AIDS: Watashi o Aishite... Jinai Seijin

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1993

Main hero is an ordinary salary-man of 25 years old. He has a girlfriend, but they have not spent much time together since the beginning of the week. Now hero gets a bonus payment at work. How will she spend the money? The premise of the game is to show how a night adventure can turn into death disease and how easy it is to go to public health examination.

Albatross

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1986

Albatross is a top view golf game that consists of an 18 holes course. You can select your own clubs from 14 drivers, irons and a putter. Further you can adjust your stance, how you hit the ball and your swing. It features a split screen with two views, an overhead view of the entire hole and a more detailed zoom of your ball's current position. The screen also contains a status bar with all necessary information. The gameplay options include single player stroke play, multi player stroke play, or multi player match play.

Albatross

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1986

Albatross is a top view golf game that consists of an 18 holes course. You can select your own clubs from 14 drivers, irons and a putter. Further you can adjust your stance, how you hit the ball and your swing. It features a split screen with two views, an overhead view of the entire hole and a more detailed zoom of your ball's current position. The screen also contains a status bar with all necessary information. The gameplay options include single player stroke play, multi player stroke play, or multi player match play.

American Truck

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1985

American Truck is a top view race and driving game. In each stage you 'll have to reach the finish line before you run out of gasoline or time. Additional gasoline can be acquired by picking up the gasoline items that do appear randomly on the road, but be careful, bombs appear randomly too. Further, you have to avoid crashes with other traffic like cars and trucks and don't get off the road or crash into walls.

American Truck

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1985

American Truck is a top view race and driving game. In each stage you 'll have to reach the finish line before you run out of gasoline or time. Additional gasoline can be acquired by picking up the gasoline items that do appear randomly on the road, but be careful, bombs appear randomly too. Further, you have to avoid crashes with other traffic like cars and trucks and don't get off the road or crash into walls.

Babel

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - March 27, 1992

In the distant future, human beings invented space warps, which allowed space travel to long distances. On board the space ship Agamemnon, they started an intergalactic journey. But an accident happened, and the humans were thrown into a parallel universe. Years have passed until they have adapted themselves to the different civilization. This parallel world, composed of three huge continents, is called Babel. Zell is a teenage boy, an orphan who lives in a post-apocalyptic world riding his bike, together with his friend Alice, who is like a big sister to him. One day they meet a mysterious girl named Sefia who seems to be on an important mission. Their struggle against evil begins at that moment... Babel is a Japanese-style RPG set in a futuristic world. Zell and his party travel around the world, visiting large cities and encountering many randomly appearing enemies. During the turn-based battles, each character can use a variety of attacks with different weapons, as well as special techniques. The combat window shows animated moves of the party members. Unlike in most role-playing games, characters do not receive experience points from defeating enemies; only money is gained. The characters level up according to the player's progress in the narrative.

Browning

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - February 7, 1992

"SEA SQUARE", a gigantic man-made island on the Atlantic Ocean, an armed fortress controlled by a mysterious army. It is evident that they are developing the most evil weapon for slaughter to maintain and grasp its superiority of military power in the world. Joint forces have taken the motion for a special a action (irregular combat) and have prepared a mobile weapon "BROWNING", to destroy the ultimate weapon....according to the official blurb that is. Browning is a side scrolling action game that puts the player in a power suit and pits them against hordes of miscellaneous mecha with some very big guns. You walk and shoot, run and shoot and also fly and shoot, although flight time is limited due to the useless engineers failing to fit a large enough fan in your jetpack. After ploughing through a few screens of nasties, you are presented with a particularly unfriendly boss mecha who seems intent on aggressive negotiations. After quickly dispatching said boss, you are free to move on to the next level and do it all over again! You say... Browning isn’t apparently well liked in the gaming community. I have no idea about the background of this game but what I do imagine is that a lot of people might feel ripped off. The game sports maybe five generic enemies, and is only five levels long. Worse yet, most of them have the boss waiting just a few steps away from the starting point! As far as difficulty goes, the game is hard, but for the wrong reasons. Just the simple act of turning around requires a double tap of the directional button, and if you wanna run in that direction, well...let’s just say you are going to take a hit most likely. Worse, your “shield” can be fully depleted in two hits, it recharges slowly and once you lose it it’s gone and one single hit will make you explode, and force you to restart the stage with a “continue” (I don’t know if there is a limit to the continues in the game). And the rockets/jets that can make you fly real fast, even backwards, overheat constantly, so they’re not gonna be much help either. The game also does not feature any speedups or power ups/different weapon types that I know of. Overall, your worst enemy in the game will be the time limit. The first level boss can be completely destroyed by just ducking and shooting at it, but the last two levels have the tendency to have more then one boss. It’s especially heinous in Stage 4, where I pretty much had to resort to using a cheap trick and being lucky enough to fly over all the enemies in the level up to the boss without shooting them or getting hit once, and even then I had just 12 seconds to spare when I beat the two boss robots that come out once you beat the first one. Level 5 is a little less aggravating, but still, on my first try I blew the boss up 2 seconds before the end of the time limit, and before the game took note of the fact, I blew up (for some reason your employers blow you up if you don’t finish your task exactly as planned...sheesh, talk about punctuality). This is due to the fact that the final boss’s first weak points (the hands) only take damage when they feel like it. Most of the time you will just shoot at them and nothing will happen and then randomly they will start blinking when hit by your bullets for some reason. I still have no idea what that was about.

