I grew up with the Spectrum in the UK, I got mine Christmas 1982 and the first game I bought was The Hobbit. I'm still a game developer now (I'm 54 and work for a UK studio) and yes, I do have my The Spectrum arriving tomorrow! ONE MORE SLEEP TO GO!
Did you program with it? Share tapes with your friends? We didn't in the US, even though we had Timex-Sinclairs. I think this shaped gaming and programming culture in the UK vs US quite a bit. Including the video game crash of '83
@@squirlmy I used to type in programs from game magazines all the time, and I'd write my own text adventures! But yes, I am guilty of sharing 90 minute cassettes with my friends at school with pirated games LOL.
This is a wonderful review. I picked mine up yesterday and it was like being back with a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in 40 years or so. Quite emotional actually. I cannot understate how important the Spectrum was in the early 80s to thousands of youngsters.
I from the UK and got my first Speccy way back in 1982 for Xmas i was 15 it was a massive hit in the uk. . I'm 58 now and i still have it and still working. My The Spectrum comes tomorrow and can't wait.
I live in US and I had a Spectrum growing up in India in the 80s. I just ordered mine from France couple of days back. Can't wait !! it will probably take a month to get here.
A classic basic, Spectrum BASIC program from the time when the Spectrum was available in popular retail outlets was. 10 PRINT "DIXONS ARE ROBBING WANKERS" 20 GOTO 10 RUN Traditionally you would type this into as many different demonstration computers as possible. You would also with any luck find some midi hifi units/ghetto blasters with alarm functions that you could set to come on with maximum FM radio noise volume within a minute of you legging it from the store.
I'm so glad this kind of thing was multinational! I used to keep a piece of paper in my wallet with a short Commodore 64 program that would print "COLECO SUCKS!" surrounded by asterisks on the screen, rapidly flash the background and border colors for maximum attention, and disable the Run/Stop and Restore keys (so the only way to stop the program was to turn the computer off). Any time I saw demo C-64 in a store I'd run it just before I left. Last year at a retrogaming convention, I recreated the program from memory minus disabling the keys and with a much more friendly message on a 64 that was available to play with. It's surprising how many memory addresses I still remember off the top of my head.
I kept going in the 90’s by changing the DOS prompts in their PC’s to Error reading drive C: (a)abort (r) retry (f)fail? No need to leg it. Just wait and watch them try to figure it out.😊
LOL! I'm a devoted player of Elite Dangerous, and through that I have a lot of interactions with people in the UK who grew up with Speccies. My very first computer was a ZX-80, and I just now realized that I pronounce them "zee eks 80" but "zed eks Spectrum".
I lived in Scotland 1987 to 1989 and wanted a ZX Spectrum, but it wasn't USA friendly. 38 years later and using The Spectacular emulator, I'm now a proud owner of this. Got it from Amazon UK and it arrived on Nov 25th.
The US counterpart to the Spectrum was the Timex/Sinclair 2068, released about a year after the Timex 1000. The 2068 was mostly compatible with the Spectrum but included ROM extensions that made it incompatible with some Spectrum games. It also had a more standardish keyboard. Fun fact: A Spectrum 'emulator' cart was released for the 2068, which essentially disabled the 2068 ROM and booted the 2068 with an actual Spectrum ROM via the 2068's cartridge slot.
I have a Timex Sinclair 2068 (T/S 2068) and without a ROM swap it won't run most Spectrum software. From Wikipedia: "However, these changes made the machine incompatible with most Spectrum machine-code software, which is to say virtually all commercial titles; less than 10% would run successfully. In an attempt to remedy this, many TS users built a cartridge with a Spectrum ROM for emulation. " There was also the Timex Computer (TC 2068) released overseas which was more compatible with the ZX Spectrum. It also featured an expansion connector that was compatible with the ZX Spectrum. For the T/S 2068 you need a adapter which is very hard to find. Also the joystick ports on the T/S 2068 will not work with most ZX Spectrum games. The changes Timex made to the T/S 2068 is probably why the machine failed. Had they made it compatible with the ZX Spectrum it may have had a much better chance at succeeding.
@@kumarp3074 Most likely. That, and I think that it was released at a time when the prices of other, more capable computers were falling. The feature set of the 2068 couldn't compare to the C64 or heavily clearance-priced TI computers.
@@bikeguychicago8728 Yeah the early 80s home computer market was very competitive and machines like the C64 and Atari 400/800 would likely have been a more attractive choice for a lot of users. However if Timex had made the T/S 2068 more compatible out of the box with the ZX Spectrum then users would have had access to the large ZX Spectrum software library and peripherals, which I think would have at least given T/S 2068 a chance.
@@kumarp3074 but a big chunk of that software library was made by amateurs in the UK. I don't think it was the incompatibility so much as American kids were trained to think only games in cartridges or floppy disks were worth time and trouble. If, for example, IBM came out with tape machines it would have been different. It needn't even promote the use of ordinary tape cassettes for trading and distributing the users own creations. Maybe if your family was rich and willing to pay for a modem so a kid could get on BBSes, you could share lots of code. I think it might have even been purposeful in the US to discourage use of tape cassettes. A conspiracy! The Machiavellian mechanisms of "Big Floppy"!!!!
@@squirlmy The software library for the TS 2068 was quite small. So without ZX Spectrum compatibility it would be an incredibly limited system. Floppy drives in the 80s were very expensive, costing as much if not more than the machine itself. Cartridges also cost many times what a tape would cost. So even if a machine had a cartridge slot a tape along with a tape drive would have cost less. Additionally Europe was going through a much more severe recession so consumer spending was much more tight there. That meant consumers in the US adopted things like floppies and cartridges much more quickly than Europe did. Large software companies in Europe like Ocean and Codemasters were still putting out tapes for machines like the Spectrum and C64 throughout the 80s.
Great review, Jon! Considering you're completely new to the system I think you did a fine job of showcasing what this new reproduction system can do :) I had a C64, but nearly all of my friends had Speccys (apart from that one guy with Amstrad CPC464). I really used to enjoy visiting those friends and getting to play their games - a lot ZX games might look a bit basic visually, but there are some absolute classics on that little machine worth anybody's time. These days I own four ZX Spectrums (48k, 128K, +2 & +3) and cherish them all dearly. The +2 has a permanent place in my setup, next to my C64, Atari 800XL and Amiga A500. Anyway, got The Spectrum on pre-order and looking forward to adding it to the collection :)
Here in Brazil, the Spectrum was very famous through its clones, the TK90X and later the TK95 (professional keyboard). After the Atari 2600, I moved on to a TK85 (ZX81) and finally the TK90X, where I learned to program at the age of 12. The Spectrum scene is still very strong here, with modern interface projects and addons like SD card readers and even Wi-Fi being made to this day.
