What is your most RECENT import? Post often!

[Sailorneorune]

In the mail from ebay seller toysonlinehk (only took 9 days too, woot):

Sailor Moon S Jougai Rantou (the fighting game) - everything but the promo Carddass card

Slayers Royal (no spine card, otherwise complete) - been on a Slayers kick lately, but no walkthrough exists... looks like I'm bullshitting my way through this one, folks.

[KJN]

Delta Warp for the NGPC arrived yesterday courtesy of Play Asia. Looks like quite a fun little puzzler. And Slitherlink also arrived.
Delta Warp is a fun but rather overlooked NGPC game, some killer time limits though. Slitherlink is great, been getting the games in Hudson's Nikoli (http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles) based puzzle series that doesn't require english to play (like the crosswords), got these a while ago:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/neopokekun/various/puzzleseriesvol101112.jpg

Puzzle Series vol10: Hitori (http://www.hudson.co.jp/puzzle/hitori)
Puzzle Series vol11: Nurikabe (http://www.hudson.co.jp/puzzle/nurikabe)
Puzzle Series vol12: Akari (http://www.hudson.co.jp/puzzle/akari)

Of these three I like Akari the best, really fast to play with the stylus. Each one also has playable demos of the other two.

[Tron 2.0]

In the mail from ebay seller toysonlinehk (only took 9 days too, woot):

I finally gave that seller a try since he's recomended here so much here.

The seller has a good selection in fds stuff so i thought why not.

I'd just got Nazo No Murasamejyou for my FDS.

The game is like zelda but with a samurai theme instead.

Btw even youtube has a video of it in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ4NUa-vydI

[Drag0nsfyre]

SNES/SFC
Ganbare Goemon 2 (cart only)
Saturn
Tokimeki Memorial Pazurudama

[RPG_Fanatic]

Just bought Beyond The Beyond (PSone)
I've played through it so many times i want to try and play through the Japanese one.

[Julio III]

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2

and because i didn't have anything to play it on since my old DS (as well as my Famicom edition GB Micro) got stolen a couple of months ago I purchased a shiny new Enamel Navy DSlite

[8Ways2Tuesday]

The Kiddy Grade 2 dvd teaser, and the Shining Tears Training Guide book. ^_^

[skaar]

I finally broke down and bought myself a copy of Pepsiman.

PEPSI FOR TV GAME. Yeah. ;)

[GaijinPunch]

How is this? I know it's ironic that it's featured at gamengai, but geelw is the one that added that. I've never played the game.

[RadiantSvgun]

After being broke for awhile, I finally got a normal copy of Star Soldier for the ps2. $5.01 and it isnt the hudson the best copy.

[goemon]

How is this? I know it's ironic that it's featured at gamengai, but geelw is the one that added that. I've never played the game.

You're talking about Pepsiman, right? It's short, hillarious, frustrating, and fun. It's not an absolute favorite of mine, but it's probably in my top 25 or so. My biggest complaint is that stuff just blindsides you with little or no warning sometimes, like R-Type Delta.

[Sailorneorune]

In the mail today:

Pulseman - supposedly new, but at least complete... do new Megadrive games have shrinkwrap normally?

...on second thought, who gives a shit? I'm PLAYING IT! :-D


/was $60 ^^; classic Sega is my weakness

[Tron 2.0]

Famicom
Sweet Home

Just got this from JGS yesterday and it's cib too.

Sure it would have been cheaper to fire up a emulator and down load the patch to play it in english,but i wanted to play the game... on it's original hardware.

Still i'll have to guess what the menus do beside useing a walk through.

[GameSlaveGaz]

I'm fairly new to buying imports. I was holding off for awhile because I have to be conservative in my game purchases and paying shipping and handling is not one of my favorite hobbies. But I recently paid off $500 worth of my credit card and I was browsing on japangamestock.com. I totally love the Shin Chan show and what with the hype over the return of the show last month to Adult Swim, when I found the Shin Chan Famicom game for $6 I had to get it. I also got a Sailor Moon GameBoy game for $10 because I'll always be a fan of Sailor Moon. These aren't my first import games, but they're the most recent and the first I've bought in a few years. My first was Pokémon Green that I got off eBay for I think $15. Then I found Biohazard: Code Veronica for DreamCast at a used CD store in Somerville, MA for $18 that my grandmother paid for. And then I got a Japanese Ranma 1/2 for the Super Famicom at a used video game store in Harvard Square for $15. The imports I'm planning on buying in the future are games that were only released outside of the US and games that I really want, since I have to conserve money and can't yet buy games just for the sake of collecting. So, now that the import bug has bitten me again, and I'm back on Digital Press for the first time in months, I'll probably be posting more finds here later

[GaijinPunch]

Pulseman - supposedly new, but at least complete... do new Megadrive games have shrinkwrap normally?

Nope. Never, ever. Games sold as "new in shrinkwrap" have been wrapped outside the original factory.

