Games worth playing, Vol. III -- 1989-1990

[Rincewind]

Okay, so we'll continue in two-year increments until 1994 due to the large number of games released during this glorious period. If you don't know what this series is about, go check out the introductory post of the first installments. Links to the other episodes:

Games worth playing, Vol. I -- 1977-1985
Games worth playing, Vol. II -- 1986-1988
Games worth playing, Vol. IV -- 1991-1992
Games worth playing, Vol. V -- 1993-1994
Games worth playing, Vol. VI -- 1995-1997

A quick summary of this period: Amiga still reigns supreme, but more and more DOS ports made their way onto the list (40 DOS vs 50 Amiga games in total) due to VGA and Soundblaster / Roland MT-32 slowly becoming the standard hardware for DOS gaming. More interestingly, the number of DOS originals that never got an Amiga release start increasing (most notably the Legend Entertainment adventure games, Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire and The Dark Heart of Uukrul). We're also saying a final goodbye to the good old ZX Spectrum -- only a single Speccy game appears on the list, Lords of Chaos from 1990.

A surprising highlight for C64 fans is the 30th Anniversary Cartridge Edition of Supremacy (Overlord), which was released this month! It's quite an achievement, check this feature list out:

As Supremacy Enhanced features not just a number of handy trainers, but this version of the game also features mouse support, an animated pixelated intro from the Amiga version, pixelated armor from the training screen thanks to the coding of Domingo, pixelated Starbase animation and space ships from the shop screen, as well as the weapons from the training screen thanks to Zsolt, improvements to the battle screen and much much more you'll just have to experience for yourselves.

RPG

Spoiler

1989

• 2088: The Cryllan Mission (Victory) [Apple IIgs]
• Bloodwych (Image Works) [Amiga]
• Curse of the Azure Bonds (SSI) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Dark Heart of Uukrul, The (Digital Studios) [DOS]
• Dragon Wars (Interplay) [Apple IIgs]
• Drakkhen (Infogrames) [DOS]
  OPL soundtrack is quite good on the PC
  
  
• Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back (FTL) [Amiga]
• Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero (Sierra) [DOS]
  Quest for Glory I
  Play original EGA version
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Hillsfar (Westwood) [Amiga]
• Keef the Thief: A Boy and His Lockpick (Naughty Dog) [Amiga]
• Knights of Legend (Origin) [C64]
  SuperCPU version
  https://csdb.dk/release/?id=210486
  
  
• Magic Candle, The (Mindcraft) [DOS]
  C64 cartridge conversion
  https://csdb.dk/release/?id=175338
  
  
• Space Rogue (Origin) [DOS]
• Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula (Binary) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Sword of Aragon (SSI) [Amiga]
• Tangled Tales (Origin) [C64]
• Windwalker (Origin) [DOS]

1990

• Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday (SSI) [DOS]
• Captive (Mindscape) [Amiga]
• Centauri Alliance (Broderbund) [C64]
  Or Apple II version if the loading times are too slow on the C64
  
  
• Champions of Krynn (SSI) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Crystals of Arborea (Silmarils) [Amiga]
• Dark Designs I: Grelminar's Staff (Softdisk) [DOS]
• Dark Designs II: Closing the Gate (Softdisk) [DOS]
• DarkSpyre (Event Horizon) [DOS]
• Dragonflight (Thalion) [Amiga]
• Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (Horror Soft) [Amiga]
  DOS port has a different soundtrack
  Has official HD installer
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Escape from Hell (Electronic Arts) [DOS]
• Fountain of Dreams (Interplay) [DOS]
  Unofficial sequel to "Wasteland"
  
  
• Hard Nova (Malibu) [DOS]
• Immortal, The (Sandcastle) [Amiga]
• J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (Interplay) [DOS]
• Keys to Maramon, The (Mindcraft) [C64]
  Magic Candle spinoff
  
  
• King's Bounty (New World) [Amiga]
  Both WHDLoad and floppy versions are quite slow on the Amiga
  
  
• Legend of Faerghail (Electronic Design) [Amiga]
  Must use WHDLoad version or SPS #2844 ("v2.0e 17.10.90" version)
  Other versions contain game breaking bugs (except for the old German one)
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Lords of Chaos (Mythos) [ZX Spectrum]
  C64 and Amiga ports are good too
  
  
• MegaTraveller 1: The Zhodani Conspiracy (Paragon) [Amiga]
• Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (Sierra) [DOS]
  OPL soundtrack is also very good, supports dual OPL
  
