Majyūō - King of Demons Gameplay Header
Screenshot by Destructoid

Retro-Bit is bringing Majyūō to North America as its next SNES reproduction

Another deep cut.

Retro-Bit has announced that the next in their line of retro reproductions/reissues/special editions is 1995’s Majyūō (sometimes translated as Majuu Ou). Previously only released in Japan on the Super Famicom, Retro-Bit will be localizing the game for the first time in an official capacity.

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It’s being localized as Majyūō – King of Demons, which feels pretty appropriate. This is perhaps Retro-Bit’s raddest deep cut yet. You play as Abel, who is trying to save his daughter from demons. He starts off as this regular-looking dude with a pistol but gets transformed into different demon things when you pick a crystal up off of a boss.

It’s so awesome, but it’s hard to describe why. It uses this charmingly low-detail art style with surprisingly high-detail animations. It might just be because I really like SNES horror games, and Majyūō kind of gives off Demon’s Crest vibes. It’s a bit on the short side, however. Nothing too egregious for the platform, but you could probably beat it over a weekend rental.

Majyūō Retro-Bit Product shot
Screenshot by Destructoid

The original Super Famicom version sells for a pretty high price on the collector’s market, but it got a 2017 reproduction which also was exclusive to Japan. Retro-Bit will be producing the cartridges with what looks like a transparent black shell with a red PCB underneath. They call the color scheme “Demonic Heart,” which is pretty great in its own right. It comes with a magnetic cartridge box, manual, and an embossed slipcover.

Retro-Bit is doing a full translation of Majyūō – King of Demons for this release being done by their team. That’s important since there’s an in-game story and dialog, which wasn’t all that common in action games at the time. Aiming to keep with the tone of the Japanese text, Retro-Bit warns that there will be cussing.

Full disclosure: Retro-Bit has been sending me their releases, and I typically cover them in my column. I love their selection of obscure games, but I give bonus points when a company goes the distance by localizing a previously Japan exclusive. The quality of their products is great as well, going for a more lavish feel than an official release rather than trying to just replicate the product as it originally was. They show a certain reverence to these niche little titles with good attention to detail. I feel a certain kinship.

Majyūō – King of Demons will be available for preorder on February 6, 2024, on SNES via Castlemania Games, Rondo Products, and Limited Run Games for $59.99. Preorders will run until March 12, 2024. It’s planned to then ship in Q3 2024


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Zoey Handley
Staff Writer - Zoey is a gaming gadabout. She got her start blogging with the community in 2018 and hit the front page soon after. Normally found exploring indie experiments and retro libraries, she does her best to remain chronically uncool.