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Exploring Cluju: The Hidden Gem of PC-88

annk526
Cluju PC-88

An obscure PC-88 game that somehow mixes fetch quests, survival mechanics, and fashion management.

Why the Shucks Am I Playing This Game?

Okay, so I stumbled upon Cluju while I was exploring another PC-88 game, and they just happened to appear side by side on some dude’s website. I noticed it was a Xain Soft game, a game I had never encountered. That alone was intriguing. So, I did what any curious gamer would do—I checked a PC-88 archive dump, and to my surprise, it wasn’t there.

Then I discovered that Xain Soft rereleased it for the PC-98 and boom! There was a dump of the PC-98 version, so I started exploring. Playing this with friends was a blast—until we hit Stage 3, where the game completely broke. I mean, full-stop, game-breaking glitch that prevented any further progress.

We poked around, and the only way to check if it was fixable was to re-dump the game. And—wow—would you believe it? This game is obscure as hell. Hardly any copies of it exist, and my only shot at seeing the whole thing was if a random auction copy popped up (good luck with that).

That was back in September 2024. And how was I supposed to know that we’d be dumping a physical copy of the PC-88 version of Cluju just months later?

But we did. And now, here we go. I will break it down for you—what this game is about, why it’s such a mystery, and most importantly, how you even play it.

Introduction – A Forgotten Gem by Xain Soft

Nobody came back… from this adventure! Except maybe that dog there… wait

Developed by Xain Soft and released in 1988 for the PC-88, Cluju is the kind of game that makes you question what you are doing in life. It’s described as a “journey game,” and I figure that’s relevant in 2025, where I can’t escape people trying to sell me “the journey” in almost everything I look at now. It blends real-time exploration, survival mechanics, and adventure game logic into one confusing but strangely compelling experience. Unlike typical RPGs, Cluju ditches experience points and levels, forcing players to solve puzzles, collect items, and manage their resources like their in-game life depends on it—because, well, it does.

This game demands your attention. Talk with everyone. Manage your meagre funds. Keep a constant check on your condition, or you’ll succumb to the harsh weather in your inadequate fashion. Cluju will test your heart and push you to your limits if you’re not focused. Are you up for the journey?

Story – The Ice Kingdom of Cluj is Screwed

Welcome to Cluj, a once beautiful, snow-covered kingdom that looked like something straight off a holiday postcard. But don’t get too cozy because beneath all that picturesque snowfall, things are going downhill fast.

Cluj is home to an ancient temple, which houses a magical artifact like all good fantasy temples. In this case, the Snow Crystal keeps the whole kingdom from falling apart. Well, guess what? Some idiot stole it.

Because this tiny theft somehow weakened the gods, it woke up an ancient evil spirit named Deldgordon. He wasted no time unleashing his personal demon zoo all over Cluj, turning the once-tranquil kingdom into a nightmare full of rampaging monsters.

Now, Cluj—the land of serene snowfall and peaceful days—is officially a disaster zone. People are panicking, monsters are partying, and you? You’re the poor fool who has to fix it.

Your Mission – Because Nobody Else is Going to Do It

If we inspect the back of the box and the intro in the manual, it explains you’ve got two primary objectives:

1️⃣ Recover the stolen Snow Crystal. (Which, let’s be honest, is probably locked behind some ridiculously convoluted puzzle.)
2️⃣ Defeat Deldgordon and his demon horde. (Easier said than done because this guy has nothing better to do than ruin your life.)

Sounds simple? It’s not. You’ll be stuck solving cryptic riddles, fighting way-too-powerful enemies, and backtracking like your life depends on it—because it does.

The game warns that this journey will be long, frustrating, and full of obstacles, but don’t give up! If you pull this off, you’ll be rewarded with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment… or at least the smug satisfaction of proving this game wrong.

Gameplay – A Mix of Survival and Puzzle-Solving

Unlike most RPGs, Cluju does not care how many enemies you kill. It cares about how well you prepare. Progression of “your journey” depends on talking to NPCs, collecting key items, and knowing what to do next. You figure it out or wander around, aimlessly questioning your existence. To help break it down and help people get into Cluju, I popped together a few pointers to help players get started and avoid some quirks and problems along the way.

Key Mechanics That Hit Close To Real Life:

Health, Inns, and That Pesky Condition System

💀 Death ruins the journey pretty quickly if you don’t manage your condition correctly. Health doesn’t regenerate over time in this game, and the only way to restore it is by sleeping at an inn (which costs money). Keep in mind that this is a game from 1988 and Cluju could have done something like a Food mechanic that was often seen in some RPG-style adventure games where the hero would need to constantly buy food to keep their health levels from dipping. Let’s have a look at Cluju’s conditions breakdown and how you fix that when things get weird in the game.

🩺 Your condition status can betray you at the worst moments:

Shops – Your Only Hope

💸 Money is limited, and you need to spend it wisely. There are four types of shops:

The Five Lands – What You Must Do in Each One

Alright, Dank gamer, you’re going to be screaming this a lot:  ‘WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?‘

📖 Well, that’s why you read the manual (what a concept, huh?). I got most of what I know about Cluju for this report straight from that little booklet. Flip through those yellowing pages, and—bam!—you’ll find exactly what you need to do… sort of. Maybe the devs realized Cluju was brutal, so they gave players a loose roadmap of what to expect.

