Your favourite games no one talks about.

[benlefou]

As the title says. I don't want to see Gunhed, Rondo, Spriggan, ect... I want some good games that people hardly mention. Here's a few of mine:

Die Hard - Great run n' gun with platforming elements.

Madouou Granzort - Awesome platformer with a nice transformation mechanic and massive stages.

Silent Debuggers - Intense and creepy FPS, doesn't give you an inch of breathing space.

Discuss.

[pixeljunkie]

Psycho Chaser, Paranoia and Psychic Storm

no idea why they all start with 'P'

[NightWolve]

That's a tough one, most of my favorites off the top of my head are mainstream so they get respectable appreciation by others in the PCE world.

I'd have to glance at my collection some time, see if I'm reminded of anything that fits the bill.

[benlefou]

Psycho Chaser, Paranoia and Psychic Storm

no idea why they all start with 'P'

Still need to play Paranoia but agree with the other 2, Psychic Storm gets a bad rap but it's an okay little shooter, a bit too easy though.

[FraGMarE]

Aldynes, Kaze Kiri off the top of my head

[benlefou]

Good picks. Briefly played Aldynes and loved it, as for Kaze Kiri it had so much potential, the combat is awesome and the graphics are really nice but it's quite repetitive with no variation. Still a solid 7/10.

[Keith Courage]

Override! Such a dam good pc engine shooter. A little short in my opinion cause it could have used at least 1 more stage but the game play, graphics, and music are top notch.

[beigemore]

I really like Super Dodgeball.  The loops become more and more difficult as the max time per round decreases.  The story mode is pretty cool, as well, but it would be nice if they had a harder mode.

I wish they'd added the USSR and shadow teams like the NES has, and they really should've allowed you to change team mates around in the normal mode to change things up a bit.

The soundtrack is also very top tier!

[RyuHayabusa]

Mystic Formula is under-appreciated I guess. One of the few 2 player games of it's kind on the console. Plus the music is sweet, especially the first stage.

[saturndual32]

I dont think Jackie Chan gets talked enough. I love it on both the PCE and Famicom. One of my favorite games ever. Great graphics, music and gameplay. I love the pixelart. And nice use of parallax scrolling too!

[benlefou]

Mystic Formula is under-appreciated I guess. One of the few 2 player games of it's kind on the console. Plus the music is sweet, especially the first stage.

Looks cool, never heard of it before. A quick eBay search brings it up at £65-£100 though unfortunately 

[Ergot_Cholera]

Tenseiryu! 

[pixeljunkie]

Another favorite for me is Power Golf 2 - best 16-bit era golf sim there is. Hands down. It doesn't get talked about much, probably because it's golf hahah

[exodus]

Blood Gear - RPG overworlds, nice mech design, side-scrolling action stages, nice cutscenes, extremely affordable, and a Hudson original. No idea why it's not up there with the top games people talk about for the PC Engine.

[benlefou]

Blood Gear - RPG overworlds, nice mech design, side-scrolling action stages, nice cutscenes, extremely affordable, and a Hudson original. No idea why it's not up there with the top games people talk about for the PC Engine.

This one always intrigued me. I assumed it was text heavy?

[Keith Courage]

Blood Gear - RPG overworlds, nice mech design, side-scrolling action stages, nice cutscenes, extremely affordable, and a Hudson original. No idea why it's not up there with the top games people talk about for the PC Engine.

This one always intrigued me. I assumed it was text heavy?

Blood gear is text heavy but only for all the in town parts. All the side scrolling/platforming stages make up for it. Meaning, just walk around and talk to everyone in town until you figure how to move onto the next section. This is the only Japanese pc engine RPG I've ever played through since it has enough action/platforming elements to warrant my waste of time by not knowing how to read Japanese. Not to mention the cut scenes look fantastic. I'd definitely recommend it.

[majors]

Another favorite for me is Power Golf 2

This guy knows what's up. PG2 is super solid arcadey golf game.

I dont think Jackie Chan gets talked enough.

Agreed. Wonderful platformer.


I'm a fan of Buster Bros, Motoroader, Victory Run and Zipang(Solomans Key). F1 Circus 92 has been growing one me but more for the visual impressiveness, but I'm still trying to get good at it.

[nopepper]

Totally on topic:

Formation Armed F - I've written about this one before, and I know I'm in the minority, but this is a fantastic shooter with great level design and tough but rewarding gameplay. I use the continue trick to memorize the levels and then 1CC. Feels great once you beat it and the ambiance always keeps me entertained.

Nexzr - this one is well known among PCE and shooter hard core, but unknown and hardly mentioned by others, which is a shame, as it's right up there with the best of the best when it comes to the PCE catalog.

Stretching it a bit:

New Adventure Island - this is high profile by PCE/Turbo standards, but I still feel this game doesn't get enough love.It is one of the technical marvels of the system (on chip) and the gameplay is smooth as butter. Great music, great graphics, fantastic level design and responsive controls. The only downside is the lack of save/passwords, but this can be compensated with the level select cheat.

