Originating on the Amstrad CPC, Spindizzy is a genius piece of coding and game design. It is an isometric exploration game, where you play as a spinning gyroscope (called GERALD) trying to collect gems across a large map of screens. It was designed by Paul Shirley, and the Spectrum port was handled by Phil Churchyard. Spindizzy on the Spectrum was published by Electric Dreams in 1986.
Tag Archives: 1986
Zoids: The Battle Begins, Amstrad CPC
Zoids was a range of popular children’s toys during the 1980s. They were dinosaur robot-type things that fought each other and looked really cool (if you were six years old). The toys spawned TV shows and computer games, and this one – designed by The Electronic Pencil Company – is notable as one of the best.
Impossible Mission, Amstrad CPC
Another decent conversion of a classic game to the Amstrad. Impossible Mission was developed by Epyx and published by US Gold in 1986.
Hyper Dyne Side Arms, Arcade
Hyper Dyne Side Arms is a horizontally-scrolling shooter, developed and published by Capcom in 1986. It can be played by two players simultaneously and features special combination attacks that can be performed when both players merge together. The game, of course, can also be played single-player.
Donkey Kong, ZX Spectrum
The officially-licensed ZX Spectrum version of Donkey Kong was developed by Sentient Software for Ocean Software and was initially released in 1986.
Uridium, ZX Spectrum
Andrew Braybrook‘s classic Commodore 64 shooter, Uridium, was converted to the ZX Spectrum by Dominic Robinson in 1986, and – considering the machine’s limitations – he did a remarkable job.
Dynamite Dan, MSX
The MSX version of Rod Bowkett‘s classic Spectrum platformer, Dynamite Dan, was programmed by Mr. Micro and published by Mirrorsoft in 1986. It is an excellent port and looks and plays very similarly to the original.
Wizard’s Lair, MSX
Steve Crow‘s superb tribute to Atic Atac, Wizard’s Lair, was released for the MSX by Bubble Bus Software in 1986.
Split Personalities, ZX Spectrum
Split Personalities is a sliding puzzle game featuring topical people from the 1980s (Margaret Thatcher, Neil Kinnock, Charles and Diana, Reagan, Breshnev, and so on). The game was first released in 1986 by Domark and was a critical success, but not a commercial one.
10th Frame, Commodore 64
10th Frame is a ten-pin bowling simulation that was developed by the same people who made the classic golf game, Leaderboard. It was first released by Access Software in 1986.
