Recently, I picked up a NEC PC-FX and a few games. I don't have the ones I want, yet (Zenki FX, Chip Chan Kick, Langrisser), but hey tax season is coming up so who knows?
The system was a total failure, selling only 400,000 systems in Japan, and only about ~60 games were released for it. NEC misread the market and made a system that specialized in FMV above all, with no 3D ability. The system design was apparently finalized back in 1992 but released in Dec 1994, alongside the PS1 and Saturn.
While its predecessor, the PC-Engine, was known for its shmups and action games, there were very few released for the platform. Only one shmup (Zeroigar), and a few side scrollers. It was more-so known for its dating sims and simulation titles (there are like 3 different Angelique titles for the thing!), though a few RPGs/SRPGs made their way into the library. The sprite-handling of the system is very nice (as you can see with Zenki FX), and the video in some of those dating sims is pretty good... "FMV fighting games" which play a bit like Paper-Rock-Scissors were also a bit popular on the thing.
The industrial design for the system is spectacular - I love the vertical orientation of it, the console has a nice 'weight' to it, there's a compartment on the back of the system to put slack from the video cables, the controllers feel solid, and the early games came in plastic cases that resemble those from the Neo Geo or Japanese PC (X68000/PC-98/FM Towns) games, but smaller.
I have the following games so far:
Battle Heat - one of those FMV fighting games... it has some really cool anime clips that play depending on what button you press, but it's very unintuitive. One of the most common games for the system.
Tengai Makyou Karakuri Kakutoden - another FMV fighting game, with characters from the Tengai Makyou RPG series. At one point, Tengai Makyou 3 was in development for the system, but low sales meant the game was put on the backburner... until it resurfaced on the PS2 of all things.
Team Innocent - a game interesting in concept, though a bit clunky. It's one of the launch games for the system, and it plays like a very early take on Resident Evil - tank controls, vertigo-inducing camera angle changes, and obtuse puzzles. Early CG 3D rendered backgrounds and scaling sprites overlaid on top of them (which creates a bit of disconnect, since the sprites look like they are floating), and lots of voice work. It would be more enjoyable with a translation!
Last Imperial Prince - a side scrolling RPG, with maze-like areas and some pretty 2D graphics. The combat system is one on one (though you have a party and enemies have multiple monsters that they go through, when one of the respective sides fall). Reminds me of something Vanillaware would make, combat is a bit clunky and unresponsive (you block by pressing 'down', but it doesn't always work right). Would like to play more but I couldn't figure out how to get out of the first town.
Doukyuusei 2 - one of the most popular genres on the platform, a dating sim. Don't nearly know enough Japanese to get any enjoyment out of the game, but there were so many of these types of games on the platform.
Some games I really want:
Chip-Chan Kick - one of the most famous titles for the system, a Bubble Bobble type single-screen arcade game with a fantastic, energetic, ravey soundtrack from Hitoshi Sakimoto (FFT, FF12, Radiant Silvergun).
Langrisser FX - a remake of Langrisser 2, with improved graphics and animation. One of my favorite SRPG series.
Miraculum - an extremely traditional mid 90's RPG.
Zenki FX - apart from the FMV games, probably the biggest technical showpiece for the platform. Large, highly animated sprites in an arcadey beat-em-up game. Many people's top game for the system, unfortunately it's also rare af.
So, does anyone else own one? Talk about your memories and make recs!
The system was a total failure, selling only 400,000 systems in Japan, and only about ~60 games were released for it. NEC misread the market and made a system that specialized in FMV above all, with no 3D ability. The system design was apparently finalized back in 1992 but released in Dec 1994, alongside the PS1 and Saturn.
While its predecessor, the PC-Engine, was known for its shmups and action games, there were very few released for the platform. Only one shmup (Zeroigar), and a few side scrollers. It was more-so known for its dating sims and simulation titles (there are like 3 different Angelique titles for the thing!), though a few RPGs/SRPGs made their way into the library. The sprite-handling of the system is very nice (as you can see with Zenki FX), and the video in some of those dating sims is pretty good... "FMV fighting games" which play a bit like Paper-Rock-Scissors were also a bit popular on the thing.
The industrial design for the system is spectacular - I love the vertical orientation of it, the console has a nice 'weight' to it, there's a compartment on the back of the system to put slack from the video cables, the controllers feel solid, and the early games came in plastic cases that resemble those from the Neo Geo or Japanese PC (X68000/PC-98/FM Towns) games, but smaller.
I have the following games so far:
Battle Heat - one of those FMV fighting games... it has some really cool anime clips that play depending on what button you press, but it's very unintuitive. One of the most common games for the system.
Tengai Makyou Karakuri Kakutoden - another FMV fighting game, with characters from the Tengai Makyou RPG series. At one point, Tengai Makyou 3 was in development for the system, but low sales meant the game was put on the backburner... until it resurfaced on the PS2 of all things.
Team Innocent - a game interesting in concept, though a bit clunky. It's one of the launch games for the system, and it plays like a very early take on Resident Evil - tank controls, vertigo-inducing camera angle changes, and obtuse puzzles. Early CG 3D rendered backgrounds and scaling sprites overlaid on top of them (which creates a bit of disconnect, since the sprites look like they are floating), and lots of voice work. It would be more enjoyable with a translation!
Last Imperial Prince - a side scrolling RPG, with maze-like areas and some pretty 2D graphics. The combat system is one on one (though you have a party and enemies have multiple monsters that they go through, when one of the respective sides fall). Reminds me of something Vanillaware would make, combat is a bit clunky and unresponsive (you block by pressing 'down', but it doesn't always work right). Would like to play more but I couldn't figure out how to get out of the first town.
Doukyuusei 2 - one of the most popular genres on the platform, a dating sim. Don't nearly know enough Japanese to get any enjoyment out of the game, but there were so many of these types of games on the platform.
Some games I really want:
Chip-Chan Kick - one of the most famous titles for the system, a Bubble Bobble type single-screen arcade game with a fantastic, energetic, ravey soundtrack from Hitoshi Sakimoto (FFT, FF12, Radiant Silvergun).
Langrisser FX - a remake of Langrisser 2, with improved graphics and animation. One of my favorite SRPG series.
Miraculum - an extremely traditional mid 90's RPG.
Zenki FX - apart from the FMV games, probably the biggest technical showpiece for the platform. Large, highly animated sprites in an arcadey beat-em-up game. Many people's top game for the system, unfortunately it's also rare af.
So, does anyone else own one? Talk about your memories and make recs!
