Cloud Kingdoms
| Industry | Video game development and publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Video games, including Cloud Kingdoms |
Cloud Kingdoms is a puzzle title launched by Millennium Interactive in 1990 for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS platforms. The gameplay centers on Terry, a green bouncing orb, tasked with retrieving magical crystals stolen by Baron von Bonsai. Players explore the Cloud Kingdoms, steering clear of foes and dangers while gathering all crystals within a set time frame. Developed by Dene Carter at Logotron, with music composed by David Whittaker, the game was designed for several systems.
Most versions were initially priced at £24.99, except the Commodore 64 editions which were offered at a lower cost. The Amiga version generally received favorable critiques, whereas opinions on the Commodore 64 port were varied. Reviewers commended the visuals and gameplay but pointed out the challenge level and limited content relative to the price. A year later, an Amiga re-release priced at £7.99 also garnered mixed feedback.
Gameplay
In Cloud Kingdoms, players guide Terry, a green bouncing orb, through various Cloud Kingdoms to reclaim stolen magic crystals. The game employs a top-down viewpoint where Terry moves in eight directions and can leap over enemies and obstacles. Adversaries include fairies transformed into insects or black spheres by Baron von Bonsai’s magic. The Commodore 64 edition contains 15 Kingdoms, while other versions feature 32.
Players begin by selecting from four initial Kingdoms; completing each unlocks an additional four. The main goal is to collect every crystal while avoiding hazards such as trap doors, slippery surfaces, magnetic floors that limit jumping ability, and pinball bumpers. A countdown of 99 "Manukas"—each roughly four seconds long—limits playtime. Contact with lava or enemies reduces Terry’s energy; losing all energy restarts the level and subtracts ten Manukas from the timer. Choosing to restart voluntarily costs five Manukas. The game terminates once the timer reaches zero.
Clocks scattered throughout add five Manukas each; finishing a Kingdom rewards twenty more. Energy can be replenished by soda bottles, and shields provide brief invulnerability. Additional items include wings that allow flight over obstacles, paint cans used to fill holes and trap doors, and alcohol bottles that temporarily alter gameplay mechanics to increase difficulty.
Development and release
Cloud Kingdoms was created at Logotron by Dene Carter, known for titles such as Druid, its sequel Enlightenment, and Dragon Lord. Published under Logotron’s Millennium Interactive Ltd., the game features limited sound effects accompanied by music from David Whittaker. Released in 1990, the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS versions were priced at £24.99, while the Commodore 64 cassette and disk editions cost £9.99 and £14.99 respectively. The Commodore 64 port included fewer levels and enemy variations. The MS-DOS release followed a week later with EGA and VGA graphics but reduced audio elements.
Reception
The Amiga edition of Cloud Kingdoms received predominantly positive assessments. Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games gave it an 80% rating, praising its graphics and gameplay superiority over competitors like Quedex. Australian Commodore and Amiga Review awarded it 83%, while ACE rated it 730/1000 for solid entertainment value. Amiga Action assigned a score of 72%. German magazine Amiga Joker rated it 71%, noting high difficulty levels, whereas The One gave it 78%, questioning if the price matched its content volume. The Games Machine scored it 86%, complimenting its sound design, visuals, and gameplay mechanics. Swedish publication Datormagazin was less enthusiastic with a score of 5/10.
Reviews for the Commodore 64 version were mixed as well. Mark Caswell from The Games Machine rated it highly at 89%, emphasizing enhanced playability compared to the Amiga version. Stewart C. Russell of Amiga Computing gave it a 78% score but criticized its graphical presentation. Zzap!64 scored it 80%, describing it as addictive yet easier than the Amiga counterpart, which received a lower rating of 72% due to difficulty spikes and pricing concerns. Paul Rand rated both Commodore 64 and Atari ST editions at 80%, noting only minor cosmetic differences—a perspective shared by Katai Hamza who also reviewed the MS-DOS version favorably despite downgraded graphics and sound quality. Conversely, Pontus Linberg of Datormagazin assigned low ratings of 5/10 for both Commodore 64 and Amiga versions; Anatol Locker from German magazine Power Play criticized the Atari ST edition as overly simplistic and derivative, giving it just 43%.
In mid-1991, GBH reissued the Amiga version at a budget price of £7.99. The One for Amiga Games lowered its rating to 3/5 but acknowledged that its replay value justified this cost reduction. In contrast, Amiga Format rated it at 56%, praising visual appeal but pointing out joystick control issues that negatively affected gameplay experience.