Thank you! You've found a goldmine of information! ^^
I'm currently reading that adverts category and the Oak video chipset faq..

yawetaG wrote:

While digging for specs on Epson's non-PC-98 x86 systems, I discovered something very interesting: they sold Intel 486-based and above systems in North America that can be clocked down to 8086 speeds using a similar method as their Japan-only PC-98 compatibles! Better yet, the manuals and specs and sometimes drivers are available on their US site...just go to the support section, click "Browse by product category", then "Other products" and select the appropriate option. Now this is a manufacturer that understands what "legacy support means". 😎

Argh...two months later they've revamped their site and the contents on old hardware is gone... 😢

yawetaG wrote:

Argh...two months later they've revamped their site and the contents on old hardware is gone... 😢

Oh, well, that's sad. 🙁

But at least the content is still on the servers! 😀

Here's the manual for the "Epson Endeavor 486C", for example.
https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/en4c__/en4c__u1.pdf

A list of old Epson products can still be retrived from Archive.org.
http://web.archive.org/web/20150509005728/htt … foType=Overview

I'm confident, with a little bit of googling,
it's still possible to save most of the manuals and datasheets.

Edit: Edited the title, since the thread has evolved. 😀

Found a little page about PC98 (some kind of a buyer's guide):
http://japan-retro.de/pc98faq.html
Translation to English

Hello again! Just found another interesting page.
It's about Windows/386 for PC-9800 Machines.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/kaosekken999/archives/52113111.html
English translation

Here's a page listing various operating systems for PC-98 and PC/AT:

http://island.geocities.jp/cklouch/column/sofmus/os.htm

And here's what I've found out about Windows95/98/98SE/NT until now: Epson AT-550L

What's also interesting is that the first version of Windows with proper USB support on PC-98 systems was Windows 2000.

Update. Dos-J Plus (DOSJP), the Japanese font utility for western DOSes, seems to work OK on 286 machines with EMU386 beeing loaded.
This is nice for DOS/V games, which do otherwise run just fine on pre-386 machines.

Quick update. Found a website which describes the different sound boards for the PC-98 series.

http://island.geocities.jp/cklouch/column/pc9 … as/pc980186.htm

Translation : English / German

Long story short: Both PC-9801-26 and PC-9801-86 were popular standard boards.
The PC-9801-26 ('85) featured an OPN, while the PC-9801-86 ('93) had an OPNA synthesizer chip.

In contrast, the PC-9801-118 from 1995 had an OPL3, just like the western Sound Blasters/PAS16s of their time.
According to this source, it also had got an YMF 297 for backwards compatibility*.
It was probably made to provide better support for the upcoming Windows 95.

(*Speaking under correction)

Edit: According to this source, the YMF297 was a combo chip.
It included functionality of both YMF289(OPL3-LV) and YMF288(OPN3-L).

Little update. I did take some video recordings of a few DOS/V games, incl. openings w/ OPL2/YM3812 musical score.
- For comparison with their more popular PC98 releases found on the web..
*Link*

Small update. I covered a few PC98 specfic things in my personal YT channel.
Such as running Neko Project II on OS/2 Warp 4, for example.
It has footage of Kyarukan, too, a hentai memory game, albeit censored (kids safe, I apologize).
So you may like to make a quick visit there (I'm not getting money for that, it's just a hobby), hm ? .. 😀

FWIW, DOS/V was shipped on the Sega Teradrive, a joint project between Sega and IBM which, other than being able to play Mega Drive games, is a normal PC/AT compatible 286-10 machine with a WDC VGA chip.

A device driver is loaded in config.sys to switch to the VGA kana/kanji display mode, and every DOS game I've tried runs just fine in this environment, with the exception that "ANSI" colour CP437 text doesn't display (e.g. 90s post-game "this is shareware" screens, or the initialization screen of Keen 4-6).

Hey, thank's a lot for your reply! The Tera Drive seems awesome!
Reminds me a bit of the old Mega PC from old Europe, but I hear there are many differences.

