My first computer was also a Plus4 and watching this video brought back memories of games i'd completely forgotten about. I do remember playing a game called "FireAnt" Great times :)
I had a plus4 and Fire Ant is the only game I can remember playing much as well as some poor pool simulator but the name escapes me. Edit: after watching all the way through I actually remember playing Treasure Island as well but not getting very far through it.
Great video and a very underrated machine. Faves of mine are Dorks Dilemma, megabolts, fingers malone, rockman, squirm, petals of doom, exorcist, fire ant, ace and dark castle.
The Plus 4 was also my very first computer, and therefore it holds a special place in my heart. As a very young child I was completely oblivious as to its reputation, but as I grew up and friends started getting other 8-bit computers, it started to dawn on me how lacking it was. There were a few brilliant gems (as mentioned, most of them by Shaun Southern), but the vast majority of the budget games on it really were piss poor - and not even my low standards as a young kid in the 80s nor rose-tinted nostalgia goggles could mask the fact. I remember being bitterly disappointed on more than one occasion when my mum would take me to John Menzies and let me pick a game; I'd get something that had the most incredibly exciting artwork on the box... I'd get it home... and it turned out to be barely playable and nothing like how I imagined. The biggest disappointments were the arcade ports (it did have some, like Green Beret and Paperboy) and ports from other systems that were always poor imitations (like Finders Keepers). The Plus 4 was one of Commodore's most ill-conceived products ever, but I still love it.
+pkaulf wow yeah, I'd forgotten about the abomination that was Paperboy on the Plus/4, possibly the worst version ever. I bought it at the sea-side after playing in the arcade. Was a huge disappointment.
Having come back to replay Paperboy nowadays, have to say it's quite enjoyable to play with (surprisingly!), surely better than Sun Street, a German clone coded by Tom Fresen. The arcade conversion that REALLY disappointed all of us at that time (with Green Beret and barely Commando) was Ghosts 'n Goblins! All these games have been coded in FEW DAYS, in particular (according to the author himself) Commando has been written in one week without any reference about C16! Just one note: though as good emulator, VICE still doesn't emulate the C16/Plus4 as good as it should; use YAPE or plus4emu instead.
Kekule1025 I totally forgot about commando. I actually had no recollection of owning that game until today. I loved playing the Spectrum version and the arcade of course. When I got it for my Plus 4 it was just heartbreakingly bad. Gun Law and Legionnaire were slightly better clones.
1:00 "despite not having hardware sprites, the grapics is very nice..." -> The graphics clearly moving 8 pixel each step! 3:12 "colorfull leves and interesting stage designs" -> the colors of character and background, clashing one each other like hell!
The C16 was my first computer - loved it and still have it. I sometimes still play "Dorks Dilemma" - a hidden gem on these systems. Another great game is "G-Man".
Commodore plus 4 was my first computer too. I spent so many wonderful hours of my childhood with this marvellous machine. It’s my dream to own one again.
Thank you so much for posting a link to an emulator: have been looking for one unsuccessfully for ages! Icicle Works, Treasure Island and Bridgehead, wonderful stuff. Surprised not to see Fire Ant or Mercenary, though; think you need to do your next ten as a follow up!
Excellent video, the Plus/4 was my first computer and I still own it to this day. My top 10 would be: 1 - Mercenary 2 - Saboteur 3 - Ace 4 - Berks 3 5 - Winter Events 6 - Monty On The Run 7 - Bridgehead 8 - Icicle Works 9 - Kikstart 10 - One Man And His Droid
Good picks. I remember all of those... though I don't think I've played anything as much as Mercenary. (3D!) "Bootleg" ports like Elite, Lode Runner, Castle Master or Head over Heels would also deserve a video in my humble not-a-video-maker's opinion -- as would fully homebrew games like Slipstream, Memento, Sgt. Helmet Zero, Majesty of Sprites. Without the internet I'd never have known what my plus/4 was capable of other than kick Basic 2.0's butt and produce lots of pastel colours.
The C16 was the first machine I owned (although the first I played was my Grandfather's Dragon 32): technology moves so quickly, and we aren't young for long enough to fully appreciate what we once had...I still fire some of these classics up today, but you can never really go back. Still, I have such fond memories of the machine. And apart from Big Mac, I was surprised you missed so many great games; but as I made the list, I came to realise how many were conversions or clones. In no particular order; * Thrust - C64 conversion, but kept all the playability. * Dorks Dilemma - One of the few games I ever completed too. Looking back, it must have been influenced by Bomberman, but in those days, if you didn't live near a major city, all you knew was what was in the magazines you could order to the nearest newsagent... so for me, it was remarkably new. * Finders Keepers - Weird (for the time) adventure game * Arthur Noid - an Arkanoid clone, but incredibly addictive * XZap / Punchy / Chess - As a starter pack for the C16, it looked rubbish - but the playability was fantastic. The sounds on Xzap are still powerful today too; darkened room, that opening horn, wow.. Also Chess played a surprisingly strong game, I spent most of my Christmas money around then on a dedicated portable that I still have, and idly pitching emulated Chess against it recently, the C16 would destroy it even on the highest setting. The pack also had Rolph Harris Painting, but the less said about it, and him the better! * Powerball - As addictive as Kickstarter, but ball shaped. I didn't know it at the time, but this has an impossible tunnel at the end to hide lacking a true ending. I tried for hours once to get past that, thinking there must be a way... * Zolyx - Qix clone, as I discovered later. Also great. * Berks / Baby Berks / Berks 3 - Bezerk clone, how could you miss these out?! * Pottit - Two player combat snooker where you're the balls. Awesome brother beating fun. * Rockman / Return of Rockman: Boulder Dash clones. Probably not good ones but these are the first versions of the game I played, so these are the ones I remember fondly. Can be completed, but first has a diamond I can't grab under emulation, and the second has a final level impossible to beat without save scumming, which wasn't possible at the time. * Squirm - Snake meets Pac-man. That music! * Bandits at Zero: Defender clone * GWNN - or the Game With No Name, probably the best Uridium clone for the C16 * Storm - Wasn't as good as the C64 version, but remarkable 2 player Gauntlet style play for the baby Commodore. Oh to have more time and be able to go back and try all the games we copied tape to tape in the playground, and I never got around to playing, and see them all in their historical context again...
