News Article

MSX Hits Japanese VC, Includes Special Options

Posted Wed, 28 May 2008 by Marcel Van Duyn

The special MSX options menu.

The special MSX options menu.

As you might remember, the MSX was set to get its first games on the Japanese Virtual Console this month. Up until yesterday, the two slated games (Aleste and Eggy) still did not have an actual release date though, and it seemed as if they would be delayed again (Making it almost a year after their initial planned release date!). At the very last minute, Nintendo of Japan decided to release Aleste yesterday, together with the rest of the games that were planned for this week.

That's not all - Aleste (And we assume every future MSX game) actually includes some special options on the VC. You can press the "-" button at any time to open a menu containing two options - One allows you to change the type of music you hear. The MSX originally had a special card attachment which enhanced all audio, so with this option you can choose to hear either the basic music or the enhanced music!

The other option allows you to switch around the main two action buttons. We can't really imagine this being all that useful, but it is a nice little feature.

While Aleste has been released, Eggy has been hit with the delay hammer - We assume Japan gets it next month instead. We don't think the MSX will be released on any non-Japanese Virtual Console - It was originally popular in a few countries (Mostly the Netherlands and Brazil), but most people probably have never heard of the thing, and it was pretty much completely ignored in the US. The system was notable for featuring the first Metal Gear game, however. You can read up on the system on Wikipedia.

Thanks to Chris Kohler from Wired for finding out about these special options and taking a picture - None of us have a Japanese Wii!

Tags: Virtual Console, MSX, Japanese releases.

User Comments

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1. Jukka Denmark 28 May 2008, 12:59 GMT

wonder if Msx will hit Europe

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2. Bensei Austria 28 May 2008, 13:01 GMT

me too

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3. Dazza United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 13:46 GMT

I doubt it will guys :p

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4. Bass X0 United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 13:52 GMT

i suppose whether it comes to america and europe depends on whether there are a significant number of games on it that aren't hindered by language barriers.

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5. FalloutBR Brazil 28 May 2008, 14:14 GMT

I still remember when I was a kid, my cousin's friend had an MSX, we used to play "Ys I", "Super Cobra" and "Metal Gear" the whole weekend ! I don't know if those games would be good by today's standards though, so I don't think it will be released in the US. I guess you had to have experienced it back then to really feel the magic :p

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6. Angelic Lapras King United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 14:55 GMT

Bout damn time. Now the long wait for a possible Euro release begins....

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7. Charco Ireland 28 May 2008, 15:14 GMT

I hope it comes to Europe. Am I right in saying that it had the original Metal Gear 2 as opposed to the travesty that was Snake's Revenge on the NES which Hideo Kojima had no involvement in?

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8. ChocoDK Canada 28 May 2008, 15:15 GMT

The MSX I never honestly heard of it before. But those added options are interesting.

Rapadash6

9. Rapadash6 United States 28 May 2008, 15:17 GMT

Japan gets MSX, Europe gets C64 and we get... um... well we get lucky if we get more than one game a week.

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10. adzix 28 May 2008, 15:52 GMT

i want that option for master system games, since some of them made use of the fm chip in the japanese master system, like phantasy star (sounded so much better... wow)
and i definitely would love to see msx get a european release.
what's the big deal anyway, it's not like they're risking any investment.

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11. MrPoo6321 United States 28 May 2008, 16:28 GMT

'eeehhh... i dont remember it, and i'm not really interested... but can we finally have Vectorman now? please??????

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12. Drake Netherlands 28 May 2008, 16:38 GMT

Yes, Charco, it has the original Metal Gear II, which was excellent.

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13. slangman United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 16:59 GMT

Would love it if the european VC also got some MSX love, though i doubt it since we just got C64. Ah well

samman

14. samman United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 17:00 GMT

not likely i imagine. weve got c64 and in all honesty id rather that.

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15. Objection_Blaster United States 28 May 2008, 17:27 GMT

Not coming to non-japanese wiis? But i want Metal Gear and Ys!

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16. DDR Paladin356 United States 28 May 2008, 17:57 GMT

@Objection_Blaster
If you have a PS2, you can actually pick up a copy of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Its a very good game, and it also have both Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...the MSX versions of course. If we don't get MSX in America (which seems to be the vibe I've been getting) then at least half of the problem would be solved (IDK about Ys though unfortunately).

BTW It only comes with the 2 disk subsistence pack, not the recent re-release that comes with MGS1 and MGS2.

Edit: Wasn't Ys released for SMS?

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17. 2hip2beskware Canada 28 May 2008, 18:02 GMT

This doesn't interest me that much. I do hope it comes to NA, though. Even better, I hope we get Chrono Trigger and Earthbound on Monday.

toffeeman30

18. toffeeman30 United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 19:23 GMT

not that interested really. just give us wat we want earthbound rondo etc and not flood vc with average tat.

