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J T
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Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by J T Sat May 28, 2011 8:39 pm

I intend for this thread to be a place where we can introduce each other to doujin games.

Over the last few months, I've become increasingly interested in finding strange and unusual games from Japan. Doujin, for those that don't know, translates literally into "same person" and it is generally used to describe a group of people or friends that share a common interest. This can be any sort of interest such as anime, manga, or music, but this thread will just be doujin video games.

Doujin games in Japan share a similar place in the gaming world as indie games do in the West. They are largely self-published works created by small groups of people that just really love games and operate on a shoestring budget . Generally speaking, however, as you might guess from the difference in the words, doujin games are often trying to emulate and improve upon something, whether they are fan-made games about a popular anime series or an elaboration on an old school gaming genre. Though they can be quite innovative, my general impression is that as a whole doujin games aren't quite as focused on unique gameplay innovations as western indie games are. Instead they work harder to emulate, expand on, and perfect already existing genres. The majority of doujin games I have come across are usually shmups (aka STGs), fighting games, or visual novels. These are just global observations, so there will of course be exceptions to the rule.

I don't speak any Japanese beyond "Domo Arigato (Mr. Roboto)", so if you're afraid you won't be able to understand these games, fear not. I am always on the hunt for games that either have been translated to English by fans or that are so focused on gameplay that you can get by without understanding the language.

This thread will run like some of my other ongoing threads. I'll generally post one game at a time with the title of a game, pictures, a brief description, and some links to where you can download, buy, or learn more about the game. It would be appreciated if you provide similar details when introducing a new game.
Last edited by J T on Sun May 29, 2011 1:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Browser Games ... Free PC Games ... Mixtapes ... Doujin Games ... SotC Poetry
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J T
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by J T Sat May 28, 2011 8:47 pm

Making sure you know how to run doujin games on your PC:

Before we get too far into this thread, here are some of the tools you will need to get along smoothly with the games I'll be posting about. Some of the games that will be posted in this thread will require a few extra steps before you can play them, but don't worry. It's all easy stuff that you can handle.

Issue 1: Helping your computer recognize all this Japanese kanji
A good primer on installing Japanese games on your system can be found at HG101:
http://hardcoregaming101.net/doujingame ... games2.htm

Most games won't require these steps, but the guide above is really useful if you have a game that doesn't seem to want to install because of a language difference.

Issue 2: Unzipping compressed files
Many of the games you will find online will be in zipped files. Common file extensions for this are .zip, .rar, .7z, .lzh, among others. You need a good program to unpack all of these files so you can use them. I recommend the program IZArc. It can unzip almost anything and is free and easy to use. You can download it here:
http://www.izarc.org/

Issue 3: Playing a file that is a copied image of a DVD
Some of the files you will find are a copied image of a DVD. Your computer won't know how to read these virtual CDs/DVDs if you don't also have a virtual CD/DVD drive to read them. Any time you see a file with an extension such as .iso, .bin, .ccd, .mdf, and so on, you will need to "mount" the file onto your virtual drive. There are several virtual drive programs out there. I use MagicISO, which you can get for free here:
http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso- ... erview.htm

Another popular one is Daemon Tools Lite:
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads


This should be enough info to get you started on downloading and playing all kinds of doujin games, so let's get on with the games!

I have thrown a smattering of these kinds of games around the website lately, but now I plan to keep them confined to this thread. Here are some doujinshi that I have posted about lately:

The Touhou Project

Vanguard Princess

eXceed 1-3

Wind & Water: Puzzle Battles

Don't Take It Personally Babe, It's Just Not Your Story

Koumoujou Densetsu 2: Stranger's Requiem

Arm Joe

AirRade: Air

Ether Vapor

Samidare

Cloudphobia

Strike Witches: STG!

