Moonspeak Japanese Adventure Games with Actual Gameplay

[Alex]

For the longest time, I was under the impression that Japanese people just don't know how to make adventure games. Now, I know some of you here actually like those "Visual Novel" things, but personally, I barely consider most of them games, much less Adventure Games. My issue with them is that they aren't at all about playing a game. At best, they are about exploring different consequences and finding a way to maneuver through the game that leads you to the real ending or something like that.

However, I have seen some actual adventure games coming from Japan. Clock Tower (which was LPed here, I think), behaved more or less like a classical point and click adventure game, for instance. But Phoenix Wright, even though it plays like a Visual Novel (having a menu based interface and being mostly dialogue driven) also has some gameplay to it (even if it is a bit too easy). So I thought I would come here to ask if you guys happen to know any other adventure games from Japan that are actual games.

By the way, sorry for badmouthing Visual Novels. If anyone here likes them, then they like it and it is none of my business. I just mentioned them because they are a very good example of what I am not looking for. I don't mind the format (as exemplified by Phoenix Wright), but I want games where you actually have to figure out something. I don't mind a little bit of story mixed in, but I don't want a game that is mostly about reading character conversations and making "choices" (that usually look more like shots in the dark) once in a while. I want a game where you actually feel like you are playing a game, and bonus if it gives you some sense of agency, that is, that you are actually controlling your character.

 

[CyberWhale]

The Snatcher and its inferior spiritual successor Policenauts don't have a lot of puzzles (and do have a few of those annoying lightgun sections) but they are pretty enjoyable IMO.
Still haven't played Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 but they definitely fit your description.
There are also those Professor Layton games although I'm not really found of them.

 

[Lemming42]

Not sure what Shenmue is classed as, but you could probably call it an adventure game. The gameplay is pretty fun, even if it is basically just walking around, talking to people, doing QTEs and getting into fights.

 

[SCO]

Ghost Trick is a puzzle game that feels like a adventure game, with plot and thinguies. It's also the same director as pheonix wright. It's good.

Oh yea, Shadow of Destiny is kind of a easyish adventure game with multiple endings (12 or something). Get the psp version, no reason to download a several gigabytes of pc version just to see bad textures anyway. Also i jokingly called this 'shadows of yaoi' if you have any problem with androgynous characters.
This game just might confirm your opinion that JP can't do adventures though.

Hotel dusk has a sequel that was just released in english for the euro market (just before the company went under).

 

[Crooked Bee]

If you enjoyed Clock Tower, you might also enjoy Haunting Ground.

Aside from that, you could also try these:

White Day
Hellnight
The Calling
Fatal Frame/Project Zero series
Michigan: Report From Hell

 

[Eyeball]

Snatcher is very enjoyable and stylish, a Bladerunny story told well with attractive visuals. It is NOT, however, a particularly good GAME as it's pretty much an interactive novel.

 

[Whisky]

Still haven't played Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 but they definitely fit your description.

Hotel Dusk is good, but might feel a little light on the puzzle side. They're not very difficult and outside them, the game is mostly focused on the plot. It's a lot like 999, but with only one path, though you can wander around the hotel.

You need to play Ghost Trick. It's fucking amazing. Unique premise and shockingly good plot twists (If you get spoiled on them, you'll think it sounds awful though.).

 

[TigerKnee]

Yu-No: The girl who chants love at the bound of this world.

It has an English translation even.

 

[SCO]

That title is like a bad joke to sci-fi fans.

if it uses the same kind of narrative its likely a bad joke throughout.

 

[Haba]

Lol no u.

If you are looking for silly references on the novel, look in NGE instead
"世界の中心でアイを叫んだけもの"
Sekai no chūshin de "ai" o sakenda kemono

v.s.

"この世の果てで恋を唄う少女YU-NO"
Kono yo no hate de koi o utau shōjo YU-NO

 

[abnaxus]

Aside from two puzzles, YU-NO is a VN as well. I wouldn't really consider the time travel aspect to be gameplay.

 

[ghostdog]

SNES : Famicon Detective Club [fan translated]:




NES : The Portopia Serial Murder Case (Hideo Kojima's favorite NES game) [fan translated]




SNES : SOS (by the makers of Clock Tower)




SNES: Marvelous - another treasure island (by Eiji Aonu of Legend Of Zelda fame) [fan translated]




DREAMCAST: Shenmue




PSX : Fear Effect 1&2 (They're in the survival horror/adventure category, but I have fond memories of them).

