questions about Tengai Makyo 2 (Ziria: Far East of Eden 2)

[handygrafx]

I remember back in the early 1990s, I read a preview for a PC Engine CD-ROM or Super CD-ROM RPG called 'Far East of Eden 2'.   It was in one of the TurboGrafx magazines. the thing that stood out about it was the size of the adventure. I remember reading it had thousands of overhead map screens. hundreds of enemies, dozens of bosses, tons of music and it was said to be one of the most expensive games ever made.  


oh YES! I found the article!  It's from the April/May 1992 TurboPlay
(from the same people that did VideoGames & Computer Entertainment)



God Forever Bless the TurboGrafx-16 Preservation Society and their TurboPlay Magazine Archives!  (every page of every single videogame magazine ever printed should be archived like this!!!!)

guys, I still know next to nothing about the Tenjai Makyo series.  no doubt I have the spelling wrong and even the title of this 2nd game in the series wrong, but I am just going by the above magazine article, nothing else.

So my questions to anyone out there with knowledge about
Tengai Makyo 2  aka Ziria: Far East of Eden 2,  was the game in fact *that* large, and did it have everything that the article above says, like 20,000 overhead screens, 300 enemies, 48 bosses, 90 minutes of animation, 24 CD music tracks, 80+ chip-generated music tracks, and was it the most expensive game ever made for its time

overall was it as impressive as that old preview makes it out to be?

....I also know understand that this game was remade for Playstation2.

[Keranu]

I have the game, but I never got around to try beating it really because the language barrier is very strong. I have heard from multiple resources that this game is long, but I don't know if that's true myself. If it was in English I would try beating the game right away.

[esteban]

God Forever Bless the TurboGrafx-16 Preservation Society and their TurboPlay Magazine Archives!  (every page of every single videogame magazine ever printed should be archived like this!!!!)

you are too kind ...  you'll be happy to know that all Tg-16 and Duo coverage from multi-platform magazines is currently being catalogued and (slowly) prepared for the tg-16 preservation society.  give me a 3-4 weeks and you'll see some good stuff.  EDIT: I don't have everything, mind you, but a decent amount...

guys, I still know next to nothing about the Tenjai Makyo series...
was the game in fact *that* large, and did it have everything that the article above says, like 20,000 overhead screens, 300 enemies, 48 bosses, 90 minutes of animation, 24 CD music tracks, 80+ chip-generated music tracks, and was it the most expensive game ever made for its time

....I also know understand that this game was remade for Playstation2.

these are great questions, i'd love to find this out from someone who has firtst-hand experience as well.  I've shied away from games with language barriers like this... I am ashamed I don't know this stuff
i am sure there must be a faq about this somewhere...

here are the stats for Ys I & II (for comparison, taken from U.S. box):
1,770 screen formats (screen format?)
24 minutes of digitized voice,
14 bosses
150 items
70 maps (distinct areas?)
20+ minutes animation
43 music tracks

[DragonmasterDan]

I remember back in the early 1990s, I read a preview for a PC Engine CD-ROM or Super CD-ROM RPG called 'Far East of Eden 2'.   It was in one of the TurboGrafx magazines. the thing that stood out about it was the size of the adventure. I remember reading it had thousands of overhead map screens. hundreds of enemies, dozens of bosses, tons of music and it was said to be one of the most expensive games ever made.  


oh YES! I found the article!  It's from the April/May 1992 TurboPlay
(from the same people that did VideoGames & Computer Entertainment)



God Forever Bless the TurboGrafx-16 Preservation Society and their TurboPlay Magazine Archives!  (every page of every single videogame magazine ever printed should be archived like this!!!!)

guys, I still know next to nothing about the Tenjai Makyo series.  no doubt I have the spelling wrong and even the title of this 2nd game in the series wrong, but I am just going by the above magazine article, nothing else.

So my questions to anyone out there with knowledge about
Tengai Makyo 2  aka Ziria: Far East of Eden 2,  was the game in fact *that* large, and did it have everything that the article above says, like 20,000 overhead screens, 300 enemies, 48 bosses, 90 minutes of animation, 24 CD music tracks, 80+ chip-generated music tracks, and was it the most expensive game ever made for its time

overall was it as impressive as that old preview makes it out to be?

....I also know understand that this game was remade for Playstation2.

