Man, so this is a game I checked out completely at random, because it looked kind of interesting. Wasn't sure what to expect, as the scant few screenshots I WAS able to track down showed either really nice, detailed visual novel sections, or hex-based strategy RPG sections (?!), and it was VERY MUCH UNCLEAR whether or not this was going to be a porn game.
It's actually listed as an adult game online in a few places, but thus far at least, despite being published by Technopolis Soft (who are apparently known for their adult titles), it's actually not -- there have been a few characters in suggestive poses and/or wearing skimpy bikini armor, but no actual hentai content (whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, though, is up to you!). 
But that's beside the point -- the main reason I'm posting here is, this game is excellent! It's kind of a hybrid board game + turn-based RPG. The world map is a series of hexagons, and you can choose to land on any space that's not blocked by tree, mountain, or water tiles (though if you move more than one space at a time, it costs you money -- $25 per hexagon). Once you land on a space, you're transported into another board representing the contents of that space, wherein you'll find paths, treasure chests, dungeon entrances, shops, healing springs, and also thick brush that conceals hidden treasures and staircases (which you need to clear away before you can see what's there). Sometimes there are secrets, too -- fake trees and walls that you can clear away like brush, water sections you can walk through, etc.
There are also wandering monsters who move one space every time you do, and if they land on your space, you fight them in battle... which is dice-based, kind of like Rune Master/Rune Monster, but also card-based, with the various weapons you've purchased or found represented by cards with limited numbers of uses per battle, forcing you to strategically choose on each turn which weapon is best suited to the current combat situation.
It's actually a really well put-together game -- innovative and unique, easy to figure out, and it has three completely separate campaigns (boy hero, girl hero, and princess), which is also pretty cool. The graphics are quite nice, considering the style, and the music... well, the music is probably the weakest part. It's not bad, but it's all rather loud PSG fare, and it tends to speed up or slow down its tempo ever-so-slightly whenever new information is being written to the screen.
Still... it's really good! Way, WAY better than I was expecting, and I'm really finding myself addicted to it.
The only problem is... there is basically NO information about this game online. Not even in Japanese! And while I've been able to figure out most of how it works (it's fairly self-explanatory if you've played a lot of JRPGs and board games), there are a couple points I'm unsure on:
- What is the formula used with dice rolls? The amount of damage I do, and the amount of damage I take, seem pretty arbitrary sometimes. Granted, if I roll an 8 on either die, I'll probably end up hitting the enemy and doing a fair bit of damage, and if I roll a 1, I probably won't -- but the amount of damage I deal and receive each turn seems to have little other connection to the numbers on either my two dice or the enemy's two dice. It's a long shot, but does anyone have any idea how this works?
- There's a counter on the bottom-right corner of the screen that shows a little soldier next to it. This is because there's a mercenary guild hidden on the world map, and if you find it, you can recruit mercenaries to join you. I recruited four, and sure enough, that counter on the bottom-right corner of the screen increased to 4... and that seems to be the ONLY effect it had. I can't, for the life of me, figure out what the mercenaries actually DO. They don't seem to help out in battle at all, they don't show up on the map... they just tick up that number, and that's it! I thought maybe they might have something to do with the first option on the button-2 menu (which is something like "ASSIST"), but that option appears to do... absolutely nothing. Except corrupt some pixels along the top of the screen. So, uh... anybody know what the mercenaries do? ...Anybody?
I don't really expect anyone to have answers for me, but hey, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask!
Also, I just wanted to talk about this game! It's awesome, and deserves a lot more attention than it seems to get. I think a lot of people must have dismissed it as "just another porn game," when in fact it's not a porn game at all -- it's a full-fledged RPG with really nice character art, great visual novel cutscenes, and an innovative approach to exploration that will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys tabletop gaming. It's got music with inconsistent tempo and long load times, but is otherwise a really solid experience that feels totally unique compared to any other MSX game I've played thus far -- a definite hidden gem worth a look!
-Tom
Also, the MSX version halts dice rolls after 5 seconds or so, so you can see in advance what numbers you'll get and can decide in advance what move you want to perform IF you're willing to wait. The PC-88 version does not -- the dice rolls continue randomly fluctuating forever until you select a card. This could be seen as cheating, but I kind of feel like it's a form of strategizing that benefits the game overall.