  
• Secret of the Silver Blades (SSI) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Space 1889 (Paragon) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Spirit of Excalibur (Synergistic) [DOS]
  Prequel of "Vengeance of Excalibur"
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  
  
• Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan (New World) [DOS]
• Ultima VI: The False Prophet (Origin) [DOS]
  Music originally composed for the OPL2
  Fan made patch
  https://ungesundes-halbwissen.de/wp/ultima-vi-1990-german/english-patch-nitpickers-delight/
  
  Has ScummVM support (only DOS)
  
  
• Wizardry: Bane of the Cosmic Forge (Sir-Tech) [DOS]
  D. W. Bradley's Dark Savant trilogy 1
  
  
• Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (Origin) [DOS]

Adventure

Spoiler

1989

• Alien Research Centre (Zenobi) [ZX Spectrum]
• Antheads: It Came From the Desert II (Cinemaware) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Infocom) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• B.A.T. (Computer's Dream) [Amiga]
• Codename: ICEMAN (Sierra) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel (Cyan) [Macintosh]
  HyperCard adventure
  Play CD version
  https://macintoshgarden.org/games/cosmic-osmo-cd
  
  
• Demon's Tomb: The Awakening (Silhouette) [Amiga]
• Dungeon Quest (Image Tech) [Amiga]
• Emmanuelle: A Game of Eroticism (Coktel Vision) [Amiga]
• Fantasy World Dizzy (Codemasters) [ZX Spectrum]
  Dizzy III
  
  
• Future Wars: Adventures in Time (Delphine) [Amiga]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Hound of Shadow, The (Eldritch) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (LucasArts) [Amiga]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• It Came From the Desert (Cinemaware) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• James Clavell's Shogun (Infocom) [Amiga]
• Journey - The Quest Begins (Infocom) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Karth of the Jungle II (Erik Batzloff ) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Last Half of Darkness I (SoftLab Laboratories) [DOS]
• Legend of Djel (Coktel Vision) [Amiga]
  Prequel to "Ween: The Prophecy"
  
  
• Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals (Sierra) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Lords of the Rising Sun (Cinemaware) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Manhunter 2: San Francisco (Sierra) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Mean Streets (Access) [DOS]
• Myth (Magnetic Scrolls) [Amiga]
• Personal Nightmare, A (Horrorsoft) [Amiga]
  Use Amiga emulator, not ScummVM
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Project Firestart (Dynamix) [C64]
• Scapeghost (Level 9) [Amiga]
• Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (Sierra) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx (Incentive) [C64]

1990

• Altered Destiny (Accolade) [DOS]
• Black Sect (Lankhor) [Windows]
  Original French title: La secte noire
  Play 2012 remake
  https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1578
  
  
• Cadaver (Bitmap Brothers) [Amiga]
• Castle Master (Incentive) [Amiga]
• Castle Master II: The Crypt (Incentive) [Amiga]
• Circuit's Edge (Westwood) [DOS]
• Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail (Sierra) [DOS]
  OPL soundtrack is very good
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Countdown (Access) [DOS]
• Crime Time (Byteriders) [C64]
  Or Amiga version
  
  
• Damocles - Mercenary II (Novagen) [Amiga]
• Dizzy 3 and a Half: Into Magicland (Codemasters) [ZX Spectrum]
  Intro to Dizzy IV (Magicland Dizzy)
  
  
• Enchanted Pencils (Andy Backer) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Fantasy Quest (Thomas Keith Stone) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Geisha (Coktel Vision) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Grimblood (Maelstrom) [Amiga]
• Hugo's House of Horrors (Gray Design) [DOS]
• King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! (Sierra) [DOS]
  OPL soundtrack is also very good, supports dual OPL
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Laura Bow 1 – The Colonel's Bequest (Sierra) [DOS]
• Loom (LucasArts) [DOS]
  EGA floppy version with official MT-32 add-on is the definitive version
  Listen to 30-minute audio drama included with the original
  
  
• Mac Spudd! (Lamprey Systems) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Magicland Dizzy (Codemasters) [ZX Spectrum]
  Dizzy IV
  
  
• Operation Stealth (Delphine) [Amiga]
  007: James Bond - The Stealth Affair
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Prince of Persia (Broderbund) [DOS]
  Play version with MT-32 support
  Adlib soundtrack is also very good
  
