Emerald Dragon (PC-88 Paradise) - The original 1989 version from before the SNES and TurboGrafx!

[@Sephylis-tl4ll]

Man, I wish we still had booklets with art inside. To me, that was one of the things I enjoyed the most. I really miss it.

[@PastPresentFutureEndofTime]

😎👍

[@fmsyntheses]

No better way to get you psyched to enter the world of a game

[@Jinx_Skeel]

I'm with you there. It was really cool to have those

[@abraxaseyes87]

Yeah like everything else dreams lost for cents on the dollar.

[@MrVariant]

You still do like with silent hope, cards rpg the misty battlefield, or slitterhead.

[@am_cosmos]

Man the character designs in this game are fresh as hell

[@Germania9]

Don't know why, but every time the game disks booted up, it sounds satisfying.

[@PeperonyChease]

Probably because of all the trauma associated with disks not being able to be read.

[@RetroSegaDev]

Disk ASMR :)

[@FloridaEbikes]

Because it took like 5 trys at least to get it going.

[@Mia-dt3gl]

I’m absolutely fascinated with FM Towns.

[@Lezard_Valeth]

I miss the "you boys be quiet down there"- intro. Excellent video in any case

[@SirKibble88]

Agree, sick pfp and name btw. I love VP.

[@Lezard_Valeth]

@@SirKibble88 always great to see anyone recognise it :)

[@gavinlucas9761]

I remember having so much fun playing Emerald Dragon on the Super Nintendo. I really wish there was an English patch for the PC Engine version. I really love hearing the voices in the PC Engine game.

[@David-pt3mh]

Nice Frampton Comes Alive Wayne’s World reference. That part always kills me.

[@LanEXHikari]

You've got me at "4 disk for cut scenes" Mr Jakes! What an incredible RPG for that era, thanks for the video ✌🏼

[@papermariottydfan1]

Oh I see where the phantasy star IV/ end of the millennium got the idea for talking to your party members about what to do next. The cutscenes for this game looks absolutely gorgeous.

[@Finalras]

This is the first time I actually skipped the spoiler part, because I had the SNES version on my list of games I want to play for a while now. Didn't know it originated on the PC-88.

[@23Scadu]

8:57 I love this feature in RPGs, I wish it was more common. Besides the obvious utility, it's so much fun to just have a little chat between all the party members whenever. You can talk one on one with members in newer games like Baldur's Gate 3, but it's just not the same.

[@bag-manbaron2547]

I loved it in Phantasy Star 4 as well, it always helps to catch up with when you haven't played in a long time

[@chewgokugin]

Id love to see brandish series coverd

[@Conan_the_Based]

Good call, brother. Same goes for me!

[@Deniii4000]

I asked Mr. Jakes about Brandish and he said he wanted to focus on games he hadn't played already so I don't think there will be a Brandish video anytime soon sadly.

[@fmsyntheses]

I appreciate you being willing to tackle classic RPGs. I know what a huge time investment it is. You know I love your work, please keep it up!

[@BasementBrothers]

Indeed. The time it takes just to play through these games is one of the main reasons I can't just put out a new video every week!

[@AvalancheReviews]

I love the snes port of this game

[@Yuuretsu]

I loved this game on the PC Engine and never realized it was a 1989 game.The gameplay was a little odd to me, not being able to level up or control most party members directly, and I remember looking up maps online. The story and cutscenes really captivated me me. Even by 1994 standards they really held up well. I should go back to the Super Famicom version someday but the presentation of the PC Engine version really elevates the game.

[@cpt.straginski]

With this story about sound test and separate ost disk, just a reminder that if game had awesome soundtrack you could not just go to KZbin to listen to it. Only now i get the idea of a lot of late 80s games having funky sound test menus with character art or animations, it's a audio player and visualiser. Would be cool if some modern games added feature like that

[@waxknucklebearingjuice5592]

"Secret back door to her fortress" is that what the kids are calling it these days ?

[@Jikangire957]

LOL! I was sure I wasn't the only one who immediately thought that at that part of the video!

[@Nemo2342]

A Confusion spell that works on the last boss? And here I thought only SMT games let you wreck bosses using status effects :D

[@matildarose]

I've been binging on this content lately, since it's been helping tame my resident anxiety goblin. Thank you for what you do!

