Least popular RPG ever?

[Snapple]

I'm going to take a stab at guessing this one.

I recently learned of an RPG, released in America (and I assume in other English-speaking countries), for the Genesis called Sorcerer's Kingdom, which by the way DP lists as a 5 rarity.

Now, I haven't played this game yet, but I found it interesting that despite the fact that it seems to be a traditional RPG, released in English, and on a major console, I can find almost nothing about the game online. GameFAQs has two small reviews for it, but other than that, not much at all turns up on Google. Gamespot only has TWO reader votes for the game, which is the lowest I think I've ever seen for an English game.

And to top it off, I got ZERO results by searching for the title here on the DP forums. And I thought almost every RPG ever made would have been mentioned at least once on DP, maybe in a collector's list, or in a list of obscure RPGs, or in a list of Genesis games, or something.

So I propose that Sorcerer's Kingdom is the least popular English console RPG ever.

That is why I am determined to play and master this game for no good reason.

I'll then ask to DP, have you ever heard of this game? OR can you think of any other console RPGs that are just as unknown as this one?

Here are some screens, by the way.

http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics5/Sorcerer%20Kingdom%20(SS).gif
http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/sorcerers_kingdom.us_02.png
http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/sorcerers_kingdom.us_01.png

Truly only the elitest RPG collectors have it.

[ClassicGameTrader]

Interesting, anybody have any good insight on the game?

[Jorpho]

Quest 64 seems to be universally panned.

[Ed Oscuro]

I've never heard of it...no big surprise there, as it's not an action game. Is there anything...wrong...with it? It doesn't look too terrible from those screens.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Fatal Labrynth.

[Damaramu]

I remember Beyond The Beyond was fairly well hated.

But as far as obscure RPG's go.......how about Shining Wisdom for the Saturn?

[smork]

Current Gen -- Ephemeral Fantasia? Nobody knows it, and of those who do, nobody likes it.

[Snapple]

Even games that are largely panned though have SOME fans. I know people who like Quest 64, the entire Shining series, and so forth.


Fatal Labrynth.

It's funny, but I actually have this game. My brother got a Genesis when he was young, and he got some really weird, really obscure games for it, things like Fatal Labrynth and MUSHA being examples. FL is "okay," pretty run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler fair. I guess it's not very well known though, you're right.


Is there anything...wrong...with it? It doesn't look too terrible from those screens.

That was my reaction, too. It seems like it should've caught on with *someone*, so maybe there's something horribly wrong with it. I don't know. If even junk like Tecmo Secret of the Stars can get a following, any 16-bit RPG can.

[UnInformer]

I picked this game up a few months ago at Gamers. I had never heard of it prior to that though, I just saw that it was a complete and cheap RPG.

[Ed Oscuro]

My brother got a Genesis when he was young, and he got some really weird, really obscure games for it, things like Fatal Labrynth and MUSHA being examples.
MUSHA is wierd (but only slightly so on the list of classic Japanese 16-bit era shooters), but awesome. Definitely not obscure either! Or at least it shouldn't be. Is it? It's pretty well known around here.

[Snapple]

Well not obscure in that sense, true. But in the sense that's it's kind of rare now because I don't think people realized that it was good *then*. I certainly knew no other kids in my school who had ever played or heard of MUSHA, and my brother just had a penchant for picking up those kind of games that nobody had ever heard of or were interested in. Maybe that's the same reason he wanted a Lynx instead of a Gameboy.

But yes, it's definitely a fun, fun shooter. I never was much into shooters before the 16-bit era. Then my brother got MUSHA and Thunder Force 3, both of which I enjoyed a ton, and in many ways, I still use MUSHA as my gold standard to which all other vertical shmups are compared.

[Amy Rose]

Current Gen -- Ephemeral Fantasia? Nobody knows it, and of those who do, nobody likes it.
I found that when dreamcaster and I were out game hunting the other day. I was all excited that I'd found a new PS2 RPG that looked rare and fun! Then I read the reviews.

