Color Dreams 1581060 225312295 2008-07-13T01:08:23Z 75.136.213.28 __NOTOC__ [[Image:Robodemons-gameplay.png|frame|right|A screenshot of ''Robo Demons'', a Color Dreams game]] '''Color Dreams''' was a company that [[video game developer|developed]] [[video game]]s for the [[8-bit]] [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES). While most companies that developed NES games obtained an official license from [[Nintendo]] to produce game cartridges, Color Dreams was unusual in that it developed NES games without an official license. To produce these unlicensed games, Color Dreams had to [[Reverse engineering|reverse engineer]] the NES to work around the system's “lock out” chip (the [[10NES]]). The company successfully reverse engineered the system, developed a game (''Baby Boomer''), and released it in 1989. Several other titles followed in 1989 and 1990, including ''[[Captain Comic]]'', ''[[Crystal Mines]]'', and ''[[Robo Demons]]''. Despite Color Dreams' efforts to work around the NES's built in protection, consumers frequently had difficulty getting their systems to play Color Dreams titles, sometimes having to restart their systems multiple times to play the games. As a result of its reputation for releasing poor games, Color Dreams formed the label [[Bunch Games]] in 1990. Bunch Games was meant to be a label that Color Dreams could use to release lower quality games so that its reputation would not be damaged further. In 1991, Color Dreams formed [[Wisdom Tree]] for the purpose of releasing [[Christian video games|Christianity-themed games]]. The Wisdom Tree label resulted in Color Dreams' best selling titles, including ''[[Spiritual Warfare (video game)|Spiritual Warfare]]'' and ''[[Bible Adventures]]''. Wisdom Tree is also noted for creating the only unlicensed [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] game to ever be released in North America, ''[[Super 3D Noah's Ark]]''. While Wisdom Tree remains active today and is still selling religious video games, Color Dreams quit the video game business in the mid 1990s. Wisdom Tree is no longer associated with Color Dreams. One Color Dreams project that was never released was a game based on the movie ''[[Hellraiser]]''. The game cartridge, or “Super Cartridge” as it was called at the time, contained an extra processor that modified the tiles in the cartridge [[RAM]] without alerting the NES processor. This allowed for enhanced graphic effects rarely seen on the NES, such as a fully animated background running without the lag usually found with such tricks. The extra processor also performed [[palette swaping]] between [[scan line|scans]] of the TV to give the illusion of extra color. Because of delays in production, development problems, lack of a market for unlicensed games based on horror movies, and the exorbitant amount of money it took to make each “Super Cartridge”, the project was finally abandoned when Nintendo announced the release of the Super Nintendo. Color Dreams games, as well as the games of its two subsidiary labels, were frequently criticized as being sub-par compared to official NES releases on nearly every front. This underlined the “Nintendo Seal of Quality” aspect of properly licensed developers. Despite (or because of) this, Color Dreams rose to a legendary status among NES fanatics, and several of their rarer releases have garnered substantial sell prices in the years after the company's life. ==Color Dreams NES games== *''[[Baby Boomer (video game)|Baby Boomer]]'' *''[[Captain Comic]]'' *''[[Challenge of the Dragon]]'' *''[[Crystal Mines]]'' *''[[King Neptune's Adventure]]'' *''[[Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu]]'' *''[[Menace Beach]]'' *''[[Metal Fighter]]'' *''[[Operation Secret Storm]]'' *''[[P'radikus Conflict]]'' *''[[Pesterminator]]'' *''[[Raid 2020]]'' *''[[Robodemons]]'' *''[[Secret Scout]]'' *''[[Silent Assault]]'' === As Bunch Games: === *''[[Castle of Deceit]]'' *''[[Galactic Crusader]]'' *''[[Mission Cobra]]'' *''[[Moon Ranger]]'' *''[[Taggin Dragon]]'' === As Wisdom Tree: === *''[[Bible Adventures]]'' *''[[Bible Buffet]]'' *''[[Exodus (video game)|Exodus]]'' *''[[Joshua (video game)|Joshua]]'' *''[[King of Kings (video game)|King of Kings]]'' *''[[Spiritual Warfare (video game)|Spiritual Warfare]]'' *''[[Sunday Funday]]'' *''[[Super 3D Noah's Ark]]'' (SNES) ==See also== *[[Tengen (company)]] *[[List of NES games]] ==References== #[http://www.nesworld.com/color.htm NESWorld.com] #[http://nesworld.parodius.com/art-cd2.htm NESworld article on Color Dreams] #[http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/colordreamsshrine1/colordreams.html planetnintendo.com] #[http://thewarpzone.classicgaming.gamespy.com/colordreamsshrine1/index.html Color Dreams dedication site] [[Category:Defunct video game companies]] [[Category:1989 establishments]] [[Category:1991 disestablishments]] [[fr:Color Dreams]] [[sv:Color Dreams]]