Mars Saga

About

Mars Saga is a retro RPG where you play Tom Jetland, a stranded spacefarer scraping by on Mars. Explore four distinct cities, dig through derelict mines, and figure out a mystery about hidden alien presence.战斗 uses a top-down perspective where you issue real time commands to your party, balancing strategy with quick decisions. The world feels lived in with rough edges typical of late 80s design. The game’s combat system stands out for its rarity in the genre, queuing actions for multiple characters ahead of enemy turns. Originally published by Infocom after a development dispute, it exists on DOS, C64 and Apple II platforms. With basic graphics by today’s standards but a solid core loop, it’s a curiosity for fans of early RPG experimentation. The 1988 release date coincides with the era’s growing interest in Martian colonization themes.

Storyline

The player takes the role of Tom Jetland, a down-on-his-luck space traveller trapped on Mars after crashing his ship. While searching for jobs to make enough money to get back off the planet, he discovers a conspiracy hiding contact with what seems to be alien life. The player visits the four Martian cities of Primus, Progeny, Parallax, and Proscenium, as well as traversing the Martian surface and visiting abandoned mines. The combat system features a bird's eye view of the battlefield. The player queues instructions for the characters of his or her party to perform in real time.