Tengai Makyo 2 Manji Maru (Ziria is not part of the title, the original Tengai Makyo was known as "Tengai Makyo: Ziria" the adding of the Ziria to that preview is incorrect.) is a fantastic game but is a little bit dated. It's a HUGE game (not Dragon Warrior 7 size mind you but bigger than most traditional RPGs). As far as 90 minutes of animation, I think that's a bit of an exageration but it has quite a lot for a single CD release. The game is also the best selling Super CD ever.

As far as it being re-made goes there was a Game Cube version made and it was shortly thereafter ported to PS2 (apparently the PS2 version has loading problems and freezes from what I've been able to determine). The remake has a lot lower encounter rate and is a much much easier game which is both good and bad. The good is in the sense that the story moves along a lot quicker, the bad is that the game is a lot easier and a lot quicker to complete.

Overall Tengai Makyo 2: Manji Maru is one of the best traditional RPGs of its day and is still better than most traditional RPGs released today (but then again this era has had a severe drop in the quality of classic style RPGs released, but I shall leave that rant out for another time). It's definitely worth picking up if you own a Duo but it is a game made in 1992 and it's it requires quite a bit Japanese (though if you use a guide you can play through it without it). It's one of my favorite all time titles on the platform. Also if you're interested I wrote a to-be completed sometime later walkthrough of the game cube remake (I have no immediate plans to finish it due to a lack of time and interest from players).

Added in edit: Also worth noting is that there is still a trailer of the Game Cube version floating around, IM me if you want to see it.

[esteban]

rock on dragonmaster!  thanks for the scoop... lots of good stuff in there

[handygrafx]

whoa, thank you guys for the insightful and kind replies.  I have not much time to talk today since I have to work all day.   I'm going to have to get a real copy of this RPG now.  Yes I would love to see the Gamecube footage of the remake  

[Keranu]

Also keep in mind that this game takes up a ton of space on your Duo, so if you plan on playing it, you better delete stuff you don't need .

[Black Tiger]

So my questions to anyone out there with knowledge about
Tengai Makyo 2  aka Ziria: Far East of Eden 2,  was the game in fact *that* large, and did it have everything that the article above says, like 20,000 overhead screens, 300 enemies, 48 bosses, 90 minutes of animation, 24 CD music tracks, 80+ chip-generated music tracks, and was it the most expensive game ever made for its time

overall was it as impressive as that old preview makes it out to be?

....I also know understand that this game was remade for Playstation2.

I don't know how expensive it was to make(Dragon's Lair-type LD arcades may have cost more), but the rest of those stats look realistic. It may even be larger than that.

I don't think I've ever played an RPG with nearly as many bosses and they're ALL animated.

If you like RPG's, go buy TMII right away. It's cheaper than ever and you'll have no problem playing through it with my walkthrough on GameFAQs. If you do get stuck for some reason(one item I believe has to be triggered, but didn't know it at the time) I can help you through it by e-mail.

An even more impressive game, but not as big in area-size, is TM Fuun Kabuki Den. Kabuki Den is a Final Fantasy style TM, just like how Final Fantasy Tactics is a Tactics Ogre version of Final Fantasy.

Again, the game is dirt cheap and I have a walkthrough for it up on GameFAQs. Kabuki Den may have even cost more to make(for a number of reasons) and the only reason it so cheap is because Hudson pumped out so many copies aniticipating demand since it was basically everything fans should've wanted(it stars the most popular character of the series who debuted in TMII and is FF styled).

TMII for Gamecube/PS2 should only be played if you're a fan of the original. It is dated for its time and is not for anyone expecting a modern version of the classic.

[esteban]

thanks for the scoop!  I wish I had the time to play this game.  Maybe I'll pick up a copy just for fun...

[Keranu]

I really want to play through this game sometime, but the Japanese in it is a lot stronger than most PCE RPGs. Maybe I'll try using the walkthrough as a guide sometime when I really feel like beating it.

[Black Tiger]

I really want to play through this game sometime, but the Japanese in it is a lot stronger than most PCE RPGs. Maybe I'll try using the walkthrough as a guide sometime when I really feel like beating it.

Its actually one of the most gaijin friendly PCE rpg's language wise. To play through a battle you can just turn on the turbo switch and hold down the button(in most cases).

You don't need to understand everything in the story to play through and have fun. But the story is pretty easy to follow none the less.

Pretty much every item has a katakana title at the top of the screen.

Its easy enough to decipher which spells are offense, healing and status enhancing by looking at the descriptions.

I made the walkthrough back when I couldn't even read katakana without a guide and made it all the way to the end(although I got stuck at first and continued a couple years later).

[Keranu]

That's nice to know. I might have to try beating it this summer.