Forbidden Forest

It's Awesome! Nuff said.

One of my all time favourite C64 games. Blew my mind back in 1983. It dripped with atmosphere and could probably lay claim to being the first truly effective arcade style horror game. Its so ingrained in my childhood gaming that I can't really be objective about it even now. There's literally nothing I'd change, well maybe the length of the dance routine... The graphics, gameplay and controls were all perfect but that music really elevated it to utter classic for me. A game I ADORED then and still regularly love to play with the lights off nearly 40 years later. Occupies a place in my heart that is reserved for only the most special of games. In my top five of all time from the C64.
10 out of 10.

Where do I start? Forbidden Forest bustled straight out of left field without warning, and changed preconceptions of what was meant by "computer games".

It's the idea that was radical - the orchestrated movie-like story telling approach to it. The music is expertly composed and woven in to the action, from the dramatic introduction down to details like the panicked screaming organ after you get killed by a spider on level 1.

The graphics are pretty poor on the whole, and the game does get tedious quite quickly. But the audio and cinematic like qualities were mind-blowing in 1983

Gameplay Video Link:
youtube.com/watch?v=_tMeevXupJg

Blocky graphics but really creepy, they do well their job. The music is awesom and the gameplay entertaining.
The only thing I hated was the long delay between levels, just to see the archer dance.

Forbidden Forest.

(I wonder, who forbade the forest.. From doing what? A mysterious title, to say the least!)

This is a funny, little old classic.

The graphics are a crude, the animation not very good, the SID chip is not utilized to its limit, the gameplay is quite limited and very difficult, and in the end, the game is quite short and repetitive.

There's also a very annoying 'musical interval' that repeats the same ditty over and over again while the main character moves to random positions (I suppose it depicts 'victory dance') every time you complete a level.

This wouldn't be so annoying, if it didn't last so long, didn't end so unexpectedly and randomly, and if it didn't repeat itself over and over again. The proper length would be the length of the ditty, and that's it. No need to stretch it and start the ditty over again.

The musics are moody and interesting, and very unique. The maker of the game was some kind of progressive rock composer or something, so he wanted to implement some of his musical side also - and it shows (uh, 'plays'?).

I wonder if this game would've been such a memorable cult hit without the musics. They use all three channels mostly for chords, so there's no separate drum or basslines or arpeggios with melody - it's all mostly just three similar sounds playing together.

However, something makes many people to come back to this little game - perhaps it's the incredible atmosphere that radiates from many of these early classics. This game has a lot of atmosphere, which is thickened by the changing of the day into night (something the sequel didn't have, AFAICR).

In absolute terms, not a very good game. But as classics go, it's always fun to come back to this atmospheric, little gem.

I simply didn't get this game.

Superb. A C64 oldy. There's 3d remake. I tried it but not a chance . This is the classic and the best. I would love to see exact the same game with TombRaider anno 2015 graphics though!

This game crap my pants in this days, true Classic ! , one of the best games of c64

Looks like Norman got interviewed

c64.com/interviews/norman.html

This game was his first, and his favorite, and he wishes he'd published it himself.

Also he agrees that some of the magic was lost in the sequel, though he's proud of the music and the hydra.

Even though the graphics maybe "crude" I wouldn't change a thing about this game.
The music is my favourit C64 music as it is totally atmospheric and it completely lifts the game up to the best spooky/horror game ever made for the C64.
The ghosts "deathscream" is also one of the best C64 soundfx.
Paul Norman rules!

This game was so scary as a kid, I had nightmares about being the archer in the Forest. The Demogorgon's head coming down when you took too long in the last level scared me to death!

Not the best graphics but man, this game was scary and fun at the same time.

Another Sinister Norman classic. Play it, love it, hide behind the sofa when it all gets too much.

Despite its Lego aesthetics, this game is not recommended for children... It can be pretty scary to play this.

