Japanese PC gaming Archives

Winsage

December 16, 2024

Horror classic Clock Tower’s Windows 95 port jabbed a giant pair of scissors through my rose-tinted glasses

Pasokon Retro highlights the history of Japanese PC gaming, focusing on the 1997 release of Clock Tower, a suspenseful point-and-click adventure developed by Human Entertainment for Windows 95. The PC version featured a lackluster CG intro and inferior graphics compared to earlier versions, with intentional visual shortcomings such as dithered mist effects and smudgy softness. Despite these issues, the game maintained an engaging experience with intuitive mouse controls and randomization of key item locations, allowing for varied playthroughs. The game ran smoothly on Windows 11, showcasing its compatibility with modern systems.

AppWizard

August 27, 2024

The Olympics may be over, but I’m still going for 40-year-old gold in the first licensed Olympic games

Pasokon Retro highlights the early years of Japanese PC gaming, focusing on Konami's Hyper Sports trilogy released for the MSX platform between 1984 and 1985. The trilogy features digital versions of athletic events, allowing players to engage in sports without physical risks. Despite the limitations of the MSX, the games offer an engaging experience that requires mastery of mechanics, with events like diving and archery testing players' precision and strategic thinking. The trilogy emphasizes dedication and practice, capturing the essence of competition and the joy of improvement in a nostalgic gaming experience.

AppWizard

July 22, 2024

A look back at 8 versions of classic action RPG Hydlide reveals how PC ports can preserve—or lose—the soul of a game

Hydlide was a groundbreaking "Active Role Playing Game" released by T&E Soft in 1984. The game set new standards in the gaming industry and was considered the Elden Ring of its day. It was an open world action RPG where players had to figure out how to survive using only a sword, shield, and wit. The game was ported to various computer brands in Japan, with each version carefully adapted to fit its new home. The Sharp X1 version of the game, released in 1985, was considered the most advanced version of the game in the '80s, but it lost some of the magic of the original due to changes in gameplay mechanics. The 2001 Windows remake of Hydlide returned to the familiar flip-screen wandering and striking, staying true to the original game rather than trying to reinvent itself.

AppWizard

June 26, 2024

RPG expansions that offer seemingly endless adventures? Sorcerian did that 36 years ago

Developer: Nihon Falcom released the chart-topping 1987 action RPG Sorcerian and its numerous expansions, which were well-received in the late '80s Japan-only PC gaming market. The game's storytelling approach was so beloved that a competition was launched with Comptiq magazine to create more narratives, resulting in ten winners whose ideas were released as a five-part Selected Sorcerian collection from December 1989 to July 1990.