Games Bought Thread 3

[A Black Falcon]

Okay... it's been six months, but I got Japanese games again from ebay.

Sega CD
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The Heroic Legend of Arslan - complete, $1.00. This is a tactical strategy game ("SRPG" type based on the anime/manga series of the same name. It looks good, but I haven't played it yet. Sega published this one.

Record of Lodoss War - complete, $2.80. This is another "SRPG" tactical strategy game from Sega based on an anime license. I like the anime and have both of the Turbo CD games, so why not get this one too? I wonder which one of these games is better...

Silky Lip - $14.25, complete. This is a somewhat sought-after magical girl RPG from Riot (Telenet). Hopefully it's worth it. - Game not listed on IGN.

Dreamcast
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Tricolore Crise - $2.25, complete. This is an anime-style RPG where you play as a team of three girls who have to save the world, or something like that. Hopefully it's fun! Low price too. There is some help on GameFAQs for some of the menus and how to play the game and such. - Game not listed on IGN.

The Rhapsody of Zephyr - complete, $5.76. This is a Korean RPG with strategic battles. That is, you move around in the world with square-based movement, it's not just menu-based stuff. Looks like it could be good.

Playstation 1
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Strikers 1945 II (Value Edition) - complete, $10.50 - I have the US version of this, and have since 2006, but I got this because the Japanese version has tate mode support, while the American version, annoyingly, does not. Vertical shooters with tate support are always better in tate mode! It makes a real difference. (My US copy is a loose disc, so it's also nice to have a case, but I didn't buy it for just that.)

Playstation 2
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Summon Night 4 - complete, $4.00. I now have at least one version of all five of the main strategy ("SRPG") Summon Night games, which is cool. This is a great franchise. I don't have the handheld ports of the first four games (1 and 2 are on DS, 3 and 4 on PSP), but I have the originals (PS1/PS2) of all four, and 5 on PSP. Of course I also have all three of the GBA Tales-esque action-RPG Swordcraft Story titles (the first two in their US versions, which were the games that first got me interested in this franchise), and the DS topdown action-RPG Twin Age, and the PS2 topdown-style action-RPG Ex-Thesis as well. Other than those four parts, all I'm missing are the second PS2 action-RPG, Gran-Thesis, and the DS traditional RPG, Tears Crown. I'll get at least those last two for sure, I'd like to have the whole franchise. And they are fun enough to be worth getting too. They're not the deepest games, but that helps when there's a language barrier in most of them; only the first two GBA games and Twin Age have English-language releases.

SNES
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Mahoujin Guru Guru - complete, $1.00. Cute kids' anime license RPG from Enix. - Game not listed on IGN.

SFC game lot - loose carts of Ruin Arm, Breath of Fire, Jerry Boy, The Great Battle II: Last Fighter Twin - $3.76. Breath of Fire I don't want, I have a US copy of the game, but the other three are why I got this (and the low price too, though shipping adds to it of course). Jerry Boy is the Japanese version of the US game Smartball. It's got some towns between levels, for more story than the US game has and some breaks in the action. Nice. Ruin Arm is a topdown action-RPG. The Great Battle II is a giant robot anime licensed beat 'em up. Looks like decent fun. Ruin Arm and Last Fighter Twin are not listed on IGN.

Nintendo 64
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Bomberman 64 - cart only, $24.50 - This is not the US Bomberman 64, this is the Japanese game from 2001. It sells for this much or more. It's a 2d-style Bomberman, and also includes a full version of Panic Bomber as well as Bomberman, which is cool.

Game Boy
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Monster Maker 2 - $2.25, complete - This is an RPG. It's a somewhat interesting card-RPG with this neat card-flipping look as you explore dungeons. - Game not listed on IGN.

Vattle Giuce - cart in plastic case only, $5.50. Yes, only $5.50! Loose copies of this game usually cost a good $25 or more. This is a quite good shmup with a cool two-layer design, sort of like a predecessor to Vertical Force (VB). I don't know how people missed it, maybe it was the misspelled auction name, but it was pretty nice to get for cheap, and the game is pretty good. The graphics are great too.

