Friday, May 01, 2015

Reason #408 I'm a bat-sh*t crazy gamer: I now own 10 WonderSwan games but I still don't own a system that will allow me to play any of them

I've admitted to some doozies in these posts over the years--examples--but I truly think this one takes the cake. After all, how many people do you know who buy 10 games for a system they don't even know?

OK, so I'm sure that can be said about at least a few (or a lot of) other people, but how many of those folks own 10 Japanese WonderSwan games without also owning some sort of WonderSwan system? That number is pretty darn small, I'm sure.



The point of this post isn't to brag (as if) about the fact that I'm stupid enough to own 10 WonderSwan games without also owning a system on which I can play them. No, the point is to showcase some of the cool art that's plastered across the front of the boxes that contain those titles.


If you're curious as to the names of the games that are included in the photo below, by the way, here they are (clockwise from the upper-left): SaGaTane wo Maku ToriMr. DrillerRainbow Islands: Putty's PartyRomancing SaGaHataraku ChocoboFlash Kobito-kunEngacho!, Xi Little and Chocobo's Dungeon.



A couple of the games shown above are fairly recent pick-ups, actually. (Chocobo's Dungeon, Romancing SaGa and SaGa, basically.) In fact, they're what prompted me to write this post--and once again ponder buying a wine-colored SwanCrystal system.

I'm hoping--planning--to get off my butt and do just that soon, don't you worry. In the meantime, do any of you own WonderSwan games--or, gasp, WonderSwan systems?

See also: previous 'I'm bat-sh*t crazy' posts

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Help me blow my hard-earned cash on a couple of un-translated Japanese PSone RPGs, too

I know what some of you are thinking. Enough with all of the "I'm learning Japanese and I'm totally jazzed about it" crap! I appreciate where you're coming from, I really do, but I honestly can't help myself.

Although it's still "early doors," as British sports commentators are fond of saying, for me and my studies, I'm far enough along to be able to translate (or look up, if need be) pretty much every word I come across that's written using katakana or hiragana, and I find that pretty darn exciting. Plus, I'm finally starting to learn some kanji and grammar (not necessarily in that order), which is making things even more thrilling.

Anyway, all of the above has me itching to buy some of the Japanese PlayStation RPGs I've long wanted to experience--but previously avoided because of the language barrier--so I can pop them into my trusty PSone-plus-monitor combo and give them a whirl at last. (An added bonus: I figure playing through some of these titles, like The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom, will help me expand my vocabulary.)

A couple of the games I'm contemplating at the moment:


PoPoLoCrois Monogatari--This beautiful, sprite-filled adventure is based on Tamori Yousuke's 30-plus-year-old manga series. Sadly, that's all I know about it right now but, really, what else do you need to know about a game that looks a stellar as the one showcased in the screenshot above?


The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom--I'm a bit more knowledgable about this Japanese RPG, which was released in other regions as Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (and eventually was ported to the Nintendo DS). What am I looking forward to most about this title? Seeing its flan attack in action, of course.


TwinBee RPG--OK, so this Konami-made joint isn't as much of a looker as the games mentioned above, but I still want to play it. I mean, it allows you to control low-poly versions of TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee while battling similarly low-poly enemies that look like turnips and carrots. What's not to like?

As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions you may have when it comes to Japanese PSone RPGs I should add to my ever-growing "to play" list, so feel free to name some in the comments section below.

See also: 'Help me blow my hard-earned cash on some un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs'

Monday, April 27, 2015

Help me blow my hard-earned cash on some un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs

I've now published two posts about the PSP in two days--what's the world coming to, right?

Actually, the fact is that I've had Sony's first PlayStation Portable on the brain since Jess, the proprietor of the Kiblitzing blog, bought and sent me this sparkly purple PSP-3000 system a couple of months ago.

Combine my renewed interest in this console--and its surprisingly fabulous games catalog--with my renewed interest in learning the Japanese language (yes, I'm back to that, and having a better time of it than my last go-round), and you've got the makings of a full-blown PSP obsession.

Specifically, I'm more than a bit obsessed with the idea of playing through a few Japanese PSP RPGs sometime soon. Oh, I don't yet know enough of the language to understand even 20 percent of what's sure to be thrown at me when I play these games, but I should be able to translate a good portion of the menu tabs, weapons, armor, items and magic spells that pop up--along with a few other words and phrases, I hope--and that's good enough for me at the moment.

Given all of the above, I thought I'd ask all of you if you know of any un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs I may enjoy playing.

Three such games that I'm already giving serious thought to picking up as soon as possible are:


Antiphona no Seikahime--This Nippon Ichi-made game is some sort of spin-off of the company's Marl Kingdom titles. I'm not sure why that matters to me, actually, as I haven't played any of that series' entries (although I've owned the related La Pucelle Tactics for years). I guess it has something to do with the fact that I like the aesthetics in these releases. At any rate, this one's definitely on my radar right now.


Sekai wa Atashi de Mawatteru: Hikari to Yami no Princess--If you've been coming to this blog for at least a few weeks, you've likely heard of this game's DS-based counterpart, which made it to North America as My World, My WayHikari to Yami no Princess is more than a simple up-port of that title, by the way, as it throws a second selectable protagonist into the mix (a dark version of the original's spoiled princess), among other additions.


Tengai Makyou: The Apocalypse IV--Speaking of ports, this is a port of a game that initially was developed for the Sega Saturn. If you've never heard of it, this is supposed to be a really wacky RPG that's set in a wildly skewed version of the United States. Also, it's a sequel to two other Japanese RPGs--Tengai Makyou: Ziria and Tengai Makyou: Manji Maru--that have intrigued me since I was a kid.

I'm also curious about a game called Ore no Dungeon that was made by Climax Entertainment (of Shining in the Darkness and Shining Force fame) and published by Sega.

With all of that out of the way, please feel free to let me know (in the comments section below) about any other Japanese PSP RPGs you think might trip my trigger.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Someone pinch me: two more Japanese games are being localized for the PSP

Did you hear? The folks over at Gaijinworks are localizing a pair of Japanese PSP games for European and North American release ... sometime in the next year, I would guess.

And not only that, but both games may receive physical (with cases, manuals and UMDs) as well as digital releases should demand prove strong enough.

As for which two Japanese PSP titles we're talking about here, one of them is Class of Heroes 3 (Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono. 3 in Japan):


While the other is Summon Night 5:


Sadly, despite my continued love for the PSP, and although I love Gaijinworks for daring to bring more of the system's Japanese titles to my neck of the woods, I can't say I'm all that interested in picking up either of these games.

Actually, I'd consider buying Class of Heroes 3 if I hadn't bought Class of Heroes 2 in 2013 ... and then ignored it for the next two years. (Yes, that means I've yet to play the damn thing.)

What do the rest of you think of this news? Are any of you planning to purchase either or both of these games? If so, which one--or which ones?

See also: 'After five years of waiting, I've finally received my copy of Class of Heroes 2 (PSP)'