GCW Shareware CD Collection
Back in 1995, my father, my sister, and I went to a computer expo in Raritan, New Jersey, as we had for the past couple years. This time, though, this was special. Dad spent about $100 to buy this newfangled device for our 80386 computer, something called a "CD-ROM drive" and another ten on the "Greg & Chrissy Whale Shareware Collection." This thing had "600 + DOS games! All Apogee's Latest Hits! 200+ Doom and Doom II maps!"
One of those games was, of course, ZZT. These are the games that were on the disc. Hope you enjoy a trip down Snorb's nostalgia lane!
Collection Contents (24 files)
Collection Description
The original version on the disc was corrupted. This is the non-corrupted version I uploaded to Z2 back in 2005.
Collection Description
It's Aceland, come on. It's a classic, get the gem-powered microwave oven and fry every single char 2 smiley in the town of Trala. (Just watch out for the bug at the Tower of Pzia.)
Program Description
Identical to "Best of ZZT", except for an earlier revision of ZZT.DAT - the shareware nag messages use the old Epic order line number instead of the new one.
Collection Description
These were the two official worlds in the collection. (For some reason, the version of ZZT on the shareware disc had its editor disabled, so I got to find out about the editor in high school. In 2002.)
Collection Description
Nice sub. Some interesting NPCs. The damn monkey puzzle confounded me for thirty something years.
Collection Description
This is a mess. I don't think it's beatable. Still, on here because it was on the disc.
Collection Description
It's Code Red. Alex Janson's ZZT masterpiece. What more needs to be said? (What do you mean, "Mission Enigma was better????")
Collection Description
Cribs a lot from Dungeons of ZZT, but who cares? It's still a fun and interesting take on a classic.
Too bad the maze at the end sucks.
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I'm not gonna complain too much about this, whoever Andrew and E were, this is very obviously two kids' first-ever ZZT game.
(watch ep and arp turn out to be someone super popular in the zzt community)
Collection Description
I think this was the one I played the least out of these games. Don't recall too much about it.
Collection Description
Fun game from the author of The Lost Monkeys (also included on the disc!) and The Long Voyage (...not included on the disc.)
Featured Reviews
Collection Description
If I had to say whether this game or The Long Voyage was my favorite of Chris Jong's ZZT games, I'd probably say this one, and even then, under duress.
I, uh, might have "borrowed" the speedboat from the beginning of this game for the ending of La Vie Moderne IV and V. Sorry, Chris!
Collection Description
The original versions of Landland and Landland 2 on the disc were corrupted. These are the restored versions uploaded a couple years ago.
"Having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting." - Spock, son of Sarek, son of Skon, son of Solkar, Star Trek: The Original Series "Amok Time"
Collection Description
Actually, uh, this is a Super ZZT game. Not 100% sure how that got in D:\AD\ZZT instead of D:\AD\ZZTSUP, but whatever. Adding for accuracy purposes.
Collection Description
I think this was uncredited for a very long time up until I played through this and found one scroll that had author commentary that said Prakash Padole made this. Very odd game!
Collection Description
man cause everyone loves mazes of nearly identical rooms that silently loop back on themselves, zzt am i rite
Collection Description
Also a classic. Probably my favorite of Alex Janson's pre-Code Red worlds. (The Three Trials is a close second. Pro: Has the Phantasy Star III title screen song. Con: Has the Super Rube Board.)
Collection Description
I don't think I've ever played this all the way through! It does look very good, though.
Collection Description
Look, this was on the disc. I got nothing here.
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Very odd Star Trek: The Next Generation parody. I think broken board links render this version unwinnable. Sorry, Brian.
Collection Description
Alexis Janson's first ZZT world, and a takeoff of Town of ZZT. Still very fun (except for the Castle of Gold, which I just found out now you can beat in three minutes. Thanks, Dos!)
Collection Description
Unusual hybrid of both Dungeons of ZZT and The Underground Bugtown of ZZT.
Collection Description
Very short, but very fun puzzle game. Love the STK use here. (That title screen is one of my favorites, even 30 years later.)
Collection Description
I think this was one of the first "pilot a giant mecha" ZZT games. Wonder if Chris Jong ever got into Gundam???
Collection Description
Iiiiit's a casino. In ZZT. If you cheat you get beaten up and fed to bears. Not much more I can say about it.