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19. Adamant Norway 28 May 2008, 19:31 GMT

" We don't think the MSX will be released on any non-Japanese Virtual Console - It was originally popular in a few countries (Mostly the Netherlands and Brazil), but most people probably have never heard of the thing, and it was pretty much completely ignored in the US."

Eh, you can say the same for the Turbografx, and rarely anyone have heard of games like Ninja Jajamaru-kun - didn't stop them from releasing those.

I really hope we get the MSX - tons of great games for it. I'd rather have this than the C64, to be honest.

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20. DEMON212 United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 19:42 GMT

Cool, wonder when we'll get 'em?

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21. Shiryu Portugal 28 May 2008, 20:15 GMT

I would still prefer Commodore Amiga... make it happen, Nintendo!

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22. Biggetje Netherlands 28 May 2008, 20:25 GMT

Indeed the MSX home computer was very popular in Holland.
I guess Philips had something to do with it ;-)

Both MSX and MSX2 were part of my “collection” and I’m happy the games will be available on VC!
At that time Konami dominated the game world on the MSX and personally I prefer the MSX titles over the C64 ones, don’t ask me why….
Please come to Europe MSX!!!

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23. Terranigma United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 21:51 GMT

Please let the MSX come to Europe. I love this console, despite having limited plays with it, which may be why, because i want more.

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24. Corbie United States 28 May 2008, 21:58 GMT

I bought one of these years ago but I didn't keep it long. The only game I had for it was Castlevania. It was more of an impulse buy than anything.

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25. That Guy from Faxanadu Sweden 28 May 2008, 22:29 GMT

... but I want MSX too... ;_; Aleste is fun, and then there´s Space Manbow, Penguin Adventure, Vampire Killer, Contora (Wierd convertion of Contra with lots of new levels) a unique (superb) entry of Parodius, Snatcher... loads of great Konami games above all.

Not to forget the ultimate version of Quarth, best puzzlegame ever. Man, those folks on Konami were talented!

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26. Rexy United Kingdom 28 May 2008, 22:54 GMT

The MSX better come out here at LEAST just for the TRUE Metal Gear 2. Trust me, that would make a start >.>

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27. Kingston United States 28 May 2008, 23:26 GMT

It seems like every little thing nintendo does for the vc has amazing potential that is never pursued. Pokemon Snap, for example. Another thing that they do that is similar to that is when they announce some amazing games and then wait 1+ year(s) to release them, as several have been announced in 06, and still remain unreleased.

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28. Walan United States 29 May 2008, 00:03 GMT

The MSX is cool and all, and I would love to play the great Konami games that were on it, but do you think it's possible to ban certain words from the comments? You know, words like "Earthbound" and "Chrono Trigger" and "Vectorman"? :P

alxtlvra

29. alxtlvra Mexico 29 May 2008, 00:45 GMT

I'm curious to play Eggy for MSX because I havent found any photos, videos or info about it, not even on Wikipedia, (that little plus about the options for the Wii virtual console MSX games is really interesting and helpful enhancing the emulation and gameplay experience) I'd also like to see Mayhem in Monsterland for C64, but "first things first" lets hope for both systems to hit America.

alxtlvra

30. alxtlvra Mexico 29 May 2008, 00:51 GMT

I almost forget it! and are easier to appear... Genesis 32X games!

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31. Tides of Chaos United States 29 May 2008, 01:18 GMT

So......Japan gets an exclusive MSX system.....Europe gets the exclusive C64 system......and NA and Australia are left in the dust. What have they ever done to deserve this kind of treatment, huh, Nintendo? I want some obscure gaming goodness!

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32. Kawaiipikachu Australia 29 May 2008, 02:04 GMT

@Tides of Chaos
Well the turbografx never was released here in australia that didnt stop Nintendo releasing the games as virtual console titles .
Im just hoping that the Commodore 64 get released here in Australia :)

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33. SuperMichael64 United States 29 May 2008, 03:11 GMT

I dont know much about the MSX, well... off to wikipedia!

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34. Viral United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 08:25 GMT

@Walan : Hilarious. The following words should be banned : Vectorman, Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Mario RPG, and Final Fantasy, or any variation of these words used together. lol..

I think that Nintendo will be releasing some decent games shortly. It's spring/summer time...shouldn't we all be outside more frequently during this time?

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35. Terranigma United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 12:33 GMT

It says on Wikipedia that the MSX will be released in US but hasn't been confirmed for Europe. Doubt that's actually true though, considering past expierence with them (E.G. Saying Gyrostarr would be a launch title for WiiWare)

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36. Bensei Austria 29 May 2008, 13:40 GMT

it was more popular in europe than in america, so why should america get ti but we not? Because we got the C64? Come on!

@Kawaiipikachu: Change your country to an european one and you can download them (I guess, it worked with the TG-16)

@Admins: If I want to fave vc-new, it says wiiware news...

captain-banana

37. captain-banana Australia 29 May 2008, 14:21 GMT

oh well... at least no one gets another sega for a while?

