The Extremely Weird/Unique Console Games Thread

[blissfulnoise]

First, let me give props to NeoZeed's original thread but due to his date restriction, I'm going to submit a new one.

(Let me also say I miss NeoZeed's line of similar posts. Always very enlightening).

So I finally found my copy of Switch! on the PS2 and picked up Pu Li Ru La on the Saturn. It got me to thinking about other "weird" titles on the various systems out there.

Folks that know me know I'm most interested in strange games that play with genre and presentation. I'm interested in finding out what other really strange games people out there know about. Obviously, most of the very weird stuff comes from the other side of the Pacific (Japan), but I'm sure there are some games I've missed along the way that were released over here.

Please post some suggestions for me to try out or for others to get interested in. Try to keep it console only since the PC has so many awesome strange games to try (but if you do have some recommendations on the PC, feel free to submit them in my other Indie game thread here.

To get everyone in the mood, I'll list some of my favorite games in said genre...

LSD: The Dream Emulator
Sony Playstation (Japan Only)
1998



This is my holy grail game right now. I've got a copy of it now and have been looking for it off and on for the last few years. You essentially navigate a dream environment and all sorts of bizarre things happen to you. There's virtually no real interaction.

Panic! (aka Switch!)
Sega CD/Mega CD (US/JPN), Playstation 2 (Japan Only)
1994



One of my most treasured games. You simply navigate through strange and stranger rooms by pressing random buttons located on each screen. Some will advance you through the stages, most will do very odd things. No real game here, but this is an experience not to be missed. If nothing else to just be shocked that is was ported over here in the first place.

The Rub Rabbits!/Where Do Babies Come From?
Nintendo DS (US/JPN)
2006



The game is pretty much just a collection of odd mini-games but its the whole package that really makes this game something special. The first game, Feel the Magic XX/XY delivered an excellent experience but the sequel brought everything over the top. There's a great deconstruction on love and life to be found in the little flash cart.

Katamari Damacy
Sony Playstation 2 (US/JPN)
2004



What more can be said? It's cliche but man is it still great.

Killer 7
Nintendo GameCube/Sony Playstation 2 (US/JPN)
2005



Suda 51's master work. Undeniably odd and undeniably awesome even if the actual gameplay is suspect.

Doshin the Giant 2
Nintendo 64DD (Japan Only)
2000

I can't embed the video, but just check this thing out on YouTube. I can't make heads or tails of it except to say it's absolutely fantastic. I'm trying to justify me buying this game straight up (it’s a pretty expensive title); I probably will soon.

Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland
Nintendo DS (JPN/EUR)
2006/2007



I’ve never played this game either but just looking at some of the screenshots has to throw it up on any self-respecting weird game list due to just the protagonist. Arguably the weirdest character Nintendo has ever cranked out.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Atari 2600 (US)
1982



Though the game itself doesn’t really measure up on the “weird” front, playing it as a 5 year old kid, you sure are left dumbfounded by what the hell is going on. Even playing it now, it’s impossible not to notice how strange a VCS take on the definitive adventure movie is. Dots and lines flying around, black squigglies running after you, and strange blobs of land litter the landscape. While other VCS games are just as headscratchingly strange (Riddle of the Sphinx, Swordquest) without any context, I feel that Indy did it first, and best

Electroplankton
Nintendo DS (US/JPN)
2006



I was so sure this wasn’t going to see a release over here, I went ahead and imported it. I was wrong. Not really a game so much as an experiment in sound and visuals. It found an extremely small audience on this side of the Atlantic and commands respectable prices on eBay as a result. Totally unique on the DS and well worth experiencing.

flOw
Playstation 3 (US) (Download Only)
2007



Its been called an interactive screensaver. Its been called genius. Its been called boring as hell. To me, flOw sums up what can be exciting about games these days. Beautiful, unorthodox, and haunting experiences that can transcend genre and classification. They don't have to be complex or deep to be compelling. Breaking games down to their essentials and opening doors to new types of "play" are going to help evolve the next lines of exciting games that will directly correlate to the next swash of mega titles. That Game Company is on the front lines (along with Grasshopper Manufacture and Q? and many individuals like Keita Takahashi, Fumito Ueda, and Tatsuya Kando) of pushing game design forward. And this is very, very exciting.