Cadash - another fairly high profile game that doesn't seem to get a lot of love. It's such a flawed game, with clunky controls and uneven level design making the whole thing feel kinda clumsy. But that is made up with colorful chunky graphics and sprites, awesome music that screams of PCE sound chip and much better gameplay than the arcade original. It is one of those games that once you crack, keeps you coming back for some reason. I've beat it like 30 times and will still have runs with all 4 characters until the day I die.

[benlefou]

Totally on topic:

Formation Armed F - I've written about this one before, and I know I'm in the minority, but this is a fantastic shooter with great level design and tough but rewarding gameplay. I use the continue trick to memorize the levels and then 1CC. Feels great once you beat it and the ambiance always keeps me entertained.

Nexzr - this one is well known among PCE and shooter hard core, but unknown and hardly mentioned by others, which is a shame, as it's right up there with the best of the best when it comes to the PCE catalog.

Amen to Nexzr, it's an absolute gem! But I would argue that it's pretty well known amongst all PCE fans and definitely talked about a lot!

I actually picked up Formation Armed F recently to give it a try, haven't seen any gameplay but just heard it's super difficult. Love the artwork!

[benlefou]

Blood Gear - RPG overworlds, nice mech design, side-scrolling action stages, nice cutscenes, extremely affordable, and a Hudson original. No idea why it's not up there with the top games people talk about for the PC Engine.

This one always intrigued me. I assumed it was text heavy?

Blood gear is text heavy but only for all the in town parts. All the side scrolling/platforming stages make up for it. Meaning, just walk around and talk to everyone in town until you figure how to move onto the next section. This is the only Japanese pc engine RPG I've ever played through since it has enough action/platforming elements to warrant my waste of time by not knowing how to read Japanese. Not to mention the cut scenes look fantastic. I'd definitely recommend it.

Good to know, I'll definitely check it out as I've always liked the look of it. Similarly Goemon 4 on the Super Famicom has a lot of RPG sections with heavy Japanese text but it's one of my favourite games on the system!

[nopepper]

Amen to Nexzr, it's an absolute gem! But I would argue that it's pretty well known amongst all PCE fans and definitely talked about a lot!

I actually picked up Formation Armed F recently to give it a try, haven't seen any gameplay but just heard it's super difficult. Love the artwork!

I took some liberties since you did not really define your parameters in your OP, but I did mention that Nexzr is well known among PCE aficionados. Other gamers, that perhaps know the Turbo/PCE, and know games like Bonk, Gate of Thunder, Rondo, Gunhed, Splatterhouse, heck, even Sapphire and Sylphia, seem to always ignore one of the best games in the system.

Armed F is difficult because, by default, it has no continues and it's a memorizer in the vein of Image Fight and Dragon Spirit, so imagine trying to learn the game while having to start from the beginning every time you die. I don't have time/patience for that, so I use the continue cheat to memorize the levels, then the game opens up and becomes enjoyable instead of a slog. Also, I find the art kinda ugly, sans the bullets...the bullets are definitely pretty! Just curious; what do you like about the art in this game?

Oh, and another awesome game rarely discussed, The Lost Sunheart. I've also gone on about this one in the past, but I just love this little game. The enemy patterns are so different from any other shooter I've played...the game just has a distinct rhythm and I especially like how those said enemy patterns seem to "dance" in sync with the catchy music.

[exodus]

Yeah, blood gear isn't that bad - there are a couple points where you could get a bit stuck I thiiiiink, but hey, gamefaqs has a faq, so you're in the clear!

[benlefou]

Amen to Nexzr, it's an absolute gem! But I would argue that it's pretty well known amongst all PCE fans and definitely talked about a lot!

I actually picked up Formation Armed F recently to give it a try, haven't seen any gameplay but just heard it's super difficult. Love the artwork!

I took some liberties since you did not really define your parameters in your OP, but I did mention that Nexzr is well known among PCE aficionados. Other gamers, that perhaps know the Turbo/PCE, and know games like Bonk, Gate of Thunder, Rondo, Gunhed, Splatterhouse, heck, even Sapphire and Sylphia, seem to always ignore one of the best games in the system.

Armed F is difficult because, by default, it has no continues and it's a memorizer in the vein of Image Fight and Dragon Spirit, so imagine trying to learn the game while having to start from the beginning every time you die. I don't have time/patience for that, so I use the continue cheat to memorize the levels, then the game opens up and becomes enjoyable instead of a slog. Also, I find the art kinda ugly, sans the bullets...the bullets are definitely pretty! Just curious; what do you like about the art in this game?

Oh, and another awesome game rarely discussed, The Lost Sunheart. I've also gone on about this one in the past, but I just love this little game. The enemy patterns are so different from any other shooter I've played...the game just has a distinct rhythm and I especially like how those said enemy patterns seem to "dance" in sync with the catchy music.

