A remake of a forgotten Square Enix NES game has been announced as a Nintendo console exclusive. This means it’s coming to only Nintendo platforms and PC. Obviously, the Nintendo platforms in question are the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Meanwhile, the remake does not come way of Square Enix, but from developers Room6 and Game Studio, with the assistance of publisher G-Mode Corporation. It is unclear if Square Enix no longer owns the IP or simply farmed it out.
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This trio has, more specifically, announced a remake of a game that debuted all the way back in 1983 via the PC-6001 before coming to the MSX and NES in 1985. This game is The Portopia Serial Murder Case. If you have never heard of this game, it may be because it’s not only old, but because it was never released outside of Japan. Now, it’s being remade. Unfortunately, it looks poised to be a Japan-exclusive again. Currently, it’s only been announced for Japan and will have no English-language option for those who would otherwise be interested in importing it. This remake is called The Portopia Serial Murder Case, and it’s coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in 2027.
What makes this forgotten Enix game particularly noteworthy is the fact that it was designed by Yugi Hori, the creator of Dragon Quest and designer of Chrono Trigger. Upon release, it was received very well and was pretty popular in Japan. More importantly, it would help define Japanese adventure games. To this end, in many regards, it was a pioneering release that, for some strange reason, never got a Western release.
For those completely unfamiliar with it, it is a first-person adventure game with some visual novel aspects, nonlinear gameplay, branching dialogue choices, and an open world. In many ways, it was ahead of its time.
In it, you play as both an unseen and silent protagonist, a detective who must investigate the death of Kouzou Yamakawa, the president of a very successful bank company, who was found dead inside a locked room in his mansion. On the surface, it appears to be a suicide, but through interrogations and other detective work, you quickly realize there’s more to it than a standard suicide.
As for the remake, it’s a complete overhaul, as the trailer itself actually reveals. What’s unclear is whether there will be any changes to the story to go along with the completely overhauled visuals and gameplay. Meanwhile, there is no word of a release date within the 2027 release window, and no word of any intentions to bring it west beyond Japan.
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Courtesy of The Game Kitchen
