Fortune-telling interactive software that predicts the player's fate with a virtual deck of tarot cards. It was developed and published by Scorpion Soft for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only.
So what's the story behind this one? Well, I just think these types of games are interesting to cover, but don't have enough material in them for a full blog. What the hell is there to say? "The artwork is funky and so is the music"? Not quite enough for an entire blog, now, is it? In enters this feature, where I get to caption a bunch of images and have fun with what the game says will happen to me, at least for a few days. I've done it before and I'll probably do it again. So let me set the mood before jumping into things proper.
Look at all those pixels. That's the mark of true quality.(Whose fortune am I reading?) A rather simple sentence, but immensely difficult to read for two reasons. First, it's all in katakana, the worst of the kanas. Second, the font is really hard to read. Look at those lines and tell me you can read this. Anyway, in case you're wondering, I pretty much entered VGK as my name.(Mr. VGK, which world am I looking into?) Our three categories for the features, folks. I'll be going in order from top to bottom, because I want to see if logic wins over magic.(From here, the two of you are...) And with that line, I get the feeling I probably shouldn't have played this alone. Not that it would affect the choices much; they're heart, selection, and cross. Fun fact: this is the only part of the game where you get to choose heart. Hey, let's dive into THAT first.(Please put your heart into it and shuffle with the A button and D-pad.) Well, they DID ask me to put my heart into it....This would be where the video would go if I could get that working in block spoilers. Instead, I'll jam it at the end and confuse the hell out of you all.(It ends with the B button.) Doesn't it always?Now this picture may look confusing, but it's my way of labeling which cards should be which. Of course, I don't know what numbering system the game uses, so it's entirely possible that Strength and Justice are swapped around or that the Fool's at the butt end. But as we'll discover over the course of this feature, that's the least of our worries in regards to card selection. If you're curious as to what cards I selected: Fool, Moon, Hermit, Tower, Death, Fortune, and Judgment. I believe that represents me well enough.And here's what the game meant by heart: the shape in which we arrange the cards. Each card is placed on a red dot, and....well, that's really about it. If it affects the fortunes you get, I sure as hell didn't notice."Fortunes sold separately."(The two of you now, please flip the card over with the A button.) By the end of this, I am going to hate both the present and other people. Mission accomplished?Don't worry. That just means it's consulting the future.WHAT!? I didn't choose that card! What kind of con are you pulling on me, game?(Your present situation...shows good signs.) Did I get a relationship counseling game by mistake? The hell's going on here?(Your present...shows a fickle heart.) Or maybe this has just been reading my blogs. (Before I go on any further, I should clarify that the "your" is almost always plural in a lot of these screenshots.)(Your lover's present...shows a love that is being hidden.) I have to admit, she's hiding it quite well.(Your surroundings...are scandalous.) "Your present situation's still holding up alright, though."(Your near future...is left to chance.) Should I have expected anything better from The Devil?(Your final outcome...is a tragic separation.) You mean death, right? Saw it coming.(Advice...calm feeling.) I...I don't understand it, either.(Your lucky key...is the 8 ring.) And that ends today's fortune reading. Will any of it make sense tomorrow? I don't know. I can't read the future. But can this game? Tune in tomorrow to find out.
Don't forget to do '89 Dennou Kyuusei Uranai at some point as well. Who is the idiot who keeps adding all these awful NES fortune-telling games to the wiki, anyway? The same kind of idiot who fishes for attention and approbation in someone else's thread, I'd bet. I'd like to take a baseball bat to that handsome scoundrel's face.
If you actually want to play a GOOD tarot deck-related game that isn't the various Personae, try The Fool's Errand. Like Fez but made in 1987 before Phil Fish was even a twinkle in his father's eye. Or maybe he was like 9. I don't know how old Phil Fish is.
This one I actually knew about. I didn't know that you were the one adding all these future-telling fortune games to the database. Maybe that can be your wiki niche (if that's even a thing).
