Square · 1986 · Adventure
Alpha
アルファ
A science-fiction adventure from Square’s early computer years. English translation complete; tester outreach is underway.
Status updated
BEHIND THE TITLE SCREEN
A mystery a long way from home.
The Game Preservation Society’s PC-88 library lists Alpha as a Square adventure from July 1986 for the PC-8801 and later models. [1]
Its science-fiction story unfolds aboard the generation ship Daedalus, centuries into a distant voyage. Chris, a young woman with no memory of her past, becomes caught up in the ship’s mysteries. [1]
Project EGG’s 2013 Classic PC-Game Collection includes both PC-8801 and PC-9801 editions. The rerelease is part of the game’s publication history, not evidence of an English localization. [2]
MAME catalogs the PC-8801 release, an alternate disk image and a separate demo. These entries must not be treated as interchangeable patch inputs; our exact source revision has not been selected or verified. [3]
Contemporary advertising identifies a PC-8801-series edition and credits Square. The reference page provides manual excerpts for commands, saving and screen layout; its recreated package sticker is explicitly speculative and is not used as original evidence. [4] [5]
![[5]](https://gyusyabu.ddo.jp/MP3/1986/ALPHA/alpha8607.webp){kind=link}
Historical PC-8801 edition documented; full original staff credits remain incomplete. The advertised platform family and reproduced manual guidance do not certify a future patch’s source revision, emulator or hardware compatibility. The PC-9801 edition remains separate.
- Original year
- 1986
- Platform of interest
- PC-8801
- Genre
- Adventure
- Work
- English localization
NEW WORDS. SAME MAGIC.
The localization quest.
100% translation complete, as reported by maintainer BrentW on 2026-10-18. English commands work. Tester outreach is underway; this is not a public patch release.
What we’re aiming for
Natural English that preserves the original game’s tone, characters and cultural identity. Saved wording, technical insertion and in-game testing are separate stages.
Translation completion describes the translated text. Broader gameplay testing, optional branches and hardware compatibility remain separate checks.
STILL ON THE WORKBENCH
Putting it through its paces.
No download available yet.
Testing is in progress. No public download is available yet.
We’ll publish exact source requirements, patch format, tested setups and known issues alongside a release. No release date is set.
Get to know the patching process →FROM THE WORKBENCH
Project notes.
English translation complete — preparing for testers
BrentW reports 100% translation completion and working English commands. Tester outreach is underway. Player command guidance is available for the experimental English-command build; no public patch download is announced.
Tracing the earlier editions
An official Japanese rerelease is documented. No official English edition or complete/partial fan patch was verified in the searches reviewed on this date. We make no first-translation or exclusivity claim; unindexed and unfinished projects may exist.
A first look at the project
Research-baseline website draft with an original title screen supplied for local design review. This is not a translation-progress or playability announcement.
THE PEOPLE & THE PAPER TRAIL
Credits where they belong.
Original game
- Package design (contemporary advertisement)
- Mutsumi Inomata / いのまたむつみ [5]
- Package illustration (contemporary advertisement)
- Shigenori Kageyama / 影山楙倫 [5]
Additional original staff credits are still being researched.
Patch Quest project
- Website & platform maintenance
- BrentW
Platform or website maintenance is not a claim of original-game authorship or translation review.
Read the sources
- Game Preservation Society: July 1986 PC-88 library (Japanese)
- Project EGG: official Classic PC-Game Collection listing (reviewed 2026-10-18)
- MAME maintainers: PC-8801 floppy software catalog (reviewed 2026-10-18)
- Alpha: manual excerpts and contemporary source reproductions, Retro PC GAME MUSIC (reviewed 2026-10-18)
- Original Alpha magazine advertisement reproduced by Retro PC GAME MUSIC (reviewed 2026-10-18)
Original title screen supplied by the maintainer; public website use approved. Original game artwork is not Patch Quest artwork.