Play Sted - Iseki Wakusei no Yabou (Japan) [En by J2e v1.0] (~Sted - Starfield of Memorable Relics) Online

Game Overview

Sted: Iseki Wakusei no Yabou (or Starfield of Memorable Relics, if you're going by the fan translation) is one of those NES games that makes you wonder how it flew under the radar for so long. You start off as this space explorer—think Indiana Jones with a jetpack—digging through ruins on weird planets, deciphering alien tech, and getting into shootouts with creatures that look like they escaped from a prog rock album cover.

The first time I played, I got stuck for like 20 minutes on a puzzle involving rotating monoliths before realizing I could just shoot them. Classic NES logic. The game’s got this cool mix of blasting enemies Metroid-style and figuring out cryptic clues, plus your choices actually matter—help a stranded alien or loot their ship, and the game remembers.

It’s janky in that old-school way (good luck with the platforming), but the scope is wild for an 8-bit game. You hop between planets, piece together this ancient civilization’s secrets, and somehow it all holds together. The fan translation finally makes it playable in English, and honestly? It’s weirder and more ambitious than half the sci-fi RPGs coming out today. Just bring patience for the occasional moon gravity jump.