The most obscure game that you still love(d) for some reason

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I'm sure we all have one such game. For some reason it has never reached a wider audience. Maybe because the gameplay was flawed. Maybe because the technology used was way behind the times. Maybe it was poorly marketed or simply unlucky. Maybe it simply wasn't meant for a wide audience in the first place.  And yet you were able to discover it, see past its flaws and love it to death. So please tell us your love story, even if you don't play it anymore and the feeling is purely nostalgic.

I'm gonna say Dink Smallwood. A low budget, independent 2D fantasy RPG released in 1997 and honestly outdated even back then. The gameplay mechanics, as I later realized, were pretty much ripped off from early Zelda games. Everything else is much different though. You're hardly a hero of any sort, merely a pig farmer aspiring for heroic deeds, with the possibility to perform a few deeds of pointless brutality along the way, too. You can save a town parade from slaughter, then murder everyone in said parade yourself and no one will notice. You can save a small town's population from starvation by killing their "gods" - that is, a huge flock of ducks. By the way, attacking said ducks always results in their decapitation. The poor headless bird will then run around in circles, spraying blood all over the screen until hit a second time. And speaking of that, you can attack every single person in the game with impunity and get away with it. Only a select few friendly NPCs can be hurt and killed this way. Most are immortal and attacking them will only produce a snarky comment from them (or Dink himself). The king, when punched in the face, will say "Ahh, the famous Dink Smallwood sense of humor I head so much about".

So as you can see, the game, although significantly flawed, never takes itself seriously, has tons of immature humor and stuff that would never be acceptable in a big budget game. This alone would not be enough to make it memorable, but the developers were also wise enough to release a world editor and make all the scripts available in plain text. A small but dedicated modding community was naturally created, producing some 400 mods over the past 17 years and these mods really pushed the original game's silliness to the limits. One particularly memorable early effort involved the king sending Dink on a quest for cheese (because what's a hearty meal without a big piece of cheese to wash it down?). Of course when you're done, the king will scoff at you because he's finished eating a week ago, but fortunately you still have the bonus goal of finding 20 secret pixie poops to pursue. Have fun fetching a fresh fish for a living skull, and don't be surprised when a pill bug asks you to retrieve his wallet and watch.

[Tengukami]

Don't know if it counts as "obscure" (I never see anyone talking about it anyway) but Trouble Witches. Hugely fun game with pretty art, good music, and a nonsensical script.

[Mеа]

Skygunner for PS2

It's a 3D free-flying action shooter, and has one of the awesome-est, most kickass openings ever. Features a quirky, lovable cast, and also just oozes atmosphere and ambiance from every stage in the game. If I had to pick just one video game world to live in, this would be the one. It has a very warm and amiable worldset and the free spirited, wanderer fantasy sort of attitude I get from the main characters, the Gunners, really speaks to me. It's around the 2:00 minute mark in that op video that tells the whole tale to me. Flyers lazily roaming the skies, unbound by the Earth and its pull. Flying freely above troubles, worries, and unanchored by anything. These characters live the life I want to live, unbound and adventurous, in a world so peaceful and scenic it warms my heart.

Now about the actual gameplay. You have the story mode and several other arcade-style score-attack, time-attack, etc. modes. You can pick one of 3 (+1) Gunners to play through the story with. Their individual stories all take place within the same location (save for Scene 2, I think), but each take on different sub-missions within that same map. So you can see your other AI controlled partners flying around doing their own thing. The cool thing is, if you or one of your partners finished their own missions early, they can come in and 'assist' yours, which mean you can either make more money off of their tasks, or on the other hand have your own reward money taken by someone who finished their job earlier. Think of their jobs as a sort of PG13 class of mercenaries for hire, generally on the side of good. Highly independent. The three main characters are friends, but that doesn't stop them from being competitive during work.  Probably one of the most competent AI partners I've seen in a video game. The final boss literally requires you to work together with your teammates.

