Random Games Worth Checking Thread

[k'_127]

So I made a thread in one of our local forums listing random games for viewers. Most of these games are known to the general readers in this forum, but I thought I would still post some of them.



SOS - SNES

This game reminds me of the Clock Tower games. You play as a survivor in a ship that was about to wreck in the sea, but flipped a little instead. You need to explore the ship and search for other survivors.





Popful Mail - Sega CD

A story-oriented action platformer, with some cutscenes. There is also a Japanese-only SNES game under the same name (which is not a port, but just another entry in the series)





Knightmare 2: Maze of Galious - MSX

One of the early metroidvania exploration titles from Konami. If you enjoyed some of the extreme old-school titles such as Zelda 1, Metal Gear 1 and Metroid 1, don't miss this game.




3 Wonders - Arcade / PS1 / Saturn

A collection of 3 games: an action/adventure game, a shooter, and a bomber-man clone.

It's from Capcom, and strangely, these 3 games were released together in arcade as one game, instead of having them released seperately. The advneture game is really cool. It has 2-players co-op.




Wild Guns - SNES

Cool 2-players aim & shoot game that is similar to Nam-1975 on Neo-Geo. Worth checking.




King of Demons (Majyuuou) - SNES

An obsecure Japanese action platformer, that it is aesthitacally beautiful and deep. Translation patch available.




Hagane - SNES

Very tough action platformer that also look beautiful.




Golden Axe III: Revenge of Death Adder - Arcade

Wow, I wonder how this game slipped under my radar. I didn't know about its existance untill I read about it at HG101. I was impressed when I actually played it. Defenitely a must check for beat-em up's lovers.




Neutopia / Neutopia 2 - TG16

A Zelda clone that looked rather good from what I played. Both games are availabe on the Wii's VC.




Esper Dream 2 - NES

A pretty cool RPG game on NES, in which you need to go through 6 worlds and solve their problems / mystries. It's from Konami. Unlike most NES RPG's, this game is actually very playable. Japan-only, but there is a translation patch.




Goemon's Great Adventure - N64

There are plenty of nice Goemon side-scrollers on various systems, but this is the only one that was released in the US (the rest were RPG'ish adventure games). I haven't tried it myself, but I heard a lot of good stuff about it.





Little Samson

An obscure platformer where you get to choose between 4 characters whose stories intervene after finishing each of their scenario’s. The sprites are well-animated and the backgrounds also look cool. Definitely a must check.





Cybernator - SNES

A nice-looking 2D side-scroller from Konami. It's from the same people who made Front Mission: Gun Hazard.





Hammerin' Hero - PSP

This is a sequel to the arcade / NES action game Daiku no Gen San (AKA Hammering Hero in the US).




Umihara Kawase - SNES / Umihara Kawase Shun - PS1

An obsecure, cheap-looking, yet charming Super Famicom platformer that was later remade on PS1.

Video




Rakugaki Showtime - PS1

A 4-players party fighting game, similar to Poy Poy and Power Stone. It's from Treasure, and is Japanese-only.





Trapt - PS2

An often-overlooked cool game from Tecmo. Your task is to defend the castle from intruders by setting up magical traps.

You can cast three types of traps at a time: ceiling traps, floor traps and wall traps. Add the environmental traps such as spiked walls, and you will get countless number of combos.

Trailer (notice the 3 trap types)

The game is part of a series that is often referred to as the Deception series.





Guardians of the 'hood - Arcade

Best beat em up game ever made. Period.

Video!




Gaemon: New Age Shutsudou - GBA

It's another Gaemon side-scroller. I heard it was a follow up to a PS1 Gaemon game, where the characters and style were altered so that they look more-grown-up's like. According to HG101, both this game, and the PS1 game it was based on are boring and dull.





Point Blank DS - DS

I LOVE THIS GAME. It was originally an old Arcade game, that was later ported to PS1, and was followed up by a sequel. This DS version is equally fun.

The game is a collection of shooting mini-games, and you can play against a friend. It's load and load of fun.





Gunforce 2 - Arcade

This game is made by Irem, same people who made the Metal Slug games so expect the same amount of action and visual details.





