 | |
| Developer(s) | Martyn R Howard |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Superior Software |
| Designer(s) | Stephen Wileman Stephen Chester Robert Asser |
| Platform(s) | Acorn Electron, BBC Micro |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Palace of Magic is a platform game released on 1 November 1987 for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro by Superior Software. Combining platform elements with problem solving, it similar gameplay to the earlier Citadel . Both are early examples of the Metroidvania genre. [2] [3]
The game begins with the player character in a palace, having been shrunk and taken out of your normal place and time by an evil wizard called Caldeti (an anagram of Citadel). The objective is to magically restore the character to his original size and find the teleporter to their home world. This involves moving through the Palace and other locations such as a church, woods, and dungeon, overcoming obstacles and enemies along the way.
The player is not automatically killed if they come into contact with hazards; instead the player is allocated a set amount of energy (but this time measured by a bar, subdivided into units), which is depleted through contact, and can be replenished by collecting objects shaped like top hats. As in Citadel, the game is divided into 'rooms' or screens and if the player loses too much energy in a room, the screen turns red and the player is transported back to where they entered the room. This prevents players from passing through a room simply by walking through enemies and taking the damage.
Other similarities to Citadel include:
Whilst the layout of the Palace and the mechanics of the game are identical between the two machines, the BBC version runs in a higher resolution (seven-colour Mode 2) whilst the Electron version runs in four-colour Mode 5. The BBC version also includes a vertical hardware scroll when the player strikes the ground after a long fall, and flickering pixels above the collectible top hats.
The Acorn Electron was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a price more competitive with that of the ZX Spectrum. It had 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM included BBC BASIC II together with the operating system. Announced in 1982 for a possible release the same year, it was eventually introduced on 25 August 1983 priced at £199.
Jet Set Willy is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time.
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Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.
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Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a 1987 video game developed and published by Palace Software for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game was ported to many other systems and was licensed to Epyx who published it as Death Sword in the United States.
Exile is a single-player action-adventure video game originally published for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988 by Superior Software and later ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32 and Atari ST, all published by Audiogenic. The game was designed and programmed by Peter Irvin and Jeremy Smith. It is often cited as one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania game and featured "realistic gravity, inertia and object mass years before players understood the concept of a physics engine... an astounding level of AI, stealth-based gameplay, a logical ecosystem governing the world's creatures and a teleportation mechanic that feels startlingly like a predecessor to Portal".
Citadel is a computer game developed by Michael Jakobsen for the BBC Micro, and released by Superior Software in 1985. It was also ported to the Acorn Electron. Centred around a castle, this platform game with some puzzle-solving elements requires players to find five hidden crystals and return them to their rightful place. It also features some outside areas external to the castle.
Frak! is a scrolling platform video game programmed by Nick Pelling for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and published by his own Aardvark Software in 1984. It was ported to the Commodore 64 the following year by "The B Team". The BBC and Electron versions were included on the Superior Software compilation Play It Again Sam 4 in 1987 and re-issued in budget form by Alternative Software in 1989.
The Machine Operating System (MOS) or OS is a discontinued computer operating system (OS) used in Acorn Computers' BBC computer range. It included support for four-channel sound, graphics, file system abstraction, and digital and analogue input/output (I/O) including a daisy-chained expansion bus. The system was single-tasking, monolithic and non-reentrant.
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Stryker's Run is a video game designed by Chris Roberts and Philip Meller for the BBC Micro and BBC Master which was published by Superior Software in 1986. It was also later converted to the Acorn Electron. It is a 2D side-scrolling action game. It was well received, particularly for its graphics.
Citadel 2 is a BBC Micro game developed by Symo for Superior Software. The sequel to Citadel, it is a platform game with puzzle solving elements. Like the original, the game's plot involves finding five gems hidden in various locations in a large fort, together with areas outside it and destroying them in a teleporter hidden at the bottom of a well. The game was released in 1993 on Superior's Play It Again Sam (PIAS) 18 compilation, which also included the games Nevryon, Holed Out, and E-Type.
Felix and the Fruit Monsters is a video game written by John Chaytor and released by Micro Power for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1983. A sequel to platformer Felix in the Factory, it is a maze game resembling Pac-Man, but with different gameplay.
Camelot is a computer game written by Tony Oakden and published in the UK in 1989/90 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. The game was first published by Superior Software and Acornsoft as part of the Play it Again Sam 9 compilation in 1989 and was subsequently re-published as a standalone title in 1990 by Superior Software and Blue Ribbon.
Dunjunz is an action game made for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron home computers and released by Bug-Byte in 1987. It is essentially a clone of the popular video game Gauntlet where players controlled fantasy characters from a top down view. Unlike Gauntlet, each of the characters is given their own viewport onto the dungeon and can explore independently.
Galaforce is a fixed shooter video game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, written by Kevin Edwards and published by Superior Software in 1986. It spawned a sequel, Galaforce 2 (1988), and later, Galaforce Worlds (2003).
Micro Machines is a racing game developed by Codemasters and originally published by Camerica for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. Themed around Galoob's Micro Machines toys, players race in miniaturised toy vehicles around various environments. The game is the first installment in the Micro Machines video game series.
[T]his harks back to the times of BBC Micro games like Castle Quest or Palace of Magic: really brutal, unfair Metroid-style things.