Obscure games you love...

... that you're not even sure anyone has played!

I may have done a thread similar to this before on the original TSF but I can't remember. The Abyssal Chronicles shoutbox shifted to this topic for a bit the other day and it just crossed my mind it'd make a potentially interesting discussion here.

I could see most of these games being RPGs (mine will be as that's 90% of what I've played and enjoyed over the years) but they don't have to be. These can be obscure games from any genre. Note that just being old does not necessarily make a game obscure. If you're not even sure you know anyone who has ever played the game, that's a good indication that it's obscure. While not a qualifier, obscure games also do not often get sequels.

I'll start.

Opoona (Wii) - I immediately must mention this little gem of an RPG on the Wii because I KNOW NOBODY ELSE THAT HAS PLAYED THIS GAME and this must be corrected IMMEDIATELY. This game is fun, quirky, and is dripping with an EarthBound-like humor that I absolutely loved to pieces. The battle system is incredibly unique, and the entire game can be played one-handed with the Wii nunchuk if you so desire. yes, one-handed - make of that what you will

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii) - The reason I love this game to bits is a rather personal one. Due to years and years of not really having any friends and often wondering if I were just completely invisible to the people around me, I really identified with Seto and his struggle through a post-apocalyptic world to find even just one other person. And to top it off I don't really know anyone that's played it, though I can't imagine it's that obscure.

Contact (DS) - Really unique, fun and quirky. Another game with EarthBound-like humor, this game places you in the role of... yourself, the person holding the DS. You have made "contact" with the game world, and you are tasked with guiding the young boy Terry using the touch screen in a "hand of God" type fashion. Credit goes to Rinu on the Abyssal Chronicles shoutbox for mentioning this game as I had forgotten about it over the years.

Threads of Fate (PS1) - One of many of Square's original IPs that seriously deserve a sequel, I played this action RPG at the end of the PS1's retail life and really enjoyed it. You play as either Rue or Mint, each with their own story that converges with the other at certain points. The gameplay is also somewhat different between the two in that Rue wields an axe and transforms into monsters, while Mint attacks with metal hula-hoops (they're supposedly chakrams) and casts magic.

Live A Live (SNES) - a really unique RPG translated to English by Aeon Genesis. The game is split up into several short stories each with their own style of gameplay. Much of the focus in some stories is in being something other than an RPG, at times shifting the focus away from scripted or random battles entirely. Once you complete all the stories, the final one unlocks and you better hope you properly prepared while playing the rest of the stories. It has its good and bad parts mostly dependent on personal taste (everyone's favorite scenario will be different) but overall I enjoyed it a lot. "I'm the taiyaki guy!"

I want to mention Half-Minute Hero, but I doubt it's THAT obscure since it's on Steam now. However, there's a psp game that deserves more love.

Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman

The game features the super hero, Unlosing Ranger, who is on it's way to defeat Darkdeath Evilman... until a car killed him. Then he passes down his title to the main character who was randomly passing by.

Roguelike, interesting story, and of course, several Disgaea cameos because it's NIS. It features a rather overwhelming amount of customization, and not only does each part gives you different attacks/abilities and (also the best part) it will also change your THEME SONG!

For reference, this is the default one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMrpRrLa66g
and the stereotypical japanese version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS1NWxIRWuE

Each piece of equipment change parts of the lyrics depending of their "general theme", so mixing a lot of stuff results in a monstrosity.

Dragon Geisha Unlosing Ranger~

Hexyz Force, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, Unchained Blades, and a bunch of licensed games that are actually pretty solid(and that I plan to LP).

Does Resonance of Fate/End of Eternity count?

@DreamSword it's hard for me to see Lunar as obscure because it seemed to be fairly well known and was the bee's knees for me and some friends when the PS1 version came out back in the late 90s/early 2000s but I guess it is.

Zwei.0 wrote:

Does Resonance of Fate/End of Eternity count?

I think that's a little more well known than some but yeah. It came out a week after FFXIII so it kind of got overshadowed.

Time and Eternity....? Can't think of anything that's "OBSCURE" lol

Tenshigami wrote:

@DreamSword it's hard for me to see Lunar as obscure because it seemed to be fairly well known and was the bee's knees for me and some friends when the PS1 version came out back in the late 90s/early 2000s but I guess it is.

It's still a lesser known entry in the RPG world, and even way back when it was. Heck, I remember was of the previous versions was released around the same time as FFVII. Instant overshadowing there.

I don't think the Touhou series is even considered obscure anymore, but that.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for the PS2 is a pretty awesome licensed game, I'd recommend it.

I'm a big proponent of obscure games, even ones that are generally accepted as bad I'll give a chance (Vampire Rain for example, actually a pretty decent stealth game with cutscenes that are reminiscent of the films by the Appleseed CG crew.) Less obscure games that I know are gonna be bad, I'll still give a chance via demo.

D3 publisher deserves one helluva nod in this category. The Earth Defense Force series has rightfully attained cult status (pick up EDF 2025 on the 18th, it's got online co-op now!) The Oneechanbara series is also a really awesome series of beat-'em-ups despite the ridiculous presentation (the game even explains the outlandish costumes of its cast, they gain power when blood makes contact with their skin, that ties into the games Devil Trigger-style system.) There's a bunch of cool gameplay ideas, like your sword getting caked with the blood of your enemies, needed to be cleaned periodically lest your blade gets stuck in one of them, and a combo system that relies on rhythm and timing (you deal extra damage if you perform your next input during the frames where your current attack is capable of damaging enemies.)

