EGG Console - PC-88 on Switch - Blu-ray Forum

heyadol · 02-16-2024, 06:01 AM

D4 Enterprise released a few PC-88 games on the Japanese eShop. These are all games from the mid-80s so expect something in the NES/Famicom range (a little worse graphics and performance, but way better sound).

There are nine games available now for ￥880 or less, and seven more on the way. This will probably remain Japanese only so mostly unplayable for a lot of us, but I've played Ys enough times that I don't need to read the dialog. It is downloading now, along with Sylpheed.

https://www.amusement-center.com/project/egg/console/
https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectEGG

https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/s...000075600.html

https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/s...000075288.html

I don't see Konami on the list, but D4E previously released a lot of their MSX titles for the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console so it would be awesome to see them again. The only Konami MSX game that seems to be missing is Snatcher.

http://www.vc-msx.d4e.co.jp/index.php
http://www.wiiuvc-msx.d4e.co.jp/

Akibiyori · 02-16-2024, 06:12 AM

Hmmm…might be tempted to go for the Ys games just to play the original originals. Still, I wish Konami and Falcom could get together to release the Hudson versions of Ys I-IV (shouldn’t be hard to put in a translation for Ys IV, it has already been done, just subtitle all of the spoken audio.) I would buy it the instant a digital release is announced, then buy the physical copy too.

heyadol · 02-16-2024, 06:31 AM

Ya, it was nice getting the PCE/TG-16 versions with the mini consoles, but a collection on cart and download with all four would be great. Konami should farm it out to Edia, they have been doing a decent job resurrecting PCE games with Valis and Cosmic Fantasy.

heyadol · 03-15-2024, 08:25 PM

Ys II has been released.

These games are now available on the US eShop:

https://www.nintendo.com/us/search/#...at=gme&sort=df

The individual game pages say English and Japanese, but the games have not been translated to English, only the menus.

Akibiyori · 05-06-2024, 02:43 AM

Ys III is supposed to be available on the shop on the 9th this week.

I just got the first two Ys games. I’ve heard that these are harder than the Turbografx versions (I always take “harder” with a grain of salt) but the enemies in the central field seem to move slower and are quite easy to avoid, a good thing considering this version has that ever annoying issue where Adol needs to get much too close to the edge of the screen to move it.

Since this is in Japanese, I wish they included a quick reference guide to key dialogue boxes to make them easier to navigate - whichever option will get you to whatever you need to do - but it seems quite doable if you’ve played other versions of the games.

So far, I’d say the Turbo CD versions definitely are improvements but I’m sure I’ll find some pleasure playing these.

Akibiyori · 05-07-2024, 09:56 AM

Finished the first Ys. I wouldn’t say it’s more difficult, though maybe I’m just too familiar with the game now. It’s about even. The two faces boss is the one part I’d say is trickier, it’s more deliberate than I recall the Turbo version being. It seems like you need a little luck surviving long enough to get to the more manageable part of the fight; the timing is quite brutal because of the frame rate. Dark Fact took three tries - outright failure, then an accidental fall into a hole on the second attempt, and total success the third time.

Lack of English ultimately wasn’t any real problem - Darm Tower is Darm Tower regardless of language comprehension. Now I’m dreading navigating the temple and canals in Ys II!

It’s great revisiting these in their original form after playing Ys Origin early this year (all three playthroughs - a really good game.) This is a neat release and I’m glad the companies involved decided to release it internationally, even without translation. I’ve never played any PC-88 games so this was a totally new experience. Wonderful 80s atmosphere, excellent soundtrack. There’s also plenty of great artwork from the original packaging in high resolution, especially from Ys II (so much more evocative and vibrant than what you see now - those were the days!)

Bring on Ys III and let’s get the new edition of Oath and Ys X: Nordics out here already!

Akibiyori · 05-12-2024, 11:39 AM

Finished all three of the Ys games.

Ys II. I enjoyed the first two a heck of a lot, they’re very much the same games as the Turbografx CD edition despite the poor frame rate (that guy’s basement in Ys II? It drops to single digits and is full of invisible sprites!) This time I had to dig out a guide to sort out and keep track of things in Solomon Temple, which is still a tangle (it was also necessary to remind myself where the leaf was in the magma caverns.) This version has bookending cutscenes that, while not as tremendous as the TG16-CD version, are cool to see in their own right.

Books I & II on the Turbo are the definitive versions (so get ‘em back in circulation Konami and Falcom!) but these EGG Console releases of the originals are quite good and perfectly playable for the initiated. Very glad to have them!

