I'm starting this thread to contain some random gaming related translations that I intend to do in the future.
I've gained a lot of knowledge from many members of this site, so I felt like giving back just a little bit. It's also a good way to force me to read
more Japanese without just skimming over it, as well as one of the best avenues for learning about topics I am particularly interested in.
I'm not a professional translater nor a native speaker, but hopefully these translations will be of some interest to some of you. I also don't have a blog or website, so this will be the only place I post these.
Hopefully there will be at least a translation a month if everything goes as planned.
In particular, much respect to Black Oak at shmuplations.com as both an inspiration and a source of content that I enjoy greatly.
Random JP VG Article Translations
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
This is a translation of an recurring column (roughly translated as “Rolling Uchigawa’s Sega Old-timer’s Tales”) on Sega of Japan’s website concerning their arcade pedigree. The author of the column is known as “Rolling” Uchigawa. He was born in 1970 and lives in Tokyo and works as a freelancer in the game media industry.
original link: https://sega-interactive.co.jp/special/ ... ai_08.html
Notes:
Column author is in normal print
Bun Bun Maru’s comments are in bold
START OF ARTICLE
“Rolling” Uchigawa’s SEGA Old-timer’s Tales
#08 Reminiscing on the Virtua Fighter Boom with Bun Bun Maru (Part 1)
——————————
1993, the year when Virtua Fighter, a unique fighting game, suddenly appeared in arcades. Characters that looked like they were created from “stuck-together boards” fluidly moved around as if they were truly alive. I remember the visual impact of seeing that for the first time.
At the time, gamers crowded around this stunning game and poured ¥100 coins into it as the term “Virtua Poor” was created. Players who spent ¥100,000 (approx. $1000) were commonplace, and some competitive players even began buying a cabinet and the game’s PCB for their own home.
^^^ A screenshot of Virtua Fighter 1
Then, with the rising popularity of the game, top players like “Shinjuku Jacky” and “Ikebukuro Sarah” stepped into the spotlight, and a social phenomenon was created.
Up until then, even among games with an excited following, individual players rarely got much outside attention. In that way, it might be said that a new game culture was born at that moment.
Of course at that time, I played my fair share of Virtua Fighter, but however you look at it, I only experienced it from the outskirts far removed from the boom’s epicenter. Even so, I understood its importance and the fact that nothing on this level had existed before.
Among today’s young gamers, I imagine that there are many who know nothing about the Virtua Fighter boom. That’s why I feel like it might be interesting to convey the enthusiasm of that era by chatting with “Bun Bun Maru” — a player who was at the very center of the Virtua Fighter boom.
The interview will be introduced in two parts. From the perspective as a 3D fighting game pioneer, we would like to get a glimpse of the sudden changes in the world of the game industry and Sega’s accomplishments.
——————————
Bun Bun Maru’s Background:
Real Name: Motoki Shinohara
He was a junior employee with me a Famitsu Magazine’s editorial department. Now, similar to me, he is a freelancer—MCing for game events, doing live-reporting, commentary, as well as being a writer.
^^^ Bun Bun Maru playing Virtua Fighter during the boom
At that time he was a well known Virtua Fighter player, and along with the previously mentioned “Shinjuku Jacky” and “Ikebukuro Sarah”, and others they were known as the “Virtua Fighter Iron Men”.
Bun Bun Maru: “Before playing Virtua Fighter, I was really into Street Fighter II. When my local arcade first got Virtua Fighter, I dabbled in it from time to time while still playing Street Fighter II. Still, when I first saw Virtua Fighter, I was amazed by the character’s beautiful motion. I was always into watching martial arts and pro wrestling, so I was really surprised by the fluidity of the punches and kicks. Also, I thought that the polygon edge graphics were really effective and cool. Even today, I think the first Virtua Fighter’s graphic style is really good.
And here is how Bun Bun Maru first became completely entranced in Virtua Fighter.