If you're interested in Mega Drive programming, check out BasiEgaXorz.
That's a BASIC compiler for the Sega Mega Drive, 60Hz-only of course (the creator hates PAL). 😉

Speaking of DOS/V, I once got a real copy of MS-DOS/V version 6, including manual und diskettes.
It wasn't in the best conditions, but I gratefully could save the disks. ^^

There's a lot of background information in respect to DOS/V, I believe.
For example, V5 does use hardware-wrapparound of the VGA,
whereas V6.xx takes care of it on its own. Or so I heard.

Little update. Got a copy of the Win/V demo version (honestly!).
As you found out on page one, it adds Japanese characters to English/western copies of Win 3.1x.

"This is a special Internet demo version of Win/V.
It is fully functional except for the following limitations:
- Only one bitmap system font size.
- English application helpers disabled.
- Kanji TrueType Fonts cannot be added."

I've attached it to this posting, hope that's okay.

It might be useful for getting Japanese games or emulators running..

Small update.
Found another interesting site with lots of DOS/V and JWIN games listings.
Note it's a text list only and it's 21+. So please only visit if you can handle it. 😉

Little update. Found another Japanese font utility for DOS on the site mentioned before.
It might be useful for those of you that have trouble with DOS-J Plus. I'll attach it here for preservation purposes.

Quick update. Found a PC-9801 game database. I think it's worth mentioning here.

https://refuge.tokyo/pc9801/pc9801.html

Quick update. Some more database sites/review sites about Japanese games and JRPGs :

https://pc98library.tistory.com/m/

https://www.jrkrpg.pl/

https://sutorippu.com/

With screen shots from real CRT monitors :

http://koorogich.blog.2nt.com/blog-category-0.html

Edit: Warning - Just noticed this when I checked the site on a PC browser :
The koorogich blog is quite, um, graphic heavy. Mildly said. There are box art shots of Photo CDs etc on the index site and some stuff is 18+,
so please don't visit if you are more of a faint hearted person. My apologies, also. I changed the link to category 0, which (currently) shows nothing like that.

On the left, there's a frame with links to the specific platform sites. Alternatively, alter link to:
1= Sharp X1, 2= Fm Towns, 3= PC-88, 4= X68, 5= manual scans, 6= PC-98, 7= box art, 8= Photo CD

Quick update. Found an interesing blog about PC-98 that gives advices for the different models.

The online translation fom Japanese to English says:

" If you want to enjoy DOS games before the appearance of Windows 3.1
1. PC-9801DA/U2
Equipped with 80386 (20MHz) CPU. It has reasonable processing power when used with DOS.
V30 is not installed, but since V30 compatibility mode is prepared, you can enjoy old games after PC-9801VM.
However, some games that use V30 specific instructions will not work properly.
Although it is monaural, it is equipped with an FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-26K),
so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.

2. PC-9821 (first generation) MULTi
Equipped with i386SX (20MHz) CPU. Although it is a little weak, it has a sufficient level of processing power as long as it is used with DOS.
Since it can operate at a processing speed equivalent to V30 (8MHz), you can enjoy old games after PC-9801VM.
However, some games that use V30 specific instructions will not work properly.
The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86),
so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.
Also, although it is a constant speed, it has a CD-ROM,
so there is an advantage that it is easy to exchange data with a Windows PC.

3. PC-9821Ap/Ap2
Equipped with i486DX2 (66MHz) CPU. It has comfortable processing power when used with DOS.
Since it can operate at a processing speed equivalent to V30 (8MHz), you can enjoy old games after PC-9801VM.
However, some games (Ys, Ys2, etc.) do not work properly (bug on dialogue screen).
In the case of AP2, replacing the CPU with PentiumODP (Socket 3) will increase the speed a little, but old software will often work normally.
In the case of AP, the socket (Socket 2) does not support PentiumODP, so it does not physically stick.
The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86), so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.

4. PC-9821Ce2/Cs2
Equipped with i486SX (25/33MHz) CPU. When used with DOS, it has a comfortable processing power to some extent.
Since it can operate at a processing speed equivalent to V30 (8MHz), you can enjoy old games after PC-9801VM.
However, some games (Ys, Ys2, etc.) do not work properly (bug on dialogue screen).
The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86), so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.
Also, although it is twice as fast, it has a CD-ROM, so it has the advantage of being easy to exchange data with a Windows PC.

