The Great Giana Sisters

The Great Giana Sisters is a platform game developed by the West German company Time Warp and published by Rainbow Arts in 1987 for home computers such as the Commodore 64, Amiga, and Atari ST. Players control Giana (or her sister Maria in the multiplayer mode) to explore a magical world inside their dreams and must find a giant diamond to wake up. They traverse side-scrolling stages while avoiding hazards such as monsters and other enemies. These can be defeated by using power-ups, which grant the player abilities such as firing projectiles and making enemies fall asleep.

The Great Giana Sisters was designed by Armin Gessert and Manfred Trenz. Marc Ulrich of Rainbow Arts told Gessert and Trenz to create a game similar to the popular Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. (1985), but legally distinct. Following its release in West Germany, it was released in the United Kingdom and received praise from publications such as Zzap!64 and Computer and Video Games for its gameplay and secret levels, despite taking significant inspiration from Mario.

Following its UK release, The Great Giana Sisters was pulled from shops after Rainbow Arts received a notice from Nintendo. It eventually became one of the most popular home computer games of its era through piracy and emulation. A sequel for the Commodore 64, Hard'n'Heavy, downplayed its Nintendo inspiration. Various new Giana Sisters games were released in the early 2000s. The game's music, composed by Chris Huelsbeck, was used in later games and performed by symphony orchestras.