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The following contains some assumption and speculation:

JSH (aka Japan System House) was established in 1989. In the mid-1990s, it became Biox. In addition to having developed video games, they also make beauty care products. You probably have seen the JSH name on Tails' Sky Patrol.

RROGRAM (C) SIMS&JSH 1995

What actually spurred this investigation was seeing the cover of Honkaku Shougi Shinan Wakamatsu Shougi Jyuku (SS) over at Segagaga Domain. Note the JSH logo.

Here's the credits from Tails' Sky Patrol:

Tails' Sky Patrol (GG)

Game Design K3
LR
Graphic Show
Sound Chikayo Fukuda (Chikayo)
Kazune Hiiragi (Kazunechan)
Programming AT-AT
"Alice" Kagamino (Captain Alice)
Bryan
Thanks to Monty
and You
Mt. Emerald
Sega
Ezachan
Mr. Rental
Character Design Fine-Twig
SIMS All Staff
JSH All Staff

The staff here doesn't really line up with any Sanritsu/SIMS-developed games, so I'm assuming JSH is the true developer. Going on that logic, let's look at the following games that appear to share staff.

Ninja Gaiden (GG)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER PI
PRODUCER BIRDIE
DIRECTOR MONTY
EDITOR TENCHIN
CHIEF PROGRAMMER ED-SRX
GBC00462
ASSISTANT PROGRAMMER Q-PY
KUMAISAN
CHIEF DESIGNER WOZL
ASSISTANT DESIGNER AUAU
WRITER P
SCREENPLAY PAISON
SUBTITLES BOBBY
MUSIC COMPOSITION YAMA
SOUND EFFECTS AT-AT
PERFORMED BY GAME GEAR
SPECIAL MAKEUP AMPA
COSTUME DESIGN NOVA
COMPUTER GRAPHICS CROQUETTE
OPTICAL EFFECTS LIAR
MATTE PAINTINGS POTATO
CASTING CARROT
TEST PLAY YUTA
TOMOCYA
MOMONGA
MEGUCYA
SPECIAL THANKS PENTAN
KABA
REVO

Pepen ga Pengo (MD)

PLANNER ENO"P"
PROGRAMMER WORK RAM "E"
AT-AT
GRAPHIC DESIGNER ARIMA TARO
NAMIHEI
MONTY
USI
SOUND HYODORI TOME
CHIKAYO FUKUDA (CHIKAYO F.)
EXECTIVE PRODUCER MAMORU SHIGETA (SHIGETA MAMORU)
PRODUCER HIROSHI ASO (ASO HIROSHI)
DIRECTOR TAKUMI YOSHINAGA (YOSHINAGA TAKUMI)
SPECIAL THANKS HIDEKI KATAGIRI (KATAGIRI HIDEKI)
NOBUO MATSUSHIMA (MATSUSIMA NOBUO)

*Nobuo Matsushima and Hideki Katagiri are from SIMS

Ristar (GG)

Game Planner Nencoo Gutoku
System Programmer Alice Kagamino
Ristar Programmer Mika Muraoka
Boss Programmer Haruo Nakajima
Enemy Programmer Ezachan
Effect Programmer Masami Tezuka
Demo Programmer Hanamogera. D
Character Designers Francis. N
Pixy Monty
Planet Designers Mauo. S
General Kusumi
Music Composers Chikayo Fukuda (Lkj. Chikayo)
Tomoko Sasaki
Sound Programmer Kazune Hiiragi
Project Director Capt. Jinguji
Art Director Nencoo Gutoku
Lead Tester Matt Underwood
Assistant Lead Testers Carey Camacho
David Dodge
Special Thanks to Nag
Bryan. M
Wadachi
Tarachan
Chikyuchan
Tanachan
Nana Kusunoki

Please note that Pengo and Ristar appear on an old version of SIMS' website (consult this page). But likely, SIMS just passed on development duties.

So, what do you think?

Streets of Rage II for the SMS and GG may be JSH games.

Streets of Rage II (GG)

Game design
Planning:
Monty, Show, Mud

Programming
Main programming:
Mud, Kozo

Music
Music composition:
Yuzo Koshiro

Sound Effects:
Yuzo Koshiro

Sound Driver:
Mikito Ichikawa

Design
Obj. design:
Python

BG design:
Show, Wozl

Special thanks to:
Ancient, Team S.O.R., B.T.R., C.O.M., Abadede Jr.

