The_Dude on 6/9/2005 at 21:59
I wasn't going to air this but then decided I might as well as there have been a couple of threads mentioning our Japanese friends:
I was so bored the other day that I thought I would play all the Japanese FM's which I had never managed to complete ie. the vast majority. Here are my brief reviews of each FM, most of which were spawned by JIS. Japanese FM's tend to be a little on the bizarre side and then some. They rarely make sense, have little in common with Thief as a concept but offer some amusement due to their peculiarities.
1. Yakuza (Thief Gold) - a very simple FM where your sole objective is to carry out an assassination. Once you have worked out a solution (there are apparently a number of ways to crack this particular objective) it takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. Worth a very brief look.
2. D (Thief 2) - a little more complex but no less bizarre. You actually start with some useful weapons in this one. The plot is simple enough and it takes little time to complete so long as you locate the bizarre placement of one hidden lockbox. Notable for its toilet stuck in the middle of a series of lava flows with a key floating in it. Quite fun.
3. Amida (Thief Gold) - Now this one is bizarre. You start off with weapons (which is a rarity) but unfortunately they are of little use. Much of the gameplay involves traversing thin metal pipes to get around and attempting to kill three bugbeats. How you accomplish this I have no idea but fortunately the objectives fail to tick off when complete so it doesn't really matter (though I would love to know how you are meant to get the vase). Worth a look just for to shake your head in wonder and gaze at the furniture on the ceiling.
4. Makiko (Thief 2) - The actual gameplay area is quite nicely designed but once you have taken in the scenery there is little else to this FM. There is only one objective to kill Aunty Wong (or was it Makiko?). Unfortunately she has 5000 hitpoints. In fact all the characters are similarly endowed and take forever to kill. To address the balance Garrett has a wondrous arsenal of mines and fire arrows but it soons becomes rather tedious. Worth a quick look. I'm embarassed to say I fired a good 50 fire arrows at Aunty before giving up.
5. Hell Chapter 2 (Thief Gold) - This one starts off in quite an interesting fashion. I particularly enjoyed drowning the haunts near the beginning (how can undead drown?). It soon turns out that this is a huge maze of a level. You basically have to run around and find keys and switches to get to the next location. After a while you get quite lonely and desperate for company even if it is a mad haunt on the rampage. Quite cleverly you find yourself returning to earlier areas through previously locked doors. Ultimately it becomes rather dull and I'm afraid to say that I failed to finish this one.
6. Undeadland (Thief Gold) - Another classic JIS offering. You start with a blackjack and guess what it's useless since you are faced by hordes of undead. The objectives are similarly helpful:
(1) For once, why don't you find out for yourself what to do!
(2) If you can't understand what's going on, then talk about it among your friends.
To complete the FM you need to locate a sceptre and get to the area behind the gate at the start. Basically you just have to run for it. Like Yakuza once you have discovered what to do there is little to it. The gameplay is pretty dull which is a shame since a lot of work must have gone into its design.
7. The Killing of Timer (Thief Gold) - Another JIS offering. Basically, you have to kill one or more opponents to move onto the next room. Each time the opponents get harder and harder. I have no idea how to complete this (I must be missing something) but I know some have. If you like fighting this is the FM for you. Not to be confused with Killing Time which is similar but impossible to finish.
The_Dude on 6/9/2005 at 22:01
8. Elevator (Thief Gold) - Another huge, sprawling JIS offering. As you might expect from this author the design is bizarre and unworldly but in spite of this the gameplay has something to offer and it certainly is a challenge. Without access to Dromed I doubt I would have lasted long but small annoyances apart (that water texture in particular!) there is much to recommend. However towards the end of this one my interest really started to wane and I only finished with a lot of help. It is important to note that this FM cannot be finished on expert. You have been warned (I wish I had been. D'oh!).
9. Hammer and Garrett (Thief Gold) - I quite enjoyed this one. Once again the only objective is to find your way to the end (and this one does!). On the way you have to solve a few puzzles and find a few keys and switches. Unusually there are some useful pick-ups on the way which makes the gameplay less frustrating than the usual JIS offering and decidedly more fun. Worth a go.
