Flat, two-dimensional graphics, usually constructed of pixels. Not three-dimensional.
First in the classic Harvest Moon series, this cute Super Nintendo ‘farming simulator’ was developed by Amccus and published by Pack-In-Video in Japan, Natsume in North America, and Nintendo in Europe.
It wasn’t the first farming simulator ever to come out (that might be SimFarm by Maxis (1993), although there may be earlier examples), but it was certainly one of the first to really popularise the genre.
First released on the 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, this 8-bit Commodore 64 conversion came later, in 1992. And – considering that it is stepping down a generation – the programmers did a good job of retaining what made the originals so good.
Platform action – lots of swords! Leaping around like a lunatic! Climbing cliff faces. Killing monsters – discovering secrets! Atmospheric SID tunes. What more could you want? 🙂
Published by Image Works in 1991, First Samurai is a decent side-scrolling platform/action game that first came out on the Amiga and Atari ST, before being converted to others systems later.
Programmed by Raffaele Cecco, co-designed by Vivid Image and Mr. Cecco, with graphics by Teoman Irmak and sound by Nick Jones, it is a sterling effort.
Sundog is a sci-fi strategy/RPG/adventure game designed by Software Heaven (aka FTL – the makers of Dungeon Master), and is generally held in high regard. It originally came out on the Apple II in 1984, then later converted to the Atari ST in 1985.
I have to admit, though, that Sundog is a touch too archaic for my tastes. At least in terms of wanting to put hours into a game. The Atari ST version certainly looks better than the Apple II version, though.
The MSX version of Ultimate‘s classic isometric action adventure, Alien 8, is almost identical to the ZX Spectrum original – including slowdown caused by sound effects playing and lots of on-screen movement.
Developed by Compile and released in Japan only in 1989, Aleste Gaiden is the third Aleste game to come out for MSX home computers – specifically: for the MSX2.
Written by Mike Richardson and released by Durell Software in 1983, Harrier Attack is a side-scrolling Scramble ‘tribute’, but with VTOL (Vertical Take-Off & Landing) military Harrier ‘jump jet’ aircraft instead of spaceships.
The Commodore 64 has a version of Design Design‘s classic Halls of the Things and it looks and plays very similarly to the original Spectrum version. Which is no bad thing, because this is a challenging and fun little action game.
Out Run Europa is an interesting game in that it was designed and written by British developer Probe Software in 1991. Sega simply provided a license and Probe made the game. And: this wasn’t a conversion of an arcade game – it was a spin-off from Out Run, produced only for home computers at the time.
This 1991 arcade classic from Konami is a simultaneous four-player, horizontally-scrolling run-and-gun game with a colourful, cartoony, wild western theme.
