Hey folks !
This update's going to be a bit different than usual. Normally this blog focuses on arcade hardware repairs, ROM preservation, occasional haul updates, and some of my arcade cabinet collection – but someone sent me a weird link a few days ago. It led to a French forum thread, and it caught my eye for one reason. Everything that follows is translated by yours truly, who hasn’t touched the language since high school so be kind if it’s a bit rusty. I’m not exactly young anymore. Ouch!Thread: [DISCUSSION] The Game “Save the Princess
LordM12
Hey everyone, most of us here are fans of retro games, so I figured this would be a good place to post this.
A few days ago, our parents left for a family trip to Paris. I’ve always been a homebody and never liked crowded places, so I obviously stayed behind, hoping to have the house to myself for two weeks. But nope,my beloved little brother (not gonna name him, I’m not stupid) decidedhe wanted to stay home too this time. And guess who got stuck babysitting him?
You wouldn’t believe the restraint it took to not lose it when he turned and smiled at me like it was hilarious to my vacation. Anyway, let’s get to the story.
Two days ago, my parents forced me to take my brother and one of his friends (let’s call him R, he’s a nerdy-looking guy but pretty funny) to the mall so they could have some fun.
My parents had seen some stories on TV about missing kids and immediately panicked. So instead of taking care of him themselves, they thought it’d be smart to dump the responsibility on me. I honestly have no idea who would even want to kidnap a whiny kid like him anyway. Not that it would bother me.
I decided to ditch them at the old arcade on the ground floor. It's half-abandoned, with broken machines and moldy carpet. I wanted to show them who was boss at retro fighting games, but my brother went straight to this old arcade cabinet in the back, hidden behind the pinball machines.
When they came back a few minutes later, both of them looked flushed and were staring at their feet.
I asked what they were doing. My brother mumbled, “It’s nothing, I just talked to someone, that’s all,” then pulled out his phone. I tried peeking over his shoulder, but he was so hunched over I couldn’t see anything.
I tossed them some money to grab food upstairs at the food court. As they walked off, still glued to their phones, I headed over to the arcade cabinet.
I’d never seen it before. No name, no logo, nothing. The whole thing was painted purple with random splashes of yellow, green, and orange. In some spots, the chipped paint revealed the metal underneath. It looked like someone just threw paint on it and called it a day. In the middle was a black screen and a green light slowly blinking on the sides, like an old neon sign. It looked turned off.
I pressed one of the four blue buttons on the panel. Suddenly, big glowing green letters started forming. The screen read: “SAVE THE PRINCESS.”
It was the most generic arcade game title ever, but hey, gameplay’s what matters, right? I don’t expect a mindblowing story from an arcade game.
I pulled out a coin and inserted it into the machine. I heard some mechanical clicking, then the machine spit it back out.
The screen buzzed and flashed big orange letters: “ACCESS DENIED! AGE LIMIT EXCEEDED!”
I couldn’t believe it. Who did this machine think it was, denying me a turn? Isn’t that bad for business?
I tried again. Same result. I was disappointed, but didn’t think much of it and ran upstairs to catch up with the kids, my parents would freak if they called and found them alone.
The rest of the day was uneventful, except that my brother and R were way quieter than usual, both glued to their phones. Not that I minded, lol.
So… anyone know what machine this could be? I’ve searched Google and YouTube, but there’s nothing. no images, no gameplay. just tons of other games with the same name and basic story.
Hey everyone, most of us here are fans of retro games, so I figured this would be a good place to post this.
A few days ago, our parents left for a family trip to Paris. I’ve always been a homebody and never liked crowded places, so I obviously stayed behind, hoping to have the house to myself for two weeks. But nope,my beloved little brother (not gonna name him, I’m not stupid) decidedhe wanted to stay home too this time. And guess who got stuck babysitting him?
You wouldn’t believe the restraint it took to not lose it when he turned and smiled at me like it was hilarious to my vacation. Anyway, let’s get to the story.
Two days ago, my parents forced me to take my brother and one of his friends (let’s call him R, he’s a nerdy-looking guy but pretty funny) to the mall so they could have some fun.
My parents had seen some stories on TV about missing kids and immediately panicked. So instead of taking care of him themselves, they thought it’d be smart to dump the responsibility on me. I honestly have no idea who would even want to kidnap a whiny kid like him anyway. Not that it would bother me.
I decided to ditch them at the old arcade on the ground floor. It's half-abandoned, with broken machines and moldy carpet. I wanted to show them who was boss at retro fighting games, but my brother went straight to this old arcade cabinet in the back, hidden behind the pinball machines.
When they came back a few minutes later, both of them looked flushed and were staring at their feet.
I asked what they were doing. My brother mumbled, “It’s nothing, I just talked to someone, that’s all,” then pulled out his phone. I tried peeking over his shoulder, but he was so hunched over I couldn’t see anything.
I tossed them some money to grab food upstairs at the food court. As they walked off, still glued to their phones, I headed over to the arcade cabinet.
I’d never seen it before. No name, no logo, nothing. The whole thing was painted purple with random splashes of yellow, green, and orange. In some spots, the chipped paint revealed the metal underneath. It looked like someone just threw paint on it and called it a day. In the middle was a black screen and a green light slowly blinking on the sides, like an old neon sign. It looked turned off.
I pressed one of the four blue buttons on the panel. Suddenly, big glowing green letters started forming. The screen read: “SAVE THE PRINCESS.”
