Some images courtesy of Gradius Home World, a Gradius fan site. Another treasure from the old Konami Net DX mobile service, also another faithful port from the arcade. This game got several versions for various feature phones in Japan, starting with the simplified 2001 release that had a huge gap between the power bar and the lower edge of the screen. Then in 2003 an improved version was released, including a sound test option (hardware dependent) and a 'warming up' boot animation, but before that there was a version with 11 levels, four of which were exclusive. That version existed in the Western market for low-end Nokia phones. A year later, Konami released a fourth and definitive version for FOMA 900 feature phone series, with even better graphics and making it closer to the arcade original. This version was the base for the Chinese localization, first in 2005 with all levels split into seven JAR files due to hardware limitations at the time, and then in 2009 with the full version (the latter was distributed via China Mobile's Game Center). It should be noted that the Chinese version contains some minor inconsistences, such as the BGM for Volcano stage being played in all levels, but all the rest is the same, save for the sound test and the warming up animation which are absent for some reason.
This version runs on QVGA feature phones, I am preserving the SE S700 version because it has a faster framerate (noticeable on Nokia S40v5/6 phones) though it is labeled as a Nokia compatible version. Download (QVGA portrait): https://app.box.com/s/jf45x9wxylf306fxkqobufa3rp56ud5x UPDATE (QVGA landscape): https://app.box.com/s/uiaciqihtoxgqx1bfjmx8e6rxnkiojbh
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Almost two months of no updates to be honest. But, I am back with another obscure J2ME game from the east. In Japan, lots of industries (mainly gaming companies) tend to release stuff related or based on anime series or mangas, Dragon Ball for example. The game I have preserved here is based on one of the famous anime franchises in the 80's and 90's: Mobile Fighter G Gundam, which was licensed by Bandai for its Western localization. Bandai was acquired by Namco in 2005, and since then the company is known as Namco Bandai Holdings. A year later, they released a couple of games featuring various characters from the Gundam franchise, one of them got a Taiwanese release because it complied with J2ME's limitations. This one is a pretty interesting fighting game, with a total of 14 playable characters, seven for each story mode (four of them are unlockable by completing both story modes a few times), though a refreshed version was released in 2008 with an additional 'player vs player' mode via Bluetooth. It also includes a survival mode, a screen with information about each character and short cinematics before battles. The Taiwanese J2ME version was released in around 2009-2010, using the first version as base. You won't need to learn Chinese (it uses Traditional rather than the Simplified one) to play this game, unless you want to read all those text in the intro, Gundam info gallery and each of the cinematics. This game works on every feature phone that has a 240x320 display, even those with a landscape proportion, such as the Nokia C3-00.
Download: https://app.box.com/s/7heiqr0hceb0pz1mwwi6p4ts4d0njfvf From Konami's (now disappeared) Konami Net DX service, another port of an arcade game has been preserved. This time featuring soldiers, six levels and lots of action. Rush'n Attack (also known as Green Beret in Japan) had various ports that followed the arcade version in terms of levels, weapons and plot. However the Famicom version was somewhat superior because they added music, two more levels and even had its plot changed (objective was to destroy the enemy's secret weapon, while in the arcade original it was to rescue the POWs). Konami released a port for Japanese feature phones in 2006, basing it on the Famicom version. A health bar was also included, especially for those who find it difficult and want to explore the whole game. All the rest is the same: weapons, music, levels, etc. Konami China then released it in three parts for J2ME phones, each one had two levels (for some reason, this was done because most Western phones at the time were limited in terms of Java heap and maximum JAR size); though a second version with all levels was released later. It should be noted that the split Chinese release lacked the health bar, plus that its three JAR files had contents dated back to 2005, meaning that it was developed months before the Japanese release. The preserved game file is compatible with QVGA feature phones, even those with landscape displays. Originally it was 'copy protected' like Sina Mobile did with TwinBee, but this one has it fixed so you won't need their specialized JAD file to install.
Download: https://app.box.com/s/undezgfbr77g67o5dm2fudq0hlmhfxsq Today I am going to show another preserved game, though much more interesting due to its obscurity even during the pre-smartphone era. I guess some of you have ever heard or seen about Kemco, a company which was behind various platformers and RPGs released for consoles, even though their most known franchise is the Top Gear racing game series. In around 2006, Kemco entered the mobile market, where they began releasing lots of JRPGs, like the Alphadia series. Most of them got a re-release for iOS and Android devices. However, in the summer of 2008, an elusive JRPG was released for Japanese feature phones, called Soul Tears. This game is about a knight named Legato, who decided to escape from the Order and his brother Emilio joins his steps, to stop the hidden evil plans of his lover Feria (according to a Japanese press site: http://www.ksol.jp/v2/information20110112.html). In the source, it also mentions about a Taiwanese J2ME release that was distributed via the iScreen mobile service in that territory. For those who love RPGs despite the language barrier, this is a game I recommend trying it out. Graphics, music, story and the combat mechanics are pretty good for a J2ME game standard. You can even save your progress in three slots, which is an interesting addition here. Even though I'd like to see a remade version for iOS/Android with better graphics and music... which seems to be very unlikely since the developers might have forgotten about this one. This preserved Taiwanese version runs on any feature phone with a QVGA display. Tested on the following devices with positive results: Nokia C2-02, J2ME Loader for Android and even on landscape devices like the Nokia C3-00 (despite cutting out part of the screen).
Download: https://app.box.com/s/9s9dubrgv081jot8n4n8n3iqm5zeqj6h (Credits to Gradius Home World site for the magazine scan.) Another Konami game has been preserved today. This one is very interesting: in early 2002, a version with details similar to the Famicom release was distributed via the Konami Net service, for Japanese FOMA 501/503 feature phones only. However, a year and a half later, Konami updated their mobile game service in Japan by renaming it to 'Konami Net DX' and then they started to remake their old works with modern graphics. Their mobile port of TwinBee was among them. Released in October 2003 to make better use of the FOMA 505i feature phone line, it also includes a difficulty setting and, for some reason, they re-released the game seven years later with the ability to play in 2-player cooperative mode. The game also got some treatment by Konami China. In 2006, it was distributed as separate levels, just like they did with Salamander previously. Then Sina Mobile released the full game, but with a small detail: it was meant to be installed along with the JAD file it came with. However the weak 'copy protection' it had was related to the MANIFEST.MF file in the original archive, since an attribute line was missing. Also that a re-release was silently distributed via the Game Center for users on the China Mobile network. This time I am preserving both Chinese releases, which are essentially the version with all levels altogether. These files will work on any feature phone with a QVGA display. For some strange reason, it won't work on KEmulator nor on J2ME Loader for Android, because it crashes right after selecting the Start option.
Download: https://app.box.com/s/olbsvuqt8txix79fqp28umlubdcml1si
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About MeKnown as KAGE-008 in various forums. Gaming researcher and veteran for more than 10 years. You can call me 'Kage' if you want to. ArchivesCategories |