Calimero II

Calimero II

Release type: Freeware
Release date: July 3, 1995
Levels: 2
Author: PPP Team
Website: Bilou Homebrew's Blog
Related games: Panzer III

The first Calimero game, Calimero against the Black Empire, was the Martins’ first ever attempt at a platformer, developed in BASIC some four or five years before they discovered Game-Maker. The game involved a black-feathered bird wearing half an egg as a helmet.

Later, at the height of their Game-Maker career, they chose to take advantage of a design cul-de-sac and insert the character into the skeleton of Panzer III. The result, Calimero II, comes off as sort of a cross between Wonder Boy and Sonic the Hedgehog (particularly the latter's Marble Zone), with maybe a bit of a Codemasters flavor.

Although again they chose not to pursue the game to completion, the game does exhibit several advanced — or at least fascinating — techniques. To facilitate a Sonic-style vertical spring, they employed a complex lock-and-key system that momentarily flipped the gravity on all the background blocks. The character can throw apples along a wave pattern, and can do it quickly enough to establish a sort of an unbroken wave beam.

Creating an apple wave in Calimero II

Jumping is an occasional issue in PPP Team's older games; the levels demand a precision that the character animations barely supply, forcing the player to repeat certain jumps over and over. Calimero takes this frustration to a new level; often it's unclear whether certain jumps are possible, and the answer only supplies itself when one realizes there there are no other routes.

With a bit of adjustment, and some improved jumping behavior, Calimero II could have really gone somewhere. You can feel that this game was never a priority, though — not in the same way as some of PPP Team's other projects.

Gameplay comparison

Zone 1 - Level 1 : note the fake lava you need to cross to reach the end

Zone 1 - Level 2 : design sketch

RSD's engine resulted in several technical changes over the previous Calimero game. To wit:

• Calimero can now take several hits before dying (versus the one-hit kills of the original).
• A gravity-affected jetpack (keys .,1,3) replaces the gravity-cancelling helicopter from the original. This means, among other things, that you have to sacrifice a life to get out of the cave where you found that power-up.
• Once acquired, power-ups (particularly the jetpack) are retained for the duration of the game, as compared to power-ups that only last as long as you're alive in the original.

• There are now little matches and flame monsters strolling around.
• You can dispatch some monsters by throwing apples (keys /,*).
• You can now control your flight after touching a "bumper".
• If you fall from the sky, you now safely land on the ground. In the original non-scrolling 8-bit scenes, falling in the wrong section of the screen could kill you, making the clouds much more hazardous to navigate.

Story

Calimero must save Presilia... But in this version you must only find the end...

Instructions

It's the second version of Calimero, but it's the funware version. There is only two stages... This version use VGA & Sound Blaster (exist 16 col. & Master Boomer).

If like it command the total version

Credits

This game was made by PPP Team Soft

Piet: Pengo, Badman, Blork, Panzer 1&2...

Pierrick: Badman, Blork, Bloodwar...

Pypein: Calimero 1, Puissance 4, Bilou...

Links

• Cyborg Jeff's download site
• the story of Calimero I in EP/QuickBasic
• The Brussels Spout, Book 2 (DIYGamer)

Downloads

• Calimero II (140.6 kB)