History of Platformers on Western Home Computer Game Machines
This is a chronological index of some notable 8, 16 and 32 bit platform games that I have currently covered in overviews and reviews. Only platform games that appeared on Western home computer game machines are indexed.
Platform games can also be referred to as platformers or run-and-jump (and/or shoot) games. Thus, some run and gun games are indexed if they feature platforming.
As of 2025, Lilura1 has formally covered 26 pre-1989 platform games, 12 of 1989, 16 of 1990, 11 of 1991, 11 of 1992, 13 of 1993, 10 of 1994 and seven of post-1994.
Computer Platform Game Technical Evolution
- Fixed-screen
- Flip-screen contiguous
- One-way vertical or horizontal scroller
- Bi-directional vertical or horizontal scroller
- Multi-directional variable-rate parallax super-scroller
Color Depth & Resolution
The main display-types with which we are concerned:
- 4-color CGA 320x200 (IBM PC)
- 16-color 160x200 (Commodore 64)
- 16-from-64 color EGA 320x200 (IBM PC)
- 16-from-512/4096 color 320x200 (Atari ST/Amiga 500)
- 32-from-4096 color Full PAL overscan 320x256 (Amiga 500)
- 64-from-4096 color Extra half-brite 320x256 (Amiga 500)
- 600+-from-4096 color 320x256 (Amiga 500 copper)
- 256-from-262,144 color VGA 320x200 (IBM PC)
- 256-color square-pixel VGA 320x240 (IBM PC)
- 256-from-16,777,216 color AGA 320x200/256 (Amiga AGA)
The Scroll & The Gradient
Commodore 64 VIC II and Amiga per-pixel hardware scrolling enabled the super-scrolling computer platform game. The C64 first super-scrolled multi-directionally at 50 FPS in 1985, the Amiga in 1989.
The Amiga was the King of parallax scrolling and color gradients (via copper) from 1989 to 1995. From the late 80s to the mid 90s 386/486 VGA did not come close to the Amiga in terms of parallax or color gradients. VGA almost never transitioned gradients in real-time and usually shied away from more than one layer of parallax whereas the Amiga was transitioning gradients by 1990 and powering 13 parallax layers by 1989, at 50 FPS. On top of that, the Amiga was scrolling animated backdrops. And I'm not talking about Neochrome color-cycling, I'm taking about big chunks of the screen moving independently, even as the screen scrolled. And yet the game does not drop a single frame.
At least 20 good platform games of the early 90s could be cited whose VGA version lacked the parallax and/or gradients of the Amiga version. In addition, there are at least 20 good Amiga platform games of the early-to-mid 90s that were not even attempted on VGA.
However, by 1994 486DX2 VLB platform games began to beat Amiga variants via better, bigger-budget ports and king-tier PC-exclusives, but not even those could outweigh the Amiga platform game catalogue that stretched back to 1988. Thus, as with shoot 'em ups, PC VGA did not dethrone the Amiga in platform games within a historically-relevant time-frame; that is, one that counted; when the competition was still hot.
On the other hand, the Amiga most certainly unseated the C64 in platform games by 1990, yet the Amiga never truly unseated the C64 in shoot 'em ups.
Articulated Animations
Most character designs and animations in platform games are decidedly cartoon-like or otherwise stylistic, but some platform games featured fluidly-animated and realistic rotoscoped sprites by 1989.
Platform games featuring borderline cartoon-quality character designs with complex articulated animations started appearing in 1994, following the roaring success of early-90s LucasArts adventure games and the animated feature films of Disney.
To be clear, I'm not talking about cutscenes or the odd set-piece: I'm talking about actual controllable sprites that approximate cartoon-quality in terms of complexity of animation. I'm talking about platform games whose baseline animations approximate actual cartoons. Thus, the animations that are tied to the inputs of running, jumping and firing weapons are borderline cartoon-quality; they are executed seamlessly in normal gameplay. LucasArts pioneered this in 1993 -- and indeed maxed it out on VGA by 1995 -- but only in adventure games. Still, it was a huge achievement and just more proof of LucasArts' greatness.
Actual cartoon-quality character designs and animations first appeared in 1989-90 via Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, but they were mere cinematizations almost without gameplay, a far cry from adventure games let alone platform games.
Proving Points
In 1988 German coders proved that the C64 of 1982 could have handled Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. I-III of 1985-1988. And in 1991 the Germans proved that the Amiga 500 of 1987 could have handled a port of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog of 1991. By 1993 the Amiga had hosted half a dozen Sonic-likes. None of them were Sonic-beaters per se but it would be ignorance at best to overlook such efforts, which were technically impressive.
Naturally, the Amiga 1000 of 1985 could have easily handled Super Mario Bros. I-III of 1985-88. The Amiga 1000 could have displayed Super Mario Bros. I-III in 16-from-4096 colors at 320x200 -- with much better audio and smoother screen-scrolling and sprite-shifting than NES Mario I-III. In addition, Mario would have played better with micro-switch joysticks.
Indeed, the Amiga 1200 of 1992 could have handled a port of Nintendo's Yoshi's Island of 1995. The A1200 was clocked at 14 MHz, had 2 megs of RAM and displayed in 256-color 320x256. The A500 was generating SNES-like Mode 7 effects before the SNES came out. In addition, the IBM PC could have handled a port of Yoshi's Island in 1995 via Pentium CPU, 16 megs of RAM and square-pixel VGA 320x240.