Streets of Rage II (SMS)

Game Design
Planning Abadede, Jr.
Python
Programing
Main Programing Nag
Demo Programming Mumu
Music
Music Composition Yuzo Koshiro
Sound Effect Yuzo Koshiro
Sound Driver Michito Ichikawa
Design
Obj Design Python
Tunan
BG Design Tunan
Honey
Special Thanks to Team Streets of Rage

My GDRI colleague Dran/Dimitri/DJ Squarewave did a code comparison (read the Sanritsu/SIMS thread for more info on code comparisons) of Tails' Sky Patrol (GG) and Ristar (GG). The one game that stood out was Ninkuu 2: Tenkuuryuu heno Michi (GG). I looked at the ROM and found credits. One of the programmers is "Alice Kagamino," who worked on Ristar and Tails. The other is "Ezach," who is credited as "Ezachan" on Ristar and Tails.

I am comfortable with confirming JSH as developer of the following games:

Ninkuu 2: Tenkuuryuu heno Michi (GG)
Ristar (GG)
Tails' Sky Patrol (GG)

I am not ready to confirm all other games mentioned in this thread at this time.

Another code comparison was performed, this time with "Ninja Gaiden" (GG) and "Phantasy Star Adventure," or was it "Hyokkori Hyoutanjima?" Anyway, the following Game Gear games seemed to share a lot of code:

Ninja Gaiden
Phantasy Star Adventure
Hyokkori Hyoutanjima
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage II
Streets of Rage II (SMS)
Ristar
Ninku 2
Factory Panic
Kinetic Connection

Apparently, Tails' Sky Patrol did not come up. But anyway, we're basically going ahead and saying these are by JSH. However, I am cautious. There's some weird staff crossover between Home Data and JSH. Programmer Alice Kagamino and graphics people "Show" and "Wozl" all seem to have worked for Home Data.

This particular comparison was brought upon by game music composer Kenji Yamazaki's website. He worked on "Ninja Gaiden," "Phantasy Star Adventure," and "Hyokkori Hyoutanjima." In the description for "Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3" for the Famicom, he talks about how JSH didn't pay much or something.

ATTENTION BOCK OR ANYONE ELSE WHO CAN WRITE IN JAPANESE: Could you please e-mail Yamazaki-san and ask if he remembers which games were for JSH? No offense to idrougge, who I would typically ask directly about doing something like this, but I hate to keep pestering him.

That might start explaining why Ninku 2 has the same SEGA jingle than Ristar... I guess.

I mailed Yamazaki yesterday, let's see if he replies.

idrougge wrote

I mailed Yamazaki yesterday, let's see if he replies.

Thanks.

Sorry for bumping an old thread. :)

There was a Japanese website where Kenji Yamazaki had descriptions of the history behind his game music, in English. I'm fairly sure it was his personal homepage and not a "business" page where he was advertising himself.

In particular I remember his comments about Super Drift Out, he disliked the music but the director asked him to use that style and was pleased with the results. He also commented on the ambient music used in The Shinri Game 2.

Anyway I can't find it anymore and was wondering if anyone else knows the URL or if a backup exists. It made for very interesting reading. For that matter there may be information on other games that is useful for the SMS. See, I am sort of on-topic. :D

Charles MacDonald wrote

Anyway I can't find it anymore and was wondering if anyone else knows the URL or if a backup exists. It made for very interesting reading. For that matter there may be information on other games that is useful for the SMS. See, I am sort of on-topic. :D

There's a link a few posts back.

I've actually e-mailed him a few times, and he's replied. Nothing particularly earth-shattering.

Programmer "Alice Kagamino" has tweeted about some of the games (he?) worked on. Most recently, (he?) talked about GG Ristar (see here). From what little I can make out, the GG and MD versions were being developed at the same time, and Sega of America wanted the GG version out at the same time as the Genesis version?

What makes you think Alice is a "he?" when the name both in english and japanese are feminine?

Bock wrote

What makes you think Alice is a "he?" when the name both in english and japanese are feminine?

I guess it's presumptuous of me to assume a programmer (especially from those days) is a man, but it's not unheard of for Japanese game developers to use feminine pseudonyms. (Actually, the only example I can think of off-hand is Shouichi Yoshikawa, who went by "Angela.")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper

Stop the argument before it starts.

