The Top 50 Import Games

[Kid Fenris]

Imports always seem to come up whenever someone attempts a Top list, so I thought I'd make one exclusively for games that were never released in America.

Discuss. And be sure to explain why your suggested game belongs here, as it may be that few of us have played it.

Alcahest (SFC)
Alien Soldier (Mega Drive)
Beatmania (series)
Cosmic Fantasy 3 (TurboDuo)
Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood (TurboDuo)
Dragon Warrior 5 (SFC)
Dragon Warrior 6 (SFC)
Dungeons & Dragons Collection (Saturn)
Emerald Dragon (TurboDuo/SFC)
Faselei (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
Final Fantasy III (Famicom)
Fire Emblem (series) (Famicom/SFC/GBA)
Fire Pro D Wrestling (DC)
Front Mission (SFC)
Galaxian 3 (PSX)
Gradius 2 (Famicom?)
Guitar Freaks (PSX/PS2)
Internal Section (PSX)
Keio Yu Gekitai (Saturn)
Langrisser Tribute Edition (Saturn)
Macross Scrambled Valkyrie (SFC)
Mother/Earthbound Zero (Famicom)
Panorama Cotton (Mega Drive)
Parodius (series) (Various)
Persona: Innocent Sin (PSX)
Policenauts (Saturn)
Princess Crown (Saturn)
Pulseman (Mega Drive)
Purikura Daisakusen (Saturn)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Rockman: The Wily Wars (Mega Drive)
Romancing Saga (series) (SFC)
Sakura Wars (series) (Saturn/DC/PS2)
Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret of Mana 2 (SFC)
Shining Force 3 parts 2 and 3 (Saturn)
Sin and Punishment (N64)
Squashed (Famicom)
Soukyugurentai (Saturn)
Spriggan (TurboDuo)
Star Ocean (SFC)
Star Parodia (TurboDuo)
Super Genjin 2 (SFC)
Tales of Phantasia (SFC)
Tengai Makyo (series) (TurboDuo/SFC/Saturn/PC-FX)
Terranigma/Tenchi Souzou (SFC)
Tobal No. 2 (PSX)
Vib Ribbon (PSX)
Wonder Boy IV Monster World 6 (Mega Drive)
Yu Yu Hakusho (Mega Drive)
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (TurboDuo)

Note that I stuck to games that didn't come to America, and a few of the above saw release in Europe. I also cheated a bit by listing "series," but if someone wants to suggest the best title from a franchise, go right ahead.

I didn't consider Final Fantasy II, as Square is supposedly planning on translating the PSX remake, or Ikaruga, because it's too early to call.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'd add the Japan-only release of Galaxian3 for the PS1 to the list. Outstanding, insanely fun little game.

My own import collection skews heavily toward retro compilations (i.e. Nichibutsu and Irem Arcade Classics, Namco Museum Encore, Space Invaders Collection, etc.), but this is one decidedly un-retro title (despite the old-school name drop) that never fails to get an enthusiastic response when I play it with friends, family, or heck, just me.

Your mission: blast everything and blow away enemy fighters before they can return the favor. Lovely little game.

[Kroogah]

Beatmania IIDX series. Possibly the most addictive (and also quite possibly the hardest) Bemani series.

Gradius 2, and the Parodius series. Why, Konami, why?

Mario's Super Picross. It's Mario's Picross, only MUCH better....

[HaggarCodyGuy123]

Just my opinion, but I like:

Wonder Boy IV Monster World 6 (Mega Drive)-fun action rpg/platformer
Pulseman (Mega Drive) platformer with unique electric hero
Ys IV The Dawn of Ys (PC Engine) because the other 3 came out on Turbo
Rockman Megaworld (Mega Drive) because virtually every other Megaman game came out here

[maxlords]

I don't know if I'd put Cosmic Fantasy 3, but then I didn't play it, so I can't argue much :)

Others that might be good on that list (funny how I have half that list):
Langrisser Tribute Edition (Saturn)
Shining Force 3 parts 2 and 3 (Saturn)
Faselei (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
Dungeons & Dragons Collection (Saturn)
Tenchi Wo Kurau 2 (Saturn)
Terranigma (SFC)
Dragon Warrior 5 & 6 (SFC)
Persona: Innocent Sin (PSX)

Man....the US really gets screwed for good games...especially for the Saturn....we missed SO much for the Saturn it's depressing.

