Neglected Eastern gems: games denied for localization

There's quite a few Japanese games that are either lighting up the sales charts, or look to be a cut above the same-old coming out of the East these days.

What do they all have in common? No US publishers are stepping up.

Shame, but here's a few that we're missing out on, or worse, have missed out on for months:
























Growlanser (PSP, 2009)

A remake of the PS1 classic. Growlanser 2, 3, and 5 were the only ones in the series to be localized, by Working Designs(2, 3) and Atlus(5), respectively. The utter failure of 5 sales-wise in the US is cited as the reason that Atlus turned this down, even though it was arguably the worst in the series, and 1 is arguably the best.

















Wizardry: Pledge of Life (DS)

A successor to the first-person Wizardry games, with lots of dungeons and customizable parties. From what I've seen, it bears a similarity to Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land, a fantastic game localized by Atlus USA many years back. Why this hasn't been localized, especially in the wake of Etrian Odyssey's success, is anyone's guess.


















Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd (PSP)

Okay, this is a stretch, but:
A. It sells like CRAZY in Japan
B. Miku does have a following(however niche) in the West
and C. It seems like a genuinely fun rhythm game.

Sega have localized worse, and could use the niche support.

















7th Dragon(DS)

Another venture by the Etrian Odyssey team, or at least some members of it. No word for a US release, and one seems very unlikely at this point. You can likely hold Sega accountable.
You can read more about 7th Dragon at this very site:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/7thdragon/7thdragon.htm




























Fatal Frame IV: Mark of Lunar Eclipse (Wii)
Arguably the most dire offense of them all. Fatal Frame IV, is supposed to be a fantastic game, and great for the Wii, which is in dire need of good titles at the moment. It's already been fan translation patched, that's how unlikely a localization is at this point. Supposedly the game is buggy, but take those claims with a grain of salt.


















Last Window: The Secret of Cape West(aka Hotel Dusk 2, DS)


Another failure on Nintendo's part. The sequel to the niche gem, Hotel Dusk, which actually received a release in the UK. Nothing slated for the US as of yet.











































Tales of Graces (Wii), Tales of Hearts (DS)

I'd be remiss if I didn't give the beleaguered Tales community a mention.

For whatever reason, Namco continue to pass up the solid Tales games in favor of mediocre ones, to the point that fans have already started fan translating these games within a week, and still with no word from Namco-Bandai on a US release.

Also worth a mention is Tales of Vesperia's PS3 version, which is 360 exclusive to the US.


There's a few other games I'd like to mention, such as Banpresto's new SRT OG Saga: Exceed, and Atlus' Catherine, but odds of those being localized are still up in the air(especially Catherine), so I won't assume the worst just yet.


