Super Stario Land

Mario on the ST???

I was talking to a friend who loves Super Mario Bros. However, that's something I've not played because I had the ZX Spectrum before moving up to the glorious Atari ST. He swore at me, saying it was the best platformer ever made, and other nonsense like: I didn't know what I was missing. Thankfully, he has now been sectioned, but his silly opinion got me thinking about Super Stario Land, which is (cough...cough) similar.

I remember playing it a few years ago, but struggled to get very far, so I decided to give it another bash over the weekend. Shockingly, my skills had not improved, and I rebooted my ST after only a few games - to enable the trainer option!! I hoped that would compensate for my poor reactions. In fact, I had the bold intention to record a "longplay" but those darn flying fish put a frustrating end to the idea, which was so disappointing!

Why is it I'm always so bad at every game I enjoy? Let's crack on with a couple of screenshots...

Stario left the house without a weapon? What a fool...



Now he's gotta squish the nasties using his boots!

A platformer without a gun?

Top Byte Software released this in 1995, so it ranks as one of the last commercial games for our beloved Atari ST. For those living on another planet for the last couple of decades, Super Stario Land is a shameless Mario ripoff - it doesn't even try to hide that fact at all. It was programmed by Adrian Keylock, who did an excellent job considering no enhanced hardware was used. Yup, it's as smooth as silk on any Atari ST computer.

Stario can walk, run (hold the fire button), and jump over his blocky 2D landscape. Many of these blocks can be nudged for points and sometimes a weird bonus - I love the one that makes you grow twice the size/strength, and I will never refuse a much-needed 1UP. The levels are populated by lots of critters that can be killed by stomping on their heads, although some require a double jump, whilst others are immune.

Your environment is very much a "Mario" clone using the expected bric-a-brac with tube-like structures, water, moving platforms, etc. Everything was intended to feel this "familiar", but what interested me was the levels themselves, which follow a large design using randomly generated stages. Sadly, this design will often backfire for a weird Deja Vu feeling as you explore the same bit of landscape... more than once.

Hey, let's see more gorgeous screenshots...

Watch out for falling rocks!!



Every critter is so cute and detailed, even the evil flying fish!!

Looks, sounds, Gameplay?

The graphics are designed by none other than Richard Davey, of the legendary LGD and supporter of AtariCrypt. He's certainly taken the time to get that console look right - from the blocks, the landscapes, and incredibly detailed sprites. The baddies are really cute, it's almost a shame to squash 'em. Well, almost lol.

Audio can be flipped between the default sound effects and chip music by simply pressing the F9 key. The effects are quite good, but there's not enough going on, so you're left feeling empty and wanting more pizazz from your old ST. Thankfully, nothing compares to the gorgeous Big Alec tunes. So that's an easy choice!!

The joystick controls are excellent and incredibly responsive without any lag. Having said that, you should get in a few practice games to master the enormous level of inertia. I wish I had a pound for every time I slid off the edge of a moving platform to my doom! After a few goes, it soon becomes second nature.

It's screenshot time, but these are for all those ST nutters in Australia...

Enter 'australia' into the high score table, and you get a rather unexpected bonus game!!



This is freaky and quite impossible to play, but hilarious at the same time.

The CryptO'pinion?

There are always a few niggles, and Super Stario Land isn’t perfect and has a few that can be frustrating.  The flying fish are particularly annoying because their unpredictable patterns make it difficult to judge when they’re coming. This creates a sense of pure luck if you manage to get past them. I said IF.

Stario is unofficially Mario in many ways and offers a ton of console fun. But as a platformer in its own right, this is a fantastic game with superb joystick controls and exciting levels. I absolutely love it, and I highly recommend that you play Super Stario Land. It’s nothing short of platforming excellence!

Super Stario The Mario Wannabe

can be run from floppy or your hard drive.

Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land

This game looks bad...

Okay, we're a kid named Tom-Tom who wears a nappy and wields a sword. Hmm, I was hoping for something macho with blood and gore, but there is none! However, Tommy holds his own for his one and only outing on the Atari ST.

Anyhow, Tommy (yes, I've renamed him) lives in a pleasant place called Wonder Land, which he apparently protected during the first game. However, don't get too comfy, because a dragon has wreaked havoc on Wonder Land by releasing an army of hideous creatures. Not only will most of these beasts aimlessly walk back and forth, in a menacing manner, but they've now managed to turn Tommy's once beautiful home into Monster Land. Oh no, we can't have that!

Okay, let's end that sarcasm because this is where we come in to be a kiddy hero with the demanding task of killing all of the baddies and freeing the land of evil. Wanna turn your Atari ST temporarily into a Nintendo and save the day?

