# Games and media franchises you know mostly from offbeat/forgotten sources.



## ignare (Nov 17, 2019)

I was recently watching a lot of movies with Vincent Gallo, who isn't a very well known actor but directed and starred in an incredible movie called Buffalo '66. He also starred in this great movie called Tetro that Coppola directed.


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## Deleted member 397813 (Nov 17, 2019)

what is that image.... its... its beautiful.


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## raxadian (Nov 17, 2019)

I recently found a PSP game were the protagonist uses a drill... I read about in a magazine like a decade ago and I couldn't remember the name. 

Is called Gurumin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurumin:_A_Monstrous_Adventure


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## Zense (Nov 17, 2019)

Funny you would mention Warriors of Might and Magic... NO, I'm not saying that's my first entry into the franchise, which would instead be a demo for Heroes of Might and Magic II (does anyone still play demos?).
However, Warriors is a game I never finished but always wanted to have another shot at. This is probably because I like the series so much and I'm being too nice to the game...

For other franchises where I was exposed to the games before the original media I'm not sure. I remember Yu-Gi-Oh from the GBA games.
First encounter with Dragon Ball was a Snes game.
For a while I had only played Harry Potter 3 extensively on GBA without seeing the movie.
Mario & Luigi RPG on GBA was probably the first Mario game I finished unless you count Yoshi's Island on Snes.
Golden Axe Warrior was my first encounter with the golden axe series, so a spinoff.
First and only Crash game I've beaten is Crash Bash, so another spinoff. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

For characters I got introduced to in other games, there's easily some from Smash Bros. , Kingdom Hearts and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Squall, Cloud, Tidus with all their co's, Ness, Fire Emblem and I don't know if I can name any of those from MvC2 anymore, but I know their looks like those lego looking characters from Tron Bonne or whatever it's called.


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## DS1 (Nov 18, 2019)

This is a hard one, though I know there are several examples. I think the biggest one is Final Fantasy Legend, which is actually the first game in the SaGA series (America missed out on 4-6 on the SNES until just recently).

Another was my confusion over the "King of Fighters", which I thought was a boastful title (sure, the guys from Fatal Fury were in the game, but where were the characters from other fighting games like Street Fighter?).Then later, when I became a big KOF fan, I find out that characters like Athena, Ralf, and Ryo were all from their own franchises as well.

Similarly, I was never sure whether Sakura started in Street Fighter or Rival Schools - I think I knew she was from Street Fighter, but had never played any game with her in it before Rival Schools.

The biggest one I was conscious of, though, was Gundam. I'd never seen any Gundam anime before (they only showed it in America on special channels you had to pay extra for), but I played all of the games. I ended up watching the shows BECAUSE of the games, not the other way around.


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## Shady Guy Jose (Nov 18, 2019)

As said as an example in the OP, my only contact with Fire Emblem characters is Smash Bros, and it has been that way for ~18 years, although they're absolutely my favorite characters in that game (the only ones I use when I get serious, actually). I tried playing Path of Radiance once because of that, and I honestly didn't like it.


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## Redhorse (Nov 18, 2019)

Fire Emblem used to fit that description for me and to a lesser extent Advance Wars, until Awakening. Now everyone and their brother is playing the games. (and swears they always have been...)
Back then, when I mentioned the series everyone looked at me puzzled as though they never heard of it, now everyone speaks of it as though they've been playing it forever. I find it a bit annoying actually, knowing that a portion of them are either misremembering or lying because not everyone could have been playing it, or no one (far fewer) would have looked at me quizzically. Those two series were single-handedly responsible for my deep gaming affection.


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## almmiron (Nov 18, 2019)

I began to build up a list in 2014... SOmtimes I'm more occupied building the damn list than playing the games on it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...TFpg5z0PajcqNFbGGIzO-Z1yqc/edit#gid=383283189


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## medoli900 (Nov 18, 2019)

Starfox Adventure. Everyone seems to love bashing this game, but it's actually one of the only two Starfox game I ever loved.
That second game would be Starfox Command, a game that I don't hear much, but that I particularly like for the fact that it's not a rail shooter, and have multiple endings.

Not really forgotten, but definitely not like the mainline franchise: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. This was my gateway to everything Final Fantasy.


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## Obveron (Nov 18, 2019)

I was about 6 years old when I played Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure.  Never knowing about the books until many years later I was introduced to them as a teen.  I still remember that precise moment thinking - holy shit these were books?! while at the same time faking it, yea I know these books..

