Lagoon - Can the original X68000 version beat the SNES port?

[@XyNoST]

Wish we could have more X68000 Paradise episodes but I totally understand your lack of space ! Great episode once again, keep up the good work Brother Jakes ! :)

[@m.a.packer5450]

I really like that your character's appearance changes with your new gear, something you very rarely saw in Japanese RPGs, even to this day

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, that is nice! I know I didn't mention it in my script, but I guess it is pretty clear to see on screen!

[@Nemo2342]

I have been waiting for someone to make a video like this ever since I learned that Lagoon SNES was an adaptation of a computer game!

[@YudaHnK]

Same here - I listen so often to the ost, both snes and x68k that this video the algorithm quickly caught

[@gavinlucas9761]

YES! These are my kind of videos!

[@telepathicdragon]

I love how the video talks about the trials and tribulations of playing Lagoon. I remember playing it when i was younger and wondering wtf why is this game so hard and everything hard to hit. Really explains a lot. Still overall enjoyed it in the end, esp the music.

[@AndreCotrim616]

12:07 - that sound was immediately reminiscent of the elephants in Dhalsim's stage in Street Fighter II (SNES version) - SF2 was released later though, it came out in 1992 for the SNES. Maybe they really used the same sample, but who knows.

[@Filmblanc]

Awesome video, what a great and unique KZbin gaming channel! Glad to be a subscriber.

[@tidq]

Despite all the many problems with SNES Lagoon, I was motivated to beat it mostly because I LOVED the music. So to know there’s a version with better mechanics and cutscenes gets me pretty hyped!

[@reasesoffice]

Same. I first played it on the SNES when I was a kid, and was one of the first SNES RPGs I played. Knowing there's a computer version that plays better makes me want to see if I can emulate it.

[@Orrin10000]

Same here, I remember it taking me forever to beat the last boss rush, hearing that the original had a bump-attack system and not the butter knife from the SNES version makes so much sense and makes me want to try it out.

[@rory_o]

I feel the same way about Lagoon and Drakkhen, another from the same era. It’s a complete mess and the music is good enough to overcome it.

[@lukaslapont3008]

I also really liked it back then, was one of the first SNES games i played after Mario World and Zelda 3, it just went too far with the difficulty near the end, but until then its fun.

[@EarthboundX]

That explains the butter knife sword in the SNES version so much. I had no idea this wasn't just a SNES game either, or that it was meant to be a Ys type game.

[@steelyburt]

lol butter knife sword 😅

[@chriswaters834]

Always loved the town music in this game.

[@Xray_Mike]

Thanks for making this video. I remember I would rent Lagoon on SNES over and over again. I was always thrilled when I saw my save was still there.

[@Ekul_Angelus]

Yes! I've been waiting and hoping you'd cover Lagoon!

[@EdmondDantes224]

Gosh, that town music takes me back to being ten and renting SNES games... I want time travel magic so much... Wow, the first boss in this version looks a lot like a Zaku, don't it? Speaking of, one memory I have is that I found out there's a way to cheese many bosses in the SNES version. Medieval Zaku Guy (I know his name is Samson) you can stand at the niche of the back door and hit his feet whenever he jumps back. The flat-headed guy with the hands I think I somehow clipped into or behind his heads when he clapped (if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...) and then I just kept attacking from within, probably literally escavating his brains. Those are the two I can remember off the top of my head. Great... now I need to play this again. Thanks! Also its been awhile since I asked but.... I hope that Ranma PC98 game comes this year! (incidentally, that recent Netflix remake of Ranma 1/2 sucks).

[@DJMicroNaught]

Awesome video! Lagoon on SNES was a love/hate game for me as a kid. I've always wondered what the main differences are between these versions.

[@reasesoffice]

I really liked this video! I've seen a lot of other people review Lagoon (The SNES version) and talk about how it's not that good, but I've always liked it and had a soft spot for it. I first got an SNES in 94 and was 9 years old at the time, and one of the first games I rented and played after beating Super Mario World was Lagoon. I thoroughly enjoyed it even if it was difficult for me, and I remember renting it several times and beating it. Brings back a lot of good memories of relaxing weekends.

[@kingatticus5371]

It’s a bit amusing because I was hoping to see a Lagoon episode on this channel. This was nice to see ☺️

[@SaekiM]

Awesome video as always! Can't wait for that Aiza review!

