Which older console has the best 'hidden gems'? It's the PS1 and...*all together now*...it's not even close! (100+ gifs of PS1 gems on pages 7 and 8!)

[Discontent]

Everyone saying 'its not even close' is the only way to rid ourselves of this phrase; It gets flung around in every one of my vs polls lmaoooo.

Imo none of the ones in the 'Other' option can hang with DS/Saturn/PS1/SNES/PS2 when it comes to hidden gems so I gave the NES a shot so that the pre 16-bit era has a rep and also because I've been digging deeper into it's library and there are a lot of solid games I'd never heard of. Maybe I'm just late to the party on that one and the games aren't even hidden gems lol but f-- it, let's see how well it does. Don't get me wrong, the consoles in the 'Other' option are all great, I'd even put some of them higher than some of the main poll options in my all time faves, but they're great more so for their well known games imo perhaps with the exception of PC-E but I'm not as familiar with it's library.

At one point in time I would have said it's the PS2 without a moment's thought but I have to give it to the PS1 in all honesty. The PS1's hidden gems library is not as deep as the PS2s but it's more varied than any other systems imo...

...and it's not even close!

 

[DrForester]

Gamecube...

...and it's not even on your poll.

 

[Chimpzy]

I like how you say the PS1 has the best hidden gems, and then give no examples. Like, make your case. Convince us.

 

[Scarlett]

I need to see these gems.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

It's the PS2.
It's always the PS2.

 

[CannonFodder52]

I still get really surprised by the new discovery of some JP PS1 games. PS2 has a huge wealth of games, but I feel like I've usually heard of the bizarre gems that people bring up.

Recently found out about Germs: Targeted Town and was blown away.

 

[Hu3]

Ps1 the amount of rpgs and obscure games that the original PlayStation has is just amazing.

 

[Dodongo]

Not sure if I can pick between the PSX, PS2, and DS.

Sooo many hidden gems on all three.

 

[Jencks]

It's either PS2 or DS

 

[Qwark]

I voted PS2 just because the sheer amount of games in the library that it had to have a ton of hidden gems. Stuff like Mister Mosquito and Ribbit King. But I could be persuaded to switch my vote with examples.

 

[TripleBee]

Dreamcast, since the whole library was hidden gems.

 

[Abuguet]

PS1, hands down. Just the amount of underrated and underappreciated JRPGs is enough to win by a landslide.

…and then, there's all the other genres.

 

[spman2099]

The amount of variety I hear when I ask people about their top 10 PS1 games is genuinely amazing. Everyone seems to have a game they love that no one else has heard of. That console's game library is incredible and SUPER varied.

 

[Discontent]

I like how you say the PS1 has the best hidden gems, and then give no examples.

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I need to see these gems.

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Lazy OP tbh. I'm just gonna quote a few from another thread, sorry. (There are a LOT more than these, and even these are a mixed bunch somewhat)

Wtf even is this type of game

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Gamera 2000 (PS1)

Are there any modern rail shooters where you have motherf----- Gamera as an escort?!

There's a button assigned to attacking with Gamera,
and you have a good deal of control over the Camera.

Bars.

If you've never played this game, play this boss battle music and watch the gifs below to get hyped for it!

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No One Can Stop Mr Domino (PS1)

An Autorunning game where you dodge obstacles and try to step onto as many 'hotspots' as possible while leaving a trail of dominoes in your wake. These hotspots activate events that topple your dominoes.. One of the 'laps' ends in this:

And it makes just as less sense when you actually watch the full lap (i've set the time of the video to the beginning of the lap):




Maybe the most amazing stage in all of gaming.

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Mad Panic Coaster (PS1)

Donkey Kong minecart levels are distant relatives of this lol but this is pretty damn unique imo. You have to survive insane roller coasters created by the evil 'Dr. Jones' by dodging obstacles, jumping and you can shoot a different-range projectile each by the girl and the boy.

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Gekisou Tomarunner (PS1)

Nice quirky on-foot racing game with weapons and shortcuts like through peoples houses lool.

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Korokoro Post-Nin (PS1)

Kind of like a Sonic bonus game but where you run faster the steeper the slope is. Idk if there's any recent game with this screen rotating gameplay but this game being about delivering newspapers in space is enough to make it unique imo.

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Gamecube...

...and it's not even on your poll.

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I really never came across more than a few Gamecube hidden gems tbh. And believe me, I tried.

 

[Deleted member 17210]

Imo none of the ones in the 'Other' option can hang with DS/Saturn/PS1/SNES/PS2

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SNES is better for hidden gems than the other 16-bit era consoles? The entire PC Engine/TG16 library is hidden for most people outside of Japan, and I think the Genesis/Mega Drive thrives more on obscure games than SNES does. I suppose you said "best hidden gems" and not "most hidden gems" so that could come down to a small number of games, though.

I will have to think on the topic more before voting but it's not SNES for me for this topic. Its best games tend to be well known.

