Some forgotten corners of Japanese PC gaming are finally getting a chance to reach a wider audience, and one particularly bloody example is on its way to Steam. FAKKU has announced that Dead of the Brain, the 1992 PC-98 horror adventure from FairyTale, will be released on Steam as the first entry in its planned Nightmare Collection. More importantly for international players, the game will receive its first official English localization.
Dead of the Brain originally appeared on the PC-98 in 1992 and puts players in the role of Cole, whose scientist friend Dr. Cooger discovers a way to bring the dead back to life. As these things tend to go in horror stories, the experiment doesn’t exactly produce the desired results, instead unleashing zombies that begin tearing through the city. Cole is subsequently left to deal with the increasingly gruesome situation.
The game uses a point-and-click adventure format combined with visual novel elements and quick-time events, with FairyTale putting considerably more emphasis on blood and gore than many of the adventure games of its era. Its inspirations reportedly include films such as The Evil Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and Re-Animator, giving the game a distinctly splattery take on the zombie horror formula.
Dead of the Brain was followed by Dead of the Brain 2 in 1993, while FairyTale also released the similarly horror-focused Marine Philt that same year. The original game later received ports for several Japanese platforms, including PC Engine CD and MSX2, but its upcoming Steam release represents a considerably easier way for modern audiences to experience the game.
The Steam version will also be available in English, which is particularly notable for a game that has spent more than three decades largely confined to Japanese releases. A previous English fan translation for the PC Engine version gave curious players one way to experience the game, but this release will mark its first official English localization.
FAKKU isn’t stopping with Dead of the Brain, either. The publisher has plans to bring additional PC-98 titles from FairyTale’s catalog to modern audiences, including Dengeki Nurse, Necronomicon, and Dracula Hakushaku. Release dates for those games have not yet been announced.
Dead of the Brain is currently listed for Steam with an English interface and subtitles, although a release date has not yet been announced. For fans of obscure Japanese horror, however, a 1992 PC-98 title this gory getting an official English release is certainly an interesting piece of retro gaming history coming back to life.