I had thought we had a C16 as our first computer, but it must have been a plus 4 because we had Treasure Island. Long John Silver was indeed terrifying, making you slow down when he arrived on screen! I was a bit puzzled as to why the pirates threw their swords, as I was old enough to know that isn't the typical way of using a sword! I think I remember Icicle Works too, a game I had long forgotten. Just got a faint sense of recognition when I reached that point of the video.
Shaun Southern and Udo Gertz FTW on the C16 and Plus/4 of course. Plenty of other classics I could think of, including Oblido , POD - Proof of Destruction (Shaun Southern again), BMX Simulator (no action replay but an excellent conversion), Prospector Pete, The Magician's Curse, Robo Knight, and Xcellor 8.
Cheers for these memories mate. The Plus4 games I remember though I couldn't recall the names Mr Puniverse, Tutti Frutti, Trailblazer, Icicle Works and Winter Events - I remember playing all these in the 80s. Awesome, cheers!
Treasure you stand was my favourite game. I completed it many times. The map was exactly the same as on the Willow Pattern game on the C64 and later the same map was used on Monkey Magic on the original PlayStation. Amazing how I remembered the layout of the map many years later.
ACE is certainly well worth checking out - the C16 version is pretty well… ace - as it's a simplified game, rather than the full on sim which the Plus/4 version offers (and that comes up very nicely against the C64 version). Llamasoft's Voidrunner would be on my list - thought it appeared on the C64, the original C16 version is nice and lush with the extra colours the TED chip puts out. Another great one by Sout was Bandits at Zero - but that's another one to scratch the shooter itch for me ;) Unsure if you've checked them out - but there's some amazing recent titles as well - Majesty of Sprites and its follow up Lands of Zador (both very technically accomplished platformers), along with Slipstream (a 3D rail shooter).
Hi Dan, great video. The Commodore 16 was my first computer & I later picked up a second hand Plus4 for the smaller footprint as I only had a small desk. I remember and enjoyed all those games in your top ten and still have most of them in my collection today. Games I like that you didn't mention are Blitz, where you have to bomb a city so you can safely land your plane. Loco Coco, where you have to jump across the top of a run away train while dodging things until you reach the engine and can stop the train and save the day. Berks and Punchy are another two that I have always liked. Cheers, Colin from LTR.
This computer was my first computer. :) Thanks to this computer, I learned in addition to the Basic language, the difficult assembly language that was incorporated into the ROM of this computer. A pleasant memory. I still have it, but with problems with the image tuner. Only that. Thank you for this Video.
If you mean you have problems with the tuner (I'm guessing you mean the RF modulator) if you fancy giving your old system another go, it could be worth investing in a composite/S Video cable for it. Will get a much better picture by bypassing the modulator, especially with the S-Video cable!
@@Murderdogs Exactly that happened to me ... The computer works, but the image is striped, due to the RF modulator ... Thank you very much friend for that Tips. :)
Video Meanies, Fingers Malone, Vegas Jackpot, Scramble, Rockman, Dorks Dilemma, Way of the Exploding Fist.... all great fun on the C16 back in the day.
This video is now 3 years old. Very fortunate, but a lot of great new games created for this machine during this last 2-3 years period, like the Dizzy I, Dizzy Treasure Island, Barlogs numerous adventures from C64, improved Castle Master, The Pit from the fantastic Doug Turner, even a Lemmings preview (!). I do not want to let out other nice and important releases, but they were so many! Like Adventure In Time And Space, Alien8, new GridIron, the famtastic looking The Curse of Rabenstein, lot of DAAD adventures already in 2019, Hibernated 1, Eight Feet Under and the cute Adventure Park. Certainly Pet's Rescue and Alpharay defined new quality level on this platform in platformer and shoot-em-up genre. Top quality stuff! Sorry if I left out anything important...
Loved Winter Events. My great C16 regret was that I never got to play Summer Events. POD, G-man and speed king were some of my favourites. Loved my C16 but here in Ireland it was even harder to track down any games as a kid.
Loved this video, you’ve gained a new subscriber. My top 10. 1. Magicians curse 2. Icicle works 3. Fire Ant 4. Exorcist 5. Spikey Harold 6. Panik 7. Blagger 8. One man and his droid 9. Treasure island 10. Kikstart
I have some further personal favourites of my own that spring to mind (games that I still enjoy playing on occasion): Galaxions, Dork's Dilemma, Harvey Headbanger, Monkey Magic, Reach for the Sky, Rescue from Zylon, Zagan Warrior, Robin to the Rescue, Bongo, Thrust, Cops 'n' Robbers, Arthur Noid, Space Pilot and Manic Miner.
Another great vid Dan - But.... last night I was looking for a youtube on the C= 116 when I stumbled on your earlier youtube on the C=16 so I watched that again. Now I wake up today to your brand new review on it. Freaky! Keep up the great work. I really enjoy them. Graham.
The Commodore Plus4 was my first ever Computer as well. And it was the only Computer, were i read the Manual. In those days, the manual explained how to programm in basic.
