It's time to dive once again into the world of fan translated JRPGs. A lot of these came from the end of the 4th/beginning of the 5th generation and a good portion of them are from series that never left Japan.
That's not true of all of them, of course. Many of the early Shin Megami Tensei games have never been officially released in the United States and for a long time the only way to play Star Ocean or Mother (Earthbound Beginnings, if you will) was through a translation patch. But a lot of these games were never translated because the franchises they are a part of just aren't a thing in the West, or at the very least weren't at the time of release. That's not the only reason games didn't get ported, but it's a big one. It really is wild how many RPG series' exist in Japan that we just never think about, even to this day. And this week's game sort of fits into that category. Because while it's a major series in Japan, it hasn't had a single one of it's RPG titles make its way to the US in all of the years its existed. However, it has made one incursion into the U.S. market, one I've actually already reviewed on GOTBP. I just think it's weird that the one series entry that did make it to the West...was a fighting game?
A little over a year ago, I reviewed a Neo Geo fighting game called Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash, I title I randomly stumbled upon while looking for a new game in that genre. I liked it a lot, so naturally I decided to look futher into where exactly it came from. I was shocked to find that Far East of Eden, or Tengai Makyo , was a major RPG series in Japan. There are 12, yes, 12 games in this series, excluding Kabuki Klash, that ran from 1989 to 2006. They were published and developed by Hudson Soft, so naturally most of the early games were released for the TurboGrafx-16. But once that console was discontinued in 1994, Hudson needed to take their series elsewhere. In late 1995, they released Far East of Eden Zero for the Super Famicom, the lone series entry on that console. Since it was the only one I could find with an English patch, it was the one I ended up putting on my list to play.
It took a while, but I finally got around to playing Far East of Eden Zero early this year. As is customary, I am going to cover the story this week and move on to gameplay for next time. I actually debated only doing this as one part, FEOEZ isn't an especially long RPG. But it was longer than my 20 hour soft cap for doing so, so double post it is. Unlike most RPGs though, this part one isn't going to focus entirely on story. I won't say FEOEZ's story is bad, but it was a little bit basic, even for a 4th generation RPG. But there are a lot of elements at play here that make this a very interesting case, one that was, for better or worse, far different thematically than any game I've played. Simply put, it was very clear why this game was never ported to the west and I think it's worth exploring.
The story puts you in the shoes of Higan, a young boy who lives in Fire Shadow Village in the kingdom of Jipang with his grandfather. Higan trains in the ways of the fire clan, at least he does in theory. He is far more interested in slacking off and playing pranks than he is in improving his combat skills. Higan is blissfully unaware of the goings on of the kingdom, but that is, unfortunately, about to change. You see, the evil prince has released the evil Ninigi, the commander of the nefarious Hell's Army. The army has sealed away Jipang's six divine beasts and is running roughshod over the land, taking and doing exactly what they want. The game starts in earnest when the first squadron, led by Zettai Reido, decends on Fire Shadow Village. Higan's grandfather fights bravely to defend the village, but is killed in the process. With his dying words, he reveals the truth the Higan: that he is the legendary Fire Hero, who is destined to defend Jipang and save its guardians. He sets out to unseal the guardians while also attaining revenge against Reido. Along the way, he wil meet a variety of quirky allies, powerful enemies and a whole lot of very unique characters.
I won't call it a bad story, but FEOEZ doesn't really offer anything earthshattering. You have your typical "destined hero saves the world" plot that was very common in RPGs of this (and I guess every) generation. It wasn't quite as hackneyed as it is now, but it was still becoming tiresome as the 4th generation was winding down that was compounded as game writers took more and more narrative risks. At least you have a clear hero and villain and a coherent plot. Despite how dark and dreary the synopsis seems, FEOEZ is definitely very lighthearted and comedic, which is something I think it did very well. As previously mentioned, this is a fan translation, so I intended to give some leeway with plot points getting lost or mistakes being made, but I don't really think I have to. The translators here did a really good job and I don't think there was anything really lost in that department. The story was told fairly well and I think the fact that this was fan translated made it more interesting rather than less.