Regardless of game programmers being more often male (true and unfortunate) since we have a Japanese name here 鏡乃亜梨子 that is clearly feminine the assumption is that she is a she unless proven otherwise.

Alice talks about "Tails' Sky Patrol" and the similar, unreleased "Boon Boon Kabun" for Game Boy Color

Also:
GG Ristar
Hermetica (the basis for Yoshi's Cookie)

Ninku 2

Hate to say it, but Twitter's translation function is not of much help when trying to understand what's going on in those links...

All I can do is copy and paste into another online translator. Here's what I can pick out for Tails' Sky Patrol:

- It was made three times, but only the GG version came out.
- It was originally a game for an unreleased console (referred to as "X").
- "X" had a monochrome LCD display, Z80 CPU, background layer + sprite, 2 sound channels + PCM, and was aimed at kids/education.
- The X version was supposed to be a launch title.
- Alice was in charge of the overall program.
- The X version was completed.
- The Game Boy Color version, Boon Boon Kabun, was completed. Alice was hospitalized during development.

It's OT but I'd be interested in the Hermetica stuff. Since I don't think anything besides the title was revealed of the game pre-conversion.
(It's looking like Ni****do only bought the source code to the NES version, since even now it looks like they have licensing issues involving re-releases.)

This is only a fraction of what is written. Hermetica:

- General timeline: Arcade game developed > Poor location test > Seek out other sellers > BPS is interested > Story reaches Big N > Yoshi's Cookie released
- Graphics, sound, and direction were different, and there was an additional element.
- Alice was project leader, planner, game designer, and programmer. There was one graphic designer, one sound designer, and one tool programmer.
- There was an X68000 prototype.
- Location tests were performed at Kandai-mae and a game center in Tarumi.
- Alice bought Yoshi's Cookie, but "this was not my game anymore."

Ristar:

- Alice did the player and map system, part of the GG hardware driver programming, and was in charge of direction of the entire project.
- The GG version came about when Ristar was still called Feel and the MD version was only a third complete.
- Sega of America wanted to release both versions at the same time.
- The MD version was taking too long, I take it, so half the GG version is original.

Level 1 = MD Level 1
Level 2 = Original
Level 3 = MD Level 4
Level 4 = Original
Level 5 = MD Level 6
Level 6 = MD Level 7 + MD Level 3 Boss

- MD source code was not made available.
- The rainbow/clouds stage of one level was cut. Sega of America apparently felt that American children wouldn't understand walking over a cloud/rainbow.
- In another part of the game, some members of the audience in the background look like the number "666." This also had to be changed.

Here's the aforementioned audience part. Doesn't look like they changed it:

r.png (182.55 KB)

Dimitri on GDRI has translated all the tweets here. Very informative.

I should point out these Ninku 2 documents Alice Kagamino posted on Twitter in 2016. There are four pages of move lists, followed by a page with every stage password, plus a password to turn on debug mode and two secret options that can be unlocked by playing certain things in the sound test. (Note also the JSH logo at the bottom of the pages.)

When you enter the debug mode password, the message "DEBUG MODE ON" will flash on the screen. As far as I can tell, the only thing this allows you to do is skip a stage by pausing the game and holding down both buttons, then up.

The "special" option is unlocked when you play "BGM 12" and "SE 24" in the sound test. This turns on the "third zoom level" that Sega told them to cut. When both characters are close together, they're nearly as big as the screen.

Playing "BGM 24" and "SE 30" opens up "character check," where you can view all the different character sprites and animations.

At the time of this post, there is a group lot of production art from GG Streets of Rage 2 that will be coming up for bids on Heritage Auctions. Of particular interest (to me, at least) is the last document, sketches of two enemy characters. Note the name Japan System House (日本システムハウス株式会社, though the "日" seems to be cut off by a hole punch) in the upper left-hand corner of the page.

ggsor2_01.jpg (599.49 KB)

ggsor2_02.jpg (559.45 KB)

ggsor2_03.jpg (717.08 KB)

ggsor2_04.jpg (882.56 KB)