  
• Ray's Maze (Ray Dunakin) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Rise of the Dragon (Sierra) [DOS]
• Secret of Monkey Island, The (LucasArts) [DOS]
  EGA floppy version with official MT-32 add-on is the definitive version
  OPL and Amiga soundtracks are very good too
  But all versions are worth playing (DOS EGA or VGA with MT-32 or OPL music, DOS CD, Amiga)
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego (Brøderbund) [Amiga]
  Or Macintosh version
  
  
• Wonderland (Magnetic Scrolls) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer

Tactics

Spoiler

1989

• Archipelagos (Astral) [Amiga]
• Iron Lord (Ubi Soft) [C64]
  Use cartridge version for fast loading times
  https://csdb.dk/release/?id=164633
  
  
• Midwinter (Maelstrom) [Amiga]
  Designed by Mike Singleton who also designed the Lords of Midnight games
  
  
• North & South (Infogrames) [Amiga]
• Populous (Bullfrog) [Amiga]
• Revolution '76 (Britannica) [Apple IIgs]
• SimCity (Maxis) [Amiga]
  Play 1MB version that uses 64 colours in EHB mode
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Sword of the Samurai (MicroProse) [DOS]

1990

• BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge (Westwood) [DOS]
• Centurion: Defender of Rome (Bits of Magic) [DOS]
• Dragon Lord (Outlaw) [Amiga]
• Galactic Empire (Coktel Vision) [Amiga]
• Life & Death II: The Brain (Software Toolworks) [DOS]
• Powermonger (Bullfrog) [Amiga]
• Sid Meier's Covert Action (MPS Labs) [DOS]
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  
  
• Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (MPS Labs) [DOS]
• Star Control (Toys for Bob) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Supremacy (Probe) [C64]
  Also known as "Overlord"
  Play 30th anniversary cartridge version
  https://csdb.dk/release/?id=211103
  
  Amiga version is also good

Space

Spoiler

1989

• Federation (Gremlin) [Amiga]

1990

• Warhead (Glynn Williams) [Amiga]
• Wing Commander (Origin) [DOS]
  Play Deluxe Edition that includes Secret Missions 1 & 2
  OPL soundtrack is considered best

Simulation

Spoiler

1989

• A-10 Tank Killer (Dynamix) [DOS]
• F-15 Strike Eagle II (MPS Labs) [Amiga]
  Supports analog joystick
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• F-29 Retaliator (Digital Image Designs) [Amiga]
  Supports analog joystick
  
  
• M1 Tank Platoon (MPS Labs) [DOS]
  Music originally composed for the OPL2
  
  
• Their Finest Hour (LucasArts) [Amiga]
  Only DOS version supports analog joystick
  Has official HD installer

1990

• Goldfields (Jacaranda) [Macintosh]
  HyperCard game
  
  
• Knights of the Sky (MPS Labs) [Amiga]
  Supports analog joystick
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• LHX: Attack Chopter (Electronic Arts) [DOS]
• Red Baron (Dynamix) [DOS]
• Silent Service II (MPS Labs) [DOS]
  Submarine simulator
  
  
• Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain (LucasArts) [DOS]
• Wings (Cinemaware) [Amiga]

 

[Falksi]

Assuming that no console releases are to be included?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Surely, SimCity (1989) should be slotted into either the Tactics/Strategy or the Simulation category. Although originally developed for the Commodore 64, it was released on several platforms nearly simultaneously, and the best version is probably the Amiga.

 

[Rincewind]

Assuming that no console releases are to be included?

Only Western RPGs released on personal computers. A select few console ports are allowed as long as they're superior in every aspect and they're not "cute" Japanised versions, but so far only the SNES ports of Wizardry I-III and Elite qualified. But no console originals are allowed.

Surely, SimCity (1989) should be slotted into either the Tactics/Strategy or the Simulation category. Although originally developed for the Commodore 64, it was released on several platforms nearly simultaneously, and the best version is probably the Amiga.

Ah, that's an oversight. Not sure how I missed it, I had some fun with it on the Amiga back in the day. Fixing.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

A-10 Tank Killer is a nice touch. More games should copy the way it handled a campaign, with previous failures
Some suggestions:
Sid Meier's Covert Action, its like Sword of the Samurai and Pirates, except its international espionage. Though unlike those the focus is really on one of mini-games rather than spread out like the others.
Elvira's DOS and Amiga/ST versions have different soundtracks. Nothing major, they're both good, which was actually a rarity for these days.
A couple of Coktel Vision games from this period, Legend of Djel and Galactic Empire. The former is a predecessor to Ween: The Prophecy, one of the more underrated adventure games of the classic period. The latter is a weird adventure/FPS hybrid, years before that would mean anything. Its very interesting what they did, though it suffers from having poor adventure game logic at times.

