Hello!

[kyouki]

I posted a couple of times on this board a long time ago but never posted my introduction.

Anyway, my first exposure to Falcom gaming goodness was through Sorcerian (released by Sierra for the PC in the USA). I have fond memories of trying to puzzle my way through this game at my best friend's house when we were kids. We never got very far, but one thing that stood out even then was how good the music was!

Around that time I also read an RPG article in Nintendo Power. They covered Ultima Exodus (also and awesome game) and Legacy of the Wizard. Just from the screens I knew I had to have Legacy. I ended up getting it one day and once again, here was another compelling Falcom game with a fantastic soundtrack! I have not yet finished Legacy (who could, honestly, when they were a kid!) but spent plenty of hot summer nights wandering the dungeons and trying to figure everything out.

Then one day some other kid brought his SNES over with a copy of Ys III and I was hooked! I still have fond memories of this game and play it from time to time. I know the SNES version of Ys III is looked down upon, but I think it still has a great soundtrack.

So maybe a year ago or so I was reading up on stuff online and came upon the HG101 article on Ys and the Dragon Slayer "series." Remembering the good times I had with Sorcerian and Ys III I went out and got the PS2 versions of Ys I & II and also the Ys III remake (which I still think is a pretty awesome remake). Then I ordered Sorcerian Original, Sorcerian Forever, and jumped on Ebay and tracked down both the PCEngine and Megadrive versions of Sorcerian!

I was also intrigued by Dragon Slayer and especially Xanadu (having played Faxanadu ). But I had a hard time playing the old emulated computer games and never was able to track down the Falcom Classics disc on Ebay.

Well anyway, a few months ago I left my awesome career and all my friends and family (with the exception of my wife) and moved to Japan. My first goal (after finding a place to live and a job) was to find Falcom Classics! As luck would have it there is a used video game store a five minute walk from my place with a decent Saturn selection... and there was Falcom Classics, in mint condition for roughly $14. I had planned on buying a Saturn just to play it, but fortunately there is a Saturn emulator that runs this disc just fine. They also had Ys IV for the pcengine so I picked that up as well.

So while Dragon Slayer is a little... annoying?... Xanadu is pretty awesome. And I thought, why not pick up Xanadu Next? So I went out and got that yesterday and so far it is great! I was hoping for a more catchy soundtrack though... it's good, but more ambient than rocking.

[Justin]

Welcome to the board, and how do you afford rent with a used game store five minutes away! I should try Xanadu Next soon. I keep hearing all these great things about it.

[kyouki]

haha, luckily our expenses are low and because we have a subway station so close by, we have no cars so I can irresponsibly spend my money on used games without it being a problem.

Xanadu Next is seriously awesome. The story is pretty dull, but most games stories are to me. The game itself though is really solid. I played a lot of Diablo back in the day but once I bought Record of Lodoss War for the DC I couldn't go back to just clicking on enemies to death. So I'm so glad Falcom came up with a patch to allow gamepad use with the game. It's extremely addictive (definitely one of those "one more expedition into the dungeon, and then I swear I will go to bed!" games) and the music is great, even if it isn't as immediately catchy as the music from the Ys or Sorcerian games. There are some neat touches though... when you attack enemies from behind you have a much higher chance to critical, for instance, so I spend a lot of time trying to get behind enemies. It gives the game sort of a tactical feel I think.

It's pretty difficult so far in that enemies get much stronger very quickly. The first dungeon is a cakewalk (it's more of a tutorial) but the second dungeon contains enemies that can kill you in a few hits. Luckily when you level up your stats can increase quite a lot.

[Red Hairdo]

Welcome kyouki.

I'm all for Ys. But I guess I could try some of other Falcom games... =]

[phaer]

I wonder why Ys' TV animation project is not very in...
Seems only a 6 episode ova was made..

[Incog Neato]

Welcome, welcome! ^o^/

Hope you enjoy your stay and participate in our threads of awesome fun! :D

[kyouki]

Jul 4, 2008 13:03:15 GMT -5 Wyrdwad said:

May I ask whereabouts in Japan you live?
...
Your name sounds familiar, too... did you used to post on any other message boards? Shin Megami Tensei ones, perhaps?

-Tom

Hi Tom! I live in Hirabari, which is a suburb of Nagoya City. We just got here about 3 months ago, so far so good. When we first got here we were living with the folks in Togocho and there was an awesome game store called Dispa (formerly Magical) that I used to go to by bike basically every day. Their used PS2 section was about the size of a typical EB/Gamestop. I also went up to Akihabara for a weekend and found the coolest video game store ever, Super Potato! It was four floors of used games, from MSX computer games to PS3 games.

Around here we've got a Book Off, a Geo, and a Magical. Geo is definitely the best of the three, they've got plenty of used games, and a pretty decent section for used 8- and 16-bit games.

I know what you're talking about with the ps1 games though. I always check out the psx section because they released so many psx games here and you're bound to find some interesting looking games for under $5. I've been pretty lucky though, most of the games I've picked up on a whim have been decent at least.

You might remember me from hg101, I post there from time to time and did the Sorcerian article. I think you and I also chatted a bit on gamefaqs, and if I'm not mistaken you tracked down a copy of UFO A Day in Life for me one time.