Sweet. I just downloaded a file, with EVERY snes ever made! So i was lookin for something good, that i maybe never knew about. Hehe, also, i can play them on my DS. THANK YOU INTERNET FOR FREE ENTERTAINMENT!
But, Mike, I don´t think Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing is an obscure game. It made a huge success here in Brazil (and as far as I know, in Europe and Japan too) back in 1993 / 1994. It´s a fantastic game, but strange to mention in an “obscure” Snes games list.
Mike, I think you’re probably the better of the two at this point in reviewers. No offense to James because I fell in love with the AVGN as a character but I think I realized..
After watching the videos where he included you in on the commentaries and when you went to the con/show with him, he mentioned your having all the old video games and nostalgic influence on him. You were the true angry nerd.
I hope you keep doing reviews, and honestly if you had your own channel, I would subscribe, follow and continue to watch what you uploaded. I also can’t wait to see the comic you’ve been sketching.
About Demons Crest, I think still isn’t getting enough praise, both you and Derek Alexander said isn’t as good as the big names, I agree, Super Metroid is better, but right after that giant is Demons Crest.
Im surprised for the amount of detail you gave into each game. But I think that not all the games you show are that obscure. Either Demons Crest and Wild Guns where kind of popular and they both now have a huge fan base, maybe in their time werent as popular but now they are, so theyre not obscure anymore.
About Demons Crest, I think still isn’t getting enough praise, both you and Derek Alexander said isn’t as good as the big names, I agree, Super Metroid is better, but right after that giant is Demons Crest.
Great list, I hope yo to make more (maybe top 10 for each console). And tell James to hurry up with more regular AVGN episodes, I kind of miss those.
Sorry for the double post, it keeps telling me that my comment has banned words, I don’t even know curses in english
Rock ‘n Roll Racing is anything but obscure. Big hit in Europe.
Wild Guns is number one? Ok, it deserves any praise you can give it but it’s hardly obscure. Maybe the sales weren’t high at the time but nowadays almost everybody who gives a s*** about SNES knows about it.
Knights of the Round, Demon’s Crest and Magic Sword aren’t that obscure either.
Rare gems, hard to find the cartriges – yes. Obscure – hardly.
But anyways it was a nice and entertaining video. Well done and great detail for those who don’t know these gems.
Yes! 😀 Wild Guns! Totally agreed. I got that on my Wii because I tried a rom of it and instantly fell in love with it. No regrets getting that game. It’s great fun. My girlfriend and I love playing it. Haha.
Great list!
Going to have to try a lot of these games for sure.
I could think of many games you maybe over looked, but that’s okay. 😉
Top 10 N64 Overlooked games next? Haha.
Before the very end of the movie I was thinking, “Yet another list without Wild Guns in it *sigh*”. Imagine how surprised I was when it actually got your first spot. Wild Guns is one of my favorite games ever, and I’m happy I’m not the only one who knows how to really appreciate this gem. Everything from style to music is perfect. To this day I’ve been longing to see some kind of an spiritual sequel, but It’s seems that I have to make it myself. I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens, Mike.
Nice list, there are a couple of those games that I would like to play. Though in the one game instead of “Indiana Jones was here first” I think it would be even better if the last level was a castle populated by Frenchmen who hurl insults at you and then you get arrested right before the final conclusion.
I have to say WOW @ thus video being 31 minutes and 10 seconds.
Mike went all out for this video.
These 2 videos have me wondering if Mike is brewing up a video for a top 10 obscure Nintendo 64 games.
Thanks for these great videos Mike ! ! !
Hard for me to believe that Chrono Trigger is not on this list. I am sure you heard of it and it might be a bit too known for you but I never met ANY Nintendo gamer who heard of it (and I know they all played many of the classics on the NES and SNES even if on emulators).
Still, your list your opinions
Knights of the Round, like Sunset Riders, was a perennial arcade favorite that my younger brother and I pumped a lot of quarters into and later played on SNES and my custom MAME cabinet. Thanks for including it!
Extremely superb video, I think we all knew this would show up after the great NES version a bit ago. I guess you’re going to be stuck doing obscure gem videos for many other systems, as everyone will likely demand more.
Lots of these games seemed to be side scrolling action games or shooting type games. I guess there’s no puzzle or RPG games that are obscure or otherwise underrated. I hope not many people mention Earthbound as a missed opportunity for this video as I’m sure we’ve all heard enough about that series, so it’s not necessarily an ‘obscure snes gem’ that needs more recognition.
Fun fact: the music in Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing was all adapted for the game by the master of chiptunes himself, Tim Follin. You guys know him as the man responsible for the music in Silver Surfer (easily the best part of that game!), though he’s also famous for composing Solstice, Pictionary, New Zealand Story/Kiwi Kraze and numerous other NES classics, as well as tons of Amiga and C64 soundtracks (his music in Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts on the Amiga is of particular note). And of course, he composed for quite a few SNES games and beyond as well, with probably his best-known SNES works being Plok and Equinox, and his best-known post-SNES work being Ecco the Dolphin on DreamCast.
Look him up sometime. He’s one game musician worth knowing.
I played a lot the No. 1 game (WG) with my little sister when we are kids!
And we love it!
Thanks for the memories 😀 and recomendations!!
Keep doing this videos Mike!! 😀
Mike excellent job as always. Next time try a top ten sega genesis gems video. You really gotta consider a dvd of your video game reviews. I would definitely buy them, i’m a major fan of yours.Consider it.
one SNES game ive been dying to get my hands on is Clock Tower, an american cart is available but it was originally on the Super Famicom only , it’s a survival horror game that predates resident evil. I’m disappointed at mike for not mentioning it, it’s obscure and seeing is how he’s a horror fan I though he and James would be all over that
Some other more obscure SNES games that I think are awesome: Soul Blazer, Mega Man 7, Terranigma (only avail in Europe/Japan), EVO Search for Eden, Umihara Kawase (Japan only), and Twinbee (Japan).
