Abyss

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1984

The year is 3001. Mankind has conquered the galaxy and established an alliance to protect peace in the known space. The galactic federation of the ninth planet sends a man into deep space on a confidential operation known as "Abyss". However, the commander is captured by a criminal syndicate. His memory is erased, and he is rendered unable to communicate with his allies. His goal is to escape and find a way to return to the mother ship. Abyss is a text adventure with graphics. The player must input combinations of verb commands and objects in order to communicate with the environment and use inventory items to solve puzzles. Though the text descriptions are in Japanese, the commands themselves are in English.

Abyss

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1984

The year is 3001. Mankind has conquered the galaxy and established an alliance to protect peace in the known space. The galactic federation of the ninth planet sends a man into deep space on a confidential operation known as "Abyss". However, the commander is captured by a criminal syndicate. His memory is erased, and he is rendered unable to communicate with his allies. His goal is to escape and find a way to return to the mother ship. Abyss is a text adventure with graphics. The player must input combinations of verb commands and objects in order to communicate with the environment and use inventory items to solve puzzles. Though the text descriptions are in Japanese, the commands themselves are in English.

Abyss II: Tears of Emperor

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1985

In the year 3006, various organizations in the galaxy are searching for a legendary weapon known as Tears of Emperor. It is said that possession of this weapon will allow its owner to dominate the entire world. A criminal syndicate called Grimp has devised its own scheme for procuring the weapon. They kidnapped a well-known space explorer and infused his body with a tiny neutron bomb. If the explorer will not obtain Tears of Emperor for them, the bomb will detonate... Abyss II: Tears of Emperor is a follow-up to Abyss. Like its predecessor, the game is a text adventure with graphics. The player inputs commands combined from verbs and objects. Some of the more frequent commands are mapped to the function keys. Unlike the previous game, the commands are in Japanese and must be typed with katakana syllables.

Aguni no Ishi

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1988

Aguni no Ishi

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - 1989

Deep Dungeon II: Yuushi no Monshou

Microsoft MSX - January 1, 1988

Yūshi no Monshō is the sequel to Deep Dungeon: Madō Senki. Hundreds of years have passed, the spirit of the long forgotten evil Emperor Ruu has returned. A hero claiming to be the descendant of the previous hero Raru appears in the town of Dorl, and sets on exploring a tower in order to defeat Ruu. The game consists of an eight level tower, four of which are underground, while the others are above ground, the underground levels having a higher difficulty than the latter. The game plays like its predecessor, the player exploring the tower in a first-person view, fighting monsters and improving the hero's skills along the way. When the hero levels up, he gains points to be attributed to his different stats rather than having them distributed automatically. When the hero's level is significantly higher than that of the monsters on the level, random battles are suspended; only the battles triggered by stepping on specific spaces have to be fought. The game has two endings, one being a secret good ending.

Deep Dungeon II: Yuushi no Monshou

Nintendo Famicom Disk System - Released - May 30, 1987

The second game in the Deep Dungeon series, Yuushi no Monshou (lit: "Crest of the Hero") is a first-person 3D dungeon crawler RPG in the mold of Wizardry or Dungeon Master. The goal of the game is to reach the end of the dungeon with the hero, defeating all manner of monsters and finding treasure along the way. Graphically the game is much improved over the first one, as well as the difficulty is reduced. Another notable difference is that there are two dungeons instead of one: A four-level castle (the easier of the two) and a four-level dungeon. Defeating the tower is necessary for defeating the dungeon, largely because of how difficult the monsters become. The player can also visit the temple and shop in town. The former will replenish health and heal poison, while the latter provides various weapons and items for the hero to use.