[Brisco]

Picked up Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, Death Note DS, Princess Crown for PSP, & DS Eye Training. My last purchases for a while unfortunately.

[UndeadKing]

Garouden Breakblow Fist or Twist (Ps2) - Was a big fan of the first. Really enjoying the sequel.

[djsquarewave]

Nope. Never, ever. Games sold as "new in shrinkwrap" have been wrapped outside the original factory.
It should be noted that some games were sealed with small "SEGA" stickers holding the case shut. Not many, though.

In the mail from eBay seller hit-japan:

PS1:
3x3 Eyes: Kyuusei Koushu
Beat Planet Music
Blue Breaker Burst: Egao no Ashita ni
Dead or Alive
Depth
Evergreen Avenue
Hakaiou: King of Crusher
Philosoma
SD Gundam Over Galaxian

PCE:
Gomola Speed
Kato-chan Ken-chan

Dreamcast:
Logic Battle Daisessen

King of Crusher is quite possibly one of the most awesomely fucked up games I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

[Sailorneorune]

Thanks, GaijinPunch!

You learn something new every day.

(though Pulseman connected to a Game Genie stuffed inside a Nomad defeats the purpose of a sleek portable setup... it's worth it... VOLTECCER! :-D)

[Windy Miller]

PikuPiku Toku To E Ninaru 3-Tsu No Puzzle arrived on Monday.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2134/pikupikutokutoeninaru3tey3.jpg

[morrodox]

Radirgy PreciouS for PS2, just ordered it a few hours ago. Japanese version of what was supposed to be "Radio Allergy" for GameCube, but O-3 cancelled it at the last minute. Got it at YesAsia for $47 shipped. (Google "YesAsia coupons" to find a $5 discount code.) It's a vertical 2D shooter in the vein of Chaos Field and Ikaruga, with wacky/cute graphics.

[Kyle15]

I just got this in the mail from MoneyMochi Import Games on eBay.
It was A PENNY! ($7.46 with s+h)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i168/kyle152006/100_1005.jpg

[mrmeatball]

Here's what I picked up over the last two days here in Osaka.

Nipponbashi's Super Potato:
Intelligent Cube - 50 Yen!
Donkey Kong Country 3 - 500 Yen(new, have it for snes already, but somehow I couldn't pass on it)

Nipponbashi's A-Too:
Marvel vs Capcom 2 - 1500Y

Super Potato near Sumiyoshi:
Front Mission, Super Street Fighter, Secret of Mana, Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (complete), Bleach DS 2nd Guide book (not pictured).

Oh, saw the DS Game & Watch collection on sale at Super Potato today along with Tingle's Balloon Fight, which I've seen everywhere at these second hand stores, Super Potato, Big Tiger, Retro TV Game Revival, even Sofmap's used section had copies.

[mrmeatball]

Sorry for the double post, I don't know how to delete something already posted but the price for G&W collection wasn't a fluke, don't be paying too much for this and Tingle's BF. (also attached image of Tingle's BF)

[Hwj_Chim]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q197/hwj_chim/snkimport.jpg
got this in the mail today.

[Drag0nsfyre]

:D
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/drag0nsfyre/J-PS2b.jpg

Japanese PS2 arrived!!! :D Actually It arrived on Tues but it did not show up before I had to leave for work :( so I had to wait till today when I was off so I could receive it.
It arrived damn fast! @_@ I placed my order on Fri and It was here by Tues. I had to watch the budget for the week when I went to order the PS2 but I wanted to add a game so I browsed the cheaper games and found Battle Gear 3 for $20 did a little research and watched some vids on YouTube and everyone had good things to say about it so I added that to my basket.
Anyhow, I received...
Japanese Ceramic White PS2
Battle Gear 3 (new)
along with these extra freebies....
$5 off coupon on my next purchase of $50 (sweet!)
Naruto 4 promo thingy
pop rocks
Soldner-X promo sticker.

This was my first actual international import game purchase experience and first time with Play Asia (It won't be the last) fantastic experience. :)

Now the hunt is on for all the other great PS2 import titles.

I also want to thank TurboGenesis and RadiantSvgun for answering the import PS2 Q's I had :)

[8Ways2Tuesday]

Last things I got were a DS Kanji dictionary (also very good for practicing stroke order and even basic kana) that's obviously for someone in Japan to find English words, but it works great in reverse -- and a Mao gashapon from Shining Tears (wanted Ryuna, but they're random, of course).

