MS Saga: A New Dawn is a rather obscure Gundam JRPG back on the PS2 days. It was a great turn based JRPG that told an original story that brought in characters from all over the Gundam universe. Of all my friends that love gaming and Gundam, I'm the only one who has ever played it.
@@HallowedBeThyGame it was great. You had a team of 3 or 4 pilots, and they were the original characters for the game, and as the pilots leveled up their stats increased and unlocked abilities. Plus as you went through the game you found new Gundams and weapons and such all completely customizable. The Gundams had this inventory grid that was reminiscent of old Resident Evil games and you had to Tetris the weapons and mods into the inventory for the Gundams. And of course different suits have different combat preferences, like the Burning Gundam had a HUGE inventory for melee weapons but almost no inventory for ranged, but another suit might have a massive ranged inventory. I can't talk enough about how much I loved this game.
Have you heard of a game called avalon code? It's a bit of an odd one. And as it happens, for nintendo ds. The whole premise is to smack things in game wihe the book, the avalon code, to record things for the world's rebirth. It gets interesting when you can the look in the book and change attributes of things. For example, the first enemy you fight is a stone goblin. You smack it, go into the book, it has 200 health. 100 is base, but the stone code on its page gives it the extra 100. Take off the stone code and put a sickness code on there, and now it has 50 health. There are some problems with the game bur it was fun I thought.
magna carta isn't a jrpg, it's a krpg. produced in south korea by softmax. agreed on the art though, the character designer/artist is called kim hyung-tae and he's one of my favourite artists. he's actually the president of the company who made stellar blade (new ps5 rpg), and also did the character designs for that game :)
I never played Magna Carta at the time but I drew a lot, and remember being obsessed over the artwork. It’s really unique and heavily detailed and intricate.
Ahh yes, Kim Hyung Tae. He certainly draws some nice waifus. He did the artwork for Blade & Soul which is one of the big reasons I was interested in that MMO. Too bad it turned out to be more pay-to-win crap. He founded his own game company which released Nikke recently and is also planning to release Stellar Blade, an action game I'm definitely interested in.
@@Sitri444 his company also did Destiny Child, and he did the art for it and I think one or more of the Magna characters are in it as obtainable characters too
Ar Nosurge. What a gem. What an experience. This game highly follows the same formula as another gem of a series "Ar Tonelico" (at least the 1st and 2nd game) . -the music -the battle system -the graphic novel-like mind-diving into the heroine's unconscious to unlock more powerful nuke spells -nuking everything with your glass cannon in the same fight -preventing enemies to 1-hit kill your glass cannon while she's charging her magic to disgaea-levels of absurd damage. -the crafting/cooking system (minus the random awkward dance) -the sometimes fun sometimes awkward fanservice/innuendos comes from there. . Even Shurelia comes from the first game. . It's from the PS2 era but the story, if you can avoid spoilers is **chef kiss**
Ar NoSurge betrayed everything that was good in ArTonelico games and I loathed it. I know it's the internet so I have to say I don't resent you for loving it, no scratch of my nose, but even considering being different from ArTonelico is not necessarily a bad thing, the game had nothing to offer. Gameplay wise I truly loathed it. I think Iv'e parted with it years ago. But maybe I still have it. I don't remember. Ar Tonelico 3 was already very different from the other two, but I didn't hated it. But Ar NoSurge felt like a deep betrayal. Tho I don't really remember why. Been a while.
@@Haeresiarchonte Haven't played ArTonelico (yet), but I loved Ar NoSurge. It was something quite unique, and art is good, music is amazing and the story is pretty good with some nice character developments. I don't think anything coming from the other games in the franchise could make me hate it or something like that. Then again, I guess I'll find out after playing them. BTW, the game is also on PS3, and (in Japanese) on PC
I actually played Ar Nosurge, during my ps3 gaming days, heck I platinumed it. That was mostly due to the fact I played every jRPG I could during those days. Man, what a weird title that was. I spent half the time creating items and watching conversations with characters. Unfortunately, story is rather ridiculous, and the fact that this is actually a sequel to Ciel Nosurge, which never came out in english, I was stuck with these characters I know nothing about. Story has some absurdly weird moments, like Delta and Cass spendintg like 2 years hung upside down in the water, but then they come back and I had to check if I didn't miss anything, because of how ridiculous that was. Nothing changed, like their friends didnt know what happened to them for 2 years, then they return and nobody bats an eye? I still have no idea what happens at the very end. Gameplay was fun, but ultimately very shallow. Still, I wish I could afford physical edition instead of digital, since it would enrich my collection. Very weird, I don't feel like ever returning to the series, but it was a good experience.
Weird and obscure JRPGs are one of my greatest obsessions - even if I won't play every single one, I just love hearing about them. It's hard to say which games even count as weird and obscure in a community that focuses on niche games, but Live a Live, Avalon Code and The World Ends With You are other ones I enjoyed and they're rarely talked about.
Ar nosurge was also on PS3-I have the disc. I got it when it came out because of its relation to the Ar Tonelico series (the first two of which I absolutely loved). I really enjoyed the premise of being able to wipe out every random encounter in an area and being free to explore it at your own pace afterwards-I wish more games would do something like this.
This is prime content in my opinion. I love hearing about games that aren't the standard 10 or so series. I don't know about weird, but quite possibly the most obscure RPG I own is The Dark Spire on the DS. It is a very traditional dungeon crawler in the vein of Wizardry, complete with an option to play in an old-school mode where both the graphics and music are changed to an 8-bit style. The soundtrack for this game still gets me going, it almost has Bloodborne levels of mood and intensity sometimes. Knights in the Nighmare...freaking beautiful game, but I sold it a long time ago. The concept was cool, but not what I really wanted. I still have the soundtrack though, great stuff. My favorite thing about the DS era was that a lot of smaller RPGs came out. They had original ideas, or obvious influences from 16-bit games, and generally high production values. The bad thing was, they were a bit ahead of their time in some ways, and a lot of those smaller IPs or even companies did not survive. The late 00's were a bit rough on the turn-based RPGs, as the mainstream games media was kind of drinking that Phil Fish kool-aid. RIP Nostalgia, Black Sigil, and the Golden Sun series, among many others.
Okay I HAVE to talk about Shadow Hearts here!! Those games are basically horror-themed turn-based JRPGs that have a unique twist to the combat in the form of the Judgement Ring which basically determines if you hit or miss on an attack AND it can also lead to more damage if you time it correctly. I cannot recommend those games enough, they're PHENOMENAL!!! Also Koudelka, which is the game that Shadow Hearts is a spin off of, is another phenomenal horror-based JRPG that was on the PS1
Yay! Frank the Ninja! Actually I didn't play the third one. I have all three but I only played the first two. I just thought Frank the Ninja was an amusing character.
From The Abyss - NDS I don't know if you'll find it strange, but the first time I played I thought "I don't like it", but a few tries later I really liked this game. Another game, though it's not a JRPG, but it's weird as hell: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective NDS
NDS are indeed has a lot of obscure games, and not limited to JRPG. I still wait for the remake of Ghost Trick (I love Ace Attorney series, so I will love this game as well, since Shu Takumi is the creator). Besides that, NDS had 999 series, Time Hollow, Lux-Pain (I really want this game to be remake, and the translator team must be good... It's really sad that Lux-Pain been translated poorly), and Theresia ~ Dear Emile.
