Tag Archives: Retro Gaming History

Starglider, Atari ST

The Atari ST version of Argonaut Software‘s pioneering 3D shooter, Starglider, first came out in 1986 – a year before the Amiga version (for some reason – I don’t know why).

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Typhoon Thompson in Search for the Sea Child, Atari ST

Developed by Dan Gorlin Productions and originally released for the Atari ST by Brøderbund in 1988, Typhoon Thompson in Search for the Sea Child is a simple but brilliant shooter/collect ’em up with analogue controls.

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Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II, MSX

Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II (aka just “Xanadu“) is the 1987 sequel to 1984’s Dragon Slayer. It was developed and published by Falcom in Japan only, but the game is entirely in English so is playable by non-Japanese speakers/readers.

Xanadu is an action RPG that looks and plays similarly to Falcom‘s own Ys series, with side-scrolling town and dungeon sections and overhead, real-time combat taking place on a separate screen. Xanadu was a much bigger hit than its predecessor and was released in MSX and MSX2 versions.

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Pirates!, Commodore 64

First released for the Commodore 64 by Microprose in 1987, Pirates! is a single-player, open world strategy/action game in which you play an adventurer, sailing the high seas, fighting, plundering, trading, and trying to survive the rigours of life as a seafaring captain during a brutal period of history.

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Ballblazer, Atari 5200

Lucasfilm Games‘ classic futuristic sports game, Ballblazer, was released for the Atari 5200 by Atari Corporation in 1986, and it’s a really good port.

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Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Nintendo DS

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was the third Castlevania game released for the Nintendo DS and was released by Konami in 2008. In this one you play as a member of The Order of Ecclesia – a clan dedicated to defeating Dracula.

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Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Nintendo DS

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was the second Castlevania game released for the Nintendo DS and was released by Konami in 2006. Portrait of Ruin is set in 1944, before the end of the Second World War, and Dracula‘s castle has appeared in man’s darkest hour, to push humanity over the brink into ruin.

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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Nintendo DS

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow was the first Castlevania game released for the Nintendo DS and was released by Konami in 2005. It is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow on the Game Boy Advance and continues the story of that game.

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Dungeon Master, Apple IIgs

The 1989 Apple IIgs conversion of FTL‘s Dungeon Master was created by the original developers and is therefore a perfect port of this classic Role-Playing Game. The game requires a minimum of 1MB of RAM to run, like the Amiga version, and a processor running at 2.8MHz or above makes it playable at the right speed.

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Super Chase: Criminal Termination, Arcade

Super Chase: Criminal Termination was first released into arcades by Taito in 1993, followed soon after by a Super Nintendo version called “Super Chase HQ“. It is an enhanced sequel to the classic Chase HQ, and Special Criminal Investigation, and features viewpoints that change, depending on where you are in the game, and what vehicle you’re driving. In fact, this moving camera feature has been so well implemented by the developers that it really enhances the dynamism of the exciting car-chase gameplay.

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