The Very First Valis Game (PC-88 Paradise) compared to the NES, Genesis, TurboGrafX, and MSX version

[@freakyzed8467]

'Home is office' sounds like a game developer calling out for help during crunch.

[@kazekamiha]

I can't help but think they need a remake done by Wayforward.

[@error4159]

American Truck has got to be the next video

[@Andrew_Erickson]

Truly the ultimative PC-88 experience.

[@TeddyBelcher4kultrawide]

It was terrible and it’s still terrible

[@albatross1688]

That the second Switch collection includes the MSX version is a slap in the face. At least it led me to your vid, so thank you for the context.

[@Claidheambmor]

Illusion Encount HOME IS OFFICE Love this game. :D LOOK BEFORE YOUR LEAK OMFG!

[@RiderWithTheScarf]

That's...quite the trippy adventure for a first outing of Valis. I really can't say anything to do it justice apart from the fact that "Goor" is probably "Gore" from Getter Robo, wholesale, name, appearance and all that. Just amazing.

[@satoukazuma7952]

This definitely fits the pattern of early Telenet/Wolf Team titles, where the gameplay is a terrible ordeal you have to suffer through in order to get to the cutscenes, where the true appeal of the game lies. (My condolences to people who only had the MSX version!) Even way back in the 80s, people would often say that Wolf Team should have focused more on RPGs or adventure/visual novel-type genres, where the strength of their audiovisual presentation & storytelling could truly shine without being bogged down by janky gameplay sections. It's little wonder that Wolf Team (or rather, what was left of them) finally hit paydirt with the Tales series. Their games weren't all bad though, Granada was one of my absolute favorite early Genesis titles :) The reason the X1 port stops your movement when attacking, is likely due to the fact that early X1 models could only read a single key press at a time. (There were only two exceptions to this rule: the Shift and Ctrl keys. This is why in Xanadu, strafing and steering your magic projectiles are mapped to these two keys. Xanadu was originally developed on an X1turbo, and the other ports just copied the control scheme.) If you play Valis with a joystick this problem disappears, as the X1's joystick had no such restrictions, and believe me any self-respecting X1 user always played games with a joystick if the option existed. Joysticks were a standard accessory bundled in with most models, symbolizing the X1's greater emphasis on gaming compared to the other mid-range pasokons of the time.

[@BasementBrothers]

Thanks for this. I honestly know far too little about the X1 but I learned something today!

[@therealquinnzack1819]

I agree, but just like you I think some of Wolf Team’s action titles are really fun! I play Granada and El Viento a ton for instance

[@dariogonzalez8989]

"Look before you leak" I mean, yeah, that's actually pretty good advice. You don't want to end up like Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon, do you?

[@Leoj305]

Big thumbs up for that Daytona USA sample. I loved that game on my Saturn

[@danmakuman]

No matter how bad the original Valis games were, they are super charming for a lot of reasons, and yes, being bad is one of them haha The Valis series has that 80's OVA vibe to them in all the good and bad ways and that's why I love it.

[@PrekiFromPoland]

It's a series that shouldn't have more than one entry due to how poorly the first games were made, but it went on from Japanese 8-bit computers well into 16-bit era. And it even had a TV commercial directed by the Evangelion guy himself (yup, check it out).

[@rinsatomi9527]

Oh wow look who's here

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

It was basically a rip off of an anime OVA with a bikini armor girl and the same story right

[@danmakuman]

@@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77 Yeah, Leda, and still it transcended into a whole game series.

[@danmakuman]

@@PrekiFromPoland Yup, was one of the first things I watched when I got into the games. I think it was on nico video back then.

[@streetmagik3105]

"Look before you leak." Truer words may never be spoken.😂

[@MiBrCo4177]

Gotta make sure you're not gonna get it on your leg lol.

