PCEngineFans.com - The PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 Community Forum
NEC PC-Engine/SuperGrafx => PC Engine/SuperGrafx Discussion => Topic started by: Keranu on August 03, 2005, 06:43:21 PM
-
I started a game in Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru on my PCE CD two or three days ago and planning on seriously beating it, unlike the other times where I would fire it up and hope to get far in the game. I am using Black Tiger's walkthrough for a somewhat translation (because I no speaky de Japanese-ay) and help and have put about four hours or so into this game. I just wanted to say that I am having an absolute blast playing this game even without fully understanding it!
Black Tiger was right when he told me that it can be played through without knowing Japanese and the barrier isn't nearly as bad as I thought. The hardest part is figuring out all the menus and items, but once you are past that, the game can be understood quite well without knowing the language due the the many and detailed cinemas, along with the voice acting. This game is so awesome and don't let the language stop you! I'll have to play through the first game because I can tell these games have highly influenced RPGs to come after it, especially CD ones.
This is seriously one of the best RPGs I have played in awhile and I don't even know Japanese really! I can only imagine how awesome it would be if this game was in English...
-
Yup. If you put into the balance its humoungous size and its overall quality, Manjimaru is without doubt the best RPG in the world. Long time ago, it took me an average of 120 hours to beat the game (nine days, 12 hours per day, talk about a marathon) while writing a walkthrough. Best Summer I had!
Enjoy the ride :)
-
Black Tiger was right when he told me that it can be played through without knowing Japanese and the barrier isn't nearly as bad as I thought.
Yeah, based on Black Tiger's recommendation and the walkthrough he wrote, I'm going to get this game. Not that I have the time to play it, of course.
On that note, I already purchased Tengei Makyu Kabuki Den and Tengei Makyu - Ziria... how do these games stack up? Black Tiger? Kaminari? I bought them to listen to the music, first and foremost...
-
Where's the walkthrough? GameFAQs?
-
Easiest import rpgs I ever played trough were both Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue on Saturn.I had no probs with them at all.Grandia was next up.The worst,was Snatcher for Saturn.
-
By the way, it appears I played about seven hours into the game when I made this post. ;)
Kaminari - Is this game really THAT long? I always read it was a very long game, but I figured it would just be long for it's time, like maybe 50 hours at most. I guess I have quite a lot to play in this game, which can be a good thing since it's so excellent so far!
I know it's early, but I can honestly say this is one of the best RPGs ever made and I don't even know Japanese, along with only putting seven hours into this massive game so far!
-
Where's the walkthrough? GameFAQs?
Yup under the Turbo-CD section there.
Just click all list and it should be listed.
-
Yes it is a HUGE game. Glad to see some more people enjoying this classic. By the way, I'm still offering a cash reward for an English patch for this game or Anearth Fantasy Stories. :D
-
Kaminari - Is this game really THAT long?
Keep in mind I was typing a walkthrough (more like a traveller's log, really!) while progressing. You can rush through the game in about 40 hours, but the average time for a normal, easy-going game is about 80 hours (that was the advertised play time) without using a walkthrough ;)
On that note, I already purchased Tengei Makyu Kabuki Den and Tengei Makyu - Ziria... how do these games stack up?
Ziria was one of the first CD games released for the PC Engine. It's shorter, a bit cruder around the edges (the environments and the puzzles are not particularly varied) and overall, people tend to consider it as a Momotarô Densetsu on CD -- which is not a bad thing if you enjoyed the Momoden series :)
As for myself, I like Ziria a lot. There's a typical Japanese atmosphere about it which you just don't find in any other RPG. The PSG tunes are exotic and well done, the few CD tracks by Ryūichi Sakamoto have become famous. The graphics are drawned in the exquisite wafū (http://silkypages.humgat.org/golden.html) style, which is uncommon in video games (sadly most people would qualify them as "primitive").
Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.
-
As always, thank you Kaminari.
