Oh, I *loved* Xexyz when I was a kid, and remember getting scared and excited at the sight of those screen-filling bosses. I don't hear a lot of people talk about this gem. Thanks!
I loved Little Ninja Brothers so much. My friend and I would rent it from the local grocery store on Friday and stay up all night playing it. One of my favorite games on the system. Great video!
NES RPGs just have their own atmosphere/vibe that hasn't been replicated since. I love me a good Dragon Quest clone so you better believe I'll be checking out a few of these recommendations!
Thank you for still putting in the effort to release content even when you're feeling under the weather! I can hear it in your voice that you're still on the mend. We're all praying for you health and wellness here at our household. Feel better soon and keep on keeping on. Oh, also, GREAT CHOICE OF GAMES, AS ALWAYS!
I'm interested in Silva Saga and Double moon games, Didn't know you made a walkthrough on Gamfaqs. Also thank you for putting in the effort into making these TH-cam videos despite being under the weather. Get well soon.
I think this is the first hidden gem video you've pulled out in which I hadn't played a single game. xD The NES' overall library is one of my bigger blind spots in classic gaming. I was so little when I played it that I mostly just played platformers, though I did eventually go back for Final Fantasy 1 and Dragon Warrior 1. I looked up a few of these, and the wildest lineage is Momotaro Densetsu. It kept going as an RPG for a few console generations, but was eventually eclipsed in popularity by its train-themed board game spin-off, Momotaro *Dentetsu* (which, instead of "Peach Boy Legend" would be "Peach Boy Railcar")
Momotaro, or Peach Boy, is actually an old Japanese folktale (and yes, it involves a boy born from a peach to an old couple), so it's not as random of a concept as you might think for an old school JRPG. There was even a direct-to-VHS Mario anime adaptation of the story, so it's safe to say it's very popular even today.
Capcom was pretty good at adapting tv shows and movies into video games, back in the days. Just look at all the Disney games they released. That's why Willow was good
I absolutely LOVED this video, please don’t think I don’t enjoy your other work, but this one, I played at least 3 of these unknowns as a kid and could not remember their names, and to learn about Double Moon, that’s a game I would have loved to have known about earlier. Looks like I have my next game lined up to play now. I’m actually giddy about getting to play it, just learning more about it I get such a Dragon Warrior 1 (sorry, that is how it will always be for me) vibe. Thank you thank you thank you!!
I cant speak for the japan specific releases in this list but out of these i had the most fun with Destiny of an Emperor. A lot of people ran into the brick wall of KOEI games based in this world on NES that were super difficult to figure out and graphically bland. This game i believe was mistaken for one of those war simulators, but i def didnt miss playing this gem. I always thought it was extremely well put together. There was a japanese only sequel but never found out if it was worth anything. Thank you David!
Thank you for the great list. The only games on this list I have played are Sweet Home and Xexyz, but I love those games and there are a lot of games on this list that look excellent. I especially want to play Faria, Destiny of an Emperor, Willow, Silva Saga, Chronicle of the Radia, and Legend of the Double Moon. Xexyz was a game I picked up on a whim from a resale shop during my childhood and it turned out to be one of my favorite blind buys from that era. The game manages to be both eccentric and charming and the mix of the gameplay styles fits in well with the overall feel of the game. Whether you're fighting robots and monsters, getting advice from fairies, saving a giant woman in a bathtub from a sinister disembodied head, or flying around shooting everything that comes your way, you'll be having a blast and enjoying the great soundtrack. Sweet Home is a game that is right up my alley and I wish there were more survival horror RPGs. While I do like some bright and vibrant things in games, I also love dark and horrific things as well. Maybe one of the reasons that Phantasy Star IV is my favorite game of all time is because it can be both bright and dark equally well. Back to Sweet Home, the game surprised me in just how much atmosphere and tension can be built up by an 8-bit game. Trying to avoid the permadeath of your characters will require a lot of strategy, especially in trying to gain a level within a certain amount of time not only to boost your stats, but also to refill your HP because the items that do so aren't all that plentiful. The soundtrack builds off of the tension of the gameplay and the eerie the visual style of the game very well and creates an atmosphere that sucks the player into the game's world. All in all, I think it's an amazing game even if it is probably only for a niche audience and I would go as far as to proclaim it being my second favorite 8-bit game, behind only Phantasy Star.
