Gods

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Gods MDTitleScreen.png

Gods
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Mindscape (US), PCM Complete (JP), Accolade (EU)
Developer:
Genre: Action

















Release Date RRP Code

Gods (ゴッズ) is a 1991 platformer by The Bitmap Brothers, originally released for the Commodore Amiga and later ported to a variety of home consoles and computers, including a 1992 port to the Sega Mega Drive. This version was the first game published by Accolade after acquiring an official license after winning Sega v. Accolade (though they still presumably continued to press unlicensed games).

"Four guardians" have broken the citadel used to protect the city of the gods, and have asked any warrior to retake the citadel in return for a favor. The greatest gift of all: immortality You play as one such warrior, who asks to become a god himself, equal to the others.

Game Worlds

  • The City
  • The Temple
  • The Labyrinth
  • The Underworld

Each world is split into three sections. Between these individual sections, new weapons, power ups and other items may be purchased at a traveling merchant's shop.

Gameplay

Compared to the original release on the Amiga, the Sega Mega Drive version plays considerably faster. As a consequence of this, the difficulty level became higher.

The game has a self adaptive difficulty level, sometimes giving out health and extra lives to players instead of score related items.

A shoots your weapon (which you carry one of and find throughout each level). B jumps. To jump off ladders, hold down B and tap left or right. By pressing Up, you face the wall, and can then use A to do actions like flipping switches on the wall. You can carry up to four extra items with you, such as keys (used to open doors). To take an item, hold Down to switch to item grabbing mode and hit A to pick the item up and put it in one of four slots (shown in the HUD), and then hit A again to move the cursor to the next slot. To drop an item, move the cursor onto an item and leave item grabbing mode. You do not need to drop items to use keys; they activate automatically when you approach a door.

Passwords are given out at the end of each world after defeating the respective boss. You are given a pre-defined amount of money to power up, should you continue using a password.

Enemies' appearance changes from world to world and sometimes also from stage to stage, but their behaviour can be cathegorized:

  • walk a predefined path
  • walk straight for the player's position
  • fly for the player's position
  • turret like behaviour
  • So called "thieves" take a special position. Starting with world 2, these characters will grab items and carry them around. They can be attracted by dropping a golden key, the item they desire the most. They can be utilized to transport items out of areas they player can't reach by himself.

Points are accumulated by defeating enemies and collecting treasure, often hidden away in secret areas that can only be accessed by solving puzzle sections. A lot of the bonus sections are very hard to find without the use of external resources. Extra lives and bonus points are rewarded for certain scores. As all score is lost when powering off the console, a play session focusing on score needs to be done in one sitting.

Weapons

Each weapon has three power levels. Level 1 is a straight shot, level 2 is straight and upward, level 3 is straight, upward and downward The angle the weapons are fired can be altered by pickups.

""Main Weapons:""

  • Knife: standard equipment
  • Throwing Star: stronger than the knife
  • Spear: stronger than the throwing star, goes through walls
  • Mace: weaker than the knife, can break certain blocks
  • Axe: strongest weapon, no special properties

Aside from these main weapons, the game also features sub weapons, which are fired simultaneously with the main weapons. ""Sub Weapons"":

  • Energy star: arching shot, can be used together with the hammer
  • Hammer: jumps long the floor until it finds a target
  • Spiked Ball: homing shot

Trivia

  • While the score system was carefully crafted, a design oversight exists: The beehives in the labyrinth stage release an unlimited amount of bees, and thus infinite score can be accumulated.

Version differences

  • All versions are region locked. The PAL version has speed up music but slower gameplay. Disabling the region lock with a cheating devices (e.g. Game Genie code EAAT-AL1T) makes the game and music run at the correct speed. Content wise, the games are identical aside from translation differences.
  • Compared to the Amiga release, the home console ports feature:
    • A new, animated intro screen (but without the image song) compared to the still image of the original
    • Ingame music was added, while the Amiga release was silent
    • New HUD that displays all items, this works without compromising the visible area as the Sega Mega Drive version runs at a slightly higher resolution.
    • Some palette changes in all stages, likely due to the higher amount of simultaneously displayed foreground colors - Amiga:32 MD:64 (e.g. the hero's armor is slightly blue colored compared to the gray Amiga versions armor, enemies now have their own palettes).
    • The Amiga's "copper mode" background gradients, which can't be reproduced on the Sega Mega Drive without heavy dithering, have been replaced with paralax scrolling buildings and scenery.
    • The final ascension to olympus scene was made exclusive for console versions.
    • The ability to perform a straight vertical jump was added & walking speed is much faster, making it possible to clear the game in ~1 hour (compared to the Amiga version, which took ~2hours).
    • In the Amiga version, you are given "immortality" by receiving a screen full of 1UP items after the final boss, which is missing in the Sega Mega Drive version. The extended ending scene is a replacement for this.
    • The game doesn't loop infinitely with an increased difficulty level after clearing it. Instead it brings the player to the highscore screen

Production credits

From the title screen roll:

