So yesterday‘s #DailyRetroGame – number 256 – was meant to echo the infamous Pac-Man kill screen. And that’s in part because the series is ending for now.
It was intended to scratch a #retrogaming itch and give me a fun thing to write every day. But it’s becoming harder to think of what to write and the daily thing went out the window a while ago.
It may return. Or something similar. For now, though, thanks for reading to those who did. And if you haven’t yet, there are 256 entries to read! 👾
#DailyRetroGame 256: Pac-Man (1980)
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Play it on: #Arcade
#DailyRetroGame 255: O’Riley’s Mine (1983)
As if Dig Dug wasn’t tricky enough, this tribute of sorts robbed you of boulders to drop on monsters’ heads and also tried to drown you by quickly filling the titular mine with water.
It was fast-paced stuff – chasing monsters had a terrifying burst of speed. In all, it was another rare game that felt like an arcade cab had sneaked into your home micro when you weren’t looking.
Play it on: #Atari8bit
#DailyRetroGame 254: Shadowfax (1982)
Even in 1982, you’d have felt shortchanged by this endless shooter. You as Gandalf, riding Shadowfax, had to take down Nazgûl with lightning blasts. Until you died. And that was it. Still, at least the horse animation looked lovely on the VIC.
Creator Mike Singleton would a few years later go on to much bigger and better LOTRish things, with Lords of Midnight and Doomdark’s Revenge.
Play it on: #VIC20
#DailyRetroGame 253: P.O.D. (1987)
More or less a case of the Kikstart (and, later, Super Cars/Lotus) guy ‘doing a Minter’. Proof of Destruction (P.O.D.) recalled Grid Runner in evolving Centipede, but did it by shaking up how attack waves behaved. The hypnotic playfield backgrounds hit a 0.8 on the Trippy Minter scale, although never made it to the C16 release – quality for that machine but notably plainer in execution.
#DailyRetroGame 252: Zaxxon (1982)
This one overly literally had the idea to approach a tired format from a new angle. It was basically Scramble with an axonometric viewpoint. You’d blast baddies and carefully use your altimeter to avoid smashing into walls with tiny ship-sized holes for you to fly through. This one also had an early boss battle – you vs a chunky robot called Zaxxon Ron. (That last bit might be a lie.)
Play it on: #arcade
#DailyRetroGame 251: Repton (1985)
Reportedly inspired by a Boulder Dash review, Repton took the diamond-finding, rock-falling concept to the Beeb, losing the frenetic arcade pace along the way, but creating something more puzzle-oriented and thoughtful. Sequels followed, including the brutally tough Repton 2 (which neglected to provide enough diamonds to complete its single colossal level) and Repton 3 with its map editor.
Play it on: #BBCMicro
#DailyRetroGame 250: Snare (1989)
With a conventional design, Snare might have been ordinary. The premise was simple: navigate a maze, blast baddies, and reach the exit. But the execution turned Snare into something of a classic: bonus tiles that changed how your ship behaved; devious level design with speeds akin to Uridium; and disorienting 90-degree playfield turns that frequently left you in a panic and sent you to oblivion.
Play it on: #C64
#DailyRetroGame 249: Ancipital (1984)
Another Jeff Minter game that felt like an arcade cab had beamed in from another (stranger) reality and taken up residence in your micro. This one featured a bipedal goat who could leap between each single-screen level’s walls, while you blasted the requisite number of foes to open the exits. Relentlessly intense, with a dash of psychedelia and a dollop of weirdness. Still holds up today.
Play it on: #C64
@craiggrannell
Craig, have you done a #DailyRetroGame covering Links386 yet?
I haven’t seen it, but also haven’t checked every one of your posts…
#DailyRetroGame 248: Indianapolis 500 (1989)
The clue was in the subtitle with this one: The Simulation. Indi wasn’t about arcade larks – instead, you tweaked your car and blazed around the famous oval for anything up to 200 laps. That is, assuming you could survive the AI – or the temptation to drive into other cars and gleefully watch a smashy action replay from a range of angles. Pioneering stuff.