Deep Dungeon III: Yuushi e no Tabi

Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - May 13, 1988

Deep Dungeon III: Yūshi he no Tabi (ディープダンジョンIII 勇士への旅?, lit. Deep Dungeon III: The Journey to the Hero) is the third installment in the Deep Dungeon series and the first to be released on the Famicom. This is the first Deep Dungeon title to offer the player a world to explore spanning multiple dungeons and multiple towns. It also allows the player to create their own party with up to three companions in addition to the hero character, with a choice of ranger, magician or priest for each character. Though the player can dismiss a character once the game has started, they will only be able to replace that character if they meet another pre-created playable character in one of the dungeons. However, the game will still end as soon as the protagonist "swordsman" character is defeated. This game retains the player-adjustable level-up stats from the first game, as well as the feature that removes randomized encounters if the player is at a significantly higher experience level than needed for their current location. One exclusive and rather annoying feature of this game engine is that sometimes the player character will fumble (remove) their equipped weapon, wasting that character's turn. If the player wishes to re-arm their weapon, it will cost the player another turn. This is the only game in the series to award the player money (Gold) when defeating enemies. All other games will force the player to re-enter maps to collect respawning chests for money or items (for resale) if they want to gold farm.

Deep Dungeon IV: Kuro no Yōjutsushi

Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - April 6, 1990

Deep Dungeon IV: Kuro no Youjutsushi (Deep Dungeon IV: The Black Sorcerer) is the fourth and final installment in the Deep Dungeon series. Unfortunately this game has removed the custom character feature of the previous game. Through the game, the player will meet up to two additional playable characters with predetermined class. This game also reverts to the standard practice or randomizing characters' stat growth when gaining an experience level. New to this engine is that the player can eventually learn to summon two monsters to function as a temporary additional party member for a single battle. It also removed the feature that stops random battles when the player is significantly more powerful than the enemies. This isn't as bad as it seems as the maps in this game are also much smaller (whereas the previous games used multi-floor dungeons up to 32x32 tiles, the dungeons in this game are either single floor, or multiple floors that can fit within a single 32x32 map) In this game, the player can accept "requests" from the non-player characters. These are optional tasks that will reward the player with bonus items, experience or money when finished.

Deep Dungeon: Madou Senki

Nintendo Famicom Disk System - Released - December 19, 1986

The town of Dorl has an infestation of demons who currently reside in the castles dungeon after a portal to the underworld was opened. The emperor of the underworld, Emperor Ruu, commanded his demons to raid the town to steal its treasure and during this ransacking the demons also managed to take Princess Etna's soul away too, leaving her in a comatose state. Many brave adventurers have entered the underground dungeon to try and reclaim her soul from this demon king, but none have returned successfully yet. So now it's up to the player to succeed where others have failed and put an end to the Emperor Ruu and also recover Princess Etna's soul. This game is a first-person dungeon crawler. Players start outside the dungeon where they can speak with the king and also purchase weapons, armor, shields, bracelets, and other items from the merchants shops. They can also sleep at an inn to fully restore their health (HP). Some of the items the player can purchase are actually spells that will cost the player 1 HP each time they are cast. Once the player descends into the dungeon they are free to explore the eight floors of the dungeon. Of course to survive the lower parts of the dungeon, the player will have to build up their levels by earning experience points from defeated monsters. Battles in this game are turn based

Diable de Laplace

Sharp X1 - Released - 1987

The town Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924. On the outskirts of the town stands the Weathertop mansion. It was just an ordinary place until the last owner, Benedict Weathertop, started practicing black magic. He killed his parents and populated the mansion with all kinds of undead. Since then, nobody dared to approach the mansion. But a short while ago, two boys were found dead near this horrible place. Apparently, the boys had tried to enter the mansion. Another evidence pointed out that a girl followed them - but her body hasn't been found yet, and there is a slight hope she might be alive. This is where you, the hero of the game, decide to investigate the mystery, and to venture into the mansion...

Diable de Laplace

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1987

The town Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924. On the outskirts of the town stands the Weathertop mansion. It was just an ordinary place until the last owner, Benedict Weathertop, started practicing black magic. He killed his parents and populated the mansion with all kinds of undead. Since then, nobody dared to approach the mansion. But a short while ago, two boys were found dead near this horrible place. Apparently, the boys had tried to enter the mansion. Another evidence pointed out that a girl followed them - but her body hasn't been found yet, and there is a slight hope she might be alive. This is where you, the hero of the game, decide to investigate the mystery, and to venture into the mansion... Laplace no Ma (Devil of Laplace) is a Japanese-style RPG with horror elements, somewhat similar to Sweet Home for NES. Unlike Sweet Home, this game is more oriented towards RPG gameplay. You are not stuck in the mansion, but can leave it, visit the town, and buy supplies. Later you also visit other locations such as a castle, etc. The battles are random, turn-based, and are viewed from first-person perspective. The hero of the game can recruit three other characters to the party of five available. Each character (including the hero, to whom you assign gender and class) belongs to one of the five character classes: Dilettante, Medium, Detective, Scientist, or Journalist. Dilettante is an all-around character with defensive magic, Medium is a kind of a black mage, Detective is a melee fighter, Scientist can construct powerful machines to perform various techniques, and the Journalist can take pictures of the monsters, which is the only way to gain money in the game.

