[d0pefish]

just curious if anyone has any suggestions for a good sci themed game? Ive played thru psy-o-blade and star cruiser lately and im craving more of the genre . Ive probably found at least 5 contenders (Lagrange point, vixen 357, x-serd, galaxy robo and metal slader glory) Im hoping to add a few titles to the list that i haven't discovered yet. open for suggestions. thanks

[Isao Kronos]

What systems do you primarily play? Could go for Cyber Knight 1 and 2 on SNES.

[Chronosplit]

Super Robot Wars J or Gaiden are great starting points if you're into giant robots.  There's also Front Mission.

Another recent translation is G.O.D.: Growth or Devolution.  My not be quite the sci-fi genre you're looking for.

Oh, and Live A Live does two future scenarios.  You should play if you haven't, both the game and translation are gold.

[SCD]

Snatcher & Policenauts are really good Sci-Fi themed games.

[d0pefish]

What systems do you primarily play? Could go for Cyber Knight 1 and 2 on SNES.

pretty much any of the classic systems. snes is probably the one i play the most. Ive got 2 retropie machines. one is a raspberry pi and the other is an old core2quad desktop paired with an gt740 that i use for the systems the pi cant run (like gamecube and dreamcast) I think i have both the cyber knights in my collection but havent played them. perhaps ill check um out.
September 19, 2018, 01:00:25 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

Snatcher & Policenauts are really good Sci-Fi themed games.

I wanted to give snatcher a try for the msx but ive been having some trouble finding the romset for it.

[Gideon Zhi]

I think i have both the cyber knights in my collection but havent played them. perhaps ill check um out.

If you do, be aware that Cyber Knight 2 is waaaaaaaay better than CK1. It basically takes CK1 then fixes all of the janky bits. Remembers planets you've scanned and the scan results on the galaxy map, speeds up combat and blows it up into the entire screen instead of just a small window, allows inactive characters to show up as support (and gain exp as a consequence), allows characters to fight outside of their combat suits, etc. CK1 is kind of crusty from a game design perspective, so don't let it turn you off from necessarily trying CK2.

[werewolfslayr925]

I may get lots of heat for this, but Lagrange Point—for all its bells and whistles and amazing OST—is a very boring RPG and yet another testament to the fact that Konami struggled with RPGs on the FamiCom.

I'll second Metal Slader Glory.

What about the SaGa games? The first three and SaGa Frontier have a science fantasy thing going for them (though they aren't hard sci-fi).

And how about Phantasy Star? MegaMan Legends?

If you're looking for something more recent, try this. The anime makes me cry every time.

[PresidentLeever]

Heh, I was gonna say Psy-O-Blade. Phantasy Star IV is an obvious choice I guess? PSI is getting a re-release with some nice added features on Switch, might wanna get that version and check it out. As far as 8-bit JRPGs go it's pretty good.


September 22, 2018, 03:13:10 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)Went through some lists (run 'n guns and maze shooters included):

Spoiler:

NES:
Ai Senshi Nicol
Guardian Legend
Blaster Master
StarTropics - End-game, mainly
Metal Storm
Battletoads, Battletoads & Double Dragon
Star Wars - Might wanna try the SMS ver. instead though
Esper Dream 2
Zen: Intergalactic Ninja - More post-apocalyptic
Bucky O'Hare
Cosmic Spacehead - Also on GG and MD

SMS:
Zillion 1-2
Cyborg Hunter
Psychic World - Also on MSX and GG

GB:
Blaster Master Jr./Bomber King: Scenario 2
Battletoads - Different
Bionic Commando - Different
Shippuu! Iron Leaguer - In parts
Chalvo 55

GG:
GG Shinobi 1-2 - In parts
Head Buster
Star Wars: Super Return of the Jedi
Phantasy Star Adventure
Tails Adventure
SD Gundam Winner's History
Arena: Maze of Death

Arcade:
Xybots
Alien Syndrome
Gain Ground - End-game
Mirai Ninja/Cyber Ninja - In parts
S.T.U.N. Runner
Robocop
Act Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair - End-game
Alien Storm
Aliens
Smash TV
Cyber-Lip
Out Zone, Fixeight
Strider 1-2
Alien vs. Predator
Robo Army
Armored Warriors
Gun Force II
Blue's Journey - In parts
Avenging Spirit - End-game
Mystic Warriors - In parts
X-Men
Surprise Attack
Osman
Virtual On 1-2
Metal Slug X - In parts

