Latest Import Games

[Losifer]

Well ppl,

 

As you may or may not know, i tend to get ahead of the crowd when it come to Japanese games. Lately there have been three games that have been keeping me from doin' my werk:

 

Chou DBZ (Super DragonBall Z)

 

if any of you is a fan of DBZ, this game is BadASS. If any of you is a fan of Street Fighter , this game is even more BadAss. The dude who created SF worked on this game made it play lk if Ryu came over and gave Goku a quick lesson in fireball motions. not many characters, but its completly forgivable. One of the best this about it is that you can customized each character ala World Tour Mode (SFA3)...just not ass deep, but stil kool. I suggest you go download this game before you decide to purchase.

 

next on the list...

 

The King of Fighters XI

 

This is a game that i feel will not see the light of day in America. So you really have no choice but to DL(download. That wil be my abbreviation for the word from here on out) it! Cuz i know ur too broke to import it. i know what some of you are thinking. But Los, KoF is soo old and plays like molasses. This one does not. Before this game, i though Neo-Geo Battle Coluseum was the best SNK title i had played. Then i decided to give this game a shot...and it totally kicks ass. SNK has CAPCOMized their games a tad bit, giving them more depth and balance (im such a fighting game dork U__U). PLUS this game sports a roster of over 45 some-odd characters (hidden ones included). And i guarantee that ull play with at least 85% of 'em. So plz try it out. If you wanna try something in 3D...try Kof Maximum Impact2 (KoF 2006 in America...not out yet though). Its a HELLUVA an improvement over the first. SNK games comin' back (thats a losery statement to make U__U)...with that said, i move on to a shocking decent 3D conversion title...

 

METAL SLUG

 

This is METAL SLUG in 3D! And it aint bad. Its remarkable how it still feels like METAL SLUG. the control scheme is still the same, except for the camera movement. but they did make some adjustments...you can now maintain your weapon upgrades (HEAVY MACHINEGUN) and not lose them if you pick up another(ROCKET LAUNCHER). Another nice feature is that you can upgrade the METAL SLUG crew( and yes, MARCO, TARMA, ERI and FIO are all here)and cutomize your own METAL SLUG. How sweet is that! But, this game is not without its problems. The biggest issue i did have with it was some of the camera angles...its hard to kill when the camera is facing the wall. Some of the areas are a little too tight, so the camera, will have problems adjusting. Honestly though, the positives out-weigh the negatives here. go DL it bcuz this is prolly onther one of those games not hitting American soil...then again, the game is in english (voices and menu layout), so i guess it might. just go DL it for now.

 

thats it for now...ill try to post games soon...Xenosaga III just came out...maybe ill write about that one...

[The NZA]

this thread is love.

i shall add to it later, ive been gettin a few imports myself lately...god bless you, soloPS2!

[Genroh]

METAL SLUG

 

Nice, I'll have to make another import order.

[The NZA]

Yeah...Beatmania II DX Red or whatever only seems half-working, which is fine cause you really need the DJ controller for the 7 key mode.

 

So, its just Berserk, which ill do a review for when i get back into that game, its really cool if youre into the series, or enjoyed the Dreamcast game. Still debating Namco vs Capcom but i dont thnk i really wanna go through an action RPG with some printed-up translation....

[MusicManiac]

That Metal Slug i heard was most excellent in presentation and controls. Play Asia ia a company that lists these wholesale to anyone wishing to get into foreign gaming, acessories and the like.

 

http://www.play-asia.com/

 

Naruto

 

BeatMania

 

Battle Stadium D.O.N.

 

 

Region free DS

 

Tenchu

[the division of joy]

tenchu on the ds... now thats gotta be interesting, if not a little hard to play

[MusicManiac]

The dual screen on the DS (I got one as a gift) is pretty damn cool...

 

 

 

not 360 sharp but damn good qiuality for handheld.

