The ZX Spectrum port of Konami‘s classic arcade shooter, Salamander, was programmed by Andrew Glaister, with graphics by Stuart Ruecroft, and was first published by Imagine Software in 1988. While aspects of the game are very good, it is unfortunately a good example of an unfinished and cut-down game being rushed to market…
Category Archives: Company
Video game companies.
The Cyber Shinobi, Sega Master System
Released exclusively for the Sega Master System in 1990, The Cyber Shinobi is a sequel to the first Shinobi, but it’s not really a sequel many will remember. Mostly because it isn’t very good…
Bomberman Hero, Nintendo 64
Published by Hudson Soft in 1998, Bomberman Hero was the second Bomberman game released for the Nintendo 64. It is considerably different to the previous N64 Bomberman game (Bomberman 64), but is still set in a fully 3D environment.
Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Dreamcast
Evil Dead: Hail to the King was developed by Heavy Iron Studios and published by THQ in 2000. It is a survival horror game based on Sam Raimi‘s classic cabin-in-the-woods horror film, and – to be honest – it’s pretty bad. Which is a pity because I’m a big horror film fan (have been since I was a teenager), and this game should be right down my street.
Shinobi, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Sega‘s classic Shinobi was developed by Binary Design for The Sales Curve and published by Virgin Games in 1989. It is a relatively loose approximation of the arcade game, but is nonetheless playable and enjoyable.
Shinobi, NES
The 1989 NES version of Sega‘s Shinobi was converted and published by Tengen, in North America only. Why the game wasn’t released in Japan, I don’t know. Maybe because Sega didn’t think it was good enough?
Bionic Commando, ZX Spectrum
Developed by Software Creations and published by GO! in 1988, this is the ZX Spectrum version of Capcom‘s classic arcade game, Bionic Commando. And it’s not bad, all considered.
Dragon’s Lair 3D, GameCube
Known as “Dragon’s Lair 3D: Return to the Lair” in North America, this fully-3D action adventure is a reimagining of Don Bluth‘s classic laserdisc arcade game, Dragon’s Lair. And it works brilliantly well. Dragon’s Lair 3D was published for the GameCube by THQ in Europe, and Encore, Inc. in North America, in 2002. It was also released for PlayStation 2, Windows and XBox.
Moon Crystal, NES/Famicom
Released in Japan only for the Nintendo Famicom in 1992, Moon Crystal is a scrolling platform game in the style of Zelda II. The game was developed by Hector (aka “Hect“), and fan translations into English, Spanish, Polish and Indonesian exist, making the game understandable to players who don’t speak or read Japanese.
Shinobi, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 version of Sega‘s classic Shinobi was developed by The Sales Curve and first published by Virgin Games in 1989. And – while it is a decent conversion in terms of presentation and playability – it is arguably even harder than the arcade original, which can make it extremely frustrating to play at times.