|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| | __NOTOC__ | | __NOTOC__ |
| | <center>[[Image:Pc9821_el0.gif|320px]]</center> | | <center>[[Image:Pc9821_el0.gif|320px]]</center> |
| − | <p align="center"><b><font size=4>-- The History and the Hunt --</font></b></p>
| |
| − | == Part I: Introducing the PC-9821 ==
| |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | The El-Hazard game first arrived on the PC-9821 personal computer. According to [http://www.nec.com/ NEC's website], the manufacturer of the computer system, the <i>"NEC PC9800 series are Japanese personal computers. This product is ONLY designed for and sold in Japanese domestic market."</i><br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | I originally thought this was a computer system strictly written for games. However, it appears to be a pretty vanilla computer line like anything else you'd buy from Intel-using, IBM-compatible lines. A quick history of all models is available at [http://www.jcec.co.uk/pc98_sys.htm this site] which specializes in trying to emulate some of these systems. However, for the curious, here's a quote from that page on specifically the PC-9821 to get a better idea about its hardware:<br><br>
| + | [[Image:Pc9821.jpg|thumbnail|A PC-9821 with NEC monitor]] |
| | + | The El-Hazard game was originally released for the PC-9821 Japanese personal computer, a machine similar to, but architecturally different from, a comparable MS-DOS-based PC of the time. For more information about the PC-98 series, check out the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEC_PC-9801 Wikipedia article]. |
| | | | |
| − | <i>"... The new model was named 'PC-9821' ... and had SVGA-level graphics (640x480 with 256 colours). Apart from graphics, this had CD-ROM, SCSI, 40MB of harddrive, and 4MB main memory. Since its CPU was i386SX, running Windows seemed to be bit annoying."</i><br><br>
| + | El-Hazard was apparently a highly anticipated game. Marketing for it had begun promptly and at least one full size advertisement poster for it was made. But it was a market failure; costing a surprisingly high price of 10,800 yen (~$100+ USD), it sold horribly, and only six months later was ported to the Sega Saturn video game console. Most likely this was an attempt to salvage the title with enhancements -- adding movies, full voice acting, and taking advantage of the Saturn's enhanced graphics processor. Even more promotional materials appeared in various publications, including such strange things as <i>"[[Media:jinnai_etc01a.jpg|Noble Mask of Jinnai the Dictator]]"</i>.<br><br> |
| | | | |
| − | Anyone who ever worked with a i386SX, like myself, will have a pretty good idea of what the power of this machine was. It's not incredibly high. Just having the "SX" version of the processor instead of the "DX" was a lower-price crippling effect. It does sound about right to run a less-than-Saturn version of El-Hazard, however. And this is what appeared to have happened.<br><br>
| + | [[Image:Pc9821_el3.gif|thumbnail|The PC-9821 version simulated 'The Wanderers' Opening sequence using still images.]]<br> |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| − | == Part II: El-Hazard for the PC-9821 is Released ==
| + | The gameplay is fairly simple; you navigate by selecting choices presented to you from a character's dialog shown against a still frame. Choices you make can affect the outcome of the story with several endings possible.<br><br> |
| − | <br>
| |
| − | El-Hazard was apparently a highly anticipated game. Marketing for it had begun promptly and at least one full size
| |
| − | advertisement poster for it was made. We have never seen it, it was only briefly mentioned on a Japanese auction
| |
| − | site.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | Alas, it was a market failure. It sold horribly and was overpriced. (Something around ~$100 USD on initial
| |
| − | release.) No clear reason for this was ever presented to us, but we suspect the primary failure on PC-9821 was simply
| |
| − | it was being sold to the wrong type of market. Specifically, the PC-9821 was well known for hentai games. And many
| |
| − | other sites seemed to have verified that perhaps 90% of all games made for PC-9821 were of this type. So for
| |
| − | El-Hazard to have a pretty vanilla release and a hefty pricetag probably made it falter in both directions.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | The | + | == Outer box == |
| − | Saturn version was released only six months after the PC-9821 game... this was probably some marketing scheme to try
| + | The game was shipped in a plastic box with a slip cover placed over it. This contained the game manual and CD-ROM disc inside its own separate jewel case. |
| − | to save the title be enhancing it -- adding movies, full voice acting, and taking advantage of the Saturn's enhanced
| |
| − | graphics processor -- and it must've at least got more dealers to buy it. After all, the Saturn game can be readily
| |
| − | purchased by a few import games resellers and surfaces on eBay every week or so. Even more promotional materials appeared in various publications, including such strange things as <i>"[[Media:jinnai_etc01a.jpg|Noble Mask of Jinnai the Dictator]]"</i>. Eventually the
| |
