Hidden Gems for Super Nintendo! These are some of the best and most fun games few people know about. Mega game collector John Hancock shows some of the games he recommends for SNES fans to play and add to their collection.
"Super Aleste" (to give "Space Megaforce" its title outside the US) was developed by Compile, who co-developed "Blazing Lazers" with Hudson Soft for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16.
John, like a lot of big collectors, gets a lot of comments from people thinking he must be rich to own so many rare games. His comment about how much he paid is a response to those people who think that. Owning rare games usually takes patience, luck and networking. He's actually a very cool guy.
I just picked up a Super Nintendo last weekend and already off to a decent start...got Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2, Top Gear and Monopoly....gonna get a few more games next week :)
I got one yesterday with Super Mario All Stars, Donkey Kong Country, Captain America and The Avengers, Battlemaniacs and Super Street Fighter 2. There's also a pawn shop nearby selling Super Metroid and Suoer Ghost n Goblins so I probs get those too. such an amazing system to play on
That IS a lot of money to spend on a cartridge, but some people still want to know what's good and worth playing. Some gamers are just looking for Downloadable games or things to play via emulator on a PSP, etc...
So glad you're finally doing a Super Nintendo hidden gems series! I'm thrilled to see several titles here that I had never heard of! I would look into Battle Clash and Metal Combat if you haven't already Those two games alone are enough to make it worth owning a Super Scope. Also, I'd say EarthBound, despite having a large following, and many people being aware of it could possibly still count as a hidden gem, because I think a lot of people are aware of it but haven't played it.
John Hancock is easily the best guest that's ever appeared on your show. I love the dynamic between John and DMP as well, even though in the couple eps where DMP has run into John at conventions or whatever, the interaction is usually far too brief, or even dubbed over with music. Love the show Metal Jesus, and very glad to see you're still featuring John, he seems like a genuine great guy.
thx john if any of those games i listed are special id be happy to hook you and youre channel up bc i love the content, its what made me get back to gaming for the first time since gamecube and ps2, and now im loving games more than ever so thx Hancock
I always search for Metal Jesus recommendations for hidden gems, not only because of his gaming taste, but he always invites an expert on the field, I mean if a guy owns more than half of the SNES catalogue, I totally trust him when he says a game is good.
"Terranigma", have you played that game? it's absolutely awesome, one of my favorite ever Super Nintendo games to me, and a great jewel to the collection. Another one is "Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie" a space shooter you'd like, it is awesome too. Shame they're not in the video ;c
Fantastic hearing mentions of Skyblazer, FireStriker, and Space Megaforce! For some more hidden gems - Demon's Crest, Robotrek, and Wild Guns. Super Famicom though, that thing is a gold-mine for hidden gems...
2 of my favorite games for the Super Nintendo are Parodius (Konamis Gradius / Nemesis joke) and Cybornator! I like your videos and can't wait for the next episode of snes gems! Greets from Germany
I am really just a fan of videogames, and love different games on all game systems. It is true that I am a big Sega collector, but have collected nearly every main system released in the US since the beginning.
I mentioned this before here, but it started out as a computer game 1982(Apple II) and then was ported over to other computers and consoles. Sega remade the game as an arcade game in 1985.
Just kinda discovering the channel & already putting it up there as 1 of my fav for retrogaming....It's really been making an impact on my collecting & overall game knowledge...The vids are always entertaining & tell me he wouldn't be an awesome to hang out with, dudes just got this charisma to him.....lol
I like the “reality tv show” vibe. It feels like something you could actually see on TV. Most gaming youtubers tend to feel like comedians or journalists but MetalJesus has this unique swnse of authenticity to him, probably because of how he keeps everything unscripted.
Arkanoid is my favorite arcade game ever. I’ve never played it anywhere else that it wasn’t horrible. Regular controllers don’t do it justice. I’ve never played arkanoid on iPad but I have played some clones that functioned decently. I opened an nes game one Christmas morning and saw .....oid. Got so excited! It was Cybernoid. Mom, I asked for Arkanoid! To this day she thinks she bought me my favorite arcade game ever, I couldn’t tell her she goofed. I had some fun with Cybernoid anyway.
Sega remade Choplifter for the arcades, but it originated on Apple II computers. A strange case of the computer version coming out first then getting a port to the arcades.
John Hancock makes a series of Collecting DVDs which he sells at gaming expos. They are very informative and you get a closer look into his amazing collection. That's how I originally met him
All excellent choices. Here's a few of my personal favorites: Pieces - An Atlus-localized, competitive jigsaw puzzle game with Mario Kart-style power-ups. Highly recommended and very affordable. Blackthorne - Blizzard's super-dark, super-violent nod to games like Prince of Persia, Out of this World, and Flashback. An amazing game once you figure out the controls. Kirby's Dream Course - The Kirby game that I feel gets so overshadowed by Kirby Super Star. It's 2-player mode is often overlooked.