Your weapon load-out consists of quirky odd-balls like the Fireworks Missiles, the Dog Missiles, and the Cross Missiles. Two of the other characters have other subweapons instead, such as the Bat Missiles or the Pumpkin Bombs. Fireworks works well for large, clustered groups of enemies. The Dog missiles help slow down other Gunners' ships to throw more powerful missiles at, and serve other random functions. The Cross missiles are used on bosses or other tough enemies to deal massive damage. In addition to the subweapons, you also have your main gun which shoots out money. This is the weapon you'll have to learn to get used to very quickly if you want to master the chaining system in the game. The scoring mechanics are very simple but serve to contribute a large portion of what makes the game more than just a kid's game. It takes on, overall, an arcade feel in that in the end, high score is the only thing that counts. The game expects you to be able to beat it, just like anyone can, but can you get a high score? it asks. When you destroy something in the game, it automatically triggers a chain reaction with adjacent structural destructibles, setting off a multiplier that any subsequent score from an enemy you kill will be multiplied by. So if you want to score high, you really have to know which enemies can get you a high multiplier and which enemies you can kill to get the most money off of that multiplier. Not only do you have weapons and subweapons, but each character has their own Special Maneuver, which includes the Active Turn, the Air Brakes, and the Vortex. All this combines to give you many options to choose from to destroy your enemy ships.

One complaint I could give is the massive slowdown that can result when you fire off a lot of Firework missiles or the such at once. The PS2 can't handle the amount of particle effects that it has to generate. The last stage can also get pretty bad at times because that's when the main villain decides to bring in this huuge battle ship to steal this thing called the Eternal Engine which is displayed in a museum. Except he decides to steal the whole museum instead, so that's why he needs a huge battleship, and also why slowdown can get pretty bad at times. That and also the fact that the game doesn't autosave, you have to manually save the game after you beat anything. I know I've on several occasions just beaten a character's story mode only to discover upon relaunching the game the next day to find out I had forgotten to save. I dream of a day where whoever made this will release an HD rerelease that fixes framerate issues and also adds autosave. Oh, and this game also features both Japanese and English audio. I tried both and really liked the English version so I stuck with that, though both were very nice. Localized by Atlas, of all people. Explains why the dubs were pretty good.

Also Custom Robo Revolution on the GameCube. C'mon Smash, get Ray01 in there!! Angry face

[Shizumarashi Mayuzumi]

Obsidian. I think it just got kinda lost in the glut of Myst-likes around the time (it was around the time Riven released) but it was a particularly good one. Not on GOG or anything even or else I'd be like "hey guys play this shit".

Also of similar genre and era, Journeyman Project 3 - though a lot of its puzzles reduce more to "use thing on right other thing" or "navigate dialog tree to victory" - and it even stands pretty well without the previous games, though a lot of the prior games' relevant info was in the manual so dunno if it's as accessible nowadays. I think GOG has the entire trilogy nowadays on this one though? I know they have 3.

[ふねん1]

2Xtreme, an extreme-sports-style racing game for the PS1. One of the first console games I ever owned, and my first foray into racing games. I credit practicing this game a lot back then for giving me a solid foundation for the genre. Has some surprisingly kickass music too.

[CyberAngel]

Nox. At first glance - just another Diablo clone. But in reality it couldn't be any more different - it's actually a fully ACTION game, and a good one at that! Played it again not too long ago and enjoyed it just like all those years back. I can't say much about it other than that it's amazing in pretty much every aspect. Okay, maybe except a few, since, while it had its fans, it always was pretty obscure.

One reason for that is probably its way too basic RPG system. Again, it's a pure action game, so that's not really a flaw, but I guess people expected it to be more of an RPG (Diablo clone, yeah). Next, while it had multiplayer, it was only for DEATHMATCH. A later patch added a co-op campaign, I heard, but I guess that didn't help. But what I'd personally put as a (possible) flaw is that it's not too challenging and has 0% RNG. You can easily learn the whole game in one playthrough (well, three, once for each class), so that hurts its replayability somewhat.

But I still think fondly of this game and like it for what it is. Dunno if it works fine on newer Windows versions, but I'll definitely give it a try someday.

[Jeremie]

I'm not sure if it's obscure or not but I rarely ever see mention of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. It's easily one of my favorite games ever. It's one of those RPG games that I've completed many times and yet I still always find new things to do whether it's quests, areas, items or other neat stuff. It always feels like there's so much to do, characters reacts to your race, intellect and it tackles some rather interesting themes. The game's biggest weak point is probably the fighting at times because it tends to be unbalanced at times. It's easy to get ridiculous overpowered but at times, especially early on, enemies will slaughter party members because the A.I. isn't particularly great.

