FM Towns Marty - can somebody give me the skinny?

[Anthony1]

I tried doing some searches on FM Towns Marty, but I didn't get any of the information that I was looking for.


Anyways, I'm trying to figure out the whole FM Towns Marty thing, and I was wondering if somebody on here that is familar with this system could give a breakdown on it.


First of all, what is a FM Towns? What is a Marty? Does it play carts? CD's? Is it a computer? How many games came out for it? It was only avail. in Japan right?

Can somebody get one of these on Ebay? What about the games? How much do they typically go for?


I know that is a ton of questions, but if anybody can answer any of those questions I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[AFGiant]

Well, just from my own experience browsing the boards here, I can tell you its a Japan-only system that I think was basically a computer (think Commadore64-esque). I guess it has a ton of hentai games. I remember when I was trying to make a point in a topic about how I never find anything wierd in the wild, and I threw the FM Towns into there and someone crudely pointed out to me that it was import only, lol. Sorry I don't know much else.

[Flack]

Here's a little bit more information on FM Towns.

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=968

Assembler has some info too.
http://assembler.roarvgm.com/FM_towns_computers/fm_towns_computers.html

And here's a page with some info on the Marty.
http://darkwatcher.psxfanatics.com/console/fmtowns.htm

Kind of sounds like the Amiga CD32, a hybrid that tried to bridge the gap between computers and consoles.

Specs
http://www.vgmuseum.com/systems/marty/

And more info from Assembler.
http://assembler.roarvgm.com/fmtowns/fmtowns.html

[pookninja]

ive read that the fm towns marty has a killer version of saturday night slam masters(muscle bomber)that i would love to play at home.

[Arthur-Otaku]

I tried doing some searches on FM Towns Marty, but I didn't get any of the information that I was looking for.


Anyways, I'm trying to figure out the whole FM Towns Marty thing, and I was wondering if somebody on here that is familar with this system could give a breakdown on it.


First of all, what is a FM Towns? What is a Marty? Does it play carts? CD's? Is it a computer? How many games came out for it? It was only avail. in Japan right?

Can somebody get one of these on Ebay? What about the games? How much do they typically go for?


I know that is a ton of questions, but if anybody can answer any of those questions I would appreciate it. Thanks.


I tried doing some searches on FM Towns Marty, but I didn't get any of the information that I was looking for.


Anyways, I'm trying to figure out the whole FM Towns Marty thing, and I was wondering if somebody on here that is familar with this system could give a breakdown on it.


First of all, what is a FM Towns? What is a Marty? Does it play carts? CD's? Is it a computer? How many games came out for it? It was only avail. in Japan right?

Can somebody get one of these on Ebay? What about the games? How much do they typically go for?


I know that is a ton of questions, but if anybody can answer any of those questions I would appreciate it. Thanks.


I will say all things that I know about FM towns marty, I'm a luckly owner of one Fm towns marty 2

Fm towns marty is the "console" version of FM towns computer. Fm towns is a popular old computer released only in Japan, years laters fujitsu released the fm towns marty 1st version, the console version of fm towns computer with 386 processor, many years later, fujitsu released the extremely expensive fm towns marty 2 (599 US$), very similar to first version in appearence but this one comes with 486 processor

Both version runs cds and have a 1.44 floppy drive in the lateral, some games comes with a 1.44 disk and cd, to run these games you must put the 1.44 disk in the drive or game will not run, these disks looks like memory card but are necessary to game runs and you must have the original disk that comes with game, an generic 1.44 disk will not run

Fm towns marty is an extraordinary system, graphics looks like psx and saturn 2d games and there is no slowdows, marty have some exclusive games like tatsujin 2 (truxton), 32 bit version of splatterhouse and many others excellent titles like tiger heli, image fight, turbo out run, after burner and many hentai games, not erotic hentai like pc fx, saturn, psx and others but pornographic hentai games with uncensored sex scenes (very interesting add-on)