Earthbound is not rare/obscure as much as the rest of the games on this list. Look how many copies are for sale on ebay all the time. There are usually 30+ copies whereas games like Castlevania Dracula X only get 10 and some of those include the Japenese version which doesn’t do us much good over here. I’m a huge fan of Mother/Earthbound series but you cannot say it’s obscure, there is a large cult following of it over here in the States and abroad. Blue blue!! 😉
Not much to complain about in this list ! Just a few notes :
It actually is Olaf f in Rock n’ Roll Racing, Blizzard also made Lost Vikings!
Hagane! God I regret never buying it when it came out, but as a kid I was rather skeptica lwhen looking at the cover. It’s like a Shinobi III on speed! Love it!
Knights of the Round, awesome game, but it was better on Capcom’s CPS Arcade system, 3 player co-op for the win, especially since you can split treasures and food by hitting it, to spread it out evenly between players! (I personally like it better than King of Dragons)
Magic Sword, played it, loved it, but in the more generic name section : Firepower 2000 maybe ?
Super Aleste …. <333333
King of Dragons, well, Capcom HAD the D&D license, they're the guys who developed the arcade D&D games! But it's alllll goooodddd.
Demon's Crest (aka. Demon's Blazon) … welll, same as Super Aleste really, love it! G. Gargoyle stands for ground gargoyle, or maybe Geraldo :p.
Firepower 2000 great sequel to Silkworm ! Ahh the 80s… NUCULAR ?!
Wild Guns … YEP ! :3
DId you notice how all these games are Japanese? Most Capcom games too… I miss the old Capcom 🙁
Also, really happy Demon’s Crest made the list. Capcom’s Gargoyle series is phenomenal. Gargoyle’s Quest for the Game Boy is one of the greatest games of all time.
Hey Mike! Loved this video. You might be interested in considering a short review for Super Meat Boy on Xbox Live or Steam. Super fun modern throwback to the classic sidescroller games, but a hard son of a bitch! Also on Steam, and from the same designer is a game called The Binding of Isaac. It’s a randomly generated top-down dungeon crawler in the style of classic Zelda titles. Again, super fun, but extremely difficult. I’d personally love to hear your opinions of these new games that give tons of love and affection to the classics that should never be forgotten!
i love how long and fast paced this review was. Thank you also for uploading it onto youtube because i was able to watch the whole darn thing without a hiccup. I love your reviews Mike. I had a shitty night with a rejection from a girl and this video made me laugh it at. 🙂
Metal Warriors!
Awesome vid. i enjoyed every min
There are many good, but overlooked games for just about any system. You should make a continuous series out of this. Why stop at 10? There are thousands of lesser-known gems.
Lots of good ones for the Super Famicom too. Super Back to the Future 2, Gon, Assault Suits Valken. And some strange ones too- “UFO Kamen Yakisoban”, made by a popular ramen noodle company.
King of Dragons wasn’t a more generic version of D&D made for the home b/c Capcom couldn’t get the license. That game itself was released in arcades prior to either of the D&D arcade games.
Mike you should check out Terranigma if you have not done it. One of my favorite SNES games and it never got released in the US, only Japan and Europe.
It’s only been 4 or 5 days since your great review of Gremlins 2 on gameboy, and already we’ve got a 30 minutes long awesome top ten ?! Crazy 🙂 !
And not only the list is amazing (I pretty much didn’t know any of the games, except one or two that I had heard of but didn’t play), but even better are the voice-over comments, giving the perfect amount of details all in good rythm. Love it.
Oh and I’ve got to hate you for that list, Mike… I’ve already got a huge list of games that I’ve planned to play because I didn’t have the occasion when they came out (so it goes from the 70’s up to today…), and you’ve added 10 games to it !! Don’t you know I have so little time 🙂 ?
Terranigma/Tenchi Souzou is probably the best snes game, not really obscure nowadays though. Umihara kawase is cool too, the super famicom really has a shitload of unknown great games that deserve a special feature or something. Then there’s skyblazer.
Mike, thanks for listening to the feedback on your last “gems” video and doing another one! Please keep them coming. These are excellent picks and commentary again.
Even if it’s hard to keep doing top 10 via various systems, I think really most any format where you reveal hidden gems is great.
Putting up rare games on an obscure list is cheating… It’d be like putting an endangered species on a list of scarce animals. Kind of disappointing, but other than that, nice video.
TheTempleKnight is right.
How dare you put RARE games on a list of OBSCURE games!!!
That’s just stupid!
A list of obscure games should only have common, easily available games.
In fact, the more common and obscure the better.
Awesome vid Mike! Just a little bit of info here, The viking in Rock N’ Roll Racing is actually the only original character in the game. Silicon & Synapse created Lost Vikings which was the core team of blizzard’s original name. After a few studio name changes, they stuck with Blizzard, still a bit edgy but appealing to all audiences. Loving the videos though, keep up the great work!
You gained a whole lot of respect from me by putting Demon’s Crest on this list, Mike, especially when ranking it so high. When I found it years ago, I was instantly impressed with it’s design and was surprised with how good it was without ANYONE really knowing about it. Seeing it recognized by another as an obscured classic certainly warms my heart knowing there are people out there willing to seek out an appreciate great games such as this. Thanks
An entertaining and really informative video! Best from Mike yet. I was a SNES kid but it looks like I missed out on quite a few great lesser-known games, so I’ll have to give them a look.
It’s going to cause my (5-6 years younger) housemates to start calling me ‘Old Man Oscar’ again, but they can suck it.
Great vid Mike. I had a Genesis when I was a teen so the only games I got to play on the SNES were whatever my friends had. Rock’n Roll Racing was one of them..great times with that one. “Fuck your enemies until they explode!” 😀
Can’t wait for a top 10 obscure Nintendo 64gems or top 10 obscure Nintendo Gamecube gems or Nintendo Wii top 10 obscure Nintendo Wii gems… Must a say more? Maybe even top 10 Wii U Obscure gems or even a game system haven’t been made yet… Anyways cool list.
