Popular games for platform SG-1000
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.
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.
Lode Runner is a 1983 puzzle video game, first published by Brøderbund. It is one of the first games to include a level editor, a feature that allows players to create their own levels for the game. This feature bolstered the game's popularity, as magazines such as Computer Gaming World held contests to see who could build the best level.
Zaxxon is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.) The object of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel, which can be replenished paradoxically, by blowing up fuel drums.
Road Fighter is a car-based arcade game developed by Konami and released in 1984. It also was the first car racing game from Konami. The goal is to reach the finish line within the stages without running out of time, hitting other cars or running out of fuel (fuel is refilled by hitting a special type of car). The game also spawned two sequels in its time, Midnight Run: Road Fighter 2 in 1995 and Winding Heat in 1996, respectively. A Japan-only rebooted sequel was also released in 2010, 14 years after Winding Heat.
Knightmare, known in Japan as Majou Densetsu (魔城伝説 , Demon Castle Legend?), is a 1986 MSX vertical scrolling shooter computer game. The player is a knight, Popolon, who has to fight his way through several levels to defeat Hudnos and rescue Aphrodite. Knightmare was an innovative upward-scrolling shoot 'em up game on the MSX system released as game cartridge. The top-view graphics were considered very sophisticated for its time, similar to other MSX games such as Nemesis and Penguin Adventure. Konami also released a slightly altered version that could be bought from LINKS network. (Japanese "internet replacement" of the 80's) In this version you could submit high scores to online server. It was brought without a license to the SG-1000 in Taiwan.
Sokoban ("warehouse keeper") is a is a classic puzzle game created in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi, and published in 1982 by Thinking Rabbit, a software house based in Takarazuka, Japan. In 1984 the ASCII Corporation published a version produced by Khaled Bentebal. It was the basis of numerous clones in the later years. It is set in a warehouse. On each level, the player must push crates (from square to square) to get them onto designated spots; once each crate is on a marked spot, the level is complete. Crates can only be pushed one at a time (so two crates next to each other cannot be pushed together), and cannot be pulled--so it's possible to get a crate stuck in a corner, where it cannot be retrieved! By the last levels, you must plan 40 steps in advance.
Bandits are holding up a bank and have taken people hostage, and as a gunslinger, it's your job to shoot them. The bank has 12 doors, and the bandits are behind each one of them. When they pull a gun out at you when you open a door, you have only a few seconds to shoot them before they shoot you. If you shoot them too early (ie: before he sticks his gun out at you), it is considered unfair, and you won't score any points, but if you're too late, he'll shoot you and you lose one of your three lives.If you waste too much time, a bandit will come out from one of the doors and stick dynamite on it. You must then shoot the dynamite to get rid of it. If you're lucky, either a man or a woman will throw you a bag of gold coins. If you shoot any of these people by accident, you also lose a life. More often than not, the person will throw his/her hands up, saying "I haven't got anything". That's when they will be replaced by bandits. Some men will carry three to five pieces of gold on top of their heads, and shooting at all of the gold will award you with a bag of gold coins. Others will be tied up with rope. If you shoot the rope, there's more money for you, because not only will you receive one bag of gold coins, but you'll get three bags of gold coins.
Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns is the sequel to Pitfall and was released for a variety of systems during the mid-1980s including the SG-1000 in 1985. It was also ported to Sega System 1 arcade hardware by Sega. Gameplay is similar to the original game, but the levels are more maze-like. Sega's version of Pitfall II was tweaked significantly from its western counterparts released for the Atari 2600, ColecoVision etc. The gameplay is largely the same, but there are many additions. These include a Lives system, mine-carts, balloons, and a final Demon boss. The increased specifications of System 1 hardware means the arcade version is much more detailed and allows the player to see more of the maze at one time. The SG-1000 version is directly inspired by the arcade game, and though cannot match the same level of graphical quality, it is arguably the nicest looking home port of the game.
Feel the excitement of the starting line up and take in the atmosphere before letting your throttle unleash to send your formula one-style vehicle around the courses at incredible speeds! In the amazing World Grand Prix you must battle your way up the pack to snatch pole position and maintain it for as long as possible to whoosh over the finish line first in each race to become the true tarmac racing champion!
A maze game where the player controls a tank and battles enemy tanks that pursue and attack.
In the game, the player pilots a starship called the Final Star, while shooting various enemies and destroying enemy structures for points. Unlike later vertical scrolling shooters, like Toaplan's Twin Cobra, the Final Star had only two levels of weapon power, and no secondary weapons like missiles and/or bombs. Each stage in the game was named after a letter of the Greek alphabet. In certain versions of the game, there is an additional level called "Infinity" (represented by the infinity symbol) which occurs after Omega, after which the game repeats indefinitely.
Exerion is a vertical shoot 'em up released by Jaleco in 1983 and licensed to Taito for distribution in the United States. Screenshot from arcade version Exerion is a shoot 'em up game featuring parallax effects and inertia simulation, something notable for 1983. The player travels around strange scenarios shooting aliens. The player has two types of guns: fast single shot (limited) or slow double shot (unlimited). In 1984, along with the MSX1 port of the original, a sequel was released titled Exerion II: Zorni for the MSX1, with similar gameplay to the original. There were plans for an NES release of this game. In 1987, the game was followed by the semi-sequel titled Exerizer, also known as Sky Fox.
