The MSX

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:16 pm

This is a system I've known about for years, but I hardly know anything about it. I was playing that Konami MSX Collection for the Saturn last night, and this time I actually had some fun with the games. Tennis and Boxing are good, as are Athletic Land and some of the shmups. Playing Nightmare makes me want a sequel.

Anyone know of any good MSX fan sites in English? I'd like to learn a ton about this system, and how it's related to the X68000 (is it?).

JEZ · Post by **JEZ** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:54 pm

The MSX is not related to the X6800 at all. It shares the same joystick-port (atari-styled socket, but with two fire buttons), and the special MSX version of Gradius 2.

A good place to start is probably www.msx.org, or the MSX FAQ:
http://www.faq.msxnet.org/

Many people are suprised to learn how many companies that made MSX-computers: http://www.faq.msxnet.org/hardware.html

Apart from Knightmare, which is one of my personal favorites, I don't think you mentioned any of the real MSX gems, so there's lot to still discover

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:57 pm

MSX has absolutely NOTHING to do with the X68000.

It was meant to be THE standard for home computers and was suported by a lot very big companies. Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Philips, Sanyo, etc.: they all made MSX computers.

For a nice MSX faq site in English, here's one I've got bookmarked:

http://www.faq.msxnet.org/

Post by **Shatterhand** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:49 pm

The MSX is my fav system ever. I learned to like gaming on it. I learned to progam on it. I spent many hours of my childhood in front of one.

Knightmare does have a sequel (Acutally, it has TWO sequels), though they are no shmups.

Maze of Galious: Knightmare 2 it's an open platform game (Ala SotN), and it's regarded by many as one of the best games on the system (Though I don't like it all that much)

Shalom: Knightmare 3 is an RPG.

For a more "spiritual" sequel, play Hinotori (AKA Firebird). It does resemble Knightmare a lot (It's from Konami too), though it adds a lot to it. It has an awesome soundtrack too.

I don't know if I should put an endless list of good games on MSX, or I should just let you find them by yourself. (Nearly anything made by Konami is awesome)

The Konami MSX collection doesn't make the MSX any justice... Penguin Adventure and Knightmare are amazing indeed, but you are missing all the great games for the system if your only experience with it is this.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:56 pm

LoneSage wrote:This is a system I've known about for years, but I hardly know anything about it. I was playing that Konami MSX Collection for the Saturn last night, and this time I actually had some fun with the games. Tennis and Boxing are good, as are Athletic Land and some of the shmups. Playing Nightmare makes me want a sequel.

Magical Tree is where it's at... also, Ping Pong. .

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:25 am

Interesting links; I'll never buy an MSX, but its history intrigues me.

I like Magical Tree if only because of that happy little Indian boy. And Tennis > Ping Pong. I always mess up in Ping Pong, argh.

What do you guys consider to be your favorite MSX game, be it for each incarnation of th MSX or just overall? What's the most popular MSX game?

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:45 am

My older cousin had Bolder dash, milk race and some upscrolling racing game I can't remember the name of. Anyone remember them games?

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:55 am

Shatterhand wrote:Knightmare does have a sequel (Acutally, it has TWO sequels), though they are no shmups.

Maze of Galious: Knightmare 2 it's an open platform game (Ala SotN), and it's regarded by many as one of the best games on the system (Though I don't like it all that much)

There's also a Famicom game related to Maze of Galious with the same main character. I'm not sure if it's a sequel, remake, or a different version of the same game, but it does play similar to Maze of Galious, from what I tried on emu. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/data/562973.html

Post by **Shatterhand** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 2:32 am

Milk Race was annoying

Funny, I thought I would never think about that game again...

The MSX version of Boulder Dash was pretty cool.

And the "upscrolling racing game" probably was Road Fighter. But it could be Car Fighter (which is a rip off of Road Fighter) or F1-Spirit: The Way to Formula-1 (Which is an AWESOME game by Konami).

I remember playing Maze of Galious on the NES shortly.. the sprites were bigger but with less colors. If I remember correctly, the level design was identical.