Ziria was one of the first CD games released for the PC Engine. It's shorter, a bit cruder around the edges (the environments and the puzzles are not particularly varied) and overall, people tend to consider it as a Momotarô Densetsu on CD -- which is not a bad thing if you enjoyed the Momoden series :)
As for myself, I like Ziria a lot. There's a typical Japanese atmosphere about it which you just don't find in any other RPG. The PSG tunes are exotic and well done, the few CD tracks by Ryūichi Sakamoto have become famous. The graphics are drawned in the exquisite wafū (http://silkypages.humgat.org/golden.html) style, which is uncommon in video games (sadly most people would qualify them as "primitive").
Ahhh, well that really helps me put things in perspective. I must admit, I'd be the ignorant chap who would not have realized that the game's aesthetics were stylized in the spirit of wafu. In fact, I didn't know what wafu was until a minute ago.
Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.
Ahhh, I was expecting this to be a recycling of Manjimaru, but that's not the case at all.
Here's the BIG QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are any of you folks aware of a music debug mode available in the Tengai Makyu (or ANY other) CD games with PSG music? Basically, I'm wondering if there is a way to listen to the PSG tunes without having to play the game.
For example, Neo Nectaris SCD is almost 100% Redbook, but two tracks (password screen and game over screen) are PSG. I had no problem making an mp3 of these PSG songs (I did it old skool, recording the analog output from a TG-CD via my computer's sound card). I would like to do the same with other PSG tunes...
-
Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.
Kabuki Den is actually a Final Fantasy(IV)-style TM/FEOE(slower pace, battles, over & underworld walking, 4 fiends, etc...). By RPG standards, its still long.
There are still regions that you tend to clear one at a time, but they're jam packed with questing instead of the stretched out run-through gameplay of Maru II.
Maru does take a lot of time to clear if you're playing it without guidance. But I blazed through the sections I was familiar with the second time playing and got half way through in 2 or 3 days on the Gamecube version.
You can just turn on the Turbo switches and hold down the button to clear most battles(PCE version).
Kabuki Den has a pretty good debug mode, similar to Ys IV's, after you finish the game(press I at the 'The End" screen and reload).
I recently got a preview book for Kabuki Den that shows some of the early development on Tengai Makyo III: HIMIKO :shock:
It stars a young blonde haired girl who appears to be some sort of sorceress and her companion is a giant pig named Yamataku!
I also have a PC Engine mag that had the most amount of info on NAMIDA before it was cancelled. I translated most of it with Photoshop and was going to post them on my long-dead TM site(I've got the images on a CD around here somewhere...).
The hero was a very plain looking boy who was orphaned and the only thing left by his parents was a necklace and he was raised by fisherman. There was a tall shady looking guy, a young blonde girl(Himiko?) who looked like Kinu and a white Dog named "Dog".
The game finally released for PS2 is radically different, but it looks like Namida's back story is similar.
-
I recently got a preview book for Kabuki Den that shows some of the early development on Tengai Makyo III: HIMIKO :shock:
Oh yeah, Himiko... That was a famous prank, back then ;)
Jackie Chan was supposed to be part of the dubbing cast (don't ask), John Williams was supposed to write the score after Sakamoto, Hisaishi and Tanaka... Great stuff!
-
Thanks for all the great information guys! I'm just curious, but how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?
And speaking of PSG sound tests on CD games, in the developer's room in The Dawn of Ys, there is that monster playing the piano and he mentions something about PSG (I forgot what it said in the English translation) and I read something on this Japanese site that says there is some kind of cheat to access the PSG sound test mode. Does anyone know of anything about this and if it's possible to access it? The game really makes it seem like you can by doing some kind of trick.
-
Thanks for all the great information guys! I'm just curious, but how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?
And speaking of PSG sound tests on CD games, in the developer's room in The Dawn of Ys, there is that monster playing the piano and he mentions something about PSG (I forgot what it said in the English translation) and I read something on this Japanese site that says there is some kind of cheat to access the PSG sound test mode. Does anyone know of anything about this and if it's possible to access it? The game really makes it seem like you can by doing some kind of trick.
