It's nice when I find SNES games that are not generic platformers or RPGs. I call them SNES games in this articles because both games were released in the US as well as Japan.
Septentrion, or S.O.S. in the US, is a game where you are inside a ship and have to get out before the ship goes down. You can save others on your way out. Your ending depends on how many you save.
You walk around in a world that looks like Monkey Island.
I had this copy but it sold yesterday for 249 SEK (35$), so it is an expensive game even in Japanese. The Japanese version has Japanese text, which will make it more difficult to understand what the people are saying and how to make them follow you.
Then I tried out Syndicate.
It is listed as a strategy game but I think action is more appropriate. This game was also released for the PC, Amiga, Apple, Mega Drive, 3D0, Jaguar, and other systems.
You walk around with your crew in a overhead perspective on missions.
It took me a little while to figure out the controls. They include Select; holding down the Y button and scrolling with the D-pad; holding X and pressing Up to pick up a weapon, and L+R to restore your power (I think). You'd better get the manual for the game.
After missions you get to upgrade your cyborgs and other strategic elements.
In the Japanese version this has Japanese text. I think with some practice this could be played in Japanese though. Your mission objective is described in Japanese too, but a yellow arrow will show you what it is so it is at least playable.
The game was made by Bullfrog who also made such weird games as Theme Park and Theme Hospital and there is some resemblance to Syndicate.
GamePro Magazine called the game "a thinking man's shootem up game". It reminds me of the PC Game X-Com: UFO Defense but with more action.
Maybe not for all, but atleast these two games are different and are suited for a more mature audience than little kids. Worth checking out.
The game was released on PS and Sat in Japan, and also on DOS (PC) and Amiga in Europe and maybe USA.
The game has Japanese text but all the dialogue is in English, and the artwork is amazing. I assumed the game would be a decent point and click adventure game. But, no.
Having all the text in Japanese is of course a problem, but this game is so weird that even with a walkthrough it is difficult to finish. The reason is that many things needs to be done at a certain in game time. The first time you enter the store, there is a bottle of whisky you can buy. But the second time you enter the store, the bottle will be gone forever. If you miss one of these things, you can't complete the game. You may not know until a much later stage.
The in game time lasts for 4 days and many things need to be done before a certain time. On day 2, I think you should look into the mirrow at a specific time to reach a different dimension. I read this afterwards because I didn't get that far. I think there is a clue in the note stuck on the mirrow, but I couldn't read the note because it is in Japanese. So I never made it that far.
Walking around the town relaxing, and the music and speach isn't so bad either. The game has a certain kind of lame humor that is fun in its own way. It is really just the gameplay that is terrible. The game was made by an American, so don't blame the Japanese for this one.
What I wanted to know when playing the game without a walkthrough or any guide, was "is the game playable without reading Japanese?". My answer is "the game is hardly playable even if you know Japanese". Having all the clues in Japanese will make it close to impossible. But if you have played it to the end in the DOS or Amiga version, or you enjoy following a walkthrough, I think you might appreciate the Saturn/PS game for what it is worth. I priced it at 35 SEK, which is 5$ or so.
Here is a video someone made of the first couple of minutes of gameplay. I never made it this "far" in the game because I didn't pick up the scoth. I put "far" in quotations because if you miss something early on, the game will be unwinnable later, no matter how "far" you made it. A sadistical theme that was in style with many point and click games of that time by Sierra Online. (King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry)
Saturn videos often have bad graphics in youtube videos. With a good RGB cable on a TV it will look a lot better and brighter.
Looking at some other gameplay video, I also notice that I missed some other things. You sometimes need to scan the screen with the cursor to locate a specific path or item on the screen. You have been warned, haha.
Yesterday I wrote about some Saturn adventure games. In a youtube video of R?MJ, a guy said that game was like D. So I looked into D, because I happen to own a copy of D. I never cared about it before because it looks kind of cheap and boring.
I sell it for 29 SEK, which is around 5$. The game was also released in the US and PAL countries.
Turns out that the game is perfectly playable even in Japanese and that I enjoyed it. Some reviewers say it sucks, has aged badly and so on, but I liked it. I think it is mainly because the game is short and I could beat it in 4-5 hours. It also has a low frustration level.
The game has a very slow pace, you move very slowly. But after a while you get used to it. The developers took care so that you never have to walk very far. At most I think there are only 7 or so rooms you can walk to in each scene.
The graphics does look quite bad but it was made by a small company. Later they made Enemy Zero, and later followed D with D2 for the Dreamcast. D2 has a cult following for its goriness and dark weirdness. I just researched these games, and read that the master mind of those games, Kenji Eno, sadly passed away a month ago from a heart condition, 42 years old.
In a detailed interview with him that is linked from the 1up link, he says that the normal ending of D is actually the bad ending, because you wouldn't normally think of doing what is necessary to get the good ending.
