Favorite hidden gems from last gen (PS3/360/Wii)

[kmacdw]

Hidden gems seems pretty accurate for the games I'm about to describe.

The Last Story: While basic bitches were playing Xenoblade and tweeting about it on their iPhones, I was not acting like a Lemming and playing this gorgeous game. A fun battle system coupled with some of the best characters written in an RPG, The Last Story was a brilliant game. Also, 'DAT ARTBOOK!

The last story cannot be considered a hidden gem.

It's actually pretty popular, one of the best rpg's for the wii, sure it was I believe 1 year after xenoblade and people were dissapointed that it wasn't as good but still plenty known to all with high reviews.

Pandora's tower could be a hidden gem since it was at the end of the wii life span and way less people bought this game compared to the former operation rainfall releases. It was also slightly worse than the last story wich didn't help for the sales and the 3 coin set.

Still though I wouldn't even consider pandora's tower to be a hidden gem, way to well known since it is part of the operation rainfall rpg wii series.

You could make the argument that all games aren't hidden gems. Especially on a forum like this where some people own 2000 games

The term 'hidden gem' is stupid really. Among hardcore gamers none of these games are really hidden. they may be surprises when they first come out but they're not really hidden.

This thread is pretty much about games that don't belong to a well established series/franchise or aren't a Last of Us kind of blockbuster title.

Also depends on your region. The Last Story and Pandora's Tower both came out in a similar window in Europe. And both of them released in low quantities and were largely ignored as the console was dead to most.

Yea sure and chrono trigger is a hidden gem

Operation rainfall titles are not hidden gems I stand by my point even casual collectors know about those titles. You don't need to be a hardcore collector to know about the 3 operation rainfall wii games.

All suikoden games are not hidden gems the series is just to well known same goes for the last story It's way to well known.

Overboard or azure dreams for ps1 could be considered hidden gems. Even hardcore collectors could agree that no one talks about such games but they do know about them those could be considered hidden gems.

Chrono Trigger was never a hidden gem as it was made by the same people as Final Fantasy so it was always going to have hype.

I'd say back when they came out, in particular the first Suikoden was a hidden gem. Word of mouth over time has made the title infamous but the price of the first two games shows how hidden a gem they once where. However now there has been six games in the series, it's very much an established franchise, what with having been re-published on the PSN.

I'm an RPG fan so I own both Suikoden and Azure Dreams and played both games at a friend's a long time ago when I was a kid. However outside my circle of fellow RPG fans or fellow collectors; I don't think most people I know who play games will have played either title tbh. They may have noticed Suikoden on the PSN store but doubt they ever bought it.

Again among people like ourselves none of these games are truly hidden gems. We simply breath this stuff.

Also again you ignore regions. We didn't have Operation Rainfall. These games were just released for Wii. Kind of like sleeper releases. I stumbled upon a sole copy of The Last Story in a Virgin Megastores; noticed it was made by Mistwalker. Honestly at the time I paid little attention to the Wii as Nintendo first party titles aside it was generally motion control shovel ware. I went home read up on it, then went back to the store and bought it. Much the same happened with Pandora's Tower, only I decided against buying it as it wasn't for me.

And yes I'm aware of the Evolution series. I once made a list of all the J-RPGs available in the PAL region. Read into each, watching gameplay and such. And had ambitions of buying them all. But I gave up on that endeavor. Far too expensive and wouldn't have the time to play them all anyways. A pipe dream

Perhaps a stipulation should have been the game has to have sold less than 1 million copies worldwide via VG Chartz. But then plenty of games listed above, including by me wouldn't be 'hidden gems'.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - 2.04 million
Duke Nukem Forever - 2 million
Resonance of Fate - 1.07 million
Vanquish - 1.04 million

Games wich have sold over 1million copies could be considered a hidden gem if they are pretty much forgotten or under rated.

However this is an example of the wii rpg trilogy it's to popular to be a hidden gem

Suikoden 1 was a hidden gem however over time it has gotten popular and lost it's hidden gem status with a high fanbase.

Were talking about the present not about the past.

Lost odyssey for xbox 360 is a nice hidden gem. Sold pretty well but pretty much forgotten in the present.

Again it depends who you are talking to. You imply Lost Odyssey is less known than The Last Story but among RPG fans I know it would be vice versa.