[Iron Draggon]

I just bought Super Uno for the SFC... the very first Uno video game ever made... now I just need to buy Uno 52 GBA and Uno Free Fall GBA, and I'll have every Uno video game ever made, except Uno 360 and the Uno DS games... I already have Uno DX for the Saturn, Uno GBC, and Uno & Skip-Bo GBA... and I will get the Uno DS games as soon as I finally get a DS...but I really wish MS would release Uno 360 for the PC... I'd be happy to download it, if they would see fit to do a PC port, but I don't collect for the 360...

anyhow, here's my latest ebay purchase:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=230137742268&rd=1&rd=1

I can hardly wait to see how this one compares to Uno DX on Saturn... I love that one... you play with Anime opponents, and it looks like that's what you do in this one as well... so I'm dying to see what Super Uno SFC looks like...

and of course now I'm dying to get Uno 52 GBA and Uno Free Fall GBA too... but I will have them both by the time Super Uno SFC arrives, or very shortly thereafter... I'm just waiting to have enough to order them on Amazon now...

yes, I'm experiencing Uno mania now... it started out with GBA mania, but then Uno fever took over, and it became Uno mania... that's how I finally found Super Uno SFC... I had neglected to continue searching for it, as I knew that I would likely never find a new copy, and none of the used copies that I found were even complete, much less mint, but I'm glad I finally found an acceptable copy to add to my collection... it looks like this copy will do just fine... at least I'll finally get to compare it to Uno DX on Saturn now...

[G-Boobie]

Its pretty excellent. (Playing Odin Sphere as well. Just as good).:D

Also imported Symphony of the Night for Sega Saturn as well, mostly for Castlevania fanboy collection completion reasons.

Now, since my japanese Saturn is dead, I need to acquire either another one or a modded US version. Anyone out there help me with that?

G-Boobie, out.

[Hwj_Chim]

Just get one of these and a US saturn and you will be set

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-k8-49-en-70-1b2.html

[G-Boobie]

Excellent, thank you!

[djsquarewave]

Recently from Play-Asia:

NDS Devilish (actually placed this order before this game out stateside...by like two days)
NDS Doki Doki Majo Shinpan (purely as a curio, I swear)
GCN Dragon Drive (one of those Treasure-made games you never hear about)

Obviously my concern here was not with playability. ;) Dragon Drive might be interesting on 2-player, at least...

[8Ways2Tuesday]

Tales of Fandom v. 2 arrived today. ^_^

Came with a started deck of TCG cards and a DVD which I should attempt to watch as soon as possible.

[Azraelscross]

White PSP
Parodius Portable

got some pop rocks with it too.

[Drag0nsfyre]

Earlier this week.
Shinobido Imashime (PS2)
and today
Simple 2000 vol. 80 Oneechanpuru (PS2)
menus and alot of other parts are in english which is pretty cool :D

[Windy Miller]

I finally bought...

http://i18.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/9e/57/95ec_2.JPG

...which arrived today.

[icbrkr]

After wanting one for years (and a long story of trying to get it from UPS once it was ordered), it's here!

http://www.particles.org/gc/gc1.jpg
http://www.particles.org/gc/gc2.jpg
http://www.particles.org/gc/gc3.jpg

Spicy goodness .. and a spicy GBA adapter is on order. The only bad thing is that it's the model without the digital out.. boo! But I'll get over it.

[mrmeatball]

Well two days left in Japan. Here's what I ended up getting (video game related + the Giving Tree) over the past month here:

Sorry it turned out so blurry.

[Captain Wrong]

Well, let's see:

all JPN PS2

Homara, Psyvarar, Sonic Wings Limited, Space Invaders Anniversary (with controller), Tokyo Bus Annai

DS:

Lode Runner

[Drag0nsfyre]

PS2
Simple 2000 #81 Chikyuu Boueigun 2 (aka: Earth Defence Force 2)
Homura

[Captain Wrong]

OK, the carnage from today:

PSX Gunner's Heaven, Disney DDR, JogCon

PS2: Trizeal, XII Stag, Switch, Treasure Box

Soundtracks: That's Atari Music 1&2, Space Invaders Anniversary, Shooting Game Sound Omnibus 1&2

Probably forgetting something.

Pictures on Flickr, if you care: http://www.flickr.com/photos/captainwrong/

[ssjlance]

Well, my most recent import is kind of iffy. My most recent import purchase was Eternal Arcadia (AKA Skies of Arcadia) for $3 at a flea market, although my most recently received import was Gunstar Heroes for Game Gear. I bought it two weeks ago and it finally arrived yesterday.

[importaku]

http://img233.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/4/1/6/kitachan77777-img451x600-11854834011.jpg
http://img233.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/4/1/6/kitachan77777-img451x600-11854834132.jpg

Ahh its been a long time since i bought a pokemon centre L.E

Did i really need another ds lite, not really lol.
Could i have resisted longer, probably not.
Will i purchase another if it ever comes out in green, you bet your ass i would :lol:

Also bought (expensive month it looks like)

http://img247.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/4/3/7/choice252-img600x450-1185477668dscf0247.jpg

http://f08batchimg.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/8/1/3/9/alaan2-imgbatch_1184907680/330x300-2007071400869.jpg

http://img247.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/8/5/3/bfxdf878-img600x450-11854376770722__40_.jpg

[Kyle15]

Those are some sweet buys!
Are you rich or something?!?!?

[importaku]

LOL i wish, it was just pay day (^_^) plus my birthday is coming up so i thought id treat myself.

