Lutter is an obscure-but-interesting combination of platform game and maze game, but with RPG elements – like levelling – also thrown into the mix.
You play the titular Lutter, a knight of the realm on a quest to rescue the princess from a maze-like castle of platforms, ladders, doors and monsters.
Known in its native Japan as Nazo no Murasame Jō, The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an action adventure released by Nintendo for the FDS in 1986.
It came not long after the first Zelda (also released on the Famicom Disk System) and uses many Zelda gameplay elements in its design, except with a ‘Feudal Japan’ style setting.
Continue reading The Mysterious Murasame Castle, Famicom Disk System
This 1989 release from Cinemaware is probably one of the least played Amiga games ever made.
It is based around historic (12th Century) Japanese warfare, with you playing one of two famous generals (Yoritomo or Yoshitsune) fighting to unify (pacify; subjugate) Japan under one rule.
The Commodore 64 version of Cinemaware‘s Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon is the version to play in my opinion – the earlier Amiga version of this excellent fantasy adventure game is uncharacteristically poor in terms of presentation.
Continue reading Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon, Commodore 64
Zone of the Enders is a 3D combat game based on the concept of ‘Mecha’ (big, Japanese robots). It was published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001.
Master of Magic is an archaic Role-Playing Game that is a throwback to the earliest days of home computing – except that it was released in 1985.
The game was programmed by Richard Darling (of Codemasters fame) with graphics by James Wilson. It was published at a budget price (£2.99) by Mastertronic on their M.A.D. label.
The Curse of Sherwood is a 1987 action/adventure game from the prolific programmer/designer Derek Brewster.
Velnor’s Lair was Derek Brewster‘s first commercial text adventure, and – as text adventures go – it is an excellent one.
Breath of Fire II is a direct sequel to Breath of Fire, first released in Japan in 1994.
Set 500 years after the events of Breath of Fire, you again assume the role of a young boy called Ryu, this time a descendant of the hero of the first game. You initially begin a quest to clear the name of one of your friends, and this snowballs into something epic.
