What 'hidden gem' of a game did you enjoy the most, that you haven't played in a long time?

[skizzo]

Star Wars The Phantom Menace game (PC and PS1) as a true "hidden gem"

I played this on Windows 98

I had a lot of fun with it and was one of the few Star Wars games I liked and thought was good (at the time). I thought the 16bit games on the SNES for ex were too stereotypical of their time being standard side scrolling action platformers. This was the first one that caught my attention along with Shadows of the Empire on the N64 being the only other one I actually wanted to play through

This game was quite an adventure though! I played it for a while to beat it!

The Phantom Menace got me into Star Wars.

First I got the game, which I thought was awesome back then, although I wouldn't really say that today. The isometric camera and weird controls made sure the game wouldn't age too well. I never liked the idea that you had to press "attack" to defend yourself with a lightsaber. Sometimes the game misunderstood your intention, and your character really made an attack move and got hit by blaster shots and you died. It was super annoying. Same with the platform jumping element of the game. What was the need for that, really? Also, with no side strafing? Pff... These things sucked, otherwise, it could have been a great game.

Then there was the movie, which I think was good (yes, throw your stones at me). It has a solid setup, solid pacing, mostly likeable characters (although I'm not as much of a fan of Jarjar now as I was back then), and some pieces of wisdom hidden here and there ("Your focus determines your reality" - Qui Gon - Brilliant). I also like the practical effects and sets which make it much more believable than today's CGI-saturated crap.

It was the only entry I ever saw in the theaters. I kinda stopped following the franchise after The Phantom Menace though.

The game has aged rough regarding all those points. I recall spending a lot of time jumping around platforming. Specifically in the area traveling to where ever Jar Jar Binks was from.

I recall being able to use the force was super cool. I don't think a 3D Star Wars game had that yet.

But man, I thought it was great as a teenager lol

Got a link to Praetorians? I want to check it out.

it was originally made by Pyro Studios. Same team who made the Commandos franchise. Which, in my opinion, was even better than Praetorians.

Commandos specifically in my opinion blazed the trail for "real-time tactic" (RTT) video game genre. I would believe if the first few Commandos games were not as successful as they were, Praetorians would never have came to be. After Praetorians the studio's output quality took a turn for the worst I'm afraid.

mine is "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" I played the first one on PS2 and 60FPS with PS3. The PS3 Version is smooth. they rerereleased(!) it for PS4 too but I don't think it has anything new to offer.

I started playing Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks on PCSX2 in recent memory and was surprised it was as good as it was. Didn't know it ever got ported. I will need to eventually try and beat the game since I just moved onto other things and never went back to it.



now for my contribution I suppose. I would nominate "PLANET ALPHA"

PLANET ALPHA on Steam

PLANET ALPHA, a beautiful alien world filled with mystery and danger. Pursued by relentless enemies, you must harness the power of night and day as you struggle to survive.

store.steampowered.com

I got into this game thanks to liking stuff like Another World (Out of This World) and Flashback. It's a puzzle platformer. No dialogue. Looks very "purrrrty" with all the very colorful and vibrant environments. Def recommend to play it with settings/res cranked if your PC can handle it! Can be a "slow burner" in some spots so if you only like games filled with action, this will not be your cup of tea. Will admit it doesn't quite fit the 10+ yr old mark, but....close enough I say

 

[lexluthermiester]

I admit that FF II has a stupid leveling system which makes OPing characters hella easy. But I like that when I play normally without grinding, I almost always usually have enough leveled characters when playing normally.

The GBA version was better balanced.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Not sure if this qualifies but Flatout 2 is my sleeper/hidden gem though I know a lot of people played it. When I need to chill for a bit but still do something interactive with things moving on the screen, out comes Flatout 2. Not much to the game but that's what I want when my brain's been used up for the day. All I want is fun and this game delivers.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Kessen III on PS2

 

[Ruru]

The GBA version was better balanced.

I usually play the PS1 version which is AFAIK just a graphical remaster of the original Famicom/NES version.

I have the older mobile port on my phone and the Pixel Remaster version on PC too.

 

[Princess Garnet]

The evasion being so good was the main thing that broke it for me.

You're also way too strong unarmed meaning most weapons are useless (especially of some types) until you get the very end game ones.

