Niche titles that most people missed but you loved

We all love our Gears of War, Halo, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, and many others. But so many great games go unnoticed. It's sad but true. Here is a great place for you to list some games that you truly loved that most people may have missed. Tell us your favorite games that, for one reason or another, failed to see the commercial successthey deserved. What is your list of "diamond's in the rough?"

Mirror's Edge - Sadly, this game just has not gotten the recognition it deserved. It's a parkour first person adventrue game that really takes risks in a number of ways. Faith, the protagonist, is strong willed and serious. She isn't the standard, big boobed, buxom Dead or Alivelookalike female character so many games push these days. The game is extremely fast paced, has a great "Orwellian" style reflecting the oppressive nature of the future, and it looks fantastic. Check this one out.

Beyond Good and Evil - Here's one that didn't get any attention from people last generation. It saw a release on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube but almost no one bought it. Why? Search me. This game had a deep adventure, good voice acting, mixed gameplay, pretty graphics, and a great Zelda styled gameplay. The charming cast added so much to the game and kept the player intrigued to the end. Looking for this title? Find it on Xbox Arcade and Playstation Network (later this year for PSN) for only 10 bucks. Awesome!

Jet Set (Grind) Radio -What a game! What a soundtrack! Back when Sega was innovative, this game just plain rocked. Released on the Dreamcast, this game featured great cell-shaded graphics and, as earlier mentioned, awesome music. You played as roller blading skaters who had to "tag" or spray paint thier gang's logos all over the city of Tokyo. Rival gangs are trying to do the same thing so you have to beat them to the punch. Meanwhile, the cops are trying to stop you. If you feel like you missed this one and don't have a Dreamcast, fear not! Jet Set Radio Future, the sequel, was released on Xbox and is playable on Xbox 360. The sequel was just as good as the original so find a copy and grind away!

What about all of you? What are some games you loved that you think many missed out on? I'll be back to list more later. But I'd love to get your lists too.

Mount and blade /warband I guess. It's just a largely unnoticed game unfortunately since it has quite a lot of quality hidden in a rough gem.

I've got to say Hogs of War, Last Rebellion and Disgaea 3.

Sacred 2, the effort that ascaron put in making and old school immersive and huge action rpg has sadly gone unoticed (gamespot 7.5 seriously?!), for a world so big the detail is amazing in each area and the combat system and enemies are awesome.

I've got to say Hogs of War, Last Rebellion and Disgaea 3.

CheekyIchi

Oh yeah. Hogs of War was great. I'll say the most criminally under-rated game of all-time is Dynasty Tactics 2. If you like strategy games, it's a must play. I've played FFT, Disgaea & countless others, but DT2 is the bomb. It's almost like strategy & a puzzle game in one. you can link your moves & set off violent chain reactions that push the enemy around the field & if they land in front of one of your other guys, they sontinue the chain. Half the fun is seeing how many moves you can link together.

It's real simple, if you like strategy, PLAY THIS GAME

Sacred 2, the effort that ascaron put in making and old school immersive and huge action rpg has sadly gone unoticed (gamespot 7.5 seriously?!), for a world so big the detail is amazing in each area and the combat system and enemies are awesome.

Krelian-co

I always wondered about this game. I was about to get it a few times but backed out. I thought it looked like a sweet Diablo style game. Maybe I should go back to give it a shot. Thanks.

Two Worlds 2. If you were "disgusted" by the first one then you are missing out on the most improved sequel i have ever seen in a while.

Deadly Premonition

Metro 2033

Singularity

Risen

Alpha Protocol

Men Of War series... If you liked Company of Heroes or Soliders Heroes of WW2 then these games are a must.

Two Worlds 2. If you were "disgusted" by the first one then you are missing out on the most improved sequel i have ever seen in a while.

Deadly Premonition

Metro 2033

Singularity

Risen

Alpha Protocol

EvilSelf

I've heard lots of good stuff about Sigularity. Maybe I need to check that out too.

Jet Set Radio Future

Advent Rising

Mirror's Edge

Psychonauts

Azurik (bad game, but I loved it as a kid)

Gun Valkyrie (same thing)

Knights in the Nightmare.

Knights in the Nightmare.

turtlethetaffer

AWESOME GAME! Don't you just love Atlus for titles like this? I have it for DS but I thought about getting it for PSP.

i adore killer7, but it had some bizarre mechanics. as much as the controls and interface benefited the story, its pretty obvious that they werent what you might expect. even beyond that, it intentionally goes against what most people consider "good game design." as an example, the puzzles often werent based on logic (even positive reviews faulted this. i see it as suitable to the surreal nature of the game).