To a non-RPG fan neither game would be well known, whereas games like Final Fantasy or Persona would be.

You say because The Last Story was an Operation Rainfall title it can't possibly be hidden. However as you say these games can be forgotten over time, so clearly Operation Rainfall can be too. I read plenty about that campaign at the time but I'll be honest other than Xenoblade Chronicles I couldn't remember for the life of me what the other titles were until you mentioned them tonight Operation Rainfall sticks in your head but perhaps overtime others have forgotten the details.

[maximo310]

Hidden gems seems pretty accurate for the games I'm about to describe.

The Last Story: While basic bitches were playing Xenoblade and tweeting about it on their iPhones, I was not acting like a Lemming and playing this gorgeous game. A fun battle system coupled with some of the best characters written in an RPG, The Last Story was a brilliant game. Also, 'DAT ARTBOOK!

The last story cannot be considered a hidden gem.

It's actually pretty popular, one of the best rpg's for the wii, sure it was I believe 1 year after xenoblade and people were dissapointed that it wasn't as good but still plenty known to all with high reviews.

Pandora's tower could be a hidden gem since it was at the end of the wii life span and way less people bought this game compared to the former operation rainfall releases. It was also slightly worse than the last story wich didn't help for the sales and the 3 coin set.

Still though I wouldn't even consider pandora's tower to be a hidden gem, way to well known since it is part of the operation rainfall rpg wii series.

You could make the argument that all games aren't hidden gems. Especially on a forum like this where some people own 2000 games

The term 'hidden gem' is stupid really. Among hardcore gamers none of these games are really hidden. they may be surprises when they first come out but they're not really hidden.

This thread is pretty much about games that don't belong to a well established series/franchise or aren't a Last of Us kind of blockbuster title.

Also depends on your region. The Last Story and Pandora's Tower both came out in a similar window in Europe. And both of them released in low quantities and were largely ignored as the console was dead to most.

Yea sure and chrono trigger is a hidden gem

Operation rainfall titles are not hidden gems I stand by my point even casual collectors know about those titles. You don't need to be a hardcore collector to know about the 3 operation rainfall wii games.

All suikoden games are not hidden gems the series is just to well known same goes for the last story It's way to well known.

Overboard or azure dreams for ps1 could be considered hidden gems. Even hardcore collectors could agree that no one talks about such games but they do know about them those could be considered hidden gems.

Chrono Trigger was never a hidden gem as it was made by the same people as Final Fantasy so it was always going to have hype.

I'd say back when they came out, in particular the first Suikoden was a hidden gem. Word of mouth over time has made the title infamous but the price of the first two games shows how hidden a gem they once where. However now there has been six games in the series, it's very much an established franchise, what with having been re-published on the PSN.

I'm an RPG fan so I own both Suikoden and Azure Dreams and played both games at a friend's a long time ago when I was a kid. However outside my circle of fellow RPG fans or fellow collectors; I don't think most people I know who play games will have played either title tbh. They may have noticed Suikoden on the PSN store but doubt they ever bought it.

Again among people like ourselves none of these games are truly hidden gems. We simply breath this stuff.

Also again you ignore regions. We didn't have Operation Rainfall. These games were just released for Wii. Kind of like sleeper releases. I stumbled upon a sole copy of The Last Story in a Virgin Megastores; noticed it was made by Mistwalker. Honestly at the time I paid little attention to the Wii as Nintendo first party titles aside it was generally motion control shovel ware. I went home read up on it, then went back to the store and bought it. Much the same happened with Pandora's Tower, only I decided against buying it as it wasn't for me.

And yes I'm aware of the Evolution series. I once made a list of all the J-RPGs available in the PAL region. Read into each, watching gameplay and such. And had ambitions of buying them all. But I gave up on that endeavor. Far too expensive and wouldn't have the time to play them all anyways. A pipe dream

Perhaps a stipulation should have been the game has to have sold less than 1 million copies worldwide via VG Chartz. But then plenty of games listed above, including by me wouldn't be 'hidden gems'.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - 2.04 million
Duke Nukem Forever - 2 million
Resonance of Fate - 1.07 million
Vanquish - 1.04 million

Games wich have sold over 1million copies could be considered a hidden gem if they are pretty much forgotten or under rated.

However this is an example of the wii rpg trilogy it's to popular to be a hidden gem

Suikoden 1 was a hidden gem however over time it has gotten popular and lost it's hidden gem status with a high fanbase.