Some of the Sinclair computers were sold in North America. They had a partnership with Timex (yes, the watch maker). A friend of mine had the Timex Sinclair 1000, which was basically a ZX81. The 2068 was similar to the Spectrum and was briefly sold here in Canada.
Never had The Spectrum growing up. Like you, I was firmly embedded in the Atari camp. I really love seeing these other platforms. Thanks GXG for the coverage!
This is already sold out in the UK on Amazon. Mine is about to ship tomorrow. Hopefully, the mail forwarding does not screw it up. I had good luck with them before. The UK version is the one to get for the special Crash magazine.
When US gamers talk about the mid 80s gaming crash, Europeans are like ??? Over here was the golden age of micro computers, Spectrum was the cheapest and incredibly versatile.
I remember the gaming crash really only affected consoles. My friends who owned computers weren't as put out since their C64, Apple or Atari computers still served a purpose beyond gaming and since most games at the time were, uhh, "copies" nobody really minded if games were shovelware or big releases.
Hey Jon, love this! The Speccy 48K was the first ever micro computer we owned when I was a kid. A couple of superlative arcade ports for the Speccy I'd recommend: R-Type, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Arkanoid and Chase HQ. The chap who programmed the Speccy Port of R-Type, Bob Pape, wrote a free e-book all about it a few years ago called "It's Behind You". It's well worth a read.
The port arrangement is apparently also a throwback to the original, there's 3 ports where the expansion slot would be, which is also where you'd plug a joystick interface and a 4th port where the audio I/O would be which you'd plug a cassette player to read games from cassetes. I wouldn't be surprised if someone made an interface to connect original joysticks and a 3d-printed shell to put it in just like the original joystick interfaces.
I started on the Sinclair ZX81 and I’ve had every Sinclair and Sinclair (Amstrad made) computer since then including the original ZX Spectrum. I get mine on Monday with any luck and it will be nice to own that original shape machine again, so many good memories! I still have a real ZX81 but I hope they bring out a combined ZX80, ZX81, Timex and Jupiter Ace machine, especially the Jupiter Ace as I’d like to do some programming in Forth on it. Back in the day I had Forth for the Spectrum too, you weren’t just limited to basic.
Great video. I'm in the UK and know the Speccy pretty well but your approach to it is really refreshing. Regarding sound, the older 16k and 48k models (with the rubber keys) only had a single-channel beeper, but the 128k models came later and had a pretty versatile 3-channel AY sound chip. Still no graphical improvements though, attribute colour clash was still a thing hence so many monochrome games, but people found really clever ways around that, and moreso in recent years. There have been hundreds if not thousands of additional games released over the last couple of decades, a few of which come preloaded on The Spectrum.
The only Spectrum relatives I ever even heard of in the U.S. were the ones under the Timex Sinclair banner. I'm so glad that today we can hear about all the great systems that never really took off here. Great review!
My very first computer was a Timex Sinclair ZX-80 that I think my dad got through a work contact who might've been in the UK. I've never seen another computer with the exact branding that mine has. It was a woefully underpowered little machine (1k of RAM, no sound, and B&W, with no sprites), but it's what I first learned BASIC on, and had me excited and ready to go when I got a C-64 a couple years later.
awesome review = thanks for going throough the options and features! Gives us speccy guys a clear picture of the features available! This looks like a box I wiould most welcome for nostalgic reasons!
Really enjoyed your take on the Speccy, I'm a UK person, still have my original with a cassette deck hooked up, but have one of these on order (but it's going under the tree until Xmas to relive the 80s nostalgia of Christmas morning!). Nice to see you enjoyed it, one thing you might not realise, the original doesn't have an on/off switch or button, you literally had to switch it off/on at the wall, or pull the power cable out/in to play a different game! In terms of games to take a look at : A fun adventure game: Terromolinos , Sports: Daley Thompsons Decathlon (a million joysticks were broken with that one over here!) and just a bit of fun: Hunchback II
Mine is arriving later today, the spectrum was my second computer back in the 80s, my first being the zx81 which was similar but black & white only and only came with 1K, but u could by a ram pack. I started out programming back then, wrote several games with a few published. Later on I did move onto the atari 8 bit and in the late 80 the atari St before getting my first Pc, 286. These days I program business software, however I am looking forward to writing some new specy games and loading up some of my old tapes after converting them, as I have around 2 dozen with old programs on I wrote back then.
I was lucky enough to be 12 years old when the ZX Spectrum came out and was a massive part of my childhood. Seeing you review the Spectrum brought back many happy memories for me. When the ZX Spectrum was originally released, it came in 16k and 48k versions. I had the 16k and upgraded it later when I had more pocket money (allowance). They later released other versions that had 128k with a solid plastic keyboard. Some of the games you are playing didn't work on the 16k/48k versions but they clearly do on the Retro The Spectrum version. As for the keyboard, the rubber keys are part of the joy. You have to remember that in the early 80s we didn't have PC's and the only keyboards that we had used were on a typewriter. As a child with a sponge like brain, we quickly got used to the Spectrum keyboard and spent many many hours copying printed programs that were included in the various magazines (such as Crash magazine) and typing the code in manually. I am really looking forward to getting the Retro Spectrum and reminiscing my childhood. 5 out of 5 for me
Even though the ZX Spectrum wasn’t popular in America, my cousins played games on it, because there were lot of import games on that computer, the cassette format is what made it easy to share games!
I remember in the mid 80s there was a second "console war" in Europe, after Atari vs Intellivision, it was ZX Spectrum vs Commodore 64 and it was great to have fun with friends, then everyone had their own version of what was best or worst. 😄😄 Great memories and great video Jon, thanks.
Finally a mini with a working Keyboard. It is great that it also supports 128K model (the games with music you played are for the later 128 model with a sound chip).
What a cool device. You did an amazing job of showcasing it. Especially with such short hands on time that you had. I am eagerly looking forward to some forthcoming Friday Plays videos on these “new old” games! Thanks, Jon.
Thanks for this review, Jon.... 👍🏻 I've been looking forward to this release of this old classic; I used to sell them back in 1982 from a small local computer shop here in the UK. When they first released they were only 16K machines, but a few months or so later, the 48K versions came out... I remember the store ordering in tons of 16-to-48K upgrade kits to bring those early machines up to full spec. and fitting them there sat at the counter in the shop!! They all worked properly too!! 😁 Spectrums sold like crazy, and so did the games (on cassette), and joystick interfaces, and the classic Quickshot joystick..... I still have a couple of variants of the Spectrum that all work just fine, but my 'new' one should be arriving tomorrow (22 Nov) so it'll be interesting to compare to my original 48K model, and get the nice crisp HDMI output instead of composite or RGB. 🙂
You can place your hand legitimately on your heart Jon, and be proud that it's pure californian silicon that powered that machine in the form of the Zilog Z80!
Oh, no doubt. Nothing you couldn't do on your own, but not without a great deal more effort! And the box itself is like physical emulation - I get to feel it with my own fingers!