John Hancock has the best collection of anyone I've seen on youtube so far, for being just a collector and not a youtuber. I only say that because big youtubers who accept donations and do unboxings end up getting the craziest stuff.
I have so many SNES games... (more than 150). Now I colect for the Super famicom, games that never left Japan. There is so many hidden gems, it's crazy !
Choplifter was actually an arcade game though, it was in my local Fun & Games when i was a kid & of course I was pissed off at how much better it looked then my 7800 version, that I still enjoyed despite not having alot of the content of the other versions. If I remember correctly, from what I read recently it did hit the Apple originally before an arcade version was made...& yep, the SNES version here is fun..Been hoping to try Choplifter HD for the Playstation Network 1 day too
Tales of Phantasia is one of those hidden gems that was in japanese but the gameplay and story was awesome . also the only action rpg to ever talk about sex, and use profanity
Most I've ever paid for a SNES/SFC title was $85 for CIB Earthbound and 120 Euros for CIB Rendering Ranger. Obviously both have gone up ludicrously in value since. Most of my 150 odd US and Japanese SNES collection was bought at the time for the going rate of new games (so $50 usually) or way way less in many cases ($10 for CIB Super Metroid anyone). My favourite obscure SNES title that deserves more attention? Umihara Kawase. Beautifully rendered, typically bonkers Japanese, insanely addictive, and a joy to play.
I'm a huge advocate for all of the classic cartoon platformers. Mystical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse, The Jungle Book, The Great Circus Mystery, Speedy Gonzales, and many many more are some of my favorite "hidden gems" :) Great video, MJR!
Space Mega Force was developed by Compile. they did in fact make several shooters including Blazing Lasers. They had their hand in The Guardian Legend for the NES. Gun Nac and Zanac are some other titles they developed. They are famous for their shooters for sure.
I was actually just thinking how good it is to see John in this video, i think he comes across as a really nice guy and brings a very happy vibe with him. Consider me a John fan! Really enjoy these hidden Gems videos, All the best to you both.
Emulation is your best friend for finding hidden gems..or..at least games that are still fun to play that aren't well known. I know, some people hate emulation, but you can't deny how convenient it is, or how easy it is to find new games to try. I have the entire SNES rom set on my computer. And I've slowly been going through the US list, just trying out games that sound interesting. So far I've found at least a few that aren't bad that I've never heard of. Full Throttle Racing Bio Metal Blazeon Bonkers Brain Lord Brawl Brothers Captain Commando Cutthroat Island Are they the best? Hell no. Are they decent enough to try out? Definitely. And I think that's the kind of game that gets hugely overlooked. Everyone always wants the best. Whether it's the best of the best, like Mario and Zelda, or it's hidden gems that are the best of the lesser known games. But you never really hear about the lesser known games that aren't quite as good, but are still fun to play. Another game I love that you barely hear about is Congo's Caper. It's a bit more well known since Jon Tron did a video with it, but it's still not as discussed as it should be.
+TXF thanks for the recommendations.. i too have the rom sets. i grew up with the nes, snes.. unfortunately the only way we could try new games.. was to rent them at the local store.. i was lucky to have that.. as i grew up poor so i only got a new game for my birthday, Christmas, or when my grandma came to visit.. but i had no problem mowing yards to rent games over the weekend.. i would spend two days trying to beat the games.. sometimes we rented complete garbage other games were great and that is how i knew what games to ask for. its weird to see how the gaming industry has changed. have a great weekend.. this weekend im gonna play some wii u, err i meanBayonetta.. such a fun game. one thing i do need tho for these emulator.. right now i have a usb, version of the nes, and snes.. but im thinking maybe i should just get a xbox controller and use one controller for all my emulated games.. it gets old having to dig out controllers depending on my mood. peace.
Chris c Xbox controllers are great for emulation. I use a 360 controller for a lot of stuff. It's great for N64 and PS1 games. But I also have a USB SNES controller that's great for pretty much anything before PS1 and N64. It's fun to use for Mame emulation too. If you do get a USB SNES controller, I'd suggest finding the Buffalo brand one. They're great. They also make a red/gold Famicom themed controller with the same amount of buttons as the SNES one.
TXF thanks for the tip. yeah i dig the famicon looking one. i already have a snes USB controller.. but not one of the japan style.. i will order one now. laughs. so is the xbox 360 plug and play? i just want to plug into windows with and be done.. thanks for the tip on brand.. thankfully the ones i bought were buffalo.. so looks like when i bought the regular and snes controller i got a good brand. rock on.
Chris c If you have a 360 controller with a cord, it should just be plug and play. Let it install the driver automatically and stuff. And it should work just fine. It helps that Xbox is Microsoft, so it's set up to work easily with a windows PC. Hell, most indie games on PC nowadays are set up to work specifically with 360 controllers.
