Favorite Underrated Game (s)

[emperor26]

Gitaroo Man-Very challenging and addicting. Sure, it's tough at first, but once you memorized everything, the game is simple to play.

The Mark of Kri-I was obviously surprised that this game didn't do well, as it had a great plot, good gameplay, etc.

Parappa The Rapper-Only played the demo back when I used to play the PSone, but I have to admit, it was fresh and innovating at the time. Also, it was one of the few games that doesn't need violence as the fun factor.

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

Wow, emperor26, you read my mind - not only did I have an idea for a topic like this just yesterday, you even mentioned Parappa the Rapper, the game that I had most wanted to highlight! I would disagree with you on one point, though; the first game was critically lauded (for the reasons you stated) and sold in quite large quantities, so I wouldn't really say it was underrated. The sequel, on the other hand, was seen as a critical and commercial disappointment, which I think is a real shame. I fully accept that it was really brief, that the gameplay was very simplistic and that as a package it was slightly lacking, but I'm willing to forgive it for most of its faults just for its personality; it had some really charming art design, a totally bizarre (if totally incoherent) plot, amusingly off-kilter dialogue, all complemented nicely by the funky mix of 2D/3D graphics. Most importantly, I thought that the songs, which a lot of people criticised, were really good, the standouts being "Toasty Buns", the burger-cooking song sung by the ghost of a bearded European burger chef, and particularly "Hair Scare", the funktastic hairdressing ditty performed by an effeminate latino octopus barber (who forms the basis of my current avatar/personal message ).
Give it a try!

Also, I did feel that a lot of Nintendo's GameCube titles, particualrly the franchise ones, were a little underappreciated; the likes of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion and so forth. I certainly agree that the body of games produced by and large represented a step down from their outstanding N64 output,
but I think people's disappointment about that caused them to overlook the fact that most of these games were still very good on their own merits; hence a lot of unfairly harsh review scores, and a general perception of the GameCube library as weak, which I don't really think is fair.

(Oh, and on a slightly related note - ever since playing the also quite underrated Star Fox Command on the DS, I'm quite keen to try out Namco's GC entry Star Fox Assault, which I previously had avoided due to fairly poor press coverage. Can anyone who's played it tell me if it's actually any good, or is its bad reputation justified?)

[Voxxyn]

Originally Posted by Ditchy McAbandonpants

Also, I did feel that a lot of Nintendo's GameCube titles, particualrly the franchise ones, were a little underappreciated; the likes of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion and so forth. I certainly agree that the body of games produced by and large represented a step down from their outstanding N64 output,
but I think people's disappointment about that caused them to overlook the fact that most of these games were still very good on their own merits; hence a lot of unfairly harsh review scores, and a general perception of the GameCube library as weak, which I don't really think is fair.

I am in complete and absolute agreement with you. As a long-time member of gaming forums such as GameFAQs, I can confirm that these aforementioned games aren't so much underappreciated as they are utterly reviled as if they were the worst things created by mankind. It's disheartening to anyone who actually enjoyed them.

Especially Super Mario Sunshine. It's such a wonderful, creative, imaginative game that does NOT deserve the extreme amount of infamy it's reached on the internet. It upsets me almost as much as "Imposter's" does. I'm very much looking forward to Super Mario Galaxy like everyone else, but I'm intending on avoiding all opinion-based media exposure, because I just know they will all decry Sunshine as the "flop" of the series. I randomly tuned into G4's Attack of the Show a few weeks ago, which just happened to have Kevin Pereira and Adam Sessler discussing Galaxy, and Sessler instantly remarked that he "wasn't the biggest Sunshine admirer" -- even though he raved about it when it first came out and was recently listed on X-Play's list of top GameCube games. I have a horrible feeling this is going to happen with basically every other publication that originally praised Sunshine...

Alright, rant over. I'd like to mention Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee for the PlayStation, which remains one of the most bizzarely wonderful games I've ever played.

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

Voxxyn - for the second time this topic, someone had read my mind. Even though I extended the idea somewhat, as I feel that's it's a sentiment that's come to affect the whole of last-generation Nintendo's output, I was primarily thinking of Super Mario Sunshine when I wrote that.

I too have been increasingly taken aback by the size and force of the backlash against Sunshine over the past few years. With the exception of GameSpot's 8.0, the review scores accrued by the game on its release were great, bordering on stellar, but its reputation just slid and slid since then, so you get to the stage where today it's considered the black sheep, the flop, the failure. What rankles most, as you say, is the hypocrisy shown by a lot of reveiwers, reviewers who praised the game to rafters when it came out, but now seem afraid to stand by what they said back then for fear of going against "the tide".

