Posted by Devin de Gruyl on Feb 26th, 2009
Different or not, enhanced gameplay features or no, Nintendo came down like a ton of Koopas on Rainbow Arts, publishers of the game in the UK. In some respects, Rainbow Arts may have brought Nintendo’s wrath all on themselves; the original magazine ads for Giana Sisters proudly and boldly proclaimed “The Brothers are history!” in a move that seemed specifically designed to incur the ire of the N. Still, it does seem unfortunate, especially considering Giana Sisters was being made for computer platforms the likes of which Nintendo neither had any interest in developing for, nor competed directly with the NES in the marketplace (even at that time, many families owned both a home computer and a game console). Regardless, the game was pulled from UK store shelves almost as soon as it was released, creating both an instant collectors item and a hot urban legend of the gaming world. (Besides the C64, versions of Giana Sisters were released, however briefly, for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Amstrad CPC platforms; a port to the ZX Spectrum was essentially completed, but Nintendo intervened before it could ever see the light of day. It should go without saying, of course, that any Stateside release of Giana Sisters was completely obviated by this ruling, though some copies did swim their way across the Atlantic by means of bootlegging and imports.)
Today, The Great Giana Sisters is considered one of the most celebrated C64 games of all time. Only part of it is due to the story surrounding its short commercial lifespan. Indeed, it’s one of the best platform-style games available for the venerable home computer, and clearly demonstrated that anything Nintendo could do, the 64 could do just as well, if not better in some respects. The level design and unique power-up system (employing a fair bit of strategy in how you collected them) makes Giana Sisters a must-play for Mario veterans, and you might even prefer it to the classic original game. I’ve known many people who, upon discovering Giana and Maria’s adventure (and acclimating themselves to the initially-awkward control scheme), decide they actually like this game better than the iconic NES pack-in!
…Come to think of it, maybe that’s what got Nintendo so upset over the game. They never have liked to admit that someone could show them up on their own turf…
If you want to play Giana Sisters today, you can scour the various C64 software sites; inevitably, someone will have a downloadable copy. If you subscribe to the “Emulation is piracy” school of thought – even for games that were legally obliged to disappear into obscurity shortly after their release – there exists a Flash re-creation that you can play here, and a Java one (more faithful to the C64) here. There’s even a homebrew port to the Nintendo DS out there… how ironic can you get, eh?
Give it a try. You might just surprise yourself.
Related posts:
- Retro-Active: NES “First Sequel” Syndrome
- Retro-Active: The Goonies II
- Retro-Active: R.O.B.
- Retro-Active: Caltron 6-in-1
- Retro-Active: Action 52
Related posts:
- Retro-Active: NES “First Sequel” Syndrome
- Retro-Active: The Goonies II
- Retro-Active: R.O.B.
- Retro-Active: Caltron 6-in-1
- Retro-Active: Action 52
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