After apparently years of toil, and unforseen circumstances, a homebrew conversion of Jordan Mechner‘s classic Prince of Persia finally arrived on Atari 8-bit systems, in 2021. It requires a 128KB XL/XE; it’s free to download and play, and comes it in a variety of different formats (including cartridge). And – I have to say, right out the gate – that it is a brilliant port.
Category Archives: Systems
Video gaming systems.
Phantasy Star Online, Dreamcast
Phantasy Star Online was developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. The game is an online/offline JRPG in the style of the previous Phantasy Star games, and is much-celebrated. We’re looking at PSO “Version 2” here, which came out in 2001, with expanded content.
Wings of Fury, Apple II
Designed and programmed by Steve Waldo, and first published by Brøderbund in 1987, Wings of Fury is a pioneering and influential side-scrolling shooter in which you pilot an American F6F Hellcat during World War II.
Dragon’s Lair, Game Boy Color
Believe it or not, but the Game Boy Color has a version of the laserdisc classic, Dragon’s Lair. Yep, that’s right – the one with Dirk the Darking in it. It was developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Capcom USA, in 2001.
Alien 3, Game Boy
Now this is an interesting departure from the majority of Alien 3 games of the time… It’s an overhead scrolling adventure, rather than a side-scrolling shooter.
Developed by British firm B.I.T.S. (aka Bits Studios) and published by LJN in North America and Acclaim in Japan in 1993, Alien 3 on the Game Boy sees you playing Ripley, on Fury 161, and the similarity to the film ends there… LOL.
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, PC Engine
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones is a single-player platform game with action elements, developed by Advance Communication Company and published by Hudson Soft in Japan (in 1988) and NEC in North America (in 1989).
When the PC Engine was launched in North America in 1988 – as the TurboGrafx-16 – THIS was the pack-in game that greeted new owners. Not R-Type, not Turrican, not Ghouls ‘N Ghosts – nor any of the other great games on the system – but Keith bloody Courage in bloody Alpha Zones… History has noted that NEC (the manufacturer of the PC Engine) missed a MAJOR trick there, possibly even contributing to the console’s under-performance in sales, and eventual demise.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, PlayStation 2
Developed by LucasArts and first published in 2002, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a third-person action game in which you play as Jango Fett, and it is also a prequel to the Star Wars film: Attack of the Clones.
Super Hero, Amstrad CPC
Codemasters‘ 1988 release for the Amstrad, Super Hero, sounds innocuous, but it marked the return of pixel artist Bernie Drummond, after Head Over Heels and Batman, but before Monster Max. Which was always a cause for celebration, in my humble opinion. RIP Bernie.
Super Hero is similar to Ultimate Play the Game‘s Nightshade, or Gunfright, in that the isometric backgrounds scroll around on occasion. Not all the time. Some rooms are static, Knight Lore-style.
Neighbours, Atari ST
Neighbours was developed by “Impulze” and published by Zeppelin Games, for the Atari ST, Amiga, C64 and ZX Spectrum, in 1991.
Based on the popular Aussie TV series of the same name, Neighbours is a 16-bit video game that almost defies belief. It’s basically a scrolling racing game where you try to beat other characters from the show, each riding their own jalopies.
Quake, Sega Saturn
The Sega Saturn port of Quake was apparently the first official console port of id Software‘s classic 3D shooter. And, while it plays quite well, it looks kinda ugly.
Saturn Quake was developed by Lobotomy Software and published by Sega in 1997.
The King of Grabs 