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Was Lemmings not as big as I remember it was?
- Thread starter Shelbyville Milhouse
- Start date
Not that Tetris has gone away or waned in popularity, but I think one thing that hurt Lemmings is that they nailed the game design on the first try. The balance of abilities in the original was brilliant, whereas Lemmings 2 with various different sets of abilities just didn't work as well. I think that's what killed it. Christmas Lemmings and Oh No! More Lemmings! showed that the original set of skills could only go so far... but the sequels never had anything like the same balance.
Tetris did tweak the formula a little in smart ways that added to the appeal. Perhaps Lemmings should have tried that. Small tweaks vs trying to overhaul things time and again.
Tetris did tweak the formula a little in smart ways that added to the appeal. Perhaps Lemmings should have tried that. Small tweaks vs trying to overhaul things time and again.
Uh, no, it was probably bigger than both combined.
If you had anything resembling a decent computer back then, chances are you had some version of Lemmings.
It also had few (less successful) console ports.
I agree with OP. Getting my Amiga 500 for Christmas with Lemmings was no less exciting than getting my Mega Drive with Sonic 2 or my SNES with Super Mario World. Lemmings 3D was also my PS1 launch game some years later. I regret nothing.
Anyone remember the two player option in the original? Not only trying to save your own lemmings, but also trying to get your lemmings to direct those of your opponent to your exit. It added a whole new dimension to the gameplay.
Also, apparently the music in the PC version is awful compared to the Amiga version if that video in the OP is anything to go by.
Anyone remember the two player option in the original? Not only trying to save your own lemmings, but also trying to get your lemmings to direct those of your opponent to your exit. It added a whole new dimension to the gameplay.
Also, apparently the music in the PC version is awful compared to the Amiga version if that video in the OP is anything to go by.
I remember it being huge. It was THE hot new puzzle game, and it was everywhere. On all the systems, and getting great press in all the magazines. It wasn't as big as something like Tetris on the GameBoy, but it had some seriously mainstream appeal, like uhhh... Candy Crush, or whatever.
Reminds me of this Kotaku Piece:
kotaku.com
Now I Know Why Lemmings Died
Remember Lemmings? Of course you do. It was that cute puzzle game from the nineties about shepherding herds of the titular critters to safety. Many of my earliest memories of being enthralled by a computer screen come from solving these puzzles. Or trying to, at least.
kotaku.com
It was huge in the UK. Popular in Europe. Not so big elsewhere.
Basically if you had an Amiga then you'd played Lemmings.
Sadly we are in the timeline where they went on to make GTA rather than more Lemmings.
People keep saying if you had an Amiga, you played lemmings. But really, lemmings was EVERYWHERE. If you had ANYTHING that played games, you played lemmings. It was one of the most widely ported games ever. I remember also playing lemmings quite a bit on my Sega Genesis back in the day. They used to run full page ads in GamePro for lemmings 2 for several months in a row. They even had a promotion with Blockbuster Video in the USA with a huge prize give away.
Also, to be honest, in the end I'd just keep replaying this level, tricky 3?, and try to destroy as much of this land structure as possible. Spent HOURS doing it as a kid.
Yeah, it definitely wasn't just an Amiga and/or UK thing. Anecdotal here but my wife wasn't into playing video games when I met her in 1996 (she plays casual mobile games now). She asked me recently what happened to Lemmings. It's one of the few games she remembers from back then.
My first experience with video games was Lemmings. My dad had an Amiga 600 and we would play it together - I also remember it being more popular. They released a remake of the original Lemmings (of sorts) on the PSP didn't they? And at the same time released a pared down "Lemmings" PSN exclusive on PS3 (which wasn't great).
Seems like it would be an ideal release for mobile tbh, just in its original form with touchscreen controls. And the Amiga soundfonts because tbh everything else sounds crap in comparison :D
Seems like it would be an ideal release for mobile tbh, just in its original form with touchscreen controls. And the Amiga soundfonts because tbh everything else sounds crap in comparison :D
To be fair I loved all of them equally. Such a good era.
I loved it.
Cute characters, AWESOME music.
Seems like a PSVR Lemmings would kill.
Cute characters, AWESOME music.
Seems like a PSVR Lemmings would kill.
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Ha! Got any pics?
It was notable for featuring surround sound and it was made by Argonaut software who brought us Starfox.
It's funny as I was actually talking about Lemmings the other day in a Mega Drive vs SNES sound thread because I think the Lemmings soundtrack was adapted really well for both systems.
I never thought it was huge but it had decent following. I love Lemmings and played all the different games even Lemmings 3D for PS1 which I still own. But outside of me I didn't know many people who played it.
Heck I even loved Lomax for PS1. Now that's a hidden gem
It's also actually one of the 2-3 best looking pixel art games in history! Same for animations
Seconding/thirding/fourthing/whatever that Lemmings was definitely big in the U.S. One sign of that is the fact that just about all of the console ports came out here even though some other conversions of European computer games never did (e.g. Powermonger for the SNES, Populous II and Xenon 2 for the Mega Drive, Worms and Cannon Fodder for both).
There were also plans for an American-produced animated series from the Children's Television Workshop that was apparently responsible for some of the changes in The Lemmings Chronicles, like the larger lemming sprites. I don't know why that series never happened, but I'd like to think the CTW people took a closer look at the game and realized that maybe it wouldn't be a great idea for the Sesame Street people to associate themselves with a franchise where the main characters can pull out a gun and shoot themselves in the head.
There were also plans for an American-produced animated series from the Children's Television Workshop that was apparently responsible for some of the changes in The Lemmings Chronicles, like the larger lemming sprites. I don't know why that series never happened, but I'd like to think the CTW people took a closer look at the game and realized that maybe it wouldn't be a great idea for the Sesame Street people to associate themselves with a franchise where the main characters can pull out a gun and shoot themselves in the head.