What makes Genesis Sonic graphically superior to the best Sonic-likes on Amiga is the sophistication of Sega's art direction. In addition, it is important to bear in mind that Sega designed not only Sonic but also the console hardware that hosts Sonic whereas Amiga super-scrollers were essentially honed over time by third-parties, from 1989 to 1995.
Platform Game Types
That said, there are many different kinds of platform games, not just Mario-likes and Sonic-likes. For starters, consider Taito's 2-player coop platformers. And consider also the puzzle platformer, the cinematic platformer, the run and gun platformer and the slower-paced "Thinking Man's" platformer.
Platform game mechanics and themes differ greatly. Not all platformers feature constant bouncing around or high-speed movement. And not all platformers feature bright colors, funny sound effects and happy tunes: some platform games are grim, spartan and/or haunting in terms of theme and audiovisuals.
Finally, the ability to jump does not define platform games. Consider a game that focuses on moving platforms or platforms that appear and disappear, but allows for no jumping at all -- it's still a platform game. Also, games that feature ladders that lead to platforms can be categorized as platform games.
Platform games have traditionally pushed custom chipsets harder than most other genre; in terms of coding prowess, they are a proving ground. Some of the very best PC, C64 and Amiga coders, graphicians and composers of the 80s and 90s were involved in the development of platform games.
Early Platform Games
Miner 2049er Atari 8 Bit 1982
Big Five Software of the U.S.A. released Miner 2049er for the Atari 8 Bits in December of 1982. Miner 2049er was originally developed by Bill Hogue for the Atari 8 Bits whereas the Commodore 64 port of 1983 was programmed by Frank G. of Reston Software.
Miner 2049er is a puzzle platform game that consists of 10 fixed-screen, time-limited stages. In Miner 2049er players control a Mountie by the name of Bounty Bob who is exploring a series of mine stations in search of wanted crook, Yukon Yohan.
The object of Miner 2049er is to survey each mine station by moving Bounty Bob along its platforms. The platform frameworks become flood-filled as Bounty Bob moves over them, indicating that they have been surveyed. The object of each stage is to quite literally fill-in every framework tile by stepping Bounty Bob onto each and every piece of framework tile. However, the inclusion of a time-limit, of obstacles and of hazards make satisfying that objective much more difficult than it at first seems.
Bounty Bob can move sideways, jump straight up and diagonally across, and climb up and down ladders. The controls and collision detection are practically perfect; the hardware of the Atari 8 Bit being perfectly suited for such gameplay mechanics.
Bounty Bob can also employ transporter, lift and cannon. The mine stations are infested with mutating aliens that can only be vanquished by first collecting lost mining equipment.
In order, the Miner 2049er stages are Mine Shaft, Slides, Transporters, Lillipads, Advanced Lillipads, Radioactive Waste, Advanced Transporters, Lift, Pulverizers and Cannon. Each stage presents its own unique challenges.
Each framework tile filled in awards 5 points whereas vanquishing aliens awards 90 points and collecting possessions awards 100-1100 points.
Miner 2049er is yet another example of Big Five Software pioneering in home computer games. Miner 2049er would not have been out of place at the arcade parlor in 1982.
Lode Runner Commodore 64 1983
Brøderbund of the U.S.A. released Lode Runner for the Commodore 64 in 1983. C64 Lode Runner was ported from Brøderbund's Apple II-original Lode Runner, also of 1983. C64 Lode Runner was developed by Doug Smith and Dane Bigham. Lode Runner was influenced by Universal's Space Panic coinop of 1980 and came out in the same year as Universal's follow-up to Space Manic, Mr. Do's Castle.
Lode Runner is a fixed-screen puzzle-platform game presented in side-on perspective.
In Lode Runner players control a Galactic Commando that has undertaken to raid the underground treasury of the Bungeling Empire and reclaim the stolen treasure.
The object of Lode Runner is to collect all of the treasure chests while avoiding the Bungeling guards. After all of the treasure is collected, the commando must make his way to a ladder that appears at the top of the stage.
The commando can run sideways, drill terrain, climb up and down ladders, drop down from ladders, collect treasure, and move hand-over-hand across horizontal bars. The commando cannot jump, climb out of pits or drill through bedrock. Guards can climb out of pits and perform most of the commando's actions as well, but they cannot jump or drill.
The commando is armed with a Laser Drill Pistol that can drill through blocks of terrain to form pits and passageways. Only brick can be drilled, not bedrock. Drilled brick regenerates over time. The commando can only drill downward, not upward. In addition, the commando can only drill bricks that are adjacent to his position, not directly downward. Guards can be temporarily trapped in pits that were drilled by the commando. A trapped guard effectively becomes a bridge that extends across a pit or mine shaft. A guard that has been trapped will drop a unit of treasure if he is holding it.
C64 Load Runner consists of 150 stages. Players may also create their own "game boards" via the Lode Runner editor.
C64 Lode Runner blocks include drillable brick, non-drillable bedrock, ladder, hand-over-hand bar, trapdoor and chest.
250 points are awarded per treasure unit collected. The commando has five lives and is awarded an extra life upon completion of each stage.
Lode Runner's stick-figure sprites are well-animated and its controls and collision detection are accurate.
Pitfall! Commodore 64 1983
In 1983 Firebird / Activision released the Commodore 64 port of David Crane's Atari 2600 Pitfall! of 1982. Pitfall! was originally designed and programmed by David Crane for the Atari 2600.