| − | Saturn title suffered generally the same fate as its brother, though in a more lingering fashion that still is present
| |
| − | today.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | == Part III: "We want this game!" ==
| + | <gallery> |
| − | <br> | + | Image:Pc9821_front.jpg|Front of box |
| − | The PC-9821 game eluded us
| + | Image:Pc9821_back.jpg|Back of box |
| − | for a very long time. What did it look like, minus all the proposed Saturn additions? How did it sound? It was
| + | Image:Pc9821_left.jpg|Left of box |
| − | supposed to be worse, we knew that, but we want to <i>know</i> how it was worse! But having nothing to go on, we
| + | Image:Pc9821_right.jpg|Right of box |
| − | eventually figured it wasn't really worth worrying about. It probably didn't even look all that different than the
| + | Image:Pc9821_openfront.jpg|Slip cover removed, open box front view |
| − | Saturn one anyway, right? But then...<br><br>
| + | Image:Pc9821_openfront.jpg|Slip cover removed, open box overhead view |
| | + | </gallery> |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_eh.jpg]]<br>
| |
| − | Our first glimpse came to us via a screenshot printed in halftones inside one of the artbooks. We noticed the obvious
| |
| − | differences; an interesting screen design -- often referenced as a "boxed in" effect by the very few who ever described
| |
| − | the title -- and party members on the left. (Entirely replacing the options screen?)<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_ehpcquiv.png]]<br>
| |
| − | For comparison, here's a shot from our PC version.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | The screenshot was nice, but it didn't tell us much. In fact, it certainly looked like a lower resolution than the
| + | == Miscellaneous contents == |
| − | Saturn, certainly cementing the "poorer graphics" concept. After all, the handdrawn art we came to love apparently
| + | Other items included inside are a software registration card, a small sticker, and a folded-up poster. |
| − | had been scaled down even moreso on the original than the Saturn. Or so we thought.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | == Part IV: "Why didn't someone tell us about this?!" ==
| + | <gallery> |
| − | <br> | + | Image:Pc9821_regcard-front.jpg|Front of registration card |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_regcard-back.jpg|Back of registration card |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_sticker.jpg|Some little sticker |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_poster.jpg|Included folded-up poster |
| | + | </gallery> |
| | | | |
| − | Futile internet searches that got us nowhere eventually caused us to give up looking until suddenly, on a random
| |
| − | abandoned El-Hazard character shrine, there appeared a simple stamped graphic...<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_enhanced.gif]]<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | Any casual browser would've ignored it, not seeing anything special about it. But it was a very important artifact to
| + | == Game manual == |
| − | be discovered. Of course, you'll notice it's the same Fujisawa standing proudly in the halftone screenshot! Someone
| + | The game's manual. |
| − | casually took it and then carelessly turned it into a logo! Note that the pixels are "real", so it's not a screenshot
| |
| − | from a foreign capture device that would've certainly blurred it, such as what might appear in a magazine or something.
| |
| − | This came from either the disc or a system that was actually running the game at the
| |
| − | time. Either way, someone owned it and was kind enough to provide this person with the graphic! Later on the site a
| |
| − | clean version was also found.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_cf2.gif]]<br><br>
| + | <gallery> |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-front.jpg|Manual front cover |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1.jpg|Manual page 1 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-23.jpg|Manual pages 2 and 3 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-45.jpg|Manual pages 4 and 5 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-67.jpg|Manual pages 6 and 7 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-89.jpg|Manual pages 8 and 9 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1011.jpg|Manual pages 10 and 11 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1213.jpg|Manual pages 12 and 13 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1415.jpg|Manual pages 14 and 15 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1618.jpg|Manual pages 16 and 17 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-1819.jpg|Manual pages 18 and 19 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-2021.jpg|Manual pages 20 and 21 |
| | + | Image:Pc9821_manual-back.jpg|Manual back cover |
| | + | </gallery> |
| | | | |
| − | Please note this is not the same as the Saturn version which looks like this:<br>
| |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_fujiwalk.gif]]<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | This temporarily refueled a desperate search for the game, but again we came up empty handed. Later, during a
| |
