/vr/ - Retro Games

Such an interesting and underexplored topic.

>>2302842
How many of these games have entered the public domain due to no one claiming them and the original Pub/devs going under? Are there any examples of such a thing happening. Someone mentioned a question about whether this was possible in the last thread.

Don Rumata pls.

https://youtu.be/gGYNHn-i_fw

What is the origin of so many of these games generally having a small play area surrounded by so many graphical embellishments like girls, logos, swords, etc?

>>2302975
There's a reason why they often call VNs "bishoujo games" or "gal games" in Japan.

>>2302975
I'm assuming to get around various limitations, like if the play area made use of the entire screen the game may not have been able to display as many sprites. Could also have to do with that color limitation too.

>>2302978
It isn't always girls though. Sometimes it's just logos or dragons or the like. Whatever the thematics are.

>>2302975
Simply put, these were measures used to distract customers from technical difficulties rendering the play area (play-view? view-window?) due to no built-in hardware scrolling or sprite routines in some Japanese PCs. The MSX platform's an exception as it used VDPs with sprites, but a lack of scrolling meant embellishments and large frames were still useful. I think games like Valis are impressive mainly because they were some of the first to implement animated cinema-like sequences despite hardware limitations not present on the Famicom (the European 16-bit PCs had examples like Defenders of the Crown).

>>2302973
Oh cool, I didn't know a better version was up yet.

>>2302957
I don't know of any studies that could provide data; it'd take internal contacts and some funding to put a comprehensive or general study together. And I'm not versed in Japanese public domain law, though I guess it'd be possible to get an approximation. The motive behind all this remains getting these games back into circulation; ruling out third-party investigation, how many distributors or publishers, whether or not they have records of who has what, are willing to disclose?

Apparently dungeon crawlers used to be called "3D RPGs"

Seems kind of crazy in the modern era.

>>2302986
>I don't know of any studies that could provide data; it'd take internal contacts and some funding to put a comprehensive or general study together. And I'm not versed in Japanese public domain law, though I guess it'd be possible to get an approximation. The motive behind all this remains getting these games back into circulation; ruling out third-party investigation, how many distributors or publishers, whether or not they have records of who has what, are willing to disclose?
Isn't it kind of strange that a company can hold an IP through a private sale and yet no one will know about it, like there isn't some public database accessible to all that will say who owns what?

So I've been uploading PC-98 manuals to Ex-hentai every now and then and I was wondering if you guys have anything that's not already up there.

>>2302990
I think that's mostly for marketing purposes and maybe japan, I remember them always being called dungeon crawlers

>>2303001
Japan loves making up new "genres", seriously

>>2302997
What's the tags you use for them on there?

>>2303103
Nothing really. Just search for manual under my name.

http://exhentai.org/g/796638/a97948a0ec/

>>2303012
That's because Japan is actually creative.

Post spreadsheet sims.

>>2302990
Look up dungeon crawlers these days and you get Diablo style action rpgs.

>>2303012
>Japan loves making up new "genres"

So I finally finished Night Slave. Dat damn ending ;_;7
Do you guys know any games similar to it? It was just so satisfying, I'd love to have more of that kind of gameplay. I guess the story wasn't anything special but it accomplished its purpose well and the way it wraps up was great. Loved how Rei put Chiho in that escape pod and went ahead to kill that core brain thing without any sort of bullshit. Didn't even stop to mourn over her comrade's death because she knew she had a job to do. There couldn't be a better MC for this game, it'd be nice if the other characters got some spotlight but I guess it worked fine. Really wish I could play with the other vehicles too, shame there won't be some sort of sequel, ever. If it was remade these days with an improved gameplay, and a setting as developed as the other certain mecha VNs I'm sure it'd be popular as hell. Not like I'd have it any other way though.

>>2304042
>Shame there won't be some sort of sequel, ever. If it was remade these days with an improved gameplay, and a setting as developed as the other certain mecha VNs I'm sure it'd be popular as hell.
Bloody shame isn't it?

Oh well, if I ever get off my ass and actually learn coding, Night Slave will totally be one of the series I'll put in my fan-made Super Robot Wars game.

>Do you guys know any games similar to it?
There's a handful of games like it, Night Slave is actually one of the latter ones (although it's my personal favourite)

The most famous one is Assault Suit Valken (Cybernator is the localized name but download a translation patch for the original JP version instead because its censored and had a bunch of plot removed). It has a couple of sequels but I think some of them are Strategy RPGs instead.

Metal Warriors and Front Mission: Gun Hazard are also very similar.

And for something more modern that might not be very /vr/ but I'll list anyway, doujin games Gunhound and Gigantic Army

>>2304067
One more that's relatively recent.

Dedenden (totally NSFW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmiQXLFr1j0

>>2302997
I've got a manual for Artdink's Tokio needing scanning, plus their 1992 holiday brochure that's sort of cool.

>>2302993
Definitely. I'm sure these rights-holders, if confronted, would conjure up excuses and defenses for not getting in touch with Project EGG or whoever else is publicly seeking deals to distribute such games. They'd probably state the necessity for keeping any hypothetical database secret ("business purposes") in order to protect anyone who developed or helped publish. Some companies, Sein/Zain/Xain Soft in particular, are known or speculated to have dealt with yakuza for various reasons, that's a factor. Content rights issues occurring in Japan are difficult to resolve and discuss in public, an issue plaguing home video companies as well (I'm not expecting most Art Theatre Guild movies to feature in the Criterion Collection for a long time). I wonder if companies like 8-4 could enlist legal aid to work on this set of issues.

>>2303012
Buzzwords for the most part. They call tabletop role-playing systems "tabletalk" because that's how old man Hitoshi Yasuda coined them when he started Group SNE.

>>2303790
Really? I usually get stuff like Demon Gaze and EO. We must be using diff sites. My sites still class Diablo as an ARPG

>>2304042
iirc, there's a series of games that inspired Night Slave. Can't remember the name right now, though.

>>2303103
>>2304229
Why was this post deleted?

>>2304321
Probably got reported as NSFW, skirting the line, etc.

>>2304317
>>2303790
Wouldn't older dungeon crawlers be more like >>2303329?

>>2304335
Yeah. I don't see why it'd be any different. Thats what a dungeon crawler has always been to me. Even the old timers on the Diablo side called those games hack and slash, not dungeon crawlers (AFAIK)

>>2304229
>Group SNE
I wish Sword World 2 would get more attention; there were Jap /tg/ generals a while back, but these are the only placest I'm hearing about Yasuda.

>>2304321
Probably because there was a huge butt in it.

I don't want to create a whole thread for this, but were the Wii Virtual Console versions of Metal Gear 1 and 2 ever dumped as ROM images? I found the WADs for the Wii, but I don't know how to extract them as ROMs.

Uploaded the Night Walker manual a while ago.

>>2304538
I thought WADs were basically the same thing?

>>2304847
Nah, WADs include the ROM file along with the required emulator code/program and sometimes some additional stuff for the game I think.

>>2304538
I'm sure if you search around for WAD extraction tools for Wii WADs you'll find what you're looking, but why though? Wouldn't these essentially be the same as what's already out there?

>>2304538
Any notable differences between it and the MSX2 version w/patch?

>>2304437
I need to know more about Yasuda's pre-Group SNE history before I'll feel comfortable discussing the company's influence in the late-'80s and such. Ryo Mizuno and Hiroshi Yamamoto are nearly as important, and so are former collaborators like Koji and Hummingbird Soft.

Are there any Japanese PC games that were officially released but are essentially considered lost now due to no one apparently having any copies left/all copies having failed/etc?

>>2304869
>Wouldn't these essentially be the same as what's already out there?
VC version of MG2 have the updated portraits from the Subsistence port.

>>2305060
Don't have any names but I'm guessing a good amount of doujin software may have gotten lost over time.

>>2305060
Stuff like The Alius I mention all the time in /vr/ Holy Grail threads, but it's not much compared to prototypes like Amtrak or the lost sequel to The Fire Crystal. The HG101 article for Horror Tour mentions an elusive Windows game called Labyrinth, which no one's been able to reliably find on auction in order to bid for it. The CD version of DIOS, only released by Sein Soft for the PC-88's short-lived CD models, is nearly lost, with only a vague hope of finding the game in any condition good enough for a dump and/or cleaning the packaging. I hope there are still preserved copies of Tecno Soft's 2001: A Space Odyssey Parts 1 and 2 floating around—they had flimsy hand-drawn packaging and, like many tape games from the early-1980s, are valued less than boxed games that came out later.

As for learning more about which games need rescue, it's an ongoing project at Tokugawa Corps. and other places.

>>2305186
>Horror Tour

No one has tried to contact the developer?

>>2305186
There's just something so interesting and intriguing about things which cannot be acquired.

>>2305198
In some cases you wonder whether some devs even keep copies of some of their stuff. Like imagine having worked on a game and being proud of it and yet no longer even having it in existence or being able to play it. My guess though is that for some of these guys their fanbases like the games more than they did.

Well, since the original post was deleted I'll post it again:

Does anyone have any PC-98 manual scans or manuals they'd be willing to scan?

