blueskied
05-14-2005, 12:44 AM
I recently got a PC-FX and here's some impressions if people are interested.
There isn't much info about the system on these forums and many people don't know much about it. A good resource is www.pcenginefx.com.
The system itself is sorta clunky and it creaks if you move it even a little.
It loads up faster than any other CD-based system I've owned (Sega CD, 3DO, Saturn, etc.). It also has the best full screen FMV of ANY system pre-128bit era.
It's full screen, it's 24-30FPS, there are very few noticable visual artifacts. And each game disc can hold LOTS of it. I like the look of the system and the controller, a nice 6 button layout (no shoulder buttons).
The games I have:
Pia Carrot e Yookoso- I really enjoy this game, I've already played through it 3 times winning three different gals, and I'd like to go through and win all the others. The Pia Carrot games are extremely well done dating-sims where you work at a restaurant during summer vacation, and try to win one of 8-10 girls, most of whom also work there as waitresses. You have to carefully manage your attributes (style, academics, kindness, etc.) to get the girl you want. The art is lovely, with very soft pastels and full screen scans. The PC-FX version has great, full screen anime intros, and a long anime cinema during the prologue. It is also very much 18+ adult game, with full nudity (minus the bikini area, which is a big no-no in Japan--these areas are just blurred out in skin-tone). The nudity is only a small part of the game, and you can win a girl without seeing any of it if you choose (though for some, it's you pretty much have to see some). There are some explicit sex scenes as well (especially with Reina), which are a little too pornographic for my tastes. The stories are very well scripted (especially Saori's!)Anyway do NOT play this if you have a problem with naked Japanese anime girls. Go play the G-rated sequel on the Dreamcast (which is a splendid game). There are full faqs for this game, but I can't see it being much fun unless you have at least some basic Japanese ability. There is full voice acting, and all the voice actors are good except the voice for Shouko WHICH IS HORRENDOUS. She sounds like she is a mentally retarded 5 year old. Seriously. I should also add the music is VERY good (much better than in the sequel), each girl has their own theme-track which comes on when you're talking to them. My fave is Shiho's, it's really quite catchy. There is also a Saturn version with totally redone, yet oddly subpar artwork, no nudity, new fmv cinemas for each character, and an extra character (Airi).
Can Can Bunny Extra DX. Another 18+ adult game, apparently with nudity. I played this for 20 min and turned it off in disgust, I didn't get past the prologue. It's boring and the pacing is awful (the text scrolls painfully slow and you can't speed it up). I don't think I'll be playing this one anymore.
Fire Women Matoigumi- I've only played this a few minutes but I can tell it has a lot of potential and is well crafted. There is full voice (like most PC-FX games), a really cool RPG system sorta like the River City Ransom rpg (the art is also reminiscent of that game). There is also a dating aspect to it, but I'm not really sure how that works yet. Japanese players rave about this game, so I look forward to playing it more when I have the time.
Super God Trooper Zeroigar- the only shmup on the PC-FX. It has GREAT fmv cinemas in lovely Japanese anime. They are littered throughout the game, between each level. The gameplay is sorta dull and nothing special. Still fun to play through a few times, but not worth the crazy prices on ebay ($180+).
Zenki- The PC-FX's only action/platformer! This is even more rare/expensive than Zeroigar ($280+). I've only played it a bit, but it is pretty fun so far, with nice parallax, transparency effects, BIG sprites, no slowdown, cool music, cool characters, etc. Seems like a winner, I'll have to play it more.
Team Innocent- This game is pretty fun so far. Basically it's like Biohazard/Resident Evil (this is the game Capcom copied from to make Biohazard) set in outerspace on space stations with 3 anime chicks. Very well done fmv, fun exploration, nice music/voice. So far so good!
Well that's about it. I also have Tenchi Muyo (a 2-Disc digital comic adventure), but I haven't played that yet.
Any questions, feel free to ask. In summary, it's a really fun niche-system best suited for those with some Japanese language ability, as most of the games are text/voice-heavy. I really want to get Battle Heat (fmv fighter game) and Chip Chan Kick (cool 2D action game like Parasol Stars) next.
