I agree with this assessment. The game had amazing presentation and charm out the wazooo but the gameplay got a bit old/was a bit too simplistic.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Good games that fell through the cracks.
- Thread starter pixelpatron
- Start date
I agree with this assessment. The game had amazing presentation and charm out the wazooo but the gameplay got a bit old/was a bit too simplistic.
lots of puppeteer love here. (Liked the premise of not the execution, physics were a bit off.
Another late PS3 game that deserves a mention is Rain.
A charming late PS3 stealth puzzle game that was essentially a high budget Indy by Studio Japan.
Remember Me - Dontnod
Linear story driven brawler. Fun combat great world. Best played in French with subtitles
Doesn't get as much love as other 7th gen cult classics.
Another late PS3 game that deserves a mention is Rain.
A charming late PS3 stealth puzzle game that was essentially a high budget Indy by Studio Japan.
Remember Me - Dontnod
Linear story driven brawler. Fun combat great world. Best played in French with subtitles
Doesn't get as much love as other 7th gen cult classics.
Personally, I rate this above Nocturne. Nocturne's demon mechanics are terrible; Soul hackers is the only SMT game I know of that really managed to deliver on it's core (battle system) ideas.This would have been my vote, but let's go deeper.
The best SMT game that isn't Nocturne or Persona 2, and arguably has the best voice work Atlus USA ever did. All the demons and major NPCs have voices, and they're all fantastic. Take that, Devil Survivor.
Oh, bless this post.
After hearing how good it was by people 'round these parts, I really wish I could play this game, but I just can't justify paying that much for it. Maybe someday...Panzer Dragoon Saga was probably the ultimate example of this.
It released at the tail end of the Saturn's life and had a miserably low print run, especially outside Japan. And I don't say this lightly, because it's no small feat: PDS was one of the best games of 1998. In an ideal world, we'd all be as obsessed about this game now as we are with the other RPG titans of that era...but virtually no one got to play it, and chances of a remaster are slim (though never say never, what with the PD 1&2 remakes on the horizon...)
I'll often look at D4 in my library and go "Oh yeah, I wanted to finish that (only played like the first episode, maybe two too). I just always just find something else to play instead.
Same with this.
Jazzpunk was indeed brilliant, always nice to see it getting some recognition. And ditto on wanting to see more from the devs, it's a damn shame they haven't gotten anything else out the door since. Googling them it's kinda freaky that came out in 2014, doesn't seem that long ago o_O
Maybe this is a poor example as it had a spiritual successor crowd funded somewhat recently, but The Neverhood is one of the most quirky and unique point and click adventure games from the 90s. All the characters and sets made in clay, a truly surreal world to explore, and some great puzzles. Very unique atmosphere that I don't think the successor was able to replicate nearly as well. Klaymen is a GOAT silent protagonist.
Last edited:
Yeah it sucks, but it's the way it is. If I play a game, I'm going to want to play an official copy (for the most part, I own a few repros of NES games that never came out here).
What really sucks is that the source code is gone, if Sega had been able to release ports maybe the franchise would gain some traction and return.
Yeah, I really wish it would be rereleased or something. I think I remember seeing user
Last edited:
That's true, the Saturn was notoriously weird and difficult to work with
Yeah...nope. But I'd expect this opinion from someone who made a platinum games hate thread
The bit of Puppeteer I played was pretty good. Might have to try it again.
Wonderful 101 is a big one.
I feel Radiant Historia qualifies. it deserves all the praise. It has an enhanced 3DS version too.
I'll take that and raise you Yo-kai Watch 3. One of the last 3DS games released, and one of the biggest with a ton of content. It's one of the most sought after 3DS games now when people hear how great it is.
Wonderful 101 is a big one.
I feel Radiant Historia qualifies. it deserves all the praise. It has an enhanced 3DS version too.
most games released for the 3DS over the past few years have been very badly marketed, by both Nintendo and third parties.
On that note:
Sure this game probably did fine enough with its target demographic, but I think a lot of older video game fans write off this series as something it isn't. Frankly it has more in common with Shenmue than it does Pokémon, and the story and world is incredibly charming. If you just like to be immersed in a fun Japanese setting (that sure tries its hardest not to be Japanese in the dub which is honestly more hilarious than anything else) you should check it out.