[@AgentAsteriski]

After the first time you find a frog in your toilet, you learn that one pretty quick.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

I feel like I understand this game a lot better now thanks to the historical context you provided. I only learned about the Valis series when Valis II came out for the TurboGrafX-CD. But I didn't actually get to play it until the Turbo Duo came out years later. By then I had played Valis III on the Genesis, which is still my favorite of the series. I tried to play OG Valis on a PC-98 emulator once, and I think I noped out after about 15 seconds. But I can totally see how those cutscenes would have impressed back in the early 8-bit days.

[@EdmondDantes224]

My theory is Rogles came to power because he never had a log. Because he's Log-less.

[@Nemo2342]

Oh jeeze, I can see why those mechanics would make you want to play E.T. instead. That game was at least simple enough for me to be able to understand it as a kid!

[@GuyDude-hk8uy]

2:42 Glad it's not just me that thinks a lot of these intros are super ominous. I think they were meant to inspire awe and mystery, but I just find them, well, ominous and creepy. Still cool, of course.

[@MiBrCo4177]

Valis sounds like a challenge runners dream. I remember playing the SNES port and finding it not that enjoyable but the more i watch this video, the crazier it looks lol.

[@adamujhelyi4340]

Yes, the Yugo is a classic car.

[@scalliano]

When I think of Telenet/Wolfteam, I think of three things: 1. Anime cutscenes. 2. Jank. 3. P A I N F U L L Y S L O W T E X T .

[@CptJistuce]

T H A T S E E M S F A I R .

[@NoelComiX]

Road Avenger was great

[@hawshimagical]

the packaging and artworks were a thing of beauty. my eyes lit up the whole way through. "surely the game isnt actually that bad?" i thought to myself. it was actually that bad.

[@MagmaMKII]

Worth mentioning that this game is pretty obviously based on Dream Warrior Leda, not only due to their similar story premise but especially their bikini armored heroines.

[@JannPoo]

In fact even the titles are very similar. 幻夢戦記レダ and 夢幻戦士ヴァリス I mean 3 out of 4 kanji are the same. They swapped the first two changing "genmu" to "mugen" which basically mean the same thing. Then they changed "senki" (war chronicle) to "senshi" (warrior). Directly or indirectly however Fandora and Dream Hunter Rem were most likely also a source of inspiration for Valis.

[@areitz]

Thanks for your persistence with this game, it was super interesting to see where this series started.

[@GranMaese]

IDK why, but I really dig the Valis franchise despite I've barely ever played any of the games myself. Thank you for going through all of that just to make a great video of the very first Valis game. That's one of the reasons I love this channel so much.

[@tarnetskygge]

"Take a Valis"? I think at that point you probably need to take a Valium 😂

[@ドリフト180X]

I played Valis 1 and 3 on Genesis back in the day and enjoyed them. Loved the artstyle in the cut scenes, it was like watching a show or something, or that was how it felt back then for me anyways.

[@fanboymaster]

Those later PC versions sound like they did try to take the issues with the original release to heart but didn't have the time or budget to fully address them. Valis has an undeniable sense of style though so even if the game's not great there's a charm to seeing it. Great review as always.

[@BasementBrothers]

Excellent analysis. That's the impression I got too. There must have been a lot of players who complained about that "ill gotten goods never prosper" thing.

[@Devilot109]

Late to the party here, but a small correction: The MSX version was technically the first, coming out *very slightly* before the PC-88 and Sharp X-1 versions, and a fair bit before the FM-7 and PC-98 versions. (This makes the fact that it is very, *very* obviously a stripped-down version of the PC-8801 and Sharp X-1 versions rather than those being upgraded versions of it honestly fairly strange. Also, for some reason Yuko's sprite has much, much better animation in the MSX than in any of the other PC versions) Anyway... I played the MSX version recently as part of Valis Collection II and... I honestly kind of like it. Yeah, it's weird and janky and the size of the levels can sometimes be annoying, but it's still kind of interesting and oddly fun and engaging for how broken it is. To be clear, the difference in release date is *tiny* -- The MSX version can be confirmed for the 26th of November 1986 because, unlike many contemporary magazines, MSX Magazine provided exact release dates, while the other versions were released in December. (Nothing more specific than that -- even the Sharp X-1 version, which there's a known archived mention of in a magazine at the time, had nothing more specific than it being listed in the "New Software Information" section for that year's December issue)