The ZX Spectrum 48K changed my life for ever and took me down a path of geekyness and tech that defined me for ever. I knew that computer inside out and backwards and practically every game ever commercially released for it.
I was introduced to a ZX81 !! That a friend had in 1981!!, we spent hours typing in programs that all of a sudden were lost when the ram pack moved !!! 2 years later I have my own ZX Spectrum 48k, played to death until the Atari ST came out around 1987
Christmas 1983 I got my original Spectrum in the UK - I'm back in the UK at Christmas and can't wait for my new Spectrum to arrive in time for then. Great review.
Been looking forward greatly to these Spectrum videos. Haven't bought it myself yet, but happy for other you and fans of this classic British home computer.
Oh man, so many childhood hours spent playing on the Spectrum zx48k, zx48k+ and then later the 128k +2. Manic Miner was always my favourite and most played game. The one main aspect that you're definitely not missing out on here, is the vast time sink of loading games from a tape and the frustration of getting a tape loading error part way through after already waiting an eternity for a game to load.
Great review Jon. The Speccy was a classic and this version looks like a great bit of kit. There's a huge library of games out there for it so there's plenty of classics to try out 👍
Fantastic, excellent review. Looks like this console is well-designed and should make Spectrum owners very happy. Thank you for all your excellent reviews. I check in a few times every day and I learn a lot from your well-planned videos.
A friend of mine got one of these for Christmas. We are both in our 50s now. Just been to visit and Wow it’s a great little machine. Such nostalgia! They are currently as rare as rocking horse shit here in the UK, so I’ve had to pre-order one for early March delivery. Can’t wait!
@@GenXGrownUpYeah I know, bloody March! They just got everything right with this machine: Firstly, they made it physically identical to the original. Very Important for those that never owned one but wished they had. Secondly, they made great effort with the functionality of it. Sounds laughable nowadays, but the addition of game saves is a godsend. The ability to add more games via USB stick is also great. And it has good controller support. Thirdly, they didn’t take the piss (as us Brits would say) with the price. Mine will be a slightly late Birthday Present from the missus. 89 quid. That’ll do. Job done. Roll on March. . .
It's great more gamepads are supported out of the box than earlier firmwares for the C64 for example. This compatibility was improved with the Amiga and as firmwares were released.
Some of my best memories are of playing Spectrum games with my friend. I'm 51 now and for years have wanted a Spectrum again, my The Spectrum was supposed to arrive today but apparently there is a delay according to Amazon.
@@SpeccyMan Should have done the same, ordered 15th Sep, don't know how there can be a delay. Best bit is, I have no idea if we are talking days or weeks
I still use the original hardware Brings back so many memories Being a Genx myself ,we really did have great experiences with gaming and not to forget great TV programmes an much much more Thank you for your great videos
The faceplate and rubber keyboard mat are interchangeable with original/reproduction parts. I have just replaced the grey keyboard mat with a spare white one that I had laying around. These parts are readily available in the UK. It is possible to switch up the colours of the keyboard and faceplate, they are exactly the same as the original.
Original ZX Spectrums were plagued by quality control issues and cheap construction,* so it's great that it is being preserved, in a sense, by this creation. It's good that the UK market is finally getting some retro-love. Next up will probably be the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro and the Amstrad CPC! * The original Speccy didn't even have a power switch!
@@cnfuzz The main problem with most of Sinclair's stuff is that they were built to a low price point and sometimes that price point forced decisions that would otherwise not have been made. (The ZX80 and ZX81 come to mind. Perhaps the later Spectrums had sussed out most of the issues.)
Don’t! I’d be first in line for a ZX81 remake, if it could switch to ZX80 and Jupiter Ace for a bit of programming in Forth, that would be excellent. They could add hi-res modes to the 81, sound and colour expansions.
I never actually had one of these, but my mate Phil had one (after having the ZX81). I wrote a program in basic on it to automate and randomise mech weapon hits & damage for our Battletech games (I wish I still had it, but I never did document it... lol)!
Nice review, 52 UK, I loved the Specy starting with a 48, then upgrading to a + then 128+2, I managed to find it under Mum/Dad bed around a month before Xmas, wrapped, so I opened it, play with it, re-wraped it back up and waited for Xmas to play again, haha, I was that desprate to play it, the Sound was the best upgrade to me ... Anyhow I like The Spectrum but it is just an emulater in the end, I would love the "Spectrum Next", if only I knew about them whenthey had the kickstart, I would defo off put £150 down, but I'm not playing the re-sell e-bay £650 price that seems common.
Least you don't have to wait for 15 minutes for the games to load by cassette. I had the 48k version like yours and then the 128k with the built in cassette deck. Loved the 80's I did. My mother always did her best to support my hobbies bless her. We was poor in the 80's in the UK.
just downloaded every zx speccy game i ever had and i remember them all LOL and all the downloads come to 13mb i forgot how tiny the game files are lol
Snake escape is a more recent homebrew. That's why the color and music are souch better. Speccy has loads of awesome home brews and even hacks. Like Jetpac RX.
Damn good review from someone who never grew up with one. Think you are gonna love it, once you see more games, especially the Ultimate ones, like JetPac and Sabre Wulf....
I can't wait for a full size Amiga. I had the 500, 2000, 4000. The last two had Video Toasters. Hoping for a 600 or 1200 for it's compact design, but I most loved the 4000! Would love one!
I know everyone loves their games, but I would be extremely interested in seeing how the spectrum handles other vintage software like checkbook programs, or ham radio software.
Loved the ‘Rubber Devil’ but preferred the 128k spectrum with built in cassette deck. Some of the games on the back do give me fond memories like ‘Nodes of Yesod’ and Horrice Goes Skiing’
I also have no connection with the OG Spectrum and have no idea what I'd do with this but I'm geeking out anyway. There was a "Spectrum Next" which came out a few years ago which was quite a bit fancier than this, which I also geeked out about.
Snake Escape is a modern home-brew title (there is a very active home-brew scene) and uses something called the Nirvana Engine to remap (sort of) how the Spectrum handles colour. It only has sound on the later 128k machines (which had a proper sound chip) and not on the earlier models (like mine). Whether the music will drive me mad before I finish the game, I don't know. The furthest I've ever got is level 40. I'm looking forward to save states.
I have an original Vectrex. I'd love it if they made a Vectrex with an OLED HDRI to get those really bright vector lines. I wish everyone could play it. It's my favorite classic in my collection.
And if they could give it more horsepower and modern programmers could get faster draw rates out of it... OMG... Would really be something. I bought a couple games from modern programmers and they are astounding. There's quite a market for new games on it, but if a modern Vectrex came out, that could double the modern game sales easy.
Jon, thank you for this great video . I think I might be picking one up . I’ve been curious about this system since I was a kid and saw a Timex Sinclair (I think that was the US equivalent )sold at our local grocery store. I remember it was real cheap for a computer and the store sold it in weekly installments. I begged my dad for it but no dice. I also listen to some UK based retro game podcast and heard about the games.
