Commodore Plus/4 With Games - My First Computer 

This was my first microcomputer too. It was actually quite a capable machine, but the biggest problem it suffered was the existence of the Commodore 16, because most software developed for the Plus/4 was made to also work on the C16, especially games, and this meams that eventhough the machine had 64kb RAM, all that dual purpose software only used a maximum of 16kb of RAM in order to run on the C16, leaving 48kb untouched in most cases. The good thing is, the homebrew community is now making games specifically for the Plus/4, taking advantage of the RAM, and it's pretty impressive what it's capable of, even compared to the C64 To easily put it into perspective, imagine if most of the C64 library was made to also work on the VIC20, or if all the Spectrum 48kb games were made to work also on the 16kb model...

I got my Plus/4 5th December 1985. I was so excited, especially as I didn't have to wait until Christmas Day to get my hands on. Treasure Island was my favourite game and the first game I ever completed. Remember the sweaty palms I got when Long John Silver chased you back to your ship. Loved the music and the graphics. Ahh Happy days!

This model of Commodore was my first personal computer! I gave it to the Technology Musium of my city (Thessaloniki)! Thank you very much for this video!!!

Commodore rules! We made new Commodore Plus/4 games and demos.

I got the Plus 4 in the mid 80s. Like you, I asked for a C64 but my parents had no clue that this wasn't in fact the C64. I was initially disappointed but went on to love this machine. I did get a C64 eventually but people were already moving on to other machines by then.

You brought so many memories back to my mind… Thank you my friend. This was my first home computer also. I think I’m gonna set mine up, too. It will be my vintage corner in the house. What a joy it was to have some time when nobody was watching tv at home and plug in my computer (I never had a monitor for it). Greetings from Greece…

Plus/4 was my first home computer too!! Used to love that treasure Island - thanks for sharing the memories!

You know you're old when you start whistling to the game music!

Fantastic video! My first proper computer was a Commodore Plus 4 (well, I had a Phillips G7000 before, but I consider that more of a console). I have some great memories playing on the Plus 4 and watching you play Big Mac, Treasure Island and Icicle Works (all of which I thought were better than the C64 versions) has made me want to get mine out of storage again to play. My all time favourite Plus 4 game was Tom Thumb. Great memories. Thanks for a great vid.

Thanks for this great video :) My first was a C64, I managed to convince my parents, got it for my 10'th birthday in December '83. Sadly my original one was lost over the years but I got a new one and a 1541-Ultimate II cartridge now, but I mostly play with BBC's these days when I'm feeling the retro bug, they were so amazingly well engineered but of course missing sprites and SID :)

Its pretty amazing that back in the 80s parents bought very unforgiving computers (with todays standard) for their 7 yo or whatever. Unlike now when alot of kids dont even know how to remove a program from windows the correct way or how folders and files work. I remember getting a Spectrum 48k back when i was around 4-5 yo and we got a book with programs and games that you could program in Basic. I mean i cant figure out how I a pretty untalented person in computers managed to even get a game working from a book.

My first machine was a spectrum 48k+. I used to love messing around in BASIC, you felt like you were playing with power.

What a great throwback to the past, thank you for that. The Plus/4 was also my first computer. I only had two or three games though, and I didn't understand the English language then. Frankly, I was too young to understand anything. But I learned my first steps of BASIC on that machine. The games however remained strange, mysterious and enigmatic to me. I still remember the odd feeling. Not unenjoyable though; like peeking into the unknown.

Hi, there my family did not have much money either when I was a kid in the 80S. My first computer was a commodore 16 computer, It cost around $160.00 The commodore 64 Cost around $300.00 here in Australia. I got my commodore 16 computer for Christmas 1986 when I was 11 years old. You have brought back a lot of memories I did have a few games for it that I enjoyed playing when I had my computer. Thank you for the video I wish you well mate.

icicle works, treasure island and fire ant. games I used to race home from school to load in while I had my tea.

