EGGCONSOLE: Historic Japanese PC Games Coming to Switch in 2024
D4 Enterprises, who runs the Project EGG emulation service for Windows and once contributed the Wii's Virtual Console, has recently launched a series of enhanced emulation ports for J-PC classics on Nintendo Switch. These range from mid-'80s legends like Falcom's Xanadu to much more obscure stuff from Compile, Bothtec, and other long-gone developers of the period. Each port offers much needed quality-of-life functions: button remapping, slow/turbo play speeds, save states, and manuals/instructions. None of these releases have gone on discount yet, but they're priced near Hamster's Arcade Archives ports ($6.49 USD vs. $7.99) and competitive on features. I'm including all releases from late 2023 to all through 2024 on this list, plus some details and personal thoughts/recommendations for each game.
Until these EGGCONSOLE versions get IGDB pages, I'll link to those within each description, but I'm mainly using the original release versions for this list as reference. Loading Screen Simulator's here to divide released ports from unreleased, and games after Wishing Well are ones I'm hoping will join the lineup next year (or I've submitted them to EGG via their request form).
Until these EGGCONSOLE versions get IGDB pages, I'll link to those within each description, but I'm mainly using the original release versions for this list as reference. Loading Screen Simulator's here to divide released ports from unreleased, and games after Wishing Well are ones I'm hoping will join the lineup next year (or I've submitted them to EGG via their request form).
39 Games
1986, PC-88, available now. It's a cinematic platformer adventure where you play a ghost which can possess most other creatures. You roam a recently surfaced ocean temple, inhabited by beasts and occupied by the Marx army (no relation to Karl), searching for clues about the history of this place. There's a simple but engaging story of good vs. evil to uncover here, plus some puzzles and combative denizens to deal with along the way. RELICS also has three endings, depending on how well you follow certain clues and NPCs' requests. Think a more primordial, obscure cousin to Prince of Persia. Switch version page!
1985, PC-88[mkIISR], available now. Here's a real system seller, designed to use the mkIISR's YM2203-based sound board and enhanced graphics chip. It was to the PC-88 what Super Mario Bros. was to the Famicom: a fun, challenging, highly replayable platformer with hints of dungeon crawler and arcade action. Make no mistake, though; Thexder's a much more difficult game. If you get stuck as early as stage 2, remember that it's better just to run and abuse your shield than fight scores of enemy robots without reward. (Alternatively, beating stages without using any shields adds 150 [max] energy, so it's best to alternate between shield and shield-less runs.) The PC DOS conversion by Sierra is noticeably easier, but this release has save states to ease the pain and make learning your run less tedious. Very cool and essential ludosoft no matter its jank. Switch version page!
1985, PC-88 (see a theme here?), available now. For better or worse, Falcom's original Xanadu is a beast of an action RPG, with treacherous dungeons and monsters galore. It's infamously hard to complete the game due to no enemy respawns, meaning you can softlock on bosses too hard to fight or not having enough gold for items. On the other hand, it's got that classic rogue-like appeal, with a fast start to building your hero and delving into the first maze. Revival Xanadu Easy Mode for PC-98 is my top pick for trying out the game, but this release is portable and has save states just in case.
1984, PC-88, available now. Influencers and reviewers love to shit on this game, but it's worth checking out if you enjoy historical firsts among xRPGs. Hydlide took Namco's Tower of Druaga and unraveled that game's secrets-based puzzle floors into a (then) large open world to explore. Grinding's not too hard once you get accustomed to bump combat (hit them from behind!), and there's a definite logic behind how to solve the game which rewards a replay. I'd love to see D4 bring over Virtual Hydlide or the Windows 95 remakes if possible.
1987, PC-88, available now. I'm already seeing some folks poo-poo this for not being the SEGA CD remake, which is unfair since they basically play the same (aka damn good shootin') and this still looks amazing for the era. Game Arts learned a lesson or two from Thexder, making this game much more accessible and conducive to replays. Few Japanese PC games looked, sounded, and arguably played as strong as this in '87...I'd say it's the safest pick in the 2023 batch of EGGCONSOLE ports.
