Relics: Ankoku Yousai

Famicom Disk System

Famicom Disk System

Relics: Ankoku Yousai is a sequel to Relics which, compared to the predecessor, simplifies the gameplay and has only one ending. This game opts for a more Metroid-inspired style and even adds a tune constantly looping while playing the game. The player takes role of a being that's sacrificed i...

Download

0/5 Votes: 0

Report

Developer
Bothtec

Released on
1987

Size
1 Player

Version
Famicom Disk System

Requirements
Nintendo Famicom Disk System

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Report this app

Images

Description

Relics: Ankoku Yousai is a sequel to Relics which, compared to the predecessor, simplifies the gameplay and has only one ending. This game opts for a more Metroid-inspired style and even adds a tune constantly looping while playing the game.

The player takes role of a being that’s sacrificed its body in order to take control of the bodies of the deceased Holy Warriors of Light, the only ones capable to defeat the forces of hell. The goal is to rescue the princess of heaven, imprisoned in the fortress of hell and the only way to get to her is by collecting 5 idols.

The Family Computer Disk System version of Relics changes the story and limits the way the body swapping mechanic works by making the player collect amulets and fight specific bosses to switch bodies. Players can also cause damage to the walls which could reveal secret areas containing keys, health restoring items and power-ups.

While looking very impressive for a Family Computer Disk System game, due to the hardware limitations, the game suffers from frequent loading of the areas and the enemies in an area. The collision detection can be inaccurate and it will be necessary to swap the sides of the Disk Card every time the main character dies and even during some of the levels.

Relics: Ankoku Yousai

Overview & History

Developed by Bothtec and released in 1987 exclusively for the Famicom Disk System, Relics: Ankoku Yousai is a sci-fi action-RPG and a console port of the pioneering PC-8801 original. Set inside a mysterious, colossal, cylindrical space fortress known as the "Tower," the game drops an amnesiac android protagonist into a biomechanical nightmare. Unlike typical linear platformers of the era, Relics introduces a profound philosophical and mechanical conceit: your character possesses no permanent physical form of their own. To survive the floating labyrinth's hostile humanoid and mutant denizens, you must violently detach from your current body and possess the decaying corpses of fallen enemies, inheriting their unique attributes, frailties, and combat animations. This body-hopping mechanic made it a cult classic, offering an eerie, atmospheric experience that pushed the limits of the Famicom Disk System's rewritable magnetic media.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay revolves around aggressive survival and biological management. As you navigate the multi-tiered, maze-like sectors of the dark fortress, you must constantly monitor your current host's structural integrity. Combat is deliberate and methodical; you use your acquired vessel's native appendage—whether it's a mechanical claw, a heavy bludgeon, or an energy weapon—to dismantle opposition. When your current shell sustains too much damage, you are forced out as a vulnerable, floating soul-orb, desperately racing against time to find a fresh corpse before you permanently flatline. Exploration requires solving environmental riddles by leveraging specific enemy capabilities, such as utilizing heavier shells to trigger floor switches or faster bodies to outrun automated security turrets.