10. Elevator Mission T2 (Thief 2) - Another JIS offering. I'm afraid I found this mission utterly tedious. But I know many have enjoyed it. Too bizarre and too many errors for my liking.
11. Mine Shock (Thief Gold) - A classic unfinished JIS mission where you start with an infinite supply of mines. Bizarrely the gameplay is really fun, if it weren't for the fact that you are invincible, you can't load a save game and it is unfinished I would recommend it highly. Fortunately, Vlad has come to the rescue and completed it in the "style of the original creator". He has done a fantastic job. It now works perfectly and is great fun. At last one I can really recommend.
12. UFO (Thief Gold) - Haven't played this for ages but once again you are devoid of weapons. Basically it's a treasure hunt. There is a loot list available; use it! Worth a look.
13. F (Thief Gold) - More classic JIS. You start with infinite fire and holy water arrows and just have to kill everything in sight. Short and sweet.
14. K (Thief Gold) - Even more classic JIS featuring his usual favourites: hidden lockboxes, minimal weaponary and bugbeasts. This is poorly made but is good fun in spite of this. The only objective is to find all the loot whch is quite a challenge (I finished up 100 short - darn it). Also features a penis etched on a wall. Worth a look (the FM that is, not the penis).
15. Mainshock T2 (Thief 2) - I was looking forward to this level assuming that it would offer similar gameplay to the Thief Gold version. Unfortunately this is just another sprawling maze of a level requiring the player to go on a frustrating keyhunt. There is no story, few AI and little to recommend it (unless you enjoy frustrating keyhunts in mazes of course).
16. Chon Migoroshi (Thief 2) - It's worth loading this one up just to see the design which includes a number of vehicles. But that's all. The sole objective would be very simple to complete except you can't because it's a mess.
17. Ochiru (Thief Gold) - This is really silly but I like it. It exploits a loophole in the game physics. Basically you have to jump down and walk through a door. It can be done with no loss of health. Sounds simple but it's not. Worth a look.
Sigh!!!!! :devil:
redface on 6/9/2005 at 22:31
You must be really bored - how about finishing and releasing your FM ? :ebil:
Oh and thanks for the reviews, I think I'll give some of those FMs a try.
The_Dude on 6/9/2005 at 22:46
Quote:
You must be really bored - how about finishing and releasing your FM ?
Dang, caught out!
I know, I'm avoiding the issue at the moment. Will be in beta v. soon.
demagogue on 7/9/2005 at 14:20
Quote Posted by The_Dude
(1) For once, why don't you find out for yourself what to do!
I still remember laughing out loud when I translated this one...
*What a brilliantly useless objective* I thought. :cheeky: :p
Edit: to keep things tidy, I'll put a link to the (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1155681#post1155681) translations here.
The_Dude on 7/9/2005 at 15:14
It's great isn't it. I should have said that I stole bits from your posts. :o
Lightningline on 7/9/2005 at 23:16
What have you done so wrong that you made yourself play those missions one after another. Whatever it is you have paid your debt. Some of those are sadisticly difficult. I think I would have frustrated myself into a heart attack.
russellmz on 8/9/2005 at 04:08
thanks for this guide to japanese thief missions. i heard they were weird but i never knew in what way...
wasn't there one where you trying to sneak some north koreans into the south korean/chinese embassy? i vaguely remmeber the description, but not sure if it's japanese.
The_Dude on 8/9/2005 at 08:35
@ russellmz that would be Chon Migoroshi
@ Lightningline I am sadly a completist and it always annoyed me I couldn't finish some of the Jap FM's especially ones like K. I know I need to get out more.
@ spix's circlet. Huh? Me no understandy what you say? I speak a little German would that help? :confused:
epithumia on 8/9/2005 at 19:23
Quote Posted by spix's circlet
Are any of these missions up on thief-missions.com or the circle?
Yes, all of them should be at thiefmissions.com and probably at the Circle as well.
There is no Japanese version of Thief, but I suppose its appeal is universal. There was a sizable Japanese Thief community; my Japanese isn't good enough to figure out much of it but you can still see updates at keepers-house.net
