Tengai Makyou II rocks hard...

[Keranu]

I started a game in Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru on my PCE CD two or three days ago and planning on seriously beating it, unlike the other times where I would fire it up and hope to get far in the game. I am using Black Tiger's walkthrough for a somewhat translation (because I no speaky de Japanese-ay) and help and have put about four hours or so into this game. I just wanted to say that I am having an absolute blast playing this game even without fully understanding it!

Black Tiger was right when he told me that it can be played through without knowing Japanese and the barrier isn't nearly as bad as I thought. The hardest part is figuring out all the menus and items, but once you are past that, the game can be understood quite well without knowing the language due the the many and detailed cinemas, along with the voice acting. This game is so awesome and don't let the language stop you! I'll have to play through the first game because I can tell these games have highly influenced RPGs to come after it, especially CD ones.

This is seriously one of the best RPGs I have played in awhile and I don't even know Japanese really! I can only imagine how awesome it would be if this game was in English...

[Kaminari]

Yup. If you put into the balance its humoungous size and its overall quality, Manjimaru is without doubt the best RPG in the world. Long time ago, it took me an average of 120 hours to beat the game (nine days, 12 hours per day, talk about a marathon) while writing a walkthrough. Best Summer I had!

Enjoy the ride

[esteban]

Black Tiger was right when he told me that it can be played through without knowing Japanese and the barrier isn't nearly as bad as I thought.

Yeah, based on Black Tiger's recommendation and the walkthrough he wrote, I'm going to get this game.  Not that I have the time to play it, of course.

On that note, I already purchased Tengei Makyu Kabuki Den and Tengei Makyu - Ziria... how do these games stack up? Black Tiger? Kaminari? I bought them to listen to the music, first and foremost...

[KingDrool]

Where's the walkthrough?  GameFAQs?

[Michael Helgeson]

Easiest import rpgs I ever played trough were both Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue on Saturn.I had no probs with them at all.Grandia was next up.The worst,was Snatcher for Saturn.

[Keranu]

By the way, it appears I played about seven hours into the game when I made this post.

Kaminari - Is this game really THAT long? I always read it was a very long game, but I figured it would just be long for it's time, like maybe 50 hours at most. I guess I have quite a lot to play in this game, which can be a good thing since it's so excellent so far!

I know it's early, but I can honestly say this is one of the best RPGs ever made and I don't even know Japanese, along with only putting seven hours into this massive game so far!

[TR0N]

Where's the walkthrough?  GameFAQs?

Yup under the Turbo-CD section there.

Just click all list and it should be listed.

[m1savage]

Yes it is a HUGE game. Glad to see some more people enjoying this classic. By the way, I'm still offering a cash reward for an English patch for this game or Anearth Fantasy Stories.  

[Kaminari]

Kaminari - Is this game really THAT long?

Keep in mind I was typing a walkthrough (more like a traveller's log, really!) while progressing. You can rush through the game in about 40 hours, but the average time for a normal, easy-going game is about 80 hours (that was the advertised play time) without using a walkthrough

On that note, I already purchased Tengei Makyu Kabuki Den and Tengei Makyu - Ziria... how do these games stack up?

Ziria was one of the first CD games released for the PC Engine. It's shorter, a bit cruder around the edges (the environments and the puzzles are not particularly varied) and overall, people tend to consider it as a Momotarô Densetsu on CD -- which is not a bad thing if you enjoyed the Momoden series

As for myself, I like Ziria a lot. There's a typical Japanese atmosphere about it which you just don't find in any other RPG. The PSG tunes are exotic and well done, the few CD tracks by Ryūichi Sakamoto have become famous. The graphics are drawned in the exquisite wafū style, which is uncommon in video games (sadly most people would qualify them as "primitive").

Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.

[esteban]

As always, thank you Kaminari.

Ziria was one of the first CD games released for the PC Engine. It's shorter, a bit cruder around the edges (the environments and the puzzles are not particularly varied) and overall, people tend to consider it as a Momotarô Densetsu on CD -- which is not a bad thing if you enjoyed the Momoden series

As for myself, I like Ziria a lot. There's a typical Japanese atmosphere about it which you just don't find in any other RPG. The PSG tunes are exotic and well done, the few CD tracks by Ryūichi Sakamoto have become famous. The graphics are drawned in the exquisite wafū style, which is uncommon in video games (sadly most people would qualify them as "primitive").

Ahhh, well that really helps me put things in perspective. I must admit, I'd be the ignorant chap who would not have realized that the game's aesthetics were stylized in the spirit of wafu. In fact, I didn't know what wafu was until a minute ago.

Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.

Ahhh, I was expecting this to be a recycling of Manjimaru, but that's not the case at all.

Here's the BIG QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are any of you folks aware of a music debug mode available in the Tengai Makyu (or ANY other) CD games with PSG music? Basically, I'm wondering if there is a way to listen to the PSG tunes without having to play the game.

