Great top 10 thanks. Manic Miner would definitely be in my top 3 with Jet Set Willy. One game I can't believe isn't mentioned though is Atic Atak which is probably the best Spectrum game ever! Also what about the Daley Thompson super test and decathlon? They were incredible.
Almost impossible to rank.. here are some of my favourites I don't think were mentioned - Sabre Wulf, Atic Atac, TLL, Harrier Attack, Wheelie, Monty Mole, Bruce Lee, Where Time Stood Still, Skool Daze, Werewolves of London and Airborne Ranger.
No Dizzy / Bubble Bobble / Commando / A.T.V. / Astemex / R-Type / A.M.C. / some 3D things ? Some modern strategies like Last Battle / Sim City ? Silly list. I like Tetris 😂 I mentioned only one modern game in that list - Last Battle FYI, but that’s related to genre, not platform… Robocop - as well is superb implementation… almost forgot
I have over recent years fallen in love with the speccy. It's truly amazing by what could be squeezed out of that humble machine to produce truly amazing games.
Manic Miner ! Yes I'd agree..deserves number 1 place. I played a lot of these Zx Spectrum games back in the 80s Your video has helped me remember some great games i'd forgotten about.. 'Flying Shark'! 'Renegade' 'Match day 2' 'Thrust' 'Operation Wolf' 'Spellbound' 'Super Hangon' Among others.. My list would include 'Scramble' Terra Cresta' 'Chronos' 'Dizzy' And maybe 'R-Type'? ...But there were a lot of good games for the Spectrum....so its really hard to do a list.
Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this top 10 video being an absolute huge speccy fan myself. I felt your pain trying to choose 10 game from that Stellar spectrum library is almost mission impossible. So glad you showed lots of close calls and honourable mentions. Yep brilliant vid, my fav top 10 video ever...... subbed my friend! 👍🍻
I grew up in the Soviet Union/Russia and ZX Spectrum was a really big thing there starting from mid-80s. Ofc it was not the original but home made versions that were assembled and sold by some crafty individuals. The games used to be almost free since there were no copyright laws and games were sold on ordinary audio cassettes with 20 different on each one. I think I played like 500 Speccy games back in the days. Personal favorites (I am not going to make a top-10 its easier for me to just range the games by type): Best Adventure/Quest: Dizzy (all parts). Best fighting: Target Renegade Best racing: Chase HQ Best RPG: HeroQuest Best strategy: Nether Earth Best platformer: Captain Trueno 1,2 Best arcade: Star Raiders 2 Best space shooter: R-Type Best isometric: Knight Lore Best FPS: Operation Wolf Best movie adaptation: Robocop/Batman 3 (both are great cant choose 🙂) Best game ever: Elite P.S. There are so many more great ones I am not just going to list them all because it will be a really long list. Its simply amazing what this little computer was capable of. Cheers!
@@ClassicReplay It was. Later I realised that the C64 had better sound etc. But as I love 3d games. 3D starstrike was my favourite, C64 was never as good.
Wonderful list. Loved seeing any attack in there. I played that a lot! Daley Thompson’s decathlon on rubber keys was something to behold. So many great memories. Thank you
It is a nearly impossible task to compile a top 10 list for the ZX Spectrum, well done for attempting it 👍 Quite a few of those would feature in most peoples lists though. Nice one!
