Top Three Most Underrated Games

[Caleb, Of Asui]

So, after seeing the thread for the top three most overrated games and having a bit harder time coming up with answers, I figured we could get a lot more varied and original answers for underrated games. We'll define underrated games as games whose quality exceeds either the ratings normally given, or the amount of hate the game gets, or both. Mine are:

1. Shadow the Hedgehog. I loved the way this game used multiple paths through the story and the spectrum of endings from most good to most evil. Somehow, this game got reviews around 50%, which I certainly can't agree with.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This game creates a very compelling version of Hogwarts, and it's evident that the developers spent significantly more time on the game than the vast majority of movie tie-ins. It also makes tremendous use of detail from the book that was left out of the movie. It seems that it got poor reviews solely because it was a movie tie-in.

3. StarFox Adventures. A creative and original action-adventure game that reflects the well-loved style of Rareware (before they were traded over to Microsoft, of course). Sure, it wasn't like a StarFox game in most rights, but that doesn't prevent it from being an amazing game in and of itself.

 

[Squirrel]

I'd say the first LoZ, TP, and Sonic Rush(DS).

 

[Ventus]

Yay, I got a thread referenced! This is the thread if anyone is interested: The Top 3 Most Overrated Games of All Time

Kirby Air Ride - This game is horribly underrated. Many reviewers cite bad controls, I can't help but say "What the -censored-?". The controls are the easiest of any racing game, and it even adds a Mario Kartlike feel to it with the classical Kirby power ups. People also said bad sound, but having the sound test with all of those tracks made me cringe at those reviews.

Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones - FE8...hmm, so many people say it's too easy, and they hate the fact that the Tower of Valni allows for infinite grinding (honestly, who WOULDN'T want an optional grinding feature in a game?) and they also hate the World Map. Unfortunately. FE: SS is the only one of the entire series that has a traversed world map so that feature was underused as well. The reviewers who said that it's too easy ignore the fact that you don't HAVE to use the best weapons or have the maximum amount of units deployed in any one battle. FE8 needs to be revisited.

Sonic Adventure - A lot of the comments for SA are usually positive, but then you get the ones that say that the camera angles were horrible. Honestly, that was a learning curve to stop you from going too fast, and even though the angles ARE bad at times, the game makes up for it with a really nice story, a good cast, and compelling gameplay.

 

[Onilink89]

I dont exactly have a top 3 but i would like to point out F Zero X and F Zero GX. These two are one of the best racing games i have ever played.

The gameplay, the variations of the courses, the music soundtracks, the diffuculty. F Zero X already nailed these elements and then F zero GX came with a little more polish in its graphics.

 

[PK Love Omega]

YES! SOMEONE ELSE PLAYS THE F-ZERO GX SERIES!

I have X on Virtual Console. One of the best games out there, IMO. Like you said, they had to sacrifice the graphics because they had kept the game at 60 frames per second. That is twice as fast as OoT 3D and the same amount of frames for MK3DS.

And to forget, Kid Icarus. I wouldn't be surprised, though, it is 8 bit and only appeared on the NES and Gameboy (Both of which I have been playing for a while and even more for Kid Icarus: Sin and Punishment)

 

[fredthehylian]

Zelda II- When I see this downrated by someone and see the same guy praising Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, my hypocrisy alarm goes off. This game is part of a genre that I wish was more common; Sidescrolling RPG. It's got roughly the same core mechanics as RPGs: wander around the world map, get into a random encounter, fight, win experience, and rinse and repeat. The only difference is the way it's set up. Instead of selecting attacks from lists, you play in an arena in which you worry less about numerical values and more about positions and physics. That's literally the only difference.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon- Why do people hate on this game so much? It's just a remake of the first game with some added characters. I honestly don't understand the logic behind all the bad reputation this game gets.
Super Mario Bros 2- Why does everyone treat this game like the monster child of a nefariously plotted scandal? Just because it's a redesigned game doesn't make it bad by default. This game brought a lot to the Mario series: Shy Guys, Sniffits, Bob-Ombs, themed worlds, Birdo, multiple paths/shortcuts, varied bosses, and throwing. This is the game that took the monotony out of Mario, and yet it lives in infamy because it was easier than the rehashed version that the Japanese got?

 

[Ventus]

FE11 only get the criticism it does because most of the people who are negative about it have already played Fire Emblem Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Ken (Fire Emblem 1 for the NES). Like me, for example. I've played FE1 and I found FE11 to be just a remake at that, nothing too special (I still think it gets a solid 8/10 though). Fire Emblem 12, on the other hand...

