ldelsarte Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 I am a very loyal Atari 8-bit fan with cubic meters of hardware, kits, boxes and software. However, out of curiosity, I also have a TI99/4A, Apple IIe (& platinum), CBS ColecoVision (& all the add-ons), very old MS-DOS laptops, and ... since very recently, I got cheaply 2x C64, 1x C128, a 1541 drive. I bought a Kung Fu Flash cartridge (very handy) I know the Atari 8-bit games very well, I've been playing with my 800XL since I was 13, in 1984. And I still play today thanks to my FujiNet to Boulder Dash, Montezuma's revenge, The Goonies, Burger Time, Mr TNT, Drop zone, Bruce Lee, Galaxian, The Great American Cross-Country Road Race, etc, etc. But the C64 is brand new to me. I don't know where to start the exploration. I'm just looking for some advice: if you are familiar with Atari 8-bit and C64 games, which C64 games do I really need to play? Good C64 games that don't exist on the Atari 8-bit... Good C64 games that are really better made than their Atari 8-bit counterpart... (the opposite also exists, I know some)... Do you have any suggestions for me? After this escapade, I promise, the Commodore hardware will be back in the basement. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxl Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Turrican 2 Zak McKracken Rastan Ghost'n Goblins / Ghouls'n Ghosts Karnov Last Ninja 1-3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 (edited) Good is one of the issues... and ones that don't require add-ons is another. so great giana sisters, impossible mission, last ninja(s), bubble bobble, maniac mansion, operation wolf, oh don't forget the flipside and check out the cream of the crap.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M9dMTjiXCk because they're fun too Edited August 8, 2021 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poison Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Golden Axe, Renegade, Double Dragon, R-Type, Dragon Ninja, Lotus, Green Beret There are not any nice fight and action games 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Lazy Jones! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 hour ago, _The Doctor__ said: Good is one of the issues... and ones that don't require add-ons is another. so great giana sisters, impossible mission, last ninja(s), bubble bobble, maniac mansion, operation wolf, oh don't forget the flipside and check out the cream of the crap.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M9dMTjiXCk because they're fun too I so lusted after Impossible Mission on my cousin's C64 in the '80s. But we have Hans Kloss, right? And Operation Wolf = Operation Blood. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 None? Or do you like playable graphics and sound demos with crap playability? Better get an Amiga for 16 bit game experience. Particular games like "The Last Ninja" or even "Turrican" don't spead gaming fun, except you are a C64 freak. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zbyti Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 (edited) Project Firestart Supremacy B.A.T. Amnesia Bard's Tale Diplomacy P0 SNAKE Sentinel Worlds Wasteland The Untouchables Sydney Hunter and the Sacred Summer Camp Bomb Uzal Battletech Bop'n Rumble Creatures Piracy Rick Dangerous Space Taxi The Detective Game ... Edited August 8, 2021 by zbyti 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudografx Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Enforcer Katakis (or Denaris) Bubble Bobble Mechanicus Mayhem in Monsterland 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhod Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Monty on the Run Bubble Bobble 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinadan67 Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 hour ago, emkay said: None? Or do you like playable graphics and sound demos with crap playability? Shut up an get a life. 4 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 45 minutes ago, Dinadan67 said: Shut up an get a life. Shut up and get a life. 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Mayhem In Monsterland, Sam's Journey, Soul Force. Personally one of my favorites only uses the fire button for jump and is in black and white - C64anabalt (A Canabalt port). 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 I like Sanxion for it's eye candy, Delta is good. Zaxxon (synapse conversion - not the Sega one) is the best? 8-bit conversion done for any system? Armalyte. I like to revisit the C-64 myself - but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Harvey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 3 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said: I so lusted after Impossible Mission on my cousin's C64 in the '80s. The ending was a bit of a letdown. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 1942 After Burner Airborne Ranger Alien Storm Aliens Altered Beast Armalyte Arnie Aztec Challenge Batman - The Caped Crusader Bubble Bobble Cabal Chase HQ Combat School Contra Creatures Cybernoid Double Dragon Dragon's Lair Elite Final Fight Frankie goes to Hollywood Ghosts 'n Goblins Golden Axe Hard n' Heavy Hawkeye Impossible Mission Katakis Krakout Kung Fu Master Little Computer People Mayhem in Monsterland Microprose Soccer Midnight Resistance MYTH: History in the Making Nebulus Out Run Platoon Power Drift Project Firestart R-Type Rainbow Islands Rick Dangerous Robocop Rodland Rolling Thunder Salamander Saint Dragon Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo Sanxion Shadow of the Beast Shinobi Sidearms Silk Worm Skate or Die! Space Taxi Target Renegade Terra Cresta Test Drive The Great Giana Sisters Tiger Road Turbo Outrun Turrican Tusker Uridium Vendetta Vigilante Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oky2000 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 The only C64 game I know that really goes all out to make the best of the weird compromises of VIC-II and SID is Law of the West on the C64 (which uses the 8kb hi-res bitmap mode, very rare for C64 games to use bitmap modes). Fun game on disk, had a real blast when I played through it a while back for the first time in decades. Probably the most fun I had making C64 videos this year for youtube. Sky Fox was an excellent 3D type game on the C64. Not played that on a real C64 for 3 decades, liked it so much I went out and got a brand new Quickshot Turbo joystick. X-29 Fighter Mission, almost as impressive as Sky Fox Accolade's Grand Prix Circuit is amazingly playable considering the 