Many more Korean games

EDIT: See the next Posts



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2010 09:30AM by derboo.

OK, I found a bunch of more stuff. I'll list everything not in the database so far. I can provide screenshots for most of these some time next week.

Sherlock Holmes 1
셜록호움즈 1탄
Developer/Publisher: Clover
Year: 1987
Language: Korean
MSX1
(no screenshots)

Django
장고
Developer/Publisher: Prosoft
Year: 1988
MSX1

Bobble Bobble 2
Developer/Publisher: Prosoft
Year: 1988
MSX1

Space War 3
제3차 우주대전쟁
Developer/Publisher: Aproman
Year: 1988
MSX1
(no screenshots)

Future Boy Conan
미래소년 코난
Developer/Publisher: Topia
Year: 1989
MSX2

For the Day
그날이 오면
Developer/Publisher: Mirinae
Year: 1989
MSX2, Disk, MSXMusic
(probably unreleased, but there's screenshots available)

Knuckle Joe
Developer/Publisher: Prosoft
Year: 1989
MSX1

New Neoguri
뉴 너구리
Developer/Publisher: Prosoft
Year: 1989
MSX1
(remake of the arcade game Ponpoko)

Hong Gildong
홍길동
Developer/Publisher: Saeron
Year: 1990

Some missing original titles for games in the database:

Hello Zombie/Hello Kangshi: 헬로우 강시
Ti Ti Pang Pang: 띠띠!빵빵!
Legendly Knight: 대마성
Koedoli: 꾀돌이
Brother Adventure: 형제의 모험
Double Dragon: 더블 드라곤
New Bubble Bobble: 뉴 보글보글
Super Boy I: 슈퍼보이 I
Super Boy II: 슈퍼보이 II
The Three Dragon Story: 용의 전설


Some corrections:
Koedoli was developed by Mickey Soft, but published by Aproman.
What is listed as "Hello Zombie" in the database was officially advertised in English letters with the title "Hello Kangshi", which should be added at least as an alternative, if not the main title. It was developed in 1989.
Super Bioman 4 is not by Zemina, but a company named Segye-ro Electronics.
Tetris listed under Zemina is actually by Uttum



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2010 09:32AM by derboo.

Thanks for all this info. I added all information you gave. Can you please provide those screenshots? (If possible, please make screenshots with an MSX emulator (like openMSX or blueMSX), after dumping the ROM, this gives much better image quality than a photograph of a monitor/TV.)

Please check all information again, I may have made some mistakes. Also, if you have more information (game genre, for example), please let us know.

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2010 02:46PM by Manuel.

I'm attaching screenshots with this post. Sorry, most screenshots (with the exception of Knuckle Joe) are from old magazines, so I can't get better ones (I'm trying to hunt some of those games down, but it ain't easy).

I also added the cover image for Uttum's Tetris version. I can also upload some advertisement images of other games if wanted.

I hope all the file names are self-explaining enough, please ask if something is unclear.


Here's some more information I could find:

Genres
Django: Lightgun Shooter (Didn't find that in the genre list)
Knuckle Joe: Arcade
Hong Gildong: Platformer
Future Boy Conan: Described as an Action RPG (btw. it's also a mega rom game, I forgot to mention)
For the Day: Shoot 'em Up/Horizontal (part II should also be changed to this. the database entry now lists also PSG for music, but the advertisement doesn't list that, only MSX-Music. I also got confirmation that it is indeed unreleased)

I noticed some other entries in the database contain the original price tags for games, here's some prices I know:

Sherlock Holmes 1: 8500 Won
Hong Gildong: 12000 Won
Tetris 2 (Prosoft): 12000 Won
Brother Adventure: 10000 Won
Koedoli: 10000 Won
New Bubble Bobble (Zemina): 10000 Won
Legendly Knight: 30000 Won
Hello Zombie: 10000 Won
Devil Zone (Disk Version): 9000 Won
Devil Zone (Megarom Version): 30000 Won
Tetris (Uttum): 12000 Won
New Neoguri: 12000 Won
For the Day 2: 24500 Won


I also noticed there are some games declared as "clone of ...", although they contain a bit much own elements to be considered as such, namely Legendly Knight and The Three Dragon Story.


And, finally, info on some more software (screenshots are also in the zip-file):

L3W
Developer/Publisher: Screen Software
Year: 1990
Genre: Puzzle
Price: 12000 Won

Tetris
Developer/Publisher: Saeron
Year: 1990
Genre: Puzzle

Seulgidori
슬기돌이
Developer/Publisher: Deoksan Gyoyeok
Year: 1990
Genre: Educational
4 Mega Rompack



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2010 07:07PM by derboo.

I have processed all your information, feel free to send more info and corrections! :)

Thanks a lot!!!!!

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

Only a few small things this time.

I found out when Won-Si-In was released, which was in 1991.
Same goes for Clover's Super Bros. World 1, released in 1991.


One new game, Sky Fighter by Clover from 1990. I'm attaching a screenshot of the title screen.


I currently have strong doubts about the following Zemina games:

Alla II
Soko
Strange Loop
Star Soldier
Tatica
Volguard

I got a magazine add from 1991 that contains pretty much all of Zemina's own games released since then except those above (and Brother Adventure, but that was probably considered outdated at that time). It strikes me as odd coincidence that those are exactly the games absolutely no information can be found on.