1: Fuun Kabuki Den
2: Manji Maru
3: Apocalypse IV
4: ZIRIA
5: Zero
6: Itouryoden
7: Shin Den
8: Kakutoden
I'm guessing that NAMIDA will fall inbetween Manji Maru & Apocalypse IV.
Zero was really great from what little I played before getting stuck. There's a walkthrough up now and I plan on mapping it out when I get around to playing it through.
The same with Apocalypse IV, I didn't want to battle cels of animation before playing it, but quickly learned to appreciate it and its one of those special games where you'd believe anything(gameplay, aesthetics) could happen next(you get to draw a face for a custom character and they phonetically say aloud the name you give them).
I'd have to take a look at the developer's room in Ys IV again(I don't have a save file for it right now). I thought that there was either a way to select the songs or get them played in the rooms or something.
-
how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?
It's a matter of taste, really :)
Fighting games aside, my list would look like this:
1. Manjimaru
2. Ziria
3. Ao no Tengai (Oriental Blue)
4. Fūun Kabuki Den
5. Zero
6. Daishi no Mokushiroku (The Apocalypse IV)
It's interesting to note that 1-2's game designer is Shōji Masuda (of Emerald Dragon and Linda Cube fame), 3-4-5's designer is Kōji Arai (there's a strong design cohesion between Oriental Blue and Zero) and 6 is from a guy named Yutaka Nagayama (the game really stands apart from the rest of the series).
-
Alright, I'm going to order this based on your recommendations. I really hope I don't have to know any Japanese...
-
Alright, I'm going to order this based on your recommendations. I really hope I don't have to know any Japanese...
Well since you can get it for like $5 now, its a steal eitrher way.
I paid $100 for my first roughed up (complete)copy.
But it's straight forward enough that my walkthrough should be all you need. If you still have trouble with the menus, let me know and I'll ascii-art up a full translation and amend that ancient old version on gamefaqs.
And if anyone ever gets stuck in any PCE RPG, Tengai Makyo or otherwise, please feel free to contact me for assistance.
-
I definitely wanna get into Fuun Kabuki Den. I never ever made it past the first town because the overabundance of kanji in the menus scare me.
Hey Black Tiger you familiar with Tengai Makyo Zero on Super Famicom also? I was lucky enough to beat at least one dungeon and a boss on it.
-
I definitely wanna get into Fuun Kabuki Den. The overabundance of kanji in the menus scare me.
Hey Black Tiger you familiar with Tengai Makyo Zero on Super Famicom also?
Zero's fun and the battles seem easier to figure out, but some of the windows are Final Fantasy style and it can be hard to distinguish between 100 items on one screen.
Kabuki Den's the easiest TM to jump into. When I got my first PC, I doctored up some crude screen shots of translated menus to help people.
I'll try to dig them up again.
-
Ahh I'm used to that. I've beaten actual copies of Final Fantasy III on famicom and Super Famicom Final Fantasy V in japanese. But then again, in the FF games I was still able to get by because beside item/weapon/armor names there were pictures representing each category.
-
Black_Tiger, making the ASCII art to translate the menus for Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru (or graphic editing) would be very useful for the non-Japanese speaking new comers to the game. The hardest part of starting the game for me was figuring out all the menus. Luckily I studied a little hiragana and katana a a couple years ago and learned a little Japanese, so it slightly helped me in the process.
-
Thanks very much!
-
1. Manji Maru
2. Ziria
3. Kabuki Den
4. Apocalypse
5. Zero
I have yet to play Namida or Oriental Blue, I am not counting the fighting games. Overall it's one of the best RPGs around and one of my personal favorite games.
-
I recently got a preview book for Kabuki Den that shows some of the early development on Tengai Makyo III: HIMIKO :shock:
It stars a young blonde haired girl who appears to be some sort of sorceress and her companion is a giant pig named Yamataku!
I also have a PC Engine mag that had the most amount of info on NAMIDA before it was cancelled. I translated most of it with Photoshop and was going to post them on my long-dead TM site(I've got the images on a CD around here somewhere...).
