Best Console for Hidden Gems

[waxpoet]

Every console has well known series and games. The Marios, Zeldas, Metroids, Final Fantasy, Resident Evils etc.

What would you say the say is the best console for hidden gems and stand alone (no prequels no sequels) games?

Both the Megadrive and Saturn seem like good choices but then again the abundance of games for both the Famicom, Super Famicom, and PSX are sure to include some great 'unknown' games.

anyway put in your .02

[Arrrhalomynn]

I'd say the master system. It's hugely underrated and the 'general public' only knows a few of the good titles, while there are so many gems.

[PapaStu]

I'd say, without question the PSOne, becuase of the sheer number of games....

But the system that truly has gotten the shaft and is under the radar, in regards to hidden gems... NeoGeo Pocket Color... every game that ive got for this system is BRILLIANT!, i only wish that this thing had gotten more stateside support.....

[Zubiac666]

I'd say the super famicom
There are so many (awesome)games that didn't hit US and euro.
Just think of the tons of RPGs and action titles(macross-scrambled valkier etc)

[Raccoon Lad]

I'll agree with the Master System, especially for little known arcade ports like Dynamite Dux and Scramble Spirits.

[NintendoMan]

I'd say in my opinion it's the dreamcast! I owned one when they were released back in '99 and then got out of it kind of and got rid of everything. Nothing really came out that often that looked good enough to pay $50.

Anyways, about 6 months ago I bought a brand new dreamcast again. Currently I have about 20 titles, which is like 4 times as much already than when I had it back in '99. I don't know, it just seems like when I have got all the good games, I find about 5 more I want. There are currently about 20-30 more titles I will be buying for sure, that I don't have already in the near future.

[sabre2922]

Almost all systems have hidden gems, but my votes go for the most underated systems of our time:
1st Turbographix-16 many AAA games almost no truly "bad" games.
2nd Dreamcast most everyone here should know why
3rd Sega Saturn forgotten and shuned back in the day cause it couldnt do the new 3-D craze that was brewing with the release of the PSone.
a truly great sytem perfect for 2-D ports of capcom fighters etc.

[Ed Oscuro]

little known arcade ports like Dynamite Dux

d'ya mean Seibu Kaihatsu's Dynamite Duke?

Anyhow, there's no question that the PlayStation wins this match, really. Lots of good titles over the years that aren't that well known. It all depends on what sort of game you're looking for, as different consoles have different strengths/weaknesses.

I personally think that the x68000 is going to prove to have a lot of "hidden gems," as there's not just a lot of arcade software but some original, awesome stuff in there as well.

NEC's PC-xx or PC-xxxx series computers probably have the same thing going, even more so since they were the most popular computers at the time.

[wberdan]

yeah, i suppose i would also say master system... that was a great console with plenty of fun games

[Raccoon Lad]

little known arcade ports like Dynamite Dux

d'ya mean Seibu Kaihatsu's Dynamite Duke?



Nope, I mean Sega's little known arcade game Dynamite DUX
http://alexkidd.com/images/screenshots/dynamite_dux_title.gifhttp://alexkidd.com/images/screenshots/dynamite_dux_2.gif

(though Dynamite Duke is also on the SMS as well)

[KirbyStar27]

Id have to say that the SNES has some hidden gems. Have you ever played, or even heard of the game claymates. OMG it is the funnest game ive ever played. :D

[whoisKeel]

yeah, but that game was pretty high profile when it came out (i didn't care for it)

what are some good psx titles to try out other than the obvious...i was just thinking today how the psx really didnt' have that many great games in retrospect.

anyways my vote goes for dreamcast and old nes as i'm always finding new nes titles i enjoy, but maybe i just like old games....

[BigBoogie]

I'd say in my opinion it's the dreamcast! I owned one when they were released back in '99 and then got out of it kind of and got rid of everything. Nothing really came out that often that looked good enough to pay $50.

Anyways, about 6 months ago I bought a brand new dreamcast again. Currently I have about 20 titles, which is like 4 times as much already than when I had it back in '99. I don't know, it just seems like when I have got all the good games, I find about 5 more I want. There are currently about 20-30 more titles I will be buying for sure, that I don't have already in the near future.

Bump.

Out of all the games on the DC only a handful arent worth playing.

[Dr. Morbis]

I'll say SMS as well, seeing as how the system's ENTIRE LIBRARY was hidden from me during the NES era.

[dreamcaster]

I'd also have to say the Dreamcast.