 

[AndyS]

I kind of have a soft spot for the Apple II version of Windwalker just because of the electric guitar soundtrack it has.

 

[Rincewind]

Sid Meier's Covert Action, its like Sword of the Samurai and Pirates, except its international espionage. Though unlike those the focus is really on one of mini-games rather than spread out like the others.

Cool, never heard of it, but seems interesting so adding it to the list. I assume the Amiga version is the best one? The DOS screenshots look very EGA.

A couple of Coktel Vision games from this period, Legend of Djel and Galactic Empire. The former is a predecessor to Ween: The Prophecy, one of the more underrated adventure games of the classic period.

Both look very good, definitely worthwhile additions!

Elvira's DOS and Amiga/ST versions have different soundtracks. Nothing major, they're both good, which was actually a rarity for these days.

Huh, I didn't know that! Music and sound are very important for me in a game, and I'd say the spooky and weirdly experimental atmosphere of the Amiga version is superior. Plus it also has digitised sound effects that the DOS port lacks. BUT the synthesised blips and blops of the SoundBlaster/OPL soundtrack also has it charms; it's very reminiscent of Kraftwerk and early electro in general that I love. It makes me want to play the game twice: once on the Amiga and then on DOS with the OPL music. I'm less impressed by the Roland MT-32 conversion, it appears to me they wrote the OPL music first, then just quickly re-assigned the patches for the Roland.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Cool, never heard of it, but seems interesting so adding it to the list. I assume the Amiga version is the best one? The DOS screenshots look very EGA.

I don't know, I guess? I've played the DOS version every time I've played it, and the only real issue is with sound. They're all very Adlib and sound like fancy blips and bloops. Looking at the footage of the Amiga version, it looks nicer on a technical level, but there's no improvement to most stuff. The stuff there is an improvement to looks weird to me, but I've been playing this off and on for years now. The sound+music is better in the Amiga version though.

Huh, I didn't know that! Music and sound are very important for me in a game, and I'd say the spooky and weirdly experimental atmosphere of the Amiga version is superior. Plus it also has digitised sound effects that the DOS port lacks. BUT the synthesised blips and blops of the SoundBlaster/OPL soundtrack also has it charms; it's very reminiscent of Kraftwerk and early electro in general that I love. It makes me want to play the game twice: once on the Amiga and then on DOS with the OPL music. I'm less impressed by the Roland MT-32 conversion, it appears to me they wrote the OPL music first, then just quickly re-assigned the patches for the Roland.

Interesting, I originally played the DOS version in SCUMMVM before shifting to the Amiga version and I completely forgot the DOS version lacked sound effects. This isn't an issue I had, but in a video someone was complaining about the death sound effect for enemies. Specifically that every enemy had the same sound effect. Not me, I found it a very satisfying thing to hear, considering how violent the game is, feels appropriate for every enemy to let out such a scream.

 

[Rincewind]

By the way, I've never played any of the Ultimas, so it cannot be entirely nostalgia (well, maybe for the era), but the Ultima VI intro just *SLAYS*! *Every single time* I watch it, it sends me shivers down my spine, and it manages to do that without 4k UHD / 3D / realtime raytracing / 48 kHz audio, etc. I'm particularly fond of the Adlib soundtrack, it has so much more character than the MT-32 version. I'm so excited to finally play through the whole series, none of the new game intros/trailers get my blood pumping like this one!

 

[Ladonna]

Rincewind what is the reason behind just listing one machine version next to each game name? Most of them were on multiple machines.

 

[Rincewind]

Rincewind what is the reason behind just listing one machine version next to each game name? Most of them were on multiple machines.

One of the goals of this list, apart from identifying good-to-great games worth playing, is to find the "definitive best port" of each game. This is sometimes a bit subjective, of course, in which cases, as I explained in my first thread, I have a bias towards the C64 and the Amiga.

As I said, I started compiling this list for myself, but at some point I decided to share it and make it a bit of a community effort.