The hero was a very plain looking boy who was orphaned and the only thing left by his parents was a necklace and he was raised by fisherman. There was a tall shady looking guy, a young blonde girl(Himiko?) who looked like Kinu and a white Dog named "Dog".
The game finally released for PS2 is radically different, but it looks like Namida's back story is similar.
I found those pics I made up long ago. It turns out that the girl in the SCD version really was Himiko. Here they are-
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/namida.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/mayu.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/ngroup.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/sandh.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/scd.jpg
PCFX version-
http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/pcfx.jpg
-
Awesome! You don't recall the magazine that came from, do you? Even a year would be helpful, since I don't have many to look through...
-
Badass!
-
Awesome! You don't recall the magazine that came from, do you? Even a year would be helpful, since I don't have many to look through...
I's PC Engine FAN June 1995-
(http://members.shaw.ca/turboduo/pcefan.jpg)
It also has previews of Kakutoden, Apocalypse IV, Zero and a 2 page retrospective on the series.
-
By any chance did you pick up the Otkau bonus DVD that was a pre-order incentive for the Japanese GC version, there's a lot of neat stuff on it.
-
By any chance did you pick up the Otkau bonus DVD that was a pre-order incentive for the Japanese GC version, there's a lot of neat stuff on it.
Whats on the GC DVD???
I bought the PS2 version with the bonus DVD, which has a series of interviews, some making of and a couple of special events.
-
By any chance did you pick up the Otkau bonus DVD that was a pre-order incentive for the Japanese GC version, there's a lot of neat stuff on it.
Whats on the GC DVD???
I bought the PS2 version with the bonus DVD, which has a series of interviews, some making of and a couple of special events.
I'm guesing it's the same DVD, since the GC version came out sooner I thought it was the only release to have the DVD with it.
-
Kool, there's a good chance I have that issue of PC-E Fan.
-
By any chance did you pick up the Otkau bonus DVD that was a pre-order incentive for the Japanese GC version, there's a lot of neat stuff on it.
Whats on the GC DVD???
I bought the PS2 version with the bonus DVD, which has a series of interviews, some making of and a couple of special events.
I'm guesing it's the same DVD, since the GC version came out sooner I thought it was the only release to have the DVD with it.
Cool, otherwise I might have to buy the game over again. I held out on the PS2 version until I could get it with the bonus disc cheap.
-
Himiko's character in "Tengai 3: Namida" had nothing to do with the earlier "Tengai 3: Himiko" prank.
Namida's "real" Himiko was loosely based on the first aknowledged Japanese empress named Yamatai Pimiku (Himiko/Himiho). She ruled over Yamato during the late prehistoric times -- which in Japan lasted until the Third Century AD!
Those times are called "pre-historic" because all we know about them exclusively came from Chinese writings, since the Japanese didn't start to write before the Seventh Century (when they adopted the Chinese characters, though the two languages are mostly unrelated).
Anyhoo... I should wade back through my collection of Dengeki PC Engine magazines and scan the previews related to Namida when I get the time...
-
Does anyone know of any cool fansites dedicated to the Far East of Eden series? In English, preferably. I'm just looking for some storyline info and the general history of the series.
Thanks.
-
Does anyone know of any cool fansites dedicated to the Far East of Eden series? In English, preferably. I'm just looking for some storyline info and the general history of the series.
Thanks.
Me too. I'm afraid that there's not much out there.
-
OK Phoenix Down for this topic.
I turned on my Super Famicom to play Zero, and I got this screen:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/55.jpg)
I know this game has the ability to detect holidays, but I guess it can also pick up Cinco De Mayo eh?
-
3: Apocalypse IV
I've only played no. IV and it is just awesome..
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a348/kwoksta/pics3.jpg)
Oh.. and the scene where you design the face for your made up character to go inside that childs cursed book is just genious!! I'm pretty sure there was a template of PC Genjin and bomberman to name a few..
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a348/kwoksta/pics6.jpg)
one day im gonna get myself a SUPER CD_ROM unit and play no.2
-
OK Phoenix Down for this topic.
