Reviews

A good platform game where you used springs and poles to slide up and down to get around the screen. The idea of the game was to collect the bones of Frank N Stein around the screen and throw the switch to make him alive to progress to the next level.

The game was colourful and had some good puzzles. One of my all time favourites from the Spectrum era.

One of my Speccy favorites. Guiding little Doctor Frank N Stein, thru the platforms, using springs to climb, instead of jump routines, and catching all the pieces to complete the monster in time. There are 50 levels, but the original version was bugged, so it's impossible to complete level 25 in time. Thankfully years later, the author came up with a fix. You can check it in the W.O.S. archive, where there is a file with the Bugfix completely playable.

A very enjoyable platform game that reminds me of the finest days of the Zx Spectrum.

Not a legendary title but rather a hidden gem.

Most lovers of the Spectrum will enjoy this cute little thing .

The atmosphere is great and the movements smooth and silky.

A platformer with a character of its own .

This is an interesting take on the platform/collect-em-up genre. You need to collect the pieces of skeleton to make Frankenstein's monster. There's the usual baddies and hazards but instead of the jump key there's an "activate" key which works only when you stand over certain objects - a springboard to jump to the next platform, a pole to slide down. This combined with the skeleton collection (each piece has to be collected in a particular order), gives the game more of a puzzle element than other platform games.

The skeleton-collecting levels alternate with a harder level in which you have to get from the bottom left to the switch on the top right of the screen while dodging more nasties, including a lethal spinning disc thrown by the monster himself.

All in all a deceptively simple but very absorbing game.

Its hard to say what I like about Frank N Stein, which does nothing spectacular but succeeds so well in what it sets out to achieve. Its a cute imagiantive smooth runnning platformer with puzzle levels alternating with slightly wicked Donky Kong style levels - all as you might expect except you can't jump, you can only activate springs.
This very little idea is maybe what makes Frank N Stein stand out I think, because you have to plan your way out of trouble. The levels are very nicely designed so that you can just collect the arm you need for the body, step slowly back through the slime, slip along the ice and reach the spring just in time to activate and evade the onrusing baddie.
There are 50 levels, though one of them quite late in the game is bugged so that you will run out of time no matter how well you play, but it doesn't stop Frank N Stein getting 4.6/5 from me.
Also, it was great to get 'Rebooted' an updated version from author Colin Stewart a couple of years ago, though in my mind the original game still holds up and remains playable to new players now.

by Colin Jones

One of the cutest and most original platformers of 1984, collect the parts of Frank N Stein's skeleton [or of Frank N Stein's creature's skeleton, more probably] littered around the screen [talk about cuteness], by using spring to jump on the plaftorms, steps [not ladders] to descend, or simply falling, avoiding fixed patterned baddies, slipping on ice, and having a wonderful electrocution or two [which doesn't kill you, but while you're busy being electrified a nasty can reach you]. As you pick up the pieces of the skeleton, which can be taken only in the right order from head to toe], the image of the creature appears in a box at the right bottome of the screen. And, it's well animated and designed, and greatly and pleasantly playable. No less than 4/5, for this not so famous classic.

A platform game with no jump button? It takes a bit of getting used to. In fact it's more of a puzzle game and it's very rewarding when you work out a correct route through the level. Maybe a bit too difficult though?

I didn't know (back in the day) anything about Frank n stein but it's extremely simple and effective
Good inspirational example
And good to see Dr. Frankenstein as Hero.
Also, one of the few games with a Mad Scientist as starring ??? (remember Dynamite Dan, he was the anti-hero)

"Have you got what it takes to build your very own monster?". It's 1884 and you must help Dr. Frank N. Stein in this original plattform game coded 100 years later by Colin Stewart for PSS.

The game consists of 50 screens with very cute graphics. In every one, you must collect all the pieces of a monster in the correct order and activate it to progress to the next screen, avoiding snails, bats, slimes and other monsters.

This is not a common plattform game, as Dr. Frank can't jump or go up/down ladders, he only can use springs to ascend. So it's all about strategy and wise thinking, what makes it quite difficult but also very enjoyable.