Secret of Mana seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Many gamers don't know if. Some know the Mana series but may have skipped this gem of the SNES because of the avalanche of mediocrity that Mana has given since back then. If you have a Wii and are looking for a great old-school action/RPG, look no further.

Planescape Torment - Quite possibly the greatest Western RPG ever created. Definitely the most unique. Certainly the best storyline ever in a game.

System Shock 2 - Probably the greatest FPS ever made, definitely ahead of it's time. A year before Deus Ex and eight years before BioShock...this game perfectly blended FPS with RPG and Action Adventure elements.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - The scariest and creepiest game through atmosphere and storytelling since probably Silent Hill 2.

Okami - One the of best action adventure games ever produced.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - One of the best RPGs of the last decade. Great story and very interesting characters and definitely a unique vibe, setting and atmosphere. Unfortunately it was extreme buggy at release, but has since been fixed thanks to an ongoing community patch which has worked wonders.

Clive Barker's Undying - One of the best old school shooters. Cool story, creepy atmosphere. Great weapons and spells that you could dual weild.

Penumbra Collection - Creepy atmospheric game.

Day of the Tentacle - The best of the classic 90's adventure games.

Machinarium - Great and creative adventure game.

The Longest Journey - Another excellent adventure game. excellent story.

The Dream Machine - Unique and creative recent adventure game.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto - Unique and creative blend between FPS, Third Person Shooter and Strategy. Rechargeble shields, on the fly grenade and mine throwing, vehicles, limited amount of weapons you could carry so had to be strategic in what you choose....all a year before Halo released.

No One Lives Forever 1 & 2 - Cool spy shooter. One of the last creative FPS games released.

Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich - Before Irrational games made BioShock, they made this RPG / Strategy game hybrid.

Tribes Vengeance - Another FPS from Irrational. It got flak from series fans for being so different and for not having strong multiplayer...but for those that gave it a chance found a great single player campaign with a great story for a shooter. The mistake this game made was being titled "Tribes", otherwise it was a great FPS.

i completely agree with Mirror's Edge, Sacred 2, and Risen and games that didn't get good reviews, but i enjoy.

Not sure if these game count, but I loved Bully: Scholarship Edition, and i always heard that Rockstar was amazing for GTA and Red Dead Redemption, but Bully got left in the dust. This game is amazing.

I also really liked The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom. It had a great way of changing around the game when thought you got the hang of it, and the challenge of beating the game and challenges was very fun.

I think a lot of people overlook the second tier downloable games, the ones that come out and do not get as much attention as Plants vs. Zombies and the like.

Planescape Torment - Quite possibly the greatest Western RPG ever created. Definitely the most unique. Certainly the best storyline ever in a game.

System Shock 2 - Probably the greatest FPS ever made, definitely ahead of it's time. A year before Deus Ex and eight years before BioShock...this game perfectly blended FPS with RPG and Action Adventure elements.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - The scariest and creepiest game through atmosphere and storytelling since probably Silent Hill 2.

Okami - One the of best action adventure games ever produced.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - One of the best RPGs of the last decade. Great story and very interesting characters and definitely a unique vibe, setting and atmosphere. Unfortunately it was extreme buggy at release, but has since been fixed thanks to an ongoing community patch which has worked wonders.

Clive Barker's Undying - One of the best old school shooters. Cool story, creepy atmosphere. Great weapons and spells that you could dual weild.

Penumbra Collection - Creepy atmospheric game.

Day of the Tentacle - The best of the classic 90's adventure games.

Machinarium - Great and creative adventure game.

The Longest Journey - Another excellent adventure game. excellent story.

The Dream Machine - Unique and creative recent adventure game.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto - Unique and creative blend between FPS, Third Person Shooter and Strategy. Rechargeble shields, on the fly grenade and mine throwing, vehicles, limited amount of weapons you could carry so had to be strategic in what you choose....all a year before Halo released.

No One Lives Forever 1 & 2 - Cool spy shooter. One of the last creative FPS games released.

Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich - Before Irrational games made BioShock, they made this RPG / Strategy game hybrid.

Tribes Vengeance - Another FPS from Irrational. It got flak from series fans for being so different and for not having strong multiplayer...but for those that gave it a chance found a great single player campaign with a great story for a shooter. The mistake this game made was being titled "Tribes", otherwise it was a great FPS.

PC gamer, huh? LOL!

