MS-DOS 6.20/V was latest and had MemMaker shipped.
Compared to IBM-DOS 5 it also handled scrolling in software, which increased compatibility with bad VGA cards, if memory serves.
That being said, I remember reading there was a time when PC-98 games shipped with boot up files (barebone MS-DOS 3.3 and up).
It was a MS-DOS boot disk with custom autoexec.bat/config.sys, so to say, bundled with the commercial games.
These disks needed patching when run on Epson PCs. That's why I do remember.
But MS-DOS/V is different platform, obviously. If you merely need Japanese font support, you could try using English FreeDOS with Japanese font utilities.
Here's my thread about Japanese DOSes, it has some Freeware utilities: Re: Timeline of MS-DOS for NEC PC98 and more

Jo22 wrote on 2024-12-03, 20:17:

MS-DOS 6.20/V was latest and had MemMaker shipped. Compared to IBM-DOS 5 it also handled scrolling in software, which increased […]
Show full quote

MS-DOS 6.20/V was latest and had MemMaker shipped.
Compared to IBM-DOS 5 it also handled scrolling in software, which increased compatibility with bad VGA cards, if memory serves.
That being said, I remember reading there was a time when PC-98 games shipped with boot up files (barebone MS-DOS 3.3 and up).
It was a MS-DOS boot disk with custom autoexec.bat/config.sys, so to say, bundled with the commercial games.
These disks needed patching when run on Epson PCs. That's why I do remember.
But MS-DOS/V is different platform, obviously. If you merely need Japanese font support, you could try using English FreeDOS with Japanese font utilities.
Here's my thread about Japanese DOSes, it has some Freeware utilities: Re: Timeline of MS-DOS for NEC PC98 and more

It isn't the fonts that are the issue, I don't think. When I try to install the game under standard English Windows versions it looks for a DLL called WINNLS.DLL, and when I provide it with that DLL from a working install of JP Windows, it says the program is making an illegal operation. It seems like others have had this exact problem too, even here on the forums (albeit with different games). So, I figured I would bypass that nebulous issue all together and just use JP Windows and DOS-V. I will most likely give FreeDOS a try if I can't get DOS-V working though. Also, thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

TusockyThree68 wrote on 2024-12-03, 20:08:

I've been trying to get a recently found Japanese game called Noah's Ark to run in an Oracle VM. The reason I want to be able t […]
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I've been trying to get a recently found Japanese game called Noah's Ark to run in an Oracle VM. The reason I want to be able to use a VM is so that I can simply give people my VHD file in order to play the game, similar to what is done in the PC-98 emulation community. So far I've got DOS-V 5.0 and Japanese Windows 3.1 installed with the correct drivers for 256 Colors and CD-ROM support (which is necessary because Noah's Ark is a CD game)

The kicker here is sound. The only methods I can find to get sound working under this environment is to run an installer from a driver disc. Unfortunately, there isn't enough conventional memory to get this thing running, so I'm at a loss on what to do. I've tried reconfiguring the config.sys but when I tried that at a previous date, I messed things up, and did something that made it so Windows wouldn't load anymore. So I've attached my config.sys and autoexec.bat files in a ZIP archive in hopes someone can take a look at them and help me out. I haven't done much of anything to them yet, other than run an installer to get CD Rom support, which modified both. I also removed the lines relating to SMARTDRV because I didn't think I needed them.

The source of the sound driver disc image I'm trying to run the installer on came from this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ch6GcRf7o8&t=823s

I've always had trouble with memory stuff in DOS, so any help with this would be appreciated. I'm also open to suggestions if somebody has a better emulation solution they would like to recommend for this. (For the record, this game is available in SCUMMVM but I've heard reports that it doesn't work properly)

Closed.
So called "abandonware" is not supported here.