Really Obscure RPGs

[Lord_Potato]

would the Shadow Tower and King's Field series qualify as obscure rpgs around here

Not really. This place has a lot of KF/ST/From Software fans.

And Shadow Tower has it's topic in Crappy Games Wiki :D

TBH it stops being 'crappy' once you get into it (just like with the rest of From Software games).

And BTW, I've already posted about Cybermercs.

Sorry, must have missed this one. Credit whre it's due. Your find!

 

[Lord_Potato]

Has anyone here played Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2? It is pretty fun turn based rpg with some dark humour in it. I don't know if it is obscure,but i haven't seen much talk about it here.

I have honestly never heard of Grotesque Tactics and did not see it discussed on the Codex, despite lurking for 2 years. Seems obscure to me. Maybe they do not care about marketing?

 

[fantadomat]

Grotesque Tactics games are oldish and from what i remember the studio did go under. They are pretty fun games,would recommend giving it a try.

 

[JarlFrank]

I got them on Steam but haven't played them yet. They're regularly on sale for less than 4 euros or so.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Swashbucklers: Blue vs Grey - action RPG in another fresh and rarely used setting: America civil war. You play as a cowboy/pirate who earns his living by breaking the continental blocade of the Confederacy imposed by the armies of the Union. But you can join both sides. The game takes place both on land and sea.

It's a very barebones rpg, one with level gating which is not clearly marked, and consists of rather repetitive actions. The music is good though, damn good.

Joan of Arc: Wars and Warriors - a mix of RPG, action and strategy. Liberate France from the English oppressors!

laclongquan this is likely relevant to your interests.

 

[laclongquan]

No it's not. It's a bloody false marketing is what it is.

I'd like me some feminine curve on a figure running around on the screen, not a bloody full plate armor. Her face can be a lure but this game show her back, so it's a moot point.

For a H&S action game with a female MC, it's fucking imperative that you can have some nice ass running around, or failing that, the ability to mod in some nice ass. This game lack in both counts.

Thus I say a case of false marketing. It's obscure for a reason.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I'm sorry bro.

 

[laclongquan]

IT's okay. It's a chance for me to point out that bloody false advertising.

 

[fantadomat]

Tale of Wuxia is pretty fun kung fu turn based game that is very long.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/377530/Tale_of_Wuxia/
It is in English .

 

[vazha]

That Joan of Arc game was popamole before it was cool a thing, but it posessed a charm like few others did. It really nailed the medieval atmosphere, so despite mainchar disney-ness and overal rpg-lite features, I'd still recommend you gentlemen (men of delicate persuasion included) to give it a try, if you havent already.

 

[Davaris]

I just found this thread with some more pearls, some of them, like Omega Syndrome, completely unavailable:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/ten-computer-rpgs-you’ve-never-heard-of.99368/

IIRC Omega Syndrome is actually developed by long time codex resident Davaris , maybe you can bug him for where to get a copy. It has a very interesting premise.

Even I don't have a working copy, as it uses outdated tools and programming practices I now despise. If I ever get motivated I may remake it in curses with no GUI, just Vim style commands. Of course that means no one will want to play it. lol

 

[Goblino]

I think I've mentioned this one before, but Hammer and Sickle is a childhood favorite of mine. It's basically an overhaul mod for Silent Storm that's more of an espionage rpg. People really don't talk about it enough.

 

[Baron Dupek]

TechnoTechnoMage - Return to Eternity
Maybe stumbled upon one videoreview somewhere on YT in one of these channels forgotten by their owners.
Never saw anyone talking about it here.

What about tactical games with RPG elements?
Apeiron games are the closest thing to JA2 you can get, if a bit clunky. That include Brigade E5 (nothing great), 7,62 High Calibre and Hard Life and Marauder-Man of Prey are pretty good titles if you get into them and deal with clunky control.

 

[V_K]

Amulets & Armor - 1st person action RPG from 1997 - the game sold poorly when it was released (barely 100 copies?)

For good reason, it's utter crap. It's like 5% RPG and 95% shooter with very clunky controls.

Yeah, I've seen WarWizard on some old games site. Looks interesting but from your thread I understand it's a pain in the ass to run it. Plus, there is the question if the game deserves the price of a painful ass...

It has a huuuuge open world (we're talking several kingdoms) and some nice mechanics. Don't know what's so hard in running it, should work in dosbox normally.

Mortalus: the Quest for Immortality - ok, this is actually obscure as fuck. I did not manage to find a lot of info on this one. Seems to be a hybrid of RPG and adventure game.

Nope, it's pretentious goth adventure with some action sequences. It's also utterly terrible.

Wish I could try that Golden Land game, can't find it anywhere, even in places where I usually go to find obscure stuff...
Don't care how bad or boring it is, just try some...

Don't regret it, it's abysmal. The whole "gameplay" is just running around between cities doing FedEx quests and fighting random battles on the world map. I'm not exaggerating - there's no single quest that isn't a fedex, and no single dungeon in the whole game.

Yeah, it's really painful to see screenshots from Golden Land, when there seems to be no way to get this game. It looks great. I heard it's mediocre

It's mediocre on the same scale, on which Oblivion is a masterpiece.

 

[V_K]

TechnoTechnoMage - Return to Eternity
Maybe stymbled on one videoreview somewhere on YT in one of these channels forgotten by their owners.

It's very arcade-ish, more Zelda-like (sans the open world, the story railroads you through a set of levels).

Has anyone here played Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2? It is pretty fun turn based rpg with some dark humour in it. I don't know if it is obscure,but i haven't seen much talk about it here.

I couldn't play either for more than an hour because of abysmal UI.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Amulets & Armor - 1st person action RPG from 1997 - the game sold poorly when it was released (barely 100 copies?)