I loved and still love destiny of an emperor. When I was a kid I got stuck in the game getting into a new area, not knowing all you had to do was talk to someone and then not push any buttons for ten seconds or two so he would wake up. I even levelled up to make level thinking that would do the trick.
I played Chronicle Of The Radia War on a whim during my first year of college. That game was magnificent in every way, but most important was the story. I don't want to spoil it for anyone reading this, but the ending caught me in a way I still respect. Everyone has those games they play only once or twice, but end up receiving indelible experiences and thoughts from. Chronicle Of The Radia War is one of those games for me. Lots of games like to muse about the idea of dreams affecting reality, but Chronicle Of The Radia War does it best. :)
I'd love it if you started reviewing metroidvanias as well as jrpgs, they are my second favourite type of game. Top 3 in my book are hollow knight, deaths gambit and aeterna noctis.
Three excellent choices. I'm glad Hollow Knight gets the recognition it deserves and Aeterna Noctis seems to be getting some positive buzz recently, but Death's Gambit: Afterlife is still sadly underrated. Are there any other favorites you'd be willing to share, maybe a top 10 or top 15?
@@ophidianmind333 enders lilies was fantastic, astalon: tears of the earth was very good as well and blasphemous, timespinner and salt and sanctuary were good. A warning about aeterna noctis though, its insanely hard, much much harder than HK.
@@LucemFerre82 I haven't played Ender Lilies, but Astalon (I recently pre-orded a physical copy of this on the Switch from Limited Run and I'm ecstatic about it), Blasphemous, Timespinner, and Salt and Sanctuary are all wonderful. Thank you for sharing more recommendations and for the difficulty warning regarding Aeterna Noctis. Have you ever played Vigil: The Longest Night or 3,000th Duel? Those are both "Souls-like" metroidvanias that are a little more on the obscure side but that I think I worth playing if you like games like Death's Gambit: Afterlife, Blasphemous, and Salt and Sanctuary.
@@ophidianmind333 I was looking forward to try vigil but it seems like they cancelled the playstation version of the game so I can't play it. I had never heard of 3000th duel but it looks good, I hope they release that on the ps5 as well :)
I don't know if it's really considered a hidden gem, but I'll always throw my hat in the ring for Power Blade. It has a bit of nostalgia factor for me, but it's an excellent side scrolling action game in the vein of Contra and Mega man. Tight controls, a simple but rewarding weapon upgrade system, and from what I remember, pretty decent music too.
Apparently there's a Silva Saga 2 on the SFC...so I'm adding that to the pile. Also, check out a game series called Dragon Fantasy. The first one is almost a 1:1 Dragon Quest twin; the second, which I didn't care for much, is another game that tries to be Chrono Trigger (though it's not even as good as I Am Setsuna, but hey, it may scratch that itch).
Momotaro or peach boy is an old folklore hero from japan and the story still appears in a lot of modern japanese media. just a while ago there was an anime called peach boy riverside, which was obviouls inspired by it. if we're talking about weird names, "just breed" sounds way funnier imo :p
A good number of these make me wonder how the hell did mainstream adopt the final fantasies and dragon quests over these as they had some real innovative animation, battle systems and other features. I could see how they would have evolved were they the series that made it big instead. But one can only imagine.
Hey, Destiny of an Emperor! And Little Ninja Brothers: that was a wacky game! Thanks for covering more Japan-only games. It's interesting to see all these takes on the 'Dragon Quest formula'.
Thanks for another great list! I am not familiar with most of the games; I think Sweet Home I had heard the most about. I think the lesson here is there are a lot of great Japanese exclusives worth looking into!
The ninja Brothers had a snes release as well and I enjoyed playing the ninja Brothers title with my best friend during sleepovers. Looking forward to seeing you on twitch for lunar 2 eternal blue tonight 💙 😀
I had completely forgotten about Little ninja brothers. I played it like two decades ago with some friends and I remember that we were very confused about what to do in that game. A fun game nevertheless.
There are some great games to try but I need to get back into some ninja bros. I loved that game but it was just a rental. Ever try Moon Crystal? It was a Japanese only NES game I discovered out of the blue and is a fantastic platformer.
I wish that Nintendo would come out with a cartridge of a lot of their forgotten his like how Sega had their Ultimate Genesis Collection. I prefer to have a nice physical medium that can be backwards compatible to be enjoyed on multiple systems and games like these don't require much data storage.