Pitfall! is a bi-directional flip-screen platform game, not a scroller.
In Pitfall! players control Pitfall Harry, a jungle-explorer and treasure-hunter. Harry can run sideways, jump, swing from vines and climb up and down ladders. Harry moves both overground and underground as he explores the jungle. From run-cycle to vine-swining to ladder-climbing the sprite representing Harry is smoothly animated. Vine-swining over hazards such as pits of quicksand is one of the highlights of Pitfall!, but the depth of Pitfall! rests on discovering the most lucrative path to take through the jungle.
The object of Pitfall! is to accrue as many points as possible by finding and collecting as much treasure as possible within a 20 minute time limit. Players start with 2,000 points.
Pitfall! collectable treasures include money bag, silver bar, gold bar and diamond ring. 2,000-5,000 points are awarded for each treasure collected, but points are deducted for falling down pits and getting hit by rolling logs. All in all, 32 instances of treasure can be found in the adventure.
Some hazards do not deduct points, but cause life-loss. Harry has three lives. It is vital to time actions accurately in order to avoid lethal and point-reducing hazards. The maximum score achieveable in 20 minutes of Pitfall! play is 114,000 points.
Donkey Kong Commodore 64 1983
Atarisoft of the U.S.A. ported Nintendo's Donkey Kong coinop of 1981 to Commodore 64 in 1983. Developed by Atarisoft, 1983 C64 Donkey Kong was programmed by Douglas D. Dragin.
Simply put, Donkey Kong is a fixed-screen platform game that employs ladders, platforms and moving hazards. Donkey Kong stage layouts evoke scaffolding/cranes at construction sites and factory assembly lines.
In Donkey Kong players control the carpenter, Mario, as he undertakes to rescue a lady that has been kidnapped by Donkey Kong, a gorilla that evokes King Kong. The lady is being held prisoner by Donkey Kong at the top of the screen, but Mario begins each stage at the bottom of the screen. Thus, the object of each stage is reach the top of the screen by running, jumping and climbing ladders, all the while avoiding hazards and avoiding or vanquishing monsters.
Mario can run sideways, jump, back-jump, run-jump, climb up and down ladders, remove rivets and wield a hammer against the monsters if he collects the hammer pick-up.
Donkey Kong pick-ups include rivets, hammer and bonus clock as well as the lady's hat, purse and umbrella. Donkey Kong hazards include elevators, conveyor belts, rolling barrels, piles of sand, springs and fireballs.
In Donkey Kong removing rivets and collecting, hammering or jumping over objects yields bonus points.
The original Nintendo Donkey Kong coinop of 1981 was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Mario Bros. Commodore 64 1984
Gregg A. Tavares of Atari Inc. of the U.S.A. ported Nintendo R&D1's Mario Bros. coinop of 1983 to Commodore 64 in 1984.
1984 C64 Mario Bros. supports single-player or 2-player simultaneous play.
In Mario Bros. players control plumbers Mario or Luigi on fixed-screen wrap-around playfields made up of platforms. Mario/Luigi can run sideways, jump and punch platform undersides or limited-use POW blocks that knock monsters into the air and cause them to flip over and land on their "heads", immobilized for an interval in an inverted state. Likewise, monsters can be flipped back onto their "feet" in the same manner. Immobilized monsters can be vanquished by kicking them or jumping on them, which causes a coin to appear that can be collected by running over it or punching the POW block. Monsters that re-mobilize of their own accord change color and move faster.
Directional jumps can only be performed when moving. In addition, mid-air adjustments are not possible. Moreover, inertia is employed for basic movement; that is, stopping or switching direction is not immediate.
The object of each of the 25 (effectively) time-limited stages is to vanquish all foes while avoiding contact with them. Monsters come out of pipes at the top of the screen and make their way to the bottom, where pipes transport them back to the top (assuming they were not dealt with). Up to about eight monsters are displayed on-screen simultaneously.
Mario Bros. monsters include the turtle-like Shellcreeper, the crab-like Sidestepper, the Fighter Fly and the Slip-ice. The Shellcraper is conventional, the Sidesteeper needs to be dealt with twice, the Fighter Fly can only be dealt with when it lands, and the Slip-ice does not need to be flipped but respawns after being popped.
1984 C64 Mario Bros. features five difficulty levels and four time-limited bonus stages in which Mario/Luigi collect coins. Impressively, the coins glint, rotate and turn into $ signs when collected.
Nintendo's Mario Bros. coinop was composed by Yukio Kaneoka and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi.
Jumpman Commodore 64 1983
Epyx of the U.S.A. released Jumpman for the Apple 2, Atari 8 Bits and Commodore 64 in 1983. Inspired by Nintendo's Donkey Kong of 1981, Jumpman was designed, programmed, drawn and composed by Randy Glover.
In Jumpman the player assumes the role of secret agent Jupiter Jumpman as he undertakes to save the three skyscrapers of Jupiter H.Q. from the invading Alienators that seek to destroy them with explosives.
Jumpman can run sideways, climb up and down ladders and jump straight up and diagonally across. Jumpman can also jump from and to ladders. Oddly, many subsequent platform games did not feature such a simple, natural and logical maneuver; instead, one had to first position the character at the base or top of the ladder before climbing up or down the ladder. Jumpman also features climbable ropes.
Jumpman generally wields no weapon; he can only avoid the Alienators, not engage them. However, on at least one stage Jumpman becomes a gunfighter; the ability to jump subbed out for the ability to fire a gun.
