Cosmic Fantasy: Bouken Shounen Yuu

About

Cosmic Fantasy: Bouken Shounen Yuu is a classic 1990s Japanese RPG that mixes spacefaring adventure with medieval fantasy. You play Yuu, a young space traveler who crash-lands on a planet stuck in a dark age. His robotic cat companion Monmo joins the journey as you explore villages, fight kobolds, and uncover a cosmic threat. Combat uses turn-based mechanics with physical strikes and later psychic powers that function like magic. The story unfolds through anime-style cutscenes featuring voice acting, which helped set it apart for its time. What stands out is its early use of CD-based audio and visuals, pushing hardware limits in 1990. The blend of sci-fi and fantasy tropes feels fresh for the era, and the narrative expands from local conflicts to an intergalactic struggle. Despite being over 30 years old, it remains a niche gem for players interested in retro RPG roots. The Switch port brings this oddball mix to modern audiences without overpolishing its 8-bit charm.

Storyline

In this first game of the Cosmic Fantasy series, the player controls a young adventurer named Yuu, who travels through space together with a robotic motorcycle cat called Monmo. One day, their space ship crash-lands on an unknown planet. The heroes realize that the planet is in a civilization phase far inferior to their own space-traveling world, and resembles a medieval society. Upon visiting a village, Yū discovers that the clan of kobolds is threatening its inhabitants. What starts as a simple mission soon turns into a grand quest against an evil force, that will eventually lead Yuu to realize his role as a Cosmic Knight, whose task is to defeat intergalactic evil and save the world.