Enter the world of...survival...anime ACTION? - T.R.A.G

[@jcace13]

The PlayStation “the game is named the same in Japan and Europe but different in America” era is a true mystery.

[@carn9507]

A guy named Tim Langdell owned a company called 'Edge Games' and went after folk who used the word 'Edge' in US video games. It's mostly why Soul Edge was renamed Soul Blade so Namco didn't have to deal with his bull. He also went after UK magazine 'Edge' and tried to claim he even created the logo in 1991, two years before the magazine would use that name. But the floppy disk he used as evidence turned out to have contents created in Windows 95. He's scummy.

[@stevethepocket]

Generally when that happens, if it's not for some obvious marketing reason, it's because the original name was already taken in the region they wanted to localize it. It wouldn't surprise me _at all_ if something previously released in the US already had the name "Hard Edge", and that its international releases didn't.

[@captaincommando2602]

@@carn9507 YEAH THAT MAKE SENSE.

[@TevorTheThird]

Pre-rendered backgrounds weren't "for" survival horror games. Though obviously popularly used by them. It was about graphic fidelity. The PSX could absolutely not render these backgrounds in real time, or come anywhere close to it. Real 3d was fine for open fields in Spyro, grey stone corridors of Kings Field, the ruins of Tomb Raider, etc. If you want this kind of fine detail pre-rendered was the only way to go.

[@DoveAlexa]

Yeah his comment really confused me I'm glad you posted this.

[@TevorTheThird]

@@lucinae8512 I've heard that to be true yes. It was an extremely common technique on the N64 as well. AFAIK Konami famously took it out of the HD collection for SH2, because it was no longer "needed" and people were furious. It looked terrible.

[@manx2121]

"Taking Shibata's brain out" absolutely sent me 😂

[@marissablackwing]

In Japan, the game was already voiced in English. Michelle sounds different because they dubbed over her with a new voice in the international release for...some...reason. Technically the full US title is T.R.A.G.: Tactical Rescue Assault Group - Mission of Mercy but the last bit is mostly only on the case/booklet. Very strange.

[@artry93]

1:21 to 1:32 - "It's me, anime protagonist!" From the Action 90s to early 2000s anime tv series or video games back in the day. BTW, Hard Edge is pretty cool than T.R.A.G (Tactical Rescue Assault Ground) for the North Americans.

[@jonathanvallee8779]

One of the few PS1 games I owned as a kid; I played it so much! It's RE2 with PokeBalls Shoulder Armor, what more can a human being want?!?

[@zaneseibert]

Not Barry Burton yelling "DYNOMITE" everytime he punches is the only thing I remember about this game.

[@AdrismDJ]

This games development is the perfect example of: “started so motivated... lost interested half way”. Please, please PLEASE just make it to the miss cleavage fight, you are going to have a good laugh, oh yeah.

[@NomDePlume955]

Hey trag I've seen retsupurae do a playthrough of this years ago along with the deep freeze. Some many great funny lines in deep freeze just guy the saying "is it over yet bro" still cracks me up.

[@jordanetherington1922]

Hell yeah Retsupurae was such an influence on me

[@KyleS.1987]

Retsupurae forever. Yee-ha!

[@zakkybounce]

Hell yeah, same here! I miss those days.

[@jordanetherington1922]

@@zakkybounce Don't cry cause it ended, smile cause it happened

[@Alexalicious]

I'm glad we both immediately thought 'Megaman' with those robots. They look straight out of Legends!

[@jayesun3420]

Totally

[@thefroyukenfiles3641]

Also got Reboot vibes 'cause of Hack and Slash.

[@jayesun3420]

And I would,of course, love to see more TRAG in the future,as it helps me remember one of my treasured, and mostly forgotten about, obscure as hell PS1 vintage whine.

[@jayesun3420]

Ok, to start, thank you very much for reading and obviously hearing what i was saying,and making a whole episode on it. When i noticed the video for i knew right away it was at least partially in a response to my message to you on the miscellaneous ps1 games episodes chat area, and i actually shrieked a tiny bit with unfettered joy when i saw the episodes cover screen shot of T.R.A.G., and your beautiful skeleton face with a big " i can't believe this $#+£ exists. "Smile on it. Just, i loved this Soooo much,and so does Dr. Cleavage. Wonderful, thank you.

[@jjthegray1413]

Dude, last year I found this game, which I had spent the last 2 decades and something looking for 😂. I played it when I was a very wee boy and the intro AD 2046, the tank controls and the characters stuck to my mind, but I couldn't actually find it. Here in Brazil this game wasn't a huge success, I think, but I'm glad I found it and got to play it again. Great video on a great game!

[@cyphroinnudae2007]

Hell yeah! Been waiting for someone to cover this!

