What CD's to get?

[Vimtoman]

What are the best CD's for the PC Engine?

I've played most Shooters but what else is out there thats worth playing?

[NecroPhile]

All of them!

Sampling the clunkers is the only way to really appreciate the gems. 

[tbone3969]

Dracula X, Dragon Slayer, Double Dragon 2

[CrackTiger]

You have to get fairly specific about what you like and don't like and how much you can handle as far as playing Japanese heavy games.

There's no point in putting together a long list of RPGs if you'll later say you can't play them.

[GohanX]

Without knowing your preferences I'll just list my go-to cds, in no particular order:

Dracula X
Sapphire
Gate of Thunder
Forgotten Worlds
Ys (any of them)
Splash Lake
Monster Lair
Gradius II

[Otaking]

If you're not including shooters the other CD games that are absolutely mandatory to own are Dracula X and Ys Book 1&2. There's a shit ton more but those two should be your first stop. 

[Vimtoman]

I guess the games with heavy Japanese text are out.
Not keen on turn based games.

[Trenton_net]

Is price going to be an issue for you?

Double Dragon II
Bazaaru de Gozaaru no Geemu de Gozaaru
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (AKA River City Ransom)
Faussete amour
Dracula X (of course!)

etc, are all pretty awesome games in my book. I'm sure there are much more, but I can't think of any at the moment.

[PukeSter]

If you like vigilante or ninja warriors snes, you must play Kaze Kiri

River City Ransom is also pretty good, but also expensive

[tbone3969]

Is price going to be an issue for you?

Double Dragon II
Bazaaru de Gozaaru no Geemu de Gozaaru
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (AKA River City Ransom)
Faussete amour
Dracula X (of course!)

etc, are all pretty awesome games in my book. I'm sure there are much more, but I can't think of any at the moment.

I always wanted to check out that River City Ransom PC Engine game.  How Japan text heavy is it?  In other words do you need to know Japanese to play it?

[PukeSter]

Is price going to be an issue for you?

Double Dragon II
Bazaaru de Gozaaru no Geemu de Gozaaru
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (AKA River City Ransom)
Faussete amour
Dracula X (of course!)

etc, are all pretty awesome games in my book. I'm sure there are much more, but I can't think of any at the moment.

I always wanted to check out that River City Ransom PC Engine game.  How Japan text heavy is it?  In other words do you need to know Japanese to play it?

As long as you have beat the original you won't need any Japanese at all.

However, the grand slam is a different price and in a different store.

It helps even more if you play the translated famicom version before.

[Vimtoman]

I like the look of Bazaaru de Gozaaru no Geemu de Gozaaru and Double Dragons.

Any other descent platformers.

[Otaking]

Rainbow Islands is a really good CD platformer.

[WoodyXP]

Everything already mentioned are good recommendations. 

Nexzr is also a good shooter, but a bit expensive.  Art of Fighting is a great ACD port, it's cheap and good to have if you don't already have it on another system.

I might take some heat for this, but I really enjoy Riot City/Crest of Wolf.  If you like cheesey arcade style beat'em ups you might like it as well.

Most of the good CD games cost a good chunk of change, so download and emulate before you throw down the money.

Edit: Forgot to mention Gain Ground SX.  My favorite game on the system.  Check it out.

[o.pwuaioc]

Valis series gets a lot of love. Buster Bros/Pang is another I'd recommend.

[Gao]

I like the look of Bazaaru de Gozaaru no Geemu de Gozaaru and Double Dragons.

Any other descent platformers.

Shubibinman 3 is pretty good, and you only need Japanese knowledge if you care about the plot.  Bakushou Yoshimoto Shinkigeki is pretty amusing as well.  It's based on a comedy show, and while you'll miss out the on the spoken jokes, there are plenty of visual gags, and you'll figure out the minigames.  Just be warned that both of these games are pretty short.

[shawnji]

I'm going to throw the first three Cosmic Fantasy games and Gulliver Boy out there.  They're all extremely straightforward, yet fun RPGs and are some of the cheaper CD games on the market.  Even for those who don't know Japanese, the animated HuVideo cutscenes make Gulliver Boy a fun game to pop in and show to people who are curious about the PC Engine. 