Really enjoyed watching that! The Plus 4 was my second computer (after the Acorn Electron) after my cousin donated me his machine way back in 1989. I remember the pack in games being really good, and a lot of the Mr Chip and Mastertronic games were also memorable. I vividly remember a game called Mayhem which was a weird maze game where you had to colour in the screen, bit like a primitive version of Splatoon. I certainly don't agree with the myth that there were no good games on this platform.
I still use my C16 and Plus4 to this day. The games may not be as good as a C64 BUT the 121 colours and Basic 3.5 was superior to the C64. And also there are some C16 Plus4 games that was so so clever and well made. Timealip for me was one of the best.
I owned a C64 back in the day. I've always loved the look of the C16 and the Plus 4. Very cool 😃 I wish Commodore could have gotten it's act together. It's awesome that fans like Dan are keeping Commodore's legacy alive. Projects like The64 are neat too. My first computer was an Odyssey 2 and my second was a Commodore 64 😃.
I am the same - I have a C64C (which is the updated one in the C128 style case) but the best-looking one in my opinion was the Plus 4. It's a shame they didn't share compatible operating systems or have a C64 mode in the Plus 4 like they added to the 128.
@@matthewsemple Right. The Plus 4 and C16 were different chips I believe then the C64 and C128. I believe that's why they weren't compatible. It would have been awesome if they were compatible.. )^_-)/
Excellent list! The only game I'd say you have missing is ACE which was an excellent flight sim with speech which blew my ten year old mind back in the day. Still, some great memories and games. It's nice to see the C16 and Plus/4 get some love for a change.
+Matthew Oakley yeah the Plus/4 version was very impressive with 3D effects! I had it, but never knew how to play it much, so just enjoyed the graphics haha.
This is crazy. I had a Commodore Plus/4 growing up myself and I never heard of any of these games. One of the most annoying things was I could never find any joysticks for it and the port for them was some non-standard type which made it impossible to find. I typed in a game for days in hex code from a magazine and it needed that darn joystick, so I tried playing it by shorting wires together on various pins to try and play the game. I wrote an entire terminal software on this computer using a combination of 6502 assembler and BASIC for use in ham radio digital modes with an RS-232 kit that interfaced with the expansion port in the back. I didn't get my first "real" computer until about 1994 with a 486-DX33.
Treasure Island! My God, this takes me back to rushing home from school to play these game on our C16. A lot of these games were pure cack, but we still loved them.
The Plus/4 was my first computer as well. Sadly after a year the Datassette-port was burned so I had to wait five years until I got my Amiga 500 in August 1991 before I finally got back into gaming. I only remember G-Man, Hektik, Spectipede and Video Meanies. Video Meanies was my favorite.
My favorites were Bic Mac, Torpedo Alley, Powerball, Terra Cresta, Thrust and Kane. The Plus/4 was my first computer ever and i did never envy the C64, since i think the C64 was mainly owned by gamers, the Plus/4 by more creative people i would guess. There were tons of type-in games for the Plus/4 in magazines. I spent days typing in games from 12+ pages. The worst was finding a typo if the game failed! Anyway i loved my Plus/4. Very lately i got a C64. The Basic was so primitive that i got me a KCS cartridge instantly, upgrading Basic, and adding an Assembler Monitor and a reset button. 😎
Good video. Kikstart was definitely one of my faves too. Icicle Works also good fun. My all time fave is Squirm. Really recommend playing that. Also Fire Ant was a fave back in the day.
Also my first decent computer. I had a VZ200 with the rubber keys before my Plus/4. My favorite games were... Kikstart (I used to make my own levels by editing the memory in the built in memory editor.) Jetbrix Rescue from Zylon Sword of Destiny Terra Cognita Wizard of Wor Dork's Dilemma Loved the machine and will always have a soft spot for them.
To many people out there bash the C16/Plus4, but hey both are great machines, I have both a C16 with 64K expansion and a Plus 4. I love the Basic 3.5 for programming on both machines. Far far easier than the C64 to program. You can not do as much with Basic 2.0 compared to Basic 3.6.
Even back in the day, if the game was by Shaun Southern or Udo Gertz, it was a must buy - primarily as they knew what they were doing with the machine. Trailblazer C16 is excellent. I could have also included POD as well, just as good as the C64 version (minus the awesome bassline music on the C64).
This video serves as great inspiration for me. I did not have C16/+4 as a child, but I do have a C16 now (with 64k). I have not used it much. That may change now. :)
Also my 1st computer. I also remember space sweep invaders, number builder, number chaser, exorcist, golf, booty, soccer boss, league challenge and football manager
I use to have a Commodore 116 when I was a kid and played Manic Miner. I thought that was pretty good for time. Now I some what regret not keeping that system as it is probably worth a fair bit for its rarity.
Awesome video plus four was also my first games machine , I was addicted to a game called death race 16 a very very bright racing game you just drove in a straight line the whole time along the road past houses and other oddly bright buildings very repetitive but it was such fun. Also fire ant was a favourite in our house I wasn't very good at it but my older brother competed it almost everytime
I still could kick myself in the ass for selling mine at the end of the 80's (with tons of software) to get an AMSTRAD CPC-6128 and then an ATARI 1040 stfm (I always wanted an AMIGA 500).... PS my first computer was a SINCLAIR ZX-81, then a COMMODORE VIC-20 and after that the Plus 4.
