Having played most modern games that I care about (and finding most of them lacking) I've taken to playing through the oldies. A lot of them are still better than most games out today. I'm not a collector, more just a gamer who likes to play anything that is fun. That being said, I know of some old games, but not a lot. Considering there's dozens of consoles, I won't pretend to know many games beyond the most popular ones, and researching game lists for a dozen consoles each with hundreds of games each seems unfeasible. So that's why I'm asking you guys for help. Getting a name of a game that you've actually played and can recommend is better than just stumbling into reading a review.

I'm looking for mostly RPGs, but I will pretty much play anything if it's fun. Yes, even if it's a puzzle game if it's the quality of Devil's Crush or Tetris Attack. I'm not too concerned on the price, but if it costs more than a modern game, than it's a bit too obscure/rare for my liking, and I'd prefer to not have to spend over $20. That means I'm not paying $2k for Magical Chase. I'd prefer multiplayer games, but SP is fine too. No sports game either, because I own both Tecmo and NBA Jam, and that's the whole market on good sports games.

I'm going to list the games I'm mostly interested in finding new games similar to.

Gamecube: I've got around 20 games, mostly the ones everyone's heard of. Gladius was a pretty fun rpg. Same with Gauntlet Dark Legacy

N64: I've got around 40 games. I've got the marios/zeldas/etc. I got Ogre Battle 64, which is probably the best rpg on the console. Also have Gauntlet Legends.

SNES: I got around 20 games, mostly the old classics. Chronotrigger. Castlevania 4. Earthbound. R-type. Gradius. Super Mario RPG. Secret of Mana. Super Metroid. Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen.

NES: not too many. Dragon Warrior. Castlevania 1

Xbox: I've got probably 30 games for this. It's hard to play some old games on the consoles, because the 3d polygons just looks like shit on my tv, where as 8 bit and 16 bit graphics look good. Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are classic multiplayer rpgs, and I got D&D heroes as well. An xbox game has to be really good for me to even consider it.

PS1: I've got Diablo 1, and that's about it.
PS2: Champions of Norrath 1 and 2. Great multiplayer games. I know there are a ton of PS1 and 2 games that probably fit my criteria, but to be honest, I'm not terribly interested in the system. I'd hardly call PS2 'classic' either.

Turbografx 16. I've got Slaughterhouse, Bonk 1, R-type, Blazing Lazers, Blood Wolf. There's a lot of good sidescrolling shooters for the system supposedly, but other than the ones I have, I'm not too sure of what they are


If you noticed that I didn't put in Final Fantasy 3 or SSB or Mario Party or Zelda ALTTP or Megaman or Starfox, it's because they're not obscure games. I don't have them, but I don't need someone to tell me they're good. I don't need to know about sequels/prequels, because chances are, I'm aware of them, but not interested.


I do not wish to play any Atari console games, as they are just a bit too simplistic. Same goes for other consoles of the early era such as Intellivision. I don't have an Atari Jaguar either, so don't use that excuse.

I don't have a working Sega Genesis or Master System (or a Saturn or Dreamcast and any of the console addons)at the moment, but that doesn't mean I couldn't get one. They're not that expensive and there are good games for the systems.

I'm not interested in handhelds or PC.

If you have something like Lufia or Phantasy Star, please feel free to recommend and say why it's good.

Also, the games have to be in English. Japanese only games don't interest me. All my systems are NTSC, but I do know there are adapters out there, or modding methods.

 

Dark Cloud is a game that I have very found memories. I haven't played it in a while though so I'm not sure how it has held up. If someone could comment on it who has played it recently that would be great. I'll edit this post as I think of more, but fair warning some of mine may be shaded by nostalgia.

Kingdom Hearts was another fun game back in the day. I would guess it might be a bit too juvenile for what you're looking for, but if you're really bored and can find it cheap it might be worth picking up.

 

They show a few here. Also including a little description of each. Mostly 16-bit older ones.

 

Hm.

Not too sure about RPGs for the NES, but what about side-stroller/action/adventure?

Shatterhand is short enough at only about seven levels, but it has some good music, stage development, and a good difficulty.

Startropics is definitely an investment, timewise, but as you get better at it it shouldn't take more than a few hours of straight-playing to get through from beginning to end. Several areas have puzzles and traps to work out to advance to the next room, but the music is good and the stages memorable.

Links for purchasing, just in case you do want to try them:
Startropics $2.54-3.5
Shatterhand $16.

 

I'll play anything that is fun. I only pointed rpgs out since they usually take the longest to play through. Ogre Battle 64 for example is a 50 or 60 hour game, and that is pretty good length compared to most games today. On the other hand, Blazing Lazers is one of the funnest games I've played in the last year, and its only like 45 minutes long, so I'm definitely open to anything.

The two games you linked looks pretty interesting, and I haven't heard of either, which is a plus.