One of my favorite obscure SNES games was The Peace Keepers. It’s a nicely-done beat-em-up with a really involving story, lots of branching paths, and even some hidden characters to find.
@Marcus – Demon’s Crest is awesome. My favorite games on the SNES that nobody ever mentions are Skyblazer (good side-scrolling action game), Illusion of Gaia (I think this one is known, but never seems to be mentioned along with Zelda or Secret of Mana), and I enjoyed King of Dragons more than Knights of the Round, a D&D style beat ’em up also by Capcom. There’s also a game that I think was only available in Japan that’s a cross between Zelda and pinball that was really awesome.
Holy Striker! That’s the game I was thinking of. Sort of like a pinball or brick-breaker style of game, but instead of a paddle you control a knight-like character similar to Zelda or whatever else. You literally swing your sword to move the ball and have to defeat monsters along the way. Look that on up on the internets!
I don’t know why, but this is one of those videos, like a select few on Youtube, that shifts a third or more off-screen to the right as soon as the little pop-up add occurs (regardless of which browser I use). Even when not in a full-screen the rightmost third or half of the video is effectively missing. This makes it effectively unwatchable.
I was happy to see many of the games I used to rent from my local video store when I was a kid, like Magic Sword and King of Dragons. I remember going to an arcade and seeing Knights of the Round and loving it,then to learn it was on the SNES.Demon’s Crest was another gem I used to play. But Rock N Roll,Wild Guns,never got into those. Thanks to emulation I have learned of many other great SNES games I never had back in my day,like Hagane,Skyblazer that somebody mentioned,and Run Saber, along with Super Valis IV and even Psycho Dream. I guess Super Adventure Island was pretty well known like Joe and Mac,which were also great games on the SNES. But enough rambling from an old man:) Great Review,Mike.
Hey Mike, thanks for sharing yet another great Top 10. I have a request. Could you do two more Top 10 Obscure Games–one for the Sega Master System and one for the Sega Genesis? I know you weren’t a diehard Sega fan back in the day, but since I and others of our generation feel that 1984 – 1996 was the “Golden Age” of video gaming I feel that it only be right to give light to great games on those systems too. If you need assistance in picking feel free to ask, I know a lot of great ones. : )
I have a great Idea for a contest if you want to raise some money. Buy tickets to a drawing to visit the the “Nerd cave” and play some turtles in time with James or Mike. That would be kick ass!
kick ass review mike. I noticed you mentioned super mario rpg in the beginning, which is my all time favorite super nintendo game and i feel like since it came out late in nintendo’s cycle it sort of got overlooked, considering how huge a collaboration it was (square, nintendo). It’s definitely a classic, and not unknown by any means, but really one of the greatest lesser known snes classics.
My friend and I played Shadow over Mystaria on his MAME machine, and I played The King of Dragons probably 6 years ago on a rom and actually forgot the name so thanks for reminding me! Both great games and I also liked the length that The King of Dragons was, it seemed to keep going on forever without dragging too much.
Wonderful. Best 30 minutes of entertainment online really. “The ninja turtles damn stage” that line killed me. Anyways I am a huge fan of King of Dragons and Demons Crest. I feel like if we had been neighbors growing up we would have played games together until our parents committed us. Keep it up dude never stop. Of course now I am going to go crazy trying to find the games I haven’t played so yeah I don’t like ya for that Mike you Mother Fucker. But that is your title after all. So I can deal with it. To make me feel better you should watch my VERY funny sketches at youtube.com/duringmydeath. Normally I don’t self promote like that but seriously dude i am a fan of you and James and dammit this video is gonna cost me time and money pursuing those games that you talked about that I now must have. Especially Run Saber, shit that looks fun. Peace and monkey grease.
One of the nicest reviews that you have made thanks mike.But your coice about the first game sould be demons crest man,i know that its a dificult game in some parts but it was one of the best they have released.All the other games that you have mentined like king of dragons and knights of the round was cool as well consodering the fact that all were arcade ported on the console wonder.I liked king of dragons better because they have make it more acurate and close to the arcades/,plus the fact that was much easier to play.When it comes about knights of the round i preffer the arcade version better.Thank god that they didn’t left behind some of the three players that originaly existed like the final fight on the snes.Though i believe that they could make a greater job in the final fight release on the 16 moster of ours.My best choice for the snes best ports was sunset riders,super ghouls and ghosts,turtles in time,buster bros,street fighter series,king of dragons,mortal combat 2 and some others.
@Mike Why haven’t we seen any documentaries about you? James has 3 or 4. I’d like to hear more about your past because we’ve heard James story many times. Not that that’s bad but it gets old. So when James is done with his movie get him to make one about you maybe?
Those crop circle monkeys are a reference to the Nazca Lines in my home country Perú but the main difference is that the real ones aren’t crop but sand lines. Great list Mike!
The beat em ups and shooters really made for some awesome co-op memories. I didn’t play Demon’s Crest until I checked out a rom in my 20’s, but even then it blew my balls away. There’s a couple titles here I’ll definitely check out. Great video Mike, you’re on a roll
By far your best video Mike. Really enjoyed it. You definitely should keep doing side-by-side vids once James comes back. I made an account just to let you know! Thanks so much for everything.
Great video Mike! Greetings from Colombia.
One of my favorite obscure SNES game is called Whirlo, I love that game, the music is so beautiful, with a good amount of difficulty.
Yo, Mike. You’ve made a great video, but I know of a game that you might not have heard of, and it’s pretty awesome. Sadly, it was only released in Japan. It’s a little gem called “Majuu Ou”, or “King of Demons”.
Also, I see that you keep referring to Gun Nac… Well, the original was Zanac, and produced by the same company as The Guardian Legend as well, Compile. Just a bit of info.
Inside this good 30 minute video is a spectacular 15 minute video that covers all the games in half the time.