Diable de Laplace

NEC PC-8801 - Released - July 4, 1987

The town Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924. On the outskirts of the town stands the Weathertop mansion. It was just an ordinary place until the last owner, Benedict Weathertop, started practicing black magic. He killed his parents and populated the mansion with all kinds of undead. Since then, nobody dared to approach the mansion. But a short while ago, two boys were found dead near this horrible place. Apparently, the boys had tried to enter the mansion. Another evidence pointed out that a girl followed them - but her body hasn't been found yet, and there is a slight hope she might be alive. This is where you, the hero of the game, decide to investigate the mystery, and to venture into the mansion...

Fire Ball

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - 1988

Generic Pinball Game

Housekeeper

3DO Interactive Multiplayer - Unreleased

Jigoku no Renshuu Mondai

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1984

Jigoku no Renshuu Mondai (meaning "Tests of Hell") is a text adventure with graphics. The game casts the player in the role of a novice angel who has to travel to hell in order to get acquainted with its inhabitants and withstand its trials. The player navigates the angel by typing N, W, E, and S representing the four directions, and inputting commands consisting of verbs and nouns to interact with characters and environment. Hell is populated by various famous characters with very different degrees of ethical credibility justifying their presence in such a place, ranging from Adolf Hitler to John Lennon. Most characters will ask the angel simple historical questions (e.g. Napoleon will inquire about his country of origin); answering these correctly will usually yield an item that can be used in other locations to retrieve further items, bypass various dangers, etc. The player character may get killed if the player chooses a wrong response or travels to a hazardous area without a corresponding item. Game progression is non-linear: almost all of the fifty or so screens are accessible from the beginning.

Kurokishi no Kamen

3DO Interactive Multiplayer - Released - 1994

Kurokishi no Kamen is a Role-Playing game, published by MMC Hummingbird Soft, which was released in Japan in 1994.

Laplace no Ma

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - March 30, 1993

The town Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924. On the outskirts of the town stands the Weathertop mansion. It was just an ordinary place until the last owner, Benedict Weathertop, started practicing black magic. He killed his parents and populated the mansion with all kinds of undead. Since then, nobody dared to approach the mansion. But a short while ago, two boys were found dead near this horrible place. Apparently, the boys had tried to enter the mansion. Another evidence pointed out that a girl followed them - but her body hasn't been found yet, and there is a slight hope she might be alive. This is where you, the hero of the game, decide to investigate the mystery, and to venture into the mansion... Laplace no Ma (Devil of Laplace) is a Japanese-style RPG with horror elements, somewhat similar to Sweet Home for NES. Unlike Sweet Home, this game is more oriented towards RPG gameplay. You are not stuck in the mansion, but can leave it, visit the town, and buy supplies. Later you also visit other locations such as a castle, etc. The battles are random, turn-based, and are viewed from first-person perspective. The hero of the game can recruit three other characters to the party of five available. Each character (including the hero, to whom you assign gender and class) belongs to one of the five character classes: Dilettante, Medium, Detective, Scientist, or Journalist. Dilettante is an all-around character with defensive magic, Medium is a kind of a black mage, Detective is a melee fighter, Scientist can construct powerful machines to perform various techniques, and the Journalist can take pictures of the monsters, which is the only way to gain money in the game.

