The original post: /r/gaming by /u/DCSMU on 2024-11-10 21:21:34.

So this gets asked here from time to time, and frustratingly for me, it gets filled with highly upvoted mention of trailblazer games; games that raised the bar or set the trend in some way or in some cases created whole new generes. (examples include Halo, HalfLife 1, Starcraft, etc.) I get it. These are good games, popular and highly respected, but they are not what I would call “ahead of their time”. To be ahead of it’s time, the game simply needs to introduce concepts or elements that are not imediately picked-up. It does not even need be good or remarkable - it just needs to have elements that are so new and unusual that it goes unappreciated and forgotten. Here are three examples of games that I consider ahead of their time…

The Outfoxies: a totally different take on the arcade fighter game (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc.) that became the inspiration for Super Smash Bros. many years later. The message at the start of each match “Kill your oppenent by any means available” meant the player could use whatever was lying around in the unusual and sometimes comical settings. A knife, a pipe, a gun, a grenade, frying pan, a pot of hot soup, or an electric eel tank (and so many more!) were all options!

Warrior of Rome II: a pseudo RTS for the Sega Genesis that had a window interface and strong focus on unit management. Units got stronger and became specialized with experience, so the player needed to track unit progress and plan how to use them to be successful. I have never seen this feature fully re-implemted in any RTS I have played since.

Populous The Begining: A 3D sequel to the original Populous with deformable terrain and a novel, intuitive order & message queue, way back in 1998!

So, tell me what other forgotten (or soon to be forgotten) games that are out there that were so innovative that few people realize what they witnessed?