Game evangelism: Unsung, weird, or bad games you promote

[ElkinFencer10]

My top 10 are

1. Muv-Luv Alternative (PC/Vita)
2. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After (PC)
3. Muv-Luv Unlimited (PC/Vita)
4. Muv-Luv Extra (PC/Vita)
5. Muv-Luv photonflowers (PC)
6. Muv-Luv photonmelodies (PC)
7. Project MIKHAIL: A Muv-Luv War Story (PC/Switch [soon])
8. Tokyo Mirage Sessions (Wii U/Switch)
9. Epic Dumpster Bear (Wii U/PS4/PC)
10. MadWorld (Wii)

[ZRofel]

Elkin, why do you hate Muv-Luv so much?

I do second MadWorld, though. I love that the guy who spearheaded Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre, Yasumi Matsuno, wrote the scenario for that game, which he clearly did towards the end of its development, as the cut scenes and the gameplay have essentially nothing to do with one another

[Raging Justice]

Okay, what are everybody's top 10 games you think people don't talk about enough? I don't mean necessarily "Hidden Gems" but games that, whatever their current state of notoriety is, you think it should be even more. Here's my list, in no particular order:

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Xbox/PC, 2005) - Hilariously slapstick zombie apocalypse simulator where you play as the adorably titular patient zero. This game was made by a bunch of Halo people after they left Bungie, and despite getting good reviews, it pretty much disappeared after release until it magically reappeared as a GameStop exclusive for modern consoles a few months back. Even the clerk I bought it from had never heard of it.
The Surge (PS4/Xbox One/PC, 2017) - Dark Souls set in Silicone Valley. A little rough around the edges, but one of the very few "Souls-like" games that feels like it gets it.
Super Daryl Deluxe (PS4/PC, 2018) - Napoleon Dynamite meets The Venture Brothers and turned into Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with a smidgen of Guardian Heroes thrown in. Legitimately one of the best games I've played in years, and it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!
Vice: Project Doom (NES, 1991) - Basically a late-'80s anime done as an NES game, and arguably one of the best action platformers on the NES.
Bully (PS2, 2006) - This is Rockstar's best game, bar none, and yet I feel like it gets completely overshadowed by Grand Theft Auto and the Red Dead series. It features the same open-world mayhem and heavy-handed satire as their other games, but on a much, much smaller, more intimate scale. You're not a sociopath inflicting himself on a city of faceless NPCs, but a kid who can choose to harass or be kind to the residents of small boarding-school town who he knows and interacts with regularly.
Three Dirty Dwarves (Saturn/PC, 1996) - Just finished talking about this over in the Saturn thread, but it's essentially a manic brawler with the style and tone of a bizarre European cartoon. A really fun, unique game with a style that didn't really mesh with the jRPGs and shooters the Saturn was known for
The Neverhood (PC, 1996) - A gorgeous, hilarious claymation point-and-click adventure game that should be viewed alongside the other greats of the genre. Somehow manages to combine Myst-like isolation and puzzle solving with Ren & Stimpy-style weirdness and crass humor in a way that not only works, but creates a truly singular tone and style. Practically every other classic adventure game has been re-released on Steam or GOG, but still no Neverhood...
Jump Ultimate Stars (DS import, 2006) - To my mind, the only Smash Bros. clone that actually succeeds in aping the fun of Smash while also being its own thing. Features a KOF-size roster of characters from dozens of different manga, their look and combat-style perfectly captured in the excellent sprite-work. I don't think I've ever heard another human being mention this game.
Jaki Crush (Super Famicom import, 1992) - The third in the Crush series of pinball games after Alien and Devil's, and to my mind the best of the three. A gruesomely gorgeous pinball title that totally nails the grimy Japanese horror vibe and also the manic intensity of the best pinball tables. Much less known than its older siblings, probably because it was never localized in the west.
Skyblazer (SNES, 1994) - An awesome action platformer with a vaguely middle eastern vibe. Gorgeous graphics and fantastic music put it on par with something like Actraiser or Demon's Crest (I actually like it better than Demon's Crest...). It looks like, other than the also solid, if a little clunky Hook, the developers never really did anything else of note aside from some contract work for SNK.

