All about Xanadu

[cercia]

Found this great article while researching Xanadu Next, it has some interesting links also. While Im not a huge fan of this series, the new version looks pretty cool.
www.hardcoregaming101.net/xanadu/xanadu2.htm

[Ascended Mermaid]

It is, actually. I highly recommend it. It was actually released in 2005. With a bit of searching and a bit of luck, you could probably still find the limited edition (which includes Legend of Xanadu I & II, Xanadu Music Chronicle CD, a decent sized manual, and an encyclopedia/art book) for sale.

[Red Hairdo]

I already love the N-Gage version, so I only imagine how much I'll like the PC one.

I'm waiting for its English patch.

[Ascended Mermaid]

You... love the N-Gage version?! Oh man, I guess I should give that a shot sometime!

[cercia]

By the way do we have an Ys Online Call of Solun section?

[Ascended Mermaid]

Actually, we do not. Perhaps we need to add Ys Nexus and Ys Online: Call of Solum sections at some point. Just because they're online and don't follow the official story, doesn't mean they should be excluded from ALoY.

[yotaka]

How much would there be to talk about with Nexus though? Is anyone here capable of playing the thing?

[Red Hairdo]

Sept 17, 2011 11:20:50 GMT -5 Ascended Mermaid said:

You... love the N-Gage version?! Oh man, I guess I should give that a shot sometime!

Well, let me warn you though that the N-Gage version does indeed have tons of flaws. xD And DOES seem to be one billion times worse in all aspects compared to the PC version.

But yeah, once you get used to it (like to the low framerate), you just stop noticing the flaws. And that doesn't take very long to happen, really. I find it to be a very, very, very fun game. I have only played its beta version... until I found out I was using a skill that ate up my maximum HP by 1 point for every monster I killed. x__x The skill description DID say "Raises power, but at a price...?". >_> I thought it would nerf my statuses temporarily, but not that...

I still plan to start a new playthrough, on the full version this time. (The full version is easier, gladly, but ironically presents a funny "lag" after you clean a room of monsters, which lasts for just a second. That's not there in the beta version. That aside, there are other differences, mostly for the better.)

Let me know if you ever acquire an N-Gage.
But yeah, keep in mind the game is not for everyone. But if you happen to be someone who can learn to enjoy it, you'll like it a lot.

And let's not forget...:
- Boss music = Ys VI's Mighty Obstacle!
- Main character resembles Adol. XD A bit.

Sept 17, 2011 11:40:07 GMT -5 cercia said:

By the way do we have an Ys Online Call of Solun section?

We don't: Non-numbered non-Falcom-developed Ys games all fall under the "General Ys Discussion" section. In the case of "Ys vs. SORA NO KISEKI: Alternative Saga", it's not purely an Ys game, so it would go into that or "Falcom Discussion" sections, as well.

(Although if we had lots of serious Ys vs. SNK players, such a section would have been created, with perhaps sub-sections for each playable character.)

[ParanoiaDragon]

I've had the N-gage version for ages, bought the QD or whatever specifically for that game(though at a bugdet price). I haven't sat thru & played it yet though, I'm still not super thrilled with handling the taco in my hands!

[Red Hairdo]

Holding the system itself doesn't feel much different from holding a GameBoy Advance.

But yeah, I'd rather not use my N-Gage as a phone. In fact, I would rather not use ANY cellphone anyway, and don't regard them any better than the N-Gage for that purpose. *uses landlines at best*


I wish there were N-Gage emulators that could run more than just Java-based apps. (Like Xanadu NEXT...)
One day, the N-Gage will just disappear, like with all cellphone models...
I was even contemplating and considering developing my own N-Gage emulator, but I don't know if I've got enough determination and time for that... I also had (have?) the intention of transferring all cellphone Ys games (the one released in the US and the 20-ish japanese ones) to a PC, and develop emulators for those cellphones as well (I imagine a lot of the code could be reused for each...). But.. yeah, lemme stop dreaming.
(Though my plan was to distribute them all to all Ys fans worldwide as soon as supporting cellphone models got discontinued and the game unavailable for purchase... Which already happened to the US one, and I'm a few years too late. >_<)

[yotaka]

Hey, if you ever feel like distributing the things (emulator or no) let us know! Suppose there's no chance of Nexus ever working via emulator since it's a 'social rpg' and all but maybe someone will come up with emulators for the others one day. That Dogi side-story one could be fun, even if it was made Taito of A New Theory infamy.