👀 Lucky for you, I dug up those “talking points,” so you don’t have to. And since this is text, I’m technically not talking to you. Neat, right?

🧊 The Snowy Kingdom of Cluj

🌊 The Water Kingdom of Astia

🏜️ The Desert Kingdom of Latiel

⛰️ The Mountain Kingdom of Mayatria

❓ The Final Land

The Five Legendary Swords – The Only Way to Win

So, you want to take down Deldgordon and his demonic minions and BEAT THIS GAME? Good luck because standard weapons won’t do anything.

The only way to damage Deldgordon and his underlings is by finding five legendary swords, each infused with divine power. Since there was a section in the manual that talks about the swords, which are your “main quest stuff” in this game, let’s do a little run down on them.

All of the elemental swords are critical for fighting the major demon bosses for each area, but you will notice they like to swing and miss a lot. When you do get a good shot in, they will do massive damage, but my pro tip for most players is to stick with the standard weapons you find in shops and hidden in chests versus the elemental swords when fighting everyday overworld enemies. 

The Five Hidden Blades

Of course, no one knows where they are. The game hides them in places you’d never expect, meaning half of your journey is a scavenger hunt.

The Gods of Cluju – The Ones Running the Show

While mortals struggle to survive, Cluju’s divine beings maintain balance—or at least, they did before Deldgordon ruined everything. Each sacred land is linked to one of these gods, who use their symbols to communicate with humans. This information isn’t as critical as the other information, but some Japanese dude at Xain Soft went to the trouble to breathe some life into the world and lore of Cluju, so I’ll just pop this info here for you to skim over or enjoy quickly- it’s there. Run with it.

✨ Snow God – The divine force of Cluj. Despite their cold exterior, they have the warmest heart of any god.
💧 Water Goddess – The overseer of Astia manages the rivers, ensures the flow of clean water, and regulates rainfall.
🏜️ Earth God – Oversees the integrity of the land, monitoring sand, soil, and stone to prevent disasters.
⏳ Time Goddess – Guides history and fate, nudging people toward correct decisions.

They once kept order, but with Deldgordon’s rise, their influence is waning. Now, it’s up to you to make things right. It’s amusing that we often see only the evil gods in the game. Typically, the divine declarations of the good gods occur off-screen, from the heavens. Perhaps it’s because the evil forces diminish their powers, or maybe they’re just in sweatpants and can’t be bothered to get up for that. 

Deldgordon & His Evil Crew – The Monsters Making Your Life Miserable

With the Snow Crystal missing, Deldgordon has been free to unleash his underlings to make life as frustrating as possible. And, of course, they get progressively stronger the further you go. I will tell you, when you unlock each of these evil demons, you will start bouncing in your chair and feeling the thrill of the journey cause you know you’re getting closer and closer to beating the game, taking out each of these dark minion lackeys.

The Hierarchy of Evil:

💀 Batel – The weakest of Deldgordon’s main minions, but still strong enough to ruin your day. Think of him as the warm-up boss that still kicks your ass.

🩸 Vasai – A scheming demon who prefers deception over brute force. This guy will mess with townfolk and make you second-guess everything.

⚔️ Fagmu – The classic big, dumb brute. He hits hard, moves fast, and follows orders without question. If he gets a swing in, you’re going to feel it.

🔥 Gador – The second-in-command and easily the worst demon you’ll face before the final showdown. He’s smart, strong, and commands lesser demons, meaning he’s never alone.

👿 Deldgordon – The big bad him, an ancient evil spirit who only woke up because some idiot stole the Snow Crystal. Now he’s out to wreak havoc, close borders with magical ice walls, and probably do a lot of evil laughing. The only way to take him down is by forging the five legendary swords into one ultimate weapon and raising a sunken holy castle for the final showdown. You know, just normal adventure game things.

Final Thoughts – A Story Meant to Be Remembered

According to the game’s designers, Cluju was created to immerse players in its world, allowing them to experience the puzzles and the emotions behind them. It’s that or a major troll. Read the quote.

“Once you’ve completed everything, we believe you’ll experience an incredible sense of accomplishment like never before.”
— Designers Teru Imafuji & Haruji Sato

Yeah. So, while Cluju might be frustrating, confusing, and unforgiving, it succeeds in crafting a journey that players will never forget, especially now that the game is preserved in the archive. Is Cluju a good game? Sure! Cluju has enough charm to drive me to spend countless months scouring the internet trying to find a copy of it, and compared to a lot of Xain Soft titles that were coming out at that time, it mechanically works the best at keeping me glued to the action. However, I think if people blindly walk into Cluju, they might not find the same joy I found with it.

Cluju is now available on Archive, so go get it already!

Also, huge thanks to Krugman for his help cracking this game- go check out his blog here and see all the wild preservation he’s been up to, along with his amazing how-to guides.

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