• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The MSX Nostalgia thread – A return to the cradle of Solid Snake

F

foobarry81

Member
Yes Boss! said:
That would be good, a new 1 Chip. Last one I saw was on eBay from a seller in Saudi and he wanted $500. Which is ironic because my only hands-on with an actual MSX was at a Dutch friend's house when I was living in Saudi in the eighties.

I am going to make a good faith effort to locate a 1 Chip in Tokyo. Or, at the very least an actual console like unit. I really don't like the NES but this is an 8-Bit I would very much like to explore. Space Manbow is not supposed to be as jerky-scrolling in the actual cart as it is on the Wii VC.
Click to expand...

That's surprising to hear: I thought I read the scrolling in Space Manbow on VC was pretty smooth. Maybe they compared it with other shmups were it was a lot worse? :)

Anyway, to me personally the jerky-scrolling has never been a real issue in any of those games. As a kid I wasn't even aware of such things and now I only have fond memories about those games.
 
Y

Yes Boss!

Member
foobarry81 said:
That's surprising to hear: I thought I read the scrolling in Space Manbow on VC was pretty smooth. Maybe they compared it with other shmups were it was a lot worse? :)
Click to expand...

It is definitely an issue...if minor. I though it was a product of the games but reading online running on actual hardware it is supposed to be smoother. I've not played any of the MSX Antique Collections on PS1 or Saturn to compare. I'm not sure but I think M2 did the emulation for the Wii VC titles.
 
F

foobarry81

Member
Yes Boss! said:
It is definitely an issue...if minor. I though it was a product of the games but reading online running on actual hardware it is supposed to be smoother. I've not played any of the MSX Antique Collections on PS1 or Saturn to compare. I'm not sure but I think M2 did the emulation for the Wii VC titles.
Click to expand...

Well, I have never played an MSX game on any other platform but an MSX (apart from Metal Gear/Metal Gear 2). So can't really compare either.

I do own the Gradius collection on PSP (where the games do feel a little different), but I don't think those games are ports of the MSX versions. (Probably directly ported from the arcade versions.)
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
saturnkonamimsxfcs3j4e.jpg


Are the MSX Antiques collections any good?
 
@

@MUWANdo

Banned
I recommend not bothering with any of the STGs on MSX--even the "good" ones (Compile games, Space Manbow, etc) are unbearably choppy.
 
ReyVGM

ReyVGM

Member
foobarry81 said:
Most notable among these is Vampire Killer. Released just one month after the original Castlevania for Famicom/NES, this game was developed simultaneously by Konami. It thus shares most of the backgrounds, music and enemies. Contrary to Castlevania (Famicom) however, Vampire Killer has a much more non-linear design, similar to the first Metroid, which was released in the same year (1986). As such it was the first true Metroidvania style game in the Castlevania franchise. Vampire Killer already contained several unique features such as merchants and hidden keys to doors and chests, that were only introduced on Nintendo systems in Castlevania 2 and later in Symphony of the Night.
Click to expand...

It's not a metroidvania AT ALL. The stages are non-linear yes, but they just wrap around and the game is still level based. You can't go back to previous stages or open new paths by getting new equipment.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Wow, I don't know how I missed this thread. Funny since Stump was just telling me over the weekend about how I should make a Japanese computers thread. I've posted about MSX stuff on here in the past but not many people had any experience with the platform at the time. I keep forgetting that GAF has grown so much since then.

Our first computer ever was a Toshiba HX-10DPN, although we didn't keep it long since it had problems with some Japanese software. For some reason I can never remember which one we got after that, but we upgraded to MSX2 kinda late. EDIT: I found it, it was the Pasopia IQ (Toshiba) HX-20, which we got because it had the two cartridge slots so we could use the kanji cartridge. When we finally went MSX2, we got the Panasonic FS-A1WSX, which I still have connected to this day.

