The "Help Me Identify That Game" Thread

[Tomdominer]

Inspired by what @Sketch suggested, I have made a thread dedicated to helping forumites identifying (presumably) older games that they have forgotten the name of.

 

Try and include as much detail as you can, including the system, the genre and the type of graphics (which seems especially important in older games).

 

Spoiler

It would also be awesome if we could keep the sarcastic posts to the minimum... 

 

[Tomdominer]

I'll start. 

 

I can't for the life of me find this old spectrum game I remember really enjoying when I was about 8-9 years old (so, over 30 years ago now).

• PLATFORM: ZX Spectrum
• GENRE: Flight Sim
• GRAPHICAL STYLE: Vector AND sprite graphics.

It was a straight one-on-one shooter, in a similar vein to Top Gun, on the Speccy, but it was only one player. It had simple vector graphics, with the enemy plane looking more like a paper aeroplane than a real military aircraft. I am pretty sure it was a jet engine aircraft setting, but it might have been set in space. The most vivid memory was the fact a large portion of the screen was taken over with a cockpit, where you could also see your feet (presumably controlling the plane's rudder, I suppose). It also might have been on a cover tape.

[Sketch]

A wonderful thread.

 

My expertise on Speccy titles is lacking, though this list has pictures and might be of help.

 

It would be awesome if this became the go to thread for identifying a game. People pop in, peruse, offering suggestions, etc.

 

 

 

 

[Tomdominer]

19 minutes ago, Sketch said:

A wonderful thread.

 

My expertise on Speccy titles is lacking, though this list has pictures and might be of help.

 

It would be awesome if this became the go to thread for identifying a game. People pop in, peruse, offering suggestions, etc.

 

Would you look at that! Its Delta Wing.

 

 

[Sketch]

This topic's first success!

[merman]

System: Acorn Archimedes

Genre: Shoot ‘em up

Graphics: green slime & metallic spheres

 

Remember playing this at school but cannot remember the name of it.

It’s a single screen shoot ‘em up. Levels have bouncing spheres and lumps of green, dripping slime.

Shooting a metallic sphere/pod gave you an increase in firepower (twin guns?).

Background was a blue colour, reminded me a little of level 1 of Arkanoid.

[Papaya Dance]

Oh, oh, I've got one that's been doing my nut in for years!

 

System: Amiga

Genre: Adventure/RPG

Graphics: Similar to this, but not this - 

 

I remember the box had quite a lot of pink on it. The quality of graphics was better than the screenshot above but it was that type of view. You'd go round wee villages talking to people in their wee huts and gather info to know where to go next. 

 

Gah fuck I wish I could remember more about it, this isn't a very helpful description. I played it in the mid-90s so it would've been a very late release on Amiga before they totally disappeared from the shelves of Electronics Boutique.

[matt0]

46 minutes ago, Papaya Dance said:

Oh, oh, I've got one that's been doing my nut in for years!

 

System: Amiga

Genre: Adventure/RPG

Graphics: Similar to this, but not this - 

 

I remember the box had quite a lot of pink on it. The quality of graphics was better than the screenshot above but it was that type of view. You'd go round wee villages talking to people in their wee huts and gather info to know where to go next. 

 

Gah fuck I wish I could remember more about it, this isn't a very helpful description. I played it in the mid-90s so it would've been a very late release on Amiga before they totally disappeared from the shelves of Electronics Boutique.

 

Legends?

 

 

 

 

and I found a box scan:

 

[Not Thread Owner]

1 hour ago, merman said:

System: Acorn Archimedes

Genre: Shoot ‘em up

Graphics: green slime & metallic spheres

 

Remember playing this at school but cannot remember the name of it.

It’s a single screen shoot ‘em up. Levels have bouncing spheres and lumps of green, dripping slime.

Shooting a metallic sphere/pod gave you an increase in firepower (twin guns?).

Background was a blue colour, reminded me a little of level 1 of Arkanoid.

 

 

?

[Papaya Dance]

42 minutes ago, matt0 said:

 

Legends?

 

 

 

 

and I found a box scan:

 

Yes! You absolute Legend! No idea how you got that from my description, I was even wrong about the colour of the box.

[matt0]

27 minutes ago, Papaya Dance said:

Yes! You absolute Legend! No idea how you got that from my description, I was even wrong about the colour of the box.

 

There weren't many Amiga games coming out in the mid 90s and I remember this one had huts in!

[Sabreman]

2 hours ago, merman said:

System: Acorn Archimedes

Genre: Shoot ‘em up

Graphics: green slime & metallic spheres

 

Remember playing this at school but cannot remember the name of it.

It’s a single screen shoot ‘em up. Levels have bouncing spheres and lumps of green, dripping slime.

Shooting a metallic sphere/pod gave you an increase in firepower (twin guns?).

Background was a blue colour, reminded me a little of level 1 of Arkanoid.

 

Not all the details match up, but the first thing I thought of was Ballroom Blitz:

 

 

[merman]

20 hours ago, Sabreman said:

 

Not all the details match up, but the first thing I thought of was Ballroom Blitz:

 

 

That’s it, awesome, thanks a lot Sabreman.

 

deKay, I didn’t play Spheres of Chaos until the PC version in about 2006...

 

[ianinthefuture]

Yeah, one that's been rattling about in my head for decades now...

 

Platform: Amiga

Genre: Adventure/RPG

Graphical style: top-down, I think - small characters, grey-ish palette.

 

This will be from the 80s-early 90s, as that's when I got the Amiga and it was an early purchase. It was a sci-fi world, seems like a dystopia on reflection. I don't remember much of anything about it apart from one key factor: you had to look after yourself, including going to the toilet. If you went for a poo without bogroll, you would die/get a game over.

