STARQUAKE – On The Amiga

Stephen (or Steve/Steven) Crow is a name many retro gamers will instantly recognize — and for good reason. His games had a unique charm, a distinct style, and what many would even call a touch of magic. For countless fans, his work represents some of the finest examples of classic game design ever created.

Who is he, you ask? Well, you might remember some of his iconic titles — Zynaps and Firelord for Hewson, or his excellent Commodore 64 port of Turbo Outrun. Later in his career, he joined Virgin Games, where he worked on hits like Cool Spot and Aladdin. He then went on to contribute to Earthworm Jim and the brilliant SkullMonkeys before eventually joining Blizzard Entertainment.

The story behind Starquake is quite an interesting one. The game originally came out on the Atari ST, but it was later converted to the Amiga by Galahad/FLT. I’ve covered similar conversion projects before — they’re often great ideas, but also incredibly time-consuming and, for many, not really worth the effort in the end (or are they?).

Things took a surprising turn when Starquake was included as a Kickstarter perk for Chris Wilkins’ Amiga in Pixels book from Fusion Retro Books. That’s when the project suddenly became official, or at least it appeared that way.

And, as always, the Amiga community knows how to make noise — which they did once again. The buzz eventually caught the attention of Stephen (Steve/Steven) Crow himself. While I don’t know every detail, it seems there were a few legal hurdles along the way, but the good news is that the project ultimately received Crow’s official approval.

I have to admit, I was never a big fan of Starquake. I found it rather dull back in the 80s, and even today, it just doesn’t click with me. By the time I might have given it another chance, there were already far better games available.

That said, the long-awaited Amiga version has finally arrived — and wow, the physical box is absolutely stunning. The colours are vibrant, the print is glossy and rich, and the box itself feels solid and weighty — definitely not a cheap production.

The box art deserves special mention too, created by Trevor Storey, a name many Amiga fans will recognise. He worked on numerous Amiga titles like Burning Rubber (Ocean++), various console games, and even some PS2-era gems such as the brilliant Jackie Chan Adventures.

Fusion Retro Books and PSYTRONIK have done a good job here, the box design makes it look very RETRO and while i don’t like the fonts used, i still have to say that this feels like a proper commercial box release from the Amiga heyday (in a good way). 

That disk label on a red floppy looks brilliant, but it is a bit sad that they used an HD floppy.

The User Manual is another high-quality print.

Not all that many pages, but the pictures and quality print help make it feel really professional.

A glossy Artcard with Stephen/Steve/Steven’s Signature, awesome idea and cool that it came with the box.

A Starquake coaster? Awesome print quality, and the coaster feels very solid/well-made.

A sticker and a badge with the same print as the coaster above, I have to admit that i love the quality and style of Trevor Story’s work.

Over to the actual game, then i guess, Starquake is one of those games that I really want to like, but every time I start it, I just start to wonder what’s so bloody brilliant about it.

The game runs rather slowly on classic hardware such as the Amiga 500 and feels somewhat unoptimized. However, Galahad has mentioned that he plans to revisit and improve the performance once he finds the time, which is fair enough.

Starquake is quite a simplistic platformer by today’s standards. There’s no scrolling, and the visuals have a distinctly Spectrum-like look — very typical for a 1985 release. Still, there are a few standout elements that make it special: a massive play area (if I recall correctly, around 512 screens) and the ability to collect and store multiple items for later use — a clever mechanic that the Dizzy games often get most of the credit for popularising.

The game even includes a short intro, which is surprisingly enjoyable — especially with its neat touches like the Boing Ball and the in-game recreation of the box art.

And in true Galahad/FLT fashion, there’s also a cracktro included. A funny and fitting addition that feels almost inevitable considering who made the game!

Beyond the technical details, it’s great to see Fusion Retro Books and Galahad putting in the effort to bring the Amiga back into the spotlight. Sure, this might not be the groundbreaking game I had hoped for, but it’s worth seeing as the start of a potential new trend.

It’s also worth noting that Starquake has developed a dedicated following over the years and enjoys a certain cult classic status, which is part of the reason Galahad decided to port it to the Amiga.

Best of all, the game itself is completely free, so if you missed out on the boxed version, you can still grab a copy and experience it for yourself. Download the game from this location.

Starquake is definitely a welcome addition to my collection. The box and all its contents look fantastic and feel well worth the price. The creativity and effort poured into this release really shine through, and hopefully, it’s a sign of more quality Amiga projects to come. If there are any copies still available, grab one while you can — this game was originally a Kickstarter perk, and the limited extras won’t last long.

In-game screenshots are courtesy of Hall of Light, while the box photos come from my personal collection.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

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