Auf Wiedersehen Monty
Encyclopedia
Auf Wiedersehen Monty is a computer game for the ZX Spectrum
, Commodore 64
, Amstrad CPC
and MSX
. Released in 1987, it is the fourth of the Monty series, following Monty is Innocent
, Monty on the Run
and the successful original Wanted: Monty Mole
. It was written by Peter Harrap with music by Rob Hubbard
and Ben Daglish
.
collecting money in order to buy a Greek
island - Montos, where he can safely retire. Gameplay is in the style of a flick-screen
platform game, similar to many such games of the 1980s such as Technician Ted
and Jet Set Willy
. Some screens (such as those representing the Eiffel Tower
and the Pyrenees
) bear some relation to their real-life counterparts but most are just typical platform game screens.
Auf Wiedersehen Monty contains many interesting features and peculiarities for the player to discover. Examples include being suddenly attacked by a bull's head in Spain
after collecting a red cape (presumably a reference to bullfighting
), a car being dropped in one of two places on entering a screen representing Düsseldorf
in West Germany
, a chef's hat
found in Sweden
(a reference to the Swedish Chef
of Muppets fame; also, the two rooms representing Sweden are subtitled Bjorn and Borg
), and a record in Luxembourg
that when collected makes Monty breakdance to the game's title music (this may be a reference to Radio Luxembourg
).
It is possible to get to areas of the game more quickly by flying from an airport
using air tickets which can be collected throughout the game. Some parts of the game can only be reached in this manner.
As well as money, there are other miscellaneous objects to collect in the game for points. This was important as you need a certain number of points to get to Montos. These are often particular to the country Monty is visiting (such as berets in France
). Bottles of wine
or a glass of beer
in West Germany cause Monty to briefly become drunk and his control to become slightly erratic leading to a reversal of controls, repeated jumping or Monty climbing any ladders or drainpipes he encounters.
was released in 1990. It took a different form to the previous three games being more of a "console-style" arcade game.
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC 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 Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
. Released in 1987, it is the fourth of the Monty series, following Monty is Innocent
Monty is Innocent
Monty is Innocent is a video game released in for the Sinclair Spectrum. It is a sequel to the 1984 video game Wanted: Monty Mole.- Story :...
, Monty on the Run
Monty on the Run
Monty on the Run is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the C64, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore Plus/4, written by Peter Harrap for the Spectrum with music by Rob Hubbard....
and the successful original Wanted: Monty Mole
Wanted: Monty Mole
Wanted: Monty Mole is a platform game that was published in 1984 by Gremlin Graphics. Versions were released for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers.-Gameplay:...
. It was written by Peter Harrap with music by Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard is a music composer best known for his composition of computer game theme music, especially for microcomputers of the 1980s such as the Commodore 64...
and Ben Daglish
Ben Daglish
Ben Daglish is a composer and musician. His parents moved to Sheffield when Daglish was aged one year old. He is known for creating many soundtracks during the 1980s for home computer games, including Commodore 64 hits as The Last Ninja, Trap, and Deflektor...
.
Gameplay
The player controls Monty as he travels around EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
collecting money in order to buy a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
island - Montos, where he can safely retire. Gameplay is in the style of a flick-screen
Flip-screen
In video games, flip-screen is a principle whereby the playing environment is divided into single-screen portions...
platform game, similar to many such games of the 1980s such as Technician Ted
Technician Ted
Technician Ted, also known as The Chip Factory: Featuring Technician Ted, is a platform computer game for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers that was published in 1984 by Hewson Consultants....
and Jet Set Willy
Jet Set Willy
Jet Set Willy is a computer game originally written for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time....
. Some screens (such as those representing the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
and the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
) bear some relation to their real-life counterparts but most are just typical platform game screens.
Auf Wiedersehen Monty contains many interesting features and peculiarities for the player to discover. Examples include being suddenly attacked by a bull's head in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
after collecting a red cape (presumably a reference to bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
), a car being dropped in one of two places on entering a screen representing Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, a chef's hat
Toque
A toque is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. They were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France. Now, it is primarily known as the traditional headgear for professional cooks.- Etymology :...
found in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(a reference to the Swedish Chef
Swedish Chef
The Swedish Chef is a Muppet that appeared on The Muppet Show. He was operated by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously and is now puppeteered by Bill Barretta.-Character:...
of Muppets fame; also, the two rooms representing Sweden are subtitled Bjorn and Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
), and a record in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
that when collected makes Monty breakdance to the game's title music (this may be a reference to Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg may refer to:*Radio Luxembourg , a Long Wave commercial radio station that began broadcasting from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1933...
).
It is possible to get to areas of the game more quickly by flying from an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
using air tickets which can be collected throughout the game. Some parts of the game can only be reached in this manner.
As well as money, there are other miscellaneous objects to collect in the game for points. This was important as you need a certain number of points to get to Montos. These are often particular to the country Monty is visiting (such as berets in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
). Bottles of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or a glass of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
in West Germany cause Monty to briefly become drunk and his control to become slightly erratic leading to a reversal of controls, repeated jumping or Monty climbing any ladders or drainpipes he encounters.
Trivia
- The games screens are laid out geographically, the complete map of the game corresponds with a map of Europe.
- The title was inspired by the then-popular television series, Auf Wiedersehen, PetAuf Wiedersehen, PetAuf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven English migrant construction workers. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf....
Sequels
A further Monty Mole game, called ImpossamoleImpossamole
Impossamole is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. It was released in 1990 and published by Gremlin Graphics. NEC Interchannel published it on TurboGrafx-16 the following year....
was released in 1990. It took a different form to the previous three games being more of a "console-style" arcade game.