What's your pick for the most underrated console library?

[Discontent]

I'm tempted to give it to the Xbox One because Forza Horizon 3 and 4 can stand toe to toe with Nintendo and Sony's best recent games and Halo 5 is still a beast over 5 years later not to mention all the multiplatform games.

But I think the original Xbox gets shown even less love on here so I'm gonna go with that. Sega brought their A game (like they did with EVERY 6th gen system) with JSRF and Panzer Dragoon Orta, From Software gave us Otogi 1 and 2, Metal Wolf Chaos and even Murakumo was a worthwhile play. Then of course Biowares masterpieces Jade Empire and KOTOR which still hold up incredibly well. Racing games and fighting games were stellar on the system and it even had ambitious games like Breakdown and Steel Battalion (which I wish I could say I've played).

Come shine a spotlight on the console and games you feel deserve more love!

 

[Boy]

Sega Dreamcast. It had a plethora of fantastic games.

 

[whoamiifnotwhoiam]

Wii U. I feel like it has some really great gems, especially first-party.
Xenoblade Chronicles X, Paper Mario Color Splash, Wooly World.

 

[ghostcrew]

I think the Wii or the Wii U have to take it.

The Wii is unfairly categorised by Wii Sports, Wii Fit and a load of shitty motion games when it's actually full of 'proper gamer' classics like Xenoblade Chronicles, Monster Hunter Tri, Metroid Prime 3, Tatsunoku vs Capcom etc

Wii U died a quick death but actually has a really solid library. A lot of ports and better versions on the Switch though in all honesty.

I think the Wii has to take it.

 

[Zaimokuza]

Wii U. I feel like it has some really great gems, especially first-party.
Xenoblade Chronicles X, Paper Mario Color Splash, Wooly World.

Click to shrink...

I echo this. There's really a lot of incredible games on Switch that are just Wii U ports and that everyone downplayed at the time.

I also really enjoyed the psvita library and really hope that Vanillaware ports Muramasa Rebirth on other consoles

 

[sir_crocodile]

The Saturn gets written off a lot, but including the import games, its library is perhaps the best ever, certainly up there with the SNES/PSX.

Some of my faves from a monster library:

Shining Force 3 Scenario 1
Shining Force 3 Scenario 2
Shining Force 3 Scenario 3
Shining the Holy Ark
Shining Wisdom
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Batsugun
Soukyugurentai
Grandia
Shienryu
Battle Garegga
DoDonPachi
Dragon Force
Dragon Force 2
Dark Savior
Guardian Heroes
Layer Section
Hyper Duel
Blast Wind
Burning Rangers
NiGHTS into Dreams/Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams
Fighters Vipers
Fighters Megamix
Magic Knight Rayearth
Clockwork Knight 2
Astal
Albert Odyssey
Sonic Jam
Assult Suit Leynos 2
Story of Thor 2
Saturn Bomberman
X-Men : Children of the Atom
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Street Fighter Zero 3
Radiant Silvergun
Twinkle Star Sprites
Dungeons and Dragons Collection
Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius
Sexy Parodius
Strikers 1945
Gunbird
Sengoku Blade
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Gradius Deluxe Pack
Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus
Kingdom Grand Prix
Thunder Force V
Vampire Savior
Sonic Wings Special
Image Fight and X-Multiply
Policenauts
Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru
Waku Waku 7
Virtual ON
Soviet Strike
Riglord Saga (Mystaria Realms of Lore)

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Sega Master System. Possibly due to it being somewhat obscure in the US. It had quite a lot of variety in what it had on offer, everything from original Sonic games to downports of Streets of Rage and Golden Axe to Phantasy Star etc.

 

[leder]

I feel like Wii U is a good pick. Not because it has the best library ever, but just relative to how much people dismiss it now and then. Especially now that half of its library has been ported to Switch, it's even more ignored. I've seen individuals claim that BotW is the greatest game ever made, and the ironically turn around and say there's nothing worth playing on Wii U.