Rolling Thunder 2 - Genesis

A Genesis port of an arcade game. It's Namco's take on Shinobi. The catch here is that you have limited number of ammo, which adds a strategic feel to it. It's nice and deep, and has a quite nice classic style to it.

 

[k'_127]

Cocoron - NES

From the same people who made Little Samson. It's another amazing platformer where you can build up your own characters by choosing from different heads, bodies and projectiles. The stage designs are detailed and varied, and the graphics look pretty nice.




Gaiapolis - Arcade

I saw this game mentioned in some forums and it seemed interesting. It's like an over-head beat'em up with medieval settings.

It has a NES port, but it looks no where as interesting.




Moai Kun - NES / Fire'n Ice - NES

What can I say. I love puzzle games, and these are my two favourtes on NES. There are other puzzle games on NES like Flappy and such, but these two games stand out for me.

Moai Kun starts so easy, and gradually gets tougher as you move on. It's from Konami.




Lone Ranger - NES

This game a mix of different genres in one game. It has over-head action parts, platforming parts, and shooting parts.

It's made by Konami, and I read that its insane and cheap difficulty may turn off many ppl.





The Ninja-Kids - Arcade

A very nice 4-players beat 'em up. It was released in the Taito Legends collection on PS2 / XBox. Although that collection was also released on PSP, Ninja-Kids was not released on that version (AFAIK).





Dynamite Dux - Arcade

Another cool beat 'em up from Sega that I used to play in arcades. It's stll playable and fun. Dux, the main character, shows up in Sonic Fighter 3D and (I think) Fighters Mega Mix. There is a home port on Sega Master system, but needless to say, it was far inferior.





Spell Caster - Master System

There is nothing great about this game, but it's one of the few games on the Master System that are worth checking. It's unique in that it mixes action parts with point-and-click, text-based parts. The game might have been interesting back then, but it didn't age all that well. Might still be worth checking though. There is a Genesis sequel called "Mystic Defender", but the US version of it has some censorship and spirit-editing. The japanese title of that game is "Kujakuo 2: Geneijo".





Alex Kidd: In Shinobi World - Master System

My favourite Alexx Kidd game (used to be Sega's mascot before Sonic came out). It's still fun and enjoyable. This game is a parody of the first Shinobi game on Arcade.





AB Cop - Arcade

Memories lol. I used to play this game frequently in arcades. It had it's own motorcycle-shaped machine, and without that, it's not fun to play. I was just wondering if others could recognize it.





Dragon Quest: Slime Rocket Hero - DS

A pretty nice 2D action RPG. A must-check for the genre's fans, especially those who like the 2D Zelda's.





Henry Hatsworth: In the Puzzling Adventure - DS

It's a 2D action platformer with minor puzzle parts.





The Misadventures of Tron Bonne - PS1

A MegaMan Legends spin-off that most people never heard of lol.





SunMan - NES

Some people found a rare prototype of this game. Suprisingly, it turned out to be a solid action game with excellent graphics / animations. It was made by Sunsoft, which made plenty of solid action games on NES, including the Batman games and Blaster Master. Luckily, the rom for this game was dumped and gamers can play it now. It seems to have been originally planned as a Super Man game (strong resemblence to the arcade SuperMan game in terms of designs style and gameplay). It's assumed that the character was then changed to "Sunman" (A reference to the company's name) due to copyrights issues. The game then got eventually cancelled.

 

[k'_127]

Ufouria - NES

Another Sunsoft game that plays similarly to Blaster Master and Castlevania 2, where you have an open world which you can explore by aquiring new abilities and items.





Golden Axe Warrior - Master System

Sega's shameless ripoff of Zelda 1. Not sure if it's actually anywhere as good, but you might want to try it. I also think it's supposed to be part of the Golden Axe beat 'em up series.





Golvellius - Master System

Sega's shameless Zelda 2 ripoff. I tried bits of it, and it seemed badly designed in terms of gameplay. The enemies litrally rape you and they can not be avoided. It's been a long time since last time I tried it, so I could be wrong.





