31 years later, beautiful SNES RPG Terranigma is finally coming to PC, and I must lay the ghost of my console warrior childhood to rest

Hollow Earths and real-time spear combat

Clear River Games Development and Limited Run are working on a PC re-release of Terranigma, Quintet's Super Nintendo Entertainment System action-RPG from 1995. I never played Terranigma, for I was raised according to the Holy Maxim that Sega do what Nintendon't. I would sooner have flushed my own blast processor down the toilet before I permitted any associates of Mario under my roof.

RPS guides writer Jeremy did play Terranigma, however, and says it's one of his favourite games ever. For the sake of collegiality, I guess I'll suppress my emaciated console war impulses and take a look. Gosh, this is a pretty trailer.

Terranigma takes place on a hollow planet with a civilisation divided between the outer Lightside and the internal Darkside. You are Ark, a mischievous Darkside kid who one day opens a forbidden door, as is the pastime of RPG protagonists.

It's certainly a looker, with character designs from manga artist Kamui Fujiwara, a touch of mode 7 aviation, and some lush Polly Pocket battle scenery and villages. The battle system is real-time, with Ark darting around stabbing away with his spear.

"The games developed by Quintet in the ’90s were marked by a distinct melancholy and recurring themes of creation and destruction," utters the GOG page (it's also coming to Steam). "Terranigma is their magnum opus: a technical and storytelling powerhouse and a timeless classic. If you missed it in 1995, this is your chance to experience something truly special."

Some background on Clear River Games Development: they're part of Clear River Games AB, a THQ Nordic/Embracer-owned publisher who were founded in 2019, and are based in Sweden. Clear River Games AB are credited on a motley array of ports, re-releases, and retro projects, including Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story and System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster.

There's no release date yet beyond early 2027. Did you play Terranigma back in the 90s? I realise saying as much would mean outing yourself as a stinky Snespian, but I am prepared to let bygones be bygones. I will concede that you lot had better RPGs than we got on t'Drive, but I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I admit that you had us beat for platformers.