[@Devilot109]

But yeah, seriously, it's kind of weird how much nicer the animation for Yuko is in the MSX version compared to the others. Her hair has a really nice, fluid animation when she's running in her initial serafuku and when she attacks in quick succession while stationary, she actually swings her sword in one direction *then* the other, while in the other versions she just swings it in one direction every time. *Anyone* know why this is the case?

[@BasementBrothers]

Interesting! That sounds like a simultaneous release to me (by 80's Japanese PC standards). That's my story and I'm sticking to it! No corrections necessary IMO, but thanks a lot for the info!

[@Devilot109]

@@BasementBrothers *Nods!*

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

It's wild How the PCE game, a certified all-time classic, is a" remake" of a game that's total dog shit, and then the NES version also exists and is basically a third different game but with the same characters. The soundtrack was basically good enough to keep though, all the music sounds familiar.

[@skylinefever]

Many years ago on youtube, I saw the Famicom commercial for Valis. That was amazing. I love the look of 1980s anime. I blame the fact that my mom owned a 1985 Nissan Maxima and I loved it. It made me want a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo in 1989, and a burning desire to visit Japan. I realize that when people were saying "Japan is 10 years in the future" back then, they had at least a picture of Shibuya Crossing.

[@kwizzeh]

This game is suffering even when emulated. I am so glad the other versions exist since they are less *life threatening for something actually playable. *Flashing lights gave me a huge headache when I tried it out personally.

[@filialuvssquigly7447]

Oh man i actually loooove the first valis games i love the whole series honestly but to be fair while i own the series the only versions i own of the first game are the Genesis and the Turbo graphix version of the 1st game which going by this video ill have to say are the better versions and are actually good

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

7 years ago I got a Genesis and ordered obscure games. Valis 1 and 3 were part of that. Couldn't call 1 good but, like you said here, the presentation and story had me hooked and I beat the game that night even after getting stuck at Reiko for a few hours or so. Next day I played through 3 and was surprised how much of an improvement it was (not knowing it came before 1's remake). The original tells you what you'll get from the series- questionable game design decisions but cool more mature stories, pure creativity in its world, colorful graphics and great music. The computer versions of 2 were an improvement but have their own host of problems. I do love the added armor and swappable weapon systems, and it's story is extremely dark. I'd call it a work of art for its time how it interweves its story and in-game music so immersively (especially as you approach the final boss after witnessing what he does in the previous cutscene). This series is great and I go back to it often. Not great examples of game design but they pull you in and make you forget about "what is good game design"? You just kinda sit down, play and have a good time.

[@GenghisConnThr333]

Every Valis game I have played (with the exception of Valis 1 on PCE and maybe Valis 3) sucks but I can't help but love the franchise.

[@Mike14264]

Man, this channel has been a treat for knowing old games on systems I, quite frankly, wasn't familiar with at all! It's been very nice to expand my range, and you folks make these reviews, and learning about these games, a very enjoyable experience!

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

Yeah, Yugo is a classic

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Thanks to Alec and his bros, you fellas made me very interested on the PC-88. Thank you guys. Always a pleasure to see you all in action. 8^) Anthony..

[@tidq]

Mr Jakes is ANGRY, and I am here for it. Very entertaining video.

[@23Scadu]

"Look before your leak" makes me suspect the person who rewrote the English was actually fluent but just wanted to troll.