Jumpman features eight speed levels, five skill levels and 30 fixed-screen stages of platforming action. Each stage represents one floor of a skyscraper. The object of each stage of Jumpman is to disarm the bombs that the Alienators have planted about the platforms while avoiding the Alienators and their firepower. Disarming bombs is simply a matter of collecting them by running over them. Disarming bombs can activate aliens and cause ladders and girders to disappear.
Jumpman hazards include moving Alienators, projectiles, rockets, falling bombs, falling from platforms and falling off the edge of the screen aka skyscraper. Falling from platforms causes Jumpman to tumble downward through lower platforms to his doom, though it is possible to "collect" bombs on the way down.
Jumpman supports single-player or 2-4 player alternating play as well as 20-entry hi-score and hi-bonus tables.
Jumpman audiovisuals are simple even by 1983 standards, but serviceable to be sure.
The original Atari 8 Bit version of Jumpman was released in February of 1983. Unlike C64 Jumpman, Atari 8 Bit Jumpman features scrolling-screen stage transitions.
Congo Bongo Commodore 64 1983
Sega Enterprises Inc. of the U.S.A. ported Sega's Tip Top aka Congo Bongo coinop of 1983 to Commodore 64 in 1983.
Congo Bongo displays its fixed-screen playfields in oblique perspective, not isometric. However, the screen scrolls from one stage to the next.
In Congo Bongo players control a Safari Hunter who undertakes to capture the gorilla, Congo. As in Donkey Kong, the object of Congo Bongo is to reach the gorilla while avoiding the jungle hazards of flora and fauna, such as bodies of water, bouncing coconuts, mischievous monkeys and charging rhinos. Monkeys can jump on the hunter's back (A Monkey On One's Back) and throw him from the cliff, but they can be shaken off by jumping.
The Safari Hunter can move in eight directions and jump; he wields no weapon. The Safari Hunter can ride on lily pads or on the backs of hippos or piranhas over the water.
1983 C64 Congo Bongo consists of just two different stage layouts: Primate Peak and Snake Lake. After completing the Snake Lake the game reverts back to Primate Peak, with increased difficulty. A time bonus is awarded at the end of each stage.
The problem with Congo Bongo is that its sprites are not drop-shadowed, making it difficult to position the hunter accurately and gauge the trajectories of bouncing coconuts.
Congo Bongo supports single-player or 2-player alternating play as well as joystick or keyboard control.
U.S.Gold of the U.S.A. released a second port of Congo Bongo for the Commodore 64 in 1985.
1985 C64 Congo Bongo consists of four different stage layouts that are presented in isometric perspective: Primate Peak, Snake Lake, Rhino Ridge and Lazy Lagoon.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1984-87
Monty Mole Commodore 64 1984
Gremlin Graphics released Monty Mole aka Wanted! Monty Mole for the Commodore 64 in 1984. Monty Mole is a spawling platform-maze game.
In Monty Mole players control a monocled mole named Monty as he sets out to raid a coal mine of nuggets of coal and other objects. The coal mine consists of 22 sections and there are 13 nuggets of coal to collect in total. Other collectables include coal bucket (outside the Miners House), shield and box of worms.
Monty can walk sideways, jump and climb up and down ropes, pipes and trees.
Monty Mole hazards include denizens of the mine, disappearing platforms, vats of acid and coal crushers and conveyors.
C64 Monty Mole features smooth 4-way scrolling.
Monty Mole was programmed, drawn and composed by Tony Crowther (Captive). The audio includes a rendition of Colonel Bogey March of 1914 and Abide with Me of 1847.
Green Beret Commodore 64 1986
Imagine Software ported Konami's Rush'n Attack aka Green Beret coinop of 1985 to Commodore 64 in 1986. C64 Green Beret was produced by D.C. Ward, programmed by Dave Collier, drawn by Steve Wahid and composed by Martin Galway.
The Cold War-themed Green Beret is a fast-paced horizontally-scrolling platform game that features run and gun and hack n slash gameplay. Green Beret scrolling is smooth and its stages are multi-tiered with ground, middle and top platforms.
The Green Beret can run left and right, jump, go prone, climb up and down ladders, stab with his knife, throw limited-use grenades and fire the limited-use flame thrower and rocket launcher.
The Green Beret goes up against soldiers, gunners, commandos and paratroopers. At the end of each stage the Green Beret faces off against a heightened attack such as, for example, two gyrocopters or a commander and his German Shepherd dogs.
Green Beret hazards include mines, projectiles and bombs. The Green Beret can avoid projectiles by jumping over them or ducking under them.
Green Beret consists of four stages: Missile Base, Harbor, Bridge and Prison Camp. After the fourth stage is complete Green Beret wraps back around to the first stage.
Donkey Kong Commodore 64 1986
Ocean Software of the U.K. ported Nintendo's Donkey Kong coinop of 1981 to Commodore 64 in 1986. Developed by Arcana Software Design, 1986 C64 Donkey Kong was produced by Jon Woods. Please consult the 1983 entry above for the basics of Donkey Kong gameplay.
Mario Bros. Commodore 64 1987
Ocean Software of the U.K. ported Nintendo R&D1's Mario Bros. coinop of 1983 to Commodore 64 in 1987. Developed by Choice Software of the U.K., 1987 C64 Mario Bros. was produced by Jon Woods, programmed by Allan Shortt, drawn by Jane Lowe and composed by Fred Gray.
