Does the 1996 shooter still kick ass and chew bubblegum?

IT’S BEEN FOUR DECADES SINCE PRINCE DUNCAN FIRST STEPPED INTO THE OMINOUS GREAT HALL OF DARK CASTLE TO CHALLENGE THE BLACK KNIGHT. DESIGNER AND ARTIST MARK PIERCE, PROGRAMMER JONATHAN GAY AND AUDIO PROGRAMMER AND PRODUCER ERIC ZOCHER HELP US SEE THE LIGHT

Phil ‘Footy’ King’s career in magazines stretches across five decades and counting. Starting as a staff writer on Crash in the late-Eighties, before becoming editor of Mega Power and popular tips mag PowerStation, he still works on magazines today. We have a kickabout with Phil and get the complete A to Z of his enduring games media career

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AS WELL AS ALL THE HIDDEN GEMS, COVERTAPES SOMETIMES DELIVERED THE SPECTACULAR, SECURING MAJOR TITLES. ONE MONTH IN 1992, ZZAP!64 READERS WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET ARGUABLY THE SYSTEM’S BEST GAME, ALONG WITH A HOST OF MULTIPLAYER ENTERTAINMENT

Alongside rivals Mastertronic, Firebird dominated the 8-bit budget market during the Eighties. As a result, there are plenty of games from the publisher that you may have missed. Retro Gamer takes a look at some of those games across several systems. How many did you play?