Like all great treasures and antiquities, there is a history to be explored here. And while there’s a further point to be made that all three games in this trio likely owe their inspirations to the success of Brøderbund’s Lode Runner it’s the Nintendo conversion of Spelunker that set a standard for “badness,” and which serves as the perfect point of entry for our fortune-seeking adventures on Famicom. Not only that, but the game upon which it is originally based – MicroGraphic Image’s Atari 8-bit version of Spelunker – was launched two years earlier in 1983. With its December 6th, 1985 release date, it predates both of its contemporaries by several months. Regardless of what you want to call this selection of games (if you even see fit to connect them together in the first place), Spelunker is the release which set the boulder rolling. But today, I’d like to pitch my own suggestion here for your approval: “The Treasure Hunters Trinity.” A little alliteration goes a long way, I say. Now, seeing as each game puts players in the boots of fortune-seeking adventurer types – exploring the likes of ancient ruins and lost caverns – I reckon there should really be some sort of nickname assigned to this wholy unofficial trilogy, right? A friend and peer in our field – Natalie of ‘Kusoge Theater’ – has referred to the set as the “Cave Dwellers” collection. These releases would include Sunsoft’s Atlantis no Nazo, Pony Canyon’s Super Pitfall, and the subject of today’s article IREM’s Spelunker.
And within that catalogue of infamous cartridges, there is a trio which stands out - three titles tied together by shared theming and similarly punishing gameplay. In the annals of kusogē history, perhaps no other console has played host to quite so many notorious games as Nintendo’s Family Computer. “You can only fire when standing on solid ground.”
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