Arabian Themed Games
Considering most video games are developed in Japan, North America and Europe, it's understandable that most games take place within these cultures. Yet, sometimes developers look to other cultures for inspiration. Arabian folklore(or at least Western interpretations of it) has inspired a number of games, many of which are high quality. These games contain things typically associated with that culture's myths: scimitar sword fights, flying carpets, magic lamps, etc. Here's a history of the use of Arabian themes in video games.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves(Quality Software, various computers, 1981)
I can't think of any game earlier than this RPG that uses the theme.
Ali Baba and 40 Thieves(Sega, arcade, 1982)
Is that Pac-Man wearing a turbin?
Sindbad Mystery(Sega, arcade/SC-3000, 1983)
Like with most maze-chase games, you collected items and avoided enemies. It was nothing groundbreaking but still I liked it. You can also find it on Sega Ages: Memorial Selection 2 for Saturn.
Arabian(Sun Electronics/Atari, arcade, 1983)
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/...A/wArabian.png
Atari planned on making a 5200 version but it never surfaced although it might exist in prototype form.
I'm most familiar with its 1985 Famicom version Super Arabian.
This game is very nostalgic for me since it was the first import game I played. It was a charming little platformer where you had collect the money bags in each level while avoiding enemies. After four different levels, you save the princess.
Tales of the Arabian Nights(Interceptor Micros, C64/Spectrum, 1984)
This game(the C64 version, I haven't played the Speccy port) stood out because of its extensive use of voice, which was very uncommon at the time. The voices weren't very clear though. The game itself was decent, starting off similar to Sunsoft's platformer but with added variety like riding a flying carpet in a side-scrolling level.
Master of the Lamps(Activision, various computers, 1985)
This was a 3d on-rails flying game. The software scaling was surprisingly smooth.
Legend of Sinbad(Superior Software, C64, 1985)
Yume Koujou: Doki Doki Panic(Nintendo, Famicom Disk, 1987)
DDP was the Japanese original of what became our Super Mario Bros. 2. The only major difference between DDP and SMB2 is that it has different sprites. Minor differences are that DDP has some vocal sounds for the characters that SMB2 does not and some of the music is different. With or without Mario this is one of my favourite 8-bit games.
Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon(Cinemaware, various computers, 1988)
As one would expect from a Cinemaware game, Throne had very detailed and impressive cinemas. The game itself is a hybrid of action, adventure and strategy. I don't remember much else about the game except for some first person sword duels and some side-scrolling levels.
Magic of Scheherazade(Culture Brain, NES, 1989)
RPGs were a rare find on the domestic NES at the time, which made this game stand out even more. This game mixed in action and turn-based RPG gameplay.
Prince of Persia(Broderbund, various formats, 1989)
Persia is close enough to Arabia so I'll mention it. Mechner's classic series created a new breed of platform/adventure games.
Khalaan(Rainbow Arts/Chip, various computers, 1990)
A turn-based strategy game.
Sinbad Chitei no Dai Makyu(IGS, PC Engine, 1990)
Some RPG. More info wanted.
Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibouken(Sega, MD, 1990)
This platformer was drastically altered for its Western release as Decapattack.
Exile(Telenet, Genesis/Duo, 1991)
I'm not sure if this counts as Arabian themed but I enjoyed this Action/RPG on Genesis back in the day even though it was extremely easy. The adventure elements used an overhead view and the action was like a regular platformer.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/genesis02/xzr.html
I never did play the Turbo version or its sequel, which was brought here by Working Designs.
Arabian Fight(Sega, arcade, 1992)
This System 32 game used a lot of fancy scaling and detailed graphics but I found it to be one of Sega's weakest beat 'em ups.
Arabian Magic(Taito, arcade, 1992)
This beat 'em up, on the other hand, I enjoyed.
Defenders of Oasis(Sega, Game Gear, 1992)
I have heard much praise for this game but I still haven't put much time into it. It's often compared with classic Phantasy Star games.
Arabian Nights(Krisalis, Amiga/CD32, 1993)
A decent platformer.
Aladdin(Virgin Games, Genesis/Amiga/PC, 1993)
This is one of the best Disney games ever made and brought Dave Perry and company into the limelight. The animation was smoother than any Genesis game before it.
The Master System/Game Gear game was similar and made impressive use of the hardware. Capcom made an Aladdin game for SNES too. I think most would agree it wasn't as good as the Genesis game but still cool.
Equinox(Sony Imagesoft/Software Creations, SNES, 1994)
This was the sequel to the NES game Solstice. Equinox was an isometric adventure/puzzle game similar to those popular on the Spectrum computer.
Monster World IV(Sega/Westone, Mega Drive, 1994)
I consider MW4 the best Genesis game never to leave Japan. Unlike the previous games in this excellent series, this one has an Arabian-inspired setting and had a female character named Asha as the player instead of male characters.
Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse(Stormfront/SSI, PC, 1994)
This is supposed to be a pretty good Action/RPG. I have yet to play it.
http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/is...iews/qadim.html
Magic Carpet(EA/Bullfrog, PC, 1994)
A lot of people seem to hate this game but I really liked it. Maybe they were playing one of the shitty console ports. Magic Carpet was a fully 3d flight action game that where you explored and gathered mana to build settlements. I loved the dream-like atmosphere. It wasn't long before a sequel was made.
Beyond Oasis(Sega/Ancient, Genesis, 1995)
This was one of the better Action/RPGs(or adventure, whatever you call the genre) on the Genesis. I bought its Saturn sequel Legend of Oasis a while back but I only briefly played it; it doesn't seem as good as the Genesis game so far.
Legend of Oasis
Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei Ou(Takara, Super Famicom, 1996)
This RPG hasn't been translated yet last time I checked.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics7/arabian.html
Arabian Otome(NEC, PC-FX, 1997)
Some Strategy/RPG, I think.
http://www.ncsx.com/arabiano.htm
Jewel of Arabia: Dreamers(Quarter Note Software, Mac, 1999)
I don't have Mac access so I can't comment on this shareware RPG but many seem to like it.
Shantae(Wayforward/Capcom, GBC, 2002)
What happened to the GBA sequel? It wasn't released, was it?
Please add any I missed. What are your favorite games to us the theme?
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Originally Posted by pacmanhat
