Space Quest IV to finally get the Amiga port it deserves with 2025 OCS Enhanced remake
The world of retro gaming is unearthing some hidden gems from the ashes of outdated hardware. With that said, a new chapter is being written for Space Quest IV on the Amiga OCS. The critically acclaimed Sierra Adventure was first unveiled in 1991 and followed the story of janitor Roger Wilco, who goes on time-traveling antics, complemented by light humor and puzzles.
However, Space Quest IV was a challenging game and was dismissed by many gamers for its subpar gameplay and overall execution. Like a poorly forged masterpiece, the 1991 Amiga OCS version of Space Quest IV suffered from a lazy port of the PC version, courtesy of Sierra.
Players criticized the original Amiga port, which boasted 8-bit graphics, even though the developer touted a 32-bit color experience. What we received were dithered palettes, choppy side-scrolling, and ultimately no use of the Amiga’s blitter hardware, which could have smoothened out animations.
Fan reviews of the original Space Quest IV have been critical. One user mentioned that they booted Space Quest IV on their Amiga system, played for 10 minutes, then “vomited at the non-Amiga worthy graphics” and obliterated their hard drive in a fit of rage. That may be an overstatement, but it just shows how poorly Space Quest IV was ported to the A1200.
This wasn’t an isolated incident, as Sierra stated building a track record of botched Amiga ports, including Police Quest 3, and King’s Quest V, where the Amiga’s hardware potential was underutilized, squandered to put it bluntly, and this left fans feeling shortchanged compared to the vibrant VGA visuals on DOS systems.
However, things are taking a dramatic twist in 2025. Space Quest IV is climbing out of the depths of digital shadows, seeking redemption. Developer Darasco from the Spanish SCOP group has taken on a project to create an enhanced Amiga OCS version of Space Quest IV to right Sierra’s wrongs. He’s even uploaded a YouTube video comparing the original Sierra port and the enhanced SCP 2025 port.
To make the most of the enhanced version of Space Quest IV, Darasco is attempting to reconstruct the palettes and visuals from the superior PC MS-DOS version, which is explicitly tailored to the Amiga’s OCS original chipset.
He’s using custom tools and AI assistance to handle Sierra’s SCI engine assets. The result is supposed to be a complete overhaul, porting the game as it should have been done from the get-go, with vibrant colors and crisper visual fidelity that complements the Amiga OCS hardware.
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