I bought a reproduction of *Hagane* about 2-3 months ago and man...that game deserved a full US release because it is no doubt a *Top 10 Snes game imo*. It is amazing, probably the most technical 16-bit controls I've ever encountered, very crushing but fair difficulty and an overall blast to play. Shame it's so damn obscure it is such a fantastic game.
Reading a few comments here made me cringe. Do you guys know what the word, "Hidden", means? The likes of Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are not hidden gems.
Love Skyblazer, finished it back in the day.... bloody hard. Wish I had held on to my copy.... well held on to any of my snes games in fact. Snes has lots of good obscure JRPGs.
I actually have Hagane - bought a boxed copy cheap from a rental store when aged 10, didn't realise the value and a friend from school lost the box and manual. Biggest gaming regret of my life...
Here are some great UNDERRATED SNES games Terranigma Live a Live Radical Dreamers (a text based sequel to Chrono trigger which takes place in an alternate dimension to Chrono Cross) Front Mission Gun Hazard ActRaiser 1 (not 2 I didn't really like 2)
Every game you put on this video has skyrocketed in price. Firestriker was 35 dollars now its 100 dollars Space Megaforce was 55 now its 140 Legend was 20 now its 65 Choplifter III was 7 now its 25 Run Saber 35 now its 70 Skyblazer was 25 now its 50 R-Type III 45 now its 110 Hagane was 280 now its 580
I dont like this guest. I want to hear about the games, not u brag about how valuable the game is. This guy likes to remind you how he owns a boxed copy of a super rare and expensive game that u wont ever be able to own
Seriously? If you took all of those parts it would be like 5-10 seconds of the video. And the value is part of what makes it a "hidden gem". The way I see it is, if you see that gem at a garage sale: pick it up! Then act like it's worth $5.
ULTIMATENINJA1984 Are you sure you're not just a kid? You used smh twice in the damn comment, no Adults born in "your era" will ever Use smh once in a sentence, let alone twice Also, that would mean you are an adult at 1989... it's 2017 now..you must be at least 50 now
This is a really awesome series. I collect/download a ton of games and a lot of the lists of great games are really similar, so it's nice to see some variety! Also, I just noticed that the TV screen is playing Megaman X4 at 1:04.
Space Megaforce (or Super Aleste to use is proper name) is, imo, the best all round shump on SNES. It's also one of the few that competes with and imo even beats most of the best shumps on the Genesis too. Great graphics, great music and sound fx, great gameplay, loads of action and stuff onscreen, impressive bosses, some great use of the SNES' best effects and graphics modes, etc. It's one example of a shump on SNES where slowdown almost never rears its ugly head either, which is a major bonus.
Great video. Usually in Hidden Gems videos I've heard of most of what they show off, but I had only heard of the shooters and Hagane, so good on ya. All the other ones look really interesting.
hey guys,yes Compile(musha,power strike etc)was involved in space megaforce and blazing lazers.Space megaforce is called super aleste in japan,great games and vid!
I freaking LOVE these Hidden Gems videos. Thanks to this awesome series, I know of some underrated games I want to get for GCN, Wii, and SNES. I'd love to see you make ones for the N64 (please, please, please make an N64 Hidden Gems video!), NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, Arcade, etc. Perhaps you could also do genre specific videos, like Platformer Hidden Gems, Shmup Hidden Gems, Run 'n' Gun Hidden Gems, RPG Hidden Gems, Puzzle Game Hidden Gems, etc.
No one ever mentions 'shadowrun' as an underrated classic or a hidden gym, when it's by far my favorite snes game. :\. It's a short... 8-10 hour rpg and it's sooo much fun. I'd love to wipe my memory of it to play it again.
Space Megaforce was made by the same developer of Blazing Lazers, Compile. The Sega Genesis game MUSHA is also a part of the series (called Aleste in Japan).
Metal Jesus, thank you so very much for doing this. Ive been a pc gamer since my firs 286 right after my NES, was spending more for graphics cards than the rest of computers value and besides iRacing i got bored of pc games, its in a strange transition, in 10years ill go back when tech catches up with my needs. Anyhow, as i was a kid, i never had the money for games, for SNES and NES, had like Flinstones and little Samson which are my favourites and maybe 10 more games (which i just found out are super rare) so i was missing out on a great bunch of games back than, and because of people like you two guys, i got my love back for simpler games back. Though im emulating on my android phone with converted xbox controller that holds my phone (its super cool, mad out of a couple of screews, an old alumibium arm braclet, some soft pads and the "hot snot" glue), and im having a blast almost as much as when i put together my full on racing simulator and iRacing for the first time with 3x27 inch screens and all those bells and whistles, these games just have so much to offer that evem the most hi tech racing simulator can not provide. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this and letting people know or remember the good ol sdays... besides your content is my prefered channel when im sick, hungover or just bored as hell, you always cheer me up with loads of positive and nostalgic feeling and memories. YOU DO ROCK MAN !!!