I had no idea what Dick Tracy was except a (terrible) video game.


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## wartutor (Nov 18, 2019)

DS1 said:


> This is a hard one, though I know there are several examples. I think the biggest one is Final Fantasy Legend, which is actually the first game in the SaGA series (America missed out on 4-6 on the SNES until just recently).
> 
> Another was my confusion over the "King of Fighters", which I thought was a boastful title (sure, the guys from Fatal Fury were in the game, but where were the characters from other fighting games like Street Fighter?).Then later, when I became a big KOF fan, I find out that characters like Athena, Ralf, and Ryo were all from their own franchises as well.
> 
> ...


Nes had i, ii, iii. Snes had final fantasy iv, v, vi, and mystic quest. Of which ii and iii were only released in japan till later ports. Ff iv was labeled as ff ii in us and ff v was not released in america and ff vi was labeled as ffiii. I know gets really complicated lol


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## LuigiXHero (Nov 18, 2019)

Only know about ghosts and goblins because of maximo. Great ps2 spinoffs. Also summon night swordcraft story 2 is really good spinoff game of summon night.
Note: i havent played either mainline summon night or ghosts and goblins.


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## DS1 (Nov 18, 2019)

wartutor said:


> Nes had i, ii, iii. Snes had final fantasy iv, v, vi, and mystic quest. Of which ii and iii were only released in japan till later ports. Ff iv was labeled as ff ii in us and ff v was not released in america and ff vi was labeled as ffiii. I know gets really complicated lol



That's my point exactly, you're confusing this with "Final Fantasy". Final Fantasy Legend had nothing to do with Final Fantasy, it's from a series called SaGa, but because of the way they named it I had no idea either.

1, 2, and 3 were on Gameboy, 4, 5, and 6 were on SNES and called "Romancing SaGa", while 7 and 8 were on PSX and called, "SaGa Frontier". We actually got a remake of 4 in America called Minstrel Song on PS2, but like the others, I had no idea it was from the same series.

I just remembered a few more though - Mana Khemia was the first Atelier game I'd heard of, but it was presented as something brand new in America. Also I didn't have any idea Persona Revelations had anything to do with (Shin) Megami Tensei, which was a series I knew about, but hadn't actually played the games.

OH and even more - I didn't know Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms were from the same story (I read the book before playing either), and that Gensou Suikoden was loosely based on Bandits of the Marsh. They even made a Feng Shen Bang game (Mystic Heroes?) that I never tried.


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## DSpider (Nov 18, 2019)




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## Ev1l0rd (Nov 18, 2019)

DR has a couple of Japanese only light novels that some folks do know about. Of these, right now only Ultra Despair: Hagakure and DR: IF have an official English release, with DR:Togami having a partial fantranslation of it's its first volume and DR:Kirigiri having a full fantranslation of it's first volume and for the rest, only summaries exist in English.

What most folks _don't _generally know about is Kirigiri Sou. It's an audio drama that was bundled with DR3s Blu-Ray release and was not released out of Japan. It's... pretty unique for a DR game/story. You basically follow Kirigiri around as she solves a case and the thing has multiple endings, several of which are in the non-canon or otherwise strange category.

Beyond that, for the more generally known elements; the manga Killer Killer is actually set in the Danganronpas universe but kept the twist secret up until volume 3.


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## wartutor (Nov 18, 2019)

DS1 said:


> That's my point exactly, you're confusing this with "Final Fantasy". Final Fantasy Legend had nothing to do with Final Fantasy, it's from a series called SaGa, but because of the way they named it I had no idea either.
> 
> 1, 2, and 3 were on Gameboy, 4, 5, and 6 were on SNES and called "Romancing SaGa", while 7 and 8 were on PSX and called, "SaGa Frontier". We actually got a remake of 4 in America called Minstrel Song on PS2, but like the others, I had no idea it was from the same series.
> 
> ...


Very interesting i bow sir now i have a new series to check out thanks to this thread  but first i have to 100% death stranding friggin addicted to that game atm


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## Taleweaver (Nov 18, 2019)

Hard to say. It's probably easier to tell where I DON'T get my game/multimedia radar up: mainstream media. As these are paid for their opinion, it mostly invalidates their objectivity to me.

It's also very different per medium.

