![]() ![]() Every time a new graphic shows up, you need to hit “space” to switch to the command typing screen, then type out what might be a valid command (see above). The parser is contained on a separate screen from the main graphic window so you have to keep switching back and forth. But the game needed the logic to draw the objects correctly as if traveling through a 3-D world Deathmaze 5000 and some related games did something similar, but in a mostly wireframe format! Despite the clear inspiration, I find any characterizations of 1982 Mystery House to be just a knockoff of 1980 Mystery House to be misplaced it clearly is doing its own thing both in a technical sense and a gameplay sense.Īlas, the interface on the PC-6001 version was just miserable to navigate. There’s a limited set of object graphics that get reused to form rooms, rather like Castles of Darkness so unlike the Sierra games, it isn’t like there’s a custom room for each location. The graphic system feels both crude and intensely complicated at the same time. Stairs can only be clearly seen in facing the “correct” direction so it makes a bit more intuitive sense that you can’t go DOWN again right away. (You can watch a video here of this happening to a real player.) In a way, the PC-6001 and MSX versions are simplified in this sense. That’s because the stairs are “behind” the player - you have to turn so they are visible, then go downstairs. It is possible to get go up some stairs and then type DOWN to immediately go back down and get denied. The arrow-key games on the other hand will either turn you (if you press left or right) or move you forward (if you press up). If you are facing that direction then the game moves you forward. In the Sharp and FM-7 versions if you type W for west but aren’t facing that direction the game will simply turn you that way. In all versions, the game keeps track of what direction you are facing. ![]() The PC-6001 version (the one I started with) and the MSX version both use arrow keys for movement (that is, the N/S/E/W on the card above don’t apply). The original Sharp version (and some other versions like Fujitsu FM-7) are “traditional” in that they use compass movement commands typed on the parser. What I discovered after enough testing is that there are two very different versions of Mystery House’s gameplay. followed by hitting enter, then DOOR, then enter again). Additionally, the verbs and nouns are separated, so they get typed on separate lines (that is, you can’t type OPEN DOOR, but OPEN. There’s a helpful guide card that gives translations of each of the words needed. Mind you, the game is already partially in English while the text output is in Japanese, the parser is in English. The original Pink Panther movie surrounded a stolen diamond. The Pink Panther theme also plays on this version, and it is there because this game drops the “murder” aspect and just keeps the “find the treasure in a house” aspect, making it a diamond. ![]() (As far as why I didn’t keep going, I’ll explain in a moment.) I at least started to try the NEC PC-6001 version, which has a translation patch to be able to play in English. I am not going to play the Sharp version, although if you want to see it (and hear its rendition of the Pink Panther Theme) I’ve linked to the relevant spot in the Bowl of Lentils video. Microcabin became one of the big Japanese game publishers, lasting all the way until the 2000s. The final work was for the Sharp MZ-80B (released in May) did well enough - spawning a sequel before the end of the year - that it was ported to multiple machines and was the basis for the general launch of Microcabin as a software company. He showed it to the owner Naoto Oyachi, who was impressed enough to work with Tsukasa to produce a publishable product. The 1982 work was originally by Tsukasa Moritani, a dentist and regular visitor to the the electronics/computer store Micro Cabin Yokkaichi. The price of 29000 Yen is roughly comparable to the $100 the game cost in the US, which in 2022 dollars is a little over $300. ![]()
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