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[Archaic101]

Long time gamers, what's your favorite unsung game for any of these consoles? (It doesn't have to be the world's greatest game, just one you wish more people had played!)

Atari 2600 - Solaris - WAY ahead of its time, it was a space combat/exploration game that allowed you to choose nav points and go to different systems and fight a variety of enemies

NES - Low-G-Man - A 2d action platformer with unique mechanics: Your gun only froze your robot enemies; you then had to leap on them and rip them apart to kill them...and you could leap hundreds of feet in the air, hence the name.

Genesis/Megadrive - Ristar - A fun platformer that felt different from the glut of the mascot games at the time

SNES - 7th Saga - A JRPG with the unique (at the time) hook of starting the game with any of 7 different heroes, each with mechanics and story elements that played out slightly differently

PS1 - Blast Chamber - Not a AAA game by any stretch, but an excellent "hot potato" 4-player party game where you all tried to avoid holding onto a bomb for too long

Dreamcast - Armada - A top-down space exploration shooter with an economy and weapon upgrades and solid graphics...kinda like a precursor to Infinite Space on the NDS

PS2 - War of the Monsters - A 2-player kaiju game by the makers of Twisted Metal. Fun mechanics, but the atmosphere was what really made it stick in my memory. A sequel could've been great

Xbox - Yager - An aerial combat game with great controls and graphics that got no press. It rarely even shows up on "hidden gems" lists

GameCube - Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike - Yeah, I know the 3rd person sections were a mistake, but I can't believe this sold as poorly as it did...especially because it allowed you to play the entirety of the first game (!), Rogue Leader, in split-screen coop!

Xbox 360 - You Don't Know Jack - An excellent renewal of a dead franchise - Questions topics are varied, host is amusing, and everyone I've ever played with enjoys it.

PS3 - The Shoot - Yep, a PS Move game, and one of the best "light gun" games that nobody ever played.

XB1 - Aliens: Dark Descent - A unique spin on both the Aliens franchise and top-down tactics games. Lots of cool mechanics that make it "feel" like Aliens

PS4 - Astrobot VR - Yeah, I know...The PS5 games are getting a lot of attention now, and the VR game was critically acclaimed...But it's one of my favorite platformers of all time, and the relative lack of PSVR units out in the world means that it's gotten nowhere near the playtime it deserves

 

[IAmRei]

As unknown game hunter that exclusive in japan, i can write a lot.
almost all of these has fan translation on it.

- SNES has lot of forgotten or inkown games. even games like yakuza exploration and beat em up: kunio kun. magic creation in treasures of the rudra.
but i want to highlight cool one: Cyber Knight 2, it's like mass effect + xenogear, only with 16 bit graphic.
fan translation is there for years. in this game You can explore other planets in other systems, reminds me to mass effect.

- there is open world RPG, thee graphic might turn off people, since its only GBA, but the concept is interesting,
there are many possibilities in storyline if You play it without guide. die vs boss? story continues.
you late to give NPC medicine? those NPC and the quest are gone forever. the combat also simple yet cool, like dragon quest + FFVIII, only without annoying drawing magic scene.
male and female MC, had different path as well.

- PSX also has lot of hidden gems, so many i find it hard to highlight them.
Asuncia on PSX highlight the weirdness of the system at the time. it's traditional RPG,
but it has scoring system and non linear flow. basically you find and kill enemies, in turnbased map,
and fight them as many as low as turn possible. there is city, simple one like FFT,
but the meat is the battle system is simple yet addictive. like I said, it's like playing turn based old school,
but with twist like limited turn on world map, so exploration had to be useful. and the map is randomly generated as far as i know.
there is also dungeon, and hard bosses as well. the game is simple, but addictive.

- PS2 has SD gundam that feels complete and yet still challenging :
SD Gundam Spirit. the base gameplay is similar to turn based strategy, but has permadeath on the unit / mecha.
and there are RPG on the original character stats development to add spiciness of the RPG side. the unit, like pokemon, meant to be collected.
they can evolve, to make powerful unit, you need to choose once you leveled them: evolve to other unit / mecha with reset level or level up the statistic beyond their default strength.
it's super amazing to see grunt unit defeats lot of powerful unit. the game is long time series since PSX afaik, unfortunately, there are only 2 SD gundam generations that has english official.
the stage it self are challenging. in psx, SD G Gen Zero, I once fight 50+ enemies, with only 5 unit including their ship.

- i find diofield chronicle is underrated. this formerly switch games, now in everywhere. the game it self is modern take to RTWP battle system, but now with simpler twist unlike 00s PC RPGS.
but still had lot of depth like in modern RPG. and the art is amazing.

well, i belivere there are lot of games that need to be tell about.
but i'm too lazy to write more : ))

 

[Fbh]

Of the consoles I actually owned:

SNES: Alcahest, was it because it was the first SNES game I played? probably. But it's still fun

Ps1: G-Darius. I don't really know how popular this was but I don't often hear people talking about it. Taking down giant fish/sea themed ships with your kamehameha style power beam that you can upgrade to potentially take over most of the screen? yes please.