[jaydubnb]

Most of the top ones were already mentioned, but I'll toss my two cents in.

*Fire Pro D Wrestling (DC): Greatest wrestling game ever...so good that even a few of my non-wrestling friends loved it. UFC matches, PRIDE matches, deathmatches, the best create-a-character I've ever seen, and one of the most well structured gameplay engines in ANY game equals hours of life being sucked away. Not to mention downloadable moves and characters!

*Star Parodia (PC Engine CD): Hudson's parody of the Star Soldier series thats in a similar vein as Parodius....wacky as all hell. You get to piolt the Paro Ceasar, Bomberman (!), and a flying PC Engine (!!). Great graphics and music, and loads of fun.

[Ascending Wordsmith]

My candiate to go on the import list is Super Genjin 2 (translates in to Super Bonk 2) for the Super Famicom. This exclusive Japanese title was Bonk's final game, not to mention his best. As you know, the Japanese culture isn't as sensitive as it over here in the states. With that said, it was funny as hell to see Bonk overdose on giant amphetamines, and become the victim of medical malpractice when he undergoes unwanted plastic surgery. There's even a scene where Bonk gets struck by lightning and dies instantly (for that part of the game, you must play as Bonk's transparent soul). Gameplay is great too; the stages and music are still as colorful and cartoonish as the games before it. The best feature is a change in the storyline, which unfolds as Bonk goes through the game. Bonk must face five new enemies in addition to his oldest enemy King Drool. There's a pregame training mode to help players understand the mechanics of game.This is a great finish to Bonk's legacy. Truly an excellent import! Done? Okay, now add it to the list ;)

http://www.glasko.com/Reviews/Nekronomikan/Super_12.gif http://gaijin.parodius.com/pics/Bonk02.jpg

[Kid Fenris]

I expanded the list to 25 games and added in a bunch of the suggestions. It broke my heart to dump Cosmic Fantasy 3, though, just because Working Designs supposedly had a complete translation ready when the TurboDuo went under.

Keep 'em coming! If you need some ideas, here are a few of the games that I considered when I first made the list.

Mother/Earthbound Zero (Famicom)
Star Ocean (SFC)
Tales of Phantasia (SFC),
Romancing Saga (series) (SFC),
Internal Section (PSX)
Squashed (Famicom)
Ufouria (Famicom)
Alcahest (SFC)

Haggar, wasn't Rockman Megaworld a collection of the first three Mega Man games? I thought that it was released over here on the Sega Channel or something.

[digitalpress]

I can't really say what I'd DROP from the list above, there are quite a few there I have not played.

But some favorite imports:

Panorama Cotton (Mega-Drive) - we all know Cotton as the side-scrolling cartoon witch, but Panorama Cotton takes a different perspective. Literally. In this game you fly from just behind Cotton as she travels very Space Harrier-esque through a number of bizarre and typically psychedelic settings. Really cool game.

Mega Man The Wily Wars/Mega World (Mega-Drive) - A compilation of the NES games Mega Man I - III but you can choose each stage from any of the games right from the get-go. Also has remixed graphics and music, making this the Mega Man fan's equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars. I never get tired of Mega Man games, and this just makes the best of him.

Guitar Freaks (PlayStation and PS2) - I have yet to find a party that did NOT enjoy Guitar Freaks. For everyone who has ever played air guitar, here's your chance to show your skills. The game is simple to learn but like the instrument it mimics in gameplay - dificult to master. As if the game wasn't good enough, the music itself crosses many genres and contains some of the catchiest stuff you'll ever hear.

