Mortadelo y Filemón: El Sulfato Atómico

An adaptation of the Spanish comic series Mort & Phil by Francisco Ibáñez,[2] specifically the 1969 first long story El sulfato atómico,[2][3] it follows the secret agents Mort and Phil as they attempt to steal a chemical weapon from the villainous Republic of Tirania.[1] The player controls the two agents separately to solve puzzles,[4] in a manner that has been compared to the gameplay of Maniac Mansion.[5]

El Sulfato Atómico was the first original, non-educational game bankrolled by Zeta, and was created with input from Ibáñez.[2] Alcachofa head Emilio de Paz noted that the author provided model sheets for the cast, sketches for the backgrounds and other assistance.[6] According to de Paz, Alcachofa chose to adapt Ibáñez's first story because it was longer-form than most Mort & Phil comics, although the team borrowed "gags and other elements from many other" installments in the series.[7] He noted that the game's budget was "very, very limited".[2]

El Sulfato Atómico was commercially successful. With sales above 70,000 units, the game "multiplied by 50 the money [Zeta Multimedia] invested in the development", according to El País.[8] Carlos Burgos of PC Manía praised El Sulfato Atómico, writing that it will delight young and old.[4] MeriStation's Jordi Espunya was less positive, criticizing the game's length, simplicity and audiovisual fidelity.[9]

El Sulfato Atómico was the first installment in a series of adventure games based on Mort & Phil. While the comics had previously inspired arcade-style games during the golden age of Spanish software, such as Mortadelo y Filemón II: Safari Callejero, Alcachofa Soft's project marked the beginning of a new strain of adaptations.[10] Zeta Multimedia proceeded to publish a follow-up to El Sulfato Atómico in 1999: Mortadelo y Filemón: La Máquina Meteoroloca, developed by Vega Creaciones Multimedia rather than Alcachofa.[2] Based on the Mort & Phil comic El Estropicio Meteorológico,[10] the game was again created with assistance from Francisco Ibáñez.[2] According to the magazine Dealer World España, Zeta pushed La Máquina Meteoroloca as one of its "star products" during the Christmas 1999 shopping season.[11] The game drew a positive review from PC Manía, whose Carlos Burgos deemed it "excellent" and more faithful than El Sulfato Atómico to Ibáñez's series,[12] while Spain's PC Actual declared Vega's game "a bit monotonous".[13]

Vega was shuttered in the first half of 2000, and Alcachofa returned to creating Mort & Phil adventure games after La Máquina Meteoroloca's release.[2] The developer handled the remainder of the series,[10] which became its best-known body of work before the launch of Murder in the Abbey (2008).[14][15] Micromanía reported that the Mort & Phil games helped to put Alcachofa on the map.[16] Summarizing the company's history in 2008, Julio Gómez of Vandal wrote that Alcachofa ultimately saw "its fortunes joined to" El Sulfato Atómico.[17] Alcachofa's second Mort & Phil title, Mortadelo y Filemón: Una Aventura de Cine, debuted in 2000.[10] It launched as two games—respectively subtitled Dos Vaqueros Chapuceros and Terror, Espanto y Pavor—sold separately for 3,995 pesetas each.[18] Combining the two opens access to a third episode, Parque Jurásico, to complete the full Una Aventura de Cine product.[10][18] The combined game also features local and online cooperative multiplayer support for two players.[18]

Alcachofa followed Una Aventura de Cine in 2001 with Mortadelo y Filemón: La Sexta Secta.[19][10] It was again composed of two individual games, entitled El Escarabajo de Cleopatra and Operación Moscú, that combine to form the complete product.[10] The final entry in the Mort & Phil adventure game series arrived with La Banda de Corvino,[10] launched in 2003.[20] Like its predecessors, it retailed as two complementary episodes, this time under the names Mamelucos a la Romana and Balones y Patadones.[10]

In 2019, Erbe Software re-released the game on Steam,[21][22] alongside several other Mort & Phil titles by Alcachofa.[22]

• 3 Skulls of the Toltecs
• Hollywood Monsters

• Mortadelo y Filemón: El Sulfato Atómico at MobyGames