Utterly wonderful game. One of the most atmospheric and downright scary games ever. One of the all-time greats.

One of the best C64 games ever! The whole atmosphere is amazingly terrifying. Never seen anything like it again in my life.

My brother and I had it on tape. We bought it not knowing what it was, and were impressed by the music and atmosphere. We even danced the victoy tune!

I have bought it on disk now, just to keep this jewel.

Wow, this game gave me the creeps. I can remember playing it at night and I was REALLY scared. Man, I love this game.

( Paul Norman ) He still looks like the Yorkshire Ripper - Looks like he's trying to Hypnotise me too! Been on the net too long

Great Game.

Love the lightning flashes and effects in this game.

Simple enough to complete - this is one of those games that keeps you at it until you finish it.

Brilliant !

Let's face the truth: Paul Norman is a genius. Forbidden Forest was so much ahead of its time in 1983 and was still fresh in the 1984 when I first played it. Forbidden Forest boasts one of the most haunting music scores in this world and is definitely the work of a musical mastermind. The atmosphere of Forbidden Forest is unbelievable! You have to play this game during the nighttime, with lights turned off and music turned loud enough! If you're an adult and can handle it, perhaps take a small sip of booze and experience the haunting mood of the Forbidden Forest just like when you were kid and played it for the first time. This is more than just a game, it is a piece of art unlike anything you've seen before! And if you intended to criticize things like "blocky graphics", please leave out those comments and try to feel the totally cool atmosphere of this game! Remember, the C64's graphics resources were not that great and Paul Norman made great use of them, the graphics suit the game perfectly! I give Forbidden Forest a perfect 10 any day! Thanks for the scares Paul Norman!!!

It was sooo scary!!! Especialy when night fell on the hideous pixel forest! ... And that terrible music! Just great

One of the first games I ever brought.. Seemed good fun at the time..

Thank you Mr. Norman for this 8-bit splatter-fest.
What great memories.

"Run little archer boy, run!!! "

Obviously not as good as the sequel but Paul Norman sure had some great effects and ideas. Great atmosphere and in 1983??? The man was totally ahead of the rest!

Scariest game I ever played. I don't even think the original Resident Evil (where the dogs jump through the windows in the hall) scared me as much as this one. This game was just... Creepy.

Wickedly awesome! Very addictive game play.

One of the greatest ever.

But you have to admit the dancing was hilarious. Especially on the first level, where the intro/dancing time outweighs the actual playing time.

Great atmosphere and presentation for this time.
absolute amazing for '83.

9 / 10

I actually have an ooooooooooold issue of "Computer Fun and Games" magazine circa 1989 or so that has a lengthy interview with Paul Norman. Next time I visit the 'rents, I'll try and find it and scan it in. As I recall the magazine is on the verge of disintegration.

Simply the most addictive C64 game ever, once youve mastered it a few times on Crazy level it becomes a breeze, an artform even. Paul Norman at his very best, cant someone interview him about it??

I blame this game for my fear of spiders...

To be concise and to the point, this game is AWESOME. An absolute classic of epic proportions. Atmosphere, music, gameplay anf functional (and sometimes darnright creepy) graphics - what more do we need? Of all the C64 games I played in my younger days this was the one that stands out the most. I still play it to this day on my C64 emulator (I would play it on my 64 if I could find a copy of the game!)

The best game on the C64 by far.

Excelent!!

This game, and its sequel, had me spooked for a long time. Obviously this game was the original gangsta of horror games on the Commodore 64 - and the best of its kind. Unlike so many other games of its time this was well balanced and not ridiculously hard. Damn it was intense running around in that forest never knowing when the next monster would appear...

This game really gives me the creeps. I remember the first time when I got eaten by one of those creatures. Couldn't believe me eyes!!! The music is SUPERB!!! Very much horror Top-credits to Paul Norman. Never playe this game at night, too scary!!! 10/10

On of the greatest classics on the C64 ever! Sure one of the reasons why I'm still so mad about this system. I think that Paul Norman is one of the best when it comes to creating atmosphere on the C64.