There’s no science to it, no real thought process. It was simply, which games do I play and come back to the most. So brain dumped every game I played on screen and then figured out which are the games I come back to or play the most. This is the end result. The game that eventually wins, actually wins by a country mile, as I definitely play that more than any other game on the Speccy. In fact infinitely more 😀
Here is my incomplete list of favorite zx-spectrum games: Target Renegade, Renegade, Flying Shark, Terra Cresta, War, Slap Fight, Operation Wolf, Dragon Spirit, Green Beret, Ikari Warriors, Rex, Rick Dangerous 1 & 2, Dan Dare 1 & 3, Nebulus, Dynamite Dan 2, R-Type, Arkanoid, Arkanoid Revenge of Doh, Pacmania, Exolon, Athena, Chase HQ, Colony, Out Run, Enduro Racer, Chevy Chase, Light Force, Scooby Doo, Batty, Bombjack, Fist - The Legend Continues, Ironman Super Off Road, Scooby and Scrappy Doo, Cybernoid 1 & 2, Into Eagles Nest, Freddy Hardest, Bounder, Firefly, Robin of The Wood, Dark Fusion, International Karate +, Myth - History in The Making, Batman, Batman - The Caped Crusader, Batman The Movie, Head Over Heels, Hyper Sports, Stallone Cobra, Anarchy, Jack The Nipper 1 & 2, Dizzy series, Fairlight, Moon Cresta, Ghouls'n Ghosts, Ghosts'n Goblins, Rainbow Islands, Pang, Ms. Pac-Man, Yogi Bear, Yogi's Great Escape, Stop The Express, Last Ninja 2, Bruce Lee, Maze Mania, Rockman, The Way of Exploding Fist, Movie, Desperado, Rogue Trooper, Thunderbirds, Konami Golf, Konami Tennis, Konami Ping-Pong, The Way of Tiger, Commando, Chessmaster 2000, Cabal, Pro Mountain Bike Simulator, Sai Combat, Nether Earth, Great Gurianos, Wec Le Mans, Astro Marine Corps, Rolling Thunder, The Great Escape, Top Cat, Avenger, Barbarian, Stormlord, Hong Kong Phooey, Gryzor, Match Day 2, Operation Wolf, The Addams Family, Shadow of The Beast, Rambo 3, Rodland, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Savage, Action Force 1 & 2, Army Moves, Navy Moves, Shao Lin's Road, Combat School, Who Dares Wins 2, Plotting, Heartland, Mickey Mouse, Thundercats, Crystal Castles, Rock'n Roller, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Untouchables, Saboteur 1 & 2, Nosferatu, Hydrofool, Scuba Dive, Postman Pat 2, Ninja Hamster, Spy vs Spy, Turbo the Tortoise, Potsworth & Co., Atom Ant, Cauldron 1 & 2, Hysteria, Tornado Low Level, Cyclone, HATE.
What a memory rush! I loved seeing each and everyone of these again. There are so many more you didn't feature either, the spectrum was an incredible gaming computer.
Couldn't argue with this list. Although I was a Amstrad owner, I spent a lot of time at my friends place playing on his Spectrum. Even made a make shift 'roach stopper' for his microdrive😁.
I find the two computers very similar, although the Amstrad keyboard is easier to code on. But all coding done in Winape32 these days. Check out my Amstrad vids if you haven't already, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Plus I have a new Amstrad CPC video almost ready ;-) Thanks for leaving a comment :-)
Nice list and like the way you kept adding in honourable mentions, made it extra interesting. So many brilliant games it'd be real tough for me to compile a top 10, leave alone a number 1.
Thanks for taking the time out to leave a comment, I really appreciate it. Also thanks for the feedback, I never know what’s working or not. If you could do me a favour and share I’d really appreciate it. I’m planning a new Speccy vid I think you might like, so keep an eye out 👍🏻
I've just found the spectrum emulator for the Android today...Many of your games are on my top 10 list too! This brings me so many memories that I only can share with my older brother who introduced me to the spectrum computer and later I got the amiga 500 and the later versions and ive never stopped having these systems... thank you for sharing this video and long live these games. I'm def gonna buy this spectrum computer to my daughter when she turns 5 :)
I think it's fair to put Manic Miner at no.1. It was so groundbreaking. I have to say Lightforce was an amazing game. The colours of the sprites and speed. I always had a thing for The Pyramid with ziggy. So iconic the shape of ziggy.
Out Run, Commando, Treasure Island Dizzy, Crazy Caverns, and The Wild Bunch should have all been given a mention in my opinion. Nevertheless, a great video. Thanks!
Thanks for the list! I've been trying to compile a selection of good games across as many systems as I can find, and this will be a good starting point for picking out solid ZX Spectrum titles.
Thrusta was my favorite for the longest time and at young age of 7 probably my first favorite game altogether. Then as I grew bit older Elite and JSW/MM took its spot. Thank you for invoking lots of fond memories from that time :)
I was an Amstrad owner who hated the Spectrum's colour palette. It always surprized me that more games didn't follow Robocop's graphical style of monochrome main window and colour in the HUD. It looks so much cleaner and easier on the eye.
Really enjoyed the video - perhaps should have done a top 40 mate? Honourable (yes, that’s how we spell it) mentions to Back To Skool, Attic Attack and Football Manager plus an outside shout for Daley Thompson’s Decathlon. Cheers for the upload!
Chase H.Q. was an absolutely incredible game. As a child, I stayed up the entire night to get it and I was too excited to sleep. It was absolutely worth it. The smooth graphics and brilliant game play kept me hooked for months.
I'm a sucker for racing games so seeing Stunt Car Racer and Super Hang-On made my day. Great list, some I've not played so added to the massive list to play that I have 🎈🙌
You are 100% correct that the Renegade spectrum version is better than the arcade! Never thought I’d ever say that a spectrum game is better than the arcade version, but there it is.
