The Pop-Culture E-Zine
In all honesty, picking my favourite C64 chiptune is like finding a needle in a haystack – it’s impossible. With maestros like Hubbard, Dunn, Follin, Dalglish, Maniacs of Noise, Tinman, Tel, Galway to name a few, the task is all the more daunting.
Like any ‘best of’ list, it is all subjective and down to personal taste. I had the pleasure in narrowing my all time favourite chiptunes to my ultimate top 25.
Let the nostalgic SID sounds wash over you!
#25 Paperboy [composer: Mark Cooksey]
source: gdreyband
#24 Operation Wolf [composer: Jonathan Dunn]
source: NOTHING
#23 Super Monaco Grand Prix [composer: Jeroen Tel / Maniacs of Noise]
source: cheetahman91
#22 Hawkeye [composer: Jeroen Tel / Maniacs of Noise]
source: comppi
#21 Bubble Bobble [composer: Peter Clarke]
source: PeyserCommodore
#20 Run The Gauntlet [composer: Jonathan Dunn]
source: lordtrumpy
#19 Golden Axe [composer: Jeroen Tel]
source: lordtrumpy
#18 Ocean Loader 4 [composer: Jonathan Dunn]
source: PeyserCommodore
#17 WEC Le Mans [composer: Jonathan Dunn]
source: Hans Perters
#16 R-Type [composer: Chris Hülsbeck & Ramiro Vaca]
source: th3l3fty
#15 Parallax [composer: Martin Galway]
source: gdreyband
#14 Sanxion [composer: Rob Hubbard]
source: CaseOfGlass
#13 Comic Bakery [composer: Martin Galway]
source: gdreyband
#12 Red Heat [composer: Jonathan Dunn]
source: NOTHING
#11 The Great Giana Sisters (Menu Theme) [composer: Chris Hülsbeck]
source: PeyserCommodore
#10 Myth [composer: Jeroen Tel]
source: cheetahman91
#9 Last Ninja 2 [composer: Matt Gray]
source: Manialt
#8 Cybernoid [composer: Jeroen Tel / Maniacs of Noise]
source: inphanta
#7 Skate or Die [composer: Rob Hubbard]
source: Darcal2
#6 BMX Kidz [composer: Rob Hubbard & Jori Olkkonen]
source: Manialt
#5 IK/IK+ [composer: Rob Hubbard] – these could not be split! Absolute classics!
source: manialt
source: cheetahman91
#4 Mega Apocalypse [composer: Rob Hubbard]
source: Luzifer217
#3 L.E.D. Storm [composer: Tim Follin]
source: NOTHING
#2 Turbo Outrun [composer: Jeroen Tel / Maniacs of Noise]
source: cheetahman91
#1 Zamzara [composer: Charles Deenen / Maniacs of Noise] – wait till you get to 1:55 !
source: inphanta
There you have it – the ultimate 25 C64 chiptunes. Controversial list? You be the judge.
Like with any pleasure, there is the agony – the agony of leaving out music from: Arkanoid, Bionic Commando, Robocop, The Untouchables, Rastan Saga, Dragon Ninja, Dan Dare 3, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Midnight Resistance and most agonising of all, Commando – sorry Mr Hubbard.
Ever wondered what retro technology (including retro gaming systems) would be worth today when you factor in inflation? Wonder no more – the kind people at Portable Universe have created this awesome ‘Money Behind Retro Tech’ infographic documenting some of the most iconic retro technology of our time.
Money Behind Retro Tech by Portable Universe
‘Thunder Blade’ or ‘Blades of Steel’ – what’s in a name? Hang on; are we talking about helicopter gunships, ice hockey or a samurai sword fighting game here? Don’t you just love mysterious titles?
Of course you know these games have nothing more in common than the reference to ‘Blade’ in their titles.
‘Thunder Blade’, possibly borrowing from the movie, Blue Thunder (Ed: not confirmed!), is about a high-tech attack helicopter trying to save mankind from some evil-doers. Sega’s 1987 arcade shooter was housed in two arcade guises: a stand-up cabinet with a force feedback joystick; and the awesomely cool sit-down cockpit version with the seat moving in tandem with joystick movements. The conversions sadly lacked this aspect. On the other hand, Konami’s 1987 ice-hockey game, ‘Blades of Steel’ is about dudes trying to play a game of ice hockey while breaking out into a bare-knuckle interlude (or should that be the other way around?). The arcade controls were unique for this game – a back-lit optical trackball to control players and three buttons, one dedicated for punching! Apart from both games being released in 1987, they could not be any more different from one another.
So there you have it, confusion clarified (Ed: really?) – Two very different games with very similar titles. You are more than welcome. Now go and play some video games!
