Remember... This was a gaming machine that encouraged you to write programs for it too. I would say even easier than pc's today. I been a developer now for 30 years and have yet to see anything encourage kids to write code more than the speccy did. Thank you Sir Clive!
Fuck Sir Clive. He frowned upon games being played and developed for this lovely little machine *until* he saw games were the only thing keeping the Spectrum systems in the running! Oh, that and the price! Nuff said, don't forget facts and please save ass kissing and over praise for when actually due. I mean, the miserable prick already received knighthood ffs... wtf has the world come to...
Totally agree Peter. It's where I learnt my programming and how hard programming was - including bugs in weekly magazines that you could type in. Crashes and loooooong load times from tape. We had a ZX81 before the Spectrum and I remember someone wrote a 1k chess 'program' which worked - amazing. No graphics at all to save memory and today's GUI's a mile off. But you could read what was happening and change it.
I used to LOVE my spectrum. Today is hard to explain to a 90´s person or 2000´s how so few bites are so much fun. This just makes me download an emulator. Thanks !! :D
Weirdly, while the game itself does not get an explicit mention, the MUSIC from te game 'Amarote' is included in the soundtrack (listen @9:33 and see if it sounds familiar) So Amarote IS 'kind of' memorialized in a very small and cryptic way (even if it appears to be 100% unintentional.)
Some good memories. I think most of the games I'd choose have been mentioned by others. Certainly Elite, Saboteur 2, Daley's, Cyclone, Commando, Bruce Lee, Back to Skool, Match Point, M.O.V.I.E., Gauntlet, Way of the Exploding Fist, Stonkers and a few personal choices Head Coach and American Football which fed my interest from the telly. Glad to see Lords of Midnight and The Great Escape in there, I played those for ages.
Some of those definitely should have made the list, as well as Target: Renegade, The Bard's Tale, Kenny Dalgliesh Soccer Manager (better than football manager), Ikari Warriors, Matchday 2, Turbo Esprit, and Hijack
That brings back some memories! :) Knight Lore, Monty On The Run, The Hobbit & Manic Miner were true classics! Nice to see Highway Encounter, Spellbound & Stop The Express in there too - I'd totally forgotten about those games and used to love them! :) For me though you could have added Fred, Cyclone, Way Of The Exploding Fist & Moon Cresta to the list in the place of a few others.
3:07 - Title music from Robocop one of the best themes from back in the day, Can remember sitting in the dining room eating my tea as a kid while the Game was loading and trying to rush so I could go back in and play haha. Good selection of games, thanks for the trip down memory lane mate :)
I will admit, I cried as a child when I couldn't get the Daley Thompsons Decathlon hyperload to copy via my tape-2-tape, but then, it was two tape decks, one recording off the speaker of the other to the mic, through the air!! No cables :D Good old days of piracy! ! !
What a great video thanks for putting this together - so many games which I'd completely forgotten about but once you see them again all the pleasure you had from them as a kid comes flooding back!
Played pretty much all the games on this list.The speccy was a great little machine.Loads of the games were ground breaking and some had some great complex gaming mechanics.
Great video! My first flight simulator was on the ZX Spectrum. Did you know...While the BBC micro helped thousands of UK school-kids get ahead in programming, Sinclair's Spectrum was the UK's best selling games computer for years and was sold in shops throughout the UK via W.H. Smith's stores. The Spectrum inspired hundreds of users to write and produce games and flight simulators etc.. One such company was DMA Design from Dundee in Scotland, who went on to produce a little game called Grand Theft Auto, which was directly inspired by the pioneering Spectrum game called Turbo Esprit. For more than a decade the GTA series has been THE best selling action-adventure game on all platforms; and that Scottish company is now of course called Rockstar. So thank you Sir Clive.
Thanks for compilation. I can remember most of that games. Some of the missed gems: Spooked, Feud, a game about wild west on Knightmare engine, a game about cooking food for your master, and then sending it on the lift (big sprites, player character is half of screen height), Turbo Esprit. And a lot more games buried in the depths of memory.
