Space Rogue (1990)

Space Rogue (also known as スペースローグ in Japan ) is a science fiction computer game released in 1989 by Origin Systems, makers of the hit Ultima series, for the Apple II and Commodore 64. The series was later ported to MS-DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST. The game was also released in the Japanese language for PC-9801, X68000, and FM Towns. The FM Towns version had its intro remade with slight animations and new illustrations, along with scrolling Japanese text. The FM Towns version also had exclusive CD quality background music. The game combined elements of both a space combat simulator and a role-playing game, like the much later X: Rebirth and Elite: Dangerous. It is notable for being the first game designed for Origin by Paul Neurath, who went on to found Blue Sky Productions (later renamed Looking Glass Studios). Space Rogue can be considered as the spiritual predecessor to Origin's Wing Commander series. The press release for Space Rogue stated that it is "the first of its kind in science-fiction/3D space flight simulation. An ORIGIN Cinematic Experience™" Implying that Space Rogue was originally meant to be a series of its own ('Ultima in Space'), before later on Origin turned to the Wing Commander series instead. Night Dive Studios reacquired the rights and re-released it on gog.com.