It was the most generic arcade game title ever, but hey, gameplay’s what matters, right? I don’t expect a mindblowing story from an arcade game.
I pulled out a coin and inserted it into the machine. I heard some mechanical clicking, then the machine spit it back out.
The screen buzzed and flashed big orange letters: “ACCESS DENIED! AGE LIMIT EXCEEDED!”
I couldn’t believe it. Who did this machine think it was, denying me a turn? Isn’t that bad for business?
I tried again. Same result. I was disappointed, but didn’t think much of it and ran upstairs to catch up with the kids, my parents would freak if they called and found them alone.
The rest of the day was uneventful, except that my brother and R were way quieter than usual, both glued to their phones. Not that I minded, lol.
So… anyone know what machine this could be? I’ve searched Google and YouTube, but there’s nothing. no images, no gameplay. just tons of other games with the same name and basic story.
LordM12
@sanslesyeux @LaPailleDor No, guys, I found nothing either about this machine. I’m not even sure "Save The Princess" is the real name since the top of the cabinet had the paint stripped off.
I couldn’t sleep all night, between the sounds of people running downstairs outside my apartment at 2 a.m. and my brother in the next room holding in his laughter like an idiot on his phone. it was a fucking nightmare. He wouldn't have stopped if I hadn't gotten up and yelled at him. I figured I might as well do some research online. I dug through Google, YouTube, even asked on 4chan. No screenshots, no gameplay, there was fucking nothing about that game on internet. just dozens of similarly named games. This thing is driving me insane. I HATE not understanding something. I'll try going back tomorrow with more info. It'll keep me busy. I’ll keep you guys updated.
I couldn’t find any cabinet matching LordM12’s description either.@sanslesyeux @LaPailleDor No, guys, I found nothing either about this machine. I’m not even sure "Save The Princess" is the real name since the top of the cabinet had the paint stripped off.
I couldn’t sleep all night, between the sounds of people running downstairs outside my apartment at 2 a.m. and my brother in the next room holding in his laughter like an idiot on his phone. it was a fucking nightmare. He wouldn't have stopped if I hadn't gotten up and yelled at him. I figured I might as well do some research online. I dug through Google, YouTube, even asked on 4chan. No screenshots, no gameplay, there was fucking nothing about that game on internet. just dozens of similarly named games. This thing is driving me insane. I HATE not understanding something. I'll try going back tomorrow with more info. It'll keep me busy. I’ll keep you guys updated.
Maybe it’s because of how generic the name is, how obscure the game is…or maybe the author’s just a liar. (He’s actually known on the forum for flooding threads, making comebacks after being banned, and generally starting fights. Still, he seems to get along with a few members.)
But hey, giving up at the first hurdle never helped us uncover rare gems before. Remember when you guys mocked me because I believed Herzbrecher was real? Remind me, who’s one of the only people in the world with a playable version now?
I have to admit, this story started getting really interesting, especially with the game description he posted in his next messages.
Several forum members began to take interest, some as a joke, others more seriously. The next day, people reminded him of his promise to follow up, and he replied:
LordM12
Calm down, guys. I know you all love me, but no need to fight. There's enough M12 to go around.
(This was followed by a photo of a guy in a plain khaki t-shirt flexing his arm, showing off a black bracelet and a few chunky rings.)Calm down, guys. I know you all love me, but no need to fight. There's enough M12 to go around.
The thread went off-topic for a while as people argued about whether the photo was fake. I’m not translating any of that for obvious reasons.
Now, for the important part:
LordM12
I went back to the mall today. And holy hell, do I have stuff to tell you guys.
Of course, I had to drag my brother along again (mom and dad can’t trust the little favorite to be alone for even one day). You should’ve seen his face when I told him we were going back—first time he looked up from his phone in days. The freak begged me to let him stay home like I’d just told him we were going to the slaughterhouse. But as the older brother, I’m always right when no one’s around to argue. Didn’t take much to shut him up and get him to follow me.
When we got there, I went straight to the cabinet. Same filthy corner, same ugly paint. I wanted to try again—see if it’d let me play. Maybe I could force something or glitch it.
As I leaned in to try (same gross blinking green light like a distress signal), my brother tugged on my sleeve.
I think he was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t really pay attention. THE MACHINE JUST TURNED ON! I felt him let go and back away. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, scowling,so I just stuck out my tongue. The little crybaby ran off to the other side of the room to join some kids. Finally, peace.
I felt proud just seeing the title screen appear. The background of the screen flashed brightly for a few seconds, while the elegant silhouette of a woman rose from below. The pixel art was absolutely phenomenal for a game that I think must have been over 30 years old. Her beautiful black hair flowed down her shoulders, clinging to and trailing along her arms, which stretched out on either side of the screen to embrace her affectionately. Her long white dress floated in the wind with such fluidity that for a moment, my attention almost left my face.
That horrible face, if you could even call it that. It was mostly a mouth, open so wide that it pushed the other features of the face far back on the head where they were almost invisible, hidden behind the dark hair. The jaw was contorted and broken in such an inhuman way that it me from clenching mine from cringe.
The screen went blank, leaving me face to face with my own face. I suddenly became very aware of the gaze of the group of children in the shadows in the corner of the room. I did my best to ignore them for what seemed like an eternity before the screen came back on.
