In 1986, a seventeen-year-old girl with a gun stormed eight asteroids — and almost nobody noticed she was extraordinary.
dB-SOFT was a small Sapporo-born software company — founded in 1980, renamed in 1984 after the decibel unit — that spent the mid-1980s publishing Famicom games while maintaining an adult PC software imprint. On December 20, 1986, they released Layla: a side-scrolling action game with a seventeen-year-old female special agent as the sole playable character, storming asteroid fortresses to rescue her kidnapped partner Iris. The game drew heavy inspiration from Dirty Pair, the 1985 anime series about two female space troubleshooters, though it was not an officially licensed product. Gaming press in August 1986 specifically noted Layla as 'the second heroine on the Family Computer,' after Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Bōken. Samus Aran had appeared in Metroid that same year, but her gender was a secret withheld until the ending. Layla was explicit about it from the cover. December 1986 saw multiple female-protagonist Famicom releases simultaneously — Athena, Wing of Madoola, Gall Force — suggesting the year was a pivot point for who a Famicom hero could be. The company is long gone. Most players never knew dB-SOFT's name. That is the quiet truth about influence: it often moves through the world without a return address.
About this game
Released by dB-SOFT in December 1986, Layla is a Japan-only Famicom action game inspired by the Dirty Pair anime. Players control 17-year-old special-agent Layla as she storms through eight asteroid fortresses to rescue her kidnapped partner Iris from the villainous Dr. Manitoka. A left-to-right scrolling shooter with maze elements, it was an early example of a character-driven action game with a female lead on the Famicom.
Key Features
Players advance through eight side-scrolling asteroid stages, shooting enemies and collecting items from crates. A password system allows players to continue progress, and each stage ends with a boss encounter. Backtracking within a stage is not permitted, keeping the pace brisk.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Layla arrived during the Famicom's 1986 software boom, when third-party publishers were experimenting with character-driven games aimed at a broader audience. dB-SOFT's choice of a female protagonist with an anime aesthetic was unconventional for the era, signalling early that the Famicom audience extended well beyond the assumed 'boys only' demographic.
Tricks & Tales
Layla was never released outside Japan and has never been re-released on any subsequent platform, making original Famicom cartridges the sole way to experience it on original hardware. The name and premise draw a clear parallel to the Dirty Pair OVA, though it is an original story.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Japan-exclusive Famicom cartridge. No overseas release or digital re-release on record.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Layla copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Famicom cartridge work on a North American Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
No, not without an adapter. The Famicom uses a 60-pin edge connector while the NES uses a 72-pin connector with a physically different form factor — the two are incompatible at the cartridge slot level. Third-party adapters exist that bridge the pin difference and allow Famicom cartridges to run in a NES. On a Japanese Famicom, NES cartridges face the same incompatibility in reverse. To play Japanese Famicom software, you need a Japanese Famicom, a Famicom-compatible clone console, or a NES fitted with an appropriate adapter.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge to ensure reliable play?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated PCB edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion over time. If cleaning is needed inside, Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws (not standard Phillips); a security bit screwdriver is required to open the shell without damage. Note that most Famicom boot failures originate in the 60-pin console slot rather than the cartridge itself — cleaning the console slot contacts separately with a contact cleaning tool is often the more effective fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Layla
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what we have in stock →Unexpected Discoveries
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Layla sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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