Columns

Fujitsu FM Towns Marty - Released - 1990

Columns is loosely derived from Tetris, as it involves arranging falling blocks in such a way as to clear them. However, in columns they are groups of 3 same-size but varying color blocks, which must be arranged into sequences of 3 or more, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Sequences of 4 or 5 count for double or triple points, and diagonal sequences score the most. The real trick is to set up 'combos' - where one line causes other blocks to drop so as to create other lines. As well as the normal game mode, there is also a 'flash' mode, in which the aim is simply to remove a particular block from the base of the pre-formed pile of bricks. The difficulty of this can be determined by increasing the number of complete rows which are already in place.

Columns

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - 1990

The game takes place inside a tall, rectangular playing area, as in Tetris. Columns of three different symbols (such as differently-colored jewels) appear, one at a time, at the top of the well and fall to the bottom, landing either on the floor or on top of previously-fallen "Columns". While a column is falling, the player can move it left and right, and can also cycle the positions of the symbols within it. If, after a column has fallen, there are three or more of the same symbols connected in a straight line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, those symbols disappear. The pile of columns then settles under gravity. If this causes three or more other symbols to become aligned, they also disappear and the pile settles again. This process repeats as many times as necessary. It is not uncommon for this to happen three or four times in a row - it often happens by accident when the well is becoming crowded. If the well fills beyond the top of the screen, the game ends. Occasionally, a special column called the Magic Jewel appears. The Magic Jewel flashes with different colors and when it lands, it destroys all the jewels with the same color as the one underneath it. Like Tetris, the columns fall at a faster rate as the player progresses. The goal of the game is to play for as long as possible before the well fills up with symbols. Some ports of the game offer alternate game modes as well. "Flash columns" involves mining their way through a set number of lines to get to a flashing jewel at the bottom. "Doubles" allows two players work together in the same well. "Time trial" involves racking up as many points as possible within the time limit.

Cosmic Fantasy 4: Ginga Shounen Densetsu Gekitou Hen

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - November 25, 1994

Crystal Chaser: Tenkuu no Mashoukyuu

NEC PC-9801 - Released - June 15, 1991

For a long time, five magical crystal orbs have been protecting our universe. One of them was hidden on the Earth. But there was a young woman who desired too much power, and she came to the Earth in order to harvest the power of its crystal for her selfish purposes. The only ones who can stop her are Takanoshin, the son of a samurai warrior, and the young girl Noichigo, who teaches little children. Together, they embark on a long and perilous journey through the land of Japan... The game's setting is modern-day Japan with many anachronistic medieval-like elements. Despite its RPG-like plot and unusual perspective (effectively third-person, since the player-controlled characters are visible on the screen at all times), Crystal Chaser is an adventure game. The player mostly controls Takanoshin and Noichigo (often together as a "party"), but sometimes switches to other characters. The game has no real puzzles, and the entire interaction (including moving) is done via selecting commands in a menu; however, compared to most other Japanese adventures, the game contains more interaction, including inventory item usage.

