I was a Crash (and later ZZAP! 64 when they moved to Ludlow) reviewer, and this video has taken me on a trip down memory lane (my nickname was Corky at the time, some people still remember me now). I was in my early 20's when I started, so not much older than the teenagers they employed, and it was usually a case of what we liked or disliked about the games went into the magazines. I was Lloyd Mangram a few times (as were a lot of the other people in the office). I miss those days :-)
Being born and raised (and still living) in Germany, I've never heard of ZZAP or Crash but what you showed here looks awesome! I wish we had that here.
Zzap! 64 was my bible growing up in the 1980s. It's hard to explain to people who didn't live through this time that magazine reviewers like Gary Penn and Julian Rignall, and computer game programmers such as Tony Crowther, Jeff Minter, Archer Maclean etc. were household names. Many a young teenager grew up in that era not wanting to be a footballer or a rock musician, but wanted instead to be a monthly magazine video game reviewer or a computer games programmer! And Perifractic, I have of course added this video to my Saturday must watch viewing list - looking forward to it!
This episode was really well made. I love the old Commodore stuff obviously, but to see those old magazines again, wow the memories. Its sad we never got them here in Florida. The nostalgia feeling was super intense on this episode. BTW I got Space Taxi working on the The c64. I am still struggling to get Red Storm Rising working. It never correctly loads the second disk. But hey, Space Taxi makes it all ok. Your show is really my favorite show on TH-cam. Always good. I also like the fact that there is no negativity on your episodes. Always upbeat and a feel good attitude. I look forward to your next episode!!
@@RetroRecipes Everything Johann said in their comment reflects how I feel about your channel. I also love you and Mrs Fratic! Your videos brighten my day! Your furbabies are cute and add to the dynamics of the channel. Never stop what you’re doing! You are my FAVORITE channel on TH-cam for all things retro.
Oliver Frey, what an amazing artist, loved all the covers on Crash and Zzap64. Loved the 80's, amazing computers and Grange Hill Tucker Jenkins and no mobile phones or internet, happy simple times. Oh and great music. Bad fashion though!
Think one of the things I enjoy most about your videos is that I can feel your enthusiasm - nothing comes across as being fake or.... plastic. Hard to put into words, but your excitement just oozes out. Thank you for the content, long may it last!
I concur James! My dad he was a systems analyst and he never saw the use of me having a computer. Because according to him “computers were there, to solve serious mathematical problems and not to play games and therefore utterly useless in a household”. (So you can see how amazed I was when I found his PDP11 paper tapes and asked what was on it... Oh that’s an Asian computer game Pang Pang Gi, that I saw when I worked in Thailand and coded up... (parents are such hypocrites ;) ) I guess after me begging for 2 whole years, made them sway and bought my cousin’s VIC20 (the first computer I saw and touched). FFWD 3 years. When my dad saw that I was taking a liking to programming and that there was a course in a magazine on 6502 assembler, that I wanted to learn so badly, he talked to my mum. And they agreed to give me an extra fiver a month, to strictly go towards buying the next issue. But the issue also came with a disk of cool demos and little games and reviews: “double win!!!” So my friends that summer of 1987, were the Outrun arcade in the Snackbar (where most of my chore money went) and the C64 and PowerCardridge who’s monitor I used to code assembler. And my dad would bring home the Elektor magazine from his work too. And I have been a subscriber to elektor since I went to college 31 years ago - electronics students got a massive discount. And still to this day every other months when it’s in my letterbox I feel like I’m 17 and ik college again :) As well as the “underground magazine” xeroxed booklets called HacTic (they are now all scanned and online - so cool reading those back after 30 years); it was written/edited by some of the best Dutch Phreakers. Kids these days miss out on so much! The things that made our lives so colourful and I dare argue, far more fun.
I love these types of videos that delve deeper into the history of 80's computing and gaming. It was never just the machines, but a much broader culture. Thank you for capturing a part of that!
That's so cool that you've been published in your favorite childhood magazine! I love how the C64 still has so much of a fan base in nostalgia, gamers, restorers/repairers, and talented programmers making new games. I really need to start playing my C64 more! BTW, have you seen the new Virtual Commodore 64 for the Oculus Quest VR headset? The beta version was recently released.
I was thinking with the launch of the Commander X16 there needs to be a resurrection of a supporting magazine for the hobbyists. RUN and Compute's Gazette were the only two I could ever get my hands on during the life of the C64 and I miss them dearly.
Though a bit older at that time (and now) I waited every month for Zzap!64 to arrive in Denmark... Andrew Braybrook was the great hero then and the reviewers.. GREAT VIDEO !!!
I grew up with a magazine called Video Games and Computer Entertainment. But the magazine that really made me fall in love was Electronic Gaming Monthly. I have fond memories of it like you do of ZZAP! 64. Awesome documentary and Oliver Freys art is incredible!
This made me feel so warm and fuzzy! I was actually featured in the Scorelord section. The essence of 90s British ‘cool’. I still get goosebumps when I listen to those old SID soundtracks. Lloyd Mangram for life! 🙏
'kin brilliant! One of the best videos I've seen from you guys. Even though i was an Amstrad Action boy due to having a CPC 464, still loved this recipode! Again, fond memories came flooding back and got me thinking, so.... Jumped on the PC and downloaded CPC Emulator Windows Emulator CPCGamesCD and then... Got hold of ArnoldX and installed it on my XBOX 360, that was my Sunday! Enjoy yours and thanks again, love your work.
Being from the US, I didn't know this magazine existed. Of course I had Compute Gazette and Ahoy, but I would have loved to have ZZap as well. It definitely would have pointed me toward many more games.