Ps2 (and gamecube I guess): Spartan Total Warrior. Loved this game, felt sort of like a mix between a brawler and a less brainded musou.
Honorable mention to Prince of Tennis Smash Hit which was actually a competent Tennis game with all the super powers and ridiculous anime shit from the show

Xbox: Otogi was one of the few games I played when I borrowed it from a friend. Though I mostly just remember really liking the visuals

Xbox360: Outland (wasn't exclusive but I played it here) which was published by Ubisoft but is actually a Housmarque game. It's a metroidvania that mixes in the color coded attacks mechanics from Ikaruga with a cool art style

Ps3: Lair, fuck you I liked it. The gameplay is pretty meh though it's not that bad after they patched in regular controls. The story is surprisingly solid, the mission design is varied, the art direction is great and it has one of the best medieval fantasy soundtracks in gaming

Ps4: Pyre is the Supergiant game no one talks about lol, but I quite liked it. The gameplay is based around a fictional sport which is fun to play, and like most Supergiant games it has a strong art direction, fun characters and great music.

 

[Archaic101]

As unknown game hunter that exclusive in japan, i can write a lot.
almost all of these has fan translation on it.

- SNES has lot of forgotten or inkown games. even games like yakuza exploration and beat em up: kunio kun. magic creation in treasures of the rudra.
but i want to highlight cool one: Cyber Knight 2, it's like mass effect + xenogear, only with 16 bit graphic.
fan translation is there for years. in this game You can explore other planets in other systems, reminds me to mass effect.

- there is open world RPG, thee graphic might turn off people, since its only GBA, but the concept is interesting,
there are many possibilities in storyline if You play it without guide. die vs boss? story continues.
you late to give NPC medicine? those NPC and the quest are gone forever. the combat also simple yet cool, like dragon quest + FFVIII, only without annoying drawing magic scene.
male and female MC, had different path as well.

- PSX also has lot of hidden gems, so many i find it hard to highlight them.
Asuncia on PSX highlight the weirdness of the system at the time. it's traditional RPG,
but it has scoring system and non linear flow. basically you find and kill enemies, in turnbased map,
and fight them as many as low as turn possible. there is city, simple one like FFT,
but the meat is the battle system is simple yet addictive. like I said, it's like playing turn based old school,
but with twist like limited turn on world map, so exploration had to be useful. and the map is randomly generated as far as i know.
there is also dungeon, and hard bosses as well. the game is simple, but addictive.

- PS2 has SD gundam that feels complete and yet still challenging :
SD Gundam Spirit. the base gameplay is similar to turn based strategy, but has permadeath on the unit / mecha.
and there are RPG on the original character stats development to add spiciness of the RPG side. the unit, like pokemon, meant to be collected.
they can evolve, to make powerful unit, you need to choose once you leveled them: evolve to other unit / mecha with reset level or level up the statistic beyond their default strength.
it's super amazing to see grunt unit defeats lot of powerful unit. the game is long time series since PSX afaik, unfortunately, there are only 2 SD gundam generations that has english official.
the stage it self are challenging. in psx, SD G Gen Zero, I once fight 50+ enemies, with only 5 unit including their ship.

- i find diofield chronicle is underrated. this formerly switch games, now in everywhere. the game it self is modern take to RTWP battle system, but now with simpler twist unlike 00s PC RPGS.
but still had lot of depth like in modern RPG. and the art is amazing.

well, i belivere there are lot of games that need to be tell about.
but i'm too lazy to write more : ))

Nice to hear a Japanese gamer perspective; I lack the context for a lot of this, but will now be looking up Cyber Knight 2, which I'd never heard of before. Sounds awesome.

 

[Archaic101]

Of the consoles I actually owned:

SNES: Alcahest, was it because it was the first SNES game I played? probably. But it's still fun

Ps1: G-Darius. I don't really know how popular this was but I don't often hear people talking about it. Taking down giant fish/sea themed ships with your kamehameha style power beam that you can upgrade to potentially take over most of the screen? yes please.

Ps2 (and gamecube I guess): Spartan Total Warrio. Loved this game, felt sort of like a mix between a brawler and a less brainded musou.
Honorable to mention to Prince of Tennis Smash Hit which was actually a competent Tennis game with all the super power and ridiculous anime shit from the show

Xbox: Otogi was one of the few games I played when I borrowed it from a friend. Though I mostly just remember really liking the visuals

Xbox360: Outland (wasn't exclusive but I played it here) which was published by Ubisoft but is actually a Housmarque game. It's a metroidvania that mixes in the color coded attacks mechanics from Ikaruga with a cool art style

Ps3: Lair, fuck you I liked it. The gameplay is pretty meh though it's not that bad after they patched in regular controls. The story is surprisingly solid, the mission design is varied, the art direction is great and it has one of the best medieval fantasy soundtracks in gaming

Ps4: Pyre is the Supergiant game no one talks about lol, but I quite liked it. The gameplay is based around a fictional sport which is fun to play, and like most Supergiant games it has a strong art direction, fun characters and great music.

I agree with you on basically all of these, especially the later-generation choices. Outland was a great coop game (I've never played anything else quite like it), Pyre was very unique (the only "sports" game I've ever liked), and Lair was perfectly "okay," nowhere near bad enough to take down Factor 5.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

Xbox 360 : Crackdown. Incredibly fun, arcade style experience on console with a very nice progression system. Exploration is incredibly fun as you level up.
The end chase for the final boss is absolutely legendary.

Not surprisingly, this game was made by some Grand Theft Auto alumni and it shows.

But unfortunately Crackdown is currently platform-locked on the 360.
I would love to see a definitive edition for Series X.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[IAmRei]

Of the consoles I actually owned:

SNES: Alcahest, was it because it was the first SNES game I played? probably. But it's still fun

Ps1: G-Darius. I don't really know how popular this was but I don't often hear people talking about it. Taking down giant fish/sea themed ships with your kamehameha style power beam that you can upgrade to potentially take over most of the screen? yes please.