[Tron 2.0]

Famicom
Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti:Took a while get it cib but it was worth it !

PCE
Bomberman 93:Since i wanted it cheap i went with the jpn version. Since i feel the u.s version go's, for too much these days.

[Windy Miller]

Arrived today. :)

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7033/p8030002mw1.jpg

[Kyle15]

LOL i wish, it was just pay day (^_^) plus my birthday is coming up so i thought id treat myself.

Well then, I guess I'll start having to treat myself every pay day too. :D
(when I get a job, that is)

[Drag0nsfyre]

SNES/SFC
Jaki Crush (finally got a hold of a copy :) (cart only)
Battle Zeque Den (complete)
Saturn
Shin Shinobi Den
Ps1
Klonoa: door to Phantomile
Ps2
The Shooting: Shienryu

Windy, How is the DS Taiko game? I've been curious to check that out. (I'd also like to get the PS2 version as well.)

[The 1 2 P]

Coca Cola Kid for the Game Gear. I don't know why my used game store was selling it but I figured why not. And it's actually quite fun. Too bad it never got released here but it's very easy to follow along without a knowledge of kanji.

[josekortez]

I finally got my copy of Zooo in the mail from Play-Asia (basically Zoo Keeper) for the import PS2.

[Apollo]

My last import was Jump! Ultimate Stars for the DS.

I dunno, I sort of regret it. Nothing too amazing...

[Damaramu]

I just won a copy of Prikura Daisakusen off Evilbay for $29 (not including s/h). I'm quite pleased as I've been wanting this game for a while and could never get it working in MAME.

All the other copies I saw were starting at about $49 and went up from there! I'm not sure if the seller new what he had there.... :bareass:

[Tron 2.0]

Famicom
Akumajou Special Kid Dracula
Star Soldier
MetaFight:aka blaster master that one is coming soon in the mail.
All these games are cib too.

[Family Computer]

I recently picked up the following Japanese games..

GBA:

Hajime No Ippo [Treasure 2-D Boxing Game]
Mother 3 [Finally copped this]


Nintendo DS:

Jump Ultimate Stars [Sequel to Jump Super Stars]
Touch! Bomberman Land 2: Star Bomber's Miracle World


I'm liking Hajime no Ippo & Jump Ultimate Stars. The online multiplayer on Bomberman Land 2 is good, but I don't like the single player too much. Haven't gotten a chance to play Mother 3 yet and won't until I beat Mother 2.

[smork]

I recently picked up the following Japanese games..

GBA:

Hajime No Ippo [Treasure 2-D Boxing Game]
Mother 3 [Finally copped this]


Nintendo DS:

Jump Ultimate Stars [Sequel to Jump Super Stars]
Touch! Bomberman Land 2: Star Bomber's Miracle World


I'm liking Hajime no Ippo & Jump Ultimate Stars. The online multiplayer on Bomberman Land 2 is good, but I don't like the single player too much. Haven't gotten a chance to play Mother 3 yet and won't until I beat Mother 2.

Aren't you in Japan? Don't think those qualify as imports for you :) I never post my purchases in this thread since all mine are imports as well. :)

[Family Computer]

yeah smork I feel a bit weird about it, but I got chewed out by one of those "POST IN THE HUGE RANDOM THREAD TO KEEP DOWN CLUTTER" posts when I tried to create a new topic about new Famicom games

[smork]

yeah smork I feel a bit weird about it, but I got chewed out by one of those "POST IN THE HUGE RANDOM THREAD TO KEEP DOWN CLUTTER" posts when I tried to create a new topic about new Famicom games

Ah. I've always thought we needed more posts in Import-Mania!, not less!

[fahlim003]

I finally got Street Fighter Zero: Fighters Generation for PS2. It's a shame too since it's gone up in price over the summer.

[Tron 2.0]

Famicom
Ninja Ryukenden cib:Just won it on ebay can't wait to play it again too.

Famicom Disk System
Castlevania:Interesting on the fds version you can put,your name in and save the last stage you played.

[Chuplayer]

After a long import hiatus, I got Wangan Midnight for the PS3.

http://www.ncsx.com/2007/072307/wangan_midnight.htm

After a little research on various parts of the intarwebs, this game is fun! I got stuck at a spot, but then I learned a little bit more about the card system. I don't totally understand it because it's mostly in Japanese, but I can be competitive!

Damn, the last import I got was KOF2002 for the Dreamcast. That was over four years ago! It's good to get back into imports.

[oceanfr]

Goemon shin sedai for the ps1 and Boy Kanipan

[Spartacus]

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/2301/4importarc5.th.jpg (http://img67.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4importarc5.jpg)

Here's a few imports I've pickup recently and had a chance to spend a little time with.