There's quite a few Japanese games that are either lighting up the sales charts, or look to be a cut above the same-old coming out of the East these days.<br /><br />What do they all have in common? No US publishers are stepping up.<br /><br />Shame, but here's a few that we're missing out on, or worse, have missed out on for months:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzN-0CWGgOOPq2BPpaT-PtIYGjxRNw7sXNfSZCYydlBxQ76kgd7dSo0rzNB8UJ1Cp647rQ1rkFut6N2t7cltqlt6mj0g3py_XBZdUhZczJBjynA3JVkLSwnYf_HibymOpG1UYFIOu0rys/s1600/gl1psp.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533859991721459922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzN-0CWGgOOPq2BPpaT-PtIYGjxRNw7sXNfSZCYydlBxQ76kgd7dSo0rzNB8UJ1Cp647rQ1rkFut6N2t7cltqlt6mj0g3py_XBZdUhZczJBjynA3JVkLSwnYf_HibymOpG1UYFIOu0rys/s320/gl1psp.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 320px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Growlanser (PSP, 2009)<br /><br />A remake of the PS1 classic. Growlanser 2, 3, and 5 were the only ones in the series to be localized, by Working Designs(2, 3) and Atlus(5), respectively. The utter failure of 5 sales-wise in the US is cited as the reason that Atlus turned this down, even though it was arguably the worst in the series, and 1 is arguably the best.<br /><br /><a href="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/cjiwakura/image-thumb30.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/cjiwakura/image-thumb30.png" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 220px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Wizardry: Pledge of Life (DS)<br /><br />A successor to the first-person Wizardry games, with lots of dungeons and customizable parties. From what I've seen, it bears a similarity to Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land, a fantastic game localized by Atlus USA many years back. Why this hasn't been localized, especially in the wake of Etrian Odyssey's success, is anyone's guess.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_AXbsC3sDltDh9q6qFigYhaMLDTRg4alHDVYLzi5BMb8gtGJUKteS9ZvvrSuVdQq1RgdtR4aRDn-38m9Qd0txInFDmDOto49qOMHr0TkWXchIvn6mCV4RX4SWpWND5cREzmR2DgM1B8/s1600/250px-Hatsune_Miku_Project_Diva.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533861250613983010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_AXbsC3sDltDh9q6qFigYhaMLDTRg4alHDVYLzi5BMb8gtGJUKteS9ZvvrSuVdQq1RgdtR4aRDn-38m9Qd0txInFDmDOto49qOMHr0TkWXchIvn6mCV4RX4SWpWND5cREzmR2DgM1B8/s200/250px-Hatsune_Miku_Project_Diva.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 200px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd (PSP)<br /><br />Okay, this is a stretch, but:<br />A. It sells like CRAZY in Japan<br />B. Miku does have a following(however niche) in the West<br />and C. It seems like a genuinely fun rhythm game.<br /><br />Sega have localized worse, and could use the niche support.<br /><br /><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/27/7th_Dragon.jpg/252px-7th_Dragon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/27/7th_Dragon.jpg/252px-7th_Dragon.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 227px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />7th Dragon(DS)<br /><br />Another venture by the Etrian Odyssey team, or at least some members of it. No word for a US release, and one seems very unlikely at this point. You can likely hold Sega accountable.<br />You can read more about 7th Dragon at this very site:<br />http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/7thdragon/7thdragon.htm<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Fatal_Frame_IV.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Fatal_Frame_IV.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 365px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Fatal Frame IV: Mark of Lunar Eclipse (Wii)<br />Arguably the most dire offense of them all. Fatal Frame IV, is supposed to be a fantastic game, and great for the Wii, which is in dire need of good titles at the moment. It's already been fan translation patched, that's how unlikely a localization is at this point. Supposedly the game is buggy, but take those claims with a grain of salt.<br /><br /><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Last_Window.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Last_Window.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 230px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Last Window: The Secret of Cape West(aka Hotel Dusk 2, DS)<br /><br /><br />Another failure on Nintendo's part. The sequel to the niche gem, Hotel Dusk, which actually received a release in the UK. Nothing slated for the US as of yet.<br /><br /><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Tales_of_Graces_Cover.png/250px-Tales_of_Graces_Cover.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Tales_of_Graces_Cover.png/250px-Tales_of_Graces_Cover.png" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 353px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/ToHcover.png/250px-ToHcover.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/ToHcover.png/250px-ToHcover.png" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 226px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Tales of Graces (Wii), Tales of Hearts (DS)<br /><br />I'd be remiss if I didn't give the beleaguered Tales community a mention.<br /><br />For whatever reason, Namco continue to pass up the solid Tales games in favor of mediocre ones, to the point that fans have already started fan translating these games within a week, and still with no word from Namco-Bandai on a US release.<br /><br />Also worth a mention is Tales of Vesperia's PS3 version, which is 360 exclusive to the US.<br /><br /><br />There's a few other games I'd like to mention, such as Banpresto's new SRT OG Saga: Exceed, and Atlus' Catherine, but odds of those being localized are still up in the air(especially Catherine), so I won't assume the worst just yet.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost"></span>

Xenosaga III Seems to Have Been Reprinted

Check out Gamestop's page on Xenosaga III and use the store locator. You may notice an abundance of copies in your areas where there haven't been before, which were apparently just shipped there. According to posts on Cheapassgamer, they seem to use the newer PS2 cases that are missing the memory card holder, while the original print used the older one, indicating that it has been reprinted. This has happened before, usually without any press release, and many seem to be courtesy of GameQuestDirect. In the past they reissued some rarer PSOne titles, like Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (which is still pretty expensive nowadays) and Rhapsody (which isn't.) Between them and (maybe?) Atlus, we've seen reprints of some scattered PS2 titles, including all three Fatal Frames, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, both Digital Devil Sagas, and the Atelier Iris trilogy. Someone may also have reprinted Tales of Vesperia, which is listed for $20 on Gamestop Canada's site, although, strangely enough, not the US site, where the price still sits at $45 for a used copy. They are both Bandai Namco titles so it's definitely possible they may have had a hand in it.

