When FAQs fail

Actually, I shouldn’t say that this FAQ–for Tengai Makyo II–has failed me. At least, not yet. On the contrary, I’m fairly certain that once I get into the game it will prove most useful in pointing me in the right direction both figuratively (by telling me how to beat the game’s many bosses, for instance) and literally (by telling me where to go after beating said bosses).

At the moment, though, the FAQ is about as useful to me as a piece of moldy toilet paper. Why? Well, for starters, I’m a bit overwhelmed by the game’s many menu options. Which option do I select to change my characters’ weapons and armor? Which option do I select to save?

And then there’s the myriad of options that pop up every time I encounter an enemy. I know that the option in the upper-left corner translates to “fight” or “slash” or something like that, but the rest, unfortunately, are a complete mystery to me.

If anyone who comes across this post can help me answer the questions above, I’d greatly appreciate it!

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20,000 screens of overhead maps, eh?

A few weeks ago, I posted the article–pulled from an old issue of Super Gaming magazine–that served as my introduction to Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru. Today I’m posting the article–pulled from an old issue of Turbo Play magazine–that solidified my obsession with the titular Manjimaru and his magnanimous team.

I’m pretty sure the following sentence was the one that grabbed me by the short and curlies, so to speak: “In the course of the game, you will cover over 20,000 screens of overhead maps, fight 300 types of enemies and 48 boss characters, enjoy more than 90 minutes of incredible animation, listen to three hours of speech [and] hear 24 CD music tracks and over 80 different PSG (machine generated) music tracks.”

See also: ‘My introduction to Tengai Makyo II‘

OK, so I lied …

I’m not going to start my playthrough of the Tengai Makyo trilogy with Tengai Makyo: Fuun Kabukiden; I’m going to start it with Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru.

Why? Well, I’m still waiting for my copy of Tengai Makyo: Fuun Kabukiden to arrive, for starters. Also, I booted up my copy of Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru yesterday (you know, to make sure it works) and it sucked me in like a Dyson sucks up dirt.

Specifically, the following tune sucked me in like a Dyson sucks up dirt. (I know, it’s a weird analogy.)

Unfortunately, it’s going to take more than great tunes (and great graphics) to get me through this game, as I’m already finding the multitude of menu options to be more than a little intimidating. (The title’s sole FAQ doesn’t delve into such details.)

See also: ‘Don’t call me a Tengai Makyo virgin‘ and ‘My introduction to Tengai Makyo II‘

Don’t call me a Tengai Makyo virgin

Actually, feel free to continue calling me a Tengai Makyo virgin until my copies of Tengai Makyo: Ziria, Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru and Tengai Makyo: Fuun Kabukiden arrive in the mail later this week (or early next).

Yep, I ordered all three (plus the promo-only spinoff, Denden no Den) a few days ago–despite the fact that I don’t know a lick of Japanese. Thankfully, translated walkthroughs exist for each of the titles. (You can find them here, here and here, respectively.)

Anyway, as soon as they arrive I plan to take the advice of IvaNEC (of The Brothers Duomazov fame) and start with Tengai Makyo: Fuun Kabukiden and then work my way backwards through the trilogy.

See also: ‘My introduction to Tengai Makyo II‘

So, how close was Astralius to coming to the States?

While reading two reviews (one at thebrothersduomazov.com and another at unlimitedzigworks.com) of the much-maligned Astralius over the weekend, I remembered that, once upon a time, the game was supposed to see a North American release.

In fact, the title was shown off at both the winter and summer Consumer Electronics Shows that were held in 1991.

Following the former, the editors of TurboPlay magazine waxed poetic (in their February/March 1991 issue, see below) about Astralius, writing that it would “give both Y’s games a serious run for the top honor” and “should prove to be one of the toughest games made as well.”

Following the latter, TurboPlay‘s editors promised (in their August/September 1991 issue) that the title would hit the streets stateside “by Christmas.” Of course, a few sentences later they shared that developer IGS was “working the bugs out of its attempts to translate this RPG to the TurboGrafx-16.” (Click on the two scans below to read the rest of what they had to say about the title.)

I’m guessing the folks at IGS never quite eradicated said bugs–or, by the time they did, releasing the game no longer made sense economically (or otherwise)?

My introduction to Tengai Makyo II

I’m not sure why, but I have a distinct memory of buying, in late 1991, an issue of Super Gaming magazine from the Electronics Boutique in our local mall and then flipping through said magazine while walking around the mall with my parents and older brother.

At some point during that leisurely stroll, I stumbled upon the following preview:

I’m not sure I’ve wanted a game as much as I wanted Tengai Makyo II in the moments–and days and weeks and months and years–following that discovery.

Sadly, Hudson’s mammoth RPG never made it stateside, despite the promises of many game publishers and magazine writers. Thankfully, a rather detailed walkthrough of the game can be found at gamefaqs.com, so if I ever get the PC Engine CD-ROM2 attachment–and a copy of Tengai Makyo II–I’ll finally be able to give it a go.

Cosmic Nightmare 2

The folks at the long-defunct Working Designs made a lot of great decisions during the 16-bit era. Among them: Their decision to localize (for North American TurboGrafx-16 owners) Telenet’s PC Engine RPG, Cosmic Fantasy 2.

One of their not-so-great decisions: Using the following piece of art to promote said RPG.

The ad above appeared in the April/May 1992 issue of TurboPlay magazine. Unfortunately, the art featured in the ad also appeared on the game’s cover.

Is it any wonder the game wasn’t able to achieve the sales or status of, say, Lunar: The Silver Star, another of Working Design’s 16-bit-era releases?