Ys III. God! I somehow still enjoy this game but it is not well designed…at all! I got a good giggle reading it described as a skill game in the main menu’s instructions; Ys III is not a finesse game by any stretch of the imagination, especially not the PC-88 original. This is choppier than the Turbografx CD edition (frame rate people - THIS is bad frame rate, not solid 30 FPS in modern games.) Expecting to do anything with precision is folly, it’s a “get strong as hell and steamroll your enemies” game.

It seems the Fairy Necklace doesn’t work in this version, unless I was missing something important. I did have it highlighted and I was not playing on “Hard.” The final boss is like the Turbo version: use the amulet then turn on the protect ring and hope you get thrust up high enough into the boss to take out a large amount of his health so you can survive the rest of the volley of energy balls after your magic is depleted.

The Japanese text isn’t obstructive here at all, as it’s straightforward just making the rounds after each chapter to trigger each new event.

Though I still enjoyed playing this, I can’t recommend this next to the Turbografx CD edition, with its excellent arranged soundtrack, spiffy cut scenes, and ridiculous but entertaining voice acting, or the Genesis version, which plays smoothly and has a soundtrack that replicates the superb PC-88 version remarkably well.

heyadol · 05-13-2024, 03:06 AM

I always thought Y's III was weird. It looked best on SNES (subjective), played best on Genesis, and sounded best on TG-16. Still, I'll probably pick up the EGG Console version after finishing Y's II.

Akibiyori · 05-14-2024, 02:36 AM

I’ve only played a bit of the SNES version. I think that version is supposedly the hard difficulty setting of the PC-88 version. If that’s the case, I’m not interested in Ys III’s hard mode, it’s just more of a grind. If I want hard Ys III, I’ll stick with the Genesis version’s final boss…but then again I’ll probably get bored at some point (or just get hungry for more Ys) and wind up playing that SNES or PC-88 hard mode!

I’ll keep an eye out for more of these Egg Console releases, at least the ones where the language barrier is surmountable.

Akibiyori · 07-06-2025, 08:35 AM

Started The Legend of Heroes. Google Translate seems to work well enough but this is a time I definitely wish I had one of those one-handed controllers from the 90s made for RPGs…and I wish Google Translate put the cancel out “X” next to the snapshot button, it would be far more natural position for my needs here. I made some quick reference diagrams for menu layouts to keep track of where basic things and spells are. Items grouped together instead of individually would have been nice, even if you have limited inventory space.

So far, I get the feeling this is going to be a “grind and then do” RPG rather than a “fight as you go” type of game. JRPGs already kinda got past the grinding issue by this point (like Dragon Quest III) but, based on many of the excellent Basement Brothers videos on early Japanese PC games, their computer games almost seemed to pride themselves on grinding as if that was the best part of an RPG. We’ll see how it goes but the encounter rate on the overworld is certainly obnoxious! Sometimes I can’t even move after a battle before the next one begins.

Ah, first big boss fight at the mine/prison with the commander and the first thing he does is silence me. Don’t be THAT kind of game - here’s stuff you can use and…nope, we’ll just take it away from you and you can just pick” fight” for the entire battle! I had plenty of healing items but, still…c’mon.

Akibiyori · 07-07-2025, 10:42 AM

What in the hell is this BS with these wizard guys? They just stick you with every and any status effect, stun locking you until you die because you can’t do anything about the poison effect (which kills you after a set number of turns instead of damage round by round.) There’s nothing I can do to prevent this other than take them down fast enough and now that I’m down one member after the last event I don’t have the man power to do it. What the hell?

This, like every other Falcom game from this time, is absolutely turning into a save scummer, because you’re going to run into some real bull. Now I know why this game gives you so much leeway with continuing after you get trashed. I thought, “No, I’m not using the option to ‘continue from the last battle,’ I don’t need that.” Yes, you will need it. This is bad design.

So early bosses just make it so I can’t do anything other than basic attacks and the game isn’t giving me decent options in situations like the above. With the gameplay loop so far, I’m feeling less enthusiastic about this one by the session.

Akibiyori · 07-11-2025, 06:50 AM

I decided to give up on The Legend of Heroes. Google Translate is too much of a chore for a 1989 game that feels below 1987 titles like the first Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star and Dragon Quest II, not to mention 88’s DQIII. I’ll have to get the Turbo version working right if I want to play this one but my suspicion is that I wouldn’t like it much.

