Best Japan Only Games!

[cdpog]

Hi Everybody!

I'm brand new here, and would like to start off with a pretty big question, what are the best Japan-only games. To qualify, they must be able to be played by someone who can't read Japanese...
Ones on my radar are: Dracula X, Bomberman 94, and Momotaro Densetsu II.

[Dicer]

Plenty of shooties if they are your bag....

Spriggan (and MkII)
Rayxanber's
Psychic Storm
Star Parodier

Platformy stuff

Fausette Armor
Alice in wonder dream
Blue Blink

There is more of course, but I will leave the for some others to comment on....

[esteban]

Comrade, welcome.

There is a thread about this topic.

Tell us your favorite genres and we can be more specific.

YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH:
Dracula X
Bomberman '94
GOMOLA SPEED

[Otaking]

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=14497.0

[cdpog]

I will check out that list for sure!

my favorite genre would probably be action/adventure. I'm not that big a vertical or horizontal shooter guy (heresy, I know)

[CrackTiger]

I will check out that list for sure!

my favorite genre would probably be action/adventure. I'm not that big a vertical or horizontal shooter guy (heresy, I know)

You'll probably be more interested in these then:

Valis Phantasm Soldier
Valis IV
Fausette Amour
Kaze Kiri
Shubibinman 3
River City Ransom
Double Dragon II
Chiki Chiki Boys
Tenchi Wo Kurau
Altered Beast
Mad Stalker
Horror Story
Son Son II
Street Fighter II
Fatal Fury Special
Art of Fighting
World Heroes 2
Kabuki Itouryoden

[NecroPhile]

Welcome aboard!  In addition to the other fine suggestions, here's mine:

Legend of Xanadu - use the code to play just the side scrolling bits and view the sweet cut scenes while you wait for the translation
Legend of Xanadu II - ditto
Travel Eple - cute lil penguins in a Bomberman type of game
Hatris - 'cause hatters gonna hat
Gotzendiener - don't go in expecting perfection; just enjoy the tunes, the unique story line, and dream of what could've been
Godzilla - who doesn't love giant monsters beating each other up?

[EmperorIng]

Alice in wonder dream

Whoa ho ho, this topic is for the best Japan-only games, not the rest. 

Here are four suggestions that have not been mentioned already:

Mr. Heli no Daiboken
Atomic RoboKid Special
-both games are similar, but excellent side-scrolling free-roaming shooting games. I think Mr. Heli is a slightly better game, but it's much harder with some severe difficulty spikes, whereas RoboKid is longer and more accessible, making it easier to dive into the action. If you like them you might like the overhead tank game, Metal Stoker.

Brandish
-despite being a dungeon-crawling top-down RPG, nearly every important function is labeled in English, and items are displayed as visual icons making it easy to shop for potions, swords, etc. Game is very tough to get in to and has a laughably dumb camera-angle switching system, but if you consult Digi.k's nice topic covering the basics, you will find yourself playing a very rewarding game.

Genpei Toumaden Kannoni
-Yeah I know it was released in the west as Samurai Ghost but listen up: it's one of the top action games on the system, has no need of the English language (the western port certainly didn't, considering its garbled translations), and if you can figure out how the game controls, you'll find it to be one of the most satisfying games on the system. Tricky boss fights, lots and lots of stages, and easier to control than its JPN-only predecessor, Genpei Toumaden. That being said, I really like Genpei Toumaden and think it's one of the coolest 80s games out there - but I have only played the arcade version, and not the PCE port. Others will have to vouch (or not) for how the PCE port is.

Travel Eple - cute lil penguins in a Bomberman type of game

Cute as they may be, I have to disagree with this one. The enemy AI in this game leaves so much to be desired, and the game knows this because it compensates by having enemies practically teleport on top of you if you move too far away. Bomberman is the clear winner of these arena battle-type games, and I'd wager 94 is the best of the Bombermans (haven't played the others though)

[PukeSter]

Blue blink is a damn fine game. Definitely B+ material. And I'm not the type of person who praises every pce game just for being on pce (Like valis II, cyber cross, China warrior)

A dream mix of wonder boy and Mario world, in a smaller package. Not the best game ever but its definitely a hidden gem.

[mossman43]

I'm not expecting much but I just picked up Toilet Kids. I love me some shmups, even if they're "shitty"!

[Sarumaru]

Coryoon - Child of Dragon! It's one of the funnest Cute-em ups on the system and absolutely no Japanese required. It's one of my favorite games. Shubibinman series is great too. Dragon Egg is pretty good. There's a bunch!

[esteban]

I'm not expecting much but I just picked up Toilet Kids. I love me some shmups, even if they're "shitty"!

It closely follows the Xevious formula (air-to-air gun, air-to-ground bombs), but with wannabe Twin Bee campiness, and, sadly without the charm/compwtency of said cute-em-up.

That said...I actually found myself "enjoying" the game, despite its blandness and rather generic execution. Buttcopters and bidets and all...flies on poop...


Please note: I am much more forgiving of generic shooters than other folks. I love old skool shooter formula 80's arcade/8-bit/16-bit...

[jtucci31]

Legend of Xanadu - use the code to play just the side scrolling bits and view the sweet cut scenes while you wait for the translation

Just play the whole thing now! It's great!! Best Super CD game that's not a shooter!

[CrackTiger]

Legend of Xanadu II has a detailed English walkthrough with maps early on. It's not a complicated game to play, so the walkthrough is all that you need.