Now that that is out of the way, THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME.
I thought I was adequately versed in the SNES library and would be aware of at least a few of the games mentioned. I have to admit, I only knew about 1 game, and would have purchased the games if I knew about them when they came out.
Hagane looked like a mixture of shinobi and strider, many of these games look like clones or at least they borrowed heavily from more wellknown titles. I am sure thats why they have been overshadowed.
Bit of trivia about Firepower 2000. The original version of the game was SWIV, released in the early 90s by European developer Storm for Amiga, Atari ST and C64 (there may have been other 8 bit computer ports but I’m not aware of them). SWIV was an unofficial sequel to Silkworm (arcade game that had been ported to home computers a year or two earlier) that also featured a jeep and a helicopter but was a side scrolling shooter. SWIV was supposed to stand for SilkWorm In Vertical.
July 13, 2012 at 8:18 pm
First, lol
Super episode! I used to play a SNES game on emulator called “James Pond” and a that was actually a good game.
July 13, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Sweet. I just downloaded a file, with EVERY snes ever made! So i was lookin for something good, that i maybe never knew about. Hehe, also, i can play them on my DS. THANK YOU INTERNET FOR FREE ENTERTAINMENT!
July 13, 2012 at 8:36 pm
As always… great video, Mike!
July 13, 2012 at 8:44 pm
But, Mike, I don´t think Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing is an obscure game. It made a huge success here in Brazil (and as far as I know, in Europe and Japan too) back in 1993 / 1994. It´s a fantastic game, but strange to mention in an “obscure” Snes games list.
July 13, 2012 at 8:45 pm
You need to play Earthbound!
January 11, 2013 at 7:08 am
Earthbound’s not obscure, everyone on Youtube has reviewed it.
July 13, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Mike, I think you’re probably the better of the two at this point in reviewers. No offense to James because I fell in love with the AVGN as a character but I think I realized..
After watching the videos where he included you in on the commentaries and when you went to the con/show with him, he mentioned your having all the old video games and nostalgic influence on him. You were the true angry nerd.
I hope you keep doing reviews, and honestly if you had your own channel, I would subscribe, follow and continue to watch what you uploaded. I also can’t wait to see the comic you’ve been sketching.
Cheers and good luck from a fan.
July 13, 2012 at 9:00 pm
OOOH I remember playing knights of the round with my older brother many years ago on the MAME emulator. It was sweet, and I could never find it again…
thanks for the memories!
July 13, 2012 at 9:09 pm
About Demons Crest, I think still isn’t getting enough praise, both you and Derek Alexander said isn’t as good as the big names, I agree, Super Metroid is better, but right after that giant is Demons Crest.
July 13, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Im surprised for the amount of detail you gave into each game. But I think that not all the games you show are that obscure. Either Demons Crest and Wild Guns where kind of popular and they both now have a huge fan base, maybe in their time werent as popular but now they are, so theyre not obscure anymore.
About Demons Crest, I think still isn’t getting enough praise, both you and Derek Alexander said isn’t as good as the big names, I agree, Super Metroid is better, but right after that giant is Demons Crest.
Great list, I hope yo to make more (maybe top 10 for each console). And tell James to hurry up with more regular AVGN episodes, I kind of miss those.
Sorry for the double post, it keeps telling me that my comment has banned words, I don’t even know curses in english
July 13, 2012 at 9:20 pm
The King of dragons is a port from a Arcade too Mike, idk if you mentioned it, not just a D&D clone.
July 13, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Your bets review ever, so cool I played most of this games…keep doing like this (thumb up)
July 13, 2012 at 9:30 pm
I know 8 of these 10 “obscure” games.
Rock ‘n Roll Racing is anything but obscure. Big hit in Europe.
Wild Guns is number one? Ok, it deserves any praise you can give it but it’s hardly obscure. Maybe the sales weren’t high at the time but nowadays almost everybody who gives a s*** about SNES knows about it.
Knights of the Round, Demon’s Crest and Magic Sword aren’t that obscure either.
Rare gems, hard to find the cartriges – yes. Obscure – hardly.
But anyways it was a nice and entertaining video. Well done and great detail for those who don’t know these gems.
July 13, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Awesome review! Loved the ending with the killing, threw me off
July 13, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Yes! 😀 Wild Guns! Totally agreed. I got that on my Wii because I tried a rom of it and instantly fell in love with it. No regrets getting that game. It’s great fun. My girlfriend and I love playing it. Haha.
Great list!
Going to have to try a lot of these games for sure.
I could think of many games you maybe over looked, but that’s okay. 😉
Top 10 N64 Overlooked games next? Haha.
July 13, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Oh. Also. Rock n’ Roll racing. Love that game as well. Still play it to this day and my family remembers it clearly as can be.
July 13, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Before the very end of the movie I was thinking, “Yet another list without Wild Guns in it *sigh*”. Imagine how surprised I was when it actually got your first spot. Wild Guns is one of my favorite games ever, and I’m happy I’m not the only one who knows how to really appreciate this gem. Everything from style to music is perfect. To this day I’ve been longing to see some kind of an spiritual sequel, but It’s seems that I have to make it myself. I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens, Mike.
July 13, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Those are Nazca lines, not crop circle monkeys…although that term is much funnier.
July 13, 2012 at 9:38 pm
Yeah, in fact King of Dragons, Knights of The Round and Magic Sword are all ports of famous arcade games by Capcom.
July 13, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Nice list, there are a couple of those games that I would like to play. Though in the one game instead of “Indiana Jones was here first” I think it would be even better if the last level was a castle populated by Frenchmen who hurl insults at you and then you get arrested right before the final conclusion.
July 13, 2012 at 9:40 pm
And Olaf, the secret guy from RnR Racing is just the same man from Lost Vikings as well. The producers from both games are the same.
July 13, 2012 at 9:41 pm
i liked a game called pocky & rocky, made by natsume, that game was awesome, y play it sometimes, you shoud add it to a new review, great video 😀
July 13, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Firebrand is a playable character in Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 game.