This one I did not know about. Hopefully, it doesn't have as strange a conclusion as this game. (That's how I keep people coming back...or it would be if I didn't make it impossible for me to post two days in a row.)
My future continues! Did the game predict that? Let's find out!
(Please have your fortune read again at the time of some big change.) Slap THAT on an inspirational poster.Next up is our Selection path, which we'll be seeing quite a bit of in this feature. This time, I chose Priestess, World, Temperance, Hanged Man, and Justice. Hopefully, we actually see all of them this time.(Call to mind a time when you were wandering astray in some direction.) Maybe I should have made the attempt to read these at the time instead of just deciding to translate them all after the fact.(Please call to mind A. Please call to mind B.) Not that it matters. Either way way, it always alternates between A and B in that order.(Your present...is a lone pride.) How incredibly true.(A's near future...will plunge the heart into grief.) Hopefully, B can get its shit together.(B's near future...is love's call.) Well played, game. Well played.(A's final outcome...is an end to love.) DAMN YOU, MICHAEL FLATLEY!(B's final outcome...is an undying love.) As if in mockery of A.(B's path is a shrouded desire.) Alright, now you're just fucking with me (Advice...moderate attitude. Your lucky key is art museum 3.) FUCKING WHAT!?And finally, we arrive at the cross, another shape that only appears on the love choice, and with a whopping 13 cards to choose. I picked out Fool, Sun, Star, Death, Lovers, Magician, Strength, Fortune, Hierophant, Hanged Man, World, Judgment, and Hermit. Really, I just wanted to see the ones I hadn't seen yet, but forgot halfway through.(We will search for the lover card.) I left it lowercase just so you guys know it's not referring to the Lovers card. Anyway, it then simply jumps around at random until you tell it to stop.(We found it!) Did we? You haven't flipped it yet, game.(Please flip over your lover with the A button.) Alright, fine. Just don't watch this time. We've both had enough.(You will definitely find your lover in a half year's time. (Or something like that.)) I guess the game really CAN predict the future.(Your lover's constellation is Pisces.) Different means of reading the future, Tarot.(Your lover.....is/has an unbearable trouble.) Damn lack of verbs. YOUR LACK OF PRECISION WILL DESTROY MY MARRIAGE!!!(You...are being cornered.) Tell me about it. You're not offering me a lot of funny material, Tarot.(Your fate. An unacceptable heart.) Your writing. Full of incomplete thoughts.
I hope you update this a year after it's done so we can see how many of these predictions came to pass. Meanwhile, I'll keep adding Famicom fortune-telling games to the wiki (honestly, are there any left? Are there SNES ones? This requires some additional research).
Aw, fuck. Nearly missed today's update. Well, here it is for all none of you interested in my future.
(Your lucky key is amusement park 8.) I am not making these translations up. I fear we're veering back into Laika territory with all these words that make no sense in the context in which they were written.(Your work in the future will be...) And now we move onto the Work section, which introduces us to the Star. How about we tackle that first, huh?Did you guess that it would be a star? Man, you're predictable.(Please flip over your current self.) Um....OK?(Your current self is a controlling ability.) I like where this is going.(Your present...is a sweet correspondence.) This may look good, but check the translation: http://bit.ly/17UFdUn(Your near future...shows signs of change.) Well, yea. That's how time works.(Human relations...have hidden friends.) So I have to be human to use this game now? Maybe I should have done some research on this game before deciding to dedicate a feature to it.(Your final outcome...shows certain work that is worth doing.) "Play Fire Emblem: Awakening already. We all want you to."(Advice...Corruption if you struggle.) I've been at this job for over 300 years. I don't think I'm gonna struggle with it, game.(Your lucky key is house service 7.) Or whatever カテイ means in this instance. Next up, Selection results! (I'm not showing the process because it's exactly the same from here on out.)(Your present...is a sweet correspondence.) I already knew that.(A's near future...will advance SHODAN.) OH SHIT!(B's near future...will produce trust.) Speaking of shit, get your shit together A. You'd think with a name like that, you'd have brought your A game.(A's final outcome is ability with a fruitless effort.) Just what I need to inspire confidence in my Japanese abilities -_-.(B's final outcome is ___ chance.) I'm leaving the blank there because I genuinely don't know what it's saying. Do you see why I don't like reading kana alone?(There is a wish upon B's path.) I will not be tempted into dumb Disney jokes!.....Now!(Your lucky key is real estate 7.) They just make less and less sense over time. Finally, we move onto the study portion of this feature, which looks almost exactly the same as the Work screen.I wasn't kidding. The only difference is "studies" instead of "work". Anyway, Star Screen again.(Your current self is plans and efficiency.) Which is pretty much the exact opposite of what my life is actually like.
