Sangokushi Retsuden Ransei no Eiyuutachi ... Sega's first Chinese localisation?

Note: for some reason I'm blocked from posting direct links to pics, so I'll just post the direct links ...

So there's a well known Chinese ROM of this game; San Guo Zhi Lie Zhuan: Luan Shi Qun Ying. It seems that the general opinion is that this is a Taiwanese bootleg. Indeed, this game was extremely bootlegged, but after researching Sega's early Asian releases, I'm convinced that this was originally a genuine first party release, which was later bootlegged.

My reasons for thinking this? Well, I've been researching Sega's Asian releases for a while. If we start at the beginning (1986), Sega had region codes for every console. Hong Kong SMS was 3010-11 (PAL-I), Singapore/South East Asia Was 3010-07 (PAL-B) ... the last two digits are the region code. South East Asian SMS didn't last long, so "11" became the "PAL Asia" code, for a while, at least. Later Sega would introduce region code "16" for Taiwan, and "08" for South Korea (after Samsung split), both of those "NTSC Asia". Eventually "16" would become "NTSC Asia" and "07" would become "PAL Asia", "with "40" being the general code for Asia.

Anyway, before then we have known early Sega Asian releases. About 1990/1 Sega started to include their internal product numbers on everything that they produced. We're not just talking cartridges, boxes, we're talking every single sticker, game cover, piece of paper, it all has a code. Paper, stickers etc are; 670-xxxx, boxes; 671-xxxx etc. Variants have an additional "-xx" on the end, either variant number "01", "02" etc, or region code "07", "11" etc. That's not really well documented, but we're learning it now. We know that they used these internally prior to them putting the code on the box due to service manuals where parts including boxes were available to order, along with the code.

http://segaretro.org/images/c/c9/Lan..._MD_AS_Box.jpg

So ... at first Asia just got Japanese games, but there's one example of an early Asian release ... Landstalker. It has the standard JP code (G-5517), but with the additional Asian code (G-5517-11); You can see that they also released a black and white Chinese manual alongside the Japanese manual;

http://i.imgur.com/jGRFGuM.jpg

Actually ... I think that this came after Sangokushi Retsuden Ransei no Eiyuutachi.

Because;

http://imgur.com/Stw6BPJ

Front cover ... OK, it's in Chinese instead of Japanese, nothing a bootlegger couldn't do;

http://imgur.com/gTFtVKT

But look at the code on the back;

http://imgur.com/a/dtmbI

670-1416-11 ... Chinese language with Japanese code, with Hong Kong region code, whilst nobody knew about it.

So let's look at the spine;

http://imgur.com/a/tmqE4

Wow! G-5510, one of the missing early game codes (Japanese version is G-5504 ). So let's look at the ROM header ... it's G-5510! I'm now pretty convinced that this is a legitimate first party release, but there is one final way to know. The cartridge sticker.... it's in Chinese instead of Japanese, so it can't have the same code as the Japanese sticker (which isn't widely known, and was even less well known back then, I sincerely doubt that any bootleggers would care about adding region codes when Sega had only just started using them) ...

Anyway, the cartridge sticker;

http://imgur.com/a/lkPkR

Chinese sticker with Chinese language and proper Sega code with additional Chinese Sega code! Personally I'm convinced that this was initially a legitimate first party release.

Wow! what a load of crap! I just posted a load of interesting pics hosted on imgur ... not a single one shows up on here! The only way I can get a pic to show is if I cut and paste an old picture, what a load of bullshit! I've wasted too much time trying to post something interesting (that isn't even hosted on this site), I can't really be bothered to continuously try to post pictures that are auto-blocked for no reason.

Edit: I managed to just post straight links, so it should all make sense now. Still, what a load of hassle just to make a post. If I hadn't been a long term member I would have probably gave up and posted elsewhere.

Thanks for sharing - I passed a link to this thread along to a few people I know that collect Asian MD releases

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BKK

We know that they used these internally prior to them putting the code on the box due to service manuals where parts including boxes were available to order, along with the code.

http://segaretro.org/images/c/c9/Lan..._MD_AS_Box.jpg

So ... at first Asia just got Japanese games, but there's one example of an early Asian release ... Landstalker. It has the standard JP code (G-5517), but with the additional Asian code (G-5517-11); You can see that they also released a black and white Chinese manual alongside the Japanese manual;

http://i.imgur.com/jGRFGuM.jpg

Actually ... I think that this came after Sangokushi Retsuden Ransei no Eiyuutachi.