1987 C64 Mario Bros. supports 2-player simultaneous play and simultaneous music and sound effects. 1987 C64 Mario Bros. features screen-shake, floating point displays and 100 stages.
Please refer to the above 1984 Mario Bros. entry for the basics of Mario Bros. gameplay.
Wonder Boy Commmodore 64 1987
Activision/Sega ported Escape's Wonder Boy coinop of 1986 to the Commodore 64 in 1987. Wonder Boy is a side-scrolling platform game that supports single-player or two-player alternating modes of play.
In Wonder Boy players assume the role of Tom-Tom the Wonder Boy as he undertakes to rescue Tanya from the clutches of the ogre-like Dark King.
Wonder Boy can walk sideways, jump, speed-run, speed-jump, ride a skateboard and throw stone hatchets in short arcs. Enemies are vanquished via throwing axe.
Wonder Boy consists of seven stages each of which consists of four rounds and four checkpoints. Each round is effectively time-limited in that Wonder Boy's vitality meter depletes over time, but it can be topped up by collecting food.
Collectables include food, dolls and crackable eggs that hold power-ups, such as the guardian angel and the skateboard. Obstacles include water, fire, rocks, rolling boulders and moving platforms. End-round bonus points are awarded based on vitality remaining and dolls collected.
Wonder Boy features smooth scrolling and sprite-shifting as well as simultaneous music and sound effects, floating point indicators and a few non-standard animations.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1988
Shinobi Commodore 64 1989
Random Access / The Sales Curve ported Sega's Shinobi coinop of 1987 to Commodore 64 in 1989.
C64 Shinobi was programmed by Simon Pick (Gradius), drawn by Ned Langman and composed by Tiny Williams.
Shinobi is a scrolling platform game that features run and gun gameplay and minimal hack and slash gameplay. Shinobi scrolls primarily horizontally but also vertically. Both vertical and horizontal scrolling are bi-directional. C64 Shinobi scrolling is smooth and its gameplay is fast-paced.
Shinobi features vertically stacked playfields to which the ninja can jump up and drop down, switching between them at-will when applicable.
In Shinobi players control a ninja that can walk sideways in both directions, jump, crouch, crawl, sweep-kick and sideways-fire ninja stars aka shuriken and mini-rockets. The ninja cannot block melee blows or ranged fire; he can only duck under or jump over ranged fire. The ninja can activate ninja magic in order to inflict damage on foes, screen-wide. Bonus stages and bosses are also featured.
C64 Shinobi consists of five time-limited stages aka missions in which the ninja avoids or slays foes while rescuing prisoners, who reward the ninja with points or a power-up.
C64 Shinobi features on-hit sound effects for each projectile impact. In addition, there are on-impact projectile graphics.
Naturally, C64 Shinobi audiovisuals pale in comparison to the coinop. Decreased color depth and screen resolution aside, there is no parallax scrolling, no digitized speech and no in-game music, only sound effects. However, the coinop's gameplay remains largely intact.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land Commodore 64 1989
Images Design ported Westone's Wonder Boy in Monster Land aka Wonder Boy 2 coinop of 1987 to the Commodore 64 in 1989.
In Wonder Boy in Monster Land players once again assume the role of Tom-Tom the Wonder Boy as he goes up against the Evil King, now in Meka Dragon form. Wonder Boy in Monster Land is a scrolling platform game that consists of 30 time-limited segments constituting 10 rounds. Wonder Boy in Monster Land features 8-way scrolling, but it primarily scrolls horizontally.
Tom-Tom can walk sideways, jump, attack with sword, jump attack with sword, climb ladders, jump to and from ladders, knock on doors (spacebar), and fire special magic weapons. Blocking is automatic when a shield is equipped. Shields can deflect or absorb arrows, bubbles, rocks, shards, cubes and fireballs.
Vanquished monsters leave behind gold coins that spin into the air and bounce along the ground, which is an advanced animation for 1989; an animation that Amiga Blood Money of 1989 also incorporated. Monsters respawn but respawns do not drop gold coins again, but rather treasure. Monsters leave nothing when vanquished a third time. Hidden gold coins can also be revealed by moving or jumping in certain places. Gold coins are used as currency when purchasing items in shops. As a rule, players cannot afford the most useful items unless they have found hidden coin-stashes. Most sub-bosses need to be vanquished because they drop keys to locked gates.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land collectables include gold coins, moneybags, hourglasses, hearts, gauntlet, helmet, winged boots, revival medicine, invisibility cloak and treasures such as chalice (500 points), chain (1,000 points), gold bar (2,000 points), harp (3,000 points), libra (5,000 points) and crown (10,000 points).
Wonder Boy in Monster Land items are findable and/or purchaseable. Items include arms and armor, special magic weapons and even quest-based items which are held in a six-slot inventory. Arms and armor includes sword, armor, shield and boots. Arms and armor comes in four to five tiers. For example, the swords are gradius, broad sword, Excalibur, great sword and the Sword of Legends. Limited-use special magic weapons include grenade, fireball, tornado and screen-wide lightning. Logically, swords increase damage, armor decreases damage and boots increase movement rate and jumping distance.
Environmental hazards include water, lava, spikes and moving platforms.
C64 Wonder Boy in Monster Land music is variable and well-composed (converted) in that some of the tunes are memorable. However, there are no sound effects at all.
