''Mermaid Madness'' is an action-adventure game developed by Soft Design and published by

Electric Dreams Software Electric Dreams Software was a UK-based video game publisher established in 1985 in video gaming, 1985 by Activision and run by Rod Cousens and Paul Cooper formerly of Quicksilva . The company published video games for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 6 ...

for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

, Commodore 64, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

in 1986.

Gameplay

The player takes on the role of a 112 year old

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...

called Myrtle. Myrtle is on a quest to rescue Gordon, a deep sea diver who she has taken a romantic interest in. As Gordon has become trapped in a small cave, Myrtle must find a way to free him before his air runs out. As she travels around the sea bed Myrtle can collect and use a variety of objects. She must also avoid fish and other creatures which can sap her energy. However, energy can be replenished by picking up bottles of stout.

Reception

''Mermaid Madness'' received mostly positive reviews, including scores of 70% from ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publishin ...

'', 37/40 from ''ASM'', 7/10 from ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'', 27/40 from ''

Computer & Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'', 15/20 from ''

Computer Gamer ''Computer Gamer'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-wester ...

'', 66% from ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'', and 78% from ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

''. However, it also received some negative reviews such as 46% from ''Happy Computer'' and only one star out of five from ''

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

''.

References

External links

*
''Mermaid Madness''
at

World of Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colo ...

1986 video games Action-adventure games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Fiction about mermaids Puzzle video games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Fred Gray Video games set underwater ZX Spectrum games Electric Dreams Software games {{8bitcomputer-game-stub