ROPOKO: A New Interactive Fiction Game for MZ-80K and Modern Platforms

Gaming Staff • November 1, 2024

Indie Game Pc Games

Tookato has released the English versions of the interactive fiction games ROPOKO and ROPOKO for MZ-80K for the MZ-80K/700/800/1500 series of computers, which were originally announced around 40 years ago by SHARP. The games come with an MZ-700 emulator, MZ700WIN, allowing those unfamiliar with old computers to easily play the games. While these versions are downloadable, cassette tape versions for real machines will also be released in the future. Additionally, 'ROPOKO for Steam' and 'ROPOKO for Switch' will be released through Waku Waku Games within a few months.

ROPOKO is an adventure game where players become the robot Ropoko and must escape from a maze-like laboratory with the help of "Doctor." Players learn words through conversations and use the vocabulary they've acquired to solve various puzzles. The Windows emulator MZ-700WIN is included, so players can start playing right away without any initial setup.

The game is designed to be accessible even for those unfamiliar with the genre, with movement handled entirely with the cursor keys and commands entered either by typing directly on the keyboard or selecting words using a cursor. The game includes various puzzles, mini-games, and complex dungeons to keep players entertained.

The MZ-700 lacks graphic capabilities, so the game screen is entirely represented with character graphics. Large characters move smoothly thanks to machine language programming, and the game offers 12 background music tracks and 20 types of sound effects. The game is a fully solo project, with everything from the storyline, graphics, and music to the programming created by Tookato alone.

ROPOKO and ROPOKO for MZ-80K can be downloaded from Tookato's booth page, and 'ROPOKO for Steam' and 'ROPOKO for Switch' will be released through Waku Waku Games within a few months. The estimated initial playtime for ROPOKO is around 10 hours.

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