Were talking about the present not about the past.

Lost odyssey for xbox 360 is a nice hidden gem. Sold pretty well but pretty much forgotten in the present.

Even if you make the argument about the present, Pandora's Tower's still is a hidden gem. It wasn't really talked about that much in comparision to the Last Story/Xenoblade on its release; and most people didn't really know too much about it since the amount of Wii software from third parties dropped pretty significantly after 2010. You still don't really hear about it being talked too much nowadays in general gaming circles.

[kmacdw]

Hidden gems seems pretty accurate for the games I'm about to describe.

The Last Story: While basic bitches were playing Xenoblade and tweeting about it on their iPhones, I was not acting like a Lemming and playing this gorgeous game. A fun battle system coupled with some of the best characters written in an RPG, The Last Story was a brilliant game. Also, 'DAT ARTBOOK!

The last story cannot be considered a hidden gem.

It's actually pretty popular, one of the best rpg's for the wii, sure it was I believe 1 year after xenoblade and people were dissapointed that it wasn't as good but still plenty known to all with high reviews.

Pandora's tower could be a hidden gem since it was at the end of the wii life span and way less people bought this game compared to the former operation rainfall releases. It was also slightly worse than the last story wich didn't help for the sales and the 3 coin set.

Still though I wouldn't even consider pandora's tower to be a hidden gem, way to well known since it is part of the operation rainfall rpg wii series.

You could make the argument that all games aren't hidden gems. Especially on a forum like this where some people own 2000 games

The term 'hidden gem' is stupid really. Among hardcore gamers none of these games are really hidden. they may be surprises when they first come out but they're not really hidden.

This thread is pretty much about games that don't belong to a well established series/franchise or aren't a Last of Us kind of blockbuster title.

Also depends on your region. The Last Story and Pandora's Tower both came out in a similar window in Europe. And both of them released in low quantities and were largely ignored as the console was dead to most.

Yea sure and chrono trigger is a hidden gem

Operation rainfall titles are not hidden gems I stand by my point even casual collectors know about those titles. You don't need to be a hardcore collector to know about the 3 operation rainfall wii games.

All suikoden games are not hidden gems the series is just to well known same goes for the last story It's way to well known.

Overboard or azure dreams for ps1 could be considered hidden gems. Even hardcore collectors could agree that no one talks about such games but they do know about them those could be considered hidden gems.

Chrono Trigger was never a hidden gem as it was made by the same people as Final Fantasy so it was always going to have hype.

I'd say back when they came out, in particular the first Suikoden was a hidden gem. Word of mouth over time has made the title infamous but the price of the first two games shows how hidden a gem they once where. However now there has been six games in the series, it's very much an established franchise, what with having been re-published on the PSN.

I'm an RPG fan so I own both Suikoden and Azure Dreams and played both games at a friend's a long time ago when I was a kid. However outside my circle of fellow RPG fans or fellow collectors; I don't think most people I know who play games will have played either title tbh. They may have noticed Suikoden on the PSN store but doubt they ever bought it.

Again among people like ourselves none of these games are truly hidden gems. We simply breath this stuff.

Also again you ignore regions. We didn't have Operation Rainfall. These games were just released for Wii. Kind of like sleeper releases. I stumbled upon a sole copy of The Last Story in a Virgin Megastores; noticed it was made by Mistwalker. Honestly at the time I paid little attention to the Wii as Nintendo first party titles aside it was generally motion control shovel ware. I went home read up on it, then went back to the store and bought it. Much the same happened with Pandora's Tower, only I decided against buying it as it wasn't for me.

And yes I'm aware of the Evolution series. I once made a list of all the J-RPGs available in the PAL region. Read into each, watching gameplay and such. And had ambitions of buying them all. But I gave up on that endeavor. Far too expensive and wouldn't have the time to play them all anyways. A pipe dream

Perhaps a stipulation should have been the game has to have sold less than 1 million copies worldwide via VG Chartz. But then plenty of games listed above, including by me wouldn't be 'hidden gems'.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - 2.04 million
Duke Nukem Forever - 2 million
Resonance of Fate - 1.07 million
Vanquish - 1.04 million

Games wich have sold over 1million copies could be considered a hidden gem if they are pretty much forgotten or under rated.

