Vintage Video Games #20 – Magic Pockets

I do love a good platformer and this little beauty by the Bitmap Brothers (published by Renegade in October 1991) must be one of my all time faves! Released on Atari ST, Amiga, Acorn Archimedes and PC, title track of the game is the instrumental version of a hit single “Doin’ the Do”, by Betty Boo, from 1990!

Story Line: A young boy, known as the Bitmap Kid, has a pair of magic trousers that contain pockets with an infinite amount of storage space, and therefore he stores all of his toys in his pockets. One day the creatures who live in his pockets decide to keep his toys for themselves and play with them, so the Bitmap Kid must go on a journey to retrieve them from the creatures.

With 4 zones – Cave, Jungle, River and Mountain, each of which is split into several stages including a bonus stage. The Kid has a different attack for every area of the game, all of which may be “charged up” by holding down the fire button to throw a bigger projectile which can suck up enemies and turn them into treasures.

Highlights: The highlight for me would be the different helmets you could collect from gold and silver stars. Helmets gave you special skills varying from teleporters, to laser beams, invincibility and one giving you the power to swim underwater.

About the Author

Fifties Born in an irish field - dj, designer, radio show host and blogger Louise 'Fifties' O'Donnell went out into the world with one mission in mind. To hunt down big phat bass lines and share them with the masses. Dedicated to finding new music she is always on the trail of new talent as well as the big playas.