 

[Host Samurai]

Saturn and PC Engine CD's library are pretty much all hidden gems.

 

[Discontent]

I like how you say the PS1 has the best hidden gems, and then give no examples. Like, make your case. Convince us.

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I need to see these gems.

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Also those are all from this thread. As you can see, that thread is about a very specific subset of games but I'll try adding more in here later when I feel less lazy.

 

[Duncan]

Playing The Ascent furthered my appreciation for another cyberpunk twin-stick shooter in Apocalypse: starring Bruce Willis

So OP is right, on this title alone.

 

[Nabbit]

My favorite retro crew SharpX68K NeoZeedeater andymcc Krejlooc are going to have some games to share and I think they may well vote Other. Looking forward to seeing what people post. I think it's DS for me personally and Ghost Trick is the first game that popped in my head.

I don't know if Rayman, Klonoa 2 or Disney Genesis games can be considered hidden gems per se but I definitely don't see them discussed much these days. Those are some of my faves for sure.

Edit: I refreshed so I see your post now Neo 😆

 

[mopinks]

I have a huge soft spot for the SNES but I feel like PS2 has to be the right answer here

it just had Everything

 

[Airegin]

I'll be the first to say GBA and almost no one will agree because the hidden gems are just that much hidden.

 

[Discontent]

SNES is better for hidden gems than the other 16-bit era consoles? The entire PC Engine/TG16 library is hidden for most people outside of Japan, and I think the Genesis/Mega Drive thrives more on obscure games than SNES does. I suppose you said "best hidden gems" and not "most hidden gems" so that could come down to a small number of games, though.

I will have to think on the topic more before voting but it's not SNES for me for this topic. Its best games tend to be well known.

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I've been left disappointed more often on the Genesis tbh when it comes to hidden gems than on the SNES. I was stuck on whether to include PC-E or NES because I'm not super familiar with either :( looks like i made the wrong choice.

 

[Jawmuncher]

It's the Saturn as most people here haven't even played the majority of the library as it's only in Japan.

 

[Discontent]

Booooo, no one said 'and it's not even close'.

 

[Pyro]

PS1 by far thanks to it's massive third party support but N64/Saturn also have some cool gems

Soul of the Samurai:

LSD Dream Emulator:

Gekido: Urban Fighters:

 

[Nabbit]

I'll be the first to say GBA and almost no one will agree because the hidden gems are just that much hidden.

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Always on the lookout for GBA gems so if love to hear your faves. There's so much unusual interesting stuff on GBA, like Pinobee. I really like the Crash games. Lilo and Stitch is a tough-as-nails Run 'n' Gun. I haven't played it but I hear the David Beckham Yoshi's Island-like is good....

 

[andymcc]

Everyone saying 'its not even close' is the only way to rid ourselves of this phrase; It gets flung around in every one of my vs polls lmaoooo.

Imo none of the ones in the 'Other' option can hang with DS/Saturn/PS1/SNES/PS2 when it comes to hidden gems so I gave the NES a shot so that the pre 16-bit era has a rep and also because I've been digging deeper into it's library and there are a lot of solid games I'd never heard of. Maybe I'm just late to the party on that one and the games aren't even hidden gems lol but f-- it, let's see how well it does. Don't get me wrong, the consoles in the 'Other' option are all great, I'd even put some of them higher than some of the main poll options in my all time faves, but they're great more so for their well known games imo perhaps with the exception of PC-E but I'm not as familiar with it's library.

At one point in time I would have said it's the PS2 without a moment's thought but I have to give it to the PS1 in all honesty. The PS1's hidden gems library is not as deep as the PS2s but it's more varied than any other systems imo...

...and it's not even close!

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I think the PS1 is a very fine choice though most of my "favorite" games on the Genesis definitely fall into the "hidden gem" category. The Sega Master System pretty much is "hidden gem" the console.

The PS1 just wins on volume and its huge library of unlocalized stuff that is pretty incredible.

 

[jmsebastian]

There are some fantastic underappreciated games for the PS1, for sure, but it's all about volume here. The more games you have, the more hidden gems there are. Yes, there's also more really bad games, but that's the price you pay. So PS2 wins here by default. And no, it is not close.

 

[Faiyaz]

Nintendo DS....and it's not even close.

 

[Discontent]

I think the PS1 is a very fine choice though most of my "favorite" games on the Genesis definitely fall into the "hidden gem" category. The Sega Master System pretty much is "hidden gem" the console.

The PS1 just wins on volume and its huge library of unlocalized stuff that is pretty incredible.

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I forgot to ask you and NeoZeedeater in that other thread (can't remember which one) where Time Soldier was mentioned...please recommend more Master System games!

 

[melodiousmowl]

Dreamcast

 

[BadWolf]

Tough to choose between the PS1 and PS2, too many amazing games.

I still come across great gems for both.

 

[Real]

MOST? In terms of pure volume? It's the PS2.