EDIT: For example, I just realised I forgot Laser Squad from 1988... So which version to add? It's a ZX Spectrum original from 1988. Just going by the screenshots one would think the much later DOS port from 1992 is the best with improved VGA graphics and Roland MT-32 music. But digging a bit deeper it turns out that this is actually the *worst* port in terms of game mechanics; it was ported by a completely different team who altered the original mechanics too much, and for the worse. So, that leaves the C64 disk version or the Amiga port, as these include all extra missions that are missing from the ZX Spectrum base game, they're true to the original, and only improve the sound & graphics. This sort of consideration goes into every individual title when deciding the recommended "best" port.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

 

[Rincewind]

Cheers, but check out my first post here about the "rules":

Western games released on personal computers only, and strictly pre-Windows (so no consoles, no Italian plumbers with funny mustaches, and definitely no anime).

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Couple suggestions to tactics-section.
1989:
North & South

1990:
Battletech: Crescent Hawk's Revenge

 

[Rincewind]

Couple suggestions to tactics-section.
1989:
North & South

1990:
Battletech: Crescent Hawk's Revenge

Cheers, I did play North & South on the Amiga like 30 years ago and enjoyed it. Brings back some good memories.

Battletech seems interesting too, adding both.

 

[Rincewind]

Another significant update:

• added a few more titles
• changed some port recommendations from Amiga to DOS for games that support Roland MT-32 music
• added notes to Amiga games with official HD installers
• added notes to games that specifically require CM-32L ROMs for Roland MIDI music
  
• etc...

Btw, I'll keep updating and refining the lists from time to time, but I don't think I will spam people with notifications after every single update. So make sure to check back periodically.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Myth (Magnetic Scrolls) [Amiga]

I actually prefer the C64 version due to the SID music, the gameplay was pretty much identical between both versions if I remember correctly (unlike the ZX Spectrum/Amstrad versions which were pretty much a different game entirely).

 

[Rincewind]

Myth (Magnetic Scrolls) [Amiga]

I actually prefer the C64 version due to the SID music, the gameplay was pretty much identical between both versions if I remember correctly (unlike the ZX Spectrum/Amstrad versions which were pretty much a different game entirely).

Would you call it an action-adventure, though? I'm okay to list action-adventures in the Adventure category as long as there's more adventuring involved than twitchy gameplay. I think Myth is a straight action game.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Myth: History in the Making (AKA Conan on NES) and Myth by Magnetic Scrolls are two entirely different games. The Myth he's talking about, at least the NES version, has an infamous first level that's brutal in its difficulty. There is are puzzle elements, but its still non-stop action.

 

[Rincewind]

Myth: History in the Making (AKA Conan on NES) and Myth by Magnetic Scrolls are two entirely different games. The Myth he's talking about, at least the NES version, has an infamous first level that's brutal in its difficulty. There is are puzzle elements, but its still non-stop action.

Yeah I sucked at twitchy shoot'em up/action games even as a kid and they never held my interest, so Myth definitely doesn't belong here. The Magnetic Scrolls Myth adventure is already on the list, btw.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Rincewind what is the reason behind just listing one machine version next to each game name? Most of them were on multiple machines.

One of the goals of this list, apart from identifying good-to-great games worth playing, is to find the "definitive best port" of each game. This is sometimes a bit subjective, of course, in which cases, as I explained in my first thread, I have a bias towards the C64 and the Amiga.

As I said, I started compiling this list for myself, but at some point I decided to share it and make it a bit of a community effort.

EDIT: For example, I just realised I forgot Laser Squad from 1988... So which version to add? It's a ZX Spectrum original from 1988. Just going by the screenshots one would think the much later DOS port from 1992 is the best with improved VGA graphics and Roland MT-32 music. But digging a bit deeper it turns out that this is actually the *worst* port in terms of game mechanics; it was ported by a completely different team who altered the original mechanics too much, and for the worse. So, that leaves the C64 disk version or the Amiga port, as these include all extra missions that are missing from the ZX Spectrum base game, they're true to the original, and only improve the sound & graphics. This sort of consideration goes into every individual title when deciding the recommended "best" port.

Good to know. Always assumed that the later MS-DOS "enhanced" version was the best version because of updated graphics, though I always hated the sluggish imprecise mouse movement in DOSBox with this version that always had me rage quitting. If I ever play this I'll be sure to do the C64 or Amiga ports.

 

[Rincewind]

Rincewind what is the reason behind just listing one machine version next to each game name? Most of them were on multiple machines.

One of the goals of this list, apart from identifying good-to-great games worth playing, is to find the "definitive best port" of each game. This is sometimes a bit subjective, of course, in which cases, as I explained in my first thread, I have a bias towards the C64 and the Amiga.

