Austin Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) In my quest to see what else is out there on the Dreamcast--stuff that I might have missed out in the past--I am curious to know what is solely available in Japan that also happens to be in English. I am also interested in games that are at least easy enough to figure out without any knowledge of Japanese (i.e., games with minimal text). Below is a list of games I know of that definitely meet this criteria, but I have followed a few other stipulations in coming up with this list as well (see the end of the post for those): Tetris 4D Godzilla Generations Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact Golden Logres Pinball Frame Gride (similar to Virtual On, it has some menus in Japanese, but the versus sections should be easy to pickup on) Get Colonies (Seems to be a puzzle game. Screenshots make it look like it will be easy to figure out) Lost Golem (top-down maze/puzzle-driven gameplay) Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Sega Tetris Puyo Puyo Fever Cosmic Smash Cool Cool Toon Rainbow Cotton Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix Dance Dance Revolution Club Version (Dreamcast Edition) Pop 'n Music (1, 2, 3, and 4) Virtua Cop 2 (Not really exclusive to Japan, but it had its own standalone release as opposed to the Smash Pack inclusion in the US) Death Crimson 2 (light gun game; the follow-up, Death Crimson OX, was released in the US) Here are some others that are pushing it (i.e, probably too much Japanese text to be enjoyable): Rune Jade (Diablo-style action-RPG; may be difficult to playthrough from start to finish, but the action seems pretty straightforward, similar to Record of Lodoss War on the Dreamcast) Baldr Force Exe (top-down arena game/shooter hybrid. Story mode is completely in Japanese and you get a game over for making the wrong choices, so it's difficult to progress through) Napple Tale (2.5D Platformer. The normal gameplay looks straightforward as it should, but from screenshots it looks like you may also have to wander 3D environments and talk to people, which might make progressing difficult) For the games I have written above (as well as the kinds of games I am looking for), there are a few restrictions I have gone by. First, no shoot 'em ups or fighting games. Those are always the most popular choices to import, and I think most (including myself) are pretty well-informed when it comes to those. Second, I am interested in games that may have seen other platform releases, but where the Dreamcast versions were only released in Japan (for instance, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo). And lastly, I also discluded recent homebrew releases, such as Wind & Water Puzzle Battles. Know of any others? Please post them here! Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Edited November 17, 2012 by Austin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted November 17, 2012 Author Share Posted November 17, 2012 Past my edit period, but I've been looking stuff up on the 'net. Here are a few others I came across that I either forgot about, or didn't know of before: Cleopatra Fortune (Taito puzzler; Also released on the Saturn in Japan, and the PlayStation in the US) Gundam E.F.F Vs Zeon & DX (fighting game; gameplay looks to require no understanding of Japanese, but I'm not sure if there are story or interactive segments in-between) Jet Coaster Dream 1 & 2 (Roller coaster simulations; looks like they are mostly in Japanese, but I see bits of English in the screenshots as well, so you may be able to fiddle around enough with these) Macross M3 (actually, I remember this one--I just recall it apparently not being very good. Flight combat action.) Panzer Front (military strategy game that I believe also came out on PlayStation. It seems the Dreamcast version might actually be in English!) Plus Plum (Puzzle game) Power Jet Racing 2001 (I don't know if this was re-released in other regions under a different name. I know there is Dreamcast a jetski game in the US.) Puyo Puyo N & Puyo Puyo DA Rent-A-Hero #1 (Seems to be playable, but good luck with progressing and following the story) Shanghai Dynasty (Activision Mahjong series) Space Channel 5 Part 2 Twinkle Star Sprites (knew about this one as well, I just forgot about it) Zusar Vasar (some kind of futuristic racing game) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Add: Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service Darkstalkers Collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Add: Ikaruga - sequel to Sega Saturn Radiant Silvergun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted November 17, 2012 Author Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) Add: Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service Darkstalkers Collection Add: Ikaruga - sequel to Sega Saturn Radiant Silvergun I was hoping to ignore these genres (minus the exception in my second post) since I figured most people already knew about these, but what the hell.. Might as well get them out of the way for anyone that wants a one-stop-shop for imports without a severe language barrier: (on a side note, Ikaruga is more or less a "spiritual successor" to Silvergun, not a direct sequel.) Japan-only shmups: Ikaruga (vertically scrolling) Zero Gunner 2 ("verizontal" with 360-degree aiming) Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate (vertically scrolling) Trizeal (vertically scrolling) Karous (vertically scrolling) Under Defeat (vertically scrolling) Border Down (horizontally scrolling) Shikigami No Shiro II (vertically scrolling) Radilgy (vertically scrolling) Chaos Field (vertically scrolling) Triggerheart Exelica (vertically scrolling) Japan-only fighters: Capcom Vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro Capcom Vs. SNK 2 Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service Vampire Chronicles for Matching Service Guilty Gear X King of Fighters 2000, 2001, and 2002 Anything I may have missed that wasn't released in the US or the UK, let me know. Edited November 17, 2012 by Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 I'm back to looking for Japan imports that are easy on English speaking individuals. Figured I'd bump this again for anyone possibly looking for some Japan exclusives to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Yep, Panzer Front was out on PS1.In fact it's up on PSN