I turned on my Super Famicom to play Zero, and I got this screen:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/55.jpg)
I know this game has the ability to detect holidays, but I guess it can also pick up Cinco De Mayo eh?
Haha, that's awesome!
-
I know this game has the ability to detect holidays, but I guess it can also pick up Cinco De Mayo eh?
Children's Day (Kodomo no hi) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_hi), actually.
-
Wow good stuff...now I really know the Tengai Makyo series is not for me.
Like I said, I wanna get into it like Final Fantasy and such, but the fact that the menus are in kanji can be scary for me.
-
OK Phoenix Down for this topic.
I turned on my Super Famicom to play Zero, and I got this screen:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/55.jpg)
I know this game has the ability to detect holidays, but I guess it can also pick up Cinco De Mayo eh?
Haha, that's awesome!
Definitely it is. Far East Zero has a built in clock. There's a shrine where the setting is different depending on what season or holiday it is.
-
That's certainly a neat feature, I wasn't aware of it. And since this thread has been pheonix downed, I still haven't beat TMII, mainly because I haven't played it in a long time. I played about 12 hours or so and it was definitely a rad experience. I hope to finish it someday.
-
I recently beat Kabuki Den and TM2 (thanks to Black Tiger for the awesome guides!) and both games were absolutely amazing. KD took me 30 hours and TM2 50, though I tend to go through my RPGs very slowly and I imagine someone could beat the former in 25 hours and the latter in 40-45. As for which one is better, I vote for KD by the slimmest of margins. Gotta love the amusement park level and the singing bosses, and the last few hours were just insane--very memorable stuff.
-
Yeah, the bonus DVD in TG2 for GC is same as the PS2 one...rather unimpressive.
-
I picked up a copy of Ziria from neokellyzero. Does anyone know where i can find a download of the overworld theme? Ive been having trouble ripping the audio from this disk. Or wait a sec, is it even cdaudio to begin with?
I know this isnt TM2 related, but its still Tengai Makyou :D
-
Kingshriek (http://snesmusic.org/hoot/kingshriek/) has ripped Ziria's soundtrack in HES format. You can find it on his website, along with rips from Manjimaru and Fūun Kabuki Den.
-
awesome thanks
-
I picked up a copy of Ziria from neokellyzero. Does anyone know where i can find a download of the overworld theme? Ive been having trouble ripping the audio from this disk. Or wait a sec, is it even cdaudio to begin with?
I know this isnt TM2 related, but its still Tengai Makyou :D
I'll try to record it later today. If you don't see anything here or hear from me soon just remind me.
-
I can't believe my thread has lasted this long. :D
-
Alright, here's the overworld music, run off of real hardware-
http://superpcenginegrafx.com/overworld.mp3
-
Ahh, great music.
-
Thanks a ton Black_Tiger. Simple tune, but catchy.
Long live the Tengai Makyou thread :D
-
Reading through this thread... just makes me want to play this game right now.
Though I'm not quite sure on whether or not I should purchase a PCE since the game is also out on the Nintendo DS.
Hmm... What to do...
-
Reading through this thread... just makes me want to play this game right now.
Though I'm not quite sure on whether or not I should purchase a PCE since the game is also out on the Nintendo DS.
Hmm... What to do...
Yes do get one if you want to play it at full size.
-
Ninja Spirit I blame you for always raising this thread from it's grave :lol: .
Anywho, I've just about completed Kabuki Den now and can't wait to see these crazy parts I keep hearing of to happen.
-
You guys think its a bad idea for me to start of my "Tengai adventure" starting with Ziria? Should I just start with Manjimaru?
I own all three for the engine, but sofar havnt spent any solid time with any. Ive been giving Cosmic Fantasy II some play time lately instead.
-
As I said in my other topic, I suggest starting with Kabuki Den. It's the easiest one to get into since it's pretty crazy right from the start, while the other two (particularly Ziria) take some time to really get going. If you enjoy Kabuki, go for Manji Maru next, since the menu system is pretty much the same. And yeah, you'll be going backwards, but I'd say it doesn't really matter.
