Thank you, John and Graeme and everyone at 8-4 for all your hard work on this Japanese release!

UFO 50’s Japanese title screen

Japanese translation credits from UFO 50 (1/2)

Japanese translation credits from UFO 50 (2/2)

The PLAY FOREVER screen from UFO 50 in Japanese

UFO 50 hits Japan today! This was a pretty huge undertaking given there were several dozen games to localize but the team did an amazing job and the Japanese version looks awesome. Big 💙 to @mossmouth.bsky.social and @perryjon.bsky.social and everyone who worked to make the JP release a reality!

pretty quickly, which tracks, considering how little info there is about it online. @JC_PCE over on Twitter might know, or maybe @hiroiwasaki.bsky.social? If I have time at some point, I might dig through some old PCE magazines and see if it crops up anywhere. (3/3)

but he thinks it was something the PR folks put together, probably for a toy show, possibly in conjunction with one of the PCE magazines at the time. Maybe members were able to get special access to NEC HE's home theater setup in Akihabara (just conjecture)? Either way, it likely faded out (2/3)

I wasn't sure myself, so I checked with a friend of mine who worked in the advertising dept. of NEC HE during the PCE days (plus one of his former co-workers, though unfortunately the co-worker didn't remember PC Engine Plaza existing in the first place). He said he couldn't remember for sure, (1/3)

大変お待たせしました。日本語版『UFO 50』のSteam、Nintendo Switch向け配信日が4月16日に決定しました。どうぞお楽しみに！

(The Japanese version of UFO 50 will be coming out on Steam and Nintendo Switch on April 16th!)

Do pirates do pilates? Clench your AnEarth and climb Gabe's favorite tower to find out as the crew explores the Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, dabbles in yet more PC Engine, and debates the latest news and rumors. Plus donuts and ice cream, of course. 8-4.jp/podcasts/202...

They do! I replaced all of my save batteries for all of my systems using the same (or similar) holders, and they work great!

writing the title of the US release of DuckTales in Japanese:

If you’re worried about the future of games, remember that your $ holds enormous sway. Support companies who actually care about the art and craft of making games, who put people first and value their employees & audiences. Support indies especially. The future doesn’t belong to greedy corporations

Linda Cubed! Any version (PS1, Saturn, or PCE).

I haven’t played the PS1 port, but I recall Japanese bloggers talking about how they preferred the PC-FX original because of the persistent on-screen map. (I also think it’s just more interesting as a PC-FX game than a PS1 game, personally.)

Random NPCs will give you useful tips. And the ones that don’t at least have amusing things to say (again, in Japanese at least; Shoji Masuda is a fantastic writer, but I don’t know how the fan translation stacks up). Scenario A is overall super forgiving and relatively short, so just experiment!

Can’t speak for the English fan translation, but at least in Japanese it’s very straight forward! There are a lot of mechanics, but the game eases you into them little by little (and if there are any you aren’t into, you can ignore them). Biggest piece of advice: talk to everyone.

Linda Cubed, DQ7 Reimagined, Castlevania 64, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance highlight a mish-mash of new and old impressions alongside the latest news as we kick off 2026 for the second time with a respectable Tight 79! 8-4.jp/podcasts/202...

Hoshino Gen and Kondo Koji on Kouhaku

Kondo-san joined Hoshino Gen performing at the Nintendo Museum! #紅白

...and a PC Engine CD tune to also get you into the holiday spirit:

A PC Engine chiptune to get you into the holiday spirit:

RIP😅

If the trend continues, you should have plenty of chances yet! They had a bunch of leftovers from last year’s at TGS too, in case TGS is up your alley. ^_^

The merch itself is all so expensive, but it’s fun to see people turn out, despite the age of the property.

Such a bummer that the Masuda RPGs that did get official locs were OreShika 2 and Yuusha Shisu. (Both games I like very much, but far from his best work.)

A lot, actually! All very expensive! Most of it bought by me!

It’s been a few years since my last play-through, so I started a new file on the PS1 version on the train ride there. Can confirm that this game still rocks!

December 2025 Linda Cubed pop-up shop. Zoomed out picture of the entire Linda Cubed corner with people shopping.

Assorted Linda Cubed pin badge collectibles. Characters are random (unless you buy them all as a set).

Merch lineup poster.

This has been an expensive day 🥲

More people showed up.

“Lined up” for this year’s Linda Cubed pop-up shop, which opens in five minutes!

(Quotation marks because I’m the only one here. I am the line, lol.)

日本語版『UFO 50』を2025年中にリリースするつもりでしたが、仕上げの時間がもう少し必要でした。でも、とてもいい感じですよ！もう少々お待ちください！

(We need a little more time with the Japanese version of UFO 50. It's looking great, though!)

This! ☝️

There were definitely some great games that came before it! My favs are Suikoden, Policenauts, Popolocrois, and Wild Arms, to list a few.

(FWIW, I’m pretty much always thinking of game release dates in terms of the Japanese timeline, which looks a bit different from North America)