Manual Stimulation: Dungeon Explorer (PC Engine)

Dungeon Explorer is one of those PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16, if that's how you swing) games I've always wanted to own, always thought I should own, but only recently picked up.

Why the long wait? The main reason, I guess, is that I've long thought of this Hudson-made Gauntlet clone as one that's only enjoyable when multiple people are playing it at the same time. (Dungeon Explorer famously allows five people to play through it together--assuming they have a multi-tap accessory and five PC Engine or TG-16 controllers.)



I still feel that way, actually, but a month or so ago I plopped down a few dollars on a used complete-in-box copy of Dungeon Explorer anyway because I went on a bit of an eBay binge and couldn't resist this game's top-tier cover art (see above) when I came across it.



It has to be said, by the way, that I didn't realize the content of Dungeon Explorer's instruction manual was on par with--or even better than--its cover illustration.

I especially like the grittiness of the art sprinkled throughout this HuCard's manual. Most manuals from this era featured art that was decidedly cute. Here, though, it's almost gruesome--or at least it's not as polished as what's on offer in the manuals that accompanied similar titles.



That the imagery showcased in Dungeon Explorer's instruction booklet is in black and white adds to its appeal, in my mind. That's not to say I would've minded if its designers had added a bit of color here and there, but I'm also not about to complain about its current look.



If you're looking for my favorite of this manual's many drawings, by the way, check out the squished, chibi-esque character illustrations seen in the spread below.



That said, I find the following illustrations of some of the game's enemies pretty thrilling, too.

Will all of this prompt me to get off my lazy butt and finally spend some real quality time with Dungeon Explorer? That's the current plan.



Of course, I have quite a few other games begging for my attention right now--like the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, the just-released 3DS eShop title Chase: Cold Case Investigations, the Pokémon Sun/Moon demo and even Great Greed for GameBoy--so fitting it in this week or weekend may be tough. Still, I'll do my best to play at least a bit of it in the next seven days or so.

In the meantime, have any of you played either the Japanese or North American version of Dungeon Explorer? If so, what do you think about it?

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts

Nice Package! (Dungeon Explorer, PC Engine)

If you're one of the many millions of non-Japanese gamers who ignored the PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16 back in the late 1980s and early 1990s--or, you know, you're young enough that this is the first you're hearing of either of those NEC-made consoles--you may not know much, if anything, about Dungeon Explorer.

The best way to describe it, I think, is to say it's a clone of Atari's Gauntlet, itself a product of the 1980s. That's not an entirely accurate comparison, mind you, as Dungeon Explorer takes that classic quarter-mucher's overhead hack-and-slash gameplay and builds on it greatly. Still, there's little doubt the team behind Dungeon Explorer looked toward Gauntlet while developing their title, so I'm comfortable leaving my description as is.



Gameplay isn't the only area in which Dungeon Explorer bests Gauntlet, by the way. It also beats it in the graphics department.

Now, that's not to say the PC Engine title's the looker of the 16-bit generation, but it's definitely atmospheric. To see what I mean, check out the screenshots found in videogameden.com's and thebrothersduomazov.com's write-ups on this five-player game.

Of course, you expect an atmospheric experience when you play at Atlus-developed game, right? Wait, you didn't know the company behind Shin Megami Tensei and Persona made Dungeon Explorer? Well, it did.

And then Hudson Soft--the now-defunct company that brought the world the Adventure Island, Bomberman and a number of other series--published it. (In 1989, to be exact.)

As for Dungeon Explorer's lovely packaging, which is supposed to be the focus of this post, I've got to say its cover (and HuCard) illustration is my favorite part of the whole she-bang. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's among the best the PC Engine has to offer when it comes to box art.



That's not to say other components aren't ogle-worthy, too. For instance, Dungeon Explorer's instruction manual is filled to the brim with fabulous illustrations like the ones--of the game's cast of characters--showcased in the photo above. (For scans of the entire Dungeon Explorer manual, check out my latest "Manual Stimulation" post.)

With all that said, have any of you played Dungeon Explorer--or even Gauntlet? If so, share your thoughts on those titles in the comments section that follows. (Fair warning: I could talk about the latter for hours.)

See also: 'five PC Engine games you've overlooked and need to play ASAP'

I'm kind of obsessed with the PC Engine's HuCard-based RPGs at the moment

Did you know that only a handful--as in, less than 20--of RPGs were released for the PC Engine in HuCard format?

The reasons for that seem obvious enough, of course--with the compact console's "CD-ROM2" attachment, which allowed developers to use higher quality music and cut scenes, hitting Japanese store shelves barely a year after the base system's release being the biggest one.

Dungeon Explorer

Were CD games cheaper to manufacture than HuCards? If so, that would be another reason.

Regardless, the lack of chip-based RPGs at least somewhat surprises me, especially when I remember how many games of that genre found their way onto Famicom cartridges and disks.

Jaseiken Necromancer

In a way, though, I'm kind of glad so few HuCard RPGs saw the light of day on the PC Engine, because it means it'll be far easier to play through them--you know, should I ever decide to do something stupid like that--than it would be to, say, play through every Famicom or Super Famicom (or even PC Engine CD) RPG.

Don't worry, I'm not planning to make that a goal anytime soon, although I am planning to pop two or three of them into my trusty PC Engine Core Grafx II sometime in the next few (OK, six or seven) months.