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDVDV9ooY7A by @ChinnyVision
#DailyRetroGame 247: X (1992)
Long before the stupid social network, X was just a letter. Between those two points in time, X was a Game Boy title that, frankly, should not have existed. A kind of proto Star Fox – by the guy who made Star Fox – it attempted to squeeze a 3D shooter into Nintendo’s tiny handheld. And… it was pretty good. Hard as nails too. But it again showed how really smart people can push limited hardware.
Play it on: #GameBoy
#DailyRetroGame 246: Super Chase (1992)
After Chase HQ sequel SCI had you shoot crims from a distance, this follow-up brought back the original’s frenetic energy. Fancy scaling tech ramped up the visuals, and the first-person view made the game feel as ludicrously fast as it was ludicrously stupid.
The similarly named Super Chase HQ later brought first-person smashy larks to the SNES – but with very different level design.
Play it on: #arcade
#DailyRetroGame 245: Ikari Warriors (1986)
Commando was all mindless blasting and speed, but Ikari demanded stealth and patience. Ammo was limited, levels were cramped, and you’d at times be ambushed by hordes of enemies.
Fortunately, you could get your own back by hopping into a tank and blowing everything up. Two-player co-op added to the fun, although the weird rotating joysticks took time to master.
Play it on: #Arcade, #C64 (Europe)
#DailyRetroGame 244: Silent Service (1985)
Even in the strategy genre, this wasn’t the most pretty game – but it was one of the most tense. Sid Meier distilled the essence of submarine combat into a game that fit on 8-bit micros, having you sneak about the Pacific, blowing up Japanese shipping. Historical accuracy was stretched, but only to improve gameplay. And that was fluid to the point we even got a NES conversion.
#DailyRetroGame 243: Encounter! (1983)
Designed by the late, great Paul Woakes, Encounter! wasn’t one for nuance. You blazed around, avoiding pillars and blasting enemies. Kill enough and you’d hurtle through a portal packed with deadly orbs.
Repetitive? Sure. But this was a rare title that felt like someone had sneaked an arcade cab into your 8-bit micro when you weren’t looking. Stunning for the day. Still fun now.
Play it on: #Atari8bit,
#DailyRetroGame 242: Q*bert (1982)
Stripped back to the basics, there’s more than a hint of Pac-Man about Gottlieb’s leapy arcade game. You have to access every space and avoid foes. There are even ‘escape routes’ at the side of the screen. But the game’s axonometric playfield and diagonal movement wrongfooted the overconfident, ensuring the protagonist got a swift kicking when the difficulty level ramped up. @!#?@!, indeed.
Play it on: #arcade
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKIbhaQfs-A
#retrogaming
#DailyRetroGame 241: Delta (1987)
Divisive at the time, this C64 blaster wowed with its shiny visuals and programming smarts, but frustrated with its tendency towards instadeath if you didn’t grab the right power-up. Yet even if you didn’t care for a shooty memory test, you’d stay for the music, be that the mini mixing desk loader, or Rob Hubbard out Pink Floyding Pink Floyd with a mesmerising 11-minute in-game soundtrack.
Play it on: #C64
#DailyRetroGame 240: Rogue Trooper (1986)
Recently announced for the big screen, this #2000AD property made the small screen in the 1980s. Unlike most other games based on 2000 AD strips, Rogue felt surprisingly authentic, with enemies and scenarios lifted from the comic. The monochrome visuals echoed the black-and-white source material too. It was short, but way better than the disasters that were Sláine and Judge Dredd.
Play it on: #ZXSpectrum
#DailyRetroGame 239: Kirby’s Adventure (1993)
“Press the A button and Kirby jumps.” OK. “Press the B button and Kirby INHALES HIS ENEMIES!” Er, what? But that was the twist, with a hero battling baddies by swallowing them and temporarily pilfering their powers. Even back then, Kirby played second fiddle to Mario and has done ever since, but it’s hard to not root for a hero with such a unique method of dispensing with his foes.
Play it on: #NES
