Your goto 'hidden gem'?

[Jynx | 140]

31 minutes ago, Sumez said:

None of those are NA exclusives

That is true actually. I misspoke. I was referring to games Nintendo made that weren't released in Japan. Whoops!

[AirVillain | 485]

On 5/13/2023 at 1:41 AM, Sumez said:

I wasn't aware there were an NES port. Gotta admit I only played the PCE one, so my impressions are based on that. 

I wonder how it handles the legendary Shinji Hosoe soundtrack 

I wasn't aware of the PCE one. Got it but since I can't beat it I like the NES one better 

Part of the reason I like it is the great soundtrack. I can hear it now, haha. 
 

On 5/14/2023 at 12:20 AM, Tanooki said:

Funny coincidence.  I hadn't seen the NES port of Dragon Spirit in like 10 years or so when I had it last, bagged it today with a few other games.  I gave it about 10min or so, that opening I totally forgot about it and it's pretty sweet for a primer into the actual game.  It's fairly well done given the NES limitations.  Maybe it's expectation of the hardware but it feels like it holds its own with the PCE, clearly not as nice sounding or colorful, smaller sprites too due to the older hardware but it works.

YES. The opening. 

It's one of my favourites in all video games. 

When I first got it I sat down to really "give it a go" and I played through it a couple times and couldn't figure out what the fuck was going on.... It's been a while, but I believe if you die in the first level, you start he game over as a yellow dragon? So the true way to beat the game is to beat the first level, turn into the Blue Dragon, then keep going???? Something fucking awesome like that. 

THEN it all came together and I said out loud "OOOOOHHHH..... I AM the brother I'm going to save my sister!" (or something to that effect) and my fiance at the time heard me and it became a pretty funny joke, haha. 

 

On 5/14/2023 at 5:52 AM, fcgamer said:

I've always thought this was a great game, definitely not an awkward or clunky one.

Same. Loved it IMMEDIATELY after playing it. 

First of all, you're a F'N DRAGON! And the fact that it was a shooter that wasn't a spaceship was neat, then add the radical dragons and shit??? Damn. 

And even the first dragon you get is pretty quick without any power-ups, so that's a HUGE plus. 

A good level of difficulty without being STUPIDLY hard (*coughs Abadox) with good controls/gameplay, excellent graphics/bright colours, neat power-ups, killer bosses, and great music. WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by AirVillain

[fcgamer | 4,719]

3 hours ago, AirVillain said:

I wasn't aware of the PCE one. Got it but since I can't beat it I like the NES one better 

Part of the reason I like it is the great soundtrack. I can hear it now, haha. 
 

YES. The opening. 

It's one of my favourites in all video games. 

When I first got it I sat down to really "give it a go" and I played through it a couple times and couldn't figure out what the fuck was going on.... It's been a while, but I believe if you die in the first level, you start he game over as a yellow dragon? So the true way to beat the game is to beat the first level, turn into the Blue Dragon, then keep going???? Something fucking awesome like that. 

THEN it all came together and I said out loud "OOOOOHHHH..... I AM the brother I'm going to save my sister!" (or something to that effect) and my fiance at the time heard me and it became a pretty funny joke, haha. 

 

Same. Loved it IMMEDIATELY after playing it. 

First of all, you're a F'N DRAGON! And the fact that it was a shooter that wasn't a spaceship was neat, then add the radical dragons and shit??? Damn. 

And even the first dragon you get is pretty quick without any power-ups, so that's a HUGE plus. 

A good level of difficulty without being STUPIDLY hard (*coughs Abadox) with good controls/gameplay, excellent graphics/bright colours, neat power-ups, killer bosses, and great music. WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN. 

Yup, quoting as this deserves to be quoted. Agree 100% . Got this game as a teen from Funco, so it's not a title for which I have the nostalgic goggles. It's just that great.

[Estil | 1,261]

Would Misadventures of Tron Bonne (prequel of MegaMan Legends) count?  I was really into the Legends Trilogy and especially Tron Bonne back in my college days and I did transcripts and guides for all three games over at GameFAQs if you'd like to see them.

And yes I still have those games.  NO, they are not for sale.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Estil

[Tulpa | 3,488]

On 5/12/2023 at 10:41 PM, Sumez said:

I wasn't aware there were an NES port. Gotta admit I only played the PCE one, so my impressions are based on that. 