I would love to take a look at a lot of what you mentioned but I've always been a console gamer more than anything. Good suggestions though. I always loved Okami (PS2 version, not the Wii version). And I always wanted to play the No One Lives Forever games and System Shocks. Good choices.

locknload17

Cursed Mountain - I have yet to complete it but so far it's a moody, bleak adventure with a fantastic plot.

Deadly Premonition - It may have poor controls and bad graphics, but beneath that there's an amazing game that EVERYONE need to play. The biggest proof that the "AAA" standard doesn't require massive budgets, gigantic ad campaigns and top notch graphics to work.

Clock Tower - Beneath some of the worst voice actings I've seen in the horror genre the game is a terrifying, grim and utterly disturbing adventure.

Call Of Cthulhu - A first person adventure based on HP Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth, absolutely scary, realistic but at the same time utterly buggy.

The Last Remnant - While the 360 version of the game is incredibly flawed (Single digit framerates, long loading times, massive texture pop-in issues, etc.), the PC version is an incredible JRPG with some astonishing graphics, a simple yet complex battle system and a fantastic soundtrack.

Dare I say STALKER? Seems unheard of among the public.

Definitely Mirror's Edge. People missed out... I've heard about PlaneScape Torment a number of times on this forum, I should check it out some time.LustForSoul

God, was Mirror's Edge amazing or what? I absolutely LOVE that game! Mega Kudos!

Siren: New Translation, Fatal Frame, Haunting Ground, Rule of Rose.

Clive Barker's Jericho.

Clive Barker's Jericho.

Hatiko

That game is awesome, even with the stupid partner AI.

• For Playstation: Dino Crisis
• For XBOX: Kingdom Under Fire, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
• For PC: Freedom Force, Nox, Arx Fatalis, Crimson Skies

Definitely Mirror's Edge. People missed out... I've heard about PlaneScape Torment a number of times on this forum, I should check it out some time.LustForSoul

Panzer Dragoon Orta and Gunvalkyrie

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. There wasn't anything in particular that really stood out to me in this game, but it was unique and well made. It rarely if ever gets mentioned, but is a pretty solid game.

Full Spectrum Warrior.

Jet Grind Radio/Jet Set Radio Future, I hold to this day fondly. I wish it would come on the PSN, or XBLA!!! And Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Chrono Trigger, and Cross.

Red Faction Guerilla

I was gonna say Jet Set Radio but you included it in your initial post. Its a shame those games didn't do better. I try to bring them up whenever possible while posting in the forums. They are my favorite games of all time. In the immortal words of DJ Professor K: JET SET RADIO!!!!!!!!

Beyond Good and Evil seemed okay. I didn't get into it, though.

Jet Set Radio Future is one of the best I've ever played.

Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring. It isn't flawless, but the combat system is deeper than it appears.

Panzer Dragoon Orta. That game is very good.

Chrono Trigger/ Cross. This series is two very different games, but they are each very good.

Xenogears: This is one of those games that makes you wonder about what your playing. In a good way.

Grandia II. One of the best combat systems out there. Good story, too.

Legend of the Dragoon. I heard it got low scores, and I can understand because the combat needed work. Overall, it's fantastic. I think it says something about a game when one of its main parts lacking in comparison to other games isn't enough to make me dislike it.

Dbz Supersonic Warriors. I think this eventually became Tenkaichi and Burst Limit, just one-on-one instead of up to 3 vs 1.

Space Megaforce. Favorite Shmup, even though it's not that hard.

Super Robo Aleste. Probably my favorite Sega CD game after Sonic CD. Best looking shmup I've played besides Geometry Wars.

Not sure about this one, but Lunar Silver Star Story. Almost perfect.

Panzer Dragoon Orta. That game is very good.

BranKetra

Good game, and I'd have to add Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn to it. So many people missed this gem due to the late and limited release during Saturn's dying days, not to mention now it goes for $200+ on E-Bay for used copies(I've seen shrink wrapped going for up to $800). Add to that it will never be re-released as the source code has been reputedly lost.

Every SRPG, especially from NIS

truly a niche game that most everyone but me missed out on, Monster Jam Path of Destruction.

[QUOTE="BranKetra"]

Panzer Dragoon Orta. That game is very good.

Rekunta

Good game, and I'd have to add Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn to it. So many people missed this gem due to the late and limited release during Saturn's dying days, not to mention now it goes for $200+ on E-Bay for used copies(I've seen shrink wrapped going for up to $800). Add to that it will never be re-released as the source code has been reputedly lost.

About tribes vengeance.............u r correct.............my father bought it for me accidently and i was seriously addicted t its single player campaign and its multiplayer...............