I'll take that and raise you Yo-kai Watch 3. One of the last 3DS games released, and one of the biggest with a ton of content. It's one of the most sought after 3DS games now when people hear how great it is.
According to Steamspy, Talos Principle sold between 1-2 million just on Steam
It not being discussed much is probably more because it's nearly 5 years old than because it didn't do well
Lol, I was thinking "I would be fine if they just ripped a disc and sold an emulated version of it" but I think Saturn emulation is hard and probably a roadblock for that too.
Does Sunset Overdrive count? One of the greatest games of this generation, released on the Xbox when it was in a shitty state.
Creepy Castle on Steam
A conspiracy is welling deep within the stone walls of an ancient castle.The keep’s master is leading its denizens to construct a revolutionary new device made to move the world forward onto a new path of evolution.
This was a good little indie game that I jumped on a year ago on sale. It blew my expectations, but it seems like the game underperformed and wasn't marketed well. By then, the game was just another blip on the wave of good indies. Gameplay was interesting but turned repetitive, and having an old-school minimap turned a lot of people off.
I think if it was released on Switch it could hang with some of the indies, but it doesn't seem that's going to happen given the game's sales.
I followed followed the development and release of Puppeteer really intently because it seemed 100% my jam but I never ended up getting it once it came out for some reason or other. I'l definitely need to pick it up, I assume it's still on the PS3 store?
Just looked this up and it sounds so cool, I really need to check it out. I love Celtic mythology and just anything Irish in general. Skellige is my favourite game setting for that reason.
What a charming fucking game
Just looked this up and it sounds so cool, I really need to check it out. I love Celtic mythology and just anything Irish in general. Skellige is my favourite game setting for that reason.
It was a PS+ game as well, so a lot of people would have it in their library on PS4. It's a great succinct metroidvania.
Thank you for posting this! I forgot all about this game even though it was so oddly satisfying playing it. Fired up the Vita and downloaded it.
My vote goes to Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. I wish they had continued this franchise.
The DS had a lot of terrible shovelware. This game is NOT a part of it, it's a damn good platformer with a killer soundtrack and great spritework.
It had a really unique gimmick revolving around the top screen of DS being a platformer while the bottom screen is a match-3 puzzle game that you have to manage as you progress through each level.
It was a really fun game that was fairly challenging to boot, it's a shame that the development studio has basically dropped off the face of the earth.
This remains one of the single most difficult games I've ever played. From what I remember I struggled to get through the first level. It's miserable.
That's weird.
It's not an easy game to be sure, but the difficulty was perfectly manageable until later on IIRC. I don't recall the first level being hard at all.
You'll be in heaven.
The development team actually went to a real Irish village and modeled the game after it.
Metric fucktons of people: We love awesome 2D Metroid and Metroidvania games! Give us MOAR!
Like, ten of those people: *buys The Mummy Demastered*
Like, ten of those people: *buys The Mummy Demastered*
So this was actually good, huh? I played the demo when I first got a PS3 and thought it seemed cool, but then I forgot about it because no one talked about it.
What a charming fucking game
Vagrant Story.
Everything pointed at this being a series of games, but it didn't sell well enough so they dropped it completely. It's sad because it got good reviews and all, but I guess it was just too out there for anyone to actually buy it at the time.
Everything pointed at this being a series of games, but it didn't sell well enough so they dropped it completely. It's sad because it got good reviews and all, but I guess it was just too out there for anyone to actually buy it at the time.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is one of my all-time favourite games, and you hardly ever see anyone discussing it other than in the context of cult classics that deserved better. If you're not familiar, it's a simple adventure game where you collect items, rescue friends, and kidnap enemies (yes) by throwing them onto the carts of your railway system, which sends them to your town. After a while though, you'll unlock the tank minigame, which is what all the aforementioned collection aspects feed into. The tank battles are almost like a strange proto-MOBA-like thing, where two tanks face off against each other, and try to destroy the heart of the enemy tank. It's on the easy side, but that's part of what makes it such a chill and fun game.