The rest of the game was just hurted to look. There’s really no better word for it. I’d compare the graphics to something on the Atari, but even Atari games had consistent pixel art. This was basically just a mess of mixels.
When the game starts, you control what I think is supposed to be the princess from the title screen. She’s just a long white rectangle that moves slightly when she walks, with thin arms and a cluster of small pixels for hair. She has black pixel in the middle of her face.
The first few minutes of gameplay are just you walking her across a dark map, passing through room after room. The only sound is this high-pitched mechanical screeching that cuts in and out randomly. That’s the only music in the whole game.
After about ten identical black rooms, you find the game’s second character, a sort of small dude with an ovalish head. Interacting with it causes the screen to abruptly zoom in without warning, bringing the character to the center. The interface changes completely, looking like some sort of Tamagotchi menu. At the top, a name appears: "THROWNAWAY" written in shaky, flickering capital letters. On either side of the character are two options: “PRAISE” and “PUNISH”. No tutorial is given. Just those choices, blinking slowly in sync with the screeching, which now sounded higher-pitched
I tried “PUNISH” first. It just made the character tremble slightly. Then I picked “PRAISE.” The screen zoomed back out, and now the princess had the little kid following her.
The next room was a boss fight. Two withe blocks stood in front of me, labeled “MM” and “DD” above their health bars. Pressing a button made your small guy attack. MM died almost instantly but DD was another story. Every hit I landed was reflected back onto my own knight. After a long, boring fight, both fell at the same time.
MM and DD vanished, but the knight’s body stayed behind. Walking on it made it disappear, unlocking the next room. There were two more round-headed NPCs in the next room: “Blind” and “Lost.”
And that was the whole gameplay loop: Recruit more by just spaming “ENCOURAGE” -> Beat the bosses. ->Use the fallen knights' bodies to heal.
The pacing was fast, but the gameplay was repetitive.
Then came a strange room. An NPC walked up and triggered the interaction menu. Its name? “FAVORITE.” chose to encourage it.
The machine flashed bright red.
“YOU CAN’T.”
and shut off.
I was alone, staring at my reflection again. The kids were gone. The arcade was completely empty.
I inserted another coin. It fell to the ground.
“YOU CAN’T! AGE LIMIT EXCEEDED!”
I tried a few more times. Nothing.
Even though the game was “over,” the cabinet kept making that awful screeching sound. The more I listened to it, the more it started to sound like metal scraping against metal.
While leaving, I almost triped over a mess of exposed wires laying around my feet, spilling out from under another machine. This place was really falling apart, and there didn't seem to be any employees trying to fix the mess. I hurried out.
I pulled out my phone. It was off. Completely dead.
I spent the rest of the afternoon frantically searching for my brother in the mall. It wasn’t until I got home that night that I found that dumbass sitting on his bed, glued to his damn phone.
We had a fight. He’s grounded now.
I went back to the mall today. And holy hell, do I have stuff to tell you guys.
Of course, I had to drag my brother along again (mom and dad can’t trust the little favorite to be alone for even one day). You should’ve seen his face when I told him we were going back—first time he looked up from his phone in days. The freak begged me to let him stay home like I’d just told him we were going to the slaughterhouse. But as the older brother, I’m always right when no one’s around to argue. Didn’t take much to shut him up and get him to follow me.
When we got there, I went straight to the cabinet. Same filthy corner, same ugly paint. I wanted to try again—see if it’d let me play. Maybe I could force something or glitch it.
As I leaned in to try (same gross blinking green light like a distress signal), my brother tugged on my sleeve.
I think he was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t really pay attention. THE MACHINE JUST TURNED ON! I felt him let go and back away. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, scowling,so I just stuck out my tongue. The little crybaby ran off to the other side of the room to join some kids. Finally, peace.
I felt proud just seeing the title screen appear. The background of the screen flashed brightly for a few seconds, while the elegant silhouette of a woman rose from below. The pixel art was absolutely phenomenal for a game that I think must have been over 30 years old. Her beautiful black hair flowed down her shoulders, clinging to and trailing along her arms, which stretched out on either side of the screen to embrace her affectionately. Her long white dress floated in the wind with such fluidity that for a moment, my attention almost left my face.
That horrible face, if you could even call it that. It was mostly a mouth, open so wide that it pushed the other features of the face far back on the head where they were almost invisible, hidden behind the dark hair. The jaw was contorted and broken in such an inhuman way that it me from clenching mine from cringe.
The screen went blank, leaving me face to face with my own face. I suddenly became very aware of the gaze of the group of children in the shadows in the corner of the room. I did my best to ignore them for what seemed like an eternity before the screen came back on.
The rest of the game was just hurted to look. There’s really no better word for it. I’d compare the graphics to something on the Atari, but even Atari games had consistent pixel art. This was basically just a mess of mixels.
When the game starts, you control what I think is supposed to be the princess from the title screen. She’s just a long white rectangle that moves slightly when she walks, with thin arms and a cluster of small pixels for hair. She has black pixel in the middle of her face.
The first few minutes of gameplay are just you walking her across a dark map, passing through room after room. The only sound is this high-pitched mechanical screeching that cuts in and out randomly. That’s the only music in the whole game.