I know how u feel if the game has a good story i will go outside my jrpg's safe zone i played call of duty modern warfare 2019 not cuz i like shooters i suck at them they just have good stories same with god of war im not good with action adventure but the story and combat is good enough for me to enjoy
Honestly I can’t even play the nes anymore. It has gotten to old. I hate to say that cause I can still play snes . Just the sprites are horrible where snes they are at their best
Oh, I *loved* Xexyz when I was a kid, and remember getting scared and excited at the sight of those screen-filling bosses. I don't hear a lot of people talk about this gem. Thanks!
I loved Little Ninja Brothers so much. My friend and I would rent it from the local grocery store on Friday and stay up all night playing it.
One of my favorite games on the system.
Great video!
I rented it too. It was a blast.
NES RPGs just have their own atmosphere/vibe that hasn't been replicated since. I love me a good Dragon Quest clone so you better believe I'll be checking out a few of these recommendations!
Thank you for still putting in the effort to release content even when you're feeling under the weather! I can hear it in your voice that you're still on the mend. We're all praying for you health and wellness here at our household. Feel better soon and keep on keeping on.
Oh, also, GREAT CHOICE OF GAMES, AS ALWAYS!
Thank you so much! This month has been really crummy to me health wise
Great list David! It's so cool to see how developers were able to make fun and interesting games with the limited hardware.
Resident Evil started as a remake of Sweet Home.
I'm interested in Silva Saga and Double moon games, Didn't know you made a walkthrough on Gamfaqs.
Also thank you for putting in the effort into making these TH-cam videos despite being under the weather.
Get well soon.
Walkthroughs are a lot more work than they seem like they will be; it's a lesson I learn over and over again, every time I start a new one.
Who doesn't love a good quality metroidvania
I think this is the first hidden gem video you've pulled out in which I hadn't played a single game. xD
The NES' overall library is one of my bigger blind spots in classic gaming. I was so little when I played it that I mostly just played platformers, though I did eventually go back for Final Fantasy 1 and Dragon Warrior 1.
I looked up a few of these, and the wildest lineage is Momotaro Densetsu. It kept going as an RPG for a few console generations, but was eventually eclipsed in popularity by its train-themed board game spin-off, Momotaro *Dentetsu* (which, instead of "Peach Boy Legend" would be "Peach Boy Railcar")
Momotaro, or Peach Boy, is actually an old Japanese folktale (and yes, it involves a boy born from a peach to an old couple), so it's not as random of a concept as you might think for an old school JRPG. There was even a direct-to-VHS Mario anime adaptation of the story, so it's safe to say it's very popular even today.
I love these hidden gem vids David! Have you considered doing hidden gem vids for other consoles? Anyway, fantastic job as always.
That's the plan!
Same
@@davidvinc Yay!
Capcom was pretty good at adapting tv shows and movies into video games, back in the days. Just look at all the Disney games they released. That's why Willow was good
I absolutely LOVED this video, please don’t think I don’t enjoy your other work, but this one, I played at least 3 of these unknowns as a kid and could not remember their names, and to learn about Double Moon, that’s a game I would have loved to have known about earlier. Looks like I have my next game lined up to play now.
I’m actually giddy about getting to play it, just learning more about it I get such a Dragon Warrior 1 (sorry, that is how it will always be for me) vibe.
Thank you thank you thank you!!
Really love finding any Dragon Quest-like games, would love to see a video with your favorite dragon quest clones
I cant speak for the japan specific releases in this list but out of these i had the most fun with Destiny of an Emperor. A lot of people ran into the brick wall of KOEI games based in this world on NES that were super difficult to figure out and graphically bland. This game i believe was mistaken for one of those war simulators, but i def didnt miss playing this gem. I always thought it was extremely well put together. There was a japanese only sequel but never found out if it was worth anything. Thank you David!
A great game with an awful encounter rate
Thank you for the great list. The only games on this list I have played are Sweet Home and Xexyz, but I love those games and there are a lot of games on this list that look excellent. I especially want to play Faria, Destiny of an Emperor, Willow, Silva Saga, Chronicle of the Radia, and Legend of the Double Moon.