I also spent month on Tomb Thum (Mr Tom in German) those days and I made it finally. I remember I was so disappointed because the game simply starts from the beginning. Ha, I said to myself NOT AGAIN heheh :) I think I have waited a long time for Winter Events (Winter Olympiade in German). If I do not mix things up I ordered and had to wait for a year or so. It was really a very long time. I called several times and they send me tapes as bonuses for waiting more and do not cancel my order. Games prices were about DM 19.99 + DM 6-8 for post and packaging (pay to postman) those days and that was lot for a young boy those days. Finally I got it and loved! I played BeachHead, Torpedo Run, Galaxy wow what Games and so sad that my parents trashed a fully functional C16 with Datasette to the bin :( As they did with a lot of my Amiga stuff as well - I could cry I I think about it - I will never forget KingsSoft and the fun I had with my C16 those days :)
Great video. I almost had a c16 however at the last minute my parents opted to get me the c64 which was obviously the right choice in the long run but am surprised at the quality of some of the games in this list, they look great.
great video I only remember iceicle works I always thought Frank Bruno's boxing on this c 16 was very technically impressive at the time I played it on a Commodore plus 4
My first comp was a c16 starter pack from Dixon's £49.99 Great deal back in the day. Still got the machine and use it with the SD2IEC gadgy as it uses game ROMs on a SD card 👌 My kids are like 🤦.... Yes we were the lucky ones growing up when home computing all started. 👍 Miss the 80s
great video i would have put icicle works at number one for me that is i had this system for xmas back in 1984 i loved it at the time then went on to the spectrum and all the consoles up to the ps4 other great plus 4 games include fire ant ghost town from the same people that did tom thumb which i also had back in the day. its great to take a trip down memory lane here watching this superb video i enjoyed this treasure island mayhem space sweep invaders the exorcist number builder and a few others came as part of the system what my parents got me back in that year.
I had a C16 machine for a few months and the best games were on it which I wrote myself in Basic: Otello, Five-in-a-row, Mill, Pong, and a two level shooter game called Space Hunter. From the games in the video, I had only the Kikstart and the Trailblazer games but I didn't like them that much. After that I had a C64 which became love and it lasts till today. 😎
I had a Commodore 16 but it stopped working in about 1989 so I chucked it away. I wish I still had it. I had tutti frutti but my favourite game was rockman, a boulder dash clone. Now I retro speccy games on my Chromebook
Nothing spells fun as much as jumping in the air from a trampoline with a motorbike and catching luftballons with it :P The dark sky in Kickstart makes it feel like you are in a Tron-like world where the only thing that matters is the challenge.
The C16 was my first Commodore and my fave game and nice looking was Pengo.. even the sound was great. Before I had the Philips Videopac G7000 and for me the C16 was a big step up. After that the C64 and Amiga 500 and my all time fave Amiga 1200.... the good old days
Fire Ant, Adventures in Time, and Rescu Pets. I think Rescue Pets is the middle finger to The Great Giana Sisters. Alpharay, Adventure Park, Bongo, The Exploits of Fingers Malone, Bandits at zero, Finders Keepers, Hektik, Mercenary: Escape from Targ, Rescue from Zylon.
The TED systems needed more than 16k to make games up to the level of other 8 bit home computer full price releases. The C16 killed any chance of the format getting a foothold let alone the price which was now double what the Commodore 264 retailed at under Jack Tramiel's expert leadership. Plenty of 64/48k updates of things like Commando and Way of the Exploding Fist prove this easily, even compared to the all conquering Commodore 64 (which destroyed all other 8 bit computer sales).
Nice reviews. Mind you, I think you should have put Icicle Works higher up the list! ;-) By the way, this platform is not dead! There's a strong following for it still, and some amazing new (yes new) releases.
No Fire Ant love?
Cops and robbers
My first computer was also a Plus4 and watching this video brought back memories of games i'd completely forgotten about.
I do remember playing a game called "FireAnt" Great times :)
+James 76 Fire Ant almost made my list, awesome puzzle game.
James 76 Mate fire ant was so good. I also liked icicle works and Tutti Fruiti . +4 was also my first computer
I had a plus4 and Fire Ant is the only game I can remember playing much as well as some poor pool simulator but the name escapes me. Edit: after watching all the way through I actually remember playing Treasure Island as well but not getting very far through it.
Barry's World I had a snooker game . It was Steve Davis snooker. It was actually ok too . Didn't have the pool game though !
Top 10 new Plus/4 games?
Great video and a very underrated machine. Faves of mine are Dorks Dilemma, megabolts, fingers malone, rockman, squirm, petals of doom, exorcist, fire ant, ace and dark castle.
Correct Dan. Long John Silver = actual fear in my youth. The panic of racing back with no mistakes! My tape had a printed out map too 😍
The Plus 4 was also my very first computer, and therefore it holds a special place in my heart. As a very young child I was completely oblivious as to its reputation, but as I grew up and friends started getting other 8-bit computers, it started to dawn on me how lacking it was. There were a few brilliant gems (as mentioned, most of them by Shaun Southern), but the vast majority of the budget games on it really were piss poor - and not even my low standards as a young kid in the 80s nor rose-tinted nostalgia goggles could mask the fact. I remember being bitterly disappointed on more than one occasion when my mum would take me to John Menzies and let me pick a game; I'd get something that had the most incredibly exciting artwork on the box... I'd get it home... and it turned out to be barely playable and nothing like how I imagined. The biggest disappointments were the arcade ports (it did have some, like Green Beret and Paperboy) and ports from other systems that were always poor imitations (like Finders Keepers). The Plus 4 was one of Commodore's most ill-conceived products ever, but I still love it.
+pkaulf wow yeah, I'd forgotten about the abomination that was Paperboy on the Plus/4, possibly the worst version ever. I bought it at the sea-side after playing in the arcade. Was a huge disappointment.
Having come back to replay Paperboy nowadays, have to say it's quite enjoyable to play with (surprisingly!), surely better than Sun Street, a German clone coded by Tom Fresen.
The arcade conversion that REALLY disappointed all of us at that time (with Green Beret and barely Commando) was Ghosts 'n Goblins! All these games have been coded in FEW DAYS, in particular (according to the author himself) Commando has been written in one week without any reference about C16!