A list of what I have:
[Alicesoft] Rance 3 Manual
[AliceSoft] Toushin Toshi II Manual
[AliceSoft] Rance 4 Manual
[C's Ware] Eve Burst Error Manual
[C's Ware] Xenon Manual
[AliceSoft] Dalk Manual
[AliceSoft] ProStudent G Manual
[AliceSoft] Uchuu Kaitou Funny Bee Manual
[Champion Soft] Gakuen Senki Manual
[Champion Soft] Little Vampire Manual
[Alicesoft] Rance II - Hangyaku no Shoujo-tachi - Manual
[Tomboy] Night Walker Mayonaka no Tantei Manual
[Alicesoft] Toushin Toshi Manual
[Elf] Yu-no Manual
[C's Ware] Desire

I scanned a few others years ago but I've since lost them like:
[Leaf] Shizuku
[Leaf] Filsnown

Super robot dungeon crawler named "Hamlet," after one of the great literary works of Shakespeare.

Do the Japanese produce the weirdest media out of all current cultures or is most cultures' output this bizarre to the uninitiated observer?

>>2305479
Well, there's this popular cartoon about 4 turtles who are trained in a foreign fighting style who love to eat Pizza and talk with Californian accents despite being based on New York named after 4 Renaissance Painters.

>>2302224
The post you quoted wasn't on the topic of the game, more the technical side of things I was referring to. English is obviously your second language if you can't manage the basics of context.

>>2305430
Is there a place with all scanned retro JP PC manuals and such?

>>2305718
There was an anon that said he's been scanning/uploading stuff to e-hentai, although I lost the link to his profile (not sure if he's the one that put up the Toushin Toushi II manual and other stuff). If I can make a successful purchase this time I'll do the same with any booklets that haven't been uploaded there already.

Side note - anyone have experience using wand scanners for scanning in artbooks or manuals, and have any recommendations? There's stuff I'd like to scan but don't want to destroy (and don't have the tools or space to put together a book scanner). My main concern is that they only seem to scan to .jpg which could be a problem.

>>2305718
You never know try archive.org. Someone's already uploaded scans of old eroge magazines there.

>>2305718

There was a torrent back in the UG days that had a lot of PC-98, FM Towns and x68k manuals... if someone still has it maybe they can upload it, some important members of UG are browsing /vr/.

>>2305962

>...if someone still has it maybe they can upload it, some important members of UG are browsing /vr/.

Can you elaborate without pissing them off?

>>2305962
They were compiled by Tokugawa members iirc

>>2305430
>[C's Ware] Eve Burst Error Manual
>[C's Ware] Xenon Manual
http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1144

>>2305770
That's me.

Here's a scan of Desire's manual.
http://exhentai.org/g/798743/70e1a9dca9/

>>2306116
That's me

>>2305962
>>2305972
>>2306113
Found a mention of a Torrent called PC98 Manual Pack v.20100629, is that it?

>>2306135
Yup yup that's the one

>>2306121
Thanks for posting those, by the way.

>>2305576
That's one of the few western media that was actually on the level of Japanese weirdness when you think about it. Maybe watching those cartoons as a kid is what led me to Japan, to see that kind of bizarre stuff.

>>2305858
So archive.org has no issue with nudity or NSFW stuff? I mean if they want to archive everything they need to allow it. It seems like that would be a better place to upload stuff for posterity than some closed site like e(x)hentai that could go down at any time.

>>2306325
See for yourself: https://archive.org/search.php?query=bugbug&and[]=mediatype%3A%22texts%22&and[]=subject%3A%22Japanese%20computers%22

>>2305479
"HAMLET" is the name of the game's setting, a Moon colony seemingly abandoned at the beginning of the plot. You control the protagonist inside a Space Griffon mech (versions released afterward are called Space Griffon to create more confusion!), and it's essentially a dungeon crawler with puzzling, some kind of auto-map, lotsa story to enjoy, and combat as well. I haven't found any footage of the PC-98 original, but Space Griffon is something of a PS1 cult title and had a superior (albeit different) remake for Windows that was ported to the Dreamcast, so you can find videos and have a gander. I guess the original name refers to how much larger the colonies planned for after "HAMLET" were going to be, though I don't know enough about the story to make that conclusion.

>>2305718
Retroprograms in the OP has some, but not anywhere near all.

>>2306328
One annoying thing about some of those is how annoyingly big some of the image files are and how long they take to load. Tried ripping one of them and it seems some of them have two layers for one image.

>>2306345
>http://www.retroprograms.com/
All I'm finding is games. Got a direct link?

>>2306328
Holy shit this is awesome

>>2306364
Oh wait, when you open them at full blast the quality is rather bad =/

>>2306363
Check Super Lonely Terminal (the highest banner on the page); it's more for getting doujin, business software, and magazine supplements/guides, but there's lots of packaging scans with some manual stuff also.

>>2306371
Funny I hadn't noticed. Here's one I found that is for PC-98 in general https://archive.org/details/yomigaeru-pc-9801-densetsu

>>2306373
Why on earth would you scan business software? Grabbed the AliceSoft stuff.

>>2305972
>Can you elaborate without pissing them off?

The King of the Universe actually appeared in some threads and took requests for PS and SS games.

>>2306397
Why not? Stuff like this vanish through time. Whether it interests you or not, it's there and it's available.

>>2306397
Preserve history. History is everywhere around you. Take pictures of cherished office buildings from your childhood, for one day they will be gone.

>>2306393
Why do the pdf downloads of it look like total crap compared to the version you can flip through on their site? Is this some kind of DRM to keep people from downloading the stuff and storing it up?

>>2306720
The original upload was not a pdf, but were high res image scans.

>>2306758
So how do I retrieve the original high res image scans that were uploaded?

"You don't."
--archive.org: We archive things, but you can't have them :^)

Today's game:

JINN ETERNAL HERO

where a boy named JUM, who is a jum, fights dual wielding ninjas to save his modest Japanese town. At the end he will finally be bestowed with the name change he so craves, so he will no longer be JUM, but will be JINN! The Eternal Hero!

>>2306841
They're still there, though appears that link isn't on the main entry page rather it's found when you click the "All Files" link.

Least for the one I tried:
https://archive.org/details/bugbug-magazine-1995-06
Grab the CBZ link from the All Files page, it's just a renamed ZIP file.

>>2306841
Go to link that says 'HTTPS' on the left, and download the cbz file.

You can view it with a comic reader, or just open it with 7zip.

>>2306870
>>2306886
Thanks guys. I have no idea why they made it so convoluted to just get the original source files, except maybe because they're huge compared to the shitty pdf I guess.

HELP what the shit did I just download? What are these horrific creatures?

>>2306913

>>2306927
Why are his jowls so quality compared to the rest of him?

>>2306913
I'm curious, what book/manual is that from?

>>2306939
An early ad in the one
>>2306870
linked to.

bugbug-magazine-1995-06

>>2306939
>>2306951
It's from a game called Koihime released by Elf.
https://vndb.org/v2347

How can I help track down undumped JP classic computer games? I'm particularly interested in X68000 but I wanna get my hands on as much as I can.

>>2307008
So why do half the characters have insect eyes and the other half don't?

>>2307008
>Osananajimi Heroine 3.0 Childhood Promise 3.0

Oh boy. Look out.

>>2307214
Someone help this man, he is trying to do good deeds.

Battle mythical tree monsters in SUZAKU.

>>2302842
I wonder if NEC still makes computer hardware...

>>2308063
Ran a quick search for'em on Amazon JP and looks like they stuff do, along with stuff like routers, modems, and even android/windows tablets.

And here's something from their Wikipedia entry
>In August 2014, NEC Corporation was commissioned to build a super-fast undersea data transmission cable linking the United States and Japan for a consortium of five international companies including Google, KDDI and SingTel. The pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

Bought myself a FM Towns II UX 40.

am I right that I need a system CD in order to enter the Towns OS?

or is there a key command for entering it without having any CD in it.


didnt check yet if there is a HDD in it.

Does anyone have the Nocturnal Illusion Music Library?

>>2308063
If they do, it's mostly projects and peripherals; their PC department wasn't long for the world once Windows 95 and companies like Compaq, Gateway, &c, made inroads on the Japanese PC market.

>>2308008
Late Wolf Team games are fascinating, partially because the PC titles led up to Tales of Phantasia on the SFC.

>>2307214
>>2307296
Not sure if the reference lists here are only for commercial soft, but it's worth cross-referencing titles with Tokugawa to check on whether or not something's been dumped: http://www.cityfujisawa.ne.jp/~fumiki/x68k/texts.html

>>2306913
Even cuteness has an endgame.

>>2306852
JINN-kies.

>>2303329
>japanese game to never see the light outside moonland
>english GUI
why

>>2309825
The people who would play first person dungeon crawlers back in the days are Westaboos

>>2309849
It should be pretty obvious, but yeah, western fantasy fans in Japan tend to have pretty westaboo streaks in them. I remember watching a Japanese Let's Play of Dragon's Crown and laughing when the guy playing talked about how cool the English voice track was, how they gave it a real authentic swords and sorcery feeling.

>>2309913
I-I liked it ;_;

>>2309913
I wish there was a westaboo penpal service.

>>2309973
The Odd Couple 2015: A western weeaboo meets a Japanese westaboo.

