Ludography
Spiky Harold cover

1986 · Platformer

Spiky Harold

1986 video game

Released
31 December 1986
Platforms
Amstrad CPCAtari 8-bitCommodore 16Commodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXZX Spectrum
Genres
Platformer
Developers
—
Publishers
—
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Action
Country
England

About

Spiky Harold is a platform video game written by Andrew Rogers and published by Firebird Software in 1986. It was released for Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 16 / Plus/4, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum home computers.

Media

Spiky Harold screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Spiky Harold is a flip-screen platform game in which the player moves the protagonist, Harold, from room to room collecting various objects. The goal of this game is to collect enough food for Harold the hedgehog to survive on while hibernating. The necessities are strewn across and below a big hedgerow. Coins that grant extra lives, wine glasses that change Harold's directions, apples, and other food items are among the numerous things that need to be collected.

Unfortunately, all the objects are guarded by wasps, rodents, sulfur clouds, and bouncing balls. All the items have to be collected within the 24 hours displayed on the clock at the bottom of the screen. If the player is successful in gathering all of the required materials within the specified time, they must then deliver Harold back to his pad, where he can sleep the winter away.

Story

As winter approaches, a hedgehog named Harold must get ready for hibernation by gathering food that is buried beneath the hedgerows.

Reception

Spiky Harold received mixed reviews. Commodore User reviewer complained about the slow, repetitive gameplay and dire music detracting a lot from what could have been a good game. Stuart Kirkham writing for the Computer Gamer magazine summed up Spiky Harold as a good platform game that has plenty of entertainment to offer for a small price.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1986Europe
Atari 8-bit31 December 1986Europe
ZX Spectrum31 December 1986Europe
Amstrad CPC31 December 1986Europe
Commodore 1631 December 1986Europe

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.