Awesome List !!!! For the commercial games back in the years... now I leave you an idea for the same video but newer ZX Spectrum Games released like year > 1999 until now. And congratulations on your video, it was a blast from the past.
Great video mate. I'm a commodore man but my mate had a 128 back in the day and when I stayed over loved playing robocop and many more games that have so much more playability than the 64. Just subscribed and looking forward to watching your videos 👍
No Skool Daze / Back to Skool, Gauntlet, Klax, Colony? There were some brilliant games for the humble speccy. Long may we remember it and it's temperamental loading! Great list thanks for the memories,!
Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner, classic games on the ZX Spectrum but my number 1 would always be Chuckie Egg. I couldn’t beat it for its playability. Thanks for the video brings back good memories. Take care John
1. Chaos: the Battle of Wizards 2. Travel Through Time Volume One: Northern Lights (a 2021 speccy racer you must try!!) 3. Chase H.Q 4. Commando 5. Bombjack 6. Lords of Chaos 7. Match Day 2 8. Flying Shark 9. Bumpy 10. Travel With Trashman Imo of course
Northern Lights is unbelievable for an 8bit. I personally couldn’t choose Match Day 2 over Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, plus Bumpy didn’t really appeal to me, but there were two versions of Bumpy from memory 🤔 the rest I agree 100% plus I’d add Rebelstar or Laser Squad. Great list 👍
@@ClassicReplay thanks! Two versions of Bumpy you say? I need to replay it, it was one of the few games my sister and I used to play Yes, Northern Lights is INSANE, I'm actually obsessed with it. I'm a driver anyway and as you say, simply mind blowing for the spec. I love how the story is central to what the colours are, and although the roadside detail is always the same, those incredible vistas that scroll up and the mid distance buildings on the right hand turns... wow. I'm on a mission to defeat all the stages with zero fails in one hit. I've done each section on it's own that way but not the grand tour. The one entry I'm not sure about is Commando, and I guess Bombjack is kinda similar. I was just amazed at how well Commando performed when I replayed it recently. I played a ton of Bomb Jack for an online 'Spectrum Olympics' years ago, and the competitive environment was crazy, one guy swore he always hated Bomb Jack but had his eyes opened to how good it was during the event. If you have to go for the fuse burning bombs only for points, it's very intense. Two versions of Bumpy though?! As for the games you mention ,I need to try Emlyn Hughes for sure, and although obviously I'm a huge Gollop fan, I didn't get into his sci fi side until the XCOM reboot in 2012. Might give them a little try but obviousy I have the Gollop fantasy games on the list already so you'd probably just swap them out. And finally, i'm very glad Travel With Trashman didnt raise any objection, what a quirky little game which gives you a LOT of freedom to navigate the globe! I still play it to come up with some stupid routes with stopovers which don't involve any work lol Long Live the Spectrum!
Love my Spectrum, if I did a top 10, it would be like this:- 1: Jetpac , 2: Minder , 3: Sabre Wulf , 4: Warlock of Firetop Mountain, 5: Cyclone , 6: Manic Miner, 7: Deathchase, 8: Ant Attack, 9: Jumping Jack, 10: Journey's End
I’ll be honest, I never managed to complete either. But definitely great games. There’s quite a few vids on TH-cam including a walkthrough that show how much content the game offered. It would definitely make my top fifty.
My first computer was a Speccy, and some of the old games are still playable, but some of the new Homebrew games are much better in terms of design, graphics and playability now. 40 years of experience, and no time constraints for development has helped squeeze the most out of the machine. Games like El Stompo, and Old Tower, for example holds up well against even modern games as a fun casual game. Especially with the modern multicolor graphics techniques.
New games are good, but when you consider the limited resource these guys had back in the day, no internet, making it up as they went along. Then you see Head over Heels, Rebelstar, R-Type, Elite, Manic Miner, ChaseHQ and many more. These guys were true genius.
That’s a brilliant game! I wish they’d remake it. Apparently inspired by Paradroid, I have both on my C64DTV. I like the plot, hunt down the bad guys, but requires a high degree of strategy.
lol just saw number 1.. manic miner. I could get as far as eugene's toilet. Hard as nails that game. My dad played it for hours while I was a kid asleep loll
Props for picking Manic Miner. It's genius because it's the work of a genius. Definitely does somehow hold up as a game today, the beauty of it being that it's pure evil in terms of difficulty. A perfect game on the machine. Big up to Mathew Smith and all who know who he is.
