Japanese Video Game Obscurities

[Discoalucard]

This thread is for all of the titles covered in our weekly Japanese Video Game Obscurities column, which are being written for a book that's currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

You can find the full list here:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/category/feature/japanese-video-game-obscurities/

Here are the individual games currently covered:

Emerald Dragon:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/emerald-dragon/

The Hybrid Front:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/hybrid-front-the/

Garage: Bad Dream Adventure:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/garage-bad-dream-adventure/

Star Cruiser:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/star-cruiser/

Asuka 120% Final Burning Fest:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/asuka-120-final-burning-fest/

Kuma Uta:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/kuma-uta/

Digan no Maseki:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/digan-no-maseki/

Germs: Nerawareta Machi
www.hardcoregaming101.net/germs-nerawareta-machi/

Jagur 5:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/jagur-5/

Soma Bringer:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/soma-bringer/

A tentative list of planned titles are featured here, along with other project details:

www.hardcoregaming101.net/books/hg101-presents-japanese-video-game-obscurities/

Let me know if there's any other game you might want to see covered, or offer any feedback for our currently posted pieces or the book in general!

[denpanosekai]

That one kickstarter comment says shipping is Free to USA but I'm seeing £12.00. I'll most likely back the book but I wish shipping to Canada was on par with shipping to the USA. I don't understand why it's 5 pounds more expensive.

[Discoalucard]

I'll double check with the publisher, because it *should* free for US addresses.

Since the publisher is British, it was a concession to offer US shipping cheaper since this is a US-based website. I'll ask as to why Canadian shipping is more expensive too.

[starscream]

Here's a bit of feedback to The Hybrid Front:

Daisenryaku (“The Great Strategy”), first published in 1985 for the PC98 computer by System Soft, is essentially the grandfather of all Japanese strategy simulations. English speaking gamers may be familiar with some the games that inspired it, including Nintendo’s Famicom Wars (and its sequels, the Advance Wars games), and Hudson’s Military Madness/Nectaris.

Famicom Wars and Nectaris are good connections to make, but Daisenryaku had some English releases as well, which makes this a little odd sounding. The first one was Iron Storm on Saturn, later Daisenryaku VII was released for Xbox and PS2.

Sega developed and published their own versions for the Mega Drive called Super Daisenryaku and Mega Daisenryaku, but to round out their war sim trilogy, they dropped the license and ended up creating their own spiritual successor.

I know Mega Drive Super Daisenryaku is a bit different (I think there are e.g. Phantasy Star maps) but it too directly originated as System Soft property on computers. Mega Daisenryaku - this should probably be Advanced Daisenryaku? That's Sega's own WWII series.

, though there’s no unit production or anything of the sort as seen in Advance Wars.

This is also different from most Daisenryakus then, the computer will usually throw masses of produced units against you in those games.

[Discoalucard]

Thanks, looking at the way it was worded, it's not entirely correct. But, the reason why the comparisons are made to the Advance Wars games is because they're pretty well known, where barely anyone played the US released Daisenryakus in comparison, so it's not a good frame of reference.

[starscream]

How about editing it like this:

While there were a few console Daisenryaku titles published in North America, most English speaking gamers will be more familiar with some of the games that were inspired by it, including Nintendo’s Famicom Wars (and its sequels, the Advance Wars games), and Hudson’s Military Madness/Nectaris.

Sega developed and published their own versions for the Mega Drive called Super Daisenryaku (which was originally also on Japanese computers) and Advanced Daisenryaku.

though there’s no unit production or anything of the sort as seen in Daisenryaku or Advance Wars

[alphex]

Saw that Dead of the Brain is covered on the Twitter feed. Man, that's a title where information is scarce but that's super curious (as is the case with most PC-88 games). Is part 2 included? That one's even more obscure it seems. Its ending theme is also one of the best musical compositions I've ever heard in a video game. Brilliant track.

[Discoalucard]

Mar 13, 2018 21:38:35 GMT -5 alphex said:

Saw that Dead of the Brain is covered on the Twitter feed. Man, that's a title where information is scarce but that's super curious (as is the case with most PC-88 games). Is part 2 included? That one's even more obscure it seems. Its ending theme is also one of the best musical compositions I've ever heard in a video game. Brilliant track.

They're covered together. They were seperate on PCs but bundled for the PCE release, which was super late, long past when the system had died.

The first had a point and click interface like Snatcher, though it's more linear. The second is more restricted and closer to a visual novel. The cyborg on the cover is from the second game.

[Discoalucard]

Captain Rainbow:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/captain-rainbow/

Anyway, as of tonight, this has been funded! I'm actually surprised (and super happy) this was funded as quickly as it was, especially since it had really leveled out over at Unbound. I'm gonna be discussing stretch goals with the publisher tomorrow.

[Discoalucard]

Mar 13, 2018 8:23:33 GMT -5 starscream said:

This is also different from most Daisenryakus then, the computer will usually throw masses of produced units against you in those games.

To clarify what I meant by this, it means there's no capturing of facilities in order to get resources and produce more units, as opposed to "whatever is on the map (or what's scheduled to appear on the map as part of the scenario)" are the only units you can use. Is this in the Daisenryaku games? Because I've been under the impression it wasn't in Daisenryaku games, but is a big part of Advance Wars.

[starscream]

There are probably variations of this because there are so many Daisenryaku games and subseries, but usually you have funds in those games that pay for things (mostly new units, repairs, supplies). Income per turn depends on cities owned.

Advanced Daisenryaku has an experience system and a campaign where units carry over from one map to another, which means it's a bit more like a strategy rpg, whereas Super Daisenryaku just has stand-alone missions, so a player can afford less care with units.

[edmonddantes]

Sometimes I wonder if I should write articles.

Then I click on articles like the one for Garage: Bad Dream Adventure and realize my description would be "you play as the final boss from the first Ecco the Dolphin game" and think I'm better off leaving this to the professionals.

[Discoalucard]

Love & Destroy:
www.hardcoregaming101.net/love-and-destroy/