However this is an example of the wii rpg trilogy it's to popular to be a hidden gem

Suikoden 1 was a hidden gem however over time it has gotten popular and lost it's hidden gem status with a high fanbase.

Were talking about the present not about the past.

Lost odyssey for xbox 360 is a nice hidden gem. Sold pretty well but pretty much forgotten in the present.

Even if you make the argument about the present, Pandora's Tower's still is a hidden gem. It wasn't really talked about that much in comparision to the Last Story/Xenoblade on its release; and most people didn't really know too much about it since the amount of Wii software from third parties dropped pretty significantly after 2010. You still don't really hear about it being talked too much nowadays in general gaming circles.

Aye honestly the only two exclusive third party titles I hear mentioned regularly for Wii are Mad World and Xenoblade Chronicles, Everything else gets buries under the weight of Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl

[shfan]

The Wii in particular is ripe with hidden gems considering how many dismissed it as having no decent games 

1) The Munchables (Wii)

The multicoloured, caffeine-soaked offspring of a basic 3D platformer and Katamari. You have to scoff space pirates who are all composed of food while rushing around big lush levels. An absolute treat with a cracking soundtrack.

2) Eledees (Wii)

A weird mix of physics game, shoot em up and hide and seek. Thrown on the casual-crap pile by almost everyone (myself included), later levels require a strategy and time management in order to gain access to the little sods before the time limit ends. Everything in Eledees has a weight, so you can't throw heavy objects to check them for varmints before levelling up. In later levels you start with small items of furniture but end up chucking small buildings around. It's a hoot, with a touching story too.

3)  Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts (360)

The game nobody wanted, yet locked under the vehicle tinkering is the same Rare platforming magic that's always been there. A truly quality game in a sea of third-person open-world shooter greyness.

4) Bladestorm: The Hundred Year War (360/PS3)

Though re-released and added-to under the title Bladestorm: Nightmare on newer systems, this remains a slightly flawed but fun sprawling battlefield game ready to kick your butt at a moment's notice.

5) Dante's Inferno (360/PS3)

A full-priced title and certainly not a hidden one by any means, nor a terrible seller, but nonetheless now seemingly out of mind. Wasn't perfect, not enough enemy varieties for my liking, but epic bosses, not least Satan's wobbling Johnson, a terrifying battle.

6) Project Sylpheed (360)

Early release from Squaresoft, X-Wing meets anime, fun game which gets even better with New Game +.

7) Sacred 3 (360/PS3)

Another one which nobody wanted and sank without a trace, but it's actually a fun combat-centred Diablo 3-alike. A little repetitive, but a perfectly fun game.

[maximo310]

Aye honestly the only two exclusive third party titles I hear mentioned regularly for Wii are Mad World and Xenoblade Chronicles, Everything else gets buries under the weight of Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl

Yeah, there are ton of great hidden gems on the Wii that got missed due to being niche titles.  There's a ton of them mentioned here: http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,4398.msg59944.html#msg59944

[desocietas]

Just wanted to chime it to say that I've been playing RPGs for most of my life and had never heard of Operation Rainfall until a few years ago when I first started hearing about Xenoblade Chronicles being difficult to find. I didn't pay much attention to the game because I 1) didn't have a Wii and 2) had never heard of the game in general (didn't recognize it).

Only after looking into Operation Rainfall did I then learn about Pandora's Tower and The Last Story. Wouldn't have known about either of those had I not looked into it.

I never played the Suikoden games (never heard of it until a friend mentioned letting me borrow Suikoden II), and I would've easily missed Persona 3 had I not seen a quick blurb about it in a magazine. None of my friends had ever heard of the game at that time.

Now, does this make me any less of a serious gamer or collector? Some might say yes, but does it really matter? The OP acknowledges that the term "hidden gems" is too contested, so it was just a nice thread about some games that some of us might have glossed over or missed.

For instance, I would've passed over some of the names mentioned in this thread because I hadn't heard anything positive (or negative) about them really, so it now gives me a reason to give something a proper look

[sworddude]

Just wanted to chime it to say that I've been playing RPGs for most of my life and had never heard of Operation Rainfall until a few years ago when I first started hearing about Xenoblade Chronicles being difficult to find. I didn't pay much attention to the game because I 1) didn't have a Wii and 2) had never heard of the game in general (didn't recognize it).

