Obscure Games

[Cuttleshock]

On the subject of Sakuraba-composed games... Golden Sun? GOLDEN SUN! Less obscure than some others named in this thread, but still didn't do too well. On the surface, it's a really generic save-the-world JRPG... and under the surface, it's not much more. But it's got a loyal little fanbase and I've tried many a time to work out what makes it so lovable. For one, it's arguably the single most gorgeous GBA game in existence in terms of visuals; musically, it's got some of my favourite Sakuraba tracks. Cute humour and wonderfully dialogue-heavy, too. Nice puzzles. Beautiful world, the sort in which I'd love to live. Djinn are cute.

I've completed both GBA titles and own Dark Dawn (the DS instalment) but never got very far in that, for no particular reasons; a lot of fans of the older games seem to dislike it but I don't see much wrong with it, and will certainly get round to finishing it at some point.

It's basically fire emblem gameplay with a pokemon skin

Well, no... it's Nobunaga's Ambition with a Pokémon skin! That series hardly came out outside of Japan, though, if at all.

 

[Magnus0]

On the subject of Sakuraba-composed games... Golden Sun? GOLDEN SUN! Less obscure than some others named in this thread, but still didn't do too well. On the surface, it's a really generic save-the-world JRPG... and under the surface, it's not much more. But it's got a loyal little fanbase and I've tried many a time to work out what makes it so lovable. For one, it's arguably the single most gorgeous GBA game in existence in terms of visuals; musically, it's got some of my favourite Sakuraba tracks. Cute humour and wonderfully dialogue-heavy, too. Nice puzzles. Beautiful world, the sort in which I'd love to live. Djinn are cute.

I've completed both GBA titles and own Dark Dawn (the DS instalment) but never got very far in that, for no particular reasons; a lot of fans of the older games seem to dislike it but I don't see much wrong with it, and will certainly get round to finishing it at some point.

Well, no... it's Nobunaga's Ambition with a Pokémon skin! That series hardly came out outside of Japan, though, if at all.

I know it's based on Nobunaga's ambition, but I figured that more people are familiar with Fire Emblem.

I also played Dark Dawn, but I didn't really like it. There is just soooo much dialoge uuuuggh. Seriously, after five minutes of backstory and useless blabbering, I just want to continue with the game, but the game's story just drags on and on. I also find the battle system really cumbersome: you have a basic attack and defend option, items, psi power, djinn attacks and summoning. That's too many options for a single turn. It just didn't really work for me.

 

[Cuttleshock]

I know it's based on Nobunaga's ambition, but I figured that more people are familiar with Fire Emblem.

Valid.

I also played Dark Dawn, but I didn't really like it. There is just soooo much dialoge uuuuggh. Seriously, after five minutes of backstory and useless blabbering, I just want to continue with the game, but the game's story just drags on and on. I also find the battle system really cumbersome: you have a basic attack and defend option, items, psi power, djinn attacks and summoning. That's too many options for a single turn. It just didn't really work for me.

Haha, well, that's precisely all the stuff I love about it! I'm surprised that you find the battle system too hefty, though - I always felt that it was relatively basic. Is it the case that you haven't played Golden Sun 1 and 2 (the GBA games)? The story might've been less of a turn-off if you knew what lead up to them. Then again, maybe you would've found the first couple of games just as grating in that sense.

 

[Magnus0]

Valid.

Haha, well, that's precisely all the stuff I love about it! I'm surprised that you find the battle system too hefty, though - I always felt that it was relatively basic. Is it the case that you haven't played Golden Sun 1 and 2 (the GBA games)? The story might've been less of a turn-off if you knew what lead up to them. Then again, maybe you would've found the first couple of games just as grating in that sense.

That's exactly why I don't really like the battle system. You have so many options, but a lot of it doesn't add much to the actual complexity of the battles and strategies. There's no reason why psi attacks and djinn attacks couldn't have been the same thing in battles, they aren't drastically different from each other anyway. This way, more emphasis is put into djinn strategies, which in turn would allow more summons too.

I don't think I would like the story more even if I knew the backstory either. At some points of the game I felt like I was reading a book, instead of playing a game. I prefer more subtle story telling, like in Pokemon Conquest.

