C64 Round Up: June 2022 featuring C64 on the MEGA65 

16:00 - that's an awful lot like the theme tune for the Tetris clone ATA!

Thank you for this round up. I always look forward to them. :-)

Great up to date round up. Good to see an honest Mega65 review.

I feel your Mega 65 impressions are spot on , #1 i cant afford it anyway but even if i got one im not sure what id do with it besides play c64 games as im not a programmer . Once all the many kinks are eventually ironed out then maybe but i still dont think I'll be able to afford it 🤣👍

RGN, you're a fountain of wisdom. RR just performed an overly rosy review of this machine, which wasn't as comprehensive as your own review - insofar as your aptly demonstrating its patchy C64 compatibility. I've come to realise you're spot-on with your impressions - where you found the C64 cartridge support to be flakey, many games don't work. Not much has happened in the 4+ months since, with there being virtually no native software designed for the machine. Hopefully it'll improve down the track

Another quality instalment. Thank you.

awesome video dude!!!

Just in time for my coffee, thanks!

Knights and Slimes looks like it's going to be awesome! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Very nice June roundup video. The high res graphics using sprites to further enhance colours per char in Brainbreak looks really nice. I have often wondered why not more games use this full screen sprite colour layer.

It's great that the Mega65 project exists, but like a real C65 it's probably not something I'll ever own.

Awesome continued coverage of the C64! Considering the price point of the C65.. I would've wanted a lot more from it..

Some great art this month, and interesting to hear your impressions of the Mega65.

MEGA65 rules. Have one. Things are getting fixed and I expect by the time batch #2 is out, a lot will be ready. Enjoying also the Gameboy Color core on the machine, works like a charm.

It's good to hear a balanced review of the 65. I've never really been sure where it sits. You wouldn't spend that money if you wanted to use it as a 64 but it'll take a lot more software before it's a credible platform in its own right and maybe there's a chicken and egg situation there. I guess that's why they released the development version a while ago, but that seemed to go into the hands of gamers who just wanted to get their hands on it early. The fact that it's just an FPGA in a fancy case doesn't really work for me.

800 Euros for the Mega 65? That's a lot of money for a toy! Nevertheless, I understand the intention. The C65 would have been the ideal upgrade computer for C64 owners, with good compatibility it could have been the best 8-bit home computer. I am curious if software is really developed for the C65 now and if it runs on the original.

Cool beans!

The Mega65 is a work of art. However, no way i could justify it as it will just be like my C128. Havent used it in years as there are only about 2 dozen games for it and none of them are exclusive, just slightly improved. Only reason i want to use it is to explore CP/M. That aside, im sure the Mega65 would improve with time and exclusive titles will follow. I wish it the best.

Mega65 looks like it's a long way off surprised it's been released. Pity they didn't make Venture into a proper c64 game.

If the COMMODORE MEGA64 can do hi-def images would it not make sense to have the games take advantage of hi-def.

I flat out admit, I got swept up by the Mega65 self-imposed hype. And I thought the long development, was to ensure a stable product before release. I absolutely thought and expected, C64 mode would be on par with the C128 for compatibility. My plan was to have it as my go to, over the top, Ultimate 64 (I'm considering this product as well, now even more so), for once the originals, or the CRT's, eventually die off. I do have THE64 at least. And if anyone made great games or ports taking advantage of the Mega65, it'd be an awesome bonus. Now it'll all depends on the good graces of the community. I have paid a long time ago, and await the 2nd batch being shipped

Once they add in more features and get rid of some compatibility bugs, the Mega65 will be an awesome machine to have. I hope they can bring the price down a lot in the not too distant future. I'm also looking forward to the Commander X16 homebrew computer project from The 8-bit Guy and his team: - Part 1: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ayh0qebfD2g.html - Part 2: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sg-6Cjzzg8s.html Check RU-vid for more info on this system.

If my M65 ever gets shipped, I have no interest in it for C64 games etc because I have plenty of other systems for that. Just M65 stuff for me. I get that they may update hardware to fix issus so I am cool with the wait. (Sorta.)