Super Daryl Deluxe is great. Sadly, I think it sold so poorly that the devs never made another game and went back to their day jobs. It's one of the most clever, quirky, and genuinely funny games I've ever played

I think Three Dirty Dwarves is the best beat 'em up on the Saturn. Yeah, I said it! Come at me people

Some other games that come to mind for me are:

The Sexy Brutale - A brilliant mix of stealth, puzzle solving, and exploration surrounding a bunch of horrific, grisly, murders that you have to figure out how to prevent by going back in time. Great story, great characters, a nice, macabre atmosphere, and a classy soundtrack. Jim Sterling, love him or hate him, was right when he raved about this one

The Tecmo Deception series - It's like someone watched those crazy, Acme trap combinations you'd see Wile E Coyote set up to catch the road runner and set up a bunch of games using a far more violent take on that idea to let you sadistically murder heroes and innocent people like a supernatural, serial killer. I'd say the games even have a light, survival horror quality to them as you have little offensive options beyond luring people into your traps so you spend a lot of time running away from people and screaming like a girl when they get close to you, particularly the more powerful, genuinely, scary foes you face in later levels who will easily go through your traps or just materialize right next to you out of thin air with weird, ninja magic

13 Sentinels - Probably Vanillaware's best game aside from the updated version of Odin Sphere (I think it's called Leifthrasir), but I don't hear much about it. Also, I hate how people go on and on about Dragon's Crown when the updated version of Odin Sphere is far better. Dragon's Crown is a repetitive grindfest and the game was patched so many times it's hard to even know what version is the best one to play. They kept rebalancing the characters which is annoying

New Super Lucky's Tale - One of the most charming and fun platformers to come out in recent years. Severely underrated. The characters alone are memorable, particularly if you actually take the time to talk to them unlike most dumbass, let players, and Switch streamers who talk to them once and move on missing out on all of their extra dialog. Gamers today have no attention span

Astro Bot Rescue Mission - I feel like only VR fans talk about it, but it's an all time classic that ALL platform fans NEED to play. That game had me giddy like a child when I played it and filled me with wide eye wonder several times. Few games can do that to my jaded, old, ass

Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2 - I loved those games. These days people are all about Resident Evil. The DC series is dead in the water

Ronin - A neat little hyper violent, turn based action, stealth title that shamelessly rips off the Kill Bill movies. There's a popular, indie game that came out on the Switch some time after its release that featured similar gameplay (Katana Zero). I think the Superhot games kind of do as well

The GalGun series - A legimately fun, at times super challenging bunch of light gun/rail shooter games that a lot of people won't even try due to what they view as "offensive" content. Lot of fun, wacky, anime style characters and the games are not quite as sexual in nature as people think. It's more stuff that is teased or joked about than anything genuinely sexual in nature. The games are somewhat subversive that way and don't take themselves seriously at all. I feel like these games are the secret, guilty pleasure games from Inticreates that no one wants to acknowledge while discussing more "respectable" games from them like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the Mega Man Zero series, or the Azure Striker Gunvolt series. It's like the GalGun games are the elephant in the room whenever there is a discussion about inticreates

A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV - A surprisingly decent, 2d, beat 'em up that actually cleverly incorporates things the franchise is known for into the gameplay

EDIT: I didn't say much about 13 Sentinels. It's got a brilliant anime style story line featuring every type of sci fi trope you can think of presented in a choose your adventure/visual novel style. It's also got a unique, fast paced, and epic, strategy rpg gameplay system. The soundtrack is divine and the graphics are what you'd expect from Vanillaware

[PretentiousHipster]

In no order. I make videos of the vast majority games I play so if you wanna see why I love in detail be sure to check them out. Will make it a top 5 for now:

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars - Probably my favourite collectathon game. Yes, even better than Psychonauts. It gives a great reason to seek out items (more health bars or making more powerful). Its aesthetic goes for a slightly darker approach, yet still quirky enough to make it stand out. The soundtrack is maybe my favourite soundtrack. Some moments really reminded me of Tom Waits, and then I found out that it's actually Les Claypool that made the soundtrack! Can't wait to finish my video for it

Murder on the Mississippi - Gotta explore more C64 games, and this one is ultra accessible and charming.