Chaos Breaker - Arcade (and Japanese PSN)

This new 2D fighter was made by Eolith, the Korean company that revived KOF during SNK's demise in 2001. They developed KOF2001, and co-developed KOF2002 with Playmore. The fighting engine is similar to KOF. The settings and character designs remind me of the Golden Axe fighting game on Sega Saturn. A PSN port was released on PSN under the title "Dark Awake". You can view the game's official website here or check this trailer





Ninja Gaiden - Master System

This entry in the series is entirely different from the NES game, and it's actually good. While it's not heavily action-oriented and fast-paced like the NES Ninja Gaiden games, the environment and graphics make this game worth a try.





Rudra no Hihou

Also known as Treasure of Rudra. The story's concept is based on an Indian religion, in which it's believed that the earth is destroyed and recreated every few thousands years by the gods. The game story takes place on the last 15 days of these spans, before which the earth is planned to be destroyed by the distruction god, Rudra.

The game looks very familiar to FF6 in terms of environments and sprites, and it's gameplay is also similar to that of the FF series. The game was one of the last Squaresoft titles on SNES, and it remained a Japan-only title.





Shadow of the Ninja

An interesting Ninja Gaiden rip-off, with 2-players co-op mode. The gameplay and presentation remain solid.





Ninja Crusaders

Another Ninja Gaiden rip-off, which is kinda hard. You can transform into different creatures (panther, eagle, dragon …etc) depending on the weapon you have. Features 2-players co-op mode too. The game didn’t age well presentation-wise, though.





Tokkyuu Shirei – Solbrain

An obscure title with very detailed backgrounds, excellent sprites, and awesome music. You get to choose between 5 stages after finishing a short prologue stage. This game is definitely worth playing if you are into the genre.

The US version used alternative sprites (which I really didn’t like much) and the game was renamed to “Shattered Hand”.





Front Mission: Gun Hazard

It's a spin-off, and though it's a side-scrolling shooter, it retains the same mechs' parts customization found in the main series. You can also jump off of your mech to explore areas that are unaccessable by the mech, and you can choose a partner to aid you in your missions.

It's note-worthy that is was developed by the same team who made Konami's Cybernator on SNES.





Alcahest

This is an excellent-looking action RPG that was released in Japan in late 1993. The game is divided into stages, where you learn new ability at the end of each one. There are also allies and magics that aid you throughout the game.





Power Blade / Power Blade 2

Another awesome game where you choose between 6 stages and gain power ups …etc.

I prefer the original because it feels more varied and the backgrounds are pretty much more appealing (for me at least)





Moon Crystal

Definitely worth checking. It’s Japan-only, but you can find a translated rom.

It has a very interesting story and scenes, which seem to be outstanding for a NES game. Also, the animations are impressive, and the stages are detailed and varied.






- pics sources:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net
http://castlevaniadungeon.net
http://www.mobygames.com
http://www.klov.com
http://www.ign.com
http://www.dignews.com
http://planetemu.net
http://ninretro.emubase.de
http://www.gamedaily.com
http://www.satakore.com
http://www.gamecritics.com
http://agtp.romhack.net
http://www.ojgames.com
http://www.rvgfanatic.com
http://blogs.vandal.net
http://www.siliconera.com
http://www.gamespot.com
http://images.eurogamer.net
http://www.gamez.com.tw/thread-312337-1-1.html
http://www.giantbomb.com
http://www.kosmix.com/topic/ninja_kid
http://www.barryharris.me.uk
http://www.system16.com
http://www.arcade-history.com
http://www.retrogamer.net
http://hablemosunpocodetodo.blogspot.com
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net
http://www.lostlevels.org
http://darkscarfy.tripod.com
http://www.recom-corp.co.jp/darkawake/

 

[astar617]

Nice thread. Some good lesser known titles in there.

I would add:

Dragon Crystal (SMS or GG, pretty much the same on either AFAIK)

It's sort of like Gauntlet but randomly generated and turn-based. Very unique and fun.


Cyborg Justice (Genesis)

A virtually unknown beat-em-up but one of my favorite games ever. There are a set of bodies, arms, and legs to craft your player from, each with a different strength. All your enemies are also crafted of random combinations of these parts. When you get close to an enemy, you can occasionally pull off their arms to salvage and use yourself. In 2-player co-op mode, if your partner loses all life and is knocked to pieces, if you're quick enough you can put him back together. I heart you, Cyborg Justice.

