Despite the fact that the days of big gaming companies producing games for the NES are long gone, that has never stopped dedicated fans from giving gamers the chance to relive the feeling of receiving a brand new game for their Nintendo Entertainment System. Too Many Games, a gaming convention held in Oaks, PA this year from June 15th-17th, is a known hotspot for previously unreleased games making their way into the hands of fans. and this year is no exception.

Yes good folks, that is an independently produced NES game

Enter, Miracle of Almana (アルマナの奇跡/Arumana no Kiseki). Originally released by Konami in Japan on August 17, 1987 for the Japan-only Famicom Disk System, this was one of many games from Konami that never made it outside of Japan during the original run of the NES/Famicom.

Miracle of Almana is an action platformer game, in which the player, who takes the roll of an unnamed hero who bears a remarkable resemblance to Indiana Jones, must recover the Almana, a mystical red jewel, that was stolen from an unnamed village by a dastardly thief.

Gone are the days where your only insight into a game was the back of the cover

As “Faux Indiana Jones”, you must make your way through 6 levels of cavernous caves, filled to the brim with various types of cave-dwelling creatures, and evil henchmen who wish to put a stop to your efforts. To fend off his would-be attackers, Faux Indy starts the game with a set of 30 throwing knifes at his disposal that he must use wisely until he can acquire some other weapons like the handgun, bomb, mace, or boomerang.

In order to ascend and descend his way through the treacherous depths of the caverns, Faux Indy relies on not only his superb jumping skills, but also his trusty grappling hook. This incorporated a somewhat unique gameplay element to this game, because not only must he rely on it on many occasions to pass otherwise impassable sections of the game, but the mechanics by which the hook is used are a little quirky. The hook can only be launched from a diagonal position, and not straight up, so keep this in mind as you scale the walls.

Go Go Gadget Grappling Hook!

For those who are not fortunate enough to get their hands on a Famicom or a Famicom Disk System, Miracle of Almana is just one of oodles of games that will sadly never be playable on your own TV, except for when dedicated fans take it upon themselves to release games like this. Almana is not the first game to receive such treatment though, as other Japan-only Famicom games like Final Fantasy 2, Boku Dracula-kun (Kid Dracula), Spaltterhouse, and others, have received similar treatments in the past. What makes this release of Almana so epic is the packaging. You already saw the box, but oh, there is more than meets the eye.

Mother of God! There’s even a Styrofoam insert! *squee!*

Anyone who has ever opened an brand new NES box knows exactly what I’m talking about, and why having a little piece of Styrofoam in there is awesome! If you did not know any better, this could easily pass for an officially released game from our friends at Konami back in 1987. From the dust sleeve case, to the manual, to the full-size insert poster, which is identical to the original poster image from the Japanese release, this package is simply too awesome!

This is an extremely exclusive run of the game, with only 30 copies being sold only at Too Many Games for $50 each. If you simply have to get your hands on one, I recommend you make the trip to TMG in two weeks! Not only can you score this awesome package, but you’ll have a fantastic time as well! Click the link in our sidebar to check it out!