You also needed way too much investment to get spells leveled highly. Like, Cure you could get max easily because you could use it outside battle, but the rest? Ultima and Flare especially were difficult to raise above 10 (but due to how Ultima in particular worked, it was already pretty strong at 10 if you had the other stats behind it).

That being said, the concept was good and I wish Square would have revisited it at some point because it was fun... it was just poorly executed due to balance (and a need for grind investment, but Final Fantasy V's job system has that same thing and everyone was okay with it).

 

[Ruru]

The evasion being so good was the main thing that broke it for me.

You're also way too strong unarmed meaning most weapons are useless (especially of some types) until you get the very end game ones.

You also needed way too much investment to get spells leveled highly. Like, Cure you could get max easily because you could use it outside battle, but the rest? Ultima and Flare especially were difficult to raise above 10 (but due to how Ultima in particular worked, it was already pretty strong at 10 if you had the other stats behind it).

That being said, the concept was good and I wish Square would have revisited it at some point because it was fun... it was just poorly executed due to balance (and a need for grind investment, but Final Fantasy V's job system has that same thing and everyone was okay with it).

Dual wield for others, unarmed for Gus/Guy every playthrough.

 

[AusWolf]

Not sure if this qualifies but Flatout 2 is my sleeper/hidden gem though I know a lot of people played it. When I need to chill for a bit but still do something interactive with things moving on the screen, out comes Flatout 2. Not much to the game but that's what I want when my brain's been used up for the day. All I want is fun and this game delivers.

Well said.

All an adult gamer wants is a bit of switching off after a hard day. A bit of escapism, a bit of fun. I don't know why so many (thankfully, not all) game studios find it so hard to comprehend these days.

 

[Princess Garnet]

Dual wield for others, unarmed for Gus/Guy every playthrough.

I like to try and make a variety party, and I tried to have the pirate girl be a thief/knife welder, but they are so weak in that game. It's when Josef (I think that's the name?) joins and is a monk that you get shown how strong unarmed is.

Speaking of weak, and spoiler...

Spoiler

Leon joining so late and being so underleveled if you did any grinding at all makes him too much work, too late to be viable. I say that as someone who put the work into him (sort of...) anyway.

The game had so many problems but they were all in execution, not in concept. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say Final Fantasy II is a hidden gem... but with the community sort of coming around on Final Fantasy IX and V in recent years (making it harder to call either "underrated" still), I think II is now the primary "better than its reputation" one. Final Fantasy VIII is a close second in that regard, but that one's always been a case of "yeah, it's bad, but it's still good-bad". With Final Fantasy II, few people admit there's anything good with it, which is a shame because at least in the pixel remasters, if you come off the first one and go to the second, it's a big leap. There's non-blank characters, there's a story, there's new systems, etc. I always say IV walked so VI could run (so that IX could fly), but the more I look at it, maybe it's a bit of II crawled so IV could walk.

 

[Blaeza]

Trials HD on Xbox 360 is so simple yet with a insane skill ceiling. I'll happily admit to spending far too many hours on the demo making my rider headbutt a box of dynamite and flying through the air.

 

[AusWolf]

Since we talked about the PC port of SW: TPM extensively, how about the first 2 or 3 Harry Potter PC games? I think they were great, especially the second one. The series took a massive nose dive into badly ported console game territory with the 4th one, unfortunately.

Since we talked about the PC port of SW: TPM extensively, how about the first 2 or 3 Harry Potter PC games? I think they were great, especially the second one. The series took a massive nose dive into badly ported console game territory with the 4th one, unfortunately.

 

[Space Lynx]

Kessen III on PS2

The original Kessen was the first ever PS2 game I ever beat. I remember playing for like 11 hours straight, it was wild. Good times.

Kessen I-III are 100% hidden gems.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Not sure if this qualifies but Flatout 2 is my sleeper/hidden gem though I know a lot of people played it. When I need to chill for a bit but still do something interactive with things moving on the screen, out comes Flatout 2. Not much to the game but that's what I want when my brain's been used up for the day. All I want is fun and this game delivers.

Well said.

All an adult gamer wants is a bit of switching off after a hard day. A bit of escapism, a bit of fun. I don't know why so many (thankfully, not all) game studios find it so hard to comprehend these days.

YES! This! Well said both of you!