Crystalis (NES)

An underrated action RPG by SNK. I loved this game as a kid and still do. Great music too.

Great Greed (GB)

An even more underrated traditional RPG. Another one I loved as a kid (I would seek out the most obscure Game Boy games). Weird little game but enjoyable, with a unique d-pad driven battle system and a "save the world from Bio-Haz and his pollution" plot which is pretty relevant today, lol.

 

[genjiglove]

Good thread.

I tried King of Demons (Majyuuou) last year on an emulator, definitely a cool game. I didn't know it had a translation patch though, I'll have to check it out.

 

[aria]

Interesting selections, I've played a few of these and heard of slightly over half (I used to read gaming mags a lot as a kid, so you'd hear about all sorts of games you'd never end up playing).

I had no idea about that Golden Axe Warrior game. Once I get by SMS back from storage I'll have to find it.

Found a gameplay video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYbYb8ZrY5o

[edit, looks like it's unlockable on the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, I might pick that up]

 

[OrochiEddie]

I'll add to that

a charming puzzler from Nintendo. I don't think it ever got the credit it deserved as it was a fun game.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Wow, great thread. Here's my addition.

Wonder Boy III for the Master System:

It's a bit similar to Zelda II, except you change forms throughout the game. Good graphics, good sound, etc. I think it's pretty fun. It's also available for the Virtual Console, which makes things a bit easier.

P.S. Don't confuse this with Wonder Boy III for the Genesis — that's a different game (and apparently not as good).

 

[fake]

There's a DS version of Umihara Kawase available too.

 

[RAZO]

Never played Chaos Breaker. Looks good. I liked Warzard, so I have a feeling I might like this.

 

[GregN]

Gaiapolis - Arcade

Who made that one? Sounds interesting.

I'll add:

Kenka Bancho Badass Rumble

Beat em up with RPG flava on PSP. Plays kinda like a 3D River City Ransom. You're a kid on a school vacation and your mission is to beat up as many "Bancho" (gang leaders) of various schools who are also on vacation.

I had a loose copy of Great Greed but never played it. I think the GB and GB color games haven't aged very well.

 

[Deuce]

I don't have the time to go hunting down screenshots, but here are some of my picks:

Gamera 2000 (PS1) - A great Panzer Dragoon clone with some of the most awesome cinemas ever.
Osman/Cannon Dancer (Arcade) - A seriously tough clone of the original arcade Strider. Nice visuals and plenty of fun.
The Darkness (Xbox 360, PS3) - Great atmosphere, fun mechanics, top-notch voice work, cool story and solid gameplay make this one of the extremely rare first-person shooters that I genuinely love.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2) - Though the original was a decent game, it was tedious and repetitive for much of its duration. The sequel takes everything and cranks it up to 11. Tons of mission variety, breakneck intensity and fluid control. Kind of hard to find these days, and don't even bother trying to get the story. The translation is atrocious, but this is, bar none, one of the best games on the PS2.
Ys Seven (PSP) - All around damn fun game. Recent release. If you like action/RPGs at all, buy this game.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP) - Coming to the US this November (I think). Probably the best game in the series. Intensely tough boss fights, and lots of them. Far less RPG than Ys Seven. Beat this one on Inferno difficulty for serious gamer cred.

Rakugaki Showtime is excellent, too. My favorite Treasure game, ever. It's available on the Japanese PSN, as well.

 

[ForeverSublime]

Gaiapolis = Konami.

Trivia: Cocoron was created by Akira Kitamura, the creator of the original Rockman/Megaman.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Here's another one.

Colony Wars for PS1:

It's a 3D sim-style space shooter, like Wing Commander. Man, I remember when that genre was common. Anyways, it's a great game, and it spawned 2 sequels that were pretty good as well. For some reason, I sold these off a few years ago... Kind of regret it. Either way they're worth checking out if you like the genre.

 

[NeoSneth]

my new favorite thread.
I need some random shit to play.

