Question about 6th gen console Japanese shmup imports

[ultrageranium]

Hi everyone,

Some times ago I have resumed a very modest attempt to play and collect some shooters on FC, PCE and MD. For these I relatively know more or less how to get information, and I almost entirely stick to Japanese consoles and games versions due to historical differences such as 50Hz vs 60Hz, censorship or western adaptations, specific hardware revisions, titles not released outside of Japan, etc.

However, for more recent hardware (at least compared to the platforms mentioned above) I am a bit out of my league. I'm mostly talking about 6th generation consoles, and some 7th, for which I would be interested to get some shooters. The question I have is: given the hardware is pretty much the same (with region locking that can be bypassed via software or hardware mods), is there any reason to get a Japanese import of a particular game if the same game has been made available in Europe/US/Other?

Thanks!

[HydrogLox]

is there any reason to get a Japanese import of a particular game if the same game has been made available in Europe/US/Other?

Just because a game has been published in other regions doesn't mean it is identical - for example Western STG releases often have the TATE/ARCADE option edited out to avoid being liable when people flip their TVs on the side. In many cases the Japanese originals have options that the localization publisher couldn't be bothered to deal with, so they are simply edited out. But it really depends on each game as there are exceptions.

Example: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sony/ps2 ... ps-library

“Taito Memories II Joukan” and “Taito Memories II Gekan” often has a TATE option for the vertical scrolling STGs that are included - the Western counterpart release "Taito Legends (2)" does not have such an option.

The Japanese version of "Under Defeat HD: New Order" (PS3/Xbox360) was patched to include the "Under Defeat HD+" mode. That patch happened after the Western localization was completed, so it is not included in the Rising Star Games "Under Defeat HD Deluxe" release.

[ultrageranium]

Thanks for the answer!

Somehow I thought that regional differences were a thing of the past, and that porting game software on these machines was limited to translating dialogues and menus... but checking your link and now searching some titles here and elsewhere (I never realised until now that The Cutting Room Floor also covered more recent consoles) it seems indeed still very much an issue ...

I could understand that for big titles, where some cultural tuning is done to grab any extra bit of profit from a target market, but for shooters this seems a bit odd nowadays. These are so niche, I don't get why going through the trouble as dubbing voice dialogues in Shikigami no Shiro, or use a track from the Blue Man Group for the closing credit of R-Type Final, which sounds more like a product placement rather than anything else (then again, the track used in the Japanese version is also from a commercial artist unrelated to shooter games probably, so maybe this is a bit of a placeholder for nested advertisement that can be customised by the distributor...).

Mmm... I thought I could get away by just blindly ordering a few titles but looks like I'll have to do some homework on this one too :-)

[LordHypnos]

FWIW, I think the few Dreamcast shmups that were localized are pretty much identical excepting the language.

[Elixir]

One thing to take into consideration is that almost all western 360 releases have separate leaderboards/replays, they're also incompatible with NTSC-J 360s.

I don't know much about modding 360s, pretty sure it's at the expensive sacrificing online though. Some of the replays are above DVD superplay tier, definitely not worth passing up.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If you're looking for 360 shmups, the easiest way to start is with the truly region-free ones. Mushihimesama Futari, Eschatos, DoDonpachi SaiDaiOuJou, Espgaluda II Black Label (standard release, not the limited release that WAS region-locked), Deathsmiles IIX and Muchi Muchi Pork are all great buys. No mucking about with region-specific scoreboards either I think that way...

Sadly, regional gameplay differences still crop up, even in arcade game versions, so it's best to take nothing for granted; don't assume they're the same.

There's also region-specific releases like Akai Katana, Deathsmiles, DoDonpachi Resurrection (known generally as Daifukkatsu), and some on XBLA like Strania, Triggerheart Exelica, but if you buy the localized ones the scoreboards are usually separate from other region releases Japanese scoreboards. Gameplay generally stays the same between console ports at least, though some may be missing certain options (you have to buy DDP DFK/Resurrection's Black Label DLC instead of as a separate game, but you miss out on Black Label Arrange aka Ketsuipachi, etc).

There's some good Japan exclusive stuff sadly like Mushihimesama 360, Ketsui, DDP DFK BL Arrange...

[Obiwanshinobi]

Psyvariar -Complete Edition- PAL is the cheapest version around. 60 Hz mode hidden in each game's settings (rather than selectable when it boots as usual).
You want Castle Shikigami II US (awesome, SOTN way, English version). In PAL version all the storytelling is edited out (though I think it outputs 60 Hz, but don't quote me on that). Mind you, the PC port displays pretty high resolutions (counts if you are going to play on LCD).

