Netherworld (C64)
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Netherworld is a cross between a shoot'em-up and Boulder Dash. The game was designed and programmed on the Commodore 64 by the late Jukka Tapanimäki at age 26. As a metaphor for that (as well as to his shock), the British publisher depicted his face on the European box and the tape loader.
The game has 12 levels, which loop without real ending. After each level, you can play an optional bonus level. The game is often derided for being very difficult.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
Outside the game, starting with the credits, a heavy metal song composed by 19-year-old Jori Olkkonen (now Petrik Salovaara) loops. Both Tapanimäki and he lived in Tampere, Finland and reviewed games for C=lehti.
In-game, 12 sound effects are spread over the SID chip's three voices. Tapanimäki may have done them himself, considering how intermixed they are with the game code.
Back when the game was sold, about every reviewer highlighted the title music and sampled guitar. Britain's major C64 games magazine, ZZAP! 64, rated sound 90%. Recognition spread beyond the C64 when the Angry Video Game Nerd played two excerpts of track 201 on September 25, 2021.
Recording
Two loops plus 10 seconds were recorded:
- in VICE 3.2 with C64 PAL.
- in VICE 3.2 with C64 NTSC.
- on a real C64C PAL with an 8580 R5 4091.
- in VICE 3.2 with C64C NTSC.
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | The Purser Stole My Gun | Petrik Salovaara | 4:28 | Download | |
| 102 | The Purser Stole My Gun (preview) | Petrik Salovaara | 4:03 | Download | |
| 103 | The Purser Stole My Gun (demo) | Petrik Salovaara | 1:13 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | The Purser Stole My Gun | Petrik Salovaara | 3:46 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | The Purser Stole My Gun | Petrik Salovaara | 4:28 | Download | |
| 302 | The Purser Stole My Gun (preview) | Petrik Salovaara | 4:03 | Download | |
| 303 | The Purser Stole My Gun (demo) | Petrik Salovaara | 1:13 | Download |
| # | Title | Composer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | The Purser Stole My Gun | Petrik Salovaara | 3:46 | Download |
(Source: Pelit 1988.)
Credits
- Ripper: HVSC
- Recorder: Professor Chaos
- Game Credits:
- Music By: Petrik Salovaara credited as Jori Olkkonen
- C64 music by: Petrik Salovaara credited as Jori Olkkonen
- Not Credited Foley Artist: Unknown
- Not Credited Programmer: Petrik Salovaara
- Not Credited Programmer: Unknown
(Source for music: title sequence, manual. Source for music programmer: Salovaara in interviews.)
Game Rip
Audio Devices
This game uses the computer's built-in SID chip. The drums and distorted guitars are almost mute on the 8580 revision. Your shots and bounces sound slightly different on every 6581 because they use SID's inconsistent low-pass filter.
On NTSC, everything is 19% faster and 4% higher. On old NTSC, it is 22% faster, and the actual game heavily flickers.
Releases
Two early versions were leaked: one without music, one with inferior music. Both have a flat menu font and allow you to start in levels 5 and 9 without playing before.
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Links
- mobygames.com/game/c64/netherworld - MobyGames.
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/c64/577350-netherworld - GameFAQs.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherworld_(video_game) - Wikipedia.
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| Netherworld |  •  •  •  •  • 
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| Notable Songs | The Purser Stole My Gun • Theme - Netherworld (ZXS, CPC) |
| Notable Personnel | Petrik Salovaara • Dave Rogers |
| Notable Companies | Hewson Consultants |