Hey Dan, I too remember the Plus 4. I started programming basic on it at the age of 7, drawing circles etc before moving onto more complicated things like telephone directories etc. I loved the plus 4 then the cassette deck packed in. My parents then surprised me with an Amiga 500 one day and i was that much in shock i just threw my Plus 4 in the bin....!! I regret doing that i still cant believe it now apart from the tape deck there was nothing wrong with it....anyway, love your video and brings back fond memories. One thing i do remember is at the end of Treasure Island, when you got the treasure, you were slower walking with all of the weight getting back to the ship lol !!

I bought one of these earlier today at a local swap-meet. It came with basic items, but no games or drives. We bought a few cables and three floppy drives for it on Ebay, and when it's all together, I'm going to the local vintage video game store to see if I can trade it in for a 2600.

We had its baby brother, the Commodore 16. My parents bought it for my sister for Christmas '85 to keep her off my new Atari 800XL setup. She never really used it. It was quite a nice little machine. I have a soft-spot for machines with little RAM :)

My first computer was also a Commodore Plus/4. After they failed in Western Europe, a lot of them was shipped to Eastern Europe. My parents couldn't afford a Commodore 64, so I got a Plus/4 with the 'educational purpose' of learning to program. I remember, I had a book before I had the computer, I read it four times and learned to program in basic, before I had the computer. Since none of my friends had a Plus/4 or C-16, I didn't have games for it for a while. Yeah, games were not commercially available in the 1980s in Eastern Europe, so all games that we could get were pirated.I think my first 4 games that I got included Tutti Frutti, so that was my first game on the computer. Later I got a floppy disk drive, which was very neat and hundreds of games with it, before we sold the whole set to a neighbour, unfortunately. The good times!

OMG! I remember "Big Mac" and "GALAXY"! I used to play that so often at my uncles house on his Commodore C16. And that was also the first computer I ever saw in my life! This is really crazy, it feels like in the 80s watching this video... :-)

To a certain demographic watching computer games load from tape is a very nostalgic warm and fuzzy experience :) - I know this was a few years ago you uploaded this but just wanted to say I really enjoyed it and thanks for producing it - loved it.

First computer was the M5 Sword, later I got a Mattel Aquarius and finally the one I really wanted a zx spectrum 48! Happy days indeed.

I had a Commodore Vic20 before progressing onto a C64, then an AtariST and then an Amiga, before finally the PC. Great days!

ZX Spectrum+ in 1984! 30 years later and i'm even more into tech, both modern PC and also retro and modding :)

I also wanted the c64, but got the plus/4 first, though I did Love it. I believe I got mine in 1985. Made my own games on it, and speaking of mr puniverse, that was one of the first games I bought for it. glad to see yours is still going, mine packed in about 20 years ago now.

I got the lesser machine, the C16 in about 1986. Most of the games worked on it as the plus 4. But, what I remember better was that Big Mac was the first game I ever pirated. God bless tape-to-tape . There used to be a monthly magazine that focused on the Plus4/C16. One of the publications printed code that allowed you to .rar, as it was back in the day, so that loading times were much shorter. Essentially, the program compressed the program you wrote so loading times were quicker. Great piece of free software. One other piece of free software that the magazine printed was a program called Strawberry Fields. It was written by a punter like we all were back in the day. It even had an 8 bit music of the Beatles Strawberry Fields on it. I've never seen any video of it existing. Perhaps the internet moved on and a magazine coded program is lost to the annuals of time. But I do remember learning the BASIC code to be able to modify, and change it for a better experience

First computer we ever had was a ZX Spectrum 48k, bought second hand at the time. I was born in 83 and I was old enough to remember getting it so it was probably pushing 88 or 89 when we got it. I remember arguing over it with my brother and my dad got angry with us and threw it at the wall and it broke, he felt guilty so a few weeks later got us a brand new Spectrum +2 to replace it. That was it for actual computers until the mid 90s, we had a few games consoles in between but the next computer we got was a Packard Bell PC of some description when I started at secondary school, we got it in 95 and it lasted until the early 2000s. Next one after that was another PC I built myself using bits from my uncle's spare parts box. I remember wanting an Amiga back in the early 90s but it was too expensive for us at the time, however I've just bought an Amiga 500 on ebay so fun times shall be had with that.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. My first computer too, I was so upset as I had asked for a C64. Loved Treasure Island and Football Manager but my favourite was Jack Attack which was a bundled cartridge....Great times when you could buy games for 1.99

A friend of mine got the +4 when I got a C64 and we used to play on both and of course, the 64 got the bigger games, but the+4 had some nice games as well. It brought back some nice memories, as the +4 had some exclusive games or some I played first on that machine like Thrust or Prospector Pete. It's kind of a forgotten machine and it's a good thing someones doing a video about it. Keep it up!