>>2309913
Stumbled across one of those dudes here: http://www.filfre.net/2013/05/the-legend-of-escape-from-mt-drash/

Guy called Nori runs some dump blog for translations of interviews from the West.

Bunch of manuals here.

https://mega.co.nz/#F!qAwlnBYZ!0Ftk-zeEC-0afDaPSTrDTQ

http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1549&p=14908#p14908

Ballade for Maria has a very cool manual.

What kind of a name for a game is Xix?

Did anyone read or see mention of the article on Kill Screen about fmtownmarty's Japanese pixel-art tumblr? It makes one of the stupidest mistakes I've seen recently, assuming the FM Towns Marty existed without the FM Towns before it. Looks as though an editor cropped much of the article from a less related feature and rewrote it as news.

Also, exciting news: the guy who made Illumination Laser for the X68k has delegated the dumping of his next game to someone else, who's posted it on Tokugawa recently. There's also this: >>2311047

>>2312160
XIX = 19 in Roman.

>>2312341
Still doesn't make sense what the game has to do with 19?

Macaw's a lazy buttcase who needs to dump his games. Still, his latest stream was awesome solely because he's come across yet another Japanese Mac game, one that you can't find details for online because it was discreetly revealed to have gone up for sale in one issue of some random mag in the early-1990s. It's called Next Power and he thinks it's some kind of Ys-like, though screenshots are meager and could indicate something more like a T/SRPG.

Guy also got copies of Locus Alba II (!), a unique Cross Media Soft futuristic side-scrolling platformer called Shattered Future for the X1, and he apparently has The Alius (!!!). Dump that shit!

>>2312436
FWIW the alt Japanese name is ギゼ!, which is pronounced in a certain way.

>>2312160
I love the art styles in Fairytale games.

I wish my apartment looked like a Japanese apartment with small tables and everything is low including the bed, with weird Japanese cartons of Japanese drinks sitting all over the place. Lots of shelves.

Highly recommend giving this soundtrack a listen:
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm12632244

>>2313067
Floor-based living is very comfortable, let me tell you.

>>2313069
It's up on YouTube also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HLPisCv8lw

MUSE is becoming a favorite of mine. The CD soundtrack for Necromancer is ace.

>>2313318
It's such a shame that's there's practically no information about him on the internet. Which is odd considering how much he (or they?) did music for.

>>2313001
They're pretty gud.

>>2313001
I like the art style in so many of these old games. They give me a nostalgic feel even though I didn't really watch animu until 2000 or so.

>>2313238
It's also dirtier though unless you clean meticulously.

Revery: The game in which the Japanese know the English language better than me, a native English speaker, who believed that revelry was the only acceptable spelling of such.

Is it worth registering for an upgraded account on the old computer? I really don't wanna pay, but I can't find labeled games elsewhere.

>>2314393
Not sure what "labeled games" are; you can download most everything related to /jpc/ with a free account. The rarest stuff's mirrored by Tokugawa members and the Internet Archive anyway.

>>2314334
Otherwise it's a cool Pandora Box JRPG for its time. Those were the guys who did Soul & Sword and Traverse: Starlight & Prairie for the SFC.

>>2314478
I can't translate the japanese names on the internet archive, or the mega dump. TOC has everything with english titles, and the PC-98 section is Unlimited members only.

>>2314482
Copy the image's name, then Ctrl-F in fullmotionvideo's Japanese name index (screenshot gallery) to find the match for that PC-98 game. If that fails, throw a name into Google Translate and see what comes up. You don't have to pay for an Old Computer account unless the above methods waste time equivalent to what you'd be spending.

>>2314641
Thanks for the help, tripfriend~!

Is the Dead of the Brain anon still here? ;_;

Gonna ask this again just in case.

Anyone know where I can find the isos for the Evangelion collector's disc? I'm also interested in any other kind of desktop theme CD-ROMs for win95/98, which were fairly popular in Japan, but for some reason really hard to come across nowdays, even on auction sites, let alone online for download.

A dozen or so of those were released with Evangelion desktop themes and they also included mini-games.

Take a moment and look at the level of detail put into this CG. The game was written and drawn by the same guy.

>>2315947
It really saddens me that stuff like that will almost never be made again just because now pixel art is deemed inferior to 3D or even just standard drawing done digitally. There's something unique and beautiful about pixel art that other styles can't fully duplicate.

>>2315947
the heavy dithering remind me of brodery for some reason

>>2315947

That's some of the best damn art I've ever seen grace a computer monitor, and I don't know a fucking thing about the PC98 scene.

>>2316029
I just wish people doing "pixel art" these days would do something along these lines.

>>2316078
If you mean indie devs I don't really think they have the skill. Also their stuff will sell even if it looks pretty bad so most don't bother.

>>2316108
Sadly this is true, I wish more did "pixel art" that actually looked like it was from older systems. Shovel Knight does it somewhat well from my understanding.

>>2316078
I love modern pixel art, I just wish the people who are good at it could incorporate it into games.

>>2316235
hopefully they will once the trend of indie games being more focused on gimmicks to gain viral buzz ends.

>>2316243
Viral buzz is the only way they survive though right?

>>2315182
Yeah, I'm still here. I've just been lurking. And for info on my progress, I've put it on hold since I have a few things I want to get out of the way first. That, and a lot of the JP characters are kinda hard to make out so building a table is gonna take a while before I can make progress or extract the script. Furthermore, the entire character library may be in the game unlike most NES/GBA style systems so that's another problem. All said and done, I'll keep at it and try to work on the game when I can.

>>2317004
>Furthermore, the entire character library may be in the game unlike most NES/GBA style systems so that's another problem

Does it take single byte characters? I did some experiments with Doukyuusei, but it only uses dual byte characters.

>>2316029
Even outside of pixel art, the average eroge artist now simply don't have the talent required to do something like this. As in, most have problems with characters even standing or making them not float on the background.

The writer and artist is still around and his art remains in a very early 90's style.

https://vndb.org/s2026

>>2302842
I'd really like to know the source of the OP image, that Sailor Moon reference is glorious. Thanks!

I know Japan was big on Wizardry but I keep forgetting how big of a thing it was for them in the 80's and early 90's. Guess First Person Dungeon Crawlers are a good term.

Sorry to ask but how many of them can be played with little to no understanding of Japanese. I know they are all in Japanese and most likely will never get a fan translation but I still would like to try them out.

>>2317396
For every one of those artists that are still around though there seem to be like 5 more that have just disappeared and 5 others that adapted to the "modern" styles and no longer make their old style stuff.

>>2317493
Learning at least Katakana should be a minimum, with that you can at least enjoy the gameplay, even if you would be lost on story.

>>2317546
Some of them are still around doing games, they just don't get very good work...sadly.

Yoshizawa Tomoaki - https://vndb.org/s964
Mostly low-budget nukige

Watsuki Ayamo - https://vndb.org/s2632
Mostly doujin work now

Yokota Mamoru - https://vndb.org/s1800
Recently came back after doing no games since 2009.

Nakamura Nishiki - https://vndb.org/s2446
Mostly light novels.

Minazuki Tooru - https://vndb.org/s826
IM@S ;_;

Min-Naraken - https://vndb.org/s700
AliceSoft games

Aoi Nanase - (No VNDB entry)
Was going to do art for Mystereet 2 but is sick.

Purin - https://vndb.org/s690
Originally did male character designs for the Rance games, now directs shit.

Mutsumi Masato - https://vndb.org/s701
AliceSoft games

Nagaoka Kenzou - https://vndb.org/s404
Posting food pics on his Twitter

Sapporo Momoko - https://vndb.org/s972
Literally has does fucking everything.

A lot of AliceSoft staff from the 90's are still active, basically.

A bunch of scenario writers who worked on well regarded games are now gone, though. Like Kanno Hiroyuki (dead), Hiruta Masato, and Mitsumine Nao.

Here's Zatsuon Ryouiki's artist/scenario writer's art style now. Not much has changed!

>>2317593
>Sapporo Momoko - https://vndb.org/s972
>Literally has does fucking everything.
Well do note she has done a ton as a composer, not primarily an artist, composing translates much better from the old era to the new one than art, at least as far as getting work.

As far as the pic, there's just something about the shading in pixel art that grabs me far more than normal shading in a regular analog or digital (but not pixel-based) piece of art. So while it may be similar something is a bit less appealing for me, not that it's bad of course.

>>2317638
She's pretty active as an artist, too.

I asked Peter Payne what the chances of seeing older games from Zyx or D.O. are at this point and he quickly replied. Some of his points are valid but one thing struck me as odd:

"I think not TBH, the company is no longer a thing, and has no staff who could work on these older games."

Zyx is working on Raidy 3.5 and D.O. released a Family Project remake last year. D.O. was revived by Zyx's parent brand, Contents Traffic.
I'm not sure how he doesn't know this considering Jast just released the Kana Imouto remake.

>>2317740
Maybe he either means they don't have anyone left who can work with the specific formats the games are in (but they could remake them using modern tools), or he's just generalizing the industry down to a specific company that may not be in the same situation as the general industry.

>>2317767
Jast usually has to rework the engines to begin with, anyway. I do doubt that there's an actual market for PC-98 games to sell at this point, though. Although the games I mentioned do have remakes or a Window's port.

