The letter M also seems to have some real good hidden gems. That Michigan Report game kind of reminded me of Lifeline, in the way that the player doesn't fight the enemies but instead the character you're helping relies on the instructions from the player.

Alright, Mark of Kri-- and Malice, of all things! I'm not complaining to see more attention towards Malice, but sadly i wouldn't call it a Hidden Gem in its released state. (i'm writing this before having watched the video). The final product is an incredibly truncated version of What Could Have Been. It started out as a story of a girl named Alice trying to save her dog from demonic possession, and her "shrunken" model in the Witch Hut level is a reference to this. This idea was all the way back on PS1 and the product got restarted about three times. The dev studio, Argonaut, had a separate publishing studio set up just so that they finally could publish what what they *did* have, only months before they went bankrupt. The original idea was a lot more grand and cohesive. Based on early footage gameplay on YT and an interview i saw long ago, there would be stuff like: - A magic system based on the Chinese Five Elements: Earth, Wood, Metal, Fire and Water. These would have specific spells based around them that could be used to augment your normal attacks. Every element would be strong against two and weak against two others (Wood for example feeds on Water and Earth, but is burned and chopped down by Fire and Metal) - There would have been a time-travel element where Malice would have to prepare the past against Dog God's war and dominion of the future. Stuff like warning the Siren Tree of its oncoming death and safeguarding a seed for the future, and inversely, taking the unborn children of the Blackbird Resistance to a safe haven in the past so that they are not affected by the horrors of war. - Every Element would have an associated... "being". The Metal Guardian speaks for itself, and would have already been killed by the time the game began, stuck in the extratemporal space where the Orrery resides-- But not before leaving a message to look for parts to repair him. There would have been reward tresholds for every certain amount of parts collected. Dog God is obviously Fire, the Siren Tree is Wood, and there was a great imprisoned mermaid monster creature too that would later serve as a boss (for some reason), obviously being Water. That leaves Malice herself, who is often referred to as ""Mother" -- Mother Earth. - The structure of the game would not be as strict and rigid in levels that can't be replayed, but instead more free. - Juju Man would have appeared as early as the Siren Tree, antagonizing Malice and leading to a new path. The reason why he looks like a Hunnish barbarian in an electric chair in his second boss battle is because he got punished for failing and because of a pun-- he got turned into Attilla the Shunned. (I don't fully see the logic here either, how a juju zombie/skeleton creature gets turned into... that). - There would have been a cat transformation too. - The Clockwork Hammer would have had a move where you push it in front of you like an old pushing lawnmower, the cogs grinding up anything in its path. I think the switch/crank aspect of it would have been emphasized more too. - The Mace of Clubs would have had a hover jump element thanks to two big leaves that sprout from its side. - And the Quantum Tuning Fork seems like it would have had more special utility for screwdriving and turning certain switches as well. So much of what could have been from a very troubled development. There's a lot here that i think is genuinely interesting and has a lot of potential for a colorful, warped, out-there and interesting fantasy/fairy tale land that would be fun to play through.

Marc Ecko was a fashion designer and artist. I think this was his first foray into video games as an art medium. He is also has a book out that helps people start their own business.

Metal saga was my childhood!!!!!!

Comment nr. 2 on Malice that i forgot: - The music/OST is of quite good quality! A few less interesting ones, but the Juju man, Witch's Cauldron and Bonehenge theme are actually very pretty and whimsical. - It has an interesting idea going on with the "game over". When you lose all hearts, you get transported to the Afterlife, which is a proper full location that can be explored for heart pots and other collectables, and from there you just have to make your way back to the exit and survive the dangers there, otherwise it's actually game over. I find that interesting. Makes me think a slight bit of Mortal Shell and Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (both good games).

Haha, I'm glad you did play Mark Ecko's Getting Up. I loved it back in the day, cheesy edginess and everything. Another great list. Looking forward to seeing if you pick any of the others I've mentioned 😅

Maken Shao is a wacky game that I loved as a kid, however, it hasn't aged well. I think it is still a hidden gem that I would recommend. The Maximo series is also another classic gem that takes Ghosts and Ghouls and brings it into a beautiful 3D world.

If I remember correctly Melty blood have an incredible soundtrack 🤯 Thanks my dude 👍🏼

Graffiti Kingdom and Magic Pengel are my Childhood. 😌

They actually did a lot to push Mark Of Kri, it was the game they recommended to me when I first bought my PS2 and there was a massive standee for the game too. However I don't think it caught on as much as it probably should've, so I guess it's still kind of a hidden gem in that respect. If you haven't played it, play it, also tbh for a PS2 game I feel this absolutely *should* be winning awards graphically and all around, not that there are any PS2 award shows coming around any time not 2 decades ago lol

Mmmmmm this one’s delicious. Good picks m8

Musashi doesn't get more love mainly due to the first one (Brave fencer Musashi) being a much better developed game, back on PS1. This one on PS2 was simplified, made a bit edgier to appeal to the teens at the time, and felt rushed compared to the predecessor from 1998. I personally liked it when it came out, but now, 20 years later, comparing the two, i can see that even with the graphical limitations, a lot more work, heart and love was poured into the first one.

👍👍👍👍🕹🕹