I prayed that he didn't have Hagane. Its like 3000 on ebay and its the one game i don't have a chance of getting. Seeing that you have made me want to cry. But seriously what a great collection of games. I'll have to check some of them out.
Am I going crazy? I'm searching your videos and I can't find the NES hidden gems. I would love to see one whenever. I'm a big fan of your channel. Keep doing what your doing.
Damn, those are some good hidden gems. There's a bunch on SNES that people don't talk about these days that were totally really good. Stuff like Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (the series is kinda forgotten about), Robotrek, Darius Twin, Axelay, arguably Breath of Fire 1 as well. But if you like Rock 'n' Roll Racing and want a true hidden gem like it that NOBODY talks about, try Biker Mice From Mars. That game is amazingly fun.
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is one of my favorite games and i think its vastly under rated... Ive only met a few people ever (in my actual day to day life) that have ever played it. fantastic KOEI game.
Metal Jesus is one of my favorite youtubers. He seems so chill and respectful. He never interrupts people and is just so nice. Love these videos.
1:21 - Firestriker
2:08 - Space Megaforce
2:52 - Legend
3:39 - Choplifter III
4:22 - Run Saber
5:04 - Skyblazer
5:46 - R-Type 3
7:03 - Hagane
Ur awesome!
Sub Dork Hagane because it was a blockbuster rental exclusive and ive never heard played run saber or skyblazer and i love those kinds of games.
Bless you
Best Dude ever
Hidden Gems for Super Nintendo! These are some of the best and most fun games few people know about. Mega game collector John Hancock shows some of the games he recommends for SNES fans to play and add to their collection.
Total Carnage & Zombies ate my neighbours are my fav's for the SNES.
So glad you included Run Saber. Better than Strider and it has Co-op.
MetalJesusRocks does anyone else tell your friend he look and sounds kinda like Al Borlan from home improvement ?
+eric m. better than strider my ass
+MetalJesusRocks I just saw Megaman X4 in your tv screen. Is it you favorite?
1. Firestriker 1:28
2. Space Megaforce 2:09
3. Legend 3:00
4. Choplifter III 3:45
5. Run Saber 4:31
6. Skyblazer 5:06
7. R-Type III 5:55
8. Hagane 7:05
"Super Aleste" (to give "Space Megaforce" its title outside the US) was developed by Compile, who co-developed "Blazing Lazers" with Hudson Soft for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16.
John, like a lot of big collectors, gets a lot of comments from people thinking he must be rich to own so many rare games. His comment about how much he paid is a response to those people who think that. Owning rare games usually takes patience, luck and networking. He's actually a very cool guy.
I just picked up a Super Nintendo last weekend and already off to a decent start...got Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2, Top Gear and Monopoly....gonna get a few more games next week :)
I got one yesterday with Super Mario All Stars, Donkey Kong Country, Captain America and The Avengers, Battlemaniacs and Super Street Fighter 2. There's also a pawn shop nearby selling Super Metroid and Suoer Ghost n Goblins so I probs get those too. such an amazing system to play on
That IS a lot of money to spend on a cartridge, but some people still want to know what's good and worth playing. Some gamers are just looking for Downloadable games or things to play via emulator on a PSP, etc...
So glad you're finally doing a Super Nintendo hidden gems series! I'm thrilled to see several titles here that I had never heard of! I would look into Battle Clash and Metal Combat if you haven't already Those two games alone are enough to make it worth owning a Super Scope. Also, I'd say EarthBound, despite having a large following, and many people being aware of it could possibly still count as a hidden gem, because I think a lot of people are aware of it but haven't played it.
John Hancock is easily the best guest that's ever appeared on your show. I love the dynamic between John and DMP as well, even though in the couple eps where DMP has run into John at conventions or whatever, the interaction is usually far too brief, or even dubbed over with music. Love the show Metal Jesus, and very glad to see you're still featuring John, he seems like a genuine great guy.
rental store was closing out of business.
thx john if any of those games i listed are special id be happy to hook you and youre channel up bc i love the content, its what made me get back to gaming for the first time since gamecube and ps2, and now im loving games more than ever so thx Hancock
I always search for Metal Jesus recommendations for hidden gems, not only because of his gaming taste, but he always invites an expert on the field, I mean if a guy owns more than half of the SNES catalogue, I totally trust him when he says a game is good.
"Terranigma", have you played that game? it's absolutely awesome, one of my favorite ever Super Nintendo games to me, and a great jewel to the collection.
Another one is "Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie" a space shooter you'd like, it is awesome too.
Shame they're not in the video ;c
Terranigma is mega super
Terranigma wasn’t released in the US
"R-Type 3" was my introduction to the series. I remember watching my friend play it and the beginning part where you select your weapons was so cool!
Fantastic hearing mentions of Skyblazer, FireStriker, and Space Megaforce! For some more hidden gems - Demon's Crest, Robotrek, and Wild Guns. Super Famicom though, that thing is a gold-mine for hidden gems...
