Japanese Mobile phone gaming (Original title - 5 reasons why I don't need PSP)

Makes me feel like selling my PSP... :-(

Theres nothing really that makes me wanna keep a PSP anymore. I don't really care about the web browser, since I still have v1.50 to play roms.

...what to do...

 

I never liked the word, but for those who do, when Suncoast starts handing out T-shirts with "otaku" printed on it, you know you don't want to use it.

I wish my cellphone did all the amazing things that Japanese and Korean ones do, but until then, make it DS for me.

 

That's what I used to think but I tell you that playing Valis or E-Racer on the phone is just as playable as playing them on a portable game system. It all depends on the phones design really. Some phones are really nasty to use. As for innovative my phone and 2 others out there have full motion control so playing a golf game where you actually swing the phone is pretty innovative to me. Also there's the singing games sort of like a Karaoke challenge but you need to connect it to the TV for that. Yeah, mobile phones don't have touch screens but they do have other features fora little bit of innovation I just knew what powers these systems. How many polygons can they throw about? Whats the clock speed? What language are games made in? and so on.

Yakumo

 

YEP !! :ramen no, only joking but it does have a Castlevania game plus shit loads of Square/Enix and Falcom RPGs (all in Japanese :smt022 ). To be honest I was always skeptical about mobile phone gaming until this past year. True the names may not always be big ones but I can sure tell you that the high end games play just as good as stuff you'd buy for your home console. E-Racer is a dream to play ! Just like playing N64 F-Zero on your phone without the blur :-D The images look blurred though but that's due to the poor TV out and stretched image.

Yakumo

 

It's been a while since I've added any of the games for my mobile so here's a few that I've been playing over the last few months.

First up is the best one - Parodius Da !


As you can see above, the graphics are very close to the original arcade version. This game looks beautiful on the mobile's screen. Not only does it look good but it also sounds good !! All music & sound effects are in there from the arcade. The only thing missing is the speech. Playability wise you can't go wrong. The only slight downer is that two stages are missing (volcano stage and the one where you have to navigate small tunnels.) Still, it does retain 6 of the stages plus also has a high detail level on or off option so that even older phones can run it.

Next is Bio Hazard the Missions

Surprisingly not too bad. The game isn't one big quest like the "real" Bio Hazard games but sort of a load of mini tasks. Graphically it's very nice, as are the controls but it could have done with some more sound effects. All that's present are the Zombie groans and the voice for those giant frog looking things. Oh and Jill's gun and voice when she's being attacks which sounds more like a porno actress. Loads of extras in this one which will keep you going for ages !

Power Drift is next

While Sega have done a very good job at keeping the arcade look on the mobile phone version they forgot to add any type of playability !! The controls are unresponsive and sometimes the car seems to control it's self !! Add the fact that you only need to get the slightest tap from a passing car and you'll be span right off the course does nothing to help the game. Music is also pretty weak with 10 second tracks that constantly repeat. Only 9 courses as well. Oh well, at least it looks like the arcade.

Puyo Puyo 2


Possibly the best portable version of Puyo Puyo around ! Very good presentation just like the home systems plus good remakes of the music. Features all stages as well and of course plays just like Puyo Puyo. I was also surprised to see that they kept the voice samples in.

Last of all is Time Crisis Mobile

Namco should seriously get an arse kicking for this ! Not only does it cost more than most games (535yen) but also only has 3 bloody stages!! What a RIP ! Graphically it's nice and plays well but 3, yes THREE BLOODY STAGES !! Sega's House Of The Dead has the full game on it !

Yakumo

 

If you can play games on a mobile, more power to you. I definitely cannot. A proper handheld is basically pushing it with, and I only play those when a console is not available. They just don't look, sound, or feel anywhere near as good as a "real game".

 

Oh, you just had to show Biohazard the missions didnt you? You bastard :evil: , I want to play it so much!!:crying:

 

Not to thread crap Yakumo, but are you going to respond to the PM I sent a few days ago?

 

Damn, you guys in Japan sure do get the cool cellphones. I've been shopping around for a new one lately, but I haven't found any that I really like, plus even older models can be pretty darn expensive. I wonder if I bought a cool Japanese cell phone like the one you have and popped my sim card into it, if it would work or not. Probably would have to unlock it first, but I'm kinda curious now...

 

It wouldn't work because Japanese phones don't use SIM cards or any type of card. That's probably why they only work in Japan or at least the non 3G phones.

Yakumo

 

At least I know other phones plays the 3gp format (video and audio format).
My Nokia Nagage plays that format with ease. And well I can convert a 30 minuttes Depeche Mode concert without having space troubles afterwards on my phone, so a Nokia Ngage isn´t that bad a phone.

And I got my Ngage as a present

 

If you want a cheap phone that does 3D, get the new Panasonic VS6 It even has Sonic 3D installed by default.

 

Try that Sonic game that they have demonstrated. It's bloody awful. bad controls, loads of missing animation and as jerky as hell. I'd be well pissed if that's how it ran on the real phone after shelling out cash for it.

By the way, does anyone know of a way to make the Java application games for phones run on a PC? Some sort of emulator? If there is I'll add some of my games to the FTP for everyone to try.

Yakumo

 

You might want to check the manufacturer's website to see if you can register as a developer and have one (hopefully its free), it doesn't hurt to check. Or do a blind google search for cellphone emulators. I'm sure the developers use emulators for developing the games.

 

Shouldn't be too hard since they're written in java, with java's main advantage being that it is pretty system independent and provides portable code. So should be possible without too much work. Try just opening the .jar files in a web browser

 

not all the games use .jar files though. Some use .dat files plus they all come with a main boot program. The way the games work over here mostly is first you download the main program (game engine) then once that's down you download the graphics, sound, level data and so on. The second lot of download files goes in to one folder while the engine in stored in the v-appili menu. Not all games allow this but some can be copied to the SD card to save on the phones memory. These are the ones I'm hoping can be ran on the PC. I'll check with Parodius first since that's just one .jar file unlike the others.

Yakumo

 

damn....my phone doesnt even come with any games on it. Motorola and Verizon want you to pay $7.99 for games like Tetris, pacman, and frogger, and like $10 for a fucking phone version of Madden...which probably looks like the SNES version anyways.

No free trials, no screenshots, and only basic info. You only get the game when you agree for the charge on your bill.

no wonder why cell phone gaming isnt big here in america

 

well, I tried to get Rainbow Islands running which use the following files for the main game engine.

RainbowIslands.JAD.HUF
RainbowIslands.JAR.HUF
RainbowIslands.RMS.HUF

and 7 different .jar files which I guess are the level data files. Any of our programming friends out there have any idea what a .HUF file is?

Yakumo

 

the best I could find for the extension was that .HUF files is files compressed with the huffman compression alogrithm.. but just because some page on the net says so don't have to mean that this is true in this case.. it could just as easily stand for Hyper Ultra File (that sounded so cool so now my next fileformat will be named that )

 

Some Vodaphone's do, if I'm not mistaken. I don't know the whole deal behind it (I don't really give a shit about phones) but a guy I used to work with was telling me some vodaphone's are hackable. I can find a link to a good forum if you want.