G-Darius is kind of popular here, as far as I know, it's also popular hori-shmups at the time and still strong in years and series

Alcahest is kind of visually interesting at the time, and kind of popular in retro gaming landscape. the game reminds me to beyond oasis though

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Intellivision - Slam Dunk Basketball. Fake players, but had salaries, technical fouls, free throws, roster drafts, fatigue and surprisingly lots of stat tracking. Very deep basketball game for 1987

NES- Tengen Tetris. Looks and played just like the arcade. Also had this coop mode with a bigger gameplay space

Genesis - Herzog Zwei. CPU was pretty dumb, but it was a cool concept. Title page of the game never made sense. It's a futuristic game with mechs and spaceships. But the title screen shows a WWII tank!

SNES - Aerobiz. Weird game if you think about it trying to make money buying planes and airport hubs and setting ticket prices. Was a fun game and the Mode 7 screen showing a plane flying to a new city was cool

PS1 - Intelligent Qube. Quirky puzzle game with opera music. Great puzzle game. Was never able to finish it

PS2 - TM Black. Hated the fact the AI ganged up on you. It was so obvious they did. But looked and played great at 60 fps

360 - Tons of indie games on XBLA or XBLIG for dirt cheap. Some of the best ones I played were only $1-5 especially twin stick shooters and low budget zombie games. Favs included Zombie Estate, Biology Battle and I Made a Game with Zombies in It

 

[Randall365]

Xbox would be Secret Weapons Over Normandy. Brilliant game - Lucasarts I think - basically Tie Fighter but set in WW2 (I know Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe was the forerunner of X Wing).

 

[nkarafo]

Genesis/Megadrive - Comix Zone. Not exactly "unsung" it was pretty popular back then. But there was never a sequel and now it's almost completely forgotten outside retro cycles.

SNES - Tiny Toon: Buster Busts Loose. I was obsessed with this game back in the day. Still the best game for this forgotten IP.

PS1 - Toy Story 2. I think this is the most impressive 3D platform game on the PS1, technically speaking. Compares very favorably to the N64/DC versions, unlike many other games of that late era.

Dreamcast - Test Drive Le mans. Again, the most impressive DC game, technically.

PS2 - WRC 4. Still the best rally game ever made IMO. And the best looking one at the time too.

Xbox - Outrun 2. I consider this an XBOX original. Best arcade racing game ever made.

GameCube - Star Wars Rogue Leader. The first one. Not exactly unsung either but still the least popular Gamecube game of the ones i like.

Xbox 360 - Guitar Hero/Rock band series. Original studio stems of classic rock songs was a gift for humanity will will never get ever again.

 

[Archaic101]

Genesis/Megadrive - Comix Zone. Not exactly "unsung" it was pretty popular back then. But there was never a sequel and now it's almost completely forgotten outside retro cycles.

SNES - Tiny Toon: Buster Busts Loose. I was obsessed with this game back in the day. Still the best game for this forgotten IP.

PS1 - Toy Story 2. I think this is the most impressive 3D platform game on the PS1, technically speaking. Compares very favorably to the N64/DC versions, unlike many other games of that late era.

Dreamcast - Test Drive Le mans. Again, the most impressive DC game, technically.

PS2 - WRC 4. Still the best rally game ever made IMO. And the best looking one at the time too.

Xbox - Outrun 2. I consider this an XBOX original. Best arcade racing game ever made.

GameCube - Star Wars Rogue Leader. The first one. Not exactly unsung either but still the least popular Gamecube game of the ones i like.

Xbox 360 - Guitar Hero/Rock band series. Original studio stems of classic rock songs was a gift for humanity will will never get ever again.

Love Outrun 2 (especially 2006 version) and that Tiny Toons game was an underrated platformer.

 

[Archaic101]

Intellivision - Slam Dunk Basketball. Fake players, but had salaries, technical fouls, free throws, roster drafts, fatigue and surprisingly lots of stat tracking

NES- Tengen Tetris. Looks and played just like the arcade. Also had this coop mode with a bigger gameplay space

Genesis - Herzog Zwei. CPU was pretty dumb, but it was a cool concept. Title page of the game never made sense. It's a futuristic game with mechs and spaceships. But the title screen shows a WWII tank!

SNES - Aerobiz. Weird game if you think about it trying to make money buying planes and airport hubs and setting ticket prices. Was a fun game and the Mode 7 screen showing a place flying to a new city was cool

PS1 - Intelligent Qube. Quirky puzzle game with opera music. Great puzzle game. Was never able to finish it

PS2 - TM Black. Hated the fact the AI ganged up on you. It was so obvious they did. But looked and played great at 60 fps

360 - Tons of indie games on XBLA or XBLIG for dirt cheap. Some of the best ones I played were only $1-5 especially twin stick shooters and low budget zombie games. Favs included Zombie Estate, Biology Battle and I Made a Game with Zombies in It

Played Aerobiz and enjoyed it back in the day. Early SNES titles were sort of experimental, and leaned into PC-like sims a lot (i.e. Populous, Sim City, etc.)

