Dangerous Dave

Dangerous Dave is a 1988 computer game by John Romero. It was developed for the Apple II and DOS as an example game to accompany his article about his Gra BASIC, an Applesoft BASIC add-on, for the Up Time disk magazine.

The object of the game was to collect gold cups to move on to the next level. Since the original 1988 publishing of Dangerous Dave on Up Time, there have been three sequels and three ports of the original to other platforms.

The idea of Dangerous Dave came to John Romero under the influence of Super Mario. There are definitely similarities that are easily noticeable, such as the secret levels, the level design, the monsters, and the jumping. The mission is to guide Dave through ten levels, collecting trophies in the hideout of his enemy, Clyde. Romero says that among all Dangerous Dave sequels Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion is "the best Dave ever created". In 2008 Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion was ported to cell phones.


 * Dangerous Dave, 1988, Apple II, 6-color, Up Time (the original)
 * Double Dangerous Dave, 1990, Apple II, 16-color, Softdisk (16 color port of the 1988 original)
 * Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement, 1990, DOS, EGA, non-published (the demo that launched Commander Keen and id Software)
 * Dangerous Dave, 1990, DOS (CGA, EGA, VGA), Softdisk (DOS version of the 1988 original)
 * Dangerous Dave GS, 1990, Apple //GS, never completed (//GS version of the 1988 original)
 * Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion, 1991, DOS / EGA, Softdisk
 * Dangerous Dave's Risky Rescue, 1993, DOS, EGA, Softdisk
 * Dave Goes Nutz!, 1993, DOS, EGA, Softdisk


 * Alliterative Name: Dangerous Dave
 * Expy: Since the series are based off of Mario, like wearing red caps and specializing in high jumping.
 * Going Mobile: Some of the games got ported for cell phones later on, starting with Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion.
 * Jet Pack: The original game has a jet pack that can be picked up and used on certain levels.
 * Platformer
 * Sequel Episode: Dangerous Dave spun off sequels, like Dangerous Dave in the Deserted Pirate's Hideout.