After about ten identical black rooms, you find the game’s second character, a sort of small dude with an ovalish head. Interacting with it causes the screen to abruptly zoom in without warning, bringing the character to the center. The interface changes completely, looking like some sort of Tamagotchi menu. At the top, a name appears: "THROWNAWAY" written in shaky, flickering capital letters. On either side of the character are two options: “PRAISE” and “PUNISH”. No tutorial is given. Just those choices, blinking slowly in sync with the screeching, which now sounded higher-pitched
I tried “PUNISH” first. It just made the character tremble slightly. Then I picked “PRAISE.” The screen zoomed back out, and now the princess had the little kid following her.
The next room was a boss fight. Two withe blocks stood in front of me, labeled “MM” and “DD” above their health bars. Pressing a button made your small guy attack. MM died almost instantly but DD was another story. Every hit I landed was reflected back onto my own knight. After a long, boring fight, both fell at the same time.
MM and DD vanished, but the knight’s body stayed behind. Walking on it made it disappear, unlocking the next room. There were two more round-headed NPCs in the next room: “Blind” and “Lost.”
And that was the whole gameplay loop: Recruit more by just spaming “ENCOURAGE” -> Beat the bosses. ->Use the fallen knights' bodies to heal.
The pacing was fast, but the gameplay was repetitive.
Then came a strange room. An NPC walked up and triggered the interaction menu. Its name? “FAVORITE.” chose to encourage it.
The machine flashed bright red.
“YOU CAN’T.”
and shut off.
I was alone, staring at my reflection again. The kids were gone. The arcade was completely empty.
I inserted another coin. It fell to the ground.
“YOU CAN’T! AGE LIMIT EXCEEDED!”
I tried a few more times. Nothing.
Even though the game was “over,” the cabinet kept making that awful screeching sound. The more I listened to it, the more it started to sound like metal scraping against metal.
While leaving, I almost triped over a mess of exposed wires laying around my feet, spilling out from under another machine. This place was really falling apart, and there didn't seem to be any employees trying to fix the mess. I hurried out.
I pulled out my phone. It was off. Completely dead.
I spent the rest of the afternoon frantically searching for my brother in the mall. It wasn’t until I got home that night that I found that dumbass sitting on his bed, glued to his damn phone.
We had a fight. He’s grounded now.
"fight" est un euphemisme.
His descriptions of the game’s design was interesting. The inconsistent graphics (especially the use of all those mixels), the unique mechanics, it feel oddly modern. I even theorize it might be a recent game designed by a small group of dev to emulate retro arcade cabinets,albeit poorly.As you all know, I believe every piece of art deserves to be preserved and made accessible to anyone who wants to experience it, even the terrible ones.
I’ll keep digging. See you in the next update.
– 26/07
LordM12
You guys are insane. Seriously. Yeah, I said I’d go back. Obviously. But I didn’t expect to get harassed in my DMs all night like some kind of autistic detective army convinced they’d found Polybius 2.
One of you assholes even managed to get my phone number. I didn’t sleep at all.
@danslestuyaux even told me the machine “might be linked to the missing kids.”
Bro. No, it's not. It’s an old game that looks like shit. No fucking kids would play that. They're all too busy staying on their smartphones or watching tv. This thing would bait except someone who is really passionate about old games. That kidnapper would be a complete dumbass.
Look, I’m just as curious as you guys, but I can’t go back to the mall this week. They’re doing plumbing work.
You guys are insane. Seriously. Yeah, I said I’d go back. Obviously. But I didn’t expect to get harassed in my DMs all night like some kind of autistic detective army convinced they’d found Polybius 2.
One of you assholes even managed to get my phone number. I didn’t sleep at all.
@danslestuyaux even told me the machine “might be linked to the missing kids.”
Bro. No, it's not. It’s an old game that looks like shit. No fucking kids would play that. They're all too busy staying on their smartphones or watching tv. This thing would bait except someone who is really passionate about old games. That kidnapper would be a complete dumbass.
Look, I’m just as curious as you guys, but I can’t go back to the mall this week. They’re doing plumbing work.
redface
@LordM12 i’ll be real with you. you must stop
You didn’t exit the game. It kicked you out. didn’t you notice? she hates you.
don't let yourself be fooled. the arcade cabinet is just a trick. there are much smarter ones, but she leaves those for idiots like you.
@LordM12 i’ll be real with you. you must stop
You didn’t exit the game. It kicked you out. didn’t you notice? she hates you.
don't let yourself be fooled. the arcade cabinet is just a trick. there are much smarter ones, but she leaves those for idiots like you.
LordM12
Fuck off dude.
I wasn’t “kicked out.” It was just shitty old game with really shitty game design and an even shittier DA. Like thousands of games at that time.
There was a working Hello Kitty pinball machine next to it to your “door” or whatever. Nothing to be afraid of.
Fuck off dude.
I wasn’t “kicked out.” It was just shitty old game with really shitty game design and an even shittier DA. Like thousands of games at that time.
There was a working Hello Kitty pinball machine next to it to your “door” or whatever. Nothing to be afraid of.
redface:
you’re not as clever as you’d like to think arthur. or as brave.
she takes advantage of your obsessive personality. why don’t you spend time with your brother instead?
i’m sure he’d love for his big brother to do something other than obsess over an arcade cabinet.
you’re not as clever as you’d like to think arthur. or as brave.
she takes advantage of your obsessive personality. why don’t you spend time with your brother instead?
i’m sure he’d love for his big brother to do something other than obsess over an arcade cabinet.
sanslesyeux:
@LordM12 Can’t you just go at night?