Neverthless, despite everything I've said, I have to concede that of all of the games in the core Mario series, Sunshine is by far the most problematic, and it's difficult to say why. Since the tide started to turn against it, people have been trying to pin down reasons to explain the ill will; that it was too much of a departure from the core Mario gameplay concept, that the water-pack mechanic was fiddly or unsatisfying, that the setting was uninspired. I don't agree with any of that; sure, Isle Delfino wsan't the most inspired creation (the Piantas and Nokis were really dull designs), and the concept was very different, but whilst I was playing the game through, I was utterly enthralled. It was one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences in recent times, and I can remember marvelling aloud at how the game kept throwing up new and fresh ideas.

However, actually finishing the game had a strange negative effect on it - the whole thing started to feel strangely dead. I think that the too-easy last boss might have contributed to a feeling of being underwhelmed, but I think the key problem that everyone overlooks was the clumsy, clumsy blue coin collection dynamic. Because they're hidden so thoroughly at times, finding them is always going to be the last thing the player does, and therefore the last thing you remember about playing it, and I think that did more damage to my perception of the game than anyone could realise, because finding them was such a frustrating, illogical and obtuse chore. Frequently, you have no idea where the coin might be, because it's placed so arbitrarily, so you have no choice but to traipse aimlessly around each level, scrutinising each and every pixel in mind-numbing systematic fashion, which completely and permanently destroys any sense of magic or excitement the environments might once have held and clouding your judgement of an otherwise excellent game. When appraising Sunshine, I try to look past that and remember the good - clearly though, not everyone is prepared to, meaning that, just like with Wind Waker and its comparable end-game Triforce hunting sequence, Nintendo sold short the legacy of what should have been one its flagship games with one lazy, stupid bit of design. And I think that's a real tragedy.

*ahem*

BACK TO TOPIC!!! (100 geek points if you get that reference...)

[kaytea]

mine is Okaga Shadow King

[kageri]

I love Luigi's Mansion like burning. It's short enough that I've played through it several times, but c'mon -- Luigi, the greatest Mario character, sucking up ghosts, which are awesome, in a vaccuum? I'm sold. I know it was made mostly to showcase the Gamecube's l33t graphics, but those are great, and it's an obscenely fun game. Did I mention I like ghosts? And Luigi? Because I do. I like ghosts. And Luigi.

[montitech]

I think the best underated PC game was Chaos Overlord.
now its abandonware, It was a good stratagy game, with multiplaying capacity, but it never took off due to Command and Concor (Red Alert) and Quake being the big games when it came out.

Monty

[Partymember]

Legend of Mana, PS1

[Jetbaby]

Three cheers for mention of Parappa - 's where I get my handle from.

Also have a lot of love for Jet Set Radio & Space Channel 5. Can I get a W00t W00t?

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by Ditchy McAbandonpants

(Oh, and on a slightly related note - ever since playing the also quite underrated Star Fox Command on the DS, I'm quite keen to try out Namco's GC entry Star Fox Assault, which I previously had avoided due to fairly poor press coverage. Can anyone who's played it tell me if it's actually any good, or is its bad reputation justified?)

It actually isn't as bad as people say it is. I won't lie to you and say it's without its flaws, it's got quite a few problems but I really found myself enjoying this game none the less. One thing that's neat is the story has really advanced.

There are much more talkative cut scenes and characters to check out, and even though I miss Fox's comically action tough voice actor from "Adventures" everyone else in here did a pretty good job. Krystal sounds especially lovely.

The tank and plane levels feel like old school star fox, it's not insanely difficult and also you'll fight some WEIRD ass bosses in this game. Now for the bad. The biggest innovation to this game is the ability to hop in and out of vehicles.

The "on foot" mode has kind of clunky movements with aiming and walking sideways. It can be frustrating getting your guy to shoot where you want on foot, also there's a rather limited selection of guns. Not enough of an arsenal so you find yourself using the same guns alot.

But really, I don't think the game is as piss poor as people say it is. It's not great but I found alot of enjoyment out of the story mode and there's alot of new levels to explore.

EDIT

I totally agree with Luigi's mansion, I had such a BLAST with that game. I don't care if people said it was too short, I really enjoyed it and found it to be lots of fun.

The vast assortment of ghosts and checking out the cool creepy rooms with different surprises ^_^ lots of fun. I especially loved the whole "suction life" idea, like how you drain a ghost till his life % goes to zero.

It's just such an amusing concept, one that I never got tired of.