Acid - ISCO/Taki 1999 PlayStation NTSC-J
This a very unusual techno puzzle style game that has you tasked with defending a Tron like cybernetic world by destroying targets using a fixed placed futuristic cannon. You are placed in an area full of stacked cubes that seems to hang in the middle of black space. Blue colored cubes will detonate your shot on contact, but black cubes will cause your shot to ricochet. Since the game quickly progresses past easy line of sight shooting to around the corner shots, the black cubed walls can be used cautiously like the bumpers of a pool table. I say cautiously, because any ricocheting shot that careens back at you and hits your cannon immediately ends your game. There are a limited number of shots you can fire to accomplish your objectives and you are awarded points in the game based on the "flair" was involved in destroying the targets.
The cannon can be swiveled in any direction including up and down and like any good artillery piece, the movements are assigned numerical values so that you can make incremental adjustments and find your range. You can control the trajectory and velocity of your shot using a sliding power-band. The power-band moves up and down until you set it by tapping a button. That means you have to time the button push precisely on the power-band to accurately repeat each shot. There is also a second power-band to put "English" on your shot that will make your shot curve to the left or to the right to varying degree. Like the first power-band, it requires you to time your button push precisely on the band to accurately repeat the amount curving your shot will take.
Between the ricochets, velocity, "English" and repeating your power-band settings so that you can accurately dial in the distance and windage to your target - you'll have your hands full. But they also let you make some incredible shots and hit targets that seem improbable, if not nearly impossible!
Before you take any shot, you can scan over the playing field in a top down view to identify targets out of your line of sight and also to scope out attack methods that you think might work.
There are two types of ammunition for your cannon. The first is a blue plasma ball that requires a direct hit and earns you more points. The second is a red plasma ball called shot that covers a broader area when it detonates. Both types leave a trail behind them when fired that allows you to watch their flight paths and gage needed adjustments.
The single player game is plenty challenging and the number of targets and the difficulty of the shots increase as you progress thru the game. You'll also start seeing cubes that move back and forth, opening and closing shot possibilities. I haven't gotten that far in the game yet, but the instruction manual shows a level in which your targets are located on a moving gigantic arachnid looking thing! You can save your progress in the game on a memory card.
There's also a two player VS mode that let's you pick one of several different levels, assigns colors to each opponents cannon and you take turns trying to eliminate each other's cannon. In the two-player mode, you might have several cannon that belong to you on the playing field and you can switch back and forth between them when it's your turn to take a shot. Again, like in the single player game, before you take your shot you can scan over the playing field to determine your best shots, angles of attacks and come up with a sound strategy - like first eliminating any of your opponents cannon that might have easy shots at your cannons.

Here's some pics of the game, courtesy of c-games.com ...
http://c-games.info/games,002,1299.html

GAMEPLAY: 8
GRAPHICS: 8
SOUND: 8
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 10
OVERALL: 8



Lone Soldier - Virgin Interactive 1996 PlayStation NTSC-J/PAL
This is a 3rd person parody shooter with a bit of an arcade feel to the way it looks and plays. I really felt like I should be droppings quarters in and I would have dropped quite a few because I was laughing my ass off the whole time I played thru it.
The story told thru cutscenes is about our hero, simply called the Lone Soldier, being tasked with finding and eliminating some bad guys who have hijacked an experimental nuclear missile. The trail will lead him thru a jungle stage, a mountain stage, a city urban warfare stage and culminates with him on an alien spaceship who's technology has clearly advanced far beyond any need of a nuclear device. It makes no sense what-so-ever and it's not supposed to as it's a silly tongue-in-check parody.
Our Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired beef cake hero, the Lone Soldier sports a crew cut, fatigues and an olive drab wife beater t-shirt. He speaks with a slow Ahhnold drawl and will articulate the name of each weapon or item he picks up. Lone Soldier takes a knee and sadly says "You got me!" when killed. Beyond that, he strictly sticks to his role as the strong silent type. I might add that Lone Soldier is afraid of water and won't go in it even though he can walk into flames and fire hurts him!
Lone Soldier can move and aim in 4 directions, not eight, so there's no diagonal aspect to his shooting style. His target reticule turns red when pointing at enemies that are in range. He starts out with an Uzi sub-machinegun with unlimited ammo and 15 grenades that he can only toss while holding the Uzi. He's so muscle bound his grenade toss usually only travels about 3-4 feet and they do hurt him if he's too near when they go off! Weakling enemy soldiers toss grenades 15-20 feet and much farther than that if they are up in a guard tower! Fortunately, they seem so eager to toss grenades at Lone Soldier that they will often carpet bomb each other in the process! LOL
They enemies have their own vocabularies. Soldiers cry Uhhahhh when shot. Ninja's scream Neeho! when they toss shuriken's. The natives excitedly shout Umbawunga, Umbawunga, Umbawunga as they throw spears and shoot blowguns. Soldiers who handle attack dogs will yell Get Him Boy! when they sic the dog on the Lone Soldier and the dog barks and growls as it tries to tear Lone Soldier a new one. Kill the handler and the dog will whimper and run away. The other cast of characters include mutants, 3 armed freaks, zombies, space aliens, robots, mecha, and molotov tossing gang members from the hood. The boss characters for each stage, looking like motley rejects from the "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" TV show, deliver their own antagonistic one liners.
The game covers all the bases and includes exploding fuel drums and crates that the enemies always seem to be crouching behind or lolly-gagging around. You'll see gun turrets, trucks, tanks, half-tracks, helicopters, river boat gunships, Easter Island monoliths spewing flames and plasma and landmines that are "buried" above ground in plain view! LOL
There are four themed stages to the game, each divided into four levels. Lone Soldier has lifebar and 2 extra lives to last him the entire game, but his life bar is refilled each time he completes a level and he's also restocked with 15 fresh grenades. Completing a stage earns him a an extra life, an opportunity to save his progress to a memory card, but he also losses all the pickup items acquired on the previous stage. Each level has a countdown timer displayed in the lower right corner, if you exceed the time limit, you'll have to re-do the level with a replenished health bar and supply of grenades. You will also be required to re-do a level if his kill count dips below %70.
Pickup items include invincibility, medi-packs, extra lives, bazooka, flame thrower, M-60 machinegun, spare grenades and ammo.
Controlling Lone Soldier only requires the diagonal pad for movement and the four face buttons to run, fire, toss grenades and cycle weapons.
If you enjoy a sense of humor, don't flippantly wave your hand at the mention of a UK developed game as eurotrash and rather like the idea of a cheap Duke Nukem knock-off, then you probably couldn't help but to have fun playing this zany game.