Brings back memories from when I worked in a video games store in the 90's... I didn't appreciate how great it was to work there until now
I'm kinda glad the local video game store closed after I rented Hagane still play it every once in a while.
slicerv3 it was never a rental exclusive
2 of my favorite games for the Super Nintendo are Parodius (Konamis Gradius / Nemesis joke) and Cybornator!
I like your videos and can't wait for the next episode of snes gems!
Greets from Germany
Shadowrun . Very underrated
LISTS and LOLZ , I was actually trying to remember the name of this game earlier today, thank you.
Good to see Billy Mays is alive and well. And Choplifter III was the tits!
I know I am pretty randomly asking but do anybody know a good place to stream newly released series online ?
@Dash Phillip I use Flixzone. Just google for it :)
@Dash Phillip try flixzone. You can find it by googling :)
@Dash Phillip I would suggest Flixzone. Just search on google for it :)
You're right choplifter III is a pretty inexpensive game. Bought an unused copy in box w/ manual for $8.
I am really just a fan of videogames, and love different games on all game systems. It is true that I am a big Sega collector, but have collected nearly every main system released in the US since the beginning.
Is he Al Borland's son?
ronjon83 My god spot on!
ronjon83 genius
+ronjon83 i have beard to so am i his son too sterotypist/profiling ass hat
+ronjon83 I don't think so, Tim.
My brother
I mentioned this before here, but it started out as a computer game 1982(Apple II) and then was ported over to other computers and consoles. Sega remade the game as an arcade game in 1985.
Now THAT is an impressive collection John!
John Hancock! I was a guest at Cowlitz Expo a few years back, he is the best dude in the entire retro game scene, a legitimately nice guy.
That would take several lifetimes...
I really like metal jesus, totally underrated channel. Sure he's a bit of a doofus, but he's knowledge and interesting as a result.
Just kinda discovering the channel & already putting it up there as 1 of my fav for retrogaming....It's really been making an impact on my collecting & overall game knowledge...The vids are always entertaining & tell me he wouldn't be an awesome to hang out with, dudes just got this charisma to him.....lol
Well, I'm sure he greatly appreciates you calling him a "doofus".
I actually had a dream the other night I was hanging out with Metal Jesus lol
Stevaside were you dressed ?
I like the “reality tv show” vibe. It feels like something you could actually see on TV. Most gaming youtubers tend to feel like comedians or journalists but MetalJesus has this unique swnse of authenticity to him, probably because of how he keeps everything unscripted.
One of the most underrated games is Arkanoid.. oh and btw: Subscribed
Arkanoid is my favorite arcade game ever. I’ve never played it anywhere else that it wasn’t horrible. Regular controllers don’t do it justice. I’ve never played arkanoid on iPad but I have played some clones that functioned decently. I opened an nes game one Christmas morning and saw .....oid. Got so excited! It was Cybernoid. Mom, I asked for Arkanoid! To this day she thinks she bought me my favorite arcade game ever, I couldn’t tell her she goofed. I had some fun with Cybernoid anyway.
Sega remade Choplifter for the arcades, but it originated on Apple II computers. A strange case of the computer version coming out first then getting a port to the arcades.
I love watching metal Jesus stoned 😂😂😂
+Taylor Grandstaff I love reading comments whacked on Scooby Snacks!
+Taylor Grandstaff haha yup
What is even better is to play the games he recommends while stoned. :)
MetalJesusRocks yesss best comment ever!
Grandstaff 1997 bahahah this is great I to the same shit smoke watch then test the games they recommend
Secret of mana is one of my favorite snes games. Pretty rare as well.
He looks like the guy from Home Improvement with video games Lol.
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY LMAO
BRONXBOMBER88 I knew I wasn't loosing my mind . Lol.
He needs more Flannel, lol
Al
Huhhhhhhhhhh??
-Fire Striker (1:20)
-Space Megaforce (2:00)
-Legend (2:50)
-Choplifter III (3:40)
-Run Saber (4:30)
-Skyblazer (5:04)
-R-Type III (5:45)
-Hagane (6:49)
Hagane was definitely NOT a rental only. Please tell all the other TH-camrs to stop spreading that lie.
choplifters was in arcade, i played it.
Snesdrunk did a good myth debunking video that included that
John Hancock makes a series of Collecting DVDs which he sells at gaming expos. They are very informative and you get a closer look into his amazing collection. That's how I originally met him
I would love to get drunk and play SNES with you guys for hours!
+Barnacules Nerdgasm id be down
They said no
maybe you alreally did but you just don't remember
@ANTHONY dont drink and drive (in GTA), smoke weed and fly (pilotwings)
All excellent choices. Here's a few of my personal favorites:
Pieces - An Atlus-localized, competitive jigsaw puzzle game with Mario Kart-style power-ups. Highly recommended and very affordable.
