Introduction

Guzzler is a classic arcade game released by Tehkan in 1983 and later released for the Sega SG-1000 console. The game was never ported to any other system.

Until now.

Since MSX computers share its CPU and video processor with the SG-1000, this was the version that has been chosen as the foundation for this new MSX game.

Gameplay

Guzzler is a maze game where the player controls a creature who can drink (or guzzle) water from puddles, then extinguish fires and monsters spawned from those fires. Each level is a single-screen maze.

That must be extinguished to complete the level, also spawn fire-themed monsters which pursue the player. The main character can attack with three blasts of liquid before becoming empty. With each blast of liquid, the character moves faster and gets closer to being an empty outline. When empty the character is a shell of a sprite, but moves faster. Liquid is replenished by drinking from puddles.

Occasionally, an alcoholic beverage appears in the center of the screen. Picking it up causes the character to refill.

Improvements and limitations

Guzzler for MSX has some improvements when compared to the SG-1000 version:

• The main title has been redesigned to leverage the colour capabilities of the video chip (TMS9918).
• The pattern graphics have been redesigned (walls, bottle, glass, etc.).
• Enemies have a flashing colour, adding a more dangerous appearance.
• The number of different mazes has been increased from 3 to 11.
• There are up to 9 different wall styles now.
• The PSG sound has been modified to simulate a chorus effect.
• Difficulty has been recalibrated up to 20 progressive levels instead of 10 with new features (for instance, variable number of hits to extinguish a fire).

When compared to the original arcade version, Guzzler for MSX has some limitations:

• The maze dimensions is 22 x 22 blocks only, so the mazes have been heavily redesigned to fit the size.
• The arcade version has 16 different mazes, versus 11 on the MSX version.
• Due to TMS9918 limitations, the arcade version has multi-coloured sprites.
• When the player picks the glass or the bottle, only the refill feature happened, while the arcade version also stops enemies for some seconds.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to 9958 CREW for the extra scenes and improved graphics. Please, check their excellent stuff for the MSX system.

This port is an initiative of MSX user Mariano Saura. Thank you for your support, ideas and testing.