Death Bringer

Sharp X68000 - Released - March 10, 1989

A powerful wizard, yearning for even more power, has found a sacred book that granted him command over armies of demons and men. Possessed by the desire to conquer and to destroy, he orders his armies to set cities on fire, massacring the citizens. But one nameless hero, the protagonist of this game, has to stand up against the evil. Leaving Soron, his home village, the hero embarks on a journey to find companions and to face together the forces of darkness. Despite being a Japanese game, Death Bringer is more similar to Western RPGs of the time than to their Japanese counterparts, even though it has anime-style character graphics. It is less event-oriented than Japanese games and focuses on exploration. The gameplay is somewhat similar to Pandora's RPG of the same name, even though the two games are unrelated. Both friendly and hostile areas are pseudo-3D, maze-like environments, like in Bard's Tale games. Enemy encounters, however, are handled more similarly to those of Ultima: the enemies appear on the exploration screen, and the battle initiates only if the player character approaches the enemy. The battles take place on a top-down field; the heroes and the enemies move around, but the player can't navigate the characters manually: it is only possible to issue commands such as "Attack", "Use Magic", etc. The game has a day/night cycle. Party members (up to three, excluding the hero) have to be sought out in various cities, rather then joining the hero for plot-related reasons.

Death Bringer

NEC PC-9801 - Released - December 10, 1988

A powerful wizard, yearning for even more power, has found a sacred book that granted him command over armies of demons and men. Possessed by the desire to conquer and to destroy, he orders his armies to set cities on fire, massacring the citizens. But one nameless hero, the protagonist of this game, has to stand up against the evil. Leaving Soron, his home village, the hero embarks on a journey to find companions and to face together the forces of darkness. Despite being a Japanese game, Death Bringer is more similar to Western RPGs of the time than to their Japanese counterparts, even though it has anime-style character graphics. It is less event-oriented than Japanese games and focuses on exploration. The gameplay is somewhat similar to Pandora's RPG of the same name, even though the two games are unrelated. Both friendly and hostile areas are pseudo-3D, maze-like environments, like in Bard's Tale games. Enemy encounters, however, are handled more similarly to those of Ultima: the enemies appear on the exploration screen, and the battle initiates only if the player character approaches the enemy. The battles take place on a top-down field; the heroes and the enemies move around, but the player can't navigate the characters manually: it is only possible to issue commands such as "Attack", "Use Magic", etc. The game has a day/night cycle. Party members (up to three, excluding the hero) have to be sought out in various cities, rather then joining the hero for plot-related reasons.

Dekoboko Densetsu: Hashiru Wagamanma

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - November 2, 1990

Dekoboko Densetsu is a humorous game that combines elements of arcade action and racing. Up to five players can compete in the races. All the stages are vertically-scrolling (top-down), with the cars represented as small sprites of different colors. The player's goal is not only to beat the other cars, but also reach the finish line safely: each car has limited hit points, and continuously receives damage during the race. Damage can be sustained by driving over environmental hazards (pits, traps, bombs, etc.), failing to move the car forward in time (if the screen scrolls while the player-controlled car is at the bottom, it takes damage), being hit by the many enemies encountered in the game (which include a wide variety of wild animals, humans, fantasy creatures, monsters, etc.), or being hit by a competing car. Cars have the ability to jump over obstacles or enemy fire, avoiding damage. Over the course of the races, cars accumulate points depending on their results. These points can be invested in purchasing a limited amount of destructive weaponry (missiles, bombs, "boxing glove" that hits enemies from the side, oil to drop behind the car, etc.) or protective measures.

Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei

Sharp X1 - Released - 1987

You are Akineki Nakashima, a 17-year-old Japanese student and computer freak. You developed a program that allows you to communicate with demons via your computer and to summon them. To test your new program, you summon the Norse god Loki. Unfortunately, the newly summoned god kidnaps Yumiko, a girl who studies together with Nakashima. Japan becomes infested with demons, and now it's up to you to traverse the mazes of the demon realm and to rescue Yumiko. This version of Megami Tensei has little to do with the Famicom (NES) version (and with Megaten RPGs in general) gameplay-wise. It is an action game with RPG elements, in which you must fight your way through a series of mazes infested with demons, whom you must defeat in real time combat. You find many items and become stronger as the game progresses, but the emphasis of the game is not on character development but on action-oriented combat and exploration of the dungeons.

Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1987

You are Akineki Nakashima, a 17-year-old Japanese student and computer freak. You developed a program that allows you to communicate with demons via your computer and to summon them. To test your new program, you summon the Norse god Loki. Unfortunately, the newly summoned god kidnaps Yumiko, a girl who studies together with Nakashima. Japan becomes infested with demons, and now it's up to you to traverse the mazes of the demon realm and to rescue Yumiko. This version of Megami Tensei has little to do with the Famicom (NES) version (and with Megaten RPGs in general) gameplay-wise. It is an action game with RPG elements, in which you must fight your way through a series of mazes infested with demons, whom you must defeat in real time combat. You find many items and become stronger as the game progresses, but the emphasis of the game is not on character development but on action-oriented combat and exploration of the dungeons.

Final Zone Wolf

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1986

Final Zone Wolf is a overhead game where your in command of a small military commando team, and you move down the streets shooting. The goal of the game seems to be to stop some kind of missile attack. At the beginning of the game you need to select two members of your team, out of five options available. Statistics of these members are presented during the opening credits of the game. The gameplay is sluggish, and your team members take a fixed formation which is actually a hindrance to get past obstacles as they will not get out of formation and prevent you from moving forward. The enemies seem to be being spawned at random, as such it is critical to keep moving forward as fast as possible avoiding them as much as you can.

Final Zone Wolf

Sharp X1 - Released - 1986

Final Zone Wolf is a overhead game where your in command of a small military commando team, and you move down the streets shooting. The goal of the game seems to be to stop some kind of missile attack. At the beginning of the game you need to select two members of your team, out of five options available. Statistics of these members are presented during the opening credits of the game. The gameplay is sluggish, and your team members take a fixed formation which is actually a hindrance to get past obstacles as they will not get out of formation and prevent you from moving forward. The enemies seem to be being spawned at random, as such it is critical to keep moving forward as fast as possible avoiding them as much as you can.

Hanseimei Senki Andorogynus

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1987

In our universe matter and anti-matter co-exist with each other. However, prevalence of anti-matter may create chaos and eventually disrupt the normal flow of things. In a corner of a universe, a concentration of anti-matter led to the creation of an entire star, breeding forms of life threatening to destroy the world. Human beings, in an effort to save the universe, created the powerful Andorogynus - a life form capable of being male and female at once - and sent it on a mission to destroy the creation of anti-matter. Andorogynus is a top-down shoot-em-up. The player controls the titular hero(ine), shooting at constantly attacking enemies. Unlike in most games of the type, the screen scrolls down rather than up. The protagonist is equipped with a default single shot and has protective orbs revolving around that damage nearby enemies. The weapon can be enhanced (rapid fire, three-way fire, etc.) by collecting randomly descending power-ups. The player controls the male incarnation of the protagonist initially, but later switches to the female one.

High Grenadier

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - April 12, 1991

High Grenadier is a turn-based strategy game with role-playing elements. The game has a rather abstract plot that depicts a battle between two human organizations, each piloting and commanding giant mechs; no further details are revealed in the game. The gameplay takes place on a battlefield composed out of dots connected by lines; both player-controlled and opponent's army can move only between adjacent dots. The player has six commanders at his disposal; each of them can lead a several various mechas into the battle. Three commanders are available initially, while others can be called into battle later. Once a player-controlled and an enemy unit meet on the same dot, the player can order the commander to attack, defend, or retreat. The battle then proceeds automatically, its result calculated by the statistics of both units. The role-playing element involves leveling up mecha parts; a number of experience points is awarded after a battle, and the player can freely distribute them to raise the mecha's parameters.