[Red Hairdo]

Sure thing! xD But I still have yet to acquire them myself... And that task seems to be impossible without living in Japan or having a close friend living there willing to help me out. >< I did a LOT of research, as I have commented in some threads around April/May this year.

Quite recently I have requested for the only Ys cellphone game that got localized to the USA, as well.

[Ascended Mermaid]

Well, keep in mind that people HAVE found work-arounds for many 'social RPGs' and MMOs. WoW and EQ are two such games that can be played offline / on your own server. Also, I play Maple Story offline. Soloing some MMOs can be pretty tough, and some MMOs have strict limits on how much soloing you can do. Some enforce that you must be in a party to do quests, etc. All of those issues could be resolved, with the right people.

Say, Red. Suppose you end up with the cell phone adaptations of Seiken Densetsu 1 & 2? Would you upload those as well?

[yotaka]

That remake of SD1 using the original system rather than the GBA remake? Oh yes, there's one I'd also kill to play (wasn't fond of the remake). Might be tricky though since Squenix apparently isn't selling it anymore so you'd need to find someone who already has it.

Also, I suppose there are MMOs you could play in offline-mode but I guess we don't know enough about Nexus to say if it would work or not. I think the way they seem to be stucturing things suggests against it but I'm only going by snippits I've seen. Don't suppose you know anything about FFXI offline? I've heard generally good things about it but I've never been big on online games.

[Ascended Mermaid]

I don't know anything about FFXI offline, sorry! I avoided FFXI altogether due to the monthly subscription woes and the like, and I generally disapprove of automated combat (such as warrior classes in MOST MMOs).

As for Ys Nexus, I would say that it can be cracked. All that needs to be done is that someone has to figure out how to reach the web server (Perhaps by looking at the game's code?) and download the necessary files for offline play. The downside to this madness is that in addition, the presumed emulator would (more than likely) have to be updated to either support the files, or be able to modify Ys Nexus' server settings altogether, so that it could be run off of a personal server. That could very well mean that online support would also have to be programmed into the emulator.

One such problem I could forsee, is that I'm unaware if it is merely broadcast via a tower. Generally, however, worldwide web addresses are supported by the phone, and phones use said addresses to access exclusive features.

m.facebook.com/ is the mobile address for facebook, for example. I use it on my laptop, because it's easier to use and cleaner than regular facebook.

[Red Hairdo]

Sure, if I ever got those Seikens I'd share away. But if I don't see myself being able to acquire the cellphone Ys games, then me getting any other cellphone game is beyond imagination. >_<'

Aaaargh, I wonder if I can SOMEHOW use that... Crescent-Moon shop for a purpose such as that one... @_@ Probably not...
"Oh hey, I want a DoCoMo cellphone model "x", EZ Web "y" one and a Softbank Mobile "z" one! Then you go in this one site and purchase ALL games available from there for ALL these 3 cellphones. *names each game per phone separately along with price*
Total price will be xxxxxxx iens.
Now, cancel the contract with all these providers, then mail me the 3 cellphones?
Can you guys do that for me please? How much will it cost?"

xD

[ParanoiaDragon]

Sept 18, 2011 10:43:12 GMT -5 Red Hairdo said:

Holding the system itself doesn't feel much different from holding a Game Boy Advance.

But yeah, I'd rather not use my N-Gage as a phone. In fact, I would rather not use ANY cellphone anyway, and don't regard them any better than the N-Gage for that purpose. *uses landlines at best*


I wish there were N-Gage emulators that could run more than just Java-based apps. (Like Xanadu NEXT...)
One day, the N-Gage will just disappear, like with all cellphone models...
I was even contemplating and considering developing my own N-Gage emulator, but I don't know if I've got enough determination and time for that... I also had (have?) the intention of transferring all cellphone Ys games (the one released in the US and the 20-ish japanese ones) to a PC, and develop emulators for those cellphones as well (I imagine a lot of the code could be reused for each...). But.. yeah, lemme stop dreaming.
(Though my plan was to distribute them all to all Ys fans worldwide as soon as supporting cellphone models got discontinued and the game unavailable for purchase... Which already happened to the US one, and I'm a few years too late. >_<)

I don't know what it is then. I haven't picked it up in awhile, but I recall not enjoying playing the Taco QD

[Red Hairdo]

The N-Gage does feature some poor design choices as a gaming platform (although these weren't related to its looks resembling a taco, since the GBA also resembles it, yet still has a very good and practical design). The buttons are too "close" to each other, and they are "hard", which makes it a bit uncomfortable. The sound is also a problem, since it can be blocked away by your hands (at least on the older N-Gage). In the older N-Gage, switching games is also too much of a pain (however all I need is Xanadu NEXT personally, so that isn't a problem for me). Playing the game while recharging the battery is also REALLY hard, and your hands eventually hurt if you keep that up for long, unless if you play with them in some awkward position. Another problem is the small, vertical screen.

