Tag Archives: Japanese

Konami, Sega Saturn

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Sega Saturn

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Konami‘s brilliant PlayStation game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was released for the Sega Saturn in 1998, but it was only ever released in Japan (under the title “Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku“). Thankfully, an English translation patch is available to make the game playable to those who can’t read Japanese. The patch – created by ‘Knight of Dragon’ – also features numerous bug fixes and improvements.

For those who’ve never played Symphony of the Night before: it is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood and is rightly regarded as one of the best Castlevania games in the long-running series (if not THE best).

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Sega, Sega Master System

Black Belt, Sega Master System

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Released for the Master System by Sega in 1986, Black Belt is a scrolling beat ’em up in the tradition of the classic Irem arcade game, Kung-Fu Master. And it is a challenging and fun game to play.

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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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Arcade, Konami

Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Arcade

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Alongside Karate Champ, Konami‘s Yie Ar Kung-Fu had a profound effect on the beat ’em up genre and could be said to have contributed greatly to the establishment of modern fighting games. It was given a limited release in Japanese arcades in 1984 and was later rolled-out more widely – and internationally – in 1985.

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Arcade, C.P. Brain, Jaleco

Avenging Spirit, Arcade

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Avenging Spirit was developed by C.P. Brain and distributed into arcades by Jaleco in 1991. It is an obscure platform/action game about the ghost of a dead man avenging the abduction of his girlfriend.

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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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Capcom, NES/Famicom

Commando, NES/Famicom

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The 1986 NES version of Commando is a flickery mess to be honest, although that didn’t stop the game becoming a smash hit – selling over one million cartridges worldwide.

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Game Arts, Game Boy Advance, Japan Art Media, Media Rings Corporation, Ubisoft

Lunar Legend, Game Boy Advance

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Developed by Japan Art Media and published internationally by Ubisoft in 2002, Lunar Legend is a handheld remake/re-telling of Game Arts‘ classic RPG, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, with new graphics, content and story changes.

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Sega, Sega Master System

Penguin Land, Sega Master System

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Penguin Land is a cute and devilish platform puzzle game developed and published by Sega – exclusively for the Sega Master System – in 1987. The original Japanese title of the game is “Doki Doki Penguin Land Uchū Daibōken“.

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Capcom, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, Game Boy Advance

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords is a two-game package developed by Nintendo EAD and Capcom and first released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 in North America and 2003 in Japan and Europe. It features a slightly modified port of the 1991 SNES classic, A Link to the Past, plus an all-new, multiplayer-only adventure called Four Swords.

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