Welcome to Random Access Memory, where we delve into our collective unconscious and extract recollections of video games from our dim and distant past. This time, Graeme Currie recalls Ozone, a 1989 shareware platformer for the Atari ST. If you’d like to submit your own memories of a cherished game, get in touch via the Contact form at the top of the page.

This rare game turned out to be a great one.

Ozone was created in 1989 by Nick Harper, who made a few other games for the Atari ST as well. After being knocked back by publishers, Nick decided to release this platformer as shareware, and eventually the full game was give away on a cover disk for ST Format.

Ozone is a platform game where you control a little alien-like guy with orange hair, who has the simple objective of getting to the level’s exit. It sounds easy, but it comes with a few challenges, such as using items at the right place.

Messages appear telling you all sorts of different things, some good and others misleading. On one level, it tells you to collect and use the key, but once you do that, you release a lot of enemies who want to kill you. The enemies in the game include pigeons, snails, wasps and other strange-looking creatures. Don’t waste your ammunition on the snail, however, as it takes an enormous number of hits to kill; instead, time your jumps to get by him.

There are six different items you can collect across various levels, but usually you need to be very careful where and when to use the items, as you only get one chance. You will notice jewels which will give you extra points once collected, and usually these are found in clusters. Extra lives, energy and ammunition are also usually hidden somewhere, and in general the levels are very well designed and look charming.

I remember playing this game as a kid and not knowing what to do, as I was thinking that you had to go higher in the level. But one day, when I came home from school, my dad told me he had figured out that you had to flip the switch which activated the exit hut. I was so happy to see the second level, as we had spent a lot of time on trying to finish the first one. The second level wasn’t too hard, but when it came to the third level, you had to use the item you had collected at the right location. If you don’t do this exactly right, you become stuck.

Another thing I used to love doing as a kid was watching the Jelly Tot creatures on the Ozone title screen as they leapt around. Once they become trapped, they kill themselves. I don’t think the ones in the game kill themselves, as you see them jumping around everywhere.

There are two bonus levels in the game, the object of which is to just play around and figure out how the items work. There is a small mission in the bonus games, such as collecting gems or destroying those tiny creatures that look like Jelly Tots, with the first bonus level being the latter. The bonus levels are like the chillout levels where you can just relax and not worry about the time. If the time runs out on a regular level, then you lose a life. The levels later on in the game get very difficult, and involve using switches to get a certain code. The shorter time limits also become a bit of an issue.

The last level of the game is just like a big maze where you enter into different areas through doors. It gets tricky as you will end up confusing yourself, not knowing which door leads to the exit. In my opinion the third to last level is the hardest, as you have a lot of things you have to collect and return to the start of the level. But thankfully you can skip to the level you want by entering codes at the title screen.

All in all, Ozone is a great game that still gives me enjoyment exploring the different areas.

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