Blackthorne - Blizzard's super-dark, super-violent nod to games like Prince of Persia, Out of this World, and Flashback. An amazing game once you figure out the controls.
Kirby's Dream Course - The Kirby game that I feel gets so overshadowed by Kirby Super Star. It's 2-player mode is often overlooked.
I''m guessing his snes collection cost him around $3,250 since everything in his world costs $5.
rhix can’t let the wife see how much he actually spent lol
John Hancock has the best collection of anyone I've seen on youtube so far, for being just a collector and not a youtuber. I only say that because big youtubers who accept donations and do unboxings end up getting the craziest stuff.
Then you haven't seen Last Gamer.
We need more hidden gem videos for the retro consoles, please :-)
I have so many SNES games... (more than 150). Now I colect for the Super famicom, games that never left Japan. There is so many hidden gems, it's crazy !
1. "here's some obscure piece of shit game, no-one's heard of it, it's climbing up in value, I paid $5 for it"
2. GOTO 1
Skyblazer was really addictive, it has some crazy scaling effects for the intense parts.
Great list!
MetalJesus is great,love youre videos!
Hello from Latvia!
Choplifter was actually an arcade game though, it was in my local Fun & Games when i was a kid & of course I was pissed off at how much better it looked then my 7800 version, that I still enjoyed despite not having alot of the content of the other versions. If I remember correctly, from what I read recently it did hit the Apple originally before an arcade version was made...& yep, the SNES version here is fun..Been hoping to try Choplifter HD for the Playstation Network 1 day too
Tales of Phantasia is one of those hidden gems that was in japanese but the gameplay and story was awesome . also the only action rpg to ever talk about sex, and use profanity
The Immortal John Hancock is a great guy. Very cool to hang out with and he knows so much about the history of video games. It's amazing!
yeah, if you've got a couple hundred to drop on 2 games.
Most I've ever paid for a SNES/SFC title was $85 for CIB Earthbound and 120 Euros for CIB Rendering Ranger. Obviously both have gone up ludicrously in value since. Most of my 150 odd US and Japanese SNES collection was bought at the time for the going rate of new games (so $50 usually) or way way less in many cases ($10 for CIB Super Metroid anyone).
My favourite obscure SNES title that deserves more attention? Umihara Kawase. Beautifully rendered, typically bonkers Japanese, insanely addictive, and a joy to play.
RUNSABER BEST GAME EVER!!!
I'm a huge advocate for all of the classic cartoon platformers. Mystical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse, The Jungle Book, The Great Circus Mystery, Speedy Gonzales, and many many more are some of my favorite "hidden gems" :) Great video, MJR!
cost him $5 for the box copy, but has a price tag on it of $34.00? Must be some kind of negotiator....
Space Mega Force was developed by Compile. they did in fact make several shooters including Blazing Lasers. They had their hand in The Guardian Legend for the NES. Gun Nac and Zanac are some other titles they developed. They are famous for their shooters for sure.
we need genesis hidden gems sire
+yung amy , Sagaia (Darius II) is one for the Genesis/Mega Drive. Pier Solar and the Great Architects is also another hidden gem for that system.
I was actually just thinking how good it is to see John in this video, i think he comes across as a really nice guy and brings a very happy vibe with him. Consider me a John fan!
Really enjoy these hidden Gems videos,
All the best to you both.
Emulation is your best friend for finding hidden gems..or..at least games that are still fun to play that aren't well known. I know, some people hate emulation, but you can't deny how convenient it is, or how easy it is to find new games to try.
I have the entire SNES rom set on my computer. And I've slowly been going through the US list, just trying out games that sound interesting. So far I've found at least a few that aren't bad that I've never heard of.
Full Throttle Racing
Bio Metal
Blazeon
Bonkers
Brain Lord
Brawl Brothers
Captain Commando
Cutthroat Island
Are they the best? Hell no. Are they decent enough to try out? Definitely. And I think that's the kind of game that gets hugely overlooked. Everyone always wants the best. Whether it's the best of the best, like Mario and Zelda, or it's hidden gems that are the best of the lesser known games. But you never really hear about the lesser known games that aren't quite as good, but are still fun to play.
Another game I love that you barely hear about is Congo's Caper. It's a bit more well known since Jon Tron did a video with it, but it's still not as discussed as it should be.
+TXF thanks for the recommendations.. i too have the rom sets. i grew up with the nes, snes.. unfortunately the only way we could try new games.. was to rent them at the local store.. i was lucky to have that.. as i grew up poor so i only got a new game for my birthday, Christmas, or when my grandma came to visit.. but i had no problem mowing yards to rent games over the weekend.. i would spend two days trying to beat the games.. sometimes we rented complete garbage other games were great and that is how i knew what games to ask for. its weird to see how the gaming industry has changed. have a great weekend.. this weekend im gonna play some wii u, err i meanBayonetta.. such a fun game. one thing i do need tho for these emulator.. right now i have a usb, version of the nes, and snes.. but im thinking maybe i should just get a xbox controller and use one controller for all my emulated games.. it gets old having to dig out controllers depending on my mood. peace.
