The Commodore 64 version of Marble Madness was developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. It has something unique that most other Marble Madness conversions don’t have, which is: a secret extra level that is accessible from the first stage. It also has the two player mode from the arcade original, where both marbles can race to the goal simultaneously.
Tag Archives: Non-violent
Marble Madness, Megadrive
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…
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.
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.
The Sentinel, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Geoff Crammond‘s classic puzzle game, The Sentinel, was ported by Software Creations (with assistance from Mr. Crammond himself) and published by Firebird Software in 1987.
The Sentinel, PC
Geoff Crammond‘s classic weird puzzle game, The Sentinel (also known as The Sentry in North America), was released by Firebird Software for PC MS-DOS in 1989.
Mr. Wimpy, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 version of Ocean Software‘s Mr. Wimpy was programmed by David Selwood and was first published in 1984. And unfortunately this simple BurgerTime rip-off has a similar problem to the terrible BBC Micro version, although this time it’s an issue getting on to ladders – not off of them (which is a big problem in the BBC version). In the C64 version you’ll lose lives unnecessarily, because the fast-moving enemies will often get you while you’re struggling to line yourself up to climb a ladder. Which can be hugely frustrating. It’s not quite as bad as the BBC version, but it’s still a tangible problem with the controls.
Mr. Wimpy, BBC Micro
The BBC Micro conversion of Ocean Software‘s infamous BurgerTime rip-off, Mr. Wimpy, was coded by Richard Kay and first released in 1984. And – without any hesitation – I can say that it is absolutely terrible.