Hello from a first timer

[Shinigami]

Hello there, Pcenginefx.com! I'm a hardcore gamer, but up until recently I've only been playing games on Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft consoles, but the TG is something I find really appealing. I've been really thinking about buying a TurboGrafx-16 with a Turbo CD for quite some time now, and I think I may just do it with my Christmas money. Well, I was wondering if anyone could name for me some good Japanese RPGs for either the TurboGrafx-16 and/or Turbo CD, as that's my favorite genre and I know I really have to have at least 2 stellar RPGs on a console for me to love it (the N64 is my exception ). I already know of Ys Book I&II, Ys III, Valis I-IV, and I saw some infomercial on YouTube (I believe it was from this site, actually) that said something about an RPG called Dragon Slayer. I'm already considering those titles, but having more options never hurts. So, I'd appreciate you guys helping me out here, thanks!

[FM-77]

Welcome to the boards.

That would be Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes. A most mediocre, but humor-filled and fairly entertaining RPG. Not recommended if you dislike RPGs with a ridiculous encounter rate (even standing still will get you in battles).  

I highly recommend Ys IV. It is definitely the best RPG (action RPG) on the system. Ys I-II is so-so (and Ys III is terrible on this system).

The PC Engine isn't known for its RPGs, unfortunately. Most of them aren't very good, and I suggest you keep far, far away from the following: Burai 1-2, Basted (probably the worst ever), Madoh Monogatari, Startling Odyssey, Princess Minerva, etc etc.

There are some good ones, but they're mostly in Japanese and are highly unplayable if you don't speak the language. One of them's been translated to English, though - Xak III. Try that one out, it is pretty nice.

[Shinigami]

Thanks! Mediocre, eh? :/ Lol, jeez, standing still? I don't mind encounter rates, but whoa. Oh, yeah, I forgot I heard a little about Xak III, though not much. As for Ys IV, was that released outisde of Japan? I heard it wasn't. I pretty much can only play the games in English, and I don't know how one would go about playing a Japanese game on a US Turbografx (I heard about some card, but it was for TurboDuo? I'm very inexperienced in this field, I'm more of a Saturn RPG kind of guy). As for this Xak III, tell me more, if you would be so kind. Also, I love RPGs, but I still want the Turbografx/Turbo CD for Bonk 1-3, Neutopia I and II, and a bunch of different shootemups.

[nodtveidt]

For RPGs, you might try Cosmic Fantasy 2, although it's a really mixed bag...storyline and character development are great but the game feels pretty limited (probably due to the fact that it only uses the regular system card...it would have ruled as a sys3 game!). For a bit more of an action flavour, check out Exile (avoid its sequel unless you're a masochist). Both of these games were localized by Working Designs. For shooters...hrm...so many to choose from, this is the shooter king console. If you want nice, easy ones, check out Air Zonk or R-Type. For more challenging shooters, go for Sinistron, Sidearms, or Soldier Blade. I've heard that Final Zone II is the king of kick-your-ass shooters, so give that one a shot (pun intended) if you want a real bruiser. And of course, don't forget to get Gate Of Thunder and Lords Of Thunder...the champions of TG-CD shooters.

[runinruder]

Great traditional-style RPGs: Cosmic Fantasy 2, Dragon Slayer, Tengai Makyou Kabuki Den, Tengai Makyou Manji Maru, Tengai Makyou Ziria, Emerald Dragon.

Great action-RPGs: Ys Book I & II, Ys III, Dungeon Explorer, Dungeon Explorer II, Legend of Xanadu, Legend of Xanadu II, Neutopia, Neutopia II, Blood Gear, Efera & Jiliora.

Great first-person RPGs: Madou Monogatari, Might & Magic III, Dragon Knight II.  

Many of the games I listed are only available in Japanese, but all of them (with the possible exception of the first Xanadu) either have great walkthroughs available for them or are quite easy to figure out.  

