Blue Almanac (1991)

Platforms: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Genres: Role-playing (RPG)

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

A rare Japanese sci-fi RPG with a space odyssey setting, known mainly through prototype fan translation efforts.

sci-firpgturn-basedexplorationanime-styleobscurejapanese

About

Blue Almanac is a 1991 RPG for the Sega Mega Drive by HOT-B published by Kodansha Research Institute for some reason. While it was only released in Japan, Kodansha was planning on translating the game as Star Odyssey, but the translation was cancelled for unknown reasons. Two prototypes were independently discovered by drx and by Brandon Cobb, head of Super Fighter Team, who subsequently acquired a license to complete the translation from HOT-B successor company Starfish (who like to revisit old properties), with intentions on releasing it on the twentieth anniversary of the original release. Despite his PR claiming that he received an "unofficial license" from Sega to distribute the game, Sega really asked him to remove their copyrights and trademarks, consequently making the translation fully unlicensed (while Blue Almanac is fully licensed).

More games like this

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.