1985, PC-88, available now (hopefully 98 w/AMD-98 sound in the future?). In a year teeming with foundational ARPGs, this one might be the most unique, combining a richly detailed story (told between stages) with post-Druaga secrets and maze-y combat across screens. I've had a lot of fun playing this, no matter how tricky or weird it gets, and it's the ARPG to get if you want more conventional combat (no bumping) and nicer visuals. An English translation would be nice to better understand what's going on (same with RELICS), but it's not that necessary either.
1984, PC-88, available now. Here's the first externally-developed game of the pack (previous releases were all in-house creations). It's a solid, spooky maze game where you play a magical eyeball dude exorcising the dead on each stage. Hard to go wrong with it, but I bet this will appeal most to anyone looking for a J-PC Pac-Man or something.
1987, PC-88, available now. It's that famous classic ARPG from Falcom, one you can already get on Steam in shiny remade form. Still, even the original Ys is very playable today, though I doubt this version will have English text as an option.
COMING SOON IN 2024
1984, PC-88. And now we have something which Anglosphere players basically can't play. This was one of a few Micro Cabin graphic text adventures published after winning their game submission contest(s). It follows the story of a vixen trying to cure her kit's illness by finding a legendary antidote deep within their forest, which leads to puzzles and many Game Overs a la Sierra games. Not one for most, but I'm curious to try out these old text ADVs once translated (that or I learn Japanese finally).
1985, PC-88, aka Take the A-Train. While this outwardly resembles a railroad tycoon game, it plays more like a puzzler, just with an economic theme. Artdink's debut title has you building a transcontinental railroad, laying local lines to drive business while extending across the continent to unite your network. A-Train as we know it in the West basically begins with its third installment, which later got a PS1 port. EGG's likely doing this first since the tycoon/city-builder entries will require more work for button mapping, but it's worth a look if you'tr looking for a puzzle game in this selection.
1985/86, PC-88. Yet another ARPG, this time from the creators of the Morita Shogi series that got Koichi Sugiyama involved with Dragon Quest. Beyond that footnote, Kazurou Morita himself programmed and designed this competitor to the likes of Xanadu, Tritorn, Hydlide and others. It's a solid side-scroller with a weird diorama projection, performing smoothly despite the limited hardware of the time. There's more towns and open-world exploration in this one compared to its peers, too, if you're keen on that vs. dungeon crawling. Like Marchen Veil, this also has direct combat instead of bumping, albeit starting with a very stubby dagger until you can afford something better. Riglas' developers then went on to make cult classics like Juushin ROGUS (Armored Core but for 1987, stuck on PC-98) and Digan no Maseki (aka the most ambitious Japanese PC RPG of the late-'80s).
1986, PC-88. Much like Battle of Olympus or Glory of Heracles, this dungeon crawler's got a classic Greek mythology theme, plus Wizardry-ish mechanics and party building. The game's unique selling point is Space Harrier-style boss fights, as unfitting as that sounds. I haven't played as much of this as later Kure Software Koubou games (ex. First Queen), though it does have a lot of distinction in this lineup.
1986, PC-88. Xtalsoft makes its EGGCONSOLE debut with one of their many xRPGs, a side-scrolling action adventure akin to Namco's Dragon Buster or Sein Soft's Tritorn. Babylon got a Western localization for Commodore 64 (seemingly the last release from Broderbund's Kyodai brand), but it's been so damn forgotten since that this might as well be all new to the West.
1987, PC-88. Designed in the wake of rising RPG fandom across the Famicom and Japanese PCs, Laplace's Demon diverges from D&D to instead adapt parts of the Cthulhu mythos (and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu games) into a DRPG format. It's our first Hummingbird Soft release, albeit led by Hitoshi Yasuda from Group SNE, a guy who played key roles in the Lodoss War franchise among others. This one's quite spooky and apt for multiple playthroughs; there's also a fan-translated Super Famicom remake of some repute, though it plays much simpler than the original.
