Although it's still "early doors," as British sports commentators are fond of saying, for me and my studies, I'm far enough along to be able to translate (or look up, if need be) pretty much every word I come across that's written using katakana or hiragana, and I find that pretty darn exciting. Plus, I'm finally starting to learn some kanji and grammar (not necessarily in that order), which is making things even more thrilling.
Anyway, all of the above has me itching to buy some of the Japanese PlayStation RPGs I've long wanted to experience--but previously avoided because of the language barrier--so I can pop them into my trusty PSone-plus-monitor combo and give them a whirl at last. (An added bonus: I figure playing through some of these titles, like The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom, will help me expand my vocabulary.)
A couple of the games I'm contemplating at the moment:
PoPoLoCrois Monogatari--This beautiful, sprite-filled adventure is based on Tamori Yousuke's 30-plus-year-old manga series. Sadly, that's all I know about it right now but, really, what else do you need to know about a game that looks a stellar as the one showcased in the screenshot above?
The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom--I'm a bit more knowledgable about this Japanese RPG, which was released in other regions as Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (and eventually was ported to the Nintendo DS). What am I looking forward to most about this title? Seeing its flan attack in action, of course.
TwinBee RPG--OK, so this Konami-made joint isn't as much of a looker as the games mentioned above, but I still want to play it. I mean, it allows you to control low-poly versions of TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee while battling similarly low-poly enemies that look like turnips and carrots. What's not to like?
As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions you may have when it comes to Japanese PSone RPGs I should add to my ever-growing "to play" list, so feel free to name some in the comments section below.
See also: 'Help me blow my hard-earned cash on some un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs'
16 comments:
So is there a reason you're looking into RPGs that have already been translated (Popolocrois and Rhapsody) as opposed to exploring one of the thousands that have not (Moon: Remix RPG Adventure)? I do realize the TwinBee one was never translated, but I have to agree it looks like it'd be really bad. There are some others I've tried to play and failed at miserably because I don't know Japanese -- how about Linda3? Volfoss?
Hey there, Steve! I guess I wasn't clear in either this post or my last one about the PSP. Maybe I'll go back into these posts tonight and add to them a bit, to clarify where I'm coming from.
Basically, you're right in thinking that *some* of what I want to do here is experience a bunch of Japanese games that I've always wanted to play but have shied away from buying (until now) because of the language barrier. Examples of Japanese games that fit into this category would be TwinBee RPG, Moon Remix RPG (which I've had for ages now, actually) and even more obscure games like UFO: A Day in the Life.
I include the original PSone version of PoPoLoCrois in this category, too, by the way, as everything I've heard about the PSP version is that it sucks (mainly because it seemingly combines the first two PSone titles, but only by cutting away a bunch of content). So, I'd rather play through the Japanese original than the localized PSP version, if at all possible.
Another part of what I want to do here, though, is bolster my efforts to learn the Japanese language. The books and apps I'm currently using to do that are all well and good, but I think I could, say, improve my vocabulary of words made up of hiragana a great deal if I also added some Japanese games into the mix.
This is where games like the Japanese version of Rhapsody come into play, as they're sure to include more basic, easier-to-understand Japanese text than some of the other games we've talked about so far.
That's also why I'd like to play through the Japanese PSP version of My World, My Way, by the way—I'm guessing it was aimed at a younger audience and so likely would be a bit easier for me to trudge through than something aimed at an older audience, such as either the PSone or PSP versions of Ore no Shikabane. (Although the PSone version of this game has been on my "to buy" list for some time now, too.)
Anyway, all that said, I appreciate your comment, and I appreciate you reminding me of Linda3! That's exactly the kind of Japanese game I'm looking to play. In the case of that game, though, I'm not sure if I'll go for the PCE original or the PSone version. Maybe I'll go with the latter, as I definitely could use a few more PSone games at this point.
hmm, Ganbare Goemon: Uchuu Kaizoku Akogingu is the only game I can think of that actually has some text and Steve or you haven't mentioned already ^^
But if you want to go hard in why not go for Chikudenya Tobe? It's fairly cheap and have tons of text but it's for the PCE(Hu card). I think you have one though :)
Ohh totally off topic but I have to tell someone.
