Motörhead

Bambi

I was a kid the first time I heard Motorhead, thanks to watching The Young Ones. That sound blew me away as I'd never heard anything like it, and I've been a fan since. It's superb to see Lemmy (RIP†) making his way onto the Atari ST thanks to Virgin Games in 1992. Yet this isn't an Atari ST game I remember playing.

The story doesn't matter for a game like this, but Motorhead band members have been captured and imprisoned. As Lemmy, we must clobber loads of enemies before attempting a rescue. Typically, they're all trapped in different musical locations, the first being Rapland. Well, if you think rap is actually music...

Anyhow, Motorhead is a beat 'em up not unlike Golden Axe. Richard Costello's name appears in the credits to explain that mystery. Additionally, the credits also show Colin Dooley, aka Fungus T. Bogeyman. He programmed two other Atari ST games I thoroughly enjoy - Masters of the Universe and H.A.T.E. Nevertheless, I remember him for very different reasons: Star Wars/Rap. An ancient demo that blew my socks off!!

In light of that personal revelation, we need a bunch of screenshots from Rapland...

Nothing better than smashing in someone's teeth!

At the end of each level, a captured friend requires rescuing.

Each level ends with us racing down the road to collect goodies!

Before the subsequent level begins, we have a (different) bonus round.

Hit 'em all, hard!

Motorhead starts with Lemmy walking onto the stage to blast out guitar riffs YM2149-style. At first, I was disappointed because I expected a short loop of Ace Of Spades! However, that works well. It's weird, the speed of this chiptune is fast and aggressive. Very much in the spirit of speed metal and I love it to bits!!

As the game begins with the bad guys walking into play, you instantly notice how great it looks. Our life's energy is displayed along the top of the screen, with the number of remaining Lemmys shown as spades on your belt. To the left is the score, and to the right is the magic level (more on that later).

This beat 'em up is (cough) similar to Golden Axe because it uses the same engine. That means movements, actions, scrolling, etc, feel just the same. So when the baddies walk onto the screen, you know instantly what to do and how to do it. And this means hardly any learning curve, which I like a bunch.

Six horizontally scrolling levels are much the same, albeit with a different background and enemies...

• Level 1 - Rapland - posers and idiots in baseball caps need leathering metal style!!
• Level 2 - Nashville - my favourite level with Tex, Dolli, and an inbred mong!
• Level 3 - Karaokeville - we're clobbering Japanese singers, businessmen, and sumos!
• Level 4 - Scrapyard - Yet another stage of hitting bad guys.
• Level 5 - Cathedral - Quite possibly the best-looking level by a mile.
• Level 6 - Rave On - The worst level and the hardest. Zebedee makes an appearance!

Each level ends with a joyride that provides an opportunity to collect bonuses and recover energy and magic. Before the next level, there is another bonus round (which is always different). After level one, we have a beer-guzzler that resembles Tapper. Level 2/3 is weird and made me wish I had read the manual! Level 4 is superb because we trash a motel room! The fifth level has us toppling over stones to crush angels.

Okay, let's pause the reading to see a couple of screenshots...

This is from Nashville level 2 - checkout the inbred mong on the right lol

Karaokeville is level three, and we're bashing Japanese dudes!

Joystick magic

Controlling Lemmy is fast and responsive, plus it's dead easy to learn thanks to the limitations of the joystick's one button. Is that a good thing? Anyhow, movement and actions are centred around that button (whether pressed or not) whilst using a specific direction. That sounds odd? No, it's quite simple...

Without pressing - Left/Right walks Lemmy in that direction (twice to run). Pushing up/pulling down guides him vertically away/closer. Finally, the spacebar will invoke a magical spell.

Whilst pressing - Up will perform a leap (with left/right movement). Down will throw an object/spit, depending on what you have collected. Left/Right (your facing direction) is used to hit/punch. Doing the same, in reverse, Lemmy shoots a guitar cord (to vaporize enemies using magic).

