I can sympathize with both sides of the argument on this one. Rarely
has a system been more frustrating than the FX. from being seriously
underused, underappreciated (Mr. Nanto's work almost completely makes
up for that though), to being overpriced in its afterlife and now to
being rare as hell on japanese game shelves...it's just plain unfair.
A lot of the good stuff is unfortunately ridiculously expensive, hard
to come by, and , in many cases, difficult to play. ebay leeches don't
help our cause either. however, i have been on good terms with the FX
for a long time and i can tell you the following:
-it makes no apologies for what it is: a system designed to play sprite
and anime-based games which appealed to anime/manga fans.
-it tried in every way (to its premature death) not to be all things
for all people and it isn't
- there is a continuity of the PCE felt here. Dragon Knight, JB
Harold, Power League, Yuna and a few others are all represented on the
FX.
-some of its great games are easily the most affordable.
i will give you a list (with approximate prices) of games i think
you should all have some of which rarely get mentioned-(i will leave
out the RPGs since the original poster doesn't like them)
Team Innocent- yeah, everyone has heard of it but have you gone through
it completely? if you've read my review for hudsonent.com on it, then
you have some idea of how underappreciated this game is. easily a top
15 title about should be bought for never EVER more than $18 (have seen
it for lots less though worth a little more if you are having a tough
time finding it).
ChipChap Kick- overpriced at $90-$110 and sometimes more, but it's a
very fun 2-player game for the FX. my wife enjoyed this one more than
any other on the console. it's not the longest game in the world but
it's very fun to replay in the way that, for me at least, buster
brothers was fun to start over after beating. it screams arcade-feel
and has a great sense of humor. try to buy it without the spine card
to get it for less.
Super Power League FX- most pc engine owners must have at least one
incarnation of the first five baseball games in the series. the final
installment went to the FX instead of the PCE. it's not a
ground-breaking title but solid through and through and, though
sometimes tough to find, very cheap and worth having. it's also one of
the few 2-player games. max $16
Return to Zork- i personally love this kind of game (think Myst). as
good as any version on any other system and usually goes for about $10.
easy to play and takes a long time to beat.
Battle Heat- check out aaron's page for more on this one. it still
impresses me today. a little repetitive but lots of fun in 2-player
mode. great color and animation. this anime FMV fighter was basically
what the FX was built to do. $10 sounds about right to me for this one.
Tengai Makyou Karakuri Kakutouden- basically, this one is a vast
improvement in every way over battle heat. similar gameplay but just
better. i've seen it almost every time for $20 (sans auctions)
Power Dolls FX- the japanese menus have a slight learning curve but
this military strategy game is a solid title. the graphics are sharp
and the maps are good. i haven't finished it yet (i lost my original
memory pack ages ago and have to restart) but i had fun with this one.
about $15 is more than enough to get it.
Deep Blue Fleet is another anime based game. the japanese menus take
more time on this one than power dolls FX but this naval-strategy title
is long and very good. the japanese will put you off at first and i
can't remember if there is a menu translation yet but you can bet it's
coming. this summer, i've started working with sarah bessmer on
translating an RPG called miraculum. it seems the FX is finally
getting some attention in that all-too-important fan-effort column.
anyway, this game is usually about $5-$10.
Niregends is by the longest way imagineable the most underrated game on
the FX. people just don't know it. it features excellent graphics and
, though it has some RPG elements (i wouldn't think of this as an RPG
though) a very unique layout. it's gotten tough to come by and i
haven't seen it cheap for a long time but i think it's a surprisingly
welcome game in any collection. my guess, $60
Blue Chicago Blues is a game in the JB Haorld series which we got here
in the US on the Turbo. a good game and pretty cheap though sometimes
hard-to-find. maybe $15-$20
Zeroigar and Zenki- two excellent games- without question. stupidly
underproduced and unfairly overpriced. the loser selling zenki at $350
on you-know-where is clearly looking to hurt someone, imo. but,
believe me, they are both fun games. zeroigar has usually gone in
akihabara for $100 while zenki has been $200...searching will get them
for less.
my advice is to start with the other cheaper games and search in the
meantime for the more pricey titles. it may take years but hey, you
have other games to play too, right?
as for the RPGs, they really are the jewels of the system:
Dragon Knight
Miraculum
Der Langrisser (awesome)
Last Imperial Prince (still one of my fave FX games)
Farland Story
Boundary Gate
Blue Breaker
are some of the RPGs on the system. i would recommend almost any
RPG for the FX (Blue Breaker is a little simplistic but still a good
play). the Angelique games and AkaZukin ChaCha games are usually cheap and
easy to find. AkaZukin is a good little title. Wakusei Little Cats
isn't a bad one either.
anyway, the SGX -FX thing is an interesting issue. i say that with
$200-$300, you can get all five SGX games and with the same amount, get
15 solid FX games (more or less depending on what you buy. sans
zenki,zeroigar, and chip chap kick, you can get over 20 easily.
forgetting the SGX' PCE comptibility, the FX is a better buy. there is
a lot on there you will never see on another console or, perhaps, ever
again. i like my SGX but i like my FX more.