What games are out there that fit into this category? I'll start this off with Kururin Squash! on the Gamecube: a Japan-only release from 2004, developed by Eighting it's a successor to the GBA titles and offers the same gameplay idea with a few twists (your propeller vehicle gets to punch or shoot enemies). Look past the ultrasweet kiddy presentation and the useless item hoarding and you get a quality puzzle-action title with late levels challenging even for experienced players and the option to come back for speed-runs and no-mistake playthroughs. It can be had new for less than 10 USD at online stores (there's even one for sale in the marketplace). What are your recommendations?
I second your recommendation of Kururin Squash. I like all titles in the Kururin series, but Kururin Squash certainly stands out. The 3D elements feel very natively implemented into the 2D gameplay and the presentation is very lovely. Awesome game. Another cheap, good but obscure game would be Lup Salad. Just bought one on YJ, it's quite a hard to find puzzler that was released for the Playstation only in 1996, a sequel for the DS is also available. Basically it's Sokoban but the uber-cute graphics & J-pop sound add a lovely new component to the classic game design. Here's a review of the DS game: http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=nds&game=LoopopCubeLupSalad And a nice long video of the PS version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cSiW5Z9rP0 It's actually called ルプさらだ (Rupu Sarada) in Japanese, why the hell did they end it with a "da"? :O
It was intended to be more like a rhethorical question since I don't get some romanizations. Why the hell is it Sarada サラダ instead of Salado サラド? -_- But I could ask the same question for like 2/3 of all engrish-katakana expressions, lol.
Joke, right? I thought everyone knew about them. Hmm, bordering on avarage price Twinkle Tail on the Mega Drive is a fantastic overhead shooter much like Taito's Kikikaikai (Pocky & Rocky) games.
Since it does not originate in the English Salad, but in something like Latin I believe. Many Japanese loan words come from Portugese, German,... anyway.
Yes, the Katakana word is usually an indicator by which route a word came to Japan. In the case of sarada the transcription hints at Portuguese (http://gogen-allguide.com/sa/salad.html). And by the way, you'll also find sarado in a dictionary but it's just not generally used. Back on topic: @Yakumo: Twinkle Tale looks very nice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McJwdhVdcpM). I'd get that in a minute if is till had an MD. @ave: I love action-puzzlers and Lup Salad looks great. Love the supercute "Pyon" and "Yoissho!" sounds!
Yeah Twinkle Tale is great. Its not so cheap though is it? I think a lot depends on what region you are from - here in the UK many PAL shmups go for a couple of pounds - Zero Wing, Gynoug, Hellfire on the MD and XII Stag, Psyvariar, Strikers 1945 collection, Gunbird special edition all on PS2 tend to go for a couple of quid too. They often end up in shop bargain bins, but thats not to say ebay is any different. Bemuses me when people import the jap copies for so much more! NTSC J releases tend to go for a lot more.
The NES version of battletoads and double dragon is WONDERFUL (better than MD and SNES one) and quite overlooked... mario & yoshi is a great NES puzzle game. On the SNES, Treasure of the rudras (rudra no hino sp?) is a GREAT RPG (one of the best i played in years) that is overlooked and fan-translated. on ps2, romancing saga minstrel song is a great game, with a nice story (if you want to check around for it) great gameplay, great music, lots of things to do. sadly not everybody like the art direction. Lastly, SaGa Frontier is really a little gem even if it's a little lacking story-wise.
Racing Lagoon - PS1 Actually i don't know if it's cheap, but i played it once. It's a very good game and not very well known. Too bad it's only in Japanese. Also, Rally de Africa and Rally de Europe are two simple and fun arcade racing games, inspired a lot by Sega Rally.
I think Robot Alchemic Drive is obscure. It's a mecha game from Sandlot It got great reviews and sold well in Japan. Another one is The Chikyuu Boueigun (The Earth Defense Force) also from the same developer
Yeah, Gunbird Special Edition is £30+ on NTSC-J PS2 but just under £5 anywhere for the PAL version which has a 60hz mode. Course I'd rather play my Cave shmups, but they're still great buys.
Trap Gunner (US) / Trap Runner (UK) Like Spy vs Spy, but without the license. Great game, low print run and suprisingly low (around $20 US) resale. -hl718
Only the first two or three games (I'm not counting TF I) could be considered "cheap", since V at least on Saturn is pretty expensive nowadays. edit: Oh yeah, the first post reminded me of Nintendo Puzzle Collection for GameCube: relatively obscure - mainly because of its Japan-only status, is really cheap and worth buying just for Panel de Pon.