And those are just the games that I consider great.  There are some that a lot of people like that I haven't played yet (like Cosmic Fantasy 3 and the two-part 4), some that other people like that I just don't dig (like Popful Mail), some that are great but only "borderline" RPGs (like Fray~Xak Gaiden and Shape Shifter), and some that are worthwhile but not outstanding (like the first Cosmic Fantasy).

[Emerald Rocker]

I don't know what Seldane's talking about -- the PC Engine is known far and wide for two things: rockin' shooters and awesome Japanese RPGs.

For example, the Tengai Makyou (Far East of Eden) series was one of THE driving forces behind putting PC Engines into households.  I've never played any of them, but all three (Ziria, Manji Maru, and Kabuki Den) are supposed to be excellent.

Ys 1&2 - A really nice version of the first two Ys games, combined onto one disc.  It has some exclusive cinematics, as well as THE BEST version of the Ys 1&2 music ever produced.  The other Ys games are fine too, but this is one is far and away the best.

Madou Monogatari - Excellent dungeoncrawler with a cute atmosphere.  Uses the same characters as the Puyo Puyo games.  Requires the Arcade card, though.  And it's super-rare.

Dragon Knight 2 - Excellent dungeoncrawler with battles against scantily-clad monster women.  It could have been a simple skin-based cash-grabber, but the game's actually good.  Imagine that!

Legend of Xanadu - An interesting mix of sidescrolling and overhead.  Plays quite a bit differently from its sequel.  Sweet game.

Legend of Xanadu 2 - Prettier than the first.  I like it better.  Unfortunately, it's more expensive.

Emerald Dragon - Epic RPG with thoroughly likable characters and superb music.  Read the review!  (linked)

Anearth Fantasy Stories - I played enough to know that the quality is excellent.  My man GUTS has played a lot more, and he says "this is the hizzeat on repeat"

[malducci]

Oh, yeah, I forgot I heard a little about Xak III, though not much. As for Ys IV, was that released outisde of Japan? I heard it wasn't. I pretty much can only play the games in English

Both these games were translated to english. You have to download the patch, apply it to the game, and burn the new translated game to CD-R.

[Keranu]

Seldane ain't much of a Turbo fan, so keep that in mind . Most people on this board will disagree with some stuff he says, but that's why we love him. I don't really need to post anything here since everyone else basically cleared it up, but I would just like to say that the battle encounter rate in Dragon Slayer is actually very low compared to other RPGs like CF2. The cool thing about Dragon Slayer is that you can run away from battles whenever you want and when you do, you'll actually see the monster on the overhead screen and you just have to avoid him. The game has a special place in my heart because of it's great atmosphere, but it's pretty medicore as a RPG as Seldane has said.

[sunteam_paul]

Legend of Xanadu II is awesome.

[FM-77]

As for this Xak III, tell me more, if you would be so kind. Also, I love RPGs, but I still want the Turbografx/Turbo CD for Bonk 1-3, Neutopia I and II, and a bunch of different shootemups.

You can play Japanese CD games on non-japanese systems since the CDs are region-free.

Ys IV was never released outside of Japan, no - but it has been translated (and what a translation).

I don't know what to tell you about XakIII as I haven't played it that much myself, but you should check out XyZ - a Xak site by a friend of mine.

Oh, and you people who recommended Madoh monogatari - have you guys even played this game? It's horrible, über-boring and an atrocity to play! Every version of it! First person dungeon crawling at its worst! Oh and it's in Japanese too.

I believe this guy said he wasn't interested in games in Japanese, and yet you people recommend nothing but games in Japanese.  

[Emerald Rocker]

Actually, he didn't say he's not interested.  He expressed an interest in Japanese-style RPGs, but mentioned he can only play games in English.  That indicates a hesitance to play games that are in a foreign language, which is why people are suggesting games that have either been translated (via patch) or are easy for a non-Japanese speaker to get through and enjoy, despite the language barrier.

Although my post was partly intended to point out some nice import-friendly games for Shinigami's benefit, it was also intended to point out the silliness of saying "the PC Engine isn't known for its RPGs".

[FM-77]

Okay sorry about that, I meant Turbo Grafx (I just always use the PCE abbreviation regardless). That system is NOT known for its RPGs, because there aren't any (okay there are two. Or something).