These titles have both been pretty pricey for awhile now, usually fetching between $40-$50 in the used marketplace, even though Tales of Vesperia is only two years old. (Don't even ask about the LE for Vesperia.) Like many RPGs that aren't Final Fantasy, sales for these titles aren't exactly front-loaded, and by the time word of mouth gets around, it's often difficult to find them new on store shelves. Very few titles actually go above their retail price, and even the ones that do are often reprinted (like SMT Nocturne) but it's an interesting trend in sales and one that publishers should pay more attention to. The first Xenosaga in particular sold extremely well, enough to earn a Greatest Hits title. I'm not sure about the second one, but both can be picked up pretty much anywhere for less than $10. Meanwhile, Xenosaga III went mostly ignored, perhaps because many were disappointed in the first two. It's tragic, because the third is by far the best in the series and one of the PS2's better RPGs, but so much the plot is muddled without playing the first two (and is still a bit wonky even if you have) that it's easy to see why no one bought it, at least at first. With the drought of decent console JRPGs lately, it makes sense to revisit some of the PS2's unheralded gems.

Many Nintendo produced titles on the Wii and DS also keep their price and don't really go down in value - at least, other than the ones that don't meet expectations like Battalion Wars or Elite Beat Agents. Games like Super Princess Peach and Yoshi's Island DS haven't dropped at all, and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time actually goes for more than retail. (The online price is $35 - the B&M price is $40.) But they also refuse to reprint titles or keep new ones in circulation, perhaps due to their conservative nature. (And, apparently, in the case of Tetris DS, which goes for $45 at Gamestop, a licensing issue.) In a roundabout way, it also kinda promotes piracy, but I'm sure they don't see it like that. A majority of DS games sold on eBay are also fakes, so the bootleggers are strangely meeting the demand that Nintendo does not acknowledge.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/281602b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/281602b.jpg" /></a></div><br /> Check out <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=61101">Gamestop's page on Xenosaga III</a> and use the store locator. You may notice an abundance of copies in your areas where there haven't been before, which were apparently just shipped there. According to posts on <a href="http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267611">Cheapassgamer</a>, they seem to use the newer PS2 cases that are missing the memory card holder, while the original print used the older one, indicating that it has been reprinted. This has happened before, usually without any press release, and many seem to be courtesy of <a href="http://www.gamequestdirect.com/">GameQuestDirect</a>. In the past they reissued some rarer PSOne titles, like Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (which is still pretty expensive nowadays) and Rhapsody (which isn't.) Between them and (maybe?) Atlus, we've seen reprints of some scattered PS2 titles, including all three Fatal Frames, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, both Digital Devil Sagas, and the Atelier Iris trilogy. Someone may also have reprinted <a href="http://www.gamestop.ca/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=203394">Tales of Vesperia</a>, which is listed for $20 on Gamestop Canada's site, although, strangely enough, not the US site, where the price still sits at $45 for a used copy. They are both Bandai Namco titles so it's definitely possible they may have had a hand in it.<br /> <br /> These titles have both been pretty pricey for awhile now, usually fetching between $40-$50 in the used marketplace, even though Tales of Vesperia is only two years old. (Don't even ask about the LE for Vesperia.) Like many RPGs that aren't Final Fantasy, sales for these titles aren't exactly front-loaded, and by the time word of mouth gets around, it's often difficult to find them new on store shelves. Very few titles actually go above their retail price, and even the ones that do are often reprinted (like SMT Nocturne) but it's an interesting trend in sales and one that publishers should pay more attention to. The first Xenosaga in particular sold extremely well, enough to earn a Greatest Hits title. I'm not sure about the second one, but both can be picked up pretty much anywhere for less than $10. Meanwhile, Xenosaga III went mostly ignored, perhaps because many were disappointed in the first two. It's tragic, because the third is by far the best in the series and one of the PS2's better RPGs, but so much the plot is muddled without playing the first two (and is still a bit wonky even if you have) that it's easy to see why no one bought it, at least at first. With the drought of decent console JRPGs lately, it makes sense to revisit some of the PS2's unheralded gems.<br /> <br /> Many Nintendo produced titles on the Wii and DS also keep their price and don't really go down in value - at least, other than the ones that don't meet expectations like Battalion Wars or Elite Beat Agents. Games like Super Princess Peach and Yoshi's Island DS haven't dropped at all, and <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=39693">Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time</a> actually goes for more than retail. (The online price is $35 - the B&M price is $40.) But they also refuse to reprint titles or keep new ones in circulation, perhaps due to their conservative nature. (And, apparently, in the case of <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=42779">Tetris DS</a>, which goes for $45 at Gamestop, a licensing issue.) In a roundabout way, it also kinda promotes piracy, but I'm sure they don't see it like that. A majority of DS games sold on eBay are also fakes, so the bootleggers are strangely meeting the demand that Nintendo does not acknowledge.

