The Story of the 1st RPG Developed for CD-ROM
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RETROSPECTIVE | Tengai Makyou ZIRIA (1989), also known as Far East of Eden, is the first chapter in a long-running series of Japanese role-playing games that started on the PC Engine. It was developed by Hudson Soft and RED Company (now Red Entertainment). Tengai Makyou/Far East of Eden is one of the great JRPG series of the 1990s, one which was sadly left in Japan for the most part. The first title, ZIRIA, has an important place in the history of JRPGs, RPGs and gaming in general as it was the very first RPG developed for and published on a CD-ROM disc. It was the first RPG to explore the new possibilities that CDs opened up to gaming, including CD-quality music and voicework, anime-style cinematics and a huge amount of memory to work with. This is the Tengai Makyou/Far East of Eden Retrospective Part 1: ZIRIA, all about the world's first RPG published on CD, one that you might have never played. One part documentary, one part review, this video explores how Hudson Soft and RED Company came together to make this legendary role-playing title for the PC Engine CD-ROM ROM System, its challenging development, the gameplay and story as well as the legacy of this game, the first entry in the Far East of Eden series. In short, this groundbreaking title, released in 1989, paved the way for the more cinematic style of RPG that would rise to popularity in the 1990s by including voice acting and animated cutscenes unlike anything before it. A special feature of this video is the inclusion of interview segments with Mr. Yoshiteru “Torajirou” Tsujino, series artist of Tengai Makyou and key member of the game's creative team at RED. He was gracious enough to allow me to speak with him and film an interview in 2022, providing his insight into the creation and development of ZIRIA back in the 1980s. His participation with this video was an integral part of why it was made, so I am extremely grateful for his time and input, and of course his work on the Tengai Makyou series. Interview with Mr. Tsujino: https://youtu.be/5jM-Ftdihx8 Mr. Tsujino's YouTube Channel (Japanese): @辻野芳輝辻野寅次郎情 Special thanks also goes out to John the Happy Console Gamer for voicing an excerpt from an interview with Mr. Teruhisa Hiroi, more commonly known as Hiroi Ouji. A lifelong fan of the Tengai Makyou series, it was John who got me to finally talk about the games in video form in 2021, as well as pushed me into contacting Mr. Tsujino, so his involvement was also a key factor in the creation of this video. Happy Console Gamer Channel: @HappyConsoleGamer Since the publication of this video, a fan-made English language patch was made available for Tengai Makyou ZIRIA online. Support/Social Links Channel member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCujG... T-shirts & merch : https://import-gaming-ftw.creator-spr... Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/importgamingftw 2nd channel: @IGFTWDump Twitter: http://www.x.com/importgamingftw Gameplay video was captured on real hardware using the Elgato HD60 S+ or the Elgato Game Capture HD, and video/audio was edited using Davinci Resolve Studio 18. “Live action” shots were recorded on a Cannon EOS M200 or Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ200-K and voice over done through a Shure MOTIV MV7-S-J dynamic microphone, enhanced in Audacity. Links to additional footage/sources as mentioned in the credits section: PC Engine 1987 commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z2IA... PC Engine CD-ROM2 1988 commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Sl_... PC Engine Perfect Video: https://youtu.be/IhKZGSfDoLU?si=iBjXw... All About CD-ROM ROM: https://youtu.be/YDgEMeubib4?si=px_Vq... Short Interview with Shoji Masuda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auA8B... Tengai Makyou ZIRIA Premium Edition: https://youtu.be/Xa_mMx75W-g?si=8344g... Tengai Makyou mobile port: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfGuj... Famitsu Tengai Makyou ZIRIA 30th anniversary article: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201906/3... The Future of RPGs 1992 Developer Interview: https://shmuplations.com/futureofrpgs/ The History of the PC Engine: https://shmuplations.com/pcengine/ Hero Must Die. Again Shoji Masuda Interview: https://heromustdieagain.degicagames.... Music sources listed in the credits. Thank you for watching! Chapters 0:00 Intro 2:22 A New Frontier in a Young Gaming Market 6:42 Revolutionary Role-Playing Roots 12:26 And Now the Hard Part 18:10 A Star is Born (And His Name is Jiraiya) 27:07 Searching for Friends 32:51 After the Journey - The Legacy of Tengai Makyou ZIRIA 39:13 Final Words...and the Future Keywords: ハドソンソフト, 広井王子, あだちひろし, 辻野芳輝, PCエンジン CDロムロム, Hudson Soft, PC Engine CDROM2, Hiroi Ouji, Hiroi Oji, Hiroshi Adachi, Red Entertainment, TurboGrafx-16 #TengaiMakyou #天外魔境 #ImportGamingFTW
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