Top Banana (video game)

Top Banana
Publisher(s)Hex
Programmer(s)Miles Visman
Artist(s)Miles Visman
Karel Dander
Sophie Smith
Robert Pepperell
Matt Black
Platform(s)Archimedes, Amiga, CDTV, Atari ST
Release1991: Archimedes
1992: Amiga, ST
Genre(s)Platform

Top Banana is an environmentally-themed platform game produced by Hex and Psycore for the Acorn Archimedes in 1991 and ported to the Amiga and Atari ST in 1992. The chief artist and coder was Miles Visman, with supporting graphics and sound by Karel Dander and supporting graphics by Sophie Smith, Robert Pepperell and Matt Black. Top Banana was released using recycled cardboard packaging, furthermore being advertised as being the 'first video game with recycled packaging'.[1][2][3] Top Banana's plot is about trying to save the environment from pollution using love.[1][4]

Top Banana is heavily influenced by techno and rave culture, and the game features a techno music video as an introduction.[1][5] Reception for Top Banana was polarized; some reviewers praised the game's techno soundtrack and 'original' environmental plot,[4][6] while others heavily criticized the game due to its 'repetitive' and 'difficult' gameplay and 'difficult to parse' graphics.[2][5][7][8] The game's graphics and sound are left uncompressed, allowing the player to edit them, something that the README included alongside the game encourages.[9]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference banana was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference joker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference zero was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gamesmaster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ASM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference datormagazin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference power was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ashens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Top Banana (1991), Acorn Archimedes. Hex. Hex. README.