You’re clearly want to learn more about the machine. Wouldn’t it be better to just scratch that itch one last time, and be done with it?
How long has it been since you got real sleep? I think you should go as soon as you can.
The footsteps are getting closer, aren’t they?
three hours later, LordM12 posted again.
@LordM12 Can’t you just go at night?
You’re clearly want to learn more about the machine. Wouldn’t it be better to just scratch that itch one last time, and be done with it?
How long has it been since you got real sleep? I think you should go as soon as you can.
The footsteps are getting closer, aren’t they?
LordM12
I went back. At night.
Waited for my brother to fall asleep, or at least stop making any sound from his room. Grabbed one of dad’s old flashlights and slipped out as quietly as I could.
I walked for about forty minutes to the mall. It was freezing. That damp kind of cold that seeps into your skin, even through your hoodie.
Never liked these places with too many people, but at night, they just feel wrong.
No noise. No lights. Just a huge, empty parking lot with a few tagged-up scooter husks.
The automatic doors were locked (duh), but one side window had been busted weeks ago,probably some drunk. I painfully squeezed my body through the frame. Not everything was dark. A few areas had flickering neon lights that seemed to have turned themselves back on.
And there was a sound. A low electrical hum. And a pitch in the air. Not a noise exactly, more like a feeling I guess ? A thin, high whistle you don’t hear it, you sense it.
I admit I wasn’t fully there mentally. I hadn’t slept well in almost a week. My brain felt swollen, I could feel it knocking against my skull.
The arcade room was open. That green light from the cabinet was already flashing in the back, not reflected by anything else in the room.
This time, I didn’t see my reflection in the glass cabinets. It was like the glass was blacker, its darkness absorbing my face. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a coin, and inserted it into the machine.
Rejected. Again.
But still, the sound began. That horrible, screeching, metallic noise.
It scraped across the floor behind me.
Before I could turn around, something long and sharp latched onto my leg, wrapping around it and pierced my skin deep enough to tear into my calf. It yanked so hard I thought I’d lose my leg.
The jaw emerged first, huge, unhinged, wide open, long, dirty, sharp metal wires that shot from its mouth and hooked into my flesh to pull itself forward. Its head was topped with twisting and tangly strands of long black hair.
It Hurted like hell but I ran. But pulling at them only made the wires tighten and drag her with me.
She crawled out of the shadow just enough that I could see her long, wet, dirty dress, covering writhing copper wires that sparked violently at each of their erratic movement
Terrified, I tried to ignore the pain and just continued running. It worked.
I must’ve pulled on my leg hard enough to tear a part of my skin and make the wires slip loose.
But that wasn’t the end. Not even close.
As I limped away, the metal limbs started swinging across the arcade, hooking into the ceiling lamps and nearby cabinets, moving her like a broken marionette.
She hurled herself toward me. Slashed my arm. Slammed into a wall. Then scattered her limbs across it, blocking the exit. I froze.
She began to stretch her body from across the wall, those wires sliding back into her mouth, shrieking as they scraped together. Her black eyes rolled back to look in my direction toward my direction. Maybe something behind me. Maybe something inside of me. But definitely not me.
The corners of her massive mouth pulled outward, unnaturally wide, no muscle behind the skin. It moved like a thin plastic being tugged.
A thin, transparent green liquid oozed down her lip. the smell of burned rotting garbage catched my throat. I don’t know how long she stared at me. I was a statue. If she had wanted to disembowel me and fill my carcass with her offspring at that moment, she would have done so and I would not have protected myself. During all this time, my survival instinct had abandonned me.
As I write this, I still have no idea what was going through my mind. Everything was blank. I'm not even sure I wanted to look at anything else but her at that moment. And I don't know if I want to understand what happened to me.
For some reason, she retracted her lower wires, opening the way to the door.
I woke up and I ran. I ran faster than I ever have thought possible.
My foot was screaming in pain. Blood soaked through my shoes, making me nearly slip on the grimy mall floor. I dove through the same broken window, glass slicing my shoulder and face.
Instead of heading into the woods, where she’d have plenty of anchors to chase me, I bolted for the road. Terrible idea.
The moment my foot hit the pavement, I tripped, my bloody foot caught on something, and slammed into the ground. I didn’t get up. I stayed there, and cried. From pain. From Fear. From confusion. And From Exhaustion.
I don’t know how long I lay there on the pavement. But when I finally lifted my head I thought I’d gone insane.
I was surrounded.
About thirty small figures stood around me. All of them were wrapped in long, damp, dirty sheets,tied tightly around their necks with rope. Tight enough to cut off their breath. Some weren’t even wearing shoes.
I can’t describe you guys the horror I felt in that moment...
I tried to stand, tried to flee, only to come face-to-face with another one of them, drenched wet.
It was reaching down into a manhol, pulling out another figure. This one was different,it wore a much sheet. It looked at me. Still.
I didn’t take any chances. I ran.
I sprinted toward the largest gap in the circle, barely slipping through; and the moment I did, the sound of dozens of feet slapping the pavement erupted behind me.
I darted into the forest, hoping the trees would slow them down more than they’d slow me.
My throat was dry, barely breathing enough air into my burning lungs. I’ve done some training, sure,but nothing like this. No endurance. It felt like all the oxygen in my body had fled my brain just to keep my legs moving. I was running on instinct alone. But I wasn't fast enough, One of them came out from behind a tree and lunged at me.