I got a used C64 for Christmas in 1991 along with a huge box of 300 tape games and a massive pile of Zzaps. I also used to get Commodore Format, which had some great stuff in it and a free tape.
I honestly can't remember how many nights me and a classmate spent krunching in programs from different computer magazines in the early/mid 80's. First on his VIC-20 and later on my C64, listening to Radio Luxemburg as we did so. Don't think I ever saw ZZAP! 64 here in Sweden though. By 1985 I was more into driving around in my car chasing girls anyway. :)
Kool video! Hopefully one day in the not too distant future, AI game coding rock stars will be writing new outlandishly good "homebrew" CBM64 games well beyond human programming/conceptual and artistic abilities, which will then be reviewed by gameplaying offspring of GPT-3 systems trained on the complete archives of Zzapp64. All compiled into a faithfully accurate yet entirely self generating uber level Zzap64 publication and evolving virtual universe, enhanced with realtime interactive Rockford animations, and choice impromptu Scorelord insults as he is abused by Miss Whiplash on every other virtual page lol - Cheers.
My mate bet me £5 that I couldn't get my letter published in issue 2 of Zzap.. I took him on...so I thought how could I achieve this....hmm, came up with the idea to write to Rockford...oh how I laughed when issue 2 came through the post...boom! letters page issue 2...my letter to Rockford!!!...along with a personalised message from him... I never got the fiver...not surprising really as my mate was a spectrum owner and Crash reader....
Great times to look back on. I was very lucky to have shared my very first computer a C64 with my children as they grew up though the 1980s & 1990s with the Amiga 500 then the PC20 Commodore I saw my very first C64 in 1985 when my wife and I were out walking with the children. I stop to talk to a neighbor and durning the conversation he said that he had bought a C64. He was a Baptist Church Paster and very happy to share his knowledge with me. Six months later I had saved enough money to buy one for myself.
Wow great video. Think can remember the magazines and bought a few. Was a commodore fan lol. And love the great work that you and everyone put into this. Ah yes I remember that ship the Eagles from space 1999. Wow great. 🙂
My magazine of choice was The Transactor. I don't think it got much distribution outside of Canada, but it was great. The focus was more on programming, hardware and computer science. They are all online thankfully at csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/ They are well worth checking out
Well done Christian! Looking back at the Zzap 64 days, I find that not many people seem to mention Paul Glancey and Gordon Houghton, yet I remember them well.
This is great to see as i now have a working c64 and will be putting another together .i always looked forward to the month the spectrum magazines came out and would buy 2 or 3 different mags then spend time going through cover tapes and all the computer shops in swindon that sold 8 bit software nearly every week i would go and spend £10 to £20 on budget range titles i never owned my first c64 that long and sold it to a mate at the time for £70 with the disc drive cassette deck and games i only have one game on cassette for the c64 but hundreds for the bbc/electron and zx spectrum .
Damm ..you just brought a nostalgic tear to my eye . I still remember going into whsmiths and seeing the first issue. Talk about bringing back my childhood memories. Meeting Jeff Minter was one of the best childhood memories I have with my C64 . Getting my subscription at the ready . Thanks again .
I used to love Zzap! Even though I had an Atari 800XL, and we didn't have any magazines like Zzap or Crash, we just had "Atari User", and the occasional Atari review in C+VG to look at.
Oh yah I also LOVE all your videos!!! (Commodore the most!) and have been watching you since you did the 5 part Apple PIIe with The 8-bit guy, who I was following for a long time and with Jan Beta, who I now follow and love and MindFlareRetro who I now follow and enjoy when he puts out videos. I also want to thank you, because of watching you, around a year and a half ago I bought myself a really nice recapped Amiga 1200 (My wife was not so happy when I had to set up another deck next to my C64's desk) I remember seeing and wanting the Amiga 1000 at a Commodore Computer store my senior year 1985, but I knew I could never afford one with my income from working at McDonalds! I then went to Bamberg West Germany from 1986 -1988 while serving in the U.S. Army and while there I bought at the big PX (Army store) a Commodore 128D and matching monitor (because I was not shipping me beloved C64 and 1702 monitor overseas and then back in two years!). After returning state side I continued to use the 128D for around four more years at different Army bases until 1992 while stationed at Fort Drum NY, I sold the 128D and bought my first of so many PC's (286, 386sx, 386dx, 486-33, 486-66, 486-100, Pentium, PII, P3, P4, i7, i7, i7 & now a i7). It was your Amiga videos that took me back to being 17 & 18 and wishing I had the money for an Amiga, so now that I am much much older and have a lot more pocket money than 1985, I got my Amiga and I love it (My C64 is still my favorite) Thank you!!!!
blimey, similar to your reaction to seeing yourself in an actual issue of Zzap 64, I was surprised and flattered to see you use my comment in your updated (and again fantastic) documentary :) I'm not sure how i missed this update when you released it, but still great to see it now. I did catch the early 2000's Zzap digital editions, and have followed C64 news since then, but through the crazy last few years I somehow managed to miss the new Zzap 64 releases which is a bit gutting given i still have all my old Zzaps. Hopefully I can pick some up down the track, thought it's nice just to know they exist and people are really enjoying them. Overall, this rebirth of Zzap is a bit like time travel, linking us kids of the 80's to us now in ways even Oli Frey's amazing mind couldn't have imagined up....as Freddie would've said, it's a kind of magic.
Although we didn't have ZZAP in the US, I was quite fond of COMPUTE.... I would spend hours entering the HEX code from the free programs they would include in each magazine... some would be games, sprite demos, SID demos, etc. This brings back a lot of those memories. I did purchase the annual 2020 and 2021 ZZAP as they look amazing! Of course waiting for some of these things to fly across the pond takes a lot of patience . But hopefully I will see them arrive next week :) Cheers!