Only after looking into Operation Rainfall did I then learn about Pandora's Tower and The Last Story. Wouldn't have known about either of those had I not looked into it.

I never played the Suikoden games (never heard of it until a friend mentioned letting me borrow Suikoden II), and I would've easily missed Persona 3 had I not seen a quick blurb about it in a magazine. None of my friends had ever heard of the game at that time.

Now, does this make me any less of a serious gamer or collector? Some might say yes, but does it really matter? The OP acknowledges that the term "hidden gems" is too contested, so it was just a nice thread about some games that some of us might have glossed over or missed.

For instance, I would've passed over some of the names mentioned in this thread because I hadn't heard anything positive (or negative) about them really, so it now gives me a reason to give something a proper look

Yea sure maybe during the release but after the xenoblade hype one cannot simply consider an operation rainfall title to be a hidden gem. You said so yourselves that you heard about it during that hype, same thing happened to me with the xenoblade hype.

Sure during release not many have heard about it but things have chanced. If one knows xenoblade it is likely that they have heard about the other 2 wii rpg's as well. These are the rpg's to go to on the wii console It's not that hidden these days for the average gamer. These are the titles that people want when they start collecting for wii. Hell no that it can be even considered a hidden gem if that's the case.

[kashell]

Blah-blah-blah.

The Last Story is absolutely a hidden gem. Especially if you listen to what TC discussed in his initial post.

You can use whatever criteria you want for what hidden gem means; could be that the game didn't sell well, generally low ratings, games that just flew under the radar entirely, whatever you want.

Check your lipstick before you start coming for people.

[sworddude]

Blah-blah-blah.

The Last Story is absolutely a hidden gem. Especially if you listen to what TC discussed in his initial post.

"You can use whatever criteria you want for what hidden gem means; could be that the game didn't sell well, generally low ratings, games that just flew under the radar entirely, whatever you want."

Check your lipstick before you start coming for people.

[kashell]

Cute.

Funny that you cared enough to post a meme.

<3

[ignition365]

Just wanted to chime it to say that I've been playing RPGs for most of my life and had never heard of Operation Rainfall until a few years ago when I first started hearing about Xenoblade Chronicles being difficult to find. I didn't pay much attention to the game because I 1) didn't have a Wii and 2) had never heard of the game in general (didn't recognize it).

Only after looking into Operation Rainfall did I then learn about Pandora's Tower and The Last Story. Wouldn't have known about either of those had I not looked into it.

I never played the Suikoden games (never heard of it until a friend mentioned letting me borrow Suikoden II), and I would've easily missed Persona 3 had I not seen a quick blurb about it in a magazine. None of my friends had ever heard of the game at that time.

Now, does this make me any less of a serious gamer or collector? Some might say yes, but does it really matter? The OP acknowledges that the term "hidden gems" is too contested, so it was just a nice thread about some games that some of us might have glossed over or missed.

For instance, I would've passed over some of the names mentioned in this thread because I hadn't heard anything positive (or negative) about them really, so it now gives me a reason to give something a proper look

Yea sure maybe during the release but after the xenoblade hype one cannot simply consider an operation rainfall title to be a hidden gem. You said so yourselves that you heard about it during that hype, same thing happened to me with the xenoblade hype.

Sure during release not many have heard about it but things have chanced. If one knows xenoblade it is likely that they have heard about the other 2 wii rpg's as well. These are the rpg's to go to on the wii console It's not that hidden these days for the average gamer. These are the titles that people want when they start collecting for wii. Hell no that it can be even considered a hidden gem if that's the case.

I am OP and I approve calling Last Story and Pandora's Tower hidden gems.

Why?  Because I said that I don't care what your reason is for calling it a hidden gem.

Also any good game on Wii that isn't one of the big Nintendo IPs is a hidden gem in my book.  That library is so overlooked the same way Gamecube was overlooked in its time.

[dointhangs]

Not sure if they're hidden gems but I got these super cheap a few summers ago and loved them:


Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Videogame
Secret Files: Tunguska

[desocietas]

Secret Files: Tunguska

I've been meaning to dive into this one Which platform did you get it on? I saw that it was on a few platforms, including PC.

[antoniokratos]

· Nier.



· El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.

[stealthrush]

Opoona for Wii
Mamorukun Curse! for X360
Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy for PS3