 

[cyb]

awesome thread. here's another game:

Gunners Heaven (Rapid Reload)
Ps1/psn?

fun little Gunstar Heroes ripoff. sadly it was never released in here in the US but it was released in Europe as "Rapid Reload"

 

[Steve]

My SFC contribution

Top L to R: Godzilla Kaiju Daikessen, King of Demons, Battle Cross, Otoboke Ninja Coloseum, Mickey & Donald 3 (sequel to Magical Quest/Great Circus Mystery), SD F-1, Rendering Ranger: R2

 

[GunstarHero]

that Gunforce 2 game looks bad-ass, I've never seen that one.

 

[WoodyXP]

Guardians of the 'hood - Arcade

Best beat em up game ever made. Period.

 

[Reality Check]

My contribution to this thread.

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure - PSP

Great overlooked Action RPG by Nihon Falcom, creators of the Ys series. Has cute graphical style, a cast of colorful and likable characters, and a nice lighthearted plot. A good game that's fun for everyone

 

[fake]

Shinobi (PS2) - SOOOO under-rated. Probably in my top 5 PS2 titles. Crazy, fast, violent ninja action.

Space Harrier (Sat) - Been playing this recently. It's strangely addicting.

Flying Hero (SFC) - Fun cute 'em up I picked up at a comic store. Never heard of it before or since.

Sanrio Smash World (SFC) - Notcied this on RVG Fanatic. It's more or less Windjammers but with Hello Kitty characters (for those of us without a Neo).

 

[SetaSouji??]

NES: Metalstorm

 

[k'_127]

I would like to add that Rudra no Hihou and Alcahest have translation patches.








In the Hunt - PS1, Saturn

Another Irem game





Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman - PS1

Nice game that might be worth checking.





Live-A-Live - SNES

A Squaresoft RPG that is set in various timelines (Fedual Japan, Western setting, modern days ... etc). The stories told are somehow connected though.





Panzer Bandit - PS1

A nice beat 'em up that is similar to Guardian Heroes.




Dragon Valor - PS1

An RPG'ish Beat em up from Namco. It's a bit slow-paced, but you can pull plenty of cool moves and it has a branching story based on some choices you make throughout the game.





Omega Boost - PS1

Nice shooter.





Silent Bomber - PS1

It's like a more action-oriented bomberman.





Project Horned Owl - PS1

Anyone remembers this?





Tail Concerto - PS1

Very charming platformer that is a bit similar to MegaMan Legends. A new sequel was announced recently.





Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun - SNES

River City Ransom sequel. A lot of players get turned off by the controls, but if you bother to level up a bit, you will find yourself with a great arsenal of moves. The story is also awesome. Translation patch available.





Shin Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-tachi no Banka - SNES

Another sequel to RCR, but this time without the RPG'ish stuff. It's a story-driven beat em up. Translation patch available.





Terranigma - SNES

A sequel to Illusion of Gaia. It wasn't released in the US, but there is a rare European version of it in English.





Majikaru Hashito no Butsutobi Turbo! Daibouken - Genesis

Nice platformer.




Alisia Dragoon - Genesis

Nice action game.




Devil Hunter Yohko - Genesis

Another hard action game.





Crows: The Battle Action - Saturn

A rare beat em up for Saturn.





Ninja Baseball Batmen - Arcade

A nice 4-players beat em up.





Sweet Home - NES

A NES horror game from Capcom.

 

[Reality Check]

Ninja Baseball Batmen has caught my interest. I must hunt down that game

 

[astar617]

Interesting selections, I've played a few of these and heard of slightly over half (I used to read gaming mags a lot as a kid, so you'd hear about all sorts of games you'd never end up playing).

I had no idea about that Golden Axe Warrior game. Once I get by SMS back from storage I'll have to find it.

Found a gameplay video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYbYb8ZrY5o

[edit, looks like it's unlockable on the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, I might pick that up]

When he says "Zelda clone", he's not overexaggerating at all... the first time I ever played it years back, I swore it was a bootleg/homebrew knockoff. Come to find out that it was a Sega title.

I mean seriously, it's the same damn game... tiled screens, life meter of full/half hearts, underground labrynths... right down to the map. When you play, pay attention to the placement of the first dungeon, and all the screens leading to it. I found it just using my Zelda landmark knowledge.

Still a fun game though. Because, well, Zelda was fun.