[the division of joy]

that looks pretty awesome... i was a Huge fan of tenchu 2 on the ps1.... one of my favorite games of all time

[Losifer]

OK...I've been busy werking on my thesis, so i really havent been playing all that much...but i do have some games i want to comment on. Here i go:

 

XENOSAGA III

 

 

If you are a fan of the Xenosaga series, I know ur gonna play it. But if you're not, just dont bother. From here on out, ill talk about this game to those who are familiar with it. This game should only be played if you really want to know how it ends (yep..no more after this one). Thus far, the game is lacking in alot of areas when compared to Xenosaga I. Actually, the series just kept going down hill after the first. They got rid of the original writers and the games became regressivly lower in production (budget) and gameplay. Its still pretty to look at but that doesnt cut it. I wont say anything about the story but try not to keep your hopes up since the original writers are gone. I however, feel let down since the series had a promising start and a surprisingly incredible birth (Xenogears). I tossed this game around skool for other fans of the series to try, i wasnt the only one who felt the same way...pretty unanimous, actually. To those who wish to continue with the last installment, wait for the american version.

 

Next up is a surprising treat...

 

BATTLE STADIUM D.O.N.

 

 

When i first saw that cover a few months back, i thought it was a joke. Having three manga franchises in one game seemed improbable...but then i though about Super Robot Wars and JUMP SuperStars. Regardless, i was a bit skeptic about having DragonBall Z, One Piece, and Naruto characters in one game. On top of that, i was worried it might suck like most other anime games. Im so glad it doesn't. After I played Super DragonBall Z, i figured this game would find itself in the that shit pile of terrible PS2 software. But man...if you have an affinity towards Smash Bros., this is the closest its gonna get on the PS2. This game IS SB in disguise. The button layout is very similar (melee, special, jump, etc.), graphics are pretty, character roster seems decent (seen lots of hidden people so far) and its actually FUN! This straight-up, beat-em-down Four-player SB carbon copy bares miscellaneous items, weapons, and power-ups that corresponds to each of the shows (Goku's power-pole, Sasuke's Windmill shuriken, Luffy's...crap). It is also a Multi-tier platform fighter giving you enough space to kick ass. Stages are derived (and obviously) match up with thier respective series. Aside from the similarities to SB, there are key differencesthat make it interesting. First off, there is ONE LifeBar and all the charcteres share it. As you beat up a character, you notice thier life goes down as yours goes up. So the way to victory is to have more life than your opponent(s) before time runs out OR beat the hell out of the rest of the charcters till they have no life left, leaving you to own the entire LifeBar. The game also features a multitude of modes...some of which i have yet to try out. All in all, i am surprised as to how good it is...even if it is a SB copy (i dont own a NGC). So if you have a PS2 and no NGC, I urge you to import it...or in my case DL it(chances are, you wont see this here...crossover games hardly ever make it to other countries). But if you own a NGC, get it if ur a fan of SB and a fan of the animes (at least 2 of the 3). Game on.

[Genroh]

I have been playing Battle Stadium DON on the gamecube for the past couple days, it's great game I just have only 2 gripes about it....

 

1) Using a slot machine to unlock anything, seriously I hate it. I been playing it for 3 days and have only unlocked 1 character and 1 stage and an ass load of battle coupons I have no use for. (T_T) I understand the need to keep replay value high, but seriously there had to have been other ways than a damn slot machine.

 

2) Not enough characters. I'm not asking for 20 characters per series, but come on Fat Buu as the big hidden character... kinda lame. (sorry IMO) Cell as a boss was a nice suprise, but what about One Piece and Naruto? Orochimaru and Enel would have made great extra bosses and they could have kept the cast as is and just add a boss per series, that would have been just fine. Instead we get Cell and Fat Buu and thats it. XP

 

...other than that the game is cool. A must if you like these animes and Smash Bros. style fighting.

[Losifer]

I have been playing Battle Stadium DON on the gamecube for the past couple days, it's great game I just have only 2 gripes about it....

 

1) Using a slot machine to unlock anything, seriously I hate it. I been playing it for 3 days and have only unlocked 1 character and 1 stage and an ass load of battle coupons I have no use for. (T_T) I understand the need to keep replay value high, but seriously there had to have been other ways than a damn slot machine.

 

2) Not enough characters. I'm not asking for 20 characters per series, but come on Fat Buu as the big hidden character... kinda lame. (sorry IMO) Cell as a boss was a nice suprise, but what about One Piece and Naruto? Orochimaru and Enel would have made great extra bosses and they could have kept the cast as is and just add a boss per series, that would have been just fine. Instead we get Cell and Fat Buu and thats it. XP

 

...other than that the game is cool. A must if you like these animes and Smash Bros. style fighting.

