Picked up Time Patrol on Mercari. It's rare that I buy a game on Mercari unless it's either a clear bargain (in which case it's almost always sold before I get to it), or part of a larger lot and I deem the price per item is a reasonable deal. This was neither, but something about the title called to me, so I bought it at a "kind of okay-ish" price.

The case has what appears to be a portion of the original inner sleeve covered with tape to hold it in place to the outside. Why? Not sure! But as always, the tape browns and gums up and leaves the original bits looking grimy and discolored. Shame.

No regrets, though! The game is really all over the place and seemed strange until I realized this is an early attempt at a Mario Party style game. It's a bunch of mini games that wouldn't stand as full games on their own, but add enough of them and it becomes marketable. It doesn't have the polish and finesse of Mario Party, but it does offer some cohesion to make it believable. See, you're a time pilot, and you maneuver your craft back and forth in time to take part in certain tasks. You start out in your aircraft and have to successfully navigate to the right destination.

One example of an activity you do is traveling to an early Olympics (the year 1000) and partaking in the high jump. Time your jump right and you're treated to your character's graceful landing on the other side of the post.

There are probably only three other events, judging by what I saw on the label of the PC-8001 version of the game. They are: Demon vs. Human, Genetics (?), a sort of Mastermind type of game where you try to guess the code in a limited number of turns, and a weather game where you adjust the room temperature based on the current weather. Interesting collection of mini (or micro) game ideas!