I’m going to mention one i rarely EVER hear about, the sequel to Legend of Legaia, Legaia 2: Duel Saga. It was so obscure and wasn’t even sure if it was going to come to the west but it did and I have some fond memories of it. The whole Legaia series itself is underrated as hell really.
Weirdest and most obscure game in my collection that consists mainly of weird and obscure JRPGs would probably be Guardian's Crusade. A late PS1 Activision published kids JRPG made by the company that went on to make Senran Kagura where you gain abilities through unique items called "Living Toys" and have a virtual pet helping you in battle. Really neat, no one ever talks about it, great soundtrack, really worth checking out.
My personal rarest game that I own is Solatorobo. It’s the very definition of hidden DS gem. The combat isn’t really too deep, but the narrative is very enjoyable, with some top tier music and atmosphere. Exploring and learning more about the world is an absolute treat.
This might have been mentioned already, but there is a Magna Carta 2 on the xbox 360. It is definitely a different battle system than tears of blood, but the characters are great and one of my favorite games from the era.
I'm assuming you finished Ar Nosurge, but one of my absolute favorite elements is how they use meta elements for the story and done it so creatively and differently then other games. Particularly what they did with the main antagonist, so creative and brilliant!
15:18 knowing that a run only takes 2 hours changes everything. That really takes the pressure off, because you know youre going to play it again and you will do better next time.
I played Ar no surge after playing the Ar tonelico franchise. It instantly became my absolute favorite game ever. I still replay it regularly on the PS3 and PSVita
I found Knights in the Nightmare unplayable Gameplay and controls were so arcane and bizarre that every time it leaves you feeling like you are doing something wrong
Nice list (take my like) ... with one exception, "Magna Carta" is not obscure, it is not a title like Final Fantasy, but certainly at its launch (2004 in Korea, 2005 in Japan, 2006 in USA). Maybe for those born after 2008 it's obscure, but then almost any game released before 2006 could be called "obscure" :P
Love to see Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier!! Been a favorite of mine since I found out about it through CGR a year or two after it came out. No idea how this is still stuck in the DS, easily one of the best DS games and JRPGs. Wish I had more than a cart-only copy but still treasure that cartridge
Magna Carta 2 is a fire game with a fire battle system that nobody ever talks about. I guess because 360 isn't the system you buy for JRPGs. There were a handful early before it didn't really sell in Japan and they dried up. First time I played it I had to put it down for a while since I kinda skipped the battle tutorial and got owned. Big mistake. Gave it another whirl later and just fell in love with everything about it. And it was just absolutely gorgeous as well.
When I got my hands on an Xbox one x by pure chance, one of the first things I looked for in the backwards compatibility stuff was Magna Carta 2 but to no avail
@@geoffreychauvin1474 Yeah😒 The handful of games I was talking about included Magna Carta 2, Eternal Sonata, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean The Last Hope, Tales of Vesperia, and Resonance of Fate mostly. You can get your hands on pretty much all of these except this and it's sad.
I love Knights in the Nightmare. The story and atmosphere have always stuck with me, and it's heavily informed a good bit of the writing I've done in the intervening years. Can't recommend it enough!
The entire Growlanser franchise. What do you get when you put a JRPG with lite RTS mechanics, an early version of Persona relationship mechanics, and an ATB system? One of the most unique JRPGs I've had the pleasure of being introduced to on the PS2. I don't know how accessible they are on PC outside certain "methods," but the remake of the fourth game was released on PSP so it might've gotten a Steam release, and the fourth game is a standalone entry in the franchise. Highly recommended. :) EDIT: We never got the first or sixth entries, but the second through fifth are available somewhere. I know Growlanser V: Heritage of War was released on PS3 under their PS2 selection. Wayfarer of Time is the subtitle of the fourth game I mentioned above.
So good to leave work and I get to listen and periodically glance at my phone to watch/listen to my brother Ren’s video. Great way to finish the work day and drive home. Thanks for the good video as always, brother.
The thing with these unknown games is that not enough people take chances or the marketing fails to reach them. So, we play basically what youtubers play or what the biggest companies are pumping out. Every now and then, I like to take a leap of faith. Even when reviewers are so negative about a game. There was once a time where reviews weren't a part of my life. I was too young and I played whatever... and you know what? Some of those games still hold up today. The same can be said about these newer titles. You just have to give them a chance.
Probably my most obscure JRPG that I'd love to see get a modern remake is Legend of Legaia. Quite a few people have heard of it, but it definitely got overshadowed by the Legend of Dragoon which came out around the same time. The hybridization of a turn-based JRPG and a 3d fighter is a mix that really has potential even today. I'd love to see a studio like Arc System Works get a crack at it as I'm sure they could do something clever.
Have you played The Lost Chid from NIS/A? It was originally on Vita, now on Switch. For starters, it's an SMT-alike, which is a rare thing. And its a semi-sequel to the also very weird El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron on PS3. Plus it has a batshit crazy plot about a war between YHVH, Ra, and Cthulhu. In terms of gameplay, it's fine. Not as good as an Atlus DRPG, but diverting enough for 30-40 hours.
Holy crap. I'm not the only one who knows about Tears of Blood. That game is *weird* man. I enjoyed the combat well enough, but the world travel was absolute pain.
Great list! Hero must die is such a gem and is worth checking out. Also it's unlikely the Nosurge remasters will be localised for the West given how long ago the remasters released. But here's hoping for fan patches ^^
The DS game Magicians Quest/School of Wizardry was super overlooked - it was like animal crossing meets Harry Potter and the residents are more than just animals, they're the cutest, weirdest things. There are spells, lessons, dating, clothes and furniture...
Weirdest most obscure game I own is probably Tears to Tiara 2: Heir of the Overlord. Never heard anyone talk about it but it's a super duper solid S-JRPG.
Great vid and list, once again! Have you ever tried Sigma Star Saga on GBA? Strange hybrid of overworld rpg and sidescrolling almost shoot em up/run n gun action. Weird and cool. Okage for PS2 is pretty odd... Gameplay is pretty standard but the animation and story are just weird. Awesome game. And of course, my favorite games to piss everybody off about because I won't shut up about them on my channel: Shadowrun on Genesis and SNES. Both completely different, but both are oddball, and amazing RPG trips into an dystopian cyberpunk future. Absolutely the best stuff. I actually have a Shadowrun tattoo hahahaha. Shadowrun Returns trilogy is amazing too, but I wouldn't call them weird. Keep up the great work!
Yo dude that's amazing! I legit almost put Sigma Star Saga on here. (Spoilers if everyone seems to receive this video well I'm gonna put it on the next entry haha) But man I gotta checkout Shadowrun! Thanks so much for letting me know about it! I gotta checkout your vids on it!
Not sure how weird and obscure it is, but Folklore would probably fall under this umbrella. Bought in on a whim shortly after getting my ps3 and it’s an underrated gem.
Found you while scrolling through TH-cam and decided to check you out. Definitely going to binge your content. Keep up the hard work logging in those gaming hours. Also subscribed now
For me, Metal Saga's battle is normal JRPG battle. But yeah, outside of the battle system, everything else are indeed really obscure; From we can finish the game when we even just started, fighting with a lot of weird enemies (A Rocket Launcher with Hairy Legs ? A Gigantic Tomatoes ? And don't forget, a Muscle and Macho Man and Women... Lol), and we can even equip a Fire Truck and a Bus with a weapon like Tanks... Well, it was indeed a Fun game. Oh yeah, almost forgot, we can even have a Doggie with Rocket Launcher as our companion. In Japan, there will be a new game from SUCCESS and Crea-Tech (The maker of Metal Saga), titled "Metal Dogs". Now we can only control the Dogs, while destroying all the enemies around.
