The MSX version of Boulder Dash II is subtitled “Rockford’s Riot“, which is different to the Commodore 64 version (which is subtitled “Rockford’s Revenge“). It was ported by Orpheus and published by Databyte in 1985.
Monthly Archives: May 2022
Boulder Dash II, Commodore 64
Subtitled “Rockford’s Revenge“, Boulder Dash II was again designed and programmed by Peter Liepa and published in North America by Electronic Arts in 1985 as “Super Boulder Dash” (alongside a re-release of the first game). Boulder Dash II was published in Europe as a stand-alone game, though, by Beyond Software.
Boulder Dash II, Atari 8-bit
Boulder Dash co-creator Peter Liepa created Boulder Dash II on Atari 8-bit machines first, before converting it to the Commodore 64. He’s said openly in interviews that he prefers Atari‘s machine when it comes to programming games, so it should come as no surprise to find arguably the best version of Boulder Dash II on the Atari 8-bit.
As far as I know, though, it was only released in North America as part of the “Super Boulder Dash” package from Electronic Arts (alongside a re-release of the first Boulder Dash). The Atari 8-bit version was never released as a stand-alone game. At least not by First Star Software.
Boulder Dash, Atari 2600
This Atari 2600 homebrew port of Boulder Dash was first revealed in 2011 and there was talk of releasing it as a cartridge, but I’m not 100% sure if that actually happened or not (I think it did, from what I can see online).
The only ROMs available online are a two-level demo made by the developers to show off the game, and that is what these screenshots are from.
Boulder Dash, Commodore 16/Plus4
I don’t know for sure if the Commodore 16/Plus4 conversion of Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s classic Boulder Dash is official or a homebrew port (my guess is that it’s a homebrew port because I can’t find any reliable information about it online), but it unfortunately has a number of issues.
Boulder Dash, NES/Famicom
The NES/Famicom version of the classic Boulder Dash was developed by Data East and published by JVC in North America and Data East in Japan in 1990.
It is distinguished from other Boulder Dash conversions by having completely different graphics and sound from the original.
Boulder Dash, Game Boy
The Game Boy version of Boulder Dash was programmed by Beam Software and is somewhat similar to the NES version (not exactly the same since it was developed by a completely different company). It is a jolly re-imagining with different graphics, but the same devious level designs as the original. And it is of course monochrome, rather than colour.
Boulder Dash, BBC Micro
The BBC Micro conversion of Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s classic Boulder Dash was programmed by Andrew Bennett and published by Tynesoft in 1988. And I don’t know what it is about this port, but there is something wholly unsatisfactory about it.
Boulder Dash, PC
The MS-DOS version of Boulder Dash uses CGA graphics, so doesn’t look the best, but – like the Apple II version – the lack of colour doesn’t affect the gameplay at all. In fact: just four colours seems to suit it well; if those colours are used a certain way.
Boulder Dash, ZX Spectrum
Boulder Dash on the ZX Spectrum is a decent, playable conversion, but it isn’t great and does have its issues. It was programmed by Dalali Software and published by Front Runner (a software label owned by K-Tel Productions, a famous British record label) in 1985.
The King of Grabs 