I might actually get around to playing it... one day. :P

[Ed Oscuro]

Well not obscure in that sense, true. But in the sense that's it's kind of rare now because I don't think people realized that it was good *then*.
Yes, you're probably right.

[smokehouse]

That’s funny, Lagoon on the SNES came to mind when I read the name of this thread…

[roushimsx]

When I saw the title of the thread, I instantly thought of Tecmo's Secret of the Stars for the SNES. The game should have had "Born To Lose" printed on the box, because no one bothered with it.

Not only were the graphics nearly NES-quality, but the reviews for it were quite savage (and at the time RPGs were typically pulling in at least favorable reviews, including the ever-so-simple Final Fantasy Mystic Quest). Poor game never had a chance and I've been meaning to give it one for years now but i just haven't been able to bring myself to do so.

[jdc]

Hmmm....now I must hunt down this Genny game.

Ephemeral Fantasia? Brutally difficult. I associate with a group of very seasoned RPGers. We've passed this game around to each other and NO ONE can play this game. Everyone gave up. It's just too freaking hard.

[kainemaxwell]

Paladin's Quest was kinda sucky too...

[Graham Mitchell]

I remember Sorcerer's Kingdom being around when I was younger, but I never felt compelled to play it. That's odd because I felt compelled to play almost EVERYTHING on the Genesis and SNES.

Who published it?

[Blitzwing256]

When I saw the title of the thread, I instantly thought of Tecmo's Secret of the Stars for the SNES. The game should have had "Born To Lose" printed on the box, because no one bothered with it.

Not only were the graphics nearly NES-quality, but the reviews for it were quite savage (and at the time RPGs were typically pulling in at least favorable reviews, including the ever-so-simple Final Fantasy Mystic Quest). Poor game never had a chance and I've been meaning to give it one for years now but i just haven't been able to bring myself to do so.

I honestly loved secret of the stars myself, yeah the graphics sucked, but it was a very hard and challenging game with quite alot to do (crappy translation though..)
the first boss's name was bad bad ;-)

it was an obscure game and very hard to find when it was released, I ended up finding it at some bizzare store in the mall I never went to,

as a side note I think Traysia for the genesis is one of the most obscure rpgs, I don't think i know anyone else who has it (or liked it) a good runner up would be super hydlide (hydlide 3) for the geneiss.

[anagrama]

Fatal Labrynth.

That's not really much of an RPG though, despite how it was advertised. It's a pretty straightforward Rogue clone, like Dragon Crystal on the Master SYstem.

[Slimedog]

Rouge clones are probably my least favorite RPG flavor. Nothing like spening 2 hours in a randomly generated dungeon only to get surronded and killed by rotten luck. Or how you just randomly stay asleep for 50 turns and get pecked to death my some tiny monster 1 hp at a time. Could somebody tell me why I keep playing them?

[Snapple]

Who published it?

It was made and published by some company called Treco, which could explain why it wasn't marketed very well.

They made a few other Genesis games: Task Force Harrier, Fighting Masters, Street Smart, and Atomic Robo-Kid.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard of any of those games either.

[fishsandwich]

Anyone remember the Hydlide RPG series? It's spanned three games (that I know of) and I've yet to meet anyone that liked any of them.

It started with Hydlide on the NES. Sucked.

http://www.classicgaming.com/rpg/SCRNSHOT/hydlide-logo.jpg
http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/hydlide/mainscrn.gif



It continued on the Genesis as Super Hydlide. Still sucked.

http://www.todoroms.com/images/roms/big/554.jpg
http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Super_Hydlide_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg



It stopped with Virtual Hydlide on the Saturn. It was perhaps the suckiest suck that ever sucked. Your character is at least 50 pounds overweight.

http://riehlthing.com/vgame/saturn/boxcover/virtual_hydlide.jpg
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/games/coverg/46/664546.jpg

I've played all three, and the Saturn game at length. I hate all three.

