Commander Keen 4 Finally Bounces Onto AmigaOS 68K

id Software's 1991 DOS platformer Commander Keen 4 arrives on accelerated AmigaOS 68K machines with native RTG graphics and AHI audio support.

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle has crossed one of early-'90s gaming's old platform borders with a new AmigaOS 68K version. The project runs id Software's 1991 DOS platformer directly on suitably upgraded Amiga hardware while retaining the original game's EGA graphics, Shadowlands map, enemies, levels and — critically — Billy Blaze's pogo stick. Players need to provide their own original Commander Keen 4 game data, so this is not a redistribution of Apogee's commercial material.

Joystick and keyboard controls are supported alongside saving, giving Keen a control setup that should feel considerably more natural to veteran Amiga platform-game players than his original PC keyboard gymnastics.

There is, however, an important hardware caveat. This is not intended for a stock Amiga 500 pulled from the attic and connected through optimism. The current build expects an accelerated 68K Amiga using RTG graphics and AHI audio, with development focused around expanded Amiga 1200-class configurations. The port remains at an early stage, so compatibility across accelerators may still vary. Historically, Commander Keen was important because id Software demonstrated smooth PC scrolling at a time when Amiga owners already considered such things perfectly normal. Thirty-five years later, Keen has finally arrived to discuss the matter personally.