And as much as I liked Twisted Metal Black, I greatly preferred the PS2 port of Head On.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Atari 2600: Pole Position. A bit bias as it's the first console game I ever played

NES: Faxanadu. On a system that has legendary IPs like Zelda and Castlevania, this I found this to be a little under appreciated

Master System: Global Defence. Pretty decent little space shooter.

SNES: Axelay. From personal experience I barely see this mentioned, it's usually the Gradius and R-Type games. I thought this was one of Konami's best and forgotten SNES efforts. Tiny Toons was way better than I expected too.

Genesis: Alien Soldier. A solid contra style action shooter, good boss battles.

Atari Jaguar: Missile Command 3D. Everyone talks about Tempest and Aliens vs Predator for the Jag , I thought this was a lot of fun too.

PlayStation: Apocalypse featuring Bruce Willis. Solid third person action.

Xbox: OutRun 2

GameCube: Chibi Robo

PS3: Riff Everyday Shooter.

Xbox 360/PS3: Blur

 

[Durin]

Genesis/Megadrive - Shining Force 2: to me back in the day was Fire Emblem but more accessible, and more whimsical.

SNES - Breath of Fire 2: Back in the day Capcom used to make good JRPGs. Built on the 1st game with the monster meter guage enemy encounters for exploration, battle formations that effected combat, and even a homesteading system unique for the time.

PS1 - Wipeout 2097: The series doesn't get brought up much anymore, but it's the closest thing to Playstation's own unique arcadey racer. Unique controls, innovative track designs, introduced a weapon system that changed how you played, and one of the best soundtracks of all time.

Dreamcast - Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram: The console had a ton of great arcade ports, and this one is my personal favorite. Loved the arcade setup, but being able to play a mech fighting game at home with friends that actually has some depth for the time was great.

PS2 - Steambot Chronicles: Just a crazy sandbox-style game but you have mechs in a steampunk world. You can customize your mech for trading, transporation and fighting
Runner-Up - SkyGunner: PS2 had a tone of cool games, and this is one of my favorite arcadey flight games. Controls take some time to get used to, but the way it handles lock-on with various flight maneuvers is great, and nice visuals too

Xbox - Panzer Dragoon Orta: One of the best rail shooters ever made, and makes other games where you control dragons look boring. The series in general deserved more attention.

GameCube - Geist: Another really unique game due to its focus on possession mechanics as a ghost effecting objects, animals and people to solve puzzles and for combat. The biggest weakness was poor performance, but emulation on modern hardware fixes this.

Xbox 360 - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: Huge departure for the franchise, but the only other game that's scratched the same itch as this with customizeable vehicles has been Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I like any game that lets you solve challenges multiple different ways with open-ended gameplay.

PS3 - 3D Dot Game Heroes: One of the coolest uses of voxels in a Zelda-like action-RPG with heavy customization including the dimensions of your weapons effecting gameplay.

PS4 - Alienation - Still think it's my favorite Housemarque game. Great twin-stick co-op shooter with buttery smooth controls, and unique character classes with fun abilities. Probably my favorite multiplayer experience on the console as a whole.

 

[Codes 208]

SNES - Yoshi's Island
Genesis - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
N64 - Majora's Mask
GB/C - Pokemon G/S/C
PS1 - Crash 2
Dreamcast - Sonic Adventure 2
Gamecube - Wind Waker
GBA - Pokemon R/S/E
PS2 - Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Xbox - Halo 2
Xbox 360 - Halo 3
DS - Pokemon HG/SS
PSP - Phantasy Star Portable
Wii - Twilight Princess
Wii U - Yoshi's Woolly World
3DS - Pokemon OR/AS
Xbox One - Halo MCC (Also Monster Hunter World since I primarily played it on xbox)
PS4 - Bloodborne
Switch - Toss up between BotW, Legends Arceus and Mario Kart 8 DX
PS5 - Not Bloodborne Demon Souls RE
PC - Phasmophobia
VR - Blade and Sorcery

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Short Peace Ranko Tsukigimes Longest Day of Suda51 on PS3.



The guided fate paradox ps3

 

[nial]

N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment (Xbox, 2003) and Every Party (Xbox 360, 2005). These Microsoft games are so niche that I bet not even adamsapple knows about them.

 

[adamsapple]

N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment (Xbox, 2003) and Every Party (Xbox 360, 2005). These Microsoft games are so niche that I bet not even adamsapple knows about them.

You would be correct, haven't heard of them.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

Atari: Pitfall (but my most memorable was ET)
NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
SNES: Super Mario World
N64: Banjo Kazooie (or Mischief Makers)
PS1: Final Fantasy 9 (or Megaman Legends)
Dreamcast: That Powerstone fighting game
PS2: San Andreas
Xbox: Halo CE
Gamecube: Wind Waker
Xbox 360: Halo 3
PS3: The Last of Us
XB1: Halo MCC (There were way better 3rd party games but I'll go with that exclusive)
PS4: Spiderman

 

[StreetsofBeige]

SNES: Axelay. From personal experience I barely see this mentioned, it's usually the Gradius and R-Type games. I thought this was one of Konami's best and forgotten SNES efforts. Tiny Toons was way better than I expected too.

Among my fav 16-bit games. Didnt get a lot of attention some reason. That era was peak Konami IMO. Contra 3, Axelay, Cybernator was an insane trio of shooters. Even their box art were good.

 

[IAmRei]

Atari 2600: Pole Position. A bit bias as it's the first console game I ever played

NES: Faxanadu. On a system that has legendary IPs like Zelda and Castlevania, this I found this to be a little under appreciated

Master System: Global Defence. Pretty decent little space shooter.