And it wasn't tongue in cheek, it was deadly serious.

 

I think you might have needed pass cards to get through certain checkpoints in the game world/city too? Not sure.

[Not Thread Owner]

3 hours ago, ianinthefuture said:

Yeah, one that's been rattling about in my head for decades now...

 

Platform: Amiga

Genre: Adventure/RPG

Graphical style: top-down, I think - small characters, grey-ish palette.

 

This will be from the 80s-early 90s, as that's when I got the Amiga and it was an early purchase. It was a sci-fi world, seems like a dystopia on reflection. I don't remember much of anything about it apart from one key factor: you had to look after yourself, including going to the toilet. If you went for a poo without bogroll, you would die/get a game over.

And it wasn't tongue in cheek, it was deadly serious.

 

I think you might have needed pass cards to get through certain checkpoints in the game world/city too? Not sure.

 

I don't know what this is but I NEED to know now.

[Not Thread Owner]

Operation Stealth?

 

Also, are you ianos?

 

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=77261

[ianinthefuture]

3 hours ago, deKay said:

Operation Stealth?

 

Also, are you ianos?

 

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=77261

Like I said, DECADES.

 

(yes)

 

It's a good job you linked that actually, as someone's got it right there last year - it was The Paranoia Complex/Cyber World. Just watched some videos and it's 100% that.

 

So it seems my memory got conflated somewhere - you don't die for shitting your pants, but it does react to you going to the bog without bogroll and tell you you have shitty pants.

 

Once again: human memory is rubbish. Especially when you're 7 years old and have no idea what's going on.

 

On the other hand, decades of confusion has been lifted!

[HOW]

Platform: ZX81

Genre: Arcade Adventure

Graphical style: Jaggedy attempt at 3D rooms with doors

 

Not a game I played, but remember B&W ads for it it Your Computer, etc and fancy trying.

 

Released in early eighties, the mag ads showed a jaggedy vampire's face - IIRC you explored a castle illustrated by '3D' rooms with doors in N, S, E or W doors. 

 

Sorry so vague....

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by HOW
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[Dr_Dave]

2 hours ago, HOW said:

Platform: ZX81

Genre: Arcade Adventure

Graphical style: Jaggedy attempt at 3D rooms with doors

 

Not a game I played, but remember B&W ads for it it Your Computer, etc and fancy trying.

 

Released in early eighties, the mag ads showed a jaggedy vampire's face - IIRC you explored a castle illustrated by '3D' rooms with doors in N, S, E or W doors. 

 

Sorry so vague....

 

 

Sounds a bit like 3D Monster Maze:

 

[HOW]

50 minutes ago, Dr_Dave said:

 

Sounds a bit like 3D Monster Maze:

 

Nah, defo not that - I very much doubt anywhere as good LOL - I'll pull up some Your Computer mags on Archive.org and have a hunt

 

[Sketch]

7 hours ago, HOW said:

Platform: ZX81

Genre: Arcade Adventure

Graphical style: Jaggedy attempt at 3D rooms with doors

 

Not a game I played, but remember B&W ads for it it Your Computer, etc and fancy trying.

 

Released in early eighties, the mag ads showed a jaggedy vampire's face - IIRC you explored a castle illustrated by '3D' rooms with doors in N, S, E or W doors. 

 

Sorry so vague....

 

 

Sounds like Tunnel Runner. 3D maze, vampires on the cover:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_Runner

 

However, it's an Atari 2600 game. Maybe you were thinking of that?

 

[HOW]

8 minutes ago, Sketch said:

 

Sounds like Tunnel Runner. 3D maze, vampires on the cover:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_Runner

 

However, it's an Atari 2600 game. Maybe you were thinking of that?

 

Nope - The vampire was in the print add - and defo ZX81......though after alot of digging through Your Computer I'm thinking was it Transylvanian Tower? (99% sure it was not though. Annoying me even more now ..... GRRRRR

 

 

[HOW]

5 hours ago, Dr_Dave said:

 

Sounds a bit like 3D Monster Maze:

 

 

You were close as it happens - as I found it 'Tomb Of Dracula'  (see the print add I remember below)

 

And according to the below it was by published by J K Greye Software and written by Malcolm Evans too ! (Not sure if that's correct..)

 

https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/tomb-of-dracula/

 

Now to dig out a .p file....

 

 

Or maybe not....as others not so kind - and appears that the J K Greye / Malcolm Evans stuff is nonsense LOL

That person on the RG site also mentioned 1980 release for it when it appears to be more like 1983 - late in ZX81 terms

 

[iknowgungfu]

Excellent thread. I have two that sometimes plague me. Think both were on my old Amiga 500. 
 

the first is a side scroller shmup. Had some anime style art direction and I think you were some guy/girl who is turned into a wasp who then has to go a shoot everything to rescue someone/something?

 

The other was either Amiga 500 or possible C64. Side scrolling beat em up where you play a samurai rabbit. 
 

Any ideas?

[Not Thread Owner]

6 minutes ago, iknowgungfu said:

 

The other was either Amiga 500 or possible C64. Side scrolling beat em up where you play a samurai rabbit. 

Usagi Yojimbo

[Not Thread Owner]

Oh, and the wasp one is Apidya.

[iknowgungfu]

Swift work. Was there a sequel to Apidya? I seem to remember it being the second one. 

[Not Thread Owner]

Just now, iknowgungfu said:

Swift work. Was there a sequel to Apidya? I seem to remember it being the second one. 

I don’t think so.

[Not Thread Owner]

Wiki says the “II” on the title screen was a joke - it wasn’t a sequel.

 

[iknowgungfu]

Just watched a few YT videos. Had some decent music and was bastard hard.