Bun Bun Maru: “Around that time, in game magazines that I read here and there, I heard that a Shinjuku arcade named “SPOT 21” was hot, and they mentioned a player named “Shinjuku Jacky” who defeated 98 players on a single coin. No matter what I wanted to play against this “Shinjuku Jacky”, so I began commuting to SPOT 21.”
That's how he got to know Shinjuku Jacky and Takayuki Hata (a coworker of mine at the time) who were editors at Famitsu Weekly (one of the most popular Japanese gaming magazines), which led to his recruitment by the company.
The Virtua Fighter boom truly caught fire in 1994 with the release of Virtua Fighter 2.
Bun Bun Maru: “If I had to explain how popular it became, on weekday nights the spectators at SPOT 21 were over 100 people. On weekend nights, it became so packed that you couldn’t even enter the arcade. Confident players came from their local areas. Even though it wasn’t Moses and the Red Sea, when top players that everyone knew showed up, the crowd would part down the middle creating a path right to the arcade machine. That was amazing (laughs). There was also an event at an arcade in Akihabara where around 1,000 spectators showed up. The game center had monitors at the street entrance which showed the Virtua Fighter tournament, and pedestrians would stop and stand in the street watching. It was like they were stopped watching a Rikidōzan pro wrestling match being shown on public TV screens.”
^^^ People gather outside a Sega arcade in the Akihabara district in Tokyo to watch a Virtua Fighter tournament
This large-scale movement transformed the arcade atmosphere. The area around the Virtua Fighter cabinets was like a fighting ring, and the strong players were extremely respected in a similar way to a fighter or martial arts expert.
Slightly off-topic but in pursuit of realistic motion for the characters, Sega’s Yu Suzuki, the game’s director, studied Chinese fighting styles to improve the quality of Virtua Fighter 2. It’s well-known that he personally practiced Chinese martial arts in order to gather first-hand experience. Therefore, the realistic movement allowed it to become more of a hand-to-hand fighting simulation than a fighting game.
Getting back to the original topic, as one of the “Virtua Fighter Iron Men” Bun Bun Maru was well respected by gamers and contributed to various activities.
Bun Bun Maru: “At that time Sega sponsored a “100 Man Matchup” event at their Sega branded arcades. It was me versus 100 people, and we toured around different prefectures, from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Okinawa in the south. My win rate was never below 80%. I think my best was 96 wins. Also, I worked as a Virtua Fighter tournament commentator and helped make the strategy guide “Virtua Fighter Maniacs”. Strategy videos were another thing I frequently contributed to. At one point, all of the top 8 selling videos (including movies and dramas) were Virtua Fighter videos that I contributed to (laughs).”
^^^ a look at the setting during the Sega sponsored “100 Man Matchup”
With that, we can see that there was a fanaticism that is hard to imagine now. We will get into how this movement transcended game industry media and entered the mainstream media in part 2. This type of impact was extremely rare in those days.
Also, we will learn about the original of Bun Bun Maru’s nickname. I definitely look forward to hearing about it.
END OF ARTICLE
original link: https://sega-interactive.co.jp/special/ ... ai_08.html
Notes:
Column author is in normal print
Bun Bun Maru’s comments are in bold
START OF ARTICLE
“Rolling” Uchigawa’s SEGA Old-timer’s Tales
#08 Reminiscing on the Virtua Fighter Boom with Bun Bun Maru (Part 1)
——————————
1993, the year when Virtua Fighter, a unique fighting game, suddenly appeared in arcades. Characters that looked like they were created from “stuck-together boards” fluidly moved around as if they were truly alive. I remember the visual impact of seeing that for the first time.
At the time, gamers crowded around this stunning game and poured ¥100 coins into it as the term “Virtua Poor” was created. Players who spent ¥100,000 (approx. $1000) were commonplace, and some competitive players even began buying a cabinet and the game’s PCB for their own home.
^^^ A screenshot of Virtua Fighter 1
Then, with the rising popularity of the game, top players like “Shinjuku Jacky” and “Ikebukuro Sarah” stepped into the spotlight, and a social phenomenon was created.