Lazy jones , panzadrome , wheelie , fighter pilot , combat lynx , Tll , that's the spirit , lords of midnight , critical mass ,speccy games pre 1985 really defined the spectrum
Being from Australia, I’ve never seen a Spectrum in person. It just wasn’t a big seller here. But your enthusiasm for this platform is rubbing off on me. Some of these games look like great fun! Definitely a lot less colourful than I’m used to with the C64, but higher resolution and seemingly full of personality.
Thanks for watching. What the ZX Spectrum lacks in colour, it more than makes up for in graphical detail and speed! Try my ‘the six most important ZX spectrum Games’ next th-cam.com/video/9TTAtrp-kpM/w-d-xo.html and if you’ve never heard of the Amstrad, here’s a brilliant guide if I do say so myself ☺️ th-cam.com/video/ccOQELp1JBQ/w-d-xo.html
@@ClassicReplay Thanks - I'll make sure to check out those two videos. I have read a fair bit about the Amstrad CPC464. Even saw one in the flesh in the 80s (not switched on though sadly). Would you believe Australia currently has Alan Sugar as the boss in our version of The Apprentice? Even though I personally owned both a TI994/A and an Atari XEGS, for the average Joe over here it was either C64, Apple II or later Mac/PC/Amiga.
Awesome choices. :) I played some of those myself on the ZX Spectrum 48k. My favorites where the Saboteur, Rex, Renegade, Target Renegade, Cobra, Green Beret, Ikari Warriors. :) Cheers. :)
I always had Commodore's (and an Oric!) but spent so much time on the Speccy round mates houses. Great computer and era, seriously tempted to pick one up on eBay.
Great list. Very nostalgic, I enjoyed watching the mentions that didn’t make it. The one I personally thought should have deserved a mention was “The Last Ninja 2” which I played to death!
Thanks for the feedback. I can’t personally take The Last Ninja series seriously on any other system after playing it on the C64. But you’re correct, it’s still a good game on the old Speccy.
First game I ever played on a home computer was "The Wild Bunch" on my elder sisters zx speccy & a black and white TV. To her horror, I completed the game 1st time and shot a cowboy you were searching for.... Later got my own machine and spent so many hours playing the 16k game, Trans AM. Happy days 👍
Just discovered this channel, gotta say I loved your top 10! Kudos for the great video! Gotta say tho, was kind of hoping to see either 3D StarStrike or Last Ninja 2 show up somewhere on your list, as those (along with Saboteur 2) were probably the ones that captured most of my time and imagination back when I was a kid. But at the same time, I don't think I disagree with a lot of your choices, as I have very fond memories of pretty much every game you featured :) Looking forward to new content from you, keep up the good work!
I never played Laser Squad but saw this game somewhere else when I digged through Speccy games. The graphics are very good. Not just "for the limitations of the speccy", no they are simply good, Speccy or not.
@@ClassicReplay it was the first computer I had access to. 256x192 pixels, individually being set or not, a universe at my fingertips. 48K memory was insane. My first own computer (GDR KC 85/2) had only 32 KB including a 16K expansion module. The speccy was limited, but had 40-bit-float with 9 significant decimal places. It was complete in itself.
I still enjoy Deathchase and a couple of years ago wrote a version in VR, with a bike as a controller, for PAX 2018 here in Melbourne. Was a real challenge project and I am still really happy with it.
@@ClassicReplay Was a one off project just to see if I could show something at PAX; I only made a video on the monitor version here: th-cam.com/video/7dIXqgmso6M/w-d-xo.html
You speak on my thoughts, dude! Every game you show on this video is a hell of time that I was spend on my speccy on my early years! Thanks for this vid, bro! You're trigger my memories and my taste of this wonderful games also! Thanks a lot for this, dude! Take care!
I only had a 5 level demo of Bubble Bobble on a cover tape and it was still one of my favourite Speccy games! Actual, good 2-player co-op! Wow! Death Chase was the first game I ever played though. And it was a quick, reliable load so that was always the GOTO game!
I still own a Spectrum which I got for Christmas in 1983 as a 16K machine and later upgraded to 48K playing it until the early hours of the morning even on school nights. I’ve not heard of quite a few games mentioned but guess when I left school in 1986 my interest fell off and probably haven’t used it since maybe 1987. Looking forward to receiving my KS2 Spectrum Next though later this year and revisiting all my favourite games like Manic Miner, Wanted: Monty Mole and Jet Set Willy
I agree with Manic Miner at the top spot. I mainly play it when flying, it takes my mind off the turbulence. I try to complete it without losing any lives.
I don’t fly as much now, post pandemic. But I