Most of my favorite games have already been mentioned, which I'm very happy about. Konami was definitely the star MSX dev, but it's also the first place I ever played Emerald Dragon which became one of my favorite RPGs ever. The MSX version is sadly not that great, but it's better than some (like the PC88 one). I have a lot of great memories, and a lot of bad ones too. The Labyrinth adventure game is singlehandedly responsible for me being deathly afraid of David Bowie for years and years.


l2vnRTd.gif



I was really terrified. :(


@MUWANdo said:
I recommend not bothering with any of the STGs on MSX--even the "good" ones (Compile games, Space Manbow, etc) are unbearably choppy.
Click to expand...

Many of the later ones aren't very choppy at all, and Space Manbow is amazingly smooth. It's really quite a marvel. Aleste is also super smooth.
 
R

RM8

Member
This looks so good. But I'm sure getting one living in Mexico is going to be a nightmare. Sigh.
 
F

foobarry81

Member
ReyVGM said:
It's not a metroidvania AT ALL. The stages are non-linear yes, but they just wrap around and the game is still level based. You can't go back to previous stages or open new paths by getting new equipment.
Click to expand...

Well, it depends on your definition and interpretation of Metroidvania, I guess.

Gaming.wikia.com said:
Many games fuse platformer fundamentals with elements of action-adventure games such as The Legend of Zelda or with elements of RPGs. Typically these elements include the ability to explore an area freely, with access to new areas controlled by either the gaining of new abilities or through the use of inventory items.
Click to expand...

Does it feature inventory items? Yes. Can you explore the levels freely? Yes. Do you get access to other levels by using inventory items? Yes.

Gaming.wikia.com said:
Early examples of free-roaming, side-scrolling, 2D platform-adventures in the vein of "Metroidvania" include Nintendo's original Metroid in 1986 and Konami's Castlevania games Vampire Killer in 1986[6][7] and Simon's Quest in 1987
Click to expand...
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
Chacranajxy said:
Wowwwww

We have an MSX thread now, but not an N64 thread.

Good.
Click to expand...

Chacra you cold as ice

Aeana said:
Funny since Stump was just telling me over the weekend about how I should make a Japanese computers thread.
Click to expand...

by the way, this should still very much happen if you're down for it, Aeana. there's so much about this scene i only know from a handful of Retro Gamer issues, it'd be really cool/informative to see a thorough summery/rundown.
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
One of my most played titles on the MSX, I completely had forgotten it yesterday, is Rune master. Or should I say the Rune Master series?

g-runemaster2.png


302415-rune-master-msx-screenshot-ents.png


Rune master is a RPG board game by Compile (from Aleste and Puyo Puyo fame) and could be played by 1-4 players. There were three titles between 1988 and 1991 and there was even a Famicom version planned but that got cancelled unfortunately. After 1991 it got lost in the big JRPG boom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQrN54c9Yy0

Unfortunately I only had the first title and it was all in English. The games that followed are supposed to be all better than I, maybe I should try to find it.
 
F

foobarry81

Member
Waldo Lydecker said:
One of my most played titles on the MSX, I completely had forgotten it yesterday, is Rune master. Or should I say the Rune Master series?

Rune master is a RPG board game by Compile (from Aleste and Puyo Puyo fame) and could be played by 1-4 players. There were three titles between 1988 and 1991 and there was even a Famicom version planned but that got cancelled unfortunately. After 1991 it got lost in the big JRPG boom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQrN54c9Yy0

Unfortunately I only had the first title and it was all in English. The games that followed are supposed to be all better than I, maybe I should try to find it.
Click to expand...

Them voice overs... dat dice roll... :)

Those were released on disk only. And part of the Diskstations?
 
1

100MS

Neo Member
MSX, Konami's finest era. Played and loved a lot of their titles back then.

soccer.gif
138946-knightmare-msx-screenshot-bats-and-clouds-are-some-of-the.png
SSTwinb0.gif
penguinadventure.gif


Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of Metal Gear at that time :(
 
A

Aeana

Member
Draft said:
Japanese PC gaming?

What?!
Click to expand...

foobarry81 said:
It was more of a console gaming experience, but on a home computer.

I'm not sure about all MSX's, but mine can be connected to a TV through SCART, so it's a lot like old school console gaming really.
Click to expand...