Up until then, even among games with an excited following, individual players rarely got much outside attention. In that way, it might be said that a new game culture was born at that moment.
Of course at that time, I played my fair share of Virtua Fighter, but however you look at it, I only experienced it from the outskirts far removed from the boom’s epicenter. Even so, I understood its importance and the fact that nothing on this level had existed before.
Among today’s young gamers, I imagine that there are many who know nothing about the Virtua Fighter boom. That’s why I feel like it might be interesting to convey the enthusiasm of that era by chatting with “Bun Bun Maru” — a player who was at the very center of the Virtua Fighter boom.
The interview will be introduced in two parts. From the perspective as a 3D fighting game pioneer, we would like to get a glimpse of the sudden changes in the world of the game industry and Sega’s accomplishments.
——————————
Bun Bun Maru’s Background:
Real Name: Motoki Shinohara
He was a junior employee with me a Famitsu Magazine’s editorial department. Now, similar to me, he is a freelancer—MCing for game events, doing live-reporting, commentary, as well as being a writer.
^^^ Bun Bun Maru playing Virtua Fighter during the boom
At that time he was a well known Virtua Fighter player, and along with the previously mentioned “Shinjuku Jacky” and “Ikebukuro Sarah”, and others they were known as the “Virtua Fighter Iron Men”.
Bun Bun Maru: “Before playing Virtua Fighter, I was really into Street Fighter II. When my local arcade first got Virtua Fighter, I dabbled in it from time to time while still playing Street Fighter II. Still, when I first saw Virtua Fighter, I was amazed by the character’s beautiful motion. I was always into watching martial arts and pro wrestling, so I was really surprised by the fluidity of the punches and kicks. Also, I thought that the polygon edge graphics were really effective and cool. Even today, I think the first Virtua Fighter’s graphic style is really good.
And here is how Bun Bun Maru first became completely entranced in Virtua Fighter.
Bun Bun Maru: “Around that time, in game magazines that I read here and there, I heard that a Shinjuku arcade named “SPOT 21” was hot, and they mentioned a player named “Shinjuku Jacky” who defeated 98 players on a single coin. No matter what I wanted to play against this “Shinjuku Jacky”, so I began commuting to SPOT 21.”
That's how he got to know Shinjuku Jacky and Takayuki Hata (a coworker of mine at the time) who were editors at Famitsu Weekly (one of the most popular Japanese gaming magazines), which led to his recruitment by the company.
The Virtua Fighter boom truly caught fire in 1994 with the release of Virtua Fighter 2.
Bun Bun Maru: “If I had to explain how popular it became, on weekday nights the spectators at SPOT 21 were over 100 people. On weekend nights, it became so packed that you couldn’t even enter the arcade. Confident players came from their local areas. Even though it wasn’t Moses and the Red Sea, when top players that everyone knew showed up, the crowd would part down the middle creating a path right to the arcade machine. That was amazing (laughs). There was also an event at an arcade in Akihabara where around 1,000 spectators showed up. The game center had monitors at the street entrance which showed the Virtua Fighter tournament, and pedestrians would stop and stand in the street watching. It was like they were stopped watching a Rikidōzan pro wrestling match being shown on public TV screens.”
^^^ People gather outside a Sega arcade in the Akihabara district in Tokyo to watch a Virtua Fighter tournament
This large-scale movement transformed the arcade atmosphere. The area around the Virtua Fighter cabinets was like a fighting ring, and the strong players were extremely respected in a similar way to a fighter or martial arts expert.
Slightly off-topic but in pursuit of realistic motion for the characters, Sega’s Yu Suzuki, the game’s director, studied Chinese fighting styles to improve the quality of Virtua Fighter 2. It’s well-known that he personally practiced Chinese martial arts in order to gather first-hand experience. Therefore, the realistic movement allowed it to become more of a hand-to-hand fighting simulation than a fighting game.
Getting back to the original topic, as one of the “Virtua Fighter Iron Men” Bun Bun Maru was well respected by gamers and contributed to various activities.
