Mine is Lady Sia for GBA. It’s just a platformer but I just love it played and completed more 20 times. Will probably speedrun it in future.
atomic runner on the Sega Genesis is pretty neat
Solomon’s Key (NES)
Finally beat it last year after trying for 35 years. Such a good game. It’s one of my favorite games of all time. Action platform puzzle game. It has two endings, and there is zero chance you’ll get the good ending without a guide. Not to beat each puzzle room, but to find all the hidden items. You see, if you miss one, all the ones after that don’t appear! So hunting for them naturally is nearly impossible. It also has a secret continue mechanic, too, without which the game is also pretty much impossible.
Legend of Legaia. It’s a JRPG from the PS1 golden era, which was completely overshadowed by larger releases like FF7 and Legend of Dragoon. And when I say “completely overshadowed” I mean that the first time I played through it, it didn’t even have a GameFAQs listing.
Nowadays it has a sort of cult classic following, because the combat system was pretty unique and the plot line is surprisingly long for only being one disc.
The American version of the game is apparently much harder than other versions for some reason; They decided to slash the exp and gold drop rates across the board, then bumped them back up for the European release. So the American version is extremely grindy in comparison.
This was the first one that came to mind for me! I had a ps1 growing up, and I think my grandma bought me this game or something lol. No clue how she picked it out. Maybe the person at checkout recommended it or something. It was probably the first rpg I ever played, and I had no idea what I was doing. I remember complaining to a friend at school how I was just stuck at the first castle area, and he was like, “you need to hang out outside that area for a bit and grind some levels”, and I was like, “wtf does that mean.” I go back and play it every once in a while, but I’ve never actually beaten it. It is a long game!
Man, playing massive JRPGs without the internet is just something kids will never be able to experience again…
If we’re talking RPGs like a lot of people in this thread are, while the Zelda GBC/GBA games were great of course (although not so obscure), I also really enjoyed Golden Sun. I believe another game I also played when I was younger was Racing Gears Advance, I think that one was a bit more obscure.
my niece thinks Morrowind is retro
Even Skyrim is retro
now that’s just too far
There is less time between the release of Morrowind(2002) and Skyrim(2011) than there is between Skyrim and right now.
Hello, fellow lemming, Skyrim is clearly an obscure retro game now and everyone should be playing it. Truly an underrated gem of 2011
There are college graduates who are younger than Morrowind. Yeah, it’s fucking retro.
I’m upvoting you but I need you to know that you are wrong, sir.
Look, I was born in the 80s, I played Morrowind about the time it was released (closer to GOTY edition, but whatever), but even I have to kinda agree with your niece at this point.
Though its gameplay and world-building certainly aged better than Oblivion’s.
Morrowind is ancient lmao
Legend of Dragoon was so good, even if several twists were the kind you see coming. And it was insanely long!
I wish it would get remade so badly. I own it, and tried to make it work, but I don’t have a CRTV, so it went very badly.
Blaster Master on NES. I was so addicted. And then I got the NES Advantage controller and it was just pure Blaster Master bliss.
Crysalis for Famicom/NES
Such an underrated masterpiece
Gorillas.bas
Yes! And I updated the BASIC code to add cheats. I thought I was quite the leet haxor. 😆 Edit: I accidentally a letter.
Great game, learned the basics of programming from fucking around with the source code in QBasic
I don’t know if this is obscure anymore, but “Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!” was always one of my favorite GBC games. The artwork was adorable, the way they communicate with each other is adorable, it’s just great.
Tomba! (or Tombi!), one of my favorite PS1 games growing up. It’s essentially a metroidvania done before the -vania part truly cemented the style: lots of items to find, lives to lose, mandatory and optional abilities to get, back and forth opening every chest once you get the keys.
The game got a Steam release some time ago
I also have a sweet spot for Mega Man Legends 1 and 2, though I don’t think they’d count as obscure.
I personally loved ice climbers on the nes
I like this really old game called Skyrim, I like to cast the spells
I remember that one, my dad used to play it when I was a child! I should go dig out the old retro hardware…
Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars
I found the disk at a Dollar Tree Store when I was a teen. I spent hours in endless matches trying to build my empire. I remember the spy system in this RTS was incredibly fun and nothing I’ve seen in any other game. Truly a gem with so much potential to become a cult classic with its charming art style.
Treasure are such a famous developer within the retro subculture that it’s hard to call any of their stuff “obscure” at this point, but I want to give my nod to Light Crusader for the Mega Drive (Genesis).
Light Crusader Full Soundtrack on Youtube.
It’s got a bit of that isometric controls jank, but it’s just got the perfect vibes for a Genesis game. The right level of difficulty (hard but beatable), awesome art, quirky as hell, and one of my favorite soundtracks of the entire 16-bit era. Do yourself a favor and check it out–at the very least, give the soundtrack a listen, as it’s some of the best that the Genesis has to offer, in my opinion.
