Earlier this month, the Tokyo-based developer and publisher Mebius announced a new series of MSX reissues for the Nintendo Switch, in Japan, with the first of these scheduled to be a rerelease of the MSX2 version of the RPG BURAI Joukan (thanks Famitsu!)
BURAI Joukan, in case you've never heard of it, is a title that focuses on the story of eight warriors spread across the world who are suddenly entrusted with the task of saving the land from the followers of an evil god named Daar. It was initially released for the PC-88 and PC-98 in 1989 and was later ported in 1990 to the MSX2.
This new reissue of the game is set to be released in Japan this Summer, and features save states, a rewind function, wallpapers, and the ability to browse the game's manual. It will run on a new version of the MSXPLAYer emulator for Nintendo Switch, which has been co-developed with the MSX Association.
In addition to the above, Mebius has also announced plans to port the sequel BURAI: Gekan at a later date and has also expressed an interest in publishing more MSX classics on the Nintendo platform in the future.
As you may already be aware, another company called D4Enterprise has already been bringing a few MSX titles to the Nintendo Switch in Japan and overseas, via its EGGCONSOLE service. However, these are mostly presented as is, with the game receiving only a limited amount of localization, such as the addition of an English "how to play" section. As a result, it will be interesting to see how Mebius's approach will differ.
Currently, it's unknown whether the company will try to bring these overseas, but if they do, we hope they actually go the extra mile and try to make them accessible to Western players.