One of the best C64 around

Truely a great game. Incredible admosphere and music. A nice memory :-)

Great game, a true classic horror!

Like many said here, this game had an unique moody and scary atmosphere to it. It was indeed one of the most moody game I have ever played. You could sense a increasing feeling of panic playing it because every small aiming error could lead you to a nighmarish death. Most part of the moody atmosphere was due to the scary forest landscape, which made you feel like you were the first (or the last) man in the world surrounded by nothing but woods and ghosts, with the only one looking at you with sympathy, the moonface, waning away to evade the forest before witnessing your horrible death.

When I was about 8 years of age, I started playing this game, but it was scary at first. Now I know how to kill that spider, killing that big fly which it looks like a huge bee or some sort, killing those monster's which I don't know what they are in level 3, killing that dragonfly, the ghost and that big old snake, but I couldn't actually kill that demogordon, that was the one which it is pretty scary for me when I saw it when I was 8. Nice music, sound and graphics.

This game ran chills down my back playing it late at night. I'll never forget the first time I saw the Skeleton stab you to death with the spear and the blood flying everywhere. The Demogorgon looming in the background with the lightning showing him, and just his eyes being seen in the dark. The Music and original idea is what made this a classic.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought I had this game on my Vic-20.. I'm probably wrong, all I know is this game scared the piss out of me. I haven't seen it in so long, all I remember is running around with a bow and arrow and you had to kill that big ghost thing by shooting right in the face.. Eeek.

This game had the crummiest graphics, but I still liked it. The music envoked a spooky feeling, along with the lightning and odd-looking creatures coming after you, scared the crap outta me. It had a somewhat-3-d effect as I recall, with the monsters and stuff lurking in and out of the landscape. This was up there as a top game back in the day.

Awsome game, I remember playing this game of my C64 when I was young. Very creepy, but yet cool.

I was only a year old when this game came out and I watched my dad play it a lot. Let me just tell you, this game scared me for life! The whole concept of not IF you are killed, but WHEN you are killed, scared the kahooties outta me! I can just hear the theme music and get the chills. No other game scares me that badly, not even the Silent Hill or Resident Evil games. >_< Talk about a powerful game!

This game is a classic for me, simple but great scenario, magnificent music. Just a classic.

Tremor you don't know your head from your ass.

Forbidden Forest, Made Cosmi an overnight success (along with their Aztec game). FF featured sound, and music that stuck in my memory for many years after, its inital release. Paul Norman did a fantastic thing, creating FF. The End Boss. , the frustration the individual Monster Intros (Giant Bee's, Snake, Spiders etc). It held an atmosphere, created one and along with the ambient overtones, the fast frantic (panic mode) action. I still revisit the game frequently, for the music, for the nostalgia, for the skill it took to make it, The C64's power or just to escape the 3D isometric, shoot everything with a super BFG and instead run, shoot arrows, listen to some wicked music and watch the shadows in the lightning when the Demi-God approaches.

I read the comments and was very surprise to see that I'm not the only one to find that this game has a very special atmospheric power... I never went very far in this game, but I remember very well some incredible stress and scare I have experienced... For some days I even hide the disk ... ) A powerfull game and the graphic is unique in his style... Maybe that contribute to dive us in this atmospheric univers! I like this game very much.

Best. Game. Ever.

Your absolutely right brutal, He doen't know what he is talking about.
Great great game

Tremor SUCKS, not this wonderful game, surely. Superb atmosphere, an absolute all time classic.

TremorMUV: This game provided an excellent ambience and exitement when it came. I remember that moment and think it is an awesome game. And the music? Magnificent...
Of course there were better games in '83, but this was VERY far from being the worst.