Oh boy, my first computer was the C16 and I bought Big Mac as well because of the stylish cassette art and loved playing it.

I had that. Christmas 86 I think it was. Cost 99 quid with 10 games

It's so nice to see people finally adopting 50/60fps frame rates in their videos.

At university my roommate had a Vic20 that got me interested in computers. My first was a Commodore 64 with a couple of 1541 drives, light pen and various voice synthesis devices. It got the black screen when the Amigas came out. Almost bought one until I found that my accessories were not compatible. Bought the Commodore 128D metal case instead. Still have both and am happy to find my 128D still works. Trying to get everything back together again to port and finish a game I started to program on the schools Tandy color computers.

I bought one of these at a Thrift Store about 10 years ago in the box. Beautiful hardware design. A shame they didn't make it compatible with the C64. The C16 was another ill fated machine that comes to mind. Thanks for showing us your first computer. Cool, that you still had it stored in your parents attic. :)

My first was C64 in april of '84 I'd saved up for it n parents helped. Over the years got atari 8bits n a few others. Always wanted to try a C16 or +4 when they came out but even on the sale prices never got 1 until 15 years ago. I still goof around with them at times.

This was the machine I almost owned. I had a Vic 20 at the time, and was looking for a replacement for it, I ended up with a C-64, but I did look at the +4. My first computer was a Timex/Sinclair 1000, a Sinclair ZX81 with twice the memory.

I had a C64 which I spent most of my time programming and playing a few games. My fave game on the C64 was a shoot-em-up called bulldog (Gremlin). Had the C64 right at the end of Commodores life, most of my mates were all playing games on megadrives and the SNES. I eventually caved in and went for a Megadrive 2 and a gameboy. The commodore was still used for the odd bit of programming till I built my first IBM PC out of old parts (486 in the time of the pentium). Only got into amiga a few years ago, thanks to me being a retro hardware fan.

Plus 4 was my second, acorn electron was first, my dad was doing a programming course at the time , hence being donated the acorn when he'd finished with it. The plus 4 was a hand me down from my older cousin. Elixir was the first game i ever played on the acorn, really liked that game.

My first computer! Nostalgia overload! Thanks for this video :)

The memories came right back, being 31 I remember the treasure island and ice game.. didn't realise it was on Plus/4 .. my cousin always got all the new computers, C16, C64, etc so I was always round there playing games.... good times shame kids today cannot appreciated these game of old. I have an A1200 in a box in the attic that had not seen the light of day for some 10 years I am off to bring it back to down to where it belongs.

This brings back memories this was my 2nd computer after my Spectrum+ 48k. Icicle works was the first game I ever played on it as it came bundled with it. After this I moved over to the darkside for a couple of years with an Amstrad CPC464 but saw the error of my ways and my mum bought me an A500 for xmas! I loved my plus4 though!!

loved playing kick-start and treasure Island when I had mine many moons ago

I loved to play "Hektik" as the cassette is shown at 10:33. I used to play this after school at around 8 years old on our Plus 4 + Datasette and Black&White-TV :)

I loved this machine. It was my first machine too, and I totally agree with the keyboard, it was the future as far as I was concerned and is better than the 64, the Amiga etc. The cursor keys were awesome and I even liked the office utilities. My Mum gave me one for Christmas too. I programmed a text adventure game for it which used up it's entire 64k of RAM. I didn't know it came out AFTER the 64?? My mates who owned a 64 didn't obviously know either because they always made fun of me for owning it, saying it only had 16k RAM, because the games always said "C16/+4" so were compatible for both machines.

My first computer was an Sega SC-3000. I've recently starting collecting all the computers I did have and the Commodore Plus/4 is a really nice machine. Nice basic, nice keyboard, and, although it takes a little getting used to - nice retro look.

