Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard (1996)

Developer: Tamtam
Publisher: Pioneer LDC, AIC Spirits
Platforms: PC-9800 Series, Sega Saturn
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

An anime-based visual novel with voiced dialogue, animated portraits, and light exploration set in a fantastical parallel world.

story-richromanticfantasyanimevisual noveladventuroussci-fi

About

Shinpi no Sekai: El-Hazard is based off of an anime with the same title. The game plays like an enhanced visual novel which is fully voice-acted and displays protagonist and other characters on the screen during dialogues. Event scenes and animations are quite common, and character poses depicting their current disposition is displayed in portrait images which are also animated. Unlike typical visual novels where the player is limited to dialogue and choices, players can explore various locations on the map and try to perform actions outside the dialogue window, such as initiating a talk to other characters, or look around the area or go someplace else.

Screenshots

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More by Tamtam

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.