“Are you keeping up with the Commodore? Because the Commodore is keeping up with you.” – the famous jingle from the 1980’s TV advertisements for the C64 is still stuck in my head. As it turned out, millions of computer gamers were keeping up with the jewel in Commodore’s crown.
The affinity we have with the C64 spans more than three decades. It has seen us grow from that awkward shy kid to a charismatic adult (well, for most of us!).
The trusty 8-bit from Commodore was released on this day (August 9, 1982) at a cost of $595 (almost $1500 in today’s money!). What you got for this price was “A computer that’s light years ahead of its competition”. At the time, the C64 was pitched as an office computer, which threw it up against the likes of the Apple II+ ($1530), IBM PC ($1565), Tandy TRS-80 III ($999) and Atari 800 ($899) computers. With hindsight, we know that the C64’s success came from those budding kids coding and playing the latest video games in their bedroom – I should know, I was one of those kids.
The C64 went through a number of hardware and cosmetic revisions, with the original breadbox being our sentimental favourite. The C64 enjoyed a fruitful existance, but with the emergence of the 16-bit era, the end was nigh for the brown/beige Commodore – the C64 was officially discontinued in 1994.
Everyone’s memory of the C64 is filled with fondness. The C64 had the power to lure you to it and use it – especially for gaming! It also kickstarted a lot of coding and music / chiptune maestro careers. The C64’s rivalry with Amstrad and Spectrum were (still are) legendary, with school-yards becoming the arguing battlegrounds. Just for the record, the C64 was and still is the king!
The C64 will forever be remembered for the joy and fun it brought to the masses, myself included. The C64 still remains in use in our household with the view to passing it on to the next generation to enjoy and appreciate. Long live the C64!
For those of you keen to know what was under the hood of the C64, read on:
Microprocessor: MOS 6510 – a beefed up 6502 with additional input/output lines
Memory:
Keyboard: Full size typewriter style with 66 keys
Display: VIC-II chip
Sound: 6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) chip
Connectivity:
How many video game titles can you spot in Avicii & Sebastien Drums’ My Feelings For You (Original Mix) – The Annual 2011 music video?
source: mySuperstar.TV
Wow! What a great three days we just had at the inaugural Penny Arcade eXpo Australia (PAX Aus) 2013. To say the event was a success would be a gross understatement (even CNET loved it!). Ignore the trolls’ comments on forums, the event was a blast.
As for any new event of this magnitude, of course there were some teething problems, but these really were minor and just leave room for PAX Aus 2014 to be bigger and better!
It was an honour and privilege to exhibit in the ‘Classic Consoles Freeplay’ area along with my Australian retro gaming friends: Retrospekt, Retro Domination and Retro Gaming Australia (what an awesome bunch of guys).
Thousands of people visited the classic consoles area; it was great to see them smile with nostalgic joy. There were teenagers “wowing” at the Amstrad CPC464, parents showing their children the datasette on the C64 and explaining that you had to wait tens of minutes to load one game! There were four player battles on the N64 and lots of fighting action on the Dreamcast, Neo Geo AES, 3DO and Saturn. The serious retro gamers were most impressed by seeing the Nintendo Famicom and Sharp Twin Famicom ‘in the flesh’. There were popular high-score competitions on the Amstrad GX4000 (Robocop 2) and the Atari Jaguar (Tempest 2000).
The crowds were constant, from the start of day 1 to the end of day 3. Some came, looked around and played a game or two; some picked their favourite game or console and played to their heart’s content; and others worked their way around and played each console. But most pleasing were the repeat visitors who came back again and again to get their hit of nostalgia.
The Classic Console Freeplay area was a roaring success at PAX Aus 2013. Roll on PAX Aus 2014!
To view the PAX Australia 2013 photo album go to our facebook page.
Do you recall what you were bopping to in September of ’87? Let me remind you – “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. Don’t even try to deny it! Perhaps you were more of a Pet Shop Boys fan? Whatever your music tastes were, I bet that you would have been playing a number of the following chart toppers either on your Amstrad, Spectrum or C64:
 |
1) Paperboy (Elite)
2) Barbarian (Palace Software) 3) 6 Pak (Elite) 4) Exolon (Hewson) 5) Ball Crazy (Mastertronic) |
 |
1) BMX Simulator (Codemasterts)
2) The Milk Race (Mastertronic) 3) Barbarian (Palace Software) 4) Road Runner (US Gold) 5) Destructo (Bulldog) |
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1) Last Ninja (System 3)
2) Barbarian (Palace Software) 3) Enduro Racer (Activision) 4) Road Runner (US Gold) 5) World Class Leaderboard (US Gold) |