Good console but not on the level of the others mentioned imo.
Feels hard to beat the Saturn really. It's Japanese library is vast compared to the Western library. Incredible exclusives.
In that case it's either PC Engine or Saturn. I will have to think on it.
In games exclusive to Japan? Sir, you need to educate yourself.
Definitely a strong contender. So many amazing games were trapped in Japan.
In that case it's either PC Engine or Saturn. I will have to think on it.
I'm not seeing what makes the DS a better choice for the poll inclusion than the PC Engine.
Maybe I need to have another look but when I was really starting to get into imports I started looking at all the major consoles Japan exclusive games and pc engine seemed to really shine in the shmups department but I'm not the biggest fan of 16 bit shmups. I still did try a few of them and none really stuck with me. Rondo of Blood is obviously straight fire though. What would you recommend from its Japanese lineup?
Good choices. Ys IV is a great one with an English fan translation.Far East of Eden games are a great place to start (though they are RPGs, so it isn't import friendly for non-Japanese speakers). As you said Rondo of Blood is straight fire (and I would argue an ATG), but another one to consider is Kaze Kiri (which is, unfortunately, pretty damn expensive). Mr. Heli is another wonderful game that never made it to NA. I know you said you don't like shmups, but Mr. Heli is a very different beast. At the end of the day, there are a lot of great shmups on the PCE, which is a genre that is very import friendly, but there is actually a pretty wide selection of cool games on the console.
Far East of Eden games are a great place to start (though they are RPGs, so it isn't import friendly for non-Japanese speakers). As you said Rondo of Blood is straight fire (and I would argue an ATG), but another one to consider is Kaze Kiri (which is, unfortunately, pretty damn expensive). Mr. Heli is another wonderful game that never made it to NA. I know you said you don't like shmups, but Mr. Heli is a very different beast (and I think is a game that non-shmup fans could get behind). At the end of the day, there are a lot of great shmups on the PCE, which is a genre that is very import friendly, but there is actually a pretty wide selection of cool games on the console.
Good choices. Ys IV is a great one with an English fan translation.
Shubibinman 3, Faussete Amour, Shinobi, Valis 1 remake and Valis IV, Liquid Kids, and Zipang are some other platform-ish games I like on PCE. Shooters are the bulk of the best import exclusives, though.
The more I think about it, I would choose the Saturn over the PC Engine for this thread but the latter is still impressive.
I'm also curious what some examples would be.PS2 is winning? What significant Japanese exclusive stayed in Japan that wasn't gobbled up by Atlus , Working Designs , NIS or XSEED?
But, PlayStation 2?? I can't think of a single system/era defining game on PS2 that did NOT have a Western release. Heck, western releases were partially what defined the PS2.
Here's what I think of when I say the PS2 was still "pretty good" for importers (aside from fighting games and shmups that were mentioned):
Another Century's Episode (series)
Boku no Natsuyasumi 2
ChainDive
Code Age Commanders
Dragon Quest V Remake
Dragon Quest: Yangus' Mystery Dungeon
Fire Pro Wrestling Z
Front Mission 5
Generation of Chaos (series)
Growlanser VI
King of Colosseum (series)
Monster Hunter G
Namco X Capcom
PoPoLoCrois (series)
SEGA Ages (everything outside of the Sega Classics Collection)
Spectral Force (series)
Summon Night (series)
Vib-Ripple
Still some decent genre titles in here, not nearly as many as the PS1 or SNES or Saturn or PC Engine, and that's largely because so much of the weird stuff like Disaster Report/Raw Danger, Mister Mosquito, Steambot Chronicles, Katamari Damacy, Killer7, Gitaroo Man, Rule of Rose, Ribbit King, Stretch Panic, ChuLip, and Nippon Ichi's entire library of SRPGs all managed to come west. If these were all PS1 games, almost all of them wouldn't have been translated. A lot of this was thanks to SCEA's willingness to give cult games a chance.
Those are all great mentions - but I don't think many posters here think super highly of those (or are even aware of them), but maybe I'm not giving people enough credit.
Action/Platform: Castlevania Rondo no chi, Momotaro Katsugeki, Bakushou Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (it's an easy cinematic platformer based on comedy), Shubibinman 3, Valis (the remake of the original game), Genji Tsushin Agedama, Gekisha Boy, Liquid Kids, Kaze Kiri, Legend of Valkyrie, Son Son II, Popful Mail, Fray in Magical Adventure .Maybe I need to have another look but when I was really starting to get into imports I started looking at all the major consoles Japan exclusive games and pc engine seemed to really shine in the shmups department but I'm not the biggest fan of 16 bit shmups. I still did try a few of them and none really stuck with me. Rondo of Blood is obviously straight fire though. What would you recommend from its Japanese lineup?
I forgot about Gekisha Boy and Son Son II. Those are great. Tonma did get a North American release although it was very limited.Action/Platform: Castlevania Rondo no chi, Momotaro Katsugeki, Bakushou Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (it's an easy cinematic platformer based on comedy), Shubibinman 3, Valis (the remake of the original game), Genji Tsushin Agedama, Gekisha Boy, Liquid Kids, Kaze Kiri, Legend of Valkyrie, Legend of Hero Tonma, Son Son II, Popful Mail, Mystic Formula.
Fighting: Asuka 120%, Kabuki IttĹŤryĹŤdan, Double Dragon II
Racing: F1 Circus
Adventure: Gotzendiener (an interesting if unfinished isometric adventure game by Gainax)
Puzzle: Bazaru de Gozaru, Bomberman '94, Gomola Speed, Volfied
On the strength of the following games ( all are classics):
Jump Ultimate Stars
Ace Attorney Investigations Miles Edgeworth
Ketsui (it was only really boss battles but loved it)
Fire Emblem New Mystery of the Emblem
Retro Game Challenge 2
Ouendan 2
Action/Platform: Castlevania Rondo no chi, Momotaro Katsugeki, Bakushou Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (it's an easy cinematic platformer based on comedy), Shubibinman 3, Valis (the remake of the original game), Genji Tsushin Agedama, Gekisha Boy, Liquid Kids, Kaze Kiri, Legend of Valkyrie, Son Son II, Popful Mail, Fray in Magical Adventure .
Fighting: Asuka 120%, Kabuki IttĹŤryĹŤdan, Double Dragon II
Racing: F1 Circus
Adventure: Gotzendiener (an interesting if unfinished isometric adventure game by Gainax)
Puzzle: Bazaru de Gozaru, Bomberman '94, Gomola Speed, Volfied
Let's not sleep on Ouendan 1, now...
I believe the poster was simply making a point that the PC Engine is a particularly egregious omission considering what you asked about. Let's bear in mind it was both a 4th gen system and simultaenously the second strongest system in it's generation in Japan (relevant because japanese developers overwhelmingly crushed western devs in output quality those days, it wasn't until the 5th gen where the lines truly started blurring... now take the fact into consideration that it was very solidly outperforming Mega Drive/Genesis in Japan throughout the entire gen) and combine that with the fact 70%+ of it's library was J-only and you'll likely understand why the PC Engine is one of the most unquestionably strong candidates for this particular subject and as such it's absence seems really bizarre considering consoles like the DS did make it.
Keep in mind that some titles I've cited are good to round off the PCE library if one already have all the better games (case in point Gotzendiener, game with potential but clearly unfinished).Thanks, I'll have a look at some of those. Loved the PS1 Asuka 120% games and I've played Legend of Valkyrie arcade version but I'm down to try some of the others.