Ganryu 2

Though Ganryu 2 has plenty of highs between its excellent visuals and strong fundamentals, some of its more questionable design choices and unfortunate number of glitches ensure that building the level of trust needed to master the game and fully appreciate the intent of its developers will be far too difficult for most people to consider. I definitely enjoyed it, but I also can't see myself trying to master it in its current state. Knowing that my controls could suddenly stop working or level progression could break down at any moment and ruin my run is enough to deter me, which is a huge shame as someone who very rarely lets glitches get in the way of their enjoyment.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness

SO5 was quickly dismissed as a mediocre game and a disappointment compared to past entries, but I couldn't disagree more and firmly believe that this game is long overdue for a re-evaluation. This game captures everything that makes the series special even within its smaller scope and budget and is absolutely worthy of standing with the rest of the series as one of its strongest entries. Combat is an absolute delight, the story offers relevant themes and tells its tale in a way that's unprecedented for the genre, it features some of the best characters in the series, and it offers all of the tinkering and depth that I associate with the series. If you come to the genre only wanting best in class visuals, lengthy cutscenes, or turn based combat, this game isn't going to do it for you, but for those who want to see what JRPGs can do when forced to innovate within extremely high stakes and with limited resources, SO5 is perhaps one of the most impressive cases of "greater than the sum of its parts" that I can think of.

Gate of Doom

I know I’m playing armchair game designer here, but I really feel like Gate of Doom would become something great with just a handful of changes. Increase the default movement speed, rebalance some enemy damage output (or just give players full health when respawning), make magic usable in boss fights, and make the power-up items permanent and you’d have a much more reasonable game that actually feels like a proper blend of action and RPG elements. As it is now, Gate of Doom wears the skin of a D&D campaign and does so very well, but when you actually get your hands on it, it just feels like a less polished and poorly balanced take on contemporaries like Gauntlet, Cadash, and The King of Dragons that were all doing the same thing more effectively, to say nothing of the excellence that the Capcom D&D games would achieve just a few years later.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny

Disgaea 6 is a game stuck at a crossroads, conflicted between two different experiences it wants to convey. Its story is one of the strongest in the franchise, offering entertaining characters with a heartfelt message about overcoming hardship that resonates strongly and is concisely told. On the other hand, it also wants to be as approachable as possible, providing a method to allow anyone to breeze through the game and witness the story even if it means betraying the themes of said story and offering shallower gameplay to the dedicated fans who have been there since the beginning...

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood

Earthblood has such a specific goal in mind, an ethos so at odds with where video games currently are, that it was destined to get critically panned. It's hard to say whether developer Cyanide intended to cater to a niche of people yearning for the days of the PS2 and Xbox 360 or if they were really just that out of touch with modern expectations, but I'm thankful regardless of the reason, because this is exactly the kind of game I miss...