Have a couple PS1 games I'd like to mention... Jade Cocoon (odd pokemon-like but you turn the monsters you catch into silk or merge them together) and Thousand Arms (RPG with a dating sim minigame that affects how powerfully you can reforge your weapons).
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier is a mouthful to say. Also one of my favorite DS games period. The whole juggling foes without letting them hit the ground combat was stupid fun. As far as obscure games goes, my vote goes to Half Minute Hero for the psp. An evil overlord has cast a spell that will end the world and only you can stop him! You have 30 seconds.
@@HallowedBeThyGame to add to the "psp" and "hero" games, What did i do to deserve this my lord series is awesome. You are villain supreme and must hide from the never ending assault of heroes. So you dig deep and create mazes underground for the heroes to wander and hopefully die to the creatures that spawn in the maze. Created by people who made akibas trip !
Nostalgia for the Nintendo DS is what i got as the most unique JRPG in my collection. You have 4 characters and it takes place….on Mother Earth no less! At one time, you’ll be exploring the Acropolis in Greece and at the other, you’ll be wandering the streets of St Petersburg in Russia lol it’s also extremely rare to get a physical copy of it now
You know a lot of these obscure games need a voice to get then more attention. Thanks for taking that role, especially Ar Nosurge. That one in particularly is so one of a kind and deserves to be shared.
you have my eternal respect for reccomending AR nosurge and OG saga endless frontier. AR nosurge, though i haven't finished it, is by far one of my favorite games of all time and i feel wierdly emotional about it.
I'm not sure how obscure it is anymore but Azure dreams will always fit this for me. I picked it up at car boot sale (UK thing) when I was a kid, knew nothing about it, but it turned out to be amazing. Still one of my favs.
Knights in the Knightmare is apparently getting an HD Remaster and also if you wanted to play a definitive version its currently the PSP version. It has an easy mode through its crossover with fellow Sting game Yggdra Union. Sting is known for the Heavens Department series of games.
Haha Super Robot is one I actually snatched up a while back! No idea even where I found it, but it has some of the best sprite work I have ever seen anywhere! Glad it's getting some much deserved love!
Highwind village music from Magna Carta 2 is still one of my favorite song ever. It's so calm, nostalgic and peaceful. It remind me a lot of my highschool summer.
I still have my copy of Magna Carta, and even for a PS2 game cover, it was a very bold of them to have two different covers you could have, your basic and your lewd version.
Sting has a bunch of other games under a series known as Dpt. Heaven, featuring titles such as Riviera: the Promised Land (DS), Yggdra Union (GBA, PSP) and Gungnir: Inferno of the Demon Lance and the War of Heroes (PSP). They're all RPG's, of several different genres and all share a universe of sorts, connected through Asgard. Knights in the Nightmare is also part of this Dpt. Heaven Series, being episode IV. There's also a few spin offs but i dont know much about those.
Azure dreams for the PS1. It was a monster training game from Konami. You scaled a Tower that was random every time you went inside looking for treasure.
Knight in the nightmare was an absolute gem. It had such a unique story and unusual game mechanics that probably set a lot of folks off. But it's still a gem for me.
I love weird games games no one talks about. This is a fantastic video. I was driving just listening to you talk and I couldn’t see the games now I’m Re watching to see the games BUT the wizard of oz I would love to pick it up. I heard Magna Carta is coming to the new systems but I do want to pick up Xbox 360 Magna Carta 2 I’m debating if I should grab Magna Carta tears of blood fro the ps2 or should I wait for the new systems. Wizard of us I seen local the guy paid 16 Canadian for it and now he’s selling it at over 100 idk why he can’t lower the price lol would love it. Thank u for this amazing video ❤ I do have Akiba trip both of them have yet to play it 😅 my ps vita is one of my favourite handhelds but I love collecting for the ds 😊
Ar nosurge is a spiritual successor to a series call at tonelico I was hoping you put it on the list but the fact that you know any of the Ars game makes you a legend
I used to love playing weird JRPGs when I was younger. I collected quite a few over the years but the two oddest I owned are RHAPSODY: A Musical Adventure and Guardians Crusade. Both are very unique as far as I remember. It's been a while since I played them.
I wish I still had my copy, but it got swiped back in the day, but it was an NES JRPG called Destiny of an Emperor. I only ever saw it in stores once when it came out, I think the stores only got 1-2 copies max, and I've only ever found a used copy of it once since, but it was essentially Romance of the Three Kingdoms presented as a JRPG, where your your party members represented your generals, and their health bars represented how many troops they had, not their actual physical health. It was such a strange way to present that kind of a story, and I loved it, and I haven't seen a copy of it in decades.
Okay, Hero Must Die. Again keeps coming up in advertisements for me, and I thought the cover design looked cool, but I never dug any deeper. This might have convinced me to check it out. Great list, man!
Radiata Stories on PS2 is definitely the obscure RPG that I still go back and revisit every year or so. The main gimmick for the game is that practically every character you meet can be recruited into your party. It still holds up well graphically, and it does a lot of things really well that weren't standard on PS2 at the time: Visible armor and weapons, "live action / arena" enemy encounters, multiple weapons for the protagonist with different playstyles, combo creation, no random encounters, etc. Some things we take for granted now, but at the time it was pretty forward thinking.
Didn't know about Knights in the Nightmare, but the look reminds me of Riviera and Yggdra Union on GBA... till I find out this is the sequel, the third installment of the series. 😅
"I'm always discovering a game I've never heard of before". I feel you man. I recently found a bunch of obscure RPGs on DS despite having spent tons of hours looking at RPGs on the DS and all the gameplay videos were uploaded in the last 2 years. I honestly feel like the Universe generates new content sometimes lol because there is no freakin way I missed some of these games in my many hours starring at game lists. Monster Racers did not exist till recently.
Loved this video! 7th Dragon III Code: VFD was weird, and shocker was for the 3DS! Another weird one was, Blue Reflection Second Light! Fun games, but a bit odd! XD
I play Endless Frontier on my Wii U! Since I lost both my DS and 3DS to a psycho ex, I had to start over. I really need to get back into it and finally beat it after all these years. Great video! I subscribed.
Lost Magic on the DS was a really cool obscure RPG that I enjoyed growing up. And this one is a bit more popular because it's a Microsoft game, but Lost Odyssey definitely did not get the praise it deserved. Fantasy Life also has a really cool cult following, and it honestly one of the best RPGs ever made
The DS had some excellent and very weird JRPGs. I really enjoyed the Wizard of Oz. It was great fun to play with a very good battle system and only weird for the trackball. A few other DS JRPGs with unusual/weird features are: Nostalgia, which I loved, It's a steampunk kind of game set in Victorian times where you were in an alternative reality real earth and explore the whole world in an airship. My World My Way is a comical game where you play a princess who becomes an adventurer to lure a man she fancies. She pouts to alter things she doesn't like - make enemies weaker or stronger for example. Master of the Monster Lair is by the same developers and is also quite comical but in this game you use a talking shovel to dig dungeons and set rooms inside which will host various monsters. Rhapsody is another comical game based on the PS1 game, of the same name but with a different battle system. Music themed with a female cast. and puppets to collect. (All these have guides - found on GameFAQs if you want more info. - I know cos I wrote them!) AND, if you can cope with Japanese there are the Metal Max games on the DS (MM2 and MM3) featuring tanks and turn-based combat in a post apocalyptic world. Fantastic games that sadly never made it to the west. However there is Metal Saga on the PS2 if you want an English MM game and the more recent Metal Max Xeno on the PS4 though I wouldn't recommend this unless you really really love turn-based tank combat and don't mind a negligible story.