[@TheNoName_Man1985]

Actually, I couldn't belive the publisher of the new Valis colection, Edia, didn't include the Valis IV game into the collection; what they acutally do is including the Valis IV with Syd of Valis (the super deformed Valis II version) and the original port of Valis for Megadrive/Genesis in another collection. But the original MSX and PC 88 are actually quite shitty even back on the mid 80's, so I'm glad they only included the PC Engine versions (at least they are playable). On topic: Wolf Team dropped the idea of the upgrades in the PC Engine version and the sequels. It was horrible the punishing for touching the upgrade without the required level, so frustrating. And a curiosity, Valis for the Famicom did have an anime spot that last almost 3 minutes to promoting the game. It wasn't nothing special until you know is one of the early direction works of the renowned Hideaki Anno (yes, the Evangelion mastermind), Katsuhiko Nishijima and featuring music by Kohei Tanaka.

[@gallegoctba]

Ohh boy, I still remember playing this game on my MSX1. Thank you for the great review!

[@nathancarpenter2193]

So happy to have stumbled upon your channel, awesome videos!

[@badtzmzo]

Awesome video! I only went as far back as the Famicom game, but it's awesome to see all of these original Japanese PC versions by someone who is dedicated and skilled enough to figure out the game and complete it. Fantastic.

[@karinyupinyan]

the engrish in this game is amazing, so much of it just doesn't even make any sense

[@CptJistuce]

But all is well that ends well.

[@Progearspec]

Look before you leak haaaaa !

[@DracMazoku]

Played this "version" for the first time not long ago on the Valis Collection II. It was the MSX version though. I was not ready for it. I was so used to the Genesis and PC-Engine CD version, so I didnt even knew about the origin of Valis. Playing it was almost hurting me physically and mentally. But yeah, I understood the mechanic after a few tries, and ended up grinding 200 Level at the beginning of the game, then just rushed through everything else. Once you have too much level, the game just become a joke, and more a test of endurance for all the crap that is happening on screen. In any case, thanks for the video showing all the version of the first Valis!

[@kurosan9712]

Still better than any of the games nowadays hands down There's always Shits of Ass 2 to compare to, remember

[@Monhamd1000]

Valis is a legend next to Sailor moon.

[@chaospoet]

Yowza! I'm actually kind of amazed this got remakes and sequels that vastly improved on this. I mean, you can see a good game there, but jesh! Right time, right place, I suppose. Look at all the great games from the past 15 years that never got sequels or tanked a company because it wasn't a monster hit. Like Folklore for PS3 for example. Makes you realize how many more chances to get it right video game companies had back then compared to now.

[@randam3389]

Thanks for this video. For the MSX version, now there is a patch adding video sequences, which are adapted from PC-88 version

[@BasementBrothers]

Really? Weird.

[@noahmeyer9756]

Can you send us a link? I'd like to see it in action.

[@ggbetz]

Fascinating. I remember valis being reccomended to me and being very confused as to why (i played one of the later ones). Its obvious it had a rough start. Thanks for helping me learn more about it!

[@americanmeowth3336]

As always, thanks for the video. "Oh, we are going to have some fun with the Engrish in this game" has got to become a catchphrase moving forward. Especially seeing as where the series went, looking at the first game is fascinating.

[@zephyr8072]

Obviously if I wish to try Valis I’ll go with the most modern entry which it says here is “Valis 10”. Well I don’t recall seeing Valis 5 to 9 but Roman.numerals never lie so… AH MY INNOCENT EYES.

[@gaminggoddess85]

Watching the sprite flickering through my tiny phone screen made my eyes hurt, I can't imagine how debilitating it would be for me if I were to play it myself on a regular monitor. I didn't think there was a worse-playing game in the series than SD Valis.

[@TBoneTony]

American Truck, the original Big Rigs over the road Racing. Also for a classic Japanese heroine series, the first game must have been a rough start for it to mess up that badly with glitches and things falling apart.

