Alien 8 is a classic isometric platform puzzle game that was released by Ultimate Play the Game on four formats – ZX Spectrum (the original), BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, and MSX.
The BBC Micro conversion of Alien 8 has responsive controls and runs slightly faster than the original Spectrum version. It still suffers from slowdown when there are a number of moving objects on screen at once.
This 2019 Commodore 64 homebrew conversion of the classic Knight Lore is arguably even better than the brilliant ZX Spectrum original. Spectrum owners will not want to hear that, but – being objective – this port does make the game more enjoyable to play. I also managed to get further into the game than I ever managed on the Spectrum, although I did use quick saves (but no cheats).
The second Gradius/Nemesis sequel developed and released exclusively for the MSX by Konami, Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction is another great ‘bullet hell’ progressive weapons shooter that really shows what the MSX is capable of.
Gradius 2 (aka Nemesis 2) is a sequel to the classic Gradius/Nemesis and was published for the MSX in 1987. This game is, however, unrelated to the actual arcade game sequel, Gradius II, and is a separate game in its own right in the Gradius/Nemesis series.
Gradius – also known as Nemesis in some regions – was one of the first progressive weapons shooters to come out in arcades, and it was a big hit in 1985 when it was first released.
This led to the game being converted to many home computer systems, including the MSX, which was programmed by Konami themselves. So the game is unsurprisingly very good; very authentic, and with graphics and gameplay that push the MSX quite hard (I wouldn’t say “to its limits”, because I’m not a marketing a-hole, but it does push first-generation MSXes a fair degree).
The BBC Micro conversion of Ultimate‘s classic Jet Pac looks pretty chunky, graphics-wise, but plays well enough.
The ZX Spectrum version was smash hit when it was first released in 1983, and all the other conversions seem to lack the charm of the original. This one is no exception.
LISTS: as decided by The King of Grabs, in order of greatness:
Taito‘s classic 1986 arcade hit, Bubble Bobble, has been converted to pretty much every format on the planet. We played through them all recently and have compiled a list of the best. Click a link to view each conversion individually. Do you agree with our choices? Let us know in the comments.
1. Sega Saturn (1996)
2. Nintendo DS (2005)
3. Game Boy Advance (2003)
4. X68000 (1990)
5. FM Towns (1990)
6. Sega Master System (1988)
7. NES/Famicom Disk System (1987)
8. PC MS-DOS (1989)
9. Atari ST (1989)
10. Amiga (1989)
See also:
MSX (1987)
Commodore 64 (1988)
ZX Spectrum (1987)
Amstrad CPC (1987)
Game Gear (1994)
Game Boy Color (1999)
Game Boy (1991)
BBC Micro (1989)
Apple II (1988)
See also: BB4CPC (2014) on the Amstrad CPC and Super Bubble Bobble MD (1995) on the Megadrive/Genesis.
Did we miss any official conversions of Bubble Bobble? Please let us know in the comments.
In memory of Fukio Mitsuji (1960-2008), the designer of the great Bubble Bobble.
More: Bubble Bobble on Wikipedia
The Atari 2600 conversion of the classic arcade game, Frogger, was programmed by Ed English and published by Parker Brothers in 1982.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is an expanded version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (which was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001). Substance was released for the XBox by Konami in 2002.
It’s the fourth Metal Gear game co-written and designed by Hideo Koijima and the seventh game in the series as a whole.
Metal Gear Solid is an award-winning tactical espionage action game focusing on stealth gameplay and it was first released by Konami in 1998. It was directed, produced and written by Hideo Koijima and follows on from the MSX games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.
You play as codename “Solid Snake“, a legendary American soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility in order to neutralise a terrorist threat who are threatening a nuclear strike on The White House. Snake must sneak around, liberate hostages and stop the terrorists from launching the strike, all the while avoiding enemy contact as much as possible and gathering information about the situation.
