I’ve recently rekindled my love for Katamari Damacy and it made me wonder if there’s any other amazing cult classics out there that aren’t talked about these days. What are your recommendations?
Quest for Glory 1 (called Hero’s Quest at release) shaped my humor and gave me a lifetime love of fantasy in general, my username is the name of one of the minor characters. I recently spent a couple hundred dollars on a painting because it reminded me of Erana’s Peace, a location in the game. Its sequels are great too.
Mega Man Legends 2: both MM Legends have heartwarming light hearted stories and okay gameplay
Tail Concerto: similar to MM Legends, but gameplay is bit more basic. Features tons of cute anthropomorphized cats and dogs. Very lighthearted
Playstation Portable:
Remember11: The last game in Infinity series, co created by Kotaro Uchikoshi who went on and created Zero Escape trilogy. Out of the Infinity series, this is probably the best one, it is more sci-fi than romance/dating visual novel, there’s no longwinded slice of life section.
All of those games are either in English or have been fan-translated
My answer to that question is always “King of Dragon Pass”, a narrative/management game that is unlike anything else out there. It got a spiritual successor with “Six Ages”.
Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. These are ancient RPG games going right back to the dawn of PC gaming. The first one was the first PC game with a true 3D world where you could look up and down and there were two slopes rather than just steps. The control scheme takes a little getting used to as it was before WSAD+mouse look had become established. Spells are made by combining runes which you find about the place. It also has things like repairable weapons and armour, the need to sleep and eat as well as the normal RPG stats and levels.
Skies of Arcadia. Two words: sky pirates. Coupled together with a beautiful overworld filled with hidden discoveries, charming characters, fun ship combat, and excellent music. You can’t go wrong with either the original Dreamcast version (higher quality music, VMU minigames) or the Legends remastering on the Gamecube (an additional story quest, less frequent random encounters - the original is somewhat relentless with these).
Ogre Battle on the SNES is the original auto-battler. I would really recommend Ogre Battle 64 though, not only is it one of the very few RPGs on the system but it’s got really unique gameplay. It’s got its flaws but I’m such a sucker for the character designs and job/class system that it’s still my favorite game to this day.
It’s a survival horror first person rpg with a semi realistic health system. It’s creepy and hard and so goddamn good. I’m am actually surprised that it gets mentioned so rarely because I would not know of any other earlier game with those now so ubiquitous survival mechanics.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is one that instantly comes to mind. It surprisingly still has a very active competitive playerbase, mostly comprised of slavs that have been playing it since they could read words on a computer screen.
Another one that I’ve personally can’t stop playing, is the first Warhammer 40K:Dawn of War game with it’s expansions and mods. It’s just so good, and I wish a modern version with a modern engine could be made. I don’t trust Relic to do that tho.
Other than that, there’s a myriad of old console and arcade games that are still excellent. Super Metroid, SEGA Rally, shmups like Dodonpachi and Mushihimesama, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike… there are really way too many to count.
EarthBound for the SNES is one of my favorite RPGs. Very original for its time in terms of setting and battle mechanics. Also, Ness from Smash Bros. is in it!
Such a weird game! The artstyle and just the “weirdness” of it is out of this world.
I’m not a fan of turn-based battles, but this is one of the few games (including Chrono Trigger) where it’s legitimately fun. To this day I still think about it.
Have you played Eastward? Unless I’m mistaken Earthbound is part of the game and plot. If you like Earthbound you might like Eastward. I enjoyed it even having never played Earthbound but I’m sure I missed a lot of references / analogies.
Aquaria is one probably not too many people played to make it a cult classic, but it has a dedicated following of people that love it. Was pretty popular as a 2d indie adventure. I never thought I would like it, but was glad I gave it a try. 😊
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Quest for Glory 1 (called Hero’s Quest at release) shaped my humor and gave me a lifetime love of fantasy in general, my username is the name of one of the minor characters. I recently spent a couple hundred dollars on a painting because it reminded me of Erana’s Peace, a location in the game. Its sequels are great too.
I’ve been playing retro games for the past years, and here’s some that might fit the criteria of forgotten cult classics:
All of those games are either in English or have been fan-translated
Nox
Timesplitters
Def Jam 1/2
Amplitude
My answer to that question is always “King of Dragon Pass”, a narrative/management game that is unlike anything else out there. It got a spiritual successor with “Six Ages”.
I just grabbed it on Steam for $2! Looking forward to trying it out.