Great game & music choices. I can hear Glider Rider, Robocop, Starglider, Saboteur 2, 3 Weeks in Paradise, Amaurote, and Hydrofool in there. Didn't get the ones at the beginning and end though!
I can remember one game but the name eludes me - You had a team of 4 and you picked a specialization for each of them such as locksmith, commando etc Then you roamed around a map going into houses or caves and trying to unravel puzzels but you needed the right specs for each of your team. Brill game and wouldn't go a miss today :-)
Rex 1,2 , UFO: Enemy Unknown, Space Crusade, Laser Squad, Battle Tank 3D, Marsport, Elite, Gunship, Batman 3 The Movie. I can continue the list of top games, but it will eat a lot of space.
Ant Attack, Atic Attac, Chuckie Egg, Jetpac/ Lunar Jetman, Manic Miner/ Jet Set Willy, Knight Lore, Lords of Midnight, Sabre Wulf, Saboteur, Lords of Time... Such a golden age of gaming for me. Have to say as well, so many of these games that you have chosen are Ultimate clones... You have missed out a lot of other quality stuff, especially some great text adventures, to get some pretty derivative games in there.
Wow.. thank you for this, I was looking for a game I played when I was 7 in 1987. I didn't know I used a ZX spectrum, in fact a HC85 (Romanian ZX Spectrum compatible) I was able to see my game in your collection and found out it's name. It's Roller Coaster (!) :-) 7:18 I didn't expect to find and play this game in 2014
Very good collection. Have 2 questions though: 1) Why didn't Elite make the cut? Surely that was one of the games that defined the Spectrum (as it is oft quoted as the fastest version of the game on 8-bit). 2) Could you possibly do a list of all the different games you used as the music for that sequence as some of the tunes were wonderful? Specifically the music that comes in at 3:07 just as Fairlight comes on as that tune is wonderfully haunting.
I remember back then in 1989. My Dad gave me the ZX Spectrum as a present for my fifth birthday. That was my first experience with videogames. I used to play on that alot. I hope my "Speccy" is still working after i left it at my attic for about 10 years.
You missed some. Knightshade, Spy Hunter, Commando, Space Harrier, Jet Set Willy 2, Pssst, Ghostbusters, Boulder Dash, Lode Runner, Bruce Lee, Spy vs Spy, Yi Ar Kung-Fu, Way of the Exploding Fist, Alien 8, Impossible Mission, 1942, Marble Madness, Pentagram, Krakout, Arkanoid, Wizball, International Karate +, Gauntlet to name a few. Then again, mentioning "Ultimate Play the Game" games is like shooting fish in a barrel since 90% of their games were superb. ^^
Точно. Не включить в топ-50 Elite, Nether Earth, Sim City, Lode Runner, River Raid - это халтура. По остальным моим, наверное, можно спорить, но эти-то массово признанные.
Большую часть игрушек и не видел никогда. Многие показались прикольными. "Наши" игры появились позже, но в общем они круче. Где нормальные православные игры? А музло в сопровождении да, есть нашенское)
Ant Attack ! Atic Atac.Fairlight ! Jetpack !! Sabre wulf. Saboteur, Skool Daze.Horace Geos Sking, I use to play these games all the time. What a flashback !!
Chequered Flag was the first home game to use a make shift wheel. There was a setting, that allowed you to use a large container lid resting on the number keys and moving that left and right moved the steering in the game. At the time, I remember thinking, that in the future we would have real wheels and driving against real people.
I had a very poor upbringing and the zx-spectrum (after much begging and pleading) was the only computer in my parents price range and boy did I love it. (love ya mum & dad.. HUGS)
Loved Avalon and Dragontorc. I got Avalon for my 12th Birthday present back in Feb84. Mum and Dad were certainly happy at the lack of noise for the next few months.