store: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/panzer-front-psone/ Do you know IF Warp's D2 is 'playable' or is it too Jap text heavy?. Loved the original D on PS1, always tempted to try D2, but did'nt want to waste good money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Through browsing eBay, I stumbled upon: Puyo Puyo 4. Not sure if it's related to any of the other Puyo Puyo games I already mentioned in previous posts, or if it is actually one of those games and I just can't read the subtitle (in Japanese). Imperial Hawk: Fighter of Zero. (Or something like that). Looks to be a flight sim along the lines of Air Force Delta. Mission text is obviously Japanese, but the gameplay may be workable without knowing the language. Reversi. Othello game. Pretty basic stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Loved the original D on PS1, always tempted to try D2, but did'nt want to waste good money. Why bother with the Japan version? Just play the US version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 :-) I was offered the Jap version of D2 by a mate, but then he gave me the Jap versions of Res.Evil 4 and Code Vern. on PS3, which have just sat in a drawer ever since, so did'nt want to part with even a fiver if it was'nt going to be money well spent.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 :-) I was offered the Jap version of D2 by a mate, but then he gave me the Jap versions of Res.Evil 4 and Code Vern. on PS3, which have just sat in a drawer ever since, so did'nt want to part with even a fiver if it was'nt going to be money well spent.... Ah, gotcha. I can't vouch for how English-friendly it is. I'd suggest seeing if you can find some YouTube videos of the Japanese version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 :-) At times my common sense is utterly blinded by a mate saying: 'well, i did'nt really want to get shot of it, but to you? ohh go on, five quid'.Hence drawers etc full of stuff i simply did'nt need or cannot actually use. I've a sealed copy of MCD Lawnmower Man, which is supposed to be 'Rare' due to it only working on NTSC machines or something, despite saying Pal? (i forget the details), think that must have appeared due to one of my imfamous 'trades with a mate'.WTF am i going to do with it?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamer888 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 You also have L.O.L (aka Lack of Love). I used to have it but didn't have a chance to truly play it. Maybe the manual is in japanese but there is little in-game text. You have to manage some kind of living form and there are next to no dialogue or voices. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 You also have L.O.L (aka Lack of Love). I used to have it but didn't have a chance to truly play it. Maybe the manual is in japanese but there is little in-game text. You have to manage some kind of living form and there are next to no dialogue or voices. Very cool, I didn't know about this one. I just watched a video review of it and it looks pretty cool. Apparently there is literally no language barrier at all. When I can scrounge up some disposable funds, I'll see about snagging a copy for myself. It seems they are a minimum of $70 plus shipping on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 You also have L.O.L (aka Lack of Love). I used to have it but didn't have a chance to truly play it. Maybe the manual is in japanese but there is little in-game text. You have to manage some kind of living form and there are next to no dialogue or voices. Heh, that was the first game that came to mind, but you beat me to it. I should've bought my copy back when it was half the current price! Austin, will these games be the cornerstones of new video reviews? I hope so! BTW there's a similar thread at Digital Press that includes some games not yet listed here, but I can't vouch for any of the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Austin, will these games be the cornerstones of new video reviews? I hope so! I don't know. At the very least they can be the cornerstones of my collection. BTW there's a similar thread at Digital Press that includes some games not yet listed here, but I can't vouch for any of the suggestions. Cool, thanks for the link! I'll check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamer888 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) I don't know. At the very least they can be the cornerstones of my collection. Cool, thanks for the link! I'll check it out. Austin, I used to have such game (L.O.L) and I sold it for 50 bucks domestic shipping included (I live in France), the reason why I almost gave it away was my Dreamcast died so out of anger......I said, I am gonna sell my games fast and clean!!No way I would have purchased...a 5th Dreamcast! The only thing that bugged me with the game was its incompatibility with a VGA display. Bummer. I forgot to mention there is also Sonic Adventure International. It is the very same game as Sonic Adventure but with english text. I actually have the game...and it is up for sale! There is also US Shenmue. The first Shnemue with english voices and english captions (a shame there are not japanese voices.....) Edited October 22, 2014 by Gamer888 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 The only thing that bugged me with the game was its incompatibility with a VGA display. Bummer. That's a bummer with quite a few Dreamcast games, unfortunately (I am finding out the hard way with my system that's hooked up in my living room HD TV through a VGA to HDMI box). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) Well, the newly created GD-ROM emu solutions (GDEMU/GD USB) I believe can patch to VGA mode and still run. Great list though, I will probably through several of those onto my SD card for the GD EMU! Edited October 22, 2014 by Greg2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianC Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) oops. old topic. Please delete. Edited February 13, 2022 by BrianC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Sure that's not a warez issue? I don't remember when it was coming out at Midway is having those issues, just the known ones which got the HOT NEW sticker which R2R boxing got too. Issues with it and the other two versions at the time were used as learning examples on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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