Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de

Pax Softnica

Nintendo

Adventure

2980.00

The folks behind the Famicom Mukashi Banashi series finishes off their adventure game trilogy with Time Twist, which also happens to be the last packaged release for the Famicom Disk System. Like the other adventures, there are two disks, both released on the same day. Rather than goofing on Asian folklore, Time Twist casts its net even wider – the entirety of human history (the translated subtitle is “On the Outskirts of History”). The result is akin to the weirdest episode of Quantum Leap never written. You play as a boy who is tricked into freeing a devil, who then steals your body, leaving your soul in his demonic flesh. You follow the devil to a local mansion, where he’s stolen a "time belt" from an inventor. As he travels back in time, you get swept along with him, sending you both to various points in human history. Since you’re just a spirit, you can't do much on your own. You can, however, possess people and animals, which is how you interact with the environment. Your time journey casts you as a peasant in 17th century France to witness (and prevent) the execution of Joan d'Arc; as a prisoner in a concentration camp in Germany during World War II, where you navigate through underground tunnels in an attempt to escape, then later get into a psychic battle with a demonically possessed Adolf Hitler; as a healer in 4th century BC Athens; as a slave during the American Civil War; and as a donkey witnessing the birth of Christ in Nazareth around 4 BC. The devil is up to his own tricks, too, resulting in a few scenes where he shows up in the body of Adolf Hitler, then later possess baby Jesus. The game ends with you returning to modern day Tokyo, which has been ravaged by nuclear war. There are a few differences from previous Nintendo adventure games – there’re no way to get a Game Over, and in some areas that are viewed from a third person perspective, you can directly control your character. There are standard puzzles, plus many areas have quizzes based upon the historical period, so you can learn about actual history in addition to screwing it up. Time Twist has all but been forgotten about by Nintendo – it does completely conflict with their otherwise family-friendly image – and was never re-released in any form.