EGGCONSOLE Lizard PC-8801

Genre: First-Person Dungeon-Crawler / Turn-Based RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Lizard is a First-Person Dungeon-Crawler and Turn-Based RPG originally released on the Japan-only PC-8801 computer platform in 1984, with this modern release in 2025 on Nintendo Switch as a part of the EGGCONSOLE series marking the game’s first release in the West.

So I’ll cut to the chase. I could complain about how clunky and dated this game is. I could complain about the lack of a map. I could complain about the poor story. But all of that is moot, because this is a Japanese-language game with an absolute ton of text that is completely untranslated.

To their credit, the folks in charge of this modern release did try to guide English-speaking players through how to play the game in its included digital instruction manual, but when you have to consult an instruction manual just to see what menu options are in an RPG that’s almost nothing but text commands and menu options, I think you’re asking too much of the player. Even worse if you require them to type in answers using a virtual keyboard.

Being a part of the EGGCONSOLE series brings with it multiple extra options and features common within that series. This includes save states, a rewind feature, button reassignment, screen settings, adjustable game speed settings, and a virtual keyboard if you need it for any reason. And Lizard also includes scans of the original game’s Japanese-language instruction manual and box art.

I suppose if you can read Japanese, this review won’t be very helpful to you. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you there, because I don’t read Japanese. And as a result, Lizard is virtually unplayable for me. As I expect it will be for most people reading this review. If you’re the exception and you read Japanese, I’m sorry I don’t have more to tell you here, but for everyone else, I highly suggest you skip this game.

tl;dr – Lizard is a First-Person Dungeon Crawler and Turn-Based Japanese that’s clunky, dated, and pretty much unplayable for anyone who can’t read its untranslated Japanese. Skip it.

Grade: F

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