1987, PC-88. Gee, if Hydlide was so good, why isn't there a—oh. Hydlide 3 was a big hit in '87, so it's no surprise we'd get it on Switch this quick. Added mechanics like sleep, encumbrance, and more detailed character customization make this way more complex than its predecessors. There's also (finally) a proper soundtrack, featuring some of the nicer T&E Soft tunes from the FM-synth days. I'm keen to try this out either on Switch or in emulators.
1988, PC-88. Though it's still far from getting an English translation (huge script, Taisho-era Japan setting, etc.), this murder mystery ADV by writer Rika Suzuki (Hotel Dusk, Another Code) was influential and well-regarded in its time. You play detective Todo Ryunosuke during the 1920s, investigating the death of a business baron at his family's mansion. There's some neat mechanics here to ease players in (dialogue keywords, evidence summaries, and a family tree), plus appropriately ornate audiovisuals.
MY WISH-PICKS FOR 2024+
1985, Square, PC-98. The PC-88 release from '87 is what EGG should use (it adds a Uematsu soundtrack), but this was technically the studio's first-ever RPG back on 98. You play a wanderer on a post-apocalyptic Earth, fighting lowlifes and grinding for cash, items, and equipment to survive. It's a very straightforward post-Rogue/-Ultima overhead CRPG, but with mech suits and isometric battle scenes.
1986, Riverhill Soft, PC-88 et al.. [Using the later port's cover since it's more iconic.] Either the old PC DOS or TurboGrafx-16 English scripts could get added as optional features to make this more tantalizing. Though not the company's first murder mystery, this set the quality standard for J.B. Harold, Todo Ryunosuke, and other ADVs to come. Expect plenty of gossip, clue hunting, and awkward interrogations!
1986, PC-88, Telenet/Sunsoft. Yeah, I know, this game's very love or hate (even I struggle to play it despite having strong presentation and ambitions for the time), but it's another historic must-have for the service. D4's recently helped with Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection, so this should be an easy job following off of that.
1986, PC-88, System Soft. Originally called Bouken Roman ("DOTA" is the protagonist's name, no relation to a popular MOBA series), this action-platformer's basically as close to a full Commander Keen/Apogee DOS game as the PC-88 can get. The devs genuinely did an amazing job here, making a responsive, challenging but approachable game in a genre the system isn't quite built to handle. I think it's a better intro to the PC-88 library than most games, even Thexder, but this keeps falling under the radar.
1987, MSX, T&E Soft. I'm using this as a stand-in for the whole Daiva series, 7 games released on separate J-PC platforms in '87 where you switch between Koei-style region building, a simple space-navy wargame, and side-scrolling mecha action sequences on planets. This was a very ambitious series for the time, a risk worth making back when this company was best known for Hydlide. Daiva 6 for Famicom's already part of Switch Online, so this complements that nicely.
1987, PC-98, Artec. Really fun, underrated action/strategy wargame hybrid that withered as an early PC-98 exclusive. It's got a lot in common with Daiva, but plays faster, simpler, yet better paced than any entry from T&E Soft's series. While it looks and sounds only decent in stills/video, the game comes alive during hectic battles with tons of enemies (relatively) smoothly jostling for control. It reminds me of playing Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires or a classic Armored Core at times. This requires only a little more Japanese to enjoy than Daiva and I'm making a full retrospective for the game to make it easier for Western appreciation.
1988, PC-88, Soft Studio WING. Yet again, this will mainly appeal to Japanese ADV players who want their horror fix, but it's worth a look for you all too. The story revolves around a series of hauntings and supernatural outbreaks spanning 1980s Japan, which you must investigate and quell. WING's horror ADVs excel at combining style and substance at a point when technology and low budgets made it hard to terrify players. I think this or another WING game will happen soon-ish since they have a cult following in the J-PC scene.
