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The Little Devil in question is trapped in the very bowels of Hades.

Now I had always thought that such a place would be the natural sort of habitat for devils of all sizes, but for some reason Old Nick's protege wants out.

To escape his eternal torture in this fiery furnace he must release the scores of lost and lonely souls suffering down below. Having done that, he must rescue Linarta, the daughter of Earl Mordred.

If successful, he moves in to further realms, taking him nearer to the Castle Despair where the fair Linarta awaits rescue.

The diminutive demon materialises at the bottom corner of the screen and by jumping and dodging must collect the souls stuck in Limbo.

Out to prevent him are a collection of ghosties and gremlins, which defend their domain with diabolic devotion.

He has the additional problem of lack of time - strange considering he is stuck in eternity.

An indication of the time elapsed is shown on the souls of the unfortunates, counting down from seven to zero, and he will be hard pushed to clear a screen within one lifespan.

Lucifer's demons jealously guard the lost souls. Some home-in on him, while others wander around at random or follow set paths. Also floating around is an energy pill which gives your Bouncing Beelzebub an extra life if you touch it. You are able to gain extra lives a number of times on each screen.

The power pill can occasionally disable the gremlins and ghosties, allowing them to be destroyed for a short period of time - in much the same way as in Pac-Man.

The graphics are pleasantly drawn, movement is smooth and gameplay reasonably paced. The sound effects are adequate, which is more than I can say about the tune!

I quite enjoyed what I saw of Little Devil, although I only had a pre-release copy and only the first level was available for inspection.

Even on that rather limited basis I am sure this game will appeal to platform addicts, although bearing the music in mind, perhaps with the proviso that they are tone deaf.