Neither of these are obscure (Out of the 10 ps2 games games I have, these are 2), and I remember Dark Cloud being pretty average. Kingdom Hearts was excellent, with the block ships being extremely fun, but I didn't find much replay value in the game when I tried to pick it up again last year. *PS2 games aren't really what I'm looking for unless it's exceedingly obscure and amazing*. You'd be hard pressed (probably) to find someone who hasn't heard of Kingdom Hearts. Not to mention games are still being put out for the system (albeit mostly sports for the poor black people).

 

Gladius was the fucking shit. I'm so glad someone else realizes how awesome it was.

I'll rec Golden Sun, Golden Sun: Lost Age and Lunar Legend for the GBA.

Additionally, I can't speak for the rest of the Tales games, but Tales of Symphonia I liked. Plenty of replay value and terrific length.

 

I watched through that and a few peaked my interested. EVO looked interesting, or rather, the concept. Warsong looked neat. I'm actually aware of Terranigma already, but the video said it's not in NTSC so it will probably be difficult to get. UN Squadron is on of my favorite sidescrollers ever. It's better than the R-Types, Gradius, etc, in my opinion, and some of the levels can be a pain to beat, such as the mountain fortress where you have to kill the ceiling machine. The video did say you can go back to play levels you already defeated, but I don't think that's true. I've beaten the game a dozen times and have never seen that feature. It's a shame the episode didn't cover the TG16 since that's the console I own and know the least amount about the games for.

 

You need Battletoads. I hear Pawn Stars has a copy.

 

I'm only going to recommend PS2 games, since that was the only console I really played on back then (not counting Super Smash Brothers on Gamecube).

Shadow of Collossus , I've seen it sold cheaply at Gamestops, and it's really a great game. Basically continuous big boss fights.

Devil May Cry 3 , Even today, I still find the graphics to be pretty smooth. Fast pace game play, it has the RPG customization elements, and just a really good action game in general. (Love the story as well)

Maybe you won't count these as "classic" but I think they are definitely games to try out if you haven't yet.

 

Digimon World was amazing on PS1, from what I recall. Digimon World 3 was okay.

 

Couple newer games you may not have heard of since most people haven't:

Infinite Undiscovery : It's a RPG for the 360, a friend of mine swears by it. Since some content in unlocked based on difficulty level, there's a lot of re-playability, and it's pretty long to start with.

Eternal Sonata: RPG for PS3 and 360, pretty amazing game with a great story and fantastic music.

Lost Odyssey: RPG for the 360, made by the guy who created Final Fantasy, with music by Nobou. I've heard it called the real Final Fantasy 12, and from what I can tell, it deserves the title. Probably the best JRPG on the market, and it took a friend of mine four days of constant play to beat the first time. You can run through it in about 30 hours, if you don't do much but the main story.

Now onto what you actually asked for.

PS1:

Star Ocean: The Second Story- RPG

The Legend of Dragoon- The first true RPG I ever played, great story, interesting combat system that goes a little beyond the typical RPG turn-based system.

PS2:

Ico- Puzzle game with a fantastic story, it's the sequel to Shadow of the Colossus, though it was made first. You can beat it in about 10 hours if you know what you're doing, but you'll probably end up doing at least three runs. It was a launch title, but personally, I still think the graphics are beautiful.

Shadow of the Colossus- I'll second this one, the controls are awkward as hell at first, but after you get used to them they fit. The bosses are all pretty unique, you're journeying through beautiful landscapes all the while, in a realistic non-corridor fashion. If you can see a place in the game, chances are you can get to it somehow, including the roof of the temple. It's the prequel to Ico, and the story is amazing, but after a while the game-play starts feeling repetitive. You can probably beat it in five or six hours if you don't die or go exploring, but there's a ton of unlockables.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time- Fantastic RPG, and it's the earliest one I know of with an achievement system. Great story, good combat system, interesting affection/party interaction system, good side quests, mini-games, and some seriously hard bosses. It took me about 75 hours on my first play-through, and I didn't do anywhere near everything.

Rogue Galaxy- Pretty cool RPG with a good story and interesting side quests. Combat gets a little annoying about half way through.

Valkyrie Profile 2- Great RPG, takes a long time to beat, great side-quests, and I remember the story being cool, but I never beat it due to late fees.

Okami- Unique combat system and story blended with some fractured fairy-tale versions of japanese mythology. Just when you feel like the game is drawing to a close, BAM, twenty more hours of gameplay. Decent side-quests with great rewards, the rewards actually add serious replay value.

Radiata Stories- Great RPG with a diverging plot line.

.hack/Infection series- Four games, each with a decent play time, character conversion between discs, and a fantastic story and a few interesting side-quests, the characters are pretty well done, and you need no knowledge of the anime. Unfortunately the combat is a bit boring, and it can start feeling repetitive, even annoying. You're probably only going to play these once, but at 30 hours per disc, that's not so bad.