Bun Bun Maru: “At that time Sega sponsored a “100 Man Matchup” event at their Sega branded arcades. It was me versus 100 people, and we toured around different prefectures, from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Okinawa in the south. My win rate was never below 80%. I think my best was 96 wins. Also, I worked as a Virtua Fighter tournament commentator and helped make the strategy guide “Virtua Fighter Maniacs”. Strategy videos were another thing I frequently contributed to. At one point, all of the top 8 selling videos (including movies and dramas) were Virtua Fighter videos that I contributed to (laughs).”
^^^ a look at the setting during the Sega sponsored “100 Man Matchup”
With that, we can see that there was a fanaticism that is hard to imagine now. We will get into how this movement transcended game industry media and entered the mainstream media in part 2. This type of impact was extremely rare in those days.
Also, we will learn about the original of Bun Bun Maru’s nickname. I definitely look forward to hearing about it.
END OF ARTICLE
Last edited by cicada88 on Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
This is a translation of an recurring column (roughly translated as “Rolling Uchigawa’s Sega Old-timer’s Tales”) on Sega of Japan’s website concerning their arcade pedigree. The author of the column is known as “Rolling” Uchigawa. He was born in 1970 and lives in Tokyo and works as a freelancer in the game media industry.
original link: https://sega-interactive.co.jp/special/ ... ai_09.html
Notes:
Column author is in normal print
Bun Bun Maru’s comments are in bold
START OF ARTICLE
“Rolling” Uchigawa’s SEGA Old-timer’s Tales
#08 Reminiscing on the Virtua Fighter Boom with Bun Bun Maru (Part 2)
——————————
The sudden Virtua Fighter boom of the ‘90s. The now legendary group of standout players were the driving force behind the phenomenon.
In the 2nd half of our interview with top-player Bun Bun Maru, we would like to examine Sega’s role as a 3D fighting game pioneer and their part in the complete transformation of the game industry.
——————————
^^^ a promotional flyer for the original Virtua Fighter
As the Virtua Fighter Boom heated up, it didn’t just affect the game industry media, but the mainstream media also began reporting on the phenomenon. This was extremely rare at the time.
Regular publications such as “SPA!” (Fusosha Publishing), “AERA” (Asahi Shimbun Press), and television programs like “Asakusabashi Young Yōhinten” (TV Tokyo) , “Tonight” (Asahi Television) “Saidaikōyaku Show” (TBS Holdings) etc picked up on the enthusiasm.
Bun Bun Maru: “I regularly received requests to appear on “Tonight”, and I appeared several times on the show. I wasn’t working for SEGA’s PR department, but I was doing various activities to spread the word about the game that I loved. I thought that getting as many new Virtua Fighter players would make it more interesting. Even if I could influence just one new player I would be satisfied, so I continued to promote the games excitement through various media.
Not just Bun Bun Maru but many other well-known Virtua Fighter players began getting work merely because of their success at Virtua Fighter. For example, they did things like making media appearances, doing tournament commentary, and writing strategy guides. You could call this the start of “professional gaming”.
^^^ Bun Bun Maru (Right) together with Shinjuku Jacky (Left) during Virtua Fighter 2’s popularity
Bun Bun Maru: “Making money by playing games—by that definition Takahashi Mejin was already a pro gamer. However, Meijin was doing it from the perspective of working for the benefit of a game company’s PR and marketing. As for purely game players going pro, we might have been the first. Back then I was competing in a lot of tournaments. The large cash prizes of modern gaming tournaments didn’t exist back then, but we could win many prizes.
When I was young, adults used to say to me, “No matter how good you get at games, you won’t earn any money (and will starve).” I find the fact that nowadays being skilled at games can lead directly to finding employment is really moving.
So I asked Bun Bun Maru directly. “Why do you think Virtua Fighter became so popular?”
