Epyx (1978-1990) Documentary 

I worked at Epxy for 7 years as a programmer/game designer. I really liked this review. Among other things, I did the half pipe game in California games, and the sound department included the music I wrote for it as well. What I didn't realize was that they used another piece of my music for the background music in LA Crackdown.

I have to tell you, this is an ADMIRABLE feat of a documentary! The coverage is just ridiculous and awesome! I really have grown to love your videos more and more. Just the greatest.

I've waited till i finished work for 5 days to enjoy this. Firstly again can i just remind folks the work that has gone into this video, editing, voice over and the research that's gone into this production, absolutely outstanding. The content was outstanding and i really look forward to the follow up video concentrating on the games. You really are the current top retro content creator B. Stunning work.

This is phenomenal. Great to see another documentarian filling the RU-vids with.. invaluable efforts and stellar results.

What an interesting in depth review on one of the great old time developers. Broke many a joystick to there classic multi-sport titles. For a video at 74 mins, the time really flew by, great video.

Played many of those games as a teen in the 80's, most of them with a very good friend of mine, who was like a big brother to me who sadly passed away two years ago. So by watching this excellent documentary i shed a few tears... Thank you so much for this awesome review of one of the most important game companies that made so many great games for the Commodore 64.

I love these longform “documentaries”. I can kick back, relax, and just savor the goodness. Can’t fathom the amount of work put into this, but I’m grateful!

This obviously took a lot of time and effort. This is the documentary Epyx deserves. Great work!

Excellent documentary from Epyx, one of my favorite C64 companies. One of the best I've ever seen in a video, I hope that one day you will make one with the history of the old Activision with its protagonists, David Crane, the Kitchen brothers, etc ...

Wow, great memories of my then husband Scott Nelson (Fast Load creator, and our friends. Most of them came to Epyx through the Starpath acquisition. Great times. And yes, the Lynx was awesome. Thanks for the great job and detail in this video.

Wow, what a quality and well researched piece of work. Randomly found this off the back of an old game (ballblazer) and watched in its entirety. Superb work. Bravo. Excellent production. Thankyou kindly.

Outstanding Video!, I used to love Everything made by Epyx, back then I tought they would be bigger than EA

Brilliant doco! Your passion and effort is admirable. Thx 4 bringing back great memories & filling in the blanks.

“Another visitor....stay a while...STAY FOREVER!”

Epyx is part of my childhood, and when the music to California Games started playing I teared up. "The Games" collection I played to death on my C64. But I played so many Epyx games like Imp.Mission 1 and 2, L.A. Crackdown, Jumpman, Barbarian 1 and 2 and 4x4 Off Road Racing.....and I'm surely missing a lot. Pitstop 1 and 2 were the first racing games I played ever. Incidentally I own a board game named Pitstop which I picked up used for €10. It's published in Italy (Editrice Giochi) in 2001 and if you work your way through the horribly translated manual there's actually good game there. I believe the designer played Pitstop 1 and 2 in his childhood because it's a really good conversion into a board game. Very good documentary!

Having owned an Atari 800, C64, and a Lynx., I was lucky enough to play a lot of these games! Thanks you for the nostalgic trip through my childhood! Fantastic work!

So much nostalgia feels - thanks for such an in depth doc on these amazingly fun and memorable games from my youth. Awesome!

This was a fantastic video! The time you spent developing it is evident as the quality of information is bar none. I always wondered what happen to Epyx and now I know. I had no idea Epyx was responsible for the development of what would become the Atari Lynx. It’s a shame they did’t get to enjoy the fruits of all their time and money.

A superb documentary. I can't imagine how much work this took to put together. You are moving from being a 'you tuber' to being a proper programme maker. Tremendous stuff, well done!

Ahh Epyx... so much nostalgia. in the mid to late 80s my after school routine involved starting to load a game on the C64, rush to pee, grab a soda/snack from the fridge, turn the tv on ( to see the latest Star Trek TNG episode) and then finally start playing (unless loading failed). My Epyx Fast Load cart spent so much time on the back of my C64c that it got stuck somehow and took some gentle whacking with a meat tenderizer hammer to get it loose.

Outstanding upload sir, how are you not exploding on RU-vid? You surely deserve a gigantic audience. More like this please

I love your videos about the Atari 8 bit computer days. I was ages 8-14 in '79 to '85 and this period was the golden age of computing for me. Had the 400 in '79 as a family Christmas gift and got the 800XL for Christmas in '83. Spent so many hours pouring over Epyx gaming catalogues and drooling. Bought what I could with my chore/paper route money and shared games with my lone Atari computing friend from school in grade school and jr. high who had the 800. Doubled our library by pooling our funds.

Incredible video. And a great tribute to a great software house. It's obvious how much effort has been put into this. Thank you

Fantastic video! Absolutely some of my favorite games not just on the C64 but on all platforms!

The quality of this video shouldn't be underestimated. Hats off mate, it's superb! I can imagine how much time and effort went in to making it - it shines through. Thank you so much, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved Epyx - everything was so polished. You did them justice mate 👍

Great video. Been said 100 times already but my experience is the same as many have commented - grew up playing C64 and have great memories of Impossible Mission, and many other games.