Your movements around the screens are fluent without lag. You can even use parts of the scenery to avoid pitfalls, like caverns. Enemies will attack in packs of 3-5, but they aren't the most rapid movers. That gives us plenty of time to run around picking our own battles. I found myself using the same attack pattern - face them/fire. It works well, but I would have liked to jump-kick or something else for extra variety.

Opponents suffer a knockback with each hit but only die after being clobbered a few times. I found it best to hit/knockback and turn around to do the same on the next guy before repeating these sexy moves on the first. After a few beatings, they perish, leaving behind a bonus coin (points), Motorheads (magic for guitar cord and magic spells), beer (energy), a jar of cockles, and whiskey (powers a belch, aka a superpower).

Magic can also conjure three spells activated by pressing the Spacebar... 1) a dolly bird appears to distract the enemies. 2) the Motorhead logo emerges to damage the bad guys. 3) instantly kill everyone on screen.

We should have a peep at two screenshots showing some of this magical use...

Level 4 takes place in a scrapyard, and here I've invoked magic (level 1)

Level 5 is within a stunning Cathedral, and I'm hitting out a power cord!!

Aesthetics

Motorhead's visuals are outstanding and make this a sexy beat'em up thanks to the talent of Jason Wilson, who might be familiar - HeroQuest and Horror Zombies From The Crypt. All landscapes and backgrounds are vibrant and highly detailed. Character animation is good, but superbly drawn - I love that "inbred" from Nashville!! The scrolling isn't really scrolling as it's used to segment each attack wave, as in Golden Axe.

The audio is equal to the visuals in every respect. From the intro, when the chip rendition of "speed metal" began, I knew this would ROCK YM2149-style (pun intended). Each chiptune suits the action without drowning out the sound effects. Thank you, Ben Daglish (RIP†), for your amazing musical talent.

Hey, do you fancy a couple more screenshots? Of course, you do...

Zebedee turns up for the final stage, Rave On.

This bonus round is brilliant and tons of fun!

The CryptO'pinion?

To say I've enjoyed this beat'em up would be an understatement. I've relished repeatedly hitting individuals in the craziest places. However, a cynic might suggest it's just Golden Axe with different graphics? Well, I'm not sure about that negativity. Many games borrow ideas or use the same engine to drive the gameplay.

So what did I appreciate about Motorhead? Easy, I appreciated how simple it is to jump straight in and begin thrashing the enemies until they're dead meat. It's amusing zipping around the screen looking to clobber people. The controls are easy to master without feeling sluggish or unresponsive. This is a no-frills game of hitting everyone and it's brilliant fun!!

Ironically, what I didn't like was that simplicity. The repetitive gameplay backfired by the fourth level. I started to tire because I wanted something more but it failed to provide any. It tried with the two bonus rounds (after each level) but more was needed. Furthermore, Lemmy needed a few more attack moves - like a kick or something more accessible without resorting to magic.

It may not have broken the mould, but I've not enjoyed a beat'em up this much since Double Dragon 3. This might shock many, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing through to the end (except for the final level).

So I might surprise a few people here, but my rating is a golden axe hack of 85%.

D-Bug has the hard disk version, and Atari Legend has the floppies (I used Gravatics #88)

Level 2 is brilliant, and I can even shout at young girls!

Level 3 got a little weird once my mother-in-law turned up!

Level 4's bike ride looks so gorgeous with that dark sky.

Level 5 is stunning. Truly gorgeous pixel art, just look at those goths and skeletons.

I played through and rescued everyone. I wonder why I'm still collecting bonuses?

The ending is Motorhead banging away on stage. Still no sampled sounds though ;)

Street Fighter

A disgruntled gamer

Back in the summer of 1988, I was the only guy in college with a ZX Spectrum. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Speccy but had grown out of it. I spent much of that year dreaming of Atari's new supercomputer. It was tough seeing magazine reviews as the Atari ST games had graphics lightyears ahead of everything else.

I always remember the advert for Street Fighter. It featured screenshots taken from various systems, the Atari ST being one. It was a jaw-dropping moment seeing amazing details and bright colours (the image above). In reality, the advert was a lie because that image was actually taken from the arcade version!!