Blue Wish Resurrection Plus

And there are more to come! :D
Last edited by J T on Sun Jul 17, 2011 4:36 pm, edited 5 times in total.
My contributions to the Racketboy site:
Browser Games ... Free PC Games ... Mixtapes ... Doujin Games ... SotC Poetry
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by noiseredux Sat May 28, 2011 8:48 pm

if ANYONE should man this thread, it's you JT. I'm not a PC gamer myself, but I still love to read yr threads because they're so illuminating. So bring it on!
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J T
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by J T Sat May 28, 2011 8:50 pm

noiseredux wrote:if ANYONE should man this thread, it's you JT. I'm not a PC gamer myself, but I still love to read yr threads because they're so illuminating. So bring it on!


Thanks. I put this in general gaming though because there are some doujin games that are console based, though they usually are PC based. Wind & Water Puzzle Battles (mentioned above), for example, can be purchased for Dreamcast as well as downloaded freely on PC.
My contributions to the Racketboy site:
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J T
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by J T Sat May 28, 2011 9:00 pm

RE: Alistair
(Size 62 MB)
Compatible with Mac, PC, and Linux

Image

RE: Alistair is an otome game. Otome are a type of game that are primarily targeted towards female gamers where the main goal of the games are usually to develop a relationship with one of the male characters.

RE: Alistair is a video game about video games. You play the role of Mesui, a school girl who loves to play her favorite MMORPG, Rivenwell Online. She keeps getting pestered by someone in the game world though who goes by the name of Alistair and she wants to figure out who he is in real life. The game is a dating sim/visual novel style game where you will have to balance your time between your school work, your social life, your gaming, and your investigation into the mysterious Alistair.
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MrEco
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by MrEco Sat May 28, 2011 9:48 pm

Dude, this is cool. I always thought "doujin" was the name for hentai comic books and visual novels. :lol: This thread has proved educational.

Anyway, I like the idea and that game Re: Alastair looks pretty cool. Especially so because it's free. I'll make sure to check it out as soon as I get the chance (In other words, next time I'm home alone).
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isiolia
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by isiolia Sat May 28, 2011 10:55 pm

Fighter Melty Blood comes to mind, though it's probably larger than a lot of the products. Play-Asia has a couple of the later PS2 releases in stock, but the PC copies are backordered (less legitimate copies can be easily found)

English Translation Patch is available from a third party, at least for some PC versions.

The game is actually a spinoff of another doujin game, Tsukihime, though that one is an eroge visual novel - Melty Blood is just a fighter, without the hentai elements.
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J T
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by J T Sun May 29, 2011 1:13 am

MrEco wrote:Dude, this is cool. I always thought "doujin" was the name for hentai comic books and visual novels. :lol:


Yeah, a loooot of doujin stuff is hentai related. :lol: The pornographic games like that are often called Hentai games, H games, or eroge (which is a portmanteau of erotic games).

I might mention some eroge titles in here, and will inevitably have to link to some sites with Hentai ads, so I'll be careful to put NSFW tags on those so people know they are not safe for work.

Though I've yet to play an eroge title, I've heard that a few have some really powerful stories. One of my favorite game journalists, Leigh Alexander, has often discussed the controversial game Kana Little Sister as being one of the better examples of video game storytelling, despite being a hentai game about incest.

You can read some of her thoughts on the game here:
http://sexyvideogameland.blogspot.com/2 ... natos.html

If anyone is intersted, Kana Little Sister (English version) can be bought here at the bottom of the page:
http://www.g-collections.com/games.html (site is NSFW)
Last edited by J T on Sun May 29, 2011 3:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Xeogred
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by Xeogred Sun May 29, 2011 1:17 am

Yeah your threads are pretty crazy, always tons of effort put into them!

Have to say I hate most Touhou games that I've checked out though, and mainly bullet hell shmups in general, regardless of being a huge shmup fan. This style of them just does nothing for me.

Any normal good shmups in the world of doujin worth checking out?
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Re: Let's explore the world of Japanese doujin games together!

by MrPopo Sun May 29, 2011 1:23 am

Does Recettear not count?
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