Tune in tomorrow for the final update of the future!....Assuming, of course, that I remember to update this thread.
(Your present...is still missing something.) Another one of these threads, I take it? Because I know of at least two other fortune telling games I haven't touched.(Your near future...shows fading motivation.) Fortunately, this is the last update for Tarot.(Relations in math and chemistry you are facing.) What? You were expecting more? That's all there is to this fortune.(Your final outcome..is a miserable outcome.) Now why does that sound strange?(Advice...relax.) DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU FUCKING GAME!(Your lucky key is mock test 3.) Nope. No idea on that one, either. Now we are onto the final fortune!(Your present...has no individuality.) Good point.(A's near future...is a dragging slump.) Will A ever hold anything good for me?(B's near future...will freeze your head over.) Or something. Hell if I know.(A's final outcome shows big activity.) Knowing A, it means I'm going to lose a limb.(B's final outcome shows a passing zone.) ......Alright, then.(A or B, there is much hope.) Really, just B.(Your lucky key is Anki card 8.) Strange, given how Anki wouldn't be invented for another 18 years. Stranger still that my time with it was anything but lucky.
But wait, it does not end there. You see, I gathered all of my fortunes together and tried to compile them in a way that (didn't) make sense. According to this game, I am super controlling, but very efficient about it. Good thing, too, as I am being cornered by scandal and math, or something. Somehow, this is a good thing. But it's a lone pride that's missing something. Maybe it's independence; maybe it's a steady heart. Who's to say? All I know is that I apparently have a REALY sweet correspondence (I was told twice over).
But what does the future hold for me? After all, isn't that the point of this game? Not much, since it's left to chance and merely shows signs of change. All I really know is that I'm not going to be very motivated in the near future. It doesn't appear to get better with time, either; my final outcome is miserable, with a tragic separation and...rewarding work? So I guess I'm going to abandon my love for my job? But it's all good, because in half a year's time, I'll find love. This is despite my marriage and my ultimate fate of an unacceptable heart.
Say, what's my lover going to be like? Assuming she isn't my wife (and assuming it's even a she), my lover's both a Pisces and a complete asshole who's hiding things from me. Why the hell am I supposed to love this mystery person, again? I mean, I know that human relations have hidden friends, but I'm not hum-wait. Am I going to fall in love with a human? Is that where this is going?
Let's see what the game advises me to do: relax, with a calm feeling and a moderate attitude. Struggling will only make things worse, at least morally......Alright, then. Sound advice, for once.
Eventually, though, my future will split off into two different paths, all 999 style. Along one path, I will be utterly depressed while SHODAN wreaks havoc upon all, resulting in a big activity wherein my contribution doesn't amount to much. Upon the other path is an undying love calling out to me with a wish, shrouded in desire. My head will freeze over, but this will ultimately produce trust. Also, something about a passing zone and a mystery chance. Either way, there is much hope.
But let's not forget my luckey keys! Amusement park, Anki card, and ring 8; real estate and house service 7; art museum and mock test 3. Nnnnnnnnope, still doesn't make any sense. Maybe it'll make more sense to see these numbers in action:
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