Saboteur II: Avenging Angel

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Saboteur II: Avenging Angel is a 1987 action-adventure game by Clive Townsend, released by Durell Software for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It is the sequel to Saboteur (1985) and stars Nina, the sister of the original Ninja, on a mission to avenge his death.

The game starts with a hang-glider jump into a mountain fortress filled with tunnels. Players must dodge pumas and robotic guards, search the command center for supply boxes, and collect 14 punched-tape pieces (on later levels). The tapes must be taken to a computer terminal, after which you reach the bottom of the caves and escape on a motorcycle. There are nine missions named Rin, Kyo, Toh, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai and Zen, each with tougher objectives like more tape pieces or disabling an electrified fence.

The story takes place at a dictator’s high-security compound built on a mountain. The top area holds an armoury on the left and a missile silo on the right, with the only exit in the bottom left. Nina must alter the course of a nuclear missile and escape. The game is noted as one of the early action-adventure games to feature a female protagonist, a point highlighted by critics. It was considered especially progressive because Nina is a ninja, not a princess or cartoon character.

Some design details: the PC cover shows a male ninja, and the loading screen art was created by tracing from an erotic magazine. The four main formats differ in hardware but play similarly, though the ZX Spectrum version can show color clashes.

Saboteur II was re-released by Hit-Pak in 1988 and by Encore in 1989, and was bundled with Zzap!64 in 1993. Initial reviews were positive, with Your Sinclair calling it a strong sequel and a good game in its own right; a 1989 re-release noted it could still be entertaining.

A remake came out in 2019 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One with updated graphics, remixed music, and expanded lore. Deep Cover, a prequel for the ZX Spectrum 128, won Best Text Adventure at Planeta Sinclair’s Game of the Year awards in 2021. After the remake, two sequels were planned: Saboteur SiO released in 2020 and Saboteur ZERO was planned for late 2022.