Everyone knows Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VII. Those games deserve their reputations. But some of my favourite gaming memories come from titles that barely get a mention anymore — games that sold modestly, were never ported, and gradually faded from the conversation despite being genuinely excellent. Here are a few worth revisiting.
Terranigma (SNES, 1995)
An action-RPG from Quintet that was released in Europe and Japan but never in North America. Terranigma tells the story of a young boy who literally resurrects the world, continent by continent, through dungeon exploration. The gameplay is excellent, the story is genuinely moving, and the soundtrack is beautiful. Finding a PAL cartridge in Australia is possible but not cheap. Worth every dollar.
Toejam & Earl (Mega Drive, 1991)
Two aliens crashland on Earth and need to find the pieces of their spaceship across a series of procedurally generated floating islands. The two-player cooperative mode is extraordinary, the funk soundtrack is fantastic, and the game has a genuinely weird, joyful energy that nothing else quite matches. It was a modest hit at the time but has been largely forgotten outside a dedicated cult following.
Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1, 1998)
A Square action-RPG that came out in the shadow of Final Fantasy VII and got completely overshadowed. It’s a charming, funny, well-designed game with a real-time day/night cycle and an unusual ability absorption mechanic. It deserves far more attention than it gets.
Trip World (Game Boy, 1992)
A Japanese-exclusive Game Boy platformer so obscure it’s become one of the most valuable Game Boy cartridges in the world. The game itself is brief and not especially deep, but it’s visually lovely and genuinely peaceful in a way that’s rare for the era. Worth playing via emulation even if the cartridge is out of reach.
The retro game library is vast and most of it goes unplayed. Next time you’re looking for something new, dig past the usual recommendations. There’s gold out there.
— Chris
