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The
collective achievements of the Studio 3 publishing and development
teams are marked by outstanding game successes and innovation over
the last 19 years.
International
Karate
US Version
World Championship Karate Licensed to Epix, International Karate
was released into the US market and renamed as World Championship
Karate. This was the first European developed game to achieve the
number one slot in the famous Billboard chart. Sales were huge across
all formats with C64, Atari 400/800, Apple and PC sales exceeding
over 1,500,000 units in the US alone. At its debut in CES Chicago,
the game was awarded a 'Showcase' Award for technical achievement.
The game occupied the number one position for three months, winning
numerous awards.
Last
Ninja
Last Ninja was the most successful original game ever on the Commodore
C64. In Europe the sales for the C64 version alone were in excess
of 750,000 units and international multi-format sales exceeded 2,000,000
units. It won almost every award available and was critically acclaimed
everywhere as an original, ground-breaking game. There is no C64
gamer that has not heard of Last Ninja. Even today, people still
talk about the impact it had on the gaming world.
Last
Ninja
USA Version
Released under the Activision label it was a second Platinum hit
after the team's success the previous year with International Karate.
With another US Billboard number one hit, Key members of the Studio
3 team became the most sought after developers in Europe.
IK
Plus
An instant classic, it went straight to number one thoughout Europe.
Wining various awards, the game is still talked about today and
was, according to Capcom, the inspiration for the massive hit "Street
Fighter 2". When released on budget throughout Europe, by Ocean
Software, it became their most successful budget title ever.
Last
Ninja 2
Eagerly waited for by the world gaming community, Last Ninja 2 had
people queuing outside shops to get a copy. Selling out everywhere
on its day of release, it is by far the most successful day-one
launch of any game from members of the Studio 3 team. Selling huge
quantities around the world, exceeding 1,200,000 units, it went
on to be a classic and an industry milestone like its predecessors
IK and Ninja 1.
Bangkok
Knights
Following the martial arts theme, Bangkok Knights was created. This
game featured the largest animated characters ever seen in a fighting
game with each one having its own unique strengths, weaknesses and
special moves. This game broke new ground as even the Coin-Op machines
at the time did not have fighting games with characters with individual
features. Yet again the members of the team threw away the rulebook
and created a product that was a first in concept, content and execution.
Vendetta
Launched in the spring of 1989, Vendetta was another industry first
by having two game styles in one. Using the Last Ninja engine you
controlled your hero in a 3D isometric world in an arcade adventure.
However, as you finished each level you had to get into a car and
drive to the next location. Again with enourmous international critical
acclaim it was an instant number one hit.
Myth
Though not the biggest selling title the team ever produced, it
was the most critically acclaimed. In total, it received over 22
awards world-wide. The Nintendo (NES) version of Myth was licensed
in the US to Mindscape, with them launching it under the licence
of Conan, the famous comic book and film character. Some time after
the original 8 bit version, a 16 bit version was created for the
Amiga and was bundled with every Amiga sold that year, including
the hard drive machine - sales reached 400,000 units world-wide.
Flimbo's
Quest
Flimbo's Quest was the first cute game the team had ever created.
It was a huge success throughout Europe with reviews of the game
all scoring it in the mid ninety's. The gamemade such a big impression
on Commodore that they chose to bundle it with their C64 GS console.
Turbo
Charge
Capitalising on the earlier success of Vendetta, the team's racing
game engine was developed further into a what became one of the
most respected racing games to appear on the Commodore C64. As with
most of the team's Commodore games this one achieved reviews of
over 96% in the leading magazines.
Last
Ninja 3
This game can boast the industry's first ever award of 100% ( Your
Commodore), while all the other magazines scored the game between
94 and 97 percent. For many people Ninja 3 represented the pinnacle
of the game genre the team had made its own for so long. It would
be a long time before The Last Ninja would appear again from the
team.
Fuzzball
Fuzzball was the second cute style game the team brought to the
market.
Super
Putty
Another ground-breaking idea from the team where you could control
a character Putty, and morph him into different characters. The
Amiga version was bundled with an Amiga Value pack and saw sales
exceed 100,000. The game received rave reviews world-wide (the UK
magazines all gave it 90 percent or more), and was licensed to Varie
in Japan and US Gold in the USA.
Desert
Fighter
The team's second Super Nintendo game.
Putty
Squad
Licensed to Ocean in Europe and the USA and to VAP in Japan Putty
was back. It was the most successful cute game ever developed by
the Studio 3 team .
Constructor
Constructor was the first sim game the Studio 3 team developed.
The game has a new angle on the traditional sim game, humour. The
combination of solid, long-term, compulsive gameplay interspersed
with humorous animation sequences and outstanding sound effects
proved to be a winning formula with the media and consumer alike.
Press adulation the world over has meant that Constructor has become
one of the most successful games in the company's history and a
profitable franchise for the future. The reviews from PC Format,
PC Gamer and PC Zone (in the UK) all gave the game awards and the
retail trade recognised the game's qualities by catapulting it to
the number one slot during the first week of realease. The game
was developed for the PC, Playstation and Mac platforms.
Street
Wars / Mob Rule
Building on the success of Constructor, we recreated the 1920's
Gangster Era of America and added a few wacky ideas of our own.
Street Wars (AKA in the US as Mob Rule) takes a less than serious
look at the business of organised crime - particularly with some
of the spoken narrative that accompanies the hilarious cut scenes.
If you fancy trying to become a 'made man' and impress the Godfather
with how your hoodlum antics then this game will keep you glued
to the screen.
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