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38. Viral United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 16:40 GMT

I just I'd let the admins know that this site loads slowly sometimes...especially today...

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39. Quimby Australia 29 May 2008, 17:04 GMT

Agreeing with viral.
Took nearly 1 and a half minutes on ADSL.
No dramas though, it's worth the wait. :-)
Also, where the hell are my Master System games? and my C64. lame

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40. Objection_Blaster United States 29 May 2008, 17:17 GMT

@Quimby and Viral
Me 2. I have Roadrunner Basic or whatever and this site took a 1-2 minutes. :P

toffeeman30

41. toffeeman30 United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 18:59 GMT

anyone know or give us a clue to whats coming to vc 2moz in the eu?

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42. Viral United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 20:04 GMT

No idea yet Toffee, but I'm sure we'll get a new update tomorrow morning. :)

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43. Spiky Idiot United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 20:12 GMT

If we get the Commodore 64 and Japan get's the MSX, what will America and Australia get next? Saturn? Atari?

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44. Adamant Norway 29 May 2008, 20:14 GMT

CD-i.

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45. Terranigma United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 20:20 GMT

@ Captain-Banana

Probably for awhile. I'm really hoping that they release the Saturn on here soon. That's probably the most likely console they'll release next if they do, or at least games for one of the Add-ons for the Mega Drive, which will probably happen at some point.

The Dreamcast would be rather expensive and Sega would most likely port their old games to newer consoles or remake them. Cd-i i wouldn't expect, the Atari's i reckon there's a good chance, Colecovision is something i want and Vectrex i want but we will see. I orignally posted something about the Sg-1000 Mark III but i just realised that it's the same as the Master System. I originally thought they were different consoles.

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46. Rexy United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 22:55 GMT

If they ever do a Mega Drive add-on, then I'm really pleading for it to be the Sega CD. I would have LOVED to get my hands on Sonic CD, yet the complete lack of system support was a major reason why I didn't invest on the add-on in the first place :(

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47. Adamant Norway 30 May 2008, 00:06 GMT

"anyone know or give us a clue to whats coming to vc 2moz in the eu?"

Samurai Shodown, Burning Fight and Pokemon Puzzle League

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48. Terranigma United Kingdom 30 May 2008, 00:17 GMT

serious or guess? If serious then awesome

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49. Adamant Norway 30 May 2008, 00:43 GMT

Serious. Check the shop.

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50. Terranigma United Kingdom 30 May 2008, 00:55 GMT

cheers

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51. lockelocke United States 30 May 2008, 03:23 GMT

I'll fight one battle at a time.
Where's my C64!?

mcc1333

52. mcc1333 United Kingdom 30 May 2008, 16:47 GMT

I owned an MSX in the 80's and the games were great (mainly the Konami rom carts). Would love to see Nemesis 1,2,3, Salamander, Road Fighter, Yie Ar Kung Fu 2, F1 Spirit, Circus Charlie, Track & Field 1,2,3. Most of these were variants on their arcade counterparts (for example Track and Field had different events like dive boarding).

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53. APissedOffGma United States 30 May 2008, 23:25 GMT

i have never heard of this before,was it released in the US?

mcc1333

54. mcc1333 United Kingdom 31 May 2008, 02:13 GMT

while we are waiting, you can either get the Konami MSX collection for the sega saturn or d/l the BlueMSX emu for the pc.

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55. Adamant Norway 31 May 2008, 05:35 GMT

@ APissedOffGma: Yes, it was released in the US, but sold extremely poorly and quickly disappeared from the market. A lot of Americans who know of the system seem to think it was Japan-only, or only popular in Japan, but it did quite well in many countries.

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56. Phasondragon United Kingdom 31 May 2008, 10:55 GMT

I hope we get it in Europe. Along with snatcher.

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57. Terranigma United Kingdom 31 May 2008, 18:32 GMT

Snatcher would be awesome

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58. everydayJOE United States 01 Jun 2008, 01:47 GMT

I have the Metal Gear cart, they 're suprisingly cheap. Picked mine up for $7

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59. everydayJOE United States 01 Jun 2008, 01:50 GMT

Nintendo should seriously release the gameboy original library on VC. There are some very good games on it that would be nice to see on a TV. Especially Donkey Kong land 2

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60. Aardvark Soup Netherlands 02 Jun 2008, 15:41 GMT

They should include the option to change the buttons in SNES games. Most of them are a hell to control with the GC controller.

If this is going to come to Europe, I really hope we'll get translated versions of Snatcher and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. But I doubt it.

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61. Kirk United Kingdom 05 Jun 2008, 12:12 GMT

Supposedly you can also use a keyboard to play the games, or at least one of them, if I remember correctly.

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62. JRAPOCALYPSE United States 14 Jul 2008, 19:48 GMT

I have an msx 2 that i imported but it would be nice to have it on the vc remastered!

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