The Poorly Described Game... um, game.

[Tawmis]

I remember a console game that was local co-op that involved humans fighting aliens and was known for its extremely high level of difficulty.

Is it "Aliens: Fireteam Elite"?

Nope. The game I'm thinking of is is much older and almost universally associated with a very specific console.

Console specific.
Oh. There's two I have in mind. I'll go for the one immediately in mind and one of my favorite co-op humans vs aliens game....
Would this be GEARS OF WAR 1?

Nope. This game is much older than GoW1. I'm sure this hint will give it away, but the game I'm thinking of was released in the 1980s.

Oh snap, that ruins what I was going to go with next. I was going to go HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED next, but if we're talking 80's...

You'd think that the clue would give it away... but aliens vs humans was SUPER popular in the 80s.... 90% of the movies were about aliens...

So that said, is it a game based on the ALIEN (movie) franchise?

(Trying to narrow it down some)

[DeadPoolX]

Is it "Aliens: Fireteam Elite"?

Nope. The game I'm thinking of is is much older and almost universally associated with a very specific console.

Console specific.
Oh. There's two I have in mind. I'll go for the one immediately in mind and one of my favorite co-op humans vs aliens game....
Would this be GEARS OF WAR 1?

Nope. This game is much older than GoW1. I'm sure this hint will give it away, but the game I'm thinking of was released in the 1980s.

Oh snap, that ruins what I was going to go with next. I was going to go HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED next, but if we're talking 80's...

You'd think that the clue would give it away... but aliens vs humans was SUPER popular in the 80s.... 90% of the movies were about aliens...

So that said, is it a game based on the ALIEN (movie) franchise?

(Trying to narrow it down some)

No, this game isn't based on the ALIEN film franchise at all, despite some enemy bosses somewhat resembling the xenomorphs from the ALIEN series.

HINT 1: As previously mentioned, this game was from the 1980s, was was known for being on a popular console in that time period, and had full local co-op support on that same console.

HINT 2: The two playable characters were based, at least in part, on two actors known for their action-oriented films of the 1980s.

[Tawmis]

No, this game isn't based on the ALIEN film franchise at all, despite some enemy bosses somewhat resembling the xenomorphs from the ALIEN series.
HINT 1: As previously mentioned, this game was from the 1980s, was was known for being on a popular console in that time period, and had full local co-op support on that same console.
HINT 2: The two playable characters were based, at least in part, on two actors known for their action-oriented films of the 1980s.

You'd think those hints would help.

For a moment, I thought it might be the X-MEN: CLONE WARS game, since the Brood are in that - and were a clear knock off of the xenomorphs from ALIENS. But that was 90s.

But I do think I know what it is now.

Is it Contra?

I don't have much of a memory of playing CONTRA (I know I did because it was insanely popular) - but the xenomorph thing and this from CONTRA makes me assume I may be right -

[DeadPoolX]

No, this game isn't based on the ALIEN film franchise at all, despite some enemy bosses somewhat resembling the xenomorphs from the ALIEN series.
HINT 1: As previously mentioned, this game was from the 1980s, was was known for being on a popular console in that time period, and had full local co-op support on that same console.
HINT 2: The two playable characters were based, at least in part, on two actors known for their action-oriented films of the 1980s.

You'd think those hints would help.

For a moment, I thought it might be the X-MEN: CLONE WARS game, since the Brood are in that - and were a clear knock off of the xenomorphs from ALIENS. But that was 90s.

But I do think I know what it is now.

Is it Contra?

I don't have much of a memory of playing CONTRA (I know I did because it was insanely popular) - but the xenomorph thing and this from CONTRA makes me assume I may be right -

You got it, it's Contra! At some point I would've added a hint about the Konami code, but I thought that would've been way too obvious unless absolutely necessary.

[Tawmis]

This one might be easy...

I remember a specific computer game - popular RPG series - and it was an odd mixture of both fantasy and scifi in it. It was one of those specifically...

[Rath Darkblade]

Huh. Is it Shadowrun, by any chance?

(There's cyberpunk in there as well, but oh well!)

[DeadPoolX]

Could also be KoTOR, but Rath's guess of Shadowrun seems like a better fit to me.