Talk about a trip down memory lane. I was a Spectrum owner back in '83 and the first game I bought was Atic Atac which, for the time, was utterly mesmerising! This is a strong selection. I would have had Bomb Jack and Commando in my 50. It's refreshing to see you resisted the temptation to include every Ultimate game as two or three were a tad overrated.
This video brings back memories ... the ZX Spectrum was a thousand times better than the ATARI and the COMODORE and I do not know why in my country (Chile, south of this world), it had very low profile. I had the ZX 81 in black and white and then this one that had 16 colors and graphics with pixels unlike ATARI that were just squares ... There are many games that being from 1982, were better than those of the Nintendo NES that came out 10 years ago after (and with great reputation). I do not say all, but some if, for example, those of RARE ... in short, I would have liked this video in HD and not in 240 to share it with my children and that they value their current XBOX ONE X or their PS4 PRO. However, if this is a top (ranking), missing many great games: Cokies, Bruce Lee, Oolong, Zigurat, Opera, Dinamic, Sir Fred, Rambo, Spy Hunter, Topo, Zaxon, Game Over, Maziacs and many more that really marked me and insist, surpass ATARI and other systems that were more famous ... I regret that Spectrum did not continue ... I still remember the sounds of the cassette player when I loaded the games ... 5 or 6 minutes and the less interference, repeat the process ... Zinclair was pure QUALITY in his time and as I say, very low profile in my country (Chile, south of this world).
I'd forgotten some of these games and they were great. I really really really liked some of these (not all and there a few I never played but boy this brings back memories. :)
Not to mention debatedly the best of all the versions of the time... I agree with with Ed. Far too many Ultimate isometric clones in this list as well IMO and not enough of things like Lords of Midnight. There are some obvious greats here though so well done for those :)
This is all so cool! They were able to do so much with so little! If this efficiency was applied to modern games somehow we could have games five times as impressive!
Commandos-там солдат бежит снизу вверх по карте , пульки бесконечны и 5 гранат навесом доты снимать .Green beret-с ножом боец пробирается по чужой базе.Renegade-боец решил завязать с криминалом и его преследуют различные бригады во главе с боссом.
Music at 3.08 is robocop isnt u3t?? Used to love this soundtrack..some of the tunes stay in your head forever . Loved my spectrum..big part of me growing up . Thanks for the memories
Woow thanks for posting. My list wouldn't miss : Amaurote, Elite, R-Type, Enduro Racer, Space Harrier, Gyroscope, Spawn Of Evil (amazing as only 16 Kbytes, and great longevity), I, Of The Mask, Driller, Airwolf, Game Over, Knight Lore, Alien 8, The Way Of The Tiger. There was also a helicopter game I can't remeber the name of, thunder sthing ... sbdy remembers that, in 3D ? The tunes you chose (I spotted 2 from Amaurote and one sort of JMM Jarre one) are very good. Thanks again, it brings back so many good memories. The Speccy was a fabulous and affordable commie with great games. Thanks Clive !
Xavier Louis Tardy mostly likely ThunderBlade - gamesdbase.com/game/sinclair_zx_spectrum/thunderblade.aspx . there was also a 'blue thunder' but it wasn't at all 3D ish?
Quazatron - that version looked quite different to the one I have. The interface at bottom of screen and level design is not something I've seen before. Was it another version, or pre release??
They are compatible. 48k version games can run on 128k version. In the late 80's a had 48k version. Then got 128k version. All games worked fine. But old games for 48k version I liked much more :)
48k is cute, solid and my fave... BUT you won't get music support in a fair few games. Oh and if you do at all, it will be painful :) Look, here's what I'd do... Get a nice 128k to game on, and pick up a broken 48k just to hold, look at and sit pretty on your shelf! Simple!! :P.