Tengai Makyo II is really good for showing off the CD audio, as Joe Hisaishi, famed Ghibli film composer, did the music.  Still, I'd probably skip it if you can't read enough to play through it.  It's a lot less transparent about where to go and what to do than the other RPGs I mentioned.

[CrackTiger]

I'm going to throw the first three Cosmic Fantasy games and Gulliver Boy out there.  They're all extremely straightforward, yet fun RPGs and are some of the cheaper CD games on the market.  Even for those who don't know Japanese, the animated HuVideo cutscenes make Gulliver Boy a fun game to pop in and show to people who are curious about the PC Engine. 

Tengai Makyo II is really good for showing off the CD audio, as Joe Hisaishi, famed Ghibli film composer, did the music.  Still, I'd probably skip it if you can't read enough to play through it.  It's a lot less transparent about where to go and what to do than the other RPGs I mentioned.

He isn't interested in games with a language barrier.

The Cosmic Fantasy games are not extremely straightforward if you aren't fluent in Japanese and not even if you have some basic skills.

I believe that Joe Hisaishi only did one or two tracks in TMII. But TMII is one of the best Japanese-only PCE RPGs for English players to play through as it has an English walkthrough.

[Vimtoman]

Cheers Guy's
Plenty to look at.
Is there anything like Legend of hero Tonma or jackie chan on CD.
They play pretty good.

I've bought a few thing from Noppin but they place the correct value on the box so I've been stung on import Tax

Do US Cd's work on a Japanese model?

[NecroPhile]

Yes, CDs are region free (both ways).

[EmperorIng]

Hiho Densetsu: Kris no Boken
(sometimes spelled Hihou Densetsu: Chris no Bouken etc.)

It's a sidescrolling action platformer that can be had cheap. It's not bad. The cutscenes have extremely amatuerish, poorly-drawn anime art, but it's fun to watch all of the characters constantly change proportions. The action itself is not bad (kind of a poor man's Daimakaimura) and it has good redbook audio.

[PukeSter]

Cheers Guy's
Plenty to look at.
Is there anything like Legend of hero Tonma or jackie chan on CD.
They play pretty good.

I've bought a few thing from Noppin but they place the correct value on the box so I've been stung on import Tax

Do US Cd's work on a Japanese model?

Possibly Horror Story. It's auto scrolling though.

[CrackTiger]

Cheers Guy's
Plenty to look at.
Is there anything like Legend of hero Tonma or jackie chan on CD.
They play pretty good.

I've bought a few thing from Noppin but they place the correct value on the box so I've been stung on import Tax

Do US Cd's work on a Japanese model?

You might like these:

Horror Story
Fausette Amour
Monster Lair
Chiki Chiki Boys
Valis III, IV and Phantasm Soldier.

[NecroPhile]

Gotzendiener!  It's definitely flawed, but it's cheap enough to give a try (or a CDR).

[geise]

Without knowing your preferences I'll just list my go-to cds, in no particular order:

Dracula X
Sapphire
Gate of Thunder
Forgotten Worlds
Ys (any of them)
Splash Lake
Monster Lair
Gradius II

That is a damn fine list good sir. 

+1 to Valis and Buster Bros.

[shawnji]

He isn't interested in games with a language barrier.

The Cosmic Fantasy games are not extremely straightforward if you aren't fluent in Japanese and not even if you have some basic skills.

I believe that Joe Hisaishi only did one or two tracks in TMII. But TMII is one of the best Japanese-only PCE RPGs for English players to play through as it has an English walkthrough.

Oops, I had overlooked that post when I skimmed the thread.  I mostly view the site (and type my posts) from my cell phone, so it's easy to do.

I do have to say that I disagree on Cosmic Fantasy, though.  I have a personal friend who brute forced the first game with absolutely zero knowledge of Japanese and no help from me.  Granted, he's very patient with RPGs, especially older ones, but I still think it's relatively straightforward, regardless. 

