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Editor's note: I haven't tried all of the games on Richard's list, but I in full agreement on one game: Math Blaster! I played the heck out of that game in elementary school — and I truly believe my math skills are better for it. -Brett
Some games just don't get enough recognition. They may be under-appreciated classics, forgotten gems from the past, or just overlooked in favor of something better. The fine folk of the Internet do a stand-up job of highlighting many of these games, but a few still slip through the cracks. Here are six classics that deserve more list love.
Lufia 2 (SNES)
Lufia draws on some of the best elements from Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Zelda. Such a thing could never exist, you exclaim! But it's true: this is exactly what you get from Lufia 2, along with a healthy dose of self-conscious humor that pokes fun at JRPG conventions. It also features one of the best soundtracks of the 16-bit era. For some unknowably baffling reason, Lufia 2 is consistently overlooked, but it deserves to stand right up there alongside the legends of the genre.
Math Blaster Plus (PC and Apple)
Learning is fun, and so are math problems. At least that's how you'd feel if you played this classic piece of "edutainment." Some people will say it sucks, but they just aren't willing to admit how much they enjoyed shooting those correct answers with their blaster. Math Blaster Plus isn't going to make you good at math, but it gives you one heck of a great excuse to be playing games.
SimFarm (PC and Mac)
Perhaps the most under-appreciated gem in the "Sim" family, SimFarm tends to get ignored by pretty much everyone. That's a shame, though, because it actually stands up very well against the better known SimCity, SimAnt, and The Sims. SimFarm is exactly what its subtitle suggests — "SimCity's country cousin." Plow your fields, sow your seeds, harvest your crops, raise farm animals, and sell your produce at market. Sound like fun? Well it is, especially with the range of disasters and the clear impact your decisions have on the farm and nearby town.
Ceremony of Innocence (PC)
A contender for the best game-that-isn't-really-a-game that you'll ever play (experience?), Ceremony of Innocence tells a moving story about two lovers who have never met through their extraordinary correspondence. The interaction is limited to a series of puzzles, each involving a strange looking postcard. But the presentation — the animation and the voice acting, especially — is some of the best around, and the superb writing and artwork are both taken directly from Nick Bantock’s Griffin and Sabine trilogy.
Settlers 2 (PC and Mac)
The Settlers franchise has stagnated for the past ten years or so; only a strong following in its native Germany keeps it alive today. The last few entries in the series were decent games, but they failed to live up to their potential. The main problem is that the second installment was so damn good that it set an impossible standard for every Settlers game that followed. Settlers 2 is still a great game today, sporting an abundance of charm, a gentle-yet-not-too-slow pace, and a fine balance between simplicity and complexity lacking in many recent strategy/simulation games. It fits its tagline to a T: Veni, vidi, vici. (Then it all went downhill, just like in Rome.)
Tetris (Everything)
It’s the killer app for the Game Boy and a classic that has appeared on almost every system — computer, console, or mobile — in the past 25 years. Every man, woman, and dog has played Tetris. It should be on every “best of” list, no matter what the topic: Top 5 Puzzle Games, Top 10 Time-Wasters, Essential RPGs, Top 8 Games to Play on the Toilet, Games That F***-Up Your Vision, Top 6 Adventure Games, Games Most Likely to Get You Hit by a Bus. If it's a list that celebrates (good) video games, Tetris should be on it. End of story.
Tetris photo by Erik Johansson.