[@RemoWilliams1227]

I also turn to comfort videos when the world gets tight.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

Another great addition to my “Do you like RPGs?” KZbin playlist! Always fun seeing these older titles we never got in North America

[@RemoWilliams1227]

I absolutely love this series, I was a tg16 kid in the US (a relative rarity back then) and have thus always been fascinated with nec and their other systems I missed out on. Thanks for what ya do brother.

[@BasementBrothers]

Same here man. I was a TG16 kid in the 90s. Respect!

[@Nebulous6]

The PCE/TG-16 is such an amazing platform. Apparently it shares some of the same GPU technology as the Sharp X68000. Thank-you NEC and Hudson!

[@Nukle0n]

This is probably the most impressive pc-88 game so far. Lots of sprite animation, smooth four-way scrolling, not a lot of loading, you'd almost think it was a pc-98 game.

[@jasonblalock4429]

12:50 Ah yes, remember the days when even getting PCs to scroll the screen halfway decently was a challenge? It's kind of amazing how far games have come.

[@DracMazoku]

If it was not for your videos, I wouldnt have bought so many PC-88 releases on Switch (through EGG Console). Just last week, they released Xak II, which I bought instantly after loving the first one so much. Without PC-88 Paradise, I wouldnt even know what Xak was. So now I'm really hoping we can also get the original Emerald Dragon on Switch too! Thanks for the great vid once again!

[@EdmondDantes224]

When I saw Atrushan's human form at first, I was like "Wait, why is Lina Inverse here?" Though that would be a hilarious RPG, considering how dragons react to Lina Inverse.

[@ArispeMatt]

Step Past Out Of Klear Revulsion?

[@EdmondDantes224]

@@ArispeMatt LINA: "What did you say!" [has to be restrained by Gourry]

[@Unquestionable]

Got a long work week ahead along with a sick girlfriend in the other room so know this is definitely going to give me the strength/motivation to bring my A game to both. When life can be rough knowing that someone out there is creating incredible showcases of old Japanese PC games really does remind me of the better things in life. Especially thrilled with this title as it was very much one of the more "well known" fan translated SNES titles back in the day so seeing the original in action is a treat.

[@ArtemioUrbina]

My Sunday afternoon ritual, thanks!

[@Saur]

This is some crazy synchronicity! I've just spent all day translating Dragon Century, an anime from this era. The same character designer was definitely involved in this game. His dragon designs are unmistakable. 3:40 looks identical to the Dragon Century character "Carmine" when he was a baby, except Carmine is red.

[@BasementBrothers]

Hmm, just checked and the same character/monster designers do not seem to have been involved. The dragons do look very similar though!

[@traashghost]

I'ma bet the game took inspiration from the OVA

[@bluespaceman7937]

Very interesting connection.

[@Saur]

@@BasementBrothers Interesting. Maybe it just took inspiration from the OVA. In any case, I just bought the guide and art book for Emerald Dragon. Even the act of a dragon giving one of their horns is present in this game. In the OVA, the dragons live by an honour code. A dragon breaking off a horn is a gesture of devotion. But having a horn cut off is a mark of defeat, and that dragon is honour bound to serve the person who did it.

[@jhonviel7381]

nice

[@NuageMH]

This feel like one of the rare game I'd actually like to play, notably the PC Engine version which looks so gorgeous! Too bad there's no english translation for that one unless I missunderstood

[@DeletarTepes]

Oh yeah it's Sunday, amazing

[@beowulf848]

I think that's some of the smoothest screen scrolling I've seen in one of these old PC 88 games!

[@Obakedake]

Great content as always - I’ve been curious about this game for a long time so glad to get your review and synopsis

[@apollolux]

Some RPG recruitment center somewhere: Recruiter: Why do you want to join our party? A: I want to saaaaave the world! 2: The big bad killed my father and I want revenge. Saoshyant: Some guy stole my bow. Everybody: (looks at Saoshyant)

[@TheFireRed]

Watching the episode earlier than usual! Normally I watch it while having breakfast on Mondays...

[@riverpudding]

I think the female protagonist was named after Tam Lin, a Scottish fairy tale about a human warrior who grew up in the fairy realm after being kidnapped as a boy by the Queen of Faeries.

[@backlogpanic]

Thanks for keeping up the work on these retrospectives. I only really knew about Emerald Dragon as a seemingly obscure Super Famicom game, so it is interesting to learn just how much of a classic it really seems to be.