 

[BradenAndEggs]

Playstation Vita. When Sony would make games for it they were usually pretty good. Plus it was a goldmine for localized JRPGs.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Sega Saturn will always be the underappreciated underdog of game consoles.

Panzer Dragoon Series, Radiant Silvergun, Dragon Force 1 and 2, Guardian Heroes, Shining Force 3, Nights into Dreams, Saturn Bomberman, ThunderForce V, Street Fighter Zero 3,X-Men vs Street Fighter, Burning Rangers, Batsugun, Dondonpachi, Soukyugurentai, Shinrei Justsushi Taromaru, Gun Griffon 2.

So many great titles.

 

[Strings]

The Saturn has a ton of really cool Japan exclusive shit.

The Wii U mentions...

 

[Iztok]

It's Wii U for sure.
Having it's games ported to Switch makes the library even more underrated now, rather than the opposite.

Saturn was never underrated overall, it was hugely popular in Japan and everyone knew it back then. The import scene was very active.

 

[Tomo815]

WiiU easily. The disparity between the quality of the games and the popularity of the console is shocking.

Having said that there is also a narrative going on that the Wii had only 'waggle' games and people tend to forget the classic games on that system.

 

[Guaraná]

Wii U easily.

 

[Gay Bowser]

Wii has EXCITE TRUCK and Endless Ocean and some pretty great RPGs that it doesn't really get credit for because waggle.

It's hard for me to say that the Dreamcast is underrated because having a great library and dying too soon is, like, what the DC is known for.

I think I'd say it's either the Wii or, hear me out, the OG Game Boy. No one talks about all the great Game Boy games any more. A lot of people seem to assume that the system was too rudimentary to have games with depth. I've literally seen people say that there'd be no point to adding it to NSO because "the only thing people would care about is Pokémon." It's madness. Game Boy has one of the best 2D Mario games in Super Mario Land 2 and the best Donkey Kong game (I said it) in Donkey Kong '94, plus the three Final Fantasy Legend/SaGa games, Final Fantasy Adventure, Mole Mania, Metroid II, Game & Watch Gallery, Harvest Moon GB, Legend of the River King, Wario Land, and Link's Awakening, which is one of my favorite Zeldas. And Kirby! Dream Land 1 and 2. And weird shit like the Game Boy Camera. I can go on and on. And Tetris.

 

[Wackamole]

WiiU

Switch is a WiiU port machine, basically.

 

[shintoki]

Two,

DS is on par with PS2 and SNES, but never mentioned in the same breath due to it being a handheld. Its appreciated, but the depth of its library has always been glossed over in comparison to its home console counterparts.

WiiU died so the Switch could run. System was on route to be Gamecube 2.0, both in sales and quality.

 

[JustJavi]

It sure has to be the Wii U.

 

[ResidentDante]

After getting the PC Engine mini last year, my vote goes for that system. A lot of great games I'd never experienced here in Europe before.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Saturn was never underrated overall, it was hugely popular in Japan and everyone knew it back then. The import scene was very active.

Click to shrink...

Japan was a different story, but in the West - Europe, America, Australia it bombed hard in comparison to it's closest rival : The PS1. Sega officially announced it's death it was so unwanted. "The Saturn isn't our future".

Meanwhile PS1 and N64 games continued to be made years after. Saturn Worldwide sales : 9.26 Million. Wii U 13.56 million sales.

The Wii U was more popular than the Saturn.

Sega Master System. Possibly due to it being somewhat obscure in the US. It had quite a lot of variety in what it had on offer, everything from original Sonic games to downports of Streets of Rage and Golden Axe to Phantasy Star etc.

Click to shrink...

The Sega Master System is still hugely popular in Brazil, TECTOY still produces official consoles for sale to the public and Brazil got even more games that never saw US, EU or Australian release.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

Playstation Vita. When Sony would make games for it they were usually pretty good. Plus it was a goldmine for localized JRPGs.

Click to shrink...

