Great Giana Sisters

Great Giana Sisters is a platformer that on the Atari ST and other 8-bit and 16-bit platforms offered a European answer to the Japanese platforming classics of the console world. As the girl Giana, the player moves through colorful underground levels full of platforms, bonuses, and enemies, collecting diamonds and searching for the way to the exit, and after grabbing a special power-up can transform into a flashier, invulnerable version of the character with a different outfit and appearance.

The gameplay is built on precise jumping, defeating enemies by landing on them from above, and discovering hidden bonus blocks, a concept well known to console platformer players at the time of release but fairly fresh and welcomed on home computers. The level design offers a smooth increase in difficulty along with numerous hidden paths and bonus rooms, so the game rewards repeated play and thorough exploration of each level rather than rushing to the end of the screen. On the Atari ST, the game runs briskly, with colorful graphics and catchy music that was one of the memorably distinctive elements of the whole title and has stayed in the memory of many players of the time to this day, partly thanks to later references in other games and remakes on modern platforms.

Great Giana Sisters became one of the commercially most successful European platformers of its time, though it also drew attention for its strong resemblance to the famous Japanese original, which led to it being pulled from part of the markets shortly after release and to contemporary copyright disputes between publishers. Nevertheless, the Giana Sisters name returned many years later in newer games for modern platforms and won over a new generation of fans. Today it is remembered as a quality, honestly crafted platformer that managed to hold its own despite the controversy surrounding its creation and later became the foundation of its own long-running series of sequels.

Why play it: For a quality, honestly crafted platformer that held its own despite the era's controversy over its resemblance to a famous Japanese original and went on to found its own long-running series.