10 Spectrum Games That Kicked The Commodore 64's Ass
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
- Hey whats up guys OSG back with a video that I bet you never thought you would see me doing and that’s 10 games were the Spectrum kicked the C64’s ass.
Being a C64 fan boy back in the day I would have not admitted that any of these games were actually better on the Spectrum and even in recent years I’ve made some big mistakes in comparison videos as I’ve had my brown tinted glasses on…I thought id just get that joke in there before the Ams mob get it in…. Anyway truth be known I probably played as much on the spectrum as a kid as I did the C64 as I was the only kid out of my friends who had a C64 the rest had spectrums.
The vast majority of this list are occasions when the c64 port was done badly and the Spectrum was done good but one or two are where both versions were good, but the spectrum just pips it mostly based on gameplay as that’s the most important thing in a game
Anyway let’s stop talking about it and look at 10 games where the spectrum kicked the Commodore 64s ass.
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intro @ 00:00
Chase HQ @ 01:11
Cobra @ 01:56
Enduro Racer @ 02:41
Operation Wolf @ 03:26
Rastan @ 04:11
Robocop @ 04:56
Super Hang On @ 05:41
Target Renegade @ 06:26
Turbo Esprit @ 07:11
Zynaps @ 07:56 - Ігри
I had Operation Wolf on the 128k+ and the C64. I can’t remember which one I enjoyed most but the fact that the speccy version gave me instant nostalgia whereas the C64 version didn’t even register says it all.
Operation Wolf could be played with the lightgun, it worked very well from what i remember.
Never seen Super Hang On on the Spectrum, and I'm really impressed by their use of color. Using 3 colors on the rider/bike like that without color clashing more than needed, it looks great! It's also interesting how a lot of crap C64 ports can be summarized as "The game runs WAY too slow." - If the games would run at twice or thrice the speed, they would be much better. But you can't have a racing game run at 10fps.
Completely agree on Target Renegade, maybe one of the best speccy games ever made. Also dont forget you could play 2 player as well which made it all the more better.
Had it on CPC and yeah, it is probably one of the most brilliant 8bit games ever!
Speccy was a surprisingly good gaming machine looking back! Super fast gameplay!
Robocop (excluding the bug) and op wolf are the only ones I disagree with. I was very happy with the c64 versions. So to me it wouldn't have mattered if they were better on other systems.
The rest though are right.
And I must be the only one that enjoyed chase hq on the c64 lol
And as a Spectrum fan who insisted the C64 had no redeeming features back in the day I can now enjoy what it has to offer, and some games are better on the C64. Best of all though is the SID music, it makes the Spectrum's AY chip sound wretched in comparison.
Yeah we changing as we get older lol
I prefer the Atari 8 bit computer (XL / XE) POKEY sound chip to SID. POKEY was used in arcade machines and had four channels, as opposed to SIDS three channels.
@@mortimore4030 I'm a huge Atari fan too, have an XL and several arcade games, some with POKEYs. As well as growing up with Spectrums. But, despite everything I still prefer the sound of a SID (other than that the C64 is inferior in every way!)
It shows that game play wins over graphics. To be honest I never played either machines games.
This is a lesson in gameplay- system’s power is irrelevant if the gameplay sucks ultimately and you’ve proven that here
Spectrum didn't had any hardware sprites or scroll, but it had blast processing! (Like mega drive). Skilled devs could use that for faster gameplay.
Scuba Dive springs to mind, the spectrum colour pallet and gameplay are streets ahead of the C64 version.
Chuckie Egg too was much better on the Speccy (as well as the BBC Micro for that matter)
From a gameplay standpoint it was often closer between the two than many think. Because I had a weekend job at the time I had a +2 and a 64 and picking which game to get for which system could be hard (although it usually wound up being the 64 version)
In Italy everybody had a c64 and spectrum was very rare, but I had a friend who owned one, and I remember clearly they had a much better version of vigilante.
Not THAT rare, there were several speccy user in the Fano/senigallia area and i knew them almost all :)
Nice video! Amazing what they achieved with the Spectrum, the driving games here and that colourful shooter at the end look ace (I'll be checking out the latter myself).