The Tale of Cyber Ninja

I was going through my closet yesterday and stumbled upon an old tape I'd bought at a video store years ago. It's called Cyber Ninja, and I had initially picked it up because it had Namco's logo on it, for some reason. I never investigated why, until today. Turns out the Japanese is title is Mirai Ninja (literally: Future Ninja), which was a 1988 arcade title developed by Namco. I could be wrong, but I think this might be officially the first live action motion picture based on a video game. (If you don't count Cloak and Dagger, anyway - I don't.) I guess you could say that the game could possibly be based on the movie, but Namco is listed as a producer for the film, so they must've been involved in it in some way. This seems to be corroborated on this Manadarake blog which states that the game began development first, but the movie was actually released before it came to market.


I still need to hook up a VCR to check it out, but this review claims it's about what you'd expect - cheesy special effects, mad dubbing and a ludicrous plot, something ripely cut out for MST3k. This Japanese page also shows some cool designs. Until then, I gave the game a run through in MAME to check it out. It's sorta like the evolutionary step between Taito's The Legend of Kage and Irem's Ninja Spirit. You're a shuriken tossing ninja running through long stages with plenty of vertical height, and impressive jumping skills to boot. Unlike the other ninja games mentioned, at least you have a life meter, displayed at the top of the screen in numerical kanji. It does have a cool melding of futuristic technology with traditional Japanese architecture, similar to later games like MUSHA and Sengoku Blade. Instead of riding on an airplane, one level is one top of a gigantic flying palace which crashes into the side of the enemy fortress. There's some SNES-style rotation effects too, including a boss battle where the whole room rotates every few seconds while fighting the central core. All of this a few years before Super Castlevania IV.



That's not to trump it up and say it's a classic or anything. The biggest downside is that you can't aim the direction of your shurikens, and like most arcade games, the enemy attacks are too relentless to be much fun for more than a few levels. Plus, level themes are reused a couple of times, and you'll refight a few of the same bosses over and over.


It's weird that there was a movie made of this game though. It's remarkably obscure, having never been ported or even mentioned in any of Namco's many, many collections. And it was never released outside of Japan, while the movie was. What an oddity.