Because;

http://i.imgur.com/Stw6BPJ.jpg

Front cover ... OK, it's in Chinese instead of Japanese, nothing a bootlegger couldn't do;

http://i.imgur.com/gTFtVKT.jpg

But look at the code on the back;

http://i.imgur.com/Yi7MukQ.jpg

670-1416-11 ... Chinese language with Japanese code, with Hong Kong region code, whilst nobody knew about it.

So let's look at the spine;

http://i.imgur.com/FgRAwyR.png

Wow! G-5510, one of the missing early game codes (Japanese version is G-5504 ). So let's look at the ROM header ... it's G-5510! I'm now pretty convinced that this is a legitimate first party release, but there is one final way to know. The cartridge sticker.... it's in Chinese instead of Japanese, so it can't have the same code as the Japanese sticker (which isn't widely known, and was even less well known back then, I sincerely doubt that any bootleggers would care about adding region codes when Sega had only just started using them) ...

Anyway, the cartridge sticker;

http://i.imgur.com/XGIiPjN.jpg

Chinese sticker with Chinese language and proper Sega code with additional Chinese Sega code! Personally I'm convinced that this was initially a legitimate first party release.

---

BKK, I've quoted your post above with the correct image links. I'm guessing that the problem before was that you were omitting the filename extensions, and/or that you had the image links as URL tags (at least, when I saw your post about 5 minutes after it was initially posted, that was the issue).

Sega-16's image hosting is quirky at best, broken at worst, but it can be made to work. :)

My fake Everdrive comes with this game in the flash memory LOL

Interesting thread, it's amazing how much stuff still manages to be discovered at this day in age.

Really interesting thread. I to have been doing some research into Asian region Mega Drive games.

I wasn't aware of this release, for me there is enough evidence to confirm it is genuine. I owned a bootleg of it, it had English on the artwork as well but never seen this before.

I am still turning up games that have not been documented so it would be good to catch up and exchange info.

Thanks Goldenband for fixing my post. Sorry if my post sounded aggressive, I remember spending quite a bit of effort to post it whilst drunk, and getting a bit annoyed when it didn't display as I wished. Just to note, I don't own this version, but I've seen a few copies online. I decided that it would be better to publicise it and hope that others found it, than to keep it a secret and hope that I alone found it (which may have made me slightly richer :p)

@Dyer60 feel free to PM about Asian games, I probably know more than is published online, but I guess that you know quite a bit that I don't either ;)

Managed to pick one of these up however my version has the English title on the cover of the manual, this doesn't match the above and I believe it may not be original (possibly added from a later bootleg), the cart and artwork are however and match the version documented above. I am also convinced that this is a first party release. It has a "-11" code on the reverse of the artwork and has the G-5510 code on the spine as pictured.

http://i.imgur.com/76wgVGW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mpVnUX1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iAIOTHj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VsLtfNd.jpg

On the Chinese wiki page it says this was Sega's first Chinese translation of a turn-based strategy game.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8...BE%A4%E8%8B%B1

本作是SEGA於該電視遊樂器上發行的第一個有中文版的回合制策略遊戲。
(This is the first SEGA in the video game on the release of the first Chinese version of the turn-based strategy game .)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Genesis32XCD

On the Chinese wiki page it says this was Sega's first Chinese translation of a turn-based strategy game.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8...BE%A4%E8%8B%B1

本作是SEGA於該電視遊樂器上發行的第一個有中文版的回合制策略遊戲。
(This is the first SEGA in the video game on the release of the first Chinese version of the turn-based strategy game .)

---

Ok well that seems to build the evidence as to this being an official release.

Good find.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Genesis32XCD

On the Chinese wiki page it says this was Sega's first Chinese translation of a turn-based strategy game.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8...BE%A4%E8%8B%B1

本作是SEGA於該電視遊樂器上發行的第一個有中文版的回合制策略遊戲。
(This is the first SEGA in the video game on the release of the first Chinese version of the turn-based strategy game .)

---

More precisely, it should be translated as "This is the first turn-based strategy game published with the inclusion of Chinese version by Sega on this TV game console."
So it may not be the first Chinese localized game in Sega publishing or localization history, but on MegaDrive only.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dyer60

Ok well that seems to build the evidence as to this being an official release.

Good find.

---

And yes, it's an official release in Taiwan.