[@Kenoji8]

DUDE I remember seeing this game in like EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) or PlayStation Magazine growing up (around the time that Street Fighter Alpha 3 was shown in mags) and I was like, "WHAT IS THIS?!!! THIS LOOKS SICK!!!!" as like a beat-'em up shooter like affair, but I think I saw reviews later of the game or somehow saw some footage later somehow and got disinterested. But at the time, I really wanted to play this bad, especially because of a "New Game +" mode of sorts where you get new weapons for beating the game. It looked interesting, but I never got around to trying this.

[@Honey1essBee]

I really wanted to like this game as a kid. It made me happy that I could feel like I was playing resident evil 2 like the cool kids were, without being horrified.

[@oldfan4049]

26:39 Matt: Oh...Yeah! it's a Flareon? Voltreon?? Pokemon Mid-episode voice: IT'S JOLTEON! Matt: FUCK! XDDD

[@warmachine68]

Shout out to the editors! Thank you and Matt

[@lars2dots]

the rendered backgrounds remind me of final fantasy 8

[@jetcitykitty]

Yes!!!!! I have requested this several times!! Thank you, Matty!!❤

[@yakumoyomi5765]

I owned this as a kid. I don't remember if I was just dumb or if it was a legit softlock, but I distinctly remember getting stuck and never being able to finish the game.

[@WolfAnge23]

2:42 We’re 22 years away now. In the same way we’re also reaching the Phantom future

[@ReM9494]

Was one punch away from beating the last boss back in the day and my parents cut the breaker for my room because I was taking too long. I never went back

[@descendantofsomeone]

This is nostalgic as hell, bruv. My sibling and i played this and being lost as hell, but having a blast regardless. Thank you so much for playing this!!

[@onilao]

Actually really loved the vibe of this game! and Michelle was always my fav to use!

[@captaincommando2602]

Rachel is my favourite. It's the cute character of the group.

[@gunzandbroses]

I thought I was the only one! Bought this at a KB toys and had the shared experience with exactly NOONE my whole life lmao

[@3L_B4R7O]

*I love this PSX old school anime look, it's really cheesy & i Love IT*

[@prestonowens4594]

16:58 Man, I know this sounds weird, but to a degree I actually enjoy the smell of bleached bed linens. It reminds me of when my mom would clean all of the bedding as a kid. I guess I just associate it with warmth and comfort.

[@nikob3277]

YOOOOOO! I owned this game as a kid! It was janky AF but I loved it being a anime Resident Evil/Die Hard.

[@MasterGrunt]

If you're in the mood for more games with that ps1 feel, I highly recommend Crow Country.

[@Artis_OTS]

Damn I remember my brother getting this for his birthday when we were kids. Neither of us ever beat it. Hell I forgot about its existence until now.

[@jayesun3420]

Oh, and remember, always keep a Hard Edge. PS i had no clue about that original title before you said it. Funny as hell ,and informative too. 😂 K im done gushing for now.

[@thomasderosso5625]

Holy hell, those character designs!

[@a.rheser8181]

Wow, it’s cool that many others asked for T.R.A.G after the latest PS1 compilation video! Not just me. Thanks everyone and Matt!

[@ShawnSandiego]

That's amazing! Definitely more please!

[@Matt-md5yt]

Sweet some old gaming going on

[@Endocrom]

"I told you, My name is Dr. Cahill!"

[@chameleonhrt]

If only this game didn't utilize tank controls. It would be one of my favorite games with the wacky story and characters. If any game needs a remake, it's this one.

[@Levi_Skardsen]

He looks like Eiji from Toshinden.

[@jackmcslay]

I'd wager they got the idea of a high frequency blade from Evangelion. That's the same description of how their knives are able to cut through hard surfaces

[@vguyver2]

Actually a few things predate that series. Guyver from the 80's had High Frequency blades. Marvel Comics also had the concept. Even Star Wars did it in fiction way before that series.

[@sda2911]

In case anyone is curious and didn’t already know, it’s called the progressive knife in Evangelion.

[@zeframmann1641]

@@sda2911 Prog rocks. 👍

[@carn9507]

The characters might fit the background a little better if they were being displayed at the same resolution. The characters might still look a lil colourful and cartoony but at least the pixel size would match. But you got the emulator doing higher res rather than native res again. :)

[@gravecactus]

there was a time when we were young when 3D stuff was rad and cool. what were we thinking?

[@FurryRedCross]

Continue with this, please

[@ShinParisu]

15:16 If i had been drinking something this exact moment Im certain I would be wiping whatever it could have been off my screen right now.

[@ShinParisu]

15:43 Not gonna lie Im def dissappointed it wasnt laser cleavage... those are Laser Claws thou.. not laser swords... would laser cats also have laser claws or just laser mouth beams?

[@sammyyo461]

the 5th Console Gen had so many wild & ambitiously creative games!!

[@VBrancoPT]

A Sunsoft game, huh? Hmm... Is the company still around? I haven't heard from them in a long time.

[@maskranger38]

Don't think so

[@bearded_snorlax]

They're in kind of a weird limbo. Like they're around but also not? On Wikipedia it says in 2021 they tweeted out to people to remake and remaster their old games, but I didn't see anything about a full on closure.

