Landstalker

The player, as Nigel the treasure hunter, is tasked with searching for clues that lead to the treasure of King Nole. This is accomplished primarily by travelling through both outdoor areas and dungeons. All gameplay and plot-advancing scenes take place in an isometric view.

From the outset of the game, Nigel may walk, jump, swing his sword, climb ropes and ladders, talk to various non-player characters, and pick up and throw various objects. With very few exceptions, these basic actions do not change throughout the game, although Nigel's weapons and armor may be replaced with better versions. There are a variety of items throughout the game, most of which either increase or restore health and attacking power or are important to advancing the plot or solving puzzles.

In Gamul Date 312, Nigel, a treasure hunter who is 88 years old, far older than he appears, is traversing a dungeon of rolling boulders and moving platforms called Jypta Ruins to acquire the Statue of Jypta. After selling this statue to a shop owner in a port town of Kalva, Nigel is accosted by a wood nymph named Friday. She explains that she is being chased by three persistent yet bumbling thieves named Kayla, Ink, and Wally because she knows the location of the legendary treasure of King Nole. Once Nigel spends most of his money on a bird to carry him to the island, Friday admits that while she doesn't know the exact location of the treasure she has a "feeling" where it is.

The player controls Nigel from here on where he and Friday, who accompanies him for the entire game, first journey through a dungeon until they fall into a river and end up in the care of the red-furred bear-people of Massan. When Nigel awakes, he finds his way to the neighboring village of Gumi, where the yellow-furred bear-people are ready to sacrifice the daughter of Massan's leader, Fara. Nigel follows the crazed tribe into their shrine and breaks them of their curse, freeing Fara and earning the respect of both tribes and a clue to help him to the treasure.

According to Famitsu and Next Generation, Landstalker was a major system seller for the Sega Mega Drive, selling 34,385 copies in its first week on the market and 160,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan. The game received a 25.28/30 score in a poll conducted by Mega Drive Fan and a 8.5064/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Mega Drive titles at the number 41 spot. It also garnered critical acclaim. GamePro's Lawrence Neves stated that "Landstalker will amaze you for hours with its complexity, amuse you with its graphics, and frustrate you with its controls".

In GameFan's annual Megawards, Landstalker won the awards for Most Innovative New Game (Sega) and Best Action/RPG, and was a nominee for the Best Music (Genesis) and Game of the Year awards. Mega placed the game at #5 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. Gamasutra included it as an example of an open world game as part of their Game Design Essentials series. In 2017, Gamesradar ranked the game 24th on their: "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time."