Bun Bun Maru: “I can think of many reasons, but first of all the game was extremely cool. Virtua Fighter was able to capture the attention of more fashionable people. For example, there was an event at a Shibuya nightclub called “Polygon Junkies”. I think the game was able to garner interest from these non-gamers because of events like this. I touched on this earlier, but I also think that there was a realness in the fluidity of the punches and kicks. Also, the impact of the hits and timing of the sound effects—the game was created with attention to every last detail. If you are into martial arts or pro wrestling, the fighting style is very close to reality. In that way, more than a game, it becomes approaches the level of a fighting match or sports. I think everyone might have been drawn in by that aspect of it.
I see, so even for those not well-versed in video games, Virtua Fighter was extremely straight-forward. Fight and knockout your opponent and you’re good—that’s it. Just by watching it’s easy to grasp. Therefore, lots of people were able to quickly appreciate it.
^^^ promotional flyer for Virtua Fighter 2
Then, I asked about something I was curious about. “Shinjuku Jacky”, “Ikebukuro Sarah”, ”Kashiwa Jeffry”—other well-known players nicknames were usually their locale + character name. Why did you go with “Bun Bun Maru”?
Bun Bun Maru: “At the time, I went to play mahjong with other players, and they all wrote their Virtua Fighter nicknames on the scoresheet. I didn’t have a nickname yet, so someone wrote “Bun Bun Maru” on the scoresheet. I used to pro wrestling specialist named Wolf at the time, so if I was to make a locale + character nickname, I would have been “Shinjuku Wolf”. However, they said, “You use (Wolf’s) Giant Swing move and throw your opponents with a boom so you’re “Bun Bun Maru” (“bunbun” means shaking or trembling; “maru” is a suffix for a person’s name). It wasn’t because the name “Bun Bun Maru” was a particularly good match for my mahjong playing style (laughter).”
“I preferred forceful knockdowns”—that’s the reason why Bun Bun Maru chose Wolf as his main character. Among the Virtua Fighter competitors, it wasn’t just about beating your opponent. A big motivation was winning while building excitement for the spectators. In that way, they were kind of like entertainers.
In conclusion, what do you think about Sega’s history? Please talk about the appeal of Sega’s arcade games.
^^^ when Bun Bun Maru played a crowd of spectators quickly gathered around
Bun Bun Maru: “I like the fact that Sega often has many games with pioneering ideas. Of course Virtua Fighter is an example as the first 3D fighting game, but more recent games that incorporate trading-cards such as“World Club Championship Football” and “Sangokushi Taisen” are examples. Also, Wonderland Wars which uses a unique pen (stylus?) input device. Arcades are a special place that provide exciting experiences not able to be matched by home games. Therefore, I like the fact that (Sega) have so many games with those types of ideas.”
Because nothing like it existed before, their ingenuity stands out. However, these ingenuous games are often the ones that represent a generation. It might be the very fact that these games transcend genre boundaries that causes them to surprise people, allowing them to see their magic.
Virtua Fighter sparked a movement at the time, and its creation formed the foundation for all 3D fighting games that followed.
END OF ARTICLE
original link: https://sega-interactive.co.jp/special/ ... ai_09.html
Notes:
Column author is in normal print
Bun Bun Maru’s comments are in bold
START OF ARTICLE
“Rolling” Uchigawa’s SEGA Old-timer’s Tales
#08 Reminiscing on the Virtua Fighter Boom with Bun Bun Maru (Part 2)
——————————
The sudden Virtua Fighter boom of the ‘90s. The now legendary group of standout players were the driving force behind the phenomenon.
In the 2nd half of our interview with top-player Bun Bun Maru, we would like to examine Sega’s role as a 3D fighting game pioneer and their part in the complete transformation of the game industry.
——————————
^^^ a promotional flyer for the original Virtua Fighter
As the Virtua Fighter Boom heated up, it didn’t just affect the game industry media, but the mainstream media also began reporting on the phenomenon. This was extremely rare at the time.
Regular publications such as “SPA!” (Fusosha Publishing), “AERA” (Asahi Shimbun Press), and television programs like “Asakusabashi Young Yōhinten” (TV Tokyo) , “Tonight” (Asahi Television) “Saidaikōyaku Show” (TBS Holdings) etc picked up on the enthusiasm.
