Tag Archives: climbing

Konami, Nintendo 64

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, Nintendo 64

3 Comments

Set eight years before the events of Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness is a prequel to the first N64 Castlevania, featuring a ‘man-beast’ called Cornell who is trying to save his sister, Ada, from being used as a sacrifice to resurrect Dracula.

The game is set in 1844 and begins with Cornell arriving at his home village, only to discover that it’s been burnt to the ground by Dracula’s skeleton army. He finds Ada’s pendant on the ground and follows her scent to Dracula’s castle.

Continue reading Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, Nintendo 64 →

Konami, Nintendo 64

Castlevania, Nintendo 64

3 Comments

Developed by Konami‘s Kobe division and first released in 1999, Castlevania on the N64 (sometimes referred to as “Castlevania 64“) is a third-person 3D game – the first 3D game, in fact, in the popular horror/platform/action series.

Continue reading Castlevania, Nintendo 64 →

Homebrew, Modern Retro, ZX Spectrum

Aliens: Neoplasma, ZX Spectrum

Leave a comment

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).

Continue reading Aliens: Neoplasma, ZX Spectrum →

Core Design, Gremlin Graphics, ZX Spectrum

Impossamole, ZX Spectrum

1 Comment

Impossamole on the ZX Spectrum is a multi-load expanded re-imagining of Gremlin Graphics‘ classic first Monty Mole game: Wanted: Monty Mole. It was developed by Core Design and first published by Gremlin in 1990, which was very late in the Spectrum‘s lifespan.

Continue reading Impossamole, ZX Spectrum →

Arcade, Capcom

Three Wonders, Arcade

1 Comment

Three Wonders is an unusual arcade game from Capcom that was first released in 1991. What’s unusual about it is that the game is based around three separate games – each of which you can choose to play in any order, cooperatively with a friend, and that are supposedly linked by the game’s storyline and characters.

Continue reading Three Wonders, Arcade →

Antstream, Atari ST, Core Design, gog.com, Gremlin Graphics, Steam

Switchblade, Atari ST

2 Comments

Created by Simon Phipps (co-founder of Core Design), and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1989, Switchblade is a platform action game that could be described as a ‘spiritual successor’ to the Rick Dangerous games (also created by Simon Phipps). Switchblade features similar gameplay and graphics to Rick Dangerous, although it is more refined, less cartoony, and is far less frustrating to play. Switchblade came out on the Atari ST first and ports for the Amiga, C64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum followed.

Continue reading Switchblade, Atari ST →

Amiga, Core Design, Firebird

Rick Dangerous, Amiga

3 Comments

Rick Dangerous is a cartoony Indiana Jones parody that was written by Simon Phipps, co-founder of Core Design, with graphics by Terry Lloyd. It was published on various 8-bit and 16-bit home computers by Firebird Software in 1989 and was generally well-received.

Continue reading Rick Dangerous, Amiga →

Acclaim Entertainment, Beam Software, Game Boy, LJN

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure, Game Boy

Leave a comment

Developed by prolific Aussie studio Beam Software, and published by LJN/Acclaim Entertainment, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure is a simple-but-playable platform game based loosely on the 1989 film, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was released in North America in 1991 and Europe in 1992.

Continue reading Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure, Game Boy →

Creative Assembly, Cross Media Soft, FM Towns, JVC, Psygnosis

Shadow of the Beast, FM Towns

1 Comment

Shadow of the Beast on the FM Towns was first published in Japan only by Cross Media Soft – a brand of Victor Musical Industries (a subsidiary of JVC) – in 1991, and came on CD-ROM.

Tim Ansell, who programmed the FM Towns version of Shadow of the Beast (and Shadow of the Beast II), founded the famous British developer The Creative Assembly in 1987 and this was one of a number of contract ports that he did for Psygnosis in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Continue reading Shadow of the Beast, FM Towns →

Field Co. Ltd., Human Entertainment, Super Nintendo, Vic Tokai

SOS, Super Nintendo

Leave a comment

SOS is an intriguing survival adventure game set on a sinking ship in The North Sea, in 1921. The game features four playable characters, each with a different story, although the ultimate aim is the same for all of them: to escape from the stricken Lady Crithania, which has been hit by a gigantic wave and has capsized off the coast of England. SOS was developed by Human Entertainment and published exclusively for the Super Famicom by Field Co. Ltd. in 1993 (1994 in North America; published by Vic Tokai). In Japan the game is known as “Septentrion“.

Continue reading SOS, Super Nintendo →