Laplace no Ma

Sharp X68000 - Released - December 21, 1990

The town Newcam, Massachusetts, 1924. On the outskirts of the town stands the Weathertop mansion. It was just an ordinary place until the last owner, Benedict Weathertop, started practicing black magic. He killed his parents and populated the mansion with all kinds of undead. Since then, nobody dared to approach the mansion. But a short while ago, two boys were found dead near this horrible place. Apparently, the boys had tried to enter the mansion. Another evidence pointed out that a girl followed them - but her body hasn't been found yet, and there is a slight hope she might be alive. This is where you, the hero of the game, decide to investigate the mystery, and to venture into the mansion... Laplace no Ma (Devil of Laplace) is a Japanese-style RPG with horror elements, somewhat similar to Sweet Home for NES. Unlike Sweet Home, this game is more oriented towards RPG gameplay. You are not stuck in the mansion, but can leave it, visit the town, and buy supplies. Later you also visit other locations such as a castle, etc. The battles are random, turn-based, and are viewed from first-person perspective. The hero of the game can recruit three other characters to the party of five available. Each character (including the hero, to whom you assign gender and class) belongs to one of the five character classes: Dilettante, Medium, Detective, Scientist, or Journalist. Dilettante is an all-around character with defensive magic, Medium is a kind of a black mage, Detective is a melee fighter, Scientist can construct powerful machines to perform various techniques, and the Journalist can take pictures of the monsters, which is the only way to gain money in the game.

Laplace No Ma

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - April 15, 1989

Laplace no Ma (Rapurasu no Ma, literally "Laplace's Demon") is a Japanese video game released in 1987 for the NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801. The game was also ported to the MSX in 1989. This video game is a mixture of the role-playing video game and survival horror genres and set in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts in a town called "Newcam", it is modeled after the fictional city Arkham created by H. P. Lovecraft. The horror part of the game lies in the exploration of the fictional Weathertop Mansion, whose owner dabbled in black magic. The game's CRPG features include its character classes—Dilettante, Medium, Detective, Scientist, and Journalist—and that the player can leave the mansion to walk around the town to go to shops to buy items needed to defeat the monsters and complete the game.

Laplace No Ma

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - July 14, 1995

Laplace´s Demon is a Sweet Home-like RPG for the SNES. It takes place in a suburb of Boston in 1924. You can pick from one of six or so classes at the start of the game (Detective, Journalist, Psychic, etc) and you can recruit other members, and it plays a lot like a normal RPG. It also seems to be one of the first games to pioneer a limit-break like system, which is now in use in a lot of games :P The focus of the game leans heavily towards exploration. The max experience level is 10, and you get just as much EXP from solving puzzles and finding new places as you do from killing monsters. You also get most of your cash from photographing spooks and selling the pictures. It's a pretty neat game!

Lodoss Tou Senki

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - December 22, 1995

This game is a prequel to the popular anime series, which draw heavily from the look and feel of Dungeons & Dragons. Choose from one of four adventures to play through in this strategy RPG!

Lodoss Tou Senki II: Goshiki no Maryuu

Fujitsu FM Towns Marty - Released - 1994

Goshiki no Maryuu is a follow-up to Haiiro no Majo and is set in the Lodoss War universe in the 6th century NRC (New Royal Calendar), about a decade after the War of Heroes ended with a dramatic battle between two former companions, King Fahn of Valis and Emperor Beld of Marmo. An era of relative peace and stability followed, which soon was disrupted by armed conflicts between different countries and internal turmoil on Marmo. Like its predecessor, the game is a Western-style role-playing game, its Japanese origins and anime aesthetics notwithstanding. Visually and gameplay-wise, it is very similar to the previous game. The player creates a party of heroes (up to six active characters), selecting between four races and seven classes. The party is then free to explore much of the continent in a non-linear fashion, visiting towns and exploring pseudo-3D first-person maze-like dungeons. Combat engine is identical to that of the preceding game. Compared to the first game there is a larger overworld, more dungeons, more guilds and sub-quests, as well as several NPCs for hire in the first town.