Bun Bun Maru: “I regularly received requests to appear on “Tonight”, and I appeared several times on the show. I wasn’t working for SEGA’s PR department, but I was doing various activities to spread the word about the game that I loved. I thought that getting as many new Virtua Fighter players would make it more interesting. Even if I could influence just one new player I would be satisfied, so I continued to promote the games excitement through various media.
Not just Bun Bun Maru but many other well-known Virtua Fighter players began getting work merely because of their success at Virtua Fighter. For example, they did things like making media appearances, doing tournament commentary, and writing strategy guides. You could call this the start of “professional gaming”.
^^^ Bun Bun Maru (Right) together with Shinjuku Jacky (Left) during Virtua Fighter 2’s popularity
Bun Bun Maru: “Making money by playing games—by that definition Takahashi Mejin was already a pro gamer. However, Meijin was doing it from the perspective of working for the benefit of a game company’s PR and marketing. As for purely game players going pro, we might have been the first. Back then I was competing in a lot of tournaments. The large cash prizes of modern gaming tournaments didn’t exist back then, but we could win many prizes.
When I was young, adults used to say to me, “No matter how good you get at games, you won’t earn any money (and will starve).” I find the fact that nowadays being skilled at games can lead directly to finding employment is really moving.
So I asked Bun Bun Maru directly. “Why do you think Virtua Fighter became so popular?”
Bun Bun Maru: “I can think of many reasons, but first of all the game was extremely cool. Virtua Fighter was able to capture the attention of more fashionable people. For example, there was an event at a Shibuya nightclub called “Polygon Junkies”. I think the game was able to garner interest from these non-gamers because of events like this. I touched on this earlier, but I also think that there was a realness in the fluidity of the punches and kicks. Also, the impact of the hits and timing of the sound effects—the game was created with attention to every last detail. If you are into martial arts or pro wrestling, the fighting style is very close to reality. In that way, more than a game, it becomes approaches the level of a fighting match or sports. I think everyone might have been drawn in by that aspect of it.
I see, so even for those not well-versed in video games, Virtua Fighter was extremely straight-forward. Fight and knockout your opponent and you’re good—that’s it. Just by watching it’s easy to grasp. Therefore, lots of people were able to quickly appreciate it.
^^^ promotional flyer for Virtua Fighter 2
Then, I asked about something I was curious about. “Shinjuku Jacky”, “Ikebukuro Sarah”, ”Kashiwa Jeffry”—other well-known players nicknames were usually their locale + character name. Why did you go with “Bun Bun Maru”?
Bun Bun Maru: “At the time, I went to play mahjong with other players, and they all wrote their Virtua Fighter nicknames on the scoresheet. I didn’t have a nickname yet, so someone wrote “Bun Bun Maru” on the scoresheet. I used to pro wrestling specialist named Wolf at the time, so if I was to make a locale + character nickname, I would have been “Shinjuku Wolf”. However, they said, “You use (Wolf’s) Giant Swing move and throw your opponents with a boom so you’re “Bun Bun Maru” (“bunbun” means shaking or trembling; “maru” is a suffix for a person’s name). It wasn’t because the name “Bun Bun Maru” was a particularly good match for my mahjong playing style (laughter).”
“I preferred forceful knockdowns”—that’s the reason why Bun Bun Maru chose Wolf as his main character. Among the Virtua Fighter competitors, it wasn’t just about beating your opponent. A big motivation was winning while building excitement for the spectators. In that way, they were kind of like entertainers.
In conclusion, what do you think about Sega’s history? Please talk about the appeal of Sega’s arcade games.
