Greetings from Import Retro!

[slownerveaction]

Hey y'all! I'm Geoff and I write the Import Retro section of Manci Games. I've got a lot of big plans for covering all the best import gaming has to offer. Of course, I want to hear what sort of things all the readers want to see and their feedback on my columns. I've got some good stuff coming in the next couple months, so keep an eye out!

[Raccoon Lad]

The Sega Master System has a TON of FANTASTIC import only titles for it! The system did quite well in Europe, and thusly, ALOT of unique games can be found there, and you don't need a converter to play them!

[Mayhem]

If you want to cover the UK NGPC stuff, give me a shout :)

[slownerveaction]

Raccoon Lad - I've already thought about covering the Euro SMS games. Ninja Gaiden is the top choice that comes to mind, but I'm sure there are a few more out there worth covering. Of course, the focus of the column is mostly on the Japanese side of things, but there'll be a lot of great Sega stuff!

Mayhem - I'll keep the offer in mind. Right now I'm concentrating on consoles (as opposed to portables) but I do want to cover the NGPC at some point (both UK and JP imports).

[BelPowerslave]

Raccoon Lad - I've already thought about covering the Euro SMS games. Ninja Gaiden is the top choice that comes to mind, but I'm sure there are a few more out there worth covering. Of course, the focus of the column is mostly on the Japanese side of things, but there'll be a lot of great Sega stuff!

Mayhem - I'll keep the offer in mind. Right now I'm concentrating on consoles (as opposed to portables) but I do want to cover the NGPC at some point (both UK and JP imports).


Yeah, Ninja Gaiden especially...man, that game is incredible. It's sad that so few even know it exists. Another good one would be Renegade, which didn't make it out in the US, as far as I know. I thought it was a really good conversion, and much better than that weird sort of conversion Taito did for the NES conversion...

Bel

[slownerveaction]

I probably wouldn't cover something like Renegade, where it's a slightly different/better port of a game readily available in the US. But I really didn't realize how many people out there would be interested in Euro SMS stuff. I'll try to work some coverage in if I can.

On a semi-related note... I got a damn good import Mega Drive game today that I definitely think you'll see in an upcoming column!

[BelPowerslave]

I probably wouldn't cover something like Renegade, where it's a slightly different/better port of a game readily available in the US. But I really didn't realize how many people out there would be interested in Euro SMS stuff. I'll try to work some coverage in if I can.

On a semi-related note... I got a damn good import Mega Drive game today that I definitely think you'll see in an upcoming column!

Alien Soldier, Rockman MegaWorld, Sailor Moon? Do tell...;)

Bel

[slownerveaction]

Alien Soldier, Rockman MegaWorld, Sailor Moon? Do tell...;)

Well the soonest I'll be able to cover it is Issue #4, so I don't want to say quite yet. But trust me, it's good.

[BelPowerslave]

Solid, sounds good. Will look forward to it.. :)

Bel

[Melf]

I'd love to see a review of Monster World IV for MD. Far too many people are unaware that such perfection exists.

[slownerveaction]

I'd love to see a review of Monster World IV for MD. Far too many people are unaware that such perfection exists.

That's DEFINITELY a game I want to cover.

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a copy of it yet though. But you hit the nail on the head -- Import Retro is about getting the word out on great games that few gamers know about.

[Melf]

Get one! You must cover this game! There are lots of review-worthy MD imports. Just stay far away from Golden Axe 3. :)

The PC-E also has a bunch of good imports that people should know about, but I'm more intrigued by the thought of Euro SMS reviews. That sounds very interesting.

[Mayhem]

Mayhem - I'll keep the offer in mind. Right now I'm concentrating on consoles (as opposed to portables) but I do want to cover the NGPC at some point (both UK and JP imports).

No problem... I'm gradually gathering my JP NGPC collection and knowledge too, only a few off a set there now. It's a great little portable that was criminally underlooked.

Anyhow, if you ever need a UK/Europe angle on the importing lark, then I'd be happy to help out :)

[BelPowerslave]

Get one! You must cover this game! There are lots of review-worthy MD imports. Just stay far away from Golden Axe 3. :)

The PC-E also has a bunch of good imports that people should know about, but I'm more intrigued by the thought of Euro SMS reviews. That sounds very interesting.

Oh Lord, another slam on GA3... :(

It kills me to hear people panning this one left and right, even moreso to hear that they didn't even know about stuff like the co-op magic spells, team moves, long and short range combos, sweeps, blocking, charge moves, auto combos, double jumps, throwing slams, wall attacks, the special moves, etc...

