Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy is the first game ever released in the long-running Kirby series. It was developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo themselves in 1992.
Tag Archives: pioneering
Deathsmiles, Arcade
Deathsmiles is an infamous (and much-loved) 2007 shooter from Cave – a Japanese company known for its relatively innovative and leftfield output. Cave shooters are ‘Bullet Hell’ in overdrive…
Summer Games, Atari 8-bit
Epyx‘s classic multi-event sports sim, Summer Games, first came out on the Commodore 64, and this Atari 8-bit conversion came later.
Dandy, Atari 8-bit
Dandy is an overhead maze shooter for up to four players, created by John Palevich for the Atari Program Exchange in 1983. It is the precursor to Gauntlet, Dark Chambers, and a whole host of other games.
Ballblazer, Atari 8-bit
Another Lucasfilm Games‘ classic that originated on the 8-bit Atari, Ballblazer is a one-on-one, futuristic ball game played out on a giant checkerboard, with players inside floating hovercraft.
Boulder Dash, Atari 8-bit
Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s classic Boulder Dash was first released for the Atari 8-bit in 1984 (the Commodore 64 version came later).
Boulder Dash is one of those games that is very simple, but also very clever. Not to mention: extremely devious. In some levels, if you put a foot wrong, you’re toast and must re-start.
International Karate, Atari 8-bit
International Karate was released in 1986 by System 3 Software.
It was written by Archer MacLean and was one of the first beat ’em ups – ever – to actually feel like a decent game to play and not a ridiculous slug-fest.
Dropzone, Atari 8-bit
Archer MacLean‘s Dropzone was initially released on the Atari 8-bit machines in 1984, before it later appeared on the Commodore 64 and became a smash hit.
Mercenary, Atari 8-bit
The Atari 8-Bit version of the classic Mercenary is the original, published by Novagen in 1985.
From the opening sequence onwards you know that you are in for a special ride with Mercenary, and exploring the wireframe world of Targ (the name of the planet you’re trapped on) is a video-gaming joy – especially with the easy-to-use controls.
Pastfinder, Atari 8-bit
David Lubar‘s 1984 classic, Pastfinder, originated on Atari 8-bit home computers.
It’s a strange, vertically-scrolling shoot ’em up with strategic overtones.