find some obscure games (japanese famicom games [with translations] PC engine titles/arcade gems). So far I have this on my to play list:

  1. Snatcher
  2. The New Zealand Story
  3. Rygar
  4. GetsuFumaDen
Currently playing Zelda II Redux (hack) and it's actually fun and addicting.
 
Dawn of y's on pcengine cd2.

Lots of great 1993 ish pcengine games. What a little powerhouse with the cd2's massive amount of ram.

It really should have been the market leader. Imagine Final Fantasy on a cd rom . 😱
 
PrefectAboro said:
Would really love to find some obscure games (japanese famicom games [with translations] PC engine titles/arcade gems). So far I have this on my to play list:

  1. Snatcher
  2. The New Zealand Story
  3. Rygar
  4. GetsuFumaDen
Currently playing Zelda II Redux (hack) and it's actually fun and addicting.
Click to expand...
Bionic Commando.

Chip & Dale

The little mermaid

Ducktales

Adventure island

Obscure games



NINJA GAIDEN
 
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I thought both Zillion games for the Sega Master System were largely overlooked. The first was a lengthy adventure game with some action and sparse RPG elements. And Zillion 2 was a pure side-scrolling action game with the protagonist riding a motorbike. I still think both are awesome games in their own right.

I also liked the Master System port of Vigilante very much. Vigilante was an arcade side-scrolling beat 'em up game that was basically a poor man's Double Dragon.
 
RoboFu said:
Dawn of y's on pcengine cd2.

Lots of great 1993 ish pcengine games. What a little powerhouse with the cd2's massive amount of ram.

It really should have been the market leader. Imagine Final Fantasy on a cd rom . 😱
Click to expand...
Damn I totally forgot about the Turbo Duo! Man now I'm gonna have to go down the TurboGrafx-CD/Sega CD/Neo Geo CD/ rabbit hole after I finish these 80s gems! LOL
 
I was born in the 80's and didn't start playing games until I was 5...so...some of these may not be exactly in the eighties

Note: I'll just be adding to this list as I think of more that i've played

Nintendo Entertainment System
Contra/ Super Contra
Life Force/Gradius
Ninja Gaiden 1-3
Double Dribble
Tecmo Bowl
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles (both arcade and non arcade versions)
Megaman....basically all of em
R-type
Double Dragon 1-2
Metroid
Legend of Zelda (the original)
Super Mario Bros 1 and 3 (2 was TRASH!)
Duck Hunt
Master Blaster
Rambo
River City Ransom
John Elway Football
Mike Tyson Punch Out
Tetris
Bomberman
Final Fantasy III and IV (I believe IV is early 90's)
Karate Champ
Kung Fu
Pro Wrestling (With Ryu Hayabusa)
Tennis
Castlevania 1-3
Metal Gear
Galaga
The Goonies
RBI Baseball
Dig-Dug
Ghosts n Goblins
ChopLifter
Fist of the North Star
Rad Racer
Defender 1 - 2
Top Gun
Gauntlet
Track n Field (need controller mat for this so maybe not the best recommendation...but was super fun)
Friday the 13th. (I was too young and easily scared to play a lot at the time, traumatizing)
Mach Rider
Excitebike

I didn't play as much Sega MegaDrive but I have a few I could recommend from Genesis:
Forgotten Worlds
Herzog Zwei
Altered Beast
The Revenge of the Shinobi
ESWAT (1990)
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Honestly was a sick game, also 1990)
Golden Axe
Space Harrier
 
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PrefectAboro said:
Damn I totally forgot about the Turbo Duo! Man now I'm gonna have to go down the TurboGrafx-CD/Sega CD/Neo Geo CD/ rabbit hole after I finish these 80s gems! LOL
Click to expand...
Yeah popful mail sega - cd version is another great one.

Be sure to look out for English patches.
 
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Extremely under-appreciated gem.
 
This pack released in '89 and features many of the best games ever made at the time.

Few people talk about the greatness that is Black Lamp, or Nebulus, or Bombuzal
77476e201aca546b517a048b5137c552e4d7dcee.jpg
 
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Obscure 80s arcade gems I enjoyed

- Mat Mania (wrestling)
- Two Tigers (old early 80s sink the boat game)
- P-47 (horizontal plane shooter)
- Sub Roc (cool sub game using a scope)
 
80s?

Haunted House on Atari 2600.
Montezuma's Revenge (I played on Apple II)
Choplifter (Apple II)
Might Bomb Jack (arcade)
Xenophobe (arcade, NES)

Bonus 90's hidden gem:
Power_Blade_Boxart.jpg
 
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Check out this YT channel, they cover all kinds of hidden gems, japan exclusives and rarest games from that period, you can thank me later.

www.youtube.com

Basement Brothers

Basement Brothers are Neo-Alec, Mr. Jakes and Sturat. Game docs, features and game reviews, made using real hardware concentrating on rare gems of the 80's and 90's. #classicgaming #retrogaming #videogames #neogeo #pc88 We also have an archive of many non-emulator arcade game videos. 4-players!
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Being a Sega vet of Ye Olde Console Wars, I'd highly recommend...

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (SMS)

Kenseiden

Zillion
 
Jigsaah said:
I was born in the 80's and didn't start playing games until I was 5...so...some of these may not be exactly in the eighties

Contra/ Super Contra
Life Force/Gradius
Ninja Gaiden
Double Dribble
Tecmo Bowl
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles (both arcade and non arcade versions)
Megaman....basically all of em
R-type
Double Dragon
Metroid
Legend of Zelda (the original)
Mario Bros
Duck Hunt
Master Blaster
Rambo
River City Ransom
John Elway Football
Mike Tyson Punch Out
Tetris
Bomberman
Final Fantasy III and IV (I believe IV is early 90's)
Click to expand...
Essential list right there! Played them all except Ninja Gaiden (arcade version) I remember the chainsaw game over screen as a kid! 80s baby here as well and watching "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" for the first time yesterday and that opening sequence with the arcade got me feeling all the nostalgia lol!
 
