My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.20
Terra Cresta
Imagine
1986
Massively underrated by ZZAP!
IMO, this is a great little game with nice graphics, a superb Galway soundtrack
and addictive gameplay that captures the feel of the original very effectively.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.19
Rampage
Activision
1987
A solid conversion of the arcade
hit with lots of fun to be had eating people, bringing down helicopters and
smashing up buildings. Most fun when played with friends – unless you were the
kid playing on the keyboard!
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.18
Slap Fight
Imagine
1987
A vertically scrolling shooter
not a million miles away from Terra Cresta, Slap Fight is another quality
conversion from Imagine. Challenging but addictive it was well revieved by most
mags with C&VG awarding it a 10/10 HIT.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.17
Yie Ar Kung Fu
Imagine
1985
Another Imagine conversion (and
another by Dave Collier who’s already got 2 on the list and we’re only up to
17) YAKF is a sound conversion of the hugely influential arcade game. Nice
colourful graphics, ace music and plenty of enjoyable arcade action.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.16
Commando
Elite, 1985
Instantly addictive with nice
graphics, an amazing Rob Hubbard soundtrack and gameplay that’s not as
ridiculously hard as the arcade original, Commando could’ve been the perfect
arcade conversion – if only it had another 5 levels! Check out the recent
‘Arcade’ update to see what might’ve been.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.15
Tapper
Sega, 1984
An early C64 arcade conversion, Tapper
is a superb home remake of the arcade classic. Lovely colourful graphics
featuring big lovely sprites, and simple but highly addictive gameplay, make
for lots of fun arcade action.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.14
Spy Hunter
Sega 1983
Another early arcade conversion,
Spy Hunter is a excellent version of the racing, chasing, smashing, spinning
and oil slicking classic. Addictive gameplay, nice graphics and a great
rendition of the super cool Peter Gun theme tune.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.13
Bionic Commando
Go! 1988
Another game with awesome music
(6 superb SIDs in all), BC is s cracking conversion from Software Creations. Instantly
playable, hugely addictive and captures the spirit of the coin-op perfectly.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.12
Salamander
Imagine 1988
One of the C64’s best shoot ‘em
ups this is a fantastic conversion – especially the infamous lava level which
is stunningly recreated. It would no doubt be top 5 if I’d had a disk drive,
but the tape version multiload was an absolute killer.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.11
Combat School
Ocean 1987
Joystick abuse was back in vogue
with the arrival of this excellent conversion from Ocean (Dave Collier’s 3rd
game on the list already!). A cool mix of running, shooting and beat ‘em
up-ing, it’s tough but great fun.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.10
Rainbow Islands
Ocean 1990
This superb conversion (Ocean
again) would’ve been higher in my list if I’d played it more as by the time it
came out I’d gone Amiga and only played this at a mate’s house. Fantastically
colourful and brilliantly playable.
My favourite C64 Arcade Conversions
– No.9
Ikari Warriors
Elite 1988
By ’88 run & gun games had
become old hat but this cracking conversion with it’s co-op gameplay, brought
new life into the genre. Difficult but highly addictive, it’s best played with
a buddy.
My favourite C64 Arcade Conversions
– No.8
Arkanoid
Imagine 1987
Who’d thought that 10 years
after Breakout, bat and ball games would be massively popular again? This was
of course due to the superb Arkanoid. A fab conversion of the simple but mega-addictive
original.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.7
Operation Wolf
Ocean 1988
A few eyebrows were raised when Ocean
announced they were bringing this state-of-the-art arcade game to 8-bit micros,
but the Manchester software house proved the doubters wrong with this superb
all-action conversion.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.6
Green Beret
Imagine 1986
WOOOOOO! WOOOO! Green Beret is a
cracking conversion of the arcade game (also known as Rush n’ Attack – subtle,
eh?). Commie killing action (a game that probably couldn’t have been made in
any other decade!) at its best.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.5
Buggy Boy
Elite 1987
An interesting one this. Not a
conversion that looks much like the original, the Thomas brothers (Staff of
Karnath, Entombed) made a game inspired by the arcade original. And what a
brilliant game it is too. Top fun.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.4
Gauntlet
US Gold 1986
While graphics & sound are a
bit meh, the excitement and fun of the original is captured perfectly in this superb
conversion. With so much on screen at once it’s technically very impressive &
with a mate it’s brilliant fun.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.3
Ghosts N Goblins
Elite 1986
Like Commando this is an
abridged version of the original but thankfully Chris Butler crammed much more
of the arcade game into this. An awesome conversion, it’s tough but great fun
and has an ace theme tune to boot.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.2
Hyper Sports
Imagine 1985
A fabulous conversion of the Track
& Field sequel, Hyper Sports captures the original game perfectly. Brilliant
gameplay, ace graphics & an amazing Galway soundtrack – an Olympic gold standard
game.
My favourite C64 Arcade
Conversions – No.1
Bubble Bobble
Firebird 1987
One of the greatest C64 games
ever - simple as that. A flawless conversion. Beautifully made, incredibly playable & plays just as well
today as it did 35 years ago. There aren’t many games you can say that about.
Magnificent.