Gameboy cart set - Little Master, Little Master 2, Ranma 1/2: Netsuretsu Kakutouhen, Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun: Bangai Rantouhen (three with plastic cases) - $5.50. I mostly got this for the last game, but I'll definitely play all four of these. The first two are two Japanese strategy games, of the "SRPG" variant. They look decent to good. The Ranma game is a side-scrolling adventure / beat 'em up hybrid. Interesting mix! It has a guide on GameFAQs, making it quite playable. Of course I like the anime, and have kind of wanted to try this one. And last, the Kunio game is a fun, classic beat 'em up. It was released in the US as "Double Dragon II", with everything turned into Double Dragon but with the same levels, enemy patterns, etc. I think I like Kunio more as a franchise than Double Dragon, so I got this version; it was fairly cheap too, and I haven't seen a cheap copy of Double Dragon II locally. - The two Little Master games are not listed on IGN.

Game Boy Color
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Minnie & Friends: Yume no Kuni o Sagashite - complete, $7.50. Why did I get this? I'm not sure. I saw it was from Hudson, and I like many Hudson games, so I decided to give it a chance. It's an adventure/minigame collection thing.

Grandia: Parallel Trippers - complete, $4.45. This is an RPG. I mostly got it because Grandia is a great game, and this game brings back Grandia 1's cast. The game does have guides and such, so it's playable. Looks pretty nice for the GBC as well.

Turbografx 16
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Crest of Gaia - complete, $3.00. This is a hex-based strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was the first console strategy game from NCS Masaya, the studio which went on to greater fame with the Langrisser franchise. Langrisser is cool, so I've wanted to try this earlier effort.

PC Engine Hu-Card Set - Kato-chan & Ken-chan, Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone, Bomberman '93, Makai Prince Dorabocchan (three loose, a few with sleeves) - $22. I mostly got this for Makai Prince Dorabocchan, which is a somewhat pricey, yet average, side-scrolling platformer. This game is the predecessor to the decent SNES action-RPG Spike McFang. Yeah, the sequel there changed genres, and is probably the better game. Still, hopefully this one is decent enough to be worth getting. Also in the pack, Space Harrier I'm interested to try. I hope it's decent, most of NEC's ports of Sega scaler games turn out surprisingly decently on the TG16. Kato-chan & Ken-chan is the game released in the US as JJ & Jeff. It's a good platformer, and one of the first PC Engine games. I have that version, but it's censored, so it'll be interesting to compare it to the original version. As for the last two, I already have Fantasy Zone and Bomberman '93, so I'll sell those or something. - Makai Prince Dorabocchan is not listed on IGN.

PC Engine HuCard set - The Kung-Fu, Neutopia, Space Invaders: Fukatsu no Hi, Momotarou Dentetsu II (all loose or card in sleeve) - $11.00. I got this for Space Invaders and Neutopia, I don't care about the others. The Kung-Fu I have a complete US copy of -- this is the Japanese version of China Warrior. I'll try to sell this copy or something. Neutopia is a Zelda clone, much more expensive in its US release. There is a language barrier, but it's mostly playable and does have guides. Space Invaders: Fukatsu no Hi is a solid Space Invaders game. It's not one of the best Space Invaders games, but it's fun, and has some neat ideas such as the levels where the lights are mostly out and you can only see directly above you. The last game is a Japanese boardgame/RPG thing in a long-running series we never saw in the West, doubt I'll play it; I already have the one and only Momotarou game that isn't a boardgame thing, the platformer Momotarou Katsugeki (also for PC Engine). Space Invaders: Fukatsu no Hi is not listed on IGN.

Turbo CD
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Super Schwarzschild - $1.25, complete. This is a space strategy game. It got a sequel, but no US release. I'm interested in seeing how playable it is without knowing much of the language. - Game not listed on IGN.

Vanilla Syndrome - $4.06, complete. This is a mahjong game. - Game not listed on IGN.

Shubininman 3: Ikai no Princess - complete, $16.25 - The third Shubininman game is just as good as the other ones, just a bit easier. Still, it may be easy, but it's really fun, and nice-looking for the system too. I've really wanted to get this game.

Gulliver Boy - $2.25, complete. This traditional JRPG is interesting as much because it's the only appearance in an actual game of HuVideo, Hudson's technique to pull off fully-animated video on the PC Engine, as because of the gameplay. Nice technical accomplishment here! As a game it's apparently only average, though.

Subtotal $154.84
Shipping $78.00 (quite reasonable per game when you get this many at once)
Total $232.84