I already know the answer, so let's begin with some cool screenshots...

Hmm, that looks like a slab of juicy meat floating in the air?

Argh no!! Tell me I don't need to kill this cute, er, thing? Yes, KILL IT!!

WonderBoy has to deal with some of the silliest monsters, which can be a pain to kill.

Kiddy killer time!

Monster Land starts off very bright and cheery with lovely colours and a cutesy design that I really like. Right from the beginning, you meet with somebody who details your quest and kindly arms you with a sword. Every level has its baddies, who get more frequent (and nastier) the deeper you progress through the land. Easy ones are snakes and rabbits, but there are many others which are trickier: bats, mud men and grey things that fire arrows (ugh, I hate those).

Currency is a big thing in this game, and slain monsters will leave behind gold coins when slaughtered. Also, it's worth jumping up into apparently empty parts of any level because these areas might reveal extra hidden coins. You've just gotta be willing to hop here, there and everywhere - like an idiot! (I'm good at that)

Wanna spend those coins? Well, look for doorways that are often scattered throughout most of the maps. These provide access to various stores to purchase items, enhancements, or friendly advice. For example, it's a good idea to carry a shield when you come across a grey fella who fires arrows. Other items which you might find useful are shoes for faster movements, weapons (I love the fireballs), or perhaps you're just after some basic help and advice?

Oddly, there's an egg timer displayed in your status bar, and I hadn't got the foggiest what it was for. But, when it expires, some of your health is frustratingly taken, so try to keep it topped up by collecting the tiny egg timers hidden throughout the levels. Yep, they're probably going to be invisible, so you better start randomly jumping...

Bosses appear quite frequently, I thought, with the first being Death himself. Actually, he's rather slow and moves in a predictable pattern, so it's quite easy to kill. However, the others aren't defeated so easily, so prepare thyself. Once any level boss is dead, you're then able to collect his loot and a key to the exit. Tip: don't dawdle & grab the loot first!

Okay, it's that time when I show some responsible screenshots. Fancy a beer, kid? What...

Oh, not again? But boss-eyed helpers, whatever next?



A drink, you ask? Beer, please, and ignore the nappy I'm wearing. I'm over 18, honest.

Input & Output

Use your joystick to walk, leap and activate power-ups. When Tommy moves, he abides by humble laws of physics with regard to momentum, so he cannot simply stop moving when you release the joystick and will instead slow to a halt. At first, that is rather annoying I gotta say, but it soon becomes second nature. Oddly, the spacebar is used to open shop doors, which can be a little awkward, and I would have preferred not to let go of my joystick.

Visually, Monster Land honours the arcade game well, but I doubt it'll blow your socks off: we're not talking Seven Gates Of Jambala or Risky Woods. What we do have is a gorgeous cartoon design with the cutest sprites - I love the snakes, but those horrendous Mudmen are the best. Scrolling suits the gameplay perfectly and is smooth and responsive. Sure, they reduced the screen size, but at least they didn't wimp out with flick or push scrolling, so respect from me!

The audio is good and features chiptunes throughout by David Whittaker, which I really liked. They're oldskool style, and I doubt they're his finest work, but there's still something cool and timeless about chip music, and these prove that. Sound effects are nice, nothing more than the expected spot effects for weapons /etc. No complaints.

Okay, let's check out those cool kiddy visuals with the final run of screenshots...

Blue flying rabbit/bat things. Cute and annoyingly deadly!

Aye-up, what's inside here? Treasure, I hope...

And there's always an end-of-level boss just itching for a fight!

The CryptO'pinion?

Considering that I have never liked this style of platformer (yep, including Mario!), I must admit that I have really enjoyed Wonder Boy on the Atari ST. It starts off easy but soon becomes challenging with a massive variety of cute baddies to kill whilst exploring a range of interesting levels. Blummin' excellent game I thoroughly recommend!!

A massive shock for me this - who would have thought a nappy-wearing toddler would have been this fantastic?

Download for floppy or hard drive!

Hard 'n' Heavy

Looks familiar...

Hard 'n' Heavy follows on from Giana Sisters in true sequel fashion to offer more Mario-esque levels to run and jump through. However, the official commercial release was very poor with awful flip-screen scrolling that ultimately ruined what might have been a great conversion. Sure, flip might work well with some platformers, for example, Jet Set Willy, which would have been horrendous with scrolling. Ugh, just imagine... but Hard 'n' Heavy requires scrolling!!

