Ironically it's also a Gauntlet clone, much like Telenet's version of Megami Tensei. Released in January 1987, Labyrinth was repetitive, difficult and never left Japan, but it has its fans. Telenet had developed Valis, which became a successful series, but Atlus' had seemingly only made two games by this point: space RPG Ginga Denshou: Galaxy Odyssey, and a mediocre Famicom adaptation of the Jim Henson / David Bowie film, Labyrinth.
When Telenet later started developing for the Famicom, we received a brief orientation session from an Atlus employee." This is a megaton revelation about Megaten.īoth companies, Atlus and Telenet, were still in comparative infancy at this time, having only been around for a few years and not yet having created much that was noteworthy. I don't know if this was because of instructions from the original author or a voluntary staking out of territory by the two companies. Around this time Atlus and Nihon Telenet were in contact with each other, so they each ventured into the opposite genre. "When licenses to make game versions of the Megami Tensei novel were simultaneously acquired by Atlus (Famicom version) and Nihon Telenet (computer versions), the companies wanted to avoid the stereotypical genres of each system - action games on the Famicom, role-playing games on home computers.
"I had just joined the company at the time," explains Yokota. But how did Telenet get the license, and how come its game was so utterly different to Atlus' version? There's not been a lot of attempts to play through them online, thankfully Youtuber Marsh saves you the trouble. It doesn't matter whether you're playing the PC-88 or MSX version, they're all choppy, clunky, and not especially great. Less an RPG, more an action game with bells on. There's also a map, currency, merchants, and weapon augments. You wander mazes fighting monsters and collecting power-ups, while keeping an eye on the moon's cycle which affects items and enemy strength. The Telenet computer versions play like a poor Gauntlet clone with a few gimmicks added. I was in charge of monster graphics for the PC-88 version by Nihon Telenet." "There's also a Famicom version, which was an entirely different game developed by Atlus. "That's the one," confirms Yokota, gesturing to a rare PC-88FH Black computer, which he'd set up for the interview. In an interview for The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, he detailed his role working on the PC-88 version of Megami Tensei. These were two entirely different games based on the same source material Atlus' version spawned the Megaten Universe, Telenet's was soon forgotten.Įnter Kouji Yokota, head of developer Shade, whose early portfolio seems to epitomise the best of the 16-bit era, having done graphics and design work on: Valis, Megami Tensei, Exile, Gaiares, ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Robotrek, Lunar: Eternal Blue, and Granstream Saga. This much is well documented already, but what's less understood is why the video game adaptation began with two seeds, both titled Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei: the Nihon Telenet action game for home computers PC-88, FM-7, MSX, and Sharp X1 (July 1987 on PC-88), and the Atlus RPG for Famicom (September 1987). The books were successful in Japan and became adapted into anime and video games. Telenet's Gauntlet-style version of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei proved to be a dead-end, but it could have been so much different had the company reverted to type and produced an RPG (PC-88 version shown) - Images: Telenet There's almost zero information about these in English online, though one fan has taken to translating them. What's especially interesting is the origin of the Megaten Universe, which started with a trilogy of sci-fi horror books by Aya Nishitani. This umbrella term comprises a bewildering number of titles MobyGames lists 175 distinct entries, not counting similar cross-system ports (the original on PC-88, FM-7, MSX, and Sharp X1 are classed as one entry) Hardcore Gaming 101 currently has 18 pages attempting to cover every game. As most know, Persona is one of several spin-offs from the Megami Tensei series, and forms part of what is affectionately referred to the "Megaten Universe".
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Now Atlus has tweeted a firm release date of 19 January 2023.Īnyone who is a fan of Atlus' flagship series will be excited by this.
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In June, it was announced that Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal were heading to Xbox One and PC it was then announced the series was also heading to PlayStation and Steam.
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