I don't know if I can even do this game justice with any review. So many times we review games where there's nothing left to be said about them. How does one handle a review of a game where there's EVERYTHING to say about it?

Peret em Heru, along with Azusa 999 and Corpse Party, were the holy trinity of RPG Maker 98 games that laid foundation for the subgenres of RPG Maker horror games and RPG Maker walking sims as we know them today. In other words, Peret em Heru walked so walking sims could walk along with horror RPG Maker games, say that 5 times fast.

It's easy to see why this game gained some clout. From the moment it boots up, the most minimalist screens imaginable pop in along with droning and much too loud noises of the desert wind distorting into almost abstract horror. All while messages about how even for the most known wonders to man like the Great Pyramid of Giza, there are so many aspects veiled in mystery to our history. Much in the same way I would be creeped out reading about say, Anastasia's disappearance as a child, the opening of this game made me feel spooked out over how much there is to know in this world that can never be known.

What makes Peret stand out is that it's an RPG Maker game that's actually an RPG. The closest comparison I have is Sweet Home, with the character death screens in particular. The battles and cutscenes are impressively animated, with the PC-98's pallet being used to its maximum potential to create stark contrasts between bright characters or creatures interspersed with dull worlds. I was constantly unsettled having to watch so many bright and lived things suffer in this inhumane, completely dead world. Striking down animals in gory ways (ie slicing a lizard's head clean off) made me feel utterly guilty to have defiled such sacred ground.

I don't want to give away much about the story at all since the sense of mystery is something not to be spoiled. I don't think it was particularly that deep, even if I liked some of the themes that were surprisingly conveyed such as how the older generation can hold the younger generation down. The fan translation was definitely a bit colourful, but it fit well enough given the characters' roles and ages in the story. There was going to be a lot more meat on the story's bones, but much of it was sadly cut as seen on the TCRF page: https://tcrf.net/Shuujin_he_no_Peret-em-Heru

The real motivation to play the game is to get the hell scared out of you. I would say it mostly hits in that regard. My main problem with the game is that like with Sweet Home the combat can become too easy too quick if one is experienced at playing JRPGs. The battles can be unnerving on a visual level, but never enough to terrify me that I might be in danger. However the battles are serviceable enough to not outright detract from the game and I think the developers realized the exploration and puzzles were the strong suit regardless, so the gameplay is still overall decent in my opinion.

Having written my sincere thoughts, I feel as though this review is so surface level and safe but I truly do urge everybody interested in RPG Maker games to give it a fair shake. I used Retroarch with the NP2K core for speedup purposes, and it serviced me fine enough.

tldr, Peret em Heru is an interesting experimental indie games from days long since past. It's a real nice history lesson of a game that is pretty short for a JRPG (roughly 3-5 hours long) while bringing out a constant feeling of dread for all those frustrated that so many parts of our history that defined our cultures are forever buried knowledge.

Oh, and about the OST? Azusa 999 clears ez I'm afraid https://youtu.be/8a5zf0NQOwU?t=24