Xexyz was a game I picked up on a whim from a resale shop during my childhood and it turned out to be one of my favorite blind buys from that era. The game manages to be both eccentric and charming and the mix of the gameplay styles fits in well with the overall feel of the game. Whether you're fighting robots and monsters, getting advice from fairies, saving a giant woman in a bathtub from a sinister disembodied head, or flying around shooting everything that comes your way, you'll be having a blast and enjoying the great soundtrack.
Sweet Home is a game that is right up my alley and I wish there were more survival horror RPGs. While I do like some bright and vibrant things in games, I also love dark and horrific things as well. Maybe one of the reasons that Phantasy Star IV is my favorite game of all time is because it can be both bright and dark equally well. Back to Sweet Home, the game surprised me in just how much atmosphere and tension can be built up by an 8-bit game.
Trying to avoid the permadeath of your characters will require a lot of strategy, especially in trying to gain a level within a certain amount of time not only to boost your stats, but also to refill your HP because the items that do so aren't all that plentiful. The soundtrack builds off of the tension of the gameplay and the eerie the visual style of the game very well and creates an atmosphere that sucks the player into the game's world. All in all, I think it's an amazing game even if it is probably only for a niche audience and I would go as far as to proclaim it being my second favorite 8-bit game, behind only Phantasy Star.
I loved and still love destiny of an emperor.
When I was a kid I got stuck in the game getting into a new area, not knowing all you had to do was talk to someone and then not push any buttons for ten seconds or two so he would wake up. I even levelled up to make level thinking that would do the trick.
Wow, there were a few I've never even heard of. I love seeing new-to-me JRPGs like this.
Thanks for all the great ideas for games to play David!!!!!!!!!!!
I played Chronicle Of The Radia War on a whim during my first year of college. That game was magnificent in every way, but most important was the story. I don't want to spoil it for anyone reading this, but the ending caught me in a way I still respect. Everyone has those games they play only once or twice, but end up receiving indelible experiences and thoughts from. Chronicle Of The Radia War is one of those games for me.
Lots of games like to muse about the idea of dreams affecting reality, but Chronicle Of The Radia War does it best. :)
I'd love it if you started reviewing metroidvanias as well as jrpgs, they are my second favourite type of game. Top 3 in my book are hollow knight, deaths gambit and aeterna noctis.
Three excellent choices. I'm glad Hollow Knight gets the recognition it deserves and Aeterna Noctis seems to be getting some positive buzz recently, but Death's Gambit: Afterlife is still sadly underrated. Are there any other favorites you'd be willing to share, maybe a top 10 or top 15?
@@ophidianmind333 enders lilies was fantastic, astalon: tears of the earth was very good as well and blasphemous, timespinner and salt and sanctuary were good. A warning about aeterna noctis though, its insanely hard, much much harder than HK.
@@LucemFerre82 I haven't played Ender Lilies, but Astalon (I recently pre-orded a physical copy of this on the Switch from Limited Run and I'm ecstatic about it), Blasphemous, Timespinner, and Salt and Sanctuary are all wonderful. Thank you for sharing more recommendations and for the difficulty warning regarding Aeterna Noctis.
Have you ever played Vigil: The Longest Night or 3,000th Duel? Those are both "Souls-like" metroidvanias that are a little more on the obscure side but that I think I worth playing if you like games like Death's Gambit: Afterlife, Blasphemous, and Salt and Sanctuary.
@@ophidianmind333 I was looking forward to try vigil but it seems like they cancelled the playstation version of the game so I can't play it. I had never heard of 3000th duel but it looks good, I hope they release that on the ps5 as well :)
Your voice is sounding so much better already!
I've never heard of Legend of Double Moon. David you sure introduce me to great games. Ty sir.
I don't know if it's really considered a hidden gem, but I'll always throw my hat in the ring for Power Blade. It has a bit of nostalgia factor for me, but it's an excellent side scrolling action game in the vein of Contra and Mega man. Tight controls, a simple but rewarding weapon upgrade system, and from what I remember, pretty decent music too.
Apparently there's a Silva Saga 2 on the SFC...so I'm adding that to the pile. Also, check out a game series called Dragon Fantasy. The first one is almost a 1:1 Dragon Quest twin; the second, which I didn't care for much, is another game that tries to be Chrono Trigger (though it's not even as good as I Am Setsuna, but hey, it may scratch that itch).