ChadFL · 07-12-2025, 04:15 PM

Looks like a lot of great, classic games. Wish they'd release some physical compilations.

dyne · 08-26-2025, 03:08 PM

Per ‪@allcityslopshop.com‬ on BlueSky

Quote:

D4E's pulling the EGG Console versions of Fray and Brandish Renewal off the Switch eShop (both seem to still be up in the US, so ya might wanna act fast)

they didn't give an explicit reason, but if you've booted either release, you might've noticed why: they straight up used MSDOS in their PC98 emu.

those particular games were emulated with HDD-necessary features, which require an OS to function, hence why they're not pulling their other PC98 reissues

there are substitute OS they could've used (notably, SPS' MEG-DOS, now owned by M2)… was this a gamble, or was someone just asleep at the wheel?

07-06-2025, 08:35 AM	#10
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	Started The Legend of Heroes. Google Translate seems to work well enough but this is a time I definitely wish I had one of those one-handed controllers from the 90s made for RPGs…and I wish Google Translate put the cancel out “X” next to the snapshot button, it would be far more natural position for my needs here. I made some quick reference diagrams for menu layouts to keep track of where basic things and spells are. Items grouped together instead of individually would have been nice, even if you have limited inventory space. So far, I get the feeling this is going to be a “grind and then do” RPG rather than a “fight as you go” type of game. JRPGs already kinda got past the grinding issue by this point (like Dragon Quest III) but, based on many of the excellent Basement Brothers videos on early Japanese PC games, their computer games almost seemed to pride themselves on grinding as if that was the best part of an RPG. We’ll see how it goes but the encounter rate on the overworld is certainly obnoxious! Sometimes I can’t even move after a battle before the next one begins. Ah, first big boss fight at the mine/prison with the commander and the first thing he does is silence me. Don’t be THAT kind of game - here’s stuff you can use and…nope, we’ll just take it away from you and you can just pick” fight” for the entire battle! I had plenty of healing items but, still…c’mon. Last edited by Akibiyori; 07-06-2025 at 08:59 AM.

07-07-2025, 10:42 AM	#11
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	What in the hell is this BS with these wizard guys? They just stick you with every and any status effect, stun locking you until you die because you can’t do anything about the poison effect (which kills you after a set number of turns instead of damage round by round.) There’s nothing I can do to prevent this other than take them down fast enough and now that I’m down one member after the last event I don’t have the man power to do it. What the hell? This, like every other Falcom game from this time, is absolutely turning into a save scummer, because you’re going to run into some real bull. Now I know why this game gives you so much leeway with continuing after you get trashed. I thought, “No, I’m not using the option to ‘continue from the last battle,’ I don’t need that.” Yes, you will need it. This is bad design. So early bosses just make it so I can’t do anything other than basic attacks and the game isn’t giving me decent options in situations like the above. With the gameplay loop so far, I’m feeling less enthusiastic about this one by the session. Last edited by Akibiyori; 07-07-2025 at 11:02 AM.

02-16-2024, 06:12 AM	#2
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	Hmmm…might be tempted to go for the Ys games just to play the original originals. Still, I wish Konami and Falcom could get together to release the Hudson versions of Ys I-IV (shouldn’t be hard to put in a translation for Ys IV, it has already been done, just subtitle all of the spoken audio.) I would buy it the instant a digital release is announced, then buy the physical copy too.

02-16-2024, 06:31 AM	#3
heyadol Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 4K collection:2 Blu-ray collection:75 DVD collection:3 MA collection:37 Digital collection:77 iTunes collection:1473 Prime collection:2 Trading Score:11	Ya, it was nice getting the PCE/TG-16 versions with the mini consoles, but a collection on cart and download with all four would be great. Konami should farm it out to Edia, they have been doing a decent job resurrecting PCE games with Valis and Cosmic Fantasy.

05-06-2024, 02:43 AM	#5
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	Ys III is supposed to be available on the shop on the 9th this week. I just got the first two Ys games. I’ve heard that these are harder than the Turbografx versions (I always take “harder” with a grain of salt) but the enemies in the central field seem to move slower and are quite easy to avoid, a good thing considering this version has that ever annoying issue where Adol needs to get much too close to the edge of the screen to move it. Since this is in Japanese, I wish they included a quick reference guide to key dialogue boxes to make them easier to navigate - whichever option will get you to whatever you need to do - but it seems quite doable if you’ve played other versions of the games. So far, I’d say the Turbo CD versions definitely are improvements but I’m sure I’ll find some pleasure playing these.

