Four Play - Battle City - 8-bit Computer Comparison
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- Опубліковано 20 чер 2024
- In this episode of Four Play we compare the 8-bit home computer conversions of the classic Namco arcade game Battle City. But which conversion is the best - MSX, Fujitsu FM-7, Sharp X1 or Sinclair ZX Spectrum? You decide!
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#retrogaming #namco #arcade - Ігри
My thoughts: I'll just come out and say it, the ZX Spectrum version is the best. It might not be official, it's a Russian clone of the game from 1995, but it has everything - colourful graphics, great gameplay and absolutely superb sound. Next place is a bit harder, but I'll rule out the MSX version and put that last because it's actually a conversion of the original Tank Battalion arcade game and not it's more advanced sequel Battle City, so is a lot more simple and this port is very bare bones too, which doesn't help. So the runner up is either the Sharp X1 or Fujitsu FM-7, which are near identical and seem to share all their assets, but I am going to go FM-7 because I like the colours better.
Seeing the cracked opening screens for the ZX Spectrum version put a big smile on my face - there's a certain charm to those screens and the awesome music they often had.
As for this week's pick, I'll go with the MSX port - the perfect blend of sound, music, graphics and gameplay.
"Welcome Rum Runners..."
Now that you've heard it, you can't un-hear it!
Nope, can't understand how anyone hears that!
I was playing the Famicom port yesterday.
Interesting bunch this week. The only one I have any experience with is the MSX version which, sadly, is quite basic.
Did the Spectrum homebrew have an option for sound effects instead?
Not that I saw, but I love the music so wouldn't have chosen them anyway.
all versions are good the zx spectrum versions is the best but its a home brew and homebrews on zx spectrum are almost always better than the games that came out when it was new .but this home brew is from a unique period 1995 .so while its from after the zx spectrum got discontinued it was only 2 years later and many people were still using it as their main computer because it was cheap in a time when a new pc was still too expensive for many people. and the internet was just getting started but wasn't seen as essential yet .so its hard to judge it as a modern game or a true retro game. but if it was ported to the zx spectrum at the same time as the other versions it wouldn't have been this impressive .but it could have still been good since its quite a simple game even if a lot of the zxspectum ports were bad even by the standards of the time .
A lot of people keep saying it's a homebrew but it's not, it's a public domain game if anything because in 1995 in Russia the ZX Spectrum was still very much a commercial system that was still sold in shops. The games were usually distributed via local computer clubs and the like and sometimes sold at markets.
That's hard competition here! But I have my thoughts, I'll move clockwise:
Sinclair ZX Spectrum: A quite surprising homebrew in its opening and presentation, very nice graphics and music, however... Why so slow in the gameplay?! That's sad.
Sharp X1: It feels more in line with the arcade original, having good graphics in it. The sound wasn't pleasing to me and the soundtrack didn't play well quite possibly due to an emulation issue. Despite that, the gameplay feels OK.
Fujitsu FM-7: My favorite of the bunch. Probably because it's not only faithful to the arcade, but also it has a flavor of proximity with my very favorite 8-bit version, which is the Famicom/NES. Everything feels right in it and well-done.
MSX: The poorest of them all, unfortunately. Namcot has made understandably decisions of adaptation in the system for this version, however Tank Battalion lacks in graphics as much as in extra items to feel less repetitive in the gameplay.
Conclusion: The surprising winner is the Fujitsu FM-7 for me, it's the best Battle City version here, Sharp X1 in 2nd, MSX in 3rd (because it still feels like Battle City) and the homebrew Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 4th because of the terribly slow gameplay, despite the enhancements.
The Spectrum version is quite slow, well until you get a speed up icon, but I found that I got used to the speed quite quickly and after-all, tanks aren't fast!
@@TheLairdsLair Considering that, I might change the ZX Spectrum from the last to the 3rd place, then!
Spectrum forever!!!!