Holy crap, the sound of this device... Still, very charming computer, definitely one of a kind. Never had this but it looks awesome. Also, the graphics are super colorful which is great to see.
Soon I will be the first Quebecois to experience the full power of the ZX Spectrum. Maybe not, but I like to think I will be the first soon. There is beauty in simplicity, the way the Spectrum handle color is brilliant.
I wish amazonUK would ship this to Canada, but they don't. I'll have to see if I can't find it on eBay at some point... I was born in '82 so Intellivision and Adam Colecovision were my first consoles, before the NES came out. The Spectrum is nostalgic if only because it was from the same era as my first consoles. I love minis and wish they came out everywhere. Having to track down these that don't come out in my country tend to cost me more money than I have in the budget.
Wow Jon... another fantastic review. I am like you I didn't grow up with the Spectrum, but I am a huge fan of RGL's products. I can't get enough of the BEAUTIFUL mini 400 & now with the kick ass Atari CXstick it's made playing the C64 & the 500 that much more fantastic. I gotta figure out how to display all these systems in all their glory. I def should figure out some sort of shelving unit for them. Just from a fun/retrogaming perspective I'd be tempted to pick it up. And yes these systems to me feel so much better than playing on a PC or Raspberry Pi. They've keep improving the interface & save states. It's funny I currently own a working Atari 800XL & C64, but I find myself playing these replicas more because of the save states & ease of use.
The ZX Spectrum was quite a popular computer in Italy during the 1980s, but most kids, like me, owned a Commodore 64 because it had better graphics and we primarily used computers for gaming. I never owned a ZX Spectrum, but I purchased this new version of The Spectrum, which, although not the original hardware, excites me almost as much as having the original machine. It's like reliving the emotions of a piece of the past that makes my heart race with the same intensity as back then. ☺
How did you get a UK version? I live in the US but can't seem to find a way to order the UK version which has the Crash booklet. Only way was to order from Amazon France but it won't have the Crash booklet.
Oh i loved my spectrum. At 10 years old this was awesome. I had the 16k and my Dad upgraded it to 48k, he then modded it into a case with proper mechanical keyboard. Was very cool as it looked nothing like anybody else's spectrum, that i knew at least.
@@GenXGrownUp@xenorac No, I think it's the ULAplus! Ant Attack also had this upgraded colour scheme. Very nice to put the modified games on this machine. I guess it's one of the 300 games from the "ULAplus™ 10th Anniversary Collection"
Dan Dare as a kid in the UK was the two page series from Jan 1950 onwards. It was almost more magazine than comic in some ways. But I would rock up every Saturday to our local newsagents to grab my copy. Interesting George Lucas based Yoda on The Mekon.
For me, the games that still stand up are some of the strategy games such as Lords of Midnight, Shadowfire, Rebelstar and the text adventures. I tried The Sentinel recently and fuck me it was painful - there is a fan remake called The Pinnacle that is spot on.
I will have mine on Monday. I live in the USA and never had a Spectrum before or tried any games for it. The system look very cool and when i saw it had a working keyboard i was like ok i am in! I cannot wait to try it for the first time! (Update: It went to backorder and hopefully will be sent out soon. Amazon UK got in a shipment of 1,000 for us who had pre-orders. It seems that no one from the USA can order this at the moment there. I am not sure why?)
The spectrum was my first computer, I bought the 48k version around November 1982. I think my first game was manic miner, my favourite game was jet pack and of course I had the hobbit. I still have an original 48k spectrum. I couldn't afford either a commodore or an Atari. Not sure about buying this new spectrum. My wife is getting a bit annoyed at the number of old style computers I have. I must say the more I watch your video, the more I'm tempted!!!
Thanks for the review. I've just ordered one. I just wondered if you could share the particular types of controllers that you said worked with The Spectrum please?
I grew up with the Spectrum in the UK, I got mine Christmas 1982 and the first game I bought was The Hobbit. I'm still a game developer now (I'm 54 and work for a UK studio) and yes, I do have my The Spectrum arriving tomorrow! ONE MORE SLEEP TO GO!
@@sheppertonstudios8253thats great...t got my colecovision christmas of 82... my favorite year of al!!
It's one day later, so congratulations! I hope you're having a fantastic time with it!
@@Datan0de Thank you buddy! Been on it since I finished work lol
Did you program with it? Share tapes with your friends? We didn't in the US, even though we had Timex-Sinclairs. I think this shaped gaming and programming culture in the UK vs US quite a bit. Including the video game crash of '83
@@squirlmy I used to type in programs from game magazines all the time, and I'd write my own text adventures! But yes, I am guilty of sharing 90 minute cassettes with my friends at school with pirated games LOL.
This is a wonderful review.
I picked mine up yesterday and it was like being back with a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in 40 years or so. Quite emotional actually. I cannot understate how important the Spectrum was in the early 80s to thousands of youngsters.
I from the UK and got my first Speccy way back in 1982 for Xmas i was 15 it was a massive hit in the uk. . I'm 58 now and i still have it and still working. My The Spectrum comes tomorrow and can't wait.
i had a seccy when i was a kid as well im gettin the spectrum christmas i downloaded games for it ready for the usb stick
@@RichyJMovies how did you download the games? nice job
I live in US and I had a Spectrum growing up in India in the 80s. I just ordered mine from France couple of days back. Can't wait !! it will probably take a month to get here.
A classic basic, Spectrum BASIC program from the time when the Spectrum was available in popular retail outlets was.
10 PRINT "DIXONS ARE ROBBING WANKERS"
20 GOTO 10
RUN
Traditionally you would type this into as many different demonstration computers as possible. You would also with any luck find some midi hifi units/ghetto blasters with alarm functions that you could set to come on with maximum FM radio noise volume within a minute of you legging it from the store.
Ah, the joys of 1980s juvenile delinquincy.
Only amongst the lower primates. 😉
I'm so glad this kind of thing was multinational! I used to keep a piece of paper in my wallet with a short Commodore 64 program that would print "COLECO SUCKS!" surrounded by asterisks on the screen, rapidly flash the background and border colors for maximum attention, and disable the Run/Stop and Restore keys (so the only way to stop the program was to turn the computer off). Any time I saw demo C-64 in a store I'd run it just before I left.
Last year at a retrogaming convention, I recreated the program from memory minus disabling the keys and with a much more friendly message on a 64 that was available to play with. It's surprising how many memory addresses I still remember off the top of my head.
haha used to do this all the time :)
I kept going in the 90’s by changing the DOS prompts in their PC’s to Error reading drive C: (a)abort (r) retry (f)fail?
No need to leg it. Just wait and watch them try to figure it out.😊
It is so refreshing to hear an American correctly say ZX Spectrum.
It should be no surprise that I have just bought one of these.
