DenOfGeek : The games that defined the Spectrum

[bluespikey]

https://www.denofgeek.com/games/the-gam ... x-spectrum

The Hobbit
Football Manager
Jetpac
Manic Miner
Ant Attack
Knight Lore
Skool Daze
Lords of Midnight
Elite
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards
RoboCop
Dizzy


A decent list.

[SteveSmith]

It is definitely a good list, but if I was being pedantic, should Elite be on there, what with it being a BBC game. I think most of the others, with the obvious exceptions, were mostly Spectrum exclusives.

[Lethargeek]

Saboteur instead of Robocop (tho it's not a scroller if it matters)
Rex instead of Jetpac (or Deathchase if it has to be an early one)

also, no Gargoyle titles? and not a single spanish game?

[sn3j]

Fred
Popeye
Maziacs
Tir Na Nog
Tomahawk
I think Saboteur is Speccy's Another World, sort of.

[PeteProdge]

It's an article spoilt by very dodgy assertions about the Spectrum's games library.

Robocop: "While that [action-focused] genre was never really the platform’s bread and butter (that would probably be strategy and role-playing games)"

WTF? The software charts for the Speccy were loaded with action games, not strategy and role-playing!?

Dizzy "By the late ’80s the ZX Spectrum’s already uncertain future began to look increasingly grim."

Nah, the 128K breathed new life into it.

"Many of the worst ZX Spectrum games were released during this era"

Pfft! The author hasn't sat through all those tedious primitive arcade knock-offs of the early 1980s. Never played an effort from Blaby Computer Games, Sparklers or The Power House.

"...many of them [the worst ZX Spectrum games] were budget titles that hoped to make up for their obvious shortcomings with lower price points"

After 1986, the quality of Mastertronic games leapt upwards. I had a case of budget games that I turned to, more often than my full price collection. Code Masters could be dodgy here and there, but even they could come up with some quality at various points. I want to force the author to play Kikstart II; ATV Simulator; Feud; Rockford and Rebelstar 2 for the rest of his days.

[Daveysloan]

If I was to pick a dozen games that defined the Spectrum there'd probably be a decent crossover with that list, not bad when there's tens of thousands of them!

After reading Pete's summary, I don't think I'll bother reading the actual article.

[Turtle_Quality]

It is definitely a good list, but if I was being pedantic, should Elite be on there, what with it being a BBC game. I think most of the others, with the obvious exceptions, were mostly Spectrum exclusives.

To be fair, DenOfGeek points that out also -

"While I tried to focus on games that were either exclusive to the ZX Spectrum or started on that platform, the fact of the matter is that the Spectrum supported quite a few noteworthy ports. As time went on, ZX Spectrum owners had to rely on more and more ports. Some were good and others showcased the device’s obvious limitations.

Elite is one of the ZX Spectrum’s greatest imports and one of the platform’s finest overall titles. This incredibly ambitious sci-fi title that lets you live out your space fantasies simply shouldn’t have worked on a device like the ZX Spectrum. Yet, this port not only managed to retain most of the core elements of the Elite experience but actually features content not found in any other version of the game. The success and craft of Elite sent a clear message that the ZX Spectrum was still a major player in a rapidly advancing age of innovation. "

[blucey]

A pretty safe list. It's about defining rather than what's best. I mean, Knight Lore is a garbage game but it speaks to a genre that the Speccy led in for a while.

[Matt_B]

Yeah, it's a list long on consensus favorites and short on personal picks.

I'm probably too well versed in the classic Spectrum library to get totally surprised these days but I'd like to see at least one game on there that's obviously an author's pick. If I was writing it myself, I'd go with something like Micronaut One, Desert Rats or The Oracle's Cave to mix things up a bit.

Should Elite be on there? Maybe it's a BBC game first, but the Spectrum version got played a lot (possibly even more than the BBC one given that not a lot of people had that machine at home) and was a ground-up rewrite that plays differently. There are also Dizzy (Amstrad CPC) and Football Manager (TRS-80/ZX81) that were made for other platforms first, although people are a heck of a lot more likely to have played them on the Spectrum.

[akeley]

Knight Lore is a garbage game

No, it isn't. Git gud

As for the list, it's pretty decent.

[AndyC]

There are also Dizzy (Amstrad CPC)

If you look at the internals of Dizzy, it's pretty obvious the primary target platform was the Spectrum. The CPC version stores all the colour numbers in Spectrum format and then remaps them onto its 4 colour mode (this is why there are no blue background objects, they'd map onto black and be invisible). It was certainly written on a CPC, but I'm not sure you can say it was written for the CPC.

[bluespikey]

If we are talking about iconic rather than best, I'd remove Chaos. It only seems to have found fame after the Spectrum era ended, into the emulator age. I was aware of it thanks to the review in the adventure section of Crash, but I never saw it in the shops until the yellow SU coverdisk in 1991.

