In the second part of the First and Last series, we will look at what proved to be the first and last releases for the initial phase of MAD (Mastertronic’s Added Dimension) where the games would retail at £2.99 instead of the standard £1.99 that the range had. In fact, the quality was supposed to be improved with the higher price tag, but you can decide for yourself if that was actually the case, or just a higher price point that was established.
It is worth noting that for this article, we’re covering the first two generations of MAD cassette releases only (as the Commodore 64 disk versions did not have the same MAD artwork):
- First generation, with pop art style inlays and front covers, with MAD catalogue numbers, and each format a game was released on should have had its own MAD catalogue number – but did not
- Second generation, with a revised MAD logo and with MADC catalogue numbers
If two of the games released first or last have the same date, the lowest catalogue number for the first and the highest for the last is the winner, which follows the same rule we established for the 310 range.
After this, MAD purely became a price point with the front cover indicating it was a MAD release, and the catalogue numbering was integrated into the main 310 range. That created an interesting anomaly in that some games which were part of the first two generations above received later conversions to other systems but were assigned a 310 range number instead. We will detail those at the end as they are useful to know and useful to differentiate.
For completeness, we’ll also mention at the end what the final number and release in the 310 range had the MAD branding on, as after that the more expensive price point was detailed by Mastertronic Plus taking that £2.99 mantle on. So here goes:
MAD First Generation (MAD) – The First
Commodore 64
The Last V8 (MAD 1, October 1985)
V8! Return to base! Immediately! Certainly, the synthesised speech got your attention, as did the demo mode showing the game of and your objectives on the two levels that the game entails. Drive the V8 to get to the city and then avoid the radioactive zones before completing your mission. Unfortunately, the game has some of the most broken controls in any overhead driving game, making progress difficult and can get very frustrating. Not to mention Rob Hubbard’s music bugs in the game too and does not sound right a minute in. All fixable, but I suspect there were time constraints to get this out as the first game.
Also released in October 1985 for the Commodore 64:
- Hero of the Golden Talisman (MAD 3)
- Master of Magic (MAD 5)
ZX Spectrum (48K) and Amstrad CPC
Spellbound (October 1985)
ZX Spectrum (MAD 2)
Amstrad CPC (MAD 4)
A perfect contender for the MAD release was the sequel the very popular Finders Keepers by David Jones. This was the first of the Magic Knight games to introduce Windimation, the system where windows would appear to process each of the commands that you wished to operate, rather than type them in – with shortcut keys available for the commands if playing on keyboard instead of joystick. It may look archaic now but for its time was innovative. Magic Knight has to rescue Gimbal the wizard who has been trapped in a castle by his own spell, with plenty of characters to interact with along the way. Certainly, one I enjoyed playing when the Commodore 64 conversion hit with its superb Rob Hubbard tune, but mileage may vary as it is an arcade adventure style not everyone enjoys.
Atari XL/XE
The Last V8 (MAD 11, March 1986)
It took several months for a conversion of The Last V8 to appear on the Atari 8-bit systems. Whilst it did not have the speech that was present in the Commodore 64 original, they did have the soundtrack at least, which was a nice POKEY rendition. Bearing in mind that the original had plenty of negative feedback about the control system (or should we say lack of) it would have a been a good opportunity to fix this here. But no, it is just as broken. And that is a shame, because everything else comes across very well.
Incidentally, the dual format Commodore 64 and Atari XL/XE disk version of The Last V8 (which uses the same MAD 1 catalogue number as the Commodore 64 version but without the MAD packaging) was released a couple of months later in May 1986.
Commodore 16 and Plus/4
Bandits At Zero (MAD 12, March 1986)
The only game release for the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 in this generation (so it is the first and the last) this was an effective scrolling shoot-em-up. It had planes to shoot down during the day, with ground to air missiles to avoid in later days, and then the refuelling at night to give you valuable extra fuel and shields. The pace was frenetic and as typical of a Shaun Southern game, the playability was top notch. Anyone who got to the sixth or seventh day of this really were an excellent games player, but the difficulty curve was fair and you did get further with practice. An under-rated gem for the system well worth checking out.
ZX Spectrum (128K)
Knight Tyme (MAD 8, April 1986)
The third game of the Magic Knight series was released for Spectrum 128 only machines first, making it an early game to take advantage of the extra memory on offer. Like Spellbound, it uses the Windimation system. Magic Knight is now set in space after being transported from the end of Spellbound, and you need to locate the Tyme Guardians and rebuild the Tyme Machine to transport yourself back to where you need to be. Of course, being able to transport through space is one of the early puzzles. There are more screens here and a larger game to complete, with the 48K version being released the month after, in May 1986.