 

[Alex]

Thanks everyone! All these replies are really appreciated. By the way, I want to note two things. First, it is ok if the game is in Japanese. I don't know how to speak, but I would like to someday learn the language. And even if that day is a bit far off, I can always try to tackle the games once I have an intermediate level of comprehension and a dictionary. Actually, if the adventure you mention happen to be aimed at children (and thus have a simpler language), then it could actually help me learn a bit of the language.

Also, don't worry too much about the game having lots of puzzles. Of course, that is nice, but all I care is that the game is actually a game, instead of a VN. I played a VN recently (Kara no Shoujo, I think) hoping for some detective action and was sorely disappointed. So much so I decided to start this topic to avoid this in the future.

 

[ghostdog]

Well, If you learn Japanese be sure to translate this one

 

[A user named cat]

SNES : Famicon Detective Club [fan translated]

That game is great, definitely worth playing through. Another relatively unknown gem that's a bit similar and has an English translation is Seirei Gari a.k.a. Ghost Hunter

The only gameplay vid I can find is some retard LPing it and narrating:

 

[Corporate_Jew_Master]

Hellnight

And there you have it.

Superb game. Great atmosphere and pretty terrifying. That game marked me as a kid.

 

[tuluse]

The Snatcher and its inferior spiritual successor Policenauts don't have a lot of puzzles (and do have a few of those annoying lightgun sections) but they are pretty enjoyable IMO.
Still haven't played Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 but they definitely fit your description.
There are also those Professor Layton games although I'm not really found of them.

Snatcher is very enjoyable and stylish, a Bladerunny story told well with attractive visuals. It is NOT, however, a particularly good GAME as it's pretty much an interactive novel.

The final 1/3 of The Snatcher is literally one long cutscene. The first 2/3 are enjoyable though.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Just found this on HardcoreGaming: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/horrortour/horrortour.htm Looks like a Japanese Myst-like.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

999 is quite good also but you have to run through multiple playthroughs to fully understand the story; there is some kind of fast forward function but it's still tiresome to solve 5 times the same first room (amongst others).

 

[Cool name]

Glass Rose.

Mizzurna Falls.

Dear Esther. The fuck? I meant Theresia/Dear Emile. >.<

Eastern Mind.

D.

D2.

Enemy Zero.

Echo Night.

Echo Night: Beyond.

Hungry Ghosts, though it is more of a hybrid.

Dark tales of the lost soul, maybe? I don't remember.

Michigan Report, maybe?

L.S.D, if you are loose with the definition of 'adventure game.'

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 1, 2, & 3.

Yume Nikki, and its five thousand 'clones' and 'succesors' and so on.

Like five million adventure games done in RPGMaker, Wolf RPG, and some such.

Ju-On.

The Calling.

Everything Zero/Project Zero/Fatal Frame.

Haunting Ground.

Hellnight.

Daemonophia?

Sacrifice Girl, I guess could be seen as one as well.

Ghost Trick.

Another Code: Two memories.

Another Code: R.

999.

Witch's wish, I guess.

Hotel Dusk.

Last Window.

Again.

Wonder Project J.

Wonder Project J 2, or whatever the sequel was called.

Shadow of Memories.

Time Hollow.


I'll add more if I manage to remember the names.


Edit:

Ookuki.

Does Corpse Party counts?

Does Book of Shadows?


Moar Edit:

Enchanted folk and the school of wizardry?

Lost in blue 1, 2, 3?

White Day

White Day's Korean.

 

[JudasIscariot]

What's the weeabooDex opinion on Corpse Party? Was thinking about getting that one for my Vita.

 

[damicore]

Yu-No: The girl who chants love at the bound of this world.

It has an English translation even.

But you can't possibly play yu-no without a guide, can you? I started it a while back and it looked like you had to. In fact, that's the reason why I dropped it.

 

[groke]

Tong-Nou seems straight-up すごい if by "actual gameplay" you mean "what is this."


edit:

But you can't possibly play yu-no without a guide, can you? I started it a while back and it looked like you had to. In fact, that's the reason why I dropped it.

You definitely can, two(?) of the routes don't rely on items from other routes, and the jewel-saves make moving back to check out another part of the narrative pretty simple (just always use them before choices and remember to re-use one whenever you return to a point.) , so figuring out how to progress past the (apparent) dead-end points isn't super difficult.

edit edit:

Aside from two puzzles, YU-NO is a VN as well. I wouldn't really consider the time travel aspect to be gameplay.

The game progresses exactly like an adventure game (point-and-click for items, use items to bypass narrative blocks), it's just that you only have to do it a couple of times per-route. It's definitely not just a VN.

 

[groke]

also GARAGE if you want an actual adventure game made in actual Japan: