In terms of underrated, let's talk Super Mario Sunshine. Worst selling Mario platformer of ALL TIME, yet I haven't found a single person who's played it who hasn't loved it.

AddictedGamer50

That might have to do with the fact that the Gamecube didn't sell as well as other Nintendo consoles. And although it's a good game, I think most people will agree the other Mario platformers are better.

But still, that doesn't take them far beyond the singular dimension. And the change happens (as far as I remember) all of a sudden right at the end, instead of gradually over the course of the game. It isn't the shallowest written game in history, but it definitely is far from the deepest.

foxhound_fox

I haven't played the game in several years, but I think Tidus's changes at least were gradual. The characters may not be the deepest ever, but I think the plot is pretty deep. I think I mentioned earlier in the thread that I read the game as being an attack on religious fundamentalism (the people's unquestioning faith in the summoner's sacrifice to save them from Sin, causes them to reject technology and never really accomplish anything). That's a pretty heavy topic for a video game, especially from that era.

Edit:

No, but just because a plot has symbolism doesn't make it good or deep.

True, but I think it's pretty significant that a game from an era where most people hadn't yet realized games could be works of art tackled such a controversial subject, and most games today still don't have much symbolism. And even without the symbolism, I thought the characters were likeable, and the plot was interesting.

About the time that they shoehorned the tech into the ps3 controller cause they were intimdated by the Wii...is when it fell apart...there hasn't been a worthwhile or good use of the sixaxis ever even on games thatwere literally made for it...

WilliamRLBaker

Actually Heavenly Sword used it effectively.

And they aren't extremely one-dimensional? Can you show me an example of any character (other than Auron or Jecht) who doesn't fit in to a cookie-cutter personality, or actually changes substantially over the course of the game? Everyone behaves in the same way at the beginning as they do at the end... much like generic anime or manga characters who are written for shonen-styIe media.

foxhound_fox

Tidus grows up and finally admits that he loves his father, Wakka stops being racist, Lulu accepts the death of her boyfriend, and pretty much everyone learns to not follow their beliefs blindly and to think for themselves. I'm sure there are more examples, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

Not one. Gaming as a whole doesn't seem to understand you can tell a story without a cutscene.

felipebo

Not true. Although there are many problems with the plot of Heavy Rain, that game proved that gameplay and story can be interwoven seamlessly. Other examples I can think of are Metroid Prime 1, Portal, and Braid.

localization. it ruined TWEWY for me. they just sounded soo cheesy.

martinX3X

Really? I thought they did an exceptional job on the localization. It must've been really hard to translate Japanese slang and pop culture into something Americans could understand and relate to, but I thought they were successful.

I completely disagree on you about FFVIII. I think it's alot better than FFVII. It has the most memorable story for me and the character are right-on. As of now, it's the most realistic FF series ever made when it comes to human emotion and story.

winrehs_007

FFVIII wasn't terrible by any means, but there's no denying that the story is awful. None of the main protagonists are likeable, Bowser is a more complex villain than Ultimecia, and let's not even get started on the orphanage twist.

Red Dead Redemption- Just gets kind of boring. And the world just isn't full of enough activities.

good_sk8er7

Besides the story missions, there are stranger quests, random miniquests, several types of challenges, outfits to unlock, gang hideouts, bounty missions, horse breaking, night watches, poker, blackjack, liar's dice, horse shoes, five finger fillet, rampages, and that's just in single player. Even if you don't care for it, you can't deny that there's plenty to do.

[QUOTE="KH-mixerX"]

Final Fantasy X

/thread.

foxhound_fox

I'll give you that a lot of the voice-acting is bad, but the plot has quite a bit of symbolism (I'm not the only one that noticed it was an attack on Christian fundmentalism, am I?), and while not all the characters are super complex, I'd say most of the main cast is well-developed. People always complain about how whiny Tidus is, but I thought he acted appropriate for someone who had suddenly been transported to a foreign world, and he really grew up by the end of the game.

But to answer the OP's question, I'm not sure I can pick just one game, so I'll just mention a few. Dragon Age is notable for having characters that not only have great personalities and dialogue, but also their own thoughts and opinions, and they will actually leave your party or fight you if they disagree with your decisions. It also has both protagonists and antagonists with questionable morality, which is rare in video games.

Red Dead Redemption also had great characters, especially the main one, John Marston. It's interesting that the whole game he tries to change himself from an outlaw to a simple farmer, while he stubbornly resists the changes that are happening in the world around him, and the government embraces the changes in the world, while denying the changes in Marston.

Bioshock is also worth mentioning because its twist blew my mind and made me question my own free will, and it has some of the most disturbing moments in all of gaming.

These make me feel...uncomfortable. The Shellder one is kind of disturbing.