Whew! That's it for now, more later.

[NvrMore]

Really, you're heavily restricting yourself trying to keep it down to 25, especially when you're covering all systems (Hell, people had to expand the top X domestic lists for individual systems), so I would say maybe knock this list upto a top 50.


Star Ocean (SFC)

YES!, why isn't this game in there, it's fantastic and has one of the best looking intros on the system :D

Otherwise I might have wanted to add Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie (IMO the best shmup on the snes/sfc) but I haven't played all of the others up there and I've heard some of them are excellent, so I can't really argue to get something I haven't played booted off.

[Kid Fenris]

The Top 50 it is, then.

I threw in a few games that have good reputations (like Internal Section), even though I haven't played them. I couldn't remember what system Gradius 2 came out for, and I'm still not sure about the Wily Wars, which was released over the Sega Channel or something, I'd swear.

[maxlords]

Otherwise I might have wanted to add Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie (IMO the best shmup on the snes/sfc) but I haven't played all of the others up there and I've heard some of them are excellent, so I can't really argue to get something I haven't played booted off.

Macross Scrambled Valkyrie is cool but WAAAAAAAAY too hard! I wouldn't rate it nearly as high as Space Megaforce/Super Aleste.

If we're doing a top 50 - Sylphia and Fausette Amour for PC Engine, Vib Ribbon (PSX), Battle Garrega (Saturn) are a few more I'd add.

[geelw]

as fred flintstone says: HOLD IT, HOLD iT, HOLD IT!!!!

with thousands of games to pick from, there's NO way you can pick just 50 for ALL popular/unknown import systems! before this gets too out of control, can we break this down by top titles for EACH import system, with separate listing for each! i'm actually working on saturn, md, sfc, and ps import lists, but i'm glad someone brought the topic up in the meantime, lol...

[NvrMore]

Macross Scrambled Valkyrie is cool but WAAAAAAAAY too hard! I wouldn't rate it nearly as high as Space Megaforce/Super Aleste.

I thought the difficulty was just about right. I've completed with all three ships (all but toughest difficulty, which is just.. insane). In terms of variety and playability it walks all over Aleste. Don't get me wrong, I think Aleste is a good game, I just think it's a bit repetative and somewhat overrated. IMO Gameplay-wise Macross is a lot more involving, it carries a number of different ships to suit your individual play style and allows you to switch fighting modes during play so that you can adapt and alter your fighting strategy through the game.

[Kid Fenris]

as fred flintstone says: HOLD IT, HOLD iT, HOLD IT!!!!

with thousands of games to pick from, there's NO way you can pick just 50 for ALL popular/unknown import systems! before this gets too out of control, can we break this down by top titles for EACH import system, with separate listing for each! i'm actually working on saturn, md, sfc, and ps import lists, but i'm glad someone brought the topic up in the meantime, lol...

Well, the point of making a Top Anything list is to extract the best titles from an exponentially larger selection of games, but you may be right. In truth, my first thought was to do a Top 20 Saturn Imports list, but I didn't think that there would be enough debate here over such a topic.

I'll go with popular opinion on this. Hands up. Who else wants to see us tackle the import angle one system at a time?

[digitalpress]

Why not do both?

If someone can do a "Top 50 Games of All Time" without regard to particular consoles, regions, or eras, why not imports?

(PS, moved to Classic Discussion folder)

[NvrMore]

I think it's the scope of it all DP, with imports it's not so much a case of what goes in that's wrong, it's what is missed from the list because so few people have played it, despite it being a great game :/

[digitalpress]

Also don't miss Greg "geelw" Wilcox' DID YOU KNOW? column, where he features a whole bunch of import music and rhythm games. The column will move to the archives soon but as of now it's right here:

http://www.digitpress.com/columns/didyouknow.htm