[Cauterize]

I picked one up today i had never ever heard of before this...

Eternal Eyes... by Sunsoft, and looks like a Tactical RPG
(Im yet to try it out...) From 2000

eBay UK has no copies online right now either, so im curious to whether this is a nice little RPG Rarity :)
And if its a good game of course! :P

[Poofta!]

grandstream saga. the characters didnt have faces goddamnit!

thats psx btw

[DDCecil]

Anyone remember the Hydlide RPG series? It's spanned three games (that I know of) and I've yet to meet anyone that liked any of them.

I'm DDCecil. Nice to meet you. Yes, I love the first Hydlide.

My main answer would be Drakkhen. The music and mood of the game kick all sorts of ass. What other game do constellations come alive out of the sky to kick your butt?

[goatdan]

It continued on the Genesis as Super Hydlide. Still sucked.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Super_Hydlide_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg

LOL

That image makes the game look like a NES game with a broken 72 pin adaptor. The tiles look like they were jumbled there, and like it doesn't draw anything at all.

And hey, is that Inky above the door? LOL

[googlefest1]

if it makes you feel any better - i played Sorcerer's Kingdom

i liked it so much i got 2 copies

just kidding - i have too copies but not because i like it (i try to have 2 copies of everygame)

i didnt finish it - but i liked playing it - but i like rpgs anyways - havent played one i didn't like

[Slimedog]

Anyone remember the Hydlide RPG series? It's spanned three games (that I know of) and I've yet to meet anyone that liked any of them.

I'm DDCecil. Nice to meet you. Yes, I love the first Hydlide.

My main answer would be Drakkhen. The music and mood of the game kick all sorts of ass. What other game do constellations come alive out of the sky to kick your butt?

I'm a pretty big fan of crappy games. Usually I can find one or two redeeming points in a horrible game, but could find not one thing good about Hydlide for the NES. From the lousy intro to the lousy dragon at then end, it managed to mess up every single aspect of game design.

Extra points were given to the music that was so bad it still haunts my dreams. Imagine if Randy Newman rewrote the Indiana Jones theme and played it through an ice cream truck.

I gotta know, what did you like about it?

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Action RPG's (Which rogue is the great-great-great-grandaddy) are RPGs all the same. Some of my favourite games of all time are Action RPGs. So yes, it is an RPG.

[Haoie]

On a relative basis, Secret of Evermore isn't nearly as well liked as its cousin, Mana.

Still I liked Evermore, cheesy but fun. And I loved that joke about the 'basketcase'.

[shoes23]

That’s funny, Lagoon on the SNES came to mind when I read the name of this thread…

Same here, the game was just...boring. Not much of a story at all, combat was frustrating, and a lot of mazes. Probably why this RPG never got much attention. With games like Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia overshadowing it in the Action/RPG catagory, it'll proabably never get noticed until it carries a high price tag.

[Graham Mitchell]

I actually really always liked the Hydlide series. I've played all three that were released in the US. I admit they ain't no Phantasy Star, but they're fun and Hydlide for the NES reminds me of Y's.

Hey, Snapple...some of those Treco games are actually pretty good. Atomic Robo Kid is a neet shooter/platformer. I've played Street Smart, which is a port of an SNK arcade game. It's gawdawful.

If I'm going to suggest an obscure RPG, it'd be Sweet Home for the Famicom. Never released in the U.S. Most of us around here know and love that game, but try asking someone who isn't a DP member about it. Nobody in the mainstream knows what it is. Too bad, too, because it's excellent.


My main answer would be Drakkhen. The music and mood of the game kick all sorts of ass. What other game do constellations come alive out of the sky to kick your butt?

Thank you. You are the only other person I've heard of who likes Drakkhen. It's one of my top 3 SNES games. I wish every game's ambience and music was as intense as Drakkhen's.