While the story may not have been all that great, the cast of characters was very strong and really helped to carry this title. Higan is largely a silent protagonist, but something about him just exudes an aura of confidence that most RPG protagonists just don't have. Maybe it was the strong spritework, but we will get to that in due time. Higan will quickly meet Subaru, a young fire fairy who's innocence and cluelessness belie her magical prowess. They will soon be joined by Tenjin, a 600 year old swordsman who had previously sealed away Ninigi, and Mizuki, a Hellspawn who deserted the evil armies to join their human enemies. The enemies are similarly strong and I like the fact that they are menacing and powerful while fitting with the game's less serious tone. Enemies like Sara, one of the generals of Hell's Army, is almost giddy in her tormenting of the party, while the aforementioned Zettai Reido serves as almost a parody of the standard revenge targe from more standard RPGs. That's to say nothing of all the quirky NPCs that you will meet throughout the game. Unlike most RPGs, you don't learn skills by leveling up. In FEOEZ, visiting hermits hidden throughout the world will earn you new skills. All of these guys are goofy and bizzarre, which I really appreciated. The cast is definitely the strongest point here and their stories were what really pulled me through when the game started to drag.
The world was also fairly compelling, I had my issues with it but I really liked the aesthetic. As you might expect, the world of Jipang looks a lot like Japan (though the game does make sure its known that the two are very different), from the architecture to the environment. Unfortunately, this was probably a big part of the reason the game was never ported. For whatever reason, Japanese developers at this time felt this aesthetic wouldn’t go over well in Western markets and that's a shame. I think it really would have stood out if it made it over here. The world is broken into six nations, each of which is guarded by a divine beast that has been sealed away by Ninigi's army. Withou their Dieties to protect them, all of these regions have been beset by various curses from the raining blood in the Peacock Nation to the ever-expanding forest of the Turtle Nation. I think that was a really strong narrative setup and it made your actions feel high stakes. I do think from a gameplay standpoint, the nations are a little bit too empty, but we will get back to that next week.
Because now, we have to get to some of the other aspects the game, chief among them the myriad reasons this game never made it to the West. One of the cool things about fan translations is you get to play these games as they were truly written. It's no secret that video games get heavily altered when they get localized for different markets, whether that's to avoid taboos or conform to cultural norms. But that isn't the case with fan translations, where you are getting what is, most likely, a one to one translation. Translation and localization are often conflated, but the two are very, very different processes. And I can tell that there was absolutely no localization done by the team that translated this to English, because a lot of this stuff would absolutely never fly, ever, outside of Japan.
I don't remember the game ever actually mentioning how old Higan is, but most sources I see say he's 12. I don't know about that, based on the way he looks and acts I would have guessed closer to 16, but at the end of the day, he's very clearly a minor. Every time he tries to drink alcohol someone comments about him being too young. But you can still acquire items that are implied to be alcohol and use them, which absolutely would have been removed if this game was officially ported. Hell, the bars and the "Liquor Village" probably would have been removed entirely, those things weren't taboo in Western games but having underage characters in them certainly was. They would have been changed to juice bars or something like a teahouse.
Which brings me to what would have been an even bigger issue than heavily implied underage drinking, something that even I found fairly uncomfortable. I am going to try and keep this PG, but be just a warning that things are about to get very weird. Because throughout the world of FEOEZ, you will find villages with that play host to singles teahouses. These places do serve tea, but they also offer another service, one aimed directly at young, single men. Upon entrance, Higan can visit one of four rooms, each of which contains a young lady. Remember now, Higan is somewhere between 12 and 16, so we are already firmly in "never outside of Japan" territory. Some of these ladies just want to talk, others will ask for money, but some of them will...want to spend some additional time with Higan. If you buy a house in the corresponding village, they will even end up moving in with you. Visit them at home and you will get a scene where the screen fades to black, you hear kissing noises, and, well, you will get some uncomfortable text afterwards. I'm not going to explicitly explain why this was all very hard to stomach, I am just going to let you put two and two together. There were other examples of stuff like this, the geisha unwrapping comes to mind, but this was by far the most eggregious example.
Despite some of that weirdness, there is still a solid story with some excellent characters. Based on the research I've done, I probably would have appreciated things more if I had played some of the previous FEOE games, as they are all fairly closely related. There was definitely some uncomfortable stuff here and unlike a lot of these "stayed in Japan" RPGs of the 90's, I very much understand why this one was never localized. But now, it's time to move on to gameplay. Did FEOEZ do enough to stand out in that department? Find out next week.