Just one note: though as good emulator, VICE still doesn't emulate the C16/Plus4 as good as it should; use YAPE or plus4emu instead.
Kekule1025 I totally forgot about commando. I actually had no recollection of owning that game until today. I loved playing the Spectrum version and the arcade of course. When I got it for my Plus 4 it was just heartbreakingly bad. Gun Law and Legionnaire were slightly better clones.
1:00 "despite not having hardware sprites, the grapics is very nice..."
-> The graphics clearly moving 8 pixel each step!
3:12 "colorfull leves and interesting stage designs"
-> the colors of character and background, clashing one each other like hell!
The C16 was my first computer - loved it and still have it. I sometimes still play "Dorks Dilemma" - a hidden gem on these systems. Another great game is "G-Man".
g man? una copia de heman seguramente
AutoZone, The Berks, The Berks 3, XZap, Squirm, Fingers Malone, Saboteur, BMX Simulator, Spore , and.... number builder!!!
Commodore plus 4 was my first computer too. I spent so many wonderful hours of my childhood with this marvellous machine. It’s my dream to own one again.
Thank you so much for posting a link to an emulator: have been looking for one unsuccessfully for ages! Icicle Works, Treasure Island and Bridgehead, wonderful stuff. Surprised not to see Fire Ant or Mercenary, though; think you need to do your next ten as a follow up!
Plus 4 was my first computer too. I remember loving Project Nova, Reach for the Sky and Power Ball among many others. Happy days
Excellent video, the Plus/4 was my first computer and I still own it to this day.
My top 10 would be:
1 - Mercenary
2 - Saboteur
3 - Ace
4 - Berks 3
5 - Winter Events
6 - Monty On The Run
7 - Bridgehead
8 - Icicle Works
9 - Kikstart
10 - One Man And His Droid
Good picks. I remember all of those... though I don't think I've played anything as much as Mercenary. (3D!) "Bootleg" ports like Elite, Lode Runner, Castle Master or Head over Heels would also deserve a video in my humble not-a-video-maker's opinion -- as would fully homebrew games like Slipstream, Memento, Sgt. Helmet Zero, Majesty of Sprites. Without the internet I'd never have known what my plus/4 was capable of other than kick Basic 2.0's butt and produce lots of pastel colours.
Yes new Plus/4 games : The Lands Of Zador , Pac-Pac , Xplode Man!!!
So much better than expected, and even the sound on the winter events game was quite respectable.
The C16 was the first machine I owned (although the first I played was my Grandfather's Dragon 32): technology moves so quickly, and we aren't young for long enough to fully appreciate what we once had...I still fire some of these classics up today, but you can never really go back.
Still, I have such fond memories of the machine. And apart from Big Mac, I was surprised you missed so many great games; but as I made the list, I came to realise how many were conversions or clones. In no particular order;
* Thrust - C64 conversion, but kept all the playability.
* Dorks Dilemma - One of the few games I ever completed too. Looking back, it must have been influenced by Bomberman, but in those days, if you didn't live near a major city, all you knew was what was in the magazines you could order to the nearest newsagent... so for me, it was remarkably new.
* Finders Keepers - Weird (for the time) adventure game
* Arthur Noid - an Arkanoid clone, but incredibly addictive
* XZap / Punchy / Chess - As a starter pack for the C16, it looked rubbish - but the playability was fantastic. The sounds on Xzap are still powerful today too; darkened room, that opening horn, wow.. Also Chess played a surprisingly strong game, I spent most of my Christmas money around then on a dedicated portable that I still have, and idly pitching emulated Chess against it recently, the C16 would destroy it even on the highest setting. The pack also had Rolph Harris Painting, but the less said about it, and him the better!
* Powerball - As addictive as Kickstarter, but ball shaped. I didn't know it at the time, but this has an impossible tunnel at the end to hide lacking a true ending. I tried for hours once to get past that, thinking there must be a way...
* Zolyx - Qix clone, as I discovered later. Also great.
* Berks / Baby Berks / Berks 3 - Bezerk clone, how could you miss these out?!
* Pottit - Two player combat snooker where you're the balls. Awesome brother beating fun.
* Rockman / Return of Rockman: Boulder Dash clones. Probably not good ones but these are the first versions of the game I played, so these are the ones I remember fondly. Can be completed, but first has a diamond I can't grab under emulation, and the second has a final level impossible to beat without save scumming, which wasn't possible at the time.
* Squirm - Snake meets Pac-man. That music!
* Bandits at Zero: Defender clone
* GWNN - or the Game With No Name, probably the best Uridium clone for the C16
* Storm - Wasn't as good as the C64 version, but remarkable 2 player Gauntlet style play for the baby Commodore.
Oh to have more time and be able to go back and try all the games we copied tape to tape in the playground, and I never got around to playing, and see them all in their historical context again...
I had thought we had a C16 as our first computer, but it must have been a plus 4 because we had Treasure Island. Long John Silver was indeed terrifying, making you slow down when he arrived on screen! I was a bit puzzled as to why the pirates threw their swords, as I was old enough to know that isn't the typical way of using a sword! I think I remember Icicle Works too, a game I had long forgotten. Just got a faint sense of recognition when I reached that point of the video.
Shaun Southern and Udo Gertz FTW on the C16 and Plus/4 of course. Plenty of other classics I could think of, including Oblido , POD - Proof of Destruction (Shaun Southern again), BMX Simulator (no action replay but an excellent conversion), Prospector Pete, The Magician's Curse, Robo Knight, and Xcellor 8.
Great rundown and brought back some happy memories. I'd have put berks, football manager and timeslip in my top ten.
Wow brought back many memories when I was a kid and made me smile
Good choices.
I loved G-Man, Scramble,Kick Start , Way of the Exploding Fist and Thrust.