For example, Neo Nectaris SCD is almost 100% Redbook, but two tracks (password screen and game over screen) are PSG.  I had no problem making an mp3 of these PSG songs (I did it old skool, recording the analog output from a TG-CD via my computer's sound card). I would like to do the same with other PSG tunes...

[Black Tiger]

Fūun Kabuki Den is a gaiden, a side-story. It essentially uses the same engine as Manjimaru (minus the zoomed-in view in the dungeons), but the tone is more slapstick than epic, owing a lot to the Kabuki theater which is full of colours and comical situations. It's much shorter than Tengai 2 as well, and there are too many battles to my liking, but the PSG and CD tunes by Kōhei Tanaka are excellent and this is still one of the greatest RPGs ever IMO.

Kabuki Den is actually a Final Fantasy(IV)-style TM/FEOE(slower pace, battles, over & underworld walking, 4 fiends, etc...). By RPG standards, its still long.

There are still regions that you tend to clear one at a time, but they're jam packed with questing instead of the stretched out run-through gameplay of Maru II.

Maru does take a lot of time to clear if you're playing it without guidance. But I blazed through the sections I was familiar with the second time playing and got half way through in 2 or 3 days on the Gamecube version.

You can just turn on the Turbo switches and hold down the button to clear most battles(PCE version).

Kabuki Den has a pretty good debug mode, similar to Ys IV's, after you finish the game(press I at the 'The End" screen and reload).

I recently got a preview book for Kabuki Den that shows some of the early development on Tengai Makyo III: HIMIKO

It stars a young blonde haired girl who appears to be some sort of sorceress and her companion is a giant pig named Yamataku!

I also have a PC Engine mag that had the most amount of info on NAMIDA before it was cancelled. I translated most of it with Photoshop and was going to post them on my long-dead TM site(I've got the images on a CD around here somewhere...).

The hero was a very plain looking boy who was orphaned and the only thing left by his parents was a necklace and he was raised by fisherman. There was a tall shady looking guy, a young blonde girl(Himiko?) who looked like Kinu and a white Dog named "Dog".

The game finally released for PS2 is radically different, but it looks like Namida's back story is similar.

[Kaminari]

I recently got a preview book for Kabuki Den that shows some of the early development on Tengai Makyo III: HIMIKO

Oh yeah, Himiko... That was a famous prank, back then

Jackie Chan was supposed to be part of the dubbing cast (don't ask), John Williams was supposed to write the score after Sakamoto, Hisaishi and Tanaka... Great stuff!

[Keranu]

Thanks for all the great information guys! I'm just curious, but how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?

And speaking of PSG sound tests on CD games, in the developer's room in The Dawn of Ys, there is that monster playing the piano and he mentions something about PSG (I forgot what it said in the English translation) and I read something on this Japanese site that says there is some kind of cheat to access the PSG sound test mode. Does anyone know of anything about this and if it's possible to access it? The game really makes it seem like you can by doing some kind of trick.

[Black Tiger]

Thanks for all the great information guys! I'm just curious, but how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?

And speaking of PSG sound tests on CD games, in the developer's room in The Dawn of Ys, there is that monster playing the piano and he mentions something about PSG (I forgot what it said in the English translation) and I read something on this Japanese site that says there is some kind of cheat to access the PSG sound test mode. Does anyone know of anything about this and if it's possible to access it? The game really makes it seem like you can by doing some kind of trick.

1: Fuun Kabuki Den
2: Manji Maru
3: Apocalypse IV
4: ZIRIA
5: Zero
6: Itouryoden
7: Shin Den
8: Kakutoden

I'm guessing that NAMIDA will fall inbetween Manji Maru & Apocalypse IV.

Zero was really great from what little I played before getting stuck. There's a walkthrough up now and I plan on mapping it out when I get around to playing it through.

The same with Apocalypse IV, I didn't want to battle cels of animation before playing it, but quickly learned to appreciate it and its one of those special games where you'd believe anything(gameplay, aesthetics) could happen next(you get to draw a face for a custom character and they phonetically say aloud the name you give them).

I'd have to take a look at the developer's room in Ys IV again(I don't have a save file for it right now). I thought that there was either a way to select the songs or get them played in the rooms or something.

[Kaminari]

how would you guys rank the Tengai Makyou games from best to least in order?

It's a matter of taste, really

Fighting games aside, my list would look like this:

1. Manjimaru
2. Ziria
3. Ao no Tengai (Oriental Blue)
4. Fūun Kabuki Den
5. Zero
6. Daishi no Mokushiroku (The Apocalypse IV)

It's interesting to note that 1-2's game designer is Shōji Masuda (of Emerald Dragon and Linda Cube fame), 3-4-5's designer is Kōji Arai (there's a strong design cohesion between Oriental Blue and Zero) and 6 is from a guy named Yutaka Nagayama (the game really stands apart from the rest of the series).