Take the formula of the original TrackMania games, which started off with a niche but dedicated community but turned into a global phenomenon played by millions of players in a couple years. Why wouldn't it be a tremendous success? It's got an arcade yet extremely skill-based driving model, it's fast as hell, the official track designs are bonkers with loops, jumps, turbos and all kinds of crazy ideas, and of course there's a powerful and comfortable track editor, where people uploaded all kind of fascinating creations for years, turning the game into an unlimited experience in terms of variety and replayability.
After the worldwide success of TrackMania Nations and the cult following TrackMania United got (a game which combined all ccontent from prior games, making it the quintessential TM experience), the franchise was surprisingly stagnant. The post-launch support for all games has been stellar, but when Ubisoft bought Nadeo, the studio behind the games, plans became more ambitious than ever on one hand, and much more grounded on the other. Whereas a typical TrackMania game would usually launch with 3 full-blown environments, the studio started releasing single environments from time to time, in separated games that didn't feel enough value thanks to United having a whopping 7 already. The studio was also getting kinda thin as the ambition I mentioned earlier was not only a further move to push eSports, but most importantly the creation of ManiaPlanet, which was this hub where we got ShootMania shortly after (a build your own arena shooter game) and where QuestMania was supposed to happen one day (a make your own RPG thing with the same model as the other Mania games).
These projects were just... not as exciting for fans, as games would play it safe, the devs wouldn't support the games as well as they did in the past (the updates the first TrackMania got for years were crazy, and this was before the popular GAAS models of our days), and in general United was a game with a better gameplay and variety. So when Ubisoft announced they are releasing TrackMania Turbo, something changed. This was to be a mix of the previous "solo" games' environments along with brand new stuff, crafted together in a brilliant package of 4 wildly different environments, the editor everyone loved, an insane amount of game modes including split screen, online, minigames and whatnot, and most importantly it was also launching on consoles for the first time ever (bar some limited DS and Wii ports of the first game which had a fraction of the content the PC versions had).
It was published by Ubisoft, it was bound to have a great post-launch support because Nadeo and Ubisoft are both known for that, it was gonna be the second biggest TrackMania game ever in terms of environment and the biggest one in terms of variety out the box - and all this at a reduced price, launching at 40 bucks instead of full price. So what happened? Why isn't this game a massive phenomenon, why did it become one of those titles that you barely find in physical copies anymore and are frequently thrown around for a couple bucks at sales?
- The game simply didn't get marketed enough. Despite launching fairly early in the generation with most arcade franchises still nowhere to be seen (Ridge Racer, Burnout, etc.) or being kinda disappointing (the new Need For Speed games were nothing stellar, The Crew sold well but failed to make a lasting impression, etc.), people weren't really aware of a TrackMania game launching on console (or on PC, for that matter, where the game bombed spectacularly). The quality was there, reviews were good, but all in all even with discounts the game may not have reached a million copies sold.
- Uncomfortable editor. This was the game's biggest flaw to me, ultimately. The comfortable and intuitive editor of the legendary PC games gave room to an editor that simply wasn't fun to use. It was built to be "smart" both on mouse+keyboard and controller, but ultimately it was bad on both. This meant that, incredibly, the community wasn't really bothering with building fun tracks, but was busy playing the 200 official tracks instead.
- No post-launch support. Perhaps due to the low sales, Nadeo and Ubisoft pretty much abandoned the game. Yeah there were a couple patches, and the PS4 and PC versions for VR support after some time. But it was not enough. The original TrackMania got dozens of new track elements, it changed its graphics engine during the game's post-launch cycle, it received major community attention with the creation of websites, communities, tournaments and whatnot. TrackMania Turbo failed to make a lasting impression, so Nadeo quickly went back onto their "solo" games in the TrackMania 2 universe, which already weren't that impressive or appreciated by the community.
- One annoying glitch. On multilap races, for some reason the game freezes for like half a second when crossing the line on almost every occasion: but the game does not stop, so you effectively teleport away a tiny bit if you keep on accelerating. This was annoying as hell and made certain tracks a pain in the arse to compete on. In a game that demands absolute precision and dedication, such a little mistake was a major blow. Since this was seen from the beta and demo as well, I have no doubt some people were turned off by it. The game had good graphics and was otherwise smooth in terms of performance, but this one thing was really annoying.