05-07-2024, 09:56 AM	#6
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	Finished the first Ys. I wouldn’t say it’s more difficult, though maybe I’m just too familiar with the game now. It’s about even. The two faces boss is the one part I’d say is trickier, it’s more deliberate than I recall the Turbo version being. It seems like you need a little luck surviving long enough to get to the more manageable part of the fight; the timing is quite brutal because of the frame rate. Dark Fact took three tries - outright failure, then an accidental fall into a hole on the second attempt, and total success the third time. Lack of English ultimately wasn’t any real problem - Darm Tower is Darm Tower regardless of language comprehension. Now I’m dreading navigating the temple and canals in Ys II! It’s great revisiting these in their original form after playing Ys Origin early this year (all three playthroughs - a really good game.) This is a neat release and I’m glad the companies involved decided to release it internationally, even without translation. I’ve never played any PC-88 games so this was a totally new experience. Wonderful 80s atmosphere, excellent soundtrack. There’s also plenty of great artwork from the original packaging in high resolution, especially from Ys II (so much more evocative and vibrant than what you see now - those were the days!) Bring on Ys III and let’s get the new edition of Oath and Ys X: Nordics out here already!

05-12-2024, 11:39 AM	#7
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	Finished all three of the Ys games. Ys II. I enjoyed the first two a heck of a lot, they’re very much the same games as the Turbografx CD edition despite the poor frame rate (that guy’s basement in Ys II? It drops to single digits and is full of invisible sprites!) This time I had to dig out a guide to sort out and keep track of things in Solomon Temple, which is still a tangle (it was also necessary to remind myself where the leaf was in the magma caverns.) This version has bookending cutscenes that, while not as tremendous as the TG16-CD version, are cool to see in their own right. Books I & II on the Turbo are the definitive versions (so get ‘em back in circulation Konami and Falcom!) but these EGG Console releases of the originals are quite good and perfectly playable for the initiated. Very glad to have them! Ys III. God! I somehow still enjoy this game but it is not well designed…at all! I got a good giggle reading it described as a skill game in the main menu’s instructions; Ys III is not a finesse game by any stretch of the imagination, especially not the PC-88 original. This is choppier than the Turbografx CD edition (frame rate people - THIS is bad frame rate, not solid 30 FPS in modern games.) Expecting to do anything with precision is folly, it’s a “get strong as hell and steamroll your enemies” game. It seems the Fairy Necklace doesn’t work in this version, unless I was missing something important. I did have it highlighted and I was not playing on “Hard.” The final boss is like the Turbo version: use the amulet then turn on the protect ring and hope you get thrust up high enough into the boss to take out a large amount of his health so you can survive the rest of the volley of energy balls after your magic is depleted. The Japanese text isn’t obstructive here at all, as it’s straightforward just making the rounds after each chapter to trigger each new event. Though I still enjoyed playing this, I can’t recommend this next to the Turbografx CD edition, with its excellent arranged soundtrack, spiffy cut scenes, and ridiculous but entertaining voice acting, or the Genesis version, which plays smoothly and has a soundtrack that replicates the superb PC-88 version remarkably well.

05-13-2024, 03:06 AM	#8
heyadol Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 4K collection:2 Blu-ray collection:75 DVD collection:3 MA collection:37 Digital collection:77 iTunes collection:1473 Prime collection:2 Trading Score:11	I always thought Y's III was weird. It looked best on SNES (subjective), played best on Genesis, and sounded best on TG-16. Still, I'll probably pick up the EGG Console version after finishing Y's II.

05-14-2024, 02:36 AM	#9
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	I’ve only played a bit of the SNES version. I think that version is supposedly the hard difficulty setting of the PC-88 version. If that’s the case, I’m not interested in Ys III’s hard mode, it’s just more of a grind. If I want hard Ys III, I’ll stick with the Genesis version’s final boss…but then again I’ll probably get bored at some point (or just get hungry for more Ys) and wind up playing that SNES or PC-88 hard mode! I’ll keep an eye out for more of these Egg Console releases, at least the ones where the language barrier is surmountable.

07-11-2025, 06:50 AM	#12
Akibiyori Special Member Member since:Nov 2014	I decided to give up on The Legend of Heroes. Google Translate is too much of a chore for a 1989 game that feels below 1987 titles like the first Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star and Dragon Quest II, not to mention 88’s DQIII. I’ll have to get the Turbo version working right if I want to play this one but my suspicion is that I wouldn’t like it much.

07-12-2025, 04:15 PM	#13
ChadFL Blu-ray Archduke Member since:Dec 2009 Location:Daytona Beach, FL Blu-ray collection:556 DVD collection:5	Looks like a lot of great, classic games. Wish they'd release some physical compilations.

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