Thankfully, that's where the bad lesson ends and the good news begins because Peter Putnik has developed a version that features smooth-as-silk scrolling thanks to the use of the Blitter co-processor lurking inside every Atari STe. And also most other earlier models (incl. later STFM models which had a Blitter or at least a hungry socket).

Hard 'n' Heavy obviously looks and feels similar to Giana Sisters, so if you didn't like that game, then you may as well start looking elsewhere right now. The physics exaggerate the Giana experience to feel more like we're floating, and this took me a few goes to master. It's pretty weird! Okay, there are 25 levels of shooting the baddies and destroying blocks to search for those bonuses, and even access to hidden levels. Also available is a two-player feature, with various game types.

Wow, this is superb, and I'm sure any Giana Sisters fan will love what is basically more of the same with a few extra bells and whistles. Peter has done well to transform that pathetic commercial conversion into something it should have been all along. Just make sure you play it on a real computer to experience the silky-smooth movement.

Overall, I prefer Giana Sisters, but this Hard & Heavy upgrade is downright marvellous. Highly recommended!!

- Download Hard 'n' Heavy -

Crash Time Plumber

New game alert!

Crash Time Plumber is a conversion of the Gamopat original released at Silly Venture demo party. The Atari game was developed by none other than Sebastien Lucas of Cerebral Vortex, and it will work on any Atari computer with a Blitter Chip: check the Options screen in GEM, but all late models of STfm, Mega ST, Atari STe, and Falcon should be a-ok. Many STfm computers have an empty socket just waiting to be used:

* Many newer STFMs have an empty Blitter Chip socket so head over to the EXXOS webSTore.

At first, I wasn't sure how this was gonna go - we've been burned by so-called 8-bit conversions before. However, it booted up with a neat intro and looks the business! Based on Donkey Kong with a dollop of Popeye, it's set in 1983 as the gaming industry crashed (which I was unaware of as a Spectrum kid!)

Anyhow, an Italian plumber has teamed up with an angry-looking monkey and kidnapped ten gaming heroes: Pac-Man, Pitfall Harry, Q-Bert, Frogger, and others. They are all preparing for a hideous death at the hands of these criminals from the East, so go and rescue them to foil Mario's plan and stop this invasion.

Sounds cool, right? It is, and so is the intro, which begins in Alamogordo (I've been there!)...

The intro is sweet and tells a good story. Also, I've been to Alamogordo, NM. #tidbit

Hang on, this looks familiar?

Taking place on the Donkey Kong construction site, we run along girders collecting love hearts by a damsel in distress. She floats by in her hot air balloon and, when enough are collected, we begin a steroid-jumping rescue to the top of the screen and save a trapped hero. Once free, we can move on to the next level.

This isn't easy because, not only is Mario rolling barrels downhill, but King Kong is hanging about, throwing deadly bananas at us with annoying accuracy! Some levels have weather conditions affecting your movement, and there's even a harsh 120-second time limit. This makes things difficult after a few levels!

The game ends once each and every gaming hero has been rescued. Easier said than done...

Watch out for angry monkeys throwing their killer bananas, or you're DEAD!!

One smooth looker!

The graphics are fantastic, using an 80s retro theme with cute sprites. The Blitter delivers a smooth 50fps display. Heck, the Atari STe even adds enhanced colour fading. Falcon owners get to witness a huge Zeppelin flying by, which I wonder why it's missing on the STe? Ignoring that, this game is ace!!

The audio is superb with lovely sound effects and a simple chiptune suited to the ye olde style. A lot of effort has gone into both the visuals and sounds, and I dare that jingle not to stay in your head all day.

Everything is just dandy and perfect with a retro, comical design...

Beautiful girl blowing kisses? Come back, my love!

The CryptO'pinion?

Don't be fooled by the 8-bit appearance. From the start, you're tricked into thinking this will be easy, but the combination of fantastic controls and tough mechanics will catch you out. I'm sick of being smacked in the face by a killer banana, but I keep on coming back for more of this torment. So addictively playable!!

Crash Time Plumber is extremely hard, but it manages to drag you back for more - kicking & screaming.

Download for FLOPPY / HARD DISK

Terry's Big Adventure

It's-a-me, Terry!

Terry's Big Adventure was released in 1989 by Gary Walton for Shades. It plays with more than a pinch of Mario (how did moneybags Nintendo let them get away with it, but I'm glad they did). His adventure takes us through twelve lands and, like his Italian cousin, he is stuck within a 2D world of silliness. Get your joystick ready because this means lots of platforms, gaps to jump, magic mushrooms, and iddy biddy critters.

Terry isn't a mean guy, and he doesn't like squashing cute creatures, so instead, he has brought a different weapon. Now, if you're expecting something like a shotgun or a sword, then you might be disappointed because it's actually a yo-yo. That is unlikely to impress the girls, but it's different and works well, too.

