Cult Video Games

[CoX]

So we get cult movies like Donnie Darko and A Clockwork Orange; movies that only get small fanbases when they are first released and then become popular a few years down the line. So what cult games can you think of? And which recent (i.e in the last 3-5 years) games will become cult titles in the future?

For me, a cult game has to not necessarily be innovative and "change the future of gaming", but be different. And I mean, significantly different. It should not only be an exercise in intelligent, new game design, but also an exercise in how taking a big risk can pay off.

This brings me on nicely to the game that made me start this topic: Killer7. I received this game as a birthday gift from an awesome friend, and have been really taken aback by it. The game oozes a comic style and a kind of nostalgically simple yet innovative design:

Hold A to run forward
Press B to turn around
Hold R to bring up your weapon and A to fire

Its like a lightgun shooter, moving on a fixed line, except you have the (limited) choice of where you move.

The graphics are cel-shaded and make the game hugely distinctive from anything I've ever played. You jump right into the story too, and although its a little disorienting first, it is engineered brilliantly. The game will stick out in my mind for a long time and I can't wait for the spritual successor, No More Heroes.

What games do you think will become "Cult classics"? As well as Killer7, I think Katamari will end up going down the same route, and will be highly sought after in the future when we look back and go "Hey, wasn't that great?"

Feel free to talk about existing "cult" games too.

[the last sheika]

Killer7 was awesome, but after completing the easy difficulty, I resorted to just use the machine gun guy on every Smile, since I couldn't think of any other way of hitting the shiny bit.

So then I got bored, and stopped playing for years.

[Ozzylator]

Majora's Mask cult enough?

[Splush]

I suppose Ico counts. It's also a very simple game, which I love. There's no more complications than necessary, it's just a small set of gameplay mechanics and a series of puzzles to solve and it's really lovely. Shadow of the Colossus might count, but I believe that sold quite a bit better.

[the last sheika]

Majora's Mask cult enough?
Probably not. It was in many people opinions (Myself included) better than OoT, and sold a lot less, but it still got quite a bit of attention.

Anything where completing all side quests makes you (possibly) the most powerful game character ever is awesome, though.

[Slurp]

Phoenix Wright for creating a new genre of game??

[sushi.]

Earthbound 4eva.
<333

Seriously. Earthbound fans are some of the most frighteningly dedicated and obsessive fans out there. starmen.net raised some ridiculous amount of cash, over $7000, for some project they were going to send to Nintendo to get their attention and get Mother 3 translated. I got a keychain for donating. =D

[Kaveman]

Phoenix Wright for being so awesome
Fixed

[Slurp]

Fixed

Check ma sig bitch. Still desperate for the game sound track if there are any givers

[Kaveman]

Check ma sig bitch. Still desperate for the game sound track if there are any givers

I had the orchestra version, but alas it was deleted.

[charlieman]

did vib ribon ever get popular? that game is so much fun for something with such simple graphics

[pyromite]

Psychonauts. One of the best platformers of the current generation, but awesome as it is still didn't sell very well. Fortunately, Tim Schafer and Double-Fine are hard at work creating a game centered around hard rock and combat.

And Killer7 will always be one of my most favorite games of all time. I was brought up in a very protective family, so this was a breath of fresh air in a long, long time.

[Jay]

Shenmue.

[feeshy]

It probably isn't *terribly* cult, but the Gothic series isn't at all widely known (being mainly German based) yet the series as a whole is fairly far ahead in terms of 'well, you can basically do what the hell you like and still have fun'. You can play the main quest as one of a number of different groups (determined as you go along), there's hundreds of optional side quests, or you can not bother with any of that and spend your time murdering people in creative fashion. It is somewhat buggy in places, true, although that doesn't affect gameplay much and I believe most have been patched now anyway. Plus, and this is a big plus from me, the 'cheat' console (I say cheat, you can use it for cheating, fixing bugs while playing and manipulating the world around you as you go) is probably the best I've seen.

[Norbington]

Beyond good and evil anyone?

[charlieman]

we love katamari thinking about. none of my friends have even heard of this untill i told them about it. thats a wicked game

[ZekeyLizard]

http://www.gooddealgames.com/articles/Polybius/Polybius.gif

[Archaeology hat]

Psychonauts anyone?

[WraithMaster]

Earthbound 4eva.
<333

Seriously. Earthbound fans are some of the most frighteningly dedicated and obsessive fans out there. starmen.net raised some ridiculous amount of cash, over $7000, for some project they were going to send to Nintendo to get their attention and get Mother 3 translated. I got a keychain for donating. =D
This. (I have my original cart somewhere...)

