Posted by Happy Monday! Welcome back to our 30 day video game challenge. Be sure to check out the previous days if you haven’t already!
Day 3: Name a game that is underrated
I thought about this one for a long time, mostly because I was trying to decide if I wanted to stay in this console generation or reach back in time a bit. But sticking with more current games, I think that The Last Story is underrated. This might be a North American problem, since it originally wasn’t even supposed to be released here, so its relatively late emigration may have cost it some fans. Either way, it’s not a game I hear talked about all that often.
The Last Story is a lovingly designed JRPG that is not only a good role-playing game with which to introduce new players to the genre, but it has a nice, cleanly laid-out story with interesting mechanics and fun, original characters. Like with most games, I base my judgments off the storyline and characters, and I didn’t find either one lacking here. While I admit it did fall into some of the emotional wallowing that I don’t particularly like in certain JRPGs, overall I thought it was well done.
This doesn’t even begin to touch upon how it pushes the Wii to its capacity with the graphics and battles. When I popped it in, that machine hummed more loudly than during any other game I’ve played on it, but judging from some Let’s Plays and the bit I’ve played myself, it works and I was impressed with the heights that the game pushed the hardware.
So… I recommend The Last Story if you haven’t played it. It’s highly underrated but definitely a good time!
What do you think is a game that’s underrated? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~Athena
PS This list will take a break next week with the holidays, but we’ll have some holiday themed posts next week to fill the gap! 😉
What’s next? You can like and subscribe if you like what you’ve seen!
You can also:
– Support us on Patreon, become a revered Aegis of AmbiGaming, and access extra content!
– Say hello on Facebook, Twitter, and even Google+!
– Check out our Let’s Plays if you’re really adventurous!
AmbiGaming 
Epic story lines and great characters are very important to me. I can usually forgive technical faults if the game pulls me in with those. I’ve never even heard of the Last Story before, but you make it sound awesome! I’ve added it to my near infinite wishlist. I should get to it by the year 2036 at this rate… 🙂
I’m going to go with Beyond Good and Evil. It had a moving story set in a shady world, a likable cast of characters, and great action-adventure gameplay elements. Unfortunately it was a commercial flop, and its sequel is currently stuck in development purgatory 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
If you get a chance to play it, let me know!
I’ve heard of Beyond Good and Evil, but I don’t think I ever got a chance to play it. It sounds pretty interesting, though! (flop or no) Thanks for joining in with your pick for an underrated game!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Last Story is on my Christmas wish list! I love the (not so subtle) reference to Final Fantasy in the title as it’s by Squeenix as well (“last story” “final fantasy” so clever).
Going along with Final Fantasy, I think FFIV is a woefully underrated title. This is not to say that it’s received bad ratings, but it seems to get short shrift in the series, and it’s one of the best ones out there. It’s consistently lumped in with the first three whereas the other titles are separated (Fanfiction.net I’m looking at you). I think FFIX is underrated, too, but this could just be because way too many of my IRL friends criticize it and completely miss the major points of the story. I’m happy to say my friends in cyberspace both love it and laud it.
I also think The Chinese Room’s Dear Esther is underrated. That game is absolutely phenomenal, but I know it’s heavy in Your Mileage May Vary since it’s one of those extremely subtle, what the hell is really going on/the never make it 100% clear type of stories. I love those, but understand that’s preferential. I think DE pulls off a similar reveal to The Sixth Sense’s but in a far more subtle and highly interpretive way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so interesting how certain games in series are lauded, and others are just about forgotten, even if they may be by objective standards great games. And I know we’ve talked about Last Story/Final Fantasy before! 😀
I’ve heard nothing but good things about Dear Esther. I’d also suggest Gone Home, if you like exploration stories. It sets up like a horror game, but… wow it’s great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have that one on my backlog! I think another blogger friend wrote about it and it piqued my interest.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I rather liked the Last Story. I found myself really enjoying the gameplay, but the art style, the music, and more than anything else, the characterization really blew me away. It’s kind of a slow paced game, both in story-telling and in gameplay, and those can be hard to find the sweet spot on, but I feel the Last Story really nailed it.
That said, I’ve never managed to beat it. I’m not entirely sure why. A few dozen hours in, something just switches for me, and I don’t make it any farther. Which is a shame, because it’s obvious that a lot of care went into building the game, but I know I’ll make it through there someday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, it’s great! I saw a Let’s Play of some of it, and now I’m working my way through myself. The story and characters are fantastic, and you’re right that is somehow manages to keep you attention even when it’s a little slower paced.
Hopefully you’ll have a chance to go back to it!
LikeLike
I remember seeing this title roll out back in the day but never decided to pick it up. I think I’ll add it to the backlog of RPGs to catch up on eventually 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comment (and the follow!) Yes, it’s definitely worth putting on the (ever-growing?) list!
LikeLike
*loudly clears throat and raises hand*
ALLOFTHETYTHETASMANIANTIGERSERIES
Oh, and Spider-Man 2 for GameCube.
LikeLiked by 1 person
INEVERACTUALLYPLAYEDTHATSERIES but I heard it was very good 🙂 I’m not really sure how I missed it!
Oh, Spiderman. Another blogging friend recommended Spider-Man 2. I got my kicks from the original Spider-Man game for PS2, which was so much fun!
LikeLike
I just bought the case and manual for the first Spider-Man PS2 game like two weeks ago! The manual is like cardboard, though. I think it must have been in a flood or something.
Seriously, though, you gotta give Ty a try. I don’t know if you own a regular Wii, but all 3 games shouldn’t run you more than like 40 dollars, and even that’s stretching it.
You can find them on PS2 and Xbox, too, although I’ve never played them on those platforms.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I loved that first one on GameCube, especially the bank robbery/train station scenes, but it always irked the heck out of me to not be able to touch the ground. I was always like “Why would you do that?”
LikeLiked by 1 person