Confessions of a Commodore Kid

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 3^rd 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.