This is a cool old Computer. Be glad you have one of this old rare ones from the 80th. Not an C64 that everyone have. ;P

My first computer I ever own and funny enough still do is a Commodore Vic-20 a great machine for its time and very easy to code and make your own games.

Also loved having a spectrum, when it loaded it would do the coloured lines and sound. But also a pic loaded wile the game was loading.

Really enjoyed this video Dan. The Commodore 16+4 was my first computer. I got the 20 pack of games in the white cases with it. I enjoyed treasure Island, Number Chaser, Number Builder, Icicle Works, Spaced Sweep and Invaders from memory..also Pod when I got that. Played games such as Soccer Boss and league Challenge too. I played on this for years until I was introduced to my mates Amiga 500 on xmas day 1990 and my parents got pestered everyday after that for an Amiga!! Wish I still had my c16!

My first computer was an Oric One, which I didn't use for very long. But that was MY first computer. But the next machine really stuck with me for a while, which was the little brother of the machine in this video, the Commodore C116. A really nice little machine, a little smaller than the PLUS/4 and it had rubber keys instead of the clickety keys of the C16 and PLUS/4. What games do I remember? Hm... Not many, really, it's been too long. Yeah, man, C116.... those days...

The Amstrad CPC 464, with CTM 640 colour monitor, for my 11th birthday in June of 1985. After the Welcome Demonstration Cassette, the first ever game I ever played was The Galactic Plague. The computer itself still works today, complete with cassettes, only now hooked up via SCART to my Samsung LED telly. Alas, the monitor didn't make it to the 21st century, despite being protected by RoboCop, according to the huge sticker I plastered to the side of it that came with that game.

My first computer also from my Dad.... Best gift ever

Treasure Island! Oh my days, memories !

I got a Commodore 16 plus 4 with a 5 1/4 floppy drive (which was huge) and a green-screen monitor for my Xmas and I love it... I learned how to programme and wrote my first art/animation program at 12 :)

Very nearly had a Plus 4 for Christmas 1984 but we were sold a Toshiba MSX by the sales chap in Laskys! Not disappointed with the MSX but got hold of a Plus 4 since. :)

The first EVER computer I owned was a ZX81, then onto a C16 then C64, great pleasure of those days, and yes still to this day, as I still use them. (not the ZX81) that went.

I owned a C64. Bought it myself with high school graduation money in 84. Had a cassette deck. Later bought a disk drive, 1200 baud modem and one of the first color printers ever made. Had a ton of games that were all copied from other people that copied from other people

From 1983: ZX81 (with 16K Ram expansion and ZX Printer) -> Tandy MC-10 color computer (with 16K ram and Thermal Printer) -> C-64 (with lots of accessories) -> Amiga2000 (with GVP SCSI HD 85 megs + RAM board) -> PC clones (from 486DX to AMD Athlon T-Bird) -> Mac Mini Aluminum late 2010. I still have a working ZX81 (modified for composite video output) mostly for nostalgic reasons (no kidding... lol !) .

I agree about the BASIC, as a kid I was very discouraged by the lack of access to those features. They finally got it right with the C128 (decent BASIC, and C64 compatibility unlike the Plus/4), but by the time my family could afford another computer, we ended up getting a 286 PC clone instead.

My first computer was a Commodore Plus/4 as well with a 1541 floppy drive which was amazing at the time and drew me into programming, games and all sorts of PD...

Thanks for the memories =) I had a C=64, never heard of the +4! I like the design on the +4 a lot better. You know what I realize? I think back then with tape, we were a lot more patient and determined with games because if we wanted to play a different game, we had to wait A MINUTE AND A HALF FOR IT TO LOAD.

My first a Commodore 16, followed by the Plus/4. Still have the Icicle Works tune playing in my head. That was 1 of 10 games that came with it, on tape of course.

You're doing really good reviews of the oldschool hardware and software mate. U should post more videos and to be honest it's interesting to the level where I think that after a while u could make living of youtube

Better graphics than the original Big Mac? Never! Great video.

The +4 was my first computer too, this video brings back memories, icicle works, treasure island but my favourite was fire ant. Thanks

My first computer too! £79.99 with a games bundle also in 1987. Have to say I liked it. Unfortunately had to hunt for machine specific games, but it would play some C16 games. I remember favourites being Winter Games and Mercenary. I eventually traded it in for a an Amstrad PCW256 which came with a more substantial Word processor. I used the PCW through college to great effect.

THis was enormous fun to watch thank you for posting My first computer was a +4 and I loved it to pieces: Icicle Works, Treasure Island, Sparky's Revenge, Fire Ant, Beach Head with the farting hand grenades: happy days! DO you remember a game called Raffles, however? I am sure that existed, but cannot find it anywhere on RU-vid

my first machine was a radoffin 1362 cartridge console, in 1981 for xmas, my dad went to buy an atari but was not tech savvy and got conned into buying it, and it was shite, he was never able to find any more games so i only ever had invaders and tank+ plane battle. so for xmas 83 he went to a games shop, and looked to see which machine had the most titles, he then got that one(spectrum 48k), i loved it and still have it though its a plus model now as i had it upgraded by sinclair a few years later. i really wanted a c64, but hid that fact from my dad since i did not want to seem ungreatfull, i have collected anything sinclair ever since, in fact the only machines i dont have is a QL and a speccy 48 rubber key model as i own a 16k one and ram pack i did not see the point replacing the one i upgraded to plus version. i have since got a c128 and love that too.

this machine has been my first, too. loved it so much.

There was an adaptor that was available back then that allowed you to connect the C16/Plus 4 datassette to a C64, Vic 20 & C128.

I remember playing Big Mac. Great system the Plus 4, but all i really wanted was the c64, which I got a year later 😀

Mine was the Commodore PET,my mum was a teacher and she was able to take them home.

First was a VIC20, second was the Plus/4 when Comet were selling them at £99. Later I got a floppy drive and a printer too. There was a better word processor plug-in cartridge, and I dismantled one of those and built it into the machine! Unfortunately that, and several other Plus/4 machines I had, died of RAM failure. It seemed to be a common problem with these. I also seem to remember some versions of internal ROM clashed with some cartridges, which was unfortunate. Best game was Mercenary - Escape from Targ. No longer have a Plus/4 but still have a Vic-20 and floppy.

good lord this was my first computer too. many hours after school of playing kick start, ace, big mac :-)

Plus4 specific versions of Commando and Exploding Fist show that the C16 desperately needed more memory (which is obvious given the amount of memory you need to do a hi-res or multicolor full screen vs the 16kb on board the C16). Problem is all the games were compromised by needing to also run on the C16. If Commodore had released a 48k rival to the £125 48k Speccy with dirt rubber keys as Jack Tramiel ordered in the first place instead of a mega expensive mechanical keyboard with newly designed and seperately manufactured key caps with only 16kb for the base model....which then compromised everything that was sold as also being Plus4 compatible. Commando on Plus4 (not released C16/Plus4 version) is better than CPC and ZX Rectum versions so clearly the Commodore 116 case and 32 or 48k of memory for £100 would have sold really well and made a lot of sense. Neither the C16 or Plus4 as released made commercial sense and the 64k plus4 was instantly compromised. Missed opportunity....like everything Commodore failed to do after Jack left haha

first machine was a ZX81 with the wobbly 16K expansion back in '82. I still have it boxed in mint condition! My favourite is my Amiga 1000 - back in '87 I don't think I've been so impressed by a machine since...

I always feel odd watching people recalling their childhood memories about old computers... being just 18 :)

Wow wadda fantastc trip of the past friend. I had aC=64 with many and many cassette games. Now i lost ewerythig and see a datassete and press play on tape was amazing, now im so sad :{ because past very long time when i was 8/ 10 years, i was born on 78 and my frist pc was in 1984/85. Thanks :'( , sorry 4 my poor english im from italy, see ya friend and be commodorized 4 EVA

I have also C+4! And i have the Treasure Island game. :)) Greatings from Hungary!

Heh, I got one of those one Christmas and was so disappointed; I wanted a C64 which my father got me a year later :-) Oh and the mighty ZX81 was my first home computer; passed down from my older brother.