SNES: Axelay. From personal experience I barely see this mentioned, it's usually the Gradius and R-Type games. I thought this was one of Konami's best and forgotten SNES efforts. Tiny Toons was way better than I expected too.

Genesis: Alien Soldier. A solid contra style action shooter, good boss battles.

Atari Jaguar: Missile Command 3D. Everyone talks about Tempest and Aliens vs Predator for the Jag , I thought this was a lot of fun too.

PlayStation: Apocalypse featuring Bruce Willis. Solid third person action.

Xbox: OutRun 2

GameCube: Chibi Robo

PS3: Riff Everyday Shooter.

Xbox 360/PS3: Blur

Axelay and alien soldier are dope games, hard games, but again, games in the 90s, are almost all hard if compared to this era : ))

 

[yansolo]

ps1 - alundra, probably the best non zelda zelda game for me
snes - super punchout, top game that you never hear about because the original is so popular, i think the snes version is better in every way and the best in the whole series
master system - ninja gaiden, for similar reasons as above, the nes version is so popular that i bet most people dont know there is a master system version that is also very good
ps2 - shadow of rome, fun ass capcom gladiator game where you cave peoples heads in with big hammers and swords
nes - little samson and snake rattle n roll (especially 2 player)

 

[HYDE]

My contribution is Dreamcast Rayman 2: The Great Escape… There are tons of Dreamcast the best lists, and it's surprisingly missing from tons of the lists.
I think the 60fps gameplay is an amazing thing.

 

[Archaic101]

Genesis/Megadrive - Shining Force 2: to me back in the day was Fire Emblem but more accessible, and more whimsical.

SNES - Breath of Fire 2: Back in the day Capcom used to make good JRPGs. Built on the 1st game with the monster meter guage enemy encounters for exploration, battle formations that effected combat, and even a homesteading system unique for the time.

PS1 - Wipeout 2097: The series doesn't get brought up much anymore, but it's the closest thing to Playstation's own unique arcadey racer. Unique controls, innovative track designs, introduced a weapon system that changed how you played, and one of the best soundtracks of all time.

Dreamcast - Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram: The console had a ton of great arcade ports, and this one is my personal favorite. Loved the arcade setup, but being able to play a mech fighting game at home with friends that actually has some depth for the time was great.

PS2 - Steambot Chronicles: Just a crazy sandbox-style game but you have mechs in a steampunk world. You can customize your mech for trading, transporation and fighting
Runner-Up - SkyGunner: PS2 had a tone of cool games, and this is one of my favorite arcadey flight games. Controls take some time to get used to, but the way it handles lock-on with various flight maneuvers is great, and nice visuals too

Xbox - Panzer Dragoon Orta: One of the best rail shooters ever made, and makes other games where you control dragons look boring. The series in general deserved more attention.

GameCube - Geist: Another really unique game due to its focus on possession mechanics as a ghost effecting objects, animals and people to solve puzzles and for combat. The biggest weakness was poor performance, but emulation on modern hardware fixes this.

Xbox 360 - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: Huge departure for the franchise, but the only other game that's scratched the same itch as this with customizeable vehicles has been Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I like any game that lets you solve challenges multiple different ways with open-ended gameplay.

PS3 - 3D Dot Game Heroes: One of the coolest uses of voxels in a Zelda-like action-RPG with heavy customization including the dimensions of your weapons effecting gameplay.

PS4 - Alienation - Still think it's my favorite Housemarque game. Great twin-stick co-op shooter with buttery smooth controls, and unique character classes with fun abilities. Probably my favorite multiplayer experience on the console as a whole.

Love this list, especially Wipeout (the track deformation weapon -quake?- was way ahead of its time) which I've always liked more than F-zero...and Skygunner, which is also one of my favorite PS2 games.

 

[Archaic101]

My contribution is Dreamcast Rayman 2: The Great Escape… There are tons of Dreamcast the best lists, and it's surprisingly missing from tons of the lists.
I think the 60fps gameplay is an amazing thing.

Agreed. It was the Dreamcast's best platformer. I guess it's not mentioned much in DC lists because it had so many ports.

 

[diffusionx]

PSP - Pursuit Force Extreme Justice, this game slipped under my radar when the PSP was around but I got it a few years ago and it's amazing.
PC - 1990s - Epic made a game called Fire Fight which is basically a sci-fi Soviet Strike type game and it's excellent and totally forgotten nowadays.
Dreamcast - Super Magnetic Neo - it's not perfect by any means but plays a little like Crash Bandicoot and is pretty fun.
N64 - Bangaioh - I like this version more than the DC port that we got in the USA. They changed a bunch of mechanics but I like this one more. And a LOT more than the DS game which I did not like at all.
Saturn - Purikura Daisakusen - it's an isometric action game with really great, colorful graphics and is pretty fun to play, but very animu.
PS3 - DJ Hero - this is imo the best rhythm game, and the music mixes are incredible. It bombed, and then they released a sequel that added a lot of features but also had a more "modern" soundtrack and it bombed too. Ironically DJ Hero 1 feels more fresh today because it has older and more timeless tracks.