PCs:
Exile (AMI/C64) - Metroid-like
Another World, Flashback: The Quest for Identity, Heart of Darkness
Star Control 2
Maniac Mansion 1-2
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
It Came from the Desert (AMI)
Space Quest 4-6 - Comedy
Beneath a Steel Sky
X-Com/UFO: Enemy Unknown, X-Com Apocalypse
Starflight 2
Project Firestart (C64)
Starcraft
C&C & Tiberian Sun
Syndicate, Syndicate Wars
Commander Keen 4-6
D/Generation
Paradroid 90
Mega Lo Mania/Tyrants - Advance through history
Rise of the Dragon
Battle Isle
Turrican 2
Scorched Earth/Scorched Tanks
Space Hulk, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels
Utopia: The Creation of a Nation
Hired Guns (AMI)
System Shock 1-2
Wing Commander 3
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Mechwarrior 2-3
Earthsiege 1-2
Strife
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
Superhero League of Hoboken - Comedy
Liberation: Captive II (AMI)
K240 (AMI)
Ruff ’n’ Tumble (AMI)
Albion
Bioforge
The Dig
Crusader: No Remorse
Abuse
CyberMage: Darklight Awakening
Ascendancy
Archimedean Dynasty
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
Fragile Allegiance
M.A.X.
Z
Iron Blood/Interrupt
Death Rally
Alien Rampage
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Dark Forces II: Mysteries of the Sith
Fallout 1-2
Blade Runner
MDK 1-2
Earth 2140
Total Annihilation
Imperium Galactica
Dark Earth
Star Trek: Generations
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus
Vigilance on Talos V
Little Big Adventure 2
Starsiege: Tribes
Starsiege
Unreal
Battlezone 1-2
Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War, FreeSpace 2
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate
Dethkarz
Star Trek: TNG - Klingon Honor Guard
Jazz Jackrabbit 2
Dune 2000
Homeworld 1-2
Aliens versus Predator
Outcast
Civilization: Call to Power

PCE:
Military Madness/Nectaris
Cobra II: Densetsu no Otoko/The Space Adventure (also on MCD)
Shockman/Schbibinman games
Final Zone II
Neo Nectaris
Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force
Vasteel 2

MD:
Starflight
Herzog Zwei
Bare Knuckle 3 - End-game
Shadowrun
Phantom 2040 - Various minor differences on SNES
Alien Soldier
Alisia Dragoon - End-game
Mega Turrican/Turrican 3
Rocket Knight Adventures, Sparkster
Ecco: The Tides of Time
Target Earth/?Assault Suits Leynos
Lost Vikings
Pulseman
Rent-A-Hero - Modern day w/ sci-fi elements
Dynamite Headdy - In parts
Ranger X
ToeJam & Earl 1-2
Gunstar Heroes
X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Bubba N Stix
Shinobi III - In parts
Battletech
ESWAT: City under Siege
Two Crude Dudes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - End-game
Hybrid Front
Earthworm Jim 1-2
Vectorman 1-2
Robocop vs. Terminator
Demolition Man
The Terminator (MCD)
Exo Squad
Rock 'n Roll Racing - Also on SNES
Ristar - Also on GG

SNES:
F-Zero
Cybernator/Assault Suits Valken
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Zombies Ate My Neighbors - In parts
Shadowrun
Super Turrican 1-2
Earthbound/Mother 2
The Ninja Warriors Again
Wild Guns - In parts
Wonder Project J: Kikai no Shonen Pino
Blackthorne
Militia/Metal Marines
Hagane
Biker Mice from Mars
TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventure
Sparkster
Cyber Knight 2? - RPG
Live a Live? - In parts?
Sonic Blast Man II
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Secret of Evermore - In parts
Front Mission
Front Mission: Gun Hazard
Metal Warriors
Rendering Ranger R2
Robotrek
Metal Max Returns
Judge Dredd
Gundam Wing: Endless Duel
Lennus II
War 3010: The Revolution
Lost Vikings II
Solid Runner

[Trickless]

If you want something similar to Psy-O-Blade then I would recommend JESUS: Kyoufu no Bio Monster https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1043/

[magictrufflez]

If you wanna stick with retro games, Phantasy Star 2 and 4 are great scifi RPGs, although 2 can be brutally difficult.

Lagrange point is good, but it's very clear throughout that it could've been 100x better if they had put a bit more effort into creating the game world(s). Some of the game systems are pretty cool, but if you're like me, you'll definitely despise how they phoned in naming so many places/things...

If you're willing to go modern, Cosmic Star Heroine is actually pretty good (and on sale on Steam this week)--also a turn-based RPG, but the scifi elements are kind of interesting. Zeboyd's writing style isn't everyone's cup of tea, so your mileage may vary on that though.

And if you have a WiiU, I would strongly, STRONGLY suggest taking a look at Xenoblade X. some of the plot stuff is a bit weak, but it's definitely a weird hard scifi game that does everything newer Phantasy Star wants to, only better. Plus when your mechs get to fly...well, the game is just a beauty to behold an explore.

[pianohombre]

Snatcher is a mystery solving game, but has shoot 'em up elements. Many sci-fi games include shooters and you shouldn't let them discourage you such as Mass Effect, Destiny, Bio-Strike, Half-Life, and Fall-out.