Not that it mattered because this beat'em up was something of a shambles thanks to Tiertex chimps randomly hitting their keyboards until it was ready for release. I honestly don't know how they got away with it - not only the jerky scrolling and laughable animations but the sluggish control system is vastly unresponsive.

After months of yearning for the Atari ST, I finally got one at Christmas. Ignoring Street Fighter, this slab of grey power lived up to my hopes and desires! You can imagine the joy on my face when I first booted up Xenon, Buggy Boy, and Beyond The Ice Palace. Magical moments in my history. (Atari STFM Super Pack)

If you're still interested in playing Street Fighter, you're obviously insane. But here are the links...

• 8BitChip has the download for hard drive/ultrasatan installation.
• Floppy disks can be found using Old Games Finger (Automation #41)
• Wasabim has recorded a fantastic YouTube video!
• Type "STREETCHEAT" on the title screen and you can hit the Help key to skip levels.
• Maybe you're curious how Street Fighter would have performed on the Atari STe? (unfinished)
• Hey, why not check out our Beat'em Up section, go on and click the links! 

Even though a trainer was enabled, I endured much pain to get these screenshots! I wanted to play through it, but it went on forever. I hope you appreciate the hell I went through to get these?

Dare I ask if there are fans of the ST beat'em up out there!

I hope you enjoyed my silly post (a disgruntled gamer) remembering US Gold's misleading advert? O_o

Look at him trying to punch me even though I've jerkily leapt 15 feet in the air.

Look at the magazine advert and then try and tell me that it's the same as the ST game!

Look at the size of this bad boy. Hmm, let's punch him in the nuts - that'll work!

Another giant dude to fight, so I decided to cower in front of Ian Dury's little car heh.

You'll see something like this at the end of each stage. Great, uh?

Look at all those strange faces watching. Quite scary!

Another clipping of the advert (enhanced using online tools, hence the weird text)

Fred

Let's get medieval

Ubi Soft's Sir Fred (aka Fred) was released in 1989 and is a platform/beat 'em up. It was programmed by Tuan Do Cao and Philippe Villain and I feel they were inspired by many older games I played back in my Spectrum days.

Our adventure begins with a fantastic intro animation depicting our fearless knight tragically zapped into a midget by an angry dwarf. Shocked by this, he shakes his fists at his foe but, they cannot help themselves and burst out laughing. Then, adding salt to Fred's wounds is a little gnome who completes Fred's ridicule. What a brilliant opening intro!!

That's the basis of the game, we need to heal our wounds. Wanna see some screenshots? I know you do...

Now come on, who would have ever expected rude gnomes to be our enemy?

Hang on, these are armed. They might be little but they're evil little b4s@£@s!

A garden centre platformer?

Beginning our life as a miniature warrior, we first explore the spooky forest to battle those cute garden gnomes. Other beasts lurk in the woods and castle grounds - skeletons, snakes, headless axemen, and ghosts. Everything wants you dead! So kill them with your arrows - these will even reach the baddies off-screen, which is kinda cool.

Fred is a nimble chap with the ability to walk, leap and roll his way through his quest. However, these controls often got me into trouble: turning around reminded me of Black Lamp feeling laborious and lethargic. This cumbersome method of turning around spoils the action somewhat because our ability to react is hampered by that speed.

The graphics are interesting beyond their looks, using a multi-layer arrangement. This effect is used to climb steps and bypass obstacles like rocks or trees, representing a 3D feel. At first, this will feel weird when you are too high/low (behind/in front of objects). It's a good idea but awkward in battles because both parties need to be on the same level.

Energy levels are indicated by three apples and, once they're gone, you're dead as a dodo. These don't last long but, your death produces a hilarious effect as our hero drops his sword in agony. This is just one more aspect of the visuals that is brilliant. There are lots of new and cool ideas in Fred, I just think some weren't needed for this game?

What was it with developers, didn't they play their own games? I know one thing, it's screenshot time...

I absolutely love the details and the murky palette which is perfect for the creepy scenario.

Check out that headless axeman and the gnome's facial details are astounding.