Nox. At first glance - just another Diablo clone. But in reality it couldn't be any more different - it's actually a fully ACTION game, and a good one at that! Played it again not too long ago and enjoyed it just like all those years back. I can't say much about it other than that it's amazing in pretty much every aspect. Okay, maybe except a few, since, while it had its fans, it always was pretty obscure.

One reason for that is probably its way too basic RPG system. Again, it's a pure action game, so that's not really a flaw, but I guess people expected it to be more of an RPG (Diablo clone, yeah). Next, while it had multiplayer, it was only for DEATHMATCH. A later patch added a co-op campaign, I heard, but I guess that didn't help. But what I'd personally put as a (possible) flaw is that it's not too challenging and has 0% RNG. You can easily learn the whole game in one playthrough (well, three, once for each class), so that hurts its replayability somewhat.

But I still think fondly of this game and like it for what it is. Dunno if it works fine on newer Windows versions, but I'll definitely give it a try someday.

Loved that game too. I tried to get it running last year (got it on GOG) and I had no problem running it although I don't remember if it was on my Laptop (Win 7) or PC (Win 8 ).

[CyberAngel]

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Ah, yes, the magic & steampunk Fallout. Good times. It didn't get too popular because of bugs, I remember, even though patches fixed many of them.

[Yukarin]

Magical Drop 3

This game was the reason I became competitive.

[Your Everyday NEET]

Klonoa: Door of Phantomile. It's 2.5D Platformer with a cute cat-rabbit hybrid as our protagonist. At first look, it may look like just a kiddie game, it's not though. In the first chapter alone, we are treated to the sight of Klonoa's grandpa dying (I think, my memory's a little fuzzy), and the ending itself? I remember myself holding back tears watching the ending. For the gameplay, it's just a simple platformer, you can jump, you can also float like Yoshi except the forward momentum is slower. Your main attack is a Wind Ring that is used to inflate enemies and carries them for: making double jump, throw it at other enemies. At first, the game is simple enough, but late in the game, there are some puzzles that requires some decent speed, platforming skills, and mastery of Wind Ring. Don't get me started with bonus stage. The graphic are kinda good for a PS1 game, and the stage have some variation, from a windmill village to space.  Despite all that, sadly, Klonoa has fallen into obscurity. It could have been a great mascot platformer franchise.

When everyone else got hyped at Xenoblade Chronicles X, I played Xenogears. Blame me for not having any sort of latest generation console. Xenogears is a great JRPG created by Square at 1998. The story's kinda long (60 hours) and filled with Catholic and Gnosticism symbolism. Unfortunately, it is very very complicated that even with one playthrough, you can't understand the story completely. It has two different types of gameplay, on-foot battle and gear (basically giant robot) battle. For on-foot battle, you attack with triangle, square, and X button for light (1), medium (2), and heavy (3) respectively. At first you start with 3 AP and end at 7 AP at lvl 60. You can use Deathblow (Think of Legaia combo system) with a certain combination and almost all of them are impressive to look at, seriously, watch a youtube video of deathblow. Gear battle is slower than on-foot battle. Gears have much more HP than humans, but the downside is that you cannot heal a giant robot with magic (called ether in-game) and item. The accesories for healing gears is on obtained until 1/4 into disc 1. Gears also have fuel, performing attacks costs fuel (10, 20, 30 for light, medium, and heavy attack and more if you perform Deathblows), run out of fuel and you can't move. Gears can also use Booster to boost their speed and attack at the cost of constant fuel drain every turn. So, gears battle is more like a resource management. Once again, the graphics' not to bad for PS1. But the anime cutscene are kinda lackluster now, and the dubbing and lipsyncing is bad. Too bad that the disc 2 is worse compared to disc 1 because of budget issues.

[Ionasal kkll Solciel]

Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand.

Hideo Kojima made this game.

Nowadays, most people who are aware of it know it for its very strange gimmick - the game had a UV sensor on the cartridge, which allowed the game to read sunlight, which was necessary to defeat the main enemies of the game, which were vampires. The first game was more like Metal Gear Solid, with stealth and resource conservation playing a relatively large role. Future games largely discarded this, turning the series into more of an action-oriented set.