 

 

Yeah, i gotta agree with both points. I couldn't figure out that slot thing completly but I did get all the stages and characters and wished there were more (TY gamefaqs for those save states ). Regardless, My brothers and cousins and I really like this game...possibly for the SB feeling. And yes...Orochimaru would have been a great addition...i guess Enel too (never really liked One Piece...wish it was BLEACH instead. I do have to admit that the characters are pretty nifty in the game).

[Losifer]

Lately, I've been too busy for games, but i did DL an intreguing title:

 

Sengoku Basara 2

 

For those of you that dont know anything about it predecessor, lemme explain. Raise your hand if you know Dynasy Warriors. OK. Good, i see some hands. Well, think dynasty warriors except in Japan. Now i can't make comparisons because I havent played Dynasy Warriors enough to do so ( like played it for a few minues and thats it). I spent a little more than an hour on this one...it just seemed more fun. To be more descriptive, this game offers up a bunch of historic Samurai for you to choose from and all you do is kick ass. the only distiction that ive made between this game and Dynasty warriors is that this game is ALOT more stylish ( it was produced by the RE4 guy (not the creator Shinji Mikami)and the characters were done by the DMC character designer. So all these different guys have elemental powers and have super moves and juggles...its an overall good time. If you like Dynasty you may fall for this game. I wasn't too big on Dynasty, but i actually want to go back and play this one...but skool is killin me so chances are i prolly wont.

 

P.S. Oh and just to let you know...in America, the prequal to this game is called Devil Kings. The story is completely different (removing alot of the historical japanese names and stuff). i never did play it though.

[Lycaon]

BATTLE STADIUM D.O.N.

 

 

Finally, the question everyone's wanted to know can be answered: Who would win in a three-way fight between Goku, Luffy, and Naruto?

[Jables]

Y'all wanna talk about imports?! Damnit I found an import shop in a dark corner of the Valley with sooo many American & Japanese imports that've not seen the light've day in EB ever. Stuff like Kingdom Hearts 2, Suikoden any-fucking-thing, all these other things I can't rponounce but're looking like awesome RPGs. I've heard lots about Xenosaga & they have that. I feel like I've just advanced technologically about fifteen years...

[The NZA]

You an RPG fan, skeets? there's a few good titles you named there.

wait, whats an import to you? i dont even know what region you are over there.

[Jables]

Region 7(the made up number that implies any titles that've pretty much gone platinum anywhere else or anticipated big-sellers). Honestly not sure what region we are, but yeah. We get fuck-all down under & what we DO get that's decent is very very late. Case in point: Guitar Hero just came out here this month, & Kingdom Hearts 2 is still a month or two away from an Oz release. Thank christ the Wii & PS3 have worldwide release dates... But yeah, HUGE rpg fan.

[Losifer]

hey ppl...Im back with yet another Import game...one that will never make it here...

 

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza

 

So what this game's about goes back to the roots of the kinds of games i grew up playing. Fighting. Lemme give you a breif history of this thing. I've had this game on my PC since i got it. This is a heavly popular doujin (fan-made) fighting game. The game is based on a douijin manga call Tsukihime. It was eventually developed into a fighing game (and an Anime) by a very low-key company (at the time) called french bread. Their name eventually was changed once they got bigger. This wasnt the only hit title they created. Most of the games they made were for the PC (which i have most of them) and then began to hit consoles in Japan. The first Melty Blood hit the Dreamcast. And now, an enhanced version of the original has just been released for the PS2.

 

Anywho, This is a fighting game that is very siple to pick up with only four buttons to use. Light, Medium and Heavy Attacks. And a parry button (See Street Fighter 3 for refference). The game systems is close to the Marvel Vs. series, but alot less exagerrated. You can hit a character up in the air and make combos or in on the ground...you get the point. There are super moves and Full-Bar supers...its just god overall if you're into figting games. Very easy to pick up, but once to get into it, you begin to see its alot deeper than you think. Give it a try. If you plan to DL it, its only 300 megs.

[The NZA]

OK...I've been busy werking on my thesis, so i really havent been playing all that much...but i do have some games i want to comment on. Here i go:

 

XENOSAGA III

 

 

If you are a fan of the Xenosaga series, I know ur gonna play it. But if you're not, just dont bother. From here on out, ill talk about this game to those who are familiar with it. This game should only be played if you really want to know how it ends (yep..no more after this one). Thus far, the game is lacking in alot of areas when compared to Xenosaga I. Actually, the series just kept going down hill after the first. They got rid of the original writers and the games became regressivly lower in production (budget) and gameplay. Its still pretty to look at but that doesnt cut it. I wont say anything about the story but try not to keep your hopes up since the original writers are gone. I however, feel let down since the series had a promising start and a surprisingly incredible birth (Xenogears). I tossed this game around skool for other fans of the series to try, i wasnt the only one who felt the same way...pretty unanimous, actually. To those who wish to continue with the last installment, wait for the american version.

