Aconcagua is a Japan only survival horror/Action-Adventure video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in June 2000 for the PlayStation. Despite being an exclusive release with Japanese text, the game's cutscenes are voice acted in English and Spanish, which gives it a more realistic feel. It also has the distinction of being the last game Sony developed for the original PlayStation.
As the result of a merciless leader, social, and political unrest plagues the South American country of Meruza. A woman named Pachamama is the leader of a Democratic movement to end this tyranny. However, on a plane ride back to Meruza, a bomb is set off, causing the plane to crash in the Aconcagua mountain. The game follows five survivors as they attempt to get off of the mountain, in time for the Meruzan Independence Day:
- Pachamama: The determined leader of Meruza's democratic movement, and the target of the terrorist bombing. She can speak Spanish fluently, and can assist the group in translating Spanish documents, as well as send rescue transmissions.
- Katoh: A Japanese mountaineer turned journalist who boarded the doomed flight to cover the story of Pachamama. Because of his mountaineer experience, he can climb up to places that other characters cannot.
- Steve: A panicky engineer who can handle any technological obstacles the group may face along the way.
- Julia: A woman claiming to be a journalist from The United States. She wields a knife and can sneak up on enemies and kill them.
- Lopez: The last survivor to join your group. He is a strong man who can lift and move heavy objects when needed.
As the survivors make their way down the mountain, they must confront Meruzan troops sent to kill them all, as well as the possibility of someone in the group working with the Meruzan government to stop Pachamama from reaching Meruza's capitol in time to stop a civil war from breaking out.
As of July 11, 2022, a full English Fan Translation of the game was released.
The game provides examples of:
- Action Girl: Julia, who is the only one in your group who can kill enemies with an actual weapon.
- Banana Republic: Meruza, though it is more mountainous than tropical.
- Bilingual Bonus: If you're an English speaker using an emulator, having knowledge in Spanish and/or Japanese will give you more details into the plot of the game.
- Captain Obvious: Katoh, at times.Katoh: "Don't give up now! Giving up means dying in the mountains."
- Death Mountain: The setting of the game. It should be worth noting that Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas.
- Despair Event Horizon: Pachamama goes through this, when she thinks that they will never make it back in time to prevent a civil war from breaking out. Luckily, Katoh manages to pull her out of this.
- Fat Bastard: Subverted with Steve, who is a bit of a jerk at times, but he is not the traitor.
- Hellish Copter: The group's first chance to get home via helicopter is destroyed when said helicopter gets hit with a rocket. You also have to take out an enemy helicopter early in the game, in the most absurd way possible.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Pachamama believes that the crash was a deliberate attempt on her life by the Meruzan government and not just some freak accident. And she's right.
- The Mole: Lopez.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Steve. That time Sony put a whole bunch of f-bombs in their PS1 game.
Katoh comes in a close second. - Tomboy and Girly Girl: Julia and Pachamama, respectively.
- Unusable Enemy Equipment: It seems a bit odd that you can't use any enemy guns upon killing them, but most of the the five survivors have no gun training.
- Unusual Eyebrows: Let's just say Lopez◊ has some rather◊ interesting◊ eyebrows.
