Name the Game

[Danvzare]

Let's see how quickly someone can figure this one

Hey Dan. 

Is it some variation on Solomon's Key? 

The game is basically a blatant copy of Solomon's Key, but with selectable characters, multiplayer and a level editor. It isn't called Solomon's Key though.

Here's some more screenshots to help:

[Frodo]

The game is basically a blatant copy of Solomon's Key, but with selectable characters, multiplayer and a level editor. It isn't called Solomon's Key though.

It's not called Solomon's Key?

Hmm

Solomon's Metal Lock Opener?   

[Frodo]

Hmm, this is a toughie!   

Another screenshot please?   
And is the name Solomon's... something?  or is it completely different? 

[Gilbert]

I've cheated and used reverse image search so it doesn't count.
Turn out this game is very very obscure.
The only relevant page was in Korean, it showed a Korean name on the title screen but had an English name inside bracket, which I didn't even know whether it's the correct English title  (or whether the game was released in the west).

BUT the company name was in Chinese, so after further research, I found that this was an old Taiwanese DOS game (and the company is still around doing well), but the original Chinese title was completely different.

Anyway the name I could find are:

Spoiler

恰哥與肥佬 (Original Chinese title, translate to somewhat like "handsome guy and fat guy")
Pocket Runner (Shown from the Korean page)

[close]

[Danvzare]

Hmm, this is a toughie! 

Another screenshot please? 
And is the name Solomon's... something?  or is it completely different? 

Sorry that I missed this. 

Here you go:

The only other images I'll be able to give now, are of other levels.

Also "Solomon" does not appear in the name at all.

And here's a hint. While I can't find a copyright date, it seems the game came out in 1998. I'm basing this on the "last modified" date of the files (which ranges from 22/05/1998 to 19/11/1998), the other games it's typically packaged with in Warez CDs (where I was able to find a copy thanks to the Internet Archive), and on the version of DirectX  that it recommends on the back of the CD case (which I managed to find an image of online).

I've cheated and used reverse image search so it doesn't count.
Turn out this game is very very obscure.
The only relevant page was in Korean, it showed a Korean name on the title screen but had an English name inside bracket, which I didn't even know whether it's the correct English title  (or whether the game was released in the west).

BUT the company name was in Chinese, so after further research, I found that this was an old Taiwanese DOS game (and the company is still around doing well), but the original Chinese title was completely different.

Anyway the name I could find are:

Spoiler

恰哥與肥佬 (Original Chinese title, translate to somewhat like "handsome guy and fat guy")
Pocket Runner (Shown from the Korean page)

[close]

Heh, you found it. 
Also it's a Windows game not a DOS game. But other than that, you've got everything spot on. The game was never released in the west to my knowledge. (Well not officially at least. Does piracy count?)

Although now I'm not sure if I should give you the turn. I mean, you did do a lot of research and it is a VERY obscure game.

I'll let you and Frodo decide.

[Frodo]

Gilbert should get the turn.  He found the correct name.   

[Danvzare]

Gilbert should get the turn.  He found the correct name.   

Agreed.

Your turn Gilbert. 

[Gilbert]

Also it's a Windows game not a DOS game.

Actually the Korean page (and some Chinese forums) I've found mentioned using a specific launcher build of DOSBOX to run it, so it should be a DOS game (it might have been released also for Windows though).

It is possible that whatever war digital distribution service you got it from already had the game bundled with the launcher so it seemed to work seamlessly as a Windows app.

As I was literally cheating I initially didn't want to take the next turn, but considering how obscure this game was I think it could take forever to move on.

Anyway, next one:

[Danvzare]

Also it's a Windows game not a DOS game.

Actually the Korean page (and some Chinese forums) I've found mentioned using a specific launcher build of DOSBOX to run it, so it should be a DOS game (it might have been released also for Windows though).

It is possible that whatever war digital distribution service you got it from already had the game bundled with the launcher so it seemed to work seamlessly as a Windows app.

Nope, it's definitely 100% a Windows only game. I did find a version of it which came with a special version of DOSbox with Windows 95 pre-loaded onto it (which is probably what you found). But that was the second version of the game I found (the Korean version), which I only looked for because I wanted the CD music (the first version I found, had cut out the music and FMVs for space reasons).
The original version I found was on the Internet Archive and it was the original Taiwanese version, and it was on a Warez CD that predates DOSbox by around five years. Both versions are clearly Windows games.
You just have to throw in a DirectDraw wrapper and it works perfectly. (Although you can run it without a wrapper if you don't mind some major graphical glitches.)
I've found no evidence that there was ever a DOS version. (By the way, what kind of DOS game requires DirectX? Pictures of the back of the CD case on what I can only assume is some sort of Chinese knockoff eBay, clearly says in English that it requires DirectX 5.)