Power-ups are frequently available, plus you can swap the yo-yo for pebbles by hitting the space bar. Terry is such a badass, right? Many kills reward a random letter in a tiny parachute; collect 'em to eventually make "terry" to earn a temporary shield. This comes in handy, allowing you to plough through the horde.

Fancy some big tips? Well, it's always worth collecting the mushrooms for juicy points. Also, an extra life awarded every 20,000 points, which you will be glad of. Finally, there are bonus levels stocked to the brim with even more mushrooms - just don't get yourself addicted!

Fancy a screenshot? No? How about an animation? Better check this out then...

The Atari ST cannot scroll, right? Well, that's what the talentless programmers say...

Visuals, Sounds, Controls.

The graphics are very "NES" in style with tiny sprites, but these suit the console experience perfectly, and everything you see is colourful and detailed. Scrolling is silky smooth, and it's obvious Gary took pride in his work and achieved beautiful results - using a computer without any hardware scrolling.

The audio is a little disappointing, with the option of chip music or sound effects. The tunes are cute and my preferred choice in comparison to the dullness of the sparse sound effects. Don't get me wrong, the effects are okay, but few and far between - so much of your gameplay will be in silence. Stick with the music!

Any Mario game needs responsive controls, and Terry has a precise feel that is great. It's perfectly "console", which I know sounds odd, but it's true! This works hand in hand with the laws of physics, which means how and when to use the Yo-Yo. That weapon has a knockback that affects Terry, so watch out if near water.

Splish... Splash... Splosh... let's see a screenshot...

Terry's world is filled with colour and cute things. But even little things can hurt!

The CryptO'pinion?

Terry's Big Adventure is a superb game and one that will appeal to those who enjoy Giana Sisters or the Stario games. It might be a rip-off, but Terry has enough personality of his own to make this different and entertaining. The only kicker is never knowing about this wonderful platformer back in the day...

I thoroughly enjoyed playing yo-yos with my new spiky-haired friend. What a fantastic platformer!!

Download for floppy or hard disk.

Giana Sisters

Turn your ST into a Nintendo!

The Great Giana Sisters was released in 1987 by Rainbow Arts and is a platformer with (umm) more than a hint of Italian plumbing. The commercial game played well, but suffered from flip-screen scrolling that soon became tiresome. Ultimately, it was a lame port and spoiled what should have been an excellent release.

Don't give me the old excuse that the ST cannot scroll. It can scroll: Viking Child, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Enchanted Land, Stario, Alien World, Zone Warrior, Onslaught and many, more!! Yes, it bugs me when I see people's daft comments claiming that the ST cannot scroll. Blame the programmer - not the computer! /rant

It looks like I wasn't the only person to hate our conversion because Samuel (aka Zamuel_a of Pac-Mania fame) decided to convert it to the Atari STe. He makes use of the hardware scrolling so the entire screen scrolls rather than flipping - and it's smooth, 50fps smooth. To say that this update is jaw-dropping is an understatement, and it certainly beats the pathetic commercial original. Where was Samuel back in the 80s lol.

The game is the same, but it now scrolls. This transforms your experience, as he has put the Atari STe to great use, which proves the power of this wonderful computer. Finally, we can play Giana Sisters as it was meant to be enjoyed! Waste no more time and download this wonderful version (improved by Peter Putnik)

Watch the above video and check out these screenshots...

It looks basic but it also looks console-cool too. I like it, very NES... to me.

Happily walking along and then something falls on your head! Let's collect the gems.

I really hate that horrendous big bug so let's jump over the sucker and run!

Merry Christmas

Mario on the Atari ST?

Super Stario Land was released in 1995 by Top Byte and might remind you of a certain game featuring an Italian plumber? This isn't merely a cheap clone but a great game in its own right that offers fantastic amusement. It's a delight to play with controls that are both easy and responsive, so it feels authentic.

The graphics scroll by at a smooth 50fps with fine attention to visual detail, if small by ST standards. Sound effects are chirpy and suit the console-style, but if you press F9, then music will play by Big Alec. I love this game. It's like having a Nintendo with a keyboard! It's hard, but it's also a brilliant platformer.

What? Do you want more?

Stario's Christmas was released in 1996 and is more of the same, but within a Christmassy winter wonderland. It's equal, in every way, to the first, so if you enjoyed that, then you're sure to love this game.

Yep, two superb platformers to play over the holidays. Merry Christmas, everyone †

Download hard disk versions via 8BitChip

and the floppies via Atari Legend.