A DS JRPG that I never hear talked about is Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. I loved playing through the branching story path that develops based on how many times you use the titular Plume.
Loved your list, played some of em and yes it was memorable for me too. I remember 2 games i played in childhood that i failed to lure friends to play too, so i kinda consider this obscure. Radiata Stories from Tri-Ace/Enix & Grim Grimoire from Vanillaware. Man, i love vanillaware artstyle.
I was hyped for the Wizard of Oz one, as it was developed my one of my all time fav. companies: Media Vision, the creators of Wild Arms. Fully recommended game, as it was a nice take on the classical tale.
interesting video idea, not sure what my most obscure would be, may time and eternity. would probably say jade cocoon if I still owned it. would love to see magna carta compilation pack also only got to play the first one myself
Great video as always! Awesome to see more gems of the physical collection too. As for recommendations, Drone Tactics on the DS is ... interesting. I've been playing through it off and on so I can't really definitively say if it's worth playing or not, but it's a neat srpg that's essentially robot-bug fire emblem, and I've been enjoying it so far. If Excite Bots has taught me anything, it's that I'm a sucker for robot bugs.
Unfortunately Hallowed Be Thy Game there isn't any weird rpgs I have in my collection however there is a weird game I have on the DS and it's Lunar Knights! It's also a vampire game(little bit vampire) and I believe from the Boktai series I had a lot of fun with. If you like a game with some alternting gameplay mechanics you could give it a whirl.
I had completely forgotten that DS Wizard of Oz game existed until you brought up its trackball movement mechanic, then I remembered I had seen the Game Trailers review of the game way back when I was in high school. You're excavating fossilized memories here. I have a soft spot for Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed. The game's horny and the clunky combat takes some getting used to, but once you settle in, it's a fun time.
Oddly surprised Rondo of Swords didn't make this list. It's a DS game where the main gimmick is that it's an SRPG, but instead of choosing your attacks from a menu, you attack by choosing your movement path and going through enemies. It makes the tank archetype more valuable as they stop people from moving through them, and they play with mages and archers as folks who do attack traditionally with mages being powerful, but unable to act after they move, whereas archers are less powerful, but can act after movement. It has a lot of polish and balance issues though, along with some really weird mechanics for between battles, including needing to send units off for a map on sidequests in order to do things like shopping, hunting for promotion items, and getting promoted.
i own lord of magna but i have never played it i think it may still be shrink wrapped lmao i just never got around to paying it but that looks like fun! i LOVE magna carta it is very unique. omg you're just covering so many games that i like I LOVE MOCO MOCO FRIENDS. its so cute, the translation and dialogue is AWFUL but its so cute.
Dunno if they are weird/obscure. But games I like while I never hear people talking about them: > Resonance of Fate - Square enix weird steampunky postapocalyptic JRPG with guns. Very unique battle system. > Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits - Dunno why, I used to be hooked on this demo when I got my PS2 and when I got my PS5 I finally bought it. > Dark Cloud - Again, came with the PS2 demo disc and played it to death, got it with my PS4 and I absolutely love the village building aspect. > The Last Remnant - Is the game good, not really. Do you have a weird attraction to it. Yups.
I really enjoyed Magna Carta, so much so that I picked up the sequel as soon as I got my 360. The odd thing is I never actually got around to playing the sequel. I always put it off as I was afraid I'd go into it with super high expectations and be disappointed, which could ruin the series as a whole for me.
Strange if i don´t remember tears of blood having much fanservice? I guess the story is kind of forgettable though, since i don´t remember much of it until a character´s sister died close to the end there(died because of some political intrigue, i guess?)
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MS Saga: A New Dawn is a rather obscure Gundam JRPG back on the PS2 days. It was a great turn based JRPG that told an original story that brought in characters from all over the Gundam universe. Of all my friends that love gaming and Gundam, I'm the only one who has ever played it.
@@NightFire2100 I have got to play this!
@@HallowedBeThyGame it was great. You had a team of 3 or 4 pilots, and they were the original characters for the game, and as the pilots leveled up their stats increased and unlocked abilities. Plus as you went through the game you found new Gundams and weapons and such all completely customizable. The Gundams had this inventory grid that was reminiscent of old Resident Evil games and you had to Tetris the weapons and mods into the inventory for the Gundams. And of course different suits have different combat preferences, like the Burning Gundam had a HUGE inventory for melee weapons but almost no inventory for ranged, but another suit might have a massive ranged inventory. I can't talk enough about how much I loved this game.
There are only nine titles in your timecode list in the description. Where is the tenth one?
Have you heard of a game called avalon code? It's a bit of an odd one. And as it happens, for nintendo ds. The whole premise is to smack things in game wihe the book, the avalon code, to record things for the world's rebirth. It gets interesting when you can the look in the book and change attributes of things. For example, the first enemy you fight is a stone goblin. You smack it, go into the book, it has 200 health. 100 is base, but the stone code on its page gives it the extra 100. Take off the stone code and put a sickness code on there, and now it has 50 health. There are some problems with the game bur it was fun I thought.
magna carta isn't a jrpg, it's a krpg. produced in south korea by softmax. agreed on the art though, the character designer/artist is called kim hyung-tae and he's one of my favourite artists. he's actually the president of the company who made stellar blade (new ps5 rpg), and also did the character designs for that game :)
I never played Magna Carta at the time but I drew a lot, and remember being obsessed over the artwork. It’s really unique and heavily detailed and intricate.
Ahh yes, Kim Hyung Tae. He certainly draws some nice waifus. He did the artwork for Blade & Soul which is one of the big reasons I was interested in that MMO. Too bad it turned out to be more pay-to-win crap. He founded his own game company which released Nikke recently and is also planning to release Stellar Blade, an action game I'm definitely interested in.
@@Sitri444 Huh, glad to see he's still doing stuff. I didn't really care for Blade & Soul or Nikke though.
@@xdevantx5870 I tried playing Blade & Soul and it had amazing art, great combat system, awful P2W practices.
I think theres a gacha he did art for called Destiny Child.
@@Sitri444 his company also did Destiny Child, and he did the art for it and I think one or more of the Magna characters are in it as obtainable characters too
Ar Nosurge.
What a gem.
What an experience.
This game highly follows the same formula as another gem of a series "Ar Tonelico" (at least the 1st and 2nd game)
.
-the music
-the battle system
-the graphic novel-like mind-diving into the heroine's unconscious to unlock more powerful nuke spells
-nuking everything with your glass cannon in the same fight
-preventing enemies to 1-hit kill your glass cannon while she's charging her magic to disgaea-levels of absurd damage.
-the crafting/cooking system (minus the random awkward dance)
-the sometimes fun sometimes awkward fanservice/innuendos comes from there.
.
Even Shurelia comes from the first game.
.