The biggest problems with C64 Wonder Boy in Monster Land is that its screen-scrolling is not smooth and it lacks sound effects. The port is still good, but it could have been great.
C64 Wonder Boy in Monster Land was drawn by Andrew Pang and composed and programmed by James Smart. C64 Wonder Boy in Monster Land was published by Software Studios / Activision. The original Wonder Boy in Monster Land coinop of 1987 was programmed by Ryuchi Nishizawa and Michishisto Ishizuka. The memorable tunes were composed by Shinichi Sakamoto.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land Amiga 1989
Images Design ported Westone's Wonder Boy in Monster Land aka Wonder Boy 2 coinop of 1987 to the Amiga in 1989.
Amiga Wonder Boy in Monster Land was ported from the Atari ST version, both of which are similar to the Commodore 64 version.
ST/Amiga WBiM displays in "hires" 16-color 320x200 and features in-game music and sound effects, not just music (the C64 version only has music). Sound effects include on-jump, on-attack, on-hit, on-collect and "knock knock" at the doors. The Amiga version has no titlescreen music and its load-times are longer than the ST version (even though the Amiga disk drive is faster and has a higher capacity than the ST disk drive).
ST/Amiga WBiML announces most of the bosses by name. In order, the bosses are called Death (Grim Reaper), Vampire Lord, Myconid Master, Red Knight (broad sword), Giant Squid, Giant Kong (giant sword), Sphinx, Gold Collector (Excalibur), Demon, Snow Kong and Meka Dragon. To cite one difference, C64 Myconid Monster spawns mushrooms whereas ST/Amiga MM does not.
ST/Amiga WBiML was programmed by Laura P. Paul, composed by David Whittaker and drawn by Andrew Pang and Jason Lihou.
WBiML is the only Wonder Boy game to officially appear on ST/Amiga.
Strider Amiga 1989
Tiertex ported Capcom's Strider coinop of 1989 to ST/Amiga in 1989. Strider is a dystopian hack n slash platform game set in 2048 A.D. In Strider the player assumes the role of Strider Hiryu as he goes up against the forces of Grandmaster Meio.
Strider Hiryu can run sideways, slide sideways along the ground, jump upwards, somersault sideways, crouch, swing his Cypher plasma sword, climb up and down 90° walls, run up and down steep slopes, hang on platform undersides and move hand over hand beneath them. Strider can swing his sword while running, sliding, jumping, somersaulting, climbing and hanging. Strider collectables include energy, an upgraded Cypher and droids that fly around Strider.
Thus, Amiga Strider is advanced in terms of movement mechanics, but it is just barely passable in terms of technical scrolling and sprite animations. Amiga Strider could have easily matched Genesis Strider, but Amiga Strider is a port of ST Strider rather than of coinop or Genesis Strider. ST/Amiga Strider also suffers from slow-down. Amiga Strider has slightly better audio than ST Strider, but that isn't saying much.
Amiga Strider consists of five sprawling stages that scroll multi-directionally. The first stage is set in Kazakh, the second in Siberia, the third in the Amazon Jungle, the fourth on Flying Battleship Balrog, and the fifth at the Third Moon.
In ST/Amiga Strider players don't even get to battle the final boss, Grandmaster Meio. Instead, they only get to battle a robot that was recycled from one of the earlier stages.
ST/Amiga Strider was programmed by John Prince, composed by Mike Davies/Mark Tait, and drawn by James Clarke and Andrew Ingram.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1990
Lilura1 has covered 16 platform games of 1990.
Castlevania Commodore 64 1990
Konami Inc. of the U.S.A released Castlevania for the Commodore 64 in 1990. Developed by Unlimited Software Inc. of the U.S.A, C64 Castlevania was programmed by Alan Stewart, composed by Kris Hatlelid and drawn by Faye Hoffman, Mike Smith and Tom Singleton.
Castlevania is a scrolling hack n slash game and platform game.
In C64 Castlevania players control Simon Belmont as he undertakes to raid and destroy the castle of Count Dracula. Belmont can move sideways, jump, crouch, climb staircases, crack his "Vampire Killer" whip and fire projectiles such as throwing dagger, throwing axe, fire bomb and boomerang. Belmont can crack his whip while crouched and in mid-air, but the whip can only be cracked sideways, not upward or downward. Belmont's whip can be upgraded in range and power by collecting morning stars whereas special weapon RoF can be upgraded to double- and triple-shot. Belmont can also collect food, potion, cross, watch, small heart, large heart and moneybag. The cross nukes monsters screen-wide whereas the watch freezes monsters.
En route to Count Dracula Belmont negotiates platforming hazards as well as undead, mythic monsters and Primary Evil sub-bosses such as Mummy Man, Frankenstein's Monster and the Grim Reaper.
C64 Castlevania consists of 18 time-limited stages that scroll horizontally in the main. C64 Castlevania scrolling is smooth. Bonus points are awarded based on time remaining and hearts collected.
C64 Castlevania is a decent game, but it could have been much better and it came out too late to have a big impact on the C64 scene.
The original Famicom Disk System Castlevania of 1986 was directed by Hitoshi Akamatsu, designed by Akihiko Nagata, programmed by Nobuhiro Matsuoka, drawn by Noriyasu Togakushi and composed by Kinuyo Yamashita and Satoe Terashima.
Flimbo's Quest Commodore 64 1990
System 3 released Flimbo's Quest for the Commodore 64 in 1990. Flimbo's Quest is a bi-directional horizontally-scrolling platform game.
