Under-rated games by well known developers...

[noleafclover1980]

My top pick would be Jade Empire, made by Bioware. Bioware gets a lot of hype for the Baldur's Gate series, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, etc... but not many people talk about JE. I thought it was an interesting idea: a martial arts themed action RPG, with a pretty darn good story. What are some of yours?

[noleafclover1980]

Nobody? And here I thought I may learn about some good, lesser known games lol

[FinalGwen]

Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure on the Mega Drive/Genesis.

A Konami produced, Warner Bros. based platformer. Seems like a recipe for success already. It's got inventive bosses, a wide range of themed levels, a good soundtrack, and is of the sort of difficulty so that it can be played by kids, but also provides a good challenge at the same time. Doesn't seem to be incredibly well known, but to me, it's without a doubt the best non-Sonic platformer on the console, and it deserves the recognition.

[CMWaters]

Earthbound.

[laughytaffy]

Capcom's Sengoku Basara, but only for fans of the genre.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini from Rare.

[8-BitAssassin]

Beyond Good and Evil for PS2 by Ubisoft
Great game with a cartoony but serious plot combined with great controls and visuals. Totally underrated.


Mutant League Football (and Hockey) for Genesis by EA
Mutant League Football was based on the Madden engine, but starred mutants, zombies, and skeletons. Cheating was an encouraged gameplay element. Total win. Mutant League Hockey was a similar premise only with hockey. Total win on ice.

[shiranui]

Dec 15, 2010 6:18:05 GMT -5 8-BitAssassin said:

Beyond Good and Evil for PS2 by Ubisoft
Great game with a cartoony but serious plot combined with great controls and visuals. Totally underrated.

Also came out on the Xbox, Gamecube and PC. I tried to play BG&E on the Xbox after hearing everybody rave about it, but just couldn't get into it for whatever reason.

[ToyfareMark]

I think the Saints Row games are pretty under-rated considering they dwell in the large shadow of the GTA series. I liked GTA 4 and it's expansions quite a bit, but SR 1 & 2 seem to be truer successors to the PS2 era GTA's than GTA 4 itself.

Of course whether you consider Volition Inc. well known or not is debatable. But I would think any gamer with a decent knowledge of the industry would know who they are.

[Alexander The So-so]

Grim Fandango, by Lucasarts. Such an absolute tragedy that it was a commercial failure; it may be the greatest adventure game ever created. Great story, unforgettable characters, beautiful graphics, and one of the most creative and original settings ever. If you like story-driven adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Also, I don't know if it's "underrated," but you don't hear too much about Guerrilla War by SNK these days. It's just like Ikari Warriors, but with fewer problems and smoother gameplay. A really fun run n' gun shoot-em-up that's still fun today.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Lucasarts has a TON of these. I didn't know that Grim Fandango was underrated though, I thought it was widely considered one of the pinnacles of that genre... it just happened to come as that genre was dying out (though it has somehow made a resurgence). Virtually all of the SCUMM games from Lucasarts are underrated today, though Monkey Island and Sam and Max got quite a boost recently. They are also releasing LOOM and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis onto Steam.

Armed and Dangerous (Lucasarts) - third person shooter with tons of references parodying things like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Monty Python. Amongst the weaponry? A land shark gun and a gravity weapon that turns the world upside down causing enemies to fall to their deaths into the sky.


The Warriors (Rockstar Games) - based on the cult hit of the same name, The Warriors is easily one of the best uses of a movie license I've ever seen

State of Emergency (Rockstar Games) - Essentially a riot simulator. Wiki doesn't list a N64 version but I could have sworn I had it for that.

Donkey Kong 64 (Rare) - just as good as Banjo/Kazooie, but doesn't get mentioned nearly as much

XIII (Ubisoft) - A cel-shaded first person shooter. Played very similarly to Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, and was a ton of fun.

[Allie Kitsune]

Dec 15, 2010 9:23:30 GMT -5 Alexander The So-so said:

Grim Fandango, by Lucasarts. Such an absolute tragedy that it was a commercial failure; it may be the greatest adventure game ever created. Great story, unforgettable characters, beautiful graphics, and one of the most creative and original settings ever. If you like story-driven adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Also, I don't know if it's "underrated," but you don't hear too much about Guerrilla War by SNK these days. It's just like Ikari Warriors, but with fewer problems and smoother gameplay. A really fun run n' gun shoot-em-up that's still fun today.