Afraid I couldn't find any screenshots of it other than the back of the Pal case cover....
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9097/lonesoldierxn0.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lonesoldierxn0.jpg)

GAMEPLAY: 7
GRAPHICS: 7
SOUND: 7
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 10
OVERALL: 9



Pop'n Tanks! - Enix 1999 PlayStation NTSC-J
This is a comical super-deformed tank combat game that has you fighting one-on-one battles on 3D terrain littered with buildings and houses that can be destroyed to uncover hidden power-ups. In between the battles, you can visit the Tank Shop to purchase better parts for your tank. There are eight selectable character/tanks, each with their own unique weapons. The game includes a Story Mode, Quick Battle and a two-player Versus Mode.
Each of the character's personality's gets fleshed out with some bits of story anime. The battles are three timed round events and you can also jump on opponents as well as shoot them. The camera can be your worst enemy at times, as it prefers to keep both tanks in view instead of looking ahead of where YOU are driving. But, because you can swivel your turret, you can also deliver broadsides while scooting off in another direction. A simple tap of a shoulder button will point your tank towards your opponent for head-on charges.
There are 10 different battlefields to fight on which seemed to be sized to keep the action pretty constant.

I didn't come across any screenshots of the game other than those on the back of the case.
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/9703/popntanks0hb3.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=popntanks0hb3.jpg)

This clip is some of the games anime and it gives you a taste of the games story style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEoLn13gSxs

GAMEPLAY: 7
GRAPHICS: 7
SOUND: 7
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 7
OVERALL: 7



Fuuun Gokuu Ninden - Aicom 1996 PlayStation NTSC-J
Wu Chengen's classic Chinese novel Hsi Yu Chi (Journey to the West) has inspired quite a few video games including Monkey Hero, Monkey Magic, Dragonball Z and Saiyuki: Journey West - just to name a few. It's also the inspiration for this side scrolling platform game. Play as Monkey God, Pigsy or Sandy and help Tripitaka obtain the sutras needed to save the world!
Each character plays with their own unique style. Monkey Hero has a gold rod to bash enemies and a special attack that spews purple bubbles. Pigsy carries a trident and has the longest lifebar of the three. He's also a bit slower and his special attack shoots a short-ranged fireball. Sandy carries a staff with a crescent moon shaped object on the end of it. She's the lightest, fastest and can jump the highest. Her special attack is to fire out an object that looks a lot like Mr. Hanky. All three can swing their weapons up and down as well as sideways and the all perform a type of jabbing dash attack.
All three can also pick up enemies and objects and hurl them and this ability is a necessary technique to complete the game.
I thought the levels were inspired and well done and included hidden areas and secrets. The colors and details are good and the backgrounds parallax scroll. Each stage is comprised of 3-4 levels and culminates in a boss battle. There's usually a brief area in each stage for your selected character to ride on Monkey Hero's cloud gathering in blue orbs and hearts. The orbs are used to powerup the characters special attack and can also be used at the end of each stage to restore the life for any of the characters. If you kill off your character in a level, you simply choose any of the others that are still alive in that stage and restart the level. If all three are killed, you drop back one stage and start over again. Finding hearts to restore health are few and far between, so getting a character killed isn't unusual. Even rarer are powerups that gives a brief invincibility. There's no way to save your progress on a memory card, so you just have to gut it out and complete the game from start to finish.
My favorite stage is the graveyard that has you leaping across caskets adorned with cross's where you will eventually meet up with Count Dracula - who looks an awfully lot like Count Chockula! LOL

Couldn't find any screenshots of the game other than those on the back of the case.....
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6375/monkeyheroxe4.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=monkeyheroxe4.jpg)

GAMEPLAY: 8
GRAPHICS: 8
SOUND: 7
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 10
OVERALL: 8

[otaku]

segata sanshiro for saturn is on its way to me :)

[importaku]

http://img213.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/3/8/1/9/popogaku-img600x450-1188682307cimg6862.jpg

This finally turned up, yay

[mrmeatball]

This finally turned up, yay

Damn, forgot about that one since it made a buzz around the net when announced. How is it?

