Buried Gems

Nanya

Well-Known Member
#1
Basically, what games have you played that people don't talk about much that you found to be very good, sure, maybe there was a problem with it, or maybe it just didn't get recognition, but, anyway...

Some games I found that I really liked, but aren't ones that pop up very often...

Kya: Dark Lineage (PS2)
Ball Breakers (PS1)
Evil Zone (PS1)
Blades of Time (PS3)
Samurai Legend Musashi (PS2)

Each of these games seems to fly under the radar of a lot of gamers, and, really, it makes no real sense WHY they do so. They'll all pretty good games, even if Ball Breakers is kind of slow, it was a lot of fun for the concept.

Ball Breakers is about a bunch of criminals who fight to the death in gladiator-style arenas for their freedoms. The only difference is, instead of feet, you run around on balls and compete in stuff like King of the Hill. Pretty fun, but man can it be hard at times.

Evil Zone, man, it was such a good PS1 fighter, but I rarely see anyone talk about it anymore. Sure, it's old, but I still can go back and play it for a few weeks at a time. Especially since Midori, Erel and Setsuna are such lovely eye-candy.

Blades of Time, I admit, does have some wonky camera issues, but the whole "rewinding time" thing to fight against some bosses and enemies is pretty awesome, plus you get a freaking gatling gun and later you get flying powers that let you one-shot damn near everything that's given you trouble up to that point. Even that fucking enemy that is fucking terrifying. If you've played the game you'll know what I mean. Plus eye-candy from the main character.

Kya: Dark Lineage... This one, wow, this one SHOULD have had more attention. 3D Action-platformer, you play as Kya who has to save the cat people from an evil overlord. Sadly, most of the cat people have been turned into Werewolves. You need to beat up the wolves and then "purify" them back into cats. For the most part you use a boomerang that's actually a hair accessory (it's where she stores it), however, when you go up against a werewolf, you switch to combat mode and fight them with punches, kicks and other martial arts. Sadly it ended on a cliffhanger. Very pretty though, you should get the game if you can.

Samurai Legend Musashi, 3D action-RPG platformer, sequel to Brave Fencer Musashi on the PS1. You have to save the five maidens of the elements (though one is voluntarily working for the big bad of the game), all the while copying moves and powers from your enemies. Man, Musashi has some weird-ass hair. Though, as you go through the game, you'll get different swords to strap to his back. Each with different powers. The last one lets you go invisible.
 

GenocideHeart

Well-Known Member
#2
Blades of Time flies under the radar because it's the sequel to one of the worst PS3 games around, X-Blades. It pays for the first game's awfulness, basically.
 

Nanya

Well-Known Member
#3
Ah, X-Blades, a bad game, but nice eye-candy.
 

FinalMax

Well-Known Member
#4
Thousand Arms (PS1)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2)

Thousand Arms was a fantasy RPG where the main character was a Spirit Blacksmith. You didn't have to purchase equipment at all as a result, but your money was often spent in other ways as a result. The main quirk with the game was that you had to juggle relationships with all the ladies in your party as well as the lasses from every town you came across, and for good reason. Those relationships had to be progressed gradually so the party would have additional attacks forged into their weapons and other spells. Sometimes you even had to deliberately botch a few dates to lower it back to an earlier value just so you could imbue the right attacks into another party member's gear. And you guys thought the Social Links in Persona could be a hassle.

Rogue Galaxy was one of the PS2 swansongs in terms of action RPGs, and it was made by Level 5. So the art quality was undoubtedly good. One of the better VO jobs done for much of the cast. Premise is that you play mostly as a guy named Jaster Rogue, and you gradually travel the galaxy with a group of space pirates searching for a grand treasure. It's fun, and even repetitive battles have a point due to a bounty system in the game that can reward you with some of the best gear. Item crafting is done through a frog in your inventory. Yes, a frog. The only real drawback is the obvious female lead/hero's love interest. She sounds a bit annoying, and most of the tropes involving heroines do come into play. You may find yourself wanting the amazon chick to have been the heroine more.
 
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