Have fun! It’s a weird little game, but I am always happy when it finds some new players.
Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. These are ancient RPG games going right back to the dawn of PC gaming. The first one was the first PC game with a true 3D world where you could look up and down and there were two slopes rather than just steps. The control scheme takes a little getting used to as it was before WSAD+mouse look had become established. Spells are made by combining runes which you find about the place. It also has things like repairable weapons and armour, the need to sleep and eat as well as the normal RPG stats and levels.
Skies of Arcadia. Two words: sky pirates. Coupled together with a beautiful overworld filled with hidden discoveries, charming characters, fun ship combat, and excellent music. You can’t go wrong with either the original Dreamcast version (higher quality music, VMU minigames) or the Legends remastering on the Gamecube (an additional story quest, less frequent random encounters - the original is somewhat relentless with these).
Dungeon Keeper, Red Alert 2, Unreal Tournament.
I’m about to finish the main campaign on Dungeon Keeper, and I’ve tried the New Game+ Campaign with KeeperFX. What a blast I had when I was a child.
The last level on the campaign I’ve never beaten. It’s so horribly grindy!
You’ve just described my childhood
A blessed childhood indeed!
Ogre Battle on the SNES is the original auto-battler. I would really recommend Ogre Battle 64 though, not only is it one of the very few RPGs on the system but it’s got really unique gameplay. It’s got its flaws but I’m such a sucker for the character designs and job/class system that it’s still my favorite game to this day.
I loved Ogre Battle 64. To date, I can’t remember playing anything else quite like it.
Love the OG Ogre Battle. I played that game like crazy. I always appreciated how you could revisit locations for loot and battles.
One of the later SNES games called Secret of Evermore!
It’s kind-of a spiritual successor to Secret of Mana, but with a more sci-fi bent.
I love this game! Always loved how the dog changed to match the setting.
Vanquish, best “cover” shooter that I’ve ever played, really wish it’d get a Switch port and that Platinum would revisit it.
Sliding around on jets, going into slo mo to hit weak points, vaulting cover and initiating slomo, it’s all so fucking fun and visceral.
Imagine if Bayonetta and Gears of War had a baby, and then that baby devoted an entire button solely to smoking a cigarette during a gunfight.
„Robinsons Requiem“, available on GoG.
It’s a survival horror first person rpg with a semi realistic health system. It’s creepy and hard and so goddamn good. I’m am actually surprised that it gets mentioned so rarely because I would not know of any other earlier game with those now so ubiquitous survival mechanics.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is one that instantly comes to mind. It surprisingly still has a very active competitive playerbase, mostly comprised of slavs that have been playing it since they could read words on a computer screen. Another one that I’ve personally can’t stop playing, is the first Warhammer 40K:Dawn of War game with it’s expansions and mods. It’s just so good, and I wish a modern version with a modern engine could be made. I don’t trust Relic to do that tho.
Other than that, there’s a myriad of old console and arcade games that are still excellent. Super Metroid, SEGA Rally, shmups like Dodonpachi and Mushihimesama, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike… there are really way too many to count.
Dawn of War is so iconic. I hear the unit quotes in my head so clearly.
Loom
A very unique game for the time, fun adventure with a great story and game play mechanics.
What is this, the SCUMM bar? 🏴☠️🐒
EarthBound for the SNES is one of my favorite RPGs. Very original for its time in terms of setting and battle mechanics. Also, Ness from Smash Bros. is in it!
Such a weird game! The artstyle and just the “weirdness” of it is out of this world.
I’m not a fan of turn-based battles, but this is one of the few games (including Chrono Trigger) where it’s legitimately fun. To this day I still think about it.
Have you played Eastward? Unless I’m mistaken Earthbound is part of the game and plot. If you like Earthbound you might like Eastward. I enjoyed it even having never played Earthbound but I’m sure I missed a lot of references / analogies.
I played Eastward and really enjoyed it, even though I thought the ending was bittersweet.
I’ve heard reviews compare it to EarthBound and I guess it reminds me of EarthBound stylistically, but plays more like Zelda or something.
There’s a game within the game called Earth Born that plays like a fast-paced Dragon Quest. It’s an interesting game. :D
Aquaria is one probably not too many people played to make it a cult classic, but it has a dedicated following of people that love it. Was pretty popular as a 2d indie adventure. I never thought I would like it, but was glad I gave it a try. 😊
It’s a phenomenal metroidvania too. The visuals might be off-putting at first, but the game has so much soul. Excellent music too.