^^^ when Bun Bun Maru played a crowd of spectators quickly gathered around
Bun Bun Maru: “I like the fact that Sega often has many games with pioneering ideas. Of course Virtua Fighter is an example as the first 3D fighting game, but more recent games that incorporate trading-cards such as“World Club Championship Football” and “Sangokushi Taisen” are examples. Also, Wonderland Wars which uses a unique pen (stylus?) input device. Arcades are a special place that provide exciting experiences not able to be matched by home games. Therefore, I like the fact that (Sega) have so many games with those types of ideas.”
Because nothing like it existed before, their ingenuity stands out. However, these ingenuous games are often the ones that represent a generation. It might be the very fact that these games transcend genre boundaries that causes them to surprise people, allowing them to see their magic.
Virtua Fighter sparked a movement at the time, and its creation formed the foundation for all 3D fighting games that followed.
END OF ARTICLE
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
Thanks for the article. 
ChurchOfSolipsism wrote:I'll make sure I'll download it illegally one day...
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
Here's a small blurb from the April 1992 issue of Beep! Mega Drive. It was included in a regular 2 page preview of Thunder Force IV.
Here's a bonus graphic from the Gleylancer advertisement:
Have a great weekend!
BEGINNING OF ARTICLE
The Developer's Description of Thunder Force IV
If a member of the development team was asked to introduce Thunder Force IV,
I think he would express the fact that team's most important consideration is
the Mega Drive end user. According to our conversation with Naosuke Arai of
Technosoft's Planning & Development department the development is going
smoothly. This is what Mr. Arai had to say concerning the development of
(Thunder Force) IV:
"Actually, this time about half of the development team members have changed.
This is because we want to include new ideas we haven't explored yet in the series
as well as do things we weren't able to do before. The game is now 8 Megabit and
we boosted the sound and graphics. Also, we made it so that even non-hardcore
fans can enjoy it."
Concerning the Mega Drive owners who have been anticipating Thunder Force IV,
he said, "I want to see with my own eyes just what we were able to power-up with
the large 8 Megabit capacity. We are also scheduled to exhibit it at the the Tokyo
Game Show."
With that, it seems like they are eager to please those who enjoyed
(Thunder Force) II and III.
^^^Naosuke Arai, the lead developer, seems confident
END OF ARTICLE
Here's a bonus graphic from the Gleylancer advertisement:
Have a great weekend!
BEGINNING OF ARTICLE
The Developer's Description of Thunder Force IV
If a member of the development team was asked to introduce Thunder Force IV,
I think he would express the fact that team's most important consideration is
the Mega Drive end user. According to our conversation with Naosuke Arai of
Technosoft's Planning & Development department the development is going
smoothly. This is what Mr. Arai had to say concerning the development of
(Thunder Force) IV:
"Actually, this time about half of the development team members have changed.
This is because we want to include new ideas we haven't explored yet in the series
as well as do things we weren't able to do before. The game is now 8 Megabit and
we boosted the sound and graphics. Also, we made it so that even non-hardcore
fans can enjoy it."
Concerning the Mega Drive owners who have been anticipating Thunder Force IV,
he said, "I want to see with my own eyes just what we were able to power-up with
the large 8 Megabit capacity. We are also scheduled to exhibit it at the the Tokyo
Game Show."
With that, it seems like they are eager to please those who enjoyed
(Thunder Force) II and III.
^^^Naosuke Arai, the lead developer, seems confident
END OF ARTICLE
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
Here is a translation of page 15 of the instruction manual from the Mega Drive port of Snow Bros. It was the first Japanese developed game to be released by Tengen in Japan, and the first of many collaborations with Toaplan on the MD. It is just a brief letter from Toaplan's manager Tatsuya Uemura to those who purchased the game.
__________
TRANSLATION START
MD Version Development Origins
Greetings to all Tengen fans. Are you aware that Snow Bros. was originally an arcade game released by Toaplan in 1990? I think many people assume that Toaplan only does STG games, but this unique hit proves that isn’t the case! It had a particularly strong reception starting overseas in Europe, but it also became a long-standing hit in Japan due to its playability and cute characters.