Lodoss Tou Senki: Haiiro no Majo

Fujitsu FM Towns Marty - Released - 1994

Haiiro no Majo is one of the several different games set in the fictional Lodoss War universe created by Ryo Mizuno. The game's introductory plot loosely follows the events of the first novel, The Grey Witch, centering on the enigmatic character Karla and her influence on the world's politics. Several popular characters from the cycle (such as the dwarf Ghim whom the player can recruit early in the game) make an appearance as well. Despite its Japanese origins and anime-style visual aesthetics, this incarnation of the series is a Western-style role-playing game in the tradition of Wizardry and Ultima games. Rather than following a linear story focused on a lead character, the player creates a party of characters and takes them on a journey through the world of Lodoss. A few NPCs can join the party as well. Character races include Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings, while the classes comprise Warriors, Shamans, Priests, Scouts, and Knights. The player can manually distribute five bonus points among the character's six attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Endurance, Luck, and Personal Beauty. After the party has been created the heroes find themselves in the starting town. All the towns have identical or similar location visuals (inns, temples, markets, etc.), and can only be navigated by selecting locations from a menu. Overworld navigation and battles are viewed from a top-down perspective; dungeons are done in pseudo-3D first-person view and require illuminated torches for exploration. Battles occur either randomly or are triggered whenever the party enters a specific location. The player can opt to set combat on auto, the result calculated according to the participants' parameters. Manual fighting involves navigating characters on the battle field in round-based fashion, selecting physical attacks or magical spells when enemies are in their range.

Lodoss-Tō Senki II: Goshiki no Maryuu

Sharp X68000 - Released - November 20, 1992

Goshiki no Maryū is a follow-up to Haiiro no Majo and is set in the Lodoss War universe in the 6th century NRC (New Royal Calendar), about a decade after the War of Heroes ended with a dramatic battle between two former companions, King Fahn of Valis and Emperor Beld of Marmo. An era of relative peace and stability followed, which soon was disrupted by armed conflicts between different countries and internal turmoil on Marmo. Like its predecessor, the game is a Western-style role-playing game, its Japanese origins and anime aesthetics notwithstanding. Visually and gameplay-wise, it is very similar to the previous game. The player creates a party of heroes (up to six active characters), selecting between four races and seven classes. The party is then free to explore much of the continent in a non-linear fashion, visiting towns and exploring pseudo-3D first-person maze-like dungeons. Combat engine is identical to that of the preceding game. Compared to the first game there is a larger overworld, more dungeons, more guilds and sub-quests, as well as several NPCs for hire in the first town.

Lodoss-Tō Senki: Fukujinzuke

Sharp X68000 - Released - December 21, 1991

Fukujinzuke has little to do with the Japanese pickled vegetables it was named after. Rather, it is a small humorous mini-game tribute to Humming Bird's role-playing game Record of Lodoss War: Haiiro no Majo. Besides a sound gallery feature, the game consists of three mini-games. The first is a puzzle which requires the player to assemble a picture by sliding disarranged fragments of it one at a time. The second is a recreation of a typical battle from the role-playing game, featuring a party of high-level characters entering a castle and fighting enemies in a turn-based encounter identical to those of Haiiro no Majo. The third mini-game is a quiz concerning all things related to Record of Lodoss War.

Lodoss-Tō Senki: Haiiro no Majo

Sharp X68000 - Released - August 24, 1991

Haiiro no Majo is one of the several different games set in the fictional Lodoss War universe created by Ryo Mizuno. The game's introductory plot loosely follows the events of the first novel, The Grey Witch, centering on the enigmatic character Karla and her influence on the world's politics. Several popular characters from the cycle (such as the dwarf Ghim whom the player can recruit early in the game) make an appearance as well. Despite its Japanese origins and anime-style visual aesthetics, this incarnation of the series is a Western-style role-playing game in the tradition of Wizardry and Ultima games. Rather than following a linear story focused on a lead character, the player creates a party of characters and takes them on a journey through the world of Lodoss. A few NPCs can join the party as well. Character races include Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings, while the classes comprise Warriors, Shamans, Priests, Scouts, and Knights. The player can manually distribute five bonus points among the character's six attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Endurance, Luck, and Personal Beauty. After the party has been created the heroes find themselves in the starting town. All the towns have identical or similar location visuals (inns, temples, markets, etc.), and can only be navigated by selecting locations from a menu. Overworld navigation and battles are viewed from a top-down perspective; dungeons are done in pseudo-3D first-person view and require illuminated torches for exploration. Battles occur either randomly or are triggered whenever the party enters a specific location. The player can opt to set combat on auto, the result calculated according to the participants' parameters. Manual fighting involves navigating characters on the battle field in round-based fashion, selecting physical attacks or magical spells when enemies are in their range.