Agree with them all and I think Chase HQ, Target Renegade and Operation Wolf were even better still on the Amstrad than the Speccy.
C64 Target Renegade music is phenomenal though!
A couple of other games I can think of are The Cybernoid games (the music is better on the C64, but the gameplay is far better on the Spectrum but I guess that's primary because they started out on the Spectrum), Head Over Heels, Fairlight, Manic Miner, Chuckie Egg, Maziacs, Commando (yes I went there. The C64 music is great, but the gameplay on the Spectrum is much closer to the original arcade) *yes I's talking about the original Commando, not Commando Arcade, that version is awesome.
I remember the version of Operation Wolf that came with the Spectrum's light gun. Other than the epilepsy-inducing flashing caused by the gun, I felt like I was playing the arcade.
I have bad memories of Chase HQ on the C64. I got it for Christmas 89 before any reviews had come out.
It was such a crushing disappointment especially considering the great Speccy and Amatrad versions.
You could also have Double Dragon in there. The speccy version is also terrible but at least tried to mimic the arcade. The C64 version came with an apology from the programmers in the box.
Did it? I borrowed dd from a friend. God it was shite. Like painfully shite.
@@garethbraint They apologized for a graphics glitch. Not the terrible quality of the game itself.
And there were two versions of Double Dragon on the C64. Somehow, both were bad, but in completely different ways.
Double Dragon was terrible on the C64 but the sequel was pretty good.
The only decent thing about Chase HQ was the loading screen, and the music was decent, everything else was utter crud
I have Chase HQ that I got back in the day in a massive red box that has about 5 other Ocean driving based games on cassettes for the Spectrum. Now that I think about it that's probably the first compilation I ever heard of at the time?
Thank you for getting Chase HQ and Cobra out of the way immediately.
Robocop is another obvious one...but there was suspense over whether you'd admit it. You've come a long ways.
Lol
I have to agree with all of these, especially Robocop, Cobra and especially Operation wolf, it might have had lack of colour, but the gameplay is absolutely amazing. So slick and fast and really nice graphically.
It's nice to see the speccy did a lot of games just so right. I'm a major speccy fan by the way lol.
Loved this dude 😊👍🏻
another great video mate, my later 8bit years i wished i had a c64 but the speccy had lots of good gameplay and music
OSG: Check out Schba Dive if you want to see the Spectrum beat the C64 (probably more so thrn Chase HQ)
Some games for a second part of this video: Astro Marine Corps, Savage, Extreme, Mad Mix Game, Cabal, Space Harrier.
Glad to see you gave the C64 versions of Enduro Racer and Super Hang On one hell of a slating. I am still emotionally scarred to this day by the lack of speed of the two 'racing games'. The Steve Barrett tunes on Super Hang On was the game's only redeeming feature. You are also bang on about Turbo Esprit on the C64 version; glad I never bought it, though the floppy would have made a good cup coaster (and the tape version would have had some random stuff taped off Piccadilly Radio or Radio 1 instead).
Lol
I had ZX Spectrum borrowed from my uncle only for 2-3 months when my C64 was broken and I had great time with it when I got accustomed to these graphic colours and crappy sounds. There were many great games and Target Renegade was of course my favourite. What I really loved were the awesome graphic loading screens
I always felt that the Spectrum got a second wind just towards the end of its shelf life, and the Commodore 64 didn't, this is evident in conversions of Chase HQ and Robocop which were far superior on the speccy. I always thought Turbo Espirit looked like a game where you are an HGV driver following the car. TBH the first time I seen it I thought this was a game based on the movie Duel by Steven Spielberg. :)
Great comparisons. I need to fire up these on retropie and have a play as they look great on video. These were definitely turkeys on the C64, I bought enduro racer for the commodore and still feel robbed to this day 😁
I loved my spectrum and had it for years before moving to the c64, then the Amiga and finally PC. I miss all of them.
I love Zynaps on the Speccy and had it back in the day. I first played it on the C64 a few years back and I like it there, too. First level is hard but it doesn't feel unfair. It's a different game, but I think both versions are great.
OSG you make great vids!