MSX systems are a lot like C64 in terms of how they're used if you used the TV connect option with the C64.
I would still definitely call MSX computers computers, because they have an operating system and a keyboard, and you can write programs without any extras. (Or you could copy programs from magazines, which I did way too much of).
 
A

Aeana

Member
IrishNinja said:
by the way, this should still very much happen if you're down for it, Aeana. there's so much about this scene i only know from a handful of Retro Gamer issues, it'd be really cool/informative to see a thorough summery/rundown.
Click to expand...
Well, I could do it. I have a lot to write about since my childhood was pretty focused on Japanese computers, especially MSX, PC88/98 and X68000. But also FM TOWNS a bit later.

I just kinda don't want to put forth all of the effort if nobody's interested. And this thread at least does a great job of talking about MSX stuff, which fortunately had a common thread with Europeans and South Americans.
 
F

foobarry81

Member
Aeana said:
MSX systems are a lot like C64 in terms of how they're used if you used the TV connect option with the C64.
I would still definitely call MSX computers computers, because they have an operating system and a keyboard, and you can write programs without any extras. (Or you could copy programs from magazines, which I did way too much of).
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I was more referring to what the experience is like if you play games on it.

You connect a joystick, plug in a cartridge... pretty much like on a console. Don't even get to see the OS with a cart plugged in.

But obviously it's a computer. I've been doing lots of school work on our MSX actually, with a wordprocessor and matrix printer. :)

And yeah: writing programs in MSX-BASIC, and copying lines of code from magazines... been there done that. :)
 
D

Dizzy-4U

Member
foobarry81 said:
Knightmare

UrCYkEi.jpg
PEpEsp5.jpg
Click to expand...

This game is a vertical scrolling shooter. You’re a knight that is out to save the day, and (ofcourse) the princess. A tough cookie, this one, but sooo good! Should be rather easy (and fairly cheap) to get a copy of this one.

Game overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skzA06bQ5zs
Click to expand...
THE most played game of my childhood and I still adore it to this day. I was never able to finish it though, I got as far as the "Docks" stage, that'd be stage 6 or 7 if I remember right.

I'd kill for a new version with the same style of gameplay. So much charm.

EDIT: What the fuck is Knightmare Gold????????? WHAT?????? I NEEED IT!!!!!
 
M

Maluf360

Member
I have a huge passion for the MSX, since the ol'good days until some documentation translation for an obscure MSX japanese emulator released at the beggining of DS emulation.

I had a sh*tty hotbit MSX-1 with ton of games... These are my favorites:

The stone of wisdom:
f0e2cb07.png


Magical Kid wiz:
hqdefault.jpg


A brazilian game called "Avenida Paulista":
70bac20e.png


Goody:
goody-msx.gif


There are plenty more... But these were the ones I had played the most.
 
D

dairladada

Member
My first computer was a zx81 and then Msx1 and Msx2...
I teached myself assembly, did a few demos 'Amiga' style on it and landed a job at a company called Titus. Then moved to UbiSoft and worked on Rayman with my brother in law Michel Ancel, then Angel Studios in the US (Part of Nintendo's dream team on the N64, learned design with Shigeki Yamashiro and Miyamoto San, then Midtown Madness lead design, midnight club, Red dead revolver etc etc) then freelance, then back to Ubi, Disney interactive, LucasArts and now Epic.
And I owe my career to my MSX. Best games ever. KONAMI FTY. And let's not forget Bomberman...
 
F

foobarry81

Member
dairladada said:
My first computer was a zx81 and then Msx1 and Msx2...
I teached myself assembly, did a few demos 'Amiga' style on it and landed a job at a company called Titus. Then moved to UbiSoft and worked on Rayman with my brother in law Michel Ancel, then Angel Studios in the US (Part of Nintendo's dream team on the N64, learned design with Shigeki Yamashiro and Miyamoto San, then Midtown Madness lead design, midnight club, Red dead revolver etc etc) then freelance, then back to Ubi, Disney interactive, LucasArts and now Epic.
And I owe my career to my MSX. Best games ever. KONAMI FTY. And let's not forget Bomberman...
Click to expand...