 

[Apocalypsee]

OMG I haven't played this one in a long time. 2 player co-op with my cousin is so much fun back then, first true co-op where you need one, or the other, or combination of both character to complete a puzzle.

I found this game while browsing the year 2000 in abandonware. Maybe you'll find the game you can't remember here

Abandonware games sorted by year - My Abandonware

You can browse the games by year, choose one then you will see a list of corresponding games.

www.myabandonware.com

 

[PLAfiller]

I got no more my gaming magazines from the 90s, but there was strategy that I wanted to try back then: Submarine Titans, not sure if it is a "hidden gem".

 

[A Computer Guy]

Nova 9 for PC/DOS

 

[Ruru]

OMG I haven't played this one in a long time. 2 player co-op with my cousin is so much fun back then, first true co-op where you need one, or the other, or combination of both character to complete a puzzle.

View attachment 367819

I found this game while browsing the year 2000 in abandonware. Maybe you'll find the game you can't remember here

Abandonware games sorted by year - My Abandonware

You can browse the games by year, choose one then you will see a list of corresponding games.

www.myabandonware.com

Can't remember that have I heard of that. Bugs Bunny Lost in Time is one of my favourite games I played as a kid though.

 

[Vayra86]

mine is "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" I played the first one on PS2 and 60FPS with PS3. The PS3 Version is smooth. they rerereleased(!) it for PS4 too but I don't think it has anything new to offer.

Shadow of the Colossus is magical. Everyone should play this

 

[TechBuyingHavoc]

Perhaps the most hidden gem from the 90s, in that it is not well known and that it was a great game, was the 1996 game, The Neverhood. A full claymation adventure game, with the asethetics of Earthworm Jim for the main character, zany music, and a very distinct art style for the landscape, The Neverhood was a game made by people on acid. It is available as abandonware.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

The original Kessen was the first ever PS2 game I ever beat. I remember playing for like 11 hours straight, it was wild. Good times.

Kessen I-III are 100% hidden gems.

View attachment 367777

I feel like Kessen I and III as remakes would be amazing but with a different spin. I would like to see Kessen 1 combat etc to be merged with Nobunaga's Ambition series where the units you send out can be configured with main general / sub generals unit types and formations to go with skills but add a gameplay speed up so battles don't need to take forever.

For Kessen III due to its story dynamic. It would be nice to see that gameplay refined a bit more. and then expanded so there's a historical-ish mode that continues after Nobunaga "dies" using Hideyoshi then Tokugawa. Then the happy fictional storyline where Oda wins etc. But otherwise, keep the funny antics and light-hearted banter intact.

 

[AusWolf]

OMG I haven't played this one in a long time. 2 player co-op with my cousin is so much fun back then, first true co-op where you need one, or the other, or combination of both character to complete a puzzle.

View attachment 367819

I found this game while browsing the year 2000 in abandonware. Maybe you'll find the game you can't remember here

Abandonware games sorted by year - My Abandonware

You can browse the games by year, choose one then you will see a list of corresponding games.

www.myabandonware.com

Sounds like worth checking out. Is it anything like Jazz Jackrabbit (another hidden gem)?

 

[Fokker]

Here's another that was considered a commercial failure, but was a mainstay of my computer science classes in highschool.

Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri on Steam

Lead an elite fighting team battling for freedom from the sinister forces of the Earth Hegemony. Engage in combat on the bloody battlefields of four unique worlds. Encased in your Powered Battle Armour (PBA) you are an unstoppable fighting force.

store.steampowered.com

 

[AusWolf]

Here's another that was considered a commercial failure, but was a mainstay of my computer science classes in highschool.

Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri on Steam

Lead an elite fighting team battling for freedom from the sinister forces of the Earth Hegemony. Engage in combat on the bloody battlefields of four unique worlds. Encased in your Powered Battle Armour (PBA) you are an unstoppable fighting force.

store.steampowered.com

Commercial failure? It surely can't be that bad with 95% positive reviews.

 

[Fokker]

Commercial failure? It surely can't be that bad with 95% positive reviews.

It didn't recoup development costs. Bad marketing was a big part of it. I discovered the game when one of my classmates brought it in. I hadn't even heard of it.

Page 31: https://books.google.com/books?id=4...ce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[Frick]

Was thinking about Return Fire the other day. Capture the flag with combat vehicles, isometric view. It was so much fun in multiplayer.