That's not true of all of them, of course. Many of the early Shin Megami Tensei games have never been officially released in the United States and for a long time the only way to play Star Ocean or Mother (Earthbound Beginnings, if you will) was through a translation patch. But a lot of these games were never translated because the franchises they are a part of just aren't a thing in the West, or at the very least weren't at the time of release. That's not the only reason games didn't get ported, but it's a big one. It really is wild how many RPG series' exist in Japan that we just never think about, even to this day. And this week's game sort of fits into that category. Because while it's a major series in Japan, it hasn't had a single one of it's RPG titles make its way to the US in all of the years its existed. However, it has made one incursion into the U.S. market, one I've actually already reviewed on GOTBP. I just think it's weird that the one series entry that did make it to the West...was a fighting game?
A little over a year ago, I reviewed a Neo Geo fighting game called Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash, I title I randomly stumbled upon while looking for a new game in that genre. I liked it a lot, so naturally I decided to look futher into where exactly it came from. I was shocked to find that Far East of Eden, or Tengai Makyo , was a major RPG series in Japan. There are 12, yes, 12 games in this series, excluding Kabuki Klash, that ran from 1989 to 2006. They were published and developed by Hudson Soft, so naturally most of the early games were released for the TurboGrafx-16. But once that console was discontinued in 1994, Hudson needed to take their series elsewhere. In late 1995, they released Far East of Eden Zero for the Super Famicom, the lone series entry on that console. Since it was the only one I could find with an English patch, it was the one I ended up putting on my list to play.
It took a while, but I finally got around to playing Far East of Eden Zero early this year. As is customary, I am going to cover the story this week and move on to gameplay for next time. I actually debated only doing this as one part, FEOEZ isn't an especially long RPG. But it was longer than my 20 hour soft cap for doing so, so double post it is. Unlike most RPGs though, this part one isn't going to focus entirely on story. I won't say FEOEZ's story is bad, but it was a little bit basic, even for a 4th generation RPG. But there are a lot of elements at play here that make this a very interesting case, one that was, for better or worse, far different thematically than any game I've played. Simply put, it was very clear why this game was never ported to the west and I think it's worth exploring.
The story puts you in the shoes of Higan, a young boy who lives in Fire Shadow Village in the kingdom of Jipang with his grandfather. Higan trains in the ways of the fire clan, at least he does in theory. He is far more interested in slacking off and playing pranks than he is in improving his combat skills. Higan is blissfully unaware of the goings on of the kingdom, but that is, unfortunately, about to change. You see, the evil prince has released the evil Ninigi, the commander of the nefarious Hell's Army. The army has sealed away Jipang's six divine beasts and is running roughshod over the land, taking and doing exactly what they want. The game starts in earnest when the first squadron, led by Zettai Reido, decends on Fire Shadow Village. Higan's grandfather fights bravely to defend the village, but is killed in the process. With his dying words, he reveals the truth the Higan: that he is the legendary Fire Hero, who is destined to defend Jipang and save its guardians. He sets out to unseal the guardians while also attaining revenge against Reido. Along the way, he wil meet a variety of quirky allies, powerful enemies and a whole lot of very unique characters.
I won't call it a bad story, but FEOEZ doesn't really offer anything earthshattering. You have your typical "destined hero saves the world" plot that was very common in RPGs of this (and I guess every) generation. It wasn't quite as hackneyed as it is now, but it was still becoming tiresome as the 4th generation was winding down that was compounded as game writers took more and more narrative risks. At least you have a clear hero and villain and a coherent plot. Despite how dark and dreary the synopsis seems, FEOEZ is definitely very lighthearted and comedic, which is something I think it did very well. As previously mentioned, this is a fan translation, so I intended to give some leeway with plot points getting lost or mistakes being made, but I don't really think I have to. The translators here did a really good job and I don't think there was anything really lost in that department. The story was told fairly well and I think the fact that this was fan translated made it more interesting rather than less.