I played hours and hours of Rayman (the original on PC), and eventually beat it. Thank you, sir, for that game. :)
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
dairladada said:
My first computer was a zx81 and then Msx1 and Msx2...
I teached myself assembly, did a few demos 'Amiga' style on it and landed a job at a company called Titus. Then moved to UbiSoft and worked on Rayman with my brother in law Michel Ancel, then Angel Studios in the US (Part of Nintendo's dream team on the N64, learned design with Shigeki Yamashiro and Miyamoto San, then Midtown Madness lead design, midnight club, Red dead revolver etc etc) then freelance, then back to Ubi, Disney interactive, LucasArts and now Epic.
And I owe my career to my MSX. Best games ever. KONAMI FTY. And let's not forget Bomberman...
Click to expand...

I think everybody who has a career in programming has that one moment as a kid where the switch is flipped for them and they become insatiable, unable to give it up, so excited to work on a new project. Especially pre-internet, when you learned tips from just screwing around in the dark or reading magazines or meeting people locally who taught you how to do something. I miss those days.

Sounds like you've had quite the career!
 
D

dairladada

Member
Yes you are right! I remember clearly that moment. There was that guy at school showing us a star field demo he had done. And I then became obsessed. So much of the work was about finding the right book, the right document, the right connection to get the information you needed. So much hacking :)
Fun times indeed. Times have changed but man, the tools are incredible today and finding information is trivial. Fun times now too but different.
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
Dizzy-4U said:
OH MY GOD!

Wow, the scrolling is smoooooth!
Click to expand...

Damn that looks awesome, into my veins!

Another nice little gem was a Dutch game called 'Zoo'.

It was a adventure game about a zoo.

images
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLWx9Eo1JOQ

Now that I think back, there was some really great game development from the Netherlands, maybe the foundations of Geurilla games, lol?

Another great Dutch game was Bank Buster, a version of a Arkanoid like game where you were robbing a bank.

1fd5aaa8.png
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTvf3huJsUA
 
F

foobarry81

Member
dairladada said:
Michel is the one to thank :)
Click to expand...

Well, then tell him "thank you", from me.

(sorry for the bad french, it's not my mother tongue)

Michel, si tu lis ce message, merci du fond de mon cœur. Rayman m'a donné beaucoup, beaucoup de plaisir. C'était le jeu favorit de ma soeur et on en a mis des dizaines d'heures ensemble en cherchant tous les cages, tentant de finir les niveaux (I mean "level", but don't know the right word) et fulminant quand c'était trop dur. :)
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
Gainax got their start in videogames by making (softcore) hentai games for the MSX.

First they had a series of trivia games called Cybernetic Hi-School where underaged girls would take their clothes off if you answered trivia questions correctly.

Then they had a card battle game called Mighty Battle Skin Panic in which characters fought each other with ki-blasts, and taking your clothes off increased your attack power while reducing your defense (lol). It had a liner storyline which went into crazytown and had you strip-fighting aliens and whatnot.

And then finally they invented Princess Maker, a non-hentai game which invented the "raising simulation" genre. Basically, a legendary hero is given charge over an orphan, and you're supposed to plan their school and work and rest, in an attempt to secure a better ending for the girl, among the many available (like barmaid, soldier, scholar, or even princess).


Princess Maker is most well known in the West for Tim Trzepacz's failed attempt to release the MS DOS version of Princess Maker 2 over here, which turned into an abandonware/piracy treasure, but there was apparently an early solid attempt to release a translation patch for the MSX version of PM1. Somebody released a patch and then disappeared, but then someone else applied the patch to a corrupt ROM of the game, at which point the patch disappeared from the internets, and an unplayable version of the game was spread.
 
R

RM8

Member
I look at all the screens and those games look super fun. Bleeeeh, I need one of these.

I'll be in Japan in December, is it a good idea to buy one over there? Are there any models with composite output?
 
F

foobarry81

Member
Waldo Lydecker said:
Another nice little gem was a Dutch game called 'Zoo'.

Another great Dutch game was Bank Buster, a version of a Arkanoid like game where you were robbing a bank.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember both games. Played them at a friend's house. I remember how they looked really sophisticated.

