It is impossible to quantify the number of Japanese games that were never released in the West. Big companies like Nintendo have gotten better over the years, especially when they surprise fans with remakes. One of last year’s most shocking releases wasFamicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection.
It was a collection of two adventure games on the NES that seemingly no one heard of before, except for hardcore Nintendo fans. To release one would have been enough, but getting two was like the cherry on top for adventure game fans. As cool as it was to getFamicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection, unfortunately, there are several remakes still stuck overseas.
7Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry No Wonderland 3D
Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry No Wonderland 3Dis a 3DS remake ofDragon Quest Monsters. That game was originally released in Japan on the Game Boy Color in 1998. The West would not see it until 2000, under the name ofDragon Warrior Monsters.Dragon Quest Monsters 1+2 Hoshi Furi no Yusha to Bokujo no Nakamatachiwas a PS1 remake and collection of the first two games, released in 2002.
North America did not get that remake either, although it wasn’t as extensive as the 3DS game.Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3Dlaunched in 2012 and is a full 3D remake with all the bells and whistles the series had learned up to that point. Getting either remake at this point would be great, but there are so many other games in theDragon Questseriesstill exclusive to Japan too.
6Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Even though the series is known asShin Megami Tenseiin the West, it started with a wilder title.Digital Devil Story: Megami Tenseiis the first game in the series, and it was released in 1987 on several Japanese computers. It would eventually get ported to the NES around the time when the sequel hit the NES in 1990.
RELATED:Game Boy Games That Got Remakes (& What They Were Released For)
Neither game has been released outside of Japan, and neither has Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei. The latter was released for the SNES in 1995, and it is a 16-Bit remake collection of the first two games. HardcoreShin Megami Tenseiseriesfans should know there is an English fan translation for the game though, so happy hunting.
5BS Zelda No Densetsu
The Legend of Zeldawas first released in Japan in 1986 before the series made its debut in 1987 on the NES. Almost a decade later, this original game would get a 16-Bit remake under the name ofBS Zelda No Densetsuin 1995. In Japan, players got an attachment for the SNES called the Satellaview.
It was essentially a way to play games online through downloading or streaming.BS Zelda no Densetsuwas released as a broadcast game with voice acting and everything. It was a huge production, making it a seemingly impossible game to emulate now in its original form. However, resilient fans have re-released it online and even hacked it so that Link was the star again.
4SaGa 2: Hiho Densetsu
The Final Fantasy Legend 2was released in 1991 in North America on the Game Boy. Even though it bears the Final Fantasy name now, it is part of theSaGaseries. This was reflected when it got remade in 2009.SaGa 2: Hiho Densetsuwas a full 3D remake released for the DS in Japan.
RELATED:NES Games That Got Remakes (& What They Were Released For)
The sequel,The Final Fantasy Legend 3, also got a DS remake. It was calledSaGa 3: Jiku no Hashaand it launched in 2011. Like many games on here, both games have received some solid English translation work from the fans. There are a lot ofSaGagames in the seriestrapped in Japan, and this is only the beginning.
3Fire Emblem: New Mystery Of The Emblem
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblemwas the third game in the series. It released in 1994 on the SNES in Japan and was remade for the DS in 2010 under the revitalized name ofFire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.
Now, here is the significant thing about this remake and why fans should care about it. TheFire Emblemseriesexploded in 2013 thanks toFire Emblem Awakening. The inclusion of the Casual mode setting made the series more accessible than ever before. That was the West’s introduction to the feature, butFire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblemis actually the first game to offer fans a Casual mode.
2Tales Of Destiny
Tales of Destinyis the second game in theseries afterTales of Phantasia. However, the first game would skip the SNES generation in the West, soTales of Destinywas the first one to make it out of Japan in 1998. The game was remade late into the PS2’s lifecycle in 2006 under the same title. This was the same year that the PS3 launched.
RELATED:PS1 Games That Got Remakes (& What They Were Released For)
It also received a 2008 re-release in Japan, now renamedTales of Destiny Director’s Cut. Finally,Tales of Destinyalso got a direct sequel in 2002 on the PS2 and that is exclusive to Japan. Fans of this game in particular sure haven’t received a lot of love in the West.
1Super Robot Wars OG
TheSuper Robot Warsfranchise began in 1991 on the SNES in Japan. For those unfamiliar, since most of these games have never been released outside of Japan, they are strategy RPGs. They have original stories, but they also bring in mechs and characters from anime and video games such as various Gundam models.
2006 was the first year Western fans got a taste viaSuper Robot Wars: Original Generationson the GBA. This was four years after the Japanese launch in 2002, so it seemed strange at the time.Super Robot Wars: Original Generations 2was released just a few months after that. Then, in 2007, both games would receive the remake treatment via a PS2 collection calledSuper Robot Wars OG.
MORE:SNES Games That Got Remakes (& What They Were Released For)