1988, PC-88, Artec. Whereas Juushin ROGUS was a straightforward mix of side-on combat and wargaming, this game's much more complex and ambitious vs. any other J-PC xRPG of the period. You essentially have a sci-fantasy plot, alien world simulator (the Shenmue of its time), and choices-driven CRPG progression all in one here. Digan no Maseki's also part of the GDLeen universe, created by main designer/writer Yuto Ramon, so it's tied to games like Silva/Minelvaton Saga as well. While I'll be most excited once this has a translation patch, it'd be quite the prestige title to feature on EGGCONSOLE this early.
1988, PC-88 et al., System Soft. Western players might know about this via its excellent Mega Drive port with Hitoshi Sakimoto music. It's the start of the studio's once well-regarded tactical RPG series, inspiring later games like Falcom's Vantage Master. Players must ummon, sustain, and train monsters while leading them in countless battles per campaign, fighting for control of hexgrid maps and whittling down opposing beastmasters.
1989, MSX2 et al., Micro Cabin. Ys had plenty of competition heading through the turn of the '90s, and the Xak series proved successful in iterating on story-centric ARPG design. The first game has an English translation for MSX2, produced by D4 and their former Dutch partner WOOMB back in the 2000s (now available as a separate patch). I'd love to see them do a full WOOMB bundle in the future, but this game's the clearest choice to start with.
1989/90, X68000/Mega Drive. Here it is, the big one: two distinct but recognizable versions of Japan's most technically ambitious 3D RPG before FFVII, both with English fan patches. Star Cruiser's name might sound generic, but its star-spanning saga of aerial combat, dungeon crawling, and space opera intrigue stands out even against Wing Commander. Its full-3D visuals, quaint and low-detail as they seem now, pushed each system it ran on to their limits, all without added hardware acceleration. It's a remarkably open-ended yet polished experience for the turn of the 16-bit decade, one that deserves much more international recognition. There's other Arsys Soft games I'd love to see make the cut, too (WiBARM, Reviver, WerDragon, etc.), but Star Cruiser remains the crowning jewel of their catalog for good reason.
1990, PC-98/DOS, Artdink. The arcane, numbers-heavy economy sim/city-builder hybrid began here, in all its isometric glory. A-Train III directly inspired Maxis when they were developing SimCity 2000, among other niche games which looked to Artdink sims for ideas. It's definitely hard to get into now vs. modern entries, but the hand-pixeled artwork and simple objectives make it worth a go.
1990, X68000/Mega Drive, Wolf Team. It's rare to find undeniably strong and polished titles from Telenet and their subsidiaries, making Granada one of their most precious releases ever. Overhead tank STGs wouldn't outdo this example in the genre for quite some time, with plenty of maze crawling and set-pieces to enjoy. Coupled with excellent FM-synth and MIDI music, this one's just an easy sell compared to many previous picks of mine (whether I like that or not).
1991, SNES/PC-98 et al., T&E Soft. I can't help but wonder if D4 will start off with a much earlier golf game (let alone any sport), but it'll almost certainly come from this company. They pioneered realistic 3D golf sims with enough conviction to ward off better-budgeted competitors. Teams like Camelot and ClapHanz took all the right lessons from T&E Soft when making Mario Golf and Hot Shots Golf later on (maybe even the Pangya people).
1991, PC-98 et al., Falcom. Perhaps y'all should start with the PSP remake, The Dark Revenant, since that's already in English and has much improved QoL features. Still, I think this would add early variety to the Falcom titles on offer, and it's honestly not too hard to play through in Japanese either. Helluva action dungeon-crawler, that's for certain. Tread carefully through this one and you'll be rewarded!
1991, PC-98/Mega CD et al., Falcom. For lack of a proper English localization (even using the Un-Worked Designs patches), I'd say an EGG-sponsored equivalent could be awesome. This was Falcom's penultimate release for PC-88, a real looker on the system, and it plays as refined and accessible as the average Ys or Sorcerian title from that time. Super iconic, super fun, and super relevant for EGGCONSOLE.