The one in the clean sheet lunged, grabbed my leg, and dragged me to the ground.
I tried to get up. It climbed on top of me, wrapping its slim arms around me, trying pinning me down.
I punched it in the face. Its grip loosened slightly. It could feel pain.
The moment that realization hit me, I struck again.
Then again. And again.
I heard it groan, choke.
Sometimes its grip weakened. Other times, it clamped down harder.I don’t know how long we struggled like that on the forest floor. Eventually, the sheet around its head began to stain red.
A few seconds later, it collapsed beside me.
I could hear the footsteps of the others catching up. I gasped for breath, got up, and ran again.
I think I heard a faint voice calling me. But I didn’t stop to listen. I just kept running home.
I’m barricaded inside. Gabriel’s gone again. He slipped out during the night. He won’t answer when I call. I tried calling my parents, nothing. My phone won’t recognize any emergency numbers. I’m terrified, guys. I know they followed me. I know they’re still here. I can hear them whispering to eachothers.
My phone barely works. I can’t post anywhere else. Even the other boards on the forum won’t load. This thread is the only place I can still reach. This is the only place I can feel less alone. I swear I’m not lying, guys. I’m writing this right now with blood dripping down my fingers onto my phone screen. I don’t really have any friends outside this place. I'm usually too scared to even go outside my house, I have no idea why I was so goddamn obsessed with this stupid machine in the first place.
Gabriel’s gone. Mom and dad won’t pick up.
I just need someone to help me. Please.
I’m sorry for being such a jerk before. I just wanted someone to talk to without them thinking i was boring.
That was the last message posted before I joined the thread myself. I tried asking him more questions about the machine, but the thread exploded with posts immediately after that. My messages were buried among dozens of others. I went back. At night.
Waited for my brother to fall asleep, or at least stop making any sound from his room. Grabbed one of dad’s old flashlights and slipped out as quietly as I could.
I walked for about forty minutes to the mall. It was freezing. That damp kind of cold that seeps into your skin, even through your hoodie.
Never liked these places with too many people, but at night, they just feel wrong.
No noise. No lights. Just a huge, empty parking lot with a few tagged-up scooter husks.
The automatic doors were locked (duh), but one side window had been busted weeks ago,probably some drunk. I painfully squeezed my body through the frame. Not everything was dark. A few areas had flickering neon lights that seemed to have turned themselves back on.
And there was a sound. A low electrical hum. And a pitch in the air. Not a noise exactly, more like a feeling I guess ? A thin, high whistle you don’t hear it, you sense it.
I admit I wasn’t fully there mentally. I hadn’t slept well in almost a week. My brain felt swollen, I could feel it knocking against my skull.
The arcade room was open. That green light from the cabinet was already flashing in the back, not reflected by anything else in the room.
This time, I didn’t see my reflection in the glass cabinets. It was like the glass was blacker, its darkness absorbing my face. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a coin, and inserted it into the machine.
Rejected. Again.
But still, the sound began. That horrible, screeching, metallic noise.
It scraped across the floor behind me.
Before I could turn around, something long and sharp latched onto my leg, wrapping around it and pierced my skin deep enough to tear into my calf. It yanked so hard I thought I’d lose my leg.
The jaw emerged first, huge, unhinged, wide open, long, dirty, sharp metal wires that shot from its mouth and hooked into my flesh to pull itself forward. Its head was topped with twisting and tangly strands of long black hair.
It Hurted like hell but I ran. But pulling at them only made the wires tighten and drag her with me.
She crawled out of the shadow just enough that I could see her long, wet, dirty dress, covering writhing copper wires that sparked violently at each of their erratic movement
Terrified, I tried to ignore the pain and just continued running. It worked.
I must’ve pulled on my leg hard enough to tear a part of my skin and make the wires slip loose.
But that wasn’t the end. Not even close.
As I limped away, the metal limbs started swinging across the arcade, hooking into the ceiling lamps and nearby cabinets, moving her like a broken marionette.
She hurled herself toward me. Slashed my arm. Slammed into a wall. Then scattered her limbs across it, blocking the exit. I froze.
She began to stretch her body from across the wall, those wires sliding back into her mouth, shrieking as they scraped together. Her black eyes rolled back to look in my direction toward my direction. Maybe something behind me. Maybe something inside of me. But definitely not me.
The corners of her massive mouth pulled outward, unnaturally wide, no muscle behind the skin. It moved like a thin plastic being tugged.
A thin, transparent green liquid oozed down her lip. the smell of burned rotting garbage catched my throat. I don’t know how long she stared at me. I was a statue. If she had wanted to disembowel me and fill my carcass with her offspring at that moment, she would have done so and I would not have protected myself. During all this time, my survival instinct had abandonned me.
As I write this, I still have no idea what was going through my mind. Everything was blank. I'm not even sure I wanted to look at anything else but her at that moment. And I don't know if I want to understand what happened to me.
For some reason, she retracted her lower wires, opening the way to the door.
I woke up and I ran. I ran faster than I ever have thought possible.
My foot was screaming in pain. Blood soaked through my shoes, making me nearly slip on the grimy mall floor. I dove through the same broken window, glass slicing my shoulder and face.
Instead of heading into the woods, where she’d have plenty of anchors to chase me, I bolted for the road. Terrible idea.