Well like I said, the two companies mentioned are still active.

It's kind of sad when these games were viable releases places like G-Collections chose mostly garbage. Why DOR of all things? Why Legend of Fairies?


Oh, one last thing, does anyone know who did the scenario or art for the game Twilight Hotel? I can't find anything and Zyx's page for the game doesn't have credits.

>>2317784
>It's kind of sad when these games were viable releases places like G-Collections chose mostly garbage. Why DOR of all things? Why Legend of Fairies?
I think I've heard that the JP companies were EXTREMELY stingy about licenses back in those days and it was likely that a lot of those games were literally the only ones they could acquire - Elf must have been like the one outlier what's with having 3 decent to good games localized

But not being in the actual industry, I don't have the actual knowledge of the people that were actually there at those time.

>>2317419
I think it's Runaway City.

>>2317980
Only one Elf game has been officially localized and it might as well not even be the same game with how loose the translation (if you can even call it that) is.

Words Worth was a fan translation that was sold. The translation quality is also probably somewhat questionable.

Also, Jast has released a few remakes of games that were originally PC-98 games like Raidy 1 & 2 and Youjuu Senki A.D. 2048.
Does anyone know if these remakes are rewritten or if they kept the text and simply "upgraded" the system and graphics? The PC-98 version of Youjuu Senki is apparently quite decent as opposed to the remake.

>>2316108
Sort of, and your tumblr variety as well. I don't think it's so much the former as the latter - there's tons of talented people out there that would be capable of putting together classic pc-style compositions, but it's probably too time consuming and/or beyond those projects' budgets. In a lot of cases it feels like the art is the first thing to go (look at Volgarr the Viking, holy shit that's a hideous game).

At any rate it's a damn shame.

>>2316180
From what I understand they at least tried to work within a self-imposed system of limitations for colors and stuff rather than just doing some pixelated "LOL8BIT" stuff like say, Rogue Legacy (sorry, haven't bitched about that game yet today and I'm overdue).

>>2316235
There's definitely some nice stuff being done, but yeah, it seems like there's a disconnect between the two.

>>2318068
Shit, for some reason, I mixed up C's Ware with Elf. Oops. But Dragon Knight 3 was definitely a huge step forward in famous companies actually taking a chance in licensing out their games for localization.

And I guess for C's Ware, you got to have the Amy's Fantasies to go along with the Eve Burst Error and Desire.

As for Yojuu Senki, I never played the remake, but the PC-98 original actually isn't that great in gameplay either, it mostly just has great pixel art.

>>2318168
Amy's Fantasies was pretty fun, in my opinion. The artwork was also fantastic.

>isn't that great in gameplay
The remake seems to be unplayable.

>>2317419
fmtownsmarty sources it from S.A. 3: http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr/screen/G3010.html

>>2317493
Most have basic menu options you can find on internet guides and use machine translation for. Early games like The Black Onyx or The Screamer are either simple to understand or have received a fan translation by this point. Telenet's first-person dungeon crawlers still need a lot of work, though, mostly because they're heavy on story.

>>2318068

I played the remake of Pretty Soldiers (Youjuu Senki?); and it might very well be the worst "tactical" game I ever played: there's absolutely no strategy, no customization, you just attack and pray for the opponent to miss, again and again. What a waste...

>>2318302
Yeah, that's what I heard about the remake. The 3rd game is apparently very good though.

Does anyone have a working download for the English version of DOR?

>>2312809
>Japanese Mac games
Wha. That's freaky, like are they possible to get?

>>2318150
Rogue legacy seems rather clearly 16 bit to me.

>>2319014
Yeah, I was just using it as an example of one of those games where people refer to a faux-retro style game as "8 bit".

It isn't even the level of detail that bothers me with Rogue Legacy, it's how the designs are so phoned in and generic, and the levels even moreso. Theoretically it could've been a great game from just a description of it but they fucked up the implementation by making the designs and tile sets so boring.

>>2318668
Just. An interview with an employee who developed Samurai Mech hints at Maxis wanting to localize that duo of games, but it obviously never came to pass.

>They actually released something called a Dokidoki Disk. Nine of them in fact.

Oh Japan.

So I'm playing Gloria right now.

The concept is fine and all, but there are far too many endings that leave the game feeling shallow. Scenes are incredibly short and there's not much of a story from what I've seen. Seeing the same scenes every route with maybe a couple of new ones also isn't that great.

What is great is the art and character designs, though. The CGs are lovely and the ero is lewd as hell even if it's just regular vanilla sex.

Pretty much felt the same way about Fatal Relations. Kind of odd to see a game with a mansion setting being so tame, I guess?

Pixel art nude bums.

Even a regular ol' butt when drawn using pixel art is something special.

>>2321937
What was the point in making that a GIF?

>Elf classics will never be translated

>>2322080
Someone must have really liked that blinking arrow

>>2322080
>Elf classics will never be translated

Actually, I've found some methods to translate Elf games and I can share them, the problem is reinserting the script since it only takes double byte characters even for the latin alphabet (maybe loading a single byte font can do the job but I dont know), there is an old DOS tool that will help you decrypting the text of most Elf games in PC-98.

Ever notice how most remakes look like shit?

>>2322261
Welcome to 8/16 bit translating. I remember the story of FF6 where Woolsey had a stack of paper of the fully translated script and had to slice it by a 1/3.

>>2322273

Size isnt that big deal here, you can squeeze as much text as you want, I know because I've tried it, but the dual byte latin font just looks too ugly and takes too much space on screen, there is also the fact that you need to limit the amount of characters per line because otherwise you'll get something like that "l" in the third line totally out of place.

>>2322290
Oh sorry. Didn't know what you meant. Is there a way to use a different font? Sadly seems to me like you have to do the whole and and have a few playtests to see where one dialog works and one doesn't.

>>2322290

I think there is a limit though... AFAIK the engine cant load MES files bigger than 64kb, the big ones are like 30kb, so those can be a pain in the ass because even if every space is a single byte it will still take some space... and of course we are also using dual byte characters to replace fucking kanjis (hiragana and katakana seems to be single byte though).

>>2304869
>Wii WADs
Probably showing my new here, but I thought WADs were just a Doom/Doomclone thing? Or have they become common terminology for anything containing both the ROM and the game software?

>>2322304
You should probably never post again for any reason.

>>2322261
That's the same issue I had when I looked into Chitty Chitty Train, though it seemed to accept a single-byte character for the first byte read. After that first one was read then it started loading weird things. Though with Doukyuusei (I'm assuming your image is that from reverse google searching) there are three Windows ports of that. The only issue of course would be the updated graphics but depending on how they're stored you possibly could include a "PC-98 Graphics Patch" too.

>>2322304
Pretty common file extension used in programs/games that store data, I remember coming across a WAD file on a PS1 game.

>>2322361
>there are three Windows ports of that

Yes, I know, there is the Windows port that changed the story for some characters and then there is the DMM versions, one is faithful to the original game and it uses the same text as the PC-98, it doesnt have voices and it uses the Windows version graphics, the other DMM version is the same as the Windows version but with support for Win XP/Vista/7. The problem with all those versions is that you need to pack and unpack the ARC files, I've tried using the YU-NO tools, but I couldnt get them to work and most of them were on megaupload...

>>2322396
Hmm, if I can get my hands on that version I could take a stab at digging into the files.

What's a feature/concept in these old PC-98 adventure/dating-sim games that you've always wished was there?

I'm curious since I might be developing something in this vein.

>>2322637
>What's a feature/concept in these old PC-98 adventure/dating-sim games that you've always wished was there?

Some side content, specially on games that have map movement like Doukyuusei/Kakyuusei. Maybe some minigames (like the ones in Tokimeki Memorial) or some good old side-quests.

>>2322080
There's a guy on tumblr (yeah I know) named fmtownsmarty who has a TON of stuff with just blinking arrows as the only animation. I've been going through his archives

>>2322272
Yeah but that's because pixel art has a certain allure to it. Also, the eyes are generickized.

>>2322637
Not knowing when you've exhausted an option in a game that use a command box is pretty annoying. That and games where you hit and option like "talk" and you get maybe 3 lines of dialogue and have to hit it again to continue the conversation.

>>2322826
Yeah, I've been there a few times. Good stuff.

>>2322830
Pretty much every remake that doesn't keep the original artist looks generic as hell. Like early windows remakes that use the old but give it shitty updated coloring (Nocturnal Illusion). Lightning Warrior Raidy is one of the few remakes where I actually like the art.

>>2323047
http://exhentai.org/g/56617/d5f6442643/
VS
http://exhentai.org/g/628964/a7e542cdf6/

>>2305430
I could provide the Toshin Toshi Manual, but I don't have a scanner atm.

>>2324582
I have that but thanks for the offer.

Watched the Gaming.moe kusoge stream yesterday...they played a bit of Energy for the PC Engine, passively dismissing PC-88 games as no better looking than ZX Spectrum-tier stuff. Putting that incorrectness aside, ASHE looks and plays better for its system specs than its console port:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhLRG_HqcCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjIdc-KNUw (demo, so it cuts between parts of the game at random)

I'm also fond of LEGEND, which came out a year before ASHE while prototyping the same game progression and distance-based platform fighting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ityxe7uK__4

Quasar Soft defines mid-tier J-PC development from the 1980s in my mind. They weren't as big and talented as Falcom, nor as damn amateurish as Sein Soft. AIR was their first game (capitalized names everywhere) after its employees left Bullet-Proof Software in 1986; I guess NCS's port of ASHE killed any hype for console projects they might have done. Guys also did Gilgamesh Sorcerian on contract with Falcom; that starts with an interesting clock tower-set scenario where you can ride up gears to access different rooms.