I could name a lot more but I don't feel like creating a massive post. One last shout-out I want to give is to Shadow Hearts. Not an obscure series, but it's one that would've achieved a much higher status if it was completed sooner and marketed better, something I was musing about recently. It fell into the same kind of spot as The Legend of Dragoon, it really needed to capitalize on the Final Fantasy bandwagon, but that series was out of sync by two years.

Drake wrote:

I don't think the Touhou series is even considered obscure anymore, but that.

Yeah I consider it the opposite, for a lot of people it's the only bullet hell game they ever bother playing.

Legend of Legaia (PS1) and its sequel on PS2 are also fairly obscure, especially these days. I love those games to bits though. Part of me wishes there was a third but Legaia 2... while I liked it, even I know it was pretty much crap. Sequelitis has already struck there.

Legend of Legaia was dope. Never played the sequel, but I loved the first. A recent conversation with my friend brought two others as well: The Musashi games(Brave Fencer and Samurai Legend). While most who've played them dislike the sequel, I actually like both pretty much equally.

I agree with both of you completely. Musashi's another example of people wanting more of the same from Square and getting something that was way different, but great in its own way.

Games like The Legend of Dragoon, Shadow Hearts and Legend of Legaia all show that even with a traditional turn-based system, a simple twist in how you perform basic actions can make it feel completely different. I mean that's why I like FFXIII so much, despite hating ATBs in general.

I have to concur on Live A Live. The fact there's multiple PoVs with such variety is epic.


Mystic Ark is another! My god this game is fun. There's a lot of puzzles and whatnot but I like how you handle party members and travel between 7 worlds.


Threads of Fate <3
That's a favorite of Dr. Casey and myself. Rue was so fun to play as!
3:34 onward fer monster forms.

It pains me that not many in the west have heard of the Shadow Hearts games. I mean Covenant is my 2nd fave of all time and the Judgement Ring system is fun. D:
1:50 fer battle gameplay from Covenant.

Both Legaia 1 and 2 were hella good imo!

I'm glad the Zone of The Enders games got coverage somewhat recently with the HD ports. I mean before that, not many were aware of them. >.>
ZoE 2

Legend of Dragoon is one of my top ten RPGs. And for anyone who likes stories with multiple people to choose from, I'd also suggest the SaGa Frontier games. Love both of them. The Arc the Lad games are also great games that seem to get overlooked. Twilight of the Spirits especially, which is yet another of my top ten RPGs.

Arc The Lad 2 had such a dark storyline... But it was so good.

Legend of Dragoon
Lunar 1 and 2

Such great memories from those games LoD for the epic adventure and Lunar for the unforgiving difficulty and the memorable voice song!

I was gonna post about Opoona and its literally the first game mentioned.  

Prinny wrote:

I was gonna post about Opoona and its literally the first game mentioned.  

lol seriously more people need to play it. It's practically a crime that this game flew under everyone's radar.

...Does Trails count?

Damn, this made me realize that I don't play any obscure games.

Though, from the little time I had with it, Jade Cocoon was pretty cool.

Jade Coccoon is a great series with an atmosphere that no other game has really matched. There needs to be more games with that kinda tribal/forest/jungle setting, it's one that has always had an impact on me, ever since I caught a glance of Princess Mononoke as a kid (took me a about a decade to learn what it was called, I only remembered the scene where the elk god or whatever is killed by hunters and its essence starts pouring out, a very haunting visual.)

Ys : Ark of Naphisthim on PS2. Good ol' fashion action RPG with a bit of platforming for good measure. i love that game! I love the Ys serie in general truth to be told.

I don't think I've honestly ever played something obscure...But reading through this, I also LOVE Fragile Dreams <3 I haven't gotten all the way through but I just love it on SOOO many levels

Shrek 2. Little Red Riding Hood is love <3

And the Puss in Boots boss fight was addictive

Tenshigami wrote:

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii) - The reason I love this game to bits is a rather personal one. Due to years and years of not really having any friends and often wondering if I were just completely invisible to the people around me, I really identified with Seto and his struggle through a post-apocalyptic world to find even just one other person. And to top it off I don't really know anyone that's played it, though I can't imagine it's that obscure.

I'm about five or so hours into this game and love it. There are plenty of weird game play quirks and the dialogue suffers from chronic anime-itis, but I was able to get over a lot of that. The atmosphere and world are beautiful though. That sense of loneliness you mentioned is palpable throughout the entire experience and the

Spoiler:

really goes a long way to underline that theme.


My big one I try to push on a lot of people is Little King's Story for the Wii. It has so much charm and warmth, I can't help but have a good time, even when the later bosses murder all my longtime soldiers and orphan their children and then I have to go to their little funerals and BAHHHH IT IS SAD. Anyhow, the gameplay is a weird mix between Pikmin and Harvest Moon, in a story book kingdom building simulator. So basically, the designers sat down and asked each other how to make a game to appeal ESPECIALLY TO ME.


Also, on the indie scene, I've really been jamming to Electronic Super Joy, which probably fell off the radar thanks to the incredible overabundance of other slick retro style platformers, BUT STILL:




And finally, there's The Cat Lady, a dark and surreal adventure game which also deals with themes of loneliness and rejection. The first couple hours of this game are absolutely brilliant and the rest of the game is pretty good too, if somewhat melodramatic. The art style has this rough beauty that oscillates between low budget compromises and visceral, grotesque beauty. It highly recommend checking it out.

TimeFactor wrote:

Shrek 2. Little Red Riding Hood is love <3

And the Puss in Boots boss fight was addictive

I agree with all of this it was quite a good game, but my cousin's daughter made me play it over and over non-stop and now I have a really strange aversion to it