I picked up this game for my PC-8801 MA2. I normally don’t want boxed games unless they are in very good condition, but this one was cheap, and I wanted a couple of cheap games to feel a little more confident that my system was working properly. So I went with this one.
Despite the rough condition of the box, the packaging is pretty charming. Check out that Styrofoam holder!
Here are some captures from the introduction. The graphics are blue-heavy, to be certain, but it is full of detail.
The game has the potential to be fun, or at least intriguing. I’ve always enjoyed the bizarre, and this indeed appears to be bizarre. I played around with it a little bit and thought it might be worth reading the manual, so I opened it up and it said something to the effect of “we’re not telling you how to play this game, you must explore and discover for yourself.” So I went back to the game and did just that. You start out as a spirit, and you can take over other bodies to become more powerful. You pick up items and explore the world, and that’s about all I’ve worked out so far.
Relics is a particularly great game, at least on PC-98 (its original platform). I liken it to an alternate-timeline Prince of Persia, ditching the more familiar setting and game premise for something more mysterious and subversive. Beating this game in as little time as possible was quite fun! (I ended up resorting to a Japanese walkthrough toward the end, though, just to save some time.)
Believe it or not, I’ve never played real Prince of Persia, only a mid-00s port to the XBox for a very short time before I lost interest, so the comparison is kinda lost on me. I’ll have to make a point of loading that up someday. But I do enjoy how unique this game’s environment is! I haven’t gotten very far, though.