Maybe the biggest exposure this series got was their collaboration with the Megaman Battle Network series - 4 had a whole Boktai-themed area in the game's amusement park section plus the ShadeMan sidequest with special cameo appearance; 5 had the Crossover that you could play with Boktai 2 where two players could compete to take down ShadeMan; and while it was expunged in the English version due to the decision not to release Boktai 3 overseas, the Count of Groundsoaking Blood took ShadeMan's place in 6.

[nav']

Nox. At first glance - just another Diablo clone. But in reality it couldn't be any more different - it's actually a fully ACTION game, and a good one at that! Played it again not too long ago and enjoyed it just like all those years back. I can't say much about it other than that it's amazing in pretty much every aspect. Okay, maybe except a few, since, while it had its fans, it always was pretty obscure.

I remember this one too! Quite a fun game, I still fondly remember the sound effect accompanying that crushing fist. I never figured out what Obliteration does, though. My last playthrough was ages ago, but one thing that annoyed me slightly was how easily your armor was destroyed. Was there even a way to get it fixed? I can't recall now.

I'm not sure if it's obscure or not but I rarely ever see mention of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. It's easily one of my favorite games ever. It's one of those RPG games that I've completed many times and yet I still always find new things to do whether it's quests, areas, items or other neat stuff. It always feels like there's so much to do, characters reacts to your race, intellect and it tackles some rather interesting themes. The game's biggest weak point is probably the fighting at times because it tends to be unbalanced at times. It's easy to get ridiculous overpowered but at times, especially early on, enemies will slaughter party members because the A.I. isn't particularly great.

One of the many games I fully intend to play at some point, but can't quite get around to it. I've been having tremendous problems with focusing on one thing lately, and so games as big as Arcanum feel like too much to tackle. CyberAngel made a comparison to Fallout. My favourite aspect of the Fallout games (especially the sequel), aside from the atmosphere and superb music, was how big, rich and detailed the game world was. Not just locations, but also all the NPCs, their mutual interactions, quests with multiple approaches, or the many ways to piss some people off forever. If Arcanum is anything like that, I'll play it as soon as I can.

And speaking of PC RPGs, I forgot about something I really should have opened the thread with. Geneforge and Avernum! Such excellent examples of indie RPG design. Their admittedly poor audiovisual presentation (I got used to it really quickly anyway) conceals some wonderful adventures.

The Avernum games are very much RPGs of the classic kind. You get a team of several adventurers with various classes and are thrown into a giant, delightful open world with tons of places to explore, stuff to do and secrets to uncover. You get a lot of freedom, including even the possibility to rob the royal treasure, as long as you're ready to face the consequences (which reminds me of Morrowind, where you could rob the treasuries of all three great houses with impunity - even your own). Obviously there's an entertaining storyline (Avernum is a place where criminals from the overworld get thrown into, and which happens to suffer from a bit of a demon problem when you arrive) and plenty of sidequests, as well as various tidbits of knowledge about the world to learn. The magic and battle mechanics are relatively simple, but perfectly adequate and allow for some pretty neat tactical combat.

Geneforge is different, it's somewhat less open-ended and has a more focused, extensive storyline. It also has a twist: you only control one character, but you can still have a team thanks to shaping, that is creating monsters of various kinds and abilities that you can then control and enhance. The setting is not your typical fantasy world: you'll encounter stuff like plant-based technology and DNA-enhancing canisters. The plot usually revolves around the titular Geneforge, which is a machine that reshapes the user's DNA, giving them great power, but is rather tricky to use safely. The storyline and its outcome (you get endings for various people and places, just like in Fallout) largely depends on your decisions: which factions do you want to help, how many canisters you use, what to do with the Geneforge once found, etc.

If anyone reading this enjoys classic, turn-based RPGs, honestly, play these games.

[Garlyle]

Growlanser Generations.  The last game Working Designs (Lunar) got to work on before going bankrupt.  It's a port/collection of both Growlanser II and III - the sequel and prequel respectively to a game that never got translated, so it's a bit weird to play, because you're playing the surrounding chapters to this series of events you didn't get to experience (Although I kinda like that part)

Shared between them is the battle engine and character customization, which are real highlights.  It's a non-grid-based strategy RPG that essentially uses a Final Fantasy ATB; everything happens simultaneously where possible but it's still at a pace and control scheme that feels turn-based.  One of the real kickers was the way magic worked; each spell could be charged up to multiple levels.  Charging to higher levels took slightly less time and MP to each individual level, but you could interrupt at any time to fire off the spell at however high you'd been able to charge so far.  You could also 'distribute' the charges of single-target spells, determining how many hit what targets, or for large AoEs, how many levels went into extending the range vs increasing the damage, etc; it was really nifty.