The problem with most of SNK's old vertical run-and-gun shooters (Ikari, Guerilla War, S.A.R.) is that if you want to emulate the arcade versions, you'd better know how to build a rotary joystick. They all used the spinning rotary stick for aiming, which made them somewhat different experiences than their NES (and MSX, in the case of Ikari 1) ports.

Anyway... HAL's "Rollerball" series, consisting of Rollerball (Close to the Edge) on the MSX, Revenge of the Gator on GB, and Rollerball (Skyscraper) on the NES. Most people these days only know them for Kirby and Smash Bros, and MAYBE the Eggerland (aka Lolo) series. I myself don't know if they make anything aside from Kirby and Smash Bros. in modern times. The Rollerball games are some of the finest video pinball games there have been, though. I'll post some more from some other developers (hopefully not just publishers) when I have more time.

[Big Daddy Bad Booking]

Dec 15, 2010 2:56:04 GMT -5 FinalGwen said:

Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure on the Mega Drive/Genesis.

A Konami produced, Warner Bros. based platformer. Seems like a recipe for success already. It's got inventive bosses, a wide range of themed levels, a good soundtrack, and is of the sort of difficulty so that it can be played by kids, but also provides a good challenge at the same time. Doesn't seem to be incredibly well known, but to me, it's without a doubt the best non-Sonic platformer on the console, and it deserves the recognition.

I play that game A LOT, and its an anomaly in how its a kid trademark yet somehow it plays fantastic. My only real gripe is that most of the levels are harder than the bosses, and the final boss is probably the easiest one EVER. While some of the levels seem like repeats, there is enough variation to notice you're not in the same place twice. Be careful of the Volcano!

[Time Lord Soundwave]

Silent Bomber, a sci-fi 3-D run & gun shooter by Bandai with a twist: no guns. Instead you launch (or place) bombs and detonate at your leisure.

I heard it was underproduced (in North America anyway), so copies may be rare and a tad pricey. It's for PSOne, and I recommend getting it (if you can find it).

It was re-released on the Japanese PlayStation Store a few years ago, so there is that.

[Allie Kitsune]

Dec 15, 2010 12:16:30 GMT -5 Time Lord Soundwave said:

Silent Bomber, a sci-fi 3-D run & gun shooter by Bandai with a twist: no guns. Instead you launch (or place) bombs and detonate at your leisure.

I heard it was underproduced (in North America anyway), so copies may be rare and a tad pricey. It's for PSOne, and I recommend getting it (if you can find it).

It was re-released on the Japanese PlayStation Store a few years ago, so there is that.

I'm not sure CyberConnect is really that well known of a developer, honestly.

People know some of their games (.hack//GU, Naruto Ultimate Ninja), but they don't know who CyberConnect is.

[RedSmile]

Final Fantasy Tactics does not get enough praise for how intricate, and dynamic that game really is, and when you combine an awesomely original storyline, a five-star soundtrack, and a compelling cast of characters, you have yourself an outstanding game that tends to be forgotten and overshadowed by inferior games with pretty graphics.

[i.Sarita.com]

Just Cause 2 might be the prettiest looking landscape in a game ever, and feels more like Mercenaries 2 than Mercenaries 2.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Dec 15, 2010 12:43:24 GMT -5 i.Sarita.com said:

Just Cause 2 might be the prettiest looking landscape in a game ever, and feels more like Mercenaries 2 than Mercenaries 2.

I think I might pick it up once it is dirt cheap. The demo was fun.

[i.Sarita.com]

Dec 15, 2010 12:59:50 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

Dec 15, 2010 12:43:24 GMT -5 i.Sarita.com said:

Just Cause 2 might be the prettiest looking landscape in a game ever, and feels more like Mercenaries 2 than Mercenaries 2.

I think I might pick it up once it is dirt cheap. The demo was fun.

I've been playing on this save for around 22 hours so far...and it says I'm 9% complete.

Soooo...it's fun enough to play for 22 hours and hardly even break much into the story.

[DiBiase is Good]

Nintendo - Pikmin 2

I've mentioned this in other threads when under rated games are discussed.