The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

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The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Poll ended at Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:19 pm

Raid Over Moscow by US Gold
2
6%
Rainbow Islands by Ocean
1
3%
Rambo by Ocean
0
No votes
Rampage by Activision
0
No votes
Ramparts by Go!
0
No votes
Ranarama by Hewson
1
3%
Rapscallion by Bug Byte
0
No votes
Rasputin by Firebird
0
No votes
Rastan by Imagine
0
No votes
Rats, The by Hodder & Stoughton
2
6%
Realm of Impossibility by Ariolasoft
1
3%
Rebelstar by Firebird
3
9%
Rebelstar 2 by Silverbird
0
No votes
Redhawk by Melbourne House
0
No votes
Red L.E.D. by Starlight Software
0
No votes
Red Moon by Level 9
0
No votes
Renegade by Imagine
4
12%
Repton by Alligata
0
No votes
Rescue On Fractalus! by Activision
0
No votes
Return of the Things by Design Design
0
No votes
Revolution by US Gold
0
No votes
Revolver by Alternative Software
0
No votes
Rex by Martech
3
9%
Rick Dangerous by Firebird
1
3%
Rick Dangerous 2 by Micro Style
0
No votes
River Raid by Activision
0
No votes
Road Blasters by US Gold
1
3%
Road Runner by US Gold
0
No votes
Robin Of The Wood by Odin Computer Graphics
4
12%
Robo-City by Spectrum Computing
0
No votes
Robocop by Ocean
1
3%
Robocop 2 by Ocean
0
No votes
Robocop 3 by Ocean
0
No votes
Robot Messiah by Alphabatim
0
No votes
Rockfall II by Crash/Ian Collier
0
No votes
Rock Star Ate My Hamster by Code Masters
0
No votes
Rock'n'Wrestle by Melbourne House
0
No votes
Rod-Land by Storm Software
0
No votes
Rogue Trooper by Piranha
0
No votes
Roland's Rat Race by Ocean
0
No votes
Roller Coaster by Elite
3
9%
Rolling Thunder by US Gold
0
No votes
R-Type by Electric Dreams
7
21%
Runestone by Games Workshop
0
No votes
Rygar by US Gold
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 34

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PeteProdge
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The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Better late than never, eh?

And what a selection we have here. There are at least five games I'm agonising voting for.

Well, ya got seven days...

Raid Over Moscow by US Gold
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Rainbow Islands by Ocean
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Rambo by Ocean
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Rampage by Activision
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Ramparts by Go!
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Ranarama by Hewson
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Rapscallion by Bug Byte
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Rasputin by Firebird
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Rastan by Imagine
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Rats, The by Hodder & Stoughton
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Realm of Impossibility by Ariolasoft
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Rebelstar by Firebird
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Rebelstar 2 by Silverbird
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Redhawk by Melbourne House
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Red L.E.D. by Starlight Software
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Red Moon by Level 9
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Renegade by Imagine
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Repton by Alligata
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Rescue On Fractalus! by Activision
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Return of the Things by Design Design
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Revolution by US Gold
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Revolver by Alternative Software
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Rex by Martech
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Rick Dangerous by Firebird
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Rick Dangerous 2 by Micro Style
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River Raid by Activision
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Road Blasters by US Gold
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Road Runner by US Gold
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Robin Of The Wood by Odin Computer Graphics
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Robo-City by Spectrum Computing
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Robocop by Ocean
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Robocop 2 by Ocean
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Robocop 3 by Ocean
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Robot Messiah by Alphabatim
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Rockfall II by Crash/Ian Collier
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Rock Star Ate My Hamster by Code Masters
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Rock'n'Wrestle by Melbourne House
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Rod-Land by Storm Software
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Rogue Trooper by Piranha
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Roland's Rat Race by Ocean
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Roller Coaster by Elite
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Rolling Thunder by US Gold
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R-Type by Electric Dreams
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Runestone by Games Workshop
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Rygar by US Gold
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Last edited by PeteProdge on Mon Sep 10, 2018 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by AndyC »

So many great games it's hard to choose. I was convinced I was going for Rainbow Islands, wobbled a bit once I got to Robocop and then completely changed tact when I got to R-Type. Because nothing is better than R-Type, just a stunningly brilliant arcade conversion of a fantastic shooter. So many great other titles in the list though, you could almost pick the top 10 greatest games from this list alone and it'd be hard to argue against.
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Yeah, many good games here.

