Space Dynagon

So,  in 1992, there was a charmingly bizarre shmup released for the Super Nintendo, titled Pocky & Rocky (奇々怪界～謎の黒マント). P&R was a scrolling shooter, that's main draw was that your character was a person, instead of an aircraft; keep in mind this is during the early Nineties, years before Touhou made lolis and cuddly-things the norm. Furthermore, your character wasn't airborne, and could move around much more freely than in a more standard shooter, though you were still only making your way down long, single-screen-sized corridors. Now at this point, you're probably wondering why I'm going on about P&R; it was made by Natsume, a rather reputable company, and it was met with pretty handsome success. Surely it doesn't fit the criteria for a write-up here? Well, you'd be right, except I'm not talking about Pocky & Rocky, instead, I'm talking about a doujinshi that took what Pocky & Rocky had to offer, and ran far, far away with it.

Wat?

Octodad

Face it, kids, everyone has to do chores, you're not special. In fact, you're privileged that you even have a skeletal system with which to do chores in the first place. The same can't be said of Octodad, the star of Octodad, who haphazardly flings his limbs around in a vain effort, trying to perform simple tasks we all take for granted. Lament the unfortunate Octodad.

Octodad breaches the fourth-wall to clumsily shake-hands with various KFC employees.

Nitronic Rush

SUP NERDS! what if a game existed were you drove a car in an AMAZING Tron themed city. Sounds crazy right well we're not even done yet the car can BEND gravity to its will! oh yeah did I mention the car has... wings! Well that's what you are getting when you download Nitronic Rush which is completely free.

Unless your too chicken to play a real mans game!

The Hatchings

The life of a domestic foul is a harsh form of oppression; day-in, and day-out, you are forced to laboriously produce eggs, and your only retirement plan involves hot-oil, and eleven herbs and spices. Not unlike ЯUSSIAИ SUBWAY DOGS, Ferry Halim's  The Hatchings, tells the inspiration tale of an oppressed animal, fighting against insurmountable odds in order to achieve it's place in the annals of history, by means of repetitive, charmingly pointless casual gameplay.

Megaman - 8-Bit Deathmatch

Alright, first and foremost, let me just get this off my chest. I LOVE MegaMan. MegaMan is MY GAME. I grew up with it, and it was my first video game I ever got specifically for me to play, and eventually got good at. Mario and the others were more or less for my parents, but as they grew out of video games, I grew into them until I became the internet superstar you see before you. What? You don't see me? I thought a blog worked that way. What do you mean I'm not an internet superstar? I'm writing my own damn blog and I know damn well all of you guys want to hear about everything I have to say. You're a tasteless hack if you dont. True facts....

SONIC Robo Blast 2

Games come and games go. During their time in limelight, each videogame released has a limited opportunity to accumulate a fanbase, and become timeless. The games that don't, end up like Rakuga Kids. However, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, for better, or worse, has one of the largest followings of any videogame in history.  Sonic is more than a videogame; Its a cultural icon that has influenced millions of people growing up during the 90's. Some of those people went on to college, where they earned degrees in various fields of art, design, programming, and many other things, gaining the tools to achieve their dream of creating their own masterpieces. Others went on to start a DeviantART account, picked up textile work, and built fur-suits. And some still, decided to do both, and create Sonic Robo-Blast 2.

DOOM (the Roguelike)

 (This is going to be relatively short, as I'm splitting my writing time between this, and writing a HUGE article. Fortunately I write fast)


Do you like Doom? Of course you do. Do you like Roguelikes?

...

Ahem, so anyway, now that you've read about what those are, what if I were to tell you that there was a game that combined the gritty, metal-album inspired imagery, and violent, over-the-top shenanigans of Doom with the slow, strategic, and painfully difficult gameplay philosophy of Rogue? Yeah.

ЯUSSIAИ SUBWAY DOGS

  (This article will be brief, because I'm splitting my carefully budgeted blog-time between this, and a HUGE article. Good things come to those who wait.)

"Capitalists are no more capable of self-sacrifice than a man is capable of lifting himself up by his own bootstraps." 

- Vladimir Lenin

 "I don't care too much for money, For money can't buy me love." 

                           - John Lennon

"I must break you" Ivan thinks to himself, as his dog takes a dump in the living room.

ЯUSSIAИ SUBWAY DOGS (PC)

Developed & Published by: Miguel Sternberg

Released on: February 28th. 2012

Life in the motherland is hard. It is even harder, when you are hard-working sled-dog. In what's been rated as "Number Greatest game in Soviet Union" by me, ЯUSSIAИ SUBWAY DOGS combines famous American Arcade action, with an inspiring tale of a young soviet canine, who barks at comrades until they throw him potatoes. Sometimes thew will drop their vodka, which acts as incendiary bombs, and hurt you. In Soviet Union, people drink molotov cocktails. It builds character.

SONIC IRONSTORM: FATAL ATTACK

"Shmups are a lot like prostitutes, in that they're the oldest kind of videogame, and that you're likely to contract Hepatitis from playing Gradius."                           

                                                                                                                                                -Aristotle

Oh, hello there, and welcome back to Hidden Gems. In the previous installment, I had mentioned how the arcades' decline resulted in several genre's periodically dying out, but I also made mention of how in the 2000's, the Japanese Doujin (indie) scene revitalized the Scrolling Shooter genre for PC. Well, this would seem like the perfect segway to discuss the Touhou Project, wouldn't it? Instead, this installment will be taking an in-depth look at SONIC IRONSTORM: FATAL ATTACK, a game with a name that even Steven Segal would think is trying too hard. Actually, we won't be taking a very in-depth look at it, because I am terrible at this game, so without further ado, here is Hidden Gems' in-depth look at the first stage of  SONIC IRONSTORM: FATAL ATTACK.

RAKUGA KIDS

 The mid to late-nineties were a pivotal time for videogames. Home consoles were growing ever more powerful, and for the first-time, it seemed as though the consumer would have a true arcade experience available to him in the comfort of his own home (this actually wouldn't become true until the Sega Dreamcast, but that's a yarn for another time). Unfortunately, for all but the most hardcore, convenience is a greater virtue than experience; many consumers eschewed the arcade scene, figuring ''Why walk a few blocks when I can play X-Men in my living room?". The decline in patronage lead to the cataclysmic downfall of the American Arcade industry...

The death of the American arcade lead to a severe decline in several genre's particularly, Shmups and Fighters. Shmups would eventually reinvent themselves thanks to the Japanese Indie scene, around the turn-of-the-century, but Fighters were hit much harder. A combination of the death of arcades leaving most players without any central hub to find fellow players to compete with, combined with the many small-fry companies over-saturating the market with gimmicky, shallow Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat clones, lead to a much longer hibernation for the the genre. 

It was during this era, that many, ever increasingly gimmicky games were being released, both in Arcades, and on Sega Saturn/Playstation. There was a third major console, however, that for whatever reason, wasn't granted a robust gallery of fighters (although, that's not all it was missing). Aside from some butchered ports, and Smash Bros, the only true fighter the N64 had to call it's own was a strange little gem called Rakuga Kids.

Intro

Welcome to Hidden Gems, a blog dedicated to shedding light on the games that have fallen through the cracks over the years, as well as independently developed titles, and fan-games that need the exposure they deserve. This blog will be a haven for those looking for in-depth information about niche and obscure games, from the past, and the present.

Be sure to follow, and stay tuned for updates