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Obscure Platformers


Dr.Flintlock
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Wario Land 3 for Game Boy Colour was so much win. Especially the golf minigames.

DJ Mokram beat me to it, but Dynamite Headyy is so awesome it deserves more

mentions. Dashing Desperados for Genesis was something of a racing game, but it had

some good gameplay going for it.

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Awesome Possum (Genesis)- Well, Tengen tried. They took an eco-friendly idea, and tried to run with it. The problem is, they didn't try hard enough. The graphics, while not bad, don't stand up to the other games I've mentioned. The music, while not bad, falls into the same category. The frame rate, as odd as this sounds, has a hard time keeping up with the game. It feels like it's running at about 15 fps, which causes problems when you start moving fast.

The sad part is, they did a few things right. Big levels, the character is actually lip synced to his sayings (and there are a lot of them), and the between levels questions can be fun. But the technical issues overshadow the few things that work. Even so, give it a try. Who knows... you might like it.

I beat that game back in the day! The difficulty is actually pretty high towards the end .. damn yellow spikes! (White spikes just damage you; yellow spikes were instant death!)

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Awesome Possum (Genesis)- Well, Tengen tried. They took an eco-friendly idea, and tried to run with it. The problem is, they didn't try hard enough. The graphics, while not bad, don't stand up to the other games I've mentioned. The music, while not bad, falls into the same category. The frame rate, as odd as this sounds, has a hard time keeping up with the game. It feels like it's running at about 15 fps, which causes problems when you start moving fast.

The sad part is, they did a few things right. Big levels, the character is actually lip synced to his sayings (and there are a lot of them), and the between levels questions can be fun. But the technical issues overshadow the few things that work. Even so, give it a try. Who knows... you might like it.

I remember seeing an ad for that game and it kinda came off as another of the millions of cutesy-animal-hero-platformer games of the time (didn't Bill Clinton's cat have its own game?) with all kinds of 90s trappings - it kinda looked like early Sonic meets Captain Planet. He's saving the environment! With ATTITUDE! Never mind the subtitle was something like "Kicking Doctor Machino's Butt!"

... I dunno, I brushed it off pretty quickly. I'm kinda surprised to see its name come up again, I guess.

Speaking of 90s-animal-heroes, though, Aero the Acro-Bat was a lot of fun. Lots of variety, somewhat unique play mechanics, big levels, pretty damn hard (I seem to remember Sunsoft offering some kind of prize for people who actually beat it), though it didn't help that it had no password/save system. Once you beat the game it gave you stats on your playthrough (I think I remember it saying I died over seventy times and still had like twenty extra lives). I seem to remember hearing an incredibly bad GBA (?) port was made as well as some lackluster sequels.

Plok, Plok, Plok. Oh the soundtrack is <3

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pandemonuim.

and its sequel

Agreed! I played my PS1 copy of the first game recently, and it's so bizarre. Bouncing, giant mushrooms, giant eyeballs, melons, more bouncing, and almost any enemy. Plus, the realistic-looking characters you play as just look so out-of-place in such a weird world.

If I recall, the sequel's even stranger!

Awesome games, though. :)

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tomba is badass

has anyone played heart of darkness for the ps1? i beat it in a single sitting but it was a pretty fun time. very similar to the oddworld games

Dynamite Headdy. A 16bits jewel from Treasure for the Sega Genesis.

Lot of engrish in the US & EU ports, but highly enjoyable... and also hard as hell! :mrgreen:

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my cousin had headdy in cartridge form. it's really fun, better than ristar imo

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has anyone played heart of darkness for the ps1? i beat it in a single sitting but it was a pretty fun time. very similar to the oddworld games
Actually played that one for the very first time not too long ago. Lovely game. It was actually made by the same guy that did Another World, and it shows.

Shame it had such a shitty ending.

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Anyone remember a title called Silhouette Mirage? It was developed by Treasure for the PS1 and had some of the best sprite work I've seen in a game. Also had an evil beetle boss that said "Redrum" whenever you shot him.

Yeah, I played that one. The mechanic of having to switch between sides hurt my brain a bit, but definitely a unique concept.

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Anyone has ever played Glover? It was pretty good...

Oh I remember Glover. When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I remember it was actually free at Wal-Mart. I don't remember what the deal was (probably some mail-in rebate or something), but I do remember sending my dad there to get it for me the day I had to have 6 baby teeth pulled so my permanent teeth could grow in. The teeth pulling hurt like hell, and apparently the roots were actually longer than the average adult molar, and the dentist conceded after the fact that he should have put me to sleep. They had to drill into my teeth to get them out... it hurts just thinking about it.

So anyway, about Glover. That night, I came home and I was lying on the couch when I remembered that my dad had gotten the game for me. I popped it in, and it was pretty good, but the smell of my drilled teeth stuck with me while I was playing the game. Long story short, I associate Glover with getting teeth pulled. But yeah, good game.

My own contribution, and I'm sorry if it was already mentioned, but N64 - Rocket: Robot on Wheels was really fun.

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Oddly enough I never played much of the original Strider but I enjoyed Strider 2 (PS1) quite a bit.

strider2-3.jpg

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strider2-1.jpg

This game rocked my socks, no joke. And then I went ahead and tried out the first one and got a severe ass whooping.

Seriously, I'm hoping with Capcom reviving Bionic Commando, there may still be hope for a new Strider title. I'd rather see that over another Lost Planet right now.

Also, I know this one was more of an action/rpg but Brave Fencer Musashi was pretty much sheer brilliance (And corny names) on the PS1

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Anyone remember a title called Silhouette Mirage? It was developed by Treasure for the PS1 and had some of the best sprite work I've seen in a game. Also had an evil beetle boss that said "Redrum" whenever you shot him.

My god, that game was ridiculous. I think I remember fighting four bosses within the first twenty minutes of the game. And then I got to a werewolf, but didn't have enough health or ammo or something to beat him...

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Muto's considered obscure? In that case, this one too.

While we're at it, Psychonauts?

I didn't think Psychonauts was obscure. As far as I knew, a lot of people knew about it, but few actually chose to check it out.

We live in the age of the FPS. God forbid someone actually wants to play something that involves platforming or COLOUR anymore.

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