[PDorr3]

Either I suck, or this game is glitched, but I have sorecerers kingdom and I cant figure out how to get out of the first area of the game in the town...

[Ed Oscuro]

Lagoon on the SNES came to mind when I read the name of this thread…
The x68000 version is apparently much approved, but I doubt the storyline got much better...the graphics were quite improved, however.

Oh, and UPL created Atomic Robo Kid (another game with an x68000 version) - I'm not sure how Treco fits into the picture there.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oh, and UPL created Atomic Robo Kid (another game with an x68000 version) - I'm not sure how Treco fits into the picture there.

Probably just for US publishing. It doesn't sound like Treco did too much developing. Atomic Robo Kid is also on the PC Engine; that version's pretty good, too.

[Griking]

I heard that some game called Final Fantasy sucked

[Famidrive-16]

I have Sorceror's Kingdom. It's a terrible game.

[sabre2922]

I vote for 2 Saturn RPGs

first would be Landstalker I THINK THATS THE NAME of it anyway I remember reading how it was going to be so great in EGM back in the day well it WASNT IT SUCKED ASS IMO anyway

Also Shining the Holy Ark was a let down I GUESS it was OK but I never finished the game it just kept dragging on and on one dungeon after another -_-

[Graham Mitchell]

I heard that some game called Final Fantasy sucked

LOL LOL LOL LOL

[XxMe2NiKxX]

I <3 StHA.

[fishsandwich]

I vote for 2 Saturn RPGs

first would be Landstalker I THINK THATS THE NAME of it anyway I remember reading how it was going to be so great in EGM back in the day well it WASNT IT SUCKED ASS IMO anyway

Also Shining the Holy Ark was a let down I GUESS it was OK but I never finished the game it just kept dragging on and on one dungeon after another -_-

You're thinking of DARK SAVIOR. It was the pseudo-sequel to Landstalker (which was on the Genesis.)

I don't think it sucked ass, but it was tremendously overhyped. It could have been a FANTASTIC game but it hyad gawd-awful music, silly and underdeveloped fighting segments (like Street Fighter 2 with 5 moves per character.) The game was also very SHORT. I think it's still pretty darn fine game, though. It's got very cool isometric graphics from a 3-D engine that can be manipulated plus a pretty cool storyline.

http://www.findmeagame.com/images/3/629913.jpg
http://www.findmeagame.com/images/5/629915.jpg
http://www.findmeagame.com/images/6/629916.jpg


I agree that Shining the Holy Ark was a drag.

[Ze_ro]

first would be Landstalker I THINK THATS THE NAME of it anyway I remember reading how it was going to be so great in EGM back in the day well it WASNT IT SUCKED ASS IMO

Interesting... my vote goes for Time Stalkers on the Dreamcast, which was actually kind of a sequel to Landstalker I think. The game seemed okay at first, but after leaving every dungeon, your experience reset back to zero, and you suddenly can't use a bunch of the cool weapons you found in the last dungeon anymore! It's very hard to enjoy a game that arbitrarily punishes you like this... Luckily, with games like Grandia II and Skies of Arcadia around, us Dreamcast people just forgot about Time Stalkers and went on with our lives.

--Zero

[DonMarco]

Shadow.

Madness.

OHGODSTINGEROHGOD

[sabre2922]

I vote for 2 Saturn RPGs

first would be Landstalker I THINK THATS THE NAME of it anyway I remember reading how it was going to be so great in EGM back in the day well it WASNT IT SUCKED ASS IMO anyway

Also Shining the Holy Ark was a let down I GUESS it was OK but I never finished the game it just kept dragging on and on one dungeon after another -_-

You're thinking of DARK SAVIOR. It was the pseudo-sequel to Landstalker (which was on the Genesis.)

