20 Severely Underrated 90s Video Games You Forgot You Loved

16. Xenogears - PSX, 1998

No matter how great a game you are, it's always tough to make a name for yourself as a JRPG from Square Enix unless you're Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross and Secret of Mana. It's not like Xenogears is underrated as such. It sold very well and received widespread critical acclaim, but most of its legacy was built in Japan, because the story was the fifth part of a book saga that was only published in Japan. The epic plot follows a young boy called Fei who, in summary, discovers he's destined for much bigger things than his simple village upbringing would suggest. But there are layers upon layers of memorable sub-plots, and the game also explores challenging themes revolving around memory, the dangers of religion, and humanity's darker tendencies and secret desires.. There are few who have played Xenogears who don't rank it among the greatest, and more difficult video-games of all time, but its relatively low exposure to western gamers means that it never got a chance to make it big over here. A sequel, Xenoblade X, was released in Japan for the Wii U this year, and will be getting a US and PAL release in December. Unfortunately, its Wii U exclusivity means it probably won't give the Xeno series the exposure that it's deserved for so long.