 

[Cuttleshock]

There's no reason why psi attacks and djinn attacks couldn't have been the same thing in battles, they aren't drastically different from each other anyway.

Spoiler: Oops, wrong points - ignore

I disagree for, like, a few reasons.

• Psynergy is unique to classes but Djinn can be equipped to anyone (changing their class). They draw from two different limited pools - run out of PP and you can't use Psynergy, which is particularly bad for healers; use too many Djinn and your Class changes, generally greatly reducing all of your stats and often removing some Psynergy from your options.
• As you can't use Summons without using Djinn, you've gotta weigh up whether you value survivability or damage output more. Summons are, starting from some way into the game, by far the most powerful method to attack, but once you use them, you're in a weaker Class until the used Djinn recharge, turn by turn. You just can't afford to stay in some boss battles for as long as it'd take to defeat them with Psynergy alone, as their damage output can be huge and reviving team-members is relatively costly for a JRPG, Water of Life being really rare and no-one learning any revival Psynergy until late in the game (although it's easy to heal once a battle finishes).
• I just realised that I got your message the wrong way round. You were saying that Psynergy itself is left by the wayside, right? Okay. I'm leaving this here because i don't like deleting stuff, but ignore all of it!

I don't think I would like the story more even if I knew the backstory either. At some points of the game I felt like I was reading a book, instead of playing a game. I prefer more subtle story telling, like in Pokemon Conquest.

Ah. I like the opposite, usually, as I don't feel at ease running around without it being so clear why everything's happening. Golden Sun 2 starts with a slowly-scrolling wall of text that lasts several minutes, and, as I never played Golden Sun 1 until I'd owned the sequel for about ten years, that was all the exposition that I got. I was thankful for it! I like it.

Okay, upshot is that I love this game and you dislike it for pretty much exactly the same reasons. Good disagreement! Helped me understand counterpoints. Thanks for your time.

 

[Dessgeega]

This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like Golden Sun as a series is pretty wretched. Game padding, needlessly long dungeons, a djinn system that doesn't really add a lot, and a horrid plot - It really seems like everything that happened wouldn't have if the protagonists weren't blithering idiots. I can never get into plots like that.

 

[Cuttleshock]

Haha, wow, I didn't realise I'd encounter opposition like this. Again, I can't really disagree with any of your points (apart from maybe that about the plot), only have a different reaction to them. Golden Sun is a very cosy series for me, which is probably another way of saying that I find it really nostalgic. I like the length of the game, I get excited for the gruelling trek up and down Air's Rock each time I get to that point in GS2, and I just find the Djinn cute.

 

[Magnus0]

This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like Golden Sun as a series is pretty wretched. Game padding, needlessly long dungeons, a djinn system that doesn't really add a lot, and a horrid plot - It really seems like everything that happened wouldn't have if the protagonists weren't blithering idiots. I can never get into plots like that.

Pretty much this.

The series (or Dark Dawn anyway) just lacks direction, and more importantly, personality. For me it comes down to this: why would I play Golden Sun when I can play a better turn based rpg, like Bowsers inside story? (Which is one of my favorites omg it's so good *drool*)

 

[Cuttleshock]

Again, it doesn't feel like that to me! But okay, let's try another one. Has anyone here played Skies of Arcadia? It's not super-obscure but it seems to have been left behind other, more successful JRPGs.

 

[Dessgeega]

It's obscure these days. Plot's pretty good, but it also has some unfortunate padding. That would've benefited SO much from a modern fast travel system or even just a dash function. The encounter rate was needlessly high as well, even the gamecube port toning it down wasn't enough. It still has more pros than cons overall.

Just don't play it without a guide these days :P No one's got time to find all those discoveries on their own. Flutterflies can die in a fire.

 

[peat-warrior]

I'm a huge fan of the Playstation 1 and I think especially the 90s were the golden age of obscure games.
Even today I'm playing sometimes via emulator. In comparison to modern games with 3D graphics,
many games from the 90s and early 2000s have such a psychedelic flair. Just look at a game like Jumping Flash, Pandemonium 2,
Maken X or Umihara Kawase.