>>2324871
>Gaming.moe kusoge stream
The thing I don't get is why people would advertise that they're playing kusoge. It's really weird. Like to westerners even kusoge has some interesting air about it despite being overtly negative to the Japanese.

>>2325681
Part of that's exoticism straight-up, but, in the case of Energy, it's also interesting because there's a chance the PC original might play better. I get the impression that what made sense in ASHE doesn't work in Energy, so the streamer could have been aware of the discrepancy even while overlooking any comparison. A lot of folks are still impressed by how buggy, glitchy, and badly-designed many games from that era can get, so they attach legacies to outstanding examples and the cult audience forms.

>>2325681
They do the same thing in Japan. I mean they fucking remade Convoy no Nazo for android and then made an anime to promote it.

>>2325704
If only more niche titles had such marketing campaigns.

I'm trying to figure out the identity of a staff member named "Robert M. Timbello", who first worked on NCS's Elthlead and later on a wide variety of games, even Sakura Taisen. Most likely it's a pseudonym, just like "Mark Flint" could be Ushio Osamu (and I just learned the best URL source for that has now been guarded behind robot.txt, should have saved the page!). Going to assume the sources here are taken from each game's internal credits:
http://langrisser.info/elthlead
http://langrisser.info/crest_of_gaia
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/robert-m-timbello/credits/developerId,380682/

Most of this links him to NEC, but Sakura Taisen's escaping me.

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,74802/
same guy?

>>2326153
>>2326289
It could very well be Bob Timbello. He had worked for Red Company which would explain the Sakura Taisen credits. I think he may be partly japanese

>>2326289
>>2326321
Thank you! It's not out of the question: the guy said in a Gamasutra interview that he jumped from studio to studio back around the turn of the '90s—hard not to infer he was at NCS for a period.

>>2313429
This seems like a pretty cool game as well. I've read a review and it was positive. Might well as play it when I have some time.

>Neko caught between elevator doors
>Doors caught between frames of FM Towns monitor
J-PC ennui.

It's a shame that so many of these PC cases have yellowed over the years. Retrobrite and other stuff might help reverse that.

Finished the remake of Youjuu Senki A.D. 2048.
Fun setting dragged down by bad midi versions of the PC-98 tracks along with downgraded art and tedious gameplay. The biggest problem is that there's no way to speedup movement which is a huuuge problem when it's the AI's turn since they have like 20+ units while you have at max 6.

The game probably has some of the shortest h-scenes as they don't ever go over 5 lines. Wondering if they were like that in the original and how much the overall text differs from each.

>>2328448
>The biggest problem is that there's no way to speedup movement
I know with at least T98-Next there's a way to speed up the game by unchecking the second checkbox under the Motherboard tab (all I can read from it is "timing").

>>2328448
H-Scenes were shorter back in the past compared to today, I really wouldn't be surprised if it was the same.

What are basically the holy grail VNs from this era? You know how console RPGs had stuff like FF6 and Chrono Trigger, platformers had Super Mario World 1-2, fighters had Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, etc

>>2328714
YU-NO

>>2328576
The only things I have to compare it to is AliceSoft games like Toushin Toshi and early Rance games. They're massive in comparison.

>>2328714

If we are going by VN standards (only interaction is picking some options here and there), I'd say something like Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito or Kawarazakike no Ichizoku.

Behold, the most erotic pixel art ever.
http://exhentai.org/g/558142/cdc46cb406/

>>2328714
>>2328903
This

Dokyusei's probably a candidate too.

Come to think of it, I think ELF's one of the only company whose VN output during this period survived for any amount of time.

Shame about their current zombie state but oh well, at least Alicesoft's still kicking.

>>2329148
D.O., Zyx and Abogado Powers are still around.
Oh and Leaf, too.

>>2329041
das some goodwriting

>>2328448
Was bored.

>>2318386
http://www.legendsworld.net/adventure/game/3232

That should be a working download of the English version of DOR.

>>2329394
Any way to get it in window mode?

>>2329427
No idea. I just knew where to get it. Try asking on the forum of LegendsWorld.

>>2329228
Yep, that was a downgrade. :(

Did Japanese PCs have the same issue that European PCs did where the joysticks usually only had one button?

>>2329457
I haven't done research into the various controller/joystick peripherals, but there's likely some arcade-stick equivalent for each of the 16-bit J-PCs, maybe the MSX and PC-88 also. The focus on arcade ports during this period means there's a greater chance of multi-button joysticks than otherwise.

>>2327807
That is a thing of beauty,.

>>2329228
>Kawarazakike no Ichizoku.
Why does generic 1990s look so much better than generic 2010s?

>>2329743
moefags killed anemay

>>2329743
Not sure why you quoted me while green texting another game. Anyway, Saeki Hokuto isn't a bad artist and it looks better than most remakes over PC-98 games but something about the art bothers me.

I think the original monster CGs come off as more horrific rather than generic rape monsters.

Original: http://exhentai.org/s/31bfb2769f/630569-45

Remake:
http://exhentai.org/s/88555e53df/49204-15

How is the PC98 La Blue Girl? Does it have a translation?

>>2329771
>Not sure why you quoted me while green texting another game.
Had the title copied from somewhere and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing

>>2329771
>something about the art bothers me.
I'll chalk it up to the KAWAII UGUU eyes and the lighter colours making it seem to clash with the tone of the game.

>>2330032
>clash with the tone of the game

Yeah..., that's honestly it. The coloring of the aliens don't give off the same fleshy and detailed feel.

A comparison picture for some of the monsters. The bottom one is the biggest offender, imo.

this game is kinda cool

>>2330437
There's no way that's Windows but yet...MS Office 2013

>>2330450
it's windows 8.1 actually, i still have linux mint as main os but windows is better for homeworks and emulation

>>2330460
You are very custom-config-happy

>>2322272
>No pubes in remake

>>2330567
I wonder if they put the pubes in because of the "hea nudo" craze after Santa Fe...

Since none of y'all watched it last time, take a gander at this sound card demo featuring a psychadelic kid dancing to tribal drum beats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-lskltQ4s0

Really just wanna take more about demos, how few there are outside of manufacturer prods.

>>2330714
Was there a demo scene over there?

>homer dancing to little more conversation.gif

>>2330905
Not much of one, no.

>>2330567
Pubes are rare as hell now in story focused eroge. Bothers me almost as much as attractive mature teachers being virgins.

>>2331042
>Pubes are rare as hell now in story focused eroge.
Is this indicative of societal trends?

>>2331332
Considering girls in JAV usually aren't completely shaved, I don't think so.

>>2330714

>>2331447
I would say it's indicative of hentai trends in general.

JAV don't shave because it might be obscene or something (personal theory). You know Japans wierd censorship laws.

>>2331479
Eh it's still censored so I don't see how the hair is covering up anything

>>2331479
>might be obscene

Nah.

Also, some companies like Elf avoided genitals and pubes altogether by just not drawing them for a good while. Hilariously, the Windows release of Yu-no bundled with other Elf Classics literally mosaiced something that wasn't even there in the first place.

>>2330905
What >>2330937 said. Doujin's not analogous but serves as a cultural equivalent, though it contains programming showcases and much besides what are considered demos. Kazuhiro Furuhata is the major demo programmer than I know of, as he did wizardry using text-mode graphics on the MZ-700 to make some games and short movies: http://www.openspc2.org/mz700/

There were some Japanese Amiga users who used the PC for a wide range of multimedia, though.

>>2331592
>Also, some companies like Elf avoided genitals and pubes altogether by just not drawing them for a good while.
This is the best solution IMO

>>2331930
Kitune Akimoto was one of those Amiga fans in Japan. I don't know if he did stuff that would be technically classified as "demos" but a lot of his animation at the very least draws from the demoscene aesthetic.

>>2332439
Found a resource for scans and backgrounds: http://www.chrismcovell.com/secret/OTH_1986Q1.html

Can't say I expected to find any English write ups on this.
http://www.bogleech.com/halloween/hall14-exterlien.html

>>2333575
Spooky minimalistic 90s-style fansites still live. They're just much harder to find in the mass market commercial Internet of today.

>>2333871
sauce for studies

>>2334325
Reverse searching it via Google says it's from Mel Mar Melty Marchen by Queen Soft.

>>2334339
thanks

>>2334325
Why do you lie?
We all know you want to fap. Just say so.

I've gotten the first of three Xak dipoles in my Xak MSX2 run. This game's full of surprises, most creating a narrative about this dude Latok being shoved around by arbiters of destiny, bats awkwardly pretending to be your pacifist neighbor (so they can trap and instakill you), and royal minions over-reacting and looking stupid when you try to exit the fort only to find the bridge was blown up...on purpose. Good mix of humor and fantasy adventure so far; it's a decently challenging game in spots, I'd say. Killing an ogre at level 5 or so, with all these ghosts trying to pin you against (invisible) walls for easy death, is exhilarating.