So I'd remove that and replace it with Bugaboo. Lots of primary colours, bonkers idea, and near-impossible gameplay (And a nod to Spanish innovation. The Spectrum wasn't just a British device.).

[PeteProdge]

If we are talking about iconic rather than best, I'd remove Chaos

DISBELIEVE

I never saw it in the shops until the yellow SU coverdisk in 1991.

Eh!!?

[SteveSmith]

If we are talking about iconic rather than best, I'd remove Chaos. It only seems to have found fame after the Spectrum era ended, into the emulator age. I was aware of it thanks to the review in the adventure section of Crash, but I never saw it in the shops until the yellow SU coverdisk in 1991.

*YS

I assume you've never played a game of Chaos against a few other people?

[Vampyre]

It's an article spoilt by very dodgy assertions about the Spectrum's games library.

Robocop: "While that [action-focused] genre was never really the platform’s bread and butter (that would probably be strategy and role-playing games)"

WTF? The software charts for the Speccy were loaded with action games, not strategy and role-playing!?

A quick scan through any of the main mags 1983-1988 would indicate immediately that strategy and role-playing games were minor in comparison to arcade and arcade-adventure titles. Crash had a small section devoted to Strategy (Frontlines). Articles like this with these kind of inaccuracies are both amusing and annoying at the same time. Amusing in that the writer clearly lacked any decent amount of research, but annoying as readers who don't know any better take this as gospel.

I do wonder if he's thinking arcade adventures are role-playing?

[PeteProdge]

A quick scan through any of the main mags 1983-1988 would indicate immediately that strategy and role-playing games were minor in comparison to arcade and arcade-adventure titles. Crash had a small section devoted to Strategy (Frontlines). Articles like this with these kind of inaccuracies are both amusing and annoying at the same time. Amusing in that the writer clearly lacked any decent amount of research, but annoying as readers who don't know any better take this as gospel.

I do wonder if he's thinking arcade adventures are role-playing?

Using this very site's search of ZXDB, with the parameters set to 1982-93, machine set to ZX Spectrum and a look at genres...

3066 games set as 'Arcade Game: Action'
430 games set as 'Arcade Game: Adventure'
209 games set as 'Strategy Game: Management'
190 games set as 'Strategy Game: War'
63 games set as 'Adventure Game: RPG'

I mean, that is so far off his assumption, even more than I anticipated.

[akeley]

So, wait, games like Chaos (plus all the other fare from JG), Stonkers, Nether Earth, Vulcan, or Lords Of Midnight are routinely ranked as pioneering and high on best-of lists, and yet the genre is supposed to be "minor" at the same time?

As for removing Chaos I could sort of agree, I think Laser Squad is much more iconic, and more importantly could be played solo (though maybe the perception in my neck of the woods - behind the Iron Curtain - was skewed).

[PeteProdge]

*YS

Not just that it never got given away with SU, Chaos was first on YS's covertape in 1990, and again in 1993.

Yes, it was a fairly obscure and underrated game around the time of its release, no doubt about that, but it achieved cult status from that first appearance on YS's covertape. That's what we call a sleeper hit. Truly magnificent and had a well-deserved feature in the final ever Your Sinclair.

I might have mentioned this only once before, but it's the greatest game of all time on any system. And it was only made for the ZX Spectrum, no other platform. Definitely defined the Spectrum, even if it was late into its life.

[PeteProdge]

So, wait, games like Chaos (plus all the other fare from JG), Stonkers, Nether Earth, Vulcan, or Lords Of Midnight are routinely ranked as pioneering and high on best-of lists, and yet the genre is supposed to be "minor" at the same time?

Not minor by any means, but there's a chasm between us hardcore Speccy fans still using the platform to this day, and what the mass market of Speccy owners were doing back in the day.

The reality is that most Speccy users were there for Robocop, Batman, Out Run, Platoon, Match Day, etc. I witnessed that from kids at school, barely any of them would enthuse over anything as cerebral as a text adventure or a strategy game. The vast majority wanted coin-op conversions, never gave a toss about programming or utilities, and so treated their Spectrum as a bedroom-based arcade machine.

There were some outliers, like the Dizzy series being really popular, and of course, Ultimate games are spoken with huge respect, as are classics like Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and Chuckie Egg.

In retrospect, you can see why games consoles took over.

If you wanted to make money from making and selling Speccy games back in the day, you provide coin-op conversions, movie licenses and keep it all simple. Nothing deep! Sad but true.

[toot_toot]

https://www.denofgeek.com/games/the-gam ... x-spectrum

The Hobbit
Football Manager
Jetpac
Manic Miner
Ant Attack
Knight Lore
Skool Daze
Lords of Midnight
Elite
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards
RoboCop
Dizzy


A decent list.