 

I just got around to catching up on this thread, really great work Los - its hard tao keep up with the import scene without word of mouth, and the sites i used to check for them have gone lax.

 

Anyway...im sad to hear this, but its not surprising, really.

I adored Xenogears (i got the Perfect Works artbook if you ever wanna see it), and despite the usual redundant combat, really enjoyed Xenosaga, was dyin to see what came next.

I thought Newt was exageratting, but Xeno II was....eh. I liked the new art style, the Margulis fights looked great, but after only a few hours in, i found myself bored. I dindt like the variations on the combat engine, and still dont get them. The plot seems like its crawling, and the forced subquests just got to me, even early on.

 

I had high hopes this'd be the one to return to its former glory, like Suikoden V did for the series, but hearing the writers've left Monolith (whered they go?), coupled with whatever gameplay issues youre citing here...damn, that's a shame.

 

Keep it goin tho man, and good luck on your thesis.

[Losifer]

I finally got my hands on it.

The Rumble Fish

 

This is a game that was originally published by Sammy (the Guilty Gear guys), but are now owned by Sega. The guys who actually made it was Dimps. If the name sounds familiar, they're the guys who used to developed the Budokai games ( i forgot who does them now). In any case, this game intrigued me quite a bit when i first layed eyes on it. I thought it was another 2D fighter from Sammy just to expand their success on the GGX series. However, This is actually a 3D game in disguese. If you see video for it...there is almost no difference in looks when compared to something like GGX. But under closer inspection everything (characters, backgraound, etc.) are in real-time 3D. Although, the mechanics are very much like a Capcom and SNK fighting game. But being the first in what will be a big series (Rumble Fish 2 has been out in Japan for a while now), there isnt much in the first game. Its just a new kid on the block. But its a new kid with some cool ideas. If Capcom were to make that Street Fighter transition from 2D to 3D ( i don't count EX, that wasn't Capcom who made it), they should look at this game.

[Losifer]

OK... i decide to make a break for the imports this week. Ima make it fast:

 

Rurouni Kenshin Enjou! Kyoto Rinne

 

Play it if u really like Kenshin...i dont.

 

Metal Slug 6

 

MotherFucking Badass. if you're an SNK fan, you'll dig the new characters. And the new aliens are kool too.

 

GodHand

 

This game is just out there. Its really a hit or miss kind of thing. Too tired to go into detail.

 

laters.

[The NZA]

awesome! i just got Kenshin over here, thanks again man, should be tryin it out tonight. Curous bout Godhand, lemme know, and uh, if i get you a disc, can i get a copy of Metal Slug? I love that seires, even tho it kicks my ass.

[bishopcruz]

On the cover of Metal Slug 6 are those the Ikari Warriors? Ralf and Clark? If so FUCKIN SWEET!!!!!!!!!!

[bishopcruz]

 

Oh yeah, new Ys game is coming and I am psyched, Oath in Felghana the complete reimagining of Ys III may have been the best game in the series yet (look for a translation patch around the end of the year.) but this one has me psyched even more. This next Ys is a prequel that takes place 700 years before the first game and explains a bunch of the backstory, that also means no Adol for the first time in series history.

 

 

 

The game will have 2 playable characters, Yunica Tovah and Yugo Fact, and is released on the 21st of December. I cannot WAIT to get this one.

 

Here's the demo video on YouTube

 

Ys is the best Action RPG series ever. This is gonna rock.

[The NZA]

wait...what platform? and damn, it does look like fun.

[bishopcruz]

PC, most of Falcom's games are PC only, they sometimes get ported to other systems, but usually by another software house. The nice thing is the requirements are never that high.

 

The other nice thing about a PC release is the ease of doing a translation patch, the PC versions of Ys VI and Ys Oath in Felghana are getting released at the end of the year.

 

Getting these games from Japan can get pricey but I have yet to regret a Falcom purchase. For all I bitch about old school gaming some times, Falcom just does it right, and it's hard to argue with.