Volume 3: Answers from the Readers. From Weekly Famitsu Magazine issue #1774

This month we collected answers from readers on the official Famitsu website and we've selected a few of them and have received comments from Toby!

Toby: I've waited a long time for English releases of Japanese RPGs in the past so it feels great to make the Japanese audience feel the same. Finally we're even! Oh actually, I think I'll stop releasing the Japanese version of DELTARUNE at the same time as the English version. So you'll all have to wait for it!!!! (Not really... That's a lie)

Enoshima: The game I've been waiting for a Japanese release of is a game called "Scott Pilgrim VS The World: The Game"I've become fond of the music but it's a game that hasn't been available in Japanese for years so it's become a race to see if it will release first or if I can learn enough English to handle it first.

Toby: That game's music is the best!! The band in charge of the music is called Anamanaguchi who have a unique style of blending chiptune sounds and rock music. Actually the song Hopes and Dreams from UNDERTALE took a lot of inspiration from them (and recently they even made a cover of Hopes and Dreams... It has the feeling that everything has come together!

By the way, the game is based on a comic and it's packed with many jokes about retro games. If you enjoy my columns then you'll be sure to get hooked!

Nakaden: The game didn't release in Japanese from when the trailer was shown 8 years ago until December of 2021. When I first played it I thought the foreshadowing was amazing and I actually cried the first time I finished it. When I heard that Toby made a song for the game I thought it would have been something like Noisemaster's theme, but Jolly CD was also very reflective of Omori's world view. It's a great song! You and OMOCAT seem to be good friends! They even inspired the character Wosha from UNDERTALE right? I would love to hear about how you too got to know each other!

Toby: OMOCAT came to my house once and I showed them my VHS collection. After that we went and sang "Cruel Angel Thesis"at karaoke! Lately together we worked on a song called "Skies Forever Blue"with Itoki Hana. The video was made in a hurry but it gives you an idea about what's possible when we combine our powers. It's on YouTube so please give it a look! Eat the combination of a cat and a dog's power!!! (*Toby begins meowing and chasing his tail at super speed.)

Sleeping Fish: This is more of an ongoing thing rather than a memory but for me it's Mortal Kombat. It's like a darker version of Street Fighter V so I really want to play it but I can't buy a Japanese version let alone the overseas version. (especially the PC version...) Why is such a popular game from overseas not available in Japan? Is there too much gore? Even though Japan has games like Sayonara o Oshiete, Linda³ and of course Resident Evil! For around 10 years I've wanted to play Mortal Kombat...

Toby: Huh?! The new Mortal Kombat games didn't come out in Japan?! The series has been a big hit in the states but has had plenty of controversies. There were plenty of parents who would scream about how it was too violent and about how they should take it off store shelves. The fatalities are super grotesque! There might be kids reading this so I won't go into details. A long time ago there was a version for the Super Nintendo but the fatalities were toned down, and the character's blood was turned into...Sweat! (lol)

Graphic violence in games is illegal in Japan isn't it... But don't be disappointed! Japan can still be the top dog when it comes to other sorts of borderline legal games! (*Toby wears a belt that says "KING OF ERO GAMES"on it.)

Aruru: I remember waiting for the Japanese release of VA-11 HALL-A. Because of UNDERTALE I've been immersed in playing smaller scale indie games, regardless of what language they're in. Even though it's in a different vein than Toby's game's as it's a visual novel, it also takes a lot of inspiration from Japanese games and it's game with a great story and references to internet culture. I also remember being rather impressed by the wonderful Japanese translation.

Toby: But that's not all! A talking dog with sunglasses is also in there!! Oh I mean uh, it's really a game that feels like a love letter to old Japanese games. I also felt the influence from Hideo Kojima's Snatcher and PC-98 games. (in an oldman voice) Have you youngins ever heard Ryu Umemoto's music?

Scope: I was quite annoyed that one of the games for the Super Nintendo that used the Super Scope, Metal Combat, wasn't released in Japan. I played the previous game "Super Bazooka"many times as a kid just to listen to the music. Of course the game itself is also interesting, from a glance it has a seemingly grim world but there's also characters who are comical and have a lot to say so that naturally really drew me in as a kid.

Most impressively, *I* was in charge of attacking with the Super Scope in the real world, while my partner Michael was in charge of piloting. I felt that without *me* the game world would cease to exist.

I grew up with those vivid memories and was shocked when I learned that there was a sequel and doubly shocked when I learned it wasn't released in Japan. I knew how hard it would be to get all that decades old hardware, including the Super Scope, and felt disappointed that I'll never be able to visit that world.

Since there's only just an overview of the game on the official Intelligent Systems website I read it while looking at the images imaging what the world was like, and I'm glad now that I've seen video of the game in action but that's also a bit lonely isn't it?

Toby: Wow, that's nice~ I want to be a pilot with Michael too! Do you think he'll join me? In all seriousness the robot bosses that show up in this game are super cool. It's one of the best games to play with the Super Scope right?!

I wonder what the Japanese developers feel about making such a masterpiece and not even being able to have it released in their country... Michael, let's play!

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