Necros no Yosai

The most like candidates: Cyber Knight, Dungeon Explorer, Jaseiken Necromancer, Necros no Yosai and War of the Dead.

Should any of you be curious as to the names of the other HuCard RPGs of which I'm aware, here you go: Cadash, Double Dungeons, Lady Sword, Makai Hakkenden Shada, Momotarou Densetsu II, Momotarou Densetsu Gaiden, Momotarou Densetu Turbo, Neutopia, Neutopia II, Silent Debuggers, Spiral Wave and Susa-no-Oh Densetsu.

Neutopia 2

Only a couple of these could be called traditional RPGs with turn-based battles and such, mind you. A good portion of them are action role-playing games of some sort or other, and a similar number are dungeon crawlers.

If I left any HuCard-based RPGs off of the lists above, by the way, please let me know about them in the comments section below, as I wouldn't be at all shocked to hear I've missed a couple.

A free RPG, you say?

Acquire, the Japanese developer responsible for quirky PSP titles like 100 Million Ton Bara Bara (aka Patchwork Heroes) and Yuusha no Kuseni Namaikida (Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!), is sure to turn heads with its latest release, a dungeon crawler called Bakumatsu Revolution, and not because said release is a looker.

According to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine (by way of andriasang.com), when Bakumatsu Revolution hits the the Japanese PlayStation Store on June 25, it'll do so with a price tag of $0. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you--the four-player RPG will be free.

Unfortunately, this blurry scan contains the only (currently)
available screenshots of Bakumatsu Revolution.

What's the catch? Well, it seems that Acquire is aiming to turn a profit on the game by charging users for downloadable content, such as additional items and scenarios. Still, unless the DLC is amazingly overpriced, Bakumatsu Revolution should be a no-brainer of a download for PSP owners who enjoy the occasional dungeon crawler.

(Via andriasang.com)

I'm going to buy Etrian Odyssey III just so I can play as this character

I mean, who wouldn't want to play as a butcher-knife-wielding milkmaid?

Don't you just love how the pinky finger of the hand holding said butcher knife is flared like it would be if the little lass was enjoying a cup of Earl Grey tea?

Anyway, Etrian Odyssey III: Visitor from Star Ocean will hit store shelves in Japan on April 1. Hopefully it'll be released in other regions shortly thereafter.

See also: 'Ahoy, mateys! Another Etrian Odyssey 3 trailer has surfaced'

(Via famitsu.com)

One gamer's take on Classic Dungeon (PSP): Disgaea + Shiren + Ys

Actually, said gamer's exact comment (expressed earlier today on NeoGAF) was: "Imagine your favorite parts of Disgaea combined with gameplay straight out of the latest Ys games combined with the best parts of Shiren. Yeah, that is a good combination."

The gamer goes on to explain (in this post) the inner-workings of the title, but it's a bit too confusing and convoluted to go into here. Honestly, I barely understood a word of it when I read it a few minutes ago, but what does it matter? The game seems to be a mash-up of Disgaea, Shiren and Ys--does anything more need to be said?

Well, other than "you'd better bring this to the States soon, NIS America (or Atlus USA or Xseed Games)," of course.

See also: 'Note to Nippon Ichi: You're bringing this title to North America, right? Right?!?' and 'First Classic Dungeon (PSP) footage looks ... classic'

If you enjoyed Great Dungeon in the Sky ...

... you may want to give Dungeons of Fayte a try, too. After all, it was made using some of the same assets as those used in Great Dungeon in the Sky. (Both games were created for the same TIGSource Assemblee contest.)

Hey, it's like The Legend of Zelda meets Great Dungeon in the Sky!
Or, something like that...

Whereas Great Dungeon in the Sky is a dungeon crawler, though, Dungeons of Fayte is more of an ARPG--like The Legend of Zelda. In fact, the game's developer (pulsemeat) describes it as a mash-up of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Princess Maker.

"You spend some of your time in the dungeon, killing monsters and getting gold, and the rest of your time in town training and building stats," pulsemeat explained recently in the TIGSource Forums thread dedicated to Dungeons of Fayte. "You can play with up to four players on a single computer, and I've also included support for controllers."

Here's what the game looks like in action:



Download the latest version of Dungeons of Fayte here. Also, go here to check out other games that were created for the same TIGSource Assemblee contest.

See also: 'Diablo + Pokemon + Spelunker? Sign me up!'

Diablo + Pokemon + Spelunker? Sign me up!

OK, so I spent a bit of time perusing NeoGAF today. So sue me!

Something good came from all of that perusing, though--I found out about an awesome little Internet game that goes by the name of Great Dungeon in the Sky.

A NeoGAFfer who started a thread about the game described it as "Diablo meets Pokemon meets Spelunker," and after putting a few minutes (OK, hours) into it, I have to agree.

I know it doesn't look like much, but take my word
and give it a try anyway.

How does Pokemon fit into all of this, you ask? Well, after you kill one of the game's 300 enemies for the first time you can choose to play as that character the next time around.

It's really quite brilliant (what am I, British?) and loads of fun, so if you're at all into dungeon exlporers I suggest you give this one a try tout de suite (great, now I'm French).

Play: Great Dungeon in the Sky