4:17 - Jim and John look like basically the same person.

I saw that your video link was posted on Retro Games TheC64 "News" tab. Very nice work!!

Another great one, Bastich! A lot of these titles were close to my heart. Fargoal only got a mention, but that one was big in my childhood. Those SFX! I still play that one on occasion on an SX64. It’s one of the few that translates to that small screen so well. It was really neat to get such a great overview of the history of EPYX.

So fond of my old Lynx. Such an unusual (and kinda goofy) library. Still got it in the carry case and everything lol. Fantastic retrospective. Thanks!

The depth of research is amazing; I had to break it up into two sittings but enjoyed every moment.

What a video. Brilliant. So much research. This really shows I left the C64 too early. So much to go play.

Hey B Man! Thanks for this Awesome Epic Doco. This one proves that you sir really are a master of your craft. Great footage,Real in depth and well researched information and honest to god reviewing of the games. This really shows just how much pasion and love you have for this system and for the channel overall. I'm really looking forward to your in depth EPYX games video coming up! Thank you so much for the hard work you do!! I'm really loving the content and quallity of your work!! YOU ROCK DUDE!!! 😁

This was REALLY great. Thank you for all the work.

Amazing video! In my childhood, Epyx Games was everywhere. Still remember the beginning of the Impossible Mission: "Another visitor. Stay a while. Stay forever!"

Very new to your channel and have t checked out the rest of the videos yet. My c64 memories include epyx , ocean, thalamus, system 3, gremlin graphics etc. Like everyone else I moved from the c64 to the Amiga. Those were great times and a great job on the doc. The work involved must have been mega to piece this together. Top work man 👍

I know that I’ve watched this video already because the like button has been pressed so I’ve probably already left a message saying how great these company history docos are.

Great video! It brought back a lot of memories and I really enjoyed it.

Very well made, good research, fun to look at and a trip down memory lane. I loved those Epyx games on me C128 (in C64 mode).....Well done !!!

First of your videos I found. This is great! brings back memories of Jumpman and Pitstop early favorites.

Amazing video. I wish you make video like this of Cosmi. Great work :)

Awesome video! Brings back lots of memories. Nice production, Subscribed.

Excellent video good sir. I have always loved the Epyx lineup. Thanks for making a great, detailed and informative video on the history of Epyx. Now I just need to get my hands on an Epyx compilation and play for hours ... just like back in the day. (For the record, one of my favorite Epyx games was Gateway to Apshai. My friends and I would play this game for hours and hours and...) 😎

Great documentary of Epyx! Thank you and I love forward too see the followup!

Just on your video production alone you have gained a new subscriber. Awesome video!

I am ZX Spectrum fanatic, and this was a great documentary ! Hard work pays off ! Hats off to you sir ! This comes from Greece ! Bravo ! I would say zx's version of Winter Games was a revelation as to what you can see and play on a computer..... Top Notch Video !

This deserves more views fantastic work sir!

Brilliant documentary. I absolutely loved many of these Epyx games for my C64

Excellent video, brought back a lot of memories from my C64 days!!

Good stuff, it's like a documentary of my childhood:) Thanks for the memories:)

Not sure where my previous comment went (perhaps removed in case you thought I exaggerated?) 😅… But again. Such a GODLIKE Documentary!! I’m so happy for the rightfully increasing, new subscribers!! BRA-VO, BastichB for 64K! 🥳🎉🎊👏🏻

Wow! Very cool mate, enjoyed this!

What a great video! I have never connected all these games together on a timeline. Never knew the history of the company either. Excellent pacing , editing and narration. I played the living crap out of my pirated Summer, Winter and Cali Games as a kid! Thanks! I can,t believe I pronounced Apshai - “ass-phy” my whole life.

Great Job Dude..Great memories and a few bizarre ones out there, and love the early D & D stuff :) Keep up the good work..

Really well made documentary. Thanks!

You covered the Fast Load cartridge, but Epyx also produced the "Vorpal Utility Kit" for C64, which converted files into a proprietary and optimized Vorpal format, which fast-loaded to -- if my memory is correct -- about 20 times faster than the default load speeds. It didn't need a cartridge, as the loader was embedded. But Epyx did incorporate fastloaders with copy protection on their disk-based softwares. And those Mattel releases, I think they had background loaders, too. Basically, Epyx was a tech leader for the C64 in their time.

Incredible documentary!! I remember playing so many of these games 🎮

Really informative production and very well researched and really enjoyed it as I like many here have amazing fond memories of Epyx software.

Epyx was an excellent label. My favourite sports series was Winter Olympics as i never seen snow in real life and my older siblings always gave me a hard time over it. I would love to see a doco on SSI. Very talented programmers and passion for what they were creating.

Congratulations !! awesome work , full of info !!

Man, another awesome video! Epyx used to be ubiquitous and was a sign of good stuff on the disk.