For good reason, it's utter crap. It's like 5% RPG and 95% shooter with very clunky controls.

Yeah, I've seen WarWizard on some old games site. Looks interesting but from your thread I understand it's a pain in the ass to run it. Plus, there is the question if the game deserves the price of a painful ass...

It has a huuuuge open world (we're talking several kingdoms) and some nice mechanics. Don't know what's so hard in running it, should work in dosbox normally.

Mortalus: the Quest for Immortality - ok, this is actually obscure as fuck. I did not manage to find a lot of info on this one. Seems to be a hybrid of RPG and adventure game.

Nope, it's pretentious goth adventure with some action sequences. It's also utterly terrible.

Wish I could try that Golden Land game, can't find it anywhere, even in places where I usually go to find obscure stuff...
Don't care how bad or boring it is, just try some...

Don't regret it, it's abysmal. The whole "gameplay" is just running around between cities doing FedEx quests and fighting random battles on the world map. I'm not exaggerating - there's no single quest that isn't a fedex, and no single dungeon in the whole game.

Yeah, it's really painful to see screenshots from Golden Land, when there seems to be no way to get this game. It looks great. I heard it's mediocre

It's mediocre on the same scale, on which Oblivion is a masterpiece.

Wow, V_K, you sure played a lot of these obscure titles :D I believe most of them are well... below average. There is a reason they are obscure and usually it's not poor marketing. Still, I have some blood of an explorer in my veins, so I try the ones I can get my hands on.

Today I dusted my old laptop from 2006 with Windows XP. I managed to run Heath: the Unchosen Path, Gorasul: Legacy of the Dragon and Metalheart: Replicant's Rampage on this archaic device. I'll post my experiences soon!

In the meantime, I'm playing Another War (the Polish Baldur's Gate in a comedy-like 2nd World War setting). I'm almost halfway through (finishing 2nd region out of 4). It would be a good title, if not for abysmal combat (patched! before it was even worse... you had to click for every punch/stab/shot, now you choose an enemy and your character tries to kill him until you change orders; which you have to do often, because AI is moronic) and an inferior story. They tried to be funny a bit too much for their own good. Anyway, pressing on through Nazi-occupied Balkans!

 

[CptMace]

Tales of Wuxia looks very, very good.
Didn't watch the video though.

 

[V_K]

Heath: the Unchosen Path

It's actually Goldenland 1 (and what is known as Goldenland in the West, is technically Goldenland 2), and it's even worse than the sequel. How on earth did that thing manage to get a sequel is one of the greatest misteries of the universe.

There is a reason they are obscure and usually it's not poor marketing.

Well, in some cases it is poor marketing (e.g. Dark Hear of Uukrul or Aethra Chronicles), or the game is just too unconventional or innovative to take off commercially (E.Y.E. anyone?).

 

[Lord_Potato]

Heath: the Unchosen Path

It's actually Goldenland 1 (and what is known as Goldenland in the West, is technically Goldenland 2), and it's even worse than the sequel. How on earth did that thing manage to get a sequel is one of the greatest misteries of the universe.

There is a reason they are obscure and usually it's not poor marketing.

Well, in some cases it is poor marketing (e.g. Dark Hear of Uukrul or Aethra Chronicles), or the game is just too unconventional or innovative to take off commercially (E.Y.E. anyone?).

Ok, I wanted to check out Goldenland and it seems I'll get the chance eventually So far I spoke with 1 guy and fought one battle with sloooooooow moooooooviiiiiiiiing wolves, which managed to kill me, because I attacked them with an unarmed mage

Gorasul actually looks more promising. The first location strongly resembles the Morgue in Planescape: Torment. And since you wake up with amnesia, I immediatly felt like home.

 

[V_K]

Ok, I wanted to check out Goldenland and it seems I'll get the chance eventually

Mechanically they are more or less the same. The sequel has a slightly more coherent gameworld and story, but that's about it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Tales of Wuxia looks very, very good.
Didn't watch the video though.

It is good, actually.

 

[Reapa]

Has anyone here played Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2? It is pretty fun turn based rpg with some dark humour in it. I don't know if it is obscure,but i haven't seen much talk about it here.

sadly it's unplayably buggy

 

[MicoSelva]

I've played these two:

1. Another War - ok, I'll start with the least obscure of them all. A Polish RPG from 2002 with action set during the 2nd World War.

Spoiler

5. Icarus, Sanctuary of the Gods

Spoiler

While I could not get into Another War because of the horrible combat, I have actually completed Icarus in it's whole buggy and cheesy glory, although it took some abusing of the game's character system to be able to finish it.

I would add a few more to the list, such as Venetica and... well, I would need to take a look at my shelf at home. My memory is not what it used to be.

 

[fantadomat]

Has anyone here played Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2? It is pretty fun turn based rpg with some dark humour in it. I don't know if it is obscure,but i haven't seen much talk about it here.

sadly it's unplayably buggy

I don't remember having any problems playing the game. If you want unplayable buggy go and try out spellforce 3,it is real shame. Great game but unplayable because of the bugs.

 

[Reapa]

Has anyone here played Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2? It is pretty fun turn based rpg with some dark humour in it. I don't know if it is obscure,but i haven't seen much talk about it here.

sadly it's unplayably buggy

I don't remember having any problems playing the game. If you want unplayable buggy go and try out spellforce 3,it is real shame. Great game but unplayable because of the bugs.

spellforce 3 doesn't look appealing.
as for grotesque tactics, i don't know how long it's been since i tried to play it so maybe we played different versions and it got patched. all i know is that is was so broken i couldn't progress with the main quest at the time.