July 13, 2012 at 10:02 pm
I have to say WOW @ thus video being 31 minutes and 10 seconds.
Mike went all out for this video.
These 2 videos have me wondering if Mike is brewing up a video for a top 10 obscure Nintendo 64 games.
Thanks for these great videos Mike ! ! !
July 13, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Hard for me to believe that Chrono Trigger is not on this list. I am sure you heard of it and it might be a bit too known for you but I never met ANY Nintendo gamer who heard of it (and I know they all played many of the classics on the NES and SNES even if on emulators).
Still, your list your opinions
July 13, 2012 at 10:05 pm
i have to say mike you have incredible tastes in games.. i’ve owned or at least played most of the games on that list and loved em all
July 13, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Mad props for including Space Megaforce. Best Shmup on the system IMHO. Japanese version (Super Aleste) is even better.
July 13, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Knights of the Round, like Sunset Riders, was a perennial arcade favorite that my younger brother and I pumped a lot of quarters into and later played on SNES and my custom MAME cabinet. Thanks for including it!
July 13, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Extremely superb video, I think we all knew this would show up after the great NES version a bit ago. I guess you’re going to be stuck doing obscure gem videos for many other systems, as everyone will likely demand more.
Lots of these games seemed to be side scrolling action games or shooting type games. I guess there’s no puzzle or RPG games that are obscure or otherwise underrated. I hope not many people mention Earthbound as a missed opportunity for this video as I’m sure we’ve all heard enough about that series, so it’s not necessarily an ‘obscure snes gem’ that needs more recognition.
July 13, 2012 at 10:28 pm
31+ minutes? Now that’s BUUUUULLLLLSHIT!
July 13, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Mike, your reviews keep getting better and better. Really enjoyed this one so keep up the good work!
July 13, 2012 at 10:31 pm
“Hawke hit a VOID MINE” not “avoid mine”.
July 13, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Fun fact: the music in Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing was all adapted for the game by the master of chiptunes himself, Tim Follin. You guys know him as the man responsible for the music in Silver Surfer (easily the best part of that game!), though he’s also famous for composing Solstice, Pictionary, New Zealand Story/Kiwi Kraze and numerous other NES classics, as well as tons of Amiga and C64 soundtracks (his music in Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts on the Amiga is of particular note). And of course, he composed for quite a few SNES games and beyond as well, with probably his best-known SNES works being Plok and Equinox, and his best-known post-SNES work being Ecco the Dolphin on DreamCast.
Look him up sometime. He’s one game musician worth knowing.
July 13, 2012 at 10:41 pm
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK SPRINGBOARD!!!
July 13, 2012 at 10:48 pm
I used to play Firepower 2000 with my father back in the day. He loves games where you blow shit up.
July 13, 2012 at 10:51 pm
I played a lot the No. 1 game (WG) with my little sister when we are kids!
And we love it!
Thanks for the memories 😀 and recomendations!!
Keep doing this videos Mike!! 😀
July 13, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Mike excellent job as always. Next time try a top ten sega genesis gems video. You really gotta consider a dvd of your video game reviews. I would definitely buy them, i’m a major fan of yours.Consider it.
July 13, 2012 at 11:35 pm
one SNES game ive been dying to get my hands on is Clock Tower, an american cart is available but it was originally on the Super Famicom only , it’s a survival horror game that predates resident evil. I’m disappointed at mike for not mentioning it, it’s obscure and seeing is how he’s a horror fan I though he and James would be all over that
July 13, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Some other more obscure SNES games that I think are awesome: Soul Blazer, Mega Man 7, Terranigma (only avail in Europe/Japan), EVO Search for Eden, Umihara Kawase (Japan only), and Twinbee (Japan).
July 14, 2012 at 12:15 am
@ barkmoney
Earthbound is not rare/obscure as much as the rest of the games on this list. Look how many copies are for sale on ebay all the time. There are usually 30+ copies whereas games like Castlevania Dracula X only get 10 and some of those include the Japenese version which doesn’t do us much good over here. I’m a huge fan of Mother/Earthbound series but you cannot say it’s obscure, there is a large cult following of it over here in the States and abroad. Blue blue!! 😉
July 14, 2012 at 12:33 am
Magic sword was also on the neo geo it was a better port
July 14, 2012 at 1:01 am
James is in another timezone!!!
July 14, 2012 at 1:02 am
The Legend of Mystical Ninja was another great game back in the day.
July 14, 2012 at 1:45 am
Not much to complain about in this list ! Just a few notes :
It actually is Olaf f in Rock n’ Roll Racing, Blizzard also made Lost Vikings!
Hagane! God I regret never buying it when it came out, but as a kid I was rather skeptica lwhen looking at the cover. It’s like a Shinobi III on speed! Love it!
Knights of the Round, awesome game, but it was better on Capcom’s CPS Arcade system, 3 player co-op for the win, especially since you can split treasures and food by hitting it, to spread it out evenly between players! (I personally like it better than King of Dragons)
Magic Sword, played it, loved it, but in the more generic name section : Firepower 2000 maybe ?
Super Aleste …. <333333
King of Dragons, well, Capcom HAD the D&D license, they're the guys who developed the arcade D&D games! But it's alllll goooodddd.
Demon's Crest (aka. Demon's Blazon) … welll, same as Super Aleste really, love it! G. Gargoyle stands for ground gargoyle, or maybe Geraldo :p.
Firepower 2000 great sequel to Silkworm ! Ahh the 80s… NUCULAR ?!
Wild Guns … YEP ! :3
DId you notice how all these games are Japanese? Most Capcom games too… I miss the old Capcom 🙁
Great job again Mike! Thanks!
July 14, 2012 at 1:52 am
My favorite video yet, Mike.
Also, really happy Demon’s Crest made the list. Capcom’s Gargoyle series is phenomenal. Gargoyle’s Quest for the Game Boy is one of the greatest games of all time.