[@backlogpanic]

Looking at the SNES version more closely, I now realize that me and my brother used sprite-sheets from the town areas in our old RPG Maker projects from Emerald Dragon SNES, along Dragon Quest 3 SNES, Final Fantasy 6, Tales of Phantasia, & Star Ocean. What a fun discovery!

[@abraxaseyes87]

Love the artwork. Thanks for revealing this gem.

[@Iamacardinalfan]

I'm not interested in actually playing this game. But I do appreciate that you put spoiler warnings at the proper time. Very thoughtful of you. Nice video btw.

[@2soulzkilluminati135]

Yes finally a video about Emerald Dragon. I played the pce version. It's fucking great one of the best RPGs I played.

[@MoJaKF]

Your videos are awesome!

[@HEADBOY_PHENOMENON]

@9:02 this is why I always appreciated the use of the L button in MMBN and MMSF, it's rare to get lost in either series.

[@GranMaese]

21:17 Cracked me up. Top notch content.

[@Keiffer01]

Always have to watch your videos when they pop up, loving them so much!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@m3llytan]

How the heck did you know that I was playing the translated SNES version and really wanted to check out the PC-88 version?! Love the battle system in this game!! The opening scenes and several others are so well directed and the very OAV anime feel of the whole game is fun as heck. A great Saturday morning kinda game. Since seeing someone mention Slayers in the comments, now I'm also wondering how the human/dragon transformation shtick became a thing in the 90s-00s...Namely in games/anime like Breath of Fire, Slayers, and later Legend of Dragoon. I wonder what influenced these stories. D&D? Wizardry?

[@utsusemini7536]

Thank you for another great video on an amazing game!

[@darktetsuya]

another interesting PC88 JRPG! props for the extra soundtrack disk, I love when those developers did stuff like that. I wonder if this would ever be in the cards for an EGG Console switch release? though I do still have to get back to finish Ys 1 first.

[@BasementBrothers]

Honestly, I had to kind of swallow my pride once I found out how much some people have looked into the origins of the names in this game. For me Khosraw was always "Hothrow" (like Heathrow Airport). That name is so much more in-line with the katakana... but I guess I have kind of an 'Englishification' bias as a native English speaker.

[@darktetsuya]

@@BasementBrothers oh I didn't know about that, wild! but yeah I see what you mean about the english bias.

[@BasementBrothers]

Whoops. Replied to the wrong comment. Sorry.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

i love your vids but i am playing thru this game right now and am at the mountain goddess part and dont want it spoiled for me, so ill just like your vid and comeback to finish it later.. but keep on doing your amazing videos!!

[@espfusion]

This has to be some of the best graphics on the PC88 for sure. I played the SFC one after the fan translation came out but I couldn't remember anything about it besides the one guy getting killed by an arrow out of nowhere.

[@Vulpas]

I've always been interested in this game.

[@pablozambrano16]

Yeah finally! You been teasing us with this game for quite a long time now

[@astrades2601]

Man, very interesting (and i really like jokes in this one, this with bow was excellent) video. Game is looking really like big, epic and intriquing adventure, despite it has various quirks typical for 80's RPGs and artstyle is great. I think i would try play some fantranslated version in sometime.

[@kirillomelchenko5803]

Trivia: "Kh" in "Khosrow" stands for "ch" sound in "loch ness", or "j" sound in Spanish "jajaja", there is no actual "k" there. In his own time though the name started with just an h sound as I get it. So the Japanese approximation is pretty close. Anyway a great vid.

[@BasementBrothers]

Honestly, I had to kind of swallow my pride once I found out how much some people have looked into the origins of the names in this game. For me Khosraw was always "Hothrow" (like Heathrow Airport). That name is so much more in-line with the katakana... but I guess I have kind of an 'Englishification' bias as a native English speaker.

[@ArispeMatt]

More characters need to be named for Khosrow and do his same epic levels of dickery towards their own versions of Justinian.

[@joakkar]

as someone who only played the fantranslation of the super famicom one, I remember almost nothing of this to the point I wouldn't be able to tell you how they changed the story lol. But I do remember enjoying it a lot despite the wonky battle system. I do however remember that demon lord boss battle being the only battle in which I actually lost, so I guess that remained constant.

[@crawdkenny]

I remember the first time i saw this game played. The mc's name of アトルシャン, i read it, and you know that thing where if you read words with the same beginning and end but with the middle changed seeking you can sell read it, well... アドル...チャン... I can't unsee the name being so close to Adol-chan.