I don't think it sucked ass, but it was tremendously overhyped. It could have been a FANTASTIC game but it hyad gawd-awful music, silly and underdeveloped fighting segments (like Street Fighter 2 with 5 moves per character.) The game was also very SHORT. I think it's still pretty darn fine game, though. It's got very cool isometric graphics from a 3-D engine that can be manipulated plus a pretty cool storyline.

http://www.findmeagame.com/images/3/629913.jpg
http://www.findmeagame.com/images/5/629915.jpg
http://www.findmeagame.com/images/6/629916.jpg


I agree that Shining the Holy Ark was a drag.

THANK YOU ha yes DARK SAVIOR

Yes I vote Shining the Holy Ark I KNEW I WASNT THE ONLY ONE that was let down by this game

[Blitzwing256]

I was a big fan of the hydlide series on nes/genesis. the nes ones were very hard and challenging to figure out. the only real downfall was you were a total puss for most of the game. perhaps a bit too much leveling up, but it had some very neat challenges and some very amusing easter eggs (try to hit 4 worms with one wave spell for example)

super hydlide was also an amazing game (released on the famicom as hydlide 3 btw..anyone know wha thappened to 2? never saw it anywhere) the day night system and the weight system were very unique. it even had a morale level where you had to decide whether you wanted to kill friendly monsters who gave more exp and better items, but if you did you'd be feared in town (was a major bitch to regain your moral level) a hard game to get into but imo a really good one overall.

I have nothing good to say about virtual hydlide as I've never played my copy ;-)

[TurboGenesis]

How did Hydlide spawn 2 sequals?!?!?! The NES version was unplayable. wasted $4 on a rental back then. I'll say the Genesis Super Hydlide was at least playable as I was able to get somewhere(though not far) and I never dared to try the Saturn version.

SaGa games are known to be pretty poor (ie SaGa Frontier 1&2, Unlimited SaGa, and the recently released Romancing SaGa(PS2)

[snes_collector]

Who published it?

It was made and published by some company called Treco, which could explain why it wasn't marketed very well.

They made a few other Genesis games: Task Force Harrier, Fighting Masters, Street Smart, and Atomic Robo-Kid.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard of any of those games either.

Fighting Master is cool. But I'm one of the few that say that.

[Jorpho]

SaGa games are known to be pretty poor (ie SaGa Frontier 1&2, Unlimited SaGa, and the recently released Romancing SaGa(PS2)

Hmm. Unlimited SaGa definitely got some really bad reviews... but the SaGa fanbase is apparently too entrenched for it to be truly unpopular.

[s1lence]

SaGa games are known to be pretty poor (ie SaGa Frontier 1&2, Unlimited SaGa, and the recently released Romancing SaGa(PS2)

Hmm. Unlimited SaGa definitely got some really bad reviews... but the SaGa fanbase is apparently too entrenched for it to be truly unpopular.

I dunno, unlimited SaGa probabily scared most of the fan base away.

[Gapporin]

Shadow.

Madness.

Alright, guys, thread's over, nothing to see here...

Seriously, Shadow Madness doesn't get half of the recognition it deserves, which is a shame, because it's an excellent Japanese-style RPG with a wicked sense of humor. It's probably one of the most underrated games I have ever played.

[Jorpho]

Seriously, Shadow Madness doesn't get half of the recognition it deserves, which is a shame, because it's an excellent Japanese-style RPG with a wicked sense of humor. It's probably one of the most underrated games I have ever played.

I can say almost exactly the same thing about Anachronox.

[evil_genius]

Seems there may be a problem with the search button. I just searched "Zelda" and nothing came up.

[fishsandwich]

How did Hydlide spawn 2 sequals?!?!?! The NES version was unplayable. wasted $4 on a rental back then. I'll say the Genesis Super Hydlide was at least playable as I was able to get somewhere(though not far) and I never dared to try the Saturn version.

THAT"S WHAT I'M SCREAMING! How on earth did this series go THREE ROUNDS in the United States?

