Emerald Dash
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Emerald Mine Club | Sound: |
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| Year: N/A | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Boulder Dash | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
5/10 | |
An adaptation of Boulder Dash 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Commodore 64, unofficial sequels created by “Don Pedro” using the Boulder Dash Construction Kit level editor. Typically, these games contained 16 caves plus 4 “intermissions”, shorter bonus levels. Only the 16 main caves from each game have been preserved, bringing their number to 80, which corresponds to the Amiga standard (not counting cave number zero, which serves as a presentation screen).
A 1995 “game engine” was used (similar to that of Forgotten Mine), but the “rules” are the same as classic Boulder Dash: two types of enemies, only one type of diamond, monsters can be killed by diamonds, the amoeba transforms into diamonds (if contained) or rocks (once it reaches its maximum size). At the same time, the character’s movement has been “modernised” (fluid animation, quick boulder pushing).
The title screen alludes to another feature (absent from this episode, but included in the sequels), a “brother” that you must protect, or perish along with him. This mysterious (immobile) bruv is particularly known on Commodore 64, under the name “voodoo doll”.
The graphic style is also original. I quite like the character with pronounced baldness and the metallic appearance of the fireflies (the blue squares). The levels are simple, the difficulty moderate, and the controls more pleasant than the original versions. A shame about the impossible-to-complete levels…
Yes, that’s the drawback of importing levels into a new game engine – the enemies don’t behave exactly the same way and the physics of the boulders differ slightly. Consequently, the intended solutions for levels 23 and 41 cannot be reproduced.
I would rather recommend discovering the original versions on Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds, making sure to install the “GDash levels” module. With the levels being classified by author, select “Don Pedro”.
The Emerald Dash series comprises no fewer than 35 titles (available on Emerald Web), which are all compilations of amateur levels on C64. It’s a safe bet that they haven’t been tested either.
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