RPGs that are/were underestimated!

[Ionstormsucks]

Ok, since someone closed my "overestimated RPG" thread - here now the thread that deals with RPGs that were/are underestimated!!!

I'll begin with... hmmmpf... uhmmm... ya well... hmm...

meh... you start!

PS: maybe we can just make it games that were underestimated... might be easier.

 

[curious]

since you're strarting a new thread/changing the wording i would suggest dropping the word estimated as (not trying to insult you if english isn't your first language) it is not a very accurate word to use as i think most people will be thinking in terms of overrated or underrated. estimated would apply to peoples opinions of games before they are even finished. i'm not trying to be nitpicky but in a thread that spawned so muched discussion it would be helpful to start things off as clear as possible...

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

We could open up a second discussion. I'd actually like to see your opinions about games that are/were "underestimated". As long as the discussion remains civilized, of course.

 

[Ionstormsucks]

since you're strarting a new thread/changing the wording i would suggest dropping the word estimated as (not trying to insult you if english isn't your first language) it is not a very accurate word to use as i think most people will be thinking in terms of overrated or underrated. estimated would apply to peoples opinions of games before they are even finished. i'm not trying to be nitpicky but in a thread that spawned so muched discussion it would be helpful to start things off as clear as possible...

I have to admit I wasn't aware of that... thanks for the advice. Well let's make it underrated then instead of underestimated. What I meant was if people know of a game that they thought was quite good, but didn't get enough attention, or did get rather poor reviews.

 

[HiddenX]

Underdogs - these games should get more attention:

Albion
Evil Islands
Independence War 2
Wizardry 8

 

[Ionstormsucks]

Underdogs - these games should get more attention:

Albion

Oh yeah, I found that one pretty good. At first I was a bit disappointed because Albion was somewhat more linear than Amberstar and Ambermoon (the games that Thalion made before Albion), but the setting and plot of Albion were really nice!

As another underdog Wizards & Warriors came to my mind. It got really poor reviews in some magazines, but I never could really understand why. It certainly isn't the greatest game out there, and the character creation kinda sucks, but I still very much enjoyed it.

 

[Zaleukos]

Kinda hard to pick, but of the ones I've played I'd say that Arcanum and SSIs old Darksun games got less recognition than deserved. Ditto for the Realms of Arkania games, but I suspect they were big in Germany.

 

[Moriendor]

Ditto for the Realms of Arkania games, but I suspect they were big in Germany.

Yes, they were . But not only (t)here. Star Trail actually scored PC Gamer's "RPG of the Year" award in 1994 so "underestimated/underrated" doesn't really apply.
Also, the series probably wouldn't have disappeared back in 1996 if they would have gone with a different publisher. Topware killed Shadows over Riva by making it a budget game. That must have been one of the dumbest moves in German game publishing history since it was completely unnecessary to target the budget market with such an accomplished franchise.

 

[Corwin]

Possibly SS1 when it was released, though that could also apply to Fallout. The media seemed to ignore both games!!

 

[Moriendor]

...though that could also apply to Fallout. The media seemed to ignore both games!!

Nah. A total of 21 reviews with an average score of 90.9% is hardly ignorance . It "undersold" maybe but it wasn't underrated/-estimated.

 

[JemyM]

Gothic III

 

[JDR13]

Gothic III

Surely Gothic 1&2 even more so. Especially the first Gothic, it received no advertising at all here in the US. I'm thankful to have stumbled upon it by accident.

 

[Cormac]

Oblivion and Divine Divinity.

 

[Corwin]

Gothic 1 wasn't even released in Australia!!

 

[Squeek]

I would definitely have to vote for Gothic. Most RPG fans overlooked it completely. Then some of the ones who did give it a try gave up on it before they mastered the interface. Too bad. Gothic was an exceptional game -- the kind you can love.

 

[Lucky Day]

Since the category is Underestimated not Underrated...

Baldur's Gate was released with some obscurity. The big game that year was (1998) supposed to be Ultima 9 and there was buzz with Fallout 2 as Fallout 1 gave it a lot of word of mouth. Dungeons and Dragons as a name had been faltering for a few years.

Coincidentally, Icewind Dale was supposed to tank in light that it had the same release date as as Diablo 2.

Diablo 1 had a poor initial release as its satanic box art put a lot of people off. But that's not an RPG of course.

I don't think anyone realized the Gold Box games would be as big as they became, although Ultima was still outselling it.

FF was a boulder that started downhill in Japan and is still rolling.

Ultima Online took EA completely by surprise with 55 000 accounts in the first month. It overwhelmed their capacity.

EQ's smooth 3d graphics unseated UO.

Warcraft, although had tremendous hype and expectation, I doubt anyone would have believed that EQ would suffer such losses.

City if Heroes was a minor hit, defying the pattern fantasy RPG's.

Wizardry I. No one thought such a game was possible with the technology available.

Ultima 3 ditto.

Ultima 4 the one CRPG that made a complete Gestalt Shift in gaming in general. Later games would simplify the morality feature to a simple Karma meter.

Ultima Underworld: the first major smooth scrolling FPS. It didn't do well in sales, yet keeping the Ultima tradition it radically changed gaming forever.

King's Bounty: few people played this game but it launched the Heroes of Might and Magic series

Might and Magic 6 revived the traditional CRPG which was thought long dead. I contend it was inspired by the emulation craze of the mid to late nineties. 3do realized such games were marketable again.

Gemstone: AOL's MUDD coughed up $2 and hour from anyone that played. Such games were so successful they scrapped the original NWN when no one would leave when they went unlimited monthly.

Colossal Caverns Adventure took over many a mainframe and was launched at roughly the same time as D&D PnP

 

[Corwin]

How was UU an FPS? There were no guns in the game!!

 

[Hindukönig]

Well, you could shoot rocks, arrows and magic missiles, for example.

 

[aries100]

Kult: Heretic Kingdoms is, imo, a very underestimated rpg. It has a nice story, some very fine dialoques and some fine character interaction as well. You're pretty much oon your own, since there isn't even a map in the HUD (or UI). But I have played through the demo, and when I saw the game for 10 US dollars in the bargain bin, I grabbed it

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Ultima 4 the one CRPG that made a complete Gestalt Shift in gaming in general.

Interesting. It's the very first time I read this expression.

"Gestalt" means "form", basically, but is more used for works of art.