Momotaro or peach boy is an old folklore hero from japan and the story still appears in a lot of modern japanese media. just a while ago there was an anime called peach boy riverside, which was obviouls inspired by it. if we're talking about weird names, "just breed" sounds way funnier imo :p
A good number of these make me wonder how the hell did mainstream adopt the final fantasies and dragon quests over these as they had some real innovative animation, battle systems and other features.
I could see how they would have evolved were they the series that made it big instead. But one can only imagine.
Hey, Destiny of an Emperor! And Little Ninja Brothers: that was a wacky game!
Thanks for covering more Japan-only games. It's interesting to see all these takes on the 'Dragon Quest formula'.
Thanks for another great list! I am not familiar with most of the games; I think Sweet Home I had heard the most about. I think the lesson here is there are a lot of great Japanese exclusives worth looking into!
Wow! A hidden gems video with games Ive never heard of. Great job!
Glad you like them!
I highly recommend Lagrange Point , its a sci-fi jrpg with Dragon quest style battles but kicked up a notch 👌
The ninja Brothers had a snes release as well and I enjoyed playing the ninja Brothers title with my best friend during sleepovers. Looking forward to seeing you on twitch for lunar 2 eternal blue tonight 💙 😀
Oh man no willow! That was soooo hard. Great movie too 👌
Great vid David!
I had completely forgotten about Little ninja brothers. I played it like two decades ago with some friends and I remember that we were very confused about what to do in that game. A fun game nevertheless.
Hey, nice to see Xexyz get the spotlight!
You sound a little under the weather. I hope you feel better soon! Love your content!
Thanks for the videos! If you're interested, Sweet Home the movie is available on TH-cam and has some pretty good practical effects.
Whoa, damn. Haven't heard of any of these for once!
Peach boy is Momotaro, a very popular story in Asia
Always glad to click these because I'll always find one game worth trying and Faria is the one this time around
Aww feel better David!! 💕
Thank you so much!
Destiny of the Emperor was so good, how I got into Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
I wonder if there are some fan translated carts I can get for some of these famicom games
I know there are fan translated repro carts for NES available for Sweet Home, but I don't know about the others.
Willow look fantastic, almost like it was a Snes game !
Little ninja bros is amazing. Best 5 bucks I ever spent in my life. I'd love to see a remake to speed up combat a little as it could lag like a MOFO
I have to play ninja bros with my wife. Looks like a fun couch coop game.
There are some great games to try but I need to get back into some ninja bros. I loved that game but it was just a rental. Ever try Moon Crystal? It was a Japanese only NES game I discovered out of the blue and is a fantastic platformer.
I wonder if Sweet Home has any relation to the Netflix series.
If you haven’t mentioned it before, you should check out Laplace no Ma. I’d love to hear your opinion of it.
I wonder if silkworm will appear.
The only NES movie/tv tie-ins that I remember being utter garbage were by a certain infamous publisher…
Nice list.
Dave, try Lagrange Point. It is like Phantasy Star II, but better!
Comment for my favourite TH-cam gaming channel
The famicom I'm sure has a million more hidden jems.
Willow always gave me motion sickness :x
I wish that Nintendo would come out with a cartridge of a lot of their forgotten his like how Sega had their Ultimate Genesis Collection. I prefer to have a nice physical medium that can be backwards compatible to be enjoyed on multiple systems and games like these don't require much data storage.
Where is Hero and Lucia?
No Ghost Lion?
So; this destiny of an emperor was the origin of romance of 3 kingdoms/dynasty warriors
Names for the gems please
Radia War is so awesome
Okay but what about the Dragon Ball Z NES RPG trilogy
Why am I awake this early on a Saturday
To watch this video of course :D
Years of waking up for cartoons?
I know how u feel if the game has a good story i will go outside my jrpg's safe zone i played call of duty modern warfare 2019 not cuz i like shooters i suck at them they just have good stories same with god of war im not good with action adventure but the story and combat is good enough for me to enjoy
Here early so just gonna comment.
Never mind got them
Honestly I can’t even play the nes anymore. It has gotten to old. I hate to say that cause I can still play snes . Just the sprites are horrible where snes they are at their best
Let´s be real, just skip the NES for better games on newer consoles like the SNES, genesis/mega drive or PS1.
a lot of nes games are sadly clearly held back by the hardware quite a bit combined with frustrating game mechanics. I really enjoyed zelda 1 though.