Tag Archives: pioneering

Konami, Sega Saturn

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Sega Saturn

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Konami‘s brilliant PlayStation game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was released for the Sega Saturn in 1998, but it was only ever released in Japan (under the title “Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku“). Thankfully, an English translation patch is available to make the game playable to those who can’t read Japanese. The patch – created by ‘Knight of Dragon’ – also features numerous bug fixes and improvements.

For those who’ve never played Symphony of the Night before: it is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood and is rightly regarded as one of the best Castlevania games in the long-running series (if not THE best).

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Arcade, Konami

Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Arcade

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Alongside Karate Champ, Konami‘s Yie Ar Kung-Fu had a profound effect on the beat ’em up genre and could be said to have contributed greatly to the establishment of modern fighting games. It was given a limited release in Japanese arcades in 1984 and was later rolled-out more widely – and internationally – in 1985.

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Activision, Game Boy Advance, id Software, Torus Games Pty. Ltd.

Doom II, Game Boy Advance

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The Game Boy Advance port of id Software‘s classic first-person shooter sequel, Doom II, was developed by Torus Games and first published by Activision in 2002. Unlike the first Doom on the GBA this port doesn’t use the original Doom engine, but instead uses the Southpaw Engine, that was designed for native use on the GBA and has been used in a number of other games. Torus Games had to therefore recreate all the levels from scratch for this port, and I have to say that they did a great job.

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Activision, David A. Palmer Productions, Game Boy Advance, id Software

Doom, Game Boy Advance

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The Game Boy Advance version of Doom was developed by David A. Palmer Productions and published by Activision in 2001. It is a playable and enjoyable version of id Software‘s shooter classic on Nintendo‘s capable handheld.

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Commodore 64, Graftgold, Hewson, Homebrew

Paradroid Redux, Commodore 64

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Paradroid Redux is a fan-tweaked version of Andrew Braybrook‘s classic Commodore 64 shooter, Paradroid. The Redux version includes bug-fixes, enhancements and additions, and runs faster and smoother than any other Paradroid version that preceded it. It also includes all of the three previous versions of Paradroid in one package.

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Commodore 64, Graftgold, Hewson

Paradroid, Commodore 64

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I’ve already covered the re-made “Paradroid Metal Edition” on this website, but haven’t yet featured the original Paradroid – the highly-rated scrolling action game designed and programmed by Andrew Braybrook and published for the Commodore 64 by Hewson Consultants in 1985.

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Super Nintendo, Taito

Cameltry, Super Nintendo

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Cameltry is a simple-but-absorbing gravity game where you rotate the landscape around in order to make a ball fall through a maze – eventually reaching the goal. The quicker you complete a level the more chance you have of extra time being added to your next round.

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Firebird, Software Creations, ZX Spectrum

The Sentinel, ZX Spectrum

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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.

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Arcade, Taito

Cameltry, Arcade

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Also known as “On The Ball” in some English-speaking regions, Cameltry is a game where you have to drop a ball through a rotating maze to reach a goal area within a time limit. It was first distributed into arcades by Taito in 1989.

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Konami, X68000

Akumajō Dracula, X68000

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The 1993 Sharp X68000 version of “Akumajō Dracula” is arguably the best version of the first Castlevania game available, with improved graphics and sound, and redesigned gameplay to accomodate new and more dramatic situations.

Also known as “Vampire Killer” in Europe; also known as “Castlevania” in North America; but known in its native Japan as “Akumajō Dracula“, this is an updated remake of the first game in the Castlevania series. And it is known for being two things: 1. REALLY GOOD, and 2. REALLY HARD!

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