Harlequin (video game)

Gremlin Graphics

Industry	Video games
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Video games, including Harlequin

Harlequin is a strategy-driven platform game developed for the Amiga and Atari ST, launched in 1992 by Gremlin Graphics. Created by The Warp Factory, the game was programmed by Andy Finlay, with Ed Campbell responsible for the artwork and Pete Cook as producer. The soundtrack was composed and arranged by Barry Leitch from Imagitec Design Limited. Although a version for the Mega Drive was planned, it never reached release.

Gameplay

Harlequin presents multiple levels featuring eight-directional scrolling, each distinguished by distinct environments and adversaries. Players assume the role of a harlequin returning to his homeland, Chimerica, tasked with reassembling its shattered heart by collecting four scattered fragments. These fragments must be delivered to the central clock tower.

The gameplay focuses heavily on strategic thinking and puzzle-solving elements. Throughout the levels, players encounter switches that unlock new sections or modify existing areas, resulting in dynamic pathways that encourage revisiting previously explored zones. This non-linear design adds depth to progression, with significant alterations highlighted on an in-game map to assist navigation.

The variety of levels includes diverse themes such as a massive clock tower, urban rooftops, and mythological settings inspired by Egyptian and Mayan cultures (notably "The Dream Mile"). One level challenges players to navigate through a labyrinth of drinking straws titled "Suck It and See," abundant with health-boosting items. Each screen is accompanied by background music, some tracks recurring across different stages.

Power-ups available include burgers that replenish health; a space hopper that grants temporary invincibility and enhanced jumping ability; fireworks that act as orbiting protective shields; an umbrella enabling parachute-like descents; and a fish that transforms Harlequin into an angel fish when submerged in water.

Chimerica

The game unfolds within Chimerica, a world composed of various themed zones, some requiring multiple visits for completion:

• The Bomb Run – an explosive-laden area suspended above a lake.
• The Clock Tower – the exterior region of Chimerica's central clock tower, inhabited by hostile alarm and grandfather clocks.
• The Clockworks – interiors of the clock tower featuring gears and girders; enemies include orange worms and leaping bolts.
• The Wacky Jugglers – a vertically oriented challenge involving bouncing on jugglers' balls; errors often necessitate restarting.
• Cutesy Land – a satirical take on the Mario Bros. series where all elements have faces; accessed via the Virtual Television in TVee Wonderland; contains one piece of Chimerica's fragmented heart.
• The Dream Mile – a surreal world blending Mayan and Egyptian motifs with pyramids, tombs, scorpions, sand, and wind.
• Fathom This Out! – set in a swimming pool environment featuring Davy Jones' locker-themed props.
• A Flight of Fancy – an aerial level where Harlequin clings to a kite; includes several random variations.
• The House of Cards – casino- and playing card-themed area inhabited by card sharks; reachable through the Virtual Television.
• Heavens Above! – a distorted heaven overrun by imps and demons.
• Hellzapoppin' – a dark, ominous level characterized by fiery walls and dangerous monsters; holds one piece of Chimerica's broken heart.
• What a Fall? – inspired by Alice in Wonderland; requires careful descent using an umbrella to avoid poison vats and hazards such as lethal dodos.
• The Jig-saw Puzzle – involves manipulating levers to rearrange the puzzle layout; populated by eyeball creatures.
• The Learning Curve – based on children's television shows featuring oversized pencils, Lego blocks, and monstrous toys; accessed via Virtual Television.
• A Dark and Gloomy Place – filled with ghosts, zombies, and crypts; accessible after constructing a chimney triggered by actions in other areas.
• The Organ Chamber – Harlequin is miniaturized within this giant pipe organ environment; running over organ keys produces correct notes if sound is enabled.
• A Walk Across the Rooftops – set above a cityscape with hostile satellite dishes and perilous chimneys; contains one piece of Chimerica's broken heart.
• Sewercide – maze-like sewer pipes infested with piranhas requiring strategic use of the Angel Fish power-up.
• A Little Sheet Muzak – final stage entered after activating a switch in Hellzapoppin'; features musical note platforms and holds the last piece of Chimerica's broken heart. The game concludes upon entering the large heart symbol here, making it vital to have collected all heart fragments beforehand.
• Suck It and See? – maze of drinking straws filled with bonuses under a 60-second timer; bonuses disappear if time runs out but are restored upon exiting in time.
• Throat of the Machine – vertical stage populated by pink maggots and fly-aliens encased in bubbles; unlocked after activating switches in other worlds.
• TVee Wonderland – eerie television superstore filled with broken TVs and hazardous electronic devices; houses the Virtual TV (VTV) used to access three additional levels by switching broadcasts.
• Beating the Drum – challenging percussion instrument-themed level accessible late via "Suck It and See?"; provides access to The Organ Chamber but serves no essential role.

Reception

ACE awarded the game a rating of 900 out of 1000. Reviewer Gary Whitta characterized it as "definitely an acquired taste, but one worth developing."