For me, in order to be the games that “defined” the Spectrum, the games need the typical bold colours of the Spectrum, Magenta, Cyan, Green and erm Yellow. The sort of games when you see the screen shot you instantly get nostalgic for the colours that you just don’t get anymore.

But it’s an interesting list, out of that I’d keep the following;

The Hobbit - yes
Football Manager - yes
Jetpac - yes
Manic Miner- yes
Ant Attack - yes
Skool Daze - yes, but Back 2 Skool is better
Lords of Midnight - yes
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards - yes

I’d add in some of the following games, because they’re still pretty good to play and represent that era of 8-bit computers. Not too complicated, easy to get into but the sort of game you didn’t really get in the arcades or added a bit more depth and they could be seen as the Spectrum having the definitive version, even if its available on other platforms. Plus the graphics totally shout ITS A SPECTRUM GAME!!!

Starstrike II



Cybernoid


Splat!



Match Point



Sabre Wulf


Chuckie Egg



Trashman



Turbo Esprit

[bluespikey]

The reality is that most Speccy users were there for Robocop, Batman, Out Run, Platoon, Match Day, etc. I witnessed that from kids at school, barely any of them would enthuse over anything as cerebral as a text adventure or a strategy game. The vast majority wanted coin-op conversions, never gave a toss about programming or utilities, and so treated their Spectrum as a bedroom-based arcade machine.

I'd make a special case for The Hobbit. It was well known amongst kids at the time, even if they never went on to play any other adventures. "Thorin sits down and sings about gold" seems to be well known meme, you can even get it on TShirts (https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/43347 ... about-gold). Like Elite, it also appeared on many other platforms, but the graphics on the Spectrum are unmistakably Spectrum.

[PeteProdge]

At the end of the day, it feels like the author has gone for a list of things that - and I have to bring in television game shows here - would score you big points on Family Fortunes and get you almost nothing on Pointless, if the question was "name a ZX Spectrum game".

Nothing wrong with naming all the big familiar games that every bloke down the pub brings up if the ZX Spectrum comes up in conversation. Manic Miner; Jet Set Willy; Back To Skool; Knight Lore; Dizzy; Chuckie Egg; Robocop - these are all classics for a reason, very well made. And hence they would not be out of place in any stand-up comedian's easy nostalgia checklist (I'm looking at you, Peter Kay). Broad and well-known.

It's just that the commentary shows he wasn't an owner back in the day and has given these familiar titles a cursory playthrough. Fair enough, if I had to do an article on 'The games that defined the Commodore 64' or '...NES' (machines I never owned), I could name nearly all the big hitters but I'd steer clear of pretending I knew how the commercial history panned out unless I put in some intensive research.

[PeteProdge]

I'd make a special case for The Hobbit. It was well known amongst kids at the time, even if they never went on to play any other adventures. "Thorin sits down and sings about gold" seems to be well known meme, you can even get it on TShirts (https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/43347 ... about-gold). Like Elite, it also appeared on many other platforms, but the graphics on the Spectrum are unmistakably Spectrum.

Oh yes, actually that DID come up in a workplace conversation some years ago when my love of Spectrum gaming was cheerfully exposed by my line manager. And there were five or six people all enthusing heavily about the Hobbit but no other text adventure game. It really does seem to be the most prolific of all text adventures. (Plus, this was a company already full of IT spods, so could be skewed to being a little more cerebral than other gamers).

The Hobbit definitely deserves its recognition, no doubt about it.

[Lee P]

It's just that the commentary shows he wasn't an owner back in the day and has given these familiar titles a cursory playthrough.

I'd go further and speculate that the author got AI to "write" most of it. The whole thing just seems like a lot of hot air to me.

[PeteProdge]

I'd go further and speculate that the author got AI to "write" most of it. The whole thing just seems like a lot of hot air to me.

[chatGPT impersonation]
The thing to remember about the popular 1980s ZX Sinclair Spectrum is that it was a captivating home microcomputer that was hugely in demand in the 1980s. The ZX Sinclair Spectrum was known for the games it had such as Jet Set Willy; Pitfall 2; Leisure Suit Larry; Ultima IV; Impossible Mission and Tomb Raider. Famous ZX Sinclair Spectrum users include Sir Clive Sinclair OBE, Jack Tramiel and Sinclair User. The ZX Sinclair Spectrum was made in the British city of Cambridge which is known for its extensive cycle network. The ZX Sinclair Spectrum is a common sight among cyclists and is used by cyclists. The River Cam is estimated to hold up to 8,000 ZX Sinclair Spectrums. Other uses for the ZX Sinclair Spectrum is microwaving and sub-atomic particle examination. The biggest rival to the ZX Sinclair Spectrum is the Ammodore CPC64 released by Nintendo MSX. ZX Sinclair Spectrums continue to be sold in shops and remain extremely popular.
[/chatGPT impersonation]