Yup, an absolute fantastic library if you have a preference for Japanese games.

 

[Peek-a-boo!]

Wii U for sure!

The Switch would have been a far less compelling system without all those Wii U ports.

And the Xbox One is in no way underrated — it's not only the worse Xbox console yet, it was underwhelming enough for me to cease being a narrow minded Xbox fan and look elsewhere for the very first time.

 

[SilentEagle]

PS1. Most of the people would say PS2 has the best library but I think PS1 had many masterpieces.

Square, Capcom, Konami built the identity of PS.

 

[DuvalDevil]

Original Xbox had one of the most high-quality and most overlooked libraries of all time. I only had a PS2 at that time and was really jealous of a lot of titles (Kotor as console exclusive?!) . Thats what made me switch to 360 in the first place.

 

[Synth]

I'd go with the Saturn also, with OG Xbox as an honorable mention.

I certainly don't agree with the Wii U votes, because whilst it's true that it had many good games that have later found new light on Switch, the Switch has mined pretty much the entirety of the Wii U's worthwhile lineup. I'd liken the Wii U to something like N64, where there's a selection of great games at the top, but then once you're past those the library lacks depth.

PS1. Most of the people would say PS2 has the best library but I think PS1 had many masterpieces.

Square, Capcom, Konami built the identity of PS.

Click to shrink...

Literally no mainline Playstation console has an underrated library lol.

 

[Magog]

Depends whose fan club you're a part of I suppose. Nearly every console has some gems even the ones that died an early death. I don't really like playing old games so I'll say the PS5. It's off to a great start with even cross gen releases being impressive.

 

[Endimion]

1. PC Engine / Turbografx
2. Sega Saturn
3. WonderSwan
4. Gamecube
5. Wii
6. PS Vita
7. Wii U

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

It's the Wii U, no contest.

 

[SilentEagle]

Literally no mainline Playstation console has an underrated library lol.

Click to shrink...

Agreed.

 

[JershJopstin]

I'm not sure the Wii U can win if it's the most stated answer by far lol. Its library is at least appreciated on this board.

As someone who never owned a Sega system, I hear the least about the Saturn.

As for what I've played (Nintendo consoles), the N64 doesn't really feel like it gets its proper due outside of two certain games.

 

[Zool]

I love underrated hardware.

I agree with:
- sega Mastersystem
- sega Saturn
- nintendo WiiU
- Playstation Vita
- heck, even Nintendo DS should have got more love and recognition

 

[Redcrayon]

I think the Wii or even the Gameboy take it in terms of how little the library is remarked upon compared to their size and success. I can understand why few discuss consoles that didn't do too well, leading to hidden gems, but there were stacks of great games on the Wii that just went ignored because they weren't the same as the PS3/360 big hitters at the time.

 

[Sevvybgoode]

I think Saturn and wii/wii u are great shouts which are definitely shown by the responses in this thread. But confused by the OP saying Xbox One as imo it's got the weakest exclusive lineup since the master system. I would have agreed with the og Xbox as an alternative to Saturn or Wii/Wii u though.

 

[Twister]

GameCube has the greatest library of all time and it gets slept on so much

 

[tiebreaker]

Wii U only works if you only consider exclusive games.

 

[Hayeya]

DREAMCAST, I was always going to get a PS2, Sony killed it with Hype Alone.
But Damn, the dreamcast made me hesitate for a minute, i mean i was soooo into fighting games and that machine was a goldmine:
Soul Calibur, MvsC2, Alpha 3 Arcade Perfect, Street Fighter 3 2nd impact & 3rd strike, Capcom vs snk 1, KOF games arcade perfect, Mark of the wolves.....
and Sonic Adventure Blew my mind at the time.

 

[Polyh3dron]

Wii U only works if you only consider exclusive games.

Click to shrink...

what

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Oh it's easily the Vita. Second is Master System.

 

[Discontent]

You're all right. And you're alright, Era. I mean that.

Edit: except for GC being the GOAT lol.