Other sci-fi examples are Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, and Jurassic Park.

[DEFkon]

Based on the list of Contenders that your looking at it seems like your gravitating toward lesser known text/graphic adventures and turn based strategy titles with sci-fi themes.

As the usual titles like Snatcher & Policenauts have already been mentioned..  I'll try to think a little outside of the main stream..

How about

The Hybrid Front (GEN)

A translation is in the works, but not available yet as far as I know. It's basically a tactical turn based strategy game similar to Advanced Wars, or the Panzer General games as it uses hex based tiles. It looks pretty interesting but it's very text heavy so you might need to just keep an eye on the translation project for now.

Starflight ( Gen )

One of EA's early ports to the Sega Genesis.  This is a sandbox space sim that will have you assembling a crew, outfitting your ship and doing a lot of resource collection to build up your equipment so you can explore further.  The main story is a mystery that unfolds as you find relics of the past and try to stop a galaxy threatening phenomenon.  Its well off the beat'n path, but it's sci-fi and I enjoyed it many years ago.

Frontier: Elite 2:  (Multiplatform - DOS/C64>AT8bit -

The follow up to the original Elite that has spawned the more recent Elite Dangerous. If you enjoyed Star Cruzer you might enjoy this title as well. It's got a bit of a learning curve but there are a number of tutorial vids for this game on Youtube to help you get started.

Star Cruiser II: The Odysseus Project  ( PC-98)
The English translation is here on Romhacking.net but I have zero experience with PC-98 emulation so I've never tried it myself. Still the videos of people playing it shows it's got a nicer frame rate than the original running on the Mega Drive.


Gateway ( AKA: Frederik Pohl's Gateway ) DOS

A text parser/ Graphic adventure that can be played with a mouse & keyboard. Based on a series of semi-famous sci-fi novels.  You play the role of a lucky guy that wins a lottery ticket to be a "prospector".  Basically abandoned alien tech is found on mars, which leads to an abandoned alien space station in our solar system.  We can't figure out how the tech works exactly but it's something like a mix of Star Gate and Contact where you can type in some rune / glyphs and let the alien pod flash you to places unknown.   Some folks just go on a Jodi Foster / Contact ride and see stars and comets and such..  others never come back..  Lucky few land at abandoned alien worlds and sell the tech to the mega corps and retire filthy rich.. but what caused the advanced alien race to disappear...

There's also a sequel Gateway 2.

Super Robot Taisen Gaiden: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental (SNES)

I haven't played too much of it, but it seems to be turn based tactics strategy game kinda like Front mission but with a more Gundam style to it..


Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

Star Cruiser is kinda like a sci-fi dungeon crawler...   and this is the first thing that jumps to mind when I think Sci-fi Dungeon crawling...   as a shin megami game it's of course going to involve demons, but at least it's not set in another Japanese "Saved by the Bell meets demons" setting.

(on a side note - Someone should make a Saved by the Bell vs Demon parody game. 


I'm sure I could probably think of some more oddities if you want but that should be a good start.

 

[MontyMole]

Frontier: Elite 2:  (Multiplatform - DOS/C64>AT8bit -

The follow up to the original Elite that has spawned the more recent Elite Dangerous. If you enjoyed Star Cruzer you might enjoy this title as well. It's got a bit of a learning curve but there are a number of tutorial vids for this game on Youtube to help you get started.
That should read Atari ST DOS Amiga btw. A lot better than the original, although they tried to model real physics into this with limited results.  You will spend most of your time locked onto enemy ships with autopilot trying to hit them as its nigh on impossible to hit them normally.  This review goes into more  [urlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A85uIEBim7k][/url]

Star Ocean 2
A bit of a stretch this as most of the time it plays out like a normal RPG most of the time, but the plot is interesting as it deals with what Star Trek would call meddling with primitive planets and such.

[SleepyFist]

It's kind of a platformer/run n gun but you should try Iji(PC freeware), it's really fun, and does genocide/pacifist a bit like Undertale, I am a little split on whether adding the stun toggle was a good idea or not though, but on the other hand I think reflected shots now properly count as kills which makes more sense.

[Jorpho]

Star Control 2 is bloody marvelous by all accounts.  It has shooter components (and the original version is mostly a shooter), but it's a lot more than that.  Your options include the original DOS version and The Ur-Quan Masters, an open-source version derived from the code for the 3DO version.  I believe it's available in an HD version now.  And there's another sequel on Steam, but it seems to be getting questionable reviews.

Escape Velocity Nova also has a lot of fans.  There's a Windows version, but you'll probably have to download it from unofficial sources.

I hear SunDog: Frozen Legacy is pretty great – perhaps the main Atari ST game worth playing.  Attempts at remaking it for modern systems have bumbled along clumsily for years.

Vangers has a lot of fans and is available on Steam, but was originally a DOS game.