I also got the Bad End, but I don't care as long as the game gets beaten. I will make up my own translation for the text above:
BAD END - You got eaten by your own father and will never understand what this game was about. Nor did you stop the terror. PLEASE TRY AGAIN
The game has some puzzles that are not too hard, but they can be tricky. The limited inventory and lack of items to click on makes this game the most FMV (full motion video) of the adventure/horror Saturn games I've played so far. Not counting Brain Dead 13 and Strahl but they are more like movies than games.
I received some Saturn games yesterday, so I happily started investigating them. ( I didn't know what titles I would get ) The usual stuff: some RPGs, many sports and adventure games, many fighting games, a lot of quiz and "misc" games, a few shooters, and several rally games. So it is quite normal of the Saturn releases in Japan.
I was happy to see a game called Transport Tycoon because I played that a lot when I was younger, on the PC. It is sometimes voted the greatest game ever. A few years ago I played until it said "you can't build more stuff unless you replace your other stuff". I had hoped that the Saturn version would be an improvement on this issue, but what a disappointment...
The graphics is only in 640x480 mode, and you can't zoom out. The controller is more clumsy than the mouse, and the game is entirely in Japanese. The good thing is that I was able to rip the soundtrack from the CD, so now I can listen to it. (legally, I think, because I own the CD) I made a video of track nr 5, so you can read this blog to some nice background music.
I think the music was made by a professional jazz musician.
Another game was Destruction Derby, that I also played that on my PC when I was younger. In destruction derby, you get points for pushing the others' cars and not just win races. I played it for some 5 hours or so. The PsOne version has better graphics but the Saturn version is fun too. The save function is weird, because you save in a save slot, but the newest save slot will always be placed last. So if you have 5 save slots, and you replace save slot 2, then your new save will actually become number 5. This cost me 1-2 hours before I understood.
Here is a video from the Ps1 version:
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I also received some of the horror/adventure games that the Saturn had a couple of. I have already revied Resident Evil (Bio Hazard) here. I don't think I have mentioned Enemy Zero, Virus and Deep Fear. All of these games have a strange English/Japanese mix of text and language, and they are "import friendly" but may require a FAQ at times.
Enemy Zero has a lot of first person shooting in it. But it isn't actually "Quake" good. If I remember correctly: In Enemy Zero you have a stupid weapon that needs to reload after each shot while you are being chased by invisible aliens. The frustration level is high. A lot of running around narrow corridors, Alien (the movie) style. The game was very popular in Japan, but it is too slow paced for me.
I tried out Virus and I liked the control scheme. Virus also has the anime graphics that is nicer than the "pseudo 3D" of most games from that time. Since the game is point-and-click, and the items are all pictures, I think it should be well possible to play without knowing Japanese. Unlike Enemy Zero it was only released in Japan so you have no other language choice. But maybe not very exciting if you can't understand Japanese. All those FMV (Full Motion Video) clips take a long time, and there's a lot of dialogue for the story.
Let's go to Deep Fear. I haven't tried it out so I'll just show a video of it. It is definitely well made with a good atmosphere. This game was released in Europe, but it is quite pricey. The Japanese version costs like 10$ ( I sold one today for 75 SEK = 10$), while the European is 100$ or more these days.
Here is a video of someone who plays the Japanese version, so you can see the mix of Japanese text, English speech, and English menu.
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After that I had a look at R?MJ, which is an adventure game only released in Japan for the PS1 and SAT. And I liked it, unlike other reviewers.
All the dialogue is in Japanese but it can be played with no problem. The game is more FMV than all the others I have mentioned and seems to be linear. You don't need any save game slots because I don't think you can die or get stuck. The game autosaves for you if you want to quit.
You have two buttons: One is for Use, and one for Investigate. There isn't any point and click, and no action moments. Just walk around and Investigate and Use in every place you face. When you have done right, you will be able to progress.
Sometimes you need to bring up the Inventory (press Start) and take an item from there. Then use it while you stand in the right spot. Note that there are 3 screens of inventory, and you press Right several times to go from the first to the second screen.
The game doesn't require much of you, and I think that's nice. It is also interesting to try and see what has happened inside the Mystery Hospital. I didn't get very far though, because it took a long time to figure out these things with the inventory and the buttons and stuff. I couldn't find a video that wouldn't spoil the game, so here is a commercial.
If I had more time I would have played it more.
I enjoy all obscure games, and this one I just got in sure is obscure.
I wonder what the Japanese voices are saying in all these games. Once they start talking the dialogue can go on for several minutes.
I didn't get the manual with the game. Sometimes when I get manuals for these 18-X games (as I call them), the pages are stuck together... Well.
This is the kind of crap boys my age had when growing up. Kids today with internet wouldn't know. We had to play these crappy games for many minutes just to see an animated lady remove her shirt.
At least the English spoken in the game is funny. "Deara Ween", "Fast Praya Ween".