 

[Discontent]

MOST? In terms of pure volume? It's the PS2.

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Quality, quantity and variety I think is fair.

 

[jsnepo]

PS1 for having Incredible Crisis and Silent Bomber

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

PS1 or PS2. Take your pick.

 

[Discontent]

Can't believe PS2 is still getting votes after I did my best to hide it beneath 'Other' in the poll lol. It's a solid choice though, I'm just fooling around.

 

[Calabi]

Here's a hidden gem that probably no one has ever heard of.



The game was to advanced for its time and we still don't have games that compete with it on certain levels. It was a full on space station sim with events a detailed chat system and multiple endings.

 

[cfer50]

I just hope one day someone dusts off No One Can Stop Mr Domino and remasters it like Parappa.

 

[kubev]

I'm honestly surprised PlayStation [1] is leading the poll by so much. I was honestly expecting "Other" to be well in the lead.

My logic:

• I'm sure PlayStation [1] has lots of "interesting" games, but I can't imagine wanting to play most of them. Maybe the 2D ones?
• I could see SNES winning this, but I do think even just the consoles mentioned within parentheses for "Other" still should obliterate it.
• Saturn is kind of in the same boat as PlayStation, though many of them have aged even worse, and Saturn's library was quite small compared to PlayStation [1]'s.
• As with SNES, I could see DS taking this if it wasn't for the "Other" category.
• For NES, yeah, by NES standards, you've got some real gems in there, but they've still mostly aged poorly.
• PlayStation 2 games are still in that awkward phase of being interesting but generally having terrible controls. That said, it has Amplitude, but that's hardly "hidden" (though definitely a gem).

 

[Pyro]

Now that I think about it, PS2 is probably the answer but that's not on the poll so I still say PS1.

Gamecube...

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I do love me some adorable Chibi-Robo though!

 

[Discontent]

I'm honestly surprised PlayStation [1] is leading the poll by so much. I was honestly expecting "Other" to be well in the lead.

My logic:

• I'm sure PlayStation [1] has lots of "interesting" games, but I can't imagine wanting to play most of them. Maybe the 2D ones?
• I could see SNES winning this, but I do think even just the consoles mentioned within parentheses for "Other" still should obliterate it.
• Saturn is kind of in the same boat as PlayStation, though many of them have aged even worse, and Saturn's library was quite small compared to PlayStation [1]'s.
• As with SNES, I could see DS taking this if it wasn't for the "Other" category.
• For NES, yeah, by NES standards, you've got some real gems in there, but they've still mostly aged poorly.
• PlayStation 2 games are still in that awkward phase of being interesting but generally having terrible controls. That said, it has Amplitude, but that's hardly "hidden" (though definitely a gem).

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Which of the ones in the 'Other' option are you referring to?

 

[Storminormin]

PS1/PS2/DS
Those are all pretty close.
GameCube/Dreamcast/Saturn libraries are comparatively too small even though they do have plenty of good lesser known games.

 

[Silvergun-Blue]

I'll go for the Saturn. It has some amazing games that stand toe-to-toe with the nest on the PS1 but they're locked to the system and hardly anybody got to play them.
It has a much bigger library than most think, over 1000 releases which is almost 3X as many as the N64.

 

[kubev]

Which of the ones in the 'Other' option are you referring to?

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Mostly GBA, PSP, and Wii, with Dreamcast being an honorable mention, despite its library's small size.

 

[UraMallas]

Gamecube for me. So many really out there games that you don't think should work but they do.

Playstation, by comparison, has a lot of out there games... but they rarely work. The games off the beaten path are mostly shit imo.

 

[Discontent]

Mostly GBA, PSP, and Wii, with Dreamcast being an honorable mention, despite its library's small size.

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PSP is a personal top 5 console but I don't think it's hidden gem game is that strong. Wii is maybe top 10 but again, the same. Aside from it's lightgun-style games I'd say the majority of it's hidden gems are very middling. GBA is a good choice but not as strong as DS or SNES so I left it out.

 

[898]

Not sure if I can pick between the PSX, PS2, and DS.

Sooo many hidden gems on all three.

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There is no way these can't be the top three. If you mean, still hidden, even niche fandoms are still finding and trying to shed light on unique games that didn't get their 15 minutes.
The breadth and depth of each of those catalog's could rival the PC indie scene.

I think I've formulated my opinion on the matter: the shift to 3d put a reset on the previous 2d refinement of what games were thought of at the time and opened up new possibility spaces. The refinement of 2d genre staples during the 16bit era gave way to new opportunities which led to more experimentation. And with less examples to guide you the more creative and unique each game became, pushing boundaries.

 

[Discontent]

Also mfw the poll is actually not even close. I think I got a thread title right for once! Maybe I did do a good job of hiding the PS2 after all because I thought the PS2 would run away with it.

 

[Discontent]

1080p has killed the PS2 here lmaoooooooooo