Legion

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - September 21, 1990

Legion is a horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up. The player controls a fighter pilot who defends an unnamed futuristic Empire from an assault of mechanical creatures. In spite of the game's exclusively Japanese release, the protagonist delivers voiced monologues in English, musing over his mission, at the beginning of each stage. The game has a traditional power-up system with a basic weapon power-up that changes its color rapidly when revealed (red for vulcan gun, green for lasers, blue for missiles), as well as assorted collectible letters that either enhance the strength of the gun with additional shots, add a secondary weapon (such as bombs), or provide the ship with a protective shield. In addition, a powerful all-screen attack can be executed by pressing the second action button. At several points during the game the player is able to choose the next stage among two available ones.

Mirai Shounen Conan

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - February 28, 1992

Straightforward platform game based on famous anime director Hayao Miyazaki’s TV series.

Mugen Senshi Valis

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1987

Yuko Ahso was once an ordinary high school girl. Or least her life used to be ordinary. Her friend Reiko went out on a date with a Dark King named Rogles, and has vanished. Immediately, monsters attacked her. She thought she would die for sure, but a mystic sword named Valis appeared before her. Using the sword, Yuko defended herself against the monsters, and was whisked to a strange land, where she was told that she was the chosen Valis Warrior and must defeat Rogles, or the human world and the dream world would both be plunged into chaos. Mugen Senshi Valis is a side-scrolling platformer. Yuko can jump and attack enemies with her Valis sword, which can be upgraded and used as a ranged weapon by collecting power-ups found in the stages. She can also find and use items that grant her powerful all-screen attacks or temporary invincibility. Each stage culminates with a boss battle, after which Yuko's hit points and attributes increase.

Mugen Senshi Valis II

NEC PC-9801 - Released - August 5, 1989

Rogles, the tyrant who wanted to gain control over the three worlds in the universe, was defeated by Yuko, an ordinary Japanese teenager who was chosen to become the heroic Valis Soldier. The dream world Vecanti fell into the hands of Emperor Megas. Driven by intense hatred to Rogles and his followers, Megas became an even more dangerous fanatic, imposing an iron rule on his realm. Yuko must now travel to the dream world and defeat the new tyrant and his minions. Like its predecessor, Mugen Senshi Valis II is an action platformer. Yuko fights and jumps her way through enemies and platform structures, acquiring various power-ups during the course of the game. Various weapons and armor can be found in the stages and equipped on a separate screen. Weapons have their own unique ranged patterns and are always attached to Yuko's default sword attack. Different types of armor may increase Yuko's hit points, offense, and defense ratings. Yuko can also acquire and execute special attacks and techniques, such as for example an ability that freezes all the enemies on screen for a limited amount of time. These deplete a separate bar that can be filled by collecting colored orbs left by enemies. Two of the six stages control like side-scrolling shoot-em-ups, allowing Yuko to fly in any direction.

Mugen Senshi Valis II

Sharp X68000 - Released - November 23, 1989

Rogles, the tyrant who wanted to gain control over the three worlds in the universe, was defeated by Yuko, an ordinary Japanese teenager who was chosen to become the heroic Valis Soldier. The dream world Vecanti fell into the hands of Emperor Megas. Driven by intense hatred to Rogles and his followers, Megas became an even more dangerous fanatic, imposing an iron rule on his realm. Yuko must now travel to the dream world and defeat the new tyrant and his minions. Like its predecessor, Mugen Senshi Valis II is an action platformer. Yuko fights and jumps her way through enemies and platform structures, acquiring various power-ups during the course of the game. Various weapons and armor can be found in the stages and equipped on a separate screen. Weapons have their own unique ranged patterns and are always attached to Yuko's default sword attack. Different types of armor may increase Yuko's hit points, offense, and defense ratings. Yuko can also acquire and execute special attacks and techniques, such as for example an ability that freezes all the enemies on screen for a limited amount of time. These deplete a separate bar that can be filled by collecting colored orbs left by enemies. Two of the six stages control like side-scrolling shoot-em-ups, allowing Yuko to fly in any direction. The Sharp X68000 version features improved graphics, voice acting during the intro, reduced difficulty level (particularly for boss battles), and allows the player to save the game between the stages.