Chris c Xbox controllers are great for emulation. I use a 360 controller for a lot of stuff. It's great for N64 and PS1 games. But I also have a USB SNES controller that's great for pretty much anything before PS1 and N64. It's fun to use for Mame emulation too.
If you do get a USB SNES controller, I'd suggest finding the Buffalo brand one. They're great. They also make a red/gold Famicom themed controller with the same amount of buttons as the SNES one.
TXF
thanks for the tip. yeah i dig the famicon looking one. i already have a snes USB controller.. but not one of the japan style.. i will order one now. laughs. so is the xbox 360 plug and play? i just want to plug into windows with and be done.. thanks for the tip on brand.. thankfully the ones i bought were buffalo.. so looks like when i bought the regular and snes controller i got a good brand. rock on.
Chris c If you have a 360 controller with a cord, it should just be plug and play. Let it install the driver automatically and stuff. And it should work just fine. It helps that Xbox is Microsoft, so it's set up to work easily with a windows PC. Hell, most indie games on PC nowadays are set up to work specifically with 360 controllers.
TXF
thanks for the info.. i do not own a 360 controller i have to buy one.
I bought a reproduction of *Hagane* about 2-3 months ago and man...that game deserved a full US release because it is no doubt a *Top 10 Snes game imo*. It is amazing, probably the most technical 16-bit controls I've ever encountered, very crushing but fair difficulty and an overall blast to play. Shame it's so damn obscure it is such a fantastic game.
Reading a few comments here made me cringe. Do you guys know what the word, "Hidden", means? The likes of Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are not hidden gems.
Won-Jin Um exactly! super mario world, now that's a real hidden gem.
Guillermo Rodriguezfor me, if you can grab legit corporate google hits and fan sites its not hidden
The game soul blazer he mentioned, not skyblazer is one of my favorite snes games, so fun
Love Skyblazer, finished it back in the day.... bloody hard. Wish I had held on to my copy.... well held on to any of my snes games in fact. Snes has lots of good obscure JRPGs.
I'm from Europe so i didn't have that problem.
I actually have Hagane - bought a boxed copy cheap from a rental store when aged 10, didn't realise the value and a friend from school lost the box and manual. Biggest gaming regret of my life...
Here are some great UNDERRATED SNES games
Terranigma
Live a Live
Radical Dreamers (a text based sequel to Chrono trigger which takes place in an alternate dimension to Chrono Cross)
Front Mission Gun Hazard
ActRaiser 1 (not 2 I didn't really like 2)
wow you both look so young 10 year ago LoL Nice video!
wrong! the collection cost him 5$; even though each game alone did also cost 5$ ...
The developer that made Blazing Lasers did make Space Megaforce. Compile was the developer, they developed MUSHA and Robo Aleste. Compile was awesome!
Legend a hidden gem?
Is a pile of dung.
Every game you put on this video has skyrocketed in price.
Firestriker
was 35 dollars now its 100 dollars
Space Megaforce
was 55 now its 140
Legend
was 20 now its 65
Choplifter III
was 7 now its 25
Run Saber
35 now its 70
Skyblazer
was 25 now its 50
R-Type III
45 now its 110
Hagane was 280 now its 580
I dont like this guest. I want to hear about the games, not u brag about how valuable the game is. This guy likes to remind you how he owns a boxed copy of a super rare and expensive game that u wont ever be able to own
Play?
or?
You're Crazy Dude, The Immortal John Hancock is Definitely My Favorite
Seriously? If you took all of those parts it would be like 5-10 seconds of the video. And the value is part of what makes it a "hidden gem". The way I see it is, if you see that gem at a garage sale: pick it up! Then act like it's worth $5.
ULTIMATENINJA1984
Are you sure you're not just a kid?
You used smh twice in the damn comment, no Adults born in "your era" will ever Use smh once in a sentence, let alone twice
Also, that would mean you are an adult at 1989... it's 2017 now..you must be at least 50 now
Hagane plays like a faster version of Shinobi II. With more weapons.
This is a really awesome series. I collect/download a ton of games and a lot of the lists of great games are really similar, so it's nice to see some variety!
Also, I just noticed that the TV screen is playing Megaman X4 at 1:04.
I like that they had some of the sounds from the games this episode
Watching this in 2024 is so depressing. Almost every game in this video is now ridiculously expensive!!!😩
Space Megaforce (or Super Aleste to use is proper name) is, imo, the best all round shump on SNES. It's also one of the few that competes with and imo even beats most of the best shumps on the Genesis too. Great graphics, great music and sound fx, great gameplay, loads of action and stuff onscreen, impressive bosses, some great use of the SNES' best effects and graphics modes, etc. It's one example of a shump on SNES where slowdown almost never rears its ugly head either, which is a major bonus.