When it comes to fast-paced action and intrigue, nobody does it better than Bond. James Bond. But you can try when you reenact scenes from four great James Bond movie classics. 007's specially designed vehicle will take you on the ride of your life--over land, in the air, and under the sea! Through it all you must avoid obstacles, avert enemies, and accomplish four different missions!
Borderline is a VIC Dual arcade game developed in 1980 by Sega. It is a shoot-'em-up in which the player controls a red jeep who must destroy the enemy refineries. Borderline was ported to the SG-1000 in 1983, and has also been released as part of the Sega Ages 2500 series in Japan. The second gameplay section was also recycled for the Atari 2600 release of Thunderground, though instead of driving a jeep the player controls a tank.
Chase is somehow similar to Gnome Robots but in real-time game and with several items and power-ups.
Pacar is an SG-1000 game initially released in 1983. It is essentially a mix between two Namco games; Pac-Man and Rally X. It is the sequel to Head-On, which was released a year before Puck-Man. However, Pacar is more-so a clone of Puck-Man than a true Head-On sequel. The player controls "Pacar", a "mischievous" green car through a maze of roads. The objective of the game is to "delete" all of the small red "dots" scattered around the playfield, building up points for a high score. The joystick allows Pacar to move in the proposed direction, assuming it is possible to do so. Like Pac-Man, Pacar does not stop moving unless it hits a wall, however unlike Pac-Man, it is not possible to rotate 180 degrees on the spot - moving in the opposite direction causes Pacar to reverse, and reversing is significantly slower than driving normally. Ideally the player should plan his or her route to avoid reversing altogether. 1 or 2 allows Pacar to move faster across the board. Driving off the edge of the screen makes Pacar appear at the other side, again similar to Pac-Man. The game has Pacar avoid two types of enemy, also depicted as cars. Blue cars spawn from the garage at the centre of the screen and wander around the play area, only following Pacar if it is close by. Red cars spawn randomly on the road behind Pacar, and are much more aggressive with their tactics. Red cars also differ in that if Pacar speeds up, they will also increase their speed. If either car crashes into Pacar under normal conditions, the player loses a life. Under certain conditions the game's equivalent of Pac Man's power pellets appear after deleting smaller dots. These give Pacar "temporary invincibility" turning it purple in the process, and act as the only form of attack against oppoents. While purple, the player is free to crash into as many cars as he or she likes, and is granted extra points in the process (starting at 200 and doubling for each successive hit, i.e. 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 etc.). It will also slow down red cars. Though there are typically fewer enemies on-screen in Pacar than Pac-Man, the fact that blue cars spawn from the garage instantly after being deleted means it is possible to achieve much higher point combos. There are only two maps in Pacar, which cycle endlessly until the player dies. The game claims it is "three dimensional" as some roads in map 1 act as bridges over other roads. Once both maps are completed the player proceeds to the next "round", in which more blue cars are added to the playfield (with the exception of round 4, in which the three "normal" blue cars are replaced with one faster blue car. Round 5 will then add a second faster car and so on). Extra lives are awarded every 10,000 points.
Serizawa Hachidan no Tsume Shogi is a 1982 arcade game by Sega. It was subsequently ported to the SG-1000. The arcade version is extremely rare and poorly documented.
Super Tank is one of two original games manufactured by German company Video Games GmbH. Released in 1981, it was licensed to SNK for the Japanese market and Computran for the US Market. In Super Tank, up to two players simultaneously control highly mobile armored tanks on a mission to destroy the SUPER TANK. An introductory collection round challenges the players to clear a field of mines and destroy as many red enemy tanks as possible. Special glowing diamonds are scattered throughout, providing temporary super armor protection and making the players’ task easier. After clearing the field of mines, the players are ready for their confrontation with the SUPER TANK! The SUPER TANK is this game’s most dangerous adversary. It is a highly-maneuverable vehicle with a single weakness at the tip of its nozzle. A direct hit on the nozzle will destroy the SUPER TANK, bringing the players to another more intricate collection round where the challenges are greater and so are the rewards. Oddly enough, the German and Japanese versions of the game’s flyer depict a flower-laden, treaded vehicle with the head and body of a Roman gentleman, much like a centaur. This vehicle is shown shooting water at other similar vehicles out of his elongated nose. It is thought that restrictions against war games and cultural standards were responsible for these gentle depictions of the military-themed action in the game.
Sherlock Holmes: Loretta no Shouzou is an Adventure game, developed and published by Sega, which was released in Japan in 1987.
In order to prevent her boyfriend Minto from going to another little girl named Cocco, Papri must collect ten different flowers and return them to her boyfriend's house. Flowers must be caught in full bloom so that the number of flowers in her possession will increase; catching flowers too early will consider the flowers to be wasted and flowers caught too late will be wilted. Wilted flowers will ruin the bouquet, causing the player to lose half of the flowers. Bears have a taste for honey and cause the player to lose one of two hearts if one of them attacks the player. However, the honey can be dropped in order to render the bear temporarily harmless to the player. Bees appear as the player's ally, giving her bonus items occasionally and extra honey if the player catches it on a flower.