This game SUCKS! One of the WORST games I've ever seen. Even at the time it SUCKED. There were FAR BETTER games on the market at the time. If you want to try a really shitty game, grab it and see what I'm talking about. If you're not into wasting your time, pass on this immediately!

I liked this game. The graphics stunk for the time and the gameplay was uniquely poor (shooting angles) but the game did have an eerie feel atmosphere to it. The first time I discovered that large "prying mantis" thing lurking in the back ground I almost needed to change my shorts. The music and lightening added to the dark setting. It was pretty fun.

(I wrote this comment in error about the game's sequal which I never played... Oops no way to undo comments, sorry. )

The best game ever. And for some reason Beyond Forbidden forest is not on this site, It is a bit more evil than this one !!!

There are only 3 games I have played in my life that have given me recurring nightmares. Shamus (Shadow always scared me when he appeared), System Shock (SHODAN just had that evil mechanical voice always makes my skin crawl in the CD version) and Forbidden Forest with that damn shadow demon in the last area with it pitch black and the lightning illuminating it. The ambience of that scene, when the music suddenly stops and you can only hear your own heartbeat

Absolutly in the top 5 greatest C64 games of all time. It's fun, creepy, and has great music! Plus, the main character busts a move every time he defeats a level of vile creatures! Paul Norman is a GENIUS! 10/10

Seminal.

Utterly wonderful music, atmospheric gameplay and pretty hard to kill that evil bastard at the end!

Used to play this at a friend's house all the time. Music was scary, parallax scrolling was cool. Didn't it have lightning too? Spooky. We'd have huge amounts of fun with it!

I remember getting my C64 for my 5th birthday (cheers Mum and Dad), and this was one of the first games I ever played. When you're 5 and you play a game like this it has a profound effect on you. I couldn't ever play it on my own because it was too scary! The graphics may look shite to the naked eye today, but two decades ago (is it really that long?) they were a revelation. The way the forest would darken around you filled you with sheer terror, and because the graphics weren't crystal clear you never knew exactly where all the creepy-crawlies would appear from. The music and SFX couldn't possibly convey the atmosphere any better; you feel as though you are running for your life in a frenzied panic. It is only years later that I have come to appreciate what a masterpiece this game is. I think I'll switch all the lights off and have a go on it now...

This game scared the shit out of me as a little boy! I was 2 or 3 when we got this game, and my brother and his friend would play this game all the time. I could watch it... If they turned the volume all the way down. Sometimes my brothers friend would turn the sound all the way up when I wasn't looking, and I'd scream and have nightmares for days. I've not seen a scarier game in my life to this date.

Forbidden Forest ranks right up there with Impossible Mission as one of the best C64 games ever.

What others have said is true - this game really IS creepy, in an 8-bit sort of way. The music is superb, and the graphics, though primitive, capture a palpable atmosphere of apprehension and gloom. Very good use of sound, too - the mournful wail of the phantom as it disintegrates, and your racing heartbeat on the otherwise silent last level...

A classic among classics!

Quite truely one of the first classic 64 games. I loved it the first time I played it and still love it to this day.

Its not easy making C64 Games that really make your spine shiver in terror. Commando Librya was a failed attempt but this one is one scary forest!

Old classic game. Quite simple overall but it is very fun to play. (at least I thought so, it was a while since I tried it... )

This game rocks. My grandad still has a C64 and a number of games but I mainly play this one. Could never get past that damn dragon though...

Yeah, this game is definitely frightening despite its terribly dated graphics and sound compared to today's standards. This old classic from Cosmi still has an appeal and a spooky atmosphere which is hard to describe, yet draws the player into a weird world of horror. It is much improved upon in Cosmi's Beyond The Forbidden Forest but has its roots here in the original and cannot be ignored as a classic horror game.
True, as well, that Resident Evil and other more recent horror genre games on the Playstation (etc... ) may actually be equal to this game's ATMOSPHERE of dread and menace, just as there are many horror novels and movies of our time that are equally as creepy in atmosphere.
Like the old saying: Don't judge a book by its cover.

