Released exclusively for the Game Gear – in Japan only – by Sega in 1992, Phantasy Star Adventure is a spin-off from the main Phantasy Star series and is a kind of RPG/adventure controlled with a simple menu system. A fan translation into English makes it playable to non Japanese speakers.
Tag Archives: puzzles
Ranarama, Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad version of Steve Turner‘s Ranarama is every bit as good as the Spectrum original, although it is probably fair to say that it isn’t quite as colourful. It still looks good, though. And – even more importantly – it plays just as good, if not better, than the original.
Spindizzy, ZX Spectrum
Originating on the Amstrad CPC, Spindizzy is a genius piece of coding and game design. It is an isometric exploration game, where you play as a spinning gyroscope (called GERALD) trying to collect gems across a large map of screens. It was designed by Paul Shirley, and the Spectrum port was handled by Phil Churchyard. Spindizzy on the Spectrum was published by Electric Dreams in 1986.
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil Remastered, PC
The second Turok was again remastered by Nightdive Studios and re-published by Atari in 2017. The original Turok 2: Seeds of Evil was released in 1998 for N64 and Windows.
Impossible Mission, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Dennis Caswell‘s classic platform/puzzle game, Impossible Mission, was first published in 1985 by US Gold. It is an okay adaptation. Playable, but nothing special.
Impossible Mission, Amstrad CPC
Another decent conversion of a classic game to the Amstrad. Impossible Mission was developed by Epyx and published by US Gold in 1986.
Noobow, Game Boy
Developed and published exclusively for the original black and white Game Boy by Irem in 1992, Noobow (aka Nōbow) is a cute platform/puzzle game that was only ever released in Japan. Thankfully, a fan translation patch makes this game playable to non Japanese-speakers.
Batman: Arkham Asylum, PC
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an award-winning action game based on the DC Comics character, Batman. It was developed by London-based Rocksteady Studios and published in 2009 by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Eidos Interactive, for PC, PS3, PS4, XBox 360, XBox One, Mac OS X and Nintendo Switch.
Cadaver, Amiga
Created by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works in 1990, Cadaver is an isometric platform/action game with puzzle elements, but with Dan Malone‘s distinctive artwork adorning it. We’re looking at the Amiga version here today, but it also came out for the Atari ST and PC MS-DOS.
Illusion of Gaia, Super Nintendo
Developed by Quintet and published by Enix in Japan in 1993, and by Nintendo, everywhere else, in 1994 and ’95. The later ‘Westernised‘ version was censored in places, but there are some good fan-patches of the uncut Japanese version available in English.