July 14, 2012 at 2:46 am
Hey Mike! Loved this video. You might be interested in considering a short review for Super Meat Boy on Xbox Live or Steam. Super fun modern throwback to the classic sidescroller games, but a hard son of a bitch! Also on Steam, and from the same designer is a game called The Binding of Isaac. It’s a randomly generated top-down dungeon crawler in the style of classic Zelda titles. Again, super fun, but extremely difficult. I’d personally love to hear your opinions of these new games that give tons of love and affection to the classics that should never be forgotten!
July 14, 2012 at 5:03 am
I used to play Uniracers when I was younger!
July 14, 2012 at 5:03 am
Nice review.
The science fiction/wild west theme of Wild Guns reminds me of Cowboy Bebop.
July 14, 2012 at 5:59 am
ummm…murdering. that is hilarious 🙂
i love how long and fast paced this review was. Thank you also for uploading it onto youtube because i was able to watch the whole darn thing without a hiccup. I love your reviews Mike. I had a shitty night with a rejection from a girl and this video made me laugh it at. 🙂
Thanks, buddy!
July 14, 2012 at 6:11 am
Sure it’s not Super SWIV where the IV is the roman numeral 4? Super SW4 does sound better.
July 14, 2012 at 6:25 am
Metal Warriors!
Awesome vid. i enjoyed every min
There are many good, but overlooked games for just about any system. You should make a continuous series out of this. Why stop at 10? There are thousands of lesser-known gems.
Lots of good ones for the Super Famicom too. Super Back to the Future 2, Gon, Assault Suits Valken. And some strange ones too- “UFO Kamen Yakisoban”, made by a popular ramen noodle company.
July 14, 2012 at 7:17 am
Fuck yeah, Demon’s Crest! Thanks Mike, awesome video.
July 14, 2012 at 7:43 am
King of Dragons wasn’t a more generic version of D&D made for the home b/c Capcom couldn’t get the license. That game itself was released in arcades prior to either of the D&D arcade games.
July 14, 2012 at 8:03 am
I played Uniracers as a kid. I got that instead of mario kart…
Hagane was one of my favorites as well
July 14, 2012 at 8:23 am
Cybernator get’s overlooked a lot too.
July 14, 2012 at 8:39 am
Still no love for Super Adventure Island II…!
July 14, 2012 at 8:58 am
Good video Mike
Can tell lot of effort went
into it – wd
July 14, 2012 at 9:06 am
I wonder how much the price for these games with shoot up on EBay – just like after the NES version of this.
July 14, 2012 at 9:18 am
Keep up your awesome videos, Mike!
July 14, 2012 at 9:19 am
Very good video!
July 14, 2012 at 9:36 am
I wouldn’t call Demon’s Crest or Wild Arms obscure.
July 14, 2012 at 9:51 am
The guy that looks like Olaf, IS Olaf 😛
July 14, 2012 at 10:02 am
Mike you should check out Terranigma if you have not done it. One of my favorite SNES games and it never got released in the US, only Japan and Europe.
July 14, 2012 at 10:13 am
It’s only been 4 or 5 days since your great review of Gremlins 2 on gameboy, and already we’ve got a 30 minutes long awesome top ten ?! Crazy 🙂 !
And not only the list is amazing (I pretty much didn’t know any of the games, except one or two that I had heard of but didn’t play), but even better are the voice-over comments, giving the perfect amount of details all in good rythm. Love it.
Oh and I’ve got to hate you for that list, Mike… I’ve already got a huge list of games that I’ve planned to play because I didn’t have the occasion when they came out (so it goes from the 70’s up to today…), and you’ve added 10 games to it !! Don’t you know I have so little time 🙂 ?
Well anyway, great video 😀 !
July 14, 2012 at 10:19 am
Terranigma/Tenchi Souzou is probably the best snes game, not really obscure nowadays though. Umihara kawase is cool too, the super famicom really has a shitload of unknown great games that deserve a special feature or something. Then there’s skyblazer.
July 14, 2012 at 10:21 am
The first thing I thought of then I saw the enemies in “wild guns” was Andy the Messenger Robot (many other functions)
July 14, 2012 at 10:47 am
I can’t believe Gargoyle’s Quest is available on the 3DS Virtual Console, but Gargoyle’s Quest 2 and Demon’s Crest aren’t on the Wii Virtual Console.
July 14, 2012 at 11:26 am
thanks for uploading this on youtube too…
god springboard player is terrible…
great upload btw 🙂
July 14, 2012 at 11:31 am
Mike, thanks for listening to the feedback on your last “gems” video and doing another one! Please keep them coming. These are excellent picks and commentary again.
Even if it’s hard to keep doing top 10 via various systems, I think really most any format where you reveal hidden gems is great.
July 14, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Wild guns in phenomenal! i did however pay 100 bucks for my copy. I was surprised I own 5 out of the 10 on this list, hmm fancy that.
July 14, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Putting up rare games on an obscure list is cheating… It’d be like putting an endangered species on a list of scarce animals. Kind of disappointing, but other than that, nice video.
July 14, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Demons crest looks so awesome. My cousin had gargoyles quest on the game boy when I was a kid, and I remember playing that every chance I got.
July 14, 2012 at 1:05 pm
TheTempleKnight is right.
How dare you put RARE games on a list of OBSCURE games!!!
That’s just stupid!
A list of obscure games should only have common, easily available games.
In fact, the more common and obscure the better.
July 14, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Awesome vid Mike! Just a little bit of info here, The viking in Rock N’ Roll Racing is actually the only original character in the game. Silicon & Synapse created Lost Vikings which was the core team of blizzard’s original name. After a few studio name changes, they stuck with Blizzard, still a bit edgy but appealing to all audiences. Loving the videos though, keep up the great work!