Believe me... you DON'T want to try the Saturn game. I don't care how many "endless combinations" you can get from the game (it randomizes all the dungeons and items each new game.) If it sucks the first time, it's not going to get any better the second time around.

Then again... this is one CHEAP rpg. Pick it up if you can get it for less than $3 (which is entirely possible.)

[Snapple]

SaGa games are known to be pretty poor (ie SaGa Frontier 1&2, Unlimited SaGa, and the recently released Romancing SaGa(PS2)

Hmm. Unlimited SaGa definitely got some really bad reviews... but the SaGa fanbase is apparently too entrenched for it to be truly unpopular.

I dunno, unlimited SaGa probabily scared most of the fan base away.

There's still a fanbase for the SaGa games, trust me. In fact, there is still a strong group of people who actually liked Unlimited SaGa.

Personally, I love SaGa Frontier 1 and 2, which some people didn't like. But Unlimited... ugh, I paid like five dollars for it, and I feel like 25 cents would've been overpaying. I hate it. Romancing SaGa is also drawing lots of people to it, but I haven't played it yet.

[Daria]

Even games that are largely panned though have SOME fans. I know people who like Quest 64, the entire Shining series, and so forth.

WTF? If Phantasy Star were Sega's Final Fantasy, Shining Force would be it's Dragon Quest. It's a popular series and in no way, shape or form in the same league with Quest 64.

And to whomever said Treco was a no-name obscure RPG publisher and it's no wonder Sorcercer's Kingdom sucked. Treco also published Warsong (Langrisser) for the Genesis, which turned out to be an excellent SRPG. So much for that logic.

I was actually playing Kingdom the other night (before losing switching to Shadowrun anyway) it's not such a bad game really. The translation's well writen at least. With video games as well as online, good grammar goes a long way in making a good impression. :P

Battles were weird. You can see all the enemies on the exploration screen, and you can either initiate battle, or let them run into you. When you begin a battle all monsters within sight can attack you. So the basic strategy of the game is to lure your foe to the edge of the map before attacking, and proceed to pick them off one by one. Otherwise you're getting gang raped.

Money seems limited because baddies don't appear to respawn. Which sucks because the little bastards are tough. I find myself running back to the inn after every battle or two.

Talking to NPCs is a little annoying. Like Ys you have to run into them to talk, and they move pretty quickly. So I'll end up having to chase down the people I want to talk to and constantly bump into those that I don't.

It seemed to me to be a pretty average RPG. But thinking about it I want to go back and play it some more. But- not until after Shadowrun.

[SoulBlazer]

Um, I don't recall Warsong being published in big numbers either....that was one of the points, the game was released by a small company that did'nt have the resources to produce a huge number of copies.

That, combined with the fact that RPG's were STILL very niche in the late 80's to the mid 90's, are the reasons why this RPG is probaly 'unknown'. I played a little bit of it myself last year when checking out a mess of Genesis ROM's (as I never had a Genesis back in the day) and it seems quite good for a game released in it's time.

It really was'nt until FF7 in 1997 that RPG's increased not only in popularity, but in how many titles were translated and brought over from Japan. As a kid in the late 80's and early 90's I recall 1-2 RPG's coming out a YEAR. Now we get that ratio a MONTH, if not higher.

[Daria]

Who published it?

It was made and published by some company called Treco, which could explain why it wasn't marketed very well.

I never said Warsong was mass produced. Hell it's an r6. But when I read this I thought he said "which explains why it wasn't MADE very well" so I thought it was implying the game was crappy because it was published by Treco. My mistake. :P

[BeowulfXXIV]

SaGa games are known to be pretty poor (ie SaGa Frontier 1&2, Unlimited SaGa, and the recently released Romancing SaGa(PS2)

Hmm. Unlimited SaGa definitely got some really bad reviews... but the SaGa fanbase is apparently too entrenched for it to be truly unpopular.

I dunno, unlimited SaGa probabily scared most of the fan base away.