1994, PC-98/DOS/SNES, Koei. Between all the Rekoeition series (strategy role-playing sims focusing on character growth and rank), this one's always brought up the most, arguably for good reason. Sailing the whole world to trade wares, explore the darkest corners, or even plunder hapless passers-by...it's all here, babeeee. I wish the recent Uncharted Waters games were closer to this style and complexity.
1994, PC-98/consoles, Koei. Shibusawa's team really pumped these grand strategy games out in the early-'90s, only slowing down later to try more innovations vs. sheer content. RoTK IV hails from the ruler-play era, focusing more on macro control of China than building up one/a few/several officers and actualizing their legacies. Heady stuff to get into, but oh so addictive.
1994, PC-98/SNES/PS1, Kure Software Koubou. Pure the previous '80s KSK game from your mind and gaze upon this wild combo of ARPG and early real-time strategy! Silver Ghost and all its progeny are beefy, but FQIV's likely all anyone will need (if its gets translated, anyway). I'd also love to see Dark Seraphim and Duel Succession down the line.
Late 1990s, PC-98/Windows 95. Call me amibitious, asking for all the currently free Compile Disc Station games to get an EGGCONSOLE collection. Everyone knows late Compile just as a Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari company, but their developers continued to make a wide variety of smaller, more experimental games for their subscribers. There's major early-Internet vibes all across this library, from proto-Flash/Shockwave action and puzzle stuff to complete xRPGs (one of which, Gensei Suikoden, became a phenomenon in Korea). I'd be really impressed if D4 went as far as recreating the unique pre-game menus from the final installments, but just the titles themselves works fine. Because Win9x-era Disc Station software's already tricky to run, even with something like DxWnd, this would be an essential way to actually play them!
1999, Win9x. D4's recently announced a new series compilation that will re-release the WIndows-era RELICS games for the first time in decades, so I don't think this would be a huge ask. They're an interesting mix of classic Diablo/loot crawlers and the non-linear storytelling RELICS was known for. I'd hope 2nd Birth and the Falcom-finished RINNE also release alongside this one, of course.
9 Comments
My pleasure. I wish they'd get out of the '80s just for a bit to put out some newer, more accessible J-PC games (not just the boomer nostalgia ones, let's be real), but D4's off to a good start with this.
I attempted to add Egg console to IGDB a couple of years ago and it was rejected for one reason or another. Do you have a news link. May turnaround that position.
Holy sh*t this is cool. A lot of these are pretty obscure (to the non Japanese PC gaming enthusiast) so I'm glad they are being brought to light!
My pipe dream would be for Kumdor no Ken to get a Switch port. I'm not sure if there would be copyright issues on that one though, but it would be cool.
My pipe dream would be for Kumdor no Ken to get a Switch port. I'm not sure if there would be copyright issues on that one though, but it would be cool.
Actually it might be hard to bring that to the Switch for it's touch-typing controls...
@DizzySkullKid19 EGG doesn't sell any games from Michiaki Tsubaki on Windows, either, so I think Kumdor, INSIDERS, etc. are just out of the question. The former would be somewhat playable with USB keyboards, but far from ideal since the game's built around the native PC-98 key layout.
@bitterbatterdog There's articles on Time Extension reporting the releases of Xanadu, Silpheed, and Hydlide, plus what I linked in the list description.
@bitterbatterdog There's articles on Time Extension reporting the releases of Xanadu, Silpheed, and Hydlide, plus what I linked in the list description.
It seems thanks to this list there's now more pages on this site for the Eggconsole stuff so that's nice.
Uhh apologies for a comment again but they announced more games for this stuff. I couldn't really read all of them but I noticed Hydlide 3 is on their coming soon now.
@Angel_Arle I've added Babylon to IGDB and updated the list with the other two. Laplace no Ma is the one to watch out for since it's very unique and underplayed out West.
DeemonAndGames
3 months ago