It was certainly huge in the UK. I barely knew a single kid with access to a computer or console who didn't have some version of it.
Wish the IP was owned by anyone but a console first party so we could at least get the games on GOG or something. Though if you want something similar I do highly recommend this:
Wish the IP was owned by anyone but a console first party so we could at least get the games on GOG or something. Though if you want something similar I do highly recommend this:
Lemmings was the first game I ever bought with my own money. I was in a boat commercial and was paid around $100 I believe and promptly went to a local game store and Lemmings for the SNES caught my eye. I was a little disappointed at first since I was more of a Platformer kind of guy but it ended up being played a ton between my brother and parents and myself.
There was also Troddlers for the Amiga and SNES.
It's a fantastic example of how good games could look if that gen didn't mass transition to 3D
2 player Lemmings on the Mega Drive is a friendship killer. You've got to be vicious.
I played it recently against my brother and I was in tears laughing at how horrific our tactics degenerated into. Brutal and brilliant.
It's the version I have the most experience with. Every other attempt just didnt capture the magic of the original. I don't know if the 2 player mode was a common feature in later versions.
I played it recently against my brother and I was in tears laughing at how horrific our tactics degenerated into. Brutal and brilliant.
It's the version I have the most experience with. Every other attempt just didnt capture the magic of the original. I don't know if the 2 player mode was a common feature in later versions.
Like Age of Empires and Oregon Trail, it is one of those games everyone of certain age knows, but haven't played in decades.
My friends and I loved lemmings back in the day. Grew up in Las Vegas...
I think it's just one of those games or IP that really just faded with time... even in memories... cause I think kids on the playground (those who played games anyway) knew what lemmings was... or at least did when you explained it. "that one game where they all follow eachother and you have to stop them from walking off a cliff and stuff"
I think it's just one of those games or IP that really just faded with time... even in memories... cause I think kids on the playground (those who played games anyway) knew what lemmings was... or at least did when you explained it. "that one game where they all follow eachother and you have to stop them from walking off a cliff and stuff"
Oh, it was. It received universal acclaim, won several awards, sold VERY well and has been converted on a lots of systems, from Commodore 64 to Atari Lynx. We are talking about 20 millions+ copies sold in the 90's, a HUGE amount. If you play GTA today it is also because of Lemmings :)
Not to mention the various sequels (i guess Lemmings 2: The Tribes was one of the best selling computer games back then).
It also generated an interesting trend, with several other games featuring small creatures marching and doing things, such as Troddlers and, to an extent, The Humans.
So, yep, it was quite huge.
Also, the latest release of a chapter of the series was just 2 years ago if you count the new mobile version (by Sony!).
So this is why the discworld games have never been re released
Absolute classic game for me and many of my mates here growing up in north east Scotland and knowing this was made just a short drive away.
Lemmings 2 Tribes and the highland lemmings were brilliant. I think I still have a pin badge of one of them from the boxed game somewhere in the garage.
Lemmings 2 Tribes and the highland lemmings were brilliant. I think I still have a pin badge of one of them from the boxed game somewhere in the garage.
I mean, we have a statue of them here in Dundee, so it was popular enough in its heyday (although this may also be because you can't really have a statue of anything GTA-related in public).
Lemmings was very known and popular in Spain, so I guess that lines up with "popular in Europe". Still, being most successful on computers in the early 90s before everyone had one, it probably was better known among geeks than most other people.
We have a hama beads lemming (made by my SO) propped up on the top of the living room door. We used to have more, but appropriately enough, all but the "stopper" one (because of its stance giving it more stability) ended up falling down and breaking at some point or another. :)
We have a hama beads lemming (made by my SO) propped up on the top of the living room door. We used to have more, but appropriately enough, all but the "stopper" one (because of its stance giving it more stability) ended up falling down and breaking at some point or another. :)
Only some of the earlier versions (Amiga, Atari ST, Mega Drive, SNES) had a two-player mode. Most ports dropped it, either because of technical limitations (a lot of systems the game was ported to could barely handle one player, never mind two-player split-screen) or I guess because it wasn't considered important enough to bother with.
Psygnosis didn't own those games, they just published the first two. The rights were apparently owned by the developers, but they went under long ago (partly because of a financial dispute with Psygnosis) and nobody knows who owns them now.
I'm sure my mom probably has one buried somewhere hahaha. From what I remember, I wore brown hiking boots, a suuuuper long blue long-sleeve shirt, and we used green yarn to make like a pom-pom for the hair.
Something that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet: the first game at least must've been fairly popular in Japan given the number of Japan-exclusive ports it got (FM Towns, PC-98, PC Engine Super CD, X68000). Plus it was a Japanese company (Sunsoft) that published most of the console versions.
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I spent a ridiculous amount of time on this game, and thought some of the levels were horrifying.
Like, aside from Doom it was one of the only video games on the PC I had so I spent an abundance of hours trying to keep these little bastards from a fiery/clobbery/poisony/drowny doom.
Like, aside from Doom it was one of the only video games on the PC I had so I spent an abundance of hours trying to keep these little bastards from a fiery/clobbery/poisony/drowny doom.
It was enormous in the US if you were into PC games. Lemmings disks and CDs littered stores like Electronics Boutique and stores that sold PC parts for like a decade.
Lemmings were a bigger deal in Europe and the UK.
That being said, I was a big fan of the series back in the mid 90s.
Hell, I still have my CD copy of Lemmings 3D
That being said, I was a big fan of the series back in the mid 90s.
Hell, I still have my CD copy of Lemmings 3D