Tag Archives: 8-bit

RoboCop, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum version of RoboCop – based on the 1987 film of the same name – was developed and published by Ocean Software in 1988, and was such a hit that it went on to become the top-selling Spectrum game of 1989, according to Gallup (the company that used to collate and publish the UK’s music and video game charts). The Spectrum version actually remained in the sales charts for over a year and half – it entered the charts in December of 1988 and was still in the top five in February of 1991, which is insaneTHAT is what you call a “big hit“!

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Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC version of Ghosts ‘N Goblins was developed and published by Elite Systems in 1986, and it looks pretty rough, and seems to be missing a good chunk of the original game.

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Rainbow Islands, Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 port of Taito‘s classic Rainbow Islands was developed by Graftgold and first released by Ocean Software in 1990, and – gosh-darn it – it is a fantastic port of the arcade game!

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Ghosts ‘N Goblins, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum version of Capcom‘s arcade classic, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, was first released by Elite Systems in 1986.

There is some confusion about who programmed the game. The title screen says that it was coded by Keith Burkhill, yet some sources say that Nigel Alderton programmed it. It could be that both worked on the game, but it’s not entirely clear…

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Vradark’s Sphere, ZX Spectrum

Vradark’s Sphere is a Roguelike fantasy role-playing game that was created by Aleksander Udotov, for 128K Spectrums, and first released in 2018. To me it is the epitome of what I would call “Modern Retro” (ie. a modern game, made to look old or be played on old hardware), and it looks and plays fantastically well.

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Aliens: Neoplasma, ZX Spectrum

Aliens: Neoplasma is a homebrew ZX Spectrum game that was released by a Russian dev team called “SaNchez” in 2019. The game is for Spectrum 128K models only and is a run-and-gun shooter with platforming elements. It’s available in English, Russian and Spanish (each language is a separate download).

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Beyond the Forbidden Forest, Commodore 64

Beyond the Forbidden Forest is the 1986 sequel to 1983’s classic 8-bit survival horror game, Forbidden Forest. It was again devised and programmed by Paul Norman, and published by Cosmi Corporation in North America and US Gold in Europe.

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Forbidden Forest, Commodore 64

Created by Paul Norman for Cosmi Corporation, Forbidden Forest is a legendary survival horror game from 1983 in which you play an archer trying to avoid attacks from a variety of hostile creatures inside a sprawling forest.

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Rainbow Islands, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum has an excellent port of Taito‘s classic arcade game, Rainbow Islands, thanks to the developers at Graftgold. It was first published by Ocean Software in 1990.

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Magnetron, ZX Spectrum

Magnetron is the sequel to Quazatron and is another interpretation of the classic C64 game, Paradroid, but with an isometric viewpoint. It was first published in 1988 by Firebird Software.

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