Time Bandit

Time Bandit is an action/adventure video game that was written originally for the TRS-80 Model I and soon ported to the TRS-80 Color Computer, but enjoyed its greatest popularity on the Atari ST and Amiga. The game was written by Bill Dunlevy and Harry Lafnear, and published by MichTron. Later versions were created for various other platforms, including the pseudo-PC-compatible Sanyo MBC-55x with its unique 8-color display. The Amiga and DOS versions were ported by Timothy Purves.

The game's basic structure is as a top-down shooter, much like Gauntlet (which it predates). In each level, the player must gather keys to open locks which will allow him to exit. The popularity of the game was due in large part to the innovations on this basic gameplay model. In between each level the player chooses the next level from any one of 16 different "Timegates" (each of which can be visited up to 16 times). The worlds vary in character and (to some extent) difficulty. Some worlds incorporate elements of text adventure games, and most contain gameplay references to other popular games of the time, such as PacMan and Centipede. In addition to the primary objective of exiting each level, optional side quests become available in the later stages of some worlds, usually awarding the player with one of several "artifacts" upon completion.