Goody

Jon Nelson Brainer Stravinsky ( Spanish: John Nelson Brainner Stravinsky ), also known by the pseudonym Goody (from English - “Goody”), is a descendant of a noble family, but because of a number of random events in his life he began to steal someone else’s property, and , once stepping off the fair path, he was no longer able to get out of the rut of robbery. Goody is constantly chased by the ruthless police officer Rodriguez, who, knowing about his adventures, is trying by all means possible to catch a professional thief and thereby advance through the ranks. However, not only the policeman wants to find Goody. The main character has many envious people - for example, the famous robber Charlie El Bardeos ( Spanish: Charly el Bardeos ) is looking for Goody in order to collect all his money. In addition, a gorilla escaped from the zoo in the city, which, if she succeeds in capturing Goody, will shake him until his death. Mrs. Maria ( Spanish: Señora Maria ), while cleaning the city, creates dangerous clouds of dust. For Goody, workers at a construction site, office clerks, greedy bankers, ghosts are dangerous ... Nature in the face of mice and snakes and even the moon are unfriendly to Goody. His whole life consists of theft, the desire to carry away his legs and an imminent prison term ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

At the beginning of the game, Goody has a good plan - this will be the “last blow”, the execution of which the hero finally and in one fell swoop will end such a life. Goody is about to rob a bank ^[6] . To do this, he needs, while traveling around the game world, to raise money, for which he can then acquire tools in order to penetrate the bank. In addition, the main character needs to find all the digits of the secret code of the safe. After the successful completion of the plan, he will be able to retire ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

The game is an adventure platformer made in raster sprite graphics. The game world occupies more than 80 screens, and the action takes place in the city - these are buildings, parks, sewers, subways and other similar locations that inhabit the corresponding non-player characters . The main character's task is to collect all the cylinder capsules ^{[to. 1]} , scattered throughout the city, each of which is one digit from the bank safe. In addition, a player-controlled thief needs to find money and buy items in it in the store, which in the future must be used to break into the bank and break into the safe ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

The character moves horizontally and can jump. The height of the jump is limited and depends on the acceleration of the main character. Additionally, a professional thief has a ladder that he can put in various places (where it fits in length) and climb it. There is one staircase, and it is either located at the main character, or set up somewhere in the game world, where it can subsequently be picked up. A thief can throw bricks and thus fight with the characters interfering with him. In this case, the brick flies through obstacles, and the player can control the throwing force, thereby affecting the trajectory of the brick. The game mechanics of the rolls is such that only one brick can be on the screen at a time ^{[4] [5]} .

Initially, the player is given 15 lives, one of which the player loses in most cases when meeting with unfriendly characters (mice, policemen and others) or getting into dangerous places (for example, falling into the water in a sewer). If a player finds a cylinder capsule with one of the digits of the code, then one life is added to him. Some characters do not attack Goody themselves, but dangerous objects fly on their part, falling into the main character is fatal. The behavior of some characters is specific: when meeting with the robber, he takes all the money he found from the thief, and when he meets the karateka, he strikes Goody, who throws the thief away and takes away a significant amount of strength (the amount of strength is the maximum value at the beginning of each life and gradually decreases over time, and upon reaching zero the player loses one life). The supply of strength can be replenished if Goody finds a beer in the game world ^{[4] [5]} .

With the money found, the main character can buy things in the store, which can later be used in special places intended for use. In any such place, any item can be used, and if a thing suitable for the place is selected, this removes one of the obstacles for moving around the game world. If the item to be used is chosen incorrectly, then the policeman confiscates the brick from the thief and sends the hero to prison, from which Goody can get out only if he has the key. If it doesn’t succeed, the game ends regardless of the number of available lives. After escaping from prison, the thief receives his weapon back, and the game continues ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

The game was developed by Opera Soft in a period known as the golden age of the Spanish computer game industry . The first of Opera Soft's games was Livingstone Supongo , which was successful in England. After that, the company began work on the games Cosa Nostra , Goody and The Last Mission ^[7] . It is noted that the studio used in Goody the same controversial ending as in Livingstone Supongo - after gaining access to the bank’s safe, it turns out that it is empty ^[6] .

