If you are short on space and don't collect everything would you say skip on the MSX?

[courtesi96]

Although the MSX sounds/seems cool when I look at all the game videos on Youtube/read reviews it just seems like the platform contains inferior versions of Famicom games. Some games look like flickerfests; while others look nearly pixel perfect but are slow as molasses.

Does this system have any solid titles that would warrant its acquisition if you are a true player - and not just for collection purposes?

[aclbandit]

Although the MSX sounds/seems cool when I look at all the game videos on Youtube/read reviews it just seems like the platform contains inferior versions of Famicom games. Some games look like flickerfests; while others look nearly pixel perfect but are slow as molasses.

Does this system have any solid titles that would warrant its acquisition if you are a true player - and not just for collection purposes?

There actually are a number of games for the MSX/MSX2 which are truly awesome. The original Metal Gear, for example, or Metal Gear 2 (only released in Japan).

Also, the original Final Fantasy was released on MSX2 as well. It had longer load times, but noticeably improved graphics.

I think that MSX1 games could be played on MSX2, but don't quote me on that.

I also would absolutely NEVER play the Famicom/NES version of Metal Gear over the MSX version, since the NES port thereof is horrid. In this case, the MSX version is far superior.

I have considered buying an MSX a few times, but last time I looked, they were pretty expensive.

[courtesi96]

I heard about Metal Gear. But is this even playable w/o English?

The Final Fantasy sounds tempting but again is for Japanese speakers.

Yes, the MSX is expensive. Most of the auctions hail from the Netherlands which means shipping is expensive as all hell. It also doesn't seem like any more 1 chip MSX units will be made.

[otaku]

or you could do like I do collect for a system or a few systems till your done collecting for it/them then store them or sell them and start a new collection.

[klausien]

My general vibe is that I like to play games on their original hardware. Emulation is a blast, but I use it more on a "try before you buy" basis. There is nothing quite like playing the NES through composite on a 27" SD TV with a classic brick (or comfortable dogbone) in your hand.

That said, as someone who lives in the U.S., certain import-only formats are just easier, and much, MUCH cheaper, to emulate. The Japanese PC market in the 80's was much more diverse than the Western market at the time. There are so many obscure formats that you can't effectively collect them in the West; unless you are made of money and have gobs of space. The MSX/MSX2 falls into this category for me, as do the FM Towns/Marty, the Sharp X68000, the PC88, etc. They are still obscure enough that emulation is sketchy, but it is definitely possible to get a vibe for the formats without having to drop loads of cash (to most likely be underwhelmed).

Another good route to get a taste of the MSX is through compilations. The Konami Antiques MSX collections on Playstation and Saturn (which incidentally is the Playstation volumes collected on one disc for ease of satisfaction) are an excellent way to get a taste of the MSX format. Totally worth tracking down. Also, though they have been tweaked for modern tastes, the two Metal Gear games were translated and released with MGS3 Subsistence. Subsistence is really worth tracking down anyway.

When all is said and done, most of my MSX & X68000 playing is through emulation on a soft modded XBox. Sure, the default controller sucks, but it is possible to get a PSX Saturn pad to work through a converter. Or you could always spring for a stick. The other advantage to emulation I haven't touched on is fan translation patches, but that is another whole conversation.

Basically, you don't need any of these machines if you have a PC, and the requisite repair knowhow needed for caring for such fussy old equipment, such as when a disk drive belt breaks, is a hobby in and of itself. Also, most of the best titles for all of these formats are arcade ports that you can MAME for better results.

It's just not worth it unless you feel that you absolutely NEED to have the original hardware experience.

[Battlehork]

It's just not worth it unless you feel that you absolutely NEED to have the original hardware experience.

What he said. Japanese PCs are cool, just waaaaaaaaaay too expensive to run. The hardware's likely to cost in the hundreds of dollars and even common games would be expensive due to the shipping.

I contemplated building an X68K collection once, but the $300 + for the machine + probably having to build a new power supply because the stock ones are rubbish + disk drive repair being nearly impossible = I'll stick to the emulator

[Bojay1997]

Although the MSX sounds/seems cool when I look at all the game videos on Youtube/read reviews it just seems like the platform contains inferior versions of Famicom games. Some games look like flickerfests; while others look nearly pixel perfect but are slow as molasses.

Does this system have any solid titles that would warrant its acquisition if you are a true player - and not just for collection purposes?

I don't think there is all that much unique to the MSX that makes it a must have. I only own one (or actually several) because of the Laserdisc games on the Palcom and the VHD games for the JVC model. As far as the cart games, I really have never found much that is worth playing.

[Ze_ro]

I'd say stick with emulation. There are a lot of games for the MSX, and certainly stuff worth playing, but you'd be stuck trying to import them all from Japan... I've learned from my CD32 collectiong that being a slave to an overseas market is a real pain. Things take forever to ship, and you'll often pay more for shipping than you did for the item. Not to mention that trying to get answers from someone who doesn't speak much english will be difficult.

--Zero

[ccovell]

The MSX has a few slightly graphically-impressive games, and a few games with stunning audio, but my MSX experience basically boils down to headaches from jerky, jerky scrolling and colourless sprites.

[rbudrick]

There are a number of games I want to play, but I don't think any translations have been done. For example, Xanadu and Romancia, which were prequels to what America knew as Legacy of the Wizard. I have the Famicom version of Romancia too, but can't play the damn thing. Argh!

