6 Atlus Games You Forgot Were Awesome

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Atlus has quickly become a leading RPG developer, largely due to the incredible success of the Persona series. However, they’ve consistently demonstrated their expertise in the genre with games like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Etrian Odyssey, among others. Beyond RPGs, Atlus boasts a large library of fantastic games across various genres. While these titles may not reach the heights of Persona, they’re definitely worth checking out for any Atlus enthusiast.

Here are six hidden gems from the Atlus catalog.

6) Run Saber

Run Saber is an action game for the Super Nintendo where you move from side to side. If you’re familiar with games like Strider, you’ll quickly understand how it plays. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Strider, Run Saber was a fun experience for action game fans when it was released.

That’s how you’re meant to play Run Saber. It’s a short game with just five levels, so experienced players can finish it quickly. While not revolutionary, Run Saber’s blend of fast-paced combat and a unique sci-fi story helped it become one of Atlus’ first hits.

5) Princess Crown

Released in 1997, about four years after Run Saber, Princess Crown was a unique side-scrolling beat ’em up for the Sega Saturn. It combined action-packed combat with role-playing elements, all within a captivating fantasy world.

Despite receiving good reviews, Princess Crown didn’t achieve great sales and has largely been forgotten. However, it played a key role in inspiring George Kamitani to found Vanillaware, the studio behind several beloved RPGs. If you’re interested in playing Princess Crown, you’ll need to find a fan-made patch, as it was never officially released outside of Japan.

4) Thousand Arms

This RPG and dating sim, developed by TOSE and published by Atlus in 1998, is a unique blend of genres with a distinctive steampunk world. Battles are turn-based and involve parties of three, but only one character actively fights at a time. The other two provide support and can be swapped into the battle as needed.

In Thousand Arms, building relationships with characters is essential. Getting to know them unlocks new spells and abilities for your weapons. This cleverly blends the dating sim and RPG elements, creating a smooth and enjoyable experience. While the dating aspect might not appeal to everyone, those who are open to it will discover a really good RPG.

3) Radiant Historia

While Radiant Historia received a remake in 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS, making it more well-known than some older games, it still deserves more recognition. Although the graphics are simple due to its original release on the DS, the game is excellent in every other way.

Radiant Historia really puts you in control of the story. Its time-travel feature is cleverly used, constantly surprising you. The battles are challenging and require strategic thinking, and the music, composed by the renowned Yoko Shimomura (known for her work on Kingdom Hearts), is fantastic. It’s a complete and satisfying experience, especially for a handheld console. Hopefully, Atlus will consider making a sequel!

2) Snowboard Kids

Let’s switch gears now. The late 1990s and early 2000s were a golden age for extreme sports games. While Tony Hawk was the biggest name, many other games tried to capture the excitement with daring stunts and huge jumps. Snowboard Kids was Atlus’s attempt at this genre, but it had a bright and cheerful style geared towards younger players.

Snowboard Kids is essentially a snowboarding take on Mario Kart. Players race through courses, collecting items to hinder their opponents. It’s more of an arcade-style game than 1080 Snowboarding, but doesn’t feature the complex tricks found in SSX. Despite that, it was a really fun game on the Nintendo 64 and spawned a few good sequels.

1) Trauma Center: Under the Knife

The Trauma Center series includes five games that differ in quality. Because of this, it’s probably inaccurate to describe Under the Knife as a truly ‘forgotten’ title. However, the last game in the series, Trauma Team for the Wii, was released in 2010, and we haven’t seen a new installment since. Interestingly, Trauma Team even had a pilot episode made for a TV show, but it wasn’t picked up as a full series. Since then, Atlus hasn’t announced or released any further Trauma Center games.

It’s disappointing that we haven’t seen a new Trauma Center game in so long. The first three games were excellent, combining challenging surgical simulations with a quirky and often sci-fi-inspired story. While the series didn’t perform well in Japan, its success in North America and Europe should have warranted a sixth installment within the past 15 years. Hopefully, Atlus will revisit the series in the future.

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2026-03-12 00:12