No other system can boast a library where the majority of it's games are killer apps.

[rbudrick]

I'd say every us-released Sega system (especially if you include the foreign releases for these systems).

-Rob

[josekortez]

Since I like resurrecting old threads from the dead (it's cheaper than buying more used PS2 games from Gamestop), I thought I'd dredge this one up.

For me, it's a toss-ups between the PS1 (my domestic choice) and the Saturn (my import choice) due to the sheer number of games released.

Anyone else wanna throw in on this one?

[jcalder8]

I'd say it's the PS1 just because of how many games came out there are bound to be more hidden gems.

[otaku]

sega systems in general. Particularly saturn and DC

[DigitalSpace]

I'd go with the PS2 for last generation stuff, Genesis for the 16-bit era (especially when it comes to RPGs and shmups), and GBA for portables. The Dreamcast has a good number of surprises as well.

[RadiantSvgun]

I'd have to say.... Turbo Duo. With games like Neutopia I, II, Dragon Slayer, Kaze Kiri, Download, Dead of the Brain, Sapphire, and many others, its my favorite under-appreciated console.

[Poofta!]

my vote is the genesis/megadrive. there is a HUGE amount of very fun and playable shooters, side scrollers, action & adventure games etc etc that have never seen a sequel and are cheap as hell to get.

the second would probably be the TG16 but the games are worse id say overall, and a lot more expensive.

DC and neogeo pocket color should be no where near this catagory. both systems have such a huge cult following and are always being talked about as the 'little engine that could' that its not really much of a 'hidden' gem aspect involved anymore.

teh SMS is a good choice too id say, but again, most of those games are a lot worse than the genesis/megadrive ones you can play. and price plays a huge part too, since i cant think of too many games that cost over 10$

[j_factor]

Genesis, Saturn, Playstation, Turbo Duo, GBA. In that order.

But I also think the Amiga deserves mention. The sheer number of Amiga games is pretty huge, and while some would argue that a lot of them are crap, there's a lot of good ones that nobody outside the Amiga fan scene has really played (you're probably heard of Rick Dangerous, but never played it). And then there are the ones that only the Amiga freaks have even heard of (Darkmere anyone?). And then there's some that are obscure even within that group.

[Press_Start]

Every console has a good amount of hidden gems, cause I've already made a ton of lists of games I want to have for each system. But, when I first started my gem scavenging, I quickly realized that money is a big hurdle, especially myself, for those with limited income. I started with the NES for I can get the games I want for $5.00 or less.

But if money is not a problem, then the Playstation or Saturn is the way to go for they have the most and best gems. Some games will cost you an arm and a leg, that's my two cents.

[Technosis]

Genesis, Saturn, Playstation, Turbo Duo, GBA. In that order.

But I also think the Amiga deserves mention. The sheer number of Amiga games is pretty huge, and while some would argue that a lot of them are crap, there's a lot of good ones that nobody outside the Amiga fan scene has really played (you're probably heard of Rick Dangerous, but never played it). And then there are the ones that only the Amiga freaks have even heard of (Darkmere anyone?). And then there's some that are obscure even within that group.

I'll go with the Genesis like many others here. I'm still finding obscure carts (for cheap) in the wild that go back to say 1990, and are a real pleasant surprise to play. Great system.

The Amiga is also definitely in the hidden gems category, especially in North America. I was always envious of the UK/European scene.......

[7th lutz]

The first thing that came to mind is the Sms and the Sega Genesis. The Sms was not that popular and was overlooked. The sega genesis was system with a lot of hidden games.

Tg-16/turbo duo is a system with a good number of hidden gems. They didn't have many games that were house hold names in North America.

[debian4life]

Pre 1980's - Odyssey 2
Early 1980's - Colecovision/Atari 2600 tie
late 1980's - NES ruled
Early 1990's - Genesis

[GarrettCRW]

The PlayStation and 2600 have such huge libraries with huge hits and misses that obscure a lot of releases, especially since both systems suffer from the, "OMG! T3h grafix suxx0rs!" syndrome.

The NES, Genesis, and Super NES have loads of forgotten games, more than the PSOne and 2600 if you factor in the import scene.

The SMS, Turbo, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Sega CD, as largely unfortunate failures, are filled with classics waiting to be found.

For portables, the Game Boy line has lasted so long that it's easy for huge swaths of game to be lost. As Stu and others have said, the NGPC is huge for unknown winners because it was largely unknown.