[@VBrancoPT]

@@maskranger38 I decided to do a quick google search. They still exist, making games for consoles and mobile phones (iOS and Android).

[@maskranger38]

@@bearded_snorlax 🤔

[@briansilva3765]

@@bearded_snorlax They constantly license their games for re-releases, along with some minor things here and there, so they exist, just not in a particular vivid manner.

[@captaincommando2602]

This game may not be a masterpiece, but it is enjoyable for the most part. Sadly the lukewarm reviews by the critics, overshadowed it and faded it into the obscurity. I have the American release and I happy to have it in my collection. Except for the name, which is dumb. While in Japan and Europe is call Hard Edge, in the US the game is call T.R.A.G.

[@captaincommando2602]

@@viktorsolovyov5067 😎👌

[@carn9507]

'edge', eh? Was this connected to why Soul Edge was renamed Soul Blade? :O (look up 'Edge Games' and/or 'Tim Langdell')

[@MichaelRayzzorStarks]

I couldn't remember the name of this game for the life of me!!! Use to play it way back in the before days with my friends, definitely some fun times lol

[@JohannesBee]

Something about the tenor of these cutscenes really reminds me of the Light of Courage

[@anthonydealba6820]

1:50 is it me or does she look like samus?

[@Prohass]

Cloud strife in an 80s long thong, I’m sold!

[@Ultimalice]

OMG I had this game! Good old janky fun. XD

[@philplaysgames13]

Oh man thr memories bought this in the bargain bin for like $5. Got pretty far but never was able to beat it.

[@nickgarcia1292]

Man, have you seen a game called crow County, I believe that's the name? It's pretty good take on ps1 survival horror worth checking out..

[@epicmetalwarrior5476]

Is it my eyes or the rendered background is really blurry? I played this game and i thought that was my emulator.

[@stevethepocket]

Maybe your emulator is set up to filter textures, and since the background is just one big texture it just blurred it?

[@epicmetalwarrior5476]

@@stevethepocket i don't think so. When i say blurry i said by comparing with games likes resident evil. Did you play on the console? Even on this video the background seems blurry.

[@gunzandbroses]

Bro I gotta get burns and see the sick ps1 cut scenes.... Burns is your speed too

[@lavernebennet7395]

I gotta say until Dr. Cleavage pulled out the laser claws the voice acting and general staging made that scene feel like they were just doing some sort of role-play

[@redsohc]

more flophouse! lessssgggooooo!!

[@tenyokensekia8088]

I don't mind seeing more of this weird game, but only if you enjoy playing it. From what I can see, it controls a little rough. The tank controls certainly seem like they are out of place for the kinda combat the game has.

[@stephenlanuto5993]

Miguel!!! ...as if we know who Miguel is because he doesn't get a proper introduction.... just a hilariously bad Mandark laugh

[@TheChocoFox]

What about Chaos legion I loved that game a PS2 gem for sure and way harder than dmc hahaha Also great video

[@chadbranston9741]

Would you put Shibatas brain in Vince Russo?

[@irondoomable]

yo have you ever heard of the game onslaught for the Amiga and megadrive. the game isn't good but the gameplay concept and changes between the megadrive and amiga is really interesting.

[@gwarriorfromhell]

Holy shit! I loved this game in high school. It was so bad, but tons of fun to play.

[@maokai09]

PLEASE play more of this game.

[@demgutts]

😂😂😂 i remember the 1st time i played this, i got stuck because i had the Japanese version and i couldn't read some text, thank you for the upload. Trap gunner next plz ❤

[@staticintheatmosphere]

I remember this game... I wanted I got it cheap an used, didn't have much money to buy a new game so I got this... an I actually loved it...

[@dowaray8718]

the reason it can't be called Edge because an English bloke like to sue any game developer using the name. That's the reason Soul Calibur changed its name from Soul Edge.

[@emperormegaman3856]

Matt had a steadfast determination to keep playing as the woman as long as he could, until the cutesy character showed up and he went "ok, no. i'll change character" .😀😀😂

[@yeah_Kay]

This would be great for a full LP w/ Liam 😂

[@abdulhammouda4884]

I'm running a go fund me for a "Vault Maverick,the early years" spin off game and expect most of your money thank you.

[@zaptone]

The Really Average Game

[@DSMTheEditor]

T.R.A.G. is a T.U.R.D., I love Flophouse heading to the poverty house for this one!

[@jasonyates8837]

This game is SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Ripping off "Resident Evil" on the gameplay, and "Tecmo's Deception" sound effects, I mean, GOSHDAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 WHAT A SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MongooseDave2]

There’s a lot more to the combat than what Matt shows. It’s a bit jank but still fun game.

[@Nuttedgymsock]

When I bought my copy it said it was 2 players imagine how frustrating it was for a kid to play half way through the game wanting to play multi-player and never finding out how

[@GamesAndAnimes]

👍