Aesthetics

Jean-Marc Torroella and Jerome Guerry should be forever proud of what they created. This is one of the best-looking games for the Atari ST using unique and colour landscapes with stunning attention to detail. The palette is eerie as it is comical with the cute sprites. The characters are animated perfectly, even the rude ones who stick out their tongues!!

The audio is (almost) as good as the visuals with a crunchy sampled tune playing on the title screen and intro. Charles Callet did great but, I'm more of a chiptune guy. In-game sound effects are sampled and I love these. From the firing of arrows, and clanging of swords to the silly screams of your enemies. Hardly high in quality but very enjoyable.

We've just enough time left to see a couple more screenshots. Keep on scrolling...

Those darn gnomes are a pest even the rude ones lol

Oh no, is that a skeleton or a zombie? Whatever it is, I should run away!

The CryptO'pinion?

Fred is a good game but it's too difficult thanks to the fudgy controls that needed to be quicker. Also, I feel more checkpoints were required to prevent restarting from the beginning. That is so annoying. Don't get me wrong, this is a good game but it looks better than it is. Am I right? Let me know in the comments below what you guys think.

Grab a sword and boot this up on floppy disk or for your hard drive.

Deathbringer

It's Hercules!

Deathbringer is a horizontally scrolling hack and slasher that reminds me of a bunch of different Atari ST games like Barbarian II, Golden Axe and, dare I say it, Shadow Of The Beast. You are Karn, a warrior with muscles who must kill an evil wizard using a sword possessed by a blood-hungry spirit called Abaddon.

Our world is viewed side-on and can be travelled in either direction through a variety of eye-popping landscapes. Of course, the basic gameplay remains much the same which means wielding your huge sword whenever you see anything nasty. Predictable or not, I like the sound of this slasher already!!

Karn can run & jump using 3 attack moves: fire + left/right for a jab that is handy against skeletons. Push up for an overhead swing - great for flying enemies. Pull down for an underhanded swing that works well for the goblins and other peculiar nasties like rocks. Yep, rocks.

Killing is the name of the game to keep Abaddon happily stuffed with souls - represented in the status bar by the sword's blood. The more baddies you kill, the happier our resident demon is, try not to starve him otherwise he might just get his fix elsewhere. It's silly, but I admired this unique mechanic.

Many other monsters will want to stop you from completing your noble quest: baby dragons, trolls, skeletons, bats, giants, and birds who drop stinky eggs. A boss screen follows each level and are rather easy!

It's time for an extraordinary screenshot. Breathe. Now, check this out...

The graphics in this game are outstanding.

Psygnosis eat your heart out!

Deathbringer has fantastic graphics - truly fantastic - and regulars will remember I featured the game within our Pixel Art section because of its intro/boss stages and outstanding artwork. The in-game multilayer parallax scrolling is legendary and proves the power of the Atari ST in the hands of a decent programmer.

Aesthetically, this game makes our port of Shadow Of The Beast look like Pong!!

The audio is on par with the visuals and a great title tune along with funny in-game sampled sounds - I love the horrific screaming in the intro!! However, I can't help but be disappointed Empire didn't make use of the Atari STe. Even so, we have sampled effects and smooth parallax scrolling. Eat that Psygnosis!

I only hope they didn't concentrate on the aesthetics too much? Let's see another screenshot...

A goblin riding a snail is not the quickest way to get about lol

The CryptO'pinion?

Deathbringer appears to have it all but I've not yet mentioned how this Conan wannabe actually plays. Surely running and hacking at slimeball enemies is guaranteed fun? Well, it should be but this is where disappointment rears its ugly head thanks to the unresponsive controls. The mirror opposite of what a game like this needs. It's the last thing you need during the heat of battle when dexterity and agility matters!

For example, press fire/up for an overhead swing which actions a split-second later. Other niggles exist like when Karn and a baddie are standing too close - so are unable to hit each other. How weird!

Deathbringer's strong points are its beautiful graphics and sound effects. I would also include its vast variety of interesting monsters too - I don't think I have ever seen a goblin on a sleigh before! Sadly, I'm left wondering if anyone at Empire actually bothered to play this game before releasing it. Probably not, which is oddly peculiar. With a little tweak to the control system, this would have been a show stopper!!