[josekortez]

I got Clockwerx for the Japanese Saturn in the mail from a trade with legeek the other day. It was funny that this game was only released on the Saturn in Japan when the guy who created Tetris has his picture right on the front of the manual. Very challenging game...

Oh, and I got a copy of .hack Vol. 1 & 2 (Best) for the Japanese PS2 off Ebay. Too bad I can't understand a word they're saying...

[fishsandwich]

Pulseman for Megadrive. Won't play on an X'Eye, dammit. Gotta find that covertor cart now.

[Sailorneorune]

Have you tried a Game Genie for Pulseman on your X'Eye?

I know it sounds odd... but it works on a Genesis 2 and Nomad...

Game Genies are dirt cheap, and I've practically memorised the region protection break code.

[MrSmiley381]

I got cart only copies of Final Fight 2 and Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special for the SFC.

I left my copy of Fire Pro on overnight, and I think that may have done permanent damage. Gross.

[shadowforte]

DDRMAX Final 6th Mix. Friend of mine who is Japanese bought it a while back in Japan, this remembered that he does not have a japanese PS2. So I was over his house buying some Japanese toy's (his house is like a little import shop) when I saw it. Asked how much and he gave it to me for $3. It was disc only but I printed the cover of it online and made a case. It's my first import because I can't find a place to get cheep ones, but I would love to pick up some more like Kindom Hearts Final Mix.

[tritium]

Trigger Heart for Dreamcast

[Spartacus]

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6920/jpnshooterszm7.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jpnshooterszm7.jpg)



Kaettekita Cyborg Kuro-Chan - Konami 2002 PlayStation
This is a side scrolling shooter game along the lines of Gunner's Heaven. Unlike Gunners Heaven, you can play this game with two players and it does allow saves to a memory card.
Cyborg Kuro-Chan is a japanese manga series about cats who were transformed into cyborg's by an evil scientist who wants to take over the world. Many of character's from the manga appear in the game, but you select from 3 cyborg cats named Kuro, Mie or Matatabi to play. Each has 6 different weapons that vary slightly depending on which you character you choose. One of the weapons will have unlimited ammo and the rest require finding ammo packs to refill them. The ammo packs are global in nature and refills all the weapons in your cats arsenal, which was nice.
I liked how each weapon varied in appearance for each different character. One cats pistol might be a revolver and another cat's pistol a laser. The weapons include miniguns, boomerangs, swords, bats, mallets, pistols, lasers, flame weapons, nunchucks and missile launchers. Each weapon has four upgrades and each upgrade changes the appearance of the weapon as well. Each time you upgrade a weapon, your character will grin maniacaly as the new weapon appears in his hand. Cute!
The same pickup power-pill that you can use to upgrade your weapons can also be used instead to upgrade other character attributes, such as a larger ammo capacity, faster speed, better armor or simply to replentish your lifebar.
The game was developed by Konami and one of the levels is eerily similar to Contra III, where you must find a way to traverse across an area by hopping on large missiles that are moving in the opposite direction. There's also a stage in which you mount a rocket sled and the game becomes more like a horizontal shooter.
I won't say the game is cel-shaded, but the character's have a very hand drawn cartoon look to them and the visuals are very good. The explosions also look and sound great. It's a great game to pick up!

Here's some screenshots courtesy of c-games.com....
http://c-games.info/games,002,1955.html
The back case artwork courtesy of NCSX...
http://www.ncsx.org/2002/ncs120202/cyborg_chan.htm
Some info about the manga series courtesy of kodanclub.com....
http://www.kodanclub.com/cgi-local/comic.cgi?id=007-00146-01-011
And finally, some YouTube video of the manga series - not the game!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlLMoQhMGnk

GAMEPLAY: 10
GRAPHICS: 10
SOUND: 10
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 9
OVERALL: 10