[@CorporalDanLives]

Final Zone Wolf has such awesome box art. It must have sold in absolute ton, I always see copies of it on sale in Japanese shops even today in 2023.

[@Searchraika]

Never heard of the series but seems interesting. I love these dives into what the actual original versions of games were and how far we've come or just the plan differences between ports of a game. I find that the most interesting. Now a days ports are pretty run of the mill and if it's different it's because of controls or a little prettier or buggy but these games are pretty different. Thanks for making the content! 🎉

[@ZZtheDark]

7:48, really? Who wrote the Game over screen?! To mock you?! 8:46, sadly it doesn't look like you have any invincibility frames after getting hit. 9:28, talk about being cheap and tightwad. 15:33, XD 16:25, geez louise...at least later versions saw potential in this game and reworked it to be playable. This feels like a war against lights, LEDs and your senses. 17:44, Hehehe..yeah he does. 18:12, what? 19:40, a truly AVGN moment here. 24:30, dang it, guys. >_< The first outing may be rough but damn, it's got a legend that's never to be forgotten.

[@AndrewGurn]

Commenting to show my appreciation of the series and my wish for it to continue

[@VulpesVvardenfell]

"Hitch your wagon to a start" is probably meant to be "Hitch your wagon to a star", which is an expression that means to associate with somebody\something successful so as to benefit from it. Most of those messages are recognizable as proverbs and idioms, but I have no idea what any of them have to do with anything. At least "Cowards die often" (which I think might be the "Cowards die many times before their deaths" saying) sounds like it could be related to fighting, but "look before you leap"? So weird.

[@Hurricanelive]

Goes to class next day... there's a missing student... they question you if you know anything... NOPE! You were the last person that witnesses claim saw you with her... and it didn't look like a friendly conversation, and we know she was your bully. NOPE! I don't nothing know! We have witnesses claim you have a sword? NOPE!

[@BasementBrothers]

That's a good point. There should be an epilogue that shows that! I didn't even think about it.

[@loganjorgensen]

19:56 No it's Logless, obscure backstory explains how he had chronic lumber shortages.😄Man this game just shows it's not a good idea to use idioms from a region far away from yours.

[@AngryCalvin]

It’s a masterpiece compared to games made by Hi Tech Expressions.

[@sousukesagara-im3td]

I love this series alot so it's a shame the first game is so poor. I'm glad the series got the chance it deserves. I own them all on switch except Valis X, but let's not talk about that. Also worth noting that all the valis games are available digitally on Nintendo Switch, most of which being based off PC Engine Valis games. Its probably the best way to play the games nowadays aside from emulation

[@riggel8804]

American truck looks interesting. Reminds me of Spy Hunter.

[@fazares]

Im putting myself through the hurdle of completing the MSX version in the second Valis collection for the Nintendo Switch..ahah

[@Deathy2D]

It's funny that during many many years I mixed up Valis with El Veinto because they look somewhat similar, but thanks to this video I wanna play the whole saga now

[@MarsofAritia]

both were made by different telenet divisions, may have shared some staff. they're pretty bad though. only one worth trying is the 1 remake on pccd

[@JoshuaJaeger]

It's a classic in the sense that it spawned a few really cool sequels that without this stinker of an original, we likely wouldn't have gotten! :)

[@Zero_Tester]

My first Valis game was the NES version(it was all on Japanese languages,)there was alot of visual glitch due to my cassette was broken back then,but still a good childhood memories for me since i really liked the BGM on the game especially the Jungle stage

[@afropowa1598]

I enjoy this series on the Sega Genesis. I am glad I played part 3 1st cuz I wouldn't go back to that series if I play this crap 1st. "Look before your leak" is a good motto when you are pissing! I am hype for your upcoming Dunk Dream/Street Hoop Neo Geo review.

[@vanadlehyde3600]

we must get an American TRUCK episode

[@ctomfaith]

3:59 Part of me wanted you to play that song in its entirety whilst the "loading starting" continuously spinning. 😅

[@Laserdreamz]

What a superb series, only of my faves in civilization. These early ones are a crock, great to see though thanks for taking the pain!

