Princess Quest

Say ColecoVision and most people picture dusty arcade conversions from the turn of the seventies and eighties. But this console never quite died, and Princess Quest is fresh proof of that. It belongs among the homebrew titles born of pure love for a machine that officially ended long before most of today's players were born.

Princess Quest is an action adventure in the spirit of the best the eight-bit era had to offer: exploring interconnected screens, collecting items, solving simple puzzles and battling enemies. Where commercial titles of the eighties had to save on memory and often cut corners on content, modern homebrew games tend to have the advantage of being made without publisher pressure and with full knowledge of what the hardware can do. The result is usually more careful design and more content than the ColecoVision would normally have received back then.

The ColecoVision was a technological standout in its day. Thanks to its Texas Instruments graphics chip it could produce a more colorful and detailed image than the competing Atari 2600, and that's exactly why it became a favorite platform for arcade conversions. The homebrew scene builds on that power and tries to use it to the fullest, often with resolution and animations a player back then would have considered a small miracle on such an old machine.

With a title like Princess Quest it's only fair to admit that exact details about the authors, print run or distribution aren't widely documented. But that doesn't change the magic. These games usually come out in limited runs on physical cartridges, with a manual and a box, exactly as they used to. Collectors love them precisely for that tangible authenticity.

Anyone who enjoys slower, exploration-driven action games and is at the same time fascinated that an old console is still alive will find exactly what they're looking for here. It's an invitation into a world where the game isn't about graphical photorealism, but about ideas, atmosphere and the joy of discovery.

Why play: If you enjoy retro adventures and the magic of a living homebrew scene, Princess Quest shows that the ColecoVision still has something to offer.