Of course....I'm sure you knew about *all of that* before making your decision to not like GA 3, right? ;)

Bel

[slownerveaction]

Get one! You must cover this game! There are lots of review-worthy MD imports. Just stay far away from Golden Axe 3. :)

The PC-E also has a bunch of good imports that people should know about, but I'm more intrigued by the thought of Euro SMS reviews. That sounds very interesting.

I have to agree with Bel on GA3. Despite its mediocre graphics, it's a solid beat'em'up. I'm still not letting Sega off the hook for never giving us a home port of Revenge of Death Adder though...

Anyway, rest assured that I will cover Monster World IV at some point. It's just that I have very little in the way of budget right now, and sooo many games on my list to cover (over 200 and there are many more to add). At the moment I'm still working through some personal favorites (like Umihara Kawase). I'm also trying to cover a variety of platforms (SFC, MD, PCE, Saturn, etc...) to keep things as fresh as possible.

BTW, I am covering a PCE game in issue #2. It certainly won't be the last.


No problem... I'm gradually gathering my JP NGPC collection and knowledge too, only a few off a set there now. It's a great little portable that was criminally underlooked.

Anyhow, if you ever need a UK/Europe angle on the importing lark, then I'd be happy to help out

I can think of a few JP NGPC imports I want to cover (Ganbare Neo Poke Kun has intrigued for a while). A lot of the others look like they're language intensive (dating sims and whatnot).

As far UK/Euro stuff... I am looking for a reliable source of Euro SMS games. At the moment, the only place I know where to find them is eBay.

[Mayhem]

Euro SMS are tricky little buggers to find in the wild or in shops here. eBay will be your best bet, fortunately most of them don't go for that much either...

[Melf]

Oh Lord, another slam on GA3... :(

It kills me to hear people panning this one left and right, even moreso to hear that they didn't even know about stuff like the co-op magic spells, team moves, long and short range combos, sweeps, blocking, charge moves, auto combos, double jumps, throwing slams, wall attacks, the special moves, etc...

Of course....I'm sure you knew about *all of that* before making your decision to not like GA 3, right? ;)

Bel

Yes I did. It doesn't detract from the reality that the game is mediocre and easily the worst in the series. Piss-poor graphics, tinny sound and music, and middle-of-the-road gameplay override most of what you mentioned. I'd play the original over it any day of the week. There's a reason it didn't make it stateside.

I do agree that RoDA needs to come home in one form or another.

[slownerveaction]

Euro SMS are tricky little buggers to find in the wild or in shops here. eBay will be your best bet, fortunately most of them don't go for that much either...

Yeah, that's where I'm looking right now, and I'm bidding on a couple.

I noticed most UK eBay users charge extra for PayPal, which no US eBay user would dare do. Odd.

[BelPowerslave]

Euro SMS are tricky little buggers to find in the wild or in shops here. eBay will be your best bet, fortunately most of them don't go for that much either...

Yeah, that's where I'm looking right now, and I'm bidding on a couple.

I noticed most UK eBay users charge extra for PayPal, which no US eBay user would dare do. Odd.

I've seen a few US auctioneers do it...they'll sit there and put something like "Paypal users add 15% to cover fees". Of course...these people rarely close an auction with anyone actually bidding...;)

Bel

[slownerveaction]

I've seen a few US auctioneers do it...they'll sit there and put something like "Paypal users add 15% to cover fees". Of course...these people rarely close an auction with anyone actually bidding...;)

Bel

Yeah, but it seems to be the norm with UK sellers -- even the big power seller types do it. Well, the Euro SMS games I got were pretty cheap, so it's no big deal. Now if Japanese sellers did that... that would be another story! LOL

[Raccoon Lad]

On the vein of non-US Sega games, I've been importing a few European Megadrive games, and so-far, I haven't had any problem playing them on my Genesis without any adapters.

I've got Super Fantasy Zone, and Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair so far. Nice games to have if you're a fan of either series, though WBIII:ML isn't the top notch adventure/platformer you'd expect from the wonderboy series (it's like a cross between WB1 + WB2 with a little bit of SHMUP thrown in). Fantasy Zone, on the other hand is a game sure to please fans of the series.

[slownerveaction]

On the vein of non-US Sega games, I've been importing a few European Megadrive games, and so-far, I haven't had any problem playing them on my Genesis without any adapters.

Yeah, most import Megadrive games (JP or Euro) don't have any lockout protection. With Japanese carts, you need something to get around the slightly different shape -- I use a Game Genie. There are quite a few later imports with some form of lockout in place however. Once again... you can use a Game Genie with game-specific codes to work around that. Overall, it's one of the easiest systems to import for. Only easier one is the Super Famicom, where taking two tabs out of a regular SNES does the trick.