Aw thanks mate, i appreciate those kind words :-)
i would mark Exolon and Myth:history in making for better visual style, also Cauldron specturum version is just playable just like AmstradCPC one (not just like c64 one), also Heartland looks better on spectrum, Light force - very good looking space,
if talk about spectrum i would say i prefer when it uses own visual style with all those crazy colours on black background - something you cant see at another platforms, also usually it looks good
the only ones id argue is op wolf and rasten but it might be rose tinted specticles haha, the frame rates are the most surprising when compared next to each other on the racing games, we werent blessed with too many decent ones behind the vehicle were we! Awesome video mate, looking forward to more hopefully
I could maybe let you off with op wolf as they both good but Rastan is terrible on the c64
@@oldstylegaming I’ve not played it in a long time tbh mate!
I would have added: dizzy 1, manic miner, jet set willy 1 + 2 and paperboy to this list. Quality vid, cheers
yo OSG my man hope you are well. you never disappoint honestly man this one was really epic especially as you were so open about the actual gameplay I'm with u C64 is still better but it's good to find gems hope you have a good day mate 💪
I appreciate that
Even back then, I don't know if I could have dealt with the Spectrums 3 color pastel palette.
I used to love Target Renegade on the speccy - great fun 2 player, with players using either end of the keyboard!
I agree with every game in the video. Just to mention - a great beat em up was Renegade on the Amstrad but you probably know that mate! All the best
Space Harrier / Ghouls 'N Ghosts definitely should've made it here for it's shockingly close Arcade qualities compared to their C64 counterparts
As much as I prefer the bold, high detail, low-fi Spectrum punk aesthetic to anything the C64 was doing, Speccy Space Harrier is just committing way too many violent crimes against my eyes.
I'd even prefer monochrome over this.
@@juststatedtheobvious9633 yeah they mostly couldn't get away from such hardware issues
To be honest, the NTSC version of Space Harrier was actually pretty good on the C64. The European PAL version however was a case of lazy/rushed coding
Basically what it boils down to is the ZX Spectrum needed the sid chip, and colour and sprite capabilities of the Commodore 64, and the Commodore 64 needed the Z80 CPU and CPU speed of the ZX Spectrum, making the perfect combination for both machines.
You're looking for the Amstrad CPC, which has the Z80 and better graphics than even the C64. It just lacks the SID chip, obviously.
Wonder if it's possible to port speccy versions to c64 and update the colours?
That's called the Amstrad CPC version and it's in fact the best one of the three for most of these games.
Totally agree with Ronocop, waited impatiently for the C64 version and was very disappointed, only the ST and Amiga versions wete bigger disappointments, game was amazing on the 128K ZX Spectrum
Ronocop brother of robocop. Cousin to reggiecop
The spectrum versions had the detail that was often missing from the chunky c64 version .
Some amazing games on both systems but I think for me chase hq the biggest disappointment on the c64
Next time you do a speccy video, please give us a disclaimer to mute the audio. MY GOD.
Yeah mate, the sound is my biggest put off with the spectrum like
It's really hard when you have an affinity with a system "brown coloured glasses" lol. I was the opposite of you, I had a Speccy and my mate moved to c64, I later went Atar800XL.
Excellent comparison video, but why is the Spectrum display ‘full screen’ and the C64 only about 75% at most?
To be fair, Speccy Chase HQ is arguably the best version of the game, other than the PC-Engine version, outside of the arcade. It's an astonishing conversion.
Great video, I couldn’t agree more mate I’m glad you finally admit that Robocop plays better on the speccy hahaha
Mostly agree, though like many was surprised to find Operation Wolf here. Yeah the Spectrum version looks good, but not much more than C64. Could never get around the monochrome Spectrum graphics back in the day, but could probably play them now, knowing the Spectrum did have some really good games.
I believe there was some almost exclusive games - ever play Miami Cobra GT on Spectrum? To my knowledge there was no C64 version for some reason, would have been interesting to see which was best if there was a C64 version.
I remember getting my Spectrum 48 on Xmas 84.
Good selection of examples here, but surprised not to see Carrier Command here.
Totally agree about Enduro racer. C64 looked they were racing mod scooters.
The worst thing about Enduro racer, is that there was no excuse for it being so bad. If you look at it, Enduro Racer was pretty much Buggy Boy on motorcycles. They managed to get Buggy Boy right on the C64, but could not do the same for Enduro Racer. Lazy (and/or rushed) coding at its worst
Afterburner was shocking on the C64 and very good on the Speccy 128k.
Personally I've understood the love for Robocop. It's like you're in a tank shaped like a man: v slow and ponderous just walking about.
Surprised Target: Renegade made it. I used to really like the C64 version on my mate’s machine and from memory it was superior to my Speccy version (as good as it was itself.)
Anyway, new to your channel, and just wondering if you’ve ever compared the different versions of the game Myth? Again, from memory, the Speccy version was THE best one over ALL other versions and I include the Amiga in that, though it was essentially a different game. Class on the Speccy though!
Yep back to seeing videos late haha. What is this magic Spectrum better than the C64 they young fan boy in me is not having any of this, jokes aside we did have some very bad stuff that was better on other computers as much as it pains me to say. As always buddy this was a class video and am looking forward to the next one, take it easy man.
Those were the days ...specky had great outlines that just needed filling with colour ...chase HQ was played loads by me !!
Unfotunately it was an UK only computer. I've never met a Spectrum user here in Germany.
UK only? Spain and France would like a word...
@@chrisbourne9814 France? lol ... there would be many other countries I'd mention before France. There most likely were more Speccy users in Germany than in France in the 80s.
Totally agree with ur list. Speccy games had fun playability even though it had crap graphics and sound.
You should take a look what people do with ZX Spectrums today, instead of only the old stuff. You might be surprised.
I have seen the new games, I love the game Nothing and Angels
@@oldstylegaming Here are few more: Kolobok Zoom 2, Pussy, Fire & Ice, Dune 2, Black Raven, Deltas Shadow, Aliens Neoplasma, Castlevania Spectral Interlude, Survivisection.
I'd also add R-Type to the list, i know the C64 version was rushed, but the ZX Spectrum version was absolutely amazing.
Wec Le Mans is another, simply awful on the C64. as is Shadow Warriors, plus we never got Chaos, Rebelstar etc.
As an A8 and C64 time, i could appreciate there were an awful lot of reasons to admire the Sinclair machine.
Ill give you le mans and shadow warriors but no way for R Type its one of my favourite c64 shooters, dont get me wrong the speccy version is great but the c64 version for me is way ahead of it.... yeah it was rushed... well yes and no actually.. the game it was reskinned from wasnt rushed and that was katakis the vest shooter on the c64
Both of them are still far better than that shit version on the CPC. God, that was awful (I mean the original version, not the homebrew version that came out a few years back, that's an awesome conversion)
there's a TRD hacked version of Zynaps (as well as R-Type) with added music
Now if only the C64 had been blessed with a Z80 processor instead if the 6510...
A 6510 at 2MHz would have kicked the Z80 ass...
Agree with all except Operation Wolf. The Spectrum version has the look of the arcade game but I think the C64 captures the feel of it better. It really bothers how enemies slide on and off the screen on the Spectrum version. I’d also say Zynaps is a tie. Both look great for the respective systems but fall short by virtue of the punishing gameplay.
Is there a second part of this video with more games? I name some for you to consider ...Athena, Shadow Warriors, Wec Le Mans, Pang, Space Gun, Rolling Thunder, U.N Squadron, Elevator Action, Space Harrier, Savage, Golden Axe, Line of Fire, Green Beret, I have some more....Saludos.
As a C64 lover.....this video pains me. 😓
Yeah i know mate, but it just makes us the bigger people admitting that just sometimes we were beaten by a sub standard system...
Other glorious examples: Xybots and Time Scanner
That's because the C64 version of Time Scanner was another lazy direct Spectrum port. I hated when companies did that. The only direct Spectrum ports I didn't mind of the C64 were Skool Daze and the Saboteur games, and maybe the Great Escape.