-
As I said in my other topic, I suggest starting with Kabuki Den. It's the easiest one to get into since it's pretty crazy right from the start, while the other two (particularly Ziria) take some time to really get going. If you enjoy Kabuki, go for Manji Maru next, since the menu system is pretty much the same. And yeah, you'll be going backwards, but I'd say it doesn't really matter.
Kabukiden was my first TM game. I got stuck in both Manjimaru and Ziria for years and I just happened to finish TMII before TMI.
I'd recommend either going backwards or forwards through them. Unless you can't handle Ziria's graphic style, in which case definately save it for last if it'd deter you from playing the others.
The other thing worth mentioning, is that if you play Kabuki den before Manjimaru, M' won't seem as impressive aesthetically or story-wise.
And if length is a concern, in order from shortestest to longest they go: Ziria, Kabuki, Manjimaru(really long the 1st time).
-
The other thing worth mentioning, is that if you play Kabuki den before Manjimaru, M' won't seem as impressive aesthetically or story-wise.
I beat Kabuki first, and I agree with this to an extent. But really, both of these games are absolutely loaded with memorable moments. Manji is more traditional, but it definitely has some shocking stuff. Ziria's the only one I'd worry about as far as story and aesthetics go (though I personally dig Ziria's darker visuals).
Unless you can't handle Ziria's graphic style, in which case definately save it for last if it'd deter you from playing the others.
I'd be more concerned about the slow start than the graphic style with Ziria. I seem to remember Grahf saying he felt Cosmic Fantasy 2 was tedious at the beginning, and Ziria's early going is even slower if anything. The battle system annoyed me until I powered up a bit and gained some decent allies.
-
The other thing worth mentioning, is that if you play Kabuki den before Manjimaru, M' won't seem as impressive aesthetically or story-wise.
I beat Kabuki first, and I agree with this to an extent. But really, both of these games are absolutely loaded with memorable moments. Manji is more traditional, but it definitely has some shocking stuff. Ziria's the only one I'd worry about as far as story and aesthetics go (though I personally dig Ziria's darker visuals).
I just never connected to Manjimaru on an emotional level like I did with Kabuki den. Maybe it's because so many people casually die throughout the game and the cop out ending.
Overall, it just felt like quantity over quality and light hearted compared to Kabuki den. Where as Kabuki den still has a huge effect on me to this day.
Manjjimaru's soundtrack may be great classic PCE music, but Kabuki den's is in a class by itself and has a major impact on the game.
But that scene in Manjimaru at the ice palace is pretty effing cool. :twisted:
Although, I was mainly cheering it on, like "yeaaah!', where as the volcano'y scene with Okuni left me speechless.
Unless you can't handle Ziria's graphic style, in which case definately save it for last if it'd deter you from playing the others.
I'd be more concerned about the slow start than the graphic style with Ziria. I seem to remember Grahf saying he felt Cosmic Fantasy 2 was tedious at the beginning, and Ziria's early going is even slower if anything. The battle system annoyed me until I powered up a bit and gained some decent allies.
Ziria's battles are what hooked me right away. I'd definately rank them above Manjimaru's bland same non-background in every fight, hold-down-the-button-with-the-turbo-switch-on, running so fast across the countryside that you enter fights so frequently, battles.
The bg art and animated enemies make a huge difference. Which makes it weird that they got rid of them for their Super CD showpiece(plus isn't the series supposed to be the CD anwer to DQ?). Again, if TMII got rid of the overworld running and shrunk the maps, I think it would be funner.
-
I just never connected to Manjimaru on an emotional level like I did with Kabuki den.
Same here. Keranu and I were just talking the other day about how powerful a certain scene in Kabuki Den is (without spoiling it for everyone, I'll just say it precedes Fujiyama joining the party).
Maybe it's because so many people casually die throughout the game and the cop out ending.
