Tarot

About

Tarot is a 1988 Famicom Disk System title that turns your console into a crystal ball. Players select a card layout, each tied to a life area like love, work, or health, then shuffle a virtual deck and reveal individual cards. The game translates each selection into vague but dramatic predictions, blending old-world mysticism with early digital quirks. Gameplay hinges on curiosity more than strategy, offering bite-sized readings that lean into the era’s fascination with astrology and pseudoscience. This Japan-only release sits in a niche corner of gaming history. Scorpion Soft positioned it as part of a wave of Famicom “utility” software, following titles like Chuugoku Senseijutsu. While it lacks replay value beyond novelty, its charm lies in its earnest simplicity. For collectors, it’s a rare artifact of late-80s gaming experimentation. Casual players might find the readings delightfully cryptic, or just a little too vague. Either way, it’s a quick, quirky trip into the past.

Storyline

Tarot (sometimes referred to as Tarot Uranai; "Uranai" meaning fortune-telling) is a fortune telling game from Scorpion Soft that was released on the Famicom Disk System towards the end of 1988 in Japan only. It followed a series of other astrological "utility" programs for the platform, including Chuugoku Senseijutsu and '89 Dennou Kyuusei Uranai. The game focuses, not surprisingly, on the Tarot deck and their supposed clairvoyant properties. The game will randomly shuffle a deck and lay them out in a formation of the player's choosing - each formation is meant to predict a different aspect of the player's life. The game will then reveal cards that the player chooses and decipher the meaning behind them.