Parlor! Mini: Pachinko Jikki Simulation Game

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - April 26, 1996

Parlor! Mini: Pachinko Jikki Simulation Game ("Jikki" means "machine") is a pachinko game for the Super Famicom and the first in an off-shoot series based on Telenet Japan's Parlor! Parlor! series which intends to teach Super Famicom owners how to win big on real-life versions of the machines they feature. The Parlor! Mini series focuses on a smaller number of machines - typically two per game - and were sold for a budget price. Parlor! Mini was followed by seven sequels released throughout 1996, 1997 and 1998. The first Parlor! Mini features a machine with an aquatic theme and another with an Asian dragon theme. Both have a pachi-slot component, where aiming pachinko balls for the device in the middle of the table would cause slots to spin. The player is free to practice on the machines with an infinite supply of pachinko balls, scrutinize the peg configurations for both and get tips and advice from the game to learn how to master their real-life equivalents.

Pop 'n Magic

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - July 24, 1992

A static screen action game in the style of Bubble Bobble or Don Doko Don, Pop 'n Magic allows you to trap enemies by firing your wand at them, then pick them up and throw them across the screen to destroy them. The bubbles they are trapped in are specific colours and care must be taken not to throw two of the same colour together as this will release the (now quite upset) creatures inside.

Sa-Zi-Ri

Microsoft MSX2

Tenshi no Uta

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - October 25, 1991

Kearu, a young warrior from the land of Erin, is entrusted by his village elder to protect Krea, a young girl who was found near the village entrance when she was a baby. The young couple receives a task of retrieving and delivering a magic flower known as Eureka to the king. However, on the way to the castle, they are attacked by a winged monster, who carries Krea away. Kearu realizes that this kidnapping was not accidental, and had something to do with Krea's mysterious origin. Tenshi no Uta is a traditional Japanese-style role-playing game. As in most games of this genre, the player navigates the party of heroes on the top-down world map, fighting randomly appearing enemies, gaining experience for further automatic leveling-up, and money to buy better weapons, armor, and items. The battles are viewed from first-person perspective, with the enemy graphics super-imposed on the exploration screen (like in Cosmic Fantasy 2). The game has the conventional HP and MP bars, with the heroes learning various attack, support, and healing spells as dictated by their level. There is a day and night cycle in the game. Shops are closed at night, and certain characters appear only at a specific day time.

Tenshi no Uta 2: Datenshi no Sentaku

NEC TurboGrafx-CD - Released - March 26, 1993

Fate is a young man whose job is to patrol the land around his village and protect it from monsters. One day, during such a patrol, Fate and his friend Shion encounter a mysterious girl in the nearby tower. She could only remember that her name was Rhianna, but nothing else about her origins and how she ended up being in that tower. Shortly afterwards, the village is attacked by monsters and burnt down. Fate, Shion, and Rhianna escape, and Fate promises Rhianna that he will help her regain her memory and find the truth about her past. Tenshi no Uta II: Datenshi no Sentaku is not directly related to its predecessor story-wise (though it is set in the same universe, and some characters from the previous game make an appearance here). Graphically and gameplay-wise, it is nearly identical to it, with the exception of a few minor tweaks (such as characters regaining full health after level up): an archetypal Japanese-style RPG with random enemies, turn-based combat, linear story progression, and automatic character growth. Like the first game, Datenshi no Sentaku has a day and night cycle.

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier

Fujitsu FM-7 - Released - 1987

Yuko Ahso was once an ordinary high school girl. Or least her life used to be ordinary. Her friend Reiko went out on a date with a Dark King named Rogles, and has vanished. Immediately, monsters attacked her. She thought she would die for sure, but a mystic sword named Valis appeared before her. Using the sword, Yuko defended herself against the monsters, and was whisked to a strange land, where she was told that she was the chosen Valis Warrior and must defeat Rogles, or the human world and the dream world would both be plunged into chaos. Valis: The Fantasm Soldier is a side-scrolling platformer. Yuko can jump and attack enemies with her Valis sword, which can be upgraded and used as a ranged weapon by collecting power-ups found in the stages. She can also find and use items that grant her powerful all-screen attacks or temporary invincibility. Each stage culminates with a boss battle, after which Yuko's hit points and attributes increase.

