Five overlooked Japanese PlayStation games you need to play as soon as possible

Most folks who love the original PlayStation know all about Japan-only gems like Harmful Park, LSD: Dream Emulator, Rakugaki Showtime, Slap Happy Rhythm Busters, Vib-Ribbon and Umihara Kawase Shun.

There are a lot of other PSone imports that are worth picking up and playing, though--and many of them are far more affordable than the titles mentioned above. Here are five such games. (Bonus: all of the following can be enjoyed without knowing a lick of Japanese.)

Engacho!--I know why people ignore this game even after they become aware of it. It's gross--and not in a Mortal Kombat kind of way. No, this colorful puzzler is gross in an "it's full of boogers and spit and smelly armpit hair" kind of way. The thing is, the brain-teasing gameplay that surrounds all of this grossness is not only fun and challenging, but unique. To learn more about it, read my Engacho! review. (If you'd also like to get a glimpse of this game's outer case, disc and manual, check out my post, "What in the hell does Engacho! mean, anyway?"

Gussun Paradise--Although I can understand why a lot of Westerners shy away from Engacho!, I'm completely flummoxed that they treat Gussun Paradise in the same manner. For starters, the latter game was made by the masters at Irem. Second, it's a single-screen platformer à la Don Doko Don and all kinds of other Taito releases. Third, its graphics are so cute and colorful it's hard not to grin like an idiot while basking in their glow. For more information on this Gussun Oyoyo spinoff, and to see some snapshots of its packaging, peruse this old post about it.

Lup Salad: Loopop Cube--If adorable games tend to give you toothache, you may have to see your dentist for a root canal after playing this puzzler-platformer from 2012. Not only are its sprite-based characters, blocks and backdrops as precious as can be, but the same can be said of its ear-pleasing soundtrack. You'd do well to try Loopop Cube (or Lupupu Cube or Rupupu Cube) even if the description and screenshot above give you pause, though, as the block-pushing and -matching gameplay at the center of this title will entice even the biggest haters to waste many an hour on it.

Mad Panic Coaster--All of the Japan-only PlayStation games that have been discussed up to this point are unquestionably enjoyable affairs. The same can't be said of Mad Panic Coaster. So why on earth have I included it here? Because it's so damn weird--it's basically an on-rails racer that's set on a bunch of themed roller coasters--that it's worth playing even if it can be maddeningly frustrating and difficult at times. If you're a collector of import PSone titles, by the way, do yourself a favor and hunt down a complete-in-box copy of Mad Panic Coaster. Its instruction manual (ogle scans of it here) alone will make you appreciate your purchase.

Susume! Taisen Puzzle-Dama--For whatever reason, Konami's long-running Taisen Puzzle-Dama never made waves outside of Japan like other match-two and -three titles from the same era. You know the ones I'm talking about: Columns, Magical Drop, Puyo Puyo and their ilk. That's too bad, as the various iterations of Taisen Puzzle-Dama I've played--including this one and one that features the company's TwinBee characters--are a blast. That's partially because of its frantic puzzling action, of course, but it's also because of its wacky cast (see above) and sense of humor.

Can you think of any unfortunately overlooked or ignored Japan-only PSone games that people in other parts of the world really need to play? If so, share them in the comments section of this post.

Five favorites: Japanese PlayStation box art

Of all the "retro" game systems I currently collect, the one about which I'm the least knowledgable is the original PlayStation--especially when it comes to the subject of Japanese cover art that was produced for that groundbreaking console.

Still, I think I've come across enough examples of the above to publish a post such as this.

Should you have any favorites that aren't highlighted here, though, by all means let me know about them in the comments section below.

Boku no Natsuyasumi--To be perfectly frank, I'd like this particular piece of box art a lot more if it ditched the English text and even the "contrail" logo that takes up a smidge of space in the lower-right corner. Even in its current state, though, I'm pretty darn smitten with it and the cheery, nostalgic vibe it gives off to viewers.

Eldergate--There are a bunch of Konami-made PlayStation covers that could be mentioned here, but I'm going with Eldergate's because it features a sumptuously colored--and not at all clichéd, which can't be said of many of its counterparts, especially today--illustration.

Mad Panic Coaster--Could you describe this selection as a bit garish? Yes, I suppose you could. It's long been a favorite of mine regardless, though, due to its unique layout--it takes the eye a few seconds to recognize the roller-coaster car along the bottom edge--and bold use of color. (Although I wouldn't have complained if the logo had been made a bit smaller.)

