Popular games for platform MSX

31.12.1987

Monty On the Run is a platform-style game featuring Monty Mole, a coal thief fleeing across Europe to escape the Intermole agency. Players navigate Monty through 80 screens representing European landmarks, using various movement techniques like super-leaps and ceiling suspension. The goal is to collect Eurocheques and plane tickets while avoiding hazards. The game incorporates unique elements such as drunkenness effects from wine bottles and aerial combat sequences. As the third main entry in the Monty Mole series, it builds upon the gameplay mechanics of its predecessors while introducing new challenges and environments.

01.11.1980

Rally-X is a maze & driving arcade game, that was released by Namco in 1980 and licensed to Midway Games for US manufacture and distribution in 1981. It was ported to the SG-1000 in Taiwan.

31.12.1989

The Duel: Test Drive II is a cross-platform racing game developed by Distinctive Software and published by Accolade in 1989. It is the second entry in the Test Drive series of video games.

01.11.1985

Following the defeat of the evil triad in the previous three Ultima games, the world of Sosaria changed beyond recognition: continents rose and sank, and new cities were built, heralding the advent of a different civilization. Unified by the reign of the benevolent monarch Lord British, the new world was renamed Britannia. Lord British wished to base people's well-being on the ethical principles of Truth, Love, and Courage, proclaiming the Eight Virtues (Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility) as the ideal everyone should strive for. The person who could accomplish full understanding and realization of these virtues would serve as a spiritual leader and a moral example for the inhabitants of Britannia; he alone would be able to obtain holy artifacts, descend into the Stygian Abyss, and access the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. This person is the Avatar. The fourth game in the Ultima series features an improved game engine, with color graphics and enhanced character interaction: the player can have conversations with non-playable characters by typing names of various topics. However, the main difference between Ultima IV and its predecessors in the series (as well as other role-playing games) lies in the game's objectives and the ways to fulfill them. Instead of building up a character by any means possible in order to face a villain in the end of the game, in Ultima IV the player is trying to become the Avatar, a role model for people. This means upholding the Eight Virtues, basically trying to become a better person. Making morally conscious decisions and helping other people is not done expecting a material reward, but because it is the actual goal of the game and the main focus of its gameplay. The game frowns on behavior typical of most other RPGs, such as backstabbing fleeing enemies or picking up everything that isn't nailed down even if it does not belong to the protagonist. This different approach established the game's reputation as the first "true" Ultima, influencing the design philosophy of later installments and the overall spirit of the series. Character creation is done by choosing responses to morally ambiguous questions. Each of the Eight Virtues corresponds to a character class; by determining the player's personal priorities in the virtues, the game assigns a class and a starting location for the Avatar. After emerging in Britannia, the player is free to explore it in various ways (on foot, moongate teleportation, on horseback, by ship, etc.). Certain items must be collected in any order to enter the Stygian Abyss and complete the game. The Avatar also has to reach the highest level in all virtues. This is achieved by various means: donating blood increases Sacrifice, not fleeing from combat increases Valor, etc. The process, however, is not irreversible: should the Avatar overpay a blind seller, he gains Compassion points; should he, on the other hand, cheat the seller by underpaying, his level in several virtues would decrease. These unorthodox features of the game co-exist with plenty of traditional RPG elements, such as dungeons to explore and hostile monsters to kill. Enemies are encountered on the world map as well as in dungeons; combat takes place on separate top-down screens, allowing player-controlled and enemy parties freely move on them. Characters accumulate experience points and level up, gaining higher amount of hit points and access to stronger magic spells. Like in the previous installments of the series, world map, town exploration and combat are presented from a top-down view, while the dungeons are pseudo-3D and are explored from first-person perspective. Ultima IV also introduces several new gameplay features to the series and role-playing games in general. A number of initially non-playable characters living in various areas of the game world are able to to join the party and fight alongside the hero, replacing traditional player-generated characters or mercenaries and adventurers available only in special locations. Additional new elements include buying and combining reagents in order to cast spells, puzzle rooms in dungeons, and others. The FM Towns version, while identical to the others in gameplay, introduces upgraded graphics similar to those used in next installment of the series.

31.12.1987

Enter the world of Golvellius. Where demons rule the valley of water...and control the creatures of land, sea and air. Where almost everyone stands against you. There is only one way in...and no way out except victory or death! It's an adventure that will take you across deserts and mountains, oceans and forests...through eerie graveyards and caves filled with danger and surprise. Golvellius has a PASSWORD SAVE feature that lets you keep all your possessions. So you never have to start an adventure empty handed!

31.12.1983

Chuckie Egg is an action platformer featuring a turn-based multiplayer mode. As Hen-House Harry, the player must collect the twelve eggs positioned in each level, before a countdown timer reaches zero. In addition there are piles of seed which may be collected to increase points and stop the countdown timer for a while. The player starts with five lives, and an extra life is awarded every 10,000 points.

