With the exception of some licenses, an argument can be made that most of the games on the original Xbox were underappreciated. Compared to the Xbox 360 and even the Xbox One, Microsoft’s first foray into the console market was a decent but not spectacular commercial success. While certain games garnered universal acclaim and recognition, other great titles fell by the wayside.

Some releases like Dead or Alive 3 became synonymous with the Xbox brand due to being launch titles, while games from established franchises like The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind benefitted from being console exclusives. If someone had an Xbox, there were certain games they simply had to own; naturally, some titles remained hidden gems.

10 Everyone Had: Project Gotham Racing

While PlayStation had Gran Turismo, Xbox had Project Gotham Racing. A launch title for the original Xbox, 2001’s Project Gotham Racing effectively showcased the console’s power while delivering a fun arcade racing experience that put just as much emphasis on skill as speed.

The subsequent sequels would improve on the formula and Project Gotham Racing would eventually be usurped by Forza as the Xbox’s definitive racing franchise, but the original Project Gotham Racing was nevertheless a fantastic racer that everyone owned.

9 Overlooked: Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath

Despite garnering almost universal praise, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath sadly failed to find much of an audience on the Xbox. Part of the Oddworld franchise, Stranger’s Wrath blended third and first-person gameplay to offer a more action-oriented campaign that still retained the license’s trademark macabre humor.

In all honesty, Stranger’s Wrath should have been a great fit on the Xbox, but it was largely overlooked. Since then, it has been made available on a number of different platforms.

8 Everyone Had: Fable

Hyped to the moon by Lionhead Studios, Fable promised groundbreaking features and an unprecedented level of character adaptability that would allow for each playthrough to be unique. Even if it did not quite manage to deliver on the hype, that does not take much away from Fable’s status as one of the definitive RPGs on the original Xbox.

For a brand new IP in a genre that was never heavily associated with the Xbox brand, Fable sold extremely well.

7 Overlooked: Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse

Xbox has had some weird games over the years, especially during the original console’s run. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse serves as a prime example of Microsoft’s willingness to take a gamble on stranger concepts.

Players take control of Stubbs, a murdered salesman who wakes up more than 20 years after his death and sets out to quench his hunger with human brains. Offering a delightful mix of black humor, 1950s iconography, and simple but enjoyable gameplay, Stubbs the Zombie is a great game that is still worth tracking down in 2020.

6 Everyone Had: Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

There is no such thing as a surefire cash cow; however, Star Wars is almost an exception to the rule. Frequently cited as the franchise’s best game, Knights of the Old Republic was a dense RPG that featured some of BioWare’s most fondly regarded storylines. The gameplay was good for its time, but the main focus was on the complex characters and fantastic world-building.

Knights of the Old Republic was a must-own title on the original Xbox and sold especially well during its opening weeks.

5 Overlooked: Deathrow

Deathrow imagines a future dominated by a popular (and brutal) extreme sport called Blitz, which combines elements from rugby, hockey, and street fighting to create something that is silly but irresistibly entertaining. Deathrow is primarily a multiplayer game, but the single-player campaign still offers multiple leagues, unlockable teams, and hours upon hours of gameplay.

Considering sports games are primarily bought by fans of said sport, it is hardly a surprise that Deathrow failed to impress commercially.

4 Everyone Had: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell was also available on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube, but the Xbox version was by far the best. As Metal Gear Solid was not available on Microsoft’s system, anyone looking for a stealth-based game turned to Splinter Cell, and they were hardly left wanting.

Splinter Cell established Sam Fisher as one of gaming’s greatest protagonists, helped cement “Tom Clancy” as a stamp of quality during the 2000s, and made Ubisoft plenty of money.

3 Overlooked: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

If movie tie-in games are the bane of every gamer’s existence, then TV tie-in titles exist as a reminder that things can always be worse. That said, occasionally an adaptation is released that does justice to the source material, with 2002’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer being one such example.

Featuring multiple playable characters, a storyline that would not have seemed out of place in Joss Whedon’s show, and sound combat mechanics that take advantage of the cast’s versatility, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not only one of the best TV tie-in games of its era but one of the better action titles on the original Xbox.

2 Everyone Had: Halo: Combat Evolved & Halo 2

Halo: Combat Evolved put Xbox on the map and was the console’s definitive launch title. If someone bought an Xbox, they almost certainly picked up Halo: Combat Evolved. Building on the success of its predecessor, Halo 2 was the game everyone wanted towards the end of 2004, and Bungie mostly delivered on the hype. Multiplayer was huge on the original Xbox, and that mostly came down to Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequel.

Halo is to Xbox what Super Mario is to Nintendo; a Microsoft console would not feel complete without a game case featuring Master Chief by its side.

1 Overlooked: Psychonauts

After being acquired by Microsoft, Double Fine Productions will finally get an opportunity to create a sequel to 2005’s Psychonauts, an imaginative platformer that was an infamous financial flop upon release. Psychonauts came out at a time when 3D platformers were starting to lose steam after the boom of the late ’90s and early 2000s, and unfortunately, great reviews were not enough to turn the game into a hit.

Psychonauts has aged better than most of its contemporaries, primarily due to its strange visuals, quirky but lovable characters, and Inception-esque premise.

NEXT: 5 Xbox Classics That Need A Full On Remake (& 5 That Shouldn’t Be Touched)