The VG Resource

What exactly is it that makes a game obscure? Generally speaking, it could be a number of things. Sometimes a game might have an unfortunate release window (a lesser known JRPG coming out alongside a high name title like final fantasy or dragon quest)
Sometimes a game might just not get any advertisement and release entirely under the radar, or might get a bad review from a popular gaming publication. (hi ign, really enjoyin that 3.0 you gave godhand)

This is especially popular with older games, the lack of the internet in the hey-day of 16 and even 32 bit consoles causes the emulation aficionado to stumble on a game they've never heard of in the slightest

It's also still ever present in the modern age of videogames, with only the most popular titles (or in most cases, games where the publisher backs the promise of a good review with money) receiving magazine highlights, and lesser known fare doomed to total obscurity or resulting in the creation of a 'cult hit' (some directors even making a kind of expertise in creating cult hits)

The SNES and PS1 are incredibly popular systems with an absolutely daunting backlog of games, many of which are solid titles that were never localized or had remarkably small production runs.

A few of my favorite games that can be marked 'obscure'


Rendering Ranger: R2
A sidescrolling shooter with pre-rendered sprites (thanks donkey kong that sure was an impressive looking fad) developed and directed by Manfred Trenz (the creator of Turrican) by the time the game was finished, the only company interested in publishing it was the Japanese wing of Virgin Interactive, resulting in a 'Japanese' shooter created by a German developer with English menus.


Majyuuou
Majyuuou is an atmospheric action game, translated by AGTP a few years ago and one of the most surprisingly dark games available for the SNES. Developed by a very little known Japanese company called KSS, Majyuuou is at least worth a look for fans of similar titles like Castlevania.


Actraiser 2
Actraiser 2 is an example of a game that is not-very well known (or liked) for bad reasons: It's surprisingly different from the game that came before it, and widely decried as being 'too different' with an 'off putting sequel'
however, what Actraiser 2 actually is happens to be a very well crafted (and good looking!) action game, with a harsh learning curve that requires the player to learn the ins and outs of the games mechanics.


Back on the Ps1 before companies were absolutely terrified of making a game in a genre that wasn't the most popular or a game in a series that wasn't the cash cow of the studio house,
many developers experimented with unfamiliar ideas well off the beaten path of what they were famous for, such as Square co-developing a realistic fighting game with developer LightWeight, resulting in a very overlooked, deep fighting game with impressive mechanics for a relatively early PS1 game

Posting to say that this is a good OP.

While not as far removed 'Obscure' as some of those mentioned above, I have mad-love for Draglade and Custom Beat Battle Draglade 2, both for the DS. The first game was localised for the US and EU; but the sequel was unfortunately JP only.

The premise was pretty swish. Functionally a halfway-house between traditional 2D fighters and platformer fighters, you played as 'Grappers', figters that use THE POWER OF MUSIC to form weapons and beat up dudes (An idea i shamelessly riffed off of for a game idea that never came to fruition). The game lacked balance, but the way that the characters had customisable specials that ran off a mixture between the Super system of fighters, and the MP system of RPGS, and that you could create a C-Groove style special attack that plays a melody of your design as you do it were really original ideas.

Oh, and the spritework was GORGEOUS.

(This video has shitty sound and major desync, but it shows off the visuals pretty well)

Damn makes me want to look those up.

I'm not much of a gamer, but here are a few games I've almost never heard anyone mention:

Alien Soldier



Developed by Treasure, so you know it's a solid run-and-gun.
It had short levels and really hard bosses (especially in Superhard mode).
I guess what impressed me most at the time was the gameplay. It had me thinking, "Wow, this alien dude is a badass." He can dash like nobody's business and stick to ceilings.

I posted a video of this level because this one impressed me the most. You're right there thinking you got off easy, but the boss fight hasn't even started yet.
Btw, those alarms really add to the tone of the game. I almost always died when the spider climbed up the platforms.

General Chaos



This one I have not heard anyone mention at all, and nobody seems to know about it except me and my brother.

The gameplay is really original, and is great for two-players. I wish it could accommodate four. The punching segways are fun.

Oh man, Alien Soldier owns. Easily one of the best 2D platform shooters ever made, glad it's in this thread. Actraiser 2 is cool too, and both Bushido Blade and Draglade look interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Battle Bakraid



This one probably isn't obscure to most fans of 2D scrolling shooters, but I think it is to the general public. It's an arcade game I've been playing recently on MAME (trying to 1CC) and it's pretty great. The challenge level is high, but at the same time it'll probably be less annoying for most people than many other shooters because the 4 stages directly after the first are in randomized order, keeping things more fresh each credit you play. It also has multiple difficulty levels (Training, Normal, Advance); Training mode has less enemies and bullets (as well as auto bomb) and only 4 stages, Normal mode has 6 stages, and Advance mode has 8 stages with an increased number of bullets and enemies. The pixel art is also pretty good and the soundtrack is probably one of my favorite videogame OSTs ever. I haven't really done anything with scoring yet so I can't comment on that system. The video here is of the game's attract mode, showcasing different levels and boss scenarios (with 2 players, but the game is still playable with only one of course). Also if you play this then please don't credit feed; it ruins arcade games.

Monster World IV



A great 2D platformer for the Sega Genesis. A unique mechanic here is the use of your bird partner; you can use him to interact with the environment, make floaty jumps, etc. and he's often required to traverse the game's areas. Unfortunately the video here doesn't have sound effects; I think the guy who made this video couldn't record audio and just overlayed the game's music on afterwards (which is also pretty good, especially the main hub city theme). Either way this is definitely a game worth checking out, both great pixel art and some solid platforming.

Even though this comes from a well known franchise the game itself is very obscure:

one of my favorites.


"if ghibli made beat em ups"

Floigan Brothers
a fun platformer with some pretty clever ideas integrated into it. basically, you control the street-wise brother, Hoigle, and you have to manipulate your weak-willed, but strong and intelligent brother, Moigle's emotions in order to beat various missions, puzzles, and boss battles. its a bit on the short side and not the most tightly knit platformer ever made, but its a fun game with a good sense of humour.

i actually remember looking down on that game by its cover heh

also, does anyone knows where i could ask for a specific game i've been looking for? its a shmup arcade where you shoot special misiles to "stun" certain enemies and later take control over them. i remember it having a fully animated intro as one of its key elements, and it should probably be from the early/mid 90's.

i've literally searched shmup.org's and mamedb's entire catalog and none of them seem to have it

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forgot to add, the thing is a sidescroller in space.

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WAIT FFFFFFF i found it.

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to show how obscure it its that it doesnt even have a video on youtube ahahaha
http://www.mamedb.com/game/blazeon

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i lied, it has.