It's from the PS2 era but the story, if you can avoid spoilers is **chef kiss**
bcs it's a prequel
Ar NoSurge betrayed everything that was good in ArTonelico games and I loathed it. I know it's the internet so I have to say I don't resent you for loving it, no scratch of my nose, but even considering being different from ArTonelico is not necessarily a bad thing, the game had nothing to offer. Gameplay wise I truly loathed it. I think Iv'e parted with it years ago. But maybe I still have it. I don't remember. Ar Tonelico 3 was already very different from the other two, but I didn't hated it. But Ar NoSurge felt like a deep betrayal. Tho I don't really remember why. Been a while.
@@Haeresiarchonte Haven't played ArTonelico (yet), but I loved Ar NoSurge. It was something quite unique, and art is good, music is amazing and the story is pretty good with some nice character developments. I don't think anything coming from the other games in the franchise could make me hate it or something like that. Then again, I guess I'll find out after playing them.
BTW, the game is also on PS3, and (in Japanese) on PC
I actually played Ar Nosurge, during my ps3 gaming days, heck I platinumed it. That was mostly due to the fact I played every jRPG I could during those days.
Man, what a weird title that was. I spent half the time creating items and watching conversations with characters. Unfortunately, story is rather ridiculous, and the fact that this is actually a sequel to Ciel Nosurge, which never came out in english, I was stuck with these characters I know nothing about.
Story has some absurdly weird moments, like Delta and Cass spendintg like 2 years hung upside down in the water, but then they come back and I had to check if I didn't miss anything, because of how ridiculous that was. Nothing changed, like their friends didnt know what happened to them for 2 years, then they return and nobody bats an eye?
I still have no idea what happens at the very end. Gameplay was fun, but ultimately very shallow.
Still, I wish I could afford physical edition instead of digital, since it would enrich my collection. Very weird, I don't feel like ever returning to the series, but it was a good experience.
@@ologracz1110 I look forward to trying this game, my collector's edition for PS3 is still sealed.
Weird and obscure JRPGs are one of my greatest obsessions - even if I won't play every single one, I just love hearing about them. It's hard to say which games even count as weird and obscure in a community that focuses on niche games, but Live a Live, Avalon Code and The World Ends With You are other ones I enjoyed and they're rarely talked about.
Avalon Code was pretty good! Shame I didn't get to finish it, but check out Radiant Historia too!
Lmfao TWEWY is not obscure
Ar nosurge was also on PS3-I have the disc.
I got it when it came out because of its relation to the Ar Tonelico series (the first two of which I absolutely loved). I really enjoyed the premise of being able to wipe out every random encounter in an area and being free to explore it at your own pace afterwards-I wish more games would do something like this.
This is prime content in my opinion. I love hearing about games that aren't the standard 10 or so series.
I don't know about weird, but quite possibly the most obscure RPG I own is The Dark Spire on the DS. It is a very traditional dungeon crawler in the vein of Wizardry, complete with an option to play in an old-school mode where both the graphics and music are changed to an 8-bit style. The soundtrack for this game still gets me going, it almost has Bloodborne levels of mood and intensity sometimes.
Knights in the Nighmare...freaking beautiful game, but I sold it a long time ago. The concept was cool, but not what I really wanted. I still have the soundtrack though, great stuff.
My favorite thing about the DS era was that a lot of smaller RPGs came out. They had original ideas, or obvious influences from 16-bit games, and generally high production values.
The bad thing was, they were a bit ahead of their time in some ways, and a lot of those smaller IPs or even companies did not survive. The late 00's were a bit rough on the turn-based RPGs, as the mainstream games media was kind of drinking that Phil Fish kool-aid. RIP Nostalgia, Black Sigil, and the Golden Sun series, among many others.
I'm so glad you enjoy this type of video! You have a whole slew of games I have GOT TO checkout. Thanks a million for recommending them!
Okay I HAVE to talk about Shadow Hearts here!! Those games are basically horror-themed turn-based JRPGs that have a unique twist to the combat in the form of the Judgement Ring which basically determines if you hit or miss on an attack AND it can also lead to more damage if you time it correctly.
I cannot recommend those games enough, they're PHENOMENAL!!! Also Koudelka, which is the game that Shadow Hearts is a spin off of, is another phenomenal horror-based JRPG that was on the PS1
That would have been my pick as well. Probably my favorite lesser known JRPG.
@@tzyoggah2898 Mine too, it's a shame that people don't talk about it more.
A while back there was talks of a spiritual successor, but that project may have been canceled
Yay! Frank the Ninja!
Actually I didn't play the third one. I have all three but I only played the first two. I just thought Frank the Ninja was an amusing character.
From The Abyss - NDS
I don't know if you'll find it strange, but the first time I played I thought "I don't like it", but a few tries later I really liked this game.
Another game, though it's not a JRPG, but it's weird as hell: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective NDS
NDS are indeed has a lot of obscure games, and not limited to JRPG. I still wait for the remake of Ghost Trick (I love Ace Attorney series, so I will love this game as well, since Shu Takumi is the creator). Besides that, NDS had 999 series, Time Hollow, Lux-Pain (I really want this game to be remake, and the translator team must be good... It's really sad that Lux-Pain been translated poorly), and Theresia ~ Dear Emile.
I’m going to mention one i rarely EVER hear about, the sequel to Legend of Legaia, Legaia 2: Duel Saga. It was so obscure and wasn’t even sure if it was going to come to the west but it did and I have some fond memories of it. The whole Legaia series itself is underrated as hell really.
Weirdest and most obscure game in my collection that consists mainly of weird and obscure JRPGs would probably be Guardian's Crusade. A late PS1 Activision published kids JRPG made by the company that went on to make Senran Kagura where you gain abilities through unique items called "Living Toys" and have a virtual pet helping you in battle. Really neat, no one ever talks about it, great soundtrack, really worth checking out.
My personal rarest game that I own is Solatorobo. It’s the very definition of hidden DS gem. The combat isn’t really too deep, but the narrative is very enjoyable, with some top tier music and atmosphere. Exploring and learning more about the world is an absolute treat.
I remember playing this game. Thumbs up
Would love that game it’s expensive but would love it
This might have been mentioned already, but there is a Magna Carta 2 on the xbox 360. It is definitely a different battle system than tears of blood, but the characters are great and one of my favorite games from the era.
I own magna Carta 2. And I love it. Voice acting is great and some of the back and forth gets me rolling in laughter.
I enjoyed it quite a bit
I played the original on PS2 but my copy of the sequel on 360 is still in it's plastic. Just never got around to it.
super robon taisen saga frontier games were alot of fun. loved the humor and the banter lol
robot
I need to play the other Super Robot games!
I'm assuming you finished Ar Nosurge, but one of my absolute favorite elements is how they use meta elements for the story and done it so creatively and differently then other games. Particularly what they did with the main antagonist, so creative and brilliant!
15:18 knowing that a run only takes 2 hours changes everything. That really takes the pressure off, because you know youre going to play it again and you will do better next time.
I played Ar no surge after playing the Ar tonelico franchise. It instantly became my absolute favorite game ever. I still replay it regularly on the PS3 and PSVita
I found Knights in the Nightmare unplayable
Gameplay and controls were so arcane and bizarre that every time it leaves you feeling like you are doing something wrong
Nice list (take my like) ... with one exception, "Magna Carta" is not obscure, it is not a title like Final Fantasy, but certainly at its launch (2004 in Korea, 2005 in Japan, 2006 in USA). Maybe for those born after 2008 it's obscure, but then almost any game released before 2006 could be called "obscure" :P
In their defense the video title also says "weird"
Love to see Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier!! Been a favorite of mine since I found out about it through CGR a year or two after it came out. No idea how this is still stuck in the DS, easily one of the best DS games and JRPGs. Wish I had more than a cart-only copy but still treasure that cartridge
Magna Carta 2 is a fire game with a fire battle system that nobody ever talks about. I guess because 360 isn't the system you buy for JRPGs. There were a handful early before it didn't really sell in Japan and they dried up. First time I played it I had to put it down for a while since I kinda skipped the battle tutorial and got owned. Big mistake. Gave it another whirl later and just fell in love with everything about it. And it was just absolutely gorgeous as well.