I found a CIB of Magic Knight Rayeart for the Saturn! The stickers and everything was in there unused! I feel a bit bad though. The seller only wanted around $11 but hey! I'm not going to walk away because the deal was to good ^^
http://i.imgur.com/X7LJyO6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/FSEb0IJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UJ6a2V8.jpg
Hmmm, I don't know about the PSX Goemon game, Franggio, but I'll definitely look into it!
As for Chikudenya Tobe, it's funny you should bring up that game, as I was thinking about it just the other day. Actually, I was thinking about a number of PCE games, and that was one of them. It looks really interesting!
Finally, congrats on the Saturn pick-up. I've always wanted to play that game. It looks sooooooo cute ^^
Well the world is a small place :) only reason k thought about is because I saw it in store yesterday :)
And yes! Rayeart looks really cute. Remembered that I played it ages ago, working designs release, but I can barely remember more than "it was cute and I liked it". So thought I would give it another go. This copy is just for my collectors ego though (≧∀≦)
I dunno, man. I tend to avoid Japanese RPGs, because my reading comprehension of the language is at a preschool level. Having said that, I guess you could always try Community Pom. That's a game I wanted to try myself, albeit in translated form.
Also, not to threadjack, but you really ought to try that Grand Knights History game for the PSP. I'm playing the fan translation right now and it's spectacular. The battles are crazy exciting... you have to see them to believe them.
How funny! It's been recommended to me in the past, which is why I thought of it again a few days ago. (I was thinking, "what other games could I play now that I'm learning Japanese again??")
Also, it just looks cool! I have a feeling it's going to be some time before I'm not looking up every other word, though...
As for buying a game only for a collector's ego, well, I can't blame you for that!
Hmmm, I'll have to look into Community Pom. I l feel like I've read about it before and discovered it was some sort of online/social/sim game, but if it's still playable even in 2015, I'll give it a try--if it looks good, too, I mean :)
As for Grand Knights History, I'll add it back to my too buy list--as long as I can find a cheap copy. You'd better not be wrong about it being unplayable outside of Japan, though!
Here's a review of Pom if that helps...
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/psx/compom/reviews/compomstrev1.html
As for Grand Knights History, all I can tell you is that I've been able to play it. There is an online component, but I've been ignoring it, and it hasn't hurt the game's appeal at all. That's just my opinion, though. If you buy it and don't like it, I'm not giving you a refund! =D
Oh, thanks, Jess! I'm pretty sure I was thinking of another game, as this ones *completely* different--and REALLY cute. Consider it added to my "to buy" list :)
As for Grand Knights History, a quick search on eBay shows that copies are *very* cheap at the moment so I have a feeling I'll pick it up soon-ish. And don't worry, I won't give you too hard of a time if I think it sucks :P
Rhapsody got a DS port?! I had no idea! I've been wanting to play it since I saw it on Co-optitude. It looks great! But...there's TONS of text.
It did, Justin! Sort of. What I mean by that is it's basically the same game, but with some "tweaks." For instance, battles are more straightforward--you might call them "Final Fantasy-esque"--in the DS version, while they're more strategic (a la FF Tactics) in the PS1 version. I have no idea why the devs made that change, but what can you do? Anyway, this makes me want to own both versions, of course. BTW, should you go for the DS version, just be aware that apparently it has some glitches. A bit more info can be found here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/marl/marl.htm
Thanks for the headsup. I'm a little more likely to play the DS version, because I'm not a huge fan of strategy battles (It's the reason I stopped playing Radiant Historia). But maybe I'll chase down the PS version. I'll have to see if there's a digital version of either...
The good news here, Justin, is that both versions of this
game are supposed to be pretty easy, so I can't imagine you'll find the more
strategy-focused battles of the PS1 release will be all that annoying or
challenging.
Also, I'm pretty sure copies of both the PS1 and DS versions
can be picked up pretty cheaply these days, especially if you're OK with used
ones. I may be wrong about the PS1 version, though, so don't get too mad at me
if after racing over to eBay you find that complete copies are going for
something crazy at the moment, like $50 or more. If it's on PSN, though, and
you're OK with going that route, that may be the best possible way to go.
Anyway, if you end up buying some iteration of the game, let
me know! I'm going to buy a copy of the Japanese PS1 release this weekend, I
think, so I should be able to share some impressions myself in the coming
weeks.
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