 

Dragon Spirit on the NES is actually not a port. It's a sequel like Dragon Saber. That's why they subtitled it "The New Legend."

It is a good game and smooth playing. I haven't played much of the PCE port of the original to compare, but the NES game is one of the few shooters on that platform that makes it fun to dodge stuff as much as shooting stuff.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Tulpa

[Tanooki | 4,930]

I'd agree with that having just got the game back over a week ago and not having touched it in a very long time before.  I was more familiar with the arcade game when I had the PCE more recently and they're definitely not the same game.

[Sumez | 2,933]

Oh wow! Not an uncommon twist on nes, but happy to learn this. Yet another game tossed into my potential nes rankings list!

[Tulpa | 3,488]

Yeah, the NES game begins with the boss fight at the end of the arcade version, which actually serves as the difficulty toggle. Win the fight and you play the full game, lose the fight and you play the "easy" mode. They each have different stories and cut scenes, too.

It's not a hard fight, so you can throw the fight and see the other story if you want.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Tulpa

[Link | 2,708]

10 hours ago, Estil said:

Would Misadventures of Tron Bonne (prequel of MegaMan Legends) count?  I was really into the Legends Trilogy and especially Tron Bonne back in my college days and I did transcripts and guides for all three games over at GameFAQs if you'd like to see them.

And yes I still have those games.  NO, they are not for sale.

It's not very widely known, but everybody who knows it seems to be an ardent fan. What little I've heard of it seems to be universally and extremely positive. So I would say it's a gem, maybe not very hidden. I'd put it in a category with Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound.

[Link | 2,708]

 

7 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Dragon Spirit on the NES is actually not a port. It's a sequel like Dragon Saber. That's why they subtitled it "The New Legend."

It is a good game and smooth playing. I haven't played much of the PCE port of the original to compare, but the NES game is one of the few shooters on that platform that makes it fun to dodge stuff as much as shooting stuff.

 

I know I've played it on emulators. I never really got into it. Shoot-em-ups (you're the person who hates the word "shmup", right?) have never really been my thing, except for old classics like Galaga, the occasional bullet hell for a laugh at how insane it is, or something unique and interesting like Ikaruga or Gun-Nac. Sounds like Dragon Spirit The New Legend could fall into the latter and I should give it a more informed try.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

22 minutes ago, Link said:

 Shoot-em-ups (you're the person who hates the word "shmup", right?)

Me? No. Not me...

22 minutes ago, Link said:

have never really been my thing, except for old classics like Galaga, the occasional bullet hell for a laugh at how insane it is, or something unique and interesting like Ikaruga or Gun-Nac. Sounds like Dragon Spirit The New Legend could fall into the latter and I should give it a more informed try.

It's definitely unique among shooters of its era, with some interesting and varied powerups. It's kind of in the Xevious style, where you have both air and ground targets with different attacks for each. The dragon you pilot moves smoothly and has tight control. The graphics are decent and it does vary the levels instead of throwing the same thing at you over and over. Is it the best shoot-em-up? No, but I think it's a good one.

I'd say at least give it a few levels to try out all the powerups and see the different "eras" that make up the levels. Some of them are pretty neat.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Tulpa

[Tanooki | 4,930]

Yeah those eras are pretty fun, won't start listing them but it really shoots through time to say the least.  It gives a good bit of variety, much like the really wide shift you get out of Gradius or wannabes as each stage is varied against the next to keep it fresh.

And I'm in that group who refuses to write, say, or even say in my mind the 5 letter non-word that shall go unspoken as it's asinine and sad that it clicked.

[Estil | 1,261]

6 hours ago, Link said:

It's not very widely known, but everybody who knows it seems to be an ardent fan. What little I've heard of it seems to be universally and extremely positive. So I would say it's a gem, maybe not very hidden. I'd put it in a category with Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound.

Chrono Trigger and Earthbound (don't know about Xenogears) is most definitely NOT hidden!  They are among the all time legendary games in history!  That'd be like saying Babe Ruth is an obscure hidden gem of a baseball player!

How about this for a hidden gem...MLBPA Baseball (SNES).  When I finally got a Super NES for Christmas in 1994, my late Uncle Jerry got this for me to go with it.  Hardly anyone ever talks about it but it's about the most realistic looking/playing 16-bit baseball game you'll ever find.  Apparently the NFL and NHL games from that same year are very highly regarded so apparently 1994 (based off 1993 season) EA Sports really captured lightning in bottle?

