Another great “hidden gem” on the Atari ST – Wrangler, developed by Magnetic Fields and published by Alternative Software in 1988.
Wrangler a strange isometric puzzle game, with you playing the role of a robotic cowboy called “Glint Eastwood” (groan), and who must patrol various levels, collecting a required number of coloured tiles in order to shut down some alien gates. It’s a difficult game to explain, but is quite easy to play when you get the hang of it, and also quite compelling.
Also known in some territories as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, Beyond Oasis is an action adventure game that was developed by Ancient and published by Sega in 1994.
Released in 1989 for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Phantasy Star II is a pioneering RPG for its time. It’s a sequel, obviously; to the classic Sega Master System release of 1987, Phantasy Star.
Created by Zippo Games and published by Palace Software in 1990, Voodoo Nightmare is an original and fun isometric action adventure with a pleasing mix of overworld exploration and dungeon-crawling.
On the face of it the Atari ST conversion of Williams Electronics‘ classic Smash TV looks pretty good, but scratch below the surface and you might realise that it has one or two major deficiencies.
Trees, trees, and more trees! That’s what you get when you explore the ancient island kingdom of Arborea. And with a name like that it is no surprise.
Crystals of Arborea is a real-time, first-person, tile-based, party-driven RPG with combat, exploration, and day/night scenes where the colours cycle to give you a nice atmospheric setting.
The third and final instalment in the Ishar series, Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity was released by Silmarils in 1994.
It plays similarly to the previous two games (ie. first-person, real-time RPG), but with further refinement and a somewhat different setting – at least initially.
Continue reading Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity, Atari ST
The sequel to the interesting Ishar, Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom is a French, first-person RPG with atmospheric graphics and challenging party-based gameplay. It was first released in 1993.
Thankfully, Ishar 2 rights some of the wrongs of the first game. You can actually see where you are on the map now, which is a blessed relief, and the interface has been cleaned-up a bit, making movement and combat a bit easier.
The first in a trilogy of French Role-Playing Games published by Silmarils, Ishar: Legend of the Fortress is an atmospheric, first-person, party-based RPG with challenging gameplay, released in 1992.
Ask anyone what their favourite beat ’em up is on the Megadrive/Genesis and they will probably reply: Streets of Rage 3.
Released by Sega in 1994, Streets of Rage 3 is the jewel in the crown of a brilliant trilogy of scrolling fighting games.
The King of Grabs 