Some of us ARE teachable! 😜
Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy your new purchase.
LOL! I'm a devoted player of Elite Dangerous, and through that I have a lot of interactions with people in the UK who grew up with Speccies. My very first computer was a ZX-80, and I just now realized that I pronounce them "zee eks 80" but "zed eks Spectrum".
I lived in Scotland 1987 to 1989 and wanted a ZX Spectrum, but it wasn't USA friendly. 38 years later and using The Spectacular emulator, I'm now a proud owner of this. Got it from Amazon UK and it arrived on Nov 25th.
The US counterpart to the Spectrum was the Timex/Sinclair 2068, released about a year after the Timex 1000. The 2068 was mostly compatible with the Spectrum but included ROM extensions that made it incompatible with some Spectrum games. It also had a more standardish keyboard.
Fun fact: A Spectrum 'emulator' cart was released for the 2068, which essentially disabled the 2068 ROM and booted the 2068 with an actual Spectrum ROM via the 2068's cartridge slot.
I have a Timex Sinclair 2068 (T/S 2068) and without a ROM swap it won't run most Spectrum software. From Wikipedia: "However, these changes made the machine incompatible with most Spectrum machine-code software, which is to say virtually all commercial titles; less than 10% would run successfully. In an attempt to remedy this, many TS users built a cartridge with a Spectrum ROM for emulation. "
There was also the Timex Computer (TC 2068) released overseas which was more compatible with the ZX Spectrum. It also featured an expansion connector that was compatible with the ZX Spectrum. For the T/S 2068 you need a adapter which is very hard to find. Also the joystick ports on the T/S 2068 will not work with most ZX Spectrum games.
The changes Timex made to the T/S 2068 is probably why the machine failed. Had they made it compatible with the ZX Spectrum it may have had a much better chance at succeeding.
@@kumarp3074 Most likely. That, and I think that it was released at a time when the prices of other, more capable computers were falling. The feature set of the 2068 couldn't compare to the C64 or heavily clearance-priced TI computers.
@@bikeguychicago8728 Yeah the early 80s home computer market was very competitive and machines like the C64 and Atari 400/800 would likely have been a more attractive choice for a lot of users. However if Timex had made the T/S 2068 more compatible out of the box with the ZX Spectrum then users would have had access to the large ZX Spectrum software library and peripherals, which I think would have at least given T/S 2068 a chance.
@@kumarp3074 but a big chunk of that software library was made by amateurs in the UK. I don't think it was the incompatibility so much as American kids were trained to think only games in cartridges or floppy disks were worth time and trouble. If, for example, IBM came out with tape machines it would have been different. It needn't even promote the use of ordinary tape cassettes for trading and distributing the users own creations. Maybe if your family was rich and willing to pay for a modem so a kid could get on BBSes, you could share lots of code. I think it might have even been purposeful in the US to discourage use of tape cassettes. A conspiracy! The Machiavellian mechanisms of "Big Floppy"!!!!
@@squirlmy The software library for the TS 2068 was quite small. So without ZX Spectrum compatibility it would be an incredibly limited system. Floppy drives in the 80s were very expensive, costing as much if not more than the machine itself. Cartridges also cost many times what a tape would cost. So even if a machine had a cartridge slot a tape along with a tape drive would have cost less. Additionally Europe was going through a much more severe recession so consumer spending was much more tight there. That meant consumers in the US adopted things like floppies and cartridges much more quickly than Europe did. Large software companies in Europe like Ocean and Codemasters were still putting out tapes for machines like the Spectrum and C64 throughout the 80s.
Great review, Jon! Considering you're completely new to the system I think you did a fine job of showcasing what this new reproduction system can do :)
I had a C64, but nearly all of my friends had Speccys (apart from that one guy with Amstrad CPC464). I really used to enjoy visiting those friends and getting to play their games - a lot ZX games might look a bit basic visually, but there are some absolute classics on that little machine worth anybody's time.
These days I own four ZX Spectrums (48k, 128K, +2 & +3) and cherish them all dearly. The +2 has a permanent place in my setup, next to my C64, Atari 800XL and Amiga A500.
Anyway, got The Spectrum on pre-order and looking forward to adding it to the collection :)
I bet you can't guess which one I had. 😉
I did eventually move to the Commodore camp when I bought my Amiga A500.
Agree, new to the channel, just bought the spectrum, great review
A absolute gem of a machine. Glad to have found your channel,look forward to see you play some of the Ultimate games.
Here in Brazil, the Spectrum was very famous through its clones, the TK90X and later the TK95 (professional keyboard). After the Atari 2600, I moved on to a TK85 (ZX81) and finally the TK90X, where I learned to program at the age of 12. The Spectrum scene is still very strong here, with modern interface projects and addons like SD card readers and even Wi-Fi being made to this day.
Some of the Sinclair computers were sold in North America. They had a partnership with Timex (yes, the watch maker). A friend of mine had the Timex Sinclair 1000, which was basically a ZX81. The 2068 was similar to the Spectrum and was briefly sold here in Canada.
Never had The Spectrum growing up. Like you, I was firmly embedded in the Atari camp. I really love seeing these other platforms. Thanks GXG for the coverage!
This is already sold out in the UK on Amazon. Mine is about to ship tomorrow. Hopefully, the mail forwarding does not screw it up. I had good luck with them before.
The UK version is the one to get for the special Crash magazine.
When US gamers talk about the mid 80s gaming crash, Europeans are like ??? Over here was the golden age of micro computers, Spectrum was the cheapest and incredibly versatile.
That's true. There was no crash until around 1993 when the Amiga died (even it's still alive 😅)
Yes is true, no gaming crash here, only a slow grown up, overall there was only a reduction in prices, luckily for us!
Most definitely. When I reference it I try to remember to call it the "North American Crash."
I remember the gaming crash really only affected consoles. My friends who owned computers weren't as put out since their C64, Apple or Atari computers still served a purpose beyond gaming and since most games at the time were, uhh, "copies" nobody really minded if games were shovelware or big releases.
The crash only affected consoles, not the computers
Hey Jon, love this! The Speccy 48K was the first ever micro computer we owned when I was a kid. A couple of superlative arcade ports for the Speccy I'd recommend: R-Type, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Arkanoid and Chase HQ. The chap who programmed the Speccy Port of R-Type, Bob Pape, wrote a free e-book all about it a few years ago called "It's Behind You". It's well worth a read.
The port arrangement is apparently also a throwback to the original, there's 3 ports where the expansion slot would be, which is also where you'd plug a joystick interface and a 4th port where the audio I/O would be which you'd plug a cassette player to read games from cassetes. I wouldn't be surprised if someone made an interface to connect original joysticks and a 3d-printed shell to put it in just like the original joystick interfaces.