Konami's Ping-Pong is GOLD mate, you should play it more.

And as you asked my fav MSX games, please check

Metal Gear 1 & 2
Aleste 1 & 2
Space Manbow
Treasure of Usas
Firehawk: Thexder 2
Puyo Puyo
The Castle
Castle Excellent
F1 Spirit: The Way To Formula-1
Knightmare
Hinotori
Hype
Nyancle Racing
Quinpl
Zanac EX
Eggerland Mystery
Beamrider
Pennant Race 2
Haunted Boys
Stone of Wisdow
Animal Wars 2
Inspectour Z
Super Laydock

Erm.. I better stop.... there are also excellent ports from arcade games like Galaga, Dig-Dug, Moon Patrol, Bosconian, Rally X, Ninja Princess, Legend of Kage, Arkanoid 1 & 2, Exerion, Bubble Bobble, Pacmania, Q-bert, Xevious, Dorodon (The last 3 are a LOT better than the arcade originals)....

More fun - less Mhz

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:17 am

Shatterhand wrote: Erm.. I better stop.... there are also excellent ports from arcade games like Galaga, Dig-Dug, Moon Patrol, Bosconian, Rally X, Ninja Princess, Legend of Kage, Arkanoid 1 & 2, Exerion, Bubble Bobble, Pacmania, Q-bert, Xevious, Dorodon (The last 3 are a LOT better than the arcade originals)....

More fun - less Mhz

The Q*Bert for MSX is very odd. It has some dragon like character instead of the normal Q*Bert and gameplay based on Q*Bert's Qubes. There were actually some other home versions of Q*Bert's Cubes, but, to my knowledge, they are all extremely rare.

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:03 am

Also, one of my favorite games ever, Snatcher, debuted on MSX!

There's also an MSX-only Snatcher self-parody, SD Snatcher.

JEZ · Post by **JEZ** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:02 am

MSX games that I still play today, non-shmups: Chuckie Egg, Ping Pong and King's Valley 2 (MSX2-version). There's a lot of other excellent games, but for one reason or the other I don't play them.

Shmup favorites would be: Knightmare, Space Manbow and Nemesis 2. All three should not be missed. I like the Laydock games too. I've briefly played the Aleste games, but so far....nahhh. (ducking for shelter).
Anything Shmupish by Konami range from pretty good to excellent, except for Twin bee which sucks.

Most other popular MSX-games have already been mentioned, like Metal Gear 1/2, Maze of Galious, F1-Spirit, SD Snatcher etc.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:40 pm

I actually need to buy an MSX system. Here's what I'd like: a decent MSX2, doesn't have to be MSX2+ or Turbo. The last one I was watching on ebay though was indeed a rare Turbo:

http://cgi.ebay.it/Japanese-MSX-Turbo-r ... 6989001610
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 8236948740
and it ended last day at 295 USD... Which is honestly an amount I wouldn't spend.

I need a cheap model for introduction, not necessarily high-end. Let's say the MSX equivalent of Amiga 500, not 4000.

Links to shops, or suggestion for model, anyone?

Also, was Aleste 2 ever released in cartridge format, or just floppy?

JEZ · Post by **JEZ** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 2:17 pm

Turrican:
Keep watching ebay. A good old plain MSX2 shouldn't be more than €30-40, including a diskdrive and 128kb RAM.

Aleste 2 is disk only. Also, it uses the FM-PAC sound cartridge.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 5:44 pm

SD-Snatcher is a very solid RPG.