| − | non-related El-Hazard search using "El-Hazard" spelled out in Katakana, we came upon a single MIDI on a site of many
| |
| − | game MIDIs claiming to be from the PC-9821 game! Well, it certainly wasn't the same version as the equivalent one we
| |
| − | had done for our PC game! Once again, a small artifact had been left behind. (It turns out later that it <u>was</u> a
| |
| − | recomposition.) This fueled one more desperate round of searching using every misspelling of El-Hazard we could
| |
| − | think of, various combinations, and whatever else. But still, nothing. It wasn't until Tim decided to try just
| |
| − | searching for PC-9821 downloads that he accidently came across someone who was VERY RECENTLY (as of late October 2003)
| |
| − | giving away the CD to the PC-9821 version in several hundred RAR files.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | [http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr/ The site] is apparently a PC-9821 enthusiast site. (Note:
| + | == CD-ROM Jewel Case == |
| − | Check out some of their screenshot collections if you don't believe the part about the hentai games.) Apparently they
| + | The separate jewel case. |
| − | will schedule a period where they are distributing a particular CD, but only have bandwidth and/or space to do it
| |
| − | roughly 200 files at a time. Sadly, since this was only found in November by us, the El-Hazard distro was already 100
| |
| − | files in! We missed the first 100! Without those we'll never be able to complete the CD image! At this time, the
| |
| − | sour luck of the draw has not been solved, unfortunately. However, we DID get four new, full-color, actual-size
| |
| − | screenshots to finally see the game in its glory. Click on any to see the full size, unadulterated<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | It's funny. We knew the graphics would be dithered slightly to 256 colors. But no one told us that it ran in HIGH
| + | <gallery> |
| − | RESOLUTION. (640x480 vs. Saturn's 320x224!) Note the very unique interface with the interesting borders and
| + | Image:Pc9821_cdcase_frontback.jpg|Front and back of CD jewel case |
| − | decoration. While it may look like the background images are indeed smaller, they actually measure slightly LARGER
| + | Image:Pc9821_cdcase_inner.jpg|Inside CD jewel case |
| − | than the Saturn's full screen projection! I guess this would've been hinted if I had ever actually bothered
| + | Image:Pc9821_cdclose.jpg|Close-up of CD-ROM |
| − | beforehand to put the PC-9821 Fujisawa and the Saturn Fujisawa in close quarters before as seen above. Note how
| + | </gallery> |
| − | miniscule the Saturn version appears.<br><br>
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_el1.gif|320px]]<br>
| |
| − | Screenshot #1: This shot is pretty comparable to the Saturn version, ignoring all the borders and other PC-9821
| |
| − | specific stuff. [[Media:Pc9821_screen09.png|Equivalent shot from the PC
| |
| − | port]].<br><br>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_el2.gif|320px]]<br>
| |
| − | Screenshot #2: This image was during the intro, where we usually saw the video clip of Nanami talking to Makoto... just without the animation.
| |
| − | I can absolutely guarentee the background image being used here does
| |
| − | not exist in the Saturn version. (After all, I decoded all the graphics files!) This suggests that some graphics
| |
| − | from the PC-9821 version didn't make it to the Saturn version. Who knows what goodies may lie within? There are
| |
| − | several unused background images in the Saturn version, however, such as these:<br><br>
| |
| − | {| style="background-color: transparent"
| |
| − | | [[Image:Pc9821_EL0_01.png|100px|thumb|upright|EL0_01.B16]]
| |
| − | | [[Image:Pc9821_EL0_02.png|100px|thumb|upright|EL0_02.B16]]
| |
| − | | [[Image:Pc9821_EL0_04.png|100px|thumb|upright|EL0_04.B16]]
| |
| − | | [[Image:Pc9821_EL0_05.png|100px|thumb|upright|EL0_05.B16]]
| |
| − | | [[Image:Pc9821_EL1_01XJ.png|100px|thumb|upright|EL1_01XJ.B16]]
| |
| − | |}
| |
| − | <i>Notes: Normally, the ELx_yy.B16 files are a series within in a specific game chapter, specified by the "x" number
| |
| − | of the filename. It is lightly suspected only by us that the EL0's may be additional graphics intended to beef up the
| |
| − | Saturn version, but did not want to disturb the original order of the existing graphics. But this is only
| |
| − | speculation. The EL1_01XJ file has a regularly used background from Chapter 1, but there's never a moment where you
| |
| − | casually encounter Jinnai face-to-face as displayed. There's also a similar graphic in the Chapter 5 collection with
| |
| − | Jinnai standing in front of Ifurita's tomb. These were both possible PC-9821 or maybe just development hangovers
| |
| − | before they illustrated more detailed art for specific events.</i><br><br>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[Image:Pc9821_el3.gif|320px]]<br>
| |
| − | Unlike the Saturn Version, the PC-9821 version used a multi-panel intro that emulated the Wanderers First Opening
| |
| − | intro. The Saturn Version used an actual recording of the Wanderers Second Opening intro, complete with all the music
| |
| − | and sounds... and without the credits.<br><br>
| |
| | <sidebar> | | <sidebar> |
| | * The Game | | * The Game |
