Zemina
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Out of business[1] |
| Headquarters | |
Zemina (Korean: 재미나, originally 제미나) was a South Korean software maker brand of Saehan Trading (Korean: 새한 상사)[2] founded in 1981. They primarily made games for the Daewoo Zemmix, but because it was an MSX computer made to look and be played like a game console, they work on other MSX computers as well. Although many of them were copies of other games, like Super Boy I (based on Super Mario Bros.), they also produced some more original ones in their later years.[3]
Korea did not have a copyright law for computer programs until July 1987.[4] Because of that, many companies, including Zemina, sold unauthorized copies of foreign titles with their own copyright hacked in. Even after that, the new law protected only the program code, not the intellectual property as a whole, so a lot of their "own" games were ports of famous Japanese games.
Most of their titles were converted to the Master System as well. In 1992, they engaged in developing exclusive games for the Master System and Famicom consoles,[5] but not all of them were released.
They even released Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction under official license from Konami under the title Salamander II - all the while still selling multi game cartridges full of unlicensed copies of older Konami games.[6]
Zemina games[edit]
List of clones[edit]
| Game | Year | System(s) | Clone of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 1987 | MSX, MSX 2 | 1942 |
| Alla II | 1990 | MSX | The Seven Adventures of Sindbad |
| Block Hole | 1990 | MSX | Quarth |
| Brother Adventure | 1987 | MSX, MSX 2 | Mario Bros. |
| Double Dragon | 1989 | MSX | Double Dragon |
| F-1 Spirit: The Way to Formula-1 | 1987 | Master System | F-1 Spirit: The Way to Formula-1 |
| Flashpoint | 1990 | MSX, Master System | Tetris |
| Green Beret[7] | 1987 | MSX | Green Beret |
| Hyper Olympic 1[8] | 1984 | MSX | Track & Field |
| King Kong 2: Yomigaeru Densetsu | 1987 | MSX2 | King Kong 2: Yomigaeru Densetsu (hack of the original with English screen text) |
| The Micro Xevious | 1990 | MSX | Xevious: Fardraut Saga |
| Nemesis | 1987 | Master System | Gradius |
| Nemesis 2[9] | 1987 | Master System | Nemesis 2 |
| New Boggle Boggle | 1988 | MSX | Bubble Bobble (with new stages) |
| New Boggle Boggle 2[1] | 1989 | MSX | Bubble Bobble (again with new stages) |
| Penguin Adventure | 1987 | MSX | Penguin Adventure |
| Soko | 1990 | MSX | Soukoban |
| Project A2 | 1987 | MSX 2 | Project A2[10] |
| Puznic | 1990 | MSX | Puzznic (with new stages) |
| Strange Loop | 1990 | MSX | Strange Loop[11] |
| Street Master | 1992 | MSX | Street Fighter (with characters from Street Fighter II) |
| Super Bio Man 4 | 1990 | MSX | Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Boy (a clone of Super Mario Bros. made by the same company) |
| Super Boy I | 1989 | MSX, Master System | Super Mario Bros. (only 4 worlds) |
| Super Boy II | 1989 | MSX, Master System | Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (only 4 worlds) |
| Super Boy 3 | 1991 | MSX, Master System | Super Mario World |
| Super Boy 4 | 1992 | Master System | Super Mario World (different character sprite) |
| Super Bubble Bobble | 1989 | MSX | Bubble Bobble |
| Tengoku Yoitoko[12] | 1988 | MSX | Tengoku Yoitoko |
| The Three Dragon Story | 1989 | MSX, Master System | Knightmare |
| Volguard | 1990 | MSX | Vanguard |
| Warp & Warp[13] | 1984 | MSX | Warp & Warp |
| Won-Si-In | 1991 | MSX, Master System | Adventures of Dino Riki |
| Won-Si-In 2 | Unreleased | Master System | - |
List of original games[edit]
| Game | Year | System(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyborg Z | 1991 | MSX, Master System | |
| Eagles 5 | 1990 | MSX | Also known as Doksuri 5 Hyeonjae. |
| Magic Kid Googoo | 1992 | Famicom | Only game from Zemina to be developed for the NES. |
| Tatica | 1990 | MSX |
Note 1: The clone game Block Hole is also known as Sagak-ui Bimil.
Note 2: Other releases that are merely hacks of Japanese games with Zemina's logo are not listed here.
Hardware[edit]
Zemina also made hardware for the Zemmix. These include:
- A Cartridge port divider[14]
- The Zemina Music Box[15]
- An MSX2 Upgrade Kit[14]
- A Zemmix PC card[14]
- MSX RAM expansion cards[16]
- A 'Family Card' that allows the user to play Famicom games on the Zemmix[17]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Hardcore Gaming 101: A History of Korean Gaming". hardcoregaming101.net.
- ^ Not to be confused with dozens of other companies by the same name or similar names. The Saehan Trading is no longer available.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Zemina". Generation MSX.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Game World Magazine Issue 2/1992
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Nemesis 3 - The Eve of Destruction". Generation MSX.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Green Beret (1986, MSX, Konami) - Releases". Generation MSX.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Hyper Olympic 1 (1984, MSX, Konami) - Releases". Generation MSX.
- ^ "Trois jeux inédits pour la Master System et la Game Gear". allgamers.fr.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Project A2 (1987, MSX2, Pony Canyon) - Releases". Generation MSX.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Strange Loop". Generation MSX.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Tengoku Yoitoko (1987, MSX2, TAITO) - Releases". Generation MSX.
- ^ Generation-MSX.nl. "Warp & Warp (1984, MSX, NAMCO) - Releases". Generation MSX.
- ^ a b c "Zemmix MSX Console". Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- ^ "The Ultimate MSX FAQ - MSX-Music section". msxnet.org.
- ^ "Zemina MSX "boxes"". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- ^ "Blue-Print Zemmix informational page". blue-print.be.
External links[edit]
- List of Zemina Games
- Zemina at Sega Retro