[eatfrog]

If you're looking for 360 shmups, the easiest way to start is with the truly region-free ones. [..] Deathsmiles IIX

FYI, it's not region free.

[HydrogLox]

Absolutely correct with respect to the physical NTSC-J release. However at least in the US region it is available digitally.

[ultrageranium]

Hey thanks for the all the great advices.

Right now I'm mostly looking into PS2 shmups, and after reading a bit more that's the rough list of titles I'll probably want to play at some point.

• DoDonPachi DaiOuJou - 2003 port of the 2002 arcade game
  Espgaluda - 2004 port of the 2003 arcade game
  Gradius V - 2004 - US or PAL versions are avaiable with minor diff
  Ibara - 2006 port of the 2005 arcade game (too expensive...)
  Homura - 2005 port ofthe arcade game. The PAL version is fine but not common
  Mushihimesama - 2005 port of the 2004 arcade game
  Psyvariar Complete Edition - 2002 port of the 2000 arcade games Psyvariar -Medium Unit- and -Revision-. The games benefit from a great PAL port.
  Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final - 2004 port of the 2003 arcade game Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate
  Shienryu + Shienryu Explosion - 200X port of the 1997 arcade game + unreleased 3D sequel
  Shikigami no Shiro - 2002+2004 port of the 2001 arcade game
  Twinkle Star Sprites - La Petite Princesse - 2005

So far I got JP imports for DoDonPachi DaiOuJou and Gradius V.

[davyK]

You want Castle Shikigami II US (awesome, SOTN way, English version). In PAL version all the storytelling is edited out (though I think it outputs 60 Hz, but don't quote me on that)

Sadly the PAL version is 50Hz only which is a pity as otherwise it's a nice enough port.

PAL wise on PS2 look out for these:

Samurai Aces
Dragon Blaze
Raiden III
XII Stag

All with 60Hz, TATE etc. Raiden III is rare in PAL though..

[Obiwanshinobi]

Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final - 2004 port of the 2003 arcade game Psyvariar 2: The Will to Fabricate

Trizeal isn't awful on PS2, if not 100% accurate a port. Reportedly Shiki2 sports some inaccuracies as well, but is playable enough overall.

Shienryu + Shienryu Explosion - 200X port of the 1997 arcade game + unreleased 3D sequel

From what little I played it on Saturn and PS2, Shienryu is a pretty exact port (and since PS2 outputs component video as well as RGB, that version would be ultimate).
Another excellent port (rather than emulation) is RayForce on Taito Memories II Joukan (sadly upscaled & interlaced, yet still more accurate than the Saturn port of yesteryear).
I think G-Darius and RayStorm PS2 ports (also on Taito Legends 2) are the most accurate ones, too.

It has to be said that if you wanna Shikigami no Shiro trilogy on one platform, PC is the Hobson's choice (1 is 480x640 at best and I don't like how all sprites look filtered, but that's the worst of it).

[ultrageranium]

You want Castle Shikigami II US (awesome, SOTN way, English version). In PAL version all the storytelling is edited out (though I think it outputs 60 Hz, but don't quote me on that)

Sadly the PAL version is 50Hz only which is a pity as otherwise it's a nice enough port.

Ah, thanks will add this one to the list!

PAL wise on PS2 look out for these:

Samurai Aces
Dragon Blaze

Any advantage to get the PAL versions over the Psikyo compilations? The PAL versions seem uncommon/rare, maybe not as much as the Psikyo compilations though.

Raiden III
XII Stag

All with 60Hz, TATE etc. Raiden III is rare in PAL though..

Thanks, adding these too.

[davyK]

PAL wise on PS2 look out for these:

Samurai Aces
Dragon Blaze

Any advantage to get the PAL versions over the Psikyo compilations? The PAL versions seem uncommon/rare, maybe not as much as the Psikyo compilations though.

Wouldn't know - they are translated but I have no idea if there is any missing content.

[pbsk8]

I just bought Raiden IV Overkill for PS3 and strangely my madcatz TE2 does not work properly, only the stick is working and the start button, all the other buttons dont work.

Did someone get this arcade stick working somehow?

[Obiwanshinobi]

I just bought Raiden IV Overkill for PS3 and strangely my madcatz TE2 does not work properly, only the stick is working and the start button, all the other buttons dont work.

Did someone get it working somehow? I was so happy to find this game on PS3 and not depend on emulators anymore for it.

Nitpicking this, but I doubt it's playable emulated. Hacked ROM is, but it's not emulation.

[Blair]

I just bought Raiden IV Overkill for PS3 and strangely my madcatz TE2 does not work properly, only the stick is working and the start button, all the other buttons dont work. Did someone get this arcade stick working somehow?

is your madcatz stick modified? (does it have the original pcb?)