Five criminally underappreciated PS3 games

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5 mins read

The PlayStation 3 has, over the years, played host to some genuine underrated classics. People that claim the JRPG is dead clearly haven’t seen the PS3 library. And God of War? Sure, but there’s a bunch of great games similar to that that just floated in and floated out without any of the recognition they deserve.

So without further adieu, here’s five PS3 games that we thought, tragically, never got the recognition they serve:

5) Dante’s Inferno: Ignore the terrible hype campaign (which probably doomed this game to obscurity from the start), and the fact it’s a God of War clone: Dante’s Inferno is fun. It has little to do with the classic novel, but the recreation of Hell is often creative, the action is usually spot on, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome.

More importantly, the DLC add ons for this game added a lot of value to it; making challenge rooms was fun, and the co-op helped extend the longevity of the game. That DLC was largely ignored.

It’s not the greatest game of all time, but Dante’s Inferno is a lot of fun nonetheless, and deserved better recognition than it got.

4) Resonance of Fate: I blame SEGA for this one. Releasing a JRPG on the same day of Final Fantasy XIII was a stupid idea. It’s easy to argue that Resonance of Fate is the better game, but it never mattered, there was no brand recognition with this game, so it was doomed from the start.

An action JRPG by the masters of the form (Tri-Ace), Resonance of Fate is a creative, original and intelligent RPG with smooth action and brilliant visuals. It had characters you cared about, it had a quest you wanted to follow through to the ends. It had everything.

Except a publisher smart enough to realise releasing a JRPG on the same day as a Final Fantasy game was not a good idea.

3) Warriors: Legends of Troy: Formula for Warriors game releases: Release in Japan, sell bucketloads to critical acclaim. Release in the West, get slammed by critics that clearly haven’t even played the game, and sell one or two copies.

Warriors of Troy was built in an attempt to appease western gamers. It had blood and God of War style boss battles. It is based on European history that everyone knows about, rather than Asian history that you won’t hear about unless you specialise in it at university.

Yet of course the formula held true – the game was popular in Japan, but bombed in the West. Not Tecmo Koei’s fault. These games just deserve more critical understanding in the West.

2) Eye of Judgement: Forget Nintendo’s 3DS Augmented Reality (AR). Eye of Judgement does it awesome. It sunk into obscurity because it requires the PlayStation Eye (and before the Move, how many people had that exactly?) But this card game really does play so well, and interacting with the game itself, rather than through a “middle man” controller is an awesome experience.

Perhaps this kind of game can make a comeback with Kinect and if Activision’s upcoming Sypro proves successful. I hope so, because it could be a real revolution for videogame adaptations of collectable card games like Magic: The Gathering.

1) Nier: Here’s the big one. This game flew under the radar by such a margin that Square Enix subsequently shut down the developer, Cavia.

The game deserved far more attention than it was given. It’s a beautiful game that belies its somewhat simple visual style. From the operatic soundtrack, to the often visceral combat and genuinely touching story, Nier works on many levels.

It’s also a rare JRPG where there’s stuff to do that’s completely unnecessary for the main quest, but doesn’t feel like it’s just random filler. The farming and fishing mini games were a lot of fun and could soak up many hours of play in themselves.

Of course, there are many more underappreciated classics on the PS3 (and other consoles). So to open the floor: what are some games that you feel never got the recognition they deserve, whether on the PS3 or other consoles?

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  • Hi Kelly,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    I don't have an Xbox 360, so honestly I wasn't sure what was and wasn't multiplatform. Those games are all underappreciated on the PS3, certainly 🙂

    Thanks for pointing that out though!

  • Hi Kelly,

    Thanks for dropping by!

    I don't have an Xbox 360, so honestly I wasn't sure what was and wasn't multiplatform. Those games are all underappreciated on the PS3, certainly 🙂

    Thanks for pointing that out though!

  • (: Well I have only played Dante`s Inferno and Warriors: Legend of Troy and agree that they are both under Appreciated.

    I am a Western style RPG fan myself but my brother is always going on about Resonance of Fate and says that it has a rather unique gamestyle.

    I will have to check out Nier though (:

  • (: Well I have only played Dante`s Inferno and Warriors: Legend of Troy and agree that they are both under Appreciated.

    I am a Western style RPG fan myself but my brother is always going on about Resonance of Fate and says that it has a rather unique gamestyle.

    I will have to check out Nier though (:

  • Hi ApricotSushi – I must admit, I haven't played Folklore! It's on my to do list though, I've heard nothing but good things about it.

    Enslaved is another game that really deserves far more credit than it's given. That game is stunning, and sold terribly 🙁

    @Kelly – Absolutely check out Nier. It's honestly the best JRPG I've played this generation, with the best soundtrack to boot. 🙂

  • Hi ApricotSushi – I must admit, I haven't played Folklore! It's on my to do list though, I've heard nothing but good things about it.