 

[Tamath]

Another vote for the Saturn (from the Western perspective). Far too much good stuff never left Japan. At least now it's never been easier to play the Saturn's games one way or another, plus text-heavy JP games like SFIII Scenario 2/3 and Policenauts have fan translations.

 

[bushmonkey]

For 'proper' consoles, the Dreamcast but if we broaden the horizons a bit more and include 'walled eco-system personal computers' then I'd have to go with the Amiga. Such a wide library of games but it doesn't get the mentions and love these days.

 

[Horns]

I always thought of OG Xbox as having a classic library that didn't get the attention it needed. PS2 over shadowed it.

 

[Deleted member 2180]

I'm probably overestimating its reputation, but if you exclude the Nintendo games, Wii library is fun to explore. It's very attractive how experimental the motion titles were, though gonna contradict myself most weren't very good. But fun.

 

[Discontent]

The Saturn gets written off a lot, but including the import games, its library is perhaps the best ever, certainly up there with the SNES/PSX.

Some of my faves from a monster library:

Shining Force 3 Scenario 1
Shining Force 3 Scenario 2
Shining Force 3 Scenario 3
Shining the Holy Ark
Shining Wisdom
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Batsugun
Soukyugurentai
Grandia
Shienryu
Battle Garegga
DoDonPachi
Dragon Force
Dragon Force 2
Dark Savior
Guardian Heroes
Layer Section
Hyper Duel
Blast Wind
Burning Rangers
NiGHTS into Dreams/Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams
Fighters Vipers
Fighters Megamix
Magic Knight Rayearth
Clockwork Knight 2
Astal
Albert Odyssey
Sonic Jam
Assult Suit Leynos 2
Story of Thor 2
Saturn Bomberman
X-Men : Children of the Atom
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Street Fighter Zero 3
Radiant Silvergun
Twinkle Star Sprites
Dungeons and Dragons Collection
Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack
Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius
Sexy Parodius
Strikers 1945
Gunbird
Sengoku Blade
Cotton 2
Cotton Boomerang
Gradius Deluxe Pack
Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus
Kingdom Grand Prix
Thunder Force V
Vampire Savior
Sonic Wings Special
Image Fight and X-Multiply
Policenauts
Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru
Waku Waku 7
Virtual ON
Soviet Strike
Riglord Saga (Mystaria Realms of Lore)

Click to shrink...

Mfw I got Assault Suit Valken 2 for the PS1 thinking it's the same as the Saturn game with the similar name.

 

[345]

it's absolutely the wii.

much of it got buried in "core gamer" handwringing and waggle jokes at the time but it was legit like a PS2-2. there was so much leftfield stuff that publishers threw on a $50 disc and hoped for the best with, especially in japan. there'll never be another system like it.

 

[YolkFolk]

Probably the Wii.

 

[Ombala]

For me it's the PSP so many good games there.

 

[sir_crocodile]

Mfw I got Assault Suit Valken 2 for the PS1 thinking it's the same as the Saturn game with the similar name.

Click to shrink...

That must have been a bit of genre shock lol. Was it playable in Japanese or was it too dialogue heavy?

 

[BassForever]

If you remove games that have been ported/rereleased on multiple consoles I'd say either the SNES or Wii have some really cool deep cuts that I feel often get overshadowed by the more front loaded, star studded affairs that those console libraries are. I'll admit some of these may have ports I'm unaware of, but this is to the best of my knowledge.

SNES has some really cool/unique titles like Pieces, Tetris Battle Gaiden, Sanrio Smash Ball, Actraiser, Chaos Seed, Dark Half, the Quintet Trilogy

Wii also had some really sweet games like the Boom Blox titles, Zack and Wiki, Red Steel 2, Excitetruck/bot, the conduit titles, and Deadly Creatures

Obviously that's not the be all end all of either library, but I feel both those consoles despite the love they get they get love for the same 20-25 games everytime.

 

[not_smiff]

Pre 2009 Ps3