I received my 2021 Zzap!64 annual two weeks ago with the free sampler of the March 2021 magazine. I read the shortened version of the magazine from cover to cover before even looking at the Annual and loved it so much that I went to Patreon and signed up for the magazine. I also loved your review of Attack of the PETSCII Robots and based on your review (Not Robin's or Andrew's who both seemed to not enjoy the game to me) that I went to the 8-bit guys site and bought the boxed version of the game, so that I would get the user port adapter for a SNES controller. I received my game in just one week which I thought was fast from TX to OH. I agree with you about using the keyboard to play is confusing, but I love it now that my SNES controllers came from ebay. I just wish someone, ANYONE! had mad that adaptor back in 1983 when I got my C64 which I'm still using today (38 years after I got it for Xmas!), so many of the great games would of been so much better with a 2nd, 3rd or 4th button for things like 2nd weapons and JUMPING!
Sorry Perifractic. I still loved Your Computer for its cross-platform support. Converting listings between different computers was an interesting challenge. Sinclair User came a close second. Then PC Plus, Amiga Computing, CU Amiga, Amiga Format, Amiga Shopper and Amiga User International were the order of the day. To be honest I was rubbish at computer games. LOL. A great reheated episode though. Your rising fame appears to know no end!
There was something in this video that somehow sent me back to my childhood bedroom playing Cauldron II on a cold November night in 1986. You make such lovely videos and it's obvious how much time and care you put into them. I was an avid Crash reader back in the day so Ben Stone and Richard Eddy were my rock stars but I still have a lot of affection for Zapp and Amtix too. Can anyone remember the crossover edition where the reviewers from each magazine had a high score competition? Can anyone remember the Grumlins from Amtix? Anyway, great video and congratulations on becoming a Zzap reviewer, I can't think of anyone else more worthy and deserving.
I remember buying Zzap! 64 ages ago, reading reviews of the latest games... So to see one of my own games (Soul Force) in the new mag gives me a bit of a thrill.
I had the pleasure of running into Jaz and Gary along with David Whittaker at a Commodore show in maybe 85 or 86 at the Novotel in London, they were at the bar LOL
I remember buying the first issue of Zzap 64 when I was just 14 years old. I was so impressed with it that I would cycle to my local newsagent and buy the next issue every month! I loved my C64. I had a 1541 floppy drive and a dot matrix printer for it. I later bought a modem for it and signed up to Compunet. Great times indeed 🙂
Late reply to your comment as I have only just stumbled on this fantastic trip down memory lane! I'm guessing that you had the MPS-801 Dot Matrix Printer. We also got the modem and a subscription to Compunet, I remember actually visiting their HQ with my late father whilst visiting down south! We also lived very close to the shop, 'Trilogic.' that created the 'Expert Cartridge' for the C64 and would visit them most weekends to talk about the latest and greatest developments with the C64. Good times indeed.
Crash for me and my brother back in the day I'm afraid. But we ALWAYS had sneak (and not a little envious) peeks at ZZAP! 64 in Martin's Newsagents after school each month. And we compared games reviews on both platforms, which often generated no small amount of controversy! Happy days :) So - congratulations! You continue to keep the spirit of that time alive, which is so worth it: it was a good spirit and a good time.
What are today's kids going to end up with? The retro angle is great, but there must be some way to capture what it was back then that made these things special. I wonder if it was the low-tech media that you had to use to keep up with new things. TH-cam videos and the internet have eliminated a major part of the fun from adventure games. I remember being frustrated for months, if not years sometimes, making the eventual discoveries more meaningful.
I think the answer to that is parents today introducing their kids to retro computers, as I see many of them doing in the forums and groups. It’s pretty magical and it is continuing to new generations.
It’s So cool that your mum is also a treasured member of the Retro Recipe crew! Thank you MummyFractic for the lovely video of “postman Pet dropping the Zap64 on the mat!” She deserves an RR batch and more important a big hug and a kiss from you.
Man i was 11 when i got my first Zzap think it was issue 5 (september 85) as it was my birthday and i had just got my C64. After that i never missed an issue it was a must have, i'd walk almost 3 miles (bus in the winter ofc) to get a copy from WHSmiths. The art work for the cover always blew me away and the hints and tips became a life line for a game or 2 haha. But come 1990 i made the jump to the amiga an not long after stopped getting Zzap. Great video as always as it was great to walk down memory lane an hey it even had a dad joke in the mix, you guys take it easy and roll on the next video. Oh and super big congrats with the mag ofc :-)
HUZZAH! My annual arrived in the Mail this week and am currently enjoying it ... well not right now ... right now I'm watching this and typing .... but you get the point. :P
Lovely video. Zzap! Italia was not made just by translated reviews, it was an encompassing publication, with c64, spectrum and console reviews. Around half of it was made with newsfield material, the other half came mostly from "Videogiochi" team, a magazine born in the early 80's. Its spin off, games machine, is still around here!
Great video about quite simply the best computer magazine ever. It's so great to have it back. Ironically I found my green space 1999 eagle freighter at my parents house recently too! Mine's a bit more beat up than yours!
I used to see Jazz Rignall a lot in my home town of Southend on Sea, It was around the late 80's perhaps early 90's after he left Zzap to join CV&G. CV&G were based in London so I guess it was a short trip from London to Southend for him to visit the arcade's along the seafront. Wish I had plucked up the courage to say hello as he was my favourite reviewer on Zzap and was totally gutted when he left.