While the story may not have been all that great, the cast of characters was very strong and really helped to carry this title. Higan is largely a silent protagonist, but something about him just exudes an aura of confidence that most RPG protagonists just don't have. Maybe it was the strong spritework, but we will get to that in due time. Higan will quickly meet Subaru, a young fire fairy who's innocence and cluelessness belie her magical prowess. They will soon be joined by Tenjin, a 600 year old swordsman who had previously sealed away Ninigi, and Mizuki, a Hellspawn who deserted the evil armies to join their human enemies. The enemies are similarly strong and I like the fact that they are menacing and powerful while fitting with the game's less serious tone. Enemies like Sara, one of the generals of Hell's Army, is almost giddy in her tormenting of the party, while the aforementioned Zettai Reido serves as almost a parody of the standard revenge targe from more standard RPGs. That's to say nothing of all the quirky NPCs that you will meet throughout the game. Unlike most RPGs, you don't learn skills by leveling up. In FEOEZ, visiting hermits hidden throughout the world will earn you new skills. All of these guys are goofy and bizzarre, which I really appreciated. The cast is definitely the strongest point here and their stories were what really pulled me through when the game started to drag.
The world was also fairly compelling, I had my issues with it but I really liked the aesthetic. As you might expect, the world of Jipang looks a lot like Japan (though the game does make sure its known that the two are very different), from the architecture to the environment. Unfortunately, this was probably a big part of the reason the game was never ported. For whatever reason, Japanese developers at this time felt this aesthetic wouldn’t go over well in Western markets and that's a shame. I think it really would have stood out if it made it over here. The world is broken into six nations, each of which is guarded by a divine beast that has been sealed away by Ninigi's army. Withou their Dieties to protect them, all of these regions have been beset by various curses from the raining blood in the Peacock Nation to the ever-expanding forest of the Turtle Nation. I think that was a really strong narrative setup and it made your actions feel high stakes. I do think from a gameplay standpoint, the nations are a little bit too empty, but we will get back to that next week.
Because now, we have to get to some of the other aspects the game, chief among them the myriad reasons this game never made it to the West. One of the cool things about fan translations is you get to play these games as they were truly written. It's no secret that video games get heavily altered when they get localized for different markets, whether that's to avoid taboos or conform to cultural norms. But that isn't the case with fan translations, where you are getting what is, most likely, a one to one translation. Translation and localization are often conflated, but the two are very, very different processes. And I can tell that there was absolutely no localization done by the team that translated this to English, because a lot of this stuff would absolutely never fly, ever, outside of Japan.
I don't remember the game ever actually mentioning how old Higan is, but most sources I see say he's 12. I don't know about that, based on the way he looks and acts I would have guessed closer to 16, but at the end of the day, he's very clearly a minor. Every time he tries to drink alcohol someone comments about him being too young. But you can still acquire items that are implied to be alcohol and use them, which absolutely would have been removed if this game was officially ported. Hell, the bars and the "Liquor Village" probably would have been removed entirely, those things weren't taboo in Western games but having underage characters in them certainly was. They would have been changed to juice bars or something like a teahouse.
Which brings me to what would have been an even bigger issue than heavily implied underage drinking, something that even I found fairly uncomfortable. I am going to try and keep this PG, but be just a warning that things are about to get very weird. Because throughout the world of FEOEZ, you will find villages with that play host to singles teahouses. These places do serve tea, but they also offer another service, one aimed directly at young, single men. Upon entrance, Higan can visit one of four rooms, each of which contains a young lady. Remember now, Higan is somewhere between 12 and 16, so we are already firmly in "never outside of Japan" territory. Some of these ladies just want to talk, others will ask for money, but some of them will...want to spend some additional time with Higan. If you buy a house in the corresponding village, they will even end up moving in with you. Visit them at home and you will get a scene where the screen fades to black, you hear kissing noises, and, well, you will get some uncomfortable text afterwards. I'm not going to explicitly explain why this was all very hard to stomach, I am just going to let you put two and two together. There were other examples of stuff like this, the geisha unwrapping comes to mind, but this was by far the most eggregious example.
Despite some of that weirdness, there is still a solid story with some excellent characters. Based on the research I've done, I probably would have appreciated things more if I had played some of the previous FEOE games, as they are all fairly closely related. There was definitely some uncomfortable stuff here and unlike a lot of these "stayed in Japan" RPGs of the 90's, I very much understand why this one was never localized. But now, it's time to move on to gameplay. Did FEOEZ do enough to stand out in that department? Find out next week.
Comments
Post a Comment