Share your hidden gems and insider tips

space cadet

How about Land Stalker for the Genesis. Kinda has a Zelda feel to it.

thelostsoul

@space-cadet Landstalker is a cool game, not in the same league as Zelda to me. I wouldn't call it Zelda feel to it, its quite different. The isometric perspective and jumping mechanic gives it a whole different feel. The puzzles, items and backtrack aren't that prominent here. Can this game be called hidden gem in today's standards? To me, it was never one, because I grew up with it. It was an interesting and different experience and not even close to the game design quality of Zelda!

Through some research I did for this answer, I found this: Lady Stalker: Challenge from the Past on SNES, the spinoff to Landstalker! But I could not find an English translation patch for it.

thelostsoul

8 New Games in Total

No spam this time and I make it short: Here are some new games for you, mostly side scrolling platformer or shmups. But at least one very strange and obscure title by Nintendo is found, ... again! Enjoy.

NES (1 Game):

lr-nestopia 1.50-WIP

Joy Mech Fight - (jp:1993) - Fighting
English Translation
Did you know, a very strange and experimental fighting game by Nintendo was made for the NES? I don't know why this wasn't developed for the SNES, as it came out '93.

SNES (3 Games):

lr-snes9x 1.60

Metal Max Returns - (jp:1995) - JRPG
English Translation
The customizable tanks are the main attraction and idea and its an open world game. Unusual and far ahead of its time.
Sunset Riders - (us:1993) - Run'n Gun Action

This may not be hidden for many of you, but for me. It's a run and gun platformer with a wild western style. There are also an arcade and Mega Drive version.
Turbo Toons - (eu:1994) - Racing

An obscure racing game, where you control running toon characters. Not a particular good game, but I know it from my youth.

Mega Drive (4 Games):

lr-genesis-plus-gx (v1.7.4)

El Viento - (jp,us:1991) - Platform Action

A heavenly anime stylized platformer with gameplay mix of Shinobi and ActRaiser.
Empire of Steel / Steel Empire - (jp,us,eu:1992) - Vertical SHMUP

A side scrolling shoot'em up with steamunk design and style, inspired by animes from Hayao Miyazaki.
Gynoug / Wings of Wor - (jp,us,eu:1991) - Vertical SHMUP

Another side scrolling shooter. This one is horror themed about demons.
Ghostbusters - (us,uk:1990 br:1991) - Platformer Action

Some say its the best Ghostbusters game and I didn't know it existed. Developed by Sega.

EDIT: Edits are just some little cosmetics that nobody care.

IsabelleXL

@thelostsoul it’s been mentioned but Nightmare Busters is my first hidden gem since I started doing this. It’s friggin unbelievable but I can’t play it for more than 5 minutes. It blows my mind. If you can beat that game you’re good at video games.

thelostsoul

@greengrounds Nightmare Busters looks also fantastic. It's one of those late release games (2013) and was even available for purchase. I want play it too, looks really cool and its a Contra type of game.

TheRetroGamer

I got a good list of hidden gems right here (out of the games I play): (Super Nintendo/ Super Famicom)- Kirby's Dream Course, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. (Super Nintendo Arcade)- Super Buster Bros., Tetris/Dr Mario. (Game Boy Advance)- Mega Man Battle Network, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. (Game Boy Color)- Pokemon Pinball.

TheRetroGamer

@TheRetroGamer Edit: Tetris/Dr. Mario may be a big hit or not, but I don't know if yall play it or not. Another game that my mom likes to play: SNES- Tom and Jerry

thelostsoul

To me, most games on the SNES aren't hidden anymore, I researched too much. :D
@TheRetroGamer Well, Tetris isn't hidden by any means, :D but the specific version you play maybe. Which version do you play? If you like Tetris and Dr. Mario, there is a game on SNES literally called Tetris & Dr. Mario, where you play mixed mode. It is quite fun and underrated in my opinion.
For Mega Man Battle Network, I was never into it, as I never had a GBA (I wish, I had). After my research which version is the best among the fans, I came to the conclusion the third entry might be it. So, whenever I play it, this would be my starting point.

TheRetroGamer

lol. as we speak, my mom is playing her favorite SNES game right now (mentioned above in edit.) and yes, I was talking about Tetris & Dr. Mario. there is a third version, as you mentioned, called Mixed Match, where you play both games against a human opponent.

thelostsoul

@TheRetroGamer Oh, my mistake, I thought you categorized Tetris & Dr. Mario as GBA. I was searching the web for it and couldn't find. :D damn its too early in the morning (05:20 a.m.), my brain does not work. …the good ol' Jerry. :D Your mom might also like the Tiny Toons games.