[sheath013]

Hey y'all! I'm Geoff and I write the Import Retro section of Manci Games. I've got a lot of big plans for covering all the best import gaming has to offer. Of course, I want to hear what sort of things all the readers want to see and their feedback on my columns. I've got some good stuff coming in the next couple months, so keep an eye out!


I'd think that Bare Knuckle 3, which saw significant changes in the US version of SOR3, would be a good review item. Also, there are tons of Euro only SMS games like Shadow Dancer and Ninja Gaiden (mentioned above). Also, there're some Game Gear games like Phantasy Star Gaiden which were Japan only that might be interesting to hear about, or, better yet, have a translation posted. :hmm:

Last Battle was Fist of the North Star and saw significant censorship in the US release, so much so that virtually nobody knows that it's supposed to be FOTNS. Maybe a review series of the SMS FOTNS, Black Belt in the US, and Genesis FOTNS, and differences between their US and Japanese counterparts might make a good article.

Lastly, the Saturn, rest its soul, had plenty of RPGs that were never converted to the PS, and thus never translated to English, that could really use reviews and translations. Shining Force 3 Scenario 2+3 come to mind first. I know that translations are above and beyond the usual game mag bit, but if you're looking for an edge, that'd be it.

[dmhawkmoon]

Lastly, the Saturn, rest its soul, had plenty of RPGs that were never converted to the PS, and thus never translated to English, that could really use reviews and translations. Shining Force 3 Scenario 2+3 come to mind first. I know that translations are above and beyond the usual game mag bit, but if you're looking for an edge, that'd be it.

There used to be translations on the web for those games, at least partially. The best he could really do with SF3 would be to put a summary of the plot anyway with the space he has.. Not to mention that I'm not sure it'd be legal to print out the text of a game... But i'd recommend against SF3 anyway. I played them all a long time ago and it took me like a whole summer to get through them completely. Really long games with a little too many characters to level up. Especially at the end of scenario 3 where you get to control all.. like.. 70 of the guys through the series. And you have to actually level most of them.

[sniperCCJVQ]

You can talk about NES games that was released only in Europe/Australia.

[sheath013]

Lastly, the Saturn, rest its soul, had plenty of RPGs that were never converted to the PS, and thus never translated to English, that could really use reviews and translations. Shining Force 3 Scenario 2+3 come to mind first. I know that translations are above and beyond the usual game mag bit, but if you're looking for an edge, that'd be it.

There used to be translations on the web for those games, at least partially. The best he could really do with SF3 would be to put a summary of the plot anyway with the space he has.. Not to mention that I'm not sure it'd be legal to print out the text of a game... But i'd recommend against SF3 anyway. I played them all a long time ago and it took me like a whole summer to get through them completely. Really long games with a little too many characters to level up. Especially at the end of scenario 3 where you get to control all.. like.. 70 of the guys through the series. And you have to actually level most of them.

SF3 was being worked on, but I never saw anything completed, and it's since been taken down. Also, I wouldn't expect that he'd be able to put the whole translation into one mag, but maybe a seperate thing like a strategy guide, or maybe just put the translation online. Again, this is supposing that somebody out there is able to translate it, I've worked on it from time to time, and it takes me *way* too long for it to ever be completed. :roll:

Lastly, I've got Scenario 1 in the US version, and Scenario 2 import, and I really enjoy both, I haven't had a problem leveling up. The trick with SF games has always been get a strong 1st party, and let the weaklings stand behind them and pick people off until they get strong too. I'd just really like to know how the story ends.

[slownerveaction]

I'd think that Bare Knuckle 3, which saw significant changes in the US version of SOR3, would be a good review item. Also, there are tons of Euro only SMS games like Shadow Dancer and Ninja Gaiden (mentioned above). Also, there're some Game Gear games like Phantasy Star Gaiden which were Japan only that might be interesting to hear about, or, better yet, have a translation posted. :hmm:

Last Battle was Fist of the North Star and saw significant censorship in the US release, so much so that virtually nobody knows that it's supposed to be FOTNS. Maybe a review series of the SMS FOTNS, Black Belt in the US, and Genesis FOTNS, and differences between their US and Japanese counterparts might make a good article.

Lastly, the Saturn, rest its soul, had plenty of RPGs that were never converted to the PS, and thus never translated to English, that could really use reviews and translations. Shining Force 3 Scenario 2+3 come to mind first. I know that translations are above and beyond the usual game mag bit, but if you're looking for an edge, that'd be it.

