Games that should have been succesful

Hey duders. For whatever reason I started to think about a brilliant semi-old game today. And that game is Age of Conan. Man that game was fucking awesome. It had tons of stuff that MMOs never have, even to this day. The combat was fucking awesome with Skyrim-type dismemberment, the graphics were insane for it's time, and the gameplay was actually varied and interesting. The game actually felt like a coherent experience, which is something a lot of MMOs struggle with. Just the fact that you could fucking sprint and climb god damned ladders... Ah, a good game. No doubt about that.

Anyway, what are some games that you liked that you think should have been more succesful?

I bought Evolve on sale recently after ignoring it for months due to its unenthusiastic reception, and that game is really brilliant in a lot of ways. I think it did ok in sales, but I'm not confident we will ever get a sequel that refines it.

Asura's Wrath. It might not have been much of a game but the insane japanese bullshit was well worth the price. Doubt it will ever get a sequel.

I really liked Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom but basically nobody even knew it existed.

@mikelitoriz: I was always very intrigued by Age of Conan, but never got it as it was an MMO. It had no single player storyline did it? I just wanted to play that game so bad though.

On topic, maybe Bulletstorm. Or The Movies (Really wanted a sequel to that) Cant think of any other games right now

Bionic Domain.

That game was great

EDIT: Binary Domain!

Not Bionic Domain...

Bummer about this for me is the PS3 version is as bad as the PS3 version of Bayonetta was, with all the screen tearing and framrate problems. Really wanted to play through this game but it's too much.

Anarchy Reigns, super fun over the top multiplayer action game that died because nobody played it.

Ride to Hell.
They had a trilogy planned and everything.

Asura's Wrath and Binary Domain. Both games were number 2 and 3 on my 2012 GotY list, wish more people played them as they really are unique experiences that are very enjoyable. I still stand by my description of Binary Domain as being Japanese Gears of War with better combat ONCE you upgrade your weapons, and fuck the boss battle bullet sponges.

Side Note: 2012 was a really great year in video games. It ended up having a ton of surprises and really showed me the different experiences I can have in video games in general. I hope it becomes a year that people will argue as one of the best of all time as I think the quality is definitely there.

Oni is one game I wish was more successful, it is still my favorite Bungie game. It had a really good melee combat system and a sequel could have fixed some of the issues like the sparse world.

Another is Alpha Protocol, that game is great warts and I wish it did better. I will also echo the sentiment of everyone saying Binary Domain I got it after the Game of the Year discussion and that game is sooooo good.

Legend of Dragoon, Future Cop LAPD and Ranger-X. Will repeat these three till the end of time dammit!

Bulletstorm had amazing gameplay and the story was not as terrible as it looked. That game was torpedoed by the term "dicktits".

Burnout Paradise. Jeff' game of the generation wasn't a big enough hit to get a sequel.

Darkstalkers.

YES. This person gets videogames. First time I've heard anyone on these boards recognize Future Cop for the fantastic game it was... no... is.

Okami, even with like 3 releases it sold next to "nothing"

The only game that immediately comes to mind, when I think of games I really enjoyed and have heard people mention basically never, is the Mark of Kri. Really cool stealth action game with some great animations. I know they made a sequel, so it couldn't have been totally unknown, but like I said, no one mentions it.

Metal Arms A Glitch in the System and Armed and Dangerous. Both were/are games with a fun sense of humor.

besides what's already been mentioned (Binary Domain definitely was a tragedy), lord there's tons. These are the ones that spring to mind, but I'm sure it's just the tip of the iceberg of what i could come up with if I really looked.

• Dragon's Dogma
• Valkyria Chronicles
• Grim Fandango
• Beyond Good & Evil
• Shadow of Rome
• Remember Me
• Maximo:Ghosts to Glory
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215
• Pyschonauts
• Dragon's Quest (pretty much any American releases save 1-3 and 8)
• Xenogears
• Titan Quest
• Enslaved: Journey to the West
• Syndicate

All good and in some cases great games.

and pretty scared that D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die will be on this list if sales don't pick up for it soon. Last I looked on Steamspy, it was barely moving copies.

Dragon's Dogma (not sure how it sold) but in terms of gameplay, with a few minor tweaks, that game could have been really amazing. There were just a few things that drove me nuts to the point of thinking of it negatively.

@slag: wasn't 999 a sequel of sorts to Hotel Dusk?

Yup. It caught a lot of unnessecary flack for it's DLC scheme(which was completely reasonable).

I'd nominate Vanquish. That shit was tight. But the buying public only seems to pay attention to Mikami's survival horror games.