The game was created by Gonzalo Suarez Girard and released for the ZX Spectrum and MSX in 1987. Subsequently, Goody was ported to Amstrad CPC , DOS, and MSX 2 . Gonzalo Suarez worked on graphics with Carlos Diaz de Castro ( Spanish: Carlos A. Díaz de Castro ), and the sound was performed by Angel Zarazaga ( Spanish Ángel Zarazaga ) ^[2] .

Goody became part of several collections ^[8] . One of them, 2 Por 1: Goody + The Last Mission, is a joint release with The Last Mission ^[9] . In 1989, Goody was released as part of Opera Storys 1 , which included games published by Opera Soft ^[10] . In 1990, one of the collections of MicroHobby magazine was published under the name MicroHobby issue 203: Tape 28 , which included Goody ^[11] . In addition, the game was included in the collection “Pack Opera 25” (from the Spanish version “The Opera Soft 25 Company Package”), which consisted of 26 games and was released by Digital Dreams Multimedia in 1994 ^[12] .

There is a localization called "Adventure City" for DOS , performed by NPO Electronmash (Kiev, Ukraine). Goody has several remakes , of which the Goody The Remake , released by Coptron Game Studios in 2005 for Windows and in 2006 for Linux, is considered to be famous ^[8] . In this game, the graphics are redrawn, in addition to Spanish, the interface can be switched to English, in the platformer, the mechanics of static screens are changed to scrolling , and the game world remains the same. Goody also has a remake for Goody Returns mobile phones, preserving the atmosphere and music of the game, but made in isometric graphics ^[13] .

The editors of MicroHobby considered the game a difficult adventure with very well detailed urban conditions. The version for ZX Spectrum was reviewed, for which the monochrome graphics were indicated as a drawback, and its complexity was named the strongest side of the game. According to the authors of the review, the game is made especially attractive by the eccentricities of the protagonist and his opponents, as well as a style in which both the characters and the urban landscape are depicted, against which the action takes place. Among the advantages are unexpected plot moves - a trip in the subway and a boat crossing the river ^[4] .

In a review of Micromania magazine, it was reported that Goody is a good work by Opera Soft, made with high-quality graphics and sound, and the game itself is described as exciting and exciting ^[14] .

In the book "Computer Worlds ZX Spectrum" the game received a rating of 4 out of 5, but there were no comments on its justification ^[5] .

In retrospect

In the comments on the 1990 compilation, Goody is described as a classic Spanish game in which a pretty thief seeks to rob a bank, and this “involves him in a thousand and one adventures” ^[11] .

In a review of classic Spanish games published in 2012, Goody is described as a game demonstrating the capabilities of 8-bit machines . At the same time, Goody noted the presence of game humor, the presence of an interesting plot, as well as unusual game complexity. In retrospect, the game is called one of Opera Soft's masterpieces ^[15] .

Goody , along with Commandos , is considered one of the best Spanish games in terms of the number of copies sold ^[1] . When considering the game in the context of the history of computer games, Goody is one of the first in which the management aspect of the antisocial hero is implemented - “an ambitious bank robber” ^[16] .

In the publication Retro Gamer 2017, Goody is presented as an example of a game that set Opera Soft apart from its competitors. It was said about the game that it is a "very well-designed adventure", and one of the positive aspects is the quality of its graphic implementation. The platform was described as follows ^[17] :

According to a magazine review, Goody is reminiscent of early Japanese console games, and the platformer would not stand out if it appeared on the SG-1000 or Famicom in due time. Additionally, in the review it was noted that Goody ’s popularity increased sharply after porting to MSX 2, since visually the game became much better, and subsequently continued its life in remakes of its fans and in the isometric sequel to mobile phones ^{[k. 2] [17]} .

Comments

Sources

• Goody on Computer Emuzone (Spanish) .
•   Goody Amstrad CPC // video walkthrough for Amstrad CPC, Vida Extra portal.
•   Goody ZX Spectrum // video game walkthrough for ZX Spectrum, RZX Archive portal.
• The ZX Spectrum version of Goody is available for free play online in the Internet Archive .
• The DOS version of Goody is available for free play online in the Internet Archive .
• Juegos completos (Spanish) . Coptron Game Studios - Be Retro .