Top 8 Import Games I Still Want To Play

Welcome all to another edition of The 8 Ball! Yes, I’m back! After an unscheduled, extended visit to my mom’s house, I’m back home, with an actual computer/keyboard, so I can actually put out this article. A month ago, I was going to talk about PS1 soundtracks, and I’ll still do that, but I wanted to do this import games list instead, especially since I just got a fun new console to play import games on, a PS2 Debugging Unit. So now I’ve been getting a few games for that, and it has been enjoyable. This is more a list of import games that interest me the most and not a “best of” by any means. With that said, let’s begin:

#8: Rival Schools/Project Justice

I should be clear when I say this: “Yes”, I know that both Rival Schools and Project Justice did get North American releases. However, both releases omitted important features. The original Rival Schools had a separate mode that was called “Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki” but what they translated to be “School Life”. Basically, you would create your own character, have them befriend other RS characters, learn their moves, etc. Think of the World Tour mode from Street Fighter 6, as an idea. Project Justice, on the other hand, featured a board game also called Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki, and involved you moving your created character around a board game to get new skills/powers. I’d love it if, A. Rival Schools was actually included in that “Capcom Fighting Collection 2” thing they just announced, and B. If they translated both modes to be the definitive versions of each games.

#7: Michigan: Report from Hell

“Michigan: Report from Hell” is an odd little game with, as someone who lives in Michigan, a pretty appropriate title, even if the game does all take place in Chicago. This is basically a second person game, where you are the camera man of a newscast, as a reporter and her team is sent to check out a crashed plane in Lake Michigan. This leads to a strange fog that turns people into monsters, with you, as the camera man, giving focus on enemies and things to do in the game levels. It’s a lot like that “Lifeline” game that came out a few years prior, only without the horrible voice control interface. It probably wouldn’t have been a big hit, but I do still like the idea of second person games.

#6: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Saturn)

Again, like with Rival Schools/Project Justice, Castlevania: SOTN obviously came out in America. However, there was a little known/somewhat busted port of it on the Sega Saturn that is still pretty hard to find. The notable addition to this port was that you could play from Maria. Now, the PSP version of Dracula X Chronicles also had Maria that was playable, but she was different. In DXC, she used various animals to attack foes, like owls and cats and stuff. In the Saturn version, she uses kicks to attack foes and has various magic spells to cause damage. To my knowledge, the “original” version of Maria has never been playable outside of the Japanese Sega Saturn release.

#5: Terranigma

Nerds, far higher in level than I am, speaking Terranigma is hushed tones, same as they do with Mother 3. I never played Soul Blazer or Illusion of Gaia, so this third game in the franchise was pretty unknown to me. However, watching gameplay of it, it seems pretty cool. It’s almost like a more RPG-ish version of Legend of Zelda: LttP, where you have a fat level number on the screen and have to grind experience if you get to a new area, but the combat is a lot more free-ranged and action-oriented than the usual RPG fare of the time. This game did get translated into English, considering it came out in PAL regions but to this date, it’s never officially made its way to American shores, not even with a re-release or on an emulation service.

#4: Namco X Capcom

This has been a Japanese game I’ve wanted to play for quite a while. It’s basically a strategy game mashup with Capcom and Namco characters, with two new created characters teaming up with N/C guys, to take down a bad guy, or girl in this case. Basically, it’s the story of Kingdom Hearts, but with the gameplay of almost Disgaea. You move characters on a square grid and face off against other units. However, when you attack, you have to do specific button inputs for the attack to actually land, like the Hadouken direction inputs. There is also a timing mechanic to the battles, meaning it’s a bit more involved than most strategy games. There actually is a pretty good English patched version of this game floating around online, so you can see video of it.

#3: Pepsiman

Yes, everyone’s favorite beverage-based superhero actually did get a video game on the PS1. Pepsiman, the game, is actually what a prototypical endless runner game, which clog up mobile phones these days. As Pepsiman, you have to run along various levels, avoiding hazards, picking up Pepsi cans, all to reach the end vending machine where you bring Pepsi to the masses. You really only have a jump, slide, and boost move at your disposal and the whole game is about you avoiding all the things in the levels that can damage you. This is actually a very import friendly game but it is getting a bit more expensive over the years.

#2: Shin Megami Tensei: Nine

SMT: Nine is one of the few, relatively big, SMT games that never made it out in Japan. Hell, “Jack Bros.” on the Virtual Boy in North America, but no English release of Nine. From what I can tell, Nine does carry a lot of the usual SMT stuff: negotiating/fusing demons, exploring a fictional version of Japan, the usual spells and such. But there is a very heavy cyberspace bent to this game, like with Digital Devil Saga, but you’re fighting entirely within a wireframe-looking arena and there is a lot of text on the screen. I imagine this game would be a real bear to translate but it’s always fascinated me as one of the few SMT games that wasn’t able to come out over here, likely due to all the work that would be needed to translate it.

#1: Mizzurna Falls

About the closest analog I can think of when it comes to Mizzurna Falls, is either Deadly Premonition or Shenmue. Like with both those games, there is a day/night schedule that you must adhere to. Every action takes a certain amount of time, and you not only have to investigate the disappearance in town, but have to keep yourself healthy by eating/sleeping, and keeping your car fueled up. It even has townspeople schedules, per day, like Majora’s Mask, so you can keep track of where everyone is, in a given time. It’s one of the few, really open games on the PS1 and helped later games like GTA 3 and Yakuza.

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For comments, list which import games you’d like to play and why.

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Top 8 PlayStation 1 Soundtracks