-Rob

[josekortez]

The Konami Antiques MSX collections on Playstation and Saturn (which incidentally is the Playstation volumes collected on one disc for ease of satisfaction) are an excellent way to get a taste of the MSX format.

Yeah, I have the Saturn version of Konami Antiques MSX and I have to say it's my favorite Saturn game. However, it's a much better deal than trying to track the original MSX games down individually. One problem that might turn the OP off about the compilation: no Metal Gear games.

[Yukio]

Actually, what you wrote is not very nice ... It even hints that the Nintendo Family Computer titles were not exclusive franshises after all.

Most of the MSX games are playable on MSX2/2+ systems.

The MSX/MSX2 would deserve a place on the collections. Especially if it was the last MSX2 home computer with SD card.Sure some people reported that the sound is not that great and there are still some problems but for a emulated FPGA system that was officially released it is not that bad.

About the games, it is nice to get that titles that had/has exclusive sequels or games that were popular franshising .

The Famicom only has the first part of Yie Ar Kung-Fu (too few characters). The MSX has part I and part II (http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/378). The disk version on the Game Collection Vol. I has SCC music if someone plut the SCC Snatcher Sound Cartridge ... Other cool titles on that Collection are Knightmare and Antartic Adventure.

Xevious: Fardraut Saga (http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/xevious/xevious2.htm) is considered superior to the Famicom Xevious (http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/xevious/xevious.htm). Even better on Xevious: Fardraut Saga only the box that has Japanese texts, the game is entirely in English language!!!

About Vampire Killer, the game do not have scroll but this is not a problem since the game is a original title made for MSX2.

Konami Hinotori (http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/1002) and Space Manbow (http://shmups.classicgaming.gamespy.com/reviews/spacemanbow/index.html) do use scroll.

Q*Bert (http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/739) is nice on MSX home computers.

If you like Konami games there are some nice games for MSX/MSX2 home computers.
By the way, if you think that the games are to slow ... There are turbo models available!

Princess Maker (http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/1539) was a expensive game that had been ported to most computer systems for that era except the Nintendo Family Computer line .Into a similar maner, Illusion City that run on a engine for 16-bit personal computers had ports for most Japanese systems except the Nintendo Super Famicom. Even the SEGA MEGA-CD had a port of Illusion City!!! Sure, most of the systems had +7Mhz of processing power ...

[Yukio]

I heard about Metal Gear. But is this even playable w/o English?

The Final Fantasy sounds tempting but again is for Japanese speakers.

Yes, the MSX is expensive. Most of the auctions hail from the Netherlands which means shipping is expensive as all hell. It also doesn't seem like any more 1 chip MSX units will be made.

The "less expensive" Japanese version if for use in Japan. The European release is in English, but it is one of the few games that are county locked on MSX2 computers ...

Some games have different names into different countries like Vampire Killer on Europe and Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ) on Japan. Games like the Gradius/Nemesis series are supposed to change the texts based on the configuration of the MSX machine that the game is playing.

Some Konami games are pricey , even reflecting the international inflation on all the markets and sold used at FULL price tag ...

[bombman]

Hi Yukio! I haven't seen you in a while... do you still post on gamefaqs?

Also I'd like to point out that MSX Final Fantasy was released quite some time after the Famicom version. I tried it out on blueMSX but the scrolling (or lack thereof) was awful. When I discovered that they replaced the music in the first shrine, I quit.

[Yukio]

I do not know how is the Final Fantasy for MSX2. Their reported the use of MSX-Music chip from Yamaha (the same used on Phantasy Star for SEGA Mark III). But the game lacks scroll.

Other games that I do not know how well are the Wizardry series, but there was nice topics about it on the official MSX-Magazine (the ones that also had HENTAI pictures, much like in the Disc Station from Compile). ASCII even had a Wizardry Magazine. Do not know if there are any difference between the games for Famicom and MSX2, probably a lot of Wizardry games for Japanese machines have version in English language ... But since the games are easy to find in America this does not seems much interesting, unless if you like to read Japanese Magazines.

The Dragon Quest series are just ports of the Japanese Famicom games. But there are other games that are different or not ported at all for the Nintendo Famicom system ... Enix much like other "developers/publisher" had programs to distributed "original" 'home made' software. ASCII also had this type of distribution ...Not all software houses had this sort of program, but some of the great companies without doubts had this fancy "feature".

By the way, the One Chip MSX is a FPGA turbo model of MSX2 home computer. The problem is that the ASCII Corp. only had the distribution rights on Japan (the Microsoft MSX-BIOS and MSX-BASIC are copyrighted), some persons believed that this was the problem that prevented a International version of the machine. Anyway, people reported that this model has normal 3.5Mhz mode or even a "10Mhz" turbo mode. In both modes this machine seems to be a little faster than ordinary MSX computers ...

[Yukio]

Princess Maker (http://www.generation-msx.nl/msxdb/softwareinfo/1539) was a expensive game that had been ported to most computer systems for that era except the Nintendo Family Computer line .

There was a promotional disc on some number of MSX-Magazine (the official MSX-Magazine by ASCII). Some people believe that this game (even if it is softer than most of the others advertised) could feature "mature" contend, it is about how to educate a young girl with multiple endings ...