I just watched Derek Alexander's excellent review of Faxanadu. And he spent a good portion of the video making a case for how Faxanadu was very comparable to Castlevania II, but in his opinion, superior. This got me thinking, what other lesser known games are analagous to better known games and are worth checking out?

For example:
If you like Metroid
...Try this instead: Legacy of the Wizard

If you like Zelda II
...Try this instead: Battle of Olympus
(I haven't personally tried this one yet, but I have heard this multiple times, so it bears mentioning)

Interesting concept! Nothing comes to mind but now I suddenly want to try Legacy of the Wizard and Battle of Olympus.

Most people on this forum are well aware, but in general there are plenty of Jrpgs that are more worth your time than the Final Fantasy games in each generation.

This is a really good idea! I'd say that if you like Spy Hunter, you should try Bump N Jump.

I like Yoshi's Island.
I should try Yoshi's Island hacks...

Playing Lunar - The Silver Story for the first time on the Sega CD.....There is a few things that make me go "OH COME ON" such as the items and spells etc not having descriptions.
 

I like Donkey Kong Country

I should try Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3
 

lol same. I have Battle of Olympus too. Trying it when I get home
 

How did those games expect you to learn that shit? Is everything covered in the manual? If so then that manual is essential lol

Precisely!

This thread reminds of grocery shopping for offbrand stuff 

I like Fruit Loops

I should try Fruity-O's

I will say though that I think Walmart's Twist n Shouts are better than Oreo's though...

 

F-Zero - F1 Roc II
Final Fight -> Brawl Brothers
Arkanoid -> Firestriker
Mega Man X (?) -> Skyblazer
Rock n Roll Racing -> Biker Mice From Mars
Contra III -> Super Turrican 2
Zombies Ate My Neighbors -> Soldiers of Fortune
Qix -> Cacoma Knight
Super Mario Kart -> Street Racer
____ Strike -> Choplifter III
The Firemen -> The Ignition Factor

Wow I had cereal on my mind. I thought you were talking about oreo O's. You got me excited about nothing

Only way to get  Oreo O's is like Korea now and its expensive.

In that one case Firestriker is the harder to acquire and more expensive one

If you like the SNES, you should try the Genesis.

lmao

That does sound terrible, never played that game, but when I do it will be the PSP version that (I assume) fixes that. Though if I remember correctly FF IV didn't have info in shops

While I think Bump 'n Jump is an awesome game, Super Spy Hunter is sooo much better than its predecessor in every single way yet is not very well known

Also, if you like Dragon Warrior and/or Zelda, try Scheherazade
If you like Metroid, try Ufouria and Clash at Demonhead
If you like Life Force, try Gun Nac
If you like RC Pro am, try Micro Machines
If you like SMB, try Alfred Chicken

good call Vec...  I might also add Cobra Triangle (although not quite as similar)
 

If you like S.C.A.T.
...Try this instead: Burai Fighter

Xevious > Alpha Mission and Dragon Spirit (shooters with normal and ground attacks.)
Star Force > Star Soldier (similar style shooters.)
Golgo 13 > Wurm (multi-genre with first person, shooter, and side scrolling.)

If you like Mega Man, try: Journey to Silius, Krion Conquest, and Battle Kid

If you like Titenic, try Harry's Legend.