History QuirkyWork / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/UnderTheSkin'', an AlienInvasion is happening where prankster aliens are trying to drive people, including [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 Jill Valentine and Nemesis]], bonkers in a competition of who can be the best prankster.

* Some of [[Creator/{{Atari}} Atari Corp.'s]] games (particularly under Jack Tramiel's leadership) definitely qualify as [=WATs=] ('''W'''eird '''A'''tari '''T'''hings?). Two of the most notable are ''Ninja Golf'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 7800}}, which combines golf with a side-scrolling fighting game, and ''Kung Food'' for the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx, where the player is a miniaturized scientist who must battle mutant vegetables in his refrigerator.

** Its predecessor, the ''VideoGame/TypingOfTheDead'' series, are just as WJT despite being in English in the first place. It's hard to pinpoint who the target demographics are- the game has the gore of the ''House of the Dead'' series and pretty much uses the same storyline, but instead of gunning down zombies, it's a keyboarding trainer that lets you kill zombies by the sheer power of ''typing words into a keyboard''. Additionally, the game isn't afraid to to throw cuss words in the player's general direction, and in the first game, the characters look ridiculous with a giant UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast strapped to their back and a keyboard strapped to their front.

* ''VideoGame/{{Kuukiyomi}}'' is a ''VideoGame/WarioWare''-like mobile phone and UsefulNotes/NintendoDSI game by G-Mode, where the player character is put into certain situations and they must decide how they will act both in private and in public. Since there's nothing right or wrong in this game (only score system, judging how considerate you are in situations), players can do anything from something mundane to hilariously bizarre. Most of the situations are realistic, while others aren't. There are a lot of Japanese cultural references, [[ShoutOut shout-outs]] (such as the recurring orphans who look like [[Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies Seita and Setsuko]], ''Franchise/TheMatrix'', etc.) and humor in the series, though some people may not understand them and don't know whether their in-game actions are correct. Fortunately, the developers manage to downplay this by adding a subtitle in some situations (such as adding "In Tokyo" and "In Osaka" for those who don't understand Japanese culture, etc.) and adding a CulturalTranslation such as remodeling the ghost in the English version. And yes, this game has 3 remakes for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, which all of three are often streamed by famous Virtual Youtubers and made it overseas.

* ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy'', an entry in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series contained within the ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' universe, has been described as ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents''. To restate for candidacy, it's a JapaneseRolePlayingGame anthology fused with a RhythmGame (similar to that of ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' or ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'', with wildly varying graphics (from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded''-style chibis, to eight- and sixteen-bit graphics - UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem[=/=]UsefulNotes/GameBoy[=/=]UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem[=/=]UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor-era - to fully rendered CGI (same quality as the [=PS1/PS3=] or the Xbox 360), and it's in the same series as a ''FIGHTING GAME.'' Oh, and it's on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, so it's all in stereoscopic 3D.

** The first was ''VideoGame/{{Seaman}}'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, a virtual pet starring a man-headed fish/frog creature who posed intellectual questions to the player.
** The other was ''VideoGame/{{Odama}}'' on the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, a combination of military warfare and pinball.

* ''VideoGame/RabbitRush'' ([[http://www.rabbit-rush.com/ Link here]]) is a rather upbeat STANZA game about breeding a massive army of rabbits to conquer far-off lands. It plays like a mouse-controlled [[ShootEmUp Shmup]]. [[spoiler: ...At least, it does until the game sends you a [[InterfaceScrew fake]] UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} [[InterfaceScrew message]], telling you to [[SchmuckBait investigate a certain cheat code]]. Doing so "crashes" the game, revealing that it's really a ShowWithinAShow of a much more complicated story.]]

* ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'', in sharp contrast to the HeroicFantasy StrategyRPG of ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' and [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalyptic]] ScienceFantasy CrapsackWorld of ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'', is unrelentingly silly and lighthearted, featuring a group of Totally18 [[TeenIdol Teen Idols]] gifted with the power to fight demons from the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' franchise harnessing the power of creative talent, singing and dancing to save the day from the creatures -- and yes, you defeat the final boss with a sing-along. [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/FireEmblemRecurringCharacters Tiki]] is [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking also a vocaloid here, too]]. This was apparently because of the fact that Creator/{{Atlus}} and Creator/IntelligentSystems -- due to their games likely being on different ends of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism -- couldn't agree on what direction the game was supposed to take, so compromised by taking an unrelentingly silly approach to both games while acting as a love letter to both series.

* Creator/{{Rare}} has its fair share of Wabbits (Weird British Things), such as ''VideoGame/BlastCorps'' (a game about destroying all sorts of buildings with one ludicrous ExcusePlot about a runaway nuclear missile carrier) and ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' (a cutesy CollectAThonPlatformer twisted into something both stranger and very family-unfriendly).