Dangan - KSS 2000 PlayStation
Dangan (which means "bullet" in Japanese) is a run and gun game using a top down view. You pretty much need to run more than gun as enemies respawn and there's no point in trying to clear areas. You can fight by punching and kicking, though your kick is a power move that uses up your lifebar. You must have hands and feet made of steel because you can destroy anything with them, including tanks! You are also equipped with a pistol with unlimited ammunition. You can fire in any direction using the shoulder buttons, but it does hold you in place as you pivot. Destroying box's, barrels, statuary and enemies will sometimes leave you new weapons such as a machinegun, laser rifle, flamethrower and rocket launcher. These you will need to find ammunition for. Ocassionaly you'll find health refills as well.
The stages are comprised of running through 3-4 ambush filled levels looking for a door that leads you to the next level. The final level is a boss fight. I would guess there are around 15 stages in the game.
The good: The level designs were varied, detailed and fairly interesting. The enemy types were also interesting and included goons, soldiers, giants, midget suicide bomber chicks, ninja's, tanks, and lots of fixed point pivoting turrets firing flame's, laser's and machine guns.
The bad: Even though everything was interesting, you mostly just run around looking for the door because fighting would usually end up with you being surrounded and killed! Despite all of the weapons I picked up, I seldom used them as they weren't very powerful and punching and kicking seemed easier and quicker! Not only do you feel like you're always outnumbered and surrounded, but when you're hit you flash for a second or two and are unable to hit back or shoot while this was happening! Meanwhile, the enemies can still get in licks on you, so you naturaly end up trying to avoid fights whenever possible. Worse still is the boss fights, who were always much more powerful than you and still had turrets and goons helping them out by shooting you in the back while you were trying to fight them. That could get really frustrating at times and if it weren't for the fact that your progress was being saved to a memory card, I probably would have quit early on. On the bright side, there seems to be unlimited continues.
The games worth a play, but expect to have a tough time until you learn it's better to run than gun!

The only pic I could find of the game is the case artwork, courtesy of noujoumonogatari.com.....
http://noujoumonogatari.sakura.ne.jp/ps.parts/dangan.jpg

GAMEPLAY: 8
GRAPHICS: 8
SOUND: 7
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 9
OVERALL: 8



Expert - Nihon Bussan 1996 PlayStation
Playing Expert kind of reminded me of watching the original Godzilla movie. You know what your seeing is pretty darn cheesy, but somehow you can enjoy yourself with it anyway. The Expert is a member of a police SWAT team that is tasked with saving some hostages held by a gang in a multi-story building. Clear a floor, rescue any hostages you find, throw some switches and hop in the elevator to the next level. Before you start you are given a choice of two or three different weapons packages to select from. What I liked most about the game is the fact that whatever ordinance you've used or found on the previous stages carries over to the next and necessitates husbanding your resources. I think Nichibutsu was attemting to make a serious 1st person shooter game at the time, there's an orchestral score and the between stage cut-scenes showed some hand drawn images of the team members, but it's so old now it's almost approaching being a bit campy. For what it's worth, I enjoyed it the game, but then again I like B-movies too!

Here's some screenshots courtesy of c-games.com.....
http://c-games.info/games,002,1704.html
And Greg Wilcox discusses it briefly in Did You Know the Badness....
http://www.digitpress.com/archives/didyouknow_badness.htm

GAMEPLAY: 7
GRAPHICS: 7
SOUND: 7
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 9
OVERALL: 7



Hybrid - Motivetime/SPS 1997 PlayStation
Hybrid is a sci-fi 1st person shooter with extremely large and intricate levels. You'll need to throw switches and find key cards to open doors and there are secret rooms and passageways. Most of the enemies are mechanical - robots, flying drones, ect., but there's also female amazonian type enemies who'll produce a large pool of blood when killed. You can select from four different characters to play and all speak with a bit of an English accent that I found amusing. Each character has thier own special weapons and upgrades for them. Each is also capable of a last ditch melee attack that doesn't require ammo.
The game reminded me quite a bit of Alien Trilogy, both with it's graphics and because there are a lot of very dark places in the game.
A pulldown zoomable map shows where you are and where you've been and without it you'd easily get lost. The levels are multi-storied with spiraling staircases, elevators, acid pits, secret passagways and overall are pretty darn complex. The darkness and constant search for health and ammo gives a darn near survival-horror type feel to it.

This is the only screenshot of the game I could find courtesy of tsn-catv.com. The bottom half shows the 4 playable characters. It's interesting to note that the enemies and item are placed differently in the game for each character!
http://tcn-catv.easymyweb.jp/member/oxama/1698_A.jpg
The DP online guide lists Hybrid as only having a PAL release, but here's the Japanese case artwork, courtesy of consolecity.com.....
http://www.consolecity.com/games/action-boxart/game_id-22553.html

GAMEPLAY: 9
GRAPHICS: 7
SOUND: 8
ENGLISH FRIENDLY: 10
OVERALL: 9

[Tron 2.0]

Famicom
Ninja Ryukenden 2 cib

Well now i got 1&2 all if left is to find 3 cib.

I just,hope i don't have too much of a problem getting 3 cib later on.

[fahlim003]

Marvel Super Heroes VS. Street Fighter - Saturn

I just wish I could find an unboxed X-Men VS. Street Fighter SS that didn't originally come with the box(ie, it has the back lining and spine, etc..). The search continues!