Author	Message
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Whodunit: JSH Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:48 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	The following contains some assumption and speculation: JSH (aka Japan System House) was established in 1989. In the mid-1990s, it became Biox. In addition to having developed video games, they also make beauty care products. You probably have seen the JSH name on Tails' Sky Patrol. RROGRAM (C) SIMS&JSH 1995 What actually spurred this investigation was seeing the cover of Honkaku Shougi Shinan Wakamatsu Shougi Jyuku (SS) over at Segagaga Domain. Note the JSH logo. Here's the credits from Tails' Sky Patrol: Tails' Sky Patrol (GG) Game Design K3 LR Graphic Show Sound Chikayo Fukuda (Chikayo) Kazune Hiiragi (Kazunechan) Programming AT-AT "Alice" Kagamino (Captain Alice) Bryan Thanks to Monty and You Mt. Emerald Sega Ezachan Mr. Rental Character Design Fine-Twig SIMS All Staff JSH All Staff The staff here doesn't really line up with any Sanritsu/SIMS-developed games, so I'm assuming JSH is the true developer. Going on that logic, let's look at the following games that appear to share staff. Ninja Gaiden (GG) EXECUTIVE PRODUCER PI PRODUCER BIRDIE DIRECTOR MONTY EDITOR TENCHIN CHIEF PROGRAMMER ED-SRX GBC00462 ASSISTANT PROGRAMMER Q-PY KUMAISAN CHIEF DESIGNER WOZL ASSISTANT DESIGNER AUAU WRITER P SCREENPLAY PAISON SUBTITLES BOBBY MUSIC COMPOSITION YAMA SOUND EFFECTS AT-AT PERFORMED BY GAME GEAR SPECIAL MAKEUP AMPA COSTUME DESIGN NOVA COMPUTER GRAPHICS CROQUETTE OPTICAL EFFECTS LIAR MATTE PAINTINGS POTATO CASTING CARROT TEST PLAY YUTA TOMOCYA MOMONGA MEGUCYA SPECIAL THANKS PENTAN KABA REVO Pepen ga Pengo (MD) PLANNER ENO"P" PROGRAMMER WORK RAM "E" AT-AT GRAPHIC DESIGNER ARIMA TARO NAMIHEI MONTY USI SOUND HYODORI TOME CHIKAYO FUKUDA (CHIKAYO F.) EXECTIVE PRODUCER MAMORU SHIGETA (SHIGETA MAMORU) PRODUCER HIROSHI ASO (ASO HIROSHI) DIRECTOR TAKUMI YOSHINAGA (YOSHINAGA TAKUMI) SPECIAL THANKS HIDEKI KATAGIRI (KATAGIRI HIDEKI) NOBUO MATSUSHIMA (MATSUSIMA NOBUO) *Nobuo Matsushima and Hideki Katagiri are from SIMS Ristar (GG) Game Planner Nencoo Gutoku System Programmer Alice Kagamino Ristar Programmer Mika Muraoka Boss Programmer Haruo Nakajima Enemy Programmer Ezachan Effect Programmer Masami Tezuka Demo Programmer Hanamogera. D Character Designers Francis. N Pixy Monty Planet Designers Mauo. S General Kusumi Music Composers Chikayo Fukuda (Lkj. Chikayo) Tomoko Sasaki Sound Programmer Kazune Hiiragi Project Director Capt. Jinguji Art Director Nencoo Gutoku Lead Tester Matt Underwood Assistant Lead Testers Carey Camacho David Dodge Special Thanks to Nag Bryan. M Wadachi Tarachan Chikyuchan Tanachan Nana Kusunoki Please note that Pengo and Ristar appear on an old version of SIMS' website (consult this page). But likely, SIMS just passed on development duties. So, what do you think?

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 8:57 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Streets of Rage II for the SMS and GG may be JSH games. Streets of Rage II (GG) Game design Planning: Monty, Show, Mud Programming Main programming: Mud, Kozo Music Music composition: Yuzo Koshiro Sound Effects: Yuzo Koshiro Sound Driver: Mikito Ichikawa Design Obj. design: Python BG design: Show, Wozl Special thanks to: Ancient, Team S.O.R., B.T.R., C.O.M., Abadede Jr. Streets of Rage II (SMS) Game Design Planning Abadede, Jr. Python Programing Main Programing Nag Demo Programming Mumu Music Music Composition Yuzo Koshiro Sound Effect Yuzo Koshiro Sound Driver Michito Ichikawa Design Obj Design Python Tunan BG Design Tunan Honey Special Thanks to Team Streets of Rage

