Over rated, under appreciated?

[monads]

How does TV Sports Basketball stack up against Taken it to the Hoop?  My friend had the latter so we played the crap out of it as kids and loved it.

[akamichi]

A couple more games I think are underrated are Download 2 and Valis 4.  I don't know how well known those two are, but I usually don't hear much about them (especially Download2).  Valis of course is a known series, but Valis 4 never made it out of Japan afaik.

Download 2 impressed me with colorful graphics and cool intermissions.  It's pretty detailed for a horizontal shooter.  Lots of speech in the intermissions which is done via hardware rather than mixed into the audio track beforehand.  The stages are umm... interesting.  Basically, the game takes place in the "real world", then there are stages when you jack into the network.  These inside-the-network stages are unusual to say the least.  IIRC the game has 9 stages and the last boss fight is cool.  Music is good too IMO.  Guitar rock kinda stuff.

Valis 4 is a fun game.  It took me a little while to get used to using three characters at the same time but usually you can stick to one character most of the time.  Telenet did a pretty good job on smoothing out the graphics on this one.  The previous Valis's had some pretty jagged graphics.  Anyway, this game is pretty long but fun.  I think it has 9 stages too and there's a code to unlock some weird "dreamland" stage.  The music is OK.  Some tracks I really like but don't remember exactly which ones right now.

What's interesting about these two games is that they are both plain CD-ROM games.  They stand up well even to the SCD games, and in my mind surpass them in some ways.

They should be fairly cheap to pick up (~$20 or so I'd guess), but I'm sure others would know better than me.

[pixeljunkie]

How does TV Sports Basketball stack up against Taken it to the Hoop?  My friend had the latter so we played the crap out of it as kids and loved it.

I like TV Sports Basketball a lot. Everyone hates on the series...I like all of them personally

[Paladin]

I'm fairly new here but I've been playing PC Engine games for a while on Magic engine. I finally couldn't stand it any longer an purchased a Duo-RX off of D-Lite not too long ago. I can't wait till it gets here. Anyway I guess I should post something on topic.

Overrated games:

Ys 1&2: Don't get me wrong I love the game to death. It was the first CD game I owned for the system. I just think it gets talked up a little too much. I'm also a little baised by the fact that I'm one of those Dawn of Ys fanboys .

Air Zonk: The game is fun, but I heard people say that if it had been released earlier it would have saved the system. I like Soldier Blade better. I think it has better gameplay and music, though the stage designs in Zonk may be better; they certainly are more original.

Valis III: Another game I love but I like IV alot better. IV has better controls and is alot more fair than III is about platforming. I did like the different spells you could pick up in III though. I guess I'm just miffed about III always getting the glory when I thought IV was the better game.

Underrated games:

Blood Gear: I love this game. I can't do it justice by describing it. Its like Front Mission Gun Hazard, but about two or three times as fun. There is just something about dealing death from a decked out Mech that you tuned up yourself. That and the game didn't need a whole lot of Japanese knowledge since the cut scences do a fair job of telling important parts of the story. I was certainly glad for the cutscences since my knowledge of Japanese is pretty much limited to vocal aspects. The only real complaint I have about it is that the controls need some getting used too. Its not that they are bad you just have to get the timing down.

Sol Moonarge: Fun RPG I picked up off ebay for about $30 at the same time I got Blood Gear. The graphics aren't much, but it had a unique style. I wouldn't mind seeing it translated as I can't get very far into it and nobody has a walkthrough for it. Still its a fun change of pace when I get tired of CF2 and Ys 4. On a side note has anyone else played it? It would go alot easier if I could get some help in spots. I hate not knowing where to go next or what to do.

Legend of Xanadu: when you think Falcom the first thing that pops into your mind is Ys, followed shortly by Dragon Slayer. I love both of those series but I don't hear too much about Xanadu. On a side note Sorcerian is another great Falcom game that doesn't get enough credit. Heck I still have the Sierra verison with its 3 5 1/2" Floppy disks. I'm thinking of buying the Dreamcast port but I don't know how it is. Anyone played it?

[esteban]

A couple more games I think are underrated are Download 2 and Valis 4.  I don't know how well known those two are, but I usually don't hear much about them (especially Download2).  Valis of course is a known series, but Valis 4 never made it out of Japan afaik.

Download 2 impressed me with colorful graphics and cool intermissions.  It's pretty detailed for a horizontal shooter.  Lots of speech in the intermissions which is done via hardware rather than mixed into the audio track beforehand.  The stages are umm... interesting.  Basically, the game takes place in the "real world", then there are stages when you jack into the network.  These inside-the-network stages are unusual to say the least.  IIRC the game has 9 stages and the last boss fight is cool.  Music is good too IMO.  Guitar rock kinda stuff.

