The Japanese Megadrive release of Marble Madness is completely different to the North American and European release of the game and was developed and published by Tengen in 1993. It is far superior to the Western Megadrive/Genesis release and is more authentic to the arcade original. In fact: it is very, very close to the arcade game, in terms of graphics, sound and gameplay. If you didn’t know that the Japanese version of the game was different, I’d recommend checking it out as it may shock you to find out how good it is…
Tag Archives: isometric
Marble Madness, Megadrive/Genesis
Did you know that there are two completely different versions of Marble Madness on the Megadrive/Genesis? The European Megadrive and North American Genesis versions of Marble Madness were published by Electronic Arts in 1991. They were coded by Michael Schwartz, with sound and music by Steve Hayes, and while they’re excellent ports of the classic arcade game, they’re nowhere near as good as the superior Japanese version, which is a completely different game.
Marble Madness, NES
The NES conversion of Marble Madness was developed by Rare and published by Milton Bradley, in North America and Europe, in 1989. I don’t think the game was ever released in Japan, though. And it’s a very good port, with some small enhancements and decent controls and playability.
Marble Madness, Amiga
The Amiga version of Atari Games‘ classic arcade game, Marble Madness, was converted by Larry Reed and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. It is one of those relatively early 16-bit ports that is a little rough around the edges, presentation-wise, but plays perfectly well.
Chimera, Commodore 64
Set on an uninhabited spaceship, Chimera is an isometric adventure/puzzle game where you control a robot* that must destroy the ship before it crashes into Earth. The game was written by Shahid Ahmad and published by Firebird in 1985. The music is by Rob Hubbard.
*= The player character looks like a robot, but does in fact require food and water to survive, so there’s a bit of a contradiction going on in the story, as far as who or what the player actually is.
Marble Madness, Sega Master System
The Sega Master System version of Atari‘s Marble Madness was programmed by Steve Lamb and published by Tengen in 1992 and it is a relatively decent port overall.
Paperboy, Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 version of Paperboy is one of the few full-3D remakes of the game. Everything in it has been changed and turned into 3D – the streets, the characters, and the gameplay. The game was developed by High Voltage Software and first published by Midway in 1999.
Paperboy, Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color version of Paperboy was converted by Digital Eclipse and published by Midway Games in 1999, and it is a playable, enjoyable version of the game.
Paperboy, Megadrive/Genesis
The Megadrive/Genesis port of the classic Paperboy arcade game is probably the best conversion of the game available. Outside of the arcade original – or anything else that can emulate it perfectly – the Megadrive version comes a close second. Paperboy was first released for the Megadrive/Genesis by Tengen in 1991 and was ported by British company Motivetime Ltd.
Paperboy, Game Gear
The 1991 Game Gear version of Paperboy looks and plays somewhat similar to the Sega Master System version, which is no bad thing because the Master System version is one of the best conversions of Paperboy around.
The King of Grabs 