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier

Sharp X1 - Released - 1986

Yuko Ahso was once an ordinary high school girl. Or least her life used to be ordinary. Her friend Reiko went out on a date with a Dark King named Rogles, and has vanished. Immediately, monsters attacked her. She thought she would die for sure, but a mystic sword named Valis appeared before her. Using the sword, Yuko defended herself against the monsters, and was whisked to a strange land, where she was told that she was the chosen Valis Warrior and must defeat Rogles, or the human world and the dream world would both be plunged into chaos. Valis: The Fantasm Soldier is a side-scrolling platformer. Yuko can jump and attack enemies with her Valis sword, which can be upgraded and used as a ranged weapon by collecting power-ups found in the stages. She can also find and use items that grant her powerful all-screen attacks or temporary invincibility. Each stage culminates with a boss battle, after which Yuko's hit points and attributes increase.

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier

Microsoft MSX - Released - December 20, 1986

Yuuko Asou starts another school day as normal. When school ends, it suddenly starts to rain, so Yuuko tries to find refuge. In doing so, she encounters a fellow student, Reiko Kirishima, who talks with her and leaves her with many unanswered questions. Inmediately afterward, Yuuko is attacked by a monster but a sword appears which she uses to protect herself. She tries to run home only to see that the entire city is being attacked by monsters. After defeating them, queen Valia appears in front of Yuuko telling her that the sword named Valis summoned her to save the dream world, Vecanti, from the claws of the evil emperor Rogles, so she can also save the human world.

XZR

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1988

It is the 12th century, and the Muslim world has been split into two warring factions. Meanwhile, Muhammad's disciples are also threatened external forces – in the west the Crusaders; in the east the Mongols. As the Persian assassin Sadler, you are given the task of murdering the Caliph, hopefully saving the future of the Islamic faith in the process, a process which will have implications ranging as far as 800 years into the future. First, however, you must find your three assassin friends and complete a range of quests, for this is an RPG. Like many of Falcom's games, XZR (or Exile, as it is pronounced) is played in a traditional top-down view when in villages and towns, and shifts to a side-scrolling platform view when entering dungeons, castles and other action sequences. Apart from equipping your character with an arsenal of weapons and clothes in order to raise hit points and attack points, you can also quaff potions to boost your points. Mind you, these are not ordinary magical potions, but heavy drugs such as hashish, cocaine, LSD, and heroin. The effect of the drugs only lasts a short while, and too liberal usage of the narcotics will corrupt the screen, or even kill you. Even though your party is made up of as many as four characters, only Sadler can be controlled; others do as they want and must be retrieved once they wander off to finish their specialised tasks. All battles are fought alone as well. Though magic can be used, it is seldom as strong or useful as hand-to-hand combat.

XZR II

NEC PC-8801 - Released - 1988

After Sadler defeated the Caliph, he returned to his home village, greeted by his fellow assassins. A spy of the Crusaders has been spotted outside of the village; following his trail, Sadler encounters the powerful leader of the Knights Templar. Travelling together to different countries of the world, they try to find a mysterious holy artifact that can supposedly put an end to the religious wars. XZR II (Exile) is a sequel to XZR. Like its predecessor, it is an action role-playing game with platforming elements, set in a fictionalized version of the Middle East and other world regions in 13th century. Travel and exploration occur in the traditional overhead view of RPGs, while the battles and dungeons are side-scrolling mazes, similar to Wanderers from Ys. Experience points are awarded for defeating enemies. Leveling-up automatically raises Sadler's attributes. Sadler fights with swords and can also cast offensive and restorative spells. Weapons, armor and items can be bought and sold in towns.

XZR II: Kanketsuhen

NEC PC-9801 - Released - 1988

After Sadler defeated the Caliph, he returned to his home village, greeted by his fellow assassins. A spy of the Crusaders has been spotted outside of the village; following his trail, Sadler encounters the powerful leader of the Knights Templar. Travelling together to different countries of the world, they try to find a mysterious holy artifact that can supposedly put an end to the religious wars. XZR II: Kanketsuhen is a sequel to XZR. Like its predecessor, it is an action role-playing game with platforming elements, set in a fictionalized version of the Middle East and other world regions in 13th century. Travel and exploration occur in the traditional overhead view of RPGs, while the battles and dungeons are side-scrolling mazes, similar to Wanderers from Ys. Experience points are awarded for defeating enemies. Leveling-up automatically raises Sadler's attributes. Sadler fights with swords and can also cast offensive and restorative spells. Weapons, armor and items can be bought and sold in towns.