Uploaded another scan:
http://exhentai.org/g/803697/eb086d4782/

Only really uploading ones that have artwork inside or covers so good I have to upload them even if the manual is just text.

Does anyone have any manuals they can scan?

Hmm...Interesting. English is pretty iffy so I'm assuming it's a machine TL. Still kind of neat?
http://www.msxposse.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=661

Also, I found a Korean PC-98 database that probably has the most fleshed out staff credits for these games.

http://pc98library.tistory.com/

>Two Shot Diary (ツーショットダイアリー)
>Author: Mic 1993
This game is pure gold

>>2335571
That database is useful every now and then. I think both Mercenary Force and Tokugawa Corp. have both taken info from it for their own purposes; all three have strengths (Tokugawa for links, MF for the occasional summary, the Korean place for developer profiles).

>>2335571
Translator's French too, so I'm doubting his English. Still nice to have something you can patch in for menus and necessary text.

Decided to see what the system was like in the original Raidy 2.

Was surprised that when you turn the camera it's smooth and not choppy considering the 2D graphics. Comes across as a lot more impressive rather than feeling really barebones like the remake that was pretty much just a graphical rehaul.

>>2337668
It is said the story was also more darker, is that true ?

Some new stuff from ApolloJoe—

ASHE (PC-88): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZEuqbq0eTw
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage sped-up (PC-98, Sasai most likely): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RGlgmgQdI8
Tekkou Kikan Atragon (PC-98, Kajihara): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkUX76R8k6s

>>2337209
Django's a frood dude even if his translations could be improved.

>>2338219
Are his translations machine translated?

Guys I recently decided to explore this are of games more thorougly, what system and games (playable in English preferably) do you reccomend me starting with?

So the verdict on the Kaku vs. Szczepaniak case in France is that he's not off the hook, but that he needs to be sued in the UK and not France:
https://twitter.com/AgnessKaku/status/586496401992851457
https://twitter.com/AgnessKaku/status/586497151607291904
https://twitter.com/AgnessKaku/status/586497610413813762

Fascinating stuff, y'all.

>>2338426
Not sure myself. Either they are or he isn't as good with English as would be necessary for a final translation. His are just partials. Old post from a French MSX forum explaining their perception of his patches: http://www.passionmsx.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=316&forum=12&post_id=1605#forumpost1605

>>2338547
There's a decent number of games across various platforms already in English. Gonna be lazy and copy the old recommendation list:
>•WiBARM, side-scrolling/first-person action adventure, DOS local.
>•Power DoLLS, hex-based wargame strategy, DOS local.
>•Die Bahnwelt, top-down run and gun, fan patch for the X68000
>•The Screamer, CRPG, fan patch for the PC-88
>•A-Train, city-builder sim game by way of economy, DOS local.
>•Thexder, action platformer, DOS local.
>•Daiva: Ashura's Bloodfeud, space strategy, fan patch for the MSX
>•Omotesandou Adventure, English-compatible text adventure, PC-88
>•Thunder Force, STG, Sharp X1
>•Mike's Lonely Journey, action, Fujitsu FM-7 (not sure where to find the ROM)
>•Yuureikun (Mr. Ghost), cute-em-up, MSX
>•The Scheme, Metroid-like action adventure, PC-88
>•Chitty Chitty Train, puzzle, PC-98

On top of that, many of the canonized MSX games already have translations, like SD Snatcher. I'm casually playing through Xak: The Art of Visual Stage for the MSX2 right now; all of these games, Xak included, aren't terribly hard but don't have interface courtesies like in later games, so bear that in mind. I'd say the most accessible platforms are the X68000 and MSX simply because there's more action titles where you don't need to know Japanese.

>>2338598
What's this case you're talking about? Any info you can give me to what it details?

>>2338598
I like how basically he's off the hook in France specifically because he's a bum.

>>2338598
Is that the HG101 guy? What did he do?

>>2338598
>Kaku v Szczepaniak
Why go public with this stuff

>>2338629
>>2338658
He paid for Hanako Kaku's translation interpreter services while over in Japan doing interviews for The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, a Kickstarter project that finished just last year. The relationship between them went nice and tidy at first, but then both turned on each other with respective blog posts detailing whatever the heck went awry. So there's multiple perspectives from him, Hanako, Agness Kaku, and us trying hard to figure out who can be trusted. He says Hanako tried to swindle him by providing inadequate personnel and correspondence; they say he was a disorganized, unappreciative mess who couldn't function with interpreters and interview subjects well. The book itself has expanded to a three-volume project that's still in the making, but Szczepaniak and the Kakus have come out for the worse.

>>2338665
I dunno, but popcorn's yummy.

>>2338684
Considering the people Kaku talks with I wouldn't consider her trustworthy.

>>2338702
Considering how incompetent, lazy, and rude Szczepaniak is I wouldn't trust him either.

>>2338702
Hey I'm not that bad.

Anyway I hope Sketcz stays in his spider hole in the woods or wherever he went after his recent meltdown.

>>2338742
Was referring to SJ shit stirrers

>>2338826
she also talks to GG shit stirrers, if that's any consolation.

>>2338826
Ah I was just kidding, even I realize that I'm a piece of shit.

Youjuu Club Custom? I like those CGs, need to check e-hentai.

>>2338219
I love how Xak looks.

>>2338868
The CGs are pretty great. The artist was also one of the main scenario writers back in the 90's.

https://vndb.org/s2026

>>2338845
I was trying to get at that her and her family seem fucking creepy and insane.

Exterlien monster designs

>>2338598
>The Criminal Court of Niort judges that as John Szczepaniak does not work, go to school or own/rent property, despite a multi-year presence in France, he is blameless in France.

>be neet in France
>do libel
>can't get sued for it

France is an odd place.

Really though, dragging this out can only harm her so I don't get why she is doing it. If she had just let the few comments he said about her fall by the wayside, a lot less people would've ever heard about them than keeping a court battle about it going on for years.

>>2338736
>Considering how incompetent, lazy, and rude Szczepaniak is I wouldn't trust him either.
I dunno, he was able to get the book out, so I don't think that 100% can define him. He is able to do work and get it out there even if he does it in a disorganized (or whatever people are alleging) manner.

>>2338702
>Considering the people Kaku talks with I wouldn't consider her trustworthy.
Agness Kaku is the kind of person who bitches about people after being employed by them and then whines about being blacklisted. It's no no wonder that Joestar's idiot friends (Jason X and Nightdreamer) are part of her Twitter circle.

>>2339857
O hai, Superfan.

>>2339906
How's Roushimsx?

>>2339297
Ah, thought the art style looked familiar - they worked on Exterlien too... very nifty!

>>2339982
DKDC

>>2338868
Worst thing about Xak for me is that I've been playing the Delta Soft translation, woops. I've only gotten the first of three dipoles (aka fairies aka Triforce pieces), so I'm just gonna leave off until I can use the WOOMB localization for accuracy.

This Polish review of CRW 2 is helpful, more so than its compressed screenshots: http://www.jrkrpg.pl/gry/pc98/crw2_j/

Sometimes I wonder if Peter knows nothing about the companies he works with, or if he's a bot, or if he's just bullshitting.

>Releasing a game that's essentially a prologue to the rest of a series and never doing the rest

>>2340839
>Goodbye Kana Okaeri!

Maybe they thought they'd sell enough to stay in business with the previous titles and didn't...

So I didn't know about this Russian horror game fan's article on Laplace no Ma: http://forbidden-siren.ucoz.ru/index/laplace_no_ma/0-91

Guy's put a decent amount of time into playing it, though I'm skeptical because of the clear differences between screenshots (varying compression and different parties = not all his images?). There's a cool retrospective of Japanese horror games on that site worth checking—found out about two more PC-8XXX games, Dwelling and The Alien Island.

The coolest thing, I think, is knowing that Studio Wing included synthesized ambient soundtracks, with baby noises and stuff like that, with each installment of Black and White Legend via cassette tapes. The games prompt you to skip to a certain track length in order to hear the appropriate music!

>>2341386
Nah, they're releasing details on their new game on the 21st, iirc.

>>2340839
Correct me if I'm wrong but they didn't even remake Yojuu Senki past the first game, did they?

They probably can't quite return to PC-98 era DOS games.

>>2341481
They did the second game, too. Kind of wonder if the movement is as slow as the first remake (they move quite fast in the original)
The PC-98 games were ported to Windows in the late 90's with voice acting also.

Still no idea why they translated DOR of all things back in 2002.

>tfw you learn Tamaki did art for an Enix JRPG
Also, Burning Point and Misty Blue look supreme for PC-88 command-selection adventures. I didn't realize before just how good the latter game looks—they found a way to minimize the shuttered scanline look of previous games, and this lets Naoyuki Onda's characters stand out more.

>>2339987
>DKDC
I'm sure you've mentioned her on Twitter. Don't want to derail this thread (since it's actually good), but what happened between you two?

Hey, any info on the Lodoss games for these computers? Wikipedia lists there being some for NEC PCs, by Hummingbird Soft. Just have to know if they're more like WRPGs. The Dreamcast game's decent for getting a Diablo-like experience, and that's what I'm familiar with.