Now, the bad part, the difficulty to found marty stuff, in ebay you can found some loose marty system for 200-300 dollars and games are very hard to found, when found you will only see for non-atractive and ridiculous prices (50 -100 dollars). If you're interested in collect marty stuff, you will NEED, anyone to buy in japanese yahoo auctions, there you will found complete martys for good prices (150 - 200), you will found the faster second version (more rare and expensive) and some complete games for payable prices (20 - 30 dollars). Forget ebay to get marty stuff, it's the worst place to start a marty collection

[Ed Oscuro]

We've had pretty regular talks about the FM Towns here. FM Towns = Fujitsu Micro; Fujutsu Micros had been around since '79 or so though probably as a kit for their first models.

The Marty is odd, no doubt about that. Most titles will work on both FM Towns computers and Marty, but some will only work on the computer systems.

They never made much of an impact on the market, so most titles are pretty darn expensive; almost on par with home Neo-Geo carts. Not a system to just jump into.

Among the bonuses: 386 processor, Windows-like interface (the FM Towns eventually became another Wintel machine), and CD-ROM drive as standard. Fujitsu was pretty proud of their low-cost CD-ROM drives, however they aren't very powerful...this shouldn't come into play, but it might be worth a look.

I wouldn't touch the Marty consoles; too limited and if the CD-ROM drive goes bad that's it. The regular computer systems should allow you some room for expansion or even a CD-ROM replacement.

For the computer systems, I've seen two kinds (I think there's a dozen/two dozen models of FM Towns): Tower with the CD-ROM drive on front, spinning vertically (a bit distracting, you'd think) and a seperate monitor; the second is an all-in one design like the Macintosh or that Sony Series 35 Model 10. It has a mouse (Series 35 Model 10 doesn't...) and regular-sized floppy drives (they might use the smaller early Japanese standard, 1.3 MB I think it is).

I've spotted tons of games: A fair representation of the Lucasarts stable from the early 90s (Indiana Jones, I believe all three Alone in the Dark games, Ultima Underworld), a lot of arcade ports from Ving (Viewpoint, I believe they did Operation Wolf, some shooters, and the incredibly expensive Splatterhouse), and some other stuff like RPGs.

[Ed Oscuro]

Fm towns marty is the "console" version of FM towns computer. Fm towns is a popular old computer released only in Japan, years laters fujitsu released the fm towns marty 1st version, the console version of fm towns computer with 386 processor
So it is a 1.44 MB floppy? That's good to know.

Have you tried out Raiden? I've read there's slowdown in that one, but can't say if this is true.

As for the popularity of the FM Towns...it was a good system but hadn't seemed to attained the popularity of the earlier x68000 (though the FM Towns sort of outlasted the x68000, with that 486 system in 1994 whereas the Red Zone x68K was out in '95, partly the FM Towns survived due to the wintel change though), nevermind the NEC computers.

[16-bit]

Fm towns marty is the "console" version of FM towns computer. Fm towns is a popular old computer released only in Japan, years laters fujitsu released the fm towns marty 1st version, the console version of fm towns computer with 386 processor
So it is a 1.44 MB floppy? That's good to know.

Have you tried out Raiden? I've read there's slowdown in that one, but can't say if this is true.

As for the popularity of the FM Towns...it was a good system but hadn't seemed to attained the popularity of the earlier x68000 (though the FM Towns sort of outlasted the x68000, with that 486 system in 1994 whereas the Red Zone x68K was out in '95, partly the FM Towns survived due to the wintel change though), nevermind the NEC computers.

Not sure about slowdown, but I remember that the arranged soundtrack in the Towns version was pretty rad.

[Arthur-Otaku]

Fm towns marty is the "console" version of FM towns computer. Fm towns is a popular old computer released only in Japan, years laters fujitsu released the fm towns marty 1st version, the console version of fm towns computer with 386 processor
So it is a 1.44 MB floppy? That's good to know.