Fun fact - the WHSmith branch shown briefly at 3:32 is not real - it's a film set created specifically for Black Mirror's Bandersnatch interactive episode, which was located in Croydon town centre a few years ago. If you look closely you can see that when this quick snippet was filmed the set wasn't quite complete. :-) I was working nearby at the time, so walked past this a couple of times a day for about a month, so got to see it gradually be put together. The fake store they created there was completely authentic - it even had a top-40 albums display for the mid-80s, as well as a charts section for computer games, exactly like a Smiths from that period.
Yay. A friend made a custom embroidered Zzap64 T shirt a couple of years ago. It looks awesome, and even here in Canada I get a fair few, love the t shirt, comments. 😃
4:58 1.50 GBP, but 9.00 DM? What the... couldn't find exchange rates for British Pound to DM in 1988, but I am pretty sure it wasn't that high. :O Also, Amiga Joker cost 7DM in 1992, which would have been around 2.50 GBP at that time. Pretty sure 9DM was way out of the price range for 13-14 year olds interested in computers in 1988 (I was only 7 at that time, so I can't say for sure)
Incredibly well researched. My school friends got into drawing because of the artwork of these magazines. Surprised they sold 55-80 thousand copies which I think is not that high.
That was my first Zzap 64 ! issue I bought, the one with the Elite cover and I thought it was amazing, it was garish, it was fun and exciting and motivated you to go out and buy stuff and try it out and experiment; I remember that TV show on BBC "Micro Live" with frumpy, middle aged people who were a bit clueless almost talking down to the audience ... "no mate I'm getting my Freeze Frame Cartridge for my C64 to hack the program for unlimited lives instead !" I thought to myself in front of the TV.
Never read or even heard of Zzap until these vids, but it looked like it was a fun mag to read. I was never much into the gaming aspect of the 64. I was more interested in the creative side; graphics, music, etc. I even had some "serious" programs like databases and word processors. Too bad there was never a mag that focused on those areas. I did have a few games; Choplifter and Gridrunner were my favorites.
Great episode, although I did not have a c64 back in the day and cannot recall seeing the zzp64 magazine here in Australia. My first computer was the Amiga 500, and I got the Amiga Format & Amiga Computing magazines.
CONGRATULATIONS, Chris and Dave! This nostalgic revival is really cool! I love that you're both in Zzap and that you're also in this other one! I never knew about Zzap and Crash when I was young but it's fun to hear about it from you, especially with this recap of your old videos about it, with the update!
I was a Crash (and later ZZAP! 64 when they moved to Ludlow) reviewer, and this video has taken me on a trip down memory lane (my nickname was Corky at the time, some people still remember me now). I was in my early 20's when I started, so not much older than the teenagers they employed, and it was usually a case of what we liked or disliked about the games went into the magazines. I was Lloyd Mangram a few times (as were a lot of the other people in the office). I miss those days :-)
That’s incredible. No doubt I read some of your stuff, including in my friend’s Crash issues. Thank you for your contribution to our childhoods.
Thanks for watching this brief history of ZZAP! 64. If you’re glad ZZAP! is back, subscribe at: zzapmagazine.co.uk 🎉
Subscribed! I'll make sure to giggle like a teenager when it arrives
Thanks for the walk down memory lane in 1987 I used to order Commode 64 disks from UK. My best software was from the UK.
Being born and raised (and still living) in Germany, I've never heard of ZZAP or Crash but what you showed here looks awesome! I wish we had that here.
What about 'The Games Machine' magazine. I had issue one signed by Ollie Frey. Very well made Magazine.
Zzap! 64 was my bible growing up in the 1980s. It's hard to explain to people who didn't live through this time that magazine reviewers like Gary Penn and Julian Rignall, and computer game programmers such as Tony Crowther, Jeff Minter, Archer Maclean etc. were household names. Many a young teenager grew up in that era not wanting to be a footballer or a rock musician, but wanted instead to be a monthly magazine video game reviewer or a computer games programmer!
And Perifractic, I have of course added this video to my Saturday must watch viewing list - looking forward to it!
I can never again see that Commodore logo without thinking "Chicken Lips 16". Thanks - that has actually enriched my life!
This episode was really well made. I love the old Commodore stuff obviously, but to see those old magazines again, wow the memories. Its sad we never got them here in Florida. The nostalgia feeling was super intense on this episode. BTW I got Space Taxi working on the The c64. I am still struggling to get Red Storm Rising working. It never correctly loads the second disk. But hey, Space Taxi makes it all ok. Your show is really my favorite show on TH-cam. Always good. I also like the fact that there is no negativity on your episodes. Always upbeat and a feel good attitude. I look forward to your next episode!!
Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
@@RetroRecipes Everything Johann said in their comment reflects how I feel about your channel. I also love you and Mrs Fratic! Your videos brighten my day! Your furbabies are cute and add to the dynamics of the channel. Never stop what you’re doing! You are my FAVORITE channel on TH-cam for all things retro.
@@worldofretrogameplay6963 Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
It's so nice to see the original publishers giving their permission for the retro freaks to continue our journeys. Thanks guys!
Oliver Frey, what an amazing artist, loved all the covers on Crash and Zzap64. Loved the 80's, amazing computers and Grange Hill Tucker Jenkins and no mobile phones or internet, happy simple times. Oh and great music. Bad fashion though!
Think one of the things I enjoy most about your videos is that I can feel your enthusiasm - nothing comes across as being fake or.... plastic. Hard to put into words, but your excitement just oozes out. Thank you for the content, long may it last!
Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
I miss the old computer mags; so many memories!
They’re back so make new ones! 😊 BTW I need your address to send you your ЯR Badge please 👍🕹️ Feel free to email it to me if you’d like one.