Edit:
PS2: Fur Fighters - originally came out on DC, it is a really good action-platformer from the people who made Project Gotham Racing. You play as stuffed animals and shoot other ones but instead of blood it's cotton. Really really fun.
PC Modern - Old World - this is the best 4X game on the market, anyone who likes Civ or games like that needs to play this. I know it's been good for the dev as they just came out with an expansion but it should be 10x more popular than it is especially since Civ 7 is not where it needs to be. Also their prior game, Offworld Trading Company, is one of the most unique RTS games ever made and built around economic rather than military conflict.

Dreamcast - Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram: The console had a ton of great arcade ports, and this one is my personal favorite. Loved the arcade setup, but being able to play a mech fighting game at home with friends that actually has some depth for the time was great.

The thing about the Virtual On games is that you kind of need the actual joystick peripheral to really play the game and that was rare and hard to find. I don't think it came out in the US and you had to import it (I imported it lol).

Atari: Pitfall (but my most memorable was ET)
NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
SNES: Super Mario World
N64: Banjo Kazooie (or Mischief Makers)
PS1: Final Fantasy 9 (or Megaman Legends)
Dreamcast: That Powerstone fighting game
PS2: San Andreas
Xbox: Halo CE
Gamecube: Wind Waker
Xbox 360: Halo 3
PS3: The Last of Us
XB1: Halo MCC (There were way better 3rd party games but I'll go with that exclusive)
PS4: Spiderman

????

 

[jufonuk]

DS Bandai-o spirits
Saturn -death tank zwei or Baku Baku animal,burning rangers
3DS kid Icarus uprising
Wii tatsunoko v Capcom
GameCube f-zero gx
N64 blast corps
Dreamcast I can't remember the name but it was a beat em up but you fought the undead? Either that one or dream durobo

 

[Durin]

PSP - Pursuit Force Extreme Justice, this game slipped under my radar when the PSP was around but I got it a few years ago and it's amazing.
PC - 1990s - Epic made a game called Fire Fight which is basically a sci-fi Soviet Strike type game and it's excellent and totally forgotten nowadays.
Dreamcast - Super Magnetic Neo - it's not perfect by any means but plays a little like Crash Bandicoot and is pretty fun.
N64 - Bangaioh - I like this version more than the DC port that we got in the USA. They changed a bunch of mechanics but I like this one more. And a LOT more than the DS game which I did not like at all.
Saturn - Purikura Daisakusen - it's an isometric action game with really great, colorful graphics and is pretty fun to play, but very animu.
PS3 - DJ Hero - this is imo the best rhythm game, and the music mixes are incredible. It bombed, and then they released a sequel that added a lot of features but also had a more "modern" soundtrack and it bombed too. Ironically DJ Hero 1 feels more fresh today because it has older and more timeless tracks.

The thing about the Virtual On games is that you kind of need the actual joystick peripheral to really play the game and that was rare and hard to find. I don't think it came out in the US and you had to import it (I imported it lol).

Never heard of Pursuit Force Extreme Justice, PSP was the last dedicated handheld I owned outside the Steam Deck now. Might try to find a copy and emulate it, Bangaioh looks fun too.

The dual joystick does absolutely make Virtua-On better, but I had enough fun just bringing my Dreamcast controller over to a friend's to play the game. In general I miss more arcadey pick up and play games, only indies and mobile are really keeping that going.

Love this list, especially Wipeout (the track deformation weapon -quake?- was way ahead of its time) which I've always liked more than F-zero...and Skygunner, which is also one of my favorite PS2 games.

Oh yeah, Wipeout was also definitely pushing graphics on the PS1, and the addition to weapons + shields did give it more depth than F-Zero for me. I need to get that PS4 Omega Collection remaster at some point. PS2 still has the most hidden gems of any console I can think of though, just massive library.

 

[BlackTron]

Agreed. It was the Dreamcast's best platformer. I guess it's not mentioned much in DC lists because it had so many ports.

Sorta strange given the title originated on Dreamcast and is still the best version.

It's not a situation like Towerfall where the game first appeared on Ouya and is by far the worst version.

 

[diffusionx]

Sorta strange given the title originated on Dreamcast and is still the best version.

It's not a situation like Towerfall where the game first appeared on Ouya and is by far the worst version.

Rayman 2 originated on N64.

The dual joystick does absolutely make Virtua-On better, but I had enough fun just bringing my Dreamcast controller over to a friend's to play the game. In general I miss more arcadey pick up and play games, only indies and mobile are really keeping that going.

Sometimes I go back and play older games, and it is weird how you open up the game and just hop in. Like I felt that when I played Waverace Blue Storm. Games are just not made like this anymore.

 

[Judge Magister]

Dreamcast I can't remember the name but it was a beat em up but you fought the undead? Either that one or dream durobo

Zombie Revenge?!

 

[Durin]

Sometimes I go back and play older games, and it is weird how you open up the game and just hop in. Like I felt that when I played Waverace Blue Storm. Games are just not made like this anymore.

Yeah, I remember playing DOOM (2016), just having the game start with you waking up out of a coffin, and then immediately shooting a guy. It was the closest thing a modern AAA game gave to that arcade experience, because you just go without all the lame preamble of modern games, where even the cutscenes delivering exposition had Doomguy just break the machine speaker to keep the experience going.

It's tough though because I think a lot of gamers are want the story setup, instead of the more gamey just go do the thing experience. I want more games that just let me drop in though.

 

[Gp1]

Trying to name games that no one has yet.