Also, these:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6321/pb190242hn3.jpg

Note: anyone who wishes to argue any of these, they were all cult before some of them were given sequals (except for Star Ocean/Front Mission 3...those ARE sequals, but were still cult at the time)

[Kaveman]

ODDWORLD!

THIS!

[pyromite]

THIS!

Oddworld FTW! I still have yet to play Munch's Oddysee, though. All the other's, I have played. Hunter's Wrath is just below Psychonauts on the ultimate fun factor for the Xbox.

[Mat^]

To re-echo, psychonauts for the motherfucking win.

[GorillaBearBear]

Planescape: Torment is probably the ultimate for me. Built by Bioware using their infinity engine from Baldur's gate, it's a real corker of an RPG Game. The first point, of course, is that considering the engine it's using, it's really really beautiful. The detail is excellent and some of the spell effects are breath taking. The monsters are truly grotesque and the animations surprisingly fluid.

Of course, the real reason that it's such a classic is the storyline. To this day, I don't think I've played a game with such an original storyline. Not just that, but it's an interesting, thought provoking storyline, and the gameplay reflects this. While there is combat, the game rewards you less for that and more for exploring and discovering the world you are in. Simple things like stopping to talk to a bizarre creature and learning it's language give you experience points. It's also incredibly well written. Admittedly, on occasion it feels a little bit GCSE year storytelling, but by and large the writing is atmospheric, profound, moving and occasionally funny, when appropriate. The small list of characters who can join your party, as well as the major characters in the story are well rounded, 3 dimensional and all have their own personal tragedies which you discover as the game goes on. As you take them through the game their stories can be truly heart wrenching, actually. I think any game which has the stones to seriously take a look at mortality, justice, power and desire in the way that this game did (it's unrelentingly bleak about most of it, too) is worth looking for.

Of course what really makes all this work is the way the gameplay is geared towards a story driven game. You don't create a character beyond allocating stats, and there is much less diversity than in Baldur's Gate with things like Character classes and weapons, but in the end this is a sensible choice because it focuses more on personal choice and how you change from reracting to the world around you. In the end this makes it far more replayable than something like Baldur's Gate.

It sold really really badly though, mostly because it didn't get a particularly large marketing push behind it for some reason, but it's widely acknowledged to be about as close to perfect as an Isometric RPG can ever be.

[the last sheika]

did vib ribon ever get popular? that game is so much fun for something with such simple graphics
There's no time
Hurry up
Everything's so fantastic
There's no time
Hurry up
Don't be late
Just be on time

Weirdest built-in music ever. And made me look upon various classical CDs with terror. Is it even possible to play them on Vib Ribbon?

[Mat^]

Planescape: Torment and blahYou've talked about this before an it's really made me want to try and find it somewhere, I just looked up the thing about consensus reality in it which is just such an awesome idea.

[GorillaBearBear]

Holy shit I just checked prices of it on ebay and it is mentally expensive nowadays. Like, £30!

I suppose that is an indication as to it's awesomeness maybe, but damn is that annoying because one of my CDs for it is snapped and I was hoping to be able to replace my copy of the game. Tits.

[Mat^]

Also it was black isle not bioware apparently, I thought it sounded odd when you said bioware because I didn't think that was in their back catologue.

Black isle are cool though, fuckin' fallouttttt.

[GorillaBearBear]

Oh snap. I always make that mistake because Bioware published Baldur's Gate I think?

[allfalldown]

Does Vagrant Story count? That game frigging rocks. It's got to be almost ten years old by now, and I still think it's one of the best games I've ever played. The only place I can really fault it is the graphics, and it's a PS1 game so you've got to give it a break :p

[Chris]

Soul Calibur 2.

Seriously Amazing!

Does Timesplitters Count? Also Quality!

[WraithMaster]

Does Vagrant Story count? That game frigging rocks. It's got to be almost ten years old by now, and I still think it's one of the best games I've ever played. The only place I can really fault it is the graphics, and it's a PS1 game so you've got to give it a break :p
Yeah. Fun fact: did you know that Vagrant Story is connected to the Ivalice Alliance series of games based on Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII?

Also, some others I thought of:

NES:
Codename: Viper
Contra
Snake, Rattle, & Roll

Sega Genesis:
Ballz 3D
Comix Zone

SNES:
Out of This World

[matt bird]

mario lol

[allfalldown]

Yeah. Fun fact: did you know that Vagrant Story is connected to the Ivalice Alliance series of games based on Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII?Yes I did. I saw something somewhere that listed the similarities, but I can't remember where it was now. Here's a few off the top of my head.