When I got my hands on an Xbox one x by pure chance, one of the first things I looked for in the backwards compatibility stuff was Magna Carta 2 but to no avail
@@geoffreychauvin1474 Yeah😒 The handful of games I was talking about included Magna Carta 2, Eternal Sonata, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean The Last Hope, Tales of Vesperia, and Resonance of Fate mostly. You can get your hands on pretty much all of these except this and it's sad.
I wouldn't say the game and battle system were hot, but they were definitely awesome.
I love Knights in the Nightmare. The story and atmosphere have always stuck with me, and it's heavily informed a good bit of the writing I've done in the intervening years. Can't recommend it enough!
Bro!! I preordered Magna Carta!! Pretty sweet!!!
He's done it again.
Done what
Done what
Die again
If you guys liked the Magna Carta character design when you should check out the phone game "Destiny Child" and "Nikke" Same guy
I really enjoy these types of videos since I find out about so many RPGS I missed.
I'm so glad to hear! More to come!
Knights in the Nightmare and Magna Carta are a couple I cannot wait to get to! Great video
Thanks so much!
Fantastic video! Knights in the Nightmare is a legit game and Magna Carta was a good one too. Loved the unique combat in both of those games.
Couldn't agree more, those games rock! And thanks so much for watching!
The entire Growlanser franchise. What do you get when you put a JRPG with lite RTS mechanics, an early version of Persona relationship mechanics, and an ATB system? One of the most unique JRPGs I've had the pleasure of being introduced to on the PS2. I don't know how accessible they are on PC outside certain "methods," but the remake of the fourth game was released on PSP so it might've gotten a Steam release, and the fourth game is a standalone entry in the franchise. Highly recommended. :)
EDIT: We never got the first or sixth entries, but the second through fifth are available somewhere. I know Growlanser V: Heritage of War was released on PS3 under their PS2 selection. Wayfarer of Time is the subtitle of the fourth game I mentioned above.
So good to leave work and I get to listen and periodically glance at my phone to watch/listen to my brother Ren’s video. Great way to finish the work day and drive home. Thanks for the good video as always, brother.
I’m so happy to hear! Hope you enjoyed the video and hope your work week goes smoothly! Thanks for listening!
Ar nosurge and Ar tonelico were released on PS3 in North America as well, just FYI.
The thing with these unknown games is that not enough people take chances or the marketing fails to reach them. So, we play basically what youtubers play or what the biggest companies are pumping out. Every now and then, I like to take a leap of faith. Even when reviewers are so negative about a game. There was once a time where reviews weren't a part of my life. I was too young and I played whatever... and you know what? Some of those games still hold up today. The same can be said about these newer titles. You just have to give them a chance.
Probably my most obscure JRPG that I'd love to see get a modern remake is Legend of Legaia. Quite a few people have heard of it, but it definitely got overshadowed by the Legend of Dragoon which came out around the same time. The hybridization of a turn-based JRPG and a 3d fighter is a mix that really has potential even today. I'd love to see a studio like Arc System Works get a crack at it as I'm sure they could do something clever.
I played it back in the day, still have my copy. Also I have Legaia 2 in the PS2 but never beat it
Have you played The Lost Chid from NIS/A? It was originally on Vita, now on Switch. For starters, it's an SMT-alike, which is a rare thing. And its a semi-sequel to the also very weird El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron on PS3. Plus it has a batshit crazy plot about a war between YHVH, Ra, and Cthulhu.
In terms of gameplay, it's fine. Not as good as an Atlus DRPG, but diverting enough for 30-40 hours.
I’m hoping to check all of revise out, thanks!
Holy crap. I'm not the only one who knows about Tears of Blood. That game is *weird* man. I enjoyed the combat well enough, but the world travel was absolute pain.
The intro gets me pumped every time.
Haha rock on!
Dummm du du dummm du du dummm
I highly recommend Crimson Gem Saga for the PSP. Great video!
I'll check it out!
Great list! Hero must die is such a gem and is worth checking out.
Also it's unlikely the Nosurge remasters will be localised for the West given how long ago the remasters released. But here's hoping for fan patches ^^
I'm so happy another Hero must die fan is watching!
Knights in the Nightmare is brilliant. I also highly recommend Yggdra Union by Sting- one of my favorites!
The DS game Magicians Quest/School of Wizardry was super overlooked - it was like animal crossing meets Harry Potter and the residents are more than just animals, they're the cutest, weirdest things. There are spells, lessons, dating, clothes and furniture...
Gat dang that sounds really cool! Gonna check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
Weirdest most obscure game I own is probably Tears to Tiara 2: Heir of the Overlord. Never heard anyone talk about it but it's a super duper solid S-JRPG.
Great vid and list, once again! Have you ever tried Sigma Star Saga on GBA? Strange hybrid of overworld rpg and sidescrolling almost shoot em up/run n gun action. Weird and cool. Okage for PS2 is pretty odd... Gameplay is pretty standard but the animation and story are just weird. Awesome game. And of course, my favorite games to piss everybody off about because I won't shut up about them on my channel: Shadowrun on Genesis and SNES. Both completely different, but both are oddball, and amazing RPG trips into an dystopian cyberpunk future. Absolutely the best stuff. I actually have a Shadowrun tattoo hahahaha. Shadowrun Returns trilogy is amazing too, but I wouldn't call them weird. Keep up the great work!
Yo dude that's amazing! I legit almost put Sigma Star Saga on here. (Spoilers if everyone seems to receive this video well I'm gonna put it on the next entry haha) But man I gotta checkout Shadowrun! Thanks so much for letting me know about it! I gotta checkout your vids on it!
Top shelf stuff as always Ren, thank you for your positive attitude and enthusiasm man, I really appreciate it (my wallet often doesn't!)
Much appreciated! So happy you enjoy the videos!
I appreciate you a ton for mentioning Knights in the Nightmare. That game is nutty but I loved it. I'm gonna play it again soon haha
That’s awesome!
Not sure how weird and obscure it is, but Folklore would probably fall under this umbrella. Bought in on a whim shortly after getting my ps3 and it’s an underrated gem.
Thanks so much for reminding me about that one! I gotta pick it up
Found you while scrolling through TH-cam and decided to check you out. Definitely going to binge your content. Keep up the hard work logging in those gaming hours. Also subscribed now
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy the rest of the videos!
there's also Stella Deus and Metal Saga for the PS2, the first is like ff tactics and the other turn based like final fantasy 7
For me, Metal Saga's battle is normal JRPG battle. But yeah, outside of the battle system, everything else are indeed really obscure; From we can finish the game when we even just started, fighting with a lot of weird enemies (A Rocket Launcher with Hairy Legs ? A Gigantic Tomatoes ? And don't forget, a Muscle and Macho Man and Women... Lol), and we can even equip a Fire Truck and a Bus with a weapon like Tanks... Well, it was indeed a Fun game. Oh yeah, almost forgot, we can even have a Doggie with Rocket Launcher as our companion.
