game tengoku: the game paradise

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:52 pm

Just got this and wonder what people think of it. After just a little time with it, the artistic style, sharp graphics, fast and intuitive gameplay really impress. Overall a really nice vert. So why is it so rarely mentioned here?

Post by **undamned** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:16 pm

It's had plenty of mention, you just miss it when it is!

Great game. One of the more challenging cute'emups out there, too!
-ud

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:31 pm

One of the earlier Saturn shmups I bought...the humor and wackiness, of course, hit me perfectly, though I think the gameplay is just a little off...the bullet color is a bit too dull (a la Taito), and as others have mentioned Z-Dyne Mk. II is much easier to use than any of the other characters. Also, while this isn't the game's fault, I really wish I could understand what the characters are saying in the cutscenes...there's so much dang dialogue in there, I'm sure a Japanese person would probably get a lot more amusement out of the game since they can actually follow all the non-visual jokes.

That's not to say I regret my purchase though.

M0nk3y · Post by **M0nk3y** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:20 am

What's the sequel on the PSone like?

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:56 am

Its a mish mash of different genres I believe. You can even use a lightgun.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:12 am

M0nk3y wrote:What's the sequel on the PSone like?

While the first Game Tengoku is a shooter with some service to the characters' voice actors thrown in, the sequel is more like a fan service package with a shooter mixed in there someplace. There's lots of stuff to unlock (audio, video, etc.), but the gameplay has pretty much been RayStorm-ized (complete with rough 3D graphics, an angled perspective, and a lock-on attack), not to mention that there are only 5 or 6 levels, and you can only play one at a time. It is true that a second player can use a GunCon to help plug enemies, though I've never tried it.

Not totally awful, but even less appealing to a Westerner who can't understand all the chatter and references and such.

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:11 am

I also got this game recently. The presentation is absolutely fabulous, and the game is chock full of great ideas and jokes. One thing though, this game is H.A.R.D. In no way was I expecting it to be so manic. Level three and all the enemies crossfiring at you from the sides brought back really bad memories of Tatsujin-Oh. Ouch!

I'll keep at it though. Is there a scoreboard for this yet?

I want to pick up part 2 as well, as it usually only costs about 2000 Yen here. Should be worth checking out.

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:16 am

FYI:

Review of Game Tengoku 1:

http://www.videogameimports.com/get_gam ... oduct=2034

Review of Game Tengoku 2:

http://www.videogameimports.com/get_gam ... oduct=5267

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:04 pm

Another comment about how this game is better suited to those who know Japanese: The menus are entirely in Japanese, so as I was trying to figure out how to play in tate mode I seem to have turned on autobombing (so that bombs in stock are triggered everytime I get hit). Now I have the difficult job of trying to disarm autobombing in an entirely Japanese menu.

No doubt as I try to repair the situation I will move away from default settings in some other respect.

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:21 pm

Here's a rundown of the menu screen:

- Sound Test
----Theme Song Collection
----BGM Collection
----Voice Collection

- Data Mode (Various Info on old Jaleco arcade games)
----1984 Exelion
----1984 Formation Z
----1985 Field Combat
----1986 Momoko 120%
----1987 Buta-san
----1989 Plus Alpha

- Reminisce Mode
You can view various cutscenes that you have reached in the game.

- Key Config

- Game Options []=default
----Ship No. [3]
----Difficulty [Normal]
----Auto Bomber [なし]
----"Strike Back Mode" (not sure what that does, actually) [なし]
----Sound [Stereo]

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:24 pm

HUGE thanks, SevenForce! I owe you one.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:28 pm

Game Tengoku is an excellent shmup IMO. Its one of the finest games on Saturn.

The sequel (Which I played before playing the 1st game) is a lot worse. It is still a shmup, but a boring, not very good one.

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:19 am

I thought that the shooting was a little weak.... Lots of enemies fly past me without exploding. I mean LOTS!
Am I doing something wrong?

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:24 am

Agreed. Great game. I was actually playing it earlier tonight before I saw this thread.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:08 pm

dpful wrote:I thought that the shooting was a little weak.... Lots of enemies fly past me without exploding. I mean LOTS!
Am I doing something wrong?

Not using Z-Dyne and his homing laser, heh heh.

M0nk3y · Post by **M0nk3y** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:36 pm

Out of interest, what's on the video that comes with the Ltd. Ed. Saturn version?

I'm really interested n getting this now, and I'm wondering if it's worth the extra cash for the VHS. My VCR is multi-region too, so I'd at least be able to watch it.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:37 pm

I think it's an anime featuring the characters from the game, but I don't own it myself so I'm not sure.

M0nk3y · Post by **M0nk3y** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:58 am

BulletMagnet wrote:I think it's an anime featuring the characters from the game, but I don't own it myself so I'm not sure.

Now that has got me interested in spending the extra cash. If anyone can confirm this, it'd be great.

Now, going for a long-shot here, does anyone know if a Fansub of this exists? If not, is there anyone with the required kit/patience/language skills who would be interested in doing a Fansub?

How do you rip a VHS tape to PC? I assume I would need a capture card?

Post by **undamned** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 5:06 pm

M0nk3y wrote:
BulletMagnet wrote:I think it's an anime featuring the characters from the game, but I don't own it myself so I'm not sure.
Now that has got me interested in spending the extra cash. If anyone can confirm this, it'd be great.

Confirmed. We watched it at one of the old AZ shmup meets. Pretty funny.
-ud

DC906270 · Post by **DC906270** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:43 pm

i have the VHS, its not very good really, as the anime only lasts about 10 minutes and is not exactly grade A, pretty cheap production values, still at least it features the games characters. doesnt seem to have much of a storyline tho. the rest of the video is weird, it follows the the not-very exciting exploits of some japanese girls (a j-pop troupe), and is pretty dull and incomprehensible. nothing to do with the game whatsoever. lots of "cute" ness as you would expect. not worth the extra cash the SE usually goes for tho IMO.

Annoyboy · Post by **Annoyboy** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:26 pm

I was just playing this game recently too (via emulator so I could make some videos for people that haven't seen the game). I agree that someone definitely should make a scoreboard for it, and I'd have a go at getting a high score if they did... not that I'm fantastic at it, but I would certainly try. Also, I have a question - does anyone know if the game has unlockable characters or alternative stages? The reason I ask is that if you put the game CD in a CD player, you can listen to several different versions of "Lovely Star" (the song Misato sings on the karaoke stage) by different singers, and also, I have a strong feeling that the non-playable characters that show up in the chibi sequences could be unlockable somehow. I've never seen anything about unlockables for this game though, so does aynone know any requirements for them if there are any? ...Actually, come to think of it, I remember a bit of the ending where the girl (seems to be the arcade owner) is asking things like "What happened to the happy ending?" and "What became of [character]?", so is there more than one ending...?

Tomtom · Post by **Tomtom** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 7:28 pm

I posted this a while ago, but can anyone who has the game rip the redbook audio? I know for a fact that there's no official OST, but I sold my copy of the game and am missing those tracks...

MUTEKI MUTEKI MUTEKI

AHHHHHHH

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:49 am

CIT wrote:- Data Mode (Various Info on old Jaleco arcade games)
----1984 Exelion
----1984 Formation Z
----1985 Field Combat
----1986 Momoko 120%
----1987 Buta-san
----1989 Plus Alpha

Anyone played these games?

Plus Alpha is Vertical Cute'm up and plays like Toaplan's xxx Shark game. Seems fun to me.

It's PCB is COSTLY?!?!