Tag Archives: dexterity

Super Monkey Ball, GameCube

What can be said about Sega‘s fabulous Super Monkey Ball that hasn’t already been said before? It is a riot of colour and sound that has been bringing joy to games-players for over two decades now. The GameCube version was developed by Amusement Vision (an internal Sega dev team) and first came out in 2001. And it was a smash hit!

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Spindizzy, Amstrad CPC

I was always under the impression that Paul Shirley‘s classic Spindizzy originated on the Commodore 64 and was ported to other machines, but this interview with Shirley says that the game actually originated on the CPC and was ported to other systems. Since Paul Shirley coded the C64 version himself I had guessed that that was a logical assumption to make, but it now looks to be wrong.

The Amstrad version of Spindizzy – one of the best games ever made in my humble opinion – is pretty much perfect, with crisp, clean, detailed graphics and responsive controls.

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Spindizzy Worlds, Super Nintendo

Paul Shirley‘s superb isometric puzzle/action game, Spindizzy Worlds, translates well to the Super Nintendo, even though this conversion did not have his blessing.

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Spindizzy, Apple II

I’m not sure if it’s the game or the emulator – or something else – but controlling the spinning top-like device, GERALD, in the Apple II version of Spindizzy is like trying to navigate Cape Horn in a rowing boat in the depths of winter. It’s suicidal…

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Spindizzy, Commodore 64

In my mind: one of the best 8-bit games ever made. Spindizzy is part Marble Madness tribute; part completely original game, with you controlling a spinning top-like device, called GERALD, exploring a large, isometric game world that is suspended in space.

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Spindizzy, Atari 8-bit

Paul Shirley‘s classic isometric puzzle/adventure game, Spindizzy, originated on the Commodore 64, but is also quite excellent on the Atari 800.

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Spindizzy Worlds, Atari ST

The Atari ST version of Spindizzy is arguably the best one around.

Spindizzy Worlds, which appeared on Atari ST, Amiga and Super Nintendo in 1990 – is a more compartmentalised reworking of the original Spindizzy, with branching levels and puzzles and gem-collecting in a challenging isometric world. Well, various worlds. All themed in a particular graphical style, and each with its own set of individual problems.

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Super Monkey Ball 2, GameCube

Sega‘s brilliant Super Monkey Ball series reaches its pinnacle with this Nintendo GameCube sequel.

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