Almost everything (in the first game at least) is strictly point A to point B.  If you talk to everyone in town and have any familiarity with a Dragon Quest-style menu, you will get through pretty easily.  Anyway, it's still not going to be appealing if you don't really enjoy playing RPGs without understanding the storyline, but it's still way more accessible than most other un-translated titles on the system if we're discounting walkthroughs.  I love the game (obviously, given my avatar), but it is really cookie-cutter in terms of progression and mechanics.  So is Tengai Makyou, honestly; but it also has a lot more, "Go talk to this person," or "Give this to this NPC," moments than I recall in Cosmic Fantasy.  Of course, it's a moot point if you have a walkthrough, but anyway... that's just my take on it.

As for Joe Hisaishi, I'm not sure where the one or two songs thing comes from, as everything I've read on Japanese sites seems to point to at least 10, if not more, tracks directly attributed to him.

I do want to add one other recommendation, which is Star Parodier.  It's a fun little cute-em-up, and not as terribly expensive as some other shooters.  If money isn't an obstacle, I'd say the Japanese version of Cotton or an English copy of The Dynastic Hero (although everyone except for me seems to prefer Monster World III) would be good choices.

[tknjin]

if price is not an issue I would recommend
Tenchi wo kurau(sequel was on both ps1 and SAT)
horror story

games that are still easy to obtain for a better price I would recommend
~L Dis
~hihou densetsu chris no bouken
~bikkuriman world for the hu card
~Seiya Monogatariwhile japanese is heavy, but there is a guide and one of the users "SamIAm" is also doing a translation is (one of the best looking rpgs for the Super CDrom)
~shockman 3
bonanza bros

This is just to name a few

The cdrom 2 game known as "daijiten" is not an english friendly game.  It definitely requires japanese knowledge and it is a quiz game.  Sorry for the recommendation, but the hu card game is a platformer, and that is very english friendly.

[Vimtoman]

Chiki Chiki Boys is pretty close, even has the delayed fall when you jump.
Is that a rare CD?

[tknjin]

Chiki Chiki Boys is pretty close, even has the delayed fall when you jump.
Is that a rare CD?

unfortunately it is not as easy to encounter anymore

[Sarumaru]

Check out Hihou Densetsu Chris no Bouken. Its a pretty rad action game.

[Vimtoman]

Yeah that looks Ok.

[Sarumaru]

I just noticed someone already mentioned Hihou Densetsu, my bad. Try out Mirai Shounen Conan, especially if you happen to be into Hayao Miyazaki shit. It's pretty fun.

[wildfruit]

Ys, Ys and more Ys
Panic bomber is Ok if you like dropping block puzzle games

[Psycho Punch]

Ys, Ys and more Ys

if you can find a decent priced copy
SOMEONE SELL ME YS ALREADY

[tbone3969]

Ys, Ys and more Ys

if you can find a decent priced copy
SOMEONE SELL ME YS ALREADY

Just burn it to a cdr and play.

[Psycho Punch]

I can't tbone, collectard blood runs through my veins. And my console doesn't like cdrs.

[tbone3969]

I can't tbone, collectard blood runs through my veins. And my console doesn't like cdrs.

Gotcha.  Good luck.  I wish I had a double cuz I'd let you have it.

[Gao]

Panic bomber is Ok if you like dropping block puzzle games

Panic Bomber is one of those games where I played it, thought that the block shapes didn't lend themselves to the chains the game wanted you to pull off as well as Puyo Puyo, Magical Drop, or Columns, but then couldn't put it down for hours.  Like I know intellectually that it's not a great puzzle game (though it's not a bad one at all), but it's weirdly addictive.

[EmperorIng]

I can't tbone, collectard blood runs through my veins. And my console doesn't like cdrs.

This feeling is strong in me as well, but every time Ys III comes up for auction, I think to myself "Do I *really* want to pay that much for Ys III of all games?" At least Oath in Felghana is a bit safer bet.

[CrackTiger]

I can't tbone, collectard blood runs through my veins. And my console doesn't like cdrs.

This feeling is strong in me as well, but every time Ys III comes up for auction, I think to myself "Do I *really* want to pay that much for Ys III of all games?" At least Oath in Felghana is a bit safer bet.

Zero Japanese skills are required to play Ys III and the PCE version has better packaging and voice acting.

Oath in Felghana is not the same game.

[wildfruit]

There's no excuse you should be able to get all 3 JP discs sub £15, maybe less if you look hard enough. That's worth it for the music alone.