This all reminds me of a media project I wanted start awhile ago. There's a lot of video game-related TV shows and movies that are impossible to find on the internet, and are only sold on old VHS, if at all. I wanted to start transferring them to digital format and distributing freely on the internet. Not exactly legal, but the stuff I'm thinking about isn't available commercially anyway. I already stuck up the old Bubsy cartoons a few years ago, as well as an episode of the Salamander anime. I want to do all six domestic tapes of Zillion, and I just ordered the sole Maniac Mansion (an obscure Canadian production) tape off Amazon. One day I want to stick up older anime OVAs like Fire Emblem and Panzer Dragoon, since they're not on DVD. Now I just need to find a decent video editing program that isn't VirtualDub and clean up some HD space...
<center><img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blog/cyberninja.jpg"></center><br />I was going through my closet yesterday and stumbled upon an old tape I'd bought at a video store years ago. It's called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095643/">Cyber Ninja</a>, and I had initially picked it up because it had Namco's logo on it, for some reason. I never investigated why, until today. Turns out the Japanese is title is Mirai Ninja (literally: Future Ninja), which was a 1988 arcade title developed by Namco. I could be wrong, but I think this might be officially the first live action motion picture based on a video game. (If you don't count <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087065/">Cloak and Dagger</a>, anyway - I don't.) I guess you could say that the game could possibly be based on the movie, but Namco is listed as a producer for the film, so they must've been involved in it in some way. This seems to be corroborated on <a href="http://www.mandarake.co.jp/information/weblog/spr/dvd/log00011.html">this Manadarake blog</a> which states that the game began development first, but the movie was actually released before it came to market.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blog/cyberninja5.jpg"></center><br />I still need to hook up a VCR to check it out, but <a href="http://www.badmovies.org/movies/cyberninja/">this review</a> claims it's about what you'd expect - cheesy special effects, mad dubbing and a ludicrous plot, something ripely cut out for MST3k. <a href="http://www.mars.dti.ne.jp/~kitahara/analog/ninja/miraininja.html">This Japanese page</a> also shows some cool designs. Until then, I gave the game a run through in MAME to check it out. It's sorta like the evolutionary step between Taito's The Legend of Kage and Irem's Ninja Spirit. You're a shuriken tossing ninja running through long stages with plenty of vertical height, and impressive jumping skills to boot. Unlike the other ninja games mentioned, at least you have a life meter, displayed at the top of the screen in numerical kanji. It does have a cool melding of futuristic technology with traditional Japanese architecture, similar to later games like MUSHA and Sengoku Blade. Instead of riding on an airplane, one level is one top of a gigantic flying palace which crashes into the side of the enemy fortress. There's some SNES-style rotation effects too, including a boss battle where the whole room rotates every few seconds while fighting the central core. All of this a few years before Super Castlevania IV.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><center><img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blog/miraininja-1.png"></center><br />That's not to trump it up and say it's a classic or anything. The biggest downside is that you can't aim the direction of your shurikens, and like most arcade games, the enemy attacks are too relentless to be much fun for more than a few levels. Plus, level themes are reused a couple of times, and you'll refight a few of the same bosses over and over. <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blog/miraininja-3.png"></center><br />It's weird that there was a movie made of this game though. It's remarkably obscure, having never been ported or even mentioned in any of Namco's many, many collections. And it was never released outside of Japan, while the movie was. What an oddity.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/blog/miraininja-4.png"></center><br />This all reminds me of a media project I wanted start awhile ago. There's a lot of video game-related TV shows and movies that are impossible to find on the internet, and are only sold on old VHS, if at all. I wanted to start transferring them to digital format and distributing freely on the internet. Not exactly legal, but the stuff I'm thinking about isn't available commercially anyway. I already stuck up the old Bubsy cartoons a few years ago, as well as an episode of the Salamander anime. I want to do all six domestic tapes of Zillion, and I just ordered the sole Maniac Mansion (an obscure Canadian production) tape off Amazon. One day I want to stick up older anime OVAs like Fire Emblem and Panzer Dragoon, since they're not on DVD. Now I just need to find a decent video editing program that isn't VirtualDub and clean up some HD space...</span>

Doujin CD Review - Jam Jam Junction “N”

Tracklist

01 Rage Racer (Rage Racer)
02 DRAGON SABER (Earth Mushrooms)
03 Genpei Toumaden
04 Mappy
05 Tower of Druaga
06 BURNING FORCE (Bay Yard)
07 Youkai Douchuuki
08 Wonder Momo

Circle: Magical Trick Society

VGMDB Entry

I’ve always gotten the feeling that Namco got much more love over in Japan than it did over here. I mean, Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Galaga were popular the world over, but no one outside of Japan really cared about Yokai Dochuuki, Tower of Druaga, or Wonder Momo, which is probably why they didn’t bother to localize Namco X Capcom. Anyway, this effort is mostly aimed towards these games and those who love them.