July 14, 2012 at 1:51 pm
You gained a whole lot of respect from me by putting Demon’s Crest on this list, Mike, especially when ranking it so high. When I found it years ago, I was instantly impressed with it’s design and was surprised with how good it was without ANYONE really knowing about it. Seeing it recognized by another as an obscured classic certainly warms my heart knowing there are people out there willing to seek out an appreciate great games such as this. Thanks
July 14, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Please put this up on the app so I can watch this
July 14, 2012 at 2:32 pm
i have wild guns… its quite fun
July 14, 2012 at 2:41 pm
An entertaining and really informative video! Best from Mike yet. I was a SNES kid but it looks like I missed out on quite a few great lesser-known games, so I’ll have to give them a look.
It’s going to cause my (5-6 years younger) housemates to start calling me ‘Old Man Oscar’ again, but they can suck it.
July 14, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Great vid Mike. I had a Genesis when I was a teen so the only games I got to play on the SNES were whatever my friends had. Rock’n Roll Racing was one of them..great times with that one. “Fuck your enemies until they explode!” 😀
July 14, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Can’t wait for a top 10 obscure Nintendo 64gems or top 10 obscure Nintendo Gamecube gems or Nintendo Wii top 10 obscure Nintendo Wii gems… Must a say more? Maybe even top 10 Wii U Obscure gems or even a game system haven’t been made yet… Anyways cool list.
July 14, 2012 at 4:00 pm
One of my favorite obscure SNES games was The Peace Keepers. It’s a nicely-done beat-em-up with a really involving story, lots of branching paths, and even some hidden characters to find.
Here’s a longplay of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vas8iJv5NZo
July 14, 2012 at 4:06 pm
I love Demon’s Crest, not very good at it but it’s brilliant.
July 14, 2012 at 4:13 pm
@Marcus – Demon’s Crest is awesome. My favorite games on the SNES that nobody ever mentions are Skyblazer (good side-scrolling action game), Illusion of Gaia (I think this one is known, but never seems to be mentioned along with Zelda or Secret of Mana), and I enjoyed King of Dragons more than Knights of the Round, a D&D style beat ’em up also by Capcom. There’s also a game that I think was only available in Japan that’s a cross between Zelda and pinball that was really awesome.
July 14, 2012 at 4:16 pm
You know, now that I watch that longplay, I remember that game having more music…
July 14, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Ah, here’s a video of it with music. It looks like they just disabled the music in that longplay for some reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fo_ZDVpDz4
July 14, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Holy Striker! That’s the game I was thinking of. Sort of like a pinball or brick-breaker style of game, but instead of a paddle you control a knight-like character similar to Zelda or whatever else. You literally swing your sword to move the ball and have to defeat monsters along the way. Look that on up on the internets!
July 14, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Might also be known as Firestriker as well…
July 14, 2012 at 6:06 pm
I don’t know why, but this is one of those videos, like a select few on Youtube, that shifts a third or more off-screen to the right as soon as the little pop-up add occurs (regardless of which browser I use). Even when not in a full-screen the rightmost third or half of the video is effectively missing. This makes it effectively unwatchable.
July 14, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Irony: watching it from the Youtube page did NOT trigger the glitch. -_-
July 14, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Maybe because no pop-up ad loaded.
July 14, 2012 at 6:17 pm
I was happy to see many of the games I used to rent from my local video store when I was a kid, like Magic Sword and King of Dragons. I remember going to an arcade and seeing Knights of the Round and loving it,then to learn it was on the SNES.Demon’s Crest was another gem I used to play. But Rock N Roll,Wild Guns,never got into those. Thanks to emulation I have learned of many other great SNES games I never had back in my day,like Hagane,Skyblazer that somebody mentioned,and Run Saber, along with Super Valis IV and even Psycho Dream. I guess Super Adventure Island was pretty well known like Joe and Mac,which were also great games on the SNES. But enough rambling from an old man:) Great Review,Mike.
July 14, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Hey Mike, thanks for sharing yet another great Top 10. I have a request. Could you do two more Top 10 Obscure Games–one for the Sega Master System and one for the Sega Genesis? I know you weren’t a diehard Sega fan back in the day, but since I and others of our generation feel that 1984 – 1996 was the “Golden Age” of video gaming I feel that it only be right to give light to great games on those systems too. If you need assistance in picking feel free to ask, I know a lot of great ones. : )
July 14, 2012 at 7:06 pm
I have a great Idea for a contest if you want to raise some money. Buy tickets to a drawing to visit the the “Nerd cave” and play some turtles in time with James or Mike. That would be kick ass!
July 14, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Great informative vid Mike. These games look really fun.
July 14, 2012 at 9:12 pm
kick ass review mike. I noticed you mentioned super mario rpg in the beginning, which is my all time favorite super nintendo game and i feel like since it came out late in nintendo’s cycle it sort of got overlooked, considering how huge a collaboration it was (square, nintendo). It’s definitely a classic, and not unknown by any means, but really one of the greatest lesser known snes classics.
July 14, 2012 at 9:45 pm
I’m surprised Run Saber was on the list. I used to think that game kicked ass as a kid, but no one else seems to have heard of it.
July 14, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Rock ‘N Roll Racing should be #1! Best racing game on SNES. I think it’s much better than Mario Kart. Mario Kart hurts my eyes.. Graphics suck.
July 14, 2012 at 11:42 pm
My friend and I played Shadow over Mystaria on his MAME machine, and I played The King of Dragons probably 6 years ago on a rom and actually forgot the name so thanks for reminding me! Both great games and I also liked the length that The King of Dragons was, it seemed to keep going on forever without dragging too much.
July 15, 2012 at 3:12 am
Wonderful. Best 30 minutes of entertainment online really. “The ninja turtles damn stage” that line killed me. Anyways I am a huge fan of King of Dragons and Demons Crest. I feel like if we had been neighbors growing up we would have played games together until our parents committed us. Keep it up dude never stop. Of course now I am going to go crazy trying to find the games I haven’t played so yeah I don’t like ya for that Mike you Mother Fucker. But that is your title after all. So I can deal with it. To make me feel better you should watch my VERY funny sketches at youtube.com/duringmydeath. Normally I don’t self promote like that but seriously dude i am a fan of you and James and dammit this video is gonna cost me time and money pursuing those games that you talked about that I now must have. Especially Run Saber, shit that looks fun. Peace and monkey grease.