Very good an nostalgic video! Miss Spanish publisher games Dinamic Software. Had very good games: Yenght, Abu Simbel Profanation, Camelot Warriors, Game Over, Army Moves, Other Spanish company "Made in Spain": El misterio del Nilo, Fred & Sir Fred. Other spanish one: Opera Soft with their great La Abadía del crimen. Other games I missed: arkanoid, alien 8, Movie, Asteroids, Target Renegade and of course Pac-Man & Tetris (better in other platforms)
Ambers Knight - the music at 3.07 I recognise form the 1987 ZX spectrum game robocop. It is the menu music. I cannot renember who made the tune though but the music to the whole game was very well executed.
I was waiting for Exolon, Trantor, Freddie Hardest, Crazy Cars II, Game Over, Savage, and a couple of games by Pete Cook: Whole New Ball Game, and one where you had to control a little ball around a square to fill in smaller squares, but I can't remember what that one is called. I still have them all!
most of my favorites were missing: castle master, repton, boulder dash, R-type, eagle nest, deflektor, nether earth, arkanoid, rebel star 2, myth, solomon's key, dan dare, sim city, hero quest, lode runner, lemmings , myth
Interesting and fun to watch. :-) I don't know many of the games, actually I know only 20/50. But there are definitely some omissions: Driller or Dark Side should have been there, Sentinel definitely, Robin of the Wood, Nether Earth, Cyclone... these are just a few that are better than Chequered Flag for instance. :-)
no way is this a top 50, yes there are some great games here especially Saboteur, Jetpack and Head over Heals, but no Commando, Space Harrier, Match Day (probably the precursor to the Fifa franchise), Rambo, The Bards Tale, Daley Thompson Decathlon (destroyer of many a joystick), ELITE, Super Robin Hood, Leader board, Paper Boy, Barbarian, Avenger, Renegade and the list could go on and on....
+Shaolin Punk Defo. Loads of great games there. Saboteur 2 I'd add, Commando is a cert, Match Day and Daley's too. Daley's I must have played for ages. The Bruce Lee game as well with the Green Yamo. Can't remember what it was called and how can any list not have Stonkers on it!
awesome video, lots of great memories and some i couldnt remember. Ultimate Play the game with the bigger black boxes, the awesomeness of Matthew Smith, Manic Miner and the greatest followup ever Jetset Willy ;)
A few of these bring back memories. Though personally if I did a list like this I would've included Driller or Hard Drivin' mainly because of the use of the Freescape engine to draw actual 3D worlds which you could explore at your leisure. Well, Driller more than Hard Drivin' but to see you as the player being in a fully 3D world on such a tiny little computer was mind blowing. Advanced Pinball Simulator should have been given an honorable mention due to it's use of speech synthesis in the main menu. Stunning.
Back when machines had character. I never owned a Spectrum but have very fond memories of it's charm which it oozed. Each of the 8bits had a distinctly different feel
Awesome video! Just one omission that springs to mind (well, two, since I see Batman in the suggested videos on the right :) but the one was Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Weird, but awesome :D
No Daley Thompson? No Match Day II? No Renegade? The very best ZX game was Target: Renegade (128k especially, due to music and single load up) and that's not even here! The Emlyn Hughes football game was good too. Plus Dan Dare II was better than DD. Good vid though! :)
robin of the wood,moon cresta,pheenix oh man happy days.ive tried them for my kids 8 and 6 but they just have no reactions and cant use the keys and not a joystick pad thing lol
There were only two in the series. However, the authors also wrote Marsport, which I believe is the one you are referring to. Two sequels were planned but never saw the light of day.
Nice list. A few observations along the way... Football Manager looks quite primitive graphics-wise but was highly addictive. Highway Encounter was good but way too easy to complete - I'd have put Cyclone (the writer's previous effort) in its place. I couldn't get to grips with Jet Set Willy at all and quickly grew to loathe it (and the codes!). Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore were absolutely top drawer for me along with nearly all the Ultimate games - with a special mention for Jetpac as it was as squeezed into 16K .