* ''VideoGame//PuyoPuyo'': You fight such characters as a dancing fish man, an effeminate skeleton, a half-demon boy who has an obsession with bugs, and ''{{Satan}} himself'' by eliminating cute little blobs on a puzzle screen. That isn't even getting into many moments within the games that [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext aren't even explainable by context]] (for example, Schezo having a wedding cake all for himself in a cave in a cutscene in ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo20thAnniversary 20th Anniversary]]'' when [[SweetTooth Lemres]] notices the cake. Why Schezo is in a cave with a cake and why it's a wedding cake are never explained). Very Japanese games indeed.

* ''[[VideoGame/PlugAndPlay Plug & Play]]'' ([[http://store.steampowered.com/app/353560/ Link here]]). Here's LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx7zbzaxK-Q playthrough of the game]]. It certainly begs the question of ''what did I just play again?''. Eventually received a sequel called ''Kids'', which while is still weird, has a clearer narrative about bullying, peer pressure and... childbirth?

* ''VisualNovel/{{Crimsoness}}'', a short, weird, angry, Japanese indie game...because it's ''VideoGame/{{OMGWTFOTL}}'' [[RecycledInSpace IN MS PAINT!]]

** Also ''VideoGame/{{Inca}}'' by the same developer, Coktel Vision, involving Incas and Conquistadors battling each other [[RecycledInSpace in space]].

* Creator/{{Rare}} has its fair share of Wabbits (Weird British Things), such as ''VideoGame/BlastCorps'' (a game about destroying all sorts of buildings with one ludicrous ExcusePlot about a runaway nuclear missile carrier) and ''Videogame/ConkersBadFurDay'' (a cutesy CollectAThonPlatformer twisted into something both stranger and very family-unfriendly).

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'', a game series where you play as a [[MascotWithAttitude hardcore]] blue hedgehog with SuperSpeed, who must foil the evil plans of an egg-shaped mad scientist resembling [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed the late Teddy Roosevelt]] (who tends to trap small animals inside his robot soldiers). All while frequently running through [[ThemeParkLandscape loop-de-loops]]. Some of the said hedgehog's friends include a two-tailed fox and a red echidna that can glide. As Sonic was intentionally modelled after cartoon characters from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation to appeal to a Western audience, this essentially qualifies the series as a WAT made by Japanese developers. Of course, much like its [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros rival franchise]], its popularity ([[ValuesDissonance outside of Japanese borders]]) has helped people get used to it to this day.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'' is already being called ''[[FanNickname Super Mario Acid Trip]]'', and it's not hard to see why given that the Wonder Flower the game is centered around distorts reality even more than the usual Mario game, to the point where Elephant Mario looks ''normal'' in comparison.
-->'''Talking Flower:''' "That [sleeping] Goomba looks so serene. ''(Elephant Mario sends Goomba flying)'' [[SeenItAll ...Well then.]]"

* ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}''. The game about a [[BigEater constantly]] [[BlackHoleBelly hungry]] pink puffball living in a dream land full of happy people, sentient trees, insane walruses, chef potatoes, and... [[SurpriseCreepy horrifying]] [[EldritchAbomination world-destroying monstrosities]]?

* ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}'' is a WTF freeware game about a baseball player who wants to exorcise [[BedsheetGhost Bedsheet Ghosts]] from {{Wackyland}}. [[spoiler: Up until the halfway mark of Zone 3 where it takes a very dark turn.]]

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', a game series where you play as a [[MascotWithAttitude hardcore]] blue hedgehog with SuperSpeed, who must foil the evil plans of an egg-shaped mad scientist resembling [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed the late Teddy Roosevelt]] (who tends to trap small animals inside his robot soldiers). All while frequently running through [[ThemeParkLandscape loop-de-loops]]. Some of the said hedgehog's friends include a two-tailed fox and a red echidna that can glide. As Sonic was intentionally modelled after cartoon characters from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation to appeal to a Western audience, this essentially qualifies the series as a WAT made by Japanese developers. Of course, much like its [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros rival franchise]], its popularity ([[ValuesDissonance outside of Japanese borders]]) has helped people get used to it to this day.

* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series is an odd case - the West interprets it quite clearly as a WJT series, yet it was originally designed to be viewed as an American-style series from a Japanese perspective. [[VideoGame/MOTHER1 The first game]]'s weirdness isn't particularly Japanese, but then [[VideoGame/EarthBound the]] [[VideoGame/MOTHER3 sequels]] became DenserAndWackier.

Return to [[WidgetSeries main]].

* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' is another fine example of a WHAT. It's about an earthworm wearing PoweredArmor who battles against lethal foes such as [[FeatheredFiend Psy-Crow (a galactic bounty hunter crow)]], [[CatsAreMean Evil the Cat]], [[EvilGenius Professor Monkey-For-A-Head]] and his close associate Monkey Professor-For-A-Head, and of course the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Evil Queen]] Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed [[BigCreepyCrawlies Slug-For-A-Butt]].