25.07.1986

The "system" was created by an organic intelligence body many milleniums ago and began attacking the human race. The earth was thrown into turmoil with only one hope for salvation. Fighter model AFX-6502 ZANAC was perfected by the 256th Riot Fleet to ward off the enemy system. It's your job, as ZANAC, to save the human race. Using eight special weapons and secret power forces buried along the way, guide ZANAC through 12 screens of enemy creatures to victory.

01.11.1986

Japanese RPG. Two editions exist, one for the MSX1 on cartridge, and one for the MSX2 on 3.5" diskette. The seal of the Dark Lord Terarin has been broken and Terarin has been unleashed into the world again. She has stolen the Golden Seal and opened pandora's box, unleashing evil creatures into the world. A young hero is tasked by a king to stop Terarin. He must step into footsteps of Iason, a shepherd that once accidentally unleashed Terarin and fought to seal the Dark Lord again. The hero must enlist the aid of three companions, Guy the warrior, Medi the amazon and Treo the pirate (called Turo in the manual) and find the three keys to Terarin's lair. To face the Dark Lord, they must find the mystical weapons and armor of old and then defeat Terarin and seal the Dark Lord from the world.

01.12.1982

Mission: Code Name River Raid. Jet down the river. Break the enemy blockade and blast the bridges to halt enemy troop advances. Terrain: Code Name River of No Return. An ever-changing, ever-challenging waterway. Expect huge islands, narrow channels and treacherous bays crawling with enemy choppers, tankers and jets. Weaponry: Code Name StratoStrafer. Your B1 StratoWing Assault Jet has been retrofitted with sophisticated, rapid-fire guided missiles. Your craft is super-sensitive to the stick. Accelerate, slow or bank radically with only a touch. Tactics: Jet low to the river to avoid radar. Stop periodically at depots to refuel. A warning claxxon will alert you. Top speed! Best of luck!

31.12.1981

The object of Bosconian is to score as many points as possible by destroying enemy bases and ships. The player controls a small fighter ship that can move in eight directions and can fire both forward and backward. Each level consists of a number of green space stations that must all be destroyed to advance to the next level (a semi-transparent mini-map helps identify their location). Each station consists of six cannons arranged in a hexagon, surrounding a central core. The player must either destroy all six cannons or shoot the core to destroy a station, and in later levels the core is capable of defending itself. Additionally, the player must avoid or destroy asteroids, mines, and a variety of enemy missiles and ships that attempt to collide with the player's ship. Enemies occasionally launch formation attacks — destroying the leader causes all remaining enemies to disperse, but destroying all enemies in a formation scores extra bonus points. A spy ship (worth a random bonus value) also appears occasionally, which must be destroyed or the enemies will go berserk.

31.12.1991

SWIV is a vertical scrolling shooter and an unofficial follow-up to Sales Curve's conversion of the side scroller Tecmo arcade game Silkworm. One player controls a helicopter and the other a jeep, with the jeep transforming into a boat when the vehicles pass over water. As well as a host of blaster fodder the game also includes a mid-level enemy inspired by the "Goose" enemy from the earlier title Silkworm. Pieces of this enemy would fly onto the screen and assemble into one vehicle before commencing to fire at the players' vehicles. When destroyed the "goose" would drop power-ups.

01.07.1986

Arkanoid is an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It expanded upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s by adding power-ups, different types of bricks, and a variety of level layouts. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.

22.08.1987

The Director General of Space Science Agency Dr. Venom was exiled to Planet Sard for a failed coup d'état. In the year 6665, he escapes and invades Planet Nemesis and the seven planets it controls with the help of Bacterion. The Nemesis High Council sends James Burton, ex-pilot of the Vic Viper, to pilot Metalion and attack Dr. Venom and the Bacterion invaders.

31.12.1989

The movie of the decade is now the game of the year! Just when you thought you'd heard the last of his heinous cackling, The Joker is back in an all new action-adventure, based on the blockbuster movie - Batman. As the Dark Knight, only you can determine how the plot will unfold as you try to save Gotham City from certain doom. Even with the Batwing and all your wonderful toys, The Joker may just rewrite your script. So, rev up the Batmobile and get ready for the chase of your life.

01.06.1987

Arkanoid - Revenge of Doh (a.k.a. Arkanoid 2) is an arcade game released by Taito in 1987 as a sequel to Arkanoid. The mysterious enemy known as DOH has returned to seek vengeance on the Vaus space vessel. The player must once again take control of the Vaus (paddle) and overcome many challenges in order to destroy DOH once and for all. Revenge of Doh sees the player battle through 34 rounds, taken from a grand total of 64. NEW FEATURES: Revenge of Doh differs from its predecessor with the introduction of "Warp Gates". Upon completion of a level or when the Break ("B") pill is caught, two gates appear at the bottom of the play area, on either side. The player can choose to go through either one of the gates - the choice will affect which version of the next level is provided. The fire-button is only used when the Laser Cannons ("L") or Catch ("C") pill is caught. The game also features two new features for bricks. Notched silver bricks, like normal silver bricks, take several hits to destroy. However, after a short period of time after destruction, they regenerate at full strength. Fortunately, clearing a level does not require that any notched bricks be destroyed. Also, some bricks move from side to side as long as their left and/or right sides are not obstructed by other bricks. The US version features an entirely different layout for Level 1 that feature an entire line of notched bricks, with all colored bricks above it moving from side to side. The game features a mini-boss in the form of a giant brain, which will help you practice for DOH. Home versions of Revenge of DOH also featured a level editor, where players could create their own levels or edit and replace existing levels, with the exception of two levels: the mini-boss and DOH.

