Tokyo Game Show

20-23 March 1998
Makuhari Messe
(Japan Convention Center, Chiba)

—by Ivevei Upatkoon

Almost three years have passed since the first Tokyo Game Show was held in August 1996 by the Computer Entertainment Software Association (CESA). This spring's Show was the fourth, and reflecting the boom in video games it utilized all eight rooms at Makuhari Messe, rather impressive considering the last one used only six rooms but drew over 140,000 visitors. This year's event fell on the Japanese school system's Spring Break, and attendance was expected to increase accordingly.

I attended Show on press day, March 20th, and was amazed to see that it was still filled with people. As security was pretty lax, it was extremely easy to obtain a press pass, and I think many people took advantage of this fact. While many panels were not running, a good number of booths did have cosplay shows and other events for the benefit of the reporters and visitors.
Being out of the video gaming loop for quite a while, I really had little idea of what the big name titles for this year were. Instead, I just wandered around and looked at whatever took my fancy. Because I did not realize that they were using two additional rooms, it took me forever to find the major makers. Sega, Square, Bandai, Konami, and other big names were all located together. In fact, the Sega, Square and Tecmo booths were set up all facing each other! (This particular spot was hellish on the public days. I was at the Square booth all day on Sunday the 22nd waiting for Kasahara Hiroko's appearance at the SOUKAIGI event and darn near expired from fighting through the crowds at lunch time, but that is another story.)
Most of the titles exhibited at this Show will have already been released by the time this issue of EX hits the virtual shelves. In fact, an overwhelming number of titles were scheduled for release several days after TGS, in time for payday at the end of March. While this meant that the major attractions were fully playable, it would have been nice to see games we could have looked forward to in several months.
Probably the most impressive booth this year was Namco's. A mammoth exhibit that featured almost exclusively its flagship TEKKEN 3 for the PSX, it had two levels of PSX machines running this beautiful conversion, and even on press day I did not have more than a few minutes to feel out the game. There were about 20 cosplay girls dressed up as Xiaoyu, and the show they put on featured dancing and dry ice. Video games have certainly come a long way since I first started up my Nintendo!
The next booths I hit were SNK's and Capcom's. No matter what they say, I still have a special fondness for 2D fighting games. SNK's KING OF FIGHTERS '97 for the Sega Saturn looked pretty good considering the size of the original game, and I was very surprised to see Capcom's VAMPIRE SAVIOR, also for the Saturn. Utilizing the 4 meg RAM cart, it looked to have all the frames, plus very short load time. The recent crop of Capcom games for the Saturn have truly been incredible conversions, leaving me to bemoan all the more the slow but sure demise of this system. PSX titles topped 50% of the games exhibited, and the SS's share had tumbled to little over 17%.
But that's not to say it isn't going out with a bang! One of my favorite games of 1996/7 was SAKURA TAISEN, and so I made a beeline for the Sega booth as soon as I had determined its location. As expected, it had rows of demos for SAKURA TAISEN 2, one set for the improved battle system, and one for the revised interaction sequences. I will say this much—the opening animation is great! The in-game graphics are also gorgeous. Few sequels transcend their predecessors, but I doubt any fan would dispute it in this case.
The Sega booth also played host to other third party games as well as their in-house production of HOUSE OF THE DEAD. I liked what I saw of DRAGON FORCE II (With character designs by Yuuki Nobuteru of LODOSS and ESCAFLOWNE, how could one not be impressed?). In addition, there were screen shots of the SHOJO KAKUMEI UTENA game and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: GIRLFRIEND OF STEEL.
With Square right across from Sega, it was easy enough to walk over. Right away, I was assailed by the massive video screen at the back of the stage, which showed demos of all their games due out. PARASITE EVE with its mouthwatering CG movies, EHRGEIZ for fighting fans, SOUKAIGI and BRAVE FENCER MUSASHIDEN for those looking for 3D action RPGs, BUSHIDO BLADE 2, and FINAL FANTASY V for us ancient RPG dinosaurs—overall one of the strongest lineups at the Show.
There were too many other exhibits for me to cover, but a few that caught my eye were the (both incomplete) PATLABOR THE GAME and MACROSS DIGITAL MISSION VF-X 2, from Bandai Visual. Given the company's track record, it is a little too much to expect anything spectacular, but I have to admit VF-X 2 looked pretty good. Another game that stood out was STOLEN SONG from Sony, the premise being that you play an air guitar and earn points according to rhythm. It was nice to see that, thanks to PARAPPA THE RAPPER, video games are started to branch out into more novel fields. One thing that did sorely disappoint me was the absence of DRACULA X for the Saturn at Konami's booth. It seems that this game has been delayed indefinitely, leaving this reviewer to both curse in frustration at not being able to play Maria, and sigh in thanks for the relief afforded her pocketbook.
Overall, however, this Tokyo Game Show was without question a very successful affair. If the exhibits are anything to go by, simulations continue to be a staple of the Japanese gaming appetite, but role-playing games and adventure games have also grown tremendously. Conversely, the share of traditional sports and shooting games has fallen. Personally I continue to be a staunch supporter of 2D games, but "the times they are a-changing" as they say, and the video game industry looks set for a very bright future.