This page contains information about the site, its purpose, and other vaguely interesting information somehow relating to it. Most importantly, it talks about how you can help the site out!
General Information
Why was this site made?
I (well, SuitCase) always wanted to have a cool and useful website. I guess this isn’t a particularly useful website when it comes down to it, but it’s at least interesting to me, and has a point. Neil Lafrenais (Email link) tagged along for a short time then lost interest, but it’s been slowly forming since around 2002.
It might not be a useful site, it might not even get any visitors outside of those people who know me, but it doesn’t really matter in the end. The Keio Yuugekitai series needs some sort of tribute for being so quirky and interesting, and it’s represented here! It’s also a rather fun hobby, collecting random stuff from a forgotten game series last thought about in 1998. And at least we can keep our hopes up for maybe a new game sometime in the distant future!
Who made it?
SuitCase (Email link) writes most stuff, Neil Lafrenais (Email link) wrote a a bunch of miscellaneous stuff too. It’s usually possible to tell who, but more often than not it’s SuitCase, so.. yeah. Email if you need specifics. Some cute decorative graphics are the work of TaeshiLH (Email link), credited and attributed properly on the Fan Art page. Neil and TaeshiLH have also submitted art, along with Blaze Hedgehog. As for other materials, TaeshiLH scanned that Game Informer article regarding Keio Yuugekitai’s US edition. She’s so cool.
People have emailed me to help and I really appreciate that. So far I’ve had Charlie Ward contribute the opening video for Keio Yuugekitai Katsugekihen, and Squilibob (Email link) with a couple of general fanart pictures of unknown origin. I’ve also had B.L. Outset (Email link) come forward with some excellent scans of the American Keio Flying Squadron game, as well as the soundtrack. G Borisz (Email link) has sent me an obscene amount of information and a doujinshi, Soan (Email link) deserves recognition for a bunch of information and pointing me to some fanart, and the infinitely spamaphobic Karurosu (just decode otacon dot karurosu at gmail dot com) for a whole bunch of images and facts. Also, Floppybunny49 (Email link) sent me some fan art for the site, which I’ve now uploaded - how awesome. Thanks!
The Specifics
What sort of conventions to organise information does this site follow?
Japanese names (Keio Yuugekitai Katsugekihen as opposed to Keio Flying Squadron 2, for example) are used in all instances possible, to promote less confusion and provide consistency when identifying the different versions of games. While this is an English site, the absence of an official English translation for Rami-chan no Oedo Sugoroku -Keio Yuugekitai Gaiden- and the Japanese origins of the series make it more convenient and logical to use the Japanese names. Note that in cases where specific regional versions of the games that are not Japanese, the region will be placed in brackets beside it - “Keio Yuugekitai Katsugekihen (European)”, for instance.
The site is organised into three sections. The General section contains more abstract information about the site and game in general, as well as the sort of online stuff that isn’t really “official” but still would be of interest to somebody investigating the game (see Fan Art and Links). The Information section provides specific information about the games and all official details about them - generally the primary part of the site and the part that should be most useful to you all. Finally, the Resources section is more of a general index for all the media available pertaining to Keio Flying Squadron games. Some of this is used in the information and general pages, but in those cases the media is generally meant to be more illustrative - Resources is intended to be a section to visit if you feel like taking some images or simply viewing all the artwork and such the site has amassed. The resources section only omits the images from the Fan Art section.
What can I do to help you out with it?
Well, that depends on what you have to offer! Really, just email SuitCase (Email link) and let him know if you have any of the following:
- Writings to contribute
- Interesting facts or information the page doesn’t have yet
- Scans of cool stuff, pictures of merchandise
- Offers to send said cool stuff or merchandise
- Fan art
- Links to interesting Keio Yuugekitai sites we haven’t catalogued yet
- Anything you feel might be helpful or interesting!
Whatever you do, it’d be most definitely appreciated, and you’d be credited and everything for helping out. So please don’t hesitate! We’d be upset with you otherwise.
Tell me the history of this place.
An extremely sporadic list of changes to the site. A lot go unreported, but I’ll try and put major stuff here.
11th of December, 2004 - Grand opening, of sorts. After two years of working on the site it’s good enough to be useful as it stands. A lot of pages are crappy and empty right now, but it’s a little temporary.
2nd of July, 2005 - Nothing major, but I’ve been quietly updating bits and pieces of the site and collecting things. Got a small bit of feedback.
13th of June, 2007 - For the three year anniversary, I tidied up a few things and added a bit more information. Oh, I have the USA Keio Flying Squadron game now! I might work on uploading it at some point.
7th of October, 2012 - Over five years later, I’m updating this page simply to list the following: the spinecard for Rami-chan no Oedo Sugoroku and the box for Keio Yuugekitai (Japanese edition). These are the only items I have left to collect before I have every game in its entirety. So SEND THEM TO ME. Or remind me to find them. I dunno.