[nestlekwik]

You can get some pretty weird things to happen in No One Stops Mr. Domino for the Playstation once you get good enough at forming the chains. Also for Playstation, Incredible Crisis has a lot of really bizarre happenings but it's a really fun mini-game series that pans out over a silly storyline. Both were given U.S. releases and don't cost a whole lot, but they are slightly hard to find in the wild (both are 4s according to the DP guide).

[rkotm]

Vib Ribbon for PSX, do REZ or Parappa count?

[carlcarlson]

The original Toe Jam and Earl for Genesis. I don't think I've ever played a game like this, and to think it came out in the 90s is very bizarre to me. A friend of mine had Panic on Funkatron when I was younger, and when I learned about emulation I decided to download it again. I mistakenly got the first game and boy was I confused. I thought it was horrible and deleted it almost immediately. Luckily a year ago there was a blizzard and a neighbor with this very game. We drank margaritas and played until 3am, finally beating it. It was an experience like I've never had before.

[kentuckyfried]

Earthbound and it's militant hippies, finding burgers in the garbage should cut the mustard for the list

[FrakAttack]

Chibi-Robo is kinda strange, as is Pikmin for that matter, but strange in good ways. And I always felt the Shadow of the Beast games had a weird vibe to them. Weirdest game I ever played was Reactor cuz I couldn't figure out what the hell you were supposed to do. Guess that's why it never reallycaught on.

[Ed Oscuro]

In b4 Cho Aniki (Big Brother)...

Glider Pro for the Mac...you're a paper airplane flying around a house. Pretty awesome huh? It's now freeware...I should get ahold of this and Dark Castle and play 'em on one of my classic Macs sometime.

Xargon: Not a bad idea for a game; it's a platformer. Lots of the usual Pac-Man and collect-a-thon style fruit items and emeralds to pick up for points, but the wildly varied atmosphere (from friendly Centipede-themed levels to darker dungeon levels with skull-spider things crawling about) and the bizarre main character (even his name, Malvineous, is unusual) can shoot aimable (!) lasers out of his chest...area. Interesting game, anybody who likes Commander Keen and Epic could do worse than try out the shareware episode. The game had a strange release history too - I posted about that a while ago.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Echochrome for PS3/PSP

as I described it in the mini-review thread I made : it's equal parts Zen exercise, minimalist art project, and MENSA entrance exam.

Another brain-bending beauty from Sony Japan Studios!

[cosmicpsycho]

Skullmonkeys-PS1

I don't know if this fits what you're looking for since the gameplay is that of a somewhat typical platformer. The music is insane and outstanding, also with weapons like the "universe enema" you really can't go wrong. The claymation graphics are also quite pleasing.

[Jorpho]

You can hardly mention Skullmonkeys without mentioning its sadly neglected PC prequel, The Neverhood. Rumor has it there's actually a movie in the works.

Trio the Punch probably deserves a mention right about now.
http://www.djpretzel.com/blog/?page_id=16

And probably Waku Waku 7, come to think if it.
http://www.hg101.classicgaming.games...ftfighters.htm

[neist]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but Zombie Nation for NES is pretty dang weird. Lemme quote the story as its told at the beginning of the game.

1999- What appeared to be a harmless meteorite crashing in the Nevada desert had turned out to be Darc Seed, an evil alien creature with horrible powers. By shooting strange magnetic rays, Darc Seed had turned the helpless nation into zombies and brought the Statue of Liberty to life to do his dirty work. These rays also gave him control over many deadly weapons, but none were more powerful than the legendary samurai sword, Shura. When the great head of the samurai, Namakubi heard that the sword had fallen into evil hands, he set off immediately for the United States. For only he possessed the strength and knowledge needed to recapture the magical sword and free the U.S. from the evil clutches of Darc Seed.

Its by far one of the strangest video games I've ever played. Its not very good, but it is very strange.

[cosmicpsycho]

You can hardly mention Skullmonkeys without mentioning its sadly neglected PC prequel, The Neverhood. Rumor has it there's actually a movie in the works.

Trio the Punch probably deserves a mention right about now.
http://www.djpretzel.com/blog/?page_id=16

And probably Waku Waku 7, come to think if it.
http://www.hg101.classicgaming.games...ftfighters.htm

Sadly I haven't played The Neverhood as I don't really play PC games. I might just have to pick this one up though.