@@RetroRecipes I honestly thought I had? Hmmm let me double check 🙂
I concur James! My dad he was a systems analyst and he never saw the use of me having a computer. Because according to him “computers were there, to solve serious mathematical problems and not to play games and therefore utterly useless in a household”. (So you can see how amazed I was when I found his PDP11 paper tapes and asked what was on it... Oh that’s an Asian computer game Pang Pang Gi, that I saw when I worked in Thailand and coded up... (parents are such hypocrites ;) )
I guess after me begging for 2 whole years, made them sway and bought my cousin’s VIC20 (the first computer I saw and touched). FFWD 3 years.
When my dad saw that I was taking a liking to programming and that there was a course in a magazine on 6502 assembler, that I wanted to learn so badly, he talked to my mum. And they agreed to give me an extra fiver a month, to strictly go towards buying the next issue. But the issue also came with a disk of cool demos and little games and reviews: “double win!!!”
So my friends that summer of 1987, were the Outrun arcade in the Snackbar (where most of my chore money went) and the C64 and PowerCardridge who’s monitor I used to code assembler.
And my dad would bring home the Elektor magazine from his work too.
And I have been a subscriber to elektor since I went to college 31 years ago - electronics students got a massive discount. And still to this day every other months when it’s in my letterbox I feel like I’m 17 and ik college again :)
As well as the “underground magazine” xeroxed booklets called HacTic (they are now all scanned and online - so cool reading those back after 30 years); it was written/edited by some of the best Dutch Phreakers.
Kids these days miss out on so much! The things that made our lives so colourful and I dare argue, far more fun.
I love these types of videos that delve deeper into the history of 80's computing and gaming. It was never just the machines, but a much broader culture. Thank you for capturing a part of that!
I’m glad you like these. They never get the same sort of views as other subjects but I really enjoy making these deep dives. 👍🕹️
That's so cool that you've been published in your favorite childhood magazine! I love how the C64 still has so much of a fan base in nostalgia, gamers, restorers/repairers, and talented programmers making new games. I really need to start playing my C64 more!
BTW, have you seen the new Virtual Commodore 64 for the Oculus Quest VR headset? The beta version was recently released.
Thank you! I feel cool!
Yes I've seen that VR thing 👍🕹️
I was thinking with the launch of the Commander X16 there needs to be a resurrection of a supporting magazine for the hobbyists. RUN and Compute's Gazette were the only two I could ever get my hands on during the life of the C64 and I miss them dearly.
Welcome onboard. I write for the main Fusion magazine each month. It's been great fun to be part of these great Retro magazines.
Though a bit older at that time (and now) I waited every month for Zzap!64 to arrive in Denmark... Andrew Braybrook was the great hero then and the reviewers.. GREAT VIDEO !!!
I spy SPACE:1999 at 28:32 !! Did you want to be Alan Carter ?
This was excellent!
Thank you for the history lesson into Zzap64.
I grew up with a magazine called Video Games and Computer Entertainment. But the magazine that really made me fall in love was Electronic Gaming Monthly. I have fond memories of it like you do of ZZAP! 64. Awesome documentary and Oliver Freys art is incredible!
Love your videos, always get that nostalgic feeling.
Windows ME = The Backstreet boys of operating systems.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! That was frigging genius. And so true. 😂
RUN Magazine and Compute's! Gazette were my jam in the usa, back in the day.
This made me feel so warm and fuzzy! I was actually featured in the Scorelord section. The essence of 90s British ‘cool’. I still get goosebumps when I listen to those old SID soundtracks. Lloyd Mangram for life! 🙏
'kin brilliant! One of the best videos I've seen from you guys. Even though i was an Amstrad Action boy due to having a CPC 464, still loved this recipode! Again, fond memories came flooding back and got me thinking, so....
Jumped on the PC and downloaded CPC Emulator Windows Emulator CPCGamesCD and then...
Got hold of ArnoldX and installed it on my XBOX 360, that was my Sunday! Enjoy yours and thanks again, love your work.
Being from the US, I didn't know this magazine existed. Of course I had Compute Gazette and Ahoy, but I would have loved to have ZZap as well. It definitely would have pointed me toward many more games.
I got a used C64 for Christmas in 1991 along with a huge box of 300 tape games and a massive pile of Zzaps. I also used to get Commodore Format, which had some great stuff in it and a free tape.
I honestly can't remember how many nights me and a classmate spent krunching in programs from different computer magazines in the early/mid 80's. First on his VIC-20 and later on my C64, listening to Radio Luxemburg as we did so. Don't think I ever saw ZZAP! 64 here in Sweden though. By 1985 I was more into driving around in my car chasing girls anyway. :)
Kool video! Hopefully one day in the not too distant future, AI game coding rock stars will be writing new outlandishly good "homebrew" CBM64 games well beyond human programming/conceptual and artistic abilities, which will then be reviewed by gameplaying offspring of GPT-3 systems trained on the complete archives of Zzapp64. All compiled into a faithfully accurate yet entirely self generating uber level Zzap64 publication and evolving virtual universe, enhanced with realtime interactive Rockford animations, and choice impromptu Scorelord insults as he is abused by Miss Whiplash on every other virtual page lol - Cheers.
My mate bet me £5 that I couldn't get my letter published in issue 2 of Zzap.. I took him on...so I thought how could I achieve this....hmm, came up with the idea to write to Rockford...oh how I laughed when issue 2 came through the post...boom! letters page issue 2...my letter to Rockford!!!...along with a personalised message from him... I never got the fiver...not surprising really as my mate was a spectrum owner and Crash reader....
Great times to look back on. I was very lucky to have shared my very first computer a C64 with my children as they grew up though the 1980s & 1990s with the Amiga 500 then the PC20 Commodore I saw my very first C64 in 1985 when my wife and I were out walking with the children. I stop to talk to a neighbor and durning the conversation he said that
he had bought a C64. He was a Baptist Church Paster and very happy to share his knowledge with me. Six months later I had saved enough money to buy one for myself.