I started on the Sinclair ZX81 and I’ve had every Sinclair and Sinclair (Amstrad made) computer since then including the original ZX Spectrum. I get mine on Monday with any luck and it will be nice to own that original shape machine again, so many good memories! I still have a real ZX81 but I hope they bring out a combined ZX80, ZX81, Timex and Jupiter Ace machine, especially the Jupiter Ace as I’d like to do some programming in Forth on it. Back in the day I had Forth for the Spectrum too, you weren’t just limited to basic.
Great video. I'm in the UK and know the Speccy pretty well but your approach to it is really refreshing. Regarding sound, the older 16k and 48k models (with the rubber keys) only had a single-channel beeper, but the 128k models came later and had a pretty versatile 3-channel AY sound chip. Still no graphical improvements though, attribute colour clash was still a thing hence so many monochrome games, but people found really clever ways around that, and moreso in recent years. There have been hundreds if not thousands of additional games released over the last couple of decades, a few of which come preloaded on The Spectrum.
The only Spectrum relatives I ever even heard of in the U.S. were the ones under the Timex Sinclair banner. I'm so glad that today we can hear about all the great systems that never really took off here. Great review!
You're absolutely right, the Spectrum was incredibly popular elsewhere.
My very first computer was a Timex Sinclair ZX-80 that I think my dad got through a work contact who might've been in the UK. I've never seen another computer with the exact branding that mine has. It was a woefully underpowered little machine (1k of RAM, no sound, and B&W, with no sprites), but it's what I first learned BASIC on, and had me excited and ready to go when I got a C-64 a couple years later.
Looks great! ... I wish Amstrad would do this for the CPC 464.
awesome review = thanks for going throough the options and features! Gives us speccy guys a clear picture of the features available! This looks like a box I wiould most welcome for nostalgic reasons!
Really enjoyed your take on the Speccy, I'm a UK person, still have my original with a cassette deck hooked up, but have one of these on order (but it's going under the tree until Xmas to relive the 80s nostalgia of Christmas morning!).
Nice to see you enjoyed it, one thing you might not realise, the original doesn't have an on/off switch or button, you literally had to switch it off/on at the wall, or pull the power cable out/in to play a different game!
In terms of games to take a look at : A fun adventure game: Terromolinos , Sports: Daley Thompsons Decathlon (a million joysticks were broken with that one over here!) and just a bit of fun: Hunchback II
Mine is arriving later today, the spectrum was my second computer back in the 80s, my first being the zx81 which was similar but black & white only and only came with 1K, but u could by a ram pack. I started out programming back then, wrote several games with a few published. Later on I did move onto the atari 8 bit and in the late 80 the atari St before getting my first Pc, 286. These days I program business software, however I am looking forward to writing some new specy games and loading up some of my old tapes after converting them, as I have around 2 dozen with old programs on I wrote back then.
I was lucky enough to be 12 years old when the ZX Spectrum came out and was a massive part of my childhood.
Seeing you review the Spectrum brought back many happy memories for me.
When the ZX Spectrum was originally released, it came in 16k and 48k versions. I had the 16k and upgraded it later when I had more pocket money (allowance). They later released other versions that had 128k with a solid plastic keyboard.
Some of the games you are playing didn't work on the 16k/48k versions but they clearly do on the Retro The Spectrum version.
As for the keyboard, the rubber keys are part of the joy. You have to remember that in the early 80s we didn't have PC's and the only keyboards that we had used were on a typewriter. As a child with a sponge like brain, we quickly got used to the Spectrum keyboard and spent many many hours copying printed programs that were included in the various magazines (such as Crash magazine) and typing the code in manually.
I am really looking forward to getting the Retro Spectrum and reminiscing my childhood. 5 out of 5 for me
Even though the ZX Spectrum wasn’t popular in America, my cousins played games on it, because there were lot of import games on that computer, the cassette format is what made it easy to share games!
I remember in the mid 80s there was a second "console war" in Europe, after Atari vs Intellivision, it was ZX Spectrum vs Commodore 64 and it was great to have fun with friends,
then everyone had their own version of what was best or worst. 😄😄
Great memories and great video Jon, thanks.
Playground wars, ZX v C64 😂 plus that one kid who everyone just laughed at for having an Amstrad
@@robdean5634 Oh Yes. I remember the Amstrad, we thought it was a loser PC, but it was a good machine
@@lucavercellotti9959 I bought one 2 years ago, can't believe I waited so long! 😂
@@robdean5634or dragon 32
Finally a mini with a working Keyboard. It is great that it also supports 128K model (the games with music you played are for the later 128 model with a sound chip).
Looks like it's full size - not a 'mini'! It doesn't need to be a 'mini' as the Specie was a small micro anyway....
What a cool device. You did an amazing job of showcasing it. Especially with such short hands on time that you had. I am eagerly looking forward to some forthcoming Friday Plays videos on these “new old” games! Thanks, Jon.
Thank you for pronouncing it correctly: the Zed Ex Spectrum 👍 (and also "Speccy")
Nice one!
Thanks for this review, Jon.... 👍🏻
I've been looking forward to this release of this old classic; I used to sell them back in 1982 from a small local computer shop here in the UK. When they first released they were only 16K machines, but a few months or so later, the 48K versions came out... I remember the store ordering in tons of 16-to-48K upgrade kits to bring those early machines up to full spec. and fitting them there sat at the counter in the shop!! They all worked properly too!! 😁
Spectrums sold like crazy, and so did the games (on cassette), and joystick interfaces, and the classic Quickshot joystick.....
I still have a couple of variants of the Spectrum that all work just fine, but my 'new' one should be arriving tomorrow (22 Nov) so it'll be interesting to compare to my original 48K model, and get the nice crisp HDMI output instead of composite or RGB. 🙂
You can place your hand legitimately on your heart Jon, and be proud that it's pure californian silicon that powered that machine in the form of the Zilog Z80!
As an outsider, I like the QOL features they put into it to make it a more satisfying experience than you'd probably get out of emulation.
Oh, no doubt. Nothing you couldn't do on your own, but not without a great deal more effort! And the box itself is like physical emulation - I get to feel it with my own fingers!
The ZX Spectrum 48K changed my life for ever and took me down a path of geekyness and tech that defined me for ever. I knew that computer inside out and backwards and practically every game ever commercially released for it.
I was introduced to a ZX81 !! That a friend had in 1981!!, we spent hours typing in programs that all of a sudden were lost when the ram pack moved !!! 2 years later I have my own ZX Spectrum 48k, played to death until the Atari ST came out around 1987
Wonder if Sir Clive Sinclair is looking down and smiling to see his Speccy is still around in 2024?
Doubt it. He's dead so won't be looking down on anything.
@@greg0uk that we know.
Jet Set Fucking Willy😂
Christmas 1983 I got my original Spectrum in the UK - I'm back in the UK at Christmas and can't wait for my new Spectrum to arrive in time for then. Great review.
Been looking forward greatly to these Spectrum videos. Haven't bought it myself yet, but happy for other you and fans of this classic British home computer.
