Friday, April 05, 2013

Five PC Engine games I'm going to (attempt to) play once I've learned enough Japanese

Could it be said that I'm getting ahead of myself here? Yes, it could. The fact is, though, that the possibility (slim as it may be) that I may someday learn enough Japanese to play any of the following PC Engine games is what's driving my studies at the moment, so I'm OK with this "getting ahead of myself" business.

So, which previously inaccessible (well, except for in the case of one of the games below) am I itching to stumble my way through, Japanese-to-English dictionary in hand, at some point in the future? Read on to find out.


1. Laplace no Ma--I'm including this Human-developed Super CD-ROM title here for one reason and one reason only: it's one of the few horror-themed dungeon-crawlers I've come across. Considering it's a CD-based game, I'm guessing it's stuffed full of kanji (the most difficult of Japan's alphabets), which would make things quite a bit trickier, but I don't care. That said, let's see if I'm still this cavalier if and when I find myself staring at its title screen.


2. Madou Monogatari--To be completely honest, I'd already own this Arcade CD-ROM title--lack of Japanese knowledge be damned--if it weren't for one little thing: it's sky-high price. It's supposed to be a pretty great game, though, and it's surely an adorable one, so maybe I'll reward myself for reaching a particularly daunting educational milestone by picking up a copy (assuming I can find one).


3. Necromancer--I've heard that this HuCard-based RPG is a bit rough around the edges and features far too many random battles, but I've long wanted to give it a go anyway because of its dark theme and because of its H.R. Giger-inspired box art (which can be seen here).


4. Pro Tennis World Court--A weird choice, no? Especially since I could play the English version of this game (known as World Court Tennis) whenever I want. The thing is, that iteration's localization is absolutely atrocious, while its Japanese counterpart is supposed to feature lots of "loony, in-jokey dialogue," so I'd really like to experience the game as it was originally intended.


5. Tengai Makyo II: Manji Maru--True story: I bought a copy of this game all the way back when I was in high school, when I still owned a TurboGrafx-16 system (along with the bulky CD-ROM attachment, thank you very much) and obsessed about grand Japanese RPGs such as this one. Sadly, GameFAQs was but a twinkle on someone's eye at the time, so I barely put a dent in it before raising the proverbial white flag. Like the other CD-based games mentioned here, this one is chock-full of kanji, so it's likely to continue to stump me for some time to come, but I'll give it my best all the same.

Honorable mentions: Dragon Knight II and III, Record of Lodoss War, Seiya Monogatari: Anearth Fantasy Stories and War of the Dead.

Note: the Laplace no Ma, Madou Monogatari and Necromancer screenshots above were taken from shinjuforest.blogspot.com and thebrothersduomazov.com.

20 comments:

Steve Pixel said...

Wait, you know Laplace no Ma was fan-translated for the SNES, right? I played and gif'd it last Halloween. Really great game! http://obscurevideogames.tumblr.com/search/Laplace+no+Ma

Kimimi said...

Hey, I recognise the motley crew in that top screenshot! Good choices here, I hope you enjoy them when you play them :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, but I want to play the PC Engine version :P That said, I may try the SNES version someday, too. Oh, and thanks for the link!

thegaygamer.com said...

Me, too, Kimimi! It'll be interesting to see how quickly (or not...) I'm able to even attempt any of these. I have a feeling the kanji-heavy ones are going to remain out of reach for a good while--which may be a good thing, as they'll keep me going in my studies.

Kimimi said...

The SNES version is very different to the PCE/computer releases and not as good IMO. (Sorry to butt in)

Steve Pixel said...

Alright, I'll bite. What am I missing out on by not playing the PC Engine version?

thegaygamer.com said...

No need to apologize, Kimimi! Also, thanks for the info. I thought I'd remembered the SF version being different from the PCE one...

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, for starters, you're missing playing it on a PCE. Just kidding. I'll let Kimimi answer this (if she's willing!), as I've yet to play the game. I know one thing, though: the PCE version is a first-person dungeon-crawler, while the SF version is more of your typical overhead RPG--as far as I'm aware.

Simon Lethbridge said...

Good idea Bryan! I actually decided to start learning Japanese once, purely for gaming (and anime) reasons of course! But I met my future-wife shortly afterwards and kind of lost track of the idea. It would be awesome to be able to play Japanese games properly though, there are so many that didn't get released elsewhere. Oh, and I like the look of #2 a lot :P

Kimimi said...

Basically the PCE game is "as intended", while the SNES version is a poor copy. The game is meant to be a first person dungeon crawler with a highly customisable team, the SNES game just doesn't have the atmosphere or the quality of the others. IMO, obviously.

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks, Simon! I have a feeling a lot of us gamers start learning Japanese at one point or another--and then give it up for one reason or another. I hope that doesn't happen to me, although I know it's a distinct possibility.

Anyway, I love the look of #2, too. Isn't it freaking adorable?

BTW, I'm so proud of myself for knowing that the text in that screenshot says "sleep!" in English. Or at least I think that's what it says (I haven't yet learned the ra/re/ri/ro/ru katakana, although I'm learning them today)...

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks, Kimimi! Man, I can't wait to play this someday :)

Lizzi said...

Hey Bryan! Black Rock Shooter (PSP) comes to NA and EU! :D

I guess, those news make you happy right?
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/04/05/black-rock-shooter-the-game-coming-to-u-s-and-europe-this-month/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+siliconera%2FMkOc+%28Siliconera%29

thegaygamer.com said...

Hey there, Lizzi! Well, we knew it was coming to NA at least for a while now, we just didn't know the date. Can't believe it's so soon, though! Also good to know you Europeans will be getting it at the same time. Will you be picking it up?

beautiful_tooth said...

Definitely diggin' those first several.

There aren't any language patches to be found for them?

thegaygamer.com said...

Sadly, there aren't, beautiful_tooth. Very few PCE games have ever been unofficially translated into English by fans, actually--especially CD-based ones. I'm guessing that's because the TG-16 wasn't at all popular here, which has kept nostalgic feelings about its Japan-only games to a minimum.

Lizzi said...

Hm I'm not sure yet. I think it's a bit strange that they still release PSP-games. But it is quite interesting. Sorry, that I always bother you with informations you already know. You're the only one I can talk with about such news. No one I know is interested in games like this one... :(

thegaygamer.com said...

Don't be sorry, Lizzi--I am interested! I'm not sure I'm going to buy it either, to be honest. It looks interesting, but I'm not sure I'd play it anytime soon. I'll probably wait and see what others' impressions of it are and then make a decision.

Simon Lethbridge said...

Jeepers, you already know way more than me! I can speak a few sentences and can under a little when being spoken to but I haven't got a blinking clue about reading/writing kanji! (>.<)

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, maybe we're even then :)