Tygre's
Amiga
Wiki

Rick Dangerous

Introduction
Realisation
Gameplay
Solutions
Conclusion
Memorabilia

Introduction

Rick Dangerous was my favourite platformer growing up with my brother's A500 and then my very own A1200. It's loosely based on the character of Indiana Jones and the story of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was followed by Rick Dangerous II (inspired by Flash Gordon) and Rick Dangerous II½.

Incredibly, one of the programmer and game designer is still active in the video-game industry and has a Web site discussing his work on and general information about Rick Dangerous: Simon Phipps, who worked on both Rick Dangerous and Rick Dangerous II (and presumably II½, although he doesn't mention it).

A new version of Rick Dangerous was announced on Jan. 18, 2022, and released on Mar. 18, 2023! It includes remastered versions of all graphics (based on the Wii) and a brand new title screen (by Simon Phipps). It is built on the Scorpion Engine and available for Amiga 1200, CD32, and Amiga Mini.

Realisation

Remember that the game was released in 1989 for Amiga (and other computers of the time) so it's typical of the games of that era .

Graphic Design

The graphics are cute, precise, memorable... and funny! Rick Dangerous definitely has the look of Indiana Jones, except for the eyes, which are hidden by his hat and that, along with his grin, give him an unmistakable mischievous (and goofy) air.

Each level features a particular "atmosphere" and the style that goes with it, from the jungle, ancient temple, and Egypt inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark to the retro-futuristic headquarter of the Fat Guy in Rick Dangerous II.

I won't copy here screenshots or videos because others have already recorded long-plays for Rick Dangerous and Rick Dangerous II, better than I could hope to do!

Musics and Sounds

Each level starts with a "jingle" music... then during the game silence is golden! However, there are some interesting and funny sound effects, the most famous being the "WAAAA" cried by Rick when he dies... This sample was actually from the original developer, Simon Phipps!

Animations

Each character is animated and, when killed, "jump" out of the screen. Other elements are animated too, from the dynamite sticks, their wicks and explosions, to the dogs or platforms or green blobs... Lots of things to see!

Gameplay

Rick Dangerous can be played with the joystick or the keyboard. Rick can move in every direction (obviously!) and can also fire a gun, poke things with a stick, and lay sticks of dynamite. (In the future, Rick fires a laser gun, punches with his fist, and drop bombs...)

Joystick Controls

The controls are quite intuitive really.

In Rick Dangerous, you have the following controls:

To fire a bullet, hold FIRE and push UP.
To lay a stick of dynamite, hold FIRE and push DOWN.
To poke a wall or an eneny, etc. with your stick, hold FIRE and push LEFT or RIGHT.

In Rick Dangrous II, you can also "push" the bombs left or right: hold FIRE, push and hold LEFT or RIGHT, then DOWN. Using diagonals also works but sometimes "slips" and then Rick does something else...

Quality

Rick Dangerous is perfectly controllable and never slows down or

Misc

Although Rick Dangerous can look "simple" at first sight, it contains many, many interesting and cute features as well as puzzles. Rick Dangerous II went even further with Rick driving a flying scooter , etc.

Solutions

The fabulous Web site rickdangerous.co.uk maintains maps of the different versions of Rick Dangerous. I reproduce below these maps for the sake of completeness and preservation but all credit goes to Jimmer and all errors are mine. (I tried to contact Jimmer twice unsuccessfully: in 2013 my e-mail didn't get any answer; in 2021 the e-mail address doesn't exist anymore .)