Play Artelius (Japan) Online

Artelius came out in 1987 for the NES, published by Nichibutsu. It was one of many Japan-only releases that never made it overseas, so unless you knew the language or used a guide, you were mostly guessing your way through. The game fits right into that era of experimental, sometimes obtuse, console RPGs that demanded a lot of patience from players.

You control a hero exploring alien worlds, moving screen by screen through maze-like environments. The main goal involves navigating these strange planets and engaging in turn-based combat that changes based on your positioning relative to enemies. You collect items and manage a rudimentary inventory, all while dealing with frequent random encounters. The pacing is slow, and the difficulty can feel unforgiving without a translation. Playing Artelius feels like piecing together a mysterious, slightly broken puzzle from another world.