BadFurDay

Kuru Kuru Kururin on the GBA is a brilliant puzzle game that doesn't seem to be mentioned much.

thelostsoul

@BadFurDay There is a good reason for, it didn't got an US release and so many people didn't know. I personally never played it, but looks simple (in terms of a straightforward idea) and fun. There is a successor to it, which even didn't got a EU release, Kururin Paradise.

BadFurDay

@thelostsoul I was none the wiser about that, thanks for sharing. Will have a look for the sequel.

brianon

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but....

ZX Spectrum : Batty.

Great little bat and ball game. Even has a great two player co-op mode where P1 takes left of screen and P2 takes right.
Easy enough to configure to use joypads. Looks great also.

skraz

Terranigma on the SNES is amazing, the best rpg i have ever personally played, created this account just to say this lol.

Brigane

@skraz Welcome to the forum and thanks for contributing :)

mediamogul

On the subject of RPGs, I've been wanting to get into roguelikes for some time, but have never found an entry point that appealed to me. For those that don't know, roguelikes are very difficult RPGs where each playthrough starts your character at level one and generates floors, enemies and loot unique to each play session. The result is a game where each time you venture out, the story of your journey will be wildly different. The problem for many like myself is that the games can be so daunting to start that it can be hard to find a jumping on point. That all changed recently when I found 'Shiren the Wanderer'.

Shiren was created by Chunsoft, who were not only responsible for creating the first five 'Dragon Quest' games, but also the massive achievement of bringing RPGs to the more accessible console platform to begin with. Here they had an even greater challenge in bringing an RPG sub-genre that previously only appealed to the most hardcore players. Shiren ingeniously makes learning roguelikes more accessible with a bit of deception to the player. The main game is difficult enough when you begin, but it lets you have NPC allies, keep equipment in warehouses for future runs and is only about one third the length of most roguelikes. What is never admitted though is that all this is only a tutorial for things to come so that you don't get overwhelmed too early.

After beating the main game, two more dungeons are unlocked that introduce the ability to use the vast array of traps you encountered previously against your foes, as well as the brilliant monster meat mechanic, allowing you to become any monster in the game, complete with very unique abilities. Each of these two bonus dungeons could be their own game, but here they are simply two more tutorials that once completed, result in the true reward of a 99 level dungeon with all the previous mechanics, none of the hand-holding and you now actually having the skill to complete it.

One thing to know here is that, again, roguelikes are difficult and require a little imagination as how best to use your equipment in ways that maybe others might not think of. Every time out is deeply personal to the player and will more likely end in death than not. However, that's the whole point. Each time out can produce an interesting story unto itself. You might think you had it great, then die, only to find that your next immediate play session was even better. Keeping that in mind, I implore anyone reading this to resist the urge to use save states. Doing so will rob you of a million stories you wouldn't otherwise experience.

An example of one such story is the time I was almost dead simply from not haven eaten anything. I just never found any food in that particular play session and was having to survive off of eating my medical herbs. All of a sudden, I turn a corner and see a shop that sold nothing but different types of food. I couldn't believe my luck, so I grab the first rice ball I see and eat it with the intention of paying for it as I leave. However, a randomly placed spring trap in the store launched me into the main dungeon. Seeing as how I had not yet paid for the rice, the theft mechanic was triggered and I had to run for the floor's exit, being chased by deadly guard dogs. On top of everything else, the rice didn't even fill me up.

So far though, nothing has surpassed the first time I beat the main game. I didn't expect to win and had already made peace with restarting if I had to. However, I cast an effect that did room damage, which included the final boss. By the time the giant boss approached, I had taken a lot of damage, but so had he. My inventory was exhausted and I had nothing left to fight him with. However, I got the idea to use an effect that would make him receive any damage he gave me in return. So there we were, the final show down. He towers his way directly in front of me and I have to admit, my heart was pounding. He then attacks with all his might leaving me with less than ten hit points. However the damage he received in return was enough to see him keel over from his own single blow. It was an amazing end that was unique to that particular play through and I'll never forget it. Anyway, I've written enough about this great hidden gem and I'll end by just saying I can't recommend it enough.

simpleethat

@mediamogul I'm not crazy about rogue-likes but that sounds pretty awesome.

celly

@mediamogul just reading your review alone, makes me want to get into that game. Thanks.

Clyde

@skraz A warm welcome from me too, and thanks for the tip. I didn't know about Terranigma, but I watched this retrospective review right now. It seems like a very outstanding game, and I will try it out some time, albeit too many games are fighting for a piece of my limited free time already.

edit: And I just learned that Terranigma never got officially released in Northern America, but in Europe even with French, German, and Spanish versions. How unusual!