The C16 was underrated, for the Basic 3.5 it made a good programming machine.
Cheers for these memories mate. The Plus4 games I remember though I couldn't recall the names Mr Puniverse, Tutti Frutti, Trailblazer, Icicle Works and Winter Events - I remember playing all these in the 80s. Awesome, cheers!
Treasure you stand was my favourite game. I completed it many times. The map was exactly the same as on the Willow Pattern game on the C64 and later the same map was used on Monkey Magic on the original PlayStation. Amazing how I remembered the layout of the map many years later.
Top video, Dan. Surprised no Jack Attack but these things are always what we played and loved.
ACE is certainly well worth checking out - the C16 version is pretty well… ace - as it's a simplified game, rather than the full on sim which the Plus/4 version offers (and that comes up very nicely against the C64 version).
Llamasoft's Voidrunner would be on my list - thought it appeared on the C64, the original C16 version is nice and lush with the extra colours the TED chip puts out.
Another great one by Sout was Bandits at Zero - but that's another one to scratch the shooter itch for me ;)
Unsure if you've checked them out - but there's some amazing recent titles as well - Majesty of Sprites and its follow up Lands of Zador (both very technically accomplished platformers), along with Slipstream (a 3D rail shooter).
Kikstart, anything by Shaun Southern basically!
Hi Dan, great video. The Commodore 16 was my first computer & I later picked up a second hand Plus4 for the smaller footprint as I only had a small desk. I remember and enjoyed all those games in your top ten and still have most of them in my collection today. Games I like that you didn't mention are Blitz, where you have to bomb a city so you can safely land your plane. Loco Coco, where you have to jump across the top of a run away train while dodging things until you reach the engine and can stop the train and save the day. Berks and Punchy are another two that I have always liked. Cheers, Colin from LTR.
This computer was my first computer. :)
Thanks to this computer, I learned in addition to the Basic language, the difficult assembly language that was incorporated into the ROM of this computer. A pleasant memory. I still have it, but with problems with the image tuner. Only that.
Thank you for this Video.
If you mean you have problems with the tuner (I'm guessing you mean the RF modulator) if you fancy giving your old system another go, it could be worth investing in a composite/S Video cable for it. Will get a much better picture by bypassing the modulator, especially with the S-Video cable!
@@Murderdogs Exactly that happened to me ... The computer works, but the image is striped, due to the RF modulator ... Thank you very much friend for that Tips. :)
Video Meanies, Fingers Malone, Vegas Jackpot, Scramble, Rockman, Dorks Dilemma, Way of the Exploding Fist.... all great fun on the C16 back in the day.
This video is now 3 years old. Very fortunate, but a lot of great new games created for this machine during this last 2-3 years period, like the Dizzy I, Dizzy Treasure Island, Barlogs numerous adventures from C64, improved Castle Master, The Pit from the fantastic Doug Turner, even a Lemmings preview (!). I do not want to let out other nice and important releases, but they were so many! Like Adventure In Time And Space, Alien8, new GridIron, the famtastic looking The Curse of Rabenstein, lot of DAAD adventures already in 2019, Hibernated 1, Eight Feet Under and the cute Adventure Park.
Certainly Pet's Rescue and Alpharay defined new quality level on this platform in platformer and shoot-em-up genre. Top quality stuff!
Sorry if I left out anything important...
Loved Winter Events. My great C16 regret was that I never got to play Summer Events. POD, G-man and speed king were some of my favourites. Loved my C16 but here in Ireland it was even harder to track down any games as a kid.
So the Plus/4 is compatible with the C16? But it can do so much more than the 16K machine, right?
On the plus4 you have RAM where the interrupt of the 6502 sits. I don’t get why TED does not supply this on C16. Low latency for clean raster bars.
Our school had a Plus4 in the 90s for teaching Basic until it got replaced with PCs. Never got to see it running games until recent years.
Loved this video, you’ve gained a new subscriber.
My top 10.
1. Magicians curse
2. Icicle works
3. Fire Ant
4. Exorcist
5. Spikey Harold
6. Panik
7. Blagger
8. One man and his droid
9. Treasure island
10. Kikstart
I have some further personal favourites of my own that spring to mind (games that I still enjoy playing on occasion): Galaxions, Dork's Dilemma, Harvey Headbanger, Monkey Magic, Reach for the Sky, Rescue from Zylon, Zagan Warrior, Robin to the Rescue, Bongo, Thrust, Cops 'n' Robbers, Arthur Noid, Space Pilot and Manic Miner.
Another great vid Dan - But.... last night I was looking for a youtube on the C= 116 when I stumbled on your earlier youtube on the C=16 so I watched that again. Now I wake up today to your brand new review on it. Freaky!
Keep up the great work. I really enjoy them.
Graham.
The Commodore Plus4 was my first ever Computer as well. And it was the only Computer, were i read the Manual. In those days, the manual explained how to programm in basic.
My first computer was a C16 with Commodore Chess and Mr Puniverse. I remember it being featured on GMTV at the time as a really big thing.
Really enjoyed watching that! The Plus 4 was my second computer (after the Acorn Electron) after my cousin donated me his machine way back in 1989. I remember the pack in games being really good, and a lot of the Mr Chip and Mastertronic games were also memorable. I vividly remember a game called Mayhem which was a weird maze game where you had to colour in the screen, bit like a primitive version of Splatoon. I certainly don't agree with the myth that there were no good games on this platform.
My first computer (@1986) was a C=16 and the first videogame I played was Jack Attack. I coded my first programs in Basic. I love this computer
Mate what a fantastic video.. I still have my Commodore +4 with about 40 games... The system came with 20 and I bought a ton load too !
I must have been around ten years older than you but still loved this system when I bought it.