Heh, this is hard to talk about without posting spoilers, but I liked the death scenes. I even liked the cop-out ending. I guess I've experienced so many modern RPGs that insist on making mournful spectacles out of every ounce of tragedy they can squeeze from their stories that it was neat to see a conclusion like TM2's, which really took things to an opposite extreme. (Of course, at a certain point I knew there would be a cop-out ending, since I played through Kabuki Den first...)
Manjjimaru's soundtrack may be great classic PCE music, but Kabuki den's is in a class by itself and has a major impact on the game.
I agree that Kabuki's soundtrack is superior. I really dig the world map theme in Manji, though.
But nothing can compare to Ziria's shop music. :wink:
But that scene in Manjimaru at the ice palace is pretty effing cool.
Heck yeah!
where as the volcano'y scene with Okuni left me speechless.
Kabuki left me wide-eyed and speechless quite a few times during its final few hours.
It's kind of funny... I think of all these crazy and emotional and shocking scenes when I think about Kabuki Den and Manji... and when I think about Ziria, I think of silly little Tsunade gleefully lifting giant axes and trying on outfits. :wink:
Ziria's battles are what hooked me right away. I'd definately rank them above Manjimaru's bland same non-background in every fight, hold-down-the-button-with-the-turbo-switch-on, running so fast across the countryside that you enter fights so frequently, battles.
Ah, here's where we really differ. I loved being able to quickly turbo-switch my way through battles in Manji. So when I started playing Ziria, the battles seemed agonizingly slow.
The bg art and animated enemies make a huge difference
I love the background art during battles in Ziria, especially the scene with cloudy skies looming overhead.
-
I haven't played Ziria yet, but I've seen screenshots and I too agree that the backgrounds are a lot cooler than the simple gradient backgrounds of Manji Maru. Though I also agree with Runin that being able to speed through battles was great.
-
I haven't played Ziria yet, but I've seen screenshots and I too agree that the backgrounds are a lot cooler than the simple gradient backgrounds of Manji Maru. Though I also agree with Runin that being able to speed through battles was great.
I think everything in Manjimaru is fun, but Ziria's battles are visually a step above, which is special considering that it's like the first console CD RPG, where as TMII was made around the end of CD2 games and was supposed to show us what all that extra memory could do for Super CD's and what we got was the battle bg's and non-boss animation taken away.
It just makes Ziria look extra good.
-
Are the non-boss battles in Ziria animated? Interesting point.
To be honest though, Manji Maru did show off some power of the new Super CDROM2 technology by making a very long quest, a crap load of cinemas, and big, animated boss fights. Like I said though, I haven't played Ziria so I don't know how it compares to those aspects.
-
To be honest though, Manji Maru did show off some power of the new Super CDROM2 technology by making a very long quest, a crap load of cinemas, and big, animated boss fights. Like I said though, I haven't played Ziria so I don't know how it compares to those aspects.
Ziria has some VERY cool boss fights, but its barebones "cinematics" are nothing like Manji's or Kabuki's (understandably).
-
To be honest though, Manji Maru did show off some power of the new Super CDROM2 technology by making a very long quest, a crap load of cinemas, and big, animated boss fights. Like I said though, I haven't played Ziria so I don't know how it compares to those aspects.
Ziria has some VERY cool boss fights, but its barebones "cinematics" are nothing like Manji's or Kabuki's (understandably).
I guess that you can cut it some slack, since it was the first big CD-ROM hit and was so ambitious in scope, but we all know how good CD2 cinemas can be. Manjimaru also looks kinda primitive, PCE cinema-wise, with it's poorly lipsyncing.
-
In Ziria, you can somewhat speed up the battles by enabling the auto mode with [Select] during a combat. Switch it off with .
-
Should I buy the CD or SCD version of Ziria? Is there any diffrence?
-
What i always hear is that there is no difference, and that one simply requires the scd. But, ive always wondered about this. Why would hudson do that? Maybe it has shorter load times, or some other minor improvement. Anyone care to comment?
-
As far as I know, the SCD Ziria, wasn't released in stores, but was some kind of promo item they gave away at conventions. And they wanted more copies of it out there, after the success of the other games, but, I don't know how true any of this is.