- Valendia, the country in which Vagrant Story takes place, is mentioned somewhere in FFXII (I could be wrong about this though, faulty memory).
- Lea Monde, the city in which most of Vagrant Story takes place, lends its name to the Leamonde Entites sometimes encountered in the Nabreus Deadlands.
- There are certain similarities between the Dark and the Mist.
- They have similar final bosses (a large winged creature, once a normal man, flying around the outside of a circular arena).
- Many of the bestiary entries in FFXII refer to a naturalist named Merlose, which may be a reference to the character Callo Merlose from Vagrant Story, or may even be the same individual.

[Rook]

Myst [was] cult; when it was made, it had a small, dedicated fanbase that mushroomed in size with the release of the sequel Riven. They had a whole online community of historians, linguists, and archaeologists (basically the project leader, a guy by the alias RAWA, wrote some 10,000 years worth of backstory for the series, and large fragments of a different language. The web communities were built around this; people expanding the language and history).

The games are awesome in my opinion, but I was just a few years too late to join 'the dig'; all of the websites devoted to the fictional history of the games are deserted, and have been for a few years. It's actually quite eerie, it's like everyone just stopped all at once, half finished conversations just lying around.

For the history/language, wiki "D'ni", bloody awesome.

[dropbear]

Tombi on PS1
Frequency and Amplitude on PS2, the precursors to the Guitar Hero franchise.

[NanuNanu14]

Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (PC)

Threads of Fate (PS1)

Alien vs. Predator (PC/Win95 version)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (PS1)

GunStar Heroes (GEN)

American McGee's Alice (PC)

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox/PC)

[[murray]]

Revenge of the Mutant Camels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_of_the_Mutant_Camels) was a cult game, I remember playing it when I was but a wee slip of a lad. Little did I understand the massive, massive influence illegal substances had on this game until I was playing it again last year. A genius side-scrolling shooter where you were joined by a bipedal goat if you played it two player.

Fallout is an obvious one and I'm surprised its only had a passing mention so far, it's practically the definition of cult gaming.

Albion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion_%28game%29) is by far and away one of the best RPGs I have ever played, beating out the likes of Final Fantasy VII in my opinion (its no fallout though.) The simplicity of the game was excellent and the equipment system was one of the best Ive ever come across. The stroy was mastercrafted and unique and made you care for the characters and want to get involved. A nice twist was the switch to 3D mode that occured when you went in to some dungeons, despite the graphics of the time not being the best. Wasn't the most popular of games when it came out and never really achieved the mainstream popularity it deserved. Available as abandonware for those who are interested Made by Bluebyte software, who are more famous for the Settlers series.

Which, incidentally, brings me on to Settlers II. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlers_2) This is amongst the best strategy games of all time. So much fun to play, easy to pick up but difficult to truly master. Another cult classic.

[woody_tng]

I am amazed that no one has gone old skool and mentioned The secret of Monkey Island, or Maniac Mansions.

[da-geezer]

Dizzy innit

[iRule]

would populous count? that game is awesome and i've only met one other person who knew of it.

[Darkscull]

SNES:
Out of This World

Another World is a much better name for it, imo.

and it is the one of the best games ever.


also, the sequel Fade to Black is cool.

[Ninjin]

would populous count? that game is awesome and i've only met one other person who knew of it.

Played Populous 3 if that counts. That was a really cool game though.

For PC I have many I would concider to be cult games, especially the Looking Glass games (Thief-series, System Shock)

Games from Bioware, Black Isle Studios, Introversion Software and a few more companies are all worthy of being cult games in my opinion. Whatever they throw up its always something extremely well made or just pure innovation. Just take Introversion Software's Uplink as an example. That game can be regarded as the same genre as Phoenix Wright btw, hacker simulation vs. lawyer simulator :eng101:

For PS2, without doubt Disgaea!

[Slurp]

Soul Calibur 2.

Seriously Amazing!

Does Timesplitters Count? Also Quality!

... Gosh yes, they're certainly niche/cult games, certainly games that have never managed to break quite into the mainstream.
Also TS3 is shit

[the last sheika]

Also TS3 is shit
...

*Snipes you*

Yes, TS2 is better... But FP inproved the Mapmaker, Story mode (Possibly...) and general spiffyness. And it's better for when your memory card corrupts, since all the multiplayer levels are pre-unlocked.

[Seriphyn]

TS3 mapmaker was awesome.

Made some super duper one that wanted to upload onto Live but apparently saving it when you not connected means it can NEVER NEVER EVER EVER be uploaded there again...

Twas so good...MGS1 style ending too lolol

[eidderf]

I remember a SNES game called Flashback that could be considered cult, it was kind of like oddworld in a way, I don't think I ever got that far in it because it was quite a tricky game and I was quite little when I played it. Still for a SNES game it had great visuals and sound.

