Underrated games...
 

I know this topic comes up occasionally, but I'm playing one now, and the word "kri" is too short for the search engine so...

Definitely pick-up or rent Mark of Kri for the PS2...I didn't expect much but it's definitely surprised me. It seems like your normal hack-and-slash game at first, but in later levels, stealth comes into play and there is definitely some strategy in figuring out how to get through some areas...I'm on the last level now and it's a hack-and-slash bloodbath at that point :)

It is a bit short....6-8 hours of gameplay, so it would make a great rental!

FS

Other ones that you can (or cannot) get:

1. ICO (PS2) - I still argue it is the most underrated (although all magazines gave it high scores except for PSM) game ever. That is just my opinion though.

2. Intelligence Qube (good luck finding - PS1) - superb strategy game. I really wish Sony would have brought IQ2 to the states. This is a very early Playstation game that did not get much of a look from many people.

3. Star Ocean 2 (PS1) - one of the more underrated RPGs that came out for the PS1.

4. Blast Corp (N64) - a launch game and one of Rare's truly original concepts.

Those are just 4 I can think of off the top of my head. I am sure there are more in the myriad of gaming systems I have played.

I think Ico was more underappreciated than underrated...people have to actually know about something in order to rate it, and as you said most of the reviews were very positive. I would put Frequency is this category as well: most of the people that own it think it's awesome, but it's not a well known game.

None of the aforementioned games is really "underrated" (as in poorly reviewed), more so just overlooked.

One game that I definitly thought was underrated at the time was Skullmonkeys on the PSX, got critically slammed, but was one of the best old school platformers.

And skullmonkeys was utterly silly, to boot

AgtFox -

Those are some good games there!

Actually, Star Ocean 2 was critically acclaimed as one of the best RPGs for PS, also sold fairly well to my knowledge. Blast Corps was a "million seller" N64 game, and made several "top 100" games list. ICO also got good reviews, even though it was a sleeper hit.

You're right about Intelligent Qube though. It got good reviews, but no one played it. Shame, too, since it was one of the best puzzle games in years! did you know that it was designed by someone at DigiPen, the school for videogame programmers? it reeked of low production values but it was highly innovative.

Other massive sleeper hits -

PSO -

Klonoa - Amazing graphics, even by today's standards. A rare game since no one bought the 2D games for PSO.

Tomba! - Another sleeper 2-D platformer.

Einhander - one of the best shooters, ever.

G-Darius - another great 2-D shooter for PSO.

Brave Fencer Musashi, Legend of Mana, Vagrant Story, Xenogears, Legend of Dragoon, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Dragon Quest 6 and 7, and any other RPG for PSO that wasn't in the Final Fantasy series. They all failed commercially.

N64 -

I can't really say that there are any games for N64 that were underrated. it had such a defeciency in software that anything halfway decent to come along would be rated fairly well by reviewers and sold like hotcakes to game-starved masses.

I must agree with Star Ocean 2 for PS1. This is actually one of my top 5 rpgs for any system. Some people may have READ that the translation is bad... Well its not that bad. and its simply because there is just sooooooo much text. Give it a try, it can be had for less than 20 bucks, and its a steal for all the gameplay that you get.

And Tomba r0x0rs also ;) I played this a lot a couple years back.

But my number 1 underrated game would have to be Poy Poy for PS1. This game is one of the best party games ever. Basically, its Bomberman in 3D done right.

Ape Escape for PS1. This is possbley one of the best PS1 games you'll find hands down.

i've brought this up before here,
the adventures of cookies and cream! surprisingly fun plus can be found cheap

i second frequency. i have it for the dc and the ps2 great game.

the puyo puyo series. I think they were all good. sadly, i dont think any made stateside :(

squidget - I believe you're thinking about Rez, not Frequency.

I'll third Frequency: I had no idea how much fun it would be. The tunes are rockin', too.

MUSHA for the Genesis and an assload of Dreamcast games....

E.T. for the Atari 2600. :)

Aaah, I loved Blast Corps. I was hoping to see another one for GC, but I guess I have to hope for one on XB now.

I think Pikmin was underrated, and dismissed by many. I didn't really have any interest in it, but I got it for Christmas and didn't put it down for a month. Hoping for a second one.

Klonoa 2

Rez (PS2, DC)

River City Ransom (NES)

Rival Schools (PSX)

Bust-a-groove (dance version)

OK, I think what I should have said was "under-the-radar" games, by which I mean good games that really don't get alot of attention. I think everyone's suggestions still apply... I finished Mark of Kri last night....definitely worth the money!

FS

Lastblade 1/2
King of Fighters 98, 2001 (although 95, 96, 97, 99 are really nice too :D
Metal Slug 3 (1, 2, X and 4 are good too)
Top Hunter
Ninja Masters'
Kizuna Encounter

Super Bomberman 1/2

Panzer Dragoon Saga
Radiant Silvergun
Nights
Guardian Heroes

Outrun

Dracula X (duo)

Need for Speed (3DO)

thanks aghama, your right!

ok frequency is good too, ment rez

I recall seeing Final Fantasy Tactics getting higher scores than Vandal Hearts (to no surprise), when I had a HELL of a lot more fun with Vandal Hearts. I got FFT in hopes that it would be a Vandal Hearts beater, but instead I was left with typical Square-ness. The story was just too much for the game's own good; too convoluted, the characters all looked the same and had hard to remember names. Good luck following the story, and caring about it. But more importantly, the battles. Vandal Heart had HUGE battlefields compared to FFT, which added much more of an element of strategy to the game. I had a lot of fun positioning my characters in strategic locations across the map, then going in for the kill. But in FFT the maps were so damn small it seemed you were thrown into the fray from the get-go, and I just couldn't have fun with that. Half the fun and strategy in a game like this should come from positioning your units, and you barely got to do that in FFT.

I actually recall reading a FFT preview in Gamefan magazine which claimed Square sacrificed the size of the battlefields for a higher framerate (60fps). Shame on Square for sacrificing gameplay for visuals -- framerate being especially unimportant in a game like this. It could have been so much more fun.

Vandal Hearts' gameplay was a lot more memorable to me for these reasons, yet I remember everybody calling FFT a superior game. Eh, to each their own. I found Vandal Hearts to be a much more fun game with a stronger and more focused emphasis on good gameplay.

I love Puyo Puyo series as well. 2 made it here in USA, one is renamed as "Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine" for the Genesis, the other is "Kirby's Avalanche" for the SNES.... Interesting how both Sega/Nintendo put in their lesser mascot on the same game for the North American market...

Well in that case...

Castlevania 2:Simon's Quest. About every gamer I ask who claims to "love" Castlevania say they never beat it because "it was too hard". Yet I beat that game is about 4 days. hmmmmmmmmmm

Zero, I actually love Simon's Quest. It is obviously the most underrated of the Castlevania games. I don't know how long it took me to beat it, but it wasn't very long. It reminded me a lot of Pitfall II in some weird way. How many people here played Pitfall II anyway?

I still have fond memories of playing Shadowrun on the Genesis. I 've always wanted to see a sequel or a derivation of that game on the next-gen consoles. Any games out there currently or on the way that may be similar to it (I think GTA3 has some remote similarities to that game, BTW)?