Švejk said:
Being a Sega vet of Ye Olde Console Wars, I'd highly recommend...

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (SMS)

Kenseiden

Zillion
Click to expand...
Kenseiden looks cool and I tried Wonder Boy III for the TurboGrafx but didn't get far. Is the Master system version better? Or should I just go straight to the new updated HD remake?
 
PrefectAboro said:
Kenseiden looks cool and I tried Wonder Boy III for the TurboGrafx but didn't get far. Is the Master system version better? Or should I just go straight to the new updated HD remake?
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Didn't know it was on TG16, but you can totally do the HD remake.. It's a complete 1:1 remake with the original SMS version, which you can flip between styles on the fly.
 
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Won't lie, I haven't played this one in a long time but I have fond memories of renting it for a weekend gaming marathon with friends several times. Here's a nice, short video about it.

 
mostly at the early 90s i think

the closest i recall was:

River city ransom
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it's like Yakuza in end of 80s,
quite complex at the time i think.

Mashin eiyuuden wataru
7DxK2JO.jpeg
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this is also my favorite back then,
i like mecha + ARPG and it's translated

there should be more...but i have to go to work.

will edit as soon as I got time
(or if i remembered :p )
 
Night Stalker
Airheart
Tempest
Lode Runner
The Sentinel (BBC Micro version)
Bubble Bobble
Adventure
Wizball
Turrican II (C64 version)
Zwackery
Scarabaeus
 
Posting NES titles not mentioned yet.
The Adventures of Bayou Billy

Rush'n Attack

Batman

Skate or Die

Burai Fighter
Legend of Kage
Cobra Triangle
RC Pro AM
Cabal
Ikari Warriors
 
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Edit: Just saw robors post above. ;)
Wizball too.

I'll probably come back and contribute more to this thread as dusty old masterpieces come to mind.

But the one that instantly comes to mind is Geoff Crammonds 1986 "The Sentinel"
This reminds me, an unofficial remake called Pinnacle came out last year that I must check out.

Pinnacle

Pinnacle is a fan-made tribute to Geoff Crammond's masterpeice from 1986, The Sentinel.
viperfish.com.au viperfish.com.au
en.wikipedia.org

The Sentinel (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

 
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Project Firestart from EA/Dynamix, it's a C64 exclusive. For most people outside of Japan this is the genesis of the survival horror genre wrapped in an Aliens inspired shell.
Playing this with the lights out as a kid, was scary. It's got a bit of puzzle elements and action. You will die and mess up.
Released in 1989, after the NES had deicmated the 8 bit USA market, it didn't get the attention, or accolades it deserved or the remakes.
Amazing game.
 
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as i say earlier, i will add my list
I recall another one, people who like gradius might relate, this game is quite fun as well.
it's strategy game from konami, lil bit unusual for konami tho.
 
snaction jackson because it is so weird,
back to the 80s
Golden Axe warrior, sega .... makes zelda....
moon crystal famicom game with really nes animation
mid 90s but
Beyond Oasis and Legend of Oasis, sega makes a zelda, but with an Arabian flare,
Land Stalker and Dark Savior, sega makes a different zelda.
Deep Fear, sega makes resident evil, under water
 
Kruza said:
I thought both Zillion games for the Sega Master System were largely overlooked. The first was a lengthy adventure game with some action and sparse RPG elements. And Zillion 2 was a pure side-scrolling action game with the protagonist riding a motorbike. I still think both are awesome games in their own right.

I also liked the Master System port of Vigilante very much. Vigilante was an arcade side-scrolling beat 'em up game that was basically a poor man's Double Dragon.
Click to expand...
So much this. One of my favorite games of all time was the original master system Zillion
 
For the NES/Famicom these two hard but awesome games:
Journey to Silius
Journey_to_Silius_box.jpg

MetalStorm
metal_storm_retrobit.png


Both are early 90's, but I think you'll like.
 
220px-Clashatdemonhead.jpg


Got popular / known a few years back for the name being featured in Scott Pilgrim (still comes up with mostly Scott Pilgrim stuff when you google it, sadly). Despite all that, I still consider this to be a "hidden gem".

Game is a lot of fun and my go-to "80s" game, even though it released at the end of the decade and feels more like a "90s" game. A somewhat open world platformer, where you get persistent and progressively better upgrades as you go around the map. You can revisit previous areas to unlock new exits and progress the story. All this with an absolutely bonkers story thrown in, and it's a good time and worth checking out.
 


Capcom's Black Tiger (arcade). It would have be been more famous today if it got console ports, but it never happened (A NES port was canned). It did get ports on the micros so it's probably better known in Europe as a result.

If you play the NES version of Rygar? Try the original arcade which is a very different game.




I would also recommend the Goemon series on SNES. There are fan translations for all of them so you don't need to play the 90's localized version. The games have some of Konami's best art for the time. There's a memorable arcade mini-game in there, a huge surprise when I played the "legend of the mystical ninja" version back in the days.
The sequels mix it up, #2 is a straight-up platformer.
 
This is a 1991 game, but Wonder Boy in Monster World on Genesis/Mega Drive is a heavily overlooked gem. It's a 2D open world Metroidvania and it's very much worth your time.
 
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