Commander Blood - The biggest acid trip

Harvester - Yes, this does get talked about a lot, but it's for the wrong reasons. It's not a horror game, and definitely deserves more praise than just being called the most violent game ever. Some of the best satire.

Crusaders: Adventure Out of Time - An edutainment game worth playing for the graphics alone.

[ZRofel]

Super Daryl Deluxe is great. Sadly, I think it sold so poorly that the devs never made another game and went back to their day jobs. It's one of the most clever, quirky, and genuinely funny games I've ever played

That's a genuine tragedy. Like you said, that game is positively bursting with creativity and heart. It deserved to have made more of an impact on the gaming landscape. I'm not sure I would have needed to see more of Daryl's adventures, but I would have been really excited for another game set in that world.

I think Three Dirty Dwarves is the best beat 'em up on the Saturn. Yeah, I said it! Come at me people

I still probably like Guardian Heroes a little bit more, but I definitely agree that Dwarves stands among the elite beat 'em ups.

The Sexy Brutale - A brilliant mix of stealth, puzzle solving, and exploration surrounding a bunch of horrific, grisly, murders that you have to figure out how to prevent by going back in time. Great story, great characters, a nice, macabre atmosphere, and a classy soundtrack. Jim Sterling, love him or hate him, was right when he raved about this one

I liked this one a lot too. It feels a little bit like an open-world Ghost Trick, albeit with a much more melancholy tone.

13 Sentinels - Probably Vanillaware's best game aside from the updated version of Odin Sphere (I think it's called Leifthrasir), but I don't hear much about it. Also, I hate how people go on and on about Dragon's Crown when the updated version of Odin Sphere is far better. Dragon's Crown is a repetitive grindfest and the game was patched so many times it's hard to even know what version is the best one to play. They kept rebalancing the characters which is annoying

I do really love Dragon's Crown, but I like that Vanillaware keeps mixing things up. I'm not a big fan of RTS games, but I thought Grim Grimoire was pretty neat, with a really fun cast and story. And I've liked the little bit of 13 Sentinels that I've played. With the mix of strategy and visual novel, it feels a bit like a classic Japanese PC game.

The GalGun series - A legimately fun, at times super challenging bunch of light gun/rail shooter games that a lot of people won't even try due to what they view as "offensive" content. Lot of fun, wacky, anime style characters and the games are not quite as sexual in nature as people think. It's more stuff that is teased or joked about than anything genuinely sexual in nature. The games are somewhat subversive that way and don't take themselves seriously at all. I feel like these games are the secret, guilty pleasure games from Inticreates that no one wants to acknowledge while discussing more "respectable" games from them like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the Mega Man Zero series, or the Azure Striker Gunvolt series. It's like the GalGun games are the elephant in the room whenever there is a discussion about inticreates

Now this is a genuine revelation for me! I had no idea Inticreates was behind these games. Like you said, I wrote them off as just sleazy pandering, although I've contemplated picking them up a few times because they just feel like games that are going to get expensive down the line. If Inticreates made them, though, that makes them much more tempting, as I have really liked most of the rest of their output. Isn't some company releasing a two-pack of both of them fairly soon?

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars - Probably my favourite collectathon game. Yes, even better than Psychonauts. It gives a great reason to seek out items (more health bars or making more powerful). Its aesthetic goes for a slightly darker approach, yet still quirky enough to make it stand out. The soundtrack is maybe my favourite soundtrack. Some moments really reminded me of Tom Waits, and then I found out that it's actually Les Claypool that made the soundtrack! Can't wait to finish my video for it

I picked this up a while back on the cheap because I'd been hearing good things. Definitely going to have to fire it up soon!

Harvester - Yes, this does get talked about a lot, but it's for the wrong reasons. It's not a horror game, and definitely deserves more praise than just being called the most violent game ever. Some of the best satire.

Man, Harvester was a weird, weird game. Maybe the only one I've ever played that made me feel physically ill. That scene with the baby and the hornets... I will definitely say that I really appreciated its unique tone. There aren't many games that good at capturing that feeling of being unsettled.

I'm really, really digging all the recommendations so far. It makes me happy that no matter how deep down the rabbit hole I go with gaming, there's always new things to discover.