A big and ambitious yet cheap TrackMania game launching simultaneously on PC, Xbox One and PS4 launching early in the generation with less competition: it should have been an enormous success. And while the game had its flaws, it was fantastic out of the gate, with enormous variety for single player, for local co-op and competitive gaming, for online gamers, but also for trackbuilders. There were global, country-based and region-based leaderboards. Dozens of game modes inspired from coin-based arcade games. 4 fun and exciting environments that were just a joy to play on. Randomly generated levels alongside the powerful editor. A fantastic driving model. A smooth gameplay. Everything was there to be a global phenomenon, but the game just faded away into obscurity in no time thanks to bad marketing, lack of proper post-launch support, a couple weird design decisions and, ultimately, a community that failed to stick around.
What an enormous wasted opportunity to turn TrackMania into a multiplatform phenomenon instead of just a PC series. And with Turbo burning a lot of people and the other Mania games just not being that exciting nowadays, Nadeo and Ubisoft failed to follow-up on the success of United and Nations, which are probably more active on Steam to this day than Turbo is between all platforms. In a changed market, maybe they should try to come up with a free-to-play model (with cosmetic MTXs) or a game launching at a reduced price but day 1 on services like Game Pass, PS Plus and Stadia's sub, making sure to have a healthy playerbase from the get go and build from there. Because even at its worst, TrackMania is an extremely polished and fun arcade racer that already proved to have mainstream appeal. But Turbo, as good as it was, did not manage to become successful.
Killzone Mercenary.
Best Killzone (after 2) but because it was on Vita, it was forgotten by all other than Vita faithful
To add another PS Vita gem:
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers on Steam
You are Tiny, a nerdy inventor, who tries to reclaim his most beloved possession - Grandpa's underpants!
One of the most creative 3D platformers that never really took off, I've never seen anyone but me talk about this game on this forum wich is a shame.
Until Dawn is the game I always dreamed someone would make, Clock Tower but more realistic.
It's amazing to play with a group of friends.
All the Puppeteer love warms my heart. Its theater-like presentation was incredibly charming and the art direction looked gorgeous. The level design was pretty versatile and the God of War style QTE finishes to the boss fights were really fun. Now this is a game that deserves a remaster.
Another great pick, this was one of the first digital titles i bought, back when i was still sort of resistant to the idea of digital only games, but i had tons of fun with it, shame it never got a sequel.
Another great pick, this was one of the first digital titles i bought, back when i was still sort of resistant to the idea of digital only games, but i had tons of fun with it, shame it never got a sequel.
Last edited:
I want to play the versions of these games that you played!
Din's Curse is a great, hard Diablo style game that came out in 2010. Played a lot of it online with buddies. It's well worth a look.
Then Xeodrifter is a forgotten game for sure, like I said I haven't even heard about it before I saw it on the eshop sale.
Just finished it by the way! Short but sweet. Not perfect but I honestly had more fun with this than Gears 4, and this is not a knock on Gears, I enjoyed that as well.
Freedom Wars was good but it hurt my hands to play for more than 20 minutes at a time. Really cool take on the "MonHun" style but the Vita's form factor hurt it for me.To add another PS Vita gem:
3 pages too late... this is one of the most incredible and absurdly underrated games of last generation.
Stands up visually really well today and plays damn well too. A shame it will be forever dormant on last gen... unless some merciful souls consider to port it to some recent console.
I'm not gonna lie, it's flawed. You play as both Ellen and Keats who do the exact same levels for the first half of the game, and they have parallel stories, so you basically have to repeat the same levels twice, and to appreciate the connections, it's best to go Ellen 1 /Keats 1 and so on, so the same levels can feel very old very fast.
It has style to spare, though, and wandering around the village during the day is a very cozy experience. The story is also great. (Cozy Okada was involved, so no shock there.)
It's the closest thing to a Changeling/Faerie RPG I've ever seen. It really does feel like you go straight into Arcadia.
It's a shame it never even got a digital release.
What a charming fucking game
Klaus admittedly caught my eye but I grew impatient of the 'hold right trigger to select a ledge to move' mechanic bugging out on me half-way through a level.
Plus, having the story pop up as text in the background of a platformer seemed neat at first but I generally didn't focus on it during intricate platforming sections.