There's still a fanbase for the SaGa games, trust me. In fact, there is still a strong group of people who actually liked Unlimited SaGa.

Personally, I love SaGa Frontier 1 and 2, which some people didn't like. But Unlimited... ugh, I paid like five dollars for it, and I feel like 25 cents would've been overpaying. I hate it. Romancing SaGa is also drawing lots of people to it, but I haven't played it yet.In my opinion, the reason Saga Frontier one was so well received was because it had extreme diversity, with diffrent stories, each being unique in a good way. SaGa is failing because it's forgetting these principles. I was so dissapointed in Romancing SaGa, because it's not "Pick your Story" it's "Pick whoever-you-want-to-walk-around-as" and they're all essentially the same. Bring back Mecs. Bring back Mystics. Bring back unique environments. Bring back Fans :)

[Aussie2B]

My boyfriend and I are connoisseurs of sorts of obscure and/or hated RPGs. He's crazy about the King's Field series (along with Shadow Tower), and I dig the Druaga series and mildly enjoy the Quest games. He really got into Super Hydlide, and Virtual Hydlide is an Easter tradition in our house where we and some buddies gather 'round and watch his brother play through the entire game. We also at least somewhat enjoyed all the SaGa games that we've played so far, and we both love Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (mostly for the music, though). Oh, and Drakkhen, yeah, my boyfriend was obsessed with that one for awhile too.

[Jorpho]

My boyfriend and I are connoisseurs of sorts of obscure and/or hated RPGs. He's crazy about the King's Field series (along with Shadow Tower), and I dig the Druaga series and mildly enjoy the Quest games.

That reminds me: I don't think anyone much cared for King's Quest VIII, but I don't think that's what you're referring to.

Ultima IX didn't turn out very well either, for that matter.

[DonMarco]

Shadow.

Madness.
Alright, guys, thread's over, nothing to see here...

Seriously, Shadow Madness doesn't get half of the recognition it deserves, which is a shame, because it's an excellent Japanese-style RPG with a wicked sense of humor. It's probably one of the most underrated games I have ever played.

Hey, is "underrated" is a fancy college-word for "very unpopular" or just "damned unpopular"?

[Snapple]

My boyfriend and I are connoisseurs of sorts of obscure and/or hated RPGs. He's crazy about the King's Field series (along with Shadow Tower), and I dig the Druaga series and mildly enjoy the Quest games.

That reminds me: I don't think anyone much cared for King's Quest VIII, but I don't think that's what you're referring to.

Ultima IX didn't turn out very well either, for that matter.

Is King's Quest VIII the platformer one? I heard bad, bad things about it, but I never even saw it to be able to try it. The last one I played was the one where you switch between Valanice and Rosella, and I loved it at the time.

[Gapporin]

Hey, is "underrated" is a fancy college-word for "very unpopular" or just "damned unpopular"?

If "damned unpopular" means "hated with a passion", then I would have to say no. It's not unpopular because everyone hates it; it's unpopular because no one's ever played it. I think if people gave it at least half a try, and got past the crummy graphics (my only qualm with this game), they would like it.

Oh yeah, and for the record: I really like Quest 64. Yeah, I said it.

[Iron Draggon]

Who published it?

It was made and published by some company called Treco, which could explain why it wasn't marketed very well.

They made a few other Genesis games: Task Force Harrier, Fighting Masters, Street Smart, and Atomic Robo-Kid.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard of any of those games either.

Fighting Master is cool. But I'm one of the few that say that.

Fighting Masters is one of my all time favorite fighting games! My friend and I used to play it more than any of my other fighting games, and I had every single one too.

I don't remember much about Sorceror's Kingdom or Traysia, but I do have both of them, and lots of other obscure RPG's too. I still don't have Lagoon for the SNES yet though. The story sounds very lame, but I'd still like to check it out. I have Drakken and Dragon View, so I need it to complete my collection of Kemco-Seika RPGS. HEHE