C64 - This is one of the areas where the Commodore version falls down in, the sprites and background graphics tend to look a little more blocky and lacking in detail in this version, however this has to be one of the best examples of making every pixel count on Commodore as the sprites still look quite nice and stylized even though so few pixels are used

Spectrum - For the most part there's a very high level of detail in this version, from the flooring and moving blocks, to the background graphics having more elements (such as plants), to even the status bar.

NES - The base level detail is pretty good in this version, though I don't think its quite as good as in the Spectrum version as some textures look slightly simpler, and the status bar is noticibly sparse (probably too sparse for something which takes up so much screen real estate). The main player sprite looks a bit cheap and kiddy to me but it's certainly not terrible, on the other hand though some of the enemy sprites look really great, especially notable ones are the penguin and snowman enemies.

C64 - Really fantastic use of the C64's pallet here, the colour is used in an artistic style that looks great.

Spectrum - This version's colour is much worse than the other two, though for a Spectrum game this is actually very good (The colour criteria of my comparisons will always be the bane of the poor old Spectrum as it's probably the hardware's weakest aspect). Colour clash is here in spades but does not detract from the game play, not only does it affect the main player sprite but it gives an outline block of colour around many background elements (see the palm trees and pyramid on the 3rd picture down)

NES - The colour is pretty good here for the most part though it's a little bit more simplistic in it's use, for example the 1st stage on the C64 original always looked like it was taking place at sunset, whilst the NES version just uses a basic sky blue background. I also dislike the sludge green status bar somewhat.

C64 - The animation is alright, it's not really that impressive but it just about does the job.

Spectrum - The animations on this version are actually extremely impressive, the main player animation uses many frames (this is also the only version that has a standing still frame of animation) and all the enemies are animated very well.

NES - Good, it's not quite as good as the Spectrum in this area but is still a lot better than the C64 original.

C64 - Scrolls pretty well, it's a bit "bouncy" but is very smooth

Spectrum - This version scrolls very poorly in comparison to the other formats, it's choppy and occasionally unreliable, there's not really a big affect on game play thankfully but it can still cause some minor annoyances from time to time and brings the overall look of the game down a little.

NES - Very close to the Commodore version but on occasion if you move too fast it can take a while for the scrolling to catch up.

C64 - I'd say overall the Commodore version looks pretty good, it's certainly lacking in detail but I think still retains a good amount of charm.

Spectrum - This version looks a little bit crude overall due to colour clash and some basic colour choices, but still looks alright.

NES - Though the NES version doesn't specifically win out in any of the preceding graphics sections it easily has the most consistent graphics overall when taking into account both colour and detail simultaneously.

C64 - There's only one tune for the main levels of the game but it's pretty catchy, is well suited to the Commodore's sound chip and goes with the game well. Apart from the main tune is a boss tune, and the bonus level tune, seeing as the bonus levels are missing from the other versions this means that the Commodore has the highest number of different songs.

Spectrum - This version's take on the original tune is alright, the quality is not up to the standards of the original Commodore version but it's not bad by any means.

NES - A little bit of a mixed bag really, the actual quality of the music is fine, but it has more of a niggling, repetitive grating element to it.

C64 - No sound effects, only in game music

Spectrum - This version has very bad sound effects, they sound awful and grate on the ears. I realize this is due to the sound effects being created by the Spectrum's beeper but come on! I've heard the beeper do much better than this before.

NES - The sound effects aren't bad at all, nothing amazing but still pretty good and as such this is an easy win for the Nintendo.

C64 - This is the original version of the game, CJ plays in a way very reminiscent of New Zealand Story and the Mega Man series, the main way of disposing of enemies is to fire peanuts, you're also allocated bombs which are thrown by pressing down. It's fast, has a high emphasis on jumping between stationary and moving platforms, and has big labyrinth style level designs. Lets start with the good, the game is fun, fast and smooth, the bomb throwing is a very clever element to the game and works extremely well as they can be used to kill dangerous enemies both above and below you, there's a fantastic 2-player co-op mode which works pretty well and the bonus stages whilst difficult are a lot of fun. On to the bad, CJ has a very serious game play flaw based around the fact that low ceilings will always stop you in your tracks when attempting to jump over hazards, you get to pass through 2 ceiling blocks but the 3rd will stop you and make you drop, this "two block jumping" can cause a lot of frustration and means sometimes pixel perfect jumping is required, luckily CJ gives you nine lives to start with which help to offset this somewhat. Another thing worth mentioning is that the C64 version has a glitch in it whereby if you're falling, bombs and peanuts you've already fired will disappear, this means that tactics usable in the later versions (such as dropping a bomb with you to take out unseen enemies you may land on) no longer work.

Spectrum - A little bit slower but still retains much of the playability of the original, more importantly though the two block jumping which causes so many problems in the other versions is completely absent! instead CJ just jumps through all types of ceiling sections as though they're not there making this probably the fairest version of the game. Other things that need to be noted however are that instead of dropping bombs as he does in the C64 original here he throws them, this unfortunately makes them a little slower to use and less well implemented than they were before. The bicycle riding bonus game is missing here which causes the game to feel a bit thinner than the original (the game only had 4 levels as it is). There is no longer a glitch that makes your weapons disappear when you drop so firing then dropping is doable as well as dropping bombs with you as cover.

NES - The invincibility power-up (which was useful) has now been replaced with a fizzy drink that makes CJ move faster and as such makes him harder to control resulting in more deaths, bosses take a much longer amount of time to defeat, and for some reason it takes ages to recover after you lose a life. Unfortunately the two block jumping problem has been carried over from the C64, and the less useful thrown bombs from the Spectrum version are here too which has a similar effect of slowing down their use. The NES version is lacking in numbers of enemies compared to the other versions as often where there'd be three or four enemies before there is now only one or two.

The NES version of this game was only released as part of a multi cartridge called Quatro Arcade

You start off with 20 bombs on the NES version instead of having to immediately collect them.

At the end of each level in the NES version, after the boss is defeated items start falling from the sky for a few sections giving you a chance to try to catch them before they land.

Firstly the NES version whilst not having the best detail or colour most definitely has the most consistent graphics of the three games as it doesn't do badly in either area (whilst the other two versions are sub par in one area and great in the other). Game play wise however is a different matter as unfortunately it has the worst elements of the C64 version (two block jumping, frustrating sections) and the worst elements of the Spectrum version (missing bonus stages, missing intro, slower game play, less useful bombs) with nothing game play wise to stand in it's favour not apparent in other ports. Another point I'd like to make is that CJ was originally a budget release for the Spectrum and C64 (priced at around £3/$5) and as such represented great value for money, I feel that for the NES release they really should've improved the game with more levels and better graphics, the C64 and Spectrum version's graphical weaknesses are both products of their particular hardware's and so the programmers were certainly not to blame for any of their shortcomings (in fact in both instances the programmers did an amazing job at making the most of the hardware) whereas this version really doesn't make the most of the NES at all. So at the end of the day the NES version looks better but plays worse compared to the other versions (it's still not a bad port by any means though)

Out of the other two it's more difficult as they have their own strengths and weaknesses, the Spectrum game is much fairer, more accessible and less frustrating, whilst the C64 version is faster which in my opinion makes it a little more fun to play, The scrolling is smoother, the bombing is more useful and quicker in this version making the game play flow better, and the bonus levels help to pad out the lack of levels in the game. In conclusion, I think that the C64 version is probably the best, though anyone finding it too frustrating should maybe check out the Spectrum version.