.hack/GU series-Amazing games. Three discs this time, cell shaded graphics look great, gameplay is infinity more fun then the original. Add in good side quests, an amazing story, and fantastic characterizations that are some of the best I've ever seen, it's an amazing series, and if you pick only one thing from this list to play, I'd say make it this. I've personally played through it three times, and I haven't gotten sick of it yet.

Kya: Dark Lineage- I enjoyed it, others haven't. It's a puzzle/action/plat-former, the story is good, but it has one of the strangest endings I've ever seen. Not because it doesn't make sense, but because it's totally unexpected and almost seems like the writer being an asshole. Filled with neat multiplayer minigames, but not much replay value.

Silent Hill 2 and 3: Great games, not obscure at all, but worth a rec. All of them after 3 suck, or at least, I haven't liked them.

Have you considered modding your consoles and burning roms/ISOs of these games, for the systems that use discs? It'd be cheaper, and it's not like 99% of these are even in production anymore.

 

Even if you have absolutely no idea what you're doing I don't see how you could spend 10 hours on a single-playthrough of Ico. Seriously, it's awesome, but even an initial playthrough would be hard-pressed to exceed 4-5 hours. Incidentally, if you have a PS3 you can get a HD port of both SotC and Ico for probably cheaper than it would be to buy them separately.

You mentioned Earthbound, but have you played the sequel - Mother 3? It was never actually released outside of Japan, but there's a perfect and very popular fan-translation available and roms are easy to find. I loved Earthbound and thought Mother 3 was even better, both story-wise and in gameplay.

Skies of Arcadia Legends was my favourite RPG on the Gamecube, it's an enhanced port of the Dreamcast game that you may have heard of. Unfortunately, it can get a little expensive, or at least the PAL version was for me.

 

You sure? I think I had ten hours on my first play through, but to be fair, I was like 11. I played it again a couple years ago and I think I finished at 7 hours. Maybe my memory is off, but I think it took me a while. Still a one day game, though.

 

Well yeah, I guess when you're younger it could be a little tough, since it's fairly unique. But you can genuinely finish it in under two hours if you're good without any crazy speed-running stuff, and it's actually a trophy on the PS3 version to do so.

 

Mirror's Edge is a great game if you can find it cheaply - basically free running, in first person. Hugely addictive. Not exactly vintage, but it's a hidden gem.

 

I thank everyone for their posts, and I should have expected everyone to post PS2 games, but it's really not what I'm looking for. The console has sold like 150 million units, so a game has to be truly spectacular to make me consider it, and not just being 'good'. And when I say obscure/hidden gem, it's not either or, it's both. I have no wish to play last gen's 'good' games, when I have a 360, ps3, and wii, with several games I haven't even opened yet. The 4 last gen games I listed (BG1, BG2, CN1, CN2) are excellent multiplayer rpgs (and coincidently all made by the same company), and that's pretty much the only way I would pick up a PS2, except to play PS1 games on it.

I know there's a billion j-rpgs for it, but just listing every one you can think of isn't going to help. 'Hidden Gem' is a subjective term, and it defeats the definition when you call 15 games that. And, I don't really like anime-style games anyway, which is pretty much the majority of Square Enix games (and consequently rpgs), and a ton of the ps2 library, and they are a pretty well known/popular name, so naming games by them doesn't really fit the obscure or hidden gem category (unless you go back to when they were just Square and Enix, respectively.) Chances are, If I could buy the game at a random store like Walmart or Target when it was released (as opposed to a specialized store like play'n'trade or babbages), it's not an obscure game.

An example of a good obscure, vintage, hidden gem would be Mr. Gimmick. It wasn't released in NA, but it fills the role of obscure, vintage, and a hiddem gem.

 

ITT: Anarchy being a gaming hipster.

 

I've got the perfect retro Game for you, Anarchy. It even has a killer soundtrack in glorious, retro-1800's 1bit sound!

 

I don't think I'm so much a gaming hipster, rather I think that most people here play PC, or just play the newer consoles with all the name games. There's not many modern games where you can spend 50 hours with a buddy drinking cold ones, chilling on the couch, and slaying some goblins, so you have to search the past for such entertainment.

 

Not really, considering that 2,016 games were released for the PS2, I'm sure that at least thirty of them count as 'hidden gems'. I could name a few fairly obscure ones, but since you're not interested in PS2 games, I won't bother.

Vintage it is.

For NES, Paperboy kicked ass, if you haven't played it. Can't really suggest any more for it, since it was my brothers and he only ever had about fifteen games for it, but I have a shitton of Genisis titles.

Headdy was a cool action/platformer, the Lost Vikings was a great (and multiplayer, if I remember right) fairly challenging action/puzzle game, Target Earth ruled, Chiki-Chiki Boys was a good two-player one, and the genesis release of Altered Beast is my personal favorite, though I suppose you could go with the NES version. Haunting was nifty but I never got far, and you can't go wrong with Boogerman.