Play Esparks - Ijikuu Kara no Raihousha (Japan) Online

You creep through dimly lit dungeons solving bizarre puzzles that make Zelda look straightforward, all while deciphering Japanese text you barely understand. The vibe's more eerie sci-fi than fantasy, like someone spliced A Link to the Past with a lost episode of The Twilight Zone.

Developer: Tomy Corporation

Genre: Action

Released: 1995

File size: 777 bytes

Game Overview

Eparks is this weird little Zelda-like SNES game that never left Japan—which sucks, because it’s actually pretty great. If you’ve played A Link to the Past, you’ll recognize the top-down dungeon crawling and item puzzles, but things get way more convoluted here. Some of these puzzles had me scratching my head longer than I’d like to admit.

It’s got its own vibe too—less fairy tale, more… I dunno, sci-fi mystery? The downside? You gotta know Japanese. No translations exist, so unless you’re fluent or stubborn (like me), you’ll be lost fast. Still, if you can push through, it’s a neat hidden gem for Zelda fans who want something just a little meaner.