Developed by Time Warp Productions and published by Rainbow Arts in 1988, the Amiga version of The Great Giana Sisters is maybe the best-looking and most playable version of this infamous and arguably overrated platform game, but it isn’t anything special.
Tag Archives: clone
Run Saber, Super Nintendo
Run Saber is a side-scrolling action game developed by Hori Electric and published by Atlus in 1993 for the Super Nintendo. It is something of a clone of Capcom‘s classic arcade game, Strider.
Although Run Saber was developed in Japan it was only released in North America and Europe. A later Japanese release was cancelled.
Fortress, BBC Micro
Fortress on the BBC Micro is a bland and overly-difficult Zaxxon clone written by Matthew Newman and first published by Pace in 1983.
Demon Front, Arcade
Demon Front is a 2002 arcade game developed and manufactured by Taiwanese company International Games System. It is a scrolling run-and-gun shooter that is basically a shameless clone of Metal Slug, but with a few unique ideas of its own.
You can play either single player or two player simultaneous and can choose between four different characters at the start of the game. There are three different buttons on the arcade cabinet – shoot, jump, and shield – and the basic idea is to run left to right, blasting everything that gets in your way.
Dark Chambers, Atari 7800
Dark Chambers is a one or two-player maze/action game that was directly influenced by Dandy, in that it was originally written by John Howard Palevich – the creator Dandy – to further expand (or in this case: simplify) the concept of a multiplayer fantasy action game.
Killer Gorilla, BBC Micro
Killer Gorilla is a throwback to the bad old days when companies could get away with releasing any old crap and people would still lap it up.
That Killer Gorilla was ever sold commercially is incredible in itself; never mind the fact that it was so popular that it was re-released numerous times. In reality it was nothing more than a coding experiment made by a kid who wanted to try to replicate Nintendo‘s arcade game, Donkey Kong.
Spheres of Chaos, PC
A trippy Asteroids tribute originally released for the Acorn Archimedes in 1993, Spheres of Chaos was re-programmed and re-released free for Windows and Linux by the original author, Iain McLeod, in 2012. And it’s still available to download for free from spheresofchaos.com – at the time of writing.
Vampire: Master of Darkness, Game Gear
Let’s not beat around the bush: Vampire: Master of Darkness is a blatant rip-off of Castlevania, but it’s a good one. It was developed by SIMS Co., Ltd. and published by Sega for the Master System and Game Gear in 1992.
Secret Commando, Sega Master System
Known in North America as “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (complete with movie licensed characters), and “Ashura” in Japan. Also known as: “Not-So-Secret Commando“, since this is an unsubtle clone of Capcom‘s classic 1985 arcade game, Commando (and SNK‘s 1986 game, Ikari Warriors – since it has a simultaneous two-player mode and level designs that echo that game). Joking aside: it’s a pretty good clone of Commando, although it does play rather slowly.
Spheres of Chaos, Archimedes
Spheres of Chaos is a colourful and superbly-playable Asteroids tribute originally written for the Acorn Archimedes by Iain McLeod and Matt Black and self-published in 1993.