Oh, and I've also extracted the Korean version from that virtual DOSbox harddrive in case you're wondering. It's exactly the same as the Taiwan version, except one of the files has a slightly newer "last modified" date. But only by a few weeks. It's the file that contains the intro logos.

By the way, if you removed the FMVs and the music, the game would still require around 20 floppy disks. So I can say with absolute certainty, that there isn't a mythical DOS version sold on floppy disks. So if there was a DOS version, it'd have to be packaged on the same CD as the Windows version, which there isn't. So I think you're just getting confused because you saw that it's been bundled with DOSBox, and didn't realize that it's a special version of DOSBox that's being used to emulate Windows 95 and a disc drive with a CD in it (to get the CD music working).
By the way, if you want proof of what I'm saying, I can send over the game. You don't have to take my word for it.

(Sorry for the long reply. I just thought it was best to state everything.)



As for the screenshot. Is that Dragon Quest VIII?

[Gilbert]

I never tried the game so I'm not sure, but if you're sure that it's a Windows game that it probably was, or also possibly a hybrid game that contained both DOS and Windows versions on the same disc.

I just don't understand the floppy part. There is no corelation between DOS and floppy disks. A LOT of DOS games came in CDs.

As for the screenshot. Is that Dragon Quest VIII?

Correct! That's fast, in memory of the great Sugiyama Koichi and Toriyama Akira.
Your turn is next.

[Danvzare]

I never tried the game so I'm not sure, but if you're sure that it's a Windows game that it probably was, or also possibly a hybrid game that contained both DOS and Windows versions on the same disc.

I just don't understand the floppy part. There is no corelation between DOS and floppy disks. A LOT of DOS games came in CDs.

Yep, I'm absolutely certain it's a Windows only game (as certain as the sky is blue and the world is round). 
I bet if you download that version you found, you'll see that it's a Windows game.
I suppose there is the possibility that like you said, it's a hybrid game with both DOS and Windows versions (like GTA and Dungeon Keeper), but I've not found anything to suggest that's the case.
As an example, this site here lists it as a Win 9X game, with no DOS version listed. It's also where you can download that DosBox version with Windows 95 preloaded onto it. It's a bit of a pain to figure out how to do it though if you can't read Korean, but I managed to figure it out, so I'm sure you could.
So yeah, you shouldn't assume a game must be a DOS game just because some people got it running on DosBox. There are plenty of forks of DosBox, some of which are made to play Windows games. 

As for why I brought up the floppy part. I know that a lot of games back in the day used to release the DOS version on floppy disk and the Windows version on CD, with them both being sold separately (I think that's the case with Sim City 2000). So I just thought that I'd bring up that it was unlikely to have a DOS only floppy disk version due to how big the game is (it's small, but still nearly 30MB), meaning that if there was a DOS version, it'd probably have to be on the CD with the Windows version (like GTA and Dungeon Keeper). And since I can't find any CDs with both a DOS version and a Windows version (only a Windows version), then presumably there isn't a DOS version.

That being said if you manage to find and download a DOS version, please send it my way. 

As for the screenshot. Is that Dragon Quest VIII?

Correct! That's fast, in memory of the great Sugiyama Koichi and Toriyama Akira.
Your turn is next.

I think I've had my turn long enough. And I don't have any games in mind. So I'll let someone else have it. 

I'm glad I was able to instantly recognize Dragon Quest VIII though, despite having not managed to finish the game. 

[Frodo]

If Dan doesn't mind, I'll nip in here with the next screenshot. 

Who recognises this top-down adventure? 






(Could someone remind me how to add images please?  I can't get it to work properly.    )

EDIT:   Thanks, HeltonJon 

[Volcan]

Cult?

[Frodo]

Cult?

Wow, that was fast!   

Yes, it is indeed Cult.  Cult 1 & Cult 2 are fun wee games.   

Your turn, Volcan.   

[Volcan]

My turn you say?

Here we go.

[Gilbert]

SLAPSTICK?

* Gilbert went check. It's called Robotrek in the west.

[Volcan]

That's right.

You turn.

[Gilbert]

Okay.

[Volcan]

Might and Magic.

I have this game on my computer.

[Gilbert]

Now, that is fast.
It was supposed to be tricky, because this console version was never released in the west.
This game was the sole reason I decided to have that console instead of the other two competitors (the Super Famicom and the Mega Drive) and it was indeed the best choice.

Anyway, your turn!