Developed by ZAP Corporation and published by Wonder Amusement Studio (a subsidiary of Japanese record label Toyo Recording), Twinkle Tale is a scrolling ‘bullet hell’ shooter released exclusively for the Sega Megadrive, in Japan only, in 1992. Fan translations into English, Spanish and Korean exist, making the game accessible to a good proportion of the world outside Japan.
Tag Archives: 16-bit
Crime Wave, Atari ST
Crime Wave is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter, developed by The Code Monkeys for Access Software and first published in 1990. It is reminiscent of the 1989 arcade game, Narc, and could in fact be described as a clone of that game.
Gauntlet 4, Megadrive/Genesis
Gauntlet 4 (aka Gauntlet IV) was developed by M2 and published by Tengen in 1993, exclusively for the Megadrive/Genesis. In some respects the development of this game is just as interesting as the game itself.
Gauntlet 4 began life as a homebrew remake of Gauntlet, among a small group of friends in Japan, for the Sharp X68000 home computer. Atari Games, the developer of the original Gauntlet, eventually caught wind of the project and commissioned the group (now named M2) to produce a sequel instead.
Gauntlet III: The Final Quest, Amiga
Developed by Software Creations and published by US Gold in 1991, Gauntlet III: The Final Quest is a home computer-only sequel to the classic arcade games, Gauntlet and Gauntlet II.
Gods, Amiga
Developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade Software for the Amiga in 1991, Gods is a stylised platform game in which you play as Hercules, on a quest to make his way through five large stages, themed with Greek mythological motifs.
Ultimate Qix, Megadrive/Genesis
Released as “Volfied” in arcades, this sequel to the original Qix was re-named Ultimate Qix for its Sega Genesis release in North America in 1991. And – let’s face it – “Volfied” is a crappy name anyway, so it’s no great loss.
Vixen, Atari ST
Vixen, by Martech, was released for a number of 8 and 16-bit home computer platforms in 1988, and it proved to be somewhat controversial. Mainly because the game used glamour model Corinne Russell as both reference for the lead character, and to plaster all over the packaging and marketing for the game, which upset a lot of vocal, prudish people in the UK, leading to calls for it to be banned. Retailer Boots even refused to stock the game unless Martech changed the game’s packaging…
Starglider, Amiga
Argonaut Software‘s Starglider, when it first came out, was a flashy release. It came in a big blue box, with a novella, a manual, and a single floppy disk. Magazines were raving about it, and I remember buying it… for the ZX Spectrum. LOL.
Starglider, Atari ST
The Atari ST version of Argonaut Software‘s pioneering 3D shooter, Starglider, first came out in 1986 – a year before the Amiga version (for some reason – I don’t know why).
Typhoon Thompson in Search for the Sea Child, Atari ST
Developed by Dan Gorlin Productions and originally released for the Atari ST by Brøderbund in 1988, Typhoon Thompson in Search for the Sea Child is a simple but brilliant shooter/collect ’em up with analogue controls.
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The King of Grabs 