|
|
Post by kyouki on Oct 3, 2006 19:38:30 GMT -5
Hello!!! Today I found out that one of my favorite NES games, Tombs & Treasures, is actually a port of an MSX game released by FALCOM!  That certainly explains why Tombs & Treasures has such a fantastic soundtrack I guess! The original title is Taiyou no Shinden Asteka II and was released as a cartridge for the MSX2. I must admit the NES/Famicom port is a TON better, with a lot more music, better graphics, smoother gameplay, less loading, etc. I guess this game was also part of Falcom Classics vol 2 for the Sega Saturn... does anyone have this game, and if you could you write thing or two about how well it was ported/upgraded? |
|
|
|
Post by Discoalucard on Oct 3, 2006 19:47:35 GMT -5
I played a bit of Tombs & Treasures years ago. I remember liking it.
I have the Falcom Classics II disc but I don't think I ever tried it out.
They remade it for Windows as well. I'm trying to track it down.
|
|
|
|
Post by Malroth on Oct 3, 2006 21:30:14 GMT -5
Love that game. Although the psudeo rpg elements needed a lot of work.
|
|
|
|
Post by Discoalucard on Oct 4, 2006 0:03:12 GMT -5
Mini history go! Asteka was one of the first games made by Falcom, after Dragon Slayer and before Xanadu. It's a text adventure much like early Sierra games like The Wizard and the Princess and Time Zone. Needless to say, all I can figure out how to do is move and talk to people. Also you can go into a store and buy "Ardent Love". What the hell.      Asteka 2: Temple del Sol is an adventure game with a combination of overhead exploration (to move from temple to temple) and first person puzzle solving, a la Shadowgate. Oddly enough, the Famicom/NES version added all of the storyline and vague RPG elements. In the original versions, you're only an Indiana Jones ripoff with no extra characters, no dialogue, and without any fighting whatsoever. It's also the only console game that Infocom released (yeah, the same guys who did the text adventure games.) PC88  MSX  NES  Saturn  The music in the NES version is pretty good and completely unique to this version. There was also a rerelease done by Unbalance for Windows 98 that's similar graphically to the Saturn remake (on Falcom Classics II) but a bit different. Might do a quicke article on these later. |
|
|
|
Post by Malroth on Oct 4, 2006 1:08:10 GMT -5
Hm. So the Famicom had different music? Sounds like one of the rare times that Americans benifitted from localization back in those days.
|
|
|
|
Post by kyouki on Oct 4, 2006 7:09:36 GMT -5
Thanks for this mini history. It's interesting to see pics of the first game!
From what I played of the MSX version last night, it seems to have only two songs in it... the title screen and the field music. These songs are the same as in the NES/Famicom version. However, the NES/Famicom version has quite a few more songs, as it plays a different song for nearly every temple. In the MSX version, the field music plays no matter where you are. Too bad the Saturn/Win98 versions weren't based on the NES/Famicom games! I'd love to hear the temple music pieces arranged.
|
|
|
|
Post by jameseightbitstar on Oct 4, 2006 13:06:56 GMT -5
It's also the only console game that Infocom released (yeah, the same guys who did the text adventure games.) I'm quite sure this is not true, meaning that Infocom has done other console releases. Off the top of my head, I'm aware of Zork I and Return to Zork having both been ported to the Playstation, but I'm not entirely sure if Infocom was responsible for that. I'm also quite sure I've seen another NES game that was by Infocom. |
|
|
|
Post by Discoalucard on Oct 4, 2006 13:11:29 GMT -5
It's the only console game that they've published in America. You're right that various Zorks were ported to the Playstation/Saturn in Japan but I'm like 95% sure it was by a different company.
I thought they did another NES game too but upon some research, I could only find this one.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Activision buy Infocom at some point? They might have had the publishing presence to release these in Japan.
|
|
CRV
Full Member
Posts: 222
|
Post by CRV on Oct 4, 2006 15:46:38 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Activision buy Infocom at some point? They might have had the publishing presence to release these in Japan. By the time T&T came out for the NES, Infocom had long since been purchased by Activision. www.goodspear.com/games/GameList/activison_and_infocom.htmTony Van, who was working for Activision/Mediagenic, was an Assistant Producer. He recalls that because it was a graphic adventure, it was released under the Infocom label (I think Infocom was pretty much a shell of its former self by then). It should also be noted that the FC/NES port was done by Compile. |
|
|
|
Post by Discoalucard on Oct 4, 2006 23:16:42 GMT -5
Hmmm. The music and sound effects in the FC version of Romancia sound a LOT like a Compile game, and this same studio also published the FC Asteka 2 in Japan, so I wouldn't doubt it. Do you have a source for this though? Anyway I whipped up a quick article for this here: hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/asteka/asteka.htm |
|
CRV
Full Member
Posts: 222
|
Post by CRV on Oct 5, 2006 0:04:17 GMT -5
|
|
That certainly explains why Tombs & Treasures has such a fantastic soundtrack I guess!
