Journey to Silius

Did You Know?

• Rough World was re-released in Japan in a two-in-one compilation for the PlayStation titled Memorial Series: Sunsoft Vol. 5, which also included Hebereke.
• The game was re-released on the Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Classics service in December 2019.

Plot

In the year 373 of the new space age calendar, overpopulation of Earth drives emigration to space colonies. Jay McCray, son of a scientist developing space colony #428 in the Silius Solar System, prepares to move there but the space station is destroyed in an explosion, killing the research team and erasing all data. At his father's home, Jay finds a floppy disk containing the colony plans and a personal message asking him to complete the projects if terrorists succeed. To protect the plans and avenge his father, Jay sets out to fight the terrorists responsible.

Development

Journey to Silius was originally conceived as a game based on the 1984 film The Terminator, but Sunsoft lost the license during development, leading to altered plot and graphics before release. The American version was released first and featured a player character with his face exposed; later Japanese and European versions changed the design to have his whole body covered in armor. The soundtrack was composed by Naoki Kodaka, who used the digital channel for a sampled bassline and the triangle channel for a kick drum, with programming assistance from Nobuyuki Hara, Shinichi Seya, and Naohisa Morota.