>>2342208
No problem - as for what happened I really don't know - I asked what was up she told me to fuck off, so I trolled her until she had a meltdown and got herself banned.
-----
As for tactical "bishojou" games, I still need to play Power Dolls, that always looked interesting.

When exactly did eroge art standards go to absolute shit?

>>2342804
>No problem - as for what happened I really don't know - I asked what was up she told me to fuck off, so I trolled her until she had a meltdown and got herself banned.
That's odd. She seemed pretty well-adjusted based on her posting history and Reddit activity.

>>2342983

>>2342983
When the Japanese stopped using paper and scanner to draw their art and started relying entirely on computers. It's the same reason why anime in general went to shit around the 2000's

>>2343063
You're retarded if you think no one draws on paper anymore and anime going to shit has got nothing to do with the art.

>>2343063
Plenty of them still do draw on paper and I'm not sure what relying on computers has to do with anything. Over reliant for textures and backgrounds, sure, but not much to do with anatomy.

And to go further in-depth with actual problems relying on computers creates:
Fucking CG backgrounds plague eroge now and shiny effects to distract from how poor and lazy the actual backgrounds are.

Also, good luck finding a male character that doesn't look like a girl with short hair.

Outside of artwork things like Dead of the Brain, Count Dracula, Necronomicon, and Ballade for Maria could never be made today without serious changes. Just look at what they did to Eve Burst Error for PSP.

Want to make a fantasy eroge? Well you better put some high school uniforms in your fantasy setting along with cut jeans and a freaking bikini.

>>2343063
If eroge look like shit now, it has nothing to do with a lack of skilled illustrators, character designers and background artists. Eroge developers can't afford good talent, don't want to spend the money, or nobody wants to work for them.

The vast majority of anime is still animated with pen and paper and then scanned in for coloring and compositing. Backgrounds are probably mostly digitally painted. Things went to shit around the 2000s because they didn't do the process well, but now they do.

>>2343473
But they had more money back in the early 00s since eroge sold much more back then, yet nowadays artists are much better than a bunch of them from that time. And the money is mostly spent on the artist, which leads me to believe people just like the current artstyle more. Besides as long as you have shining coloring everyone will love it.

Dear God this brings back memories of going to a friends to download four or five reading games about screwing all of your neighbors.

Great games but they were all the same and sad excuses to see boobs.

>>2343480
Why do they sell like shit now?

>>2343489
All I know about eroge history is from an old-ass magazine that someone uploaded here but for some reason the plot-focused titles started to reduce in number and the romance~high school ones grew even more popular than before (with the exception of 2009 which had a fuckton of plot titles released). I guess (take this with a grain of salt, please) the whole trend slowly decayed and now you have a small niche market that can collapse at any second made up of very dedicated fans. Like regular video games they tend to attach themselves to the companies they really like and buy all sorts of products they make. I've seen a picture once where this guy bought like 10 or 20 copies of the same VN. I have no idea how well PC-98 eroge sold but I'm going to guess they also had a huge popularity peak with YU-NO and the like.

>>2343063

>The problem isn't the author, it's the technology.

Holy shit, we still get people like you ?

>>2343473
>Eroge developers can't afford good talent

You think Nishimata and Itaru are cheap? The most popular illustrators are the ones flooding the market with such garbage.

Liar-Soft is a small company that hires mostly unknown h-manga artists to do their art. Their art is way better than most big budget eroge being released.

Where are all the artists from the 90's? Either they've vanished, are working in the anime industry, or not getting decent jobs and working on budget nukige.

There are some exceptions like Silkies Plus and AliceSoft, though.

>>2343516
I swear AKIRA's art is more stylish than 99% of VNs released these days.

>>2343516
>The most popular illustrators are the ones flooding the market with such garbage.
Well that's very strange.

I don't know much about eroge, I'm just making reasonable assumptions.

>>2343509
>for some reason the plot-focused titles started to reduce in number and the romance~high school ones grew even more popular than before
Can we find the source of this trend? It happened in Japanese games generally really, although it took longer in mainstream Japanese games compared to eroges, and a few plot based stalwarts are still left, but not many.

>>2343516
It seems like there's a real obsession in these Japanese VNs with the Terminator. So many run with that theme. It must have been big in Japan.

>>2343772
The Japanese are really into sci-fi/cyberpunk stuff, especially movies like Terminator, Blade Runner and RoboCop.

>>2343772
It's not big now though.

Any LNs adapted into VNs/adventure games from the period around '89 through '97?

>>2344007
>It's not big now though.
Well yeah I meant around that era. Now it's rare if existent at all.

>>2343062
>Reddit
>well-adjusted
pick one :).

As for the art issue, there's a lot of different factors that probably led to the paradigm shift, but the economic downturn would have been the crux of it all. The Japan bubble economy went in the toilet in the mid-90s, which hit the anime industry as well - even if you've got people with the experience and talent to do something, you've got budgetary and time limitations to deal with that'll bottleneck what they're reasonably able to do.

>>2344465
The eroge development cycle is far longer than it was back in the 90's. Yu-no was made in less than half a year and it excels everywhere. The average now is about a title per year for full priced games.

>>2343754
Probably To Heart

>>2340536
The what is this and how do I play it?

>>2344761
It's Dead of the Brain 2, I believe.

>>2344657
>1992-12-17 18+ Doukyuusei
Are we sure about that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzDnwZHDPB0

>>2344650
Why can't they make a game of olden times quality in less than half a year now?

>>2345304
Economic bubble burst

>>2344650
Out of curiosity, where'd you get the info on the development period, was that in an article? I don't doubt you, I just think that would be neat to see for different games.

Assuming they had a shorter schedule, I'd assume on the art end that it had something to do with the size of the crew (number of assistants, etc.) back then versus now that would have allowed them to go into greater detail.

Beyond that, there's relative differences between the games then and the games now that would account for taking longer or eating up more of the budget - I know it's a generalization, but by and large you had less-extensive "fuck scenes" for a game, with maybe only one to or three CGs for each heroine depending on the game. That, and nowadays you've got stuff like voice recording that you didn't have prior to the late-90's.

The Japanese economy's gotten slightly better than it was 20 years ago, but even if the different eroge studios have more budget or whatever since, I'd imagine that if they've found that they can "get by" by doing simpler cgs and character designs without complaint from the consumers they're going to do that, and encourage their artists to do that.

>>2345523
I'll have to ask around for the source so it might take a bit to get back to you on that.

We can look at the release dates for Xenon, Love Potion, and Desire all being released in 1994, though. Granted, Love Potion isn't very long and these games are pretty linear.

That brings up another problem now...individual character routes in games that have no reason to have them. Elements of story scattered around for no reason, inconsistent storytelling due to bad planning and multiple writers (Hello Rewrite).

Also, for voice acting I wonder how many female actors use their natural voice now or if they actually sound like little girls. Comparing the voices from things like Eve and Yu-no to modern actors is like two different worlds.

Another interesting thing is we actually have sales data on some of these games that got ported to the SS.

>Sales reports of the Sega Saturn edition range from 139,509 to 240,820 copies sold.

There was a page that listed a bunch but I can't find it now.

>>2345558
Don't sweat it - whenever you find it though lemme know. I think this is kind of interesting, it might be fun to do some research to compare the differences between comparable sized games (or maybe between the original and a remake) from then to now. It's still entirely possible they're just being lazy these days...

>>2345624
Here's an interesting string of releases by one writer:

>1994-01-07 18+ Gao Gao! 1st ~Radical Sequence~
1994-04-16 18+ Gao Gao! 2nd ~Pandora no Mori~
>1994-10-29 18+ Gao Gao! 3rd ~Wild Force~
>1995-04-22 18+ Mugen Yasoukyoku

And some by Hiruta Masato:
>Kawarazaki-ke no Ichizoku 1992-09-17
>Doukyuusei 1992-12-17
>Words Worth 1993-07-22
>Dragon Knight 4 1994-02-25
>Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito 1994-06-30

Here's a video of Elf's office during their early days:
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm2322894

>>2345501
But what does that have to do with how fast a team of people can make a game? Are you saying they were living off borrowed money all that time and that allowed for bigger and better teams but now they no longer have access to that money?

>>2345558
>>Sales reports of the Sega Saturn edition range from 139,509 to 240,820 copies sold.
That seems like it'd be pretty good for such a niche product.

>>2345753

IIRC, according to the Doukyuusei Guide book that has an interview with Hiruta Masato, they were trying to release at least three games per year when they were making Doukyuusei.

>>2315203
>Anyone know where I can find the isos for the Evangelion collector's disc? I'm also interested in any other kind of desktop theme CD-ROMs for win95/98, which were fairly popular in Japan, but for some reason really hard to come across nowdays, even on auction sites

http://www.suruga-ya.jp/search?category=6&search_word=%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF&rankBy=price%3Aascending

I just got into PC98 emulation and I'm looking for some good games that are light on Japanese or atleast can be played without a lot of discussion trees. Games like Metal&Lace, Vermillion, Hell in the Dark, Jump Hero..

>>2346768
Night Slave is basically the go-to game for this.

>>2346919
I know it's not, but that game name makes me think it's a hentai game..

