The final entry in this series of weird games is Eternal Poison (2008), a game which takes the boldest chances and reaps the least success of any of the three games I've discussed so far. In fact, I often refer to it as my favorite game that no one played. Eternal Poison is an extremely niche title (a Japanese Strategy RPG) with an inordinately high barrier to enjoyment in its initial phase. It features an over-abundance of complicated systems, demanding play mechanics, and a thoroughly baroque and obtuse set of requirements for advancing the narrative. Nevertheless, the revelations and structure of the second half of the game, especially the end-game content, remain my favorite of the past decade. Eternal Poison is a game that takes a lot of work to get into, but one that has perhaps the best and most rewarding payoff of virtually any role-playing game I've ever experienced. Be advised; this article will reference several of the most important revelations in the game's story, so anyone who was considering playing this complicated game from 11 years ago should expect spoilers.

In my introduction to this series, I suggested that a weird game is one that fails in an interesting way. Make no mistake; Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2004) is a weird game. Even though it falls readily into standard JRPG tropes, it makes numerable fascinating choices that are likely to grab a novice player's attention before the end of the introductory sequence. For instance, the game is set in a world above the clouds on a series of floating islands, the oceans having disappeared eons ago in a climactic struggle with an ancient evil. The people who inhabit these islands are winged, with the exception of our main protagonist. Having been born with only a single wing, he must make do with a prosthesis, a fact that opens him to discrimination and makes him bitter toward the world around him. These are themes and concepts seldom observed in other titles, and offers a bold take on standard JRPG fare.

In the previous installment of my weird games series, I discussed Baten Kaitos, beginning with the overall positive first impression that game left on me. There was a lot to like out of the gate, before frustrations with some of the game's more novel design choices might lead a player to abandon the game. God Hand (2006), on the other hand, so to speak, has overwhelmingly negative first impressions. The backgrounds are hideously unfinished in tones of gray and brown, and despite being a third-person brawler, the game saddles the player with tank controls for movement and an extremely limited field of vision, fixing the camera directly behind the player character. I imagine many players did not last more than 15 minutes before throwing in the towel, which is a shame, as like the other games in this series, God Hand is a game with more than might meet the eye at first glance.

Let's take a moment to talk about "weird" games. You know; the ones that don't necessarily sell very well, that might not be as polished, or honestly even as "fun" as some better known titles. The ones that have both enthusiastic fans and severe shortcomings. What is it about these games that sticks with people, even when these games fall far short of the benchmarks for success in the industry? What is the place of these oddities and artifacts? Over my next three articles, I hope to share with you some in-depth examinations of three of my favorite video game oddities: Baten Kaitos (2004), God Hand (2006), and Eternal Poison (2007).