And "A Boy and His Blob" by Wayforward for the Wii. So satisfying to complete. Dedicated hug button!

This thread is fantastic. Only game I would add to all of the above lists would probably be Too Human. It wasn't great but I think a sequel could have refined some things to make a really cool game.

@skullpanda1: was it?

I had no idea. Did the Cing people join Chunsoft after the bankruptcy?

If so that would be similar to what happened to Xenogears/Xenosaga/Xenoblade

Blade of Darkness, a Spanish RPG that was about 8 years before it's time, because even more than King's Field, it totally was Demon's Souls.

Yup, Future Cop was great, I'd love to see a sequel to it. :(

Geist. It wasn't a perfect game by any means but it was fun and did some interesting things. Nintendo owns the IP but I doubt we ever get to see a sequel.

@shiftymagician: I was with you on Legend of Dragoon until I realized that the combat part is basically in Mario and Luigi. And the writing im Bowser's inside story is infinitely better than LoD

So maybe play that. And pour one out for Dart.

Shana will never not suck.

How have you monsters not said Panzer Dragoon Saga?

Chances are I'm in a very small minority with this one, but P.N.03.

Halo Master Chief Collection.

Beyond the terrible bugs that haunted this game for months it should still be a no brainer for consumers. Every Halo game and every Halo multiplayer map all in one package. This should be a dream for anyone who played Halo online at any point. Instead the playlists divide the online community so much, and the lack of a large online presence due to constant problems with matchmaking, really killed that games potential. I still think it's a good product, especially compared to its launch, but more so for the campaign and memories these games can bring forth. Otherwise it's a poor investment for someone hoping to dive back into the old school multiplayer matches.

Grandia and Shadow Hearts

The Monster Hunter series (specifically in the West; it's insanely successful in Japan).

These games achieve that perfect balance between skill and strategy. Learning a monster's movements, attacks, tells, etc., then coming up with an attack plan, and finally seeing it all work is satisfying as all hell. It does have control issues (especially for beginners), but I feel like that's a hurdle worth overcoming, as there isn't a single series out there that comes close when it comes to providing a sense of achievement.

Carball...no i will not let it go!!!

Actually I'll go as far as to say any good game that was exclusive to Sega Saturn and to lesser extent Dreamcast.

SATURN:

Dragon Force

Guardian Heroes

Dreamcast:

Power Stone

My understanding is the MH4U actually performed very well in the west this time.

I'd argue that most of the games made my Platinum and Clover Studios don't get their due (I realize they're critical darlings but they don't sell). I had a maddening experience trying to get all my friends who bought Wii U's to play smash to try Bayo 2 and they were having none of it. It broke my heart.

Almost everything from Obsidian.

ICO is obviously the one true answer to this question. A timeless classic that might as well not exist in the eyes of gamers and critics alike.

Obligatory Okami answer also. Another classic.

Agreed with those above about Future Cop LAPD. Got a demo cd with that on it, me and a mate would spend weeks on end playing the vs multiplayer mode, untill I eventually bought the game. Shit was good.

For me, the NES "classic" Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Overhead action RPG with a full on inventory for you and your crew (though you couldn't play as them they were good packmules at least), overhead team battle for big events (here is where equipping your crew with some gear is useful), one on one duels for story specific boss fights. Pretty ambitious as a latter day NES game.

I second this.
I can understand the reasons some people may have over-looked it, but man they missed out on something that started sort of silly and ended in "HOLY SHIT, I'm so invested in everything that is happening right now!"

@betterley: I think you mean Binary Domain, but yeah, that game was pretty great.

@armaan8014: I agree on Bulletstorm. It was't perfect, but at the very least a sequel would have given us a slew of new weapons to play with. I would have liked to see where they took the new weapons had they had a chance to make a sequel.

Shinobi and Nightshade (not to be confused with the NES game by Konami/Ultra Games and Beam Software) on PlayStation 2. The Ninja Gaiden reboot on Xbox ate those games' lunch, or at the very least, took a really huge bite out of it. Still, I thought they were pretty solid platformers.

:)

Vanquish

Conker's Bad Fur Day :(

@tyrrael:
I stand corrected!
That is what I meant.

I feel worthless, how could I get that wrong?

I hate my life.

Bulletstorm is the best shooter of the last generation

Krater. Although a bit more lighthearted than Wasteland or Fallout, it's about as close as someone could get to having a 'Fallout game' set in Europe - Sweden, no less, one of the oft-forgotten winterlands. The multiplayer was a bit weird and the classes needed more variety in their alternate versions, but overall it was a fun as hell romp. Very well-made, very fun.