Originally released in Vol. 71 of the ASCII monthly magazine (May 1983) for the Fujitsu FM-7/8, and later ported to the Sharp PC-1500 (Nov. 1983), NEC PC-8001 and Onkyo MBS-1 (1984), Arfgaldt serves as one of the earliest examples of a Japanese-developed role-playing video game. Compared to many of its contemporaries (and future Japanese RPGs), Arfgaldt is unique in its design, as it was not directly based on the earlier Western examples of Ultima and especially Wizardry, which inspired many Japanese developers. Rather, designer Naoya Uematsu decided to draw more from text-based adventure games of the era, allowing the game to more directly emulate certain aspects of playing a tabletop RPG, such as having a hex-based grid for the map, or forming a party with multiple characters, each with their own unique class.
However, it is this uniqueness that has also caused Arfgaldt to mostly fall away from collective knowledge. In the West, of course, the game never came over, and as its importance mostly exists in the context of the Japanese game-development sphere, it never really had a chance to stand out. However, even in Japan, the game is not particularly well known; both amongst a general audience (to whom the concept of "RPGs" begins with Dragon Quest), but even amongst most enthusiasts. While there are a good number of photos of the 1984 packaged release online, and a few database articles cataloguing the game's existance, not much is documented. The only playable version that can be found is the PC-8001 port, accessible as part of an unofficial collection of games made by a fan on the internet.
As such, the main goal of this website is two-fold. Firstly, the ARFGALDT Preservation Project exists to preserve and document the various different versions of the game, both in the original Japanese, but translated to English as well. This includes not just the original game files, but also the maps and manuals that came with the game, and help explain important concepts to give the player of sense of how to play, and what their ultimate goals are. Once the Preservation Project has a sufficient amount of material within it, a secondary Extras Corner is planned to be added, which will contain additional insights, tips, and guides for the game, allowing more modern/prospective players to have an easier time accessing the game.
Here, various original articles relating to the Arfgaldt game will be added.
We are currently focusing on the Original 1983 release of the game. Once complete, the following files/articles will be added:
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