Nes - Blades of Steel, Mighty Final Fight
Genesis - Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing
Snes - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition. That game could easily pass itself for a full fledge CPS1/2 game. There is GUNDAM game that used the same engine and is better than this one but i never played it.
PSX - So many games. Einhander, Colony Wars the entire saga is great, Ace Combat 3 JP Version, Chocobo Racing...
Dreamcast - Project Justice (you could put Rivals Schools JP version for the PSX too, sadly it never got a translation.)
PS2 - Many games too, but i'll go Tourist Trophy. PS2 had some many good games that this one usually flies under the radar. Some could definitely revisit the series.
PSP - Since both Yakuza Black Panthers never received a translations (at least at the time, i didn't played the fans translation yet) I'll go with Kenka Bancho Bad Ass Rumble, such a fun brawler for the system.
PS3 - Daytona (the best version), Fight Night Champions (we are in dire need of a new competent boxing game)


PC 90's - Freespace 2 - When you think of late 90's game many forget about the dying art that space combat games were until the recent genre's renaissance in the 2010. If this one is too mainstream, I'll go with Peoples Generals or Police Quest series
PC 2000 - Battlestations Midway/Pacific, Shadow Complex (Xbox 360 too)
PC 2010/Recent - Homeworld Deserts of Kharak - The entire series is the epitome of "unsungness" (except 3).

 

[RickMasters]

Atari 2600: Pole Position. A bit bias as it's the first console game I ever played

NES: Faxanadu. On a system that has legendary IPs like Zelda and Castlevania, this I found this to be a little under appreciated

Master System: Global Defence. Pretty decent little space shooter.

SNES: Axelay. From personal experience I barely see this mentioned, it's usually the Gradius and R-Type games. I thought this was one of Konami's best and forgotten SNES efforts. Tiny Toons was way better than I expected too.

Genesis: Alien Soldier. A solid contra style action shooter, good boss battles.

Atari Jaguar: Missile Command 3D. Everyone talks about Tempest and Aliens vs Predator for the Jag , I thought this was a lot of fun too.

PlayStation: Apocalypse featuring Bruce Willis. Solid third person action.

Xbox: OutRun 2

GameCube: Chibi Robo

PS3: Riff Everyday Shooter.

Xbox 360/PS3: Blur

Faxanadu and axelay. Absolute gems. Axelay was a game you showed off to your friends. had an awesome soundtrack too!

 

[Perrott]

PlayStation 4 | Alienation

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

SNES - Yoshi's Island
Genesis - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
N64 - Majora's Mask
GB/C - Pokemon G/S/C
PS1 - Crash 2
Dreamcast - Sonic Adventure 2
Gamecube - Wind Waker
GBA - Pokemon R/S/E
PS2 - Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Xbox - Halo 2
Xbox 360 - Halo 3
DS - Pokemon HG/SS
PSP - Phantasy Star Portable
Wii - Twilight Princess
Wii U - Yoshi's Woolly World
3DS - Pokemon OR/AS
Xbox One - Halo MCC (Also Monster Hunter World since I primarily played it on xbox)
PS4 - Bloodborne
Switch - Toss up between BotW, Legends Arceus and Mario Kart 8 DX
PS5 - Not Bloodborne Demon Souls RE
PC - Phasmophobia
VR - Blade and Sorcery

Atari: Pitfall (but my most memorable was ET)
NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
SNES: Super Mario World
N64: Banjo Kazooie (or Mischief Makers)
PS1: Final Fantasy 9 (or Megaman Legends)
Dreamcast: That Powerstone fighting game
PS2: San Andreas
Xbox: Halo CE
Gamecube: Wind Waker
Xbox 360: Halo 3
PS3: The Last of Us
XB1: Halo MCC (There were way better 3rd party games but I'll go with that exclusive)
PS4: Spiderman

I think you guys missed the "unsung" part

 

[jufonuk]

Zombie Revenge?!

Might be.

 

[jufonuk]

Zombie Revenge?!

I had to look it up. I was sure it wasn't that one. But having seen on of the characters I believe it is.
The artwork for the cover was different in Europe.
Yeah I remember it being a fun game.
To my mind it was a mixture of final fight but you could blast the zombies with handguns. So yeah I'm thinking that is the one.

 

[kentkouh]

Long time gamers, what's your favorite unsung game for any of these consoles? (It doesn't have to be the world's greatest game, just one you wish more people had played!)

Atari 2600 - Solaris - WAY ahead of its time, it was a space combat/exploration game that allowed you to choose nav points and go to different systems and fight a variety of enemies

NES - Low-G-Man - A 2d action platformer with unique mechanics: Your gun only froze your robot enemies; you then had to leap on them and rip them apart to kill them...and you could leap hundreds of feet in the air, hence the name.

Genesis/Megadrive - Ristar - A fun platformer that felt different from the glut of the mascot games at the time

SNES - 7th Saga - A JRPG with the unique (at the time) hook of starting the game with any of 7 different heroes, each with mechanics and story elements that played out slightly differently

PS1 - Blast Chamber - Not a AAA game by any stretch, but an excellent "hot potato" 4-player party game where you all tried to avoid holding onto a bomb for too long

Dreamcast - Armada - A top-down space exploration shooter with an economy and weapon upgrades and solid graphics...kinda like a precursor to Infinite Space on the NDS

PS2 - War of the Monsters - A 2-player kaiju game by the makers of Twisted Metal. Fun mechanics, but the atmosphere was what really made it stick in my memory. A sequel could've been great

Xbox - Yager - An aerial combat game with great controls and graphics that got no press. It rarely even shows up on "hidden gems" lists

GameCube - Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike - Yeah, I know the 3rd person sections were a mistake, but I can't believe this sold as poorly as it did...especially because it allowed you to play the entirety of the first game (!), Rogue Leader, in split-screen coop!