Ultimately, a good game but the laggy controls ruin what might have been tremendous...

Only one move will kill these skeletons but I don't care because it's fun!

Stonish has the floppies (Special FX (#53a/#53b)

But I would install it on a hard drive if possible!

The Ultimate Arena

Wax on, wax off...

The Ultimate Arena was released in 1995 by STeam and must rank as one of the last commercial releases. It's a beat'em up and the first thing to do is choose our character: Sandy or Terry. Now we can proceed to the first match against a series of dodgy villains, each of whom has their own skillset and special abilities. Some might say it is Atari Mortal Kombat and, why not because we fight in various arenas against several lunatics whilst watched by a bloodthirsty crowd.

Each arena offers a different environment and I chuckled to myself when I noticed the electrified fence - just one touch and you're crispy burnt toast!! Each warrior has their own trippy personality with a varying degree of speed, talent and special abilities. Watch out for a T800 which I thought was really well done and there is also an Indiana Jones wannabe who is an incredibly tough opponent. Interestingly, your energy bar isn't fully replenished at the start of the following round, thus increasing longevity for determined gamers to figure out all the moves. This is a fun beat'em up!

Now let's check out a couple of screenshots of a Terminator and some silly fighting...

Whether you're Samantha Fox or a Terminator - this game is kick ass!! Love it!!

Showing off some cool moves there? Or is he just defying gravity? You decide.

Don’t forget to breathe, very important!

No beat 'em up would be worth its salt without fast and responsive controls to kick seven bells outta your opponent. The Ultimate Arena has what it takes and I found it easy to learn the various moves along with their special abilities. The two-player mode is great and allows us to play as the other characters (all except the final guy). A turbo mode is optional but I found that pointless so I cannot say I was impressed too much. Blood can also be turned on/off (what... why?)

Like Domark's Pit Fighter, each character is digitised and they try their best to look macho whilst kicking seven bells outta you. It's quite remarkable the amount of detail squeezed into each pixel with smooth animations and the backgrounds are always interesting: like the Terminator watching you on a screen and the crowd with their silly movements. However, I'm not so sure about the colour palette which is too brownish. Okay, I was tempted to let that slide but then I remembered other Atari ST games make better use of colour, ala Black Lamp. Yeah, umm, it is rather too brown!

Let's kick, punch and electrify through a couple more screenshots...

Kick people to death while they're already being electrocuted. It's all allowed!!

Or just pounce from a great height until they are splattered. All good fun!

The CryptO'pinion?

As I've said in the past, I'm no expert when it comes to beat 'em up games. However, I am genuinely shocked at how much fun I've had with this Mortal Kombat wannabe. I half expected it to suck, especially being released long after the gaming side of the ST had died. Surprisingly, even though the STe has no hardware to move the sprites, it's shockingly brisk and lively. A delightful game and a possible replacement for Double Dragon 3 as my favourite game?

Also, I love how it doesn't take itself too seriously and the fact I can try my luck against a Terminator is kinda cool. It's obvious that a lot of hard work and love went into its production - and all during the twilight years which is extra impressive. Beating the hell out of digitised guys is a great way to spend a couple of hours!! Play this.

The floppies can be found via Old Games Finder. (but stay away from the beta downloads as they are rubbish!)

Street Fighter II

Another unfinished game

The ST world constantly amazes me. Just when you think you've seen it all, a "new" version of Street Fighter pops up and slaps you in the face!! Yep, I had oddly never heard of this before! Where have I been all these years?

Anyhow, this beat'em up was developed for the Atari STe by Patrice Mandin, a guy whom I'm grateful for Doom and more. However, it's incomplete without the full game's content or even colours (although it is running in ST low). As is, it's fast and responsive by making use of the Blitter, hardware scrolling and DMA stereo sounds. It's actually very playable!

Sadly, Patrice stopped development so it's left this project in limbo - waiting for another techie to pick up the gauntlet. Great progress has already been achieved, and the source code is available, so it's sad that nobody has attempted to finish this incredible "beta". I think the potential is huge so download Street Fighter and prepare thy jaw to drop!!

