He got:

The yellow gem in the mine;

The bluish green one in the forest (or rather the worm)

The bright green one in the pyramid.

The orange one from the pirates;

The blue one from the mech on the island of ruins.

And Visconti got the purple one.

But that makes only six. Where did the red one come from?

I can see why you (and others) enjoy ALF a lot more than I do. I wish I could like it more. And yes, the sequel tease that end up never materializing is a slight pet peeve of mine too. Shadowrun did that too. But like you said, it is what it is. I’m sure the developers had good intentions but for one reason or another a follow-up was never in the cards as it would turn out. However, as we have seen with classic games like Ninja Warriors and Wild Guns revitalized 25-ish years later, there’s always hope!

Anyway, I’m in the camp that really likes ASCII’s Ardy Lightfoot, some flaws notwithstanding, since I imported the Super Famicom original back in 2014. =) It’s not perfect, and I agree that that the tail bounce jumping mechanic can either break or make the game, but by the same token it’s something that involves timing and rhythm (Scene 13 in particular with the spears flying in opposing directions).

I like how the game has an Indiana Jones-style flavor in areas with the exploration of different architectures and figuring your way out of puzzles (i.e. carrying and using a reflector against Beecroft to have his own beams damage him), I like how once in a while there’s a unique gameplay mechanic involved (in the penultimate scene you must avert obstacles from both above and below you in the form of the reflection, the scene involving the water and spike helmet Pec is nonlinear in style, and earlier there’s a mine cart riding–I like the part where the music ceases when Ardy flies off the ramp and immediately picks back up when he lands) and I also like how in-game whenever it cuts to the story it tells it exclusively in a visual manner that make it easy to tell what’s happening without any words. Katsuhiro Hatano and Akiko Hashimoto’s music lends Ardy Lightfoot’s various locales a lot of atmosphere and also lends an adventurous flair to the proceedings (Scene 1’s theme does a good job at setting the tone for the adventure you’re about to embark) much to the game’s benefit, the characters are likable and likably drawn for there is an abundance of charm largely because of them, the isometric-viewed map is neat, and I love the atmospheric depth of certain areas (Scene 4 with the shaded leaf-like foregrounds above and below the screen, the gradual sunset at Scene 10 is sublime, Scene 12 with the waterfalls, and the bright reflection below you in the penultimate scene, et al).

There are differences between versions, not many, but they are primarily by cosmetic design (I only played the Super Famicom version): Don Jacoby has a cigarette in his mouth, when remaining idle for a bit Ardy has a pose that is similar to his crouching pose except he looks at the screen impatiently drumming his fingers with his tail sticking straight upward, in Scene 4 are a couple occasions when you see bears tied up to a tree and a crying bear at the end, when you lose your last life you’re placed behind a cage with the sign “The Most Unlucky Man”, and after defeating Catry she gets swallowed up by a giant sandworm where you end up following suit but when you catch up with her you find her dead body reduced to skull and bones underneath the dripping acid (incredibly dark for an otherwise lighthearted platforming game, I can see why it was changed to her being unconscious). And while Titus may be an infamous company, I like how they juxtaposed the Super Famicover in the NTSC SNES cover art that way they can be compared within the same cover so that was nice of them at least (SFC cover is better).

On the whole I really like the game, but I do agree that much of the areas are short, while I’m mostly used to the tail jump mechanic there are certain moments when I might not 100% get in rhythm with it despite long stretches when I seem to have it under control (aforementioned Scene 13 and Visconti in the end), the final boss Visconti is my least favorite boss in the game during his later phase, and I’m personally not a fan of when a video game sequel baits (regardless when it came out) as it’s something I’ve grown weary of because it’s upsetting when a sequel is announced or hinted at but never came to fruition–Equinox did it, Maui Mallard did it, Puggsy did it, The Lost Vikings II did it, and Croc 2 did it as well (upon completing it 100%) among several others; I mean, it *would* be nice if they ended up happening eventually as there is a potential for a follow up on the gameplay and lore that was established in the preceding entry of each respective game–and I was a bit upset upon beating it the first time when I found out that Ardy Lightfoot was among them. =(

But for the most part I found Ardy Lightfoot to be fun for what it is; I wouldn’t put it up there with DoReMi Fantasy, Wagyan Paradise, the Donkey Kong Country/Super Donkey Kong trilogy, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, Kirby Super Star, or TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventure as far as Nintendo 16-bit platforming entertainment goes (just to name several), but I do enjoy playing it once in a while. =)

To each their own