Dark Seal / Dark Seal II

[blackoak]

Has anyone played these Data East games and would care to share their thoughts? They look intriguing, but I can't find much info about them online. Are there differences between the JP and US versions?

MAME and youtube are my next stops, but I like hearing people's opinions directly too.

[BrianC]

I'm not sure of differences between US and JP, but Dark Seal II is in the Data East Collection for Wii under the localized name of Wizard Fire. I like what I played of it quite a bit, but it has been awhile since I have played.

[drauch]

I dunno how I feel about it. It's got some good things going for it but the isometric view kinda makes things awkward at times. Not a great game, yeah, but not too bad.

[blackoak]

Thanks, I'll look into that Wii version and see if I can find out more. I'm especially curious about JP/US versions on games like this, as I've read about so many arcade games from this era where the US version was dumbed down, changed, or somehow turned into a quarter eating machine.

I generally really like the isometric view, including the challenge of aiming etc. I'm surprised I had never heard of these games, so I wondered if that was due to their mediocrity or something else...

[GaijinPunch]

They're talked about a bit at the end of this thread.

[blackoak]

Thanks for that link. Sounds like Dark Seal II isn't worth trying unless I develop an abiding love for the first. Still can't find any info on any US/JP version differences, which perhaps suggests there are none...

[GaijinPunch]

Not necessarily... I recall playing Night Striker in the arcades here after dicking around w/ the US version in Mame. Definitely differences... at least on what JPN arcades have as defaults and Mame thinks are defaults.

[Estebang]

Isn't Dark Seal II also known as Wizard Fire?

[GaijinPunch]

According to BrianC all the way back towards the top of this thread it is.

[JBC]

I believe the first one is called Gate of Doom over here in the states. I used to pump many quarters into it and loved it as a kid. Then again, I also loved Caliber .50 so I couldn't tell you if the game still holds up or not. I played it through MAME once but I don't guess it made an impression.

[Turrican]

Someone on the Evercade facebook page just posted a neat easter egg.

in Dark Seal II, in the catacombs stage (Kannan Desert) the developers scribbled some runic messages on the walls. Except it's just plain English written backwards and flipped over.

The messages that can be found on the catacomb's walls are:

- WELCOM
- THE BIJ MAP BROTHERS
- LORICIEL
- SPEED BALL 2
- THE CARE BEAR2 (wtf!?!)
- CADAVER
- SNADOW OF THE BEA2T

Well played Data East, well played.

You can see the bas-reliefs here.

[BIL]

I love THE CARE BEAR2 I'm guessing they were going for "bears," but it makes me think of some HK bootleg Famicom cart, probably a hack of Gremlins 2.

I wonder if The Bij (The Biz? Biz Markie?) and Cadaver are music references, DECO's Gama Delic team being quite the professionals.

EDIT: Oh duh, Bitmap Bros for both. Weeby blindspot, apologies.

[Turrican]

Bottom line is,

nowadays gen Z shmups fans: *enjoy lolis* *enjoy to diss Amiga and euroshmups*

baby boomers Japanese developers: *secretly scribble the names of their heroes on catacombs' walls*