10 Masterpiece Video Games You DIDN'T Play

There's one thing that everyone can agree on:

The video game industry is unfairly fickle.

A game can sell a pittance despite being unanimously praised. If a title wasn't advertised well or it came out at a bad time, it can fall into obscurity, even if it's virtually perfect.

Luckily, this issue isn't as bad as it once was. Thanks to rereleases and easier accessibility to games, some games that were unappreciated in their time like Chrono Cross, Eternal Darkness, and Earthbound got the recognition they deserved many years later.

But even if you're a dedicated gamer or a massive Twitch streamer, there are still a couple of top-tier gems that you never played. In fact, there are some titles that, despite being flawless, you may have never heard of.

But how? How can a universally beloved game not become popular? Well, there are all sorts of reasons. If a game wasn't released in the west, was too niche, was judged too harshly upon its initial release, or has a REALLY confusing title, it's not surprising you never played it, even if the game in question is hailed as a masterpiece.

In 2001, Koei released their first (and only) rhythm title, Gitaroo Man, for the PS2. In each level, you must vanquish your opponent by playing your guitar. (Just like real life.) Throughout the battle, you follow a trace line with your analog stick while pressing and holding buttons at the correct time.

Thanks to Gitaroo Man's cartoony aesthetic, unique gameplay, creative boss fights, and hilarious characters, you can see why it deserves to be remembered. And as a bonus, the music is ridiculously catchy.

But since the PS2 was busy plugging franchises like Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider at the time, Gitaroo Man was way, way too weird to be accepted by the masses.

So, when Guitar Hero helped popularise rhythm-based games in 2005, you'd assume Gitaroo Man would get another chance.

And it did... in a way. Several months after Guitar Hero took the world by storm, Gitaroo Man was rereleased as Gitaroo Man Live. Unfortunately, it was only available on the PSP. And at this moment, Gitaroo Man has NEVER been rereleased again, despite garnering a reputation as the best rhythm game ever.