* ''VisualNovel/ILoveYouColonelSanders'': A ''visual novel'' with ''romance elements'' and ''set in an anime high school scenario'' with all the expected archetypes, that is ''officially licensed by KFC''. It doesn't get any more "widget series" than this.

* ''VideoGame/CrossEdge'' definitely qualifies, as it's a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover featuring the likes of a few of the other WidgetSeries games listed here.
* ''VideoGame/DeaeTonosamaAppareIchiban'' is a Widget top-down action game in which a Japanese UpperClassTwit inexplicably teams up with a French UpperClassTwit can be possessed by their powerful BaraGenre fathers to indulge in MachoCamp and take on UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu and UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga, or rather [=YEAH=]yasu and [=NO=]bunaga, with the latter turned into a cyborg and relocated to Mars. This is only the start of the insanity.

* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' is definitely a Wabbit. Ignoring the fact that the levels take place on a world made from people's dreams, the characters include a carboard Creator/LeonardoDaVinci wearing 3D glasses, a sexy nurse with an apple for a head and a depressed, cowardly calendar ... whose facial expressions are drawn in ink but can change.

* ''VideoGame/TimeGal'' has you play as a 16-year-old girl named Reika Kirishima, who goes through time battling (among other things) [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaurs]], cavemen, {{pirates}}, and rogue motorcyclists. Quoth [[WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} Slow]][[{{LetsPlay/Slowbeef}} beef]] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXuauClk_E0&t=3m25s this]] {{MST}}:

* ''VisualNovel/ILoveYouColonelSanders'': A ''visual novel'' with ''romance elements'' and ''set in an anime high school scenario'' with all the expected archetypes, that is ''officially licensed by KFC''. It doesn't get any more "widget series" than this.

* ''VideoGame/TossTheTurtle''. Get a turtle, a cannon, your [[WeaponOfChoice Gun Of Choice]], and add several crazy things like smoking French phoenix-like birds, bananas who can shoryuken the shit out of you, and angry ground creatures with a tenuous hold on their sanity, all for the purpose of getting cash, and you got something that is a grade-A '''WHAT'''.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterParty'' features the most bizarre assortment of EverythingTryingToKillYou, including enemies such as disembodied pairs of legs, DancingPants, and a SequentialBoss that starts as a shrimp and turns into an onion ring and then a kebab. Some of the strange enemies were originally going to be references to movie monsters which got replaced at the last minute, and at least one was an obscure cultural reference, but many straight-up lack an explanation no matter how much you try to find one. Bandai never released the game in Japan; it sold poorly in America, probably on account of its awful gameplay mechanics. To quote WebVideo/JonTron: "Excuse me sir, but is that a well with eggplant moons shooting plates at me? Liek..."]]

* ''VideoGame/TossTheTurtle''. Get a {{turtle|Power}}, a cannon, your [[WeaponOfChoice Gun Of Choice]], and add several crazy things like smoking French phoenix-like birds, bananas who can shoryuken the shit out of you, and angry ground creatures with a tenuous hold on their sanity, all for the purpose of getting cash, and you got something that is a grade-A '''WHAT'''.

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* While each plot of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' games is a dark action-packed crime drama, the side missions that take place outside the main story (known as substories) put our protagonists in some outrageous and embarrassing roles, such as a film director, a model, a music video star or Santa, and constantly get dragged into a fight with men with rather unusual tastes (yakuza roleplaying as babies?). They can learn moves from witnessing a panty thief or a traffic accident, and many brutal moves and weapons, such as a MagicalGirl toy wand are pure slapstick. And they also can stand their own against tigers and bears.

* ''VideoGame/GourmetSentaiBarayaro'' is a BeatEmUp... made by the creators of ''Cho Aniki''. It's one of the most surreal entries in the genre - The plot revolves around the heroes trying to save humanity from a food shortage after a criminal organization stole the entire world's supply of protein, and your enemies range from tofu-headed mutants to robotic moai heads and tiny liliputians who will cling on you to stomp on your skull. It's mostly an AffectionateParody of the various BeatEmUp games populating arcades at the time.

* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' is an arena-based ThirdPersonShooter game where teenage anthropomorphic cephalopods capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting join up after school with their FamilyFriendlyFirearms to fight in ink-soaked battles at the local mall or scrapyard and work part-time jobs at a cannery to shoot ProudWarriorRace salmon who use kitchenware as weapons. You in particular also assist in protecting the surface world as part of a secret militia partially-run by popular celebrities, fighting against sentient octopus tentacles with [[Franchise/DoctorWho Dalek]]-like weapons and millenia-old AI created by the {{precursors}}. The precursors are humans by the way, since this is all taking place long AfterTheEnd.