Yes I remember them, you could buy CD-R blanks of them, in different dye colours too. There was such a variety of CD-R material back then.

Thank you so much for sharing, I really appreciate it. My YouTube channel has been really struggling to build any traction over the years despite putting so much heart and soul into it doing original research and translation, so it makes a huge difference to have it shared, thank you. 🙏

Thanks for the words Tim :) Always appreciated! We know that many people won't have the time to learn Japanese, but we hope we can explain games that are otherwise accessible if only there was someone who could get you started - that's where we come in :) And for Japanese learners, we grade stuff!

Umm

IK+ on GBA, woo, I have it on GBC but didn't know it made it there too, will have to check it out. Cannon Fodder on GBC is another PAL region release highlight.

...and sure some of those game mechanics were questionable but they were part of the tapestry of how things involved and many of the minds behind those games ended up producing some of the most beloved classics across the world. I think the key word is context. It explains everything.

Thanks for writing this, it's something I've become increasingly frustrated at as I've seen a North American POV sometimes dominate and brush off what was happening largely in Europe at the time. Sure I mostly play NTSC-J releases these days, but I still have a sizeable PAL collection from C64...

Glad you enjoyed it, the link to the full video explains it in even more detail including translations from interviews originally in Japanese with Hudson president Hiroshi Kudo and the project manager at NEC Home Electronics, Tomio Goto.