Oh man, so many childhood hours spent playing on the Spectrum zx48k, zx48k+ and then later the 128k +2. Manic Miner was always my favourite and most played game. The one main aspect that you're definitely not missing out on here, is the vast time sink of loading games from a tape and the frustration of getting a tape loading error part way through after already waiting an eternity for a game to load.
I can relate! I got a 410 tape drive with my Atari 800, so we'd start Zaxxon loading, then go outside & play for a while!
@GenXGrownUp I tried that a couple of times too, but my Mum kept turning it off because we "weren't playing on it", so it didn't help.
I first played on a ZX80, but then I owned a Spectrum 48k, followed by a Commodre 64. Glorious gaming days!
The size reminds of the Timex Sinclair 1000. I really wanted that, but ended up getting the C64 a few years later.
Great review Jon. The Speccy was a classic and this version looks like a great bit of kit. There's a huge library of games out there for it so there's plenty of classics to try out 👍
Fantastic, excellent review. Looks like this console is well-designed and should make Spectrum owners very happy. Thank you for all your excellent reviews. I check in a few times every day and I learn a lot from your well-planned videos.
A friend of mine got one of these for Christmas. We are both in our 50s now. Just been to visit and Wow it’s a great little machine. Such nostalgia! They are currently as rare as rocking horse shit here in the UK, so I’ve had to pre-order one for early March delivery. Can’t wait!
Wow, MARCH delivery! They must've drastically underestimated the demand. Here's hoping you get yours early! 😀
@@GenXGrownUpYeah I know, bloody March! They just got everything right with this machine:
Firstly, they made it physically identical to the original. Very Important for those that never owned one but wished they had.
Secondly, they made great effort with the functionality of it. Sounds laughable nowadays, but the addition of game saves is a godsend. The ability to add more games via USB stick is also great. And it has good controller support.
Thirdly, they didn’t take the piss (as us Brits would say) with the price. Mine will be a slightly late Birthday Present from the missus. 89 quid. That’ll do. Job done. Roll on March. . .
Too late to explore the earth, too young to go to the moon, but just in time to rediscover the amazing ZX Spectrum.
It's great more gamepads are supported out of the box than earlier firmwares for the C64 for example. This compatibility was improved with the Amiga and as firmwares were released.
Some of my best memories are of playing Spectrum games with my friend. I'm 51 now and for years have wanted a Spectrum again, my The Spectrum was supposed to arrive today but apparently there is a delay according to Amazon.
I just bought mine in Smyths.
@@SpeccyMan Should have done the same, ordered 15th Sep, don't know how there can be a delay. Best bit is, I have no idea if we are talking days or weeks
I still use the original hardware
Brings back so many memories
Being a Genx myself ,we really did have great experiences with gaming and not to forget great TV programmes an much much more
Thank you for your great videos
Thanks for watching!
Well done review! We missed out on some fun titles in the States 😁
I'd tend to agree. Not all bangers, but plenty of simple fun. 😊
Some games really require a bit of brainpower though! 🙃
The faceplate and rubber keyboard mat are interchangeable with original/reproduction parts. I have just replaced the grey keyboard mat with a spare white one that I had laying around. These parts are readily available in the UK. It is possible to switch up the colours of the keyboard and faceplate, they are exactly the same as the original.
That's pretty cool!
Original ZX Spectrums were plagued by quality control issues and cheap construction,* so it's great that it is being preserved, in a sense, by this creation. It's good that the UK market is finally getting some retro-love. Next up will probably be the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro and the Amstrad CPC!
* The original Speccy didn't even have a power switch!
The Amiga full size is due 2025.
Never had issues with original spectrum apart if you let it on for 2 days while typing in a program
@@EnjoySynthSounds Very good. Looking forward to it.
@@cnfuzz The main problem with most of Sinclair's stuff is that they were built to a low price point and sometimes that price point forced decisions that would otherwise not have been made. (The ZX80 and ZX81 come to mind. Perhaps the later Spectrums had sussed out most of the issues.)
Great review, is that an SF30 pro you are using ?
Thanks for watching. Yep, you nailed it on the controller. 😉
So when's 'The 81' (ZX-81 / Timex/Sinclair 1000/1500) coming? 😛
Don’t! I’d be first in line for a ZX81 remake, if it could switch to ZX80 and Jupiter Ace for a bit of programming in Forth, that would be excellent. They could add hi-res modes to the 81, sound and colour expansions.
I never actually had one of these, but my mate Phil had one (after having the ZX81).
I wrote a program in basic on it to automate and randomise mech weapon hits & damage for our Battletech games (I wish I still had it, but I never did document it... lol)!
Nice review, 52 UK, I loved the Specy starting with a 48, then upgrading to a + then 128+2, I managed to find it under Mum/Dad bed around a month before Xmas, wrapped, so I opened it, play with it, re-wraped it back up and waited for Xmas to play again, haha, I was that desprate to play it, the Sound was the best upgrade to me ... Anyhow I like The Spectrum but it is just an emulater in the end, I would love the "Spectrum Next", if only I knew about them whenthey had the kickstart, I would defo off put £150 down, but I'm not playing the re-sell e-bay £650 price that seems common.
Knight Lore was my fav game on the Speccy
Great video and really well done Jon! Thanks for sharing :-)
Least you don't have to wait for 15 minutes for the games to load by cassette. I had the 48k version like yours and then the 128k with the built in cassette deck. Loved the 80's I did. My mother always did her best to support my hobbies bless her. We was poor in the 80's in the UK.
If you want to relive that experience, that's possible here, too!
I'm in the UK had one as a kid gonna get this Christmas and stuff USB stick full of speccy games all if em
just downloaded every zx speccy game i ever had and i remember them all LOL and all the downloads come to 13mb i forgot how tiny the game files are lol
Thanks for the review. Might of been my first gaming.. been a while I've forgotten 😂❤😂
Great stuff and great video, thanks!! I just got mine in Portugal and looking forward to revisit my past 😁😁 cheers
Snake escape is a more recent homebrew. That's why the color and music are souch better. Speccy has loads of awesome home brews and even hacks. Like Jetpac RX.
Great review!!!! The Spectrum is now on my want list!
Damn good review from someone who never grew up with one. Think you are gonna love it, once you see more games, especially the Ultimate ones, like JetPac and Sabre Wulf....
In a dept. store in The Netherlands they had Spectrum C64 and other gear on display (1983 or therabouts).
I can't wait for a full size Amiga. I had the 500, 2000, 4000. The last two had Video Toasters. Hoping for a 600 or 1200 for it's compact design, but I most loved the 4000! Would love one!
I know everyone loves their games, but I would be extremely interested in seeing how the spectrum handles other vintage software like checkbook programs, or ham radio software.
Already pre-ordered, although the Spectrum wasn't well received in Germany. It was Amstrad CPC vs. C64 over here.