The moment my foot hit the pavement, I tripped, my bloody foot caught on something, and slammed into the ground. I didn’t get up. I stayed there, and cried. From pain. From Fear. From confusion. And From Exhaustion.
I don’t know how long I lay there on the pavement. But when I finally lifted my head I thought I’d gone insane.
I was surrounded.
About thirty small figures stood around me. All of them were wrapped in long, damp, dirty sheets,tied tightly around their necks with rope. Tight enough to cut off their breath. Some weren’t even wearing shoes.
I can’t describe you guys the horror I felt in that moment...
I tried to stand, tried to flee, only to come face-to-face with another one of them, drenched wet.
It was reaching down into a manhol, pulling out another figure. This one was different,it wore a much sheet. It looked at me. Still.
I didn’t take any chances. I ran.
I sprinted toward the largest gap in the circle, barely slipping through; and the moment I did, the sound of dozens of feet slapping the pavement erupted behind me.
I darted into the forest, hoping the trees would slow them down more than they’d slow me.
My throat was dry, barely breathing enough air into my burning lungs. I’ve done some training, sure,but nothing like this. No endurance. It felt like all the oxygen in my body had fled my brain just to keep my legs moving. I was running on instinct alone. But I wasn't fast enough, One of them came out from behind a tree and lunged at me.
The one in the clean sheet lunged, grabbed my leg, and dragged me to the ground.
I tried to get up. It climbed on top of me, wrapping its slim arms around me, trying pinning me down.
I punched it in the face. Its grip loosened slightly. It could feel pain.
The moment that realization hit me, I struck again.
Then again. And again.
I heard it groan, choke.
Sometimes its grip weakened. Other times, it clamped down harder.I don’t know how long we struggled like that on the forest floor. Eventually, the sheet around its head began to stain red.
A few seconds later, it collapsed beside me.
I could hear the footsteps of the others catching up. I gasped for breath, got up, and ran again.
I think I heard a faint voice calling me. But I didn’t stop to listen. I just kept running home.
I’m barricaded inside. Gabriel’s gone again. He slipped out during the night. He won’t answer when I call. I tried calling my parents, nothing. My phone won’t recognize any emergency numbers. I’m terrified, guys. I know they followed me. I know they’re still here. I can hear them whispering to eachothers.
My phone barely works. I can’t post anywhere else. Even the other boards on the forum won’t load. This thread is the only place I can still reach. This is the only place I can feel less alone. I swear I’m not lying, guys. I’m writing this right now with blood dripping down my fingers onto my phone screen. I don’t really have any friends outside this place. I'm usually too scared to even go outside my house, I have no idea why I was so goddamn obsessed with this stupid machine in the first place.
Gabriel’s gone. Mom and dad won’t pick up.
I just need someone to help me. Please.
I’m sorry for being such a jerk before. I just wanted someone to talk to without them thinking i was boring.
One of his posts got deleted. According to some users, it contained a gory image, possibly of self-harm.
Some people called him desperate for attention. Others mocked him, accusing him of hurting himself just for internet sympathy.
Eventually, all of his others newer posts were deleted. From what I gathered through replies, he’d insulted multiple users, violated forum rules, and stirred up a lot of hostility. Some forum members encouraged him to keep posting more “shock” content, mocking him as he got angrier.
A moderator finally stepped in, shut the thread down, and banned LordM12 from the site. Thrown away was my last chance to speak with him. The very last post, right before the thread was deleted, was from an account with no name or profile picture.
“Manhole. Alone. Come save him."
That account, and several others, were deleted that same night.According to users I contacted via private message, all of those accounts were created on the same day LordM12 posted about playing the game. They only posted in that one thread. Only late at night. Only after LordM12 had posted.
Just sockpuppet accounts. Probably his own. Attention-seeking.LordM12 never posted again.
But like I said, he had a habit of coming back under new usernames every time he got banned, for flooding, lying, insulting people. No one knows what his next account might be. But it's become a running joke on the forum: every time a new user joins, someone asks, “Are you LordM12?”
This whole thing was just a mess of lies made up by a lonely teen looking for attention on an old forum.Can’t say I haven’t been there. Still, I kinda wish I could’ve talked to the kid a bit. He really seemed like he needed it.
No hard feelings to the guy who sent me the thread link.It was actually fun brushing up on my rusty French. Kind of nostalgic. But don’t worry, folks, our next investigation will lead us to treasure. Keep your heads up!
– 27/07
Hey guys, I found it! The machine is in my basement!Remember those calls I made last time?
I’ve spent entire days digging for any info on that damn cabinet, even while at work, and found nothing! I probably would’ve lost a whole week of sleep over it if my buddy Eddie hadn’t called me up. (Same Eddie who found me that amazing Psycho Soldier cabinet last time—you can always count on him!)
He was clearing out the back of his basement when he stumbled upon a “SAVE THE PRINCESS” arcade machine—identical to the one from the forum thread. Down to the worn off paint at the top. (Seems like that was intentional, actually the whole cabinet looks pretty new.) IT’S REAL.
Eddie, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we go pick up the cabinet with his boat. The problem is, I'm really scared of large body of waters. I almost drowned as a kid, and since then I just panic when I'm in water. I'm unable to swim. If I fall, I panic, sink, and that’s it. fish food.