In Japan, there will be a new game from SUCCESS and Crea-Tech (The maker of Metal Saga), titled "Metal Dogs". Now we can only control the Dogs, while destroying all the enemies around.
Have a couple PS1 games I'd like to mention... Jade Cocoon (odd pokemon-like but you turn the monsters you catch into silk or merge them together) and Thousand Arms (RPG with a dating sim minigame that affects how powerfully you can reforge your weapons).
Dungeon Travelers 2 for the Vita is a fun dungeon crawler filled with fan service. I'm sure other people have played it, but I don't know any of them.
I have to pick this up.
Excellent game!
I have a physical copy, it's an excellent dungeon crawler.
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier is a mouthful to say. Also one of my favorite DS games period. The whole juggling foes without letting them hit the ground combat was stupid fun. As far as obscure games goes, my vote goes to Half Minute Hero for the psp. An evil overlord has cast a spell that will end the world and only you can stop him! You have 30 seconds.
Oh snap I gotta checkout Half Minute Hero, my bud Danik mentioned that one too me years ago and I forgot to play it.
@@HallowedBeThyGame to add to the "psp" and "hero" games, What did i do to deserve this my lord series is awesome. You are villain supreme and must hide from the never ending assault of heroes. So you dig deep and create mazes underground for the heroes to wander and hopefully die to the creatures that spawn in the maze. Created by people who made akibas trip !
You'd love the Project X Zones then
It's a real shame that Endless Frontier's sequel - Endless Frontier Exceed" did not release in the West, it was a great upgrade.
Nostalgia for the Nintendo DS is what i got as the most unique JRPG in my collection. You have 4 characters and it takes place….on Mother Earth no less! At one time, you’ll be exploring the Acropolis in Greece and at the other, you’ll be wandering the streets of St Petersburg in Russia lol it’s also extremely rare to get a physical copy of it now
Dang never heard of this one, thanks!
You know a lot of these obscure games need a voice to get then more attention. Thanks for taking that role, especially Ar Nosurge. That one in particularly is so one of a kind and deserves to be shared.
Thanks so much!
you have my eternal respect for reccomending AR nosurge and OG saga endless frontier. AR nosurge, though i haven't finished it, is by far one of my favorite games of all time and i feel wierdly emotional about it.
So happy fans of both are watching!
Great video! Out of all of these, I really want to give Lord of Magna a shot! It looks pretty cool.
Thanks! I'd love to hear what ya think of it if ya ever give it a shot!
I'm not sure how obscure it is anymore but Azure dreams will always fit this for me. I picked it up at car boot sale (UK thing) when I was a kid, knew nothing about it, but it turned out to be amazing. Still one of my favs.
Yup I've never heard of a single one of these. Well done sir, well done
Happy to show these to ya!
Knights in the Knightmare is apparently getting an HD Remaster and also if you wanted to play a definitive version its currently the PSP version. It has an easy mode through its crossover with fellow Sting game Yggdra Union. Sting is known for the Heavens Department series of games.
magna carta for ps2 and psp is amazing gem !!!
Haha Super Robot is one I actually snatched up a while back! No idea even where I found it, but it has some of the best sprite work I have ever seen anywhere! Glad it's getting some much deserved love!
Heck ya! Stoked another fan of it is watching! It deserves a ton of love and spotlight!
I stay on top of rpg info pretty well, and there were still several in here I didn't know about! Fun video, thanks for making it!
Glad you enjoyed!
Highwind village music from Magna Carta 2 is still one of my favorite song ever. It's so calm, nostalgic and peaceful. It remind me a lot of my highschool summer.
That feeling is heaven.
I still have my copy of Magna Carta, and even for a PS2 game cover, it was a very bold of them to have two different covers you could have, your basic and your lewd version.
Sting has a bunch of other games under a series known as Dpt. Heaven, featuring titles such as Riviera: the Promised Land (DS), Yggdra Union (GBA, PSP) and Gungnir: Inferno of the Demon Lance and the War of Heroes (PSP). They're all RPG's, of several different genres and all share a universe of sorts, connected through Asgard. Knights in the Nightmare is also part of this Dpt. Heaven Series, being episode IV. There's also a few spin offs but i dont know much about those.
Magna Carta Tears of Blood was actually the second game in the series.
Azure dreams for the PS1. It was a monster training game from Konami. You scaled a Tower that was random every time you went inside looking for treasure.
Knight in the nightmare was an absolute gem. It had such a unique story and unusual game mechanics that probably set a lot of folks off.
But it's still a gem for me.
So stoked to get further into it!
The mechanics of the game gave me a brain aneurysm and I didn't play passed the first stage.
I love weird games games no one talks about. This is a fantastic video. I was driving just listening to you talk and I couldn’t see the games now I’m Re watching to see the games BUT the wizard of oz I would love to pick it up. I heard Magna Carta is coming to the new systems but I do want to pick up Xbox 360 Magna Carta 2 I’m debating if I should grab Magna Carta tears of blood fro the ps2 or should I wait for the new systems. Wizard of us I seen local the guy paid 16 Canadian for it and now he’s selling it at over 100 idk why he can’t lower the price lol would love it. Thank u for this amazing video ❤ I do have Akiba trip both of them have yet to play it 😅 my ps vita is one of my favourite handhelds but I love collecting for the ds 😊
Ar nosurge is a spiritual successor to a series call at tonelico I was hoping you put it on the list but the fact that you know any of the Ars game makes you a legend
I used to love playing weird JRPGs when I was younger. I collected quite a few over the years but the two oddest I owned are RHAPSODY: A Musical Adventure and Guardians Crusade. Both are very unique as far as I remember. It's been a while since I played them.
I wish I still had my copy, but it got swiped back in the day, but it was an NES JRPG called Destiny of an Emperor. I only ever saw it in stores once when it came out, I think the stores only got 1-2 copies max, and I've only ever found a used copy of it once since, but it was essentially Romance of the Three Kingdoms presented as a JRPG, where your your party members represented your generals, and their health bars represented how many troops they had, not their actual physical health. It was such a strange way to present that kind of a story, and I loved it, and I haven't seen a copy of it in decades.
Okay, Hero Must Die. Again keeps coming up in advertisements for me, and I thought the cover design looked cool, but I never dug any deeper. This might have convinced me to check it out. Great list, man!
Haha how wild is that timing?! Glad you enjoyed the list and thanks for watching!
Radiata Stories on PS2 is definitely the obscure RPG that I still go back and revisit every year or so. The main gimmick for the game is that practically every character you meet can be recruited into your party. It still holds up well graphically, and it does a lot of things really well that weren't standard on PS2 at the time: Visible armor and weapons, "live action / arena" enemy encounters, multiple weapons for the protagonist with different playstyles, combo creation, no random encounters, etc. Some things we take for granted now, but at the time it was pretty forward thinking.
Didn't know about Knights in the Nightmare, but the look reminds me of Riviera and Yggdra Union on GBA... till I find out this is the sequel, the third installment of the series. 😅
Hey that’s awesome!
"I'm always discovering a game I've never heard of before". I feel you man. I recently found a bunch of obscure RPGs on DS despite having spent tons of hours looking at RPGs on the DS and all the gameplay videos were uploaded in the last 2 years. I honestly feel like the Universe generates new content sometimes lol because there is no freakin way I missed some of these games in my many hours starring at game lists. Monster Racers did not exist till recently.
