App appreciation day

A time to celebrate!

Some programs don't get the credit or respect that they deserve. The ones that we use regularly, that never let us down, and get the job done perfectly. Yet, once their task is complete, they are TOSsed to one side without so much as a thank you. How cruel we are. Do you know a downtrodden app? Then shame on you!

Sadly, I am guilty of this sin. For me, it's called FastCopy (Pro) by Martin Backchat. This is an iconic copier/formatter for the Atari ST. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't/doesn't use this funky program? I think every ST owner has a copy on their computer?

Rightly so, because it has several distinct features that I admire...

1. A brilliant backup tool.
2. Essential formatting options.
3. Actually, very smart formatting. Woo!!
4. Nifty virus prevention.
5. Can run either as a PRG or an ACC.

I format all my disks using Fastcopy Pro. It never lets me down (touches wooden head) and I've used it since the 80s. How cool is that! So, dear FastCopy, I promise to start being nice to you, appreciating your commitment to ST floppies. Greetings to Mr Backschat for making such an awesome Atari ST program.

I hope this silly post made you smile :)

 Atari-Forum Wiki  |  Atarimania

Rick Dangerous

Indiana Jones

Rick Dangerous is a brilliant platformer. Simple as that! Well, I almost fell over myself when I found this superb website dedicated to this incredible game. Go on, take a look at it - have a guess which is the best version of Ricky Dangerous!! :-) Before you go, here is my video recording of this excellent game!

Addicted To Fun - Rainbow Collection

Addicted To Fun!

This is a compilation released by Ocean Software called Addicted To Fun: Rainbow Collection which features three classic Taito games: New Zealand Story, Bubble Bobble, and Rainbow Islands. I have already featured two of these games here but sadly I've never "clicked" with Bubble Bobble. In fact, I hated it if I'm honest!

New Zealand Story was one of the first 16-bit games I saw when I was still a ZX Spectrum guy. Sadly, that was on a mate's Amiga and months passed before I managed to "source" the Atari ST game. It's brilliant, although the difficulty increases after the first couple of levels. You might need a trainer with extra lives?

Rainbow Islands needs no introduction because it's a fantastic arcade conversion with glorious graphics, sounds, and gameplay. In fact, it's one of the best conversions and one I am proud to own. Yes, I bought it!

New Zealand Story.

Rainbow Islands.

Umm, so what about Bubble Bobble?

I figured I should try the other disk inside the lovely Ocean plastic bag. Remember, I've never been a fan but I decided to give it my best shot. Well, the first thing I noticed is the music - it never stops! And I didn't see anything in the manual that says how to turn it off but it actually becomes enjoyably bewitching.

The levels are all on the one screen and first appear humble in design, but somehow I get the feeling this is exactly how it's meant to be for progressive effect. There are a few monster cuties and killing them is easy - hit fire to blow a bubble and turn them into fruits! Don't dare bump in the baddies or you'll lose a life but there are lots of power-ups and I got another shock on level 5 when water poured in and washed me away!

Overall, I still prefer Rainbow Islands over Bubble Bobble but this is an excellent and faithful conversion. I loved it because it's simple yet insanely addictive with bucketloads of fun. I wonder why I didn't enjoy playing this back in the day? Madness!! I admit I was stupid because it is a brilliant Atari ST game.

Bubble Bobble

- DOWNLOADS AND LINKS -

8BitChip has Bubble Bobble ready to be installed onto a hard drive!

But if you need a floppy disk image look no further than Old Games Finder.

Fancy a couple of juicy tips. Of course, you do!

          -> Stand beside a wall, close enough to blow a bubble that instantly pops, for extra points!

          -> When you lose your last life, hold down the fire button and you can continue playing.

StrategyWiki has a helpful guide which explains the basics for us Bub/Bob noobs.

Here is a cool web page and shows the Atari ST has the best version.