I also remember another Dutch game (not sure what it was called again) that reused the sprite of Solid Snake in Metal Gear and put it in a different RPG like setting.
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
Rm88~ said:
I look at all the screens and those games look super fun. Bleeeeh, I need one of these.

I'll be in Japan in December, is it a good idea to buy one over there? Are there any models with composite output?
Click to expand...

Do it, especially if you are a Konami fan.
And if you are a Snatcher fan, see if you can find SD Snatcher, that brilliant RPG version of Snatcher. I still have hope for a Vita and or 3DS version lol. Just take a look at this great gameplay, and this great battle-tune and play from 50 seconds onwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkCNrvBp0S0
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
foobarry81 said:
Yeah, I remember both games. Played them at a friend's house. I remember how they looked really sophisticated.

I also remember another Dutch game (not sure what it was called again) that reused the sprite of Solid Snake in Metal Gear and put it in a different RPG like setting.
Click to expand...

That sounds awesome but I can't remember it ;-)

Argh, the whole problem with all those memories is that I completely forgot some titles of AWESOME games. Like some arkanoid clone but then it was vertical scrolling game and you could play it co-op.

ONE DAY I will find the title!
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
Delta Force, lol, I remember it now! Yeah I've played that definitely, thanks!\

Quarth is not the game I am looking for but a very good game also, really loved that small intro and the co-op gameplay.

The game I am looking for is with a ball and a plank where you had to keep the ball from passing you and falling into the lower part of the screen, just like arkanoid, only in this game the level was scrolling vertically, just like Quarth indeed. Those levels, music and the ball were also a bit psychedelic.

EDIT: now I know thanks to that site of yours, it is BREAKER!

14168.png


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWqrIAVCAnI
 
A

Aeana

Member
The combat system in SD Snatcher is pretty awesome, and it's sad that it hasn't been much of an influence in games that followed. Being able to attack specific parts of enemies by targeting them via the grid added a strategic/puzzle element to battles that was super rad.
 
W

Waldo Lydecker

Member
foobarry81 said:
I had never seen that cover before. It's awesome! <3

Edit: damn you, gonna have to put a complete Circus Charlie on my wish list now...
Edit2: mother of god, 89 euros on eBay... :-(
Click to expand...

lol, don't start me on that. When I was young I had mint conditions of Usas, Metal Gear, Kings Valley 2 and this gem:

Xanadu_MSX_Cover.jpg


I sold them all for a little pocket money * sobs *
 
F

foobarry81

Member
Waldo Lydecker said:
lol, don't start me on that. When I was young I had mint conditions of Usas, Metal Gear, Kings Valley 2 and this gem:

I sold them all for a little pocket money * sobs *
Click to expand...

I have mostly loose cartridges, but a mint Metal Gear, a Vampire Killer that is in pretty good condition as well, and I just ordered a few more that seemed in pristine condition as well.

Is Xanadu playable if you're pretty bad at Japanese?

Dizzy-4Y said:
All you guys had cartridges? I never seen one for MSX, tapes were all I had.

load"cas:",r for life!
Click to expand...

Had, no... I borrowed carts mostly from a few friends who had MSX's too. And parents willing to buy the games for them.
But now I do have over 20 carts.

Edit: made you a quick pic. Just noticed that Knightmare is missing. It's in my MSX's cartridge slot. :) (and the boxes are Metal Gear, Nemesis, Akumajou Dracula (Japanese version of Vampire Killer) and Salamander)

2vRKCDQ.jpg
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MSX is coming back after 30 years
News
26
5K
YCoCg replied
First Version of Ys I Coming to Switch Next Week — Features English Support
News
3
806
manzo replied
  • Poll
SONY/SIE: The Balance Of Chasing Margins, Multiplat Expansion, And Maximizing The Console
Opinion Business Analysis 2
96
5K
Celcius replied
SymbOS - A rather impressive Z80 multitasking operating system gets a new release (MSX, Amstrad CPC, Enterprise, PCW)
0
742
Bullet Club replied
Intel 15th-Generation Arrow Lake-S might to have Hyper-Threading
Rumor Hardware
22
1K
LordOfChaos replied
Top Bottom