Product Info
Title:
Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi
de
Developer:
Pax Softnica
Publisher:
Nintendo
Genre:
Adventure
Price:
2980.00
Description:
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.