Secret Ties - for NES

Secret Ties is an unreleased Nintendo Entertainment System game developed by Vic Tokai, the studio known for the Golgo 13 games. It is the English version of Master Thief Sugar, a Family Computer game that was also never released, and both are based on an early 1970s comic by Takao Saito, the artist who created Golgo 13. Secret Ties reached a playable state and then went no further: it was never put on sale, so for most of its life it has been a name collectors knew rather than a game they had played.

Secret Ties is a single player platform game, and since it never had a commercial release there is no manual or marketing to lean on, only the game itself. The title points to a master thief at the center of it, in keeping with the Takao Saito comic behind it, and the shape of play will be familiar to anyone who knows Vic Tokai's work on the system: run, jump and keep moving. It is best approached the way the people who first found it did, by starting it up and working out what it wants from you as you go.

Unfinished business has its own pull, and Secret Ties is a good example: a game by a studio with a real pedigree, tied to a famous comic artist, that simply never reached players. Playing it on a Nintendo Entertainment System turns a footnote into something you can actually sit down with. For collectors, Secret Ties is a conversation piece before it is anything else, the sort of cartridge that sits in a collection as a small piece of history from the end of the Famicom and NES era, and a reminder of how much was made and never shipped.

• Genre: Platformer
• Players: 1
• Region: NTSC
• Developer: Vic Tokai

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
Please note that this listing is for the game cartridge only. The original box, instruction manual, and any other accessories are not included with this purchase unless explicitly stated in the listing. What you receive is exactly what you need to play: the cartridge itself, tested and confirmed working.

Condition & Authenticity
This game has been tested and is fully functional. We do not authenticate or certify originality, and listings are intended for players and everyday collectors rather than professional grading or authentication purposes.

Images & Regional Differences
Product images are for reference only. Label artwork, cartridge color, and regional markings (PAL or NTSC) may vary from the item you receive.