Tag Archives: Sprites

Aleste, Sega Master System

Japanese developer Compile – who made Aleste – has a history of producing classic shoot ’em ups. This one was released for the Sega Master System in 1988.

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Kirby’s Adventure, NES

Kirby’s Adventure is the second game in the Kirby series (after Kirby’s Dream Land on the Game Boy), and – boy – doesn’t it look good in colour?

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Kirby’s Dream Land, Game Boy

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.

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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…

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Dark Chambers, Atari 8-bit

Dark Chambers is an overhead maze shooter in the style of Gauntlet. That said: it is actually a direct descendent of Dandy – another overhead maze game written by John Howard Palevich and also an influence on the design of Gauntlet.

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Rainbow Walker, Atari 8-bit

Steve Coleman‘s Rainbow Walker was first published by Synapse Software in 1983.

It is an unusual, pseudo 3D platform game with a curved track of grey tiles, each of which you (a small, blobby character called Cedrick) have to step on in order to turn into coloured tiles. The aim being: to turn the entire track into a rainbow, by standing on every tile.

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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.

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Fort Apocalypse, Atari 8-bit

Steve Hales‘ superb Fort Apocalypse is a classic American video game that originated on Atari 8-bit home computers in 1982.

The game is a multi-directional, scrolling shooter where you control a helicopter flying around a series of underground caverns looking for men to rescue.

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Jumpman, Atari 8-bit

Randy Glover‘s classic platform game, Jumpman, was originally developed for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and first published by Epyx in 1983.

The original game features 30 different levels (ten each on Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced skill settings), with the aim being to run and jump your way through the maze of platforms, ropes, and ladders, and to defuse all the bombs by touching them.

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Cybernoid, NES

This console conversion of Raffaele Cecco‘s Cybernoid was released by Acclaim Entertainment in 1989.

It is just as difficult and frustrating as the original, if not more so.

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