31.12.1984

Binary Land is a puzzle video game developed by Hudson Soft in 1983 for the MSX, FM-7, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801, and in 1985 for the Famicom. The MSX version saw release in Japan by Kuma Computers Ltd in 1984. While the Famicom version has a grand total of 99 levels; there is no ending screen implemented in the game.

30.03.1984

There is trouble in the mines! Volcanic activity has trapped numerous miners, and it is your job to save them. As Roderick Hero, you need to make your way through the dangerous mineshaft avoiding the dangerous creatures and lava, and find out where the miners are located before you run out of energy. To help on your mission, Roderick Hero has several useful types of equipment. A prop pack will allow you to hover and fly around the mineshaft and (hopefully) avoid the many dangers within. Your helmet features a short range microlaser beam which can be used to destroy the bats, spiders, snakes, and other creatures you'll encounter in the mines. From time to time, your path through the mine may be blocked by stone or lava walls. You begin each mission with six sticks of dynamite which can be used to destroy these obstacles (be careful you don't blow yourself up, though!) If you run out of dynamite, your laser beam can also be used to destroy the walls, though this will take longer and use up more energy. As the levels progress, the mine shaft will become longer and more maze-like, creatures will more frequently block the path, and lava walls and pools will appear which are dangerous to the touch.

31.12.1989

J.R.R. Tolkien's War in Middle Earth is the 16-bit game with additional adventuring features compared to the 8-bit version, loosely depicting the events of the One Ring from the Shire to Mt. Doom. The game starts with the three hobbits: Frodo, Sam, and Pippin surrounded by nine individual units of Nazgul near the Shire. Although the first task is to travel to Rivendell, the player is free to decide how heroes and armies progress, despite the in-game conventional storyline.

20.09.1984

Elite is a space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984.Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite". Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden line removal. It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

08.05.1982

Moon Patrol is an arcade game originally released in 1982 by Irem and later licensed for release in North America by Williams (Midway). It is a side-scrolling shooter that puts players at the controls of a six-wheeled moon rover that can jump and shoot. The goal is to move through the entire course as quickly as possible while shooting enemies for additional points. Cannons are mounted on the front and top of the vehicle, and both fire simultaneously when the fire button is pressed. Rocks, mines, and pits in the course prevent you from just holding to the right for maximum speed. Rocks and mines can be shot, but pits must be jumped. Some enemies fire shots that create new pits in the course, forcing players to react quickly.

01.09.1984

Bruce Lee is a video game designed by Ron J. Fortier, with graphics by Kelly Day and music by John A. Fitzpatrick. It was originally developed for the Atari 8-bit family and published in 1984 by Datasoft, along with a port for the Commodore 64. The game was converted to the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC and published by U.S. Gold in the same year. An MSX version was published in 1985 by Comptiq. Bruce Lee is a platform game/beat 'em up hybrid, in which the player controls Bruce Lee.

13.05.1976

The objective of the game is to destroy a multilayered wall of bricks at the top the screen. Upon hitting the bricks with a ball which bounces off of a paddle at the bottom of the screen the bricks are destroyed. If the player misses the ball with his horizontally moveable paddle the ball is lost. After loosing five balls the game is over.

01.11.1982

Time Pilot is a multi-directional scrolling shooter and free-roaming aerial combat arcade game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, released by Konami in 1982, and distributed in the United States by Centuri. Debuting in the golden age of video arcade games, it is a time travel themed game that allowed the player's plane to freely move across open air space that can scroll indefinitely in all directions. The Killer List of Videogames included Time Pilot in its list of top 100 arcade games of all time. The player assumes the role of a pilot of a futuristic fighter jet, trying to rescue fellow pilots trapped in different time eras. The player must fight off hordes of enemy craft and defeat the mother ship (or "boss") present in every level. The background moves in the opposite direction to the player's plane, rather than the other way around; the player's plane always remains in the center.

31.12.1986

The Chessmaster 2000 is the most powerful computer chess program in the world today and the friendliest! It draws from a mammoth opening library of over 71,000 moves - the world's largest. In mid-game, it displays amazing combinations of classical and modern strategy. At end game it calls further upon the world's newest and finest computer chess algorithm to mount virtuoso tactics.