The Adventures of Rad Gravity

The Adventures of Rad Gravity

Developer(s) Interplay
Publisher(s) Activision
Distributor(s)
Designer(s) Brian Fargo
Michael Quarles
Programmer(s) Brian Fargo
Michael Quarles
Artist(s) Bruce Schlickbernd
Composer(s) David Warhol
Platform(s) Nintendo Entertainment System
Release date(s)
  • NA December 1990
  • EU May 30, 1991
  • AUS 1991
Genre(s) Platformer
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution ROM cartridge

The Adventures of Rad Gravity is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Interplay and published by Activision in 1990. The game is a platformer with a wacky storyline in which the eponymous main character explored multiple planets and fought enemies while jumping through levels.

The story is that in the far future, humans colonized many planets and established a form a biotechnology, which were sentient beings called Compuminds, which could communicate rapidly from world to world. The game's villain had shut down all the Compuminds and hid them. Eventually one of the Compuminds, named Kakos, was found. Rad Gravity is the name of the game's hero. Together, Rad and Kakos must find the eight missing Compuminds, each on eight different unique planets, such as the cyberpunk world of Cyberia, the green jungle world of Sauria, and the caustic trash world of Effluvia.

The game was notable for the planet Turvia, where gravity works in reverse. In that level the protagonist was drawn upside down, as were the enemies and the entire screen. The main character has a comically large head and strongly resembles actor Bruce Campbell. His early game attack consists of a sort of a lightsaber.

The Adventures of Rad Gravity received overall generally positive reviews, and Simon Burns of VoxelArcade called it 'one of the most interesting and innovative of NES games' in a retro feature.

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