Nebulus (computer game)
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| Nebulus | |
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| Developer(s) | Triffix Entertainment Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Hewson, U.S. Gold |
| Designer(s) | John M. Phillips |
| Platform(s) | Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, C64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 7800, Acorn Archimedes, Wii Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | 1987 Virtual Console NA May 4, 2009 EU June 13, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E PEGI: 3+ |
| Media | Floppy disk, Cartridge, Audio tape, built into controller, online download |
Nebulus, also known as Castelian, Kyorochan Land and Tower Toppler[1], is a computer game published by Hewson in the late 1980s for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and Acorn Archimedes platforms. A version for the Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System and Atari 7800 was also released. The US version, which was published by U.S. Gold, was released under the title Tower Toppler. The Nintendo versions were released as Castelian, in which the character is called Julius. There is also an unfinished version for Atari XE/XL computers. In 2004 it was re-released on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and on June 20, 2008, the same version made its comeback on the Wii's Virtual Console download service in Europe on June 13, 2008 and later in North America on May 4, 2009.[2]
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[edit] Gameplay
Nebulus is a platform game with some distinctive unique features. Your character, a small green creature called Pogo, is on a mission to destroy eight towers that have been built onto the sea.
The actual game play happens at each tower in turn. Pogo starts from the bottom and has to find his way up to the top. The towers are cylinder-shaped and have ledges on their outside, either horizontal, forming stairs or connected by elevators. Because of the cylindrical shape, the towers have no "left" or "right" edges, instead allowing Pogo to walk all around the tower.
A graphical innovation, and perhaps the most notable feature of the game, is that when Pogo walks left or right, he always stays in the centre of the visible screen. Instead of the Pogo sprite moving, the tower behind him turns clockwise or counterclockwise with a convincing sense of depth. This was featured favourably in reviews of the game.
Along his way to the top of the tower, Pogo encounters many different enemies, mostly shaped like basic geometric shapes. Pogo can shoot some of the enemies, while some are impervious to shooting. Contact with an enemy knocks Pogo down to the ledge below. If there is no ledge below, Pogo falls into the sea and drowns.
Once he has reached the top of the tower, Pogo needs to enter a door to trigger the tower's destruction mechanism. After that, the tower crumbles to the sea. Pogo then boards his submarine and enters a bonus stage (in some platforms, but not for example in the ZX Spectrum version), where he can shoot various kinds of fish to score bonus points.
[edit] Versions
The games original 8-bit release came to some critical acclaim, in particular the Commodore 64 release, which garnered a Gold Medal award from UK magazine ZZAP!64. Nebulus was followed by a lesser-known sequel, Nebulus 2, on the Amiga and Atari ST in the 1990s.
A clone featuring penguins has been ported natively for Linux systems and recently it's been released in Xbox Live.
In April 2009, another clone featuring a robotic character was released for the iPhone in the App Store called Power Toppler and features 2 missions of 8 towers each.
[edit] Trivia
- The name of the game apparently influenced another game Perestroika to have a second name Toppler (executable file was called toppler.exe). Not to mention a curious similarity of the main character of this different games.
- The same month the game was released, a demo was due to appear on the Zzap!64 magazine cover cassette. However, due to a mastering error, the full game was provided instead of the demo, giving all Zzapp 64 readers a copy of the game free of charge.
[edit] References
- ^ Game entry at Mobygames.com
- ^ "Animal Crossing Calc & Clock, Penguins & Friends, Tower Toppler Hit Wii/DS". http://gamefreaks365.com/newsarticle.php?sid=3106. Retrieved on 2009-05-05.
[edit] External links
- Tower Toppler at MobyGames
- Toppler - a very accurate Nebulus remake
- GP2X Port
- Nebulus at AmigaMemo.com - AmigaMuseum
- Nebulus at World of Spectrum