I was going to vote to Rocky Horror Show, but is missing!

Anyway, any error is easy to understand with such huge list! :)

So I went to Raid Over Moscow, a true sequel of Beach Head with better (IMO) 'mini-games'.
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Sadly, Zythum (by Mirrorsoft) is missing from this poll, so I’m torn between RoboCop, Renegade, Robin of the Wood, and Rex.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Dark »

Going through those screen shots brought back a lot of memories, I would love to be 11 years old again and rushing home from school to fire up the Spectrum to play some of those. The game that jumped out for me on seeing the screen shots was Road Runner, I’d long forgotten about that one, but now I’m reminded I recall it as being a great game that I played lots at a friend’s house. That is another to add to my list of games to play when my Spectrum Next turns up ...

As for voting, I’m torn between Renegade and Robin of the Wood, though I’d have no problem voting for Rampage of Rock Star Ate My Hamster as well ...
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stupidget
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by stupidget »

I've just noticed that Russel Brand is not only on the Rock Star ate my hamster, loading screen but, also on Rygar!!!
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by 5MinuteRetro »

stupidget wrote: Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:34 am I've just noticed that Russel Brand is not only on the Rock Star ate my hamster, loading screen but, also on Rygar!!!
I was just about to say the exact same thing!

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Pegaz
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Pegaz »

An exceptional amount of great games in this vote, it's almost impossible to choose just one. :)
Renegade is an obvious choice and a winning candidate, but I have to vote for one of my all-time favorites Robin of the Wood.
My second choice would be Renegade and then Roller Coaster.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by WIWC »

The Rats? Or Realm of Impossibility? What about Rick Dangerous? Or Renegade. Robin of the Wood. Robocop.

Hey, that's not an easy vote.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Hank Scorpio »

I decided to vote for Rainbow Islands in the end, Robin Of The Wood would have got my vote if most of the time playing it didn't just consist of me roaming aimlessly round Sherwood Forest.

Honorable mentions also to The Rats, Renegade, Repton and Robocop, which I also considered voting for.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by WIWC »

Now, who0's voted for Realm of Impossibility? That's surely a great person.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ralf »

Incredible number of great games here. But I'll remain a faithful fan of Renegade :)

You know, back in the 80s like many boys I loved anything connected to martial fighting. Karate films, beatemup arcade games...
Now when I wonder, I actually always loved hand fighting games more than shooting games. interesting if there is any deeper psychology behing it :)

And Renegade is simply the best beatemup game on Spectrum which used to give the same intense emotions as games at arcade salloon, just without inserting any coins.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ralf »

And maybe we could make another poll with R letter where you don't choose just one game but can give some number of points to many games???

I don't know how it's technically possible with the forum engine but have a feeling that such number of great games deserves some special treatment ;)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by R-Tape »

Bloody hell this is tricky. With perhaps one exception these games range from well above average to top tier. The coincidence of R words and high quality arcade games is an English language dissertation waiting to happen!

Well, I said it was tricky, and it was a lie, because I was always going to — and did — vote for R-Type. Renegade would be a close second choice, followed by Robocop, Rick Dangerous and Rainbow Islands.

Many of my reasons for voting R-Type (looks great, plays great, best version of the 8bits) could go for some of the others, but it just goes that extra mile. Clever coding allowed a large scrolling background, the brave design decision to use character movement allowed large colourful graphics, and thankfully the pixel artist took full advantage of this. It seems quite inspired.

Looks like Renegade is steaming ahead though! They should have called it Q-Type.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Morkin »

Wow, R appears to be an embarrassment of riches.

I played a bunch of these games a lot. Highlights for me are:

Rampage
Rana Rama
Rebelstar
Rebelstar II
Renegade
Robocop
Rock Star Ate My Hamster
Roller Coaster


I also think this letter has the largest number of nominations for games that I've managed to finish without cheating (like Robocop, Rebelstar, Renegade, Rogue Trooper).

Anyway, my vote goes to Rebelstar. Outstanding game, that I played loads both one or two players. Once you get to know the computer AI you can toy with it a bit, but you can always ramp up the difficulty, like mowing the lawn.. :)
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MatGubbins
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by MatGubbins »

Morkin wrote: Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:56 pm
Anyway, my vote goes to Rebelstar. Outstanding game, that I played loads both one or two players. Once you get to know the computer AI you can toy with it a bit, but you can always ramp up the difficulty, like mowing the lawn.. :)
Yay!!