[@arvinrunstein5707]

I was recently playing through 2. What a great series.

[@DragoonEnRegalia]

This and the original Final Zone were a rough start for Wolf Team in their early days, but did they ever improve over time! It's definitely hard to play this original, yet I respect all they got from the PC-88's V2 mode graphics and Sound Board I chip. The talent exchange between Telenet/Wolf Team, Glodia, Right Stuff, and other studios going into the '90s led to all sorts of often janky but fun and ambitious software. (In fact, I think Telenet missed out when Osamu Ikegame, the guy behind American Truck, took all his good ideas with him to Glodia-stuff like Testament, for instance.) It's really the later non-ero Valis titles which establishes this series as being worthwhile, starting with Valis II on PCs and PC Engine, but there's sadly many worse Telenet/Wolf Team games than the '86 original.

[@Vampier]

The MSX version was like this: collect a lot of life and then follow the arrow and kill easy end bosses. That's the whole darn game ;)

[@bobbyjr.9559]

Mr jakes thank you for another amazing video! 👍

[@astrades2601]

Knowing how this game is look i was sure it will be a fun review and i'm sending words of gratitude for experiencing this for us. Oh boy, 80's computer games both western and japanese can be rough, don't they? Original Valis surely looks like a mess for me, but cutscenes have their charm and i like this old anime style of graphics. I haven't played any Valis game yet, but 16-bit versions surely have great soundtracks which i listen from time to time.

[@TheSocialGamer]

By now you know I'm a die hard fan. Love you content no matter the subject matter. Though I do love the PC-** stuff. A system I never knew existed and is such an amazing computer system. Thank You for the effort in giving us high quality and unique content!

[@tycho042]

Yikes, these versions of Valis are ROUGH. I know there was tech limitations and whatnot. I think that the Valis anniversary collection is the best way to play the first 3 games, they're all from the PC engine versions and for american fans they're all translated! I was disappointed that Valis 4 didn't come with the collection, possibly because there was "super valis 4" on the switch. It's too bad really, the pc engine game is a dramatically superior game with 3 playable characters and a decent plot. The SNES/SFMC version is so gouged out it's hard to go back to it after seeing the original version. You have my applause for not only playing but beating this beastly version of this classic series

[@lanceknightmare]

The game looks like it had alot of potential. The case and contents of the case are well above average. The opening theme I actually enjoy since it gives me early Shin Megami vibes. That opening screen with Valis is ahead of its time. The actual game really suffers. If there was a remake of this game I can see it doing well. The developers just need to study Langrissor for the 3DS to learn what not to do. Do not go backwards with the quality of animation. I only played Valis 3 for the Sega Genesis and enjoyed it. Even if the difficulty later in the game ramps up a bit too much for my liking.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

Tried it on emulators a decade ago.The gameplay is atrocious but the presentation was probably mind blowing to 1986 PC Standards. Cutscenes like that were unheard in the west until Ninja Gaiden. Disagree about one thing :the soundtrack. Boy ,the Yamaha soundchip of PC 8801 is amazing (yeah,I am crazy and love the death zone track).

[@fmsyntheses]

I always think of Wolf Team as like a crack squad within Telenet Japan, given how epic and limit-pushing games like Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean were. I guess this was just a job, not a passion.

[@CptJistuce]

I always think of things like El Viento on the Genesis... or the later Valis games. Not necessarily the best, but possessed of a style and sense of drama that was uncommon at the time. I miss games like that. But El Viento was where I first saw the name Wolf Team. (The Tales Wolf Team was largely unrelated to the original Wolf Team. Most of the OGs quit, and Phantasia was created by a new Wolf Team... who then quit to form tri-Ace during Tales of Phantasia's development.... half of who then quit THAT to form tri-Crescendo. Maybe their real legacy is "everyone always quits en masse".)