Does this mean there might be a C64 kicking Speccy video? Maybe a real challenge “10 Times the Speccy kicked Amiga’s…”. Always curious about the Spectrum. Here in the States our first computer was the Times 1000, a variation on the ZX81, before getting our 64. Never had a chance to experience Spectrum in its prime
The video on the times that the c64 kicked the speccys ass would be my life's work lol. Interesting idea though with the speccy and amiga though
You're not missing out at all. Let's be honest, the only way to enjoy the Spectrum is through the rose-tinted nostalgia glasses that come with being a former owner, which is a UK peculiarity.
I can't imagine anybody without prior exposure preferring it to the C64 or Amstrad CPC. These two are the more interesting duel for the 8-bit gaming crown.
@@renaudg Absolutely. The love for the Spectrum often came from its underdog status. It wasn't really designed for gaming and it's a testament to the creativity of programmers that they managed to pull off some of these amazing games.
Operation wolf with the light gun it never lagged either 👌
Belter. Looking forward to this
Perhaps a bit of a controversial one, but Myth, whilst good on the C64 was better on the Speccy IMO. Chase HQ on the Spectrum was an incredible achievement and easily aced both the C64 AND Amstrad versions.
I never thought target renegade on c64 was much good. First level is probably the best
Gets boring quick on the c64 doesnt really feel like a beat em up
@@oldstylegaming yah and it's slightly repetitive
@@Simon0 it is and if you make one bad move you pay badly for it
Speccy Target Renegade is still in my top 10 games of all time
Great Escape, Head Over Heels, Knightlore, Sabrewulf...there were a bunch.
Knightlore was never officially released on the C64. Unless you count the homebrewed conversion that came out 4 years ago
@@lordevyl8317 Nice catch 😊
Interesting one! I have still never played a speccy game! Holding out for a Spectrum Mini 😂
A spectrum mini would be a day 1 pre-order for me.Definitely.
@@VampireJack10 Would be cool if it came with an (S?)NES type joypad in Spectrum colours (or a joystick). Now I'm dreaming!
@@rodoherty1 now that would be nice.
I'd love an easy to use plug and play console for playing manic miner, atic atac and chuckle egg on a modern tv.
Attic Attack was ported over to the C64 last year. All those on your list play great on a thec64 or a thevic20 on a big screen HDTV at 720p
Or... 10 c64 games programmed in BASIC
;) good show! cheers!
Have you gone over to the darkside!? Well, after watching I'm obliged to agree that they do look like they play better than the C64 versions, apart from the graphics/sfx of course. I can never get used to how games on the Speccy look, and the sound! wtf? Fair do's though m8, the gameplay is superior in these instances. Nice one ;)
With you all the way Lucas, i mean i do think these are better but out of all of them i would only play robocop and target renegade as they are the best home versions for me. . The rest though. Yeah they are better than the c64 but ill pass on playing them unless I have too
Cobra. The Speccy supposedly couldn't do smooth scrolling and parallax, but someone forgot to tell Joffa Smith...
yeah its a stunning game on the speccy, its hard as nails at first but you quickly get hooked on it
One thing I would say is that it could be argued to be a tad unfair to compare 128k games with 64k games...that said, some of the graphics on speccy are better, though without colour and very 2D. The sprites on Op Wolf look good but move like cardboard cut outs floating across the screen...
Head over Heals was a fav on the spectrum
Strange how games that had you driving in to the centre of the screen were nealy always poorly programmed on the C64. I think I tolerated some games more than I should have because I had to spend a fair bit of cash on them.
I liked the C64 version of Cobra very much :D
I’m not lying but I literally broke 3 competition pro joysticks while playing city cobra.