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:16 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	My GDRI colleague Dran/Dimitri/DJ Squarewave did a code comparison (read the Sanritsu/SIMS thread for more info on code comparisons) of Tails' Sky Patrol (GG) and Ristar (GG). The one game that stood out was Ninkuu 2: Tenkuuryuu heno Michi (GG). I looked at the ROM and found credits. One of the programmers is "Alice Kagamino," who worked on Ristar and Tails. The other is "Ezach," who is credited as "Ezachan" on Ristar and Tails. I am comfortable with confirming JSH as developer of the following games: Ninkuu 2: Tenkuuryuu heno Michi (GG) Ristar (GG) Tails' Sky Patrol (GG) I am not ready to confirm all other games mentioned in this thread at this time.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:54 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Another code comparison was performed, this time with "Ninja Gaiden" (GG) and "Phantasy Star Adventure," or was it "Hyokkori Hyoutanjima?" Anyway, the following Game Gear games seemed to share a lot of code: Ninja Gaiden Phantasy Star Adventure Hyokkori Hyoutanjima Streets of Rage Streets of Rage II Streets of Rage II (SMS) Ristar Ninku 2 Factory Panic Kinetic Connection Apparently, Tails' Sky Patrol did not come up. But anyway, we're basically going ahead and saying these are by JSH. However, I am cautious. There's some weird staff crossover between Home Data and JSH. Programmer Alice Kagamino and graphics people "Show" and "Wozl" all seem to have worked for Home Data. This particular comparison was brought upon by game music composer Kenji Yamazaki's website. He worked on "Ninja Gaiden," "Phantasy Star Adventure," and "Hyokkori Hyoutanjima." In the description for "Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3" for the Famicom, he talks about how JSH didn't pay much or something. ATTENTION BOCK OR ANYONE ELSE WHO CAN WRITE IN JAPANESE: Could you please e-mail Yamazaki-san and ask if he remembers which games were for JSH? No offense to idrougge, who I would typically ask directly about doing something like this, but I hate to keep pestering him.

ICEknight Joined: 03 Apr 2001 Posts: 601 Location: Asturias	Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:44 pm
	That might start explaining why Ninku 2 has the same SEGA jingle than Ristar... I guess.

idrougge Joined: 01 Jan 2005 Posts: 360 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:31 am
	I mailed Yamazaki yesterday, let's see if he replies.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:55 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	idrougge wrote I mailed Yamazaki yesterday, let's see if he replies. Thanks.

Charles MacDonald Joined: 28 Sep 1999 Posts: 1200	Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 3:50 am
Charles MacDonald Joined: 28 Sep 1999 Posts: 1200	Sorry for bumping an old thread. :) There was a Japanese website where Kenji Yamazaki had descriptions of the history behind his game music, in English. I'm fairly sure it was his personal homepage and not a "business" page where he was advertising himself. In particular I remember his comments about Super Drift Out, he disliked the music but the director asked him to use that style and was pleased with the results. He also commented on the ambient music used in The Shinri Game 2. Anyway I can't find it anymore and was wondering if anyone else knows the URL or if a backup exists. It made for very interesting reading. For that matter there may be information on other games that is useful for the SMS. See, I am sort of on-topic. :D

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 7:29 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Charles MacDonald wrote Anyway I can't find it anymore and was wondering if anyone else knows the URL or if a backup exists. It made for very interesting reading. For that matter there may be information on other games that is useful for the SMS. See, I am sort of on-topic. :D There's a link a few posts back. I've actually e-mailed him a few times, and he's replied. Nothing particularly earth-shattering.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 2:43 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Programmer "Alice Kagamino" has tweeted about some of the games (he?) worked on. Most recently, (he?) talked about GG Ristar (see here). From what little I can make out, the GG and MD versions were being developed at the same time, and Sega of America wanted the GG version out at the same time as the Genesis version?

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8708 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 2:51 am
	What makes you think Alice is a "he?" when the name both in english and japanese are feminine?

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 2:56 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Bock wrote What makes you think Alice is a "he?" when the name both in english and japanese are feminine? I guess it's presumptuous of me to assume a programmer (especially from those days) is a man, but it's not unheard of for Japanese game developers to use feminine pseudonyms. (Actually, the only example I can think of off-hand is Shouichi Yoshikawa, who went by "Angela.")