The MSX also got some excellent RPGs in the end of its commercial lifespan. I haven't played most of them as it's a genre I don't like too much. I know Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were released for it (Dragon Quest looks better than the NES version). The Dragon Slayer series is always high regarded (Dragon SLayer 6 looks incredible). There was also Ys 1, 2 and 3, Xak 1,2 and 3, Fray, Illusion City, the Hydlide series (3 games on MSX if I am not mistaken), the Madou Monogatari trilogy and a lot of other RPGs. I think all of those RPGs were never released in West, but the best ones got English translations made by fans (Way before Internet was popular

)

And an MSX2 with a floppy drive and 128kb of ram is all you need to have lots of fun with your MSX (Unless you want to pirate games... in this case, I recommend you having at least 256 kb of ram, while 512kb would be the best option) - the only "MSX2+ only" game I can remember now is F1-Spirit 3D Special (Which was awesome back at that time, but feels incredibly dated nowadays), but some MSX2 games take advantage if running in an MSX2+ (Sonyc, Quinpl and Nyancle Racing are a few that do... and if I am not mistaken, Space Manbow also runs better in an MSX2+)

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 5:55 pm

Shatterhand wrote:The Konami MSX collection doesn't make the MSX any justice... Penguin Adventure and Knightmare are amazing indeed, but you are missing all the great games for the system if your only experience with it is this.

While I love playing the Konami MSX collection, I always read about these way cooler games on MSX that make me like it a little bit less.

I thought about buying one for a while, but then I decided that I can't even afford all the games I want for the systems I already own.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 6:41 pm

yeah, if i had the cash necessary for the venture, my room would be rocking the X68k and msx2.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:27 pm

Andi wrote: While I love playing the Konami MSX collection, I always read about these way cooler games on MSX that make me like it a little bit less.

That's because there are no Konami MSX2(+/Turbo) collections for other platforms. All the games on the "antiques" compilation are MSX1 games.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:29 pm

Super Laydock wrote:
Andi wrote: While I love playing the Konami MSX collection, I always read about these way cooler games on MSX that make me like it a little bit less.
That's because there are no Konami MSX2(+/Turbo) collections for other platforms. All the games on the "antiques" compilation are MSX1 games.

this makes me quite upset. i would have given konami my virginity for some manbow and such-like on saturn. hey man, its their loss!

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:23 pm

Shatterhand wrote:Milk Race was annoying

Funny, I thought I would never think about that game again...

The MSX version of Boulder Dash was pretty cool.

And the "upscrolling racing game" probably was Road Fighter. But it could be Car Fighter (which is a rip off of Road Fighter) or F1-Spirit: The Way to Formula-1 (Which is an AWESOME game by Konami).

Shit yeah! Road fighter, that's the name. I can't believe you reminded me, I had forgotten the name of that game for years, brings back memories thanx man!

Being so young then, I had no idea the MSX had those other games listed.
My cousin used to mess around with making his own game on it. All I remember seeing was gibberish codes of numbers and symbols. I'd stay for a few seconds, then get bored and run out the room.

I still cringe at the thought of even attempting to make a game on it. Heh, now that I'm a little older, I wonder if it's complicated to use now.....

Tar-Palantir · Post by **Tar-Palantir** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 4:32 pm

Flappy Stones, Flappy Stones, Flappy Flappy Flappy Stones

! That game is so bad it's good.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 12:07 am

Ive made a few games on MSX back in the days, in Basic. I even made a shmup

I had a friend who made a version of the arcade TMNT game in Basic. It was SLOOOOWWW and UGLLYYY, but amazing for a basic game.

Ricardo Bittencourt (MSXBR author) begun a version of TMNT on the MSX2+ which was looking BETTER than the arcade one.

Road Fighter on MSX was a butched port. It was a very good game, but very far of being as good as the arcade one. Even the NES version was better.

And if you liked Road Fighter, you should play F1-Spirit someday. It's a spiritual sequel to Road Fighter, it's one of the best games on the system.

Flappy Stones sucks badly. That shit game had 50 stages - could anyone stand getting past level 3?

JEZ · Post by **JEZ** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:12 pm

Since the MSX is discussed way to little, I think it's time to heat things up a little bit.
Road Fighter is arguably the most plain game from Konami on the MSX, sure it's playable, but nothing exciting at all. IMHO

F1 Spirit is even worse, I really like the idea behind it, and it has a lot of potential, but the horrible character based scrolling killed this game. No other MSX game suffers this badly from the MSX1 inability to pixelscroll.

shmups.system11.org

The MSX

The MSX

Re: The MSX