Was this game ever released?

I recently stumbled on these screens while viewing a zip archive of a 1998 website. The game in question is Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan, as very famous Chinese RPG by SoftStar. According to the text, these were for a Sega Saturn version that was apparantly going to be released in Japanese.

Did this game ever see release? And if so, what was its title in Japan?

I figured if anywhere, this was the place to ask. Hope someone knows!

The only text on the webpage said (translated of course):

Pictures from the Sega Saturn Japanese version in development (since the pictures are slightly shrunk, the color may not be perfect)

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I gave the original Chinese name, I have no idea which random sounds they'd have picked if they invented a way to say the name in Japanese.
 
Yes, this game was released. According to www.segausers.gr.jp, it was one of the last Saturn games released in Japan.

release date: 1999-03-04

title: 仙劍奇侠傳(せんけんききょうでん)

developer/publisher: SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT INC

price: 5800 yen

genre: RPG

Item #: T-37401G

Its Romaji name is called Senken Kikyouden on most web sites, but NCSX called it Senkenki Kyouden. I think NCSX had this import Saturn game in stock several years ago, and they even showed a small pic of the cover. I would have bought this game if I had money back then. I remember posting the game cover pic once on a rarest game you know type of thread during SX's ezboard era. Hehe, even eBay had this game listed once. Oh well, another missed opportunity. :p

I knew of this game from one of my friends in college. IIRC, he told me the game title would be something like "The Legend of the Sword Master" when translated into English, but www.sega-saturn.net has it translated as "The Legend of Sword and Fairy." He told me it was the best RPG he has ever played in terms of story, graphics, music, etc. He even showed me a demonstration of this game (yes, the PC version) running on his laptop. :p Also, one day he showed me a game magazine that mentioned the development of this game for the Sega Saturn in Japan.

Originally posted by DBOY@Sep 12, 2004 @ 08:42 AM

I gave the original Chinese name, I have no idea which random sounds they'd have picked if they invented a way to say the name in Japanese.

Now you should know the corrent tones for the pinyin name you have above. ;)
 
I already knew how to write it in Chinese, dude. :)

Anyway, -damn-, if it's as rare as you say it sounds like I"m never going to find this one. It's so rare, there's not even a single listing for it on Yahoo~ Japan Auctions....

By the way, what your friend told you is right, I've played the PC one and it's an incredible game.
 
Originally posted by DBOY+Sep 12, 2004 @ 05:08 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DBOY @ Sep 12, 2004 @ 05:08 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>By the way, what your friend told you is right, I've played the PC one and it's an incredible game.[/b]


Does the intro remind you of the intro for Shenmue? ^^;

<!--QuoteBegin-DBOY
@Sep 12, 2004 @ 05:08 PM

Anyway, -damn-, if it's as rare as you say it sounds like I"m never going to find this one. It's so rare, there's not even a single listing for it on Yahoo~ Japan Auctions....[/quote]

It's not even listed at Japanese Gaming either. I guess this means this game has a very slim chance of being Game of the Week. :D
 
o_O? You mean Li Xiaoyao getting bashed in the head with a frying pan by his aunt for being obsessed with martial arts, or just the mountains and birds? :p

If you mean the mountains and birds, then yes.

It also reminds me of about 900 Chinese paintings I saw in the Beijing and Shanghai museums, and all the stuff the National Palace Museum in Taiwan puts up for people to view on their website. :)

Edit: Just an addition. There's a review for the game up now at The Second Dimension. So for anyone who's curious about it, this is a review of the original DOS version.
 
Before reading your reply, I had just remembered the birds. But now that you mention it, I think I kind of remember the frying pan incident. :)

I read the review, and I thought it was very informative, just like how my friend from college would have described it. Of the pics provided, I thought the attached pic below was kind of interesting. Either those three men at the top are giants, or the Li Xiaoyao and his female companion are midgets, or maybe they're like 7 years old. :lol: How old is Li Xiaoyao supposed to be anyway?
 

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Li Xiaoyao is 19. Zhao Ling'r is 16. Lin Yueru is 17. A Nu is 14.

The reason they're so big is because it's just how RPGs tend to do stuff in battles. Think about famous games like Final Fantasy IV, where Golbez who is just your brother and the same height, is the entire height of the battle screen.

They just like making the enemies really detailed.

What's cool is that the enemies actually animate. That middle guy is swinging his weapon in the actual game. Compare this to Final Fantasy (pre-7) or Dragon Quest... where they just stand there and "flash" when they're attacking.

By the way, thanks for not hotlinking :) Much appreciated. There's a lot more pictures on the Screenshots page (link is at the botom of the review), not sure if you saw it.
 
Originally posted by CrazyGoon+Sep 13, 2004 @ 12:05 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CrazyGoon @ Sep 13, 2004 @ 12:05 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'>*looks through his saturn game list for "Senken Kikyouden"*

..... and there it is :smokin:[/b]


OMG! OMG! :lol:

How did you get your hands on it? Was it you who won that eBay auction of this game? Or did you buy it when it was available at NCSX? Please tell us! :lol: If you have a digicam, please take a pic of the front, back, and CD and post it here for us to see. :D

<!--QuoteBegin-DBOY
@Sep 12, 2004 @ 11:51 PM

By the way, thanks for not hotlinking :) Much appreciated. There's a lot more pictures on the Screenshots page (link is at the botom of the review), not sure if you saw it.[/quote]

I think I skimmed through them the first time. They're really nice pics though. :)
 
I also have it (if I remember correctly when I am at work ;) ). So i can take a picture of it when I will go back at home.

Maybe I also have a picture of the front cover of the chinese version.

DBoy, when talking about chinese games, do you have a list of chinese saturn games ?
 
There aren't any other Saturn games from Chinese developers, and this Saturn one (as I understand) is Japanese only (I think).

There are really only just now getting ot be official Chinese console games released in Asia. There's some unlicensed games on Genesis (some of which I have carts for which are yet undumped) and Famicom. Taiwan also had their own console system which is unemulated called the Super A'Can, it was internally similar to the NeoGeo -- probably one of the rarest systems out there now.
 
Hmm, I have 4 Chinese Saturn games (copies): Myst, Sangokushi Eiketsuden, Sangokushi V, and Senken Kikyouden. They all have their specific codes and are Chinese only. Do you think they are unlicensed games? I think they are commercial releases, and there could be more Chinese Saturn games out there, especially some by Koei. But as I never found a list or a site which talks about them, I am not sure.

BTW, here is a picture of the Japanese version:

T-37401G%20-%20Senken%20Kikyouden%20JAP.jpg


And here is the Chinese version (I found this picture on a chinese forum, I think DBoy knows it ;)):

senken%20CHI.jpg


Notice that the green square for rating is not present on the second picture?
 
*grins* i see..

No Akuma, I don't have the game, but it's in my saturn list - a list of every single known saturn game developed :devil But it seems Madroms has the game, which is nice to know.

For the record, there are 8 San Goku Shi games on my list (which include the ones Madroms mentioned).

EDIT: Hey, check it out - 2 bucks for Sangokushi Eiketsuden! - ebay 19 hours left. :cool:
 
Is Suiko Enbu another Chinese developed game? It looks INCREDIBLY similar to a Chinese PC game I played a long time ago.
 
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