Books are the easiest: I just browse the library in the areas I care about (I read pretty much only non-fiction at this point), flick open some books based on their summary on the back and read some parts on a random page (sorry, but if the writing style is boring, I won't pick it). Only the books that I know I'll reread or want to place markers in are those I end up buying. I also have a list on my phone of books that might interest me (which I note whenever - almost by chance - newspapers do an article on one, or mention something(1) ).
Okay...no: comics are really the easiest: I just read a few based on their cover/art style. If it intrigues me enough, I try to pick up the series in the library (which only seldom works in the correct order). If this lingers in my mind long enough I start buying these.

Movies are 'meh'. I rarely watch them. From time to time I get a craving for horror movies, so I just google 'best horror movies <last year>', read a few summaries and get the one I'm interested in. Sometimes a few extra in case it's boring (I'm very picky in this regard. As said: I rarely have time for television).

...And then games. At this point, it's usually one of the following sources:
-it came on my radar due to sales (humble bundle or the appsales-app on android)
-it's from a developer that made some of my earlier favorite games
-it's mentioned on pixelated cardboard (and appeals to my virtual board game needs  )
-(very rare) an IRL friend recommends me something
-one of my favorite youtube-channels (get indie gaming, worth a buy, ...erm...perhaps some more)

Okay, the latter isn't exactly obscure, but still...this is also the source that acts as support of the other channels.


(1): this isn't always a good thing for me. Not that long ago, I read something about "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin, which inspired e.g. 1984 and Brave new world. It might be a classic...but it was such an incredible drag to read that I felt back at school (where we were tasked to read books that nobody would ever otherwise read). 


CPG said:


> what is that image.... its... its beautiful.


You mean Rodin's Le penseur (The thinker), edited to have Tempy's head?


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## raxadian (Nov 18, 2019)

DS1 said:


> This is a hard one, though I know there are several examples. I think the biggest one is Final Fantasy Legend, which is actually the first game in the SaGA series (America missed out on 4-6 on the SNES until just recently).



I had the Gameboy game then lost it during a plane trip.  Thankfully the Gameboy emulator for the DS works quite well so I can finally finish it.


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## CactusMan (Nov 18, 2019)

raxadian said:


> I had the Gameboy game then lost it during a plane trip.  Thankfully the Gameboy emulator for the DS works quite well so I can finally finish it.


I had a similiar experience, once i was madly hooked on Super Dodge Ball Advance. I lost that game one wintersday while hicking in the snow.
I took me years before I realised it was a spin-off of the Kunio-Kun series. I like River City Ransom better now a days. Woudn´t have looked into it if it wasn´t for my love for Super Dodgeball Advance.


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## RedoLane (Nov 18, 2019)

I actually learned about a lot of games through a single game... Namco X Capcom, a collaboration that never came out of japan.
That was also before i learned about SRW OG Saga Endless Frontier, which contained the NxC protagonists.
This is how i discovered that Dig Dug's protagonist had a full name, how he's related to Masuyo(Kissy) from Baraduke, and other stuff like The Tower of Daruga and Bravoman.

I also learned that in this continuity, some game franchises take place in the same universe, either from different cities or different times.


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## bjaxx87 (Nov 18, 2019)

Dragon Quest Monsters for Game Boy Color marked the first time a Dragon Quest game was released in Germany. In the middle of the Pokémon hype it was a great gateway drug for me to get into the whole franchise.

And while I enjoyed the 80s Ninja Turtles as a kid, it was the 2003 show that made me look at the Turtles differently and ultimately lead me to the source material: The much more adult and serious comics by Mirage Publishing which turned me into a real shellhead.

The Mirage Ninja Turtles on the other hand lead me to another legendary comic book series (thanks to several crossovers): Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai which has been ongoing for 35 years now and fills a lot of space in my shelf.


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## pedro702 (Nov 18, 2019)

everyone knows smash bros made fire emblem being known, before that barely anyone played FE games or even knew about them.


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## jDSX (Nov 18, 2019)

I knew about doom 3 before ever knowing about the first two let alone being amazed of all the custom wads for it making it even more interesting to play
Did not know anything about SMT till I played person 3 on a whim and learning of the exhaustive series of smt. I still haven't played the first two games but I really liked nocturne and persona 
Same thing can be said for suikoden my favorite franchise of jrpgs playing suiko II way back when blockbuster was still a thing and a little know store called strawberry's


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## FAST6191 (Nov 18, 2019)

Some expected things, some unexpected things (I believe I said I would be impressed if someone did have the C64 text adventure for Hitchiker's guide so this is that) and some things I should have noted (the Saga vs Final Fantasy Legend thing comes up every so often in ROM hacking forums where we get people wanting to lean into or out from the connection. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles though as a way in for Final Fantasy is a first -- I did once meet someone that had not played final fantasy but had played Vagrant Story which is nominally set in the same universe as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though 12 would be along a lot later, but CC... OK then).