Star Soldier, Tatika and Volguard are Japanese games released before July 1987, so by contemporary Korean law they could be copied and sold with hacked copyrights, if they exist, they fall most likely in that category (and games like that are listed as alternate releases to the Japanese games in the database).

There's absolutely nothing on the other games, but sometimes hacked games got name changes also.

Alla could be an odd misreading of Salamander II, which was sold by Zemina. However, it is not sure whether it was programmed by them, or just a renamed hacked game by another company.

Is there any record of how these entries came into the database? If not, I'd suggest deleting them until it can be confirmed if they exist and/or are hacks of other games.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2010 04:00PM by derboo.

Thanks.

Strange Loop is also a Japanese game.

What is Salamander II supposed to be??? It doesn't exist on MSX, as far as I know. If you have any info about that, please let me know.

Anyway, I have no idea where those "duplicate" Zemina entries came from. If they are indeed the same as the Japanese originals, they should be makred as such, I completely agree.

Maybe we should delete them until things become clear? Sandy, what do you think?

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

I did some searching on Salamander II, and found a Korean MSX site that claims it is actually Gofer no Yabou Episode II / Nemesis 3. That game was originally released in 1988, so Zemina couldn't have just copied and officially advertised it. So they'd have to license it. That is curious because it would be the only game they did this for.

EDIT: Checked back with the database, and it is already listed as a release for that game, which contains box shots to confirm everything. The box actually explicitly states that it is sold in accordance with Konami.


Maybe worth adding Salamander II (사라만다 II in Korean) as an alternate title for Nemesis 3?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2010 10:24PM by derboo.

Done... Any more stuff? :) Keep it coming, very interesting.

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

All I got left for now are sole screenshots for two games in a Clover ad. I guess a game would need a title for it to be entered into the database?


This got left out:

derboo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Same goes for Clover's Super Bros. World 1,
> released in 1991.

OK, thanks, updated that as well.

And yes, a title is kind of mandatory :) Maybe those ads are of games which already are in the database, even?

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

Hard to tell, one looks like a kind of memory game, the other seems to show a score summary or something like that...

I found the source of those Zemina games: they were reviewed in the Dutch MSX magazine "MSX Computer Magazine" issue 47. At that time, they were imported by Dutch "MSX Centrum" from Korea. I suppose they didn't really know the full/real titles and they also didn't seem to know that some were already released in Japan earlier.

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

Oh, the only mysterious entry from it is "Alla II", which is described as:
- MSX1 game
- blocky graphics
- flickering sprites
- stuttery scrolling
- reminds of Hudsonsoft (But I can't find a game which looks like it)
- very simple platform game
- player has sword and can jump
- first screen shows enemies which make your life hard
- once in a while a wizard suddenly pops up throwing fire balls at you
- first level is only 2 screens big
- only hit and evade
- enemies and player move very fast, making it very hard

It also comes with a screenshot of the game (in black and white). I attached it. The screenshot of the other games just confirm they are the Japanese games released under Zemina label (or so the article says, maybe they just wrote Zemina for all Korean releases...)

Any idea what game Alla II is???

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

Ah, n_n found it, it's just Sinbad by Casio! :) I'll add it as an extra release, just like the others. See [www.generation-msx.nl]

Then, another one I found in a much later issue of this magazine: Super Penguin. Screenshot attached. Can you tell more?

The article says:
- not really a MegaROM, only 32kB
- game is a platform game like Super Boy series
- should work on MSX1...

These are all a bit strange, because the box says MSX2 and MegaROM...!

Thanks...

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

The serial number strongly suggests that it (Super Penguin) was sold by SIECO (SI-, four numbers & a letter, same format as a SIECO Master System game I own).

The labels don't make complete sense, anyway, as it is advertised for Zemmix (which would mean MSX1) and MSX2. Maybe it meant that it ALSO runs on MSX2...

Art is stolen by Penguin Adventure, but that doesn't quite fit the description. I've seen the title before, but it was never more than a name in a catalogue.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2010 06:09PM by derboo.

Manuel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> (or so the
> article says, maybe they just wrote Zemina for all
> Korean releases...)

Korean releases of pre-July87-games are a bit of a mess. Usually the same games would be "released" by Zemina, Clover, Uttum, Prosoft, and others, all with their individual labels.

It seems the Centrum-Deal was with Saehan Sangsa directly, though, so it is very likely that all the games they sold were Zemina-releases.

Ah, how did you find out about the MSX-Centrum deal details??

And what is Saehan Sangsa exactly?

Do you think I should add an entry for Super Penguin?

Grtjs, Manuel

PS: MSX FOR EVER! (Questions? [faq.msxnet.org] )
PPS: Visit my homepage at [manuel.msxnet.org]

It was reported in a Korean Computer magazine (the story appeared in 1991, but it said the stuff was shipped in July 1990), stating Saehan Sangsa as the seller.

I'm not 100% sure of the relationship between Saehan Sangsa and Zemina. Some sources suggests that Zemina was part of Saehan, but it could also have been some kind of publishing partnership. All Zemina covers from 1988 and after I've seen have their name in Korean next to the Zemina-Logo. Older releases looked different, though (see attachment).

Not too sure about Super Penguin. So far there are no facts to prove that it was an original game, and with old Korean stuff, "benefit of the doubt" doesn't quite apply. If it was released after 1990, then there's still a slim chance for me to find something about it, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 03:42AM by derboo.