Rebelstar is the one game that I never get bored with. Tension, strategy and a whole lot of fun. Just set aside a few hours, power up the photon lasers, select the medi-kit and use those light sabres to slice through the airlocks.
Trying to win on top level without losing a member of the team is a toughie, but it can be done.
Just make sure that the flybot doesn't start outside the moonbase (top right hand corner) otherwise it'll be a long long game!
Great fun with 2 players.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

This poll will be an interesting fight between Renegade and R-Type.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Vampyre »

This has to be the most difficult one yet!

As much as I think R-Type is a masterpiece I never really enjoyed playing it all that much (too hard) - but I was really spoilt by playing the PC Engine version at the same time (which was nigh-on arcade-perfect).

Loved Roller Coaster, Robin Of The Wood, Renegade, Robocop and Raid Over Moscow. Never played Rainbow Islands back in the day, but it is a marvellous conversion.

Decisions... Decisions... Gone for Roller Coaster.
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Ast A. Moore
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ast A. Moore »

I’m still swaying, but I decided to exclude conversions, even though, by Clive, the Spectrum version of Renegade is arguably better than the original arcade. Recast my vote for Rex.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Morkin »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:31 am This poll will be an interesting fight between Renegade and R-Type.
I reckon so, two classics.

I enjoyed Renegade but am one of those (possibly few) people who preferred the sequel.

As for R-Type, I thought it was fantastic to play but I got frustrated with the way you could lose your power ups when you die. I guess it's a bit unfair of me to criticise considering it's an arcade conversion, but because of that I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I might have done.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ralf »

As much as I think R-Type is a masterpiece I never really enjoyed playing it all that much
I have the same feelings. Technically R-Type is very impressive, colourful and with a lot of action and of varied, interesting content.
So what if I can't complete the 1st level? :( If not recordings made by others I would never see it at all.

Renagade is easier but still challenging. Just like other good games from Ocean - Robocop, Rainbow Islands, Chase H.Q.

I have a feeling that the programmers in Ocean were from a different league than all the rest. They were doing fast, smooth games. But they didn't care only for framerates and number of sprites on screen. They could take the gamer's perspective, not only coder's perspective. And make easier games that would be enjotyable not only for some master of joystick but for an average joe as well.

Now, after 30 years, we can see that it was the winning trend. Computer games became much easier so stuff like Renegade and Robocop was jsut ahead of its time ;)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by R-Tape »

As much as I like Renegade, isn't the gameplay fundamentally flawed by the fact that there isn't much incentive to use moves other than the flying kick? If a good beatemup is about crafty use of moves then Renegade is very limited. It's a good and satisfying kick, but if the player is unrealistically hovering in mid air for half the game then it removes them from the gritty scenarios.

This is a good reason to vote R-Type: no over-reliance on the flying kick.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by R-Tape »

R-Tape wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:53 pm If a good beatemup is about crafty use of moves then Renegade is very limited.
On this note, I'm glad Red Heat didn't make the shortlist! (and for about a hundred other reasons...)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by Ralf »

sn't the gameplay fundamentally flawed by the fact that there isn't much incentive to use moves other than the flying kick?
Yes, that can be some problem. That is a general problems of some beatemups that you can discover some trick and finish the game using one move all along. At least in Renegade bosses are resistant to flying kick.

Actually when you become better at the game you start to use different techniques - back kick, finishing enemies on the ground, or throw over your shoulder (128 kB version only). But when you're not that experienced you will probably stick to flying kick.

The authors must have realised that and in Target Renegade flying kick is not so useful. Especially at later levels where enemies become resistant to it.

You can also play my mod of Renegade where I made some enemies invlunerable to flying kicks :)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with R: vote

Post by stupidget »

Wow, this is a toughie.

As i put in the discussion I loved Rambo as we used to go round my mates for lunch every day when at school and play that, but, it's not really that good a game. I really liked R-Type and obviously it looked stunning, but, I could never really get past the second level. Runestone was another favourite of mine but out of all the games I think the best game, for me, would be Roadblasters. I loved the arcade game so when the Speccy version was released it was a day one purchase for me. However the 48k version was painfully slow and almost unplayable so when I got a 128 and ran it on that it was a completely different game. Obviously the music and sound was better, but, the speed was increased and the graphics were actually different as horizontal lines were added to the side of the road so that you got a good feeling of the speed. Great game.
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