[@fiskburk2908]

I love the valis series, i own the switch ports, which are competent and enjoyable, a shame it ended with X

[@Eyetrauma]

Love these videos. Since they’re unlocalized they have such an air of mystery around them, even if, like in this case, the game itself isn’t great. Personally I always thought it was weird how Valis (the game) has no connection to Valis (the PKD novel that was supposedly beamed into his brain from a satellite)

[@Unquestionable]

Yeah I first heard of the game series because I'm a huge PKD fan and presumed it had at least some kind of connection. Still very interesting in it's own right, like you said these looks at games that never left Japan really give a unique feel that makes me adore these videos.

[@jasonblalock4429]

It's strange that the new Valis rereleases are so incomplete, and only have a few game versions. Especially when it's becoming increasingly common to include lots of port variations. (See: the new Wonder Boy collection.)

[@CptJistuce]

Valis: It's not great, but it has an anime girl in a metal bikini and that counts for at least three stars.

[@xtremekirby07]

and as of the date of this video there's also the Switch compilation with the first three games based on the PC-Engine CD versions, gotta try those ones to see how well they fare to their original counterparts.

[@LemonRush7777]

I loved this series so much. I really wish it was remastered... But after the porn VN I doubt it ever will.

[@DKarkarov]

As an american I can say that american truck gameplay looked suspiciously accurate and true to life.

[@BasementBrothers]

Better ask a trucker to be sure...

[@bjornh1527]

Great runthrough of the Valis 1 game and history! I will play through the Genesis version I own, so I did skip the spoiler part 😀

[@TheAHMADJALLAD]

This flickering is killing me

[@LunaPrincessNinjato]

Ah I tried the Genesis version of this and assumed that was hard... Sweet jeebus this version looks insane Ty for the history lesson

[@TheTransientOne1]

Oh man, and I thought SD Valis was horrible 🧐

[@Antedithulian]

Excellent video, man. Always a treat!

[@Esteban_LeGrafx]

(1) Love your videos (2) Watching this helped me better understand why something as janky as Valis I might be nostalgic for older Japanese folks. (3) I enjoy the PC-Engine remake of Valis I (well, I love all the PCE Valis games).

[@Wyrdwad]

Honestly, I kind of like the look of the FM-77 version even better than the PC-98 version, for one simple reason: no dithering. That's always been one of my biggest complaints with PC-88 games (and lazy PC-98 ports of them). I know it was done to get around the lack of available colors on the PC-88 hardware, but I always find the "checkerboarding" effect it creates across literally the whole screen is just... very unpleasant to look at. The FM-77 graphics may be lower-resolution and less detailed, but the fact that it uses solid colors just gives it a much more vibrant and overall smoother look IMHO. I'm 100% certain I'd get used to the dithering if I played more PC-88 games, and might come to appreciate the PC-88 style a lot more, but just on first glance, I can already tell that if I were to ever play one of the original versions of this game, I'd go for the FM-77 version, no question. That's one of the things I do appreciate about being an MSX gamer: the hardware may not have been as powerful, but the color depth on MSX was much better (particularly once you move past MSX1), so aside from lazy PC-88 ports, you never saw that dithering effect in MSX games. ...Also speaking of MSX, I did once own the MSX version of Valis 1! But yeah... I sold that back REAL quick after a few attempts to play it. This game really is rough! Kudos to you for suffering through it on our behalves. ;)

[@BasementBrothers]

Great comment as always. I think with the dithering you either can dig the look or you can't. I associate it with 8bit PC's in general and remember playing Oregon Trail on the Apple IIe's at school. It's not my favorite look or anything but it's good in small doses. Another thing I think people forget is that a lot of the dithering done with pixels of this size was meant to be seen. Even on an old CRT monitor it often didn't get smoothed out to the point that it looked like one smooth blended color, but actually rather similar to how they look today on LCD monitors with the blocky two distinct colors.

