The Great Giana Sisters (Amiga)
The Great Giana Sisters is a classic 2D side-scrolling platformer developed by Time Warp Productions and published by Rainbow Arts. Originally hitting home computers in 1987 (with its Amiga port arriving shortly after in 1988), the game gained both legendary status and instant notoriety for being an unabashed, highly polished homage to Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros.
 
Plot and Premise
The game takes place inside the vivid, surreal dream of a young girl named Giana. Trapped in a strange nightmare world filled with menacing creatures, shifting platforms, and ancient ruins, Giana must traverse 32 dangerous levels to find a giant magical diamond that will allow her to wake up.
 
Gameplay Mechanics
Drawing heavy mechanical inspiration from the plumber-centric blueprint, the game challenges players to:
Run and Jump: Navigate side-scrolling stages while dodging or jumping on top of quirky monsters like owls, bouncing balls, and giant spiders.
Collect Power-Ups: Smash floating blocks to collect glowing diamonds (the game's equivalent of coins), clock items that freeze enemies, lollipops for extra lives, and dynamic transformation items—such as a lightning bolt that turns Giana into a punk-rocker capable of shooting projectiles and smashing blocks from above.
Explore Secrets: Uncover hidden areas, warp zones, and bonus rooms scattered throughout the dream world.
 
The Amiga Experience
While structurally converted from the original Commodore 64 smash-hit, the Amiga version delivered crisp, colourful visuals and smooth 50 frames-per-second horizontal scrolling that made the platforming action fast and fluid.
 
The game is also widely celebrated for its phenomenal audio package, featuring iconic, high-energy soundtracks that remain fan favourites in retro gaming culture.
 
Legacy and Nintendo Controversy
The Great Giana Sisters earned a permanent footnote in gaming history due to its legal fate. Because its gameplay, level layouts, and mechanics mirrored Super Mario Bros. so closely, Nintendo quickly stepped in with legal pressure. Rainbow Arts was forced to pull the game from store shelves almost immediately after its release, making official retail copies extremely scarce and driving its status as a sought-after cult classic.
 
Despite its controversial origins, it proved that home computers could handle console-style platforming and eventually spawned an official, modern revival series decades later.