Lord Mushroom Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Many (most?) games fall in under a popular category like platformer, 1st person shooter, beat´em up etc.. But some games stand out as unique or at least so unusual that there aren´t many similar games. Which such retro games do you know of that aren´t just unusual, but also very good (Dreamcast is the latest console to qualify as retro in this context. As are computer games released before 2000)? I will go first: Bomberman-games Robo Warrior Tecmo Soccer Game Toejam & Earl X-com-games (the early ones) Worms Armageddon/World Party I guess you could call Bomberman a party game, Toejam & Earl an adventure game, Tecmo Soccer Game a sports game, X-com turn based stategy games and Worms A/WP an artillery game, but they are still unusual. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tales from the Game Room Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I always saw the Power Stone series as a unique type of game. Is it a fighter? Is it a beat-em up? Is it a platformer? But, if you really want to get into unique, then I'd say Typing of the Dead! That one is crazy fun, and definitely has more than one genre under it's belt, including educational...lol. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 9 minutes ago, Tales from the Game Room said: But, if you really want to get into unique, then I'd say Typing of the Dead! That one is crazy fun, and definitely has more than one genre under it's belt, including educational...lol. I really like the title. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I would submit "2010 - The Graphic Action Game" for ColecoVision as an unusual, hard to classify, but really good game. It's actually my favorite game on the system. I'm surprised no developer has ever made a clone of this game afterwards, with the "2010" movie license taken out of the equation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 6 minutes ago, Pixelboy said: I would submit "2010 - The Graphic Action Game" for ColecoVision as an unusual, hard to classify, but really good game. I have certainly never seen anything like it before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youxia Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 *off top of my head mode* ChibiRobo - GC Tecmo's Deception - PSX Jet Set Radio - DC Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath - Xbox Chronicles Of Riddick - Xbox Ico/Shadow Of The Colossus - PS2 Bubbles - arcade How To Be A complete Bastard - ZX Spectrum Dolucky no A.League Soccer - SNES Vagrant Story - PSX Thief: The Dark Project - PC .... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricmastro Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Space Shuttle Project, where you launch and guide a rocket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitanClassic Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) Archon is probably one of the first action strategy games to blend turn based area control with action based unit elimination. The closest precursor would probably be Star Control (also a great, unique game), although Archon is fantasy genre and SC is scifi genre. Successors have been attempted, by FreeFall, Archon II, Archon Ultra,with Archon II largely exceeding the original. There was also a spiritual successor in Dark Legion (DOS) which played relatively well (at least as good as Archon Ultra) , Supposedly, Wrarh Unleashed (PS2) is similar but I have never played it. Edited September 28, 2021 by CapitanClassic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseystyle Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Neat topic. Some of my favorite weird games: Cubivore (GCN) Attack of the Mutant Penguins (Jaguar) Captain Blood (Amiga 500) Panic! (Sega CD) Odama (GCN) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 I can easily think of something that is unusual: a sports game that is actually worth playing! Big Tournament Golf, which was known as Neo Turf Masters in some countries. This is the best golf game ever made and possibly the best sports game ever made and a damn excellent game in general and I highly recommend it for consumption by all human beings and maybe even some space aliens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricmastro Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 34 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said: I can easily think of something that is unusual: a sports game that is actually worth playing! Big Tournament Golf, which was known as Neo Turf Masters in some countries. This is the best golf game ever made and possibly the best sports game ever made and a damn excellent game in general and I highly recommend it for consumption by all human beings and maybe even some space aliens. Tecmo Cup Soccer Game is pretty cool too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roots.genoa Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 On 7/23/2021 at 2:05 PM, Lord Mushroom said: X-com turn based stategy games I'm not following, here. There have been a lot of turn based strategy games before X-com, even Julian Gollop made several of those on the ZX Spectrum. And to me they're similar to Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars, and Shining Force games, even though I admit X-com added a layer of management for instance (don't get me wrong, I love X-com). I agree with your other examples, though. Worms was indeed an artillery game but the previous games in that genre were so much more basic; it would almost be like comparing Pong and tennis games! I'm not very familiar with ToeJam & Earl but I heard it's supposed to be a rogue-like, even though I can't say if it's different enough to justify having its own genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricmastro Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, roots.genoa said: I'm not following, here. There have been a lot of turn based strategy games before X-com, even Julian Gollop made several of those on the ZX Spectrum. And to me they're similar to Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars, and Shining Force games, even though I admit X-com added a layer of management for instance (don't get me wrong, I love X-com). I agree with your other examples, though. Worms was indeed an artillery game but the previous games in that genre were so much more basic; it would almost be like comparing Pong and tennis games! I'm not very familiar with ToeJam & Earl but I heard it's supposed to be a rogue-like, even though I can't say if it's different enough to justify having its own genre. Hogs of War felt rather distinct as far as turn-based strategy games went. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roots.genoa Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Oh yes, it almost looks like some kind of 3D Worms... In terms of strategy, but in real time, there's also Herzog Zwei who is considered a precursor to RTS games, but it's quite unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) M.U.L.E. - Colonize a planet with up to 3 other people, then price gouge them for profit! Very unusual, but lots of fun. Populous - You are basically a deity leading your followers to build up their civilization or into battle. Meanwhile you can rain down natural disasters on your opponent. Edited September 28, 2021 by zzip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy ST Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 5 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said: I can easily think of something that is unusual: a sports game that is actually worth playing! NFL Street and NBA Jam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitanClassic Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 2 hours ago, roots.genoa said: I'm not following, here. There have been a lot of turn based strategy games before X-com, even Julian Gollop made several of those on the ZX Spectrum. And to me they're similar to Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars, and Shining Force games, even though I admit X-com added a layer of management for instance (don't get me wrong, I love X-com). I agree with your other examples, though. Worms was indeed an artillery game but the previous games in that genre were so much more basic; it would almost be like comparing Pong and tennis games! I'm not very familiar with ToeJam & Earl but I heard it's supposed to be a rogue-like, even though I can't say if it's different enough to justify having its own genre. Although I like Worms Armageddon, and think it probably the best game within the artillery genre, it wasn’t unique or that much more advanced than Scorched Earth (DOS). Scorched Earth came out in 1991. Scorched Earth had a wide variety of weapons, from rollers (like grenade), napalm, various size exploding missiles, cluster missiles, shields, etc. By 1995, Scorched Earth started looking pretty good graphically, and I am pretty sure that Team 17 drew some inspiration from it. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 19 minutes ago, Leeroy ST said: NFL Street and NBA Jam? There are others that exist, but they are enough of a rarity that they deserve special mention. I don't know anything about American football, but I do love NBA Jam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 10 hours ago, electricmastro said: Tecmo Cup Soccer Game is pretty cool too. You may already know this, but it is based on a Japanese game called Captain Tsubasa, which has sequels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricmastro Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Somer Assault, where you play as a shooting spring. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 17 hours ago, jerseystyle said: Neat topic. Some of my favorite weird games: Cubivore (GCN) Attack of the Mutant Penguins (Jaguar) Captain Blood (Amiga 500) Panic! (Sega CD) Odama (GCN) Wait, are you me? I will add some Fairchild Channel F games: Video Whizball (it’s not pong or air hockey, it’s a shooter with both directional and rotational controls where you shoot a puck… kind of like Ballistix but more comprehensible and not bad) Dodge It! is like a bullet hell trainer. It’s really fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 8 hours ago, roots.genoa said: I'm not following, here. There have been a lot of turn based strategy games before X-com, Yes, but I think it is unique within that genre. The real time management, attacking from distance, eerie atmosphere, the visuals. I just think it stands out. 8 hours ago, roots.genoa said: I'm not very familiar with ToeJam & Earl Then you are very lucky for having the ability to play it for the first time. It is decent in single player mode, but it is one of the absolute best co-op games in the world. I think it costs about $1 on Steam. You may get a better experience playing a ROM with upscaled resolution, though. 9 hours ago, roots.genoa said: I heard it's supposed to be a rogue-like, even though I can't say if it's different enough to justify having its own genre. I would say it is more of an action adventure game. There are a few similar games (Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Ghoul Patrol and Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove), but it is not exactly a typical action adventure game. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, Leeroy ST said: NFL Street and NBA Jam? I have never played NFL Street, so I can´t comment on that (although I probably wouldn´t like it because I am not interested in American football), but I would add Nintendo World Cup. Edited September 28, 2021 by Lord Mushroom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 12 hours ago, electricmastro said: Tecmo Cup Soccer Game is pretty cool too. There is a ROM available on the internet for a different version, which I think may be based on Captain Tsubasa 2, for the Mega Drive/Genesis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Mushroom Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 1 hour ago, electricmastro said: Somer Assault, where you play as a shooting spring. It should have had Slinky in the title. The Norwegian word for Slinky is trappetroll. It means stairs troll. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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