Wow great video. Think can remember the magazines and bought a few. Was a commodore fan lol. And love the great work that you and everyone put into this. Ah yes I remember that ship the Eagles from space 1999. Wow great. 🙂
My magazine of choice was The Transactor. I don't think it got much distribution outside of Canada, but it was great. The focus was more on programming, hardware and computer science. They are all online thankfully at csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/
They are well worth checking out
Well done Christian! Looking back at the Zzap 64 days, I find that not many people seem to mention Paul Glancey and Gordon Houghton, yet I remember them well.
Not even a mention for 'Your Sinclair'? =/
This is great to see as i now have a working c64 and will be putting another together .i always looked forward to the month the spectrum magazines came out and would buy 2 or 3 different mags then spend time going through cover tapes and all the computer shops in swindon that sold 8 bit software nearly every week i would go and spend £10 to £20 on budget range titles i never owned my first c64 that long and sold it to a mate at the time for £70 with the disc drive cassette deck and games i only have one game on cassette for the c64 but hundreds for the bbc/electron and zx spectrum .
Never had a C64 so I used to buy C&VG. Had loads of them, and recycled them in 2000 because of lack of space
Damm ..you just brought a nostalgic tear to my eye . I still remember going into whsmiths and seeing the first issue. Talk about bringing back my childhood memories. Meeting Jeff Minter was one of the best childhood memories I have with my C64 . Getting my subscription at the ready . Thanks again .
I subscribed from germany as it only sporadically showed up at the dealer. Liked the demo tapes and cheat listings.
Great video Perri! Well done! Congrats on getting in the Annual and Zzap micro magazine!
Wait a minute, this isn't Your Sinclair (you should have got that from the title - Ed)
That said, I get the Crash one...Chris is a top bloke!
I pretty much learned to read, reading Zzap 64 magazine as a kid, lol!
Cool. I'm reviewing issue#1 April 1985. This'll motivate me to keep going.
What an outstanding history lesson on ZZAP! 64 Thank you.
I used to love Zzap! Even though I had an Atari 800XL, and we didn't have any magazines like Zzap or Crash, we just had "Atari User", and the occasional Atari review in C+VG to look at.
Puppyfractic Could Be Wagging At You
Oh yah I also LOVE all your videos!!! (Commodore the most!) and have been watching you since you did the 5 part Apple PIIe with The 8-bit guy, who I was following for a long time and with Jan Beta, who I now follow and love and MindFlareRetro who I now follow and enjoy when he puts out videos. I also want to thank you, because of watching you, around a year and a half ago I bought myself a really nice recapped Amiga 1200 (My wife was not so happy when I had to set up another deck next to my C64's desk) I remember seeing and wanting the Amiga 1000 at a Commodore Computer store my senior year 1985, but I knew I could never afford one with my income from working at McDonalds! I then went to Bamberg West Germany from 1986 -1988 while serving in the U.S. Army and while there I bought at the big PX (Army store) a Commodore 128D and matching monitor (because I was not shipping me beloved C64 and 1702 monitor overseas and then back in two years!). After returning state side I continued to use the 128D for around four more years at different Army bases until 1992 while stationed at Fort Drum NY, I sold the 128D and bought my first of so many PC's (286, 386sx, 386dx, 486-33, 486-66, 486-100, Pentium, PII, P3, P4, i7, i7, i7 & now a i7). It was your Amiga videos that took me back to being 17 & 18 and wishing I had the money for an Amiga, so now that I am much much older and have a lot more pocket money than 1985, I got my Amiga and I love it (My C64 is still my favorite) Thank you!!!!
You are welcome. Thank you for your service.
blimey, similar to your reaction to seeing yourself in an actual issue of Zzap 64, I was surprised and flattered to see you use my comment in your updated (and again fantastic) documentary :) I'm not sure how i missed this update when you released it, but still great to see it now. I did catch the early 2000's Zzap digital editions, and have followed C64 news since then, but through the crazy last few years I somehow managed to miss the new Zzap 64 releases which is a bit gutting given i still have all my old Zzaps. Hopefully I can pick some up down the track, thought it's nice just to know they exist and people are really enjoying them. Overall, this rebirth of Zzap is a bit like time travel, linking us kids of the 80's to us now in ways even Oli Frey's amazing mind couldn't have imagined up....as Freddie would've said, it's a kind of magic.
Well you got here in the end that’s all that matters 😉
Although we didn't have ZZAP in the US, I was quite fond of COMPUTE.... I would spend hours entering the HEX code from the free programs they would include in each magazine... some would be games, sprite demos, SID demos, etc. This brings back a lot of those memories. I did purchase the annual 2020 and 2021 ZZAP as they look amazing! Of course waiting for some of these things to fly across the pond takes a lot of patience . But hopefully I will see them arrive next week :) Cheers!
Be patient young Padawan…
I received my 2021 Zzap!64 annual two weeks ago with the free sampler of the March 2021 magazine. I read the shortened version of the magazine from cover to cover before even looking at the Annual and loved it so much that I went to Patreon and signed up for the magazine. I also loved your review of Attack of the PETSCII Robots and based on your review (Not Robin's or Andrew's who both seemed to not enjoy the game to me) that I went to the 8-bit guys site and bought the boxed version of the game, so that I would get the user port adapter for a SNES controller. I received my game in just one week which I thought was fast from TX to OH. I agree with you about using the keyboard to play is confusing, but I love it now that my SNES controllers came from ebay. I just wish someone, ANYONE! had mad that adaptor back in 1983 when I got my C64 which I'm still using today (38 years after I got it for Xmas!), so many of the great games would of been so much better with a 2nd, 3rd or 4th button for things like 2nd weapons and JUMPING!