Wow, sucks about the poor mega65 compatibility with the games you tested. I’m glad I didn’t fork out nearly $800 for one! If you’re just playing roms, get a mister

Does the Mega 65 run its BASIC faster than BASIC in GO64 mode?

Regarding the Mega 65 compatibility issues - are you using the C64 mode or the alternative C64 core?

where can i find this demo of the nice looking Demo of STOKA? Please provide also the title of the new releases, since the speech is not good to understand alltime. And i have to guess... Stoka, Stouga, Doka... ? :D

can you make these new game round up videos but for the Amiga?

I don't want to defend the Mega 65 project, but it should be clear to all of you that this is *not* a C64 clone, but a *Commodore 65* clone, isn't it?

Thank you for your concise and to-the-point presentation of the MEGA65, which comes in stark contrast to the rambling video about the same subject of a certain popular RU-vidr (let's not mention names). My two cents: the machine didn't make sense in 1991, and it makes even less sense now, especially with this price.

How can you get these c64 games? Do they okay on an emulator.

How much does it cost in USD?

RGN, after learning more about Mega65, I've formed the impression you were a little harsh upon it. It's good you pointed out the C64 incompatibilities you came across, as folks should know about those things. No-one expects you to be a biased fanboy - it’s your job as a reviewer, to honestly present things as you find them - warts and all. But your quip that to buy it you'd had to have "more money than sense" was a little cutting, and uncalled for. I feel it's an exciting project, it's great to code in BASIC upon. And if a passionate user base gets established, and quality software gets developed for it, then we could see some cracking good, new-age, Commodore inspired, 8-bit games running at 40 MHz!

as nice as the Mega65 looks €793.33 HELL NO!!!

No way does Tenebra have rogue-like elements. I have played it and it does not.

The compatibility of the C65dingens semms to be tihs! 👎

Maybe if the machine had something 32GB of RAM might solve the freezing problems

Just get the Amiga mini 500 instead. Boom 💥

The Mega65 is just dumb. 640 Dollars for an obsolete computer with no software and dodgy C64 support is just asinine. This is nominally more than the 64 was first released and being sold for $599.99 It was cutting edge. Plus, it going to suffer from the same exact problem as the Colecovision SGM. Nobody is going stock these things in their house. Nobody is volunteering to store and manage 400 to 500 of these machines in their boxes sitting in their basement waiting for orders and selling them as the orders come in. Nobody is giving up their basement or spare room to house all these things, plus manage the webstore and the shipping and customer service and filing taxes etc. Instead, they are going to do in the future what they are doing now, which is waiting until they reach a minimum number of pre-paid orders to go and order the machines in bulk (and this is AT BEST. They might just wash their hands of the project). Because of the volume needed to make this work, it is going to be years between availability, years you have to wait after paying for it. It might not have taken 2 years to get the first few hundred orders, but those are all the enthusiasts. They will be LUCKY to sell 10 a month. That's not 10 a month shipping, that's 10 a month added to a prepaid queue. At 10 a month, the first person who fronts the money is going to wait 30 months for them to get 300 units purchased. That's 2.5 years of them sitting on your money while you get nothing. Of course, if your arrives broken, it's WAY too late to issue a charge-back if they won't help you and replace the unit. When they get tired of it, it is just another obsolete computer for which you cannot get parts. Only it will be harder to get parts than the original 64 or Amiga because those were sold in the millions and there only thousands of present users. There are probably still 10s of thousands of them sitting in attics, basements and barns yet to be put on the used market. There is no software. A computer is useless without software. Why pay over 600 dollars for a Commodore 64? Because even assuming they get the compatibility 100%, that is the only software library that will run on it. Is that disk drive even addressable as a 1581? I'm guessing not. What about all the competition out there? 8-bit guy has a machine he is shilling. The Colecovision guys have an updated Adam they are talking about. The ZX Next. There are several others. So far, the only thing really they have going for them is at least partial ZX C64 compatibility. Total waste of time and money.