Japan Only RPGS for NES/SNES/Gen/Saturn/DC

[KoLAddict]

Thanks I always forget it's Final Conflict that wasn't on SF CD.

So PC-Engine games are Turbografx-16 games right? Is the Turbografx region free? I know where I can pick one up, and I'd love to get some of these older games for it, but want to make sure I can play them.

[BoneSnapDeez]

So PC-Engine games are Turbografx-16 games right? Is the Turbografx region free? I know where I can pick one up, and I'd love to get some of these older games for it, but want to make sure I can play them.

Haha for some reason a lot of people have been asking about this lately.

The TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine in Japan) main unit uses HuCards as a format. There are very few HuCard RPGs. The vast majority of RPGs are on CD. This requires either the CD peripheral that attaches to the main console (Turbo CD/PC Engine CD) or the all-in-one unit that plays HuCards and CD games (Turbo Duo/PC Engine Duo).

The CD games only are region-free and it's actually cheapest/easiest to buy a Japanese PC Engine Duo, as the American CD attachment and Turbo Duo are both quite expensive. PC Engine Duos aren't tough to find, look on ebay and you should see them in the $180-$200 range.

Here's my setup:
American TurboGrafx-16: Used for playing American HuCards only.
Japanese PC Engine Duo: Used for playing Japanese HuCards and American/Japanese CD games.

The PC Engine Duo has internal memory for game saving. And yes, there are scores of amazing JRPGs for the system, a large number of them are cheap too.

[Xeogred]

Were a lot of them localized? No matter how awesome some old JRPG's might be, I'd only want to play them if they have English text.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Were a lot of them localized? No matter how awesome some old JRPG's might be, I'd only want to play them if they have English text.

Ys Book I & II, Ys III, Exile, Exile: Wicked Phenomenon, and Cosmic Fantasy II were localized.

I'd say the English Turbo CD JRPG library is on par with that of the Sega CD: not a huge number of games but all of them are awesome.

As far as non-CD games go: Cadash and Neutopia I & II are available in English for the TurboGrafx-16. All three are "RPG-ish" I suppose. Cadash is an arcade style game with roleplaying elements, the Neutopia titles are Zelda clones.

There's also a very good fan translation of Ys IV (PC Engine CD). Worth checking out on an emulator.

[MrPopo]

Legend of Heroes was also localized for the Turbo CD>

[BoneSnapDeez]

Legend of Heroes was also localized for the Turbo CD>

You're right!

On second glance, I did miss some games. Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes is a great JRPG on Turbo CD.

For HuCards there's also Dungeon Explorer and Double Dungeons.

[KoLAddict]

Thanks, definitely gonna need to look into getting them. Keith Courage and Splatterhouse are the only Turbografx games I ever remember playing. I was only 4 when the thing game out, lol.

I did just win Tengai Makyo The Apocalypse 4 for Saturn. My winning bid was $.71 with $8 shipping. Seemed like a good deal, given the retailer I've bought from before (actually just got Mystic Ark in the mail from them today, took less than a week to receive it from Japan from these guys) so I know I can follow their condition listing, which they have listed as near mint for all 3 parts of the game (cds, case, and manual). Have you played this one for the Saturn? Was wondering if it was decent. I mean for the price I don't care too much, as I can't imagine it'd be any cheaper elsewhere, but just curious. Was a little surprised it sold for so little, especially since someone was bidding against me for Elfaria and I ended up paying $18 for it after shipping.

You said the game saves for the PC engine stuff is internal. How is it saved, is it a hard drive or a battery of some sort? And how hard is it to replace if it dies?

EDIT: Gonna have to keep my eye out for a Japanese PC Engine Duo. EBay only has one right now, and they're selling it for over $200.

[BoneSnapDeez]

You said the game saves for the PC engine stuff is internal. How is it saved, is it a hard drive or a battery of some sort? And how hard is it to replace if it dies?

I'm honestly not sure, all I can say is that my game saves are fine after all these years. Never had a problem or any spontaneous deletions. Everything saves fine whether it's a Japanese or American game. For what it's worth, Turbo CD game instruction booklets recommend that you turn on the system at least once every two weeks to "recharge" them or data may be lost. I'm not sure if there's much truth to this, I once left mine off for four months and everything was fine.

That Tengai Makyou game you got is one of the best in the series. Probably the best looking too. Some of the character designs are crazy as hell (you'll see haha).

[KoLAddict]

Glad to hear that, I'm looking forward to it, I love old school RPGs mostly because of the art style.


Really curious as to what the Turbo uses for memory, if it's lasted as long as you've had yours now and you've never needed to do anything, it's got something pretty crazy in it, lol.

Aren't Ys 1 & 2 on Turbografx? I tried looking them up on GameFAQs but didn't find anything, it just showed 3 and 4 as Japan only on the system.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Ys Book I & II is on the PC Engine CD/Turbo CD:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/turbocd/918280-ys-book-i-and-ii

(it probably didn't show up when you searched for RPGs because it's listed as a compilation)

Part III is also on the PC Engine CD/Turbo CD:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/turbocd/916174- ... rs-from-ys

Surprisingly, there are also English versions of Ys III on Genesis and Super Nintendo.

Both Ys IV's are Japan-only. Yes there's two different games called Ys IV, one on Super Famicom, one on PC Engine CD.