[Slurp]

Ok, admittedly, I have, thanks to the new game, got the MapMaker to work, but the story mode is still distinctly weak in co-op mode, and although more ambitious, several parts of it (I.E controlling the massive robot) feel upsettingly hollow. Plus my GC version had no online-ness

[Mister Qwerty]

Rayman. Though it got shit.
Sonic. Though it got shit.

Also, TS3 owns (almost) everything.

[GorillaBearBear]

I remember a SNES game called Flashback that could be considered cult, it was kind of like oddworld in a way, I don't think I ever got that far in it because it was quite a tricky game and I was quite little when I played it. Still for a SNES game it had great visuals and sound.

I had this on PC. It was an awesome game, with some really tricky puzzles. Had absolutely no idea what was going on for most of it though.

Also, whoever said System Shock 2, you are a saint.

[Boyinabox]

http://www.igniq.com/images/darwinia_141205.jpg

[Chris]

I have to say I love all 3 Timesplitters. LOVE!

Manhunt as well.

Hardly anybody bought it.

[charlieman]

Dizzy innit


Dizzy was wicked. I have a PC box set of about 5 games somewhere in my house. Most of them were far too hard for me to be any good at at the time. Such fun tho!

[da-geezer]

holy shit, if you could dig that out and tell me a bit about it, i'd be very grateful :)

edit: oh i just got a stiff-on
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-Ultimate-Dizzy-Collection-For-PC_W0QQitemZ290182677630QQihZ019QQcategoryZ90847QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[the last sheika]

I had loads of Dizzy games on a console that I haven't played in about twelve years, so can't remember what it was. But it was keyboard and mouse. That's all I really remember about it...

[Ozzylator]

For PC I have many I would concider to be cult games, especially the Looking Glass games (Thief-series, System Shock)

Oh yes, this. So so much.

[crazy-eye0]

Dark Chronicle. i'm not sure if it's much of a cult game, but everywhere I go I've only ever found one guy who's ever heard of it, and played it. It was the most amazing Fantasy RPG game I've ever played, Cell shaded, and some random bits that ended up 3.D didn't ruin it at all. the Storyline was so awesome I couldn't put the game down, the fighting was cool, the characters were good, and the little random side things that weren't important but were fun was good to.

It makes me want to replug my PS2 and play it all over again...
(even though I never finished it, I got to the last boss so that counts...right?)

[Bisyss]

Light Crusader!
The only RPG Treasure ever made, and I'm the only person I know who's played it.

[sushi.]

Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (PC)

American McGee's Alice (PC)


I hump these games. So hard.

[BigShimmeryWall]

Skies of Arcadia - best thing since bread, sliced or otherwise. Nothing else has come close to the sense of adventure, except possibly the original Grandia.

SWoS - Still the greatest football game ever made. Ridiculous physics and simple controls make this just as playable today as it ever was.

Jet Set Radio - Just... beautiful.

Head over Heels - you can't really argue with any game that features a remote control Prince Charles/Dalek hybrid.

Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 - Liquid genius in the form of code

Rocket Knight Adventures - You're a possum with a rocket pack, goggles and a sword. There is nothing to dislike about that combination.

Yie Ar Kung Fu - cracking 8bit beat em up and the first fighter to feature female characters.



Check ma sig bitch. Still desperate for the game sound track if there are any givers

There are various PW soundtracks and arange albums over at Galbadia Hotel (http://gh.ffshrine.org/) listed under Gyakuten Saiban.

[Mat^]

Skies of Arcadia - best thing since bread, sliced or otherwise. Nothing else has come close to the sense of adventure, except possibly the original Grandia.'s the best Are Pee Gee around.

[[murray]]

How in the name of Satan buggery did I forget SWOS?

I think I might go shoot myself for this flagrant blasphemy.

[Ninjin]

http://www.igniq.com/images/darwinia_141205.jpg

Introversion Software is one of the most amazing game studios out there! Darwinia, Uplink and Defcon, just pure well-designed innovation! Gaming industry, more of this, please!

[Yorkshire Tea]

The fact that nobody has mentioned Grim Fandango yet makes me sad.

[GorillaBearBear]

I was thinking about it, but I didn't really think of it as cult? I thought it was pretty popular in it's day.

It's awesome though. Most satisfying ending to any game ever.

[the last sheika]

Rocket Knight Adventures - You're a possum with a rocket pack, goggles and a sword. There is nothing to dislike about that combination.

I love it. Not sure if it ever became popular, but it's one of the games that I completed when I was three, and got stuck on the first level when I was 15.

I played Sega too much in the 90s.