Aretha

About

Ariel is a 10-year-old girl thrust into a grim fantasy world where ancient wars and forgotten magic shape her journey. Playing as Ariel, you navigate forests, mountain trails, and labyrinthine caves on a quest to deliver a message to a town. Combat unfolds in a first-person turn-based format where you and your party choose physical strikes, spells, or defensive moves against monsters. The story slowly reveals Ariel’s deeper connection to a past war that destroyed a kingdom, with her simple errand escalating into a battle against a tyrant and a search for mystical power. Exploration and dialogue with townsfolk hint at a larger mythos tied to her origins. The game’s standout is its unconventional combat perspective for an RPG, offering a fresh tactical layer despite 1990s-era visuals. The narrative pacing leans into mystery, letting players piece together the war’s legacy through sparse dialogue and environmental clues. While the Super Famicom version remains the only release, its blend of character-driven storytelling and methodical battles has earned a cult following among retro RPG fans. The lack of hand-holding means players must stay alert for subtle story beats, rewarding persistence with a tale about identity and redemption.

Storyline

In a far away land, war was raging, as an evil ruler sent his troops to invade the castle of a mighty king. His minions stormed the castle and burnt it down. The king could not escape his fate, and the villain thought no one was spared by his wrath... Present time. You are Ariel, a little girl who lives with her old wise grandmother in a small house near a mountain range, north to the forest. She just turned ten, and the grandmother sends her on a seemingly simple quest: to go through the forest to Nineveh, the nearby town, and to meet there a certain person. But what starts as a simple assignment soon develops into the quest for magic powers of Aretha, the ultimate battle against the evil, and the discovery of Ariel's own true identity.