[Shinigami]

Wow, you guys have been so kind. I really appreciate you going out of your way to help me out. Well, I have a lot to respond to, but here it goes (in no particular order):

I already have Popful Mail for Sega CD, which I hear was one of the best versions, anyways (or at least compared to the Super Famicom version), and it's the only one released in English. Wonderful game, though.

As for Cosmic Fantasy 2, I was going to ask about that, since I saw someone make a thread about it. I play a lot of RPGs and I'm not very picky, as long as it's not horrible. If it has a fun battle system or good storyline (both would be a real plus), I don't mind.

I didn't know that the TGCD was region-free, that's good to know, though I'm not really much of an import gamer. To be honest, all I've imported are some Ganbare Goemon games, Stafy no Densetsu 1-3, Mother 3, and Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. And I only bought the RPGs among those because I'm a massive fan of Kingdom Hearts and EarthBound.

But back on topic, thanks for the shooter reccomendations, I know the system is known for shooters, which is great, because I've loved them since my days as a youngster (well, I guess I'm still a bit young, 15 ). I've already planned on getting the Gate of Thunder games and Lord(s?) of Thunder, since they look so cool and they're must-haves. Oh, and Air Zonk, because I've never tried a cute-em-up.

Back on the RPG subject, as much as I don't mind importing, I really like to know everything that's going on in a game without having to consult a manual. So while I don't mind "figuring it out", I'd feel like I was maybe missing something in the process of playing. And about that patch thing, how would that work exactly? I know you described it, but maybe a little more detailed? If it involves ROMs or anything like that, I can't say that I'm interested in the process. Sorry, it's just not exactly my style.

Oh, and I really like your friend's XyZ site, Seldane. But uh... of all the RPGs you guys are listing, do you think you could let me know which ones have and haven't been officially released here?

One last thing before I post this up: can anyone reccomend some platformers for the TG-16 and CD? I already know of Bonk, which I'll definitely get, but I also heard of a quirky sounding one where you punch phones and they talk to you? That one sounds interesting, too. Any others? And again, if you reccomend an import to me (which I don't mind at all), just let me know if it's Japan only, okay? Thank you all so much, you're probably the nicest people on internets.

[FM-77]

Patching the games involves dumping the game to your hard drive, patching it, and then burning it to a CD-R so that you can play it on your system (it has no copy protection, it can play these games).

There aren't many RPGs on the Turbo Grafx, but some of them are: Cosmic Fantasy 2 (bad battle system, über-ridiculous encounter rate), Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes (probably the best English RPG, and yet it is mediocre, as aforementioned), Ys I-II (not really an RPG, very overrated [and that's coming from an insane Ys fan!]) and.... I think that's it. At least if we're listing games worth playing. Like I mentioned earlier, the PC Engine/Turbo Grafx is not an RPG system. At least not if you want to play games in English.

[Shinigami]

Patching the games involves dumping the game to your hard drive, patching it, and then burning it to a CD-R so that you can play it on your system (it has no copy protection, it can play these games).

There aren't many RPGs on the Turbo Grafx, but some of them are: Cosmic Fantasy 2 (bad battle system, über-ridiculous encounter rate), Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes (probably the best English RPG, and yet it is mediocre, as aforementioned), Ys I-II (not really an RPG, very overrated [and that's coming from an insane Ys fan!]) and.... I think that's it. At least if we're listing games worth playing. Like I mentioned earlier, the PC Engine/Turbo Grafx is not an RPG system. At least not if you want to play games in English.

Uh.. okay. Well, either way, I'll probably end up getting those, anyway. Like I said, I'm very non-picky when it comes to RPGs. The TG seems to fit me more since I'm a very single player kind of guy, and it features a lot of single player games, anyway. I think I'll very much enjoy this Turbografx once I get it. Expect me to be a frequent around here. I'll be getting a Wii for Christmas, too, but I don't really like stuff like emulation or anything, even if it's legit. And as for the patch thing, I dunno if I'm into that... hm.