Agreed! Glad you liked it!
Sorry Perifractic. I still loved Your Computer for its cross-platform support. Converting listings between different computers was an interesting challenge. Sinclair User came a close second. Then PC Plus, Amiga Computing, CU Amiga, Amiga Format, Amiga Shopper and Amiga User International were the order of the day. To be honest I was rubbish at computer games. LOL.
A great reheated episode though. Your rising fame appears to know no end!
You are forgiven 😉
Confession time: I was a Sinclair User kid. I don't think I ever even knew Crash existed.
You’re officially forgiven
NERD !!!
I used to buy this magazine religiously with Your Commomodore, Commodore Format. Also, Computer and Video Games and sometimes Mean Machines.
There was something in this video that somehow sent me back to my childhood bedroom playing Cauldron II on a cold November night in 1986. You make such lovely videos and it's obvious how much time and care you put into them. I was an avid Crash reader back in the day so Ben Stone and Richard Eddy were my rock stars but I still have a lot of affection for Zapp and Amtix too. Can anyone remember the crossover edition where the reviewers from each magazine had a high score competition? Can anyone remember the Grumlins from Amtix? Anyway, great video and congratulations on becoming a Zzap reviewer, I can't think of anyone else more worthy and deserving.
Wow Thank you for your kind words. Means a lot! 👍🕹
Lol "the letters page that I never got into". I'd love to know what letters he sent in as a kid.
Hmm maybe an idea for an episode!
I remember buying Zzap! 64 ages ago, reading reviews of the latest games... So to see one of my own games (Soul Force) in the new mag gives me a bit of a thrill.
Congratulations Sarah! I missed out on being a. Reviewer there! But played it and it’s pretty amazing 👍🕹️
I understand people have the right to "like" or "not like" a video, but who would "not like" a Retro Recipes video? Good Lord! Haha! We love you guys!
Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
I always got this magazine. I had a c64 . It was fab
I had the pleasure of running into Jaz and Gary along with David Whittaker at a Commodore show in maybe 85 or 86 at the Novotel in London, they were at the bar LOL
LOL! What were they like back then?
Just finished reading your section yesterday, was great
Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
I remember buying the first issue of Zzap 64 when I was just 14 years old. I was so impressed with it that I would cycle to my local newsagent and buy the next issue every month! I loved my C64. I had a 1541 floppy drive and a dot matrix printer for it. I later bought a modem for it and signed up to Compunet. Great times indeed 🙂
Late reply to your comment as I have only just stumbled on this fantastic trip down memory lane!
I'm guessing that you had the MPS-801 Dot Matrix Printer. We also got the modem and a subscription to Compunet, I remember actually visiting their HQ with my late father whilst visiting down south!
We also lived very close to the shop, 'Trilogic.' that created the 'Expert Cartridge' for the C64 and would visit them most weekends to talk about the latest and greatest developments with the C64. Good times indeed.
Crash for me and my brother back in the day I'm afraid. But we ALWAYS had sneak (and not a little envious) peeks at ZZAP! 64 in Martin's Newsagents after school each month. And we compared games reviews on both platforms, which often generated no small amount of controversy! Happy days :)
So - congratulations! You continue to keep the spirit of that time alive, which is so worth it: it was a good spirit and a good time.
Just joined. Amazing!
God my brother's going to be stoked when he hears about this :D
I pushed the like to 400 only wish i could zero the dislike. I watched all the way to the end with a smile from ear to ear. 👍
Don't worry about the dislikes, they're just unhappy in life and will come back in the next life as thumbs!
Yeah, my first issue arrived some weeks ago to germany, and i read it at the same day, page a page. Because you mentioned it month ago.
Love it!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Christian for being part of ZZap going forwards, and the mentions in the vid!
It’s an honour and a privilege sir! 🙏🕹🙏
What are today's kids going to end up with? The retro angle is great, but there must be some way to capture what it was back then that made these things special. I wonder if it was the low-tech media that you had to use to keep up with new things. TH-cam videos and the internet have eliminated a major part of the fun from adventure games. I remember being frustrated for months, if not years sometimes, making the eventual discoveries more meaningful.
I think the answer to that is parents today introducing their kids to retro computers, as I see many of them doing in the forums and groups. It’s pretty magical and it is continuing to new generations.
My PCBWAY acronym does it again! 😁
Better second time around ;-)
just paid for zzap printed.
I love this, made a 50 year old bloke feel all warm and fuzzy. Good on you man.
Franco Frey definitely a Marvel super hero name or baddie either way cool name
Ooh good point!
Its great that you are involved in zzap64! 😃👍
It’s So cool that your mum is also a treasured member of the Retro Recipe crew! Thank you MummyFractic for the lovely video of “postman Pet dropping the Zap64 on the mat!”
She deserves an RR batch and more important a big hug and a kiss from you.
Delivering now!… 😊
Man i was 11 when i got my first Zzap think it was issue 5 (september 85) as it was my birthday and i had just got my C64. After that i never missed an issue it was a must have, i'd walk almost 3 miles (bus in the winter ofc) to get a copy from WHSmiths. The art work for the cover always blew me away and the hints and tips became a life line for a game or 2 haha. But come 1990 i made the jump to the amiga an not long after stopped getting Zzap. Great video as always as it was great to walk down memory lane an hey it even had a dad joke in the mix, you guys take it easy and roll on the next video. Oh and super big congrats with the mag ofc :-)
HUZZAH!
My annual arrived in the Mail this week and am currently enjoying it ... well not right now ... right now I'm watching this and typing .... but you get the point. :P
Lovely video. Zzap! Italia was not made just by translated reviews, it was an encompassing publication, with c64, spectrum and console reviews. Around half of it was made with newsfield material, the other half came mostly from "Videogiochi" team, a magazine born in the early 80's. Its spin off, games machine, is still around here!