[@nicomputerservices2669]

This is so cool! I loved this game on the SNES while I was growing up. I actually made a small painting of the intro screen that is hanging on the wall in my gaming room. I never beat it as a kid but I did a few years back and it was just ok and very hard but it will always be something special to me. Very cool to learn it was a X68000 port! Also I always thought the top of his head looked like a donut. Once you see it you can't unsee it.

[@Lock2002ful]

Man, I’ve been gobbling up your content over the past weeks and have been gleefully awaiting your next video. Keep it up. ❤

[@DracMazoku]

Was not expecting an X68000 video! That was really informative, thanks a lot as always for the great video. I didnt even knew about the X68000 original version of Lagoon.

[@DKarkarov]

I loved the super nes version as a kid, I am looking forward to this one! PS for me dwarf desert was stuck in my brain hard, even now god knows how many years later I still can recall it clearly. I do like this Y's info, never knew that, and it finally explains why Nasir had such a stubby little sword.

[@lVl_A_L_B_O_R_O]

Ahh.... I had forgotten about Zero Divide completely until you showed the box

[@user-dd6on5cr3u]

Dwarf Desert certified banger

[@Helvetica_Scenario]

I'm surprised no one has patched the bump combat and magic vs. bosses back into the snes version.

[@GeovaneSanciniSR]

Lagoon was one of the titles that were one step off being awesome games, but both had stupid choices that stopped it. The disk swapping on x68k and no bumps + no magic on bosses on SNES. I wish we had a best of both worlds version (bump combat + expanded story+less cumbersome return after death)

[@Zeithri]

Thank you for the video; Mr. Jakes! I enjoyed it a great deal.

[@therealquinnzack1819]

You guys are unbelievably awesome for even owning an X68000 let alone making such a great review for it😎

[@ggbetz]

I had this game years ago, and thought to rebuy it recently when I saw it was still at a game store between me and my hometown 5 yrs on... so I'm still kinda interested in playing it. I think like other said, the bump mechanic mightve made it better, but it also seems like a game one could play on the magic system as well... I thought of your channel recently when i was clearing out a friends attic. They had me toss about a thousand (not exaggerating) 3 & 5" disks that I'm not sure if worked or not but they werent interested in clearing off first or seeing if worked because they were worried about what was on them and I had no room to take them home or drive to wipe them. I felt bad. Great video and welcome back here! Its cool you could do gaming while here!

[@DeLisi.]

Lagoon! The game store I work at recently got a S.Famicom copy and I was kinda tempted to get it just to own it. It's awesome you made a video about it😄

[@steelyburt]

Loved this game. One of the first SNES games my family bought. Soundtrack is great.

[@MrNoobed]

Its so nice most of these games have all these original box pack ins and even the stickers to seal the box.

[@Pai3000]

I'm totally enamoured with this channel. I never miss an episode.

[@TeskoLove]

It's always a good day when Basement Brothers drop another video.

[@RockerDanM]

Played the SNES version and when I saw the draw animation for the X68000 version I reached the exact same conclusion of laziness or an attempt to make the game more action feeling than the original.

[@BasementBrothers]

I'm sure they thought that players would see the bump attack system as dated... or maybe wouldn't even understand it at all. I have to wonder if ditching it was maybe even a last-minute decision. That might explain why they did such a lazy job making the change.

[@Unquestionable]

This was also an early SNES rental for my friend group and we very much did not have a terribly good time. Granted we were very new to RPG mechanics at the time, being more used to the Zelda style key item progression, but it was kind of janky overall. Still we did rent Ys 3 as well and had a much more fulfilling time with it even if now it's very awkward compared to the rermake.

[@cacophonic7]

I remember renting this shortly after getting an SNES for Christmas one year. Sure your sword was WAY too short, but I remember playing through the entire game and really enjoying it.

[@jackkreacherr9339]

Lagoons OST hit like a dozen loaded dump trucks. Never got far in the game as a kid, but damn I'd leave it running for the music lol.

[@falsebaroness]

Woa! What a switch! Great content, as always.

[@gaspump]

Man, the X68k is such a classy piece of hardware. My absolute favorite PC case ID of all time. And all this time I didn't even know it had auto-ejecting disk drives, which is a really cool feature. I'd love to get my hands on a real one some day. Regarding Lagoon I actually physically recoiled when I saw the thumbnail remembering the SNES version back in the day. A truly wretched game. I never knew it was a port and it's all the more sad that the X68k version looks legit fun to play other than the disk-swap-dosey-do on death.

[@FatDragonHats]

I want to check out snes Lagoon, even with the funny butterknife sword I might enjoy it

[@DQSpider]

what is it with japanese games and floating castles/continents

[@Walkeranz]

Alluding to something in the real world?

[@SpaceCat1111]

The influence of Hayao Miyazaki films like "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" most likely.

[@zerogouki]

Everybody watched Castle in the Sky back then 😅

[@ドリフト180X]

The X68000 is such a cool looking computer. Also I find it funny how the game gives you gold even when you can't really use it anymore lol, what a quirk. Great review.

[@afropowa1598]

Wow man, I totally forgot about Dolucky Puzzle & Zero Divide. I haven't play those games in years, I used to play them an unhealthy amount when I was a kid.

[@ChibiFighter]

I love this video so much, the soundtrack for Lagoon is amazing.

[@stripedhyenuh]

Overall I think the 68K version's soundtrack mops the floor with the SNES version, but Lagoon was still one of my personal favorite SNES soundtracks growing up. I also love that the sound team was called Zoom Reversible Band, such an oddly specific yet nonsensical title.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

I love seeing this comparison. I've had the SNES game for over 30 years and always liked it. I always enjoyed action adventure games, and having played it before Ys, didn't realize at the time how similar it was. I've been curious about the original version for years, and I really appreciate the comparison!

[@FarAwayTimesGames]

Awesome rundown, always love to learn more about ys contemporaries

[@ggmedia2006]

Was the first snes game I tried when we rented the system with Lagoon and Super Mario World. Had no idea it was a port till now. Will never forget how the sword feels like swinging a butter knife.

[@rdrouynriv]

Lagoon is one of the first SNES games I rented from Blockbuster. Rough times in early 1992, the options were either Lagoon, Drakhan or Ultraman.

[@BasementBrothers]

Oh yeah, I remember those times! I remember renting Populous and not being able to figure it out at all.

[@nobuyukinyuu]

Thanks muchly!! Not enough Lagoon fans out there.

[@amerikaOnFire]

This was a pretty great comparison video! I love how smooth the x68k version is in motion. Also, I wonder if they actually never played the x68k version and knew about he bump attack. And if they did, decided to change it, why not change the weapon hitbox to be much larger than the weapon if they wanted to keep the same animation? That's just crazy. I swear some devs didn't ever play their own game.

[@StormkeeperPU]

As always, a great video!

[@DrBananananananananananananana]

UGGGGH my BRAIN!!??!! guys out here being like the only person in all of Human history making videos about Lagooon joggin memories from 34 years ago making me have a mini-stroke remembering it. Sir I'm sending you my medical bill.

[@m4dh4dd3r]

That’s really cool you’ve got that CIB x68000 copy. I’ve never seen that before

[@wolfgangervin2582]

I WAS just going to bring up the great GDQ run of SNES Lagoon, but then I saw the Panzer Dragoon (possibly my favorite game series ever) boxart and my jaw hit the damn floor.

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@TurboXray]

I played/beat Lagoon when it first came out for SNES. I remember really liking it. Many years later, going back to replay it - I couldn't believe that I never had an issue with the short sword first time around. Or maybe I just blocked that part out of my memory hahah. See that the x68k version has the bump system, I would have loved that in the SNES version. Maybe I'll get a X68 machine this year..

[@anonamatron]

I've felt like looking at this game again lately. I rented it when the SNES came out and I don't remember doing much with it because it was boring. I'm a lot older now and might have a different perspective on it.

[@RetroSegaDev]

Huzzah! A new video.

[@LanEXHikari]

I barely remember the SNES version as its bump attack was so hit and miss 😅 but I always find interesting watching the contrast with the computer versions that came before it. Even as a one off, it was fun to watch, thanks Mr Jakes ✌🏼

[@fanboymaster]

Love all the Ys inspired games that were on Japanese PCs back in the day, this sounds like it's frustratingly close to being great, if the best elements of the X68k version and SNES version were in the same game it sounds like it'd be up there with the all timers of this style.

[@gwgux]

Fascinating. I have a love/hate relationship with the SNES version of it. I loved the music and the story was fun too, but it had brutal difficulty. It always felt like you were severely nerfed in some way to make it harder than it should have been and now it makes sense. All they had to do was redo the sword animation to make it easier to hit things and let you use magic against the bosses and it could've easily been one of those "hidden gems" for the system. Instead we got something that not many gamers would want to put themselves through to finish it which is a real shame. It's also a real shame on what happened with the cut scenes too. That too would've elevated the game much higher. It was probably hardware limitations on why they changed it to be what we got, and it was before the likes of Star Ocean was being made so it was before developers were really good at pushing the limits of the SNES. If the game was ported/remade for the SNES later in the SNES's lifespan, we probably would've gotten much better results. They would've had to redo the sword animation and kept cut scenes/expanded thing even more to have had a chance to stand out.

[@BasementBrothers]

The main reason they often cut things like cutscenes from early SNES games was to keep the rom size small and reduce the manufacturing cost of the cartridges. Whereas PCs just used cheap floppy disks instead, so they had (in comparison) plenty of capacity to work with!

[@madson-web]

Damm X68000 looks really good. Love Etoile Princesse on that system!

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, Etoile Princesse is often cited as the best X68k exclusive.

[@nleseul]

👀 The algorithm thinks this video is relevant to my interests for some reason... Although the X68000 story doesn't have quite as many plot points, it felt to me like it was written in a much more mature style than the SNES version. (From what I remember, Nassel and Thor were both aged down into kids, and it had really strong "Why can't Light and Darkness just make friends" vibes.) Granted, I'm basing that impression on the English SNES script, so maybe it's an unfair comparison, and the original SFC script was more comparable in style. (I never got around to reading the whole script of the SFC version.) I actually finally got around to buying my own X68000 a few weeks ago. The seller included a BlueSCSI drive with a HD image full of games, and I was pretty amused/flattered/something to find a copy of my Lagoon patch on there. Glad I got to contribute a bit to the modern X68000 experience.

[@BasementBrothers]

Thanks for you hard work. I also haven't played much of the SFC version in Japanese, so I can't really say whether it feels more mature or not, but I did enjoy all the new details and backstory they added to the characters.

[@fazares]

fantastic video

[@jpdunphy1]

Terrible choice on the part of the SNES conversion team to ditch the bump mechanics for a comically tiny sword. It kills the entire experience.

[@Germania9]

Oh my god, the bump combat reminds me of Ys on the Master System!

[@wesherbst1526]

I have been wondering about this. I beat Lagoon many times on SNES.

[@astrades2601]

I surely enjoy this review of X68000 game! In life you need some variety from time to time... and dwarf, dwarf, dwarf desert i guess :D And game surely looks and sounds fun in both versions and well, after playing whole Ys series i wouldn't say no to something similar to early entries of Adol adventures which were enjoyable in their simplicity.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Oh man this is just the in depth nerd content I needed tonight. Thanks for helping put my mind on pixelated awesomeness instead of ya know, life 😂.

[@chasonlapointe]

I loved Lagoon on the SNES, I had no idea it was an X68000 originally.

[@raziyatheseeker]

Eyyyy, this game seems oddly familiar. The two-headed chimera boss definitely looks familiar, anyway. I might've heard of it from my earlier days of browsing 8-and-16-bit games on old video game fan sites. It's kinda interesting how in spite of the nerfed gameplay (dinky sword and no spells in boss battles), the SNES / SFC version expands a lot upon the story. On top of that, I like the translations of the names into Nasir and Felicia. Regardless of version though, it's cool how the player can mix-and-match wands with crystals for different spells. A pretty cool game overall.

[@0x44_]

Dwarf dwarf dwarf dwarf dwarf dwarf Desert

[@mbe102]

I love how Japanese people take care of their stuff. It feels like, at least in my experience, when you buy something from Japan on ebay, you're not just buying someone else's junk; but being passed down something you can tell they appreciated, and in some sort of way they hope you do too.

[@notesscrotes4360]

“Lake Leland -> Lakelyland -> Lakeland” is like the vocabulary shift you see in Tolkien.

[@studhouser6969]

That death sound RULES.

[@jzblue345]

Wow the music is a lot better on this version those cut scenes rock.

[@dukemagus]

ZOOM MADE PHALANX, the shmup with the Banjo grandpa on the American cover. I knew I recognized that name from somewhere

[@middle_pickup]

X68000 is the best looking PC of all time. I wish modern PC case design could keep up.

[@redark7]

The credits of Donald Tramp were so advanced for its time!

[@tigerfog_scypher]

The X68000 version of Lagoon seems infinitely more fun to play than the SNES version (which I finished and suffered through).

[@nekokonata]

I had no idea that there was another version aside from the SNES release!

[@LongTran-kp3kz]

Ooh! New video!!!! Nice!

[@costelinha1867]

Here's the thing tho, EVEN IF they just wanted to reuse the animation of Nassal drawing his sword as his attack animation, that STILL doesn't stop them from just extending your sword's hitbox just a little bit to make it easier to hit things. Hitboxes almost never matches the size of sprites anyway in most games.

[@Lonewolfz24]

I loved lagoon on SNES, yet the biggest issues I had with the game were in comparison to other titles like it. As a younger man, I compared lagoon to ys3 as well, but also two of my favorite NES games, being Willow, and my absolute favorite Crystalis. It's not normally in your wheel house, but if you have a take on those games, I'd love to hear it.

[@bjornh1527]

I think Lagoon has one of the best soundtracks on the SNES. Those baselines are killer.

[@Alpenjodler1]

That poor elefant

[@goranisacson2502]

I only saw the reviews of Lagoon back in the day and thought little of it, but it seems charming enough almost because of it's quirks- I just think Nassel is a very excitable guy, so he jumps with joy whenever he talks to someone or gets to use magic :) I will admit though that the game seems to have a lot of weird quirks even in the original, like the disk-swap ordeal or the blind leaps of faith. And it is a pity the SNES version disables magic in boss-fights and has swing instead of bump. Guess they thought that in the West they think games like this should play like Zelda and nobody knows what Ys is, so they just decided to transfer over the controls without really taking into consideration how to go about it 'all the way' so to speak?

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, but the sword swing wasn't removed for the West. It was removed for the Japanese Super Famicom version. I think probably they thought the bump attack system was dated, and that console gamers wanted something more similar to Zelda.

[@trenthackenberry574]

Is there a scan of that game manual? Would love to check out the art/mini comic that came with the game...

[@rorkirbabtista9429]

Omg I fkn love Lagoon! ❤ one of my favorite not so good games.

[@DanTurner-x6z]

Huh! Is Lagoon where that town music came from? I always knew it from an old MS-DOS game, called "Mysterious Song", which used MOD music, from all over the place. :P

[@BasementBrothers]

Ah. Well, they have good taste in music!

[@theflyingninja1]

​@@BasementBrothers I had that for the PC Engine.

[@AlfredoAVA]

I remember giving the SNES version a shot back in the day, but aside from the music, I unfortunately wasn't a fan. The toothpick-length sword was a major turn-off right from the get-go, as were the enemies that don't react at all to your presence. Combined with the game basically starting with a painfully slow escort mission (I honestly have to wonder what the hell they were thinking adding an escort mission to the very start of the game), all these factors didn't really give me much motivation to continue. Funnily enough, the save file from my cart's previous owner stopped at that exact same spot, so I guess they gave up too 🤣 Maybe I'm just spoiled from being raised on Zelda and later discovering Ys, but I'll definitely have the give the X68000 version a try one day 😊

[@Late-Night-Venom]

i’ve this channel so much

[@johnsimon8457]

24:23 I’m a little horrified at that cheat code. You’d only be able to do that with motorized floppy drive ejection where the PC would know you’ve removed or inserted the floppy from the drive. Can’t do that on an IBM PC.

[@BasementBrothers]

Yep. Exactly. It's the kind of code you'll only find on the X68000.

[@pablozambrano16]

I wonder if "lagoon" was one of those words that sounded cool to japanese ears for some reason, since there are a few other 90s japanese games called "something lagoon".

[@Veylon]

Nasir might be a nod to the legendary Nasir Gebelli.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

I always rather enjoyed SNES Lagoon, though I did get brick walled in the final castle and never completed the game. Would be cool to see a remake that keeps the pixel graphics but combines the best aspects of all versions. Come on, Kemco!

[@DancesRainyStreets]

This game reminds me a bit of the Japanese Mega Drive exclusive King Colossus, though i haven't played many jRPG's.

[@zatoichisushiconnoisseur4179]

I enjoyed this on the snes when it came out. As an 8 year old I thought it was great, similar to Zelda. Kinda cool that I was playing an X68000 game on the snes.

[@darktetsuya]

I heard Lagoon started as an X68000 game. maybe I'll have to look up that version in an emulator. or maybe the SNES version though that no magic thing against the bosses is going to suck. I do wonder if 'Nasir' was for Nasir Gebelli, a star programmer who did a few things for Square back in the famicom era? think he stopped around the early 90s so I could see it. 23:43 LMAO I needed that, hahaha.

[@JanHell666]

Cool. Dont know if anyone knows but i played on Super Famicom (via the wild card) a RPG game that started with a great song filled with sampled singing vocals...I think the first "scene" was in winter at a castle....I cant ever remember the name of it.

[@GeovaneSanciniSR]

Tales of Phantasia, maybe? It had a vocal song on the beginning

[@JanHell666]

@@GeovaneSanciniSR Thanks for helping but no this RPG is more obscure for sure.