Capt. 2110 Joined: 27 Apr 2014 Posts: 281 Location: Texas	Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:18 am
	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper Stop the argument before it starts.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8708 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 1:38 pm
	Regardless of game programmers being more often male (true and unfortunate) since we have a Japanese name here 鏡乃亜梨子 that is clearly feminine the assumption is that she is a she unless proven otherwise.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 3:29 am Last edited by CRV on Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Alice talks about "Tails' Sky Patrol" and the similar, unreleased "Boon Boon Kabun" for Game Boy Color Also: GG Ristar Hermetica (the basis for Yoshi's Cookie)

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:19 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Ninku 2

ICEknight Joined: 03 Apr 2001 Posts: 601 Location: Asturias	Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 8:48 pm
	Hate to say it, but Twitter's translation function is not of much help when trying to understand what's going on in those links...

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:51 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	All I can do is copy and paste into another online translator. Here's what I can pick out for Tails' Sky Patrol: - It was made three times, but only the GG version came out. - It was originally a game for an unreleased console (referred to as "X"). - "X" had a monochrome LCD display, Z80 CPU, background layer + sprite, 2 sound channels + PCM, and was aimed at kids/education. - The X version was supposed to be a launch title. - Alice was in charge of the overall program. - The X version was completed. - The Game Boy Color version, Boon Boon Kabun, was completed. Alice was hospitalized during development.

KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 533	Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:02 pm
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 533	It's OT but I'd be interested in the Hermetica stuff. Since I don't think anything besides the title was revealed of the game pre-conversion. (It's looking like Ni****do only bought the source code to the NES version, since even now it looks like they have licensing issues involving re-releases.)

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:25 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	This is only a fraction of what is written. Hermetica: - General timeline: Arcade game developed > Poor location test > Seek out other sellers > BPS is interested > Story reaches Big N > Yoshi's Cookie released - Graphics, sound, and direction were different, and there was an additional element. - Alice was project leader, planner, game designer, and programmer. There was one graphic designer, one sound designer, and one tool programmer. - There was an X68000 prototype. - Location tests were performed at Kandai-mae and a game center in Tarumi. - Alice bought Yoshi's Cookie, but "this was not my game anymore."

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:25 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Ristar: - Alice did the player and map system, part of the GG hardware driver programming, and was in charge of direction of the entire project. - The GG version came about when Ristar was still called Feel and the MD version was only a third complete. - Sega of America wanted to release both versions at the same time. - The MD version was taking too long, I take it, so half the GG version is original. Level 1 = MD Level 1 Level 2 = Original Level 3 = MD Level 4 Level 4 = Original Level 5 = MD Level 6 Level 6 = MD Level 7 + MD Level 3 Boss - MD source code was not made available. - The rainbow/clouds stage of one level was cut. Sega of America apparently felt that American children wouldn't understand walking over a cloud/rainbow. - In another part of the game, some members of the audience in the background look like the number "666." This also had to be changed.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 3:28 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Here's the aforementioned audience part. Doesn't look like they changed it: r.png (182.55 KB)

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 4:44 pm
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Dimitri on GDRI has translated all the tweets here. Very informative.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 3:02 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	I should point out these Ninku 2 documents Alice Kagamino posted on Twitter in 2016. There are four pages of move lists, followed by a page with every stage password, plus a password to turn on debug mode and two secret options that can be unlocked by playing certain things in the sound test. (Note also the JSH logo at the bottom of the pages.) When you enter the debug mode password, the message "DEBUG MODE ON" will flash on the screen. As far as I can tell, the only thing this allows you to do is skip a stage by pausing the game and holding down both buttons, then up. The "special" option is unlocked when you play "BGM 12" and "SE 24" in the sound test. This turns on the "third zoom level" that Sega told them to cut. When both characters are close together, they're nearly as big as the screen. Playing "BGM 24" and "SE 30" opens up "character check," where you can view all the different character sprites and animations.

CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:20 am
CRV Joined: 02 Jan 2005 Posts: 670	At the time of this post, there is a group lot of production art from GG Streets of Rage 2 that will be coming up for bids on Heritage Auctions. Of particular interest (to me, at least) is the last document, sketches of two enemy characters. Note the name Japan System House (日本システムハウス株式会社, though the "日" seems to be cut off by a hole punch) in the upper left-hand corner of the page. ggsor2_01.jpg (599.49 KB) ggsor2_02.jpg (559.45 KB) ggsor2_03.jpg (717.08 KB) ggsor2_04.jpg (882.56 KB)

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