Valis 4 is a fun game.  It took me a little while to get used to using three characters at the same time but usually you can stick to one character most of the time.  Telenet did a pretty good job on smoothing out the graphics on this one.  The previous Valis's had some pretty jagged graphics.  Anyway, this game is pretty long but fun.  I think it has 9 stages too and there's a code to unlock some weird "dreamland" stage.  The music is OK.  Some tracks I really like but don't remember exactly which ones right now.

What's interesting about these two games is that they are both plain CD-ROM games.  They stand up well even to the SCD games, and in my mind surpass them in some ways.

They should be fairly cheap to pick up (~$20 or so I'd guess), but I'm sure others would know better than me.

Shooter fans dig Download 2... it's a decent shooter with a bunch of neat "trivial"elements that elevate it above the average shooter:

1. HITLER is in it (he morphs into a bio-beast monster towards the end of the game).
2. Several kool songs on the soundtrack
3. The involved cinema scenes are unusual for the shooter genre, though you don't want to keep rewatching them...

NEW RECOMMENDATION: Be sure to check out Download (HuCard) for some more fun (another underappreciated game!).

Valis IV is kool... you'll find that there are a bunch of Valis fans here. I still like Valis III the best,though, since it was such a huge leap from Valis II and I was really, really happy that the series improved.

[GUTS]

I have the Dreamcast port of Sorcerian, it's not too good.  It's impossible to play unless you can read Japanese, and the graphics are pretty clunky.  I thought since I have the original Sierra version also that I'd be able to understand some of it, but it's just too Japanese intensive and even knowing your way around the original doesn't help much.  Did I mention the graphics suck?  Yeah they look like polished PSOne graphics, definitely not Dreamcast caliber stuff.

[Paladin]

Thanks for the info on the Dreamcast port. I love the PC verison, but I can't play it any longer since I have XP. All my attepmts at getting it to work with Dosbox have failed. The PCE verison also turns into a bloody mess without at least a fair amount of Japanese knowledge; which I don't possess. It does have better music however. I wonder if the Dreamcast verison has added scenarios though. If its a straight port of PCE verison then I'll probably leave it alone. If does have extra stuff I might have to pick it up anyhow; I'm a sucker for new goodies .

I thoguht of a couple more underrated games.

Since I saw a genesis game mention I guess I can mention one NES game. Anyone remember Kickmaster by Taito? The RPG experience system, the different kicks, and over a dozen different spells made for some awsome gameplay. The soundtrack wasn't half bad either for an NES game.

I think Shapeshifter deserves a better rep. Sure its tough as nails sometimes, but when you beat the game it gives you a sense of accomplishment. Besides I've always liked the harder games (though some prefer to call it cheap). Its soundtrack isn't bad and the graphics aren't shabby either. All in all I just don't see it mentioned much when people ask for games to play.

[vestcoat]

what does everyone think of Shadow of the Beast?
i think the gameplay is terrible and no fun at all but when it comes to graphics and music the game is completely overlooked.
the opening screens/music when you put the disc is are spooky as hell and about the best i've seen on any Turbo game.  i'd say the game is worth $10 bucks just for that, the soundtrack and the title screen with the Beast running across the field.

I'd put Super Air Zonk in the over-rated department.  The original air zonk was futuristic, fast-paced and rockin'.  Super air zonk, on the other hand, has a stupid rockabilly theme (and i like rockabilly music), a power-up system that doesn't make any sense to me, and at many points the game slows to a crawl.  i barely play it anymore, put i remember some underwater level where the screen changes direction and starts taking you upwards and it seems like the action slows so you're killing about one enemy a minute.  also, for a SCD game it doesn't do anything that a turbochip couldn't.

[pixeljunkie]

I'd put Super Air Zonk in the over-rated department.

Totally agree, that game disappointed the hell outta' me.

Currently playing Download 2, and it is pretty amazing for a 1991 CD...very polished.

Also, for some reason or another....I can never stop playing Batman. That is a very fun pick-up-and-play game for me.

[Emerald Rocker]

I agree with you about Emerald Dragon, Akamichi, although I haven't played through the game yet. I played over an hour of it a few years ago and thought it was awesome. I have a copy of the game now and I am thinking about playing through it sometime. A person I talk to on the internet has this page up somewhere that was translating some of the game. I'll have to look for the page again or ask him for it.

That would be me!  The page is at:
http://www.shadatannis.com/glodia/emdr/index.html

I haven't updated it in a millennium though.  You can also check out my Emerald Dragon Review, which gives a brief history of the introduction without spoiling the rest of the game.

Anyways, I'd be hard-pressed to call it under-appreciated since everyone who plays it loves it... it's just that most people haven't played it.

OVER-RATED:
Kaze Kiri.  I dig it, but this is more in Shadow Dancer's league than Shinobi 3's... if even that.  Judging by this thread, it probably isn't over-rated any more =P
But it still gets a lot of nice press, so why not.

Ys 4.  Really good, but both the original and Ys 6 smash it across their mighty knees.

