Elnark no Zaihou

Elnark no Zaihou (エルナークの財宝) is an adventure game developed and published by Towachiki. It presents the action from an overhead perspective, similar to many of the traditional 2D Zelda games.

It is unusual in that it tracks the player's behavior and adjusts a meter which indicates whether the player is generally more good (Light) or more evil (Dark). Though a more evil player has stronger abilities, players must air on the side of good in order to make significant advances through the game.

As a result, this game is considered extremely difficult, due to the unknown nature of how one should behave in order to proceed. If the player does not perform the correct actions, levels typically repeat themselves, and players find themselves stuck in the game with no clear method to advance. In fact, it was one believed that the only way to beat the game was to exploit a bug, however that has since been proven false.

A professional treasure hunter, you one day receive a strange letter from your world-famous friend Joe:

"I miss you, my friend, and am now in a small country in South America called Radea. I'm looking for the mysterious "treasure of Erunaku". However, as soon as I arrived in this country, I've had a very uneasy feeling. Even when I sleep at night I have the most terrible dreams. In my dreams I see the name "Crest of Darkness", but I have no idea what it means. Anyway, this is the first time I've felt anything like it. Tomorrow, I will be searching for the treasure at the Nekuromia temple up the river, but this condition worries me greatly. If you want to come, meet me up the river in Radea at the temple remains. Please, come quick!"

- Joe Kurosawa, July 25, 19XX

You cannot ignore your friend. You go to the small, mysterious country of Radea quickly. When you get there, a strange girl appears beside a beautiful stone where your missing friend has left a single word. You are already confronted by a mystery. What does this word mean? Your adventure has already begun!