All those flaws aside... It's not bad. When we start pointing out its bad points, they somehow sound a lot worse than they actually are. Of course, if you play on a DS (or even better: a PSP) and then switch to an N-Gage, well, naturaly the difference is HUGE. XD But I'm sure the difference would be AS huge when switching from, say, a NES to an N-Gage: the N-Gage would look outstanding, but we all know that doesn't make the NES bad, being as awesome as it is.

But yeah. I would say that at least Xanadu NEXT on the N-Gage is not for everyone.


On an unrelated note... since I was talking about cellphone Ys games up there, here's a list I had made half an year ago that has basic data on ALL existing Ys cellphone games in Japan (being the only non-japanese one the one localized in the US), with at least the game name and the cellphone service each supports:

SPOILER: Click to show

ACCESS ROUTE for the service types/providers:
i-mode: iMenu -> Menu List -> Game -> Role Playing -> Ys/FALCOMi
Yahoo! keitai: Menu List -> keitai Game -> Role Playing -> Ys
EZ Web: au one Top -> Category blahblah -> Game -> Role Playing -> Ys ˜Ys˜

i-mode => DoCoMo
Yahoo! keitai => Vodafone/SoftBank Mobile
EZ Web => EZ Web...?


Game Name: Ys Origin
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: FOMA 703i, 903i series (blahblahs's mega game blahblahs)
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation: Download the application into a miniSD or microSD
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys Origin solitaire
Genre: Card (game)
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: 701i/702i/900i/901i/902i series
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations: It has some type of connectivity with Ys ORIGIN's cellphone version?

Game Name: Ys Heroines
Genre: blah blah blah Action
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: Yahoo! keitai
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys Pinball / Ys VI Pinball
Genre: Pinball
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: 701i/702i/900i/901i/902i series
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys: Elena's Solitaire / Elena's Solitaire
Genre: Card (game)
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: Yahoo! keitai
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys Fortune / Isha *hiragana* Puzzle 1 / Isha *hiragana* Puzzle 1: Ys Fortune / Ys Fortune: Isha *hiragana* Puzzle 1
Genre: Puzzle
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: 701i/702i/900i/901i/902i series
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys Solitaire Free Cell / Ys ~ Solitaire ~ / Ys Solitaire Freesell
Genre: Card (game)
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: 701i/702i/900i/901i/902i series
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai (, EZ Web?)
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys: The Oath in Felghana
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone: FOMA903i (DoCoMo903i) series
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations: 2 version for the Yahoo! keitai?

Game Name: Ys V / Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations: Any Ys IV cellphone version connectivity? Other connectivities?

Game Name: Ys IV / Ys IV: Mask of the Sun - a new theory -
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys III
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Bbmf
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys II COMPLETE
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys 2
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Hudson
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations: Was it localized somewhere in America in English?

Game Name: Ys I COMPLETE
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode, Yahoo! keitai, EZ Web
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Hudson
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations: It was localized somewhere in America in English.

Game Name: blah Ys I -3D-
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher and/or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: blah Ys I -3D- blah blah (gaiden?=side story?) / Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished The Truth ~ Adventure of Dogi ~
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher or Developer/Porter: Taito
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type: i-mode
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

Game Name: Ys Nexus
Genre:
Publisher or Developer/Porter:
Cellphone:
Service Provider/Type:
Installation:
Cost (and duration?):
Observations:

[Raison D'etritus]

I'm in the same boat as you, Yotaka.
While I couldn't find anything about Final Fantasy XI (which, between Kimimi-praise, and my roommate adjusting his entire life around the game, I also want to try out), I did find this for WOW:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e4HQHhfvr8

Aside from offline solo play, it evidently includes the ability to edit character level/stats and spawn equipment, so people like me who are lifelong fans of Warcraft but don't play games to make friends can play it just for plot/completion.
*lynched by MMOers for hermity nerdery*

As for FFXI, everything I've read says the game REQUIRES a party, due to steep difficulty, so likewise an editor of some sort would probably be required to solo it.
If it exists for WOW, surely something of the sort exists for FFXI. . . I just don't know where to look.