As I said, I started compiling this list for myself, but at some point I decided to share it and make it a bit of a community effort.

EDIT: For example, I just realised I forgot Laser Squad from 1988... So which version to add? It's a ZX Spectrum original from 1988. Just going by the screenshots one would think the much later DOS port from 1992 is the best with improved VGA graphics and Roland MT-32 music. But digging a bit deeper it turns out that this is actually the *worst* port in terms of game mechanics; it was ported by a completely different team who altered the original mechanics too much, and for the worse. So, that leaves the C64 disk version or the Amiga port, as these include all extra missions that are missing from the ZX Spectrum base game, they're true to the original, and only improve the sound & graphics. This sort of consideration goes into every individual title when deciding the recommended "best" port.

Good to know. Always assumed that the later MS-DOS "enhanced" version was the best version because of updated graphics, though I always hated the sluggish imprecise mouse movement in DOSBox with this version that always had me rage quitting. If I ever play this I'll be sure to do the C64 or Amiga ports.

Yeah the C64 port and Spectrum original with the expansions are the definitive versions, without shadow of a doubt. They are fully keyboard controlled, that's how the game was meant to be played. The Amiga port had no involvement from Gollop, and I'm pretty sure you had to use the mouse, which is a big letdown. The same stands for Lords of Chaos, by the way; although for that game the Amiga port was developed by the Gollop brothers themselves, they still ditched the keyboard support for some inexplicable reason.

This is I think one of the biggest selling points of this list: if you choose one of the ports randomly, or based on platform familiarity, or just by looking at the screenshots for these older games, there's a good chance that you'll pick an inferior or outright broken version and you'll hate the experience. I see that happen all the time with the CRPGAddict; he almost never puts enough research into selecting the best port, and it's not uncommon that he'd pick one of the worst available ports, and then he would judge the game based on an inferior or broken version.

 

[Ladonna]

Yeah the C64 port and Spectrum original with the expansions are the definitive versions, without shadow of a doubt. They are fully keyboard controlled, that's how the game was meant to be played. The Amiga port had no involvement from Gollop, and I'm pretty sure you had to use the mouse, which is a big letdown. The same stands for Lords of Chaos, by the way; although for that game the Amiga port was developed by the Gollop brothers themselves, they still ditched the keyboard support for some inexplicable reason.

This is I think one of the biggest selling points of this list: if you choose one of the ports randomly, or based on platform familiarity, or just by looking at the screenshots for these older games, there's a good chance that you'll pick an inferior or outright broken version and you'll hate the experience. I see that happen all the time with the CRPGAddict; he almost never puts enough research into selecting the best port, and it's not uncommon that he'd pick one of the worst available ports, and then he would judge the game based on an inferior or broken version.

This reminds me of all the Amiga guys carrying on about Defender of the Crown. The graphics were better for sure, but there were many more options in the C64 version, and the AI gave a better challenge.

 

[Rincewind]

Yeah the C64 port and Spectrum original with the expansions are the definitive versions, without shadow of a doubt. They are fully keyboard controlled, that's how the game was meant to be played. The Amiga port had no involvement from Gollop, and I'm pretty sure you had to use the mouse, which is a big letdown. The same stands for Lords of Chaos, by the way; although for that game the Amiga port was developed by the Gollop brothers themselves, they still ditched the keyboard support for some inexplicable reason.

This is I think one of the biggest selling points of this list: if you choose one of the ports randomly, or based on platform familiarity, or just by looking at the screenshots for these older games, there's a good chance that you'll pick an inferior or outright broken version and you'll hate the experience. I see that happen all the time with the CRPGAddict; he almost never puts enough research into selecting the best port, and it's not uncommon that he'd pick one of the worst available ports, and then he would judge the game based on an inferior or broken version.

This reminds me of all the Amiga guys carrying on about Defender of the Crown. The graphics were better for sure, but there were many more options in the C64 version, and the AI gave a better challenge.

Exactly, they developed the C64 version first, and then did't have enough time to implement all features properly for the Amiga port. Based on some forum comments, the Atari ST version is supposed to be on par with the C64 original in terms of mechanics (and has pretty much the same graphics as the Amiga port), but I haven't personally tested it yet.

 

[octavius]

The audiovisuals of the Amiga version was a feast for the senses.
The intro tune still pops up in my head occasionally despite I only played it briefly (strategy part was really too easy) 30+ years ago.