Xbox 360 - You Don't Know Jack - An excellent renewal of a dead franchise - Questions topics are varied, host is amusing, and everyone I've ever played with enjoys it.

PS3 - The Shoot - Yep, a PS Move game, and one of the best "light gun" games that nobody ever played.

XB1 - Aliens: Dark Descent - A unique spin on both the Aliens franchise and top-down tactics games. Lots of cool mechanics that make it "feel" like Aliens
acft calculator
PS4 - Astrobot VR - Yeah, I know...The PS5 games are getting a lot of attention now, and the VR game was critically acclaimed...But it's one of my favorite platformers of all time, and the relative lack of PSVR units out in the world means that it's gotten nowhere near the playtime it deserves

Atari 2600 – Solaris
Space combat with exploration.

NES – Low-G-Man
Platformer with unique mechanics.

Genesis/Megadrive – Ristar
Fun, colorful platformer.

SNES – 7th Saga
JRPG with multiple protagonists.

PS1 – Blast Chamber
Party game with a bomb mechanic.

Dreamcast – Armada
Space shooter with upgrades.

PS2 – War of the Monsters
Kaiju fighting with great atmosphere.

Xbox – Yager
Aerial combat with great controls.

GameCube – Rogue Squadron 3
Co-op Rogue Leader.

Xbox 360 – You Don't Know Jack
Trivia game for parties.

PS3 – The Shoot
PS Move light gun game.

XB1 – Aliens: Dark Descent
Tactical Aliens game.

PS4 – Astrobot VR
Underrated VR platformer.

 

[BlackTron]

Rayman 2 originated on N64.

Turns out we are both semi-wrong...kinda. It came out on PC and N64 the same day. When it came out on Dreamcast a few months later, it used the high resolution textures from the PC version.

At the time I didn't even recognize the short gap in release dates and thought the N64 version was a downgraded port of the DC version, not knowing they are both really ports of a PC game.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Extremely underrated and is pretty much never brought up. It's a 3D platformer that uses the touch screen as a trackball. It's not overly ambitious or trying to do anything clever. It just uses the touch screen in smart ways and prioritizes fun above all. Probably not an unsung hero, but it deserves to be played by more people. I'd choose it over the Mario 64 port if I was recommending a 3D platformer for DS.

 

[radiant_ch]

Literally. Pardon me

Doing a list later on, as two kids are in need of my attention.

 

[Dacvak]

Oh man this is a great idea for a thread. I gotta give this some thought.

 

[GigaBowser]

ps1 warhawk
ps3 WARHAWK

 

[Hudo]

Fun thread.

Atari 2600 - I agree with OP. Solaris is underrated.

NES - Little Samson - Taito BTFO'd most competitors, including Capcom's Mega Man games, with this game. And barely anyone noticed, it seems.

Genesis/Megadrive - Herzog Zwei - Some say it's the progenitor of RTS games (I disagree). To me, it's just fun.

SNES - Metal Marines - Best strategy game on the system, imho. Really fun multiplayer, too.

PS1 - In The Hunt - Best Shmup on the system, with visuals easily rivalling those of Metal Slug.

Dreamcast - Re-Volt - Fantastic port of the game. And Re-Volt is heavily underrated in general, imho.

PS2 - Lord of the Rings: The Third Age - Final Fantasy X but good.

Xbox - MechAssault 1 and 2 - Not sure if they are "unsung" but I'll name them regardless.

GameCube - Kirby Air Ride - Debatable if it's really "unsung" as well. But fuck it. This is Sakurai's best game on the system.

Xbox 360 - Warhammer 40k: Space Marine - This was underrated for the longest time (maybe still is). I really liked how playing aggressively heals your character. A welcome breath of fresh air after Gears of War established hiding behind cover all the time.

PS3 - Tokyo Jungle - I usually really dislike Roguelikes. But this is one of the very few I really liked.


PS4 and XBO are not interesting enough to discuss.

 

[NanaMiku]

As unknown game hunter that exclusive in japan, i can write a lot.
almost all of these has fan translation on it.

- SNES has lot of forgotten or inkown games. even games like yakuza exploration and beat em up: kunio kun. magic creation in treasures of the rudra.
but i want to highlight cool one: Cyber Knight 2, it's like mass effect + xenogear, only with 16 bit graphic.
fan translation is there for years. in this game You can explore other planets in other systems, reminds me to mass effect.

Dang, Cyber Knight 2 looks just right up my alley. Is the fan translation complete? I'm gonna search for it

 

[IAmRei]

Dang, Cyber Knight 2 looks just right up my alley. Is the fan translation complete? I'm gonna search for it

as far as I know, it's complete.
havent finish it, because i had xeno series years ago.

 

[NanaMiku]

as far as I know, it's complete.
havent finish it, because i had xeno series years ago.

Have you tried the first game? From what I saw, it looks like the sequel is direct continuation

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[IAmRei]

Have you tried the first game? From what I saw, it looks like the sequel is direct continuation

yes but the battle system is not my liking, it's like you guessing what enemy will do, kind of "vandal heart" If my memory serves me right.
the game also kind of dated, but has similar vein. but in two, it became some kind of early sandbox after "first chapter" and the combat is manageable than first.