Import Hidden gems

[Dikdikvandik]

Japanese PS2 and I'm looking to branch out from Shmups and fighters and the safe bets like Sengoku Basara.
Nobody really talks about the Import scene on PS2, and most You Tube videos are vague lists off an emulator.

I'm not limiting our discussion to JUST Japanese PS2 games, But that is what I'm buying now. I'm also going to grab some SFC goodness, and Famicom, Dreamcast and Saturn.
Oh yeah and since I have a Japanese PS2 that opens me up to Japanese PS1, and I have 2 empty PS1 memory cards to fill. (moved the us collection to my PS3)

Dreamcast has a very VERY bizzare import library something like 65% watered down Hentai visual novels. Saturn has 100s of games I never heard of and aren't insanely expensive.

[Nemoide]

Do you like rhythm games? Do you like a CHALLENGE?
The Beatmania IIDX games for PS2 has you covered! There are many incarnations that have come out over the year, and I'd recommend starting with Beatmania IIDX 11: IIDX Red or later (the last on the console was IIDX 16: Empress). You'll also need a controller; while you can get expensive third party controllers that are still made to this day, the better starter option is one of Konami's official controllers (there was actually one released in the US bundled with the American version of the game, just called Beatmania).

It's a game with a high barrier of entry, but IMO IIDX one of the best games ever made. It's also one of Konami's biggest hits of the company's history, which is why they're still turning out new versions for Japanese arcades with the last one coming out about 6 months ago, though they're rarely found outside of Asia. I think the music is FANTASTIC and once you figure out how to really play the game, it's a total blast that can induce a similar mental state to being "in the zone" in shmups. But be warned: it's HARD. Even if you're a veteran of rhythm games, don't expect to just jump into middle-difficulty-songs and it will typically take years of practice before you can expect to be able to clear the hardest songs in the game. But there are plenty of songs on the easier end of the difficulty scale, especially with the beginner mode found on later releases. The difficulty means you'll get your money's worth trying to master the game!

The IIDX games do have a dedicated following outside of Asia among hardcore rhythm gamers, but it's rare to find general gamers who have even heard of it (though I know there are a few other fans on here).

[Dikdikvandik]

Happy Sky's Soundtrack is the truth.

[Dikdikvandik]

Quite a few good games quite a few expensive ones.

Will Monkey Punch passing away today there are some good Lupin games one on the Famicom and one of. Saturn (3 but the pyramid one is in I'm looking into)

PlayStation is my current focus but by Summer's end I hope to have more Super Famicom.

[Dikdikvandik]

Playstation is an endless treasure trove of hidden gems. It's funny how once region locking went away so did all the interesting Japanese Exclusives.

[ZRofel]

A few original PlayStation imports off the top of my head:

Panzer Bandit: A kind of steampunk Guardian Heroes knockoff. Very fun and requiring minimal Japanese knowledge.

Gamera 2000: A very solid rail shooter in the vein of Panzer Dragoon. Its live action cut scenes are all voiced in English and are delightfully atrocious.

Gunners Heaven: A Gunstar Heroes knockoff. Not nearly as good, but still a fun little run-and-gun game with a bright, cartoony aesthetic. It was released in Europe as Rapid Reload.

The Adventure of Little Ralph: A decent 2D platformer with a fairly cute aesthetic. Kind of expensive nowadays, I think.

Vib-Ribbon: A bizarre and uniquely stylish rhythm game. You can create your own levels using your CDs!

Rakugaki Showtime: A fun arena brawler a la Powerstone, but the emphasis is on thrown items. Fun but very pricey these days.


And here are a few PS2 games:

Chain Dive: Sort of a 2.5D mix of Bionic Commando and Shinobi. Not quite as good as that might sound, but still a solid, fun game.

Another Century's Episode: Sort of like if Super Robot Taisen got turned into Zone of the Enders. There's been a bunch of these made and they're all pretty good.

Berserk: Millennium Empire Arc: A 3D brawler set in the Berserk universe. Decent, but definitely more fun if you like the source material.

[Dikdikvandik]

A few original PlayStation imports off the top of my head:

Panzer Bandit: A kind of steampunk Guardian Heroes knockoff. Very fun and requiring minimal Japanese knowledge.

Gamera 2000: A very solid rail shooter in the vein of Panzer Dragoon. Its live action cut scenes are all voiced in English and are delightfully atrocious.

Gunners Heaven: A Gunstar Heroes knockoff. Not nearly as good, but still a fun little run-and-gun game with a bright, cartoony aesthetic. It was released in Europe as Rapid Reload.

The Adventure of Little Ralph: A decent 2D platformer with a fairly cute aesthetic. Kind of expensive nowadays, I think.

Vib-Ribbon: A bizarre and uniquely stylish rhythm game. You can create your own levels using your CDs!

Rakugaki Showtime: A fun arena brawler a la Powerstone, but the emphasis is on thrown items. Fun but very pricey these days.


