The 1992 Amstrad CPC version of Ocean‘s ubiquitous The Addams Family is probably the ugliest out of all the versions. The chunky pixels and small play window certainly don’t make for much to look at.
Tag Archives: cute
The Addams Family, NES/Famicom
Developed and published by Ocean Software for the NES in 1992, The Addams Family is a cute and spooky platform game based on the 1991 Paramount film of the same name, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
The NES version follows much of the standard Ocean template for most of the game and it very much has its own look and visual style, and a few unique features of its own.
The Addams Family, Sega Master System
The Sega Master System version of The Addams Family is very good. It features an interesting player character in Gomez, in this one wearing a blue suit, who can jump and climb through a complex set of levels in order to rescue his other family members.
All the while holding his hand, distinctively, in his jacket pocket…
Pengo, Game Gear
Sega‘s classic ice-pushing arcade maze game, Pengo, is well-represented on the Game Gear, with this jolly conversion by Coreland Technology (the original developer of Pengo arcade). It was first released in 1990 in Japan, and 1991 in Europe. It doesn’t look like it had a North American release.
Ranarama, Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad version of Steve Turner‘s Ranarama is every bit as good as the Spectrum original, although it is probably fair to say that it isn’t quite as colourful. It still looks good, though. And – even more importantly – it plays just as good, if not better, than the original.
Wee Ninja, Atari 8-bit
Wee Ninja is a homebrew scrolling platform game for Atari 8-bit home computers (with 32K of RAM). It was written by Paul Lay and first released by Playsoft in June 2025, to rapturous applause.
Go-Go BunnyGun, ZX Spectrum
Written by Jason J. Railton and first released in 2026, Go-Go BunnyGun is a side-scrolling shooter on the ZX Spectrum that features a bunny girl on a rocket, flying through space. With smooth, colourful graphics and compelling gameplay, Go-Go BunnyGun is another great “Modern Retro” release.
Chuckie Egg 3, PC
Chuckie Egg 3 is a homebrew sequel to the classic Chuckie Egg Spectrum games (Chuckie Egg and Chuckie Egg 2) by A’N’F Software. It was written by Richard Langford and first released in 2026. It can be played either with modern graphics, or with Spectrum graphics.
Viva Mortis, PC
Released in 2015 by author Adam Strange, Viva Mortis is a brilliant tribute to the classic isometric Ultimate games.
Ghosts ‘N Demons, PC
Written by BonusJZ and first released in 2016, Ghosts ‘N Demons is an amazing homebrew tribute to Capcom‘s Ghouls ‘N Ghosts arcade game. It’s actually an unofficial remake of the original “Makaimura” for the WonderSwan handheld gaming console, which goes some way to explaining the game’s weirdly small screen size.