[Jorpho]

Sadly I haven't played The Neverhood as I don't really play PC games. I might just have to pick this one up though.

There are very few old PC games that regularly command a high price due to their rarity and desirability. The Neverhood is one of them. (Nonetheless, it is not at all difficult to find a downloadable copy, if you are not concerned about legality issues.)

[Trebuken]

Psychonauts...

[blissfulnoise]

I had totally forgotten about Trio the Punch though it never actually saw a release outside of the arcade.

There are also cameos from Karnov and Chelnov, popular Data East characters, and Colonel Sanders of KFC fame, who shows up as a boss.

Now that's full of win.

Some very good games have been brought up so far, but I was hoping some of our more well versed folks on Japanese games could chime in with some strange and experimental releases over there. Hardcore Gaming 101 is typically great at introducing all sorts of cool releases and I know Steven had a very good Saturn import thread going.

That said games like Earthbound and Toe Jam and Earl definately experimented with genres (TJ&E is pretty much a roguelike!) and found great success over here. It's just really really bizarre and interesting console games to see US releases are few and far between.

I never did get a chance to play any of the "Neverhood" games. They seemed very, very British. I think i'll have to see if I can find a copy of Neverhood and give it a go. I remember seeing some video of it and it did look pretty wild.

[DDCecil]

Here's 2 PC Engine games that need mentioning:

Aurora Quest: Otaku no Seiza - Super Strange RPG that makes Earthbound seem normal!

Bakushou Yoshimoto No Shinkigeki - Super funny platformer w/ tons of minigames, which plays like a sketch show:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7...sandersht1.png

Don't forget about Real Sound for Sega Saturn:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61820

[Smashed Brother]

Man oh man, do I love weird and wacky titles! One of the more recent ones that people may or may not know about is 'Godhand' (PS2). This unique little gem was brought to us by our friends from Clover (Okami, Viewtiful Joe). If you can get past the PS1-quality presentation, bi-curious control scheme and extreme difficulty (no joke), then you are in for one of the strangest beat-em-ups that you've ever seen!

You get to gorilla-suplex a trained wrestling gorilla who's wearing only spandex! Sometimes when you kill an enemy, a random demon pops out of their carcass and the background gets all dark while ominous music starts playing. This is never explained throughout the story of the game, by the way, so it makes no sense whatsoever. The first bosses are two ambiguously 'alternate-lifestyle' men who use 'various tactics that only two alternate-lifestyle men could use in tandem' to take you out.

Then, there are the dominatrix women who you get to bend over YOUR knee and then proceed to repeatedly pummel their buttocks -with a glowing hand- until you deliver the coup de grace which sends them flying 30 feet in the opposite direction (crashing into nearby objects/buildings) while your character lets out a victory yell!

You get to fight against a boss composed of five 'little people' dressed exactly like Power Rangers. Enemies randomly dance with the background music until you approach them, at which point they begin to taunt you by asking if you're 'nervous'. Fat guy enemies walk a few feet before either tripping and falling, or bending over to catch their breath. They can also fly at you with a torpedo headbutt from out of nowhere, which makes no sense.

Seriously, this game is chock full of weirdness the likes of which you have never seen and what I wrote here barely scratches the surface.

[RARusk]

Does "Stretch Panic" (PS2) count?

[Jorpho]

I have read thoroughly disturbing things about Sazae for the X68k. Sadly - well, not so sadly, actually - the thorough English review I once encountered of the game seems to be gone forever. If you search, do so cautiously. 'Nuff said.

[blissfulnoise]

I'm assuming this is what you're talking about Jorpho.

Extremely strange indeed. Stranger still that someone made a Doujin remake.

It seems like there's an actual glut of software out there dealing with Japanese anxiety over sex. And surprisingly several in the shooter genre.

Taking a second look, it seems I'm falling back head over heels with Doshin 2 on the 64DD. Does anyone actually have any real information on what/how you play the game and what the objectives are? I'm really fascinated by these seemingly obtuse games that appear to lose everything in translation.

And really good call on Real Sound DDCecil. That's exactly the avenue I'm interested in exploring. I actually own the game but I haven't tried to do anything with it. It's simply more appealing as a concept than as a game.