Red Company's RPG epic, only on PC Engine CD-ROM. The first game with a real-time calendar and holidays.
Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru was developed by Red Company and released for PC Engine Super CD-ROM in January 1992 — the sequel to the original Tengai Makyou, an epic JRPG set in a fantasy version of feudal Japan called Ziria. The game featured a real-time calendar system that tracked the actual date: special events, enemy behaviors, and some items changed based on the real-world time and Japanese holidays. The CD-ROM format supported full voice acting and anime cutscenes. Tengai Makyou II never received an English localization. The series remained Japan-exclusive through its main entries, and is cited as one of PC Engine's most ambitious RPG productions.
About this game
Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru (1992) is the most ambitious RPG ever produced for the PC Engine, and by some measures one of the most expensive video games ever made at the time of its release. Developed by RED Company and published by Hudson Soft for the Super CD-ROM², it is set in Jipang — a fictional Japan — and follows a twelve-year-old named Manjimaru on a journey to save the world from an ancient darkness. Its score was composed by Joe Hisaishi, the composer behind Studio Ghibli's most celebrated films. Its development budget, revealed decades later, was approximately ¥500 million — possibly making it the first AAA game production in history. It became Japan's best-selling PC Engine game.
Key Features
A full-voice-acted cast — made possible by the Super CD-ROM² format — at a time when voice acting in games was extraordinarily rare. A score by Joe Hisaishi, the composer of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke. A story set in a rich fictional Japan (Jipang) with original folklore, mythology, and characters drawing on Japanese cultural history. Animated cut scene sequences in the style of 1990s anime. An expansive world map and classic JRPG turn-based battle system. Multiple party members with distinct personalities and character arcs.
Gallery
The Story Behind
In 1992, the Super Famicom was the dominant platform for JRPGs in Japan — Final Fantasy IV (1991) and Dragon Quest V (1992) were both on Nintendo's hardware. Tengai Makyou II was Hudson Soft's and RED Company's statement that the PC Engine CD-ROM format was capable of matching and exceeding what cartridges could do in storytelling and production values. The ¥500 million development budget — revealed in 2015 by lead programmer Hiromasa Iwasaki — made it possibly the first game to be produced with a budget that would today be recognised as "AAA." The voice acting, orchestral score, and animated sequences were unprecedented in a console RPG. The game received critical acclaim upon release and became the best-selling PC Engine title in Japan.
Tricks & Tales
Joe Hisaishi composed the score for Tengai Makyou II, but this was not his first video game work — he had contributed music to earlier Tengai Makyou games. However, Manjimaru marked the scale at which game music production could equal film production. The game was never officially localised into English; the complex historical and cultural references — drawn from Japanese folklore, Edo-period history, and Kabuki theatre — made localisation extremely challenging. Fan translation projects have existed, but a commercial English version has never been released. Hiromasa Iwasaki's 2015 interview revealed the ¥500 million budget figure, contextualising the game as an extraordinarily expensive production for any medium of its era.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Japan only — Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru (天外魔境II 卍MARU). No official English version has been released. The game requires the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² interface card (System Card 3.0 or Arcade Card) to run. Fan translation patches are available for emulation use. A physical English-language cartridge has never been officially produced.
Maintenance Tips
Tengai Makyou II is a Super CD-ROM² title — it requires the Super System Card (System Card 3.0) or later interface card in the PC Engine to run. The CD itself should be handled carefully: check for scratches, especially radial scratches that can cause read errors. Clean with a soft lens cloth in straight radial strokes from the centre outward — never circular. The jewel case is worth preserving as the manual contains story and lore content valuable to the game experience.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru copies regularly.
Will this Japanese PC Engine game work on a North American TurboGrafx-16?
Not without a hardware adapter. The TurboGrafx-16's data bus lines are wired in reverse compared to the PC Engine, making the two regions physically incompatible at the cartridge (HuCard) slot level. A passive adapter such as the dbElectronics Turbo PC-Henshin bridges this gap for HuCard titles. For CD-ROM² software, the TurboGrafx-CD drive will run Japanese discs if they do not carry a software region check, but compatibility varies by title. In both cases, Japanese PC Engine software is designed for the Japanese market and carries no English text.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru
A short checklist for buying used PC Engine software wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
Japanese PC Engine HuCards and CDs are not compatible with the North American TurboGrafx-16 — the formats differ. Use a Japanese PC Engine system.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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HuCard or CD-ROM² — know which you're buying
PC Engine games come on HuCard chips or on CD-ROM². CD titles also require the right CD system and a working System Card.
Confirm the format in the listing, and for CDs check the disc surface and that saves are supported.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what it's selling for on eBay →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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