In the arcade it was a game that was especially popular with females and kids, but you’re mistaken if you think that means it lacks challenge. That isn’t the case at all—it’s an extremely deep game with a complex puzzle element. The goal is to accumulate large numbers of points by taking out as many enemies as possible with a single snowball. The intended play-style is to consider your timing and exactly how you should kick the snowballs. Stages 51 and above are all exclusive to the Mega Drive version, and the story is slightly expanded from the original arcade version.
Everyone please challenge yourself to rack up high scores while trying your best to beat the game!
TOAPLAN Tatsuya Uemura
TRANSLATION END
__________
TRANSLATION START
MD Version Development Origins
Greetings to all Tengen fans. Are you aware that Snow Bros. was originally an arcade game released by Toaplan in 1990? I think many people assume that Toaplan only does STG games, but this unique hit proves that isn’t the case! It had a particularly strong reception starting overseas in Europe, but it also became a long-standing hit in Japan due to its playability and cute characters.
In the arcade it was a game that was especially popular with females and kids, but you’re mistaken if you think that means it lacks challenge. That isn’t the case at all—it’s an extremely deep game with a complex puzzle element. The goal is to accumulate large numbers of points by taking out as many enemies as possible with a single snowball. The intended play-style is to consider your timing and exactly how you should kick the snowballs. Stages 51 and above are all exclusive to the Mega Drive version, and the story is slightly expanded from the original arcade version.
Everyone please challenge yourself to rack up high scores while trying your best to beat the game!
TOAPLAN Tatsuya Uemura
TRANSLATION END
Last edited by cicada88 on Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
These are fantastic:D
You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good. You know, it's just what hunters do! You'll get used to it.
Re: Random JP VG Article Translations
Here is another Toaplan letter. This time it's from page 15 of the Slap Fight MD instruction manual. It's a letter from the lead programmer, Jun Shimizu, to the buyers.
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TRANSLATION START
Hello, everyone. This is Jun Shimizu the lead programmer of Slap Fight.
The original version of this game is an arcade game from a fairly long time ago, however, I think that it is a really good STG that still holds up even when compared to more recent games. Therefore, our goal with the port was to faithfully reproduce the original without any changes. Hopefully, Toaplan fan’s of old will feel a great deal of nostalgia.
Still, since I thought the homing missile weapon was a bit overpowered, a lot of enemies resistant to it were introduced in the MD original “Special Game” mode. If it feels like the enemies are too difficult, please try out different weapons. Figuring out which weapon is effective in those areas is one of the more satisfying parts of the game.
Oh yeah, bombs (typhoon bombs) were added to the “Special Game” mode. Actually, these are artificial typhoons that swallow up enemies. (Oh, you say you can’t see it?) Naturally, they have an “eye” in the center so be careful. By the way, these typhoons are “northern hemisphere specification” (?) [translation note: the original manual has the question mark there].
Well, please enjoy both the arcade port and the “Special Game” mode!
PROGRAMMER Jun Shimizu
TRANSLATION END
_____
TRANSLATION START
Hello, everyone. This is Jun Shimizu the lead programmer of Slap Fight.
The original version of this game is an arcade game from a fairly long time ago, however, I think that it is a really good STG that still holds up even when compared to more recent games. Therefore, our goal with the port was to faithfully reproduce the original without any changes. Hopefully, Toaplan fan’s of old will feel a great deal of nostalgia.
Still, since I thought the homing missile weapon was a bit overpowered, a lot of enemies resistant to it were introduced in the MD original “Special Game” mode. If it feels like the enemies are too difficult, please try out different weapons. Figuring out which weapon is effective in those areas is one of the more satisfying parts of the game.
Oh yeah, bombs (typhoon bombs) were added to the “Special Game” mode. Actually, these are artificial typhoons that swallow up enemies. (Oh, you say you can’t see it?) Naturally, they have an “eye” in the center so be careful. By the way, these typhoons are “northern hemisphere specification” (?) [translation note: the original manual has the question mark there].
Well, please enjoy both the arcade port and the “Special Game” mode!
PROGRAMMER Jun Shimizu
TRANSLATION END