How to play Makai Hakkenden Shada on Mac

PlatformsPortable console, Computer

Game summary

A PC Engine Action-RPG based on the famous Japanese novel series Nansou Satomi Hakkenden. The gameplay is at least partly inspired by Falcom's Ys series. Makai Hakkenden Shada is an action-RPG from Data East that was released on the PC Engine (the Japanese TurboGrafx-16) in 1989. The game bears more than a close resemblance to Falcom's Ys: specifically the first game in the series, The Vanished Omens, which was a huge success for the PC Engine a few months prior as well as being a generally well-regarded computer RPG before then. As well as having a similar nude female figure in the opening intro, the game also borrows Ys's combat system: fighting occurs by walking into enemies at a slight angle, causing them to collide with the player character's weapon (which hurts them) rather than the player character himself (which hurts the player character). The various gauges for health and experience are also similar. Makai Hakkenden Shada is based on a centuries-old Japanese novel series called Nansou Satomi Hakkenden, or "Eight Dog Chronicles", that features eight half-brother samurai who are all descended from the same dog and have the Japanese word for "dog" somewhere in their names. While these books have been referenced or adapted many times in other media such as manga and film, Makai Hakkenden Shada and the Famicom RPGs Satomi Hakkenden and Shin Satomi Hakkenden: Hikari to Yami no Tatakai are the only direct video game adaptations. Okami also contained an oblique reference to the novels. Unlike Satomi Hakkenden, which eventually allowed the player to recruit all eight of the central characters of the novel series, Makai Hakkenden Shada only has the one playable character. Instead, other characters from the novels occasionally appear to help the player.
First released: May 1989

Play Makai Hakkenden Shada on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play Makai Hakkenden Shada on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

Makai Hakkenden Shada installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Makai Hakkenden Shada like you would on any PC.
Did it work?
Help us improve our guide by letting us know if it worked for you.
👎👍