Back during its 2008 release, Lost Odyssey was a big deal.  It was a brand new IP, it was console-exclusive, and it sprung from the creative mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi, famed Final Fantasy series creator (maybe you’ve heard of it?).  The studio behind Lost Odyssey was relatively new at the time, with only two games on their resume.  ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat was a DS tactical RPG only released in Japan, well received but unknown in the states, and Blue Dragon was a cartoonish RPG released both in Japan and North American with maybe the worst aesthetic in the history of gaming.  That’s possibly an overstatement.  The truth is I tried to like Blue Dragon, it had aspects that made it intriguing as an RPG and all total I probably sunk 20-25 hours into it, but in the end I couldn’t get over how stupid it looked and so quit.  Argue with me if you like.

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In July 18th of the year 2000, Squaresoft (now Square Enix) released a game amongst their “Summer of Adventure” promotion named Threads of Fate. Released alongside Legend of Mana and the much hyped-about Chrono Cross, this simple story of two young persons going out in search of an ancient, powerful relic was largely overlooked by casual gamers and RPG fans on a budget. Though definitely not as successful or as sought-after as the two aforementioned titles, Threads of Fate is a lighthearted, charming adventure with just the right amount of moral implications.

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The Nintendo GameCube was not as disappointing to me as it was for many gamers. Due to some of the things going on in my life during the time of its release (College, marriage, becoming a parent, etc.) I didn’t have time to play every game released. One of the largest complaints about the Cube was that it did not have the number of quality games that the other systems had. Though this may be true, I found many treasures in my GameCube library. For instance, the purchase of Pikmin 2 led to the most charming game experience in my career as a gamer.

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The story of Joan of Arc, heroine of France and historical legend, is known to many.  The tale tells of a young lass who hears the voice of God telling her to save France from the wicked English.  She does so by taking up arms and slaughtering people Old Testament style.  The game Jeanne D’arc follows this theme, but throws in animal human hybrids, elves, demons, and just about every other fantasy cliché one can dream up.  It still takes place in France, it still stars Jeanne herself, and it even features burning at the stake, but players certainly won’t be gaining any historical insight when playing.

What they will gain is one of the finest portable strategy RPG experiences they’ll probably ever play.

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I’ve used the term “video game crack” to describe three games in my life: Peggle, Oblivion, and Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. In 2006, I picked up Animal Crossing: Wild World on a whim, partially intrigued by my brother’s obsession with it and also desperately wanting a game to show my wife that the cash dropped on a new handheld was worth it. By the end of the summer in 2006, my family had three DS Lites, three copies of Animal Crossing: WW, and an enormous debt to a entrepreneurial raccoon. Yes, it was SO worth it.

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Frustrated at the tiny text on my standard television set, I initially shelved Capcom’s Dead Rising in 2006. A year later, equipped with a forty-some inch HD set, I tackled the dead, saved survivors, took some pictures, and finally knew what the hell I was doing. Dead Rising grabbed the consumer and screamed “HIGH DEF GAMING IS THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY!”

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Although often out shined by its younger brother, Mario Galaxy, Mario’s first adventure on the Wii is still one of the best games the system has to offer, and one of my all-time favorite games.  While not as graphically amazing or innovative as Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario (SPM) stands out due to its great, entertaining story and enjoyable gameplay.

It starts out as so many Mario games do, with Mario and Luigi setting off to Bowser’s castle to rescue Princess Peach.  However, it isn’t long before you realize this isn’t your typical Mario plotline after all: as you all soon learn that she has actually been kidnapped by the nefarious Count Bleck, the true antagonist of the game.

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Talk like a pirate day has passed, wearing your puffy shirt just isn’t magic anymore, and you’ve noticed that you have to focus all of your concentration on walking a straight line to avoid running into people (damn eye patch!). So what are pirate lovers to do to Live the Life? Why, pop in your copy of Sid Meier’s Pirates!: Live the Life, of course!

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If one was to compile a list of “undeservedly overlooked” video games, I’m sure we could all list a few.  Right at the top of my list would be the Gamecube-exclusive Horror Adventure Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.  Having leapt from the early days of gaming into the current generation, I missed out on a lot of last generation’s greats, and Eternal Darkness was one of them.  Because I only owned a Wii initially, I did my research hoping to dig up any Gamecube games worth playing, and finding this one, was lucky enough to snag it as a rental to give it a whirl.

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There are many titles that have simply disappeared through the rifts in time. Be it for a lack of widespread appeal or any number of various unknown factors, Bloody Roar 2 is one such title that fell off the radar of gamers. Spawning several less-than-stellar sequels across a variety of last-gen platforms, the PlayStation outing Bloody Roar 2 highlights the best of what the series had to offer – a unique and fast-paced fighting game with a beastly twist.

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