-
It was bundled with some Duo-R packages. The loading times are marginally shorter. Personally, I sold mine and kept my CD version instead. Double case, better artwork, a neat sticker included, and cheaper to find... In other words: the best deal :)
-
I believe, from what I remember from what I saw in PC Engine magazines, is that the Super CD Ziria was originally given away with the original PCE Duo, kinda like how the Turbo Duo came with it's big CD2 RPG Ys I & II.
I think that they just made it Super CD only because they were including it as a pack for their new Super CD system which was being marketed to play TM II(their killer app).
The one time I tested both versions out, I couldn't tell if there was any difference.
-
I just remembered something, I think I heard that the original Ziria only worked with the 1.0, like Altered Beast. Can anyone confirm whether this is true or not? I also remember hearing the same thing about Cosmic Fantasy 1, though, supposedly with that one, you can play the game up to some point, & then it'll crash. That's from my cousin, of whom I don't know what to believe.
-
I just remembered something, I think I heard that the original Ziria only worked with the 1.0, like Altered Beast. Can anyone confirm whether this is true or not? I also remember hearing the same thing about Cosmic Fantasy 1, though, supposedly with that one, you can play the game up to some point, & then it'll crash. That's from my cousin, of whom I don't know what to believe.
Definately not true for both.
Altered Beast can only be played without the 1.0 card until when the 1st boss should appear, but he never shows up.
I've heard before that there may have been one or two other games that only work with the 1.0 card, but Ziria & Cosmic 1 definately aren't them.
-
I believe, from what I remember from what I saw in PC Engine magazines, is that the Super CD Ziria was originally given away with the original PCE Duo
Some early Super CD-ROM drives and Duo packs were bundled with the demo disc Super CD-ROM² Taiken Soft Shū. Ziria SCD was released sometime during 1993 for the Duo-R launch.
-
I believe, from what I remember from what I saw in PC Engine magazines, is that the Super CD Ziria was originally given away with the original PCE Duo
Some early Super CD-ROM drives and Duo packs were bundled with the demo disc Super CD-ROM² Taiken Soft Shū. Ziria SCD was released sometime during 1993 for the Duo-R launch.
Then it really doesn't make much sense. :)
-
Does the SCD version of Ziria have a special System Card Error screen when loaded with a system card less than Super CD? If so, maybe that's the reason they decided to make it a SCD, though that's a pretty stupid reason :D .
-
Does the SCD version of Ziria have a special System Card Error screen when loaded with a system card less than Super CD? If so, maybe that's the reason they decided to make it a SCD, though that's a pretty stupid reason :D .
Yeah, it's on my System Card Warning Warehouse page. It's actually really cool and worth the format change(for me). It still doesn't explain why Hudson would bother though.
-
I remember Red made a buzz over their Ziria OVA (initially released in 1990). 1993 was quite the Tengai year; what with Fūun Kabuki Den and (pre-Namida) Tengai 3 Himiko's fake preview. Ziria on SCD was no wonder in this context.
-
Just beat Kabuki Den a half hour or so ago and checked out the debug menu; EXCELLENT GAME! It's fun and hilarious adventure loaded with crazy moments, but also loaded with some very deep dramatic moments as well. It was a pretty lengthy quest for me too, took me like 50 hours (well take away an hour since I left it on for an hour without playing it once), though I think it takes most first timers a lot less than that. I'd also like to add that Kabuki Den has the best ending you will ever experience in a RPG, it's just that epic :) .
After checking out the debug mode, I calculated some data from it and Kabuki Den is quite the massive game. Check out some info I recorded:
41 Cinemas
1,534/1,540 vocal recordings (for convos and such)
25 ADPCM sound effects (13 being vocal sound effect stuff like yells and grunt; 12 being more natural sound effects like window crashes and ringing bells)
23 CD music tracks
43 PSG music tracks
170 different enemy sprites used in battles
-
8 hours into the game now and i really like it. it is definetely better than ziria, which was also good in its own ways. ;)