There isn't much info about the system on these forums and many people don't know much about it. A good resource is www.pcenginefx.com.
The system itself is sorta clunky and it creaks if you move it even a little.
It loads up faster than any other CD-based system I've owned (Sega CD, 3DO, Saturn, etc.). It also has the best full screen FMV of ANY system pre-128bit era.
It's full screen, it's 24-30FPS, there are very few noticable visual artifacts. And each game disc can hold LOTS of it. I like the look of the system and the controller, a nice 6 button layout (no shoulder buttons).
The games I have:
Pia Carrot e Yookoso- I really enjoy this game, I've already played through it 3 times winning three different gals, and I'd like to go through and win all the others. The Pia Carrot games are extremely well done dating-sims where you work at a restaurant during summer vacation, and try to win one of 8-10 girls, most of whom also work there as waitresses. You have to carefully manage your attributes (style, academics, kindness, etc.) to get the girl you want. The art is lovely, with very soft pastels and full screen scans. The PC-FX version has great, full screen anime intros, and a long anime cinema during the prologue. It is also very much 18+ adult game, with full nudity (minus the bikini area, which is a big no-no in Japan--these areas are just blurred out in skin-tone). The nudity is only a small part of the game, and you can win a girl without seeing any of it if you choose (though for some, it's you pretty much have to see some). There are some explicit sex scenes as well (especially with Reina), which are a little too pornographic for my tastes. The stories are very well scripted (especially Saori's!)Anyway do NOT play this if you have a problem with naked Japanese anime girls. Go play the G-rated sequel on the Dreamcast (which is a splendid game). There are full faqs for this game, but I can't see it being much fun unless you have at least some basic Japanese ability. There is full voice acting, and all the voice actors are good except the voice for Shouko WHICH IS HORRENDOUS. She sounds like she is a mentally retarded 5 year old. Seriously. I should also add the music is VERY good (much better than in the sequel), each girl has their own theme-track which comes on when you're talking to them. My fave is Shiho's, it's really quite catchy. There is also a Saturn version with totally redone, yet oddly subpar artwork, no nudity, new fmv cinemas for each character, and an extra character (Airi).
Can Can Bunny Extra DX. Another 18+ adult game, apparently with nudity. I played this for 20 min and turned it off in disgust, I didn't get past the prologue. It's boring and the pacing is awful (the text scrolls painfully slow and you can't speed it up). I don't think I'll be playing this one anymore.
Fire Women Matoigumi- I've only played this a few minutes but I can tell it has a lot of potential and is well crafted. There is full voice (like most PC-FX games), a really cool RPG system sorta like the River City Ransom rpg (the art is also reminiscent of that game). There is also a dating aspect to it, but I'm not really sure how that works yet. Japanese players rave about this game, so I look forward to playing it more when I have the time.
Super God Trooper Zeroigar- the only shmup on the PC-FX. It has GREAT fmv cinemas in lovely Japanese anime. They are littered throughout the game, between each level. The gameplay is sorta dull and nothing special. Still fun to play through a few times, but not worth the crazy prices on ebay ($180+).
Zenki- The PC-FX's only action/platformer! This is even more rare/expensive than Zeroigar ($280+). I've only played it a bit, but it is pretty fun so far, with nice parallax, transparency effects, BIG sprites, no slowdown, cool music, cool characters, etc. Seems like a winner, I'll have to play it more.
Team Innocent- This game is pretty fun so far. Basically it's like Biohazard/Resident Evil (this is the game Capcom copied from to make Biohazard) set in outerspace on space stations with 3 anime chicks. Very well done fmv, fun exploration, nice music/voice. So far so good!
Well that's about it. I also have Tenchi Muyo (a 2-Disc digital comic adventure), but I haven't played that yet.
Any questions, feel free to ask. In summary, it's a really fun niche-system best suited for those with some Japanese language ability, as most of the games are text/voice-heavy. I really want to get Battle Heat (fmv fighter game) and Chip Chan Kick (cool 2D action game like Parasol Stars) next.