Obscure Gems

[Amethyst Phoenix]

We all know about the Devil May Cry's, The Halo's, Bioshock, The Final Fantasies etc right?

 

The big name games that are great and everyone has heard of.

 

Then there's the somewhat lesser known games. Games that are still familiar to many gamers, but not nearly as well known as the ones listed above.

 

You know, like TWEWY, Chrono Trigger, Megaman X, Phoenix Wright, etc.

 

But still that's not what we're talking about.

 

 

I'm talking about games that would get a blank stare out of many gamers if you mentioned it to them. And not just any run of the mill game, mind you. I'm talking about games that never got any media attention, aren't well known at all, and (as the "gems" in the title suggests) are really good. Games that are forgotten, yet epic.

 

 

Here's an example:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (for the PS2 and Orginal Xbox).

 

Now, I bet none of you have heard of this game. It sounds really bad, doesn't it?

 

It's a game based on a movie (which is enough to doom anything that doesn't have "Riddick" in the title), plus it's a sequel that has no movie adaption to it's storyline.

 

A few years ago my brother worked at the local best buy as head of their geek squad. He had to move to a different part of the state, so he let me use his incredible employee discount to go on a mini shopping spree before he left.

 

So, I picked out some promising titles and gear. Then I came across this game. I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, I had a discount that would drop it to a negligible cost, and it didn't look half bad. So I picked it up. A few weeks later I tried it out.

 

 

Then I noticed something. The storyline didn't suck; It was a faithful sequel. It wasn't a crappy platformer either. This game played like Devil May Cry. Imagine my surprise when I turned the case over and it was made by Capcom. Not only that, but Buena Vista (who was part of developing kingdom hearts) also worked on it.

 

The combat was smooth, the graphics were fitting for Tim Burton's masterpiece, and they had some of the original voice actors (including Jack's).

 

It even had the mission start screens, rankings, combo bonuses, etc in the same exact style as Devil May Cry. I was truly impressed.

 

Shocking as it may be, fusing Devil May Cry with the Nightmare Before Christmas results in epicness. Crazy isn't it?

 

I searched the internet to see what other people thought of it. Gamefaqs, IGN, etc. My results seemed to indicate it was nonexistent.

 

Amazing isn't it, how some random, obscure games turn out to be wonderful?

 

So, good folk of YCM, what obscure gems have you stumbled upon?

 

I know there are others that deserve a turn in the spotlight (however minuscule it may be).

[Saturn of Elemia]

Gotcha Force (Gamecube)

Odin Sphere (PS2)

Threads of Fate (PS1)

X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (SNES)

Winback: Covert Operations (N64;PS2)

[Amethyst Phoenix]

Gotcha Force (Gamecube)

Odin Sphere (PS2)

Threads of Fate (PS1)

X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (SNES)

Winback: Covert Operations (N64;PS2)

 

Odin Sphere was a great game indeed, Saturn ^_^

[Shadow Mir]

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery=Win