 

[MW7]

1. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon- This game sold a mere 55,000 copies in the US. It was basically a blend of Super Mario 64 and Zelda. Reviewers didn't like the game too well because the controls were compared unfavorably to Super Mario 64 which is a fair criticism but IMO the controls were fine. The game takes place in Japan and you travel across the land completing dungeons. You had four characters to control and you collected about as many items as in a Zelda game. In fact the main character obtains a hookshot-esque item early in the game. Many fans of the game think it has one of the greatest soundtracks ever as well. I love this game and think everyone (especially Zelda fans) should give it a try.

The next two aren't really that underrated, but I can't think of any other games right now. It might be because it's late and I just looked to my left and saw the next two games in my SNES and N64 respectively.

2. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest- Best platformer on the SNES and possibly ever, well maybe a tie with Super Mario World. I think it may just be me, but this game took me forever to beat completely as well. The difficulty is high. Some of the final levels are absolutely brutal and I didn't beat the game completely until a year ago. The number of secrets and collectibles are the reason for how long the game is. The animal buddies add to the gameplay variety, and the game is as fun today as it was in 1995. Also the title is a play on words, how many quality games can say that?

3. Perfect Dark- If you thought I was going crazy when I said DKC2 was underrated, you must be completely confused by now. Perfect Dark was one of the most critically acclaimed games of its generation. What I would like to say though is that compared to the shooters of today, it's still amazing. I was looking through my video game collection today and noticed that I had 5 James Bond games, 4 Call of Duties, 3 Halos, 2 Ghost Recons, and a Medal of Honor in a pear tree. Why do I have 15 modern shooting games when the genre was perfected in 2000 with Perfect Dark? My friend and I played Perfect Dark the other day instead of Black Ops because we felt like playing Capture the Flag offline so we needed to use AI players. This isn't even possible on most modern games since AI has been passed over in favor of online play. We got absolutely destroyed by normalsims. This from 2 guys who can hold their own against average online players. Perfect Dark has the most customizable multiplayer mode ever devised, and has numerous difficulty levels and personality traits for the enemy AI. Best Multiplayer ever.

 

[Godkarmachine]

well my top three is:
1.- Megaman Star Force series: These games were so much fun, and the battles were fast paced and filled with action, the characters were also great. It recieved very harsh critics, like 5 or so, because of "being repetitive" (FPS are acclaimed though... come on, be fair, FPS are repetitive, MMSF is fun)
2.- Zelda II: Why should I explain this one? It is an awesome game but greatly criticized because of being different.... but it has a great combat gameplay and it is very challenging
3.- Megaman Legends: Deep story, deep gameplay... Legends 2 was a great game, but greatly overlooked and said to be terrible

 

[PK Love Omega]

I change mine.
1. Earthbound - Only known for Ness and Lucas, a.k.a the playable Mother chars. Most people don't even know that they are from different games. One of the best RPG's, despite 1 hour of grinding for a level
2. F-Zero - Some don't know that it's a racer because of Captain Falcon. Infact, people probably think he is the only playable char.
3. Kid Icarus - Only known for SSBB and Uprising. Most people haven't played the NES and GB games. (I've played both, and they are rock hard D And only known Pit, who had his whole design changed because of SSBB. Now he is about 16, instead of his young 10-12 body.

 

[Newty]

1. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon- The characters are legendary. Gameplay is seriously awesome, and uses everything the Wii offers. Your Wiimote is a flashlight, and weapon. The microphone/speaker thing tells you how close u r to something. Like once you had to play Hide and Seek with a little ghost girl. She'd giggle and her laughter would get louder the closer you were to you.

2. Fire Emblem- The series in general. Gameplay is so addicting! The storylines are amazing as well. Sacred Stones and Radiant Dawn are the best!

3. Luxpain- Oh. My. God. The fact this game isnt known worldwide will forever be a mystery to me. Everything is perfect! They never leave a character to rot. Each one has a story and you find yourself loving them. You get dedicated to your cause to saving the world from Silent, too. Plus, almost full voiceacting, in a DS game!

 

[Dan]

Someone else thinks Shadow the Hedgehog is underrated FINALLY ! I thought I was the only one :'( admitting you like that game in public gets you some looks XD
Other games I would say are

Sonic Spinball

toki going ape spit

 

[A Link In Time]

1.Zelda II: Adventure of Link (NES)
2. Super Smash Bros. (N64)
3. Halo 3 ODST (XBOX 360)