And here are a few PS2 games:

Chain Dive: Sort of a 2.5D mix of Bionic Commando and Shinobi. Not quite as good as that might sound, but still a solid, fun game.

Another Century's Episode: Sort of like if Super Robot Taisen got turned into Zone of the Enders. There's been a bunch of these made and they're all pretty good.

Berserk: Millennium Empire Arc: A 3D brawler set in the Berserk universe. Decent, but definitely more fun if you like the source material.

Little ralph is VERY expensive these days. A shame because it's a game I want a legit copy of after enjoying it emulated.
Panzer Bandit is getting up there in price, I want it but I'll need a good deal.
I have Gunner's Heaven on one of my PSN accounts. Def want the actual game it's not super expensive yet.
Chain Dive def want
Berserk I LOVE berserk but what level of Japanese Knowledge do I need?
Another Century's Episode just got wishlisted

The Simple 2000 games and I guess by extension 1500 games interest me very much. They're budget titles of varying quality but some look like a ton fun. But there's so many I can't weed out all of them. I have maybe 15 wish listed and bought 2 so far, Zombie VS Ambulence and the DOAX ripoff. I know Oneechanbara, a Wanpaku Grafitti spirtual successor, EDF and SHienryu are among them. But the rest...I have some wishlisted but I don't know what's worth having and what I should skip. Seems like an interesting thing to collect as most are cheap and for me to get one they simply just have to be competent and playable by my gaijin ass.

[goatlll]

Yoshinoya is a very fun little game that can be found very inexpensively.

Chaindive is another good one, fun little action game.

The Sega Ages games are great on PS2. I have the Panzer Dragoon one and the Treasure Box one. Panzer is...it's ok but Treasure box is fantastic! It has English and Japanese versions of all the 16 bit Treasure games, and tons upon tons of customization options.

The Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series is like the Sega Ages games, but for arcade games. They are nice but they are getting very pricey.

As mentioned earlier, I highly recommend the IIDX games. I have been playing since 2001, and I am still not tired of the series. The latter games are getting very pricey but if you are lucky enough you can find the Korean version of Empress for next to nothing. I can attest that the Korean version works on a JPS2, and that the saves from the Japanese version are recognized by the Korean version. The only difference is that the instruction manual has some Korean near the back. 3rd-5th style are a bit harder to play because it lacked a lot of the newer options. 6th-10th are still dated, but started introducing newer options, and everything after Red will feel more or less modern.

Now as far as PS1 games are concerned, the sky is the limit. They are so many strange, quirky, and obscure games I can't begin to list them all. Plus many of them are very cheap. Rakugaki Showtime,GunGage, Touge MAX G, Mad Panic Coaster, Aconcagua,Gangway Monsters, really you can't go wrong with it.

Back when I got my first JPS2 circa 2002, I would go on Ebay or Yahoo auctions and just buy game lots. They were really cheap at the time, and you would get like 10-15 games for around 40 bucks. I played a lot of really bad games ( I'm looking at you Primal Image and 0 story) but I also got a ton of silly fun games. If I can think of more I will post it.

[Dikdikvandik]

I only have 2 Sega Ages Games, Treasure box and Virtual On, The latter of which My Framemiester hates the 480p mode of.

Indeed Oretachi Gēsen Zoku are getting up there in price. Far as Beatmania goes, I remember playing Happy Sky in the arcade and loving that soundtrack. I'm not very good at IIDX though.

Rakugaki Showtime is on that very expensive list, I really want Panzer Bandit but that too is a bit up there in price. Gunner's Heaven isn't too bad I have it on my PS3 and wouldn't mind having a physical. (which can't be said for Harmful Park, Zanac X Zanac and Gaiaseed)

Simple 2000, I don't think I'll be grabbing too many more of those. Splatter Action and Double Shienryu and the Oneechanbara and that might be it.

I may soon add Japanese PS1 to this set up, my JPS2 makes very strange noises reading PS1 discs (Scraping sound towards the back) All I have so far is Samurai Deeper Kyo and the much MUCH cheaper than the US version Guilty Gear with Rival Schools on it's way (Also MUCH cheaper than it's US counter part) I guess there's some compatibility issues with some games too?

[goatlll]

I only have 2 Sega Ages Games, Treasure box and Virtual On, The latter of which My Framemiester hates the 480p mode of.

That is unfortunate. I have only played on CRT sets.

I may soon add Japanese PS1 to this set up, my JPS2 makes very strange noises reading PS1 discs (Scraping sound towards the back) All I have so far is Samurai Deeper Kyo and the much MUCH cheaper than the US version Guilty Gear with Rival Schools on it's way (Also MUCH cheaper than it's US counter part) I guess there's some compatibility issues with some games too?

What type are you using? Both of my fat units had that same problem until I put them on their sides. My Slim one didn't, and the disk drive doesn't work on my PSX. Both of the fat units also had that noise problems on PS2 cd based games.