Loved this video! 7th Dragon III Code: VFD was weird, and shocker was for the 3DS! Another weird one was, Blue Reflection Second Light! Fun games, but a bit odd! XD
Interesting hidden gems, beautiful waifus... Man, I love this channel
We keep it classy!
Finally a obscure jrpg list THAT actually has names I never heard of! Have my like!
Glad ya found something!
@@HallowedBeThyGame me to, most the time I see these lists and go ... Welp I've played all these so its refreshing to see some stuff I haven't
I play Endless Frontier on my Wii U! Since I lost both my DS and 3DS to a psycho ex, I had to start over. I really need to get back into it and finally beat it after all these years. Great video! I subscribed.
Great video as always! lol always come away from your videos with a list of RPGs I have to try. Going to have to give Super Robot Taisen a try
I'm so happy to hear! Hope you have as much fun with it as I do!
Lost Magic on the DS was a really cool obscure RPG that I enjoyed growing up.
And this one is a bit more popular because it's a Microsoft game, but Lost Odyssey definitely did not get the praise it deserved.
Fantasy Life also has a really cool cult following, and it honestly one of the best RPGs ever made
The DS had some excellent and very weird JRPGs. I really enjoyed the Wizard of Oz. It was great fun to play with a very good battle system and only weird for the trackball.
A few other DS JRPGs with unusual/weird features are:
Nostalgia, which I loved, It's a steampunk kind of game set in Victorian times where you were in an alternative reality real earth and explore the whole world in an airship.
My World My Way is a comical game where you play a princess who becomes an adventurer to lure a man she fancies. She pouts to alter things she doesn't like - make enemies weaker or stronger for example.
Master of the Monster Lair is by the same developers and is also quite comical but in this game you use a talking shovel to dig dungeons and set rooms inside which will host various monsters.
Rhapsody is another comical game based on the PS1 game, of the same name but with a different battle system. Music themed with a female cast. and puppets to collect.
(All these have guides - found on GameFAQs if you want more info. - I know cos I wrote them!)
AND, if you can cope with Japanese there are the Metal Max games on the DS (MM2 and MM3) featuring tanks and turn-based combat in a post apocalyptic world. Fantastic games that sadly never made it to the west. However there is Metal Saga on the PS2 if you want an English MM game and the more recent Metal Max Xeno on the PS4 though I wouldn't recommend this unless you really really love turn-based tank combat and don't mind a negligible story.
A DS JRPG that I never hear talked about is Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. I loved playing through the branching story path that develops based on how many times you use the titular Plume.
Loved your list, played some of em and yes it was memorable for me too. I remember 2 games i played in childhood that i failed to lure friends to play too, so i kinda consider this obscure. Radiata Stories from Tri-Ace/Enix & Grim Grimoire from Vanillaware. Man, i love vanillaware artstyle.
Glad you enjoyed! Vanillaware is top shelf!
I was hyped for the Wizard of Oz one, as it was developed my one of my all time fav. companies: Media Vision, the creators of Wild Arms. Fully recommended game, as it was a nice take on the classical tale.
Everything Sting made in that era was amazing for one reason or another. All those games came out on PSP too, and that's where I prefer to play them.
I discovered this channel via this video
Happy you found it!
interesting video idea, not sure what my most obscure would be, may time and eternity. would probably say jade cocoon if I still owned it. would love to see magna carta compilation pack also only got to play the first one myself
A compilation release would be excellent 🤘
Awesome video. Guess it’s time to charge up the ole vita and pop in that Ar Nosurge game then lol.
Have fun!
Ar Nosurge was super unique. The plot had some crazy twists and the item crafting was just hilarious. Dancing to my Sukiyucky craft, lmao!
Great video as always! Awesome to see more gems of the physical collection too. As for recommendations, Drone Tactics on the DS is ... interesting. I've been playing through it off and on so I can't really definitively say if it's worth playing or not, but it's a neat srpg that's essentially robot-bug fire emblem, and I've been enjoying it so far. If Excite Bots has taught me anything, it's that I'm a sucker for robot bugs.
Holy moly another one I hadn’t seen! Thanks for shouting that out and so happy you enjoyed this style of video!
Unfortunately Hallowed Be Thy Game there isn't any weird rpgs I have in my collection however there is a weird game I have on the DS and it's Lunar Knights! It's also a vampire game(little bit vampire) and I believe from the Boktai series I had a lot of fun with. If you like a game with some alternting gameplay mechanics you could give it a whirl.
I have got to check Lunar Knights out! Thanks for the reminder, it looks really doggone fun.
I had completely forgotten that DS Wizard of Oz game existed until you brought up its trackball movement mechanic, then I remembered I had seen the Game Trailers review of the game way back when I was in high school. You're excavating fossilized memories here.
I have a soft spot for Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed. The game's horny and the clunky combat takes some getting used to, but once you settle in, it's a fun time.
I’m so happy to bring back some good nostalgia! Also yeah Akiba’s Trip is so insane lol, love it 🤘
That Wizard of Oz game looks great! I got Lord of Magna Carta almost complete it has the OST but missing the soundtrack. Nice video brother. ❤️
Thanks for watching!
@@HallowedBeThyGame my pleasure buddy ❤️
Oddly surprised Rondo of Swords didn't make this list. It's a DS game where the main gimmick is that it's an SRPG, but instead of choosing your attacks from a menu, you attack by choosing your movement path and going through enemies. It makes the tank archetype more valuable as they stop people from moving through them, and they play with mages and archers as folks who do attack traditionally with mages being powerful, but unable to act after they move, whereas archers are less powerful, but can act after movement. It has a lot of polish and balance issues though, along with some really weird mechanics for between battles, including needing to send units off for a map on sidequests in order to do things like shopping, hunting for promotion items, and getting promoted.
i own lord of magna but i have never played it i think it may still be shrink wrapped lmao i just never got around to paying it but that looks like fun! i LOVE magna carta it is very unique. omg you're just covering so many games that i like I LOVE MOCO MOCO FRIENDS. its so cute, the translation and dialogue is AWFUL but its so cute.
Dunno if they are weird/obscure. But games I like while I never hear people talking about them:
> Resonance of Fate - Square enix weird steampunky postapocalyptic JRPG with guns. Very unique battle system.
> Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits - Dunno why, I used to be hooked on this demo when I got my PS2 and when I got my PS5 I finally bought it.
> Dark Cloud - Again, came with the PS2 demo disc and played it to death, got it with my PS4 and I absolutely love the village building aspect.
> The Last Remnant - Is the game good, not really. Do you have a weird attraction to it. Yups.
amazing list! thank you for sharing. most of them go into my list now
So happy you enjoyed it!
Still got my Magna Carta box on the shelf. Vastly underrated game!
So flippin cool! I bet your collection rocks!
@@HallowedBeThyGame My Ps2 collection is one of the 3 that hasn't been diminished!
@@authormichellefranklin you have an eye for quality. I am still slowly rebuilding my own.
I really enjoyed Magna Carta, so much so that I picked up the sequel as soon as I got my 360. The odd thing is I never actually got around to playing the sequel. I always put it off as I was afraid I'd go into it with super high expectations and be disappointed, which could ruin the series as a whole for me.
Strange if i don´t remember tears of blood having much fanservice? I guess the story is kind of forgettable though, since i don´t remember much of it until a character´s sister died close to the end there(died because of some political intrigue, i guess?)
Ar nosurge is prequel to Ar tonelico series.
there's 2 character that appears in Ar tonelico again.