[@Wyrdwad]

@@BasementBrothers Yeah, I seem to recall back then, that was always a key difference I noticed between PC gaming and console gaming: PC gaming was almost always done on a dedicated monitor with a VGA or RGB connector or... basically, some connector with crisper input than RF or RCA/composite, at the very least (I know this isn't true of all microcomputer standards, but I think it's fair to say it was true of the majority, and it was certainly the case in my own personal experience growing up in the '80s and '90s). As such, I always felt PC games were more "pixely" than console games... because in effect, they were! Only, the reality is, the console games were just blurrier. But at the time, I liked that look a lot better! Heheh.

[@BasementBrothers]

Yep. Exactly.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

i wonder if Masaya's Demon Hunter Yohko was just their response to Valis... oh well... good times.. i will say that Masaya's Gleylancer smashes Wolfteam's Sol Feace... but as far as i know, Masaya had no response to Wolfteam's Grenada and Arcus Odyssey... but damn.. all these games are great...

[@MarsofAritia]

Yoko was an anime tie in

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

@@MarsofAritia i know.. i have the old vhs of the english dub with really early Amanda Winn Lee, i just meant its funny how these closely tied devs, whether Telenet related or not, like wolfteam, masaya, riot etc seemedto make games kinda similar to each other... i was just wondering if it was a coincidence or a response... i didnt even include the ones they made for the PC Engine CD Rom Rom...

[@rashidisw]

The arrow indicator sucks because it only has 8 directions granularity instead of 360 degree granularity.

[@BasementBrothers]

Not even just that. There are times when I've confirmed it's literally pointing the wrong direction.

[@menhirmike]

14:30 Valis predicted the future of 2020!

[@douglasbriel6103]

I just got the Nintendo Switch collection.

[@l.j.nguyen2586]

Actually, there are three collections of the Valis games on the Switch eShop. You can also purchase the games individually, if you want to. A shame that the MSX2 version of Valis II is censored, according to Censored Gaming. If it were up to me, I would rather play the PCE version of Valis I, II, III & IV. Screw the SFC/SNES version, Super Valis IV.

[@douglasbriel6103]

@@l.j.nguyen2586 I am waiting for the third to come over. I bought the first in Japanese to save money, but decided I need English anyway. I also found a great deal on all 4 manga volumes. Of course I can't read them but the art is decent. I get the Ikki Tousen manga because that artist is a god.

[@espfusion]

PC-88 has its strengths and the audience is there but seriously if you want to do a straight action platformer in 1986 just go with Famicom or SG-1000 mk3... Seems Telenet/Wolf Team got the memo with all the sequels at least.

[@DragoonEnRegalia]

There were a couple *much* better action-platformers available for PC-88 around the time Valis released: Super Pitfall (don't laugh, this one is far more playable and audiovisually interesting than the Famicom kusoge) and Bouken Roman (surprisingly good proto-Commander Keen dungeon-crawling platformer). Both of those games scrolled sprites more smoothly, lacked the flicker/flashing lights problems, and just feel fun to play from moment to moment. Difficulty balance is more forgiving in those, too. I agree the PC-88 was definitely not suited for this genre compared to contemporary platforms (the X1 could certainly have done more if commercial will and coder comfort with its spriting chip were there), but some super talented people proved you could do seemingly any kind of game on the platform.

[@IkeSan]

Nice video as always. Love more the history itself of how these games run. BTW since you talked about a Telenet game can you review the Original Megami Tensei? More when you are talking about the original release for PC88

[@BasementBrothers]

Sorry but I probably won't be doing Megami Tensei. I don't have the game and it is very difficult to obtain. I prefer to make videos on games that I have the packaging for. Thanks for your understanding.

[@IkeSan]

@Basement Brothers no problem. I always like any video you put out. I understand and thanks.