Great games that are part of a popular series, but Need More Love

For those games that are awesome and deserve their place in a particular series, yet for some reason or another end up being obscure gems that all but the most hardcore of fans would know, let alone have played second fiddle to some more popular title(s) in the series.

I'll start with Gradius Gaiden. Released in 1997 on PS1, but as a Japan-only release until its PSP Compilation Re-release in 2006.

Brilliant OST, creative variety of stages and great weapon selection (I tend to split time between 3-4 of the 4 ships; that's how well-designed the ships are). My favorite stage by far is Stage 7, which starts off as your typical Gradius volcano Nostalgia Level...and then gets sucked into a black hole behind you.

It's also one of the more accessible games in the series, being the only game thus far to have Gauge Edit, which lets you rearrange the power meter—imagine being able to get Options for only 1 or 2 powerup capsules instead of the traditional 5. And, it's the right length at 30 minutes (vs. Gradius V's 1 1/2 hours).

When most people talk about their favorite entries in the Gradius series, I hear a lot of Gradius III and Gradius V—great games in their own right—but the day I hear someone in real life respond with Gaiden instead is the day the Gradius fanboy in me is going to JIHP.

edited 9th May '11 3:29:12 PM by TsundeRay

http://twitter.com/raydere | http://raydere.tumblr.com

Magora's Mask

With the power of a dragon I can make up for my inability to spill.

The series that Tail Concerto and Solatorobo are from.

That is the face of a man who just ate a kitten. Raw.

Random Chaos: Majoras Mask is not obscure. People put it up right next to Ocarina Of Time.

I don't hear people talk about Final Fantasy Tactics Advance much. Though it's a spinoff of a spinoff, it's a great game in its own right!

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

Is this the sequel to Obarina of Zime?

:P

edited 9th May '11 6:18:43 AM by Nyarly

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

The Sonic Advance Trilogy and Sonic Rush Series. Perhaps it's because they're handheld titles, but I don't really hear people talk about them as much as they do the console Sonic titles.

Speaking of console titles, would Sonic Colors count, too?

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

I thought Sonic Colors is very popular.

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

Inb4 Majora's Ma-dang it

Even though it's because of the Vocal Minority, I feel like Twilight Princess is more unloved than Majora's Mask.

edited 9th May '11 6:48:48 AM by Beorc

Welcome to th:|

: Me Too!. Majora's great and all, don't get me wrong, but Twilight Princess made me feel like a kid playing Ocarina Of Time for the first time again. It was just a special experience that Majora, despite its excellence, doesn't provide.

"Proto-Indo-European makes the damnedest words related. It's great. It's the Kevin Bacon of etymology." ~Madrugada

The games aren't based off an anime or anything. Other than Mamoru-kun and Red Data Children (which aren't games), nothing else has been made for the Little Tail Bronx series.

On-topic: Yu Gi Oh: Duelists of the Roses.

It is such an innovative take on the simple Yu-Gi-Oh card game, which adds a very interesting layer of strategy. If you can forgive the predictable yet cheating A.I. (leveling up your commander requires grind up the wazoo), a stingy card acquiring system, a learning curve the shape of a brick wall, Guide Dang It! card combinations, no balance, and short PvE shelf-life it's a great game.

Granted, that's a lot of flaws, but I still recommend it! Everything else besides the above is absolutely brilliant. Each card has its own death and battle animation. EACH. FREAKING. CARD.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the amazing soundtrack:

Here's the theme when fighting for Seto. It really fits the "cunning mastermind" mentality you should be in.

And here's for fighting on Yugi's side. Much more noble and elegant.

It really deserved more love.

edited 9th May '11 1:56:54 PM by NiftyLostKite

...Let us in...

Pokemon Pinball, or at least the Ruby & Sapphire version. Sure it was a lame spin-off, but it was a fun little game with lots of little secrets and just this inexplicable charm to it that I couldn't explain.

edited 9th May '11 1:56:43 PM by Neo_Crimson

Sorry, I can't hear you from my FLYING METAL BOX!

I thought so too, but I hardly hear anyone talk about it outside of a few places.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

Zelda II. It's not the cryptic mess everyone believes it to be, although it is face punchingly hard.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Wind Waker.

Going by this thread, every Zelda title except for Oo T is unloved.

360 Gamertag: Electivirus. 3DS friend code: 5412-9983-8497. PSN ID: Electivirus. PM me if you add me on any.

No other Zelda title is known as the supposed "best game of all-time".

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

Okay, I guess I wasn't aiming for "obscure as hell". More along the lines of "may have a good degree of fans, but gets overshadowed by another title in the series a lot".

Anyways, time to share another title: Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor (or Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor), aka my first game in the Megami lineup.

Nice blend of turn-based strategy and JRPG, a cute protagonist, and one of the more user-friendly games: in fusions, you can choose which skills to inherit (instead of rerolling skills for as long as 20 minutes), you can search which demons you can fuse, and I actually like the lack of dungeons in this game (you grind on "free battle" spots instead). Plot-wise, it's a deconstruction of Mons games—ever wondered how Pokemon would work out in reality?

And, on a New Game Plus, the game removes Anti-Grinding, so you don't spend as much time power-leveling so you can beat Lucifer's dumb ass.

I've played 3 other Megami games since (Persona 3 and 4, Strange Journey, the latter two of which seem to be the face of the SMT franchise in the United States) but I still have plenty of appreciation for Devil Survivor. Totally looking forward to the sequel, especially since it's on normal DS (meaning I can hold out on getting a 3DS for now).

edited 9th May '11 3:39:31 PM by TsundeRay

http://twitter.com/raydere | http://raydere.tumblr.com

Alright, in light of that bit of news, my two previous choices definitely count, as well as Sonic Unleashed.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

Most certainly Zelda2.

Not really unknown, but every time I bring it up people are like "Ewwwww Yuck Zelda 2 super hard sidescroller"

One of my few regrets about being born female is the inability to grow a handlebar mustache. -Landstander

Personally, I think most times, great games of popular series are not liked for not being like the rest of the series and most times would be better off not being part of the rest of the series. Super Mario Strikers/Smash Football could have easily worked without Mario characters, as it has nothing to do with platforming, for example.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack

Super Mario USA / 2 is pretty neat. Not like the rest of the titles in the series, but it's a fun deviation.

Especially the GBA rerelease. lol giant shy guys

http://twitter.com/raydere | http://raydere.tumblr.com

Sonic Pocket Adventure is a nice throwback to the Genesis Sonic titles. It's a shame that hardly anyone know it even exists.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

The V-Rally series, which was labeled with both the Need For Speed and Test Drive labels here in the US. Good series of WRC-based racers, regardless of how arcade-y it might have been.

"Hipsters: the most dangerous gang in the US." - Pacific Mackerel

Dot Hack Fragment. "Popular" doesn't necessarily mean "doing overly well in places it's known" considering that Dot Hack is popular in some format or another around the U.S. (because most people have either seen SIGN on Toonami, read Legend Of The Twilight or played and returned Part 1: INFECTION).

edited 9th May '11 7:20:11 PM by Enzeru

I'm gonna say Skies Of Arcadia needs far more love. It's not the most ground breaking game, but it played well, featured an enjoyable battle system, looked decent enough, had great music, and had a fun, engaging story.

Yugioh: The Falsebound Kingdom also Needs More Love since it turned Yugioh into an RTS and worked. It's music was nice, it's story was minimal, but enjoyable, it's gameplay was surprisingly deep and creative, and the graphics were absolutely gorgeous for their time, and are still quite nice to look at now.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=13239183440B34964700 Alfric's Fire Emblem Liveblog Encyclopedia!