To add to another of mine. Tetris 2 on the NES is probably my first real memory of Tetris.

Also stretching the definition of media but we used to occasionally get the cash grab games dragged across the pond (or pop up on emulator collections) and thus I had no idea Cool Spot was a mascot for a drinks company or the same thing for that cheetah that advertises crisps as they had not made it here (and possibly still haven't). I suppose even more amusing there was playing Rainbow 6 vegas they had adverts for "Axe" body spray that I thought were parodies (the same stuff is called Lynx in the UK).

Looking at my game shelves then it occurs I had only really done Baldur's Gate via Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, which in turn is probably the most exposure I have had to mainstream dungeons and dragons (though I did see the films, including the sequels) outside of a few internet videos on the matter.



CPG said:


> what is that image.... its... its beautiful.



It is a spoof/parody of "The Thinker" which is a fairly famous statue often used to show things deep in thought ( https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1005.html ) but with the Temp mascot (in this case the older v2 version from a previous forum skin) https://gbatemp.net/threads/tempy-gbatemp-mascot-graphics.51083/ in place of its head and colour tweaked. If ever we do a little series, sticky, special thread we will often take the mascot and give it a little twist to reflect the content of the series
https://gbatemp.net/threads/gbachef-wild-foods-you-collect-and-eat.547944/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/so-you-want-to-learn-to-program.371255/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/merry-christmas.492449/
+ many earlier review banners (example https://gbatemp.net/review/watch_dogs.150/, https://gbatemp.net/review/sniper-ghost-warrior-3.600/ ), though today it is mostly if it makes sense ( https://gbatemp.net/review/ace-combat-7.942/ ).
https://gbatemp.net/threads/photos-video-audio-streaming-and-capture-an-introduction.371279/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/gbatemp-game-of-the-year-2017-voting-playstation.492279/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/gaming-perfection-sonic-06.464602/


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## Ryccardo (Nov 18, 2019)

Every single Amiga game I've tried is from the water-damaged 800 or so disks collection (99% are pirate) a friend of mine got from a friend of their father's: this in turn resulted into

Me buying the iPhone ports of Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Dreams
Learning about the Bomberman series (or Dynablaster as it was called on Amiga)
as well about the Kick Off series, invented by an Italian in London (spoiler: the Vita release is nowhere as funny as the original without the typos)

I learned about the Super Mario cartoons by having reasonably fast internet around 2007 and finding out the existence of youtube and google video (you know what this means)


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## xatzimi (Nov 18, 2019)

I mean, honest answer: I used to only know Touhou through the massive amount of hentai


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## AdenTheThird (Nov 19, 2019)

A lot of Smash Bros characters fit that quota for me. Joker, Corrin, Lucina, Chrom, Ricter, Cloud, Bayonetta, Lucas, Terry, Wii Fit Trainer...
The list goes on and on!


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## Psionic Roshambo (Nov 19, 2019)

I got into anime a while back (on and off for a long time to be honest) but recently I discovered a LOT of anime have PS2 games. I haven't had a chance to play all the ones I want too yet... but so far I love Hokuto No Ken (I hope I spelled that right lol) but Fist of the North Star. It's a pretty solid fighting game with fantastic artwork and is actually fun to play.


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## naughty_cat (Nov 21, 2019)

I was introduced to half-life after I played half-life: opposing force expansion pack, and I didn't know about the main game, or even counter strike until later... And 007 Nightfire was m first console first person shooter split screen game, back then I had never heard of Goldeneye XD


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## Obveron (Nov 21, 2019)

The kids playing RDR2, and never heard of Gunsmoke, OK Millennials.


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## FAST6191 (Nov 21, 2019)

Obveron said:


> The kids playing RDR2, and never heard of Gunsmoke, OK Millennials.


To be fair I don't think I could tell you a thing about Gunsmoke and might have only heard the name, this despite watching many episodes of Rawhide, The Rifleman, The Lone Ranger and even some of The Virginian. Despite its popularity and length I think it is one of those things that slipped off the radar.


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## Obveron (Nov 22, 2019)

Full disclosure, the only Gunsmoke I know much about is the NES game.  Although I don't believe it had any connection to the TV show.   The NES game was the inspiration for the Read Dead games however.


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