Guardian Angel

Dimamic get Dynamic!

Freddy Hardest is our Guardian Angel for Dinamic's scrolling beat 'em up in the Big Apple, which actually ain't too dissimilar to After The War. Manhattan always seems to be the perfect setting for a grim future with crime and gangs. I don't know why but it's got that Deathwish vibe and setting nailed so perfectly.

I've always had a soft spot for Dinamic and I think it's because I played their Army Moves via disk (instead of tape) back in my Spectrum +3 days (a short-lived machine as it died after a few weeks... sigh).

They've released some good Atari ST games and you can find them by searching at the top of this web page. Anyhow, we begin our Death Wish at the docks and are instantly assaulted by waves of 80s-styled thugs! Some have brought their toys, like baseball bats and knives. Where's Charles Bronson when you need him?

The docks are a great place to go looking for trouble as you can see...

Ahh, nuts! That guy is big and I hear sneaky footsteps behind me!

Yee Aw that sucka!

As a beat 'em up, we get around crime-infested streets using left/right. The fire button performs a punch, which you'll find is good against the weaker Sailors. Pulling down allows us to stomp on rats but offers little benefit against tougher dudes. Pushing up will unleash the fury of your infamous high kick which is your only powerful move. Energy levels will automatically replenish IF you get a chance to stand still for a moment.

Guardian Angel doesn't take itself seriously and has you laughing at the silly antics you see on-screen. I love how the baddies turn into zapped skeletons for a split second when dying - it's like a Tom And Jerry cartoon. Watch out for "Death Star", a forklift trucker called Ricky Chang who is the world's worst driver. However, my favourite is being kicked out of your cute yellow boots when suffering a final death blow. Hilarious stuff.

That's this game to a tea, it's stupid but so entertaining. The kind you play after a bad day at work...

What? You think ganging up is going to scare me away - not on your nelly!!

Aesthetics

The gameplay window is small with much of the screen being -mostly- pointless decor. However, I do like the backgrounds, even if they're too colourful for a bleak city scene! Sprites are large and well-detailed with basic animation but there are some cool scenes - Ricky Chang will always make me laugh. Fantastic!!

Forget the terrible theme tune. Thankfully, all in-game effects are made from good and meaty samples with the chainsaw guy being superb. In fact, I really love the excellent variety of sampled sound effects.

This game has sound and vision that will rock your 16-bit world and I love it all...

Now, this is a proper title screen with outstanding artwork.

The CryptO'pinion?

Guardian Angel sure has good qualities; a bucket load of humour matched by responsive controls, superb sprites, and sound effects. Sadly, it's typically Dinamic with incredibly tough gameplay and having only one decent attack move is insane! However, I have enjoyed it with a trainer enabled - but that's a bad thing, right?

I think you guys need to play this beat 'em up regardless of the trainer. Hilariously fantastic and fun!!

Stonish has Medway Boys #85 Floppy Disk.

After The War

Muscles and big boots

After The War was released back in 1989 by Dinamic Software and is (partly) a fantastic beat 'em up similar in style to Double Dragon 3. You are Jonathan Rogers, aka Jungle Rogers, and must assassinate Professor McJerin who is today's nutcase. Worryingly set in the near future during a post-apocalyptic Manhattan where you must kill all the bad dudes and escape to somewhere better than this hellhole! Sounds easy, right?

The game is split into two parts: the first is a scrolling beat 'em up. The second is a shoot 'em up platformer. Upon playing part one, the first thing that struck me was the graphics which are amazing! Huge sprites, great colour, and good scrolling. I adore the backgrounds and found the artwork to be apt for the grungy scenario. Sound effects are very cool and made up of low-quality grunts and thumps with silly cries when somebody is killed. It is worth mentioning the awesome title theme which I think is superb!

Check out this screenshot from the first part of the game...

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum... No, wait... Wrong game!

Kick and punch everyone!