I still use my C16 and Plus4 to this day. The games may not be as good as a C64 BUT the 121 colours and Basic 3.5 was superior to the C64. And also there are some C16 Plus4 games that was so so clever and well made. Timealip for me was one of the best.
Thank you for going back in my childhood. I miss „Moon Buggy“ and i would have different ranking.
I owned a C64 back in the day. I've always loved the look of the C16 and the Plus 4. Very cool 😃 I wish Commodore could have gotten it's act together. It's awesome that fans like Dan are keeping Commodore's legacy alive. Projects like The64 are neat too. My first computer was an Odyssey 2 and my second was a Commodore 64 😃.
I am the same - I have a C64C (which is the updated one in the C128 style case) but the best-looking one in my opinion was the Plus 4. It's a shame they didn't share compatible operating systems or have a C64 mode in the Plus 4 like they added to the 128.
@@matthewsemple Right. The Plus 4 and C16 were different chips I believe then the C64 and C128. I believe that's why they weren't compatible. It would have been awesome if they were compatible.. )^_-)/
@@geotechmore8855 is this related to Basic V2.0 (C64) and Basic V3.5 (Plus 4 & C16) also?
Excellent list! The only game I'd say you have missing is ACE which was an excellent flight sim with speech which blew my ten year old mind back in the day. Still, some great memories and games. It's nice to see the C16 and Plus/4 get some love for a change.
+Matthew Oakley yeah the Plus/4 version was very impressive with 3D effects! I had it, but never knew how to play it much, so just enjoyed the graphics haha.
This is crazy. I had a Commodore Plus/4 growing up myself and I never heard of any of these games. One of the most annoying things was I could never find any joysticks for it and the port for them was some non-standard type which made it impossible to find. I typed in a game for days in hex code from a magazine and it needed that darn joystick, so I tried playing it by shorting wires together on various pins to try and play the game. I wrote an entire terminal software on this computer using a combination of 6502 assembler and BASIC for use in ham radio digital modes with an RS-232 kit that interfaced with the expansion port in the back. I didn't get my first "real" computer until about 1994 with a 486-DX33.
Treasure Island! My God, this takes me back to rushing home from school to play these game on our C16. A lot of these games were pure cack, but we still loved them.
What about Fire ant, Berks series, Ghost town, Spore, Ace16?
Berks 3 was great
C16 was my first computer. Punchy was an early favourite, but Tutti Frutti and Panik were probably my most played.
I really like these two machines. Wanted a Plus 4 but got a Toshiba MSX instead. Still, I’ve got a plus 4 now. Love it!
The Plus/4 was my first computer as well. Sadly after a year the Datassette-port was burned so I had to wait five years until I got my Amiga 500 in August 1991 before I finally got back into gaming.
I only remember G-Man, Hektik, Spectipede and Video Meanies. Video Meanies was my favorite.
My favorites were Bic Mac, Torpedo Alley, Powerball, Terra Cresta, Thrust and Kane. The Plus/4 was my first computer ever and i did never envy the C64, since i think the C64 was mainly owned by gamers, the Plus/4 by more creative people i would guess. There were tons of type-in games for the Plus/4 in magazines. I spent days typing in games from 12+ pages. The worst was finding a typo if the game failed! Anyway i loved my Plus/4. Very lately i got a C64. The Basic was so primitive that i got me a KCS cartridge instantly, upgrading Basic, and adding an Assembler Monitor and a reset button. 😎
Great video. I've always been wondering what games people been playing before C64. Many Thanks Dan!
Good video. Kikstart was definitely one of my faves too. Icicle Works also good fun. My all time fave is Squirm. Really recommend playing that. Also Fire Ant was a fave back in the day.
#1 Mercenary
#2 ACE (64k)
#3 Saboteur (64k)
This, you've nailed it for the best three games on the Plus/4.
I had both these machine when i was a kid, c16 my first pc.Great memories,loved kikstart...
Also my first decent computer. I had a VZ200 with the rubber keys before my Plus/4.
My favorite games were...
Kikstart (I used to make my own levels by editing the memory in the built in memory editor.)
Jetbrix
Rescue from Zylon
Sword of Destiny
Terra Cognita
Wizard of Wor
Dork's Dilemma
Loved the machine and will always have a soft spot for them.
To many people out there bash the C16/Plus4, but hey both are great machines, I have both a C16 with 64K expansion and a Plus 4.
I love the Basic 3.5 for programming on both machines. Far far easier than the C64 to program. You can not do as much with Basic 2.0 compared to Basic 3.6.
Even back in the day, if the game was by Shaun Southern or Udo Gertz, it was a must buy - primarily as they knew what they were doing with the machine. Trailblazer C16 is excellent. I could have also included POD as well, just as good as the C64 version (minus the awesome bassline music on the C64).
Commodore +4 was my first computer as well, pretty cool machine, I loved it.
This video serves as great inspiration for me. I did not have C16/+4 as a child, but I do have a C16 now (with 64k). I have not used it much. That may change now. :)
Also my 1st computer. I also remember space sweep invaders, number builder, number chaser, exorcist, golf, booty, soccer boss, league challenge and football manager
Hi Dan, I’m glad these machines are not forgotten! Do you cover remakes of some of these games?
I use to have a Commodore 116 when I was a kid and played Manic Miner. I thought that was pretty good for time. Now I some what regret not keeping that system as it is probably worth a fair bit for its rarity.
Awesome video plus four was also my first games machine , I was addicted to a game called death race 16 a very very bright racing game you just drove in a straight line the whole time along the road past houses and other oddly bright buildings very repetitive but it was such fun. Also fire ant was a favourite in our house I wasn't very good at it but my older brother competed it almost everytime
My first system too! :) Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I still could kick myself in the ass for selling mine at the end of the 80's (with tons of software) to get an AMSTRAD CPC-6128 and then an ATARI 1040 stfm (I always wanted an AMIGA 500).... PS my first computer was a SINCLAIR ZX-81, then a COMMODORE VIC-20 and after that the Plus 4.