Mizzurna Falls--Here's another piece of cover art that I've been a fan of since I first laid eyes on it (while perusing this review at easternmind.tumblr.com). There's something so ... moody about it that really appeals to me. Plus, it features snow-covered mountains, which always earns an approving nod from me.

PoPoLoCrois Monogatari--This is the perfect way to portray an RPG's contents on its box art, if you ask me. We've got dragons (two of them, I think), a varied party of adventurers (the dudes and the dudette situated between the dragons) and dramatic dose of magic--unless, of course, that orb is something other than a "wall" or "protect" spell.

Add in the abundance of color and clean composition and you've got yourself one attractive cover illustration. In my opinion, of course.

See also: 'Five favorites: Japanese DS box art,' 'Five favorites: Japanese PSP box art' and 'Five favorites: Japanese Wii box art'

Introducing: Manual Stimulation

Anyone who has flipped through the instruction manuals of at least a few old games--from the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit eras in particular--knows how awesome they tend to be.

Sure, some of them are absolute stinkers, but a good percentage of them--like this one, included with Hakuhodo's PlayStation oddity Mad Panic Coaster--are the complete opposite thanks to their silly backstories and top-shelf illustrations.

Manual for the Atari 2600 version of Ms. Pac-Man

Because I own a number of examples of the latter (i.e., non-stinker manuals), I've decided I'm going to scan them and then share them here--along with some hopefully witty commentary--over the next few weeks, months and (maybe) years.

Anyway, as I'm sure you've already surmised thanks to the headline above, all of these posts will be grouped together henceforth under the oh-so-mature header of "Manual Stimulation."

Mad Panic Coaster's awesome manual

OK, so today is "Mad Panic Coaster Day"--or at least it seems to be on this here blog. Don't worry, things will return to normal (i.e., I'll write about something other than this wackadoodle import) tomorrow.

Anyway, in my "Great Gaymathon" review of Hakohodo's roller coaster simulator (read it here) I mentioned that it sports a pretty awesome piece of cover art. Well, that awesome art continues throughout the game's manual, so I thought I'd share some scans of it here.

Here are the manual's front and back covers (click to engorge, er, enlarge):



And here are its first four inside pages, the third and fourth of which seem to tell the game's "story":





Check out the rest of Mad Panic Coaster's manual (if you so desire) after the jump.

Edith's and Rosemary's frightful memories of Mad Panic Coaster

I included a link to this hilarious video review of Mad Panic Coaster in the "Great Gaymathon" post I just published, but I like it (the video review, not my written one) so much that I had to give it a post of its own.



My favorite line: "The wood cutter gave us this game because we were good girls." (OK, so the final exchange between Edith and Rosemary makes me chuckle, too.)

The Great Gaymathon Review #19: Mad Panic Coaster (PlayStation)

Game: Mad Panic Coaster

Genre: Roller Coaster Simulator

Developer: Hakuhodo

Publisher: Hakuhodo

System: PlayStation

Release date: 1997

There are just two reasons to pick up a copy of Hakuhodo's Mad Panic Coaster, in my oh-so-humble opinion: 1) it sports a pretty awesome piece of cover art (see above) and 2) it features some appealingly strange--or maybe I should say strangely appealing--gameplay. Sadly, the latter is pretty flawed despite its rather compelling premise--which throws players into the front seat of an out-of-control roller-coaster car and then tasks them with hanging on for dear life until the end of the level, er, ride. So, how is the gameplay flawed? Well, it's too difficult (i.e., fast) by half, for starters. Also, it's a bit too sloppy, control-wise, to be much fun. Case in point: The only thing you have to do to survive each of the game's 12 stages is push left or right on the control pad at the correct time, but it's often hard to figure out what the correct time is. Should you push left a second or maybe two before an upcoming turn, for instance, or should you do it right as you're rounding the turn? It's never made clear, and as a result you spend a lot of time guessing--and dying--while attempting to master the appropriately titled Mad Panic Coaster. That's too bad, because the game is easy on the eyes (as far as I can tell--everything races by at the speed of light) and ears and, like I said earlier, its survive-an-out-of-control-roller-coaster-ride premise is a pretty enticing one.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts