PuLiRuLa is Utterly Bizarre & That's a Good Thing

[@lancem6755]

This was a trip! I wonder how many people ever did contact Taito asking about "the door". As for the pink elephant coming out of said door, makes about as much sense as anything else did with this game from the looks of it.

[@Bloodreign1]

Pulirula has always been a guilty pleasure of mine since I found the arcade version in emulation over 20 years ago. These days, I have the Saturn version, and on PS2, on the Taito Memories compilations.

[@Space-Holiday]

This game has such lovely sprite work, it’s really cute in places. It kind of gets ruined by the bizarre digitised graphics of real people. But I guess it would be nowhere near as memorable if it stuck to being sane.

[@importgamingftw]

Oh yeah, great sprites and a charming art style...mixed in with the bizarre digitized stuff. It's jarring, but as you say, it makes it memorable...kind of like bad CGI in movies from 20-ish years ago, I guess.

[@SpaceKappa]

Dude I LOST IT at the legs and door part. This is probably your best episode yet, man! Keep it up and I can't wait for your next episode!

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks man, glad to hear it. It really encourages me. Looking forward to your new stuff as well, and hopefully the whole Patreon thing works out nicely. Anyway, I've got some game suggestions for your show in case you ever feel like you're running out of material.

[@SpaceKappa]

I'm always open to suggestions!

[@importgamingftw]

***** Cool, I'll let you know sometime, maybe via PM or my new toy, Twitter. I have a few in mind, already. Anywaaaaaaay...since you're open to suggestions, would you also be open to an import backlog collaboration in the not too distant future as well?

[@AvalancheReviews]

Fucking great man! That was a nice little shout out to Justin too. We import game fans owe him a lot.

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks! I saw your tribute to Mr. Carmical and many others over the past couple of weeks...really touching accounts and heartfelt stories of the man. I wanted to at least pay my respects somehow, even if I never really followed his work until quite recently (regrettably).

[@AvalancheReviews]

Yeah man, back in the dark ages, his was the only series giving any attention to import games (also he was the only person that wasn't trying to rip off the AVGN) There still aren't many, but guys like you and David Ryatta are kicking ass! Keep it up!

[@importgamingftw]

Avalanche Reviews I could only imagine how those "dark ages" were...at that time I probably only knew of AVGN vaguely and his copycat, Irate Gamer. Thanks, I plan on continuing this series...just wish I had a little more free time to put more effort into it. I'd like to see you do an import game review too, someday, since you have what seems like a good collection of Japanese games!

[@AvalancheReviews]

I have a couple in the works, but full time school and work is eating up all my time and I am in the middle of finding a capture solution. I have a couple of Saturn and SFC games just waiting to be reviewed just as soon as I get my SCART to HDMI upscaler.

[@importgamingftw]

Avalanche Reviews Full time school and work? Wow, you really must be swamped...hope all that's going well, especially the school part. And I hope you're saving up for that Japan trip you mentioned a while ago. Anyway, looking forward to those future reviews--and let me know if you find a good solution for SCART to HDMI. For my SNES I'm just recording with composite...I'd love to be able to film in higher resolution.

[@14catorce]

I've discovered many great games thanks to your videos. I can't understand why they aren't more popular, you have a great channel!

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks so much so much for your kind words! It's nice to hear stuff like that, since that's why I started this series of videos--to share the import gaming love. As far as popularity, I don't think my channel will ever grow too big, but that's fine, as long as some people are enjoying my stuff and I get to interact with a lot of great people who share the same passion as I do. Plus, with modern gamers, it seems "import" is almost like a dirty word, with Western games dominating pretty much every console and PC.

[@TheDaliPopka]

Yay! More weird Japanese games! I love this show and i'm glad you're covering Japanese games and actually know what's going on as opposed to some reviewers who play the game more for comedic effect (which is still good as well). Bravo!

[@TheDaliPopka]

....OK, i'm also curious about Gal Gun,. Only because it looks like a shooter that came from another world that we may never understand lol

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks Jay, I really appreciate it! I've seen a couple of videos of import reviews like you mention, and while I understand why they're popular, they're not really for me, probably because for the most part I understand what's happening on-screen...kind of like people who scream at "dumb" protagonists in horror movies, ha ha...I try to entertain (if that's even possible) with my videos, but my main goal is to just share and inform others of some games they might not have ever heard about. And if someone playing the games don't know what's going on, I hope they can find this video and maybe find the answers to some of their problems/questions.

[@importgamingftw]

The Dali Popka Ha ha, I knew someone's curiosity would be piqued...heck, I can't fault anyone for that, since I pre-ordered the game in Japan back when it was released, since I had that same strange curiosity. I'll probably do something more in-depth in the future, but in short, the game's an on-rails shooter/dating sim hybrid...with the bulk of gamplay involving you launching "pheromone shots" (I imagine with your real life "gal gun?") at all the girls in the school in order to prevent them from going out with you...basically...it's surprisingly fun.

[@kawanxros]

PuLiRuLa is a masterpiece,it has amazing surreal graphics for 1991,and the soundtrack is just amazing. By the way 0:12 where i can find this arrangent of the song?

[@importgamingftw]

I love it! And if I remember correctly, I recorded all the music from the sound test feature on the disc, so you should be able to find it there or on KZbin, I'm sure.

[@kawanxros]

@@importgamingftw ok

[@TheHouseOfJokes]

Good job on making your video. Thanks a bunch for sharing.

[@The_RadicalOne]

Whats the theme from 0:12 to 0:37 called?

[@importgamingftw]

Cadillac Gamer Hi--that would be a part of the introductory stage's BGM. It's track 13 in the sound test. :)

[@DrCrow1990]

6:10 oh lala

[@kite198]

god i love your videos, also justin was amazing with his videos as well may he rest in peace :c but keep up the good work man!!!! id love to see some anime related import games sometime :D

[@importgamingftw]

Hey, thanks a lot--and you're absolutely right about Mr. Carmical. I went back recently and watched most of his videos, and it's strange, but he really comes across as a close friend...I only wish the tragedy that occurred could have been averted somehow, but as it stands...yes, may he rest in peace. Anyway, thank you again--and funny you should mention anime-related imports, as I just finished recording gameplay for several such games for future episodes. TBH I'm not a big fan of anime, but was growing up, so a lot of the older anime games have a soft spot in my heart...and they're often some of the best retro games out there!

[@XeCuTioNR]

Panic!/Switch! for the Sega CD was another bizarre for bizarre sakes game. I remember reading a review of it in old EGM. Pretty weird game.

[@importgamingftw]

It is indeed a weird one, and I've been thinking of picking up the PS2 port of it. If you're interested, my friend Joe Walker covered Panic! on his series The Backlog. Good review of the game!

[@ZPEntertainment]

One day, a friend of mine played this on a MAME emulator. Then I received a SMS from him: "Just beaten PuLiRuLa... What's wrong with this game?". XD All hail the weirdness!

[@importgamingftw]

Heh heh, yes, BOW YOUR HEADS! XD

[@BenevolentDick]

wow, kinda speechless. some of those had my jaw on the floor by there 'weirdness'... i actually love that stuff and wish 'weird' artsy sorta games were more common in general. i mean with games like this who needs drugs..are the saturn and ps1 versions both on par with each other? great stuff!

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks, sir! Yeah, I miss a lot of the wackier/more experimental titles of old where devs had a higher degree of control over a lot of their projects with less strenuous demands from the people funding them. I guess the indie game scene these days is kind of similar...but there's just something about them that I don't find as endearing or interesting about them. Kind of like CGI vs. well-done practical effects. Computer-generated blood will never be as good as squibs. Supposedly the Saturn version is superior because the PSOne version is missing certain frames of animation...not a big deal, I had a great time playing the game and animation was smooth and nice. I guess I wouldn't notice missing animation since I never played the arcade version.

[@prufrockrenegade]

When you open the door between the big legs you can see a representation of the earth in the background. I think this is a reference to the famous painting "L'Origine du monde" (NSFW) which in English translates to "The origin of the world". I have no idea why a pink elephant would pop out though hahah

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks for letting me know, pretty interesting, and you're probably right. Now tell me what the pink elephant means and win yourself an awful PSP idol game.

[@medicwheat69]

Jimmy Hapa (Import Gaming FTW!) does it mean the person is experiencing a hallucination from drinking to much?

[@sardinesworldorder1900]

It means it's a trap. The pink elephant represent a penis. You never saw an episode of shin chan obviously.

[@ksamuelchris]

Is the beginning music for this video actual in game music??

[@importgamingftw]

Kayode Alayode Yep, though I mixed in the clock ticking part. I want to say that it's from the credits, but I can't say for sure. Great soundtrack all throughout PuLiRuLa, even if the game is only about 20 minutes long.

[@schalasmagic]

Have you played Harmful Park for the PSone? It's definitely weird.

[@importgamingftw]

I've not played it, but I know all about it! I was hoping to find a physical copy of it, but I think I'll settle for the PSN download.

[@CustomStyleCajunTurkey]

Subscribed. I look forward to more of your reviews.

[@importgamingftw]

SF2Guile Thank you and much appreciated! If you enjoyed this video on weird games, you'll probably like the one I'm uploading now. ;)

[@DubiousGamingOnline]

I love that a peridous game is one of the first games. What a wacky series.

[@importgamingftw]

Thanks man, I hope you do a video review on one of the games sometime, as I remember you mentioned the desire to do so some time ago. I have to pick up Sexy Parodius again and do a video on it, as it was my favorite in the series.

[@DubiousGamingOnline]

Yeah its been on my list of things to review for a wile, the only problem is that i'm not really all that great a shmups, and i usually like to beat a game before reviewing it.

[@importgamingftw]

DubiousGamingOnline I share that feeling of beating a game before reviewing it. Good luck--with most shooting games you just have to memorize level/bullet patterns, which will come in time, even if you're not a shmup fiend!

[@hdofu]

any chance you could share some of the sound test codes?

[@neoflashjf]

More games from the Ganbare Goemon series!!!!!! Specifically, 2, 3, and 4 on the super famicom, as well as the one on PSone you previewed in this episode

[@importgamingftw]

Well, funny you mention that, since one of the SFC games you mention is currently being edited, about 1/3 of the way done! Thanks for your suggestions, I am a huge Goemon fan, and be on the lookout for the aforementioned video sometime next week...this week if I'm not lazy. ;)

[@SnappleRyRy89]

This video introduced me to GalGun which I eventually bought on PS4 (or it's sequel). Never knew how fun it was shooting anime school girls.

[@importgamingftw]

Cool to hear! I have been planning on covering the first Gal Gun for a while now, ever since I acquired the PS3 version in addition to my original 360 one. How could shooting anime school girls NOT be fun? XD

[@SnappleRyRy89]

haha, I was hoping there was a video covering Galgun. It's just interesting of how different it is than most games released nowadays. If anything, i'd love to see you cover it as a future project ^_^. So there's my vote.

[@DizzySaxophone]

Looks like a fun game. Thanks! I just got into import gaming, and have been enjoying your videos. Luckily a couple of the games I had already picked up, but will be picking up more for sure! Any idea how the Saturn of PuLiRuLa port compares to the PS1?

[@importgamingftw]

Thank you, and I hope you'll enjoy whatever else you decide to watch! Including something new next week (finally). ;) As far as the differences, when I did a bit of research for this video, I read that the Saturn version is superior in that it is a perfect port, and that the PS1 version is missing some frames of animation. I haven't played the arcade version, so I can't tell for myself, but there was never a point where I felt the animation was off in this version, and on the contrary, I was really impressed. Out of curiosity, what were the games you already had that I covered with this series?

[@DizzySaxophone]

Jimmy Hapa (Import Gaming FTW!) Glad to hear some more will be coming up! I will keep watching! Also happy to hear that the Saturn version is at least as good. I haven't modified my PS1 to play imports yet, but my Saturn has been, so I'll try and pick this up next paycheck. My old college roommate is moving back to town, so I know we'll get a kick out of playing this. The games I do have are Hamelin no Violin Hiki, Ganabare Goeman 2, and the first Sailor Moon. All my imports are currently Famicom (+disk system)/Super Famicom, but am looking forward to getting some Saturn games in the mix too! Granted, I don't know Japanese, so I miss out on story, but as long as the gameplay is English friendly, I try to pick up what I can :D

[@importgamingftw]

Andrew Johnson I hope you guys enjoy the game...the only downside I would say is that it's just so short. I'd recommend beer or something to "enhance" the experience. ;) Those are some good SFC games! I've been wondering if I should stick mostly to the PS1/SAT games, but lately I've felt like doing a lot of Super Famicom stuff. The next video will be on a PS1 game, so hopefully you can start collecting imports for that system. Rather than modify your PS1, have you thought about just picking up a Japanese system? They're really cheap!

[@gigaslave]

4:10 Those are reverse mermaids, fish tops with human bottoms.

[@TVindustries5000]

Got it for the Saturn a while back! Love it

[@importgamingftw]

TVindustries5000 Awesome. I have read since making this video that the Saturn version is superior to the PS one, since supposedly the latter is missing some frames of animation or something.

[@TVindustries5000]

Sounds about right. Seems like the Saturn was just better for 2D games. I think the PS1 was the all around system. While the N64 couldnt do 2D hardly at all and the Saturn wasnt so great with 3D, the PS1 kinda covered all its bases. Still love my Saturn a lil more right now though haha. Has all the best ports of fighting games!

[@importgamingftw]

TVindustries5000 Technically the Saturn was the better system for 2D games, but there's a ton of great PS1 exclusive 2D titles that definitely show the system was no slouch when it came to sprites. One of those games is The Adventure of Little Ralph, which I did a video on...great game, but really pricey these days. When I was an intermediate school student and the fifth gen was just getting into gear, I picked up an N64 first, followed by a PS1, and then a Saturn...and during that era, the Saturn ended up being my favorite. Though I must admit I lean more toward the PS1 these days.

[@RarefoilB]

9:01 - 9:11 I've heard of Gal Gun before, and I know it's a rail shooter where your gun can make girls swoon in ecstasy over you or something like that. At that point, if I want to know more, I'd probably play the game myself. Besides, the truly bizarre thing about that game that, actually tops all the other games you've shown, is how on Earth there's a Japanese-exclusive game for the Xbox 360, when I believe that the 360 performs the worst in Japan. What the sense make.

[@importgamingftw]

You'd be surprised at how Microsoft did everything right and better than Sony in Japan during the 7th gen (at least in the beginning), but still failed. There are a lot of great exclusive games for the Xbox 360 in Japan, actually, though they're mostly shmups. Gal Gun was actually released for the PS3 eventually, after Microsoft censored the version on its console. I'm thinking of picking up the PS3 version someday...it has Move support, so whenever those get really cheap... ;)

[@CuppaKofe]

Anyone know if this is available on the Japanese Psn?

[@importgamingftw]

Hi good sir--this game, unfortunately, is not available on the Japanese PSN originals market, but if you're interested, I'd check Amazon for the best prices. However, the Ganbare Goemon video I showed briefly in this video IS available on the service, as well as Kyuutenkai and Gunners Heaven from my other videos. I believe the latter two are free with PS Plus accounts. ;)

[@Douchebabaganoush]

How do you get to the legs? Ive played two different roms and stil no legs

[@Chocoburger]

The international arcade release was censored I believe. Play the Japanese version.

[@supernova6442]

wasn't the arcade game released in english?

[@importgamingftw]

Yes it was.

[@hdofu]

legs asside

[@RetroIslandGaming]

Did you ever hear back from Taito???

[@importgamingftw]

Yeah, and they sent me the girl from that Finder Love game...she was swell, but I had to modify her. Kept the legs and stapled them to my entrance doorway. Threw away the unnecessary parts.

[@andersdenkend]

Haha, this game. Played it on my PS1 back then. Very, very weird and all the better for it.

[@importgamingftw]

I got to play it in the arcade last year in one of those Gamest arcade machines...it was quite the sight seeing the big legs on real arcade hardware.

[@SisselSasha]

You can send me the bikini! I can still send you macarons hahaha

[@importgamingftw]

DEAL!

[@SisselSasha]

But will I wear it though...? 😬

[@InternetTAB]

yuuusss! do all the games

[@importgamingftw]

***** I plan on doing an episode on a variety "weird games," but it's been put on hold because a couple of the games I bought got "lost in the mail." XDWell, whenever I can pick up a few more titles, I'll make a video featuring these ones and more!

[@InternetTAB]

Jimmy Hapa (Import Gaming FTW!) Sounds great! I am happy I found you through Cygnus destroyer's vid! very pleased with your videos, and your Japanese pronunciation is fucking awesome. you've earned my subscription, and I'll try to get you more. I hope your games turn up, thanks for the content!

[@importgamingftw]

***** Thank you for the compliments and for subbing! And if you know anyone who would enjoy my channel, I'd really appreciate spreading the word! :DSeems like Mr. Defender has been responsible for a lot of my channel's exposure over the year I've been doing KZbin stuff...I have to give him my thanks once again. I'm going to try to get another video out in the next couple of weeks...should be short, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

[@Clos93]

Know what I'm playing on MAME next time I drop some acid, lol!

[@mariobermudez1228]

Why do you not have more subs? >:C

[@importgamingftw]

Thank you--and I guess it's either a lack of exposure or just people aren't into my videos that much. But I'm happy with what I've got!

[@alexkubrat3868]

LSD trip - the game

[@rockhyde7775]

I’d certainly play Rei Choaniki on the PSP over that PS1/Saturn disaster. It’s ugly as sin graphics (why couldn’t it be more like anime on not digitized?-_-) that’ll make you want to wash your eyeballs with bleach and levels, especially the bosses drag on for far too long aka the half-assed gameplay make it the worst entry in the Cho Aniki series imo. To me, it’s the prime example of style over substance. At least the other Cho Aniki games had substance and were worth checking out. Enjoyed it on the PC Engine but the other PCE game, it’s hard to get the hang of for me and I’m not all that good at it. But I’m not the biggest fan of beat ‘em ups though, I kinda want to check out Pulirula on the PS1 along with Nekketsu Oyako.

[@importgamingftw]

The nightmarish visual style of the 32-bit Choaniki games are a once in a lifetime deal--it will always be special to me in that sense. I think it's also a pretty good game, not as good as the PCE original, but better than the PS2 one.

[@pferreira1983]

Obviously the open legs scene is a metaphor for humanity's longing to get back to Earth, in this case the womb...or something like that...