Since I started the thread I'll go first.
Vanguard Bandits
The game is a typical Japanese strategy rpg. It takes place in a feudalistic setting where despite the fact that the populace has yet to discover the technology necessary for the light bulb or indoor plumbing have somehow mastered the art of building giant robots. And true to any game of cartoon to come out of Japan with giant robots, is filled with drama and political intrigue.(See, Front Mission 1-4, the Metal Gear series, anything with the name Gundam or Macross in it.)
The plotline is cliché. The game is on rails so you fight a fixed number of battles in a certain order with story sequences to act as buffers between them and the only thing you get to do between battles is talk to certain characters to get some dialogue out of them before a battle.
So what makes this game noteworthy? Aside from the solid battle system which can make or break an rpg, it also has the best cast of characters I've seen in an rpg, ever. Antithetical to most rpgs that come out of Japan where all the characters have to be varying degrees of badass or hardcore they went completely in the other direction. The characters are all varying degrees of pathetic, perverted, or idiotic resulting in humor and dialogue that the majority of japanese games lack. The fact that it has multiple paths and endings is just the icing on the cake.
So what games do you feel are noteworthy for things you feel mainstream gamers/media wouldn't appreciate?
This post has been edited by Sliver: 27 February 2008 - 06:20 PM