Controls are easy to master and offer: a punch, a flying kick, jumping, and a get-me-outta-here rollback. Strangely, the keyboard is needed to activate another type of kick and a nut-crushing low punch, especially useful for rabid dogs! Sadly, I found flipping between the two sets of controls an awkward killjoy.

Part two is only playable once the first is completed. Our musclebound hero is now equipped with a giant weapon as he heads off into the underground. Gamestyle is a platform shooter where we need to blast everything, even the pesky rats! The controls aren't great and the directional aiming is overly complicated. This stage is okay but I found myself stressing over the controls rather than having fun which isn't good. No, it's quite poor!

I didn't like part two enough to include a screenshot so let's see the beat'em up...

I hit him that hard, he flew up into the air. Yeah, I'm so big and strong!! GRR!!!

The CryptO'pinion?

After The War is two games in one which may sound great but, it's not. The beat 'em part is superb with decent graphics, sounds and lots of violence - I enjoyed playing it a bunch!! But that's more than can be said about the second part which doesn't work as there is too much going on. It's not enjoyable if I'm honest.

Download this game, if only for the beat 'em up stages and you have yourself a winner. Tons of fun!!

* Update September 2017: 8BitChip has a new hard drive installable download!

* Old Games Finder has all the floppy disk versions!

* Who fancies a couple of cheats?

          -> Fancy the code to part two: 101069 (tested and works)

          -> Infinite energy in part one, press keys: ALT, 1, B (untested)

          -> Infinite energy in part two, press keys: ALT, 1, M (untested)

Double Dragon 3 - Rosetta Stone

Yie Ar Kung-Fu!

I wanted to feature an Atari ST game to celebrate St George's Day so I figured something dragon-related would be great? Anyhow, I tried a few games but I wasn't in the mood for those and sadly, nothing else really caught my attention. Then I remembered Double Dragon 3 ... ahem ... come on, it has "dragon" in its title!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 For all those wondering what England's St. George's Day is about 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Double Dragon 3 takes us on a trip around the world and begins on the streets of America. From the first stage, we're thrown into the thick of it as these streets are filled with thugs - all intent on giving you a good hiding!! There are lots of kicks and punches which can be acted out - drawn well with cool animation.

Controls are smooth & responsive with each type of kick or punch easily performed. In fact, DD3 is actually very easy to pick up and play so I got that "arcade feeling" I hoped for. We need no learning curve. I must say that, immediately, even a beat 'em up noob like myself gets a thrill from this arcade-styled kicker!

Let's pause the read for some screenshots...

You don't mess with guys that look like these two!!

But I gotta laugh at the fun artwork throughout. It's great, but a little creepy!!

Kick him when he's down!

Immediately, it's obvious this game was designed with fake Hollywood-style action over any pseudo-realism. The baddies are awesome and can attack in groups making for a frantic, full-of-laughs, joystick-bashing time. At times, I got a Golden Axe vibe and, throughout, I enjoyed the barrage of silly fighting.

The gameplay is well-balanced, without being too easy or overbearing. I soon discovered a jumping/flying kick which is very effective!! However, repeating the same move soon bored me, so out came my joystick-waggling skills to uncover other hidden moves and before long I found a spinning vertical kick. Yeah!!

The enemies are a traditional lot with predictable AI but they all move slowly so the overall pace is reduced. Occasionally, shops are available to offer you power-ups like weapons, etc/etc. This adds a little more depth and longevity to your entertainment and proves that beating people up will always be incredible fun.

It's like a gaming version of a Chuck Norris movie and I love it. Screenshots incoming...

Come on, get up and take some more smackin'!! Yeah, I can take on anybody GRR!!

Ah, he's big. Well, they say that the bigger they are... (I hope that's true!!)

The CryptO'pinion?

Double Dragon 3 is a bucket load of fun with great graphics to boot. The sound effects are neat but it's a shame there's no in-game chip music. I loved the initial location set in the grungy streets of America. I am genuinely shocked by how much I relished this beat 'em-up and I cannot recommend it enough.

Double Dragon 3 offers kick-ass action and scores top marks from me. I enjoyed this game a bunch!!

Kick & punch your way using either
floppy disk or your hard drive