My first computer was the Commodore Plus 4 that I received for Christmas in 1987 then I received the Commodore 64 for Christmas in 1989.

Wow, I didn't even realize there was game software for this thing. I had one, but I used my C64 for gaming. I was all business. Even Bill Herd (the engineer) thought so. I never even saw a game for it in the US. The Commodore C116 as shown by Bil Herd

It's generally safe to hot-plug components provided you can guarantee that the ground makes contact first. DB-9 connectors, like those used on Atari-style joystick ports on the C64 and Amiga, are notorious for this because they do NOT have a shield connection, and all pins make concurrently. Most (sane) connectors are designed for shield to make contact before any of the interior contacts, which pretty much eliminates most problems from hot-plugging.

To add on my first comment: I almost got that comp as well in 1985, the shopkeeper tried to recommend it due to the built in office software - but I was dead set on a C64 due to my friend/s having that. Overall Im glad I got the C64, but from a retrospective viewing point I see the plus/4 having some nice features as well.

plus4 was mine, used to get up early before work to type in programs from magazines

Not to want to sound pedantic, but the 1531 Cassette did work with the C64. I do recall several bundles in the late 80s of C64c machines (a younger cousin had one) whereby they came bundled with the black 1531 Cassette decks with an adapter for that mini din connector to the usual card edge C64 port. Not sure if you were aware of this and for the sake of the video didn't want to lengthen it by explaining or were unaware....but thought I would put it out there for any geeks of interest. If anyone google's images of 1531 to C64 adapters there are plenty of images out there of them.

Treasure Island, Fire Ant and Exorcist: bloody brilliant!

The first computer that I owned was a ZX81, which I bought as a kit for £30. My next one was an Acorn Electron and then an Amiga 500.

My first one was a SINCLAIR ZX, then a Commodore 16 and after that the PLUS 4. I had billions of games and I sold it in 1989, ish, to buy a Schneider CPC 464 and an ATARI 1040 after that. I bought my first REAL PC (a 286) in 1992...

Superb video Dan. I've only just recently subscribed to your channel. So far I have loved all your videos and they have all been relevant to me in some way. I'd just like to say that I think you have a great talent for this sort of thing. I really enjoy the way you present your videos including the format you follow. It has inspired me to make some videos of my own. Thanks for the insight on the +4. A huge question has been answered for me involving the +4 datacorder with the round connector.

C Plus4 brings memories, my 1st computer too

Commodore Plus/4 was also my first computer in December 1986 :)

My first computer was Commodore 116 :) in June 1986.

I first owned the C16 which I got Christmas 84, Mine has now been upgraded to 64K. They are excellent under-rated systems with many great games, some even surpassed the C64 version like Tom Thumb & BMX Racers. And yep I used to lol at Treasure Island Jim's rude sword too. Indeed the 3rd level of Big-Mac is completable which you see in my longplay of the full game. Great review of the plussy, the lack of features and weird ports didn't matter much. Looking forward to your future game reviews :)

I got a Commodore 16 Christmas ‘84. The other big problem with the Plus/4 was that games were only ever written for the 16 _and_ the Plus/4, so only used 16k of RAM and not 64.

Haha. Cool video. My friend Robert had a plus 4 and we used to play Fire ant on it. He also loved Mercenary which he was ACE at. :) I love your story of getting the scooby doo game and thinking it was a story tape but still being excited!! Some good games on the plus 4 but I grew up with ZX81 then Speccy, then Amiga. :)

I agree the sounds the +4 knock out are actually pretty nice.

My first was the mighty Commodore 64.. Got it in 1988 when i was 6 (or rather my dad got it for himself).....My dad was gonna get a ZX Spectrum coz he'd seen my uncles one, he went into Dixons (an old UK tech store) with the intention of getting the Spectrum, clapped eyes on the c64 & got that instead. Lucky escape lmfao....

Nice video. :) My very fist computer was called "Power 3000". It was a clone of the ZX81. After that, I got the C64. - "Treasure Island" has a sister game on the C64 called "Willow Pattern" as well as the same "Treasure Island" game. Both by Greg Duddle. :)

My Dad still has his one of these. He duly sold the C64c my brother and I had mind.