Flash Hiders.  I'm just not feeling this one.  It's supposed to be one of the best 2D fighters on the system, but it just feels old and clunky to me.  Gimme Asuka 120%!

Gradius 2.  Nice game, better than I'd expect, but... not that nice.

UNDER-APPRECIATED:
Kiaidan 00.  Maybe this belongs in the "unknown" column, since I've barely seen ANYthing on the internet about it, but there's this guy named Nemo who played it and didn't like it.  Therefore it's under-appreciated.

Efera and Jiliora.  Despite what the translator for Gude Crest would tell you, this game is pretty darn good.  Not earth-shattering, but it's got a lot of neat encounters.

Shadow of the Beast.  So what if every other version of the game is blah?  This one RULES.  It's actually playable, it's got sweet graphics, and the music is to die for.  After the Amiga and Genesis versions, I never expected this to be any fun at all, but I dig it big time.

[Nemo]

Underrated:

Mystic Formula - A fun, little overhead shooter, nothing particularily amazing about it, but for some reason I just find it to be awesome.  Maybe it's the great music or charming graphics, but this game deserves more recognition than it gets (i.e. none).  I've never played a bad MicroCabin game though, they remind me of Falcom in that they subscribed to the idea that less is more.  

Xak I&II - Another MC game, and my favorite at that.  This game is seriously the next best thing to Ys I&II.  So much subtle brilliance that probably only someone like me that enjoys things for cute details can really love it.  

Exile II: Wicked Phenomenon - Most people seem to hate on this game for some reason, but I think it's great.  It essentially improved over the original in every way (which was a nice game itself) and added some needed challenge, though some bosses do take way too long.  I also like games that culminate with a huge labyrinth, and this game has a pretty good one.

[Emerald Rocker]

Microcabin kicks ass, too bad they're gone now.  I need to get Mystic Formula, I've always wanted that even though most people seem meh on it.

[esteban]

UNDER-APPRECIATED:
Kiaidan 00.  Maybe this belongs in the "unknown" column, since I've barely seen ANYthing on the internet about it, but there's this guy named Nemo who played it and didn't like it.  Therefore it's under-appreciated.

ha! I've wanted to play this ever since you mentioned it (seems like a long time ago) on another forum. i recently re-read your review (honestgamers? or something like that)... it was superb. I had no idea this game was an anime license (mostly because I'm clueless on anime)... I love finding out stuff like that.

Shadow of the Beast.  So what if every other version of the game is blah?  This one RULES.  It's actually playable, it's got sweet graphics, and the music is to die for.  After the Amiga and Genesis versions, I never expected this to be any fun at all, but I dig it big time.

Yes, this game rules on the three platforms you listed. But the SCD soundtrack is friggin' insane. No joke: it's worth buying this game simply as a "soundtrack".  Truth be told, however, I've never gotten too far in the either the Amiga or Genesis versions.  

I was determined to beat the Genny version when it came out... but damn, I'd always choke when I'd get to a new area.  I think it was billed as  the first "XX megabit" cartridge for the U.S. market. 8- 12- 20-bit? Can't remember, but it's a shame that most folks didn't see 95% of that Genny cart.

[esteban]

Mystic Forumla - A fun, little overhead shooter, nothing particularily amazing about it, but for some reason I just find it to be awesome.  Maybe it's the great music or charming graphics, but this game deserves more recognition than it gets (i.e. none).  I've never played a bad MicroCabin game though, they remind me of Falcom in that they subscribed to the idea that less is more.

Thanks for the scoop on this game.  It was never high on my want list and other (lesser) games have distracted me.  Mystic Formula has now been elevated to my "get it sooner rather than later" section of my want list.

[nodtveidt]

Exile II: Wicked Phenomenon - Most people seem to hate on this game for some reason, but I think it's great.  It essentially improved over the original in every way (which was a nice game itself) and added some needed challenge, though some bosses do take way too long.  I also like games that culminate with a huge labrynth, and this game has a pretty good one.

I think what most people hate about it is the fact that the play mechanics are all kinds of screwed up...the far-side screen scrolling, which not only brings about cheap hits but is also a simple no-no when it comes to game design, is the major factor...bad collision plays a major role too. The game is also severely unbalanced, with enemies being way too strong and your characters being way too weak...even at max level with the best equipment for the time. Having to spend almost 2 hours in the Spire Of Eternity building up levels just to get past Crully and then the mountain after it is completely bogus. On the bright side, the cinemas are great (shows how much better cinemas can be made with 256kb as opposed to only 64kb) and the music is more accurate in terms of where the game takes place (Exile II was based on many actual areas as opposed to the original which was almost completely fictional, with a few exceptions). Blake Dorsey IS Sadler as far as I'm concerned and it's almost blasphemy to hear him play other characters.

A game is considered challenging when it is legitimately difficult to beat. A game is considered cheap when it is difficult to beat for technical reasons, such as poor control, a lack of game balancing, or "cheap hits"...all of which Exile II is unfortunately guilty of.