Get ready to feel a bit old; Diablo has been out for 30 years. I know, I don't like being the bearer of bad news, but there it is. It released 30 years ago on December 31st, 1996. I don't know whether we knew how much of an influential game it would be back then (I was six and thinking about Power Rangers, so I certainly didn't), but it's one of the most important PC games of our generation and one that, over the years, the Dodo team have spent far too much time on.
The GBA released 25 years ago. 2001 seems like such a long time ago (to be fair, it is). I loved my GBA with a passion, and my modded GBA SP with our old Retro Dodo logo is still going strong in my office. And now it has a new game thanks to an unofficial fan port bringing the PC classic to Ninty's iconic handheld. Although I'd recommend using the GBA SP AGS-101 so you don't have to mess around with that stupid wormlight - I hate that thing with a passion!
With a tagline of 'hell fits in your pocket', this complete Diablo 1 remake for the GBA promises all of the action of the PC game with 4-player co-op, 16 floors, and 3 classes to pick from. Character sheets, quick spell slots, quest logs, and menus have all been reworked to fit on the GBA. The graphics don't look too dissimilar, too; ok, they're not as clear as the PC, as the GBA doesn't have the same capabilities, but it doesn't look like you're playing a wildly different game like with some of the demakes I cover. And besides, this isn't a demake technically, as the GBA came out after the game.
AS I said above, you can play with up to four players using a link cable which is cool. I would love to see a group of people sat around on GBAs instead of phones playing games like the good old days, and this Diablo port could be the one to make it happen! If you don't have a link cable, however, you can bulk up your party with 3 CPU players.
There are 16 floors and 4 dungeon themes: Cathedral, Catacombs, Caves, and Hell. There are 150 monster entries in The Bestiary, 27 supported spells, and 90 unique items to pick up while playing. There's a link to a ROM Converter in the YouTube video above for anyone wanting to get the game running on GBA and start venturing into hell while on the bus commuting to work!