>>2346923
>I know it's not, but that game name makes me think it's a hentai game..
Anon, I have something to tell you...

>>2346934
The weird thing is, people expect hentai games to be separate from games with actual gameplay due to the way most games operate but... Why can't a game have both? Why only focus on one aspect?

>>2346768
http://www.pc98.org/sakusaku.html
This masterpiece.

>>2346962
Because the two are incredibly opposed and at odds with each other. Good gameplay isn't erotic, it can't be. A sacrifice has to be made on one of the elements. Too much fun, you can't jerk off. Too much jerking off, you can't have fun.

I'll take a million porn games with with little to no gameplay, and a million fun games with a bit of focus on jiggling tits, over 1 game that tries to merge the two, because it simply can't be done. Sengoku Rance is the only one that comes close, but the porn honestly isn't that great.

>>2347001
Tell this to the Dead or Alive series.

>>2347001
Dragon Knight 4 is an awesome game with one of the best storylines in any JRPG of the time, and has plenty of porn (actually done to be erotic, unlike the Rance series).

>>2347004
Titillation isn't the same as eroticism.

>>2347019
Even in the 90s, making your game a JRPG is forsaking gameplay for story. The majority of H-games released today are doujin created simplistic JRPGs, with a simple combat engine combined with VN style scenes for the porn.

A game can have a great story and decent porn, it's difficult but possible. Creating a game with good gameplay and porn is what's next to impossible.

>>2347001
>Too much jerking off, you can't have fun.

I have fun jerking off :^)

>>2347052
Yes, but it's a different kind of fun. Beating Ninja Gaiden is fun, but you aren't going to jerk off while you're doing it.

>>2347001
>Good gameplay isn't erotic, it can't be.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I know I get a boner playing Tetris.

>>2347048
Please stop talking. You've clearly haven't played very many gameplay titles if you feel that way. What you're saying doesn't even make sense.

>>2347048
>Titillation isn't the same as eroticism.
DOA will make you stop and fap though

>>2347061
Why can't the same scene as that pic in 3D ever look as good as that?

>>2346993
I downloaded SakuSaku from the Anon dump and made it into a .vfd but for some reason my VFIC won't convert it into a .d88.. Does anyone have a pre-installed hdi or d88 of this game?

>>2347362
Here you go anon, made it into a bootable HDI and uploaded to the dump. Here's also a direct link to it as well so you don't need to navigate through it. Booted and tested with Next.
https://mega.co.nz/#!t5kECTJL!sZngGKqHogM2PBcbGEA9ODhd-TKLHc0sdHSCjbiwXLM

Also renamed the original SakuSaku with "LOOSE" at the end while this one has "HDI"

>>2347548
awesome! Thank you so much, could you explain your methodology? Did you make the files into an img then convert it into a floppy format then install it using a MS-DOS hdi? Or is there another way to do this kind of thing? Sorry if I seem a little ignorant, still learning about '98 emulation

>>2347548
Also, boots up with anex86 fine aswell!

>>2347584
No worries, and I just created a 5MB HDI file using Neko Project 2, used FORMAT.EXE to make it bootable/usable, then with EditDisk copied the SAKU folder into the HDI file, made an AUTOEXEC.BAT and tested it to see if it ran.

In the OP post there's a guide for making HDI files too.

>>2347597
Ah hadn't downloaded DiskExplorer, for anyone who needs it I got it here

http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA013937/editdisk/index_e.html

>>2347597
Do you have any idea when I try to import files into my formatted .HDI it says "File Not Found" ?

>>2347628
Nevermind, turns out it was just a problem of the location of my folders that I was trying to copy.

>>2347597
The copy in the dump of マーブルクッキング (Marble Cooking) was also loose so using your method I made a bootable HDI of it. Works in anex86.

https://mega.co.nz/#!sFwVQYgD!gFqTExDJL3sO4MuRGgzb_JDFozOafHUrXMhe5MC6UtU

>>2347663
Agh; seems I've fucked up somewhere.. You can watch the opening demo and check out all the music but actually trying to start the game gives you a prompt that asks for another floppy to be inserted. Not sure why, because there was only 1 directory in loose file but maybe I missed a step...

>>2347685
I'll take a look at it, maybe there's a 0 byte file or something that if present the game thinks it's running from floppies.

>>2347693
I got it fixed, I just needed to edit the autoexec.bat file, I also applied the english patch from

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/824/

https://mega.co.nz/#!IJR3CRqY!vJ0_eelhbLoAJiUd5rR6T6Mhm9swdJsEUvjncn4ubTs

>>2347749
Ah neat, though you also removed the line that gives it sound too
>PMD /M14 /V0 /E3 /K /F /I

Added both to the dump, with the English version being under "Translated PC-98 Games" which looking at it, I don't think I ever shared the link here

https://mega.co.nz/#F!BxdUGRJB!7Ukayz3V5rJCjikuFU3LlA

There's only two things in it though, Marble Cooking and my attempt at changing some stuff in Chitty Chitty Train. I keep saying this but I never actually do it but I should go through my PC-98 files and re-organize them (rename, recompress, etc).

>>2347805
Oh.. Whoops ;_; haha I'm still learning, I feel bad for making this thread so messy

>>2346768
I remember Chitty Chitty Train from last summer was a fun one.

soo.. is there any other levels to this game or it just this really uninspired map design?

(ooinaru - hell in the dark)

Since A-Train 3DS just came out in Europe/Australia, time for some A-Train IV music—
FM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzYW_oz77fs
MT-32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12KjijTUvhw
FM Towns CD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVyM07gXkkA
DOS localization AdLib: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLFR4ghzI4Q
DOS localization CD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL8ryPjFcg0

>>2350004
How often do old JPC games get ported to or remastered on newer systems anyway?

>>2350908
Speaking of that, I really want to play the Toshin Toshi II remake, it looks like it misses the good points of the original entirely.

>>2351108
And thus you're interested to see how bad it gets, or...?

There's some really cool utilities for the PC98, does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe a music composing program or a different paint program? This one is called Multi-Paint System

what /jpc/ systems have psp emulators?

>>2351380
Yes.

bumping thread from page 10

>>2349154
there is tons of games like that anyway.

>>2351380
(sorry for the silly answer earlier) I would say yeah. If anything I'm interested to see how they remove/get around the sex stuff from the game. I also think it's kind of fucked (and hilarious) that they supposedly turned it into a harem game, when the original was all about the main character fighting to improve himself to win the hand of (then be able to return to) his sweetheart, and so on.

Anyone know any eroge with dinosaurs?

I might just order Kogado's The Mars Project package if the company's still alive by summer or fall. Kogado Anon tried grabbing it off Perfect Dark, but met with failure (or I'm remembering it wrong and it's not on there whatsoever). Caught myself thinking of this game while playing the latest A-Train release.

>>2357273
>I might just order Kogado's The Mars Project package if the company's still alive by summer or fall
Is there any signs of that or is that just an off-hand quip

>>2356607
Trust me, anon, you don't want to have sex with dinosaurs.

>>2357479
Yeah, salmonella's a bitch.

>>2357273

I tried getting that torrent compilation from Perfect Dark (or was it from Share?) but it had some parts missing. I was able to get the first game though.

Anyone know if the PC version of Power Dolls is nerfed from the originals? I was curious about that.

i'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but i'm going to make a virtual machine with vbox to play my older pc games (most of which are jp which is why i'm asking here)
what should i use? somewhere between win95 and xp, but i'm not sure which is best
i was leaning towards windows 2000, is that any good?

>>2359565
2000 with AppLocale sounds good, but cases of games not working in XP's compatibility mode are few, so that's in the running. Try using 98 if you have that also; all the Project EGG games will run on Windows OSes from 98 onward.

>>2359569
thanks, i'll try 2000 then
i'm not very knowledgeable about old computers since my first one was xp so i don't really know the differences between them

>>2360210

>>2360215
http://www.fu-rinkan.com/pandp/pindex.html

Hey guys, let's get proactive and play some First Queen Web:
http://www.kure.sakura.ne.jp/FQ1AS_0/index.html
Java version for you speedsters: http://www.kure.sakura.ne.jp/FQWEB/test.html

These are truncated versions of the First Queen 1 remake; Flash version's page links to a set of instructions that should be easy to view in Google Translate. Game's awesome to this day.

>>2360253
Looks kinda like Ys, but does it play more like Herzog Zwei?

>>2302986
I'd go with view window myself.

>>2305336
Can think of many who have copies of their games but lack the other resources, i.e. source code and shit

>>2360342
Actually it's more related to Bokosuka Wars, but in SRPG style.

Threadly reminder.

>>2360758
I'd call First Queen (and Silver Ghost before it) stat-heavy pre-modern RTSes going by literal classification. The strategy elements are the board game-esque world map, showing the routes you can take in a save, and your ability to split forces into armies by leader.

It amazes me that no one has translated any early Elf games.

>>2305479
What other games have cockpits this cool? Thinking of ones where the gadgets do stuff on-screen.

>>2364624
How hard/easy is it to translate stuff like that? Compared to say a SNES romhack translation?

>>2365165
Not that anon, but I think like with SNES ROM translations it varies by game. Though it probably doesn't help if they only had releases on systems where not much is documented in terms of hacking them.