Category Archives: MSX

MSX games.

Falcom, MSX, Square

Dragon Slayer, MSX

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Although it may look extremely basic, Dragon Slayer is an important game in the development of Japanese Role-Playing Games. It is a real-time action/exploration game where you control a fighter who must collect gold, orbs, potions, and various other useful items, inside a scrolling maze that is crawling with deadly monsters.

Dragon Slayer was initially released in 1984 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, X1 and FM-7, and the MSX version followed in 1985, being ported and published by Square. It was, in fact, one of the earliest releases from Square.

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LucasArts, Lucasfilm Games, MSX, P.A.W. Software, Pony Canyon

The Eidolon, MSX

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The MSX version of Lucasfilm Games‘ The Eidolon was published in Japan only – on cartridge – by Pony Canyon in 1986, and it is on-par with the original Atari 8-bit and Commodore C64 originals of this classic cave exploration game.

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MSX, Takeru

Yellow Submarine, MSX

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It’s not often you get a game that’s based on a Beatles song, and Yellow Submarine for the MSX is one such rare example. Published by Takeru in 1987 Yellow Submarine is of course not an official license and was slipped out to the Japanese MSX market – on cartridge – in the hope that no one at Apple Records would notice. If they did, it appears that nothing was done about it.

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Konami, MSX

Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2: The Emperor Yie-Gah, MSX

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The sequel to the classic Konami arcade game, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2: The Emperor Yie-Gah was only ever released for home computers and was never produced as an arcade game. It was first released for MSX compatible computers, on cartridge, in 1985.

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ASCII Corporation, MSX

Commando, MSX

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The 1987 MSX version of Commando was a Japan-only release through ASCII Corporation, and – the truth be told – it’s a pretty awful conversion.

If you’re searching for the game you need to look for the title “Senjō no Ōkami” [“Wolf of the Battlefield“], which is the game’s Japanese title, as you’ll not find it under the name “Commando“.

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Konami, MSX

Vampire Killer, MSX

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Konami‘s “Akumajō Dracula” was first released in 1986 for the MSX2. It helped set the template for a series that is still going (relatively) strong to this day – the Castlevania series.

This MSX game was also the first game in the Castlevania series to be given an English language release, and it was released in 1987 in Europe under the title of “Vampire Killer“, which then changed to “Castlevania” when the North American NES version of this game was released on cartridge.

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Byte Busters, Eaglesoft, MSX

Mac Attack, MSX

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Mac Attack is another malformed home computer clone of Data East‘s BurgerTime – this time for the MSX. It was written by Ronald van der Putten of Byte Busters and first came out in 1986. I’m not entirely sure who published it, but it could be Eaglesoft or Aackosoft International, or maybe both, but sources seem to vary on that detail. As well as infringing on Data East‘s intellectual property, Mac Attack also cheekily apes McDonald‘s Big Mac burgers with its title.

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Homebrew, MSX, Retroworks, Ultimate Play The Game

Knight Lore MSX2 Remake, MSX

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This 2009 MSX2 remake of the classic Knight Lore was created by Manuel Pazos and Daniel Celemin of Retroworks, and it is a fun addition to the ever-growing number of Ultimate remakes on the internet. The same guys who made this also made the MSX2 remake of Alien 8, which I quite liked.

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MSX, SNK

Ikari Warriors, MSX

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The 1987 MSX2 version of the classic coin-op, Ikari Warriors, is arguably the best 8-bit conversion of this scrolling shooter around. It was converted by SNK themselves, so is about as authentic as an MSX fan could hope for. In fact: the producer of this port was Koji Obada, who designed the original arcade game.

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