Nodes of Yesod is a platform exploration game created by Liverpool-based Odin Computer Graphics and first published for the ZX Spectrum in 1985.
At the time it was a critical hit – mostly because the presentation is top notch – but playing the game now you really have to wonder what all the fuss was about, because it really is one of the most frustrating Spectrum games ever made…
Robert and Trevor Figgins‘ isometric action/puzzle game, Bobby Bearing, originated on the ZX Spectrum but is arguably slightly better on the Amstrad CPC.
The game features the titular character, Bobby, who is a smiling ball bearing who can roll around, fit through holes, push things, and… erm, not much else. He does have character, though.
In my review of Software Projects‘ Commodore 64 interpretation of Dragon’s Lair I ended by saying that this game – Escape From Singe’s Castle – was a “much better” sequel to that game. Which is only partially true. It’s pretty much the same kind of thing as Dragon’s Lair, only with slightly better minigames and slightly better graphics. So “much better” is probably pushing it…
This 8-bit interpretation of the much-loved laserdisc arcade game was developed and published by Software Projects in 1986 and it is an exercise in frustration from start to finish.
Dragon’s Lair is actually a conversion of a Coleco Adam game that was published at the tail end of 1984. Software Projects acquired the license to convert it to home systems in the UK and made two games out of it.
The sequel to Raffaele Cecco‘s 1987 Spectrum hit Cybernoid is more of the same devilishly difficult flick-screen shooting fun.
Zybex is a 1988 shoot ’em up from British developer/publisher Zeppelin Games. It’s a horizontally-scrolling progressive weapons blaster with a main character that looks a bit like the jetpack guy from Dropzone.
Created by Jose Pereira, Miker, and Mariuszw in 2016, this Atari -8-bit homebrew conversion of Ultimate‘s Pentagram is not a bad effort overall. It seems to run slightly faster than the ZX Spectrum original, although it’s probably fair to say that it also inherits its shortcomings.
An Atari 8-bit homebrew conversion of Ultimate‘s classic Spectrum shooter, Lunar Jetman, made by Fandal and Irgendwer in 2014, that is even more frustrating to play than the original…
Another Retrospec remake of a classic Ultimate game. This time: Lunar Jetman. This one was released in 2002 and unfortunately is another flawed piece of software.
***CANNED GAME***
There is a story behind the Commodore 64 conversion of Bubbler, but to condense it into just a few sentences: the game was being converted in 1987 by an intermediary company for Ultimate, called Lynsoft, but was canned before release because it wasn’t fast enough.
The King of Grabs 