Century Electronics UK‘s Hunchback is apparently NOT loosely based on the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as many have speculated. But since it features Quasimodo running from left to right over a castle rampart, trying to rescue Esmeralda from a tower at the end, that is an easy assumption to make.
Tag Archives: platform game
The Goonies, Commodore 64
Released the same year as Richard Donner‘s classic adventure comedy film of the same name, The Goonies by Datasoft is a multi-screen action adventure game for one or two players.
Gargoyle’s Quest II, NES
The sequel to the intriguing Game Boy game, Gargoyle’s Quest, was first released on the Nintendo Famicom in 1992 by Capcom. It is another spin-off from the successful Ghosts ‘N Goblins series.
Again, you play as Firebrand – the winged demon from Ghosts ‘N Goblins (and Ghouls ‘N Ghosts) – and again it features platforming action, with an interesting ‘fly-and-float’ mechanic.
Gargoyle’s Quest, Game Boy
This interesting 1990 action adventure platform game is a spin-off from the classic arcade game Ghosts ‘N Goblins.
It features the flying demon character (called Firebrand in English language versions and Red Arremer in the original Japanese version) in the lead role, and who was first seen as an enemy in the Ghosts ‘N Goblins arcade game. That, in itself is quite unusual – getting to play a baddie from an earlier game in a later sequel, and this game is more than just a simple platform game.
Turrican, Commodore 64
Turrican was written by German coder Manfred Trenz and was first published for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts in 1990. It is a scrolling platform shooter that has similarities to Nintendo‘s Metroid series of games, and also owes a lot to the obscure Data East arcade game Psycho-Nics Oscar.
Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake, Super Nintendo
Also known (in English) as: “Go for it! Goemon: The Twinkling Journey – The Reason I Became a Dancer“, this fourth instalment of the much-loved Goemon [Super Nintendo] series is about as crazy, challenging and fun as a video game can be.
Many feel that this final Goemon game on the Super Nintendo is the best in the series, so it’s great that it’s finally been given an (unofficial) English translation. The game follows the same pattern as previously, with isometric exploration sections, interspersed with side-scrolling platform/action sections.
Continue reading Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake, Super Nintendo
Toki, NES
Toki is a conversion of the 1989 arcade game by Tad Corporation and it features a jumping ape who can spit bullets at his enemies. It’s a platform game with relatively short levels and occasional boss fights, and it is known for its rock-hard difficulty.
Toki: Going Ape Spit, Megadrive/Genesis
This 1991 Sega Megadrive conversion of Toki is only loosely-based on the original 1989 arcade game, which is good because the original was much too hard to be fun, and this is more playable.
Pac-Land, Atari Lynx
Pac-Land on the Atari Lynx is a rather excellent conversion of Namco‘s classic 1984 arcade game of the same name. It features pretty much all the good things about the influential coin-op, including the cute, colourful graphics, smooth scrolling, and challenging gameplay.
Dinolympics, Atari Lynx
Also known as The Humans, Dinolympics is the Americanised title of this original puzzle game, developed by Imagitech Design and released on the Atari Lynx in 1992.
The King of Grabs 