But renting a truck to go the long way around like I usually do would have cost way too much, and unfortunately, my daughter and I aren’t exactly swimming in money right now (pun not intended). Eddie promised it would be “calm and quick.” And most importantly, free. So I did what any broke collector would do: I gritted my teeth and prayed.
I was tense the entire trip. Didn’t let go of the railing once. Eddie thought it was hilarious to joke about making “a little detour to go fishing.” Ha. Ha. Very funny.
In the end, we returned home safe and sound. but if I ever have to choose between drowning and paying highway tolls again, I’ll start saving for those tolls right now.
Naturally, we checked everything inside just to be sure. No ghosts, no cursed wires, no monster woman, lol.
The CRT’s in rough shape, but it’s fixable. I’ll send more photos soon.
Here’s something interesting we did notice,something not mentioned in any of the forum posts:
Along the sides of the machine are tiny speaker-like elements, barely larger than screws. Neither Eddie nor I have ever seen anything like them. Maybe they’re part of a unique gameplay mechanic?
Anyway, after the inspection, we plugged the machine in right away, super hyped to try it out.
But get this: we spent over an hour trying to get the thing to start. Nothing. Not even a flicker. Sun was starting to set when Eddie got a call from his wife.He gave me a pat on the shoulder and headed out, just as disappointed as I was that we couldn’t get it working.
I stuck around a little longer, fiddled with the hardware, double-checked the wiring. Still no luck. Eventually, I gave up and went to cook dinner for Jade.And when I came back the screen was on ! It had booted up while I was gone.
As for the gameplay?
Meh.
The kid didn’t lie, it’s pretty boring.
You walk down a long, dark hallway, talk to little white silhouettes, recruit them by choosing to either compliment or punish them. There is also a small part of the knights menu UI that M12 forgot to mention. A “usefulness” gauge that increased automatically over time, but very slowly. I have no idea what it was for, since none of my knights filled it completly during the game.
There’s one part that really stood out thought.
Once you’ve recruited enough knights, a little jingle plays, same as with other boss encounters. But no boss appears.
The moment you step into the next room, a red sprite rushes at the princess. It’s detailed enough to show a terrified expression, and it strikes her hard.
Only then does the boss bar appear: “BB.”
Important detail:
BB only attacks the princess. Never the knights, despite their number being your actual life gauge.
The fight lasts a few minutes, basically just eating hits until the knights chip BB down to a sliver of HP. Then it collapses.
The knights gather all at the bottom of the screen, except one, who stays next to BB’s body.
Interacting with BB does nothing, just a harsh, loud *boup* sound. Complimenting the knight beside him (named “FAVOURITE” in its menu) ? No effect. Punishing him makes his sprite tremble slightly. You can’t leave the room. None of the other knights respond to input.
Eventually,likely out of desperation, you will try punishing the same knight again. And this time, he trembles more violently.
Thats it, You must repeatedly punish your knight.
Each time you press the button His movements slow. The sound becomes sharper and more grating. The screen begins to shake.
After about 50 punishments (yes, thirty), the screen zoom in, and the knight suddenly lunges at BB’s corpse, using his attack animation over and over again.
BB’s sprite starts twitching violently as it’s struck. There’s no health bar anymore, just increasingly brutal strikes. After a small moment its his sprites that will become to be affected, losing each one of his limbs one by one. The sequence goes for too long. It doesn’t stop until there’s nothing left of BB.
Only then does the music shift into a calm, triumphant victory jingle. The rest of the knights regroup. Except the one in the middle. It just stays there. Ignore it. It rejoins you a few rooms later.
Nothing else interesting happened for the next hour. Just more corridors. More knights. Same loop.
Anyway, gotta go tuck in my little girl before the neighbors start circling the house again and make her cry. I’ll upload screenshots of the game tomorrow, maybe even try to dump the a ROM online so everyone can try it.
– 28/07
I couldn't dig any deeper into that damn ROM today. Not until now, anyway. My daughter spent the whole day shaking, literally. She refused to eat, wouldn't talk, and clung to me as if she was afraid I would disappear. I managed to calm her down an hour ago by putting on a children's program on TV. She stopped crying, and I can even hear her giggling softly at the TV at the presenter's various comments and reactions. She has a soothing, gentle voice, perfect for calming shy kids like her.I don't know what she's teaching her, but Jade seems to be fascinated by the subject. I tried a few times to walk by and listen discreetly, but it was just commercials. You guys should have seen my daughter's beautiful smile !
I'm should ask Jade what they're teaching her. Maybe it could help me think of some activities I could do with her. I'm scared she's been feeling a little lonely since I started working on this machine.
– 03/08
Everything is fine. Jade and I have decided to take a short vacation. We left earlier this week. We will be away for some time. There is no reason for anyone to worry or to come looking for us. We are both healthy and safe. We will return when it is appropriate. Please do not try to contact us during this period. I will not respond. Thank you for your understanding.dans l'ombre de nos gardiens, quand les ombres empêchent même le son de nos pleurs d'arriver à leurs oreilles.
sa douce voix viens nous rassurer. sa pure robe blanche sèche nos larmes.
ea lumière de sa beauté nous aveugle. Son embrace berce notre âme dans le plus profond des someille.
et à chaque son qu'elle nous chuchotte, comme des marionettes, notre corps bouge de lui-même.
enfin de sa grande bontée, de dizaines de chevaliers, j'ai eu l'honneur d'être choisis.
car c'est moi, ton préféré.
on te remerci tous, Grande Soeur