Lost Nintendo Games Volume 4. Nazo no Murasamejō

Lost Nintendo Games is a series of articles about Nintendo games that have been lost to Nintendo fans.  This usually means that the game has been canceled or the game was just not released in a particular region for whatever reason.  Let us not forget about the Nintendo titles that many people never got to play.

Lost Nintendo Games Volume 3. Disaster Day Of Crisis

Lost Nintendo Games Volume 5. Project H.A.M.M.E.R.

Title: Nazo no Murasamejō
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Famicom Disk System
Release Date: April 14, 1986 (Japan)

Nazo no Murasamejō was released for the Famicom Disk System on April 14, 1986.  Since then this title has never left Japan even though it has been re-released as part of the Famicom Mini series for the Game Boy Advance and was also put on the Japanese Wii Virtual Console.  The title translates into The Mysterious Murasame Castle.

The game takes place during the Edo period of Japan.  One night at Murasame Castle a glowing golden orb falls into the castle walls and brings one of the famous stone statues housed there to life.  This statue takes over the castle which enables the golden object to take over four other castles that are near Murasame.  Then the golden object summons all sorts of monsters and turns troops stationed at these castles evil.  Seeing no other option the ruler of Japan sends an apprentice samurai, Takamaru, out to stop this evil.

Nazo no Murasamejō looks very similar to The Legend of Zelda on the NES.  Players are given a top down view of the action and the screen only scrolls to the next one once players hit it.  Takamaru has two attack options, his katana and shurikens.  When close to an enemy Takamaru uses his sword, but when he’s far away he uses the shurikens.  Takamaru can also get other upgrades throughout his adventure.

Nazo no Murasamejō is level based and therefore shouldn’t be considered exactly like Zelda.  Players are given a time limit in which to complete each level.  The game is an action game and not an adventure like the original The Legend of Zelda title.

The protagonist of Nazo no Murasamejō, Takamaru, shouldn’t be a complete stranger to many Nintendo fans.  This is because he has made cameo in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a sticker and music from Nazo no Murasamejō is also in Brawl.

Nazo no Murasamejō was probably not released anywhere else in the world because it just didn’t do as well as other games coming out for the Famicom Disk System such as The Legend of Zelda.  With that said now is the perfect time for Nintendo to bring Nazo no Murasamejō out on the Virtual Console for the rest of the world to enjoy.

Next month Nintendo is publishing a game called Samurai Warriors 3 here in North America.  This game will feature Takamaru as a playable character in a special mode called Murasame Castle mode which is, from what I hear, very similar to the game Nazo no Murasamejō.  Why not release Nazo no Murasamejō on Virtual Console to hype up Samurai Warriors 3 as well as give longtime Nintendo fans this game after over 20 years?

Chances are Nintendo fans outside of Japan will be waiting a long time to see Nazo no Murasamejō released in their region.  It’s a shame too because the game looks like a good challenge and fans in the rest of the world will never fully understand the importance of Takamaru as a character.  Nazo no Murasamejō is indeed a lost Nintendo game.

Is there a lost Nintendo game you’d like me to cover?  Follow me on Twitter @KingNintendoFan or Like me on Facebook and tell me about it.   Who knows, maybe I’ll cover it in the next installment of Lost Nintendo Games!