First console I owned was a Videopac (known as Magnavox Odyssey 2 in the states) and the first actual computer was a commodore 16.
I also spent month on Tomb Thum (Mr Tom in German) those days and I made it finally. I remember I was so disappointed because the game simply starts from the beginning. Ha, I said to myself NOT AGAIN heheh :) I think I have waited a long time for Winter Events (Winter Olympiade in German). If I do not mix things up I ordered and had to wait for a year or so. It was really a very long time. I called several times and they send me tapes as bonuses for waiting more and do not cancel my order. Games prices were about DM 19.99 + DM 6-8 for post and packaging (pay to postman) those days and that was lot for a young boy those days. Finally I got it and loved! I played BeachHead, Torpedo Run, Galaxy wow what Games and so sad that my parents trashed a fully functional C16 with Datasette to the bin :( As they did with a lot of my Amiga stuff as well - I could cry I I think about it - I will never forget KingsSoft and the fun I had with my C16 those days :)
Great video. I almost had a c16 however at the last minute my parents opted to get me the c64 which was obviously the right choice in the long run but am surprised at the quality of some of the games in this list, they look great.
I wish I still had my c16 loved the computer I had over 200 games. Would love to own one again
great video I only remember iceicle works I always thought Frank Bruno's boxing on this c 16 was very technically impressive at the time I played it on a Commodore plus 4
My first comp was a c16 starter pack from Dixon's £49.99
Great deal back in the day. Still got the machine and use it with the SD2IEC gadgy as it uses game ROMs on a SD card 👌
My kids are like 🤦.... Yes we were the lucky ones growing up when home computing all started. 👍 Miss the 80s
great video i would have put icicle works at number one for me that is i had this system for xmas back in 1984 i loved it at the time then went on to the spectrum and all the consoles up to the ps4 other great plus 4 games include fire ant ghost town from the same people that did tom thumb which i also had back in the day. its great to take a trip down memory lane here watching this superb video i enjoyed this treasure island mayhem space sweep invaders the exorcist number builder and a few others came as part of the system what my parents got me back in that year.
Great stuff! I have a plus 4 in our collection but never found anything decent to play. Until now!
I had a C16 machine for a few months and the best games were on it which I wrote myself in Basic: Otello, Five-in-a-row, Mill, Pong, and a two level shooter game called Space Hunter.
From the games in the video, I had only the Kikstart and the Trailblazer games but I didn't like them that much.
After that I had a C64 which became love and it lasts till today. 😎
For some reason I always remember playing Blitz with the dam busters tune. ☺
I had a Commodore 16 but it stopped working in about 1989 so I chucked it away.
I wish I still had it. I had tutti frutti but my favourite game was rockman, a boulder dash clone.
Now I retro speccy games on my Chromebook
No Mercenary or Fire Ant?! Great video though, thank you for making
It was interesting to see Treasure Island. I know this game as Willow Pattern on C64. It's just a rethemed version of the same game
Mine was also the Plus4...but I didn't have a single game. I just used the computer to learn basic and for using the built-in word processor.
Nothing spells fun as much as jumping in the air from a trampoline with a motorbike and catching luftballons with it :P
The dark sky in Kickstart makes it feel like you are in a Tron-like world where the only thing that matters is the challenge.
Collected grenades, sound effect played, I giggled even now lol :)
The C16 was my first Commodore and my fave game and nice looking was Pengo.. even the sound was great.
Before I had the Philips Videopac G7000 and for me the C16 was a big step up.
After that the C64 and Amiga 500 and my all time fave Amiga 1200.... the good old days
Fire Ant, Adventures in Time, and Rescu Pets. I think Rescue Pets is the middle finger to The Great Giana Sisters.
Alpharay, Adventure Park, Bongo, The Exploits of Fingers Malone, Bandits at zero, Finders Keepers, Hektik, Mercenary: Escape from Targ, Rescue from Zylon.
I used to play SkyRoads on PC, which looks a lot like Trailblazer, and was also very fun.
A very nicely put top 10
Loved the commodore plus 4 was my first computer loved treasure island and fire ant remember completing them both
This was my first computer and there were some absolutely fantastic games on it
Hi, there Dan would you like to do, a top 10 Amiga 500 games for your channel?
That would be much more difficult pick... I'd rather make a top 100 then top 10.
Udo Gertz was a brilliant coder. Wished he'd made more games for the c16
1, Autozone 2, Trailblazer 3, Gullwing Falcon
The TED systems needed more than 16k to make games up to the level of other 8 bit home computer full price releases. The C16 killed any chance of the format getting a foothold let alone the price which was now double what the Commodore 264 retailed at under Jack Tramiel's expert leadership. Plenty of 64/48k updates of things like Commando and Way of the Exploding Fist prove this easily, even compared to the all conquering Commodore 64 (which destroyed all other 8 bit computer sales).
That first game looks like Threshold for the Apple/Atari 800. Nice looking game on the Plus4.
Mr Puniverse was awesome I remember the moment I jumped up and up an up through all the levels to finish.
I have a C16 and plus4 both in boxes (I think the plus4 is actually new), but I have not even plugged them in since I got them. No software.
Fire Ant and Tutti Frutti were my first ever favourite games.
Nice reviews. Mind you, I think you should have put Icicle Works higher up the list! ;-)
By the way, this platform is not dead! There's a strong following for it still, and some amazing new (yes new) releases.
Gutted I never had 'Winter Events', the 10 year old me would have loved it.
It's good that VICE is mentioned..