[@benjbit]

Funny I just got the FM-Towns version the other day!

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@farsilv]

This is one game I look forward to play! Its japanese doesn't look very difficult, although some kanji are hard to read sometimes...

[@BasementBrothers]

The font is very easy to read for a PC-88 game!

[@Zeithri]

30:38 - In that angle, he looks like Popful Mail :D 33:50 - FM Towns Paradise? :D 35:40 - Ah yes, that explains why I knew this name! I swear I have downloaded this and then went " _Nah_ ". I did wrong! I should play it... Thanks for another great video! To say what I'm sure I've read in some JRPG; 「SEE YOU TOMORROW」

[@RekkaAlexiel]

I played the Super Famicon version and really enjoyed it. I was quite plesantly surprised with it, actually.

[@wesherbst1526]

I know this game is considered something of a special item, but honestly, the SNES version was middling at best. I barely remember playing it, haha. I beat this, Ancient Magic (SFC), Sorcerer's Kingdom (MD), and lthis all in like a week long period. In like, 2009 or something. Around the same time I beat the first NieR game on PS3.

[@prof.degenerate7109]

im actually playing the snes version right now!

[@RetroRick1990]

Wonderful, thanks for the video, I will try to play via emulation, I guess trying to get the hardware would be difficult though 🤝

[@quarkbent9165]

Rewarding games are the best games to keep visible to others :)

[@fazares]

Cool video...the FM Towns one looks the best to me!

[@atomictoaster3393]

Wish jp remake this old stuff, seems like lot of potential

[@waxknucklebearingjuice5592]

I've never had the attention span (severe adhd) to finish old school rpgs like this , in theory they're my favorite genre of game. In practice, i have fun for the first couple hours about 8-10 , but then i just start losing the plot or I'll forget what i was planning to do.

[@sunderark]

27:27 One day I'll run an all you can eat buffet place and call it Ultimate Plate.

[@redrum3r]

you mentioned an FM-Towns collection, I'd watch episodes of FM-Towns Paradise.

[@BasementBrothers]

I really need to pick up a better-working FM Towns machine than the one I currently have someday. I used to have a decent one... but I stupidly sold it. Now similar machines sell for a lot more. Shoulda held on to it.

[@4l6ag3]

For the first time ever I ended up skipping the spoiler section. I don't really have time for RPGs right now, but those character designs are wonderful and the plot up until the spoiler warning sounded exactly like the kind of thing I like. I'm not sure I've seen any other 80s game with that much dialogue between party members like that and the portraits look great. The in-game graphics look their age but the other art and cutscenes look great and even the kanji font looks big and easy to read despite the PC-88 resolution. I might have to find time for this one. Do you have a link to the walkthrough you used?

[@BasementBrothers]

Sure, here you go! web1.kcn.jp/kyoto/EmeraldDragon/index.html

[@Catkeeper]

The cutscenes in the 88 version are gorgeous, would love to play it but can't speak a lick of Japanese. Hopefully there's be a way some day.

[@loganjorgensen]

32:30 "Zoomed them in." yeah I guess you could describe it like that with the platform having a larger overall pixel scale heh, personally I'd say they used a smaller window on MSX2 simply because it has a lower pixel resolution than a PC-88. Regardless an odd porting route compared to other MSX2 ports, still it's interesting to see what 320x120 range graphics would have looked like if it had been a standard screen mode for PCs.

[@jacethomas5562]

I can't unsee her tongue sticking out at 4:16!

[@wesherbst1526]

In the SNES versioin the first archer in your party gets shot by a little kid with a bow, lol.

[@SirKibble88]

Khosraw, naw that’s my boy Coleslaw

[@Sylffyous]

Good Video

[@Jinx_Skeel]

Great going man. Is there any translation patch for the famicom version? I'd love to give this one a run

[@BasementBrothers]

Yes, as I mentioned in the video, the Super Famicom version has a full English language patch.

[@borrellipatrick]

Mode 7 for the super famicom version makes me want to play it 👀

[@redsilversnake]

I played the PCE port as well, and have been interested in playing the FM Towns one as that seems to be agreed by a number of fans to be the best, but I gave up for a while because the emulator has an audio desync issue I couldn't figure out how to fix. Really should get around to that at some point. Also, I continue to be baffled at why KZbinrs keep using "we" for their videos; this is hardly a community effort, so sticking to singular first-person makes the most sense.