[Tanooki | 4,930]

He said that game is a gem like EB/CT, not that EB/CT are hidden.  At least that's how I read it, and it fits.

[wongojack | 211]

A game I mention a lot in discussions like this is Superstar Ice Hockey for the C64.  Mindscape also released a soccer and basketball game that I played to death.  I liked these because of their unique franchise modes that let you control the team from season to season.  I had never played anything like it at the time, and they had some features that were just never implemented in the big franchises.

A licensed game that I think people overlook is Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time.  Which did a really nice job of capturing the characters and art style of the classic cartoon.  The gameplay is solid and my wife and I even went for collecting all the little carrots and stuff.  At the time, I didn't understand why this game didn't get talked about more.  Not as good as something like Spyro, but right there in the next tier.

If I had to pick a NES game, I'd probably go with Uforia.  I'm still surprised there weren't more Metroid-style games released, so this one was nice to find when I finally discovered it in emulation.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

I'd say Gun.Smoke on the NES. It's a great game that rarely seems to get mentioned. I'll also add Sunset Riders on the SNES even though it has gained popularity in recent years for being an overlooked game.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Bearcat-Doug

[Sumez | 2,933]

Damn, I brought a Sunset Riders PCB to an event last weekend because I figured it'd get more play time on virtue of being a super popular game 

At least compared to the two semi-sequels which most people never heard about.

Either way the weather was too good for anyone to stay indoor and play video games, so it didn't make a difference

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

4 hours ago, Sumez said:

Damn, I brought a Sunset Riders PCB to an event last weekend because I figured it'd get more play time on virtue of being a super popular game 

At least compared to the two semi-sequels which most people never heard about.

Either way the weather was too good for anyone to stay indoor and play video games, so it didn't make a difference

Honestly, I think Sunset Riders was on so many SNES "hidden gem" lists that it became popular after people actually played it.

[G-type | 2,479]

ok, here's a gem I don't hear people talk about a lot: Heart of Darkness

[Sumez | 2,933]

Psh. I just talked about that game last year as part of the backlog challenge 

Actually one thing I touched on is how it's kinda weird how super hyped up that game was, it even had common TV ads which was super rare for a video game, especially then!

But nowadays it's definitely been demoted to more of a "hey remember that game" or "hidden gem" kinda thing especially because people don't really talk about it much anymore. I guess it doesn't really do anything that unique for its time, compared to its much more popular predecessor, Another World. Though I still thought it looked amazing back then. 

[AirVillain | 485]

On 5/22/2023 at 3:11 PM, Tulpa said:

Yeah, the NES game begins with the boss fight at the end of the arcade version, which actually serves as the difficulty toggle. Win the fight and you play the full game, lose the fight and you play the "easy" mode. They each have different stories and cut scenes, too.

It's not a hard fight, so you can throw the fight and see the other story if you want.

Dang! I didn't know this. I realized there was a change in the story depending on winning/losing that first fight, but I didn't realize there were different cut scenes throughout. 

Definitely will give that a go. 

Also, like you said earlier about the dodging... I especially love getting the small dragon. One of the best power-ups in the game. Small dragon with the 3 way spread shot.... WHAMMY! 



 

On 6/8/2023 at 6:57 AM, Bearcat-Doug said:

I'd say Gun.Smoke on the NES. It's a great game that rarely seems to get mentioned. I'll also add Sunset Riders on the SNES even though it has gained popularity in recent years for being an overlooked game.

I guess? I mean.... I thought it was just common knowledge how good it was so not really "hidden"? I mean... Capcom overhead shooter and you're a god damned COWBOY??? But yeah... I guess people don't hype it too much. 

It's almost perfect. Not crazy hard (Abadox/1942/3), but not too easy so it rides a good level of difficulty.

Didn't hear about Gun.Smoke until highschool. 1998. My friend brought it in for our "NES lunch hour" (Included but not limited to Ice Hockey tournaments). He gave me that copy which I still have.

Loved this game since then.... However, The NES Advantage takes this game to the "next level" in terms of gameplay. 

In fact... I wouldn't bother playing without it now. "Cheating"? Sure... but the way you can spray your bullets back and forth is such a neat game mechanic that works perfectly with the Advantage it makes it a really fun gaming experience.

I just get on my horse and RIDE. 

One of my life goals is to get both the Gun.Smoke boxes. 

Sunset Riders I learned from NA, but 100% awesome game.