Friday, April 10, 2015

My best computer games (5) VM JAPAN

My best computer games (1) OBLIVION
My best computer games (2) Baldur's Gate
My best computer games (3) Master of Magic
My best computer games (4) Heroes of Might and Magic 3

VM JAPAN is a computer strategy game produced by Nihon Falcom in 2002. Originally, it was developed for Windows Vista. Subsequently, a power-up kit was released.


Now you can get the series via some online shops. They work promptly on Windows 8.1. Unfortunately, English version has not be developed.

Wikipedia: VM JAPAN (in Japanese)

VM JAPAN is originated from Vantage Master series. Vantage Master is also a strategy game. VM JAPAN is so called an arranged version of Vantage Master. Amazingly, old Vantage Master English version is now available for free!

Wikipedia: Vantage Master

Falcom: Vantage Master

In this game, you are a summoner. Your goal is to defeat the opponent. In every battlefield, your will fight against the other summoner. Each summoner has unique characteristics. Some summoners have so high magic power that they can summon stronger creatures frequently. Others are tough, physically strong, or quick. The list of the creatures you can summon is completely same as the opponent, different from similar games such as Heroes of Might and Magic series. There are some affinities among each creature: Heaven is stronger than Earth, Earth than Water, Water than Fire, and Fire than Heaven. Therefore, you should consider what type of creatures is the most useful in each point of time.

In VM JAPAN, there is absolutely no random element. How many points of damage does a creature inflict to the enemy is fixed, depending on several factors, such as attack and defense skills and affinity of each creature and terrain effect. It means you cannot win by chance. Vantage Master resembles chess, rather than any other simulation games.

There are many single play scenarios included in the package. You can play the story mode, as well as the expert mode in which you have to fight in the disadvantageous condition. For example, higher lands are occupied by the enemy summoner at the beginning in some scenarios. Creatures with a ranged attack on the higher ground can aim at more distant enemies than usual.

This is the final stage in the tournament mode. The difficulty is set to HARD, so the enemy has higher level by 5 than the player.


After several conflicts, the player reached the northwest side of the battlefield. In my opinion, occupying this place is crucial to grab the victory. A couple of Gotensho, the most powerful creature, are approaching. How to deal with the crises is the key. Only one missed move would be fatal.


After a long time, I ran downed the enemy summoner. The victory is close to me. However, I should be cautious because the enemy has a special ability to fascinate any creatures.


It is unfortunate that I have not played VM JAPAN with another human player. If I so, I would be defeated easily, because I am not a good player. Nonetheless, this game is quite fun. It tells you that a simple rule offers you an exciting time!

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