Zan II Spirits

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - May 29, 1992

A war simulator set in the Sengoku era of Japanese history. The first Super Famicom game in Wolf Team's series of strategy sims set in historical Japan. It was eventually followed up with a sequel, Zan III: Spirits. As with its thematically-similar contemporaries, like Shingen the Ruler or Nobunaga's Ambition, Zan II puts the player in the geta of a Japanese feudal lord, or daimyo, with designs to wrest control over the rest of Japan from the other daimyos. The game is more focused on warfare than day-to-day resource management, with armies of samurai marching across the map to attack fortresses and pagodas that host enemy flags.

Zan II: Kagerou no Toki

NEC PC-9801 - Released - September 20, 1991

Kagerou no Toki follows Yasha Enbukyoku as the next game in the Zan series. Unlike the previous game, Kagerō no Toki contains no supernatural forces (demons), and instead focuses on concrete events of the Sengoku period in Japan, more exactly 16th century, a period of Japanese history that was marked by continuous wars and famous leaders such as Oda Nobunaga or Tokugawa Ieyasu. The game offers more strategic possibilities than the previous installments of the series. Choosing a region of Japan and its leader, the player can perform a variety of activities, both in his country and towards other leaders. Diplomacy includes negotiation, signing contracts and peace treaties, etc. Battles are also more in-depth than before; instead of semi-automatic encounters battles occur on a separate map, on which the player has to actively navigate his unit, before he engages the enemy in close combat.

Zan III: Tenun Ware ni Ari

NEC PC-9801 - Released - December 18, 1993

The third entry in the Zan series retains the basic gameplay elements from the previous titles. Like Kagerō no Toki, it is set in the Sengoku period of the Japanese history - more precisely, in 16th century, the time of great turmoils and consolidation of the power, before the Tokugawa family became the sole ruler of Japan for two hundred years. As in the previous game, the player chooses a leader of a small region in Japan, with the objective to rise to power and unite the country under his rule. Diplomacy is handled similarly, but the battles became more stream-lined, without the complex elements of the previous game. New to Zan III is the possibility to create a new general. The game offers a small face editor, and the player can choose not only geographical region, but name, age, and other characteristics of the playable leader.

Zan: Kagerou no Toki

NEC PC-9801 - Released - September 20, 1991

Kagerō no Toki follows Yasha Enbukyoku as the next game in the Zan series. Unlike the previous game, Kagerō no Toki contains no supernatural forces (demons), and instead focuses on concrete events of the Sengoku period in Japan, more exactly 16th century, a period of Japanese history that was marked by continuous wars and famous leaders such as Oda Nobunaga or Tokugawa Ieyasu. The game offers more strategic possibilities than the previous installments of the series. Choosing a region of Japan and its leader, the player can perform a variety of activities, both in his country and towards other leaders. Diplomacy includes negotiation, signing contracts and peace treaties, etc. Battles are also more in-depth than before; instead of semi-automatic encounters battles occur on a separate map, on which the player has to actively navigate his unit, before he engages the enemy in close combat.

Zan: Yasha Enbukyoku

NEC PC-9801 - Released - March 1, 1991

Zan: Yasha Enbukyoku is a turn-based strategy game set in feudal Japan. The background for the game's events is the ongoing battle between noble warriors, known as yasha, and demons. Between the two stand the "middle people", i.e. other Japanese generals and rulers. The player can choose to play as either yasha, demonic, or "middle" army. The player has to manage his army, deploying units for protection and attack, as well as negotiating with other rulers. Events such as earthquakes, plagues, etc. occur randomly. Diplomacy doesn't always work, so battles against enemy armies occupy a large portion of the game. The battles are somewhat similar to those of turn-based RPGs (though the game has no RPG elements): the player chooses commands from a menu, such as attack, use magic, use special technique, use a battle formation, etc. There is no active movement during the battles. The outcome of the battle depends on the chosen commands as well as on the strength of the units.