Loved the ‘Rubber Devil’ but preferred the 128k spectrum with built in cassette deck. Some of the games on the back do give me fond memories like ‘Nodes of Yesod’ and Horrice Goes Skiing’
I also have no connection with the OG Spectrum and have no idea what I'd do with this but I'm geeking out anyway. There was a "Spectrum Next" which came out a few years ago which was quite a bit fancier than this, which I also geeked out about.
The instruction manual matches the original manual from back in the days, that's a cool detail.
Snake Escape is a modern home-brew title (there is a very active home-brew scene) and uses something called the Nirvana Engine to remap (sort of) how the Spectrum handles colour. It only has sound on the later 128k machines (which had a proper sound chip) and not on the earlier models (like mine). Whether the music will drive me mad before I finish the game, I don't know. The furthest I've ever got is level 40. I'm looking forward to save states.
I have an original Vectrex. I'd love it if they made a Vectrex with an OLED HDRI to get those really bright vector lines. I wish everyone could play it. It's my favorite classic in my collection.
And if they could give it more horsepower and modern programmers could get faster draw rates out of it... OMG... Would really be something. I bought a couple games from modern programmers and they are astounding. There's quite a market for new games on it, but if a modern Vectrex came out, that could double the modern game sales easy.
Oh, man - a modern Vectrex? That would be amazing!
is there anywhere in the usa to buy this amazon link not shipping to usa
Really great video - I had one as a teen in the 80s - I doubt I'll buy one but I really enjoyed your review.
Jon, thank you for this great video . I think I might be picking one up . I’ve been curious about this system since I was a kid and saw a Timex Sinclair (I think that was the US equivalent )sold at our local grocery store. I remember it was real cheap for a computer and the store sold it in weekly installments. I begged my dad for it but no dice. I also listen to some UK based retro game podcast and heard about the games.
where to buy in the US?
Good job I've got an original issue 1 crash magazine and some original zx spectrums. But my The spectrum is ordered!
never had one as a kid
but used an apple ii pc at school
the graphics from that era are v endearing
i was able to source a zx here in the states
for original hardware
u kinda need a nice pvm that supports both PAL/NTSC 😅
Holy crap, the sound of this device... Still, very charming computer, definitely one of a kind. Never had this but it looks awesome. Also, the graphics are super colorful which is great to see.
very nice the way they packaged this ..and the menus and options are a plenty!!
Soon I will be the first Quebecois to experience the full power of the ZX Spectrum. Maybe not, but I like to think I will be the first soon. There is beauty in simplicity, the way the Spectrum handle color is brilliant.
I wish amazonUK would ship this to Canada, but they don't. I'll have to see if I can't find it on eBay at some point... I was born in '82 so Intellivision and Adam Colecovision were my first consoles, before the NES came out. The Spectrum is nostalgic if only because it was from the same era as my first consoles.
I love minis and wish they came out everywhere. Having to track down these that don't come out in my country tend to cost me more money than I have in the budget.
Mine didn't have the protective film on the keyboard. Everything was all sealed though.
Wow Jon... another fantastic review. I am like you I didn't grow up with the Spectrum, but I am a huge fan of RGL's products. I can't get enough of the BEAUTIFUL mini 400 & now with the kick ass Atari CXstick it's made playing the C64 & the 500 that much more fantastic. I gotta figure out how to display all these systems in all their glory. I def should figure out some sort of shelving unit for them.
Just from a fun/retrogaming perspective I'd be tempted to pick it up. And yes these systems to me feel so much better than playing on a PC or Raspberry Pi. They've keep improving the interface & save states. It's funny I currently own a working Atari 800XL & C64, but I find myself playing these replicas more because of the save states & ease of use.
The ZX Spectrum was quite a popular computer in Italy during the 1980s, but most kids, like me, owned a Commodore 64 because it had better graphics and we primarily used computers for gaming. I never owned a ZX Spectrum, but I purchased this new version of The Spectrum, which, although not the original hardware, excites me almost as much as having the original machine. It's like reliving the emotions of a piece of the past that makes my heart race with the same intensity as back then. ☺
Can relate. 😜
just some great review, keep up your top content, thx !
How did you get a UK version? I live in the US but can't seem to find a way to order the UK version which has the Crash booklet. Only way was to order from Amazon France but it won't have the Crash booklet.
Where did you order it from? Can’t find anyone willing to ship to the States.
Oh i loved my spectrum. At 10 years old this was awesome. I had the 16k and my Dad upgraded it to 48k, he then modded it into a case with proper mechanical keyboard. Was very cool as it looked nothing like anybody else's spectrum, that i knew at least.
The ribbon cables are the same size as in the originals. So it might be possible to insert into them pro keyboards.
14:35 In Exolon hold down the fire button to launch a missile. My first machine was an Atari 2600, followed by a ZX Spectrum a few years later.
Thank you! 😆
Why is the musical keyboard on the intro screen to Manic Miner White and Yellow? I just checked and it should be White and Black. This is odd to me!
Oh, that's interesting. Must be an emulation error. Something for RGL to address in the first firmware update. 😉
@@GenXGrownUp@xenorac No, I think it's the ULAplus! Ant Attack also had this upgraded colour scheme. Very nice to put the modified games on this machine. I guess it's one of the 300 games from the "ULAplus™ 10th Anniversary Collection"
Dan Dare as a kid in the UK was the two page series from Jan 1950 onwards. It was almost more magazine than comic in some ways. But I would rock up every Saturday to our local newsagents to grab my copy. Interesting George Lucas based Yoda on The Mekon.
👏🏻 great review from the UK 😀
For me, the games that still stand up are some of the strategy games such as Lords of Midnight, Shadowfire, Rebelstar and the text adventures. I tried The Sentinel recently and fuck me it was painful - there is a fan remake called The Pinnacle that is spot on.
What a solid review and from the perspective I too would have so that is very much appreciated Jon and GxGang 👊🏻🕹️😎
The Kempston joystick interface was essentially the same as the Atari one most systems used.
I will have mine on Monday. I live in the USA and never had a Spectrum before or tried any games for it. The system look very cool and when i saw it had a working keyboard i was like ok i am in! I cannot wait to try it for the first time! (Update: It went to backorder and hopefully will be sent out soon. Amazon UK got in a shipment of 1,000 for us who had pre-orders. It seems that no one from the USA can order this at the moment there. I am not sure why?)
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.
The spectrum was my first computer, I bought the 48k version around November 1982.
I think my first game was manic miner, my favourite game was jet pack and of course I had the hobbit.
I still have an original 48k spectrum.
I couldn't afford either a commodore or an Atari.
Not sure about buying this new spectrum. My wife is getting a bit annoyed at the number of old style computers I have.
I must say the more I watch your video, the more I'm tempted!!!
Thanks for the review. I've just ordered one. I just wondered if you could share the particular types of controllers that you said worked with The Spectrum please?