Growlanser 2 focused a bit more on the Strategy part of the formula.  You had a party of up to eight people, who overall operated at lower levels/weaker skills/etc.  It used a location-based map (think FF Tactics games) for an overworld too, instead of manual traversal like the rest of the series.  It was fairly short; but also fairly replayable thanks to lots of branching events that could turn out differently.  It's also really curious in its storytelling, because you get caught up in three largely unrelated major plots unfolding simultaneously, that don't all lead back to one master manipulator or anything.

Growlanser 3, meanwhile, felt heavier on the RPG part.  It had an overworld, traversable dungeons, explorable towns, etc; it also cut your party size down to 4 and had them developping to much higher levels than 2 did.  The cast is smaller but a bit more developed, and the structure of the game's a bit more familiar, although it has a couple very interesting twists.  There's a lot of sidequests to do again, although unlike 3 there's also a sizeable amount of optional challenges to undertake come endgame.

I'm not 100% on why I love Generations, but there's just enough that's very unique that I don't see in other games.  I've tried to play the other Growlanser games, but V felt terrible and bland, and I have not been able to finish IV - it just feels like it goes on too long or something.  But 2 and 3 just completely strike a chord with me; I love the casts, I love the games, I just... yeah.

[AJS]

G-NOME for the PC.  I'm not even sure how I came into possession of the game disc, I just found it lying around the house when I was growing up.  It was a mech-fighting game that also touted the ability to leave your vehicles and fight on foot.  Being force-fed nothing but educational computer games as a kid, this was my first, shall we say, "real" exposure to video games.  But for the longest time, I couldn't even figure out how to play it because of the non-intuitive controls.  Finally, one day I discovered that I could learn the controls by looking through the keybinds menu, and then I was off.  I became obsessed with the game, playing its extensive singleplayer campaign to completion after over a year.  But all the time, I'd realize no one else in my life ever even heard of the game.  Years later, I'd browse around on the internet and find that it actually had very little exposure and wound up fading into obscurity.  And then, just a few years ago, I managed to track down an ISO of the game.  Replaying after all these years, I quickly realized why it didn't take off in popularity.  Without the nostalgia goggles, it just didn't have that same magic that it used to have.  Nevertheless, the game still holds a special place in my heart.  But I'm left to forever ponder how it wound up in our possession.  The only possible person who could've bought it was my dad, and he's not a gamer whatsoever.  Hmmm...  I can wonder.

[OverlordChirei]

This strange little thing.

It's basically Worms in real-time combat, and I was introduced to it when I first started sixth grade, and had a very eccentric science teacher. He loved all sorts of strange things, and had computers in the back that anyone could play this game on during break times. It was a very silly game and was my first foray into videogame PvP, along with very customizeable weapon sets and sprites, but matches would often quickly devolve into everyone setting cooldowns to 0 and making ammo infinite, turning it into bullet hell before I even knew bullet hell was a genre.

[CyberAngel]

I still fondly remember the sound effect accompanying that crushing fist.

Poor zombies

I never figured out what Obliteration does, though.

Paralyzes everyone who sees its source, drains their mana and then deals humongous damage. Draining mana takes time but results in even more damage. However, casting it places you at ground zero, and you're affected as well, so it's a trap-only spell. Good against other mages in deathmatch, I guess. In singleplayer you get it only for the Hecubah fights and you can try some guerrilla warfare against her buddies, but I found that for one-on-one with her fireballs are better.

My last playthrough was ages ago, but one thing that annoyed me slightly was how easily your armor was destroyed. Was there even a way to get it fixed? I can't recall now.

There is, but you really shouldn't do that. You can find (not buy, FIND!) all the armor you'll ever need and then some. Warrior does need to have a spare set on hand just in case, but usually you're fine with wearing whatever the game hands you (some stuff is hidden, but secret areas are easy enough to spot).