Record of Lodoss War

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - July 17, 1992

The game is based on the novel cycle Record of Lodoss War by Ryo Mizuno, and more closely on subsequent manga volumes and OVA series. Its story generally follows the one of the OVA, the main hero being Parn, a young man who grows up in a small village and later becomes one of the strongest warriors in the world, thanks to his father's mysterious heritage and his own courage. Like in the anime series, the game begins with a goblin attack and with Parn leaving his home village together with his best friend Etoh in search of adventure. This version of Record of Lodoss War is a traditional Japanese RPG with top-down world map navigation and random battles. There is a strategic element in the battles, allowing the characters to freely move on the battle field. However, the battles can be set on auto, making them more fast-paced and similar to traditional Japanese RPG combat. The towns have menu-based first-person view navigation.

Record of Lodoss War II

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - December 16, 1994

Record of Lodoss War II: Goshiki no Maryuu

NEC PC-9801 - Released - December 21, 1991

Goshiki no Maryū is a follow-up to Haiiro no Majo and is set in the Lodoss War universe in the 6th century NRC (New Royal Calendar), about a decade after the War of Heroes ended with a dramatic battle between two former companions, King Fahn of Valis and Emperor Beld of Marmo. An era of relative peace and stability followed, which soon was disrupted by armed conflicts between different countries and internal turmoil on Marmo. Like its predecessor, the game is a Western-style role-playing game, its Japanese origins and anime aesthetics notwithstanding. Visually and gameplay-wise, it is very similar to the previous game. The player creates a party of heroes (up to six active characters), selecting between four races and seven classes. The party is then free to explore much of the continent in a non-linear fashion, visiting towns and exploring pseudo-3D first-person maze-like dungeons. Combat engine is identical to that of the preceding game. Compared to the first game there is a larger overworld, more dungeons, more guilds and sub-quests, as well as several NPCs for hire in the first town.

Record of Lodoss War: Fukujinzuke

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1989

Fukujinzuke has little to do with the Japanese pickled vegetables it was named after. Rather, it is a small humorous mini-game tribute to Humming Bird's role-playing game Record of Lodoss War: Haiiro no Majo. Besides a sound gallery feature, the game consists of three mini-games. The first is a puzzle which requires the player to assemble a picture by sliding disarranged fragments of it one at a time. The second is a recreation of a typical battle from the role-playing game, featuring a party of high-level characters entering a castle and fighting enemies in a turn-based encounter identical to those of Haiiro no Majo. The third mini-game is a quiz concerning all things related to Record of Lodoss War.

Record of Lodoss War: Fukujinzuke

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - July 13, 1990

Fukujinzuke has little to do with the Japanese pickled vegetables it was named after. Rather, it is a small humorous mini-game tribute to Humming Bird's role-playing game Record of Lodoss War: Haiiro no Majo. Besides a sound gallery feature, the game consists of three mini-games. The first is a puzzle which requires the player to assemble a picture by sliding disarranged fragments of it one at a time. The second is a recreation of a typical battle from the role-playing game, featuring a party of high-level characters entering a castle and fighting enemies in a turn-based encounter identical to those of Haiiro no Majo. The third mini-game is a quiz concerning all things related to Record of Lodoss War.

Record of Lodoss War: Fukujinzuke 2

NEC PC-9801 - Released - August 8, 1992

The follow-up to Fukujinzuke is a more elaborate supplement to Humming Bird's Record of Lodoss War computer RPG series and can be considered a mini-RPG. The game introduces six new pre-made characters in various races and classes. The player can choose to either export these characters to Record of Lodoss War II: Goshiki no Maryū, or import player-created characters from there. The player then builds a party out of any of these characters to go through either of the two modes: a series of battles in different locations and an exploration of a pseudo-3D third-person dungeon. The first mode allows shopping, resting, and healing in a generic town before engaging in combat; the second mode allows only a two-character party and awards items and equipment as rewards for guessing correctly what type of monsters ambushes the heroes in specific rooms.

Record of Lodoss War: Fukujinzuke 3

NEC PC-9801 - Released - February 19, 1993

The third Fukujinzuke installment returns to the mini-game format of the first, abandoning the more developed RPG-like scenarios of the second. The game features the same six characters as in the previous entry. Like before, these characters can be swapped with those of Record of Lodoss War II: Goshiki no Maryū; new to this installment is the possibility to import and export characters to Sword World PC. There are only two battle scenarios and no possibility to visit a town or acquire items. The dungeon exploration mode is gone as well and is replaced by a quiz mini-game in which the player takes control of Parn, one of the series' main protagonists, on a quest to defeat Emperor Beld. The player has to answer trivia questions within time limit and use abilities of Parn's companions to make this task easier.

Record of Lodoss War: Haiiro no Majo

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - March 16, 1990

Haiiro no Majo is one of the several different games set in the fictional Lodoss War universe created by Ryo Mizuno. The game's introductory plot loosely follows the events of the first novel, The Grey Witch, centering on the enigmatic character Karla and her influence on the world's politics. Several popular characters from the cycle (such as the dwarf Ghim whom the player can recruit early in the game) make an appearance as well. Despite its Japanese origins and anime-style visual aesthetics, this incarnation of the series is a Western-style role-playing game in the tradition of Wizardry and Ultima games. Rather than following a linear story focused on a lead character, the player creates a party of characters and takes them on a journey through the world of Lodoss. A few NPCs can join the party as well. Character races include Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings, while the classes comprise Warriors, Shamans, Priests, Scouts, and Knights. The player can manually distribute five bonus points among the character's six attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Endurance, Luck, and Personal Beauty. After the party has been created the heroes find themselves in the starting town. All the towns have identical or similar location visuals (inns, temples, markets, etc.), and can only be navigated by selecting locations from a menu. Overworld navigation and battles are viewed from a top-down perspective; dungeons are done in pseudo-3D first-person view and require illuminated torches for exploration. Battles occur either randomly or are triggered whenever the party enters a specific location. The player can opt to set combat on auto, the result calculated according to the participants' parameters. Manual fighting involves navigating characters on the battle field in round-based fashion, selecting physical attacks or magical spells when enemies are in their range.

Record of Lodoss War: Haiiro no Majo

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1988

Haiiro no Majo is one of the several different games set in the fictional Lodoss War universe created by Ryo Mizuno. The game's introductory plot loosely follows the events of the first novel, The Grey Witch, centering on the enigmatic character Karla and her influence on the world's politics. Several popular characters from the cycle (such as the dwarf Ghim whom the player can recruit early in the game) make an appearance as well. Despite its Japanese origins and anime-style visual aesthetics, this incarnation of the series is a Western-style role-playing game in the tradition of Wizardry and Ultima games. Rather than following a linear story focused on a lead character, the player creates a party of characters and takes them on a journey through the world of Lodoss. A few NPCs can join the party as well. Character races include Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings, while the classes comprise Warriors, Shamans, Priests, Scouts, and Knights. The player can manually distribute five bonus points among the character's six attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Endurance, Luck, and Personal Beauty. After the party has been created the heroes find themselves in the starting town. All the towns have identical or similar location visuals (inns, temples, markets, etc.), and can only be navigated by selecting locations from a menu. Overworld navigation and battles are viewed from a top-down perspective; dungeons are done in pseudo-3D first-person view and require illuminated torches for exploration. Battles occur either randomly or are triggered whenever the party enters a specific location. The player can opt to set combat on auto, the result calculated according to the participants' parameters. Manual fighting involves navigating characters on the battle field in round-based fashion, selecting physical attacks or magical spells when enemies are in their range.

Rick to Mick no Daibouken

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - 1987

Rick to Mick no Daibouken is an Action game for one or two players (cooperative), developed and published by Humming Bird Soft in Japan in 1987.

The Knight of Wonderland

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1983

An early Japanese adventure game developed by Humming Bird Soft which has the player searching for a magical spring in order to cure Princess Rom of her sickness.

The Stone of Agni

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1988