5. PC-9801ES
Equipped with i386SX (16MHz) CPU. Although it is not powerful, it has a satisfactory level of processing power as long as it is used with DOS.
V30 is also installed, so you can enjoy old games from the early days of PC-9801.
Since it is not equipped with an FM sound source, a separate FM sound source expansion board such as the PC-9801-86 is required to enjoy the game.

Extra) PC-9801UV11 *Because it's compact and cool (laughs)
Equipped with V30 CPU. V30 can be switched between 8MHz and 10Mhz, so you can enjoy old games from early PC-9801.
It's pretty weak, so I think it's a good choice as a second machine for those who already have a model after i486SX.
Since the sound is equipped with a monaural FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-26K), you can enjoy game music without additional investment.

If you want to enjoy DOS games after the appearance of Windows 3.1
1. PC-9821Ap/Ap2
Equipped with i486DX2 (66MHz) CPU. It has comfortable processing power when used with DOS.
As expected, software (such as bone dust) made on the premise of Pentium-equipped machines will drop frames,
but I think that it is a famous machine that can handle everything from PC-9801VM and later games to Windows 95 era games.
The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86), so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.

2. PC-9801BX4
Equipped with i486DX2 (66MHz) CPU. It has comfortable processing power when used with DOS.
Although it has a Low mode that slows down the CPU, it can only slow down to i486SX (equivalent to 16MHz).
V30 era software is too fast to be a game. Also, since the FM sound source is not installed,
a separate FM sound source expansion board such as the PC-9801-86 is required to enjoy the game.

3. PC-9821Ap3
Equipped with i486DX4 (100Mhz) CPU. It has comfortable processing power when used with DOS.
Although it has a Low mode that slows down the CPU, it can only slow down to i486SX (equivalent to 16MHz).
V30 era software is too fast to be a game. The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86),
so you can enjoy game music without additional investment.

4. PC-9821Cx
Equipped with i486SX (33Mhz) CPU. When used with DOS, it has a comfortable processing power to some extent.
Although it has a Low mode that slows down the CPU, it can only slow down to i486SX (equivalent to 16MHz).
V30 era software is too fast to be a game. The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86).
However, since it is not fully compatible with PC-9801-86 (generally called Canbe sound source),
some software may not produce sound properly unless measures such as applying patches are taken.
Also, although it is twice as fast, it has a CD-ROM, so it has the advantage of being easy to exchange data with a Windows PC.

5. PC-9821Cx3/Cx13
Equipped with Pentium100/133 CPU. It has a fairly comfortable processing power when used with DOS.
Although it has a Low mode that slows down the CPU, it can only slow down to i486SX (equivalent to 16MHz).
V30 era software is too fast to be a game.
The sound is equipped with a stereo FM sound source (equivalent to PC-9801-86) + extended FM sound source function (up to 20 FM sound sources).
In addition, since it is equipped with a quadruple CD-ROM, it has the advantage of being easy to exchange data with a Windows PC."

Furthermore, it gives an advice for PC-98 monitors:

"The resolution of the PC-9801 series is 640x400 and can only be displayed on a monitor that supports a horizontal frequency of 24.8Hz.
A 15-inch CRT monitor can be bought cheaply, but it takes up a lot of space, and when you dispose of it,
you can't dispose of it as oversized garbage, so you'll have to ask a waste collection company to do it, which costs money.

The PC-9821 series supports a horizontal frequency of 31.5Hz, so any monitor with a D-Sub15Pin terminal can display it.
However, the PC-98 monitor output connector shape is D-SUB15Pim (2 rows), so a conversion adapter to D-SUB15Pin (3 rows) is required."

Source: https://blog.goo.ne.jp/rxn10223/e/2934f520351 … 25be428243c5caf

Please note that the text above this is a machine translation, not the author's words.

Quick update. Apparently, there was sort of an international or US American version of the PC-9801, the NEC APC III.

https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=996

The machine featured a C-Bus and an 8 MHz 8086 CPU.
Optionally, it was possible to install an expansion board for IBM PC compatibility, with a second 8086 CPU and CGA.

This is alao interesting. The Japanese release of Windows 3.1 was released in May 1993, about a year later than the western release.

Source: https://radioc.web.fc2.com/column/pc98bas/pc98winver_en.htm