Have you tried out Raiden? I've read there's slowdown in that one, but can't say if this is true.

As for the popularity of the FM Towns...it was a good system but hadn't seemed to attained the popularity of the earlier x68000 (though the FM Towns sort of outlasted the x68000, with that 486 system in 1994 whereas the Red Zone x68K was out in '95, partly the FM Towns survived due to the wintel change though), nevermind the NEC computers.

I do not tried raiden yet, but I'm looking for the marty flashback, probably is the best version ever

[evildead2099]

I know little about this system except that it features an exceptional port of SPLATTERHOUSE (1).

[Ed Oscuro]

Not sure about slowdown, but I remember that the arranged soundtrack in the Towns version was pretty rad.
Hmm...so far the only FM Towns game I've picked up is Viewpoint, and while the major tunes are on CD tracks it's pretty straightforward. Some of the minor tracks aren't on Redbook, so I wonder if they're synthesized by the computer itself or just omitted. It's by Ving, so I've always assumed Splatterhouse works much the same. Did Ving port Raiden?

[dojosky]

its an excellent system !! I myself own a FM towns Marty system and the FM towns computer with FM towns monitor !!! :D the games are excellent on the system but expect this to be expensive to collect usually !! yea thats true about saturday night slammasters and also splatterhouse and several more games out there that are must have for the fm towns marty/fmtowns collectors out there !

[Ed Oscuro]

Whoa, full stop there dojosky LOL

What games do you have on the system? Just curious :)

[16-bit]

Fm towns marty is an extraordinary system, graphics looks like psx and saturn 2d games and there is no slowdows, marty have some exclusive games like tatsujin 2 (truxton), 32 bit version of splatterhouse and many others excellent titles like tiger heli, image fight, turbo out run, after burner and many hentai games, not erotic hentai like pc fx, saturn, psx and others but pornographic hentai games with uncensored sex scenes (very interesting add-on)



A 32-bit Splatterhouse port is not exclusive to the Towns. It was also released for the Japanese PC two years ago. I have one on eBay right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8198656111

Tiger-Heli is a good port, but it is very expensive even in Japan. A better option is Toaplan Shooting Battle 1. Image fight also isn't worth it since a better version exists on the Saturn....same with Chase HQ.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, that's new. Wonder if they really are working on a new SH game...

[evildead2099]

Hmm, that's new. Wonder if they really are working on a new SH game...

Namco has been announcing a new Splatterhouse game for years (I have magazines from 2001 to prove this). Namco seems less committed to developing a new Splatterhouse game than 3D Realms does to finishing Duke Nukem Forever.

[Raven1280]

I have raiden and i didnt notice any slowdown on my Marty 1 system.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, that's new. Wonder if they really are working on a new SH game...
Namco has been announcing a new Splatterhouse game for years (I have magazines from 2001 to prove this).
You don't say?!

[Wavelflack]

Was the alligator in a trenchcoat and fedora an actual mascot/ trademark for the Marty, or was it something Gamefan invented?
"He" was always present in their Marty reviews (all three or four of them).

[Anthony1]

It seems that this particular console is quite the pricey little fellow, and that maybe an avid game player, but non collector might want to avoid this puppy.

But still, it is most intriguing.


I wonder if backups would play on it without problem?

What about the diskette that is required for certain games. Are any of those games the huge ones?


Actually, the only way I would get one of these is if the thing outputted a RGB signal, and I could enjoy it in it's true glory.

But as far as I'm aware, it doesn't output RGB. I asked Matthew about it, and he said that it didn't output RGB normally, and he didn't know whether or not it could be modded.

But if the thing did actually output RGB, then I think I would want one. It just has this mix of certain games that have been ported that have cool versions on this system. Like Flashback and Splatterhouse and Raiden.

It's a curious technology to me, because really, this is definitely the first 32 bit machine, and it came out at a time during gaming's Glory Years.

What's up with the controller though? Only 2 buttons? D-pad looks pretty crappy too.