Valid point on Nexzr, I suppose it might just be the "hardcore" who are aware and not so much the casuals.

I'll heed your advice on Armed F as I can imagine it's frustrating. In regards to the artwork I should have perhaps specified I meant the cover art as I actually haven't played the game yet or really seen screenshots.

I've never heard of The Lost Sunheart so I'll definitely check that one out, thanks!

[majors]

Formation Armed F - ...

Armed F always reminded me of Cyber Core, do you have any love for that? I'm not a fan of either, so they do not make my "under appreciated" list.

[soop]

Formation Armed F - ...

Armed F always reminded me of Cyber Core, do you have any love for that? I'm not a fan of either, so they do not make my "under appreciated" list.

Blasphemy, Cyber Core is a brilliant game

[nopepper]

Armed F always reminded me of Cyber Core, do you have any love for that? I'm not a fan of either, so they do not make my "under appreciated" list.

I've never really given Cyber Core much play time, but when I did, it did not give me the same vibe at all and did not click with me.

I'll give it a real try next time I decide to beat a game.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Psychic Storm gets a bad rap??  Man, that's one of my favorite games!

[benlefou]

Psychic Storm gets a bad rap??  Man, that's one of my favorite games!

It's rather easy and a bit clunky if I remember correctly but a half decent game, definitely not a bad one!

[exodus]

Valid point on Nexzr, I suppose it might just be the "hardcore" who are aware and not so much the casuals.

are there any casuals in this particular hobby? how could there be, at this point? anyone new to the scene is coming in from youtube videos on the "10 rarest games" or whatever, and nexzr is gonna be mentioned in many of those!

[nopepper]

Formation Armed F - ...

Armed F always reminded me of Cyber Core, do you have any love for that? I'm not a fan of either, so they do not make my "under appreciated" list.

Gave Cyber Core some time this weekend, made it to the Stage 8 on my first playthrough, but have not been able to crack that level due to those damn blue enemies with the super fast erratic patterns.

My impression is that other than being shooters, Cyber Core and Armed F have very little in common. The former is more akin to a much more spastic Dragon Spirit, while the other is a slow plodder more reminiscent to Image Fight, although neither is as good as their inspirations. I am glad to finally have given Cyber Core some attention, as it is quite fun and it looks like beating that last level will take some dedication. I will say that it seems like more of a casual romp than Armed F, and perhaps more fun as a pick up and play type of game. I guess once I beat it (if I do), I will know if I will get the same satisfaction as with Armed F, which is a big part of the reason why I like it.

[majors]

... although neither is as good as their inspirations.

I guess my memories were more of that both are mid/low tier top-view shooters...I owned them both, but sold them a while ago due to not loving them enough to keep. But it's good to have at least played them, glad you find some joy in Core.

I'm much more a fan of Dragon Spirit/Saber and I can see your comparison to them on Core.

[benlefou]

Valid point on Nexzr, I suppose it might just be the "hardcore" who are aware and not so much the casuals.

are there any casuals in this particular hobby? how could there be, at this point? anyone new to the scene is coming in from youtube videos on the "10 rarest games" or whatever, and nexzr is gonna be mentioned in many of those!

I guess other gamers coming across the PCE for the first time might not have heard of it, I mean casual might not be the right word but those who haven't dug into the library of games. A lot of games are mentioned ahead of it but I probably do agree it shouldn't really be brought up in this particular thread, it is undoubtedly talked about a lot but I can kinda see what nopepper was getting at.

[JoeQuaker]

Kato-chan & Ken-chan haha

As a kid I only knew it as JJ & Jeff on TG-16. Once I discovered what it was actually supposed to be as an adult I can't even look at JJ & Jeff. Sure the controls are a bit wonky, but I like the Adventure Island feel (I also really like New AI as previously brought up), the goofiness, and the music. If it's fun to play to me that's all that matters.

I also looked up the Kato & Ken TV shows a while back after realizing this and oh man is it funny!

[majors]

Kato-chan & Ken-chan haha

I also passed up the US release when it was released...I figured it was a "kiddie" game along the veins of Mario and I was deeply entrenched in the Sega 'tude propaganda at the time. Only in the passed decade did I pick up a copy of Kato/Ken (knowing it's regionalization back story) and have had some fun with it...a good pick'n play title. But man does it get cheap and can piss me off in the later levels. I really get annoyed with the random warp backs.

[FraGMarE]

[exodus]

I keep forgetting to get that game!! I'll pick it up this week maybe

[NightWolve]

Ha, so that meme made it in here too!

[FraGMarE]

I keep forgetting to get that game!! I'll pick it up this week maybe

AKA Mizubaku Daibouken.  Definitely in my top 5 or so PCE/TG16 platformers, and certainly bonus points for being more or less a full sidescrolling adventure of BUBBLE BOBBLE!    It's just a lovely port of a great game imho