David Braben‘s 1987 shoot ’em up, Zarch, is probably the most well-known Archimedes game around. It was an early release for the Acorn computer and it really made the gaming world sit up and take notice.
Tag Archives: 1987
Elite, MSX
The MSX version of the classic space trading game, Elite, was programmed by Mr. Micro and published by Firebird in 1987.
Elite, PC
This is the original MS-DOS CGA version of Elite, written by Andrew Onions of Realtime Games and published by Firebird in 1987.
Not to be confused with the even better Elite Plus, which came later and is a different game entirely.
Zig Zag, Commodore 64
Written by Tony Crowther and published by Mirrorsoft in 1987, Zig Zag is a weird and wonderful isometric shoot ’em up where you fly a wedge-shaped ship around a maze collecting crystals.
Auf Wiedersehen Monty, Commodore 16/Plus4
Although Auf Wiedersehen Monty is seen as a weak link in the classic Monty Mole series by some people, I’ve always very much liked it.
I liked the ideas; I liked Monty‘s new jump animation; I liked the variety.
Zolyx, Commodore 16/Plus4
The original 1987 C16 release of Zolyx, published by Firebird Software, is a bare bones 16K conversion of the Commodore 64 classic. It is still a great game though.
Auto Zone, Commodore 16/Plus4
An original C16/Plus4 release from Players Software, first published in 1987, Auto Zone is a side-scrolling, car-driving platform game where you drive a small buggy from right to left across four different stages, trying to survive to the end.
Spore, Commodore 16/Plus4
Another conversion, but a damn good one, and worthy of a place in any Commodore 16 fan’s collection.
Shrunk down to fit into just 16K, Spore is a overhead maze shooter with simple graphics and excellent mechanics. A bit like a simplified version of Gauntlet in some respects, but far more frantic.
Voidrunner, Commodore 16/Plus4
Jeff Minter‘s Voidrunner is about as a good as a bullet hell shooter gets on the Commodore 16. It was published alongside Hellgate (as a double pack) by Llamasoft in 1987.
Mega Man, NES
Known as “Rock Man” in its native Japan, Mega Man is a Nintendo Famicom game developed and published by Capcom in 1987. It is the beginning of the long-running Mega Man series.
What the first Mega Man did was establish a style of its own – for both gameplay and graphics.