Well... It DID give nightmares... Remember the vicious SNAKE in the end!?!? AAAAARGH!! ... And then you die... SCARY MUSIC TOO!!!

Another classic!!

Wow, I totally forgot about this game!

It was amazing for it's time!

This was an awesome game & very playable. It was hard but not frustrating hard. It was very rewarding nailing the bad guys as well.

It isn't easy to beat but it can be done and I think its in the top 25 easy...
I give it a 10

The archer is a good dancer. I have been practicing the moves for years, but I cannot master the dexterity.

This game bring back memories. I would daydream about this game at school and then have nightmares about it at night! Run, run, run and try to turn and get a shot off!

Strange, scaring, funny, ugly... Nothing more to say

It's true. This was the first video game that ever gave nightmares. Don't worry about the graphics, the game is good enough to outshine the blockiness. If you like the opening theme, I would strongly suggest getting "Back in Time 2" from c64audio.com. It has the Forbidden Forest theme done by a symphony orchestra, and it sounds absolutely beautiful.

Loved this game... Hated the damn spiders.

Very old! Very different! Very Athmospheric (listen to the music/sfx)! Try it!

Superb... Have even tracked down a copy on tape so I can play it again recently... And it's one of the only games (along with Way of the Exploding Fist) that is worth returning to.

A really atmospheric game... And what a tune.. It reminds me of the Joy Division's bass lines, making the play a bit melancholic. Frightening and depressing

A great game! What I remembered the most was whenever the spider or skeleton got to you was the *blood*, or getting melted by the snakes vemon! Definitly a 10!

I just saw an article about horror games.. It stated that Resident Evil for PSX was the very first game that really scared the audience.. That's bull shit! I can still remember myself keeping nightlight on after playing this game, while the scream from the dying ghoul echoed in my mind.. *shivers* absolutly one hell 'o a game..

I love this game and can't get enough, it's always one of the first games I fire up when I'm showing off the C=64..

The first time I got to the last level I waited too long and the giant Bull head came down.. I nearly crapped my pants... Great atmosphere.

This is indeed one of the true classics. Graphics alone do not a good game make, and this game is full of gameplay in spades. From the fact that anything but a really clean shot will glance off the tough hides of the enemies, to the interestingchallenges posed by the many varied enemies, to the final round requiring fast reflexes and a good eye (hint. The black silouette of the owl obscures the stars in the night sky!) Plus the music brings back many fond memories..

A brilliant game containing some of the most frightening and determined baddies ever. Much better than the more sophisticated sequel. The graphics are a bit rough, but the parallax scrolling and the nightfall colours are sensational.

One of the few C64 that actually gave me nightmares. It is one of the best atmospheric games ever.

A real C64 classic, a good game but bad
graphics. (Cosmi never learned it(on the 64))!
The gameplay is quite nice and the tunes
kicks ass! (uuuhh). I give it 9!

Yeah that sound that the phantom makes when you kill it gave me nightmares as a child. Definately one of the best C64 games ever.

While I like this game, I don't think it deserves to be on the top 25 best C-64 games ever. There are only a handfull of stages, and afterwards they are just repeated with a higher difficulty. The graphics are incredibly dated too, and it's impossible to shoot the demon at the final stage. Will anyone who hasn't played the game in his childhood like this ? I don't think so. The music remains fantastic though.

A game I come back to again and again - not sure why the reviewer thought Beyond the Forbidden Forrest was lame - I thought it was quiet good - but probably not as good as it could be based on how long it took for a sequal to come out - Play and enjoy as much as I did :-)

Absolutely a "must-play". The last level is really scary hehe *waits for the next lightning*

Oh, I' have download this game, I love It, is terrible! And the music of paul norman is scary! Brrrr...
10!

Awesome old school shoot 'em up with some of the spookiest sounds to come out of a c-64.