[Tawmis]

Clue 1 for the Shadowrun guess: No, definitely not Shadowrun. This series ran for 8 games.
Clue 2 for the KOTOR guess: No, KoTOR is more scifi with a touch of fantasy, IMO - this was a fantasy series first, that introduced scifi elements in the later part of the series.

(Clue 2 was difficult without being overly specific...!)

[DeadPoolX]

Okay, two questions:

1. Is this game ONLY available on the computer or is also available on at least one console?

2. Was this released before before the year 2000?

[Tawmis]

Okay, two questions:
1. Is this game ONLY available on the computer or is also available on at least one console?
2. Was this released before before the year 2000?

The one I played is PC specific - the series was best known on PC - and widely considered the "grandfather of CRPG."

It was, however, released on console (that I am aware of) - but exclusively in Japan. Console version(s) to my knowledge never saw US release. And the console versions - the graphics were GREATLY updated.

For the second question - supposed to be one question per post (until your other question is answered, I think lol - I can't remember) - but for the second question.

Definitely not before 2000. The first in the series came out 1980 - but the one I am thinking of from that series came out after 1990.

[Rath Darkblade]

Huh. Well, that rules out all my guesses, like the Borderlands series, the Destiny series, and the Chrono series. Poo.

But Tawm, your answer makes no sense! First you say that it was NOT before 2000, but then you say that it came out after 1990. Which is it?

[DeadPoolX]

Well... the "grandfather of RPGS" is generally considered the Ultima series, but nearly all the Ultima games that received console ports also saw release in the US. The one exception that I know of is Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire. For some reason, that particular game only saw a Japanese console port.

So I guess that's what I'm going to say: Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire.

[Tawmis]

Huh. Well, that rules out all my guesses, like the Borderlands series, the Destiny series, and the Chrono series. Poo.
But Tawm, your answer makes no sense! First you say that it was NOT before 2000, but then you say that it came out after 1990. Which is it?

I have no idea what I was thinking. I totally read that as AFTER 2000... but even wrote before.

So - correct, yes it was BEFORE 2000. (Sorry!)

For the clue:

Definitely not either of those games. The graphics of the first five games of this series I recall being very primitive. From the 6th one and onward, they added improved and more colorful graphics.

Well... the "grandfather of RPGS" is generally considered the Ultima series, but nearly all the Ultima games that received console ports also saw release in the US. The one exception that I know of is Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire. For some reason, that particular game only saw a Japanese console port.
So I guess that's what I'm going to say: Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire.

No, it's not Ultima.

However, like Ultima, the game series I am thinking of - DID have an MMO that would eventually be developed in and released in Japan and US, in Jan 2013 by SOE (Sony Online Entertainment). But it got a lot of backlash because it wasn't like the original series and had been turned very "anime" due to the game rights going to a company in Japan. The game's servers were shut down in July 2014. (One of the shortest lived MMOs ever?)

Another clue (may not be big) - is that the company that made (the original 8 of the NON MMO) series I am thinking of - went under.

However, the 8th game was in mid development - so a small group of employees continued it - and published the 8th and final game of the regular series.

The one I am thinking of was the 7th one in the series.

(Gave extra clues due to me being stupid and answering the "Is it after 2000" question incorrectly).

[Tawmis]

And for funsies - because of my botched "2000" answer -

I remember -
The first game came out in 1981
The second was in 1982 and you could import your characters
The third one was 1983 and again could import your characters
The fourth one was 1987, but this time you couldn't import - because you play the role of the villain, really
The fifth one was 1988
The sixth one, and the one that was more colorful, and visually more appeasing, was in 1990
The seventh one, the one I am thinking of, came out in 1992.
They came out with an off shoot that takes place outside, instead of being a "dungeon crawl" in 1996 - and "Nemesis" was a part of that title
And then the final one was released in 2001, after the company who made the series, had officially already gone under (the US division closed in 1998, where this was being developed), though the Canada version continued until late 2003.

[DeadPoolX]

Then the game you're thinking of must be Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant. I never played any of the Wizardy titles, so I was completely clueless about them beyond knowing they existed.