Hunchback
A classic and much-copied platform game in which the player takes
on the role of the eponymous bell-ringer, Quasimodo, in his quest to
rescue the beautiful Esmerelda from the tower of the castle fortress.
Quasi must complete a number of static screens, each presenting the
player with different obstacles, to reach Esmerelda. These range from
spear-toting guards, to firey chasms to missiles (fireballs or arrows)
that must be jumped. Some of the trickier screens can contain more than
one of these obstacles, such as spear-toting guards AND missles.
One final problem that appears on every screen is the time limit. This takes the form of an enemy guard climbing the castle walls, if the soldier reaches the top, he will try to burn the Hunchback with his torch. If the Hunchback rings the bell before the guard has scaled the wall, a bonus score is awarded.
The hunchback character was originally to be 'Robin Hood'. Hence the green costume and the game stages with arrows. The artist (who drew the Robin Hood character) left the company before the decision to change the theme to 'Hunchback'. By the time a new artist was taken on, the green costume had become accepted and no-one questioned it (someone commented that the Robin Hood character, as drawn, looked like a hunchback). (arcade-history)
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