Flying Shark (1987)

Flying Shark was released in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum 48K. Published by Firebird Software, the game was developed by Dominic Robinson on code, with in-game graphics by John Cumming, music by Steve Turner, and load screen art by Drew Northcott.

This title is a top-view vertical scrolling shoot-em-up based on the Taito arcade coin-op. It supports up to two players and features fully redefineable keys, staying true to the fast-paced action of the original arcade machine.

The cassette version was priced at £7.95. The game was also ported to several other home systems, including the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Amiga, and Atari ST.

The game received an average magazine score of 89.46%. It earned the «Sinclair User Classic» award from Sinclair User and was named a «Your Sinclair Megagame» by Your Sinclair.

The game became a major hit in Russia, spawning numerous TR-DOS disk versions by groups like RojerSoft and ASV Corp. It was featured in magazines like RIP with tips and guides, while cracked cassette versions were widely circulated by crackers such as Bill Gilbert and Copper Feet.