One of the many games I fully intend to play at some point, but can't quite get around to it. I've been having tremendous problems with focusing on one thing lately, and so games as big as Arcanum feel like too much to tackle. CyberAngel made a comparison to Fallout. My favourite aspect of the Fallout games (especially the sequel), aside from the atmosphere and superb music, was how big, rich and detailed the game world was. Not just locations, but also all the NPCs, their mutual interactions, quests with multiple approaches, or the many ways to piss some people off forever. If Arcanum is anything like that, I'll play it as soon as I can.

"Anything like that"? Fallout looks like an empty desert (har har) in comparison. If you liked how the interactions were there, this game will deliver more than enough of them. And if you liked all the different builds you could play as... Hoo boy.

[Third Eye Lem]

I looked at this thread's and a few games come to mind...

I've been playing Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure as of late. I'm almost near the end (or at least the last leg of) the game, and while it does have its moments, I really like it! You don't see "Retraux" 3D Platformers that often, which is kind of a shame, I think they need to bring those back.

Gurumin follows the story of Parin, a young girl who comes to a mining town to live with her absent-minded grandfather. Soon after, she discovers a hidden realm inhabited by peaceful Monsters and not-so-peaceful Phantoms. The Phantoms are trying to take over the kingdom of Monsters, and Parin is called upon to save them. But how? She's just a little girl, she'll need a weapon to stand a chance!

And that's where you get the awesome Drill Lance. Yeah, it's probably not that much more functional than any other lance in video games, but drill weapons are pretty uncommon in video games, and until someone makes a Gurren Lagann video game, this is the best experience we'll get. Parin's pretty skilled with the drill too, she can charge up powerful attacks, unleash devastating spinning and aerial attacks, and even collect elemental parts for her drill to further punish the Phantoms. They even have effects...Fire melts ice, Shock electrocutes water-based foes, and Ice puts out flames and even freezes water! I was actually pretty surprised when I froze the water by accident in one level, you usually can't that in a video game very often either (much less shock enemies underwater).

However, Parin's best weapon is her sense of fashion: you can buy and upgrade various hats that give her certain attributes, like immunity to poison damage or enhanced elemental damage. And they all look so cute on Parin!

You can also unlock other outfits too, but they're usually after you beat the game and resume it on New Game+.

But enough about fashion, what are the actual levels like? Well, they have their fair share of platforming and combat, but the PC version has made it easier to play thanks to the ability to lock on and center the camera behind Parin (the original PSP game couldn't do this). You'll mostly traverse some surprisingly well-designed levels, breaking objects and breaking heads all the while. The boss fights are appropriately challenging too, and some of the later levels get really hard (Sky Steps in particular is a pain).

...One thing I can't really approve of is the fact that after you beat the boss, you unlock two more levels, which are similar in appearance to the main levels...Except you play them backwards with harder enemy placement and such. It's pretty lazy level design, if you ask me. However, I can forgive it since most of the game was so good already.

So why are you going out to dangerous lands anyways? Well, after saving a resident of Monster Village from a Phantom boss, you have to help them rebuild their home with furniture...Furniture that's at the end of dangerous temples, caverns, and forests. I am not making this up. Your Plot Coupons are powered by IKEA. And it's kind of awesome and silly in a good way.

While Gurumin feels like one of FALCOM's typical action-RPG titles (it doesn't help that both Parin and Adol are both redheads), it does have some "Collectathon" elements--there's a hidden Platinum Medal in each level and you can earn a letter grade based on how fast you beat the level and how many foes/objects you destroy. The medals can be used to earn new drill parts and outfits, and even Wallpaper you can use on your computer!

Gurumin is a charming title at its best, and while some of the action is a bit flawed (camera issues and annoying platforming being the most significant problems), it's a remarkably solid title, especially if you want some 3D Platforming action and some old-school video game LAGIC. It's only ten bucks on Steam right now, and it'll probably go on sale this holiday, so give it a try if you can!

...I must also confess that JonTron's "Starcade" series also revived my interest in Yoda Stories, a sort of Zelda-like game set in the Star Wars universe. I guess it's worth a look if you like old Windows games?

Also, who here remembers Bomberman Tournament? I actually enjoyed exploring the world in that game and using the various bombs and Charabons to solve puzzles. Good times. Shame Hudson is no more, we need a Bomberman spiritual successor STAT!

