Oracle's Cave - Pick an Orge, any Ogre
As a child growing up in the 70's and 80's we were used to dragons , ogres, centaurs and possibly the odd minotaur. Our children's TV cartoons borrowed heavily from the Roman and Greek myths as did our school reading books. So a game stomping around running into these beasts held no fears for me.
I loved the idea of exploring caves, I was an avid reader of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books and they usually ended up in a cave at some point. Plus we had visited Cheddar Caves and Wookey Hole so this game really appealed to little 11 year old Julie. The game starts with a pause as it generates the cave system for you . This means every game is different , how about that for value for money? Plus you have the choice of quests as well , guaranteed 'keep Julie quiet for days ' or your money back!
The game plot is simple, stomp around the caves, find your way to your chosen quest, and then onto the oracle's cave to escape. Along the way you meet lots of other fiends, but, and here's the difference between this and other games, you have the choice to fight or go back. As you can see your combat strength and the fiend's combat strength on the screen you can take an educated gamble on whether or not you will survive. This was the first time I had come across this idea ( I was later to discover it in the fighting fantasy books of Jackson and Livingstone , which I loved.) It meant that no matter how bad your coordination was , you still stood a chance with this game.
There was also the added element of risk of being able to explore ( find or get your belongings stolen) or take a secret passage ( run the risk of ending up in a room with a huge stonking fire breathing dragon with twice your combat rating) , or you could rest and regain some strength, but not for too long as you had a time limit. It had tactics , it was not just about blasting the fire button you could plan your movements , choose to take risks or play it safe and every game was different . The fact that you decided your move and then the graphics responded , either with little man stomping in the direction of your choice, or with a blood and gore free fight scene made it feel almost board game like. Board games are safe and comfy ( well apart from Monopoly which can cause family feuds that can last for generations!) and I think this is why this game felt so cosy.
It may not be in many people's top Spectrum game memories, but for me it was a game I came back to time and time again. A quick bit of escapism , possibly a trip back into the TV cartoons of my youth as well. Some days we all need to have a chance to vanquish the foe and escape from the caves.