[@BasementBrothers]

Why use "we"? Well, because I want to bring all of you along with me on the adventure!

[@PastPresentFutureEndofTime]

Interesting game think they will ever remake it again? Heard of the game back then but never seen it.

[@wesherbst1526]

Can confirm ED on SFC was jokingly easy.

[@lhfirex]

I've only played the SFC game, which is all right, but it's missing a lot of the features in these PC versions that have made me want to play it that way.

[@dscottplays4700]

I guess I'll have to play this😅

[@RiderWithTheScarf]

Funny how the demon lord is named "Ostracon" yet has no shell-themed appendiges or armour. Nor is he exiled, funny that.

[@BasementBrothers]

Ostracon and the Dark Lord are two different characters. I didn't go into this in the video, but Ostracon is a human who's sided with the demons, and in one of the cutscenes Atrushan cuts off his arm and a demon arm grows back, showing that he has "sold his soul" (the game's wording) to the demons.

[@liamconverse8950]

I've heard people say the arcade game Darius should be pronounced in a certain Japanese sounding way but that name also is Persian in origin and the spelling used is the Roman one we use in English so it always seemed like a moot point to me

[@BasementBrothers]

Honestly, I had to kind of swallow my pride once I found out how much some people have looked into the origins of the names in this game. For me Khosraw was always "Hothrow" (like Heathrow Airport). That name is so much more in-line with the katakana... but I guess I have kind of an 'Englishification' bias as a native English speaker.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

My only familiarity was Super Famicom one. This should be interesting

[@Turbo187KillerB]

No Installer? I find the installation process relaxing.

[@BasementBrothers]

PC-88's don't have hard drives.

[@gokajern]

"But it's not like they lost a bow or anything, right?" 🤣. I played this on snes, didn't think it was very good, precisely because it was too easy, but hey, it got translated. I gave it a spin and messed up my save file, in the end I never completed it. I'm glad to see the ending, though that seems kinda disappointing.

[@BasementBrothers]

Wow, that sucks. Apparently the ending is pretty different in the SNES one though.

[@gabrieleporcelli9666]

I'm still waiting for the english patch of this game for pc engine!

[@wesherbst1526]

I remember thinking this game's story changed the stakes really late. Its like, the girl the dragon adores is like a god, and gods are bad. And you kill this asshole god o rsomething. Its been like years and years.

[@jordanchastant5304]

Hey what is the name/model number of that keyboard emulator that you use on some of the videos? I recently picked up a 8801FA and a 9821As and I would like to find an emulator to use for games without solid controller support. I have been searching but I have only found info on the controllers with keyboard emulator built in - I havent found anything on the adapter box you use.

[@BasementBrothers]

ELECOM JC-AD2. They're pretty hard to find though. Probably we should ask classicpc.org to build one. They should have the know-how.

[@turtlefrog369]

i miss real RPGs and real gaming so much.

[@deathsceane]

Is it just me or does Yaman kinda bare a resemblance to Spark from the Lodoss War franchise?

[@ArcadeIsMyLife1]

What's the name of that controller adapter you're using?

[@BasementBrothers]

ELECOM JC-AD2. They're pretty hard to find though. Probably we should ask classicpc.org to build one. They should have the know-how.

[@jacethomas5562]

Yay!!

[@JEANS__]

9:07 lmao

[@sdekaar]

The change in Yaman's death from the scdrom² version is truly shameful on SFC.

[@LonelyDistance]

And I thought FF2 was bad about party churn. Yeesh!

[@KuroNoTenno]

Too bad there is no English patch for other versions. This seems like a very interesting game.

[@El_Febo_Abel]

¿And recomend the SFC version or not?.

[@BasementBrothers]

I haven't played it enough to decide. Most people seem to like it OK. But it is certainly very different from the original.

[@El_Febo_Abel]

@@BasementBrothers Too bad, posibly is the more accesible versión.

[@ketanvirbhadre1634]

Its same as the pc-88 version, gameplay is the same as well (think of it similar to ys1&2 but on a different screen), but the game also feels easy like I am just standing in front of the enemy in game. They get hurt, they get destroyed, rince and repeat sometimes. while playing the game I thought i was defeating these monsters too really fast until I got destroyed by bosses and some monsters here and there. (BTW I played this game long time ago, so this is from memory). Also iirc snes version has some battle voices as well.

[@ketanvirbhadre1634]

Oh he talks about the voices and difficulty.

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, I gotta say it's pretty different.