1mhz CPU (the controller input and screen update is asynchronous unlike most '3d racing games' on 8bit micros). This game defies logic. Max Torque is a pretty cool Hang-on knock off on the C64. F1GP Circuits is quite nice, sort of like a cut down version of F-1 Spirit on MSX 1. Salamander is my fav' 2 play simultaneous shoot 'em up on the C64. Who Dares Wins II was a lot of fun but only 8 short levels. Slower paced Commando knock-off. R I S K (Rapid Seek Intercept Kill) is an awesome strategic shoot 'em up. One of the last games I bought before it was ST and Amiga game purchases only from 1988 for me. Jumpin' Jack (AKA 3D Jumpin Jack) is an isometric Frogger clone with properly coded collision detection. Buggy Boy is better than the Amiga version for me (I had both!) Way of the Exploding Fist for early slower paced fighting games, IK+ if you want a more modern faster paced beat 'em up on C64. BMX Kidz is a cool budget game with elements of NES Excite Bike. Wizardry is not bad for an arcade RPG style game. Eagle Empire, Phoenix blatant illegal but excellently coded conversion....if you liked Phoenix...... Moon Cresta, again a really nice conversion I thought back then. New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands were also nice conversions. Sky Shark - awesome conversion of the arcade. International Basketball, fun game and the only basketball game on C64 worth a crap. Rocket Ranger and Defender of the Crown are my two favourite Cinemaware games on C64. I was going to do some 'perfect gift ideas for the retrogaming nutter in your life' type videos with the actual items under the tree for Xmas 2021 on Youtube but due to poor health I don't think that's going to happen. I did do an exhaustive list of C64 games I thought were worth getting someone as a present (some of these are better on the Atari 800 back then of course so this list is not totally relevant on this forum) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oky2000 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 2 hours ago, Yautja said: 1942 After Burner Airborne Ranger Alien Storm Aliens Altered Beast Armalyte Arnie Aztec Challenge Batman - The Caped Crusader Bubble Bobble Cabal Chase HQ Combat School Contra Creatures Cybernoid Double Dragon Dragon's Lair Elite Final Fight Frankie goes to Hollywood Ghosts 'n Goblins Golden Axe Hard n' Heavy Hawkeye Impossible Mission Katakis Krakout Kung Fu Master Little Computer People Mayhem in Monsterland Microprose Soccer Midnight Resistance MYTH: History in the Making Nebulus Out Run Platoon Power Drift Project Firestart R-Type Rainbow Islands Rick Dangerous Robocop Rodland Rolling Thunder Salamander Saint Dragon Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo Sanxion Shadow of the Beast Shinobi Sidearms Silk Worm Skate or Die! Space Taxi Target Renegade Terra Cresta Test Drive The Great Giana Sisters Tiger Road Turbo Outrun Turrican Tusker Uridium Vendetta Vigilante Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders C64 Chase HQ WTF? Are you on drugs or something? lol 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Impossible Mission Summer Games Delta Prince of Persia (only available on flashcart?) Great Gianna Sisters Super Mario Bros (recent clone) Armalyte Donkey Kong Jr (recent homebrew) Nebulus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 35 minutes ago, oky2000 said: C64 Chase HQ WTF? Are you on drugs or something? lol Not today: http://www.top80sgames.com/site/content/chase-hq-ii-special-criminal-investigation 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 I forgot about The Great Giana Sisters, Armalyte and Nebulus...Damn Nebulus - Such an addictive game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oky2000 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 2 hours ago, Yautja said: Not today: http://www.top80sgames.com/site/content/chase-hq-ii-special-criminal-investigation That's Special Criminal Investigations AKA Chase HQ II You should actually go and check out Chase HQ on the C64, it's the most pitiful piece of software development 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) I recently got put onto Wasteland, which is the RPG precursor to the Fallout series of games apparently. The game is spread across about eight disks (.D64's) and for some obscure reason it uses it's own DOS called ProDOS (whether that's got anything to do with Apple I don't know). What I found was that I could mount the first .D64 and load it, but subsequent .D64's were invisible to the software even though they were mounted - So the .D64's are essentially useless, and it seems I'm not the only one to pick up on this after a quick Google search. I managed to find a 1MB .D81 image of the game that loads fully into the REU which runs great, better than the original - But it's a really involved game, the manual is an absolute necessity (which I found online). The problem is you need an REU. I also bought Planet X2.1 which is fantastic, you can get it for a very reasonable price via the Protovision store as a digital download which is nice - Totally recommended. Another older title people forget is the original 'Speedball', a very good Amiga port, as good an Amiga port as Defender Of The Crown. The Ghosts'NGoblins Arcade port is outstanding, but you'll need a 16MB REU to run it. It dumps all over the original. Bear Essentials is another good new release, I believe it's freeware. As is Frantic Freddy II with it's soundtrack by Queen. Edited August 9, 2021 by Mazzspeed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARIO130XE Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Sam's Journey, Mayham in Monsterland, Giana Sisters, Super Mario Brothers, Zak McKracken, Maniac Mansion, Caren and the Tangled Tentacles, IK+, Creatures 2: Torture Trouble, Creatures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 I'm not going to add more titles, as I think you have a veritable feast to try out so far. Loads of excellent choices but a few pretty awful games as well, but hey, you might like them. When it comes to things like this I suggest getting Gamebase V17 from Lemon 64, it's such a treasure trove of titles, and it has a genre search (amongst many search types) where you can look for shooters , platformers etc etc. As a rule of thumb, titles out on the Atari and then ported to the C64 are not much better, many much worse but there are some cracking system only ones... Have fun, and ignore Emkay, he has no clue... 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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