Journey to the center of the Earth, faithful to the original storytelling, in a Topo Soft’s Epic Underground Adventure that conquered 8 and 16 Bits.
Imagine descending into the fiery heart of the planet, dodging giant spiders, prehistoric dinosaurs, and volcanic labyrinths… all in 1989, courtesy of the Spanish geniuses at Topo Soft! This action arcade is a brutal adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and became a superproduction of the Golden Age of Spanish Software. Developed by cracks like Carlos Arias on programming, Rafael Gómez, Alfonso Azpiri with his legendary graphic art and more, it was published by Topo Soft and distributed by Erbe Software. Topo Soft bet it all: they wanted to export to Japan and the USA, but the ’89 crash stopped them. Even so, MicroHobby crowned it Game of the Year 1989 with an 8.5/10, praising the graphics, addictiveness, and originality. Spectrum users still rate it around 7.1/10 today. In 2007, Topo Siglo XXI released an Extended Version for ZX Spectrum, adding the “lost” stages, and yes, it’s playable for free on emulators.
As for platforms, the ZX Spectrum version (8 bits) offers three stages with colorful graphics though some attribute clash, minimalist effects, and no in-game music, but features an epic volcanic labyrinth and detailed dinos. It retailed for 1200 PTA with demos in MicroHobby. The Amiga version (16 bits) is more complete, with five stages, smoother scrolling, more detailed graphics, and better sound; it includes carnivorous turtles and the raft in the eruption. It’s not a direct port, but an independent version. Other machines like MSX, CPC, C64, Atari ST, and DOS got three or five stages depending on the hardware, though the 8-bits feel a bit short due to memory and time limits. The gameplay is total madness: you control three characters with unique skills that you switch with keys 1, 2, and 3. Axel is the tank who jumps far and withstands falls; the Professor has a gun for enemies and a backpack; Graüben carries a first-aid kit and canteen to refill energy in lakes. The first stage is a puzzle to reconstruct a disordered map against the clock, 15-puzzle style, frustrating but skippable. The second, the volcanic labyrinth, is the best: over a hundred flip-screen screens where you climb down ropes, avoid lava, gas, geysers, and crumbling bridges, while managing the lantern that burns gas and shooting bats and spiders. The boss is a lake monster, and it has a genius auto-map that doesn’t reset. The third stage takes you to a prehistoric jungle where you run and throw spears at T-Rex, Stegos, Smilodon, and Pterodactyls, dodging quicksand. In the 16-bit versions and extended edition, two more stages appear: a living labyrinth with giant turtles and a raft in full eruption with escalating obstacles.
Controls on Spectrum use Cursor or joysticks, with N to drink, M for the lantern, and Space to attack. And there are epic codes: for stage 2 “EVAMARIASEFUE” (a nod to the Fórmula V song and Paco Pastor from Erbe), for stage 3 “LOUREED” (Lou Reed!), and on 16 bits even more like Manowar or Metallica.
Great game.
