Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1985)

This article is about the 1985 computer game. You may be looking for 1996 game or the 1991 gameshow.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Developer	Brøderbund
Publisher	Brøderbund
Released	April 23, 1985
Platform	Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, NES, SNES, TurboGrafx-CD

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is the first Carmen Sandiego game to be released.

Plot

Carmen's Gang has committed another caper! And it's up to you to crack the case...

The player takes on the role of a rookie detective in the ACME Detective Agency. Carmen's V.I.L.E. underlings are stealing national monuments, artifacts, and other treasures, and it's up to the player to investigate areas, find clues, and ultimately get a warrant for the thief, track them down to their hideout, and arrest them. As the player successfully solves cases and captures crooks, they will receive promotions, which makes the challenge greater. If the player takes too long to catch up with the crook, or catches up with the crook without a warrant or with an incorrect warrant, the crook gets off scot-free.

After enough cases have been solved successfully, Carmen Sandiego herself will commit thefts. If the player successfully manages to apprehend her, she will be placed behind bars and the player's career will end as a master detective.

Development

The original version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? was ported to many different systems. Among them were the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, NES, SEGA Master System, SEGA Genesis, Super Nintendo, and TurboGrafix-CD. There were some minor differences between them, especially in graphics, but they played the same way. The console versions used a password system to allow the player to save their progress.

Characters

• Carmen Sandiego
• Dazzle Annie
• Fast Eddie B
• Ihor Ihorovich
• Katherine Drib
• Lady Agatha
• Len Bulk
• Merey LaRoc
• Nick Brunch
• Scar Graynolt

Locations

• ACME Headquarters
• New York City, USA
• Montreal, Canada
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Lima, Peru
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• London, UK
• Paris, France
• San Marino, San Marino
• Rome, Italy
• Oslo, Norway
• Budapest, Hungary
• Athens, Greece
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Moscow, Soviet Union
• Baghdad, Iraq
• Cairo, Egypt
• Bamako, Mali
• Kigali, Rwanda
• Moroni, Comoros
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• New Delhi, India
• Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Peking, People's Republic of China
• Tokyo, Japan
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Singapore, Singapore
• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
• Sydney, Australia

Reception

Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? was a commercial blockbuster. As of late 1987, it was Broderbund's third best-seller for the Commodore 64. By 1995, over 4 million copies of the game had been sold. In 2020 and 2021, it became a finalist for induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Gallery

DefunctTV- The History of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Amiga

Genesis

DOS

Macintosh

SNES

Trivia

• This was the first Carmen Sandiego video game ever released.
• The ACME Detective Agency does not appear in early versions of this game. Instead, the player works for Interpol. Later versions use the ACME Detective Agency.

External links

• Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1985) on Wikipedia
• Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1985) at IGN.com
• Meet the 2020 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists
• Meet the 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists