Topic: Underrated DS RPGs?

Under-rated as in a game few people talk about and never really garnered much attention post-release.

Examples:

• Knights in the Nightmare - One of the best and most unique games on the DS
• Contact - Not Suda's best, but it's like a CRPG crossed with some Japanese flair
• Digimon World DS - It's actually a lot of fun, with plenty to do and a lot of depth to its combat system. The customizable farms are also a nice addition
• Super Robot Taisen: OG Saga - Endless Frontier - Over-the-top presentation mixed with a deep combat system with plenty of challenge and flair
• Digaea DS - This game feels as much like a hardcore old school RPG as it does a revolutionary SRPG. If you can get into it, it'll be able to hold your attention for hours on end.
• The Dark Spire - A Wizardry clone that trumps nearly every First-Person Dungeon Crawler yet crafted. It's packed with charm, and its gameplay is very challenging, yet it's never really cheap, and it's got a huge focus on exploration and puzzle solving, with an interesting story with a few surprising twist that keeps you going. A must-play for any old foggy, or an RPG fan looking for a challenge.

I'm sure I can come up with more, but I'm sick of writing. There's dozens of RPGs on the system, and only about 5 ever get any attention, so surely it can't be hard for you to come up with something.

Seconded.
To be honest, most fo the other RPGs I've played and enjoyed on the system are the same 5 everyone knows about: Pokemon, TWEWY, FFIII, etc.

Thought i was the only one that think this game is great.

I thought Knights in the Nightmare was great too

• Seconding Knights In the Nightmare - The game system is hard to understand but it's great when you get it. It's been a long time since I played it and I'd have to re-learn it all over again though!
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor - Got a fair bit of player attention around release, but interest faded really quickly. It never get as much attention as it deserves thanks to some ridiculous reviews which didn't get the game at all. Wonderful blend of tactical RPG and JRPG combat. Great setting and style reminiscent of TWEWY. The game is built for multiple playthroughs and it does those really well. I've played it 4 times through.
• Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime - It's an early DS game with a lot of charm. The main story is not too difficult to complete and has some great humour. The unique giant mecha battles are really fun, especially multiplayer. It feels like you're just hurling junk at one another lol.
• Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Remix - A good tactical RPG originally from the Playstation, which no one seems to know of lol. An enjoyable game, if frustratingly difficult. Some of its game mechanics are really hard to pull off but can be extremely rewarding when you do.
• Lunar Knights - Fun action RPG, sequel to Boktai on the GBA. The combat system is unique and the story is pretty good. I like the music direction too, sort of poppy-jazzy - an interesting combination with vampires and the light/dark theme. From Kojima Productions so you can expect good things.

Related mention:

• Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA) - An advanced, beautiful title for a GBA game. Has unique exploration and battle systems and intriguing story and characters. There's a PSP remake out too.

Magical Starsign. I bought it on a whim and loved it. It's a shame so few people have heard of it.

I looked up GameFly and remember that game was on the very bottom of the popularity list at one point. With that said, I bought it for $7 once and could never get into it. The gameplay was pretty standard stuff with the only variation being the planetary phases. The story was pretty...below my level, we'll say. It wasn't bad, but it's not what I usually go for, and I couldn't really connect with it. What did you liked about it, if anything stood out?

The problem is that a lot of these games haven't seen European releases, Atlus games in particular have largely skipped over us.

As for Hoshigami, I had the original and have the DS version too. Good fun, difficult as you said, but easily breakable. One of the best ways to level grind is to attack your own people, you do very little damage and still get the EXP.

As for my contribution, whilst not as obscure as the ones listed here the two Crystal Chronicles games are very underrated... especially in comparison to some other Square Enix games that they're much better than.cough*358/2 Days*cough

DQ 4
DQ 4
FF 3
FF Xii RW

@Oregano Really? That's interesting because I was playing a lot of those games while I was living in the UK. Admittedly they weren't EU versions so I never actually looked to see if they were available in stores. It's a shame about Atlus' efforts in Europe.

• Infinite Space - True old-school strategy RPG. Or, really, it's not a traditional RPG because you don't play using characters but ships. But the ships have to be equipped with characters with different responsibilities, and their stats affect their specialities. Everything about it screams 80s/90s space anime, I love it. Unique combat and expansive storyline across space. A quality title which is shamefully underappreciated.

If we can include GBA games since they can be played on the DS, I have a few more:

• Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis - This is a mind-blowing tactical RPG. Really deep, diverse character system and great storyline. Too bad I'm stuck at the last dungeon.
• Tales of Phantasia - Remake of ToP for the SNES. I'm pretty sure I don't have to say more than that.
• Mother 3 - There's a complete English fan translation out. It's high up on my list of to-play games.
• Sword of Mana - A good action RPG. Nothing ground-breaking, but it is enjoyable.

Overlooked DS RPGs which you should not play:

• Lunar: Dragon Song - A blight on the face of the wonderful Lunar series. This game is a sham.
• Ragnarok DS - Another terrible RPG. Highly derivative storyline, bland translation. Bland gameplay based around, of all things, single player MMORPG combat.

I know for a fact that the Shin Megami Tensei games haven't been localised... and neither has Knights in the Nightmare and it seems only the original Etrian Odyssey got localised and that was because NOE published it.

I got Lunar: DS for £5 and still feel ripped off. Horrible.

I second your seconding of KitN, I might even buy it on the PSP just so I can have all of Sting's good RPGs on one system.

I also second Devil Survivor and Lunar Knights. Some of my favorites on the DS, and I couldn't put them down. Now who's the jerks putting those games down?

I'd also second Rocket Slime, but it's definitely NOT an RPG, not even in the slightest.

I actually have Hoshigami for the PSX (or had it, I'm not sure if I got rid of it or not without even playing it). I always wondered if the remix was any good. I saw some nasty reviews for it, but I stopped caring about those a long time ago. I'll check and see if I still have my PSX copy, but if I don't, I'll be sure to pick up the Remix someday.

I would also second Riviera if it was somehow relevent to this thread. It's a fantastic game, and for a Visual Novel-level of game progression, its exploration system still very rewarding, and the battle system is fun as hell, especially since it grades you after every battle. I love it when games do that. It always gives me incentive to improve.

I always hear bad things about the GBA port of ToP, something about slowdown or whatever that makes it pretty boring.

Other than that I second those GBA games, they're three of the best RPGs on the system, and few have honestly played them.

Dragon Song always gets flack, something about the combat being broken, and I can personally say Ragnarok sucks, though I haven't played the DS version.

"Hey there, how would you like to die because you ran for a little while?"

Anyone here play nostalgia? I've been wondering if its any good!

Both DQs are far from underrated, and FF3 is only underrated from a critical/reaction standpoint, it's still often talked about. Revenant Wings is the only one that really fits the bill, and even then I question it since it's a popular series and a sequel to a popular game, therefore garnering more attention than most games.

Glory of Heracles was a pretty good one. It was pretty spot-on with it's mythological facts and had a very unique fighting system that could be enjoyed by anyone.

I liked the story, it had a nice lighthearted feel to it. The battle system is basic, but it was still enjoyable. The music was pretty memorable, especially the various battle themes.
There are some things I didn't like, though... physical attacks are useless on anything that isn't resistant to magic, and the story is a bit annoying once one of your party members turns emo and starts complaining in every cutscene.

This.

Other than that, though, I got nothin'.

I still wish I had picked up Glory of Hercules when it was released like I was planning to. Now it's pretty tough to find in stores and I don't get to support Nintendo for releasing a game I'm interested in on the DS for once.