You bring up a few good points:

1) Bare Knuckle 3 and the various edited FotN games are just a few examples of games that were changed heavily when they were brought to America. That's certainly a subject worth covering -- probably in a completely separate feature. I've already been thinking about it for a while, actually. I'll see what I can do about making something like that happen.

2) You're not the first person to mention Euro SMS games. :) I think I'll do something like that soon. It's really a matter of working it into my schedule.

3) I'm far from fluent in Japanese; I know just enough to get by. So I really couldn't do translations even if I wanted to. Besides that, even just a translation guide for the basics of a game like the JP-only Shining Force 3 scenarios would take up way too much space. Now, basic menu translations might be a possibility as an addendum to reviews of import games with some language barrier. But even then, that's at least another page, and I don't know if there'll be space for that on a regular basis.

You'll notice in the coming months that the imports I cover generally have a low language barrier, and I do think that's the best approach to take to import coverage. I've trudged through some language heavy RPG imports (I'm sure I'm not the only one), but there are soooo many great imports that will of interest to a wider audience who don't want to deal with piles of kanji and kana. Which isn't to say I'll NEVER cover language-heavy imports; there are some great ones out there that deserve coverage. But I really want import coverage to be something that'll appeal to a wide audience -- even gamers that don't normally import or hell, even Manci readers whose main interest is pre-84 gaming era when imports weren't an issue. Language-heavy imports like RPGs have more of a marginal appeal.

(It's also really tough to review a story-heavy game when you can't understand the story! LOL)

[HamDancer]

Man I would love to see some reviews for games on the PC-FX and Supergrafx. I've always been curious about those two consoles. There are some great Neo Geo Cd imports (Crossed Swords 2, Chotetsu Bri'kinger and
Samurai Shodown RPG) that beg to be reviewed. I think the SS RPG even made it to the Playstation.

[dmhawkmoon]

Lastly, I've got Scenario 1 in the US version, and Scenario 2 import, and I really enjoy both, I haven't had a problem leveling up. The trick with SF games has always been get a strong 1st party, and let the weaklings stand behind them and pick people off until they get strong too. I'd just really like to know how the story ends.

You would see what I mean if you got to the end of scenario 3...

[BelPowerslave]

Man I would love to see some reviews for games on the PC-FX and Supergrafx. I've always been curious about those two consoles. There are some great Neo Geo Cd imports (Crossed Swords 2, Chotetsu Bri'kinger and
Samurai Shodown RPG) that beg to be reviewed. I think the SS RPG even made it to the Playstation.

SS RPG aslo made it to the Saturn, but I hear that all three have just a horrid time with the loads... :(

As for the Neo CD stuff, you're right. CS2 is very good...and surprisingly, if you have an English Neo CD, it even translates...which is just beyond-hip of SNK to have done. Ironclad(Brikinger) is damn good as well, I actually beat it, finally, the other day. Love the Darius-style paths you can take...

Bel

[slownerveaction]

Man I would love to see some reviews for games on the PC-FX and Supergrafx. I've always been curious about those two consoles. There are some great Neo Geo Cd imports (Crossed Swords 2, Chotetsu Bri'kinger and
Samurai Shodown RPG) that beg to be reviewed. I think the SS RPG even made it to the Playstation.

I've been thinking about PC-FX and Supergrafx stuff. Most of the PC-FX games I'm interested in are unfortunately rare and expensive. Chip-chan Kick and Zeroigar might be worth the price though.

[HamDancer]

Yeah! I would love to know if Super God Trooper Zeroigar is worth the price of admission. I've also heard that Battle Heat and Kishin Doji Zenki: Vajura Fight were great games.

[slownerveaction]

Yeah! I would love to know if Super God Trooper Zeroigar is worth the price of admission. I've also heard that Battle Heat and Kishin Doji Zenki: Vajura Fight were great games.

Most of Battle Heat's good rep seems to stem from GameFan's gushing review from when the game was new. I've heard from several other people that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. On the other hand, the Tengai Makyou game in the same style is supposed to be significantly better.

I don't much about Zenki other than that it's a sidescroller based on the anime. There are a couple Zenki games on the Super Famicom too. One is in the same style as the PC-FX, but the others are a bit different.

I'd really like do some PC-FX coverage, and I'm glad to see interest in it. So I'll see what I can do.

On another note, I just wanted to see I'm really amazed by how many people have left feedback for me in this import topic. I'm gratified and thankful. I can't wait to provide you all with more import coverage in the future! :)

[HamDancer]

On another note, I just wanted to see I'm really amazed by how many people have left feedback for me in this import topic. I'm gratified and thankful. I can't wait to provide you all with more import coverage in the future! :)
Thanks for asking! :D