With the announcement of the first paid DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons the other day, which takes place on an archipelago, I found myself reminded of the first time I learned that word, decades ago from a game that…probably wasn’t as good.
archipelago, noun – a chain of islands
Learned from: James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (Genesis, Amiga, Super Nintendo, Game Gear)
Developed by Vectordean, Millenium Interactive
Published by Electronic Arts (1993)
As you probably guessed from the name, the James Pond series was a spoof of spy films, except starring a fish. I don’t remember a whole lot about the character aside from that (and the fact that he seemed to do a lot less spying and a lot more jumping), except that James also had the ability to…er…get really long.
The idea was that he could stretch really far to grab high platforms, and then lift the rest of his body up. I’m not sure if he still had this power in the third game or not. I do seem to remember that the series, while always silly, went from fighting against pollution, to…running around on stages made of food. One of those stages in James Pond 3 was the Arran Archipelago, and as the name suggests, I think it was a series of food-inspired islands that you had to jump across. I…don’t really remember much else about this game; the video store was my friend, growing up, exposing me to a wealth of games I never would’ve even looked at, otherwise.
Brain Rot 
Archipelago isn’t a word you hear frequently.
I don’t know if I would have thought of James Pond. I get more of a strategy-feeling and think of Megalomania, but at the same time know it’s not correct.
(I’m an Atari guy)
I found a strategy game called Archipelago and I *kinda* remember the box art and perhaps the graphics. I’ve never played this game.
I perhaps played a coverdisk demo of James Pond but I have no recollection of it.
What I do remember is that James Pond (and II) were heavily featured in the magazines.
Funny how words, music and whatever else, so often reminds us of bygone days of happily playing games with not a care in the world.
Good times!
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