Love your hidden gem videos. Always nice to discover games that has been overlooked and not always the Mario and Zelda etc.
Didn't show a close up for the cover of R-Type 3. I'm not big in to shooters but that game looks KILLER!
This is the video that got me addicted to watching retro video games on TH-cam.
Great video. Usually in Hidden Gems videos I've heard of most of what they show off, but I had only heard of the shooters and Hagane, so good on ya. All the other ones look really interesting.
I played Choplifter III as a kid and had no idea it was a gem! Nice!!!
Others have commented about this. The orginal was first on computer(apple II, then it was remade as an arcade game(Sega).
hey guys,yes Compile(musha,power strike etc)was involved in space megaforce and blazing lazers.Space megaforce is called super aleste in japan,great games and vid!
love skyblazer and r-type 3 bought them after this video and finished both with a little help on the slow speed controller for r-type 3
I freaking LOVE these Hidden Gems videos. Thanks to this awesome series, I know of some underrated games I want to get for GCN, Wii, and SNES. I'd love to see you make ones for the N64 (please, please, please make an N64 Hidden Gems video!), NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, Arcade, etc. Perhaps you could also do genre specific videos, like Platformer Hidden Gems, Shmup Hidden Gems, Run 'n' Gun Hidden Gems, RPG Hidden Gems, Puzzle Game Hidden Gems, etc.
No one ever mentions 'shadowrun' as an underrated classic or a hidden gym, when it's by far my favorite snes game. :\. It's a short... 8-10 hour rpg and it's sooo much fun. I'd love to wipe my memory of it to play it again.
space megaforce is one of my all time favorites, i just remember being given it when i was in the hospital and you could not get me to stop playing it
One of my all time favorites is Ogre Battle: March of the Back Queen.
R-Type 3 was ported to the GBA, got it recently for a few bucks. Lot of great looking games I'd never heard of here. Thanks MJR!
Space Megaforce was made by the same developer of Blazing Lazers, Compile. The Sega Genesis game MUSHA is also a part of the series (called Aleste in Japan).
theres an arcade version of choplifter, it is a good part of my childhood memories jijiji grreat video buddy!!
Metal Jesus, thank you so very much for doing this. Ive been a pc gamer since my firs 286 right after my NES, was spending more for graphics cards than the rest of computers value and besides iRacing i got bored of pc games, its in a strange transition, in 10years ill go back when tech catches up with my needs. Anyhow, as i was a kid, i never had the money for games, for SNES and NES, had like Flinstones and little Samson which are my favourites and maybe 10 more games (which i just found out are super rare) so i was missing out on a great bunch of games back than, and because of people like you two guys, i got my love back for simpler games back. Though im emulating on my android phone with converted xbox controller that holds my phone (its super cool, mad out of a couple of screews, an old alumibium arm braclet, some soft pads and the "hot snot" glue), and im having a blast almost as much as when i put together my full on racing simulator and iRacing for the first time with 3x27 inch screens and all those bells and whistles, these games just have so much to offer that evem the most hi tech racing simulator can not provide. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this and letting people know or remember the good ol sdays... besides your content is my prefered channel when im sick, hungover or just bored as hell, you always cheer me up with loads of positive and nostalgic feeling and memories. YOU DO ROCK MAN !!!
Darius Twin and Raiden Trad are great shooters.
I prayed that he didn't have Hagane. Its like 3000 on ebay and its the one game i don't have a chance of getting. Seeing that you have made me want to cry. But seriously what a great collection of games. I'll have to check some of them out.
I used to play run saber when I was a kid. I completely forgot about this game until just now. Thank you
The smirk and glee John produces when telling how cheap he got his games for is hilarious!!! Like a little kid with a Paul Bunyan beard. 😂 😂 😂
717 released in the US. My number that I give was pertaining to that since the video was about Super Nintendo Gems, not Super Famicom.
Am I going crazy? I'm searching your videos and I can't find the NES hidden gems. I would love to see one whenever. I'm a big fan of your channel. Keep doing what your doing.
Damn, those are some good hidden gems. There's a bunch on SNES that people don't talk about these days that were totally really good. Stuff like Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (the series is kinda forgotten about), Robotrek, Darius Twin, Axelay, arguably Breath of Fire 1 as well. But if you like Rock 'n' Roll Racing and want a true hidden gem like it that NOBODY talks about, try Biker Mice From Mars. That game is amazingly fun.
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is one of my favorite games and i think its vastly under rated...
Ive only met a few people ever (in my actual day to day life) that have ever played it. fantastic KOEI game.
I remember playing the original version of Chopper 3 on Mac! Awesome game!!
Quality Quality Quality as always ! Loved this ! :-) Look forward to part two and a very cheap but great hidden gem I feel is 'claymates' !