Two Worlds 2. If you were "disgusted" by the first one then you are missing out on the most improved sequel i have ever seen in a while.

Deadly Premonition

Metro 2033

Singularity

Risen

Alpha Protocol

EvilSelf

[QUOTE="Rekunta"]

[QUOTE="BranKetra"]

Panzer Dragoon Orta. That game is very good.

BranKetra

Good game, and I'd have to add Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn to it. So many people missed this gem due to the late and limited release during Saturn's dying days, not to mention now it goes for $200+ on E-Bay for used copies(I've seen shrink wrapped going for up to $800). Add to that it will never be re-released as the source code has been reputedly lost.

Just for Saga I believe.

UmJammer Lammy - This follow-up to Parappa the Rapper was a fantastic rhythm game and held all of the charm of Parappa. The graphic style was very similar and, instead of rapping, Lammy (the game's main character) was a female rocker with an electric guitar. Some of the songs were even better than its predecessor. Great one.

Ikaruga - Talk about HARDCORE! This top-down shooter was absolutely amazing. Originally released on the Dreamcast in Japan, this game came to us under limited release on the Gamecube and is not available on Xbox Arcade. It's a gorgeous game that is full of old-school madness. Good luck with this one. It's damn near impossible but it's loads of fun.

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo - This puzzle game was largely written off by American gamers due to the cutesy squashed down caricatures of their favorite Street Fightercharacters. Don't be fooled. This game is deep and very competitive. Playing single player mode is fun but the real thrills come when playing against friends head to head. The game has seen a releasein arcades,Sega Saturn, SonyPSX, Gameboy Advance, Capcom Puzzle World on PSP, and on PSN and Xbox Arcade, this game shouldn't be hard to find. Still, it seems many out there may have missed this gem. Consider it if you're looking for a new puzzle game other than Tetris or Lumines.

I'll think of more. Keep 'em coming though. This is becoming a great list!

Also Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the DS was another game I loved as well, such a unique game.

Herzog Zwie - Arguably the first RTS. Instead of controlling a cursor you control a ship which can either pick up friendly units (though transporting them burns lots of gas) or transform into a giant robot. There is no resource farming, but fuel and ammo does limit unit's freedom of action, so one wants all the bases one can get (only infantry can capture bases).

Shadow Hearts 2 - Made in the days when developers labored under the delusion making a game as good as FF would earn FF type sales (making big budgets sensible). A demonic shapeshiper (who still mourns the loss of his lover in the original Shadow Hearts), a vampiric pro wrestler, a creepy puppet maker, a white wolf and a soldier in the (WW1 era) German army team up to fight Rasputin, the most evil man in history unless pop culture has steered me wrong.

Ring of Red - A strategy game where one controls giant robots. The most memorable part is the aiming, which is affected by smoke, darkness, distance and recent strong hits (which throw off your aim).

Shadow of Memories - You play a guy who gets knifed at the beginning of the of game and then tries to solve his own murder. The voice acting was lackluster but trying to figure out what one had to do to 'fix' the past was fun (due to the multiple ending, there wasn't a single 'correct' solution).

Carnage Heart - You build a mech, then you program its AI, then you set it loose (that how things worked in theory). Researching the mech's upgrade path was easy, but programming the thing was tough and getting it to differentiate between friends and foes and act appropriately was even tougher. As CPUs that could handle larger instruction sets became available, players had to ask themselves if what they had was good enough or if they wanted to put hours into rebuilding/testing a more complicated/more versatile AI (I chose the insane option). Players also had to tweak the AI so that it could best make use of the weapons available to it (and vice versa). You haven't lived until the mech you've put hours intoprogramming fires a bunch of missiles into the back of an ally, then proceeds to jump to the left until its fuel reserves are exhausted. On the flipside, few things match the satisfaction of having three mechs deploy on the battlefield and smoothly demolish the enemy.

Freedom Force - I honestly don't know how well this NES game sold, but it was a well made left to right NES shooter. It had the first anti-hero I recall running across. By Kratos standards he was tame, but by the standards of the day, I was like 'Ohmigod! That's the hero? :P You could shoot civilians (though it cost you points) and at the intro your guy shoots down a helicopter with a terrorists or three in it, then grins when a survivor crawls out (one does not get the impression that an ambulance is in the terrorist's future).

The World Ends With You- Talk about innovative! This game was and incredible DS title that had a great story, fantastic music, and made some of the best use of the touch screen mechanics unique to the system. Square Enix is known for RPGs but many people may have passed this one up. If you can get your hands on a copy, snag it. It's one of the best games on the system.