74 minutes! I'm afraid it's too late tonight to finish watching this before going to bed :D You did another great documentary!

Thanks for sharing!

Love this sir! Great info and totally entertaining!!

Excellent documentary... so many great games by Epyx. I think my all time favorite that I played the most was The Legend of Blacksilver.... love that game.

This was a very good documentary. Good job.

An absolutely fantastic video about a fantastic game company! 10 out of 10!

Terrific video! I had no idea they released so many great games! Great memories of Epyx and Activision games back in the 80s! I hope someone does an in depth look at Cinemaware at some point!

This was a tremendous video. Reminded me how much I loved the games from Epyx. p.s. "4 by 4" not "4 times 4" when it comes to off-road :)

Tremendous documentary. Well done!

Great documentary. Especially love the Phantasy Star II soundtrack when it played in the background.

Great Job, Bastich!!!! 👍👍👍👍👍

Thank you very much for your amazing work. very interresting video !

Wow, what a documentary! Thanks!

Excellent coverage of the epyx history! 😁

Another fine video. Thanks!

My parents bought the original IBM PC in 1981, so I grew up as a DOS gamer. However, Temple of Apshai was the first RPG I ever played and it started my lifelong love of them. I was also a Lynx owner... it was actually a great system; it's really unfortunate that it didn't take off.

The epoxy logo makes me nostalgic and happy. And epyx had phenomenal games.

great documentary! thank you!

Outstanding work!

Huge video. Wow! I played a lot of Epyx Rogue on MS-DOS when I was a kid.

Fast loader, the XXX series, PitStop II, Super Cycle, Internal Karate.. epic stuff

Awesome video mate. So much information, it must have taken you ages. I sure learned a few things! How about doing a similar video on Mastertronic?

Excellent video many thanks

Wow just seeing this now. Great vid and I'm sure a lot of hours put into the research!

Amazing video!

Thanks for making this Bastich! Truly a wonderful look back on the outstanding Epyx! They were really one of the greatest software houses in the history of the C64. Sad they went down with the Handy/Lynx (never knew!) debacle before their time. But maybe, like the Amiga, the Lynx was a bit too advanced (hence expensive) for its time; but then of course, nobody messes with Nintendo. Once again, kudos for preserving and clarifying this important bit of gaming history, that's such a fundamental part of the C64's legacy. All in all it's kind of fitting that System 3 now own the rights I guess. Now off to see if I can jump over fifteen barrels... probably not 😂

a ton of work went into that and it shows. great stuff.

The first Epyx game I ever had on Commodore 64 was Impossible Mission. First thought was 'Wow, computer games take long to load'. Next thought was after the 1541 drive went CHUNGA-CHUNGA-CHUNGA-CHUNGA was 'WTF WAS THAT???'. Third thought was 'Holy crap, this is amazing'. Fourth thought was 'Maybe I should read the manual?'. Final thought was 'Are all C64 games this hard? I should have stuck with Colecovision!'. I did beat that game eventually to never ending pride.

Nice documentary. I had of course all GAMES back then, JUMPMAN series, IMPOSSIBLE MISSION, etc. But never ever heard of EPYX FAST LOAD back in the days. In Germany it seemed very unknown, I only became aware of it decades later in the internet days that many said how famous it was. We used software loaded floppy speeders like ULTRALOAD etc., which where also much faster. The fast loader cartridge I eventually bought to not always have to load one in first was the ACTION REPLAY.

Great video. I had to watch it in several parts. I havn't played many Epyx games, but I was aware of their stature in the 8-bit days. I never owned a C64 back in the day. I owned a Sinclair Spectrum which was probably more popular in the 80's here in the UK. I do have a breadbin now and you are my goto guy for everything C64.Keep up the great work and I look forward to all your work.

They were one of my favorite developers for C64.

Amazing! Loved it!

Awesome video!

Great video! One of my regrets was not visiting all the computer related companies in the San Francisco area when I was in the Navy. I was stationed in Alameda, (right across the bay from San Fran), from 83 till 91. 5 years on the USS Enterprise, (yes BastichB I saw you name your ship Enterprise in the video.. nice touch!), and 2.5 years on shore duty there. So many companies were right there including Epyx! By the Way the 500XJ is my all time favorite joystick, nice pick BastichB and also, I also have my original one. I had many of my Navy Friends break my 500XJ joysticks. (Mostly playing Archon/Archon 2 Adept). After many debates on who was abusing the joysticks, ( I would hand them a new joy stick, and they would break it an blame me). They confused my Rapid play with Pushing too hard on the joy stick. I finally labeled one with my name and no one was allowed to use it. That ended the debate and OF COURSE, I still have that 500XJ and it works perfectly! The Epyx Fast Load was really mandatory for an adult C64 owner. (And in America, the VAST majority of C64 users owned a Disk Drive).

That was excellent thank you for your work.

Great video sir, most excellent!

i subbed and liked before this guy could say a word . 1hr14min of a doc on EPYX ?? im in .

Really fantastic, so much of my childhood was defined by Epyx

Super interesting bashb great work Sir