Here Italy, fantastic challenge, the mith Spectrum 48K versus the mith Commodore 64 ! I like the old games, i have the AMIGA 500 hours and hours of funny: Golden Axe,Battle Isle '93,Superfrog,Sensible Soccer 95/96,Silkworm,Pang,Rainbow island,Toky
I have to agree with you on all these. They where definitely better games on the Speccy
Elite!! come on this was great on the Spectrum, but on the C64 it was a seizure inducing flicker fest. BTW Elite rank on both versions, and I love them both. Many people didn't know at the time you could play the Spectrum 128K version on the 48 (no idea why they were sold separately) with no LensLok and it had extra missions im going to say it again (no idea why they were sold separately)
True, but the original BBC Micro version is hands down the best version of Elite, at least on the 8-bits anyway
@@ACanOfBakedBeans I disagree that the BBC version was the best (unsure about the second processor version or the BBC Master version). The BBC and Spectrum versions traded blows but for me the flickering and badly removed lines of the BBC version lost compared to the much more solid Spectrum version. Also if you played the 128K version on any Spectrum (yes it works fine even on a 48K) it had a few more missions.
I do have a soft spot for the BBC version, as while I didn't own a BBC until much later a friend did and I would play it on his system (I even bought my own copy on disc) and I had played until Elite status at least a couple of time before I got to play it on the C64 (oh the docking music) then Spectrum.
Hearing the Ocean loaders always takes me back to a better time
Me too mate its a remix of an awesome loader
Especially the first two Ocean Loaders by Martin Galway :)
Good list…next Atari ST games better than Amiga?
Sounds good
Defender of the Crown for me. Felt the Amiga version was a letdown, apart from the music
Most of the time speccy lacks colors, but almost all the time it has better graphics, and when developers work hard and make colorfull games its just amazing.
How can one argue that a lack of colours results in "better graphics" ?
@@renaudg ignoring that higher resolution equals more details and also allows more freedom for the graphic designer, moving the game at higher FPS also improves the experience.
How about, for example, Starion, Amaurote, Critical Mass and Carrier Command?
Amaurote was also much better on the Atari 8-bits. Wish he would do a video on games better on the Atari 800 XE
Surprised to not see carrier command and starglider. A lot of 3d games were better on the spectrum just down to CPU power making things a bit smoother and more playable.
How about the top 10 ZX81 games?!
before I watch this....Target Renegade. It's gotta be there!
indeed, the speccy and amstrad versions were light years ahead gameplay wise. The C64 version looked like you were playing an 80's comic magazine like VIZ with utter garbage gameplay.
FFS Super Hang on on the c64 looks like it was programmed in BASIC. Glad to see Target Renagade up there, I fucking knew it must be there!
@@leighpark3917 I liked the eyes at the bottom and that you got to pick up your gf at the end but thats about it, the gameplay was tosh.
I'd rather have the 'farty' spectrum noises over the eardrum piercing screeches of the C64 Super Hang-On anyday. Having the C64 versions on mute doesn't show fully how bad this version really was, and the sound really seals the deal.
The title screen music was decent, but that's about it
Only one I disagree with is Rastan, it may have issues with a bug but it reminds me of the SEGA Master System version. Rastan is meant to be a slightly slow paced game.
Shame about Super Hang On. One look at Epyx's Super Cycle would have shown them how it's supposed to be done.
Spectrum?? never heard of it, does it have a SID?
Lol no theres only one proper sid using computer haha
No, but it has rubber keys
Whale oil beef hooked bonny lad
Most of these are really better on the Speccy, but I fail to see how Op Wolf overperforms the neat C64 version. Aside from the obvious visual leap, the Spectrum one plays way too fast to be enjoyable.
Honestly the comments read like a parallel universe where the Amstrad CPC doesn't exist, and I'm shaking my head in disbelief : the only reason the Spectrum "wins" these particular contests is because the C64 port was accidentally bad for once, and you guys are artificially dismissing the Amstrad. For (at least, that I know of) Chase HQ, Target Renegade, Operation Wolf and Robocop, it had the undisputed best 8-bit versions. As fast as the Spectrum and infinitely better gfx (better palette than the C64 too)
bombjack,renegade,greenberet also better or should i say more playable on the spectrum(from an ex c64 owner)
thought cobra was rubbish on both systems, Im surprised you when with Target Renegade and not the first one Renegade and the Spectrum version is probably better than the arcade. The colour clash on Rastan make it unplayable for me, can't see a bloody thing lol chase hq is much better on the Amstasted i think, but at least the c64 did get a decent sequel.
Yeah that colour clash is a nightmare on rastan especially on the blue bits