    Enslaved is another game that really deserves far more credit than it's given. That game is stunning, and sold terribly 🙁

    @Kelly – Absolutely check out Nier. It's honestly the best JRPG I've played this generation, with the best soundtrack to boot. 🙂

  • and yet criminally underappreciated PS3 games (as in actual exclusives) like Folklore, Yakuza 4, or Trinity Universe remain criminally underappreciated. I can sorta understand TU, but making a list about underappreciated PS3 games then egnoring great titles like Folklore and Yakuza 4 is just wrong.

  • and yet criminally underappreciated PS3 games (as in actual exclusives) like Folklore, Yakuza 4, or Trinity Universe remain criminally underappreciated. I can sorta understand TU, but making a list about underappreciated PS3 games then egnoring great titles like Folklore and Yakuza 4 is just wrong.

  • Hi Anonymous,

    That's what the comments are for, so other people can fire in their own opinions.

    Now, thanks to you, Folklore and Yakuza 4, and even Trinity Universe, are no longer ignored 🙂

  • Hi Anonymous,

    That's what the comments are for, so other people can fire in their own opinions.

    Now, thanks to you, Folklore and Yakuza 4, and even Trinity Universe, are no longer ignored 🙂

  • Im agreeing when regarding Dantes Inferno and Nier. Dantes Inferno is not a clone of gow. like what is of the similarities with hack n slash?
    melee combat weapons with combos. So if you say any other hack n slash game is clone of gow,you are simply small minded and a moron and doesnt get the genre.

    Nier is by far one of the best games in 2010,all aspects of the game is superior and it gives a emotional experiance towards even the npc's in this game.

    Even if 4 out of 5 is multiplat its still on a ps3

  • Im agreeing when regarding Dantes Inferno and Nier. Dantes Inferno is not a clone of gow. like what is of the similarities with hack n slash?
    melee combat weapons with combos. So if you say any other hack n slash game is clone of gow,you are simply small minded and a moron and doesnt get the genre.

    Nier is by far one of the best games in 2010,all aspects of the game is superior and it gives a emotional experiance towards even the npc's in this game.

    Even if 4 out of 5 is multiplat its still on a ps3

  • Several of these games I've wanted to play, but haven't. I too noticed a few that were on 360 as well, like Nier & Dante's Inferno. Folklore was actually my first PS3 game, and it was a lot of fun.

    I would probably have to put Folklore and Heavenly Sword in there from a PS3-exclusive standpoint. Good list though – there's definitely games there I've wanted to play.

  • Several of these games I've wanted to play, but haven't. I too noticed a few that were on 360 as well, like Nier & Dante's Inferno. Folklore was actually my first PS3 game, and it was a lot of fun.

    I would probably have to put Folklore and Heavenly Sword in there from a PS3-exclusive standpoint. Good list though – there's definitely games there I've wanted to play.

  • Haha, one thing that you guys have gotten used to with other sites is that they are all biased towards one system or another. Here at DigitallyDownloaded we have a passion for gaming, regardless of what system it's played on. The article isn't representing 'The Top 5 Criminally Under-appreciated PS3 Games', it's just '5 Criminally Under-appreciated PS3 Games.'

    I completely agree that Vagrant Story, Heavenly Sword, Folklore, Enslaved all are under-appreciated, but there are many others that I would say are too: Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, MotorStorm, Resistance 2, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Afrika, to just name a few.

  • Haha, one thing that you guys have gotten used to with other sites is that they are all biased towards one system or another. Here at DigitallyDownloaded we have a passion for gaming, regardless of what system it's played on. The article isn't representing 'The Top 5 Criminally Under-appreciated PS3 Games', it's just '5 Criminally Under-appreciated PS3 Games.'

    I completely agree that Vagrant Story, Heavenly Sword, Folklore, Enslaved all are under-appreciated, but there are many others that I would say are too: Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, MotorStorm, Resistance 2, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Afrika, to just name a few.

  • Don't mean to be rude, Christopher, but how exactly is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune under-appreciated? Until Uncharted 2 came out, most people were citing that as *the* reason to buy a PS3 in the first place

    Afrika is one game I actually really want to play! I remember hearing about it back when the PS3 hadn't even been released, and then it practically disappeared without a trace D:

  • Don't mean to be rude, Christopher, but how exactly is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune under-appreciated? Until Uncharted 2 came out, most people were citing that as *the* reason to buy a PS3 in the first place

    Afrika is one game I actually really want to play! I remember hearing about it back when the PS3 hadn't even been released, and then it practically disappeared without a trace D:

  • @Christopher – definitely degrees of appreciation. I'd say Resistance and Uncharted were pretty well-appreciated and recognized. 3D dot Game Heroes was interesting – I had forgotten that one was PS3-only (Enslaved was on 360 as well). Afrika I know nothing about, honestly.

  • @Christopher – definitely degrees of appreciation. I'd say Resistance and Uncharted were pretty well-appreciated and recognized. 3D dot Game Heroes was interesting – I had forgotten that one was PS3-only (Enslaved was on 360 as well). Afrika I know nothing about, honestly.

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