Go back in time and show your printed face to the childhood you.
OMW
So I have a question: Perilergic or Allergifractic ? ;)
More seriously though: as always, very cool, and congrats on perivading Zzap64!
Let’s go with sneezifractic 🤧 And thank you! Dreams do come true!
PCB WAY - Perifractic's Commodore Backstory... :) At the end - Is that an Eagle Transport ship or an interceptor - I can't remember now ?
Yup Eagle from Space 1999
@@RetroRecipes I had the all white one. :) Thats going back a few too many years now though! :) Space 1999.....
Great video about quite simply the best computer magazine ever. It's so great to have it back. Ironically I found my green space 1999 eagle freighter at my parents house recently too! Mine's a bit more beat up than yours!
I used to see Jazz Rignall a lot in my home town of Southend on Sea, It was around the late 80's perhaps early 90's after he left Zzap to join CV&G. CV&G were based in London so I guess it was a short trip from London to Southend for him to visit the arcade's along the seafront. Wish I had plucked up the courage to say hello as he was my favourite reviewer on Zzap and was totally gutted when he left.
Cool! Did he have the same hair?
@@RetroRecipes Yeah he still had the mullet. Jazz Rignall, the only man in history that looked cool with a mullet.
Fun fact - the WHSmith branch shown briefly at 3:32 is not real - it's a film set created specifically for Black Mirror's Bandersnatch interactive episode, which was located in Croydon town centre a few years ago. If you look closely you can see that when this quick snippet was filmed the set wasn't quite complete. :-)
I was working nearby at the time, so walked past this a couple of times a day for about a month, so got to see it gradually be put together.
The fake store they created there was completely authentic - it even had a top-40 albums display for the mid-80s, as well as a charts section for computer games, exactly like a Smiths from that period.
Ah yes I know this. But there’s just no footage of old Smiths shops so I cheated this in 😉
@@RetroRecipes yeah a wise choice 😁
It was great walking past that set for a month or so - instant nostalgia twice a day.
The title made me laugh. :)
Lloyd Mangram wasn't a real person? Damn, the number of times I wrote to him at Crash when I was a teenager. I feel belatedly swindled! LOL!
Hey! You're keeping up with the commodore!
Always!
Where I am from (Wonthaggi, Vic, Aus) we called it Zee Zap. I know we use "zed" in Australia, but it sounded right.
I have great memories of ZZAP!64 🤩 It was my first c64 magazine, back in the day. I think I still have a few copies somewhere in my parents' house.
Back in the day in Poland most popular magazine was: "C= & A COMMODORE & AMIGA" :). Nice and nostalgic episode:) And now is "Komoda & Amiga"...
Yay. A friend made a custom embroidered Zzap64 T shirt a couple of years ago.
It looks awesome, and even here in Canada I get a fair few, love the t shirt, comments. 😃
It took me over two hours to read this video. It was completely worth it.
Lol!
So many elephants in the room when discussing the practices of Newsfield. But this is probably about as good at it gets. Thanks, Chris.
4:58 1.50 GBP, but 9.00 DM? What the... couldn't find exchange rates for British Pound to DM in 1988, but I am pretty sure it wasn't that high. :O
Also, Amiga Joker cost 7DM in 1992, which would have been around 2.50 GBP at that time. Pretty sure 9DM was way out of the price range for 13-14 year olds interested in computers in 1988 (I was only 7 at that time, so I can't say for sure)
fantastic !! actually that front cover looks like the ship from the end of the Project X:2 intro l. you have images of that yes ?
Ah good point - I think I may have meshed the 2 together in my mind. Yes!
@@RetroRecipes indeed you have the 3D model of it.... hmmm STL it ?
Incredibly well researched. My school friends got into drawing because of the artwork of these magazines. Surprised they sold 55-80 thousand copies which I think is not that high.
That was my first Zzap 64 ! issue I bought, the one with the Elite cover and I thought it was amazing, it was garish, it was fun and exciting and motivated you to go out and buy stuff and try it out and experiment; I remember that TV show on BBC "Micro Live" with frumpy, middle aged people who were a bit clueless almost talking down to the audience ... "no mate I'm getting my Freeze Frame Cartridge for my C64 to hack the program for unlimited lives instead !" I thought to myself in front of the TV.
This brought back memories. My mum used to buy me both Crash and Zzap 64 every month. What I'd give for a time machine to go back to those days ❤
Never read or even heard of Zzap until these vids, but it looked like it was a fun mag to read. I was never much into the gaming aspect of the 64. I was more interested in the creative side; graphics, music, etc. I even had some "serious" programs like databases and word processors. Too bad there was never a mag that focused on those areas. I did have a few games; Choplifter and Gridrunner were my favorites.
It's sad that kids growing up today will never get to experience 1980s/1990s computer magazine culture.
Great episode, although I did not have a c64 back in the day and cannot recall seeing the zzp64 magazine here in Australia. My first computer was the Amiga 500, and I got the Amiga Format & Amiga Computing magazines.
We had Computes gazette, which was targeted more towards programmers, we had zzap, we had commodore user, we got most (if not everything in Australia)
CONGRATULATIONS, Chris and Dave! This nostalgic revival is really cool! I love that you're both in Zzap and that you're also in this other one! I never knew about Zzap and Crash when I was young but it's fun to hear about it from you, especially with this recap of your old videos about it, with the update!
Thanks!!
@@RetroRecipes: Absolutely, sir! I totally get why they knew you'd be great there!
(Oh gosh, now I'm gushing, haha!)