The only “recent” game covered is Rage Rager. I was always under the impression that Ridge Racer and its brethren just featured generic if likable techno, and this remix hasn’t changed that. The “Genma Tou Den Medley” (known as Geiji and the Heike Clans over here) uses live Japanese instruments and sounds remarkably professional, much better than the blippy arcade version. About halfway through it breaks into a Samurai Shodown-style rock arrangement, which makes this one of the better tracks on the disc. The Mappy theme is given a jazzy, upbeat arrangement, which I guess would mean more if I even know what the Mappy theme sounded like. The Tower of Druaga theme sounds cartoony and a bit dopey, and just reminds me what a frustrating mess that game is.

Burning Force is a game Americans MIGHT vaguely recognize, because its Genesis port was released in America. The rendition here is done with a heavy Latin flavor, a sharp contrast to the rock version found in Namco X Capcom. The Wonder Momo medley alternates between the two themes – the chirpy, irritating pre-transformation theme, with far too high pitched vocals against chiptune music, before it goes “HENSHIN!” into a rock rendition of the transformed theme, with deeper, more pleasant vocals. There's also one Dragon Saber song, which is pretty decent - Magical Trick Society loved its predecessor Dragon Spirit so much that they devoted a whole album to it.

I can’t say I’m the biggest fans of a lot of these themes, but their arrangements are almost always unique and interesting, so the CD as a whole isn’t too bad.

Download samples

<img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/doujinmusic/jamjamjunction.jpg"><br /><br /><b>Tracklist</b><br /><br />01 Rage Racer (Rage Racer)<br />02 DRAGON SABER (Earth Mushrooms) <br />03 Genpei Toumaden <br />04 Mappy <br />05 Tower of Druaga <br />06 BURNING FORCE (Bay Yard) <br />07 Youkai Douchuuki <br />08 Wonder Momo<br /><br />Circle: <a href="http://www.magicaltrick.com/">Magical Trick Society</a><br /><br /><a href="http://vgmdb.net/album/9711">VGMDB Entry</a><br /><br />I’ve always gotten the feeling that Namco got much more love over in Japan than it did over here. I mean, Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Galaga were popular the world over, but no one outside of Japan really cared about Yokai Dochuuki, Tower of Druaga, or Wonder Momo, which is probably why they didn’t bother to localize Namco X Capcom. Anyway, this effort is mostly aimed towards these games and those who love them. <br /><br /><span class="fullpost">The only “recent” game covered is Rage Rager. I was always under the impression that Ridge Racer and its brethren just featured generic if likable techno, and this remix hasn’t changed that. The “Genma Tou Den Medley” (known as Geiji and the Heike Clans over here) uses live Japanese instruments and sounds remarkably professional, much better than the blippy arcade version. About halfway through it breaks into a Samurai Shodown-style rock arrangement, which makes this one of the better tracks on the disc. The Mappy theme is given a jazzy, upbeat arrangement, which I guess would mean more if I even know what the Mappy theme sounded like. The Tower of Druaga theme sounds cartoony and a bit dopey, and just reminds me what a frustrating mess that game is.<br /><br />Burning Force is a game Americans MIGHT vaguely recognize, because its Genesis port was released in America. The rendition here is done with a heavy Latin flavor, a sharp contrast to the rock version found in Namco X Capcom. The Wonder Momo medley alternates between the two themes – the chirpy, irritating pre-transformation theme, with far too high pitched vocals against chiptune music, before it goes “HENSHIN!” into a rock rendition of the transformed theme, with deeper, more pleasant vocals. There's also one Dragon Saber song, which is pretty decent - Magical Trick Society loved its predecessor Dragon Spirit so much that they devoted a whole album to it. <br /><br />I can’t say I’m the biggest fans of a lot of these themes, but their arrangements are almost always unique and interesting, so the CD as a whole isn’t too bad.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fileplanet.com/hosteddl.aspx?/hst/d/i/discoalu/hg101_jamjam.zip">Download samples</a><p></span>