A History of Korean Gaming

[derboo]

www.hardcoregaming101.net/korea/korea.htm

Today I can finally present the product of six months of work (although I already did most of the research I'm gonna need for part 2 during that time). I'm currently still waiting for one more game to arrive, so that I can cover it more properly (Still Hunt), but I didn't want to hold back the article just for that. I'll probably have it before the next main site update, though.

This thing has become a monster and is quite impossible to properly edit, so there'll be tons of typos, one or the other broken hyperlink, and probably even a few factual errors would have been unavoidable. Post here if you notice anything. There's some more stuff to say, but I've put it into a disclaimer at the beginning.

Part 2 is gonna be even much bigger, so I won't be able to deliver it as a whole like I'm doing with this one. I'm thinking of taking a break for a month or two and then switching to a monthly-ish update schedule.

Now let's see who first finds the easter eggs.

[derboo]

I didn't want to have this in the first post, but here's a call for help concerning future updates.

As I'm dealing with hundreds of games, any load that can be taken off my back would be a great help. Here are some games that got localized into other regions than Korea, I you have played one of them and think you can contribute a short write-up (3-6 short paragraphs, like in the article), please contact me (I'll take care of any possible background info, you can concentrate on describing the game):
Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok 2
any other game by Gravity
Seven Years War
War Diary
Icarus: Sanctuary of the Gods (or Droiyan in Germany)
Droiyan Online
Stone Axe
Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds
Dark Ages (Nexon)
Maple Story
any other game by Nexon
The War of Genesis: Rhapsody of Zephyr
Magnacarta: Tears of Blood
MagnaCarta II
Astonishia Story
Crimson Gem Saga
Akuma: Demon Spawn


Nothing of this stuff needs to hurry, of course.

[Discoalucard]

This is only part 1? Holy crap this is huge!

About the only games I've played on that list is Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, and if you'd asked me like four years ago I could probably whinge about it for a bit - it's a terrible game - but I haven't touched in since then. I did pick up Crimson Gem Saga months back but haven't played it - maybe if I give it a crack I can supply some info, though I haven't played Astonisha Story at all.

[mainpatr]

As far as Korean games with other languages go, there's also Nitro Family and Rooms:The Main Building(has a DS port).

[kimimi]

Awesome! Looking forward to having a read

I own the Japanese and Korean versions of Zephyr, the Chinese version of Tempest, English versions of Astonishia Story and Crimson Gem Saga... but I don't have a lot of free time. Still, if you want some quick screenshots/scans I can provide those for you.

[magus]

i tought the whole starting premise was boring but the individual company bits are very interessing!

tough there are some error... in the byulbram one you wrote "assecories" did you mean "accesories" ?

in the clover one you say "alternate beast" it should be "altered beast"

in daou there is "mor ethan" should be "more than"

[derboo]

Jun 7, 2010 2:43:19 GMT -5 mainpatr said:

As far as Korean games with other languages go, there's also Nitro Family and Rooms:The Main Building(has a DS port).

I believe Nitro Family wasn't released in Korea, so I dunno if it qualifies as localization, but I'm definitely adding Rooms.

Jun 7, 2010 3:01:47 GMT -5 kimimi said:

I own the Japanese and Korean versions of Zephyr, the Chinese version of Tempest, English versions of Astonishia Story and Crimson Gem Saga... but I don't have a lot of free time. Still, if you want some quick screenshots/scans I can provide those for you.

I might be in need of one or two Zephyr PS2 screenshots later, as I've only got the PC and DC versions (and don't know if I can get the DC one to run, yet). Also, release information (Chinese Title, Publisher, Year) for any Taiwan releases (which I guess the Chinese version is from?) would be welcome.

Jun 7, 2010 5:28:15 GMT -5 magus said:

tough there are some error... in the byulbram one you wrote "assecories" did you mean "accesories" ?

in the clover one you say "alternate beast" it should be "altered beast"

in daou there is "mor ethan" should be "more than"

Thanks, I've edited those in my files and they'll be uploaded with the first batch of corrections.

[kimimi]

I only own PC versions of Zephyr, so I'll be no good for PS2 screenshots, sorry!

Here are two quick scans of the Taiwanese version of Tempest.



As you can see, the title has been changed to "西風狂詩曲 2 暴風雨", The Rhapsody of Zephyr 2: Tempest". I'm guessing either War of Genesis never left Korea or RoZ did pretty well for itself. The publishers official website has been taken down, but some bits are available through Wayback - click!

[derboo]

Oh, someone mentioned to own the game on all three platforms in the marathon thread, thought it was you, sorry. Anyway, with your information, I can enter the Taiwanese release into the table. Rare cover scans are also always welcome, thanks.

Btw., the first War of Genesis was available in Japan, but it was a really obscure release and it seems hardly anyone there noticed it. Don't know of any Taiwanese versions of the main series.

[kimimi]

Wow, I didn't know that! Who published it in Japan?

[derboo]

I think the company was called Sherlock, but I'm not 100% sure (it'sシャーロック). The Japanese title is アンタリア創世記.

[Blake Casimir]

Staggering work, one of the most detailed articles on HG101 (perhaps _the_ most?).

However seeing "unreleased" in the localised games list for Whiteday's entry is bringing me near tears. I even contacted a member of 4AM's team a few months before they shut up shop... I still regret not trying to call them again.

[Sketcz-1000]

Good lord, that must have taken an incredible amount of time to code up in HTML. Thank you for the effort Derboo, it's a staggering behemoth and really wonderful to behold.

So, do you have a temporary Korean citizenship number then? I can't remember if you've mentioned this before...

Is this still in a state of being edited? I'm going to wait until it's mentioned in the next update and is on the site's front page index before also adding it to the GOTW index. Or I could it sooner - your choice.

[derboo]

Ive added coverage of Still Hunt now, and a batch of cover "scans" found in a folder I completely forgot about. Also included everything pointed out so far (except Nitro Family, as I'm still undecided whether it belongs in that list, or if I'll deal with games like that seperately).

Jun 8, 2010 2:28:58 GMT -5 Sketcz-1000 said:

So, do you have a temporary Korean citizenship number then? I can't remember if you've mentioned this before...

I got a foreign registration number, which differs from the citizenship number by one digit. It is accepted by the big portals like Naver and Empal (which makes it possible to sign up to the many boards and blogs that belong to them), but not by most smaller sites.

[ryochan]

The Fighter - PC-DOS (1992): The two characters shown on the screenshot are stolen from Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (Legend of Galactic Heroes) a Japanese Book/Anime/Manga. They are Reinhard and Yang. I can get you images if necessary.

I should note, that LOGH is very popular in Japan. I am unsure of the novel or mangas length, but the TV series is 110 eps, there's at least 2 feature-length movies, and multiple OVAs. There are also multiple games (which sadly I cannot break due to needing a very high level of Japanese knowledge)... perhaps this is why that game never got released.

Edit 1: Daou Infosys: Agi Gongnyong Dooly / The Dinosaur Dooley - MSX, Master System (August 1991)
- Smeels Like Teen Spirit
Unless this was a joke, it should be Smells Like Teen Spirit

I'll add anything else I see as I go along.