Hi! Also, "LOST CHILD" by [tama-soft] PC DVD Game

[layzee]

Hi, this seems like a nice forum to talk about all games Japanese. (:

So, I was wondering if anyone here has heard of the game "Lost Child" that is due to be out on the 24th of March. I seem to be the only Westerner (well.. Westerner with Asian background) who is anxiously waiting for this game. ):

Lost Child is basically a digital novel type game with the added feature (or perhaps gimmick?) of RPG style battles.

Developers of the game: http://www.tama-soft.com/

More info (from me): http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentop ... ard=924532

[Gaijin Punch]

Welcome.

Interesting, thanks for the link. I checked out the page, but am having a hard time discerning what goes on on the battle screens. The illustrations look pretty good. I myself don't keep up w/ the PC world that much, but some people here do. Downloading the movie now, but it'll take a while.

[Greatsaintlouis]

For a moment there, I thought that this was actually going to be an all-ages game, until I looked through the CG sample screens. That said, if the CGs are any indication, there seems to be a relatively high gameplay-to-ero ratio for this game; most Japanese visual novel x other gaming genre crossover titles go fairly heavy on the ero and pepper their website with enough scantily-clad girls that a casual visitor ought to know entirely what they're getting into.

Which is a bit of a shame really, because the quality of most of these games--both the storytelling in the visual novel side and the gameplay in the genre crossover side--is usually superb. It's just hard to explain to friends why you're fighting high-energy robot battles one moment and getting jiggy with the game's heroine(s) the next.

Nonetheless, I'll probably check out the movies at some point. It's a shame they aren't offering a taikenban for download though--that's such a good way to gauge the quality of a game, and something Japanese PC game developers are consistently good at doing.

[CIT Seven Force]

The song on the main page is really good, but when I listened to the OST samples it was totally different and pretty lame stuff. The game looks very interesting though. I'm getting more interested in novel games, and am looking forward to trying out Machi soon.

[layzee]

At the moment I'm having trouble finding a place to preorder this game, a place that must also offer PayPal as a payment method.

I so sad.

For a moment there, I thought that this was actually going to be an all-ages game, until I looked through the CG sample screens.

Haha yes, Lost Child is a bit (or a lot?) of a H game. There's other reasons to like this game though! (artwork, music, etc...) I assume the story will be top notch, but that will be lost on me, seeing how I understand minimal Japanese.

Nonetheless, I'll probably check out the movies at some point. It's a shame they aren't offering a taikenban for download though--that's such a good way to gauge the quality of a game, and something Japanese PC game developers are consistently good at doing.

What's a "taikenban" may I ask?

The song on the main page is really good, but when I listened to the OST samples it was totally different and pretty lame stuff. The game looks very interesting though. I'm getting more interested in novel games, and am looking forward to trying out Machi soon.

Yeah, I love that vocal song. It's called "tamashii no something" or "Wail of Soul".

I assure you however, that the original soundtrack(s) are excellent. Or at least good. From my limited knowledge, the game consists of classical/atmospheric music composed by "kt2" and synth rock by the former doujin game music artist "S.S.H". More info is in my GameFAQs link in my first post if anyone's interested.

[Greatsaintlouis]

At the moment I'm having trouble finding a place to preorder this game, a place that must also offer PayPal as a payment method.

Try Himeya. Even if they don't have it in stock, they're really good about ordering things. I wouldn't expect it to be cheap, though--Japanese computer games are ridiculously expensive for some strange reason. Of course, importers like Himeya have their markup, but the starting prices are almost always high to begin with.

Haha yes, Lost Child is a bit (or a lot?) of a H game. There's other reasons to like this game though! (artwork, music, etc...) I assume the story will be top notch, but that will be lost on me, seeing how I understand minimal Japanese.

Although I've never tried anything by this developer, games in the visual novel genre--despite the nudie bits--tend to have really, really good stories. I think a lot of the H-content is almost just a throwback to the roots of the genre, when that was what the games were all about. It's pretty unnessicary in the vast majority of the games, and some of the bigger publishers will actually offer both all-ages and 18+ versions of their games, a move that illustrates the sheer frivolity of the adult scenes.

What's a "taikenban" may I ask?

A trial or demo edition of a game. In this genre, it's so common as to almost be expected that a developer will release a trial for their game.

The game looks very interesting though. I'm getting more interested in novel games, and am looking forward to trying out Machi soon.

If the visual novel genre interests you, you might want to check out insani's homepage. They're a small group that does translations of commercial game demos and some full-length doujin titles as well. They've also published a good number of doujin translations by other individuals. They've translated one full game, that being Key's planetarian ‾reverie of a little planet‾, which I highly recommend. The translated demo can be downloaded from their site, and the full game can be purchased as an online download to the paltry tune of some 1050 yen.

Also one to keep an eye on is Haeleth's site, home of the (near-finished) English translation of Key's Kanon. It also boasts one of the larger English-speaking forums dedicated to the genre, and as such is a good place to ask questions.

EDIT: So, what's broken with the quote tags? A blind quote works just fine, but attempts to quote a specific individual result in the broken text above.

[layzee]

A trial or demo edition of a game. In this genre, it's so common as to almost be expected that a developer will release a trial for their game.

Ah in that case, yeah I've got a playable demo CD (‾600MB) of this. It doesn't seem to be available on any Japanese gaming website I've seen, so you'd probably have to search through JP P2Ps or eMule.

I certainly like it enough to buy the full version. d:)

[Darkchii]

Cool, someone else who's looking forward to this game, Ive been folowing this game for over a year now and I can't wait to get it!

You can preorder it at himeya but if I recall its 95$, ouch...

The soundtrack it amazing one of my favorites, its very Guilty Gear'ish and rocking!

Layzee - is there a way that you could share me that demo? (yousendit or something) Ill make it worth it for you im ready to open up my jap pc collection so we could make a fair trade.

[layzee]

Cool, someone else who's looking forward to this game, Ive been folowing this game for over a year now and I can't wait to get it!

You can preorder it at himeya but if I recall its 95$, ouch...

Wow, you're probably the first I've seen that has at least been following the game. And believe me, I've been posting to many forums. (:

Yeah, that's definitely pricey... Amazon JP has it for considerably less though, about 7000yen if I remember correctly.

Layzee - is there a way that you could share me that demo? (yousendit or something) Ill make it worth it for you im ready to open up my jap pc collection so we could make a fair trade.

Yeah, I'll be happy to upload it to you. I have only 5kb/s (note: kilobytes) so the only way I can upload is for you to create an FTP upload account which lets me resume. Or I can create a download account for you to download it from me (but I am not online 24/7).

If that's okay, then shoot me your list! (:

[Greatsaintlouis]

Amazon is almost always cheaper than Himeya. However, you will never get a game from Amazon for the Amazon price.

They're good about shipping books if you don't mind a slight markup in the shipping department (and don't mind that you can't buy used), but they take export restrictions to other extremely seriously, to the point where they will NOT sell you PC software or even music CDs (!) if you live outside of Japan. Of course, you can have a middleman such as Akibado.com order and ship to you, but by the time you're done paying their fees (which are less than the infamous Rinkya and Celga, but still), you might as well have ordered it straight from Himeya.

[layzee]

Thanks for the tip GSL. They don't accept PayPal anyway.

Looks like I might have to go around forums and ask someone living there to buy it for me.