  • Design: Eric Matthews, Steve Tall
  • Original Coding: Steve Tall
  • Graphics: Mark Coleman
  • Original Music: John Foxx
  • Sega Conversion: Gary J. Foreman at Graftgold Ltd.
  • Sega Sound: Jason Page
  • Additional Graphics: Mark Coleman, Eric Matthews, Philip Williams

Promotional material

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
83 №139, p99[1]
87 №146, p71
95 №42, p56/57[2]
91 №3, p38/39/40
76 №16, p87
83 №1, p65
88 №7, p42/43
68 №2, p40/41/42
89 №11, p50/51/52
89 №2, p90-92[3]
75 №37, p156
87 №49, p98/99
92 №13, p36/37
92 №18, p65
81 №25, p62/63
92 №1, p60/61/62
86 №18, p12
Sega Mega Drive
86
Based on
17 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
70
[4]
Alaab Alcomputtar (SA)
85
[5]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
92
[6]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
53
[7]
Consoles + (FR)
88
[8]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
83
[9]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
87
[10]
Digitiser (UK)
60
[11]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
70
[12]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
78
[13]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
55
[14]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
87
[15]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
95
[2]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
40
[16]
MAN!AC (DE)
59
[17]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)
91
[18]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-U
91
[19]
Mega (UK) NTSC
76
[20]
Mega (UK) NTSC-U
76
[21]
Mega Action (UK) NTSC
83
[22]
Mega Action (UK) PAL
88
[23]
Mega Force (FR)
82
[24]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U
68
[25]
Mega Machines (UK) PAL
68
[26]
MegaTech (UK) NTSC
89
[27]
Marukatsu Mega Drive (JP) NTSC-J
65
[28]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-U
89
[3]
Player One (FR)
75
[29]
Play Time (DE)
81
[30]
Power Unlimited (NL)
82
[31]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
87
[32]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC
92
[33]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
92
[34]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
81
[35]
Sega Zone (UK) NTSC-U
92
[36]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
74
[37]
Sega Force (SE)
60
[38]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
68
[39]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
52
[40]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
86
[41]
Todo Sega (ES) PAL
77
[42]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
79
[43]
Video Games (DE)
72
[44]
Sega Mega Drive
77
Based on
43 reviews

Gods

Mega Drive, US
Gods MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Gods md us cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU
Gods MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Gods MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
50x50px
Manual
Mega Drive, JP
Gods MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Gods MD JP CartTop.jpg
Gods MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Gods MD jp manual.pdf
Manual

References

  1. File:CVG UK 139.pdf, page 101
  2. 2.0 2.1 File:GamePro US 042.pdf, page 60 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:GamePro US 042.pdf_p60" defined multiple times with different content
  3. 3.0 3.1 File:MeanMachinesSega02UK.pdf, page 90 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega02UK.pdf_p90" defined multiple times with different content
  4. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 89
  5. Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 73
  6. Aktueller Software Markt, "Juli 1994" (DE; 1994-06-06), page 118
  7. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1993" (JP; 1993-04-08), page 23
  8. Consoles +, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 172
  9. Computer & Video Games, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-15), page 99
  10. Computer & Video Games, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-15), page 71
  11. Digitiser (UK) (1993-04-09)
  12. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 319
  13. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 52
  14. Famitsu, "1993-04-16" (JP; 1993-04-02), page 37
  15. GameFan, "Volume 1, Issue 1: October 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 6
  16. Hippon Super, "January 1993" (JP; 1992-12-04), page 83
  17. MAN!AC, "12/93" (DE; 1993-11-10), page 47
  18. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-xx-xx), page 38
  19. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 92
  20. Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 87
  21. Mega, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-17), page 63
  22. Mega Action, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 65
  23. Mega Action, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-04), page 42
  24. Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 90
  25. Mega Fun, "11/92" (DE; 1992-10-xx), page 39
  26. Mega Machines, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-09), page 40
  27. MegaTech, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-10-20), page 50
  28. Marukatsu Mega Drive, "January 1993" (JP; 1992-12-xx), page 107
  29. Player One, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 157
  30. Play Time, "5/93" (DE; 1993-04-07), page 106
  31. Power Unlimited, "Nummer 5, December 1993" (NL; 1993-12-01), page 42
  32. Sega Power, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-xx), page 98
  33. Sega Pro, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-10-08), page 34
  34. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 65
  35. Sega Pro, "November 1993" (UK; 1993-10-14), page 62
  36. Sega Zone, "November 1992" (UK; 1992-10-28), page 60
  37. Sega Zone, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-25), page 54
  38. Sega Force, "2/94" (SE; 1994-02-23), page 12
  39. Sega Mega Drive Review, "1" (RU; 1995-04-03), page 57
  40. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  41. Sonic the Comic, "February 4th 1994" (UK; 1994-01-22), page 12
  42. Todo Sega, "Diciembre 1993" (ES; 1993-1x-xx), page 76
  43. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 16
  44. Video Games, "12/92" (DE; 1992-11-23), page 64