MSX
Knight Tyme (MAD 20, July 1986)
This was the first and the last MSX game released in the first-generation MAD range. For some odd reason, Spellbound did not get an MSX release at the time – in fact it was the only game of the Magic Knight series on the MSX which did not – and it took a homebrew port from Tracy Lewis to resolve that one (with permission from David Jones and Rob Hubbard, incidentally.) Knight Tyme for the MSX took the Spectrum 48k map but also added the music from the Spectrum 128K version, making it an intriguing hybrid of both. The Windimation system and everything else is there and the game plays just as well here as it does on the Spectrum machines, with care and attention paid to the conversion itself. Well worth checking out.
MAD First Generation (MAD) – The Last
As two of the system formats only had one game released in this generation (Commodore 16 and Plus/4, and MSX) there are less entries for the last. Nonetheless, some interesting titles for the final cassette releases:
Commodore 64
Spellbound (MAD 9, April 1986)
The MAD 9 catalogue number proved to be an Achilles heel for Mastertronic. Each number was supposed to be unique per format, yet this and both the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 versions of Five a Side Soccer also have MAD 9 on their side spines. The fact that both MAD 6 and MAD 10 were never assigned may be a clue to what they could have been numbered as (more so on the Commodore 64 as Five a Side Soccer was released before Spellbound.) In any case, Spellbound was an excellent conversion, with Richard Darling performing the port very well, and the same Windimation system working without any issues. Granted, mileage may vary if arcade adventures are for you or not. Of course, the defining point of this game was the superlative Rob Hubbard soundtrack, reworked from the CPC and given the proper SID treatment, complete with medieval sounding clangs and an impending sense of doom throughout too. When leading game musicians such as Barry Leitch love this one so much, it’s hard to ignore.
ZX Spectrum (48K)
Master of Magic (MAD 17, June 1986)
The original Commodore 64 version of Master of Magic, a role-playing game by Richard Darling and complete with an excellent Rob Hubbard soundtrack (that is in turn a version of a track from the band Synergy) is one that certainly did its job on budget if you liked that sort of game. The Spectrum conversion was handled by Tim Miller, and he did a very good job. Whilst there may be no music here, the key elements of the playability and the combat are there and work well, with an impending sense of panic as you attempt to run to escape some of the monsters and hazards that await you. It did take some time to be released, but proof here with the positive magazine reviews that it was worth the wait.
Also released in June 1986 for the ZX Spectrum:
- Con-Quest (MAD 16)
Atari XL/XE
Spellbound (MAD 18, July 1986)
Following on from the other versions, it was tasked to Adrian Sheppard to convert the game to the Atari machines. He had already produced a version of One Man and His Droid for the system (and indeed the excellent Commodore 16 and Plus/4 conversion of Finders Keepers.) Here on the Atari, it works just as well as the other versions, although the considerably long loading time may put people off. The colour scheme is more green, yellow and grey for the characters and backdrops, rather than the splashes of colour of the other versions, which can take some getting used to. It was a shame there was no music either, Rob Hubbard on the POKEY would have sounded rather good.
Amstrad CPC
Hero of the Golden Talisman (MAD 24, September 1986)
This is the highest catalogue number in the initial MAD generation, but not as it transpires the final game by release date. Following on almost a year after the Commodore 64 original by Shaun Southern, this conversion by Robert Sansom aims to be the same large flick screen arcade adventure with keys to find, enemies to get past, and pieces of the talisman to retrieve. It has different enemy spawning mechanics, and the jumping can be a little more awkward, but the gameplay is at least there. Not sure why the scoring is so different though, surely that could have been sorted out.
ZX Spectrum (128K)
Spellbound (MAD 23, February 1987)
Almost a year after the 128K only version of Knight Tyme, there was a belated conversion of Spellbound and enhanced for Spectrum 128K machines, with a larger map and extra rooms on some of the floors within the castle. This did require different puzzles to solve and meant a unique challenge. Unfortunately, the Rob Hubbard tune that had featured in the Amstrad CPC version prior to the Commodore 64 classic rendition was butchered here on the 128 with absolutely no need to do so. The Windimation and other elements still work well, but it did feel like it was ticking a box to have it released, with the longer date also resulting in relatively small sales.
continues…
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