Kurogane no Houkou: Warship Commander/Technical Workarounds

• Since this game is very old, the PC version very unlikely to run it natively on Windows 10/11. There are some workarounds that requires Virtual Machine + Japanese version of Windows 98 or Windows XP.

Note: The author won't provide VM image required, nor does the game disc/iso or instructions on installing Windows 98/XP in Virtual Machine

Japanese Windows 98 + 86Box

• Prepare a hdd installed with Japanese version of Windows 98
• Set up a CD-ROM drive through 86Box settings and mount the game disc image
• Install the game either through autorun or setup program
• IMPORTANT! Set VM resolution to 640x480, 256 colors through Windows 98's display properties otherwise the game won't boot
• The game has Safedisc CD-Check therefore the disc image needs to be mounted when starting the game
• 86Box Settings used:
  • Machine Type: Slot 1
  • Machine: [i440BX] Gigabyte GA-686BX
  • CPU Type: Intel Pentium II (Deschutes)
  • Speed: 166
  • Memory: 256MB
  • Time: Local time
  • GPU: [PCI] 3dfx Voodoo 3 3000
  • Sound: [PCI] Ensonic AudioPCI (ES1371)
  • FM Synth Driver: Nuked
  • Storage Controller: [PCI] IDE Controller
  • Hard Disk: [IDE]0:0, Speed 7200RPM
  • CD-ROM Drive: [ATAPI]1:1, Speed x64

Japanese Windows XP + VMWare Workstation Pro

• Prepare a hdd installed with Japanese version of Windows XP
• Set up a CD-ROM drive through VMWare settings or use virtual drive utility like DAEMON Tools Lite to mount the game disc image
• Install the game through setup program
• Setting VM display resolution and color isn't necessary
• IMPORTANT! DO NOT click through Koei/Micro Cabin intro screen too quickly to skip the intro video or it will minimize the game window and softlocks it! Click after the copyright screen goes off to minimize the chance of the game going haywire before it enters the main menu.