Dark Castle
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Three-sixty | Sound: |
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| Year: 1987 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: OUPS | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
3/10 | |
An old, unplayable piece of junk.
Some of the sound effects make me laugh my head off. I use them as alerts on my phone.
Update:
What a scandalous treatment! This page has existed for 25 years, and it’s high time to rehabilitate this overlooked classic…
Indeed, beyond its reputation as a video game turkey, consolidated by the scathing video reviews of the Sega Genesis version by Angry Video Game Nerd and Joueur du grenier, let’s remember that it was merely a port. The original work dates back to 1986 on the Macintosh.
Firstly, this computer had neither a controller nor directional keys, which explains the mouse-based control system, associated with the “WASD” keys, a configuration that would become standard a decade later!
Despite the Macintosh’s monochrome screen, the game didn’t lack charm, carried by expressive animations and digitised sounds (see video). As a historical anecdote, Dark Castle ranks among the first games to employ a professional voice actor for its sound effects!
The gameplay style was clearly inspired by Donkey Kong (arcade, 1981) and Donkey Kong Junior (1982), with its platforms connected by ladders and ropes, as well as barrels and boulders to avoid. On a technical level, it was impressive compared to its contemporaries on the same machine. It logically enjoyed considerable success, both critically and commercially. Unfortunately, subsequent adaptations failed to preserve this quality, to put it mildly…
The sequel, Beyond Dark Castle, was released in 1987 on Macintosh (adapted in 1989 for Amiga). A colour remake was launched in 1994. Finally, a third episode, Return to Dark Castle, appeared in 2008.
Another historical anecdote? The young programmer behind this game, Jonathan Gay, would later become the creator of the famous Macromedia Flash software!
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