Another Steam game worth trying is Adventure in the Tower of Flight, one of many "retro" platformers available on Steam. The reason this one stands out, however, is its main gimmick: you fly around the levels instead of just jumping! You can slice enemies up only with a sword at first, but later you get a bow and a dash attack to clobber foes with. The game can be both relaxing and pretty hectic at times, as you struggle to stay in the air and not get murdered by spikes, enemies, lava or bottomless pits. Fun times for all! An update has also added alternate paths for those who want want to brave them, as well as its share of secret areas. Definitely worth a look if you're into platformers with unique mechanics.

And finally, we have Keroblaster...Which isn't even out yet but after playing the Prequel/Demo known as Pink Hour, it's got me interested. It feels like what Cave Story would be if Pixel made a DOS-era run and gun platformer. The story is as silly as one would expect, and the game looks to be appropriately challenging (good luck on Hard mode though...)

That's it for now, if I come up with any more games I'll post them here.

[Your Everyday NEET]

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter. It's an action-RPG game on NDS about an anthropomorphic dog named Red and his sister and friend going on an adventure. I hears that this game spent almost 10 years in development, and it shows. The world itself is polished and looks gorgeous for an NDS games. Almost all the NPC even the bystander one looks different from one another. There are so many major and minor characters and all of them have colorful personalities. The story itself is good though, with 10 chapters of main story and more than 80 sidequest, you're going to spent around 30 hours at this game.

For the gameplay, unfortunately, it's a very easy action RPG. Mainly it's because your HP is so goddamn huge. at first, you have about 5 blocks of HP and you will end up with around 20 blocks near the end since leveling up only increases your HP by a block and I never seen enemies deals more than 3 blocks. The fighting itself is pretty simple though, Armed with his mini mecha Dahak, Red's main attack is to lift his enemies and slam them into one another to defeat them. The huge one and bosses cannot be lifted though, so you have to throw stuff or smaller enemies at them. It gets pretty repetitive soon though because throwing is your only main attack

Spoiler:

that is until the second half where you get the ability to use super mode and shoot (that is treated as game breaker)

. Unlike Xenogears, Red on-foot skills is piss poor, he can only stuns enemies without his robot.

All in all, It is an easy game with a great stories and character, you guys should try this.

Before I joins MoTK, I remember myself playing a chinese Touhou RPG Maker Games called Bllizard of Faith and Revenge. Compared to Labyrinth of Touhou and Genius of Sappheiros, this game is nothing compared to them. But, its main point is in its story though. Unlike LoT and GoS with their excuse plot, this one has a full fledged-Disgaea-like story. It is filled with many humor that will make you laugh, but when it got serious, it will become serious (Damn, the first sidequest itself is dark, even for Touhou Fangame), I remember that I'm really holding back tears when finding the (supposedly) perpetrator of the incident and the subsequent battle. You play as Marisa, Flandre, Alice and Patchouli trying to solve an incident concerning the endless snow (not like PCB though). The downside of this game is that it follows Xenogears' school of dialogue making. Just like Xenogears, the text scrooooll really sloooooooow. But at least the story itself is fun.

Gameplay: Just like Xenogears Final Fantasy, it uses ATB to determine the turn order. You can Attack, use Spellcard, Item, or Flee in battle. Your primary way of dealing will be spellcards though since normal attack is very very weak. There's a catch though, this game LOOOOOVES multi hit attack, and ludicrous damage (late in the game, dealing half a million damage is considered normal). In return, enemies have really ridiculous HP (first boss: 5000. It doesn't take long for the boss to reach a million HP), best prepare for a long battle against enemies and bosses. When dealing with bosses, the strategies only boil down to attack-attack-heal. Halfway through, it becomes don't let the boss attack or she will TPK you.

this game is also one of the game where money is important until the very end of the game (95% progress). You will find yourself in need of money to buy equipment and items in the main story.

This game has many kickass music as well (probably ripped from other media) even normal battle BGM itself is badass.
The enemies sprites is ripped as well. Hell, in SDM, I even encounter Rachel Alucard as normal enemy (Vampire I guess) and Irisu Kyouko in Eientei (From Irisu Syndrome, check it out if you want a Atlus hard puzzle-horror game). 

All in all, despite its flawed gameplay filled with damage sponge enemies and unforgiving boss. The story itself is worth checking out though (I say it's story is better than Touhou Mother).