Developed by Euphoria of The Netherlands, C64 Flimbo's Quest was designed and programmed by Laurens van Der Donk, drawn by Arthur van Jole and composed by Reyn Ouwehand and Johannes Bjerregård of The Maniacs of Noise.
In Flimbo's Quest players control Flimbo. Flimbo can walk left and right, fire his weapon left and right, crouch, jump, drop down through platforms and enter doors by facing into the screen.
The object of Flimbo's Quest is to save Pearly, Flimbo's girlfriend and the Queen of Dewdropland, from the clutches of the mad scientist, Dandruff.
C64 Flimbo's Quest consists of seven time-limited stages. In order to advance to the next stage Flimbo must find magic scrolls to give to the wizard-merchant, Dazz Bazian. The wizard turns the scrolls into letters that spell magic words that send Flimbo to the next stage. A flashing monster icon indicates the monster-type that needs to be vanquished in order to yield a scroll. In addition, the specific monster itself glows to indicate that it is the target. At the end of each stage bonus points are awarded based on Hearts, Time, Life and Level.
Flimbo vanquishes Dandruff's monsters by firing projectiles at them. Monsters randomly drop coins, moneybags, scrolls, power-ups and hearts of five different colors, which bestow 1-Ups.
At Dazz's shop Flimbo hands in collected scrolls and purchases power-ups that include scroll, super scroll, extra time, super weapon and invulnerability. The super weapon increases the damage inflicted by Flimbo's weapon.
C64 Flimbo's Quest features one layer of smooth parallax scrolling.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1991
Lilura1 has covered 11 platform games of 1991.
Rod Land Amiga 1991
Random Access ported Jaleco's Rod Land coinop of 1990 to the Amiga in 1991. Amiga Rod Land was lead-programmed and composed by Ronald Pieket Weeserik, additionally-programmed by John Croudy and drawn by Ned Langman.
Rod Land is a single-player or 2-player simultaneous platform game.
Rod Land consists of five main stages consisting of 40 fixed-screen rounds. Upon round-completion the screen scrolls vertically or horizontally to reach subsequent rounds. Rod Land features three sub-bosses and a final four-phase boss fight.
In Rod Land players control one of two faeries, blue-colored Tam or red-colored Rit. The faeries are trying to save their kidnapped mother from Maboot's Tower.
The faeries wield magic rods that can knock back, catch and slam monsters. In addition, the faeries wear magic boots that enable them to conjure rainbow ladders out of thin air, which they can then climb. Ladders can be built upwards and downwards, but only one ladder can be conjured per fairy at any given time.
The faeries can walk sideways, fire their rods and climb up and down ladders. The faeries can drop down from platforms and ride upwards on balloons, but they cannot jump.
Monsters are vanquished by catching them with rods and repeatedly slamming them to the ground. Monsters leave behind power-ups such as missiles, bombs and dynamite. Monsters vanquished by power-weapons leave behind valuable collectables (500-4000 points).
If all on-screen flowers are collected all remaining monsters are transformed and leave behind a letter when vanquished. Collecting (spelling out) E-X-T-R-A results in 10,000 points and a free life, aka 1-up.
Some monsters can fly, self-replicate and fire projectiles. 10,000 points are awarded upon stage completion.
Shadow Dancer Commodore 64 1991
Images Design ported Sega's Shadow Dancer coinop of 1989 to the Commodore 64 in 1991. Published by U.S. Gold, C64 Shadow Dancer was programmed by Jon Williams, composed by Neil Crossley and drawn by Steve Bedser and Chris Edwards.
Shadow Dancer is the successor to Shinobi. In Shadow Dancer players control a white-clad ninja who is tasked with disarming time bombs that were planted by a terrorist organization.
The ninja of Shadow Dancer can walk sideways in both directions, jump, crouch and fire shuriken sideways at a rapid rate (four of the ninja's shuriken are on-screen at any given time). The ninja can fire shuriken while crouched and while jumping. In C64 Shadow Dancer the ninja does not wield a katana in close-quarters combat. As in Shinobi, the ninja can super-jump upward through platforms and drop downward through platforms. In addition, the ninja is accompanied by canine companion that can be commanded to grapple the ninja's foes. The ninja can also draw on magic in order to inflict damage on foes, screen-wide. Bonus stages and bosses are featured.
C64 Shadow Dancer consists of five time-limited stages aka missions in which the ninja avoids or slays foes while disarming time bombs.
Impressively, C64 Shadow Dancer features smooth bi-directional horizontal and vertical parallax scrolling. C64 Shadow Dancer also features impressive presentation via intro, outro and screen-wipes.
First Samurai Amiga 1991
Vivid Image Developments released The First Samurai for the Amiga in 1991. Amiga First Samurai was drawn by Teoman Irmak, composed by Nick Jones and designed and programmed by Raffaele Cecco of Cybernoid fame.
First Samurai is notable for its intricate environments, complex controls and prime pixel art.
First Samurai consists of four main environments and 10 stages in total.
In First Samurai players control a samurai who is out to avenge his master who was slain by The Demon King.
The samurai fights unarmed and armed with a sword. The samurai can move sideways, jump, crouch, punch, kick, swing a sword, throw projectiles (dagger, seeker and axe), climb up and down walls and jump to and from walls. The samurai can perform three different punches, three different kicks and five different sword attacks.
