Tag Archives: adventure

Pokémon Black Version, Nintendo DS [Part 2]

What makes this game really special, though, are the new features and the incredible density of content. Few games have the sheer level of detail as Pokémon Black and White do.

Continue reading Pokémon Black Version, Nintendo DS [Part 2] →

Pokémon Black Version, Nintendo DS [Part 1]

Released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS, Pokémon Black and White are fifth generation Pokémon games that take place in the Unova region. They were once again developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company. I tossed a coin and chose to play Black Version for this playthrough, which is what these screenshots are from.

I took over twenty thousand grabs while playing this game and whittled them down to a thousand, then to 400 of the best shots. And because I’ve got quite a bit to say about Pokémon Black Version I decided to split this article into two parts.

Continue reading Pokémon Black Version, Nintendo DS [Part 1] →

Nightshade, Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 conversion of Nightshade was coded by Shahid Ahmad and published by Firebird in 1986. It is a reasonable, if slower, version of the original game from Ultimate. What is more interesting, though, is the enhanced version, released by Nostalgia in 2016.

Continue reading Nightshade, Commodore 64 →

Nightshade, MSX

The MSX conversion of Nightshade was first published by Ultimate Play the Game in 1985. It is identical to the original Spectrum version, barring a few small differences.

Continue reading Nightshade, MSX →

Nightshade, Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC conversion of Ultimate‘s Nightshade was first released in 1985. While it does benefit from some extra colours in the sprites and backgrounds, it does lack colour overall. Unlike the Spectrum original the buildings are not colour-coded, and the player character (a unnamed knight) doesn’t change colour depending on his infection level, which is slightly disappointing. The Amstrad version does look a bit weird, in terms of its use of colour. Filmation games usually look better on the Amstrad, but not in this case; it looks a bit jaundiced with its dominant yellow and orange colour scheme.

Continue reading Nightshade, Amstrad CPC →

Nightshade, BBC Micro

The BBC version of Ultimate‘s classic Nightshade is very good. It runs pretty quickly (most of the time) and the controls are responsive, which is all you can hope for in the game like this.

Continue reading Nightshade, BBC Micro →

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, GameCube

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is the successor to Pokémon Colosseum and is another third-generation spin-off from the main Pokémon series. It was developed by Genius Sonority and published by The Pokémon Company exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005.

Continue reading Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, GameCube →

Pokémon Colosseum, GameCube

Pokémon Colosseum was developed by Genius Sonority and published by The Pokémon Company in 2003 in Japan and 2004 everywhere else. It is not considered part of the main Pokémon series, but is a third-generation spin-off made exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube.

Continue reading Pokémon Colosseum, GameCube →

Pokémon Gold Version, Game Boy Color

Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in 1999 in Japan and 2000 everywhere else. They are ‘second generation’ Pokémon games and were released simultaneously as twin titles, as has become the norm with Pokémon games.

These were the first proper, full-colour Pokémon games, with graphics that have been created to take advantage of the Game Boy Color‘s extended palette (Pokémon Yellow, which preceded this game, didn’t really do that; the graphics were simply colourised from the black and white originals). And you can tell from the very beginning that the visuals in Gold/Silver are a step-up from what we saw previously.

Continue reading Pokémon Gold Version, Game Boy Color →

Golvellius: Valley of Doom, Sega Master System

Developed by Compile and originally released for the MSX in 1987 Golvellius was converted to the Master System by Sega in 1988. It is an action RPG with overhead, flick-screen exploration, Zelda-like sword-based combat and scrolling sections through caves.

Continue reading Golvellius: Valley of Doom, Sega Master System →