July 15, 2012 at 5:08 am
One of the nicest reviews that you have made thanks mike.But your coice about the first game sould be demons crest man,i know that its a dificult game in some parts but it was one of the best they have released.All the other games that you have mentined like king of dragons and knights of the round was cool as well consodering the fact that all were arcade ported on the console wonder.I liked king of dragons better because they have make it more acurate and close to the arcades/,plus the fact that was much easier to play.When it comes about knights of the round i preffer the arcade version better.Thank god that they didn’t left behind some of the three players that originaly existed like the final fight on the snes.Though i believe that they could make a greater job in the final fight release on the 16 moster of ours.My best choice for the snes best ports was sunset riders,super ghouls and ghosts,turtles in time,buster bros,street fighter series,king of dragons,mortal combat 2 and some others.
July 15, 2012 at 5:22 am
HEY… you should try Skyblazer. Its another game that is overlooked but is ridiculously fun and pretty challenging.
July 15, 2012 at 6:02 am
Oh man that Hagane special attack would have given kids seizures.
July 15, 2012 at 8:18 am
Great to see that you share a mutual love of RockNRoll Racing! I played that game to death. It was one of the best titles on the console.
Here in Australia, we had Super Swiv (titled) as well. Very well reviewed Mike.
Cheers for the memories mate. I enjoy watching your videos. Keep it up!
July 15, 2012 at 12:45 pm
@Mike Why haven’t we seen any documentaries about you? James has 3 or 4. I’d like to hear more about your past because we’ve heard James story many times. Not that that’s bad but it gets old. So when James is done with his movie get him to make one about you maybe?
July 15, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Those crop circle monkeys are a reference to the Nazca Lines in my home country Perú but the main difference is that the real ones aren’t crop but sand lines. Great list Mike!
July 15, 2012 at 7:47 pm
The beat em ups and shooters really made for some awesome co-op memories. I didn’t play Demon’s Crest until I checked out a rom in my 20’s, but even then it blew my balls away. There’s a couple titles here I’ll definitely check out. Great video Mike, you’re on a roll
July 15, 2012 at 8:21 pm
By far your best video Mike. Really enjoyed it. You definitely should keep doing side-by-side vids once James comes back. I made an account just to let you know! Thanks so much for everything.
July 15, 2012 at 8:25 pm
Wow, you clearly did so much research for this. Really appreciated Mike, made for really entertaining viewing. Thanks again.
July 15, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Great video Mike! Greetings from Colombia.
One of my favorite obscure SNES game is called Whirlo, I love that game, the music is so beautiful, with a good amount of difficulty.
Thanks!
July 15, 2012 at 9:24 pm
YES nice and long video, and so entertaining to watch. 😀
Awesome job Mike, i love these obscure title videos!
July 15, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Yo, Mike. You’ve made a great video, but I know of a game that you might not have heard of, and it’s pretty awesome. Sadly, it was only released in Japan. It’s a little gem called “Majuu Ou”, or “King of Demons”.
You can see a bit of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vemyohd0_zQ
Also, I see that you keep referring to Gun Nac… Well, the original was Zanac, and produced by the same company as The Guardian Legend as well, Compile. Just a bit of info.
Keep your awesome videos coming!
July 15, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Inside this good 30 minute video is a spectacular 15 minute video that covers all the games in half the time.
Now that that is out of the way, THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME.
I thought I was adequately versed in the SNES library and would be aware of at least a few of the games mentioned. I have to admit, I only knew about 1 game, and would have purchased the games if I knew about them when they came out.
Well researched, well chosen, well put together.
July 16, 2012 at 3:32 am
Love Rock N Roll Racing. Glad to see it represented! Also, cool to see Uniracers during the intro. It was really fun.
July 16, 2012 at 5:41 am
Keep up the good work! Really enjoying your wide range of games and information in your videos. Definitely the right mixture of info and comedy. A++
Also, you weren’t kidding about the price of some of those games. Looked them up online and it’s pricey!!
July 16, 2012 at 9:26 am
Hagane looked like a mixture of shinobi and strider, many of these games look like clones or at least they borrowed heavily from more wellknown titles. I am sure thats why they have been overshadowed.
July 16, 2012 at 11:16 am
Hi Mike,
Great series of reviews!
Bit of trivia about Firepower 2000. The original version of the game was SWIV, released in the early 90s by European developer Storm for Amiga, Atari ST and C64 (there may have been other 8 bit computer ports but I’m not aware of them). SWIV was an unofficial sequel to Silkworm (arcade game that had been ported to home computers a year or two earlier) that also featured a jeep and a helicopter but was a side scrolling shooter. SWIV was supposed to stand for SilkWorm In Vertical.
And now you know…
Karl
http://www.trantornator.com @trantornator
July 16, 2012 at 11:54 am
FUCK YEAH, DEMON’S CREST!!!
Awesome list, Mike. I’m glad to say I’ve actually played a few of these.
July 16, 2012 at 12:01 pm
I actually don’t recommend playing Magic Sword, Knights of the Round of King of Dragons on the SNES.
The arcade version were way better for all those games, and you can get them super cheap in the Capcom Classic Collections games for PS2.
July 16, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Another great list. Keep it up Mike!
July 16, 2012 at 12:31 pm
many of those games look damn… bad ass!
one day i will try one of those.
July 16, 2012 at 1:09 pm
I own firepower 2000 good game.
Also , I think demons crest isn’t as obscure as most think.rare yes.
July 16, 2012 at 1:22 pm
What is this Space Megaforce clone “Gun Nack(?)?” I can’t find anything on this game…
July 16, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Fireband is on Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 too