First Samurai keeps track of time elapsed, special objects needed and special objects held as well as courage, chest, treasure and food bonuses. Players can access a separate stat-screen via B-key.
The stages feature respawning enemies, teleports, animated hazards and some destructible walls and floors. A Wizard Mage occasionally assists the samurai.
Prehistorik PC DOS 1991
Titus France released Prehistorik for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1991. Prehistorik features seven sprawling stages most of which have several separate caves to explore.
In Prehistorik players control a prehistoric "Zoglor" caveman. The caveman can move left and right, jump, climb up and down ladders, swing his club and face into doorways to enter caves. Collectables include food, alarm, bomb, shield, axe, spring and Cross of Life. There are ten different foes to club over the head and various hazards to negotiate, such as spikes, fire, projectiles and moving platforms.
Prehistorik was converted to PC DOS by Carlo Perconti. Developed by Cybele, the original Atari ST version of Prehistorik was programmed by Olivier Diaz, drawn by Jean-Christophe Alessandri and composed by Michel Golgevit and Zorba Kouaik.
Amiga Prehistorik was programmed by Carlo Perconti, drawn by Jean-Christophe Alessandri and composed by Christophe Fevre.
Chuck Rock Amiga 1991
Core Design of the U.K. released Chuck Rock for the Amiga in 1991. Chuck Rock consists of five stages and over 500 screens. Being an Amiga-original platform game, Amiga Chuck Rock runs at 50 FPS and features super-smooth screen-scrolling. The overall presentation of the game is what one would expect of an Amiga-original.
Chuck Rock can move left and right, jump, kick, belly-butt and pick up, carry around and chuck rocks at dinosaur foes. The object of Chuck Rock is to save Chuck's wife Ophelia from Gary Gritter.
Chuck Rock was programmed by Chris Long, drawn by Lee Pullen and composed by Matthew Simmonds.
Blues Brothers Amiga 1991
Titus France released The Blues Brothers for ST/Amiga and IBM PC in 1991. The Amiga version of The Blues Brothers was designed by Eric Caen, programmed by Carlo Perconti and composed by Christophe Fevre. In The Blues Brothers players control either Jack or Elwood of The Blues Bros.
Impressively, The Blues Brothers supports two-player simultaneous play. The Blues Bros. can run, jump, crouch, pick up objects and throw objects. The Blues Brothers consists of 300 screens and 16 levels of multi-directionally scrolling platforming. The Amiga version of The Blues Brothers runs at 50 FPS.
Titus the Fox Amiga 1992
Titus France released Titus the Fox: To Marrakech and Back for ST/Amiga and IBM PC in 1992. An incremental evolution on Titus France's own Blues Brothers of 1991, Titus the Fox was designed by Florent Moreau, programmed by Eric Zmiro and drawn by Francis Fournier and Stephan Beaufils. Titus the Fox can run, jump, crouch, climb ladders, pick up objects, throw objects and ride on skateboards and magic carpets.
Titus the Fox consists of 900 screens and 15 levels of multi-directionally scrolling platforming. Amiga Titus the Fox displays in 60 colors and runs at 50 FPS.
Risky Woods Amiga 1992
Dinamic of Spain released Risky Woods for the Amiga in 1992. Developed by Zeus Software, Risky Woods was programmed by Ricardo Puerto, drawn by Raúl López and composed by José A. Martin.
Risky Woods is a platform game and run and gun game that runs at 50 FPS with parallax scrolling.
In Risky Woods players control Rohan as he goes up against the forces of Draxos. Risky Woods consists of 12 time-limited stages. In order to progress through the stages Rohan must free the souls and find key fragments while fighting off infinitely respawning enemies and collecting coins and other bonuses.
Rohan can run sideways, jump, crouch and throw fireball, boomerang, axe and chain. At the shop Rohan can purchase energy potions, weapons and weapon upgrades.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1993
Lilura1 has covered 13 platform games of 1993.
Mayhem in Monsterland Commodore 64 1993
Apex Computer Productions of the U.K. released Mayhem in Monsterland for Commodore 64 in 1993. Mayhem in Monsterland was lead-programmed by John Rowlands and drawn and composed by Steve Rowlands.
In Mayhem in Monsterland players control Mayhem, a magic dinosaur. Mayhem in Monsterland consists of five time-limited and sideways-scrolling stages: Jellyland, Pipeland, Spottyland, Cherryland and Rockland.
In the dimly-colored Sad version of each stage, the object of Mayhem in Monsterland is to collect a certain number of magic bags of dust that are left behind by some of the monsters Mayhem vanquishes. Monsters are vanquished by jumping onto them. Once all the magic dust has been collected Mayhem can deliver it to Theo Saurus in his underground cave. Then, in the brightly-colored Happy version of each stage Mayhem must collect a certain number of magic stars before heading to the next stage. Thus, each stage has a magic dust and a magic star quota. A time bonus and a super star bonuses are awarded at stage-end.
Mayhem can move sideways, jump, crouch, charge, skid, super-run and drop down through platforms.
Mayhem in Monsterland scrolling is horizontal, bi-directional, variable rate and consists of one parallax layer. The scrolling and sprite-shifting are super-smooth.
Home Computer Platform Games of 1994
Lilura1 has covered 10 platform games of 1994.
- Amiga Games Reviews (Index to all Amiga game reviews)
- Computer Game Reviews (Index to all computer game reviews)
- The First REAL Amiga Game
- Best Amiga Games
- History of Computer Games 1976-2024 (Master Index)
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