Zevin_Mars wrote:
No, the so-so niche titles of today will be the forgotten titles of tomorrow. The fact that you would even say that "so-so" niche games will be the hidden gems of tomorrow makes me think you've adjusted your standards south to accommodate for the weak pool of RPGs this gen has to offer.
You wanna know what the hidden gems of previous generations were? Stuff like Terranigma on the SNES, Suikoden II on the PS1, or Shadow Hearts: Covenant on the PS2, none of which were "so-so" games, they were excellent games. No one talks about stuff like Paladin's Quest on the SNES for a reason.
Sorry if I'm coming off as combative here, it's not my intention, I just feel like we're being silly acting like the PS3 will be anything other than an average platform to play RPGs on.
It's not really an adjustment of my standards so much as what could be seen as really being quite cynical about it.
Part of being a "hidden gem" is that it's, well, hidden, or at least ignored. Could be due to availability, poor/middling reviews or word of mouth, or simply coming out in the shadow of some other title(s).
Of your examples, you have a game that never saw U.S. release, a game that had average reviews on release coupled with a low print run, and a well reviewed game that actually served to increase the popularity of the series in the U.S...that likely got lost in the slew of big-name releases that fall (little ones, like WoW, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, MGS3, and so on).
I'm not trying to lump everything into one category, just more that
some games later pointed out as "hidden gems" are not seen as being especially great on release. Not necessarily terrible, just not great. 'course, games being subjective, there's a chance someone will get their hands on a game, see it in a different light, and praise it (or at least parts of it) to the right group, and it gets a better reputation.
Or, possibly, people are looking for things other than the well-known, greatest hits type releases. Maybe they've finally finished all the AAA titles, maybe they're dead set on that system/era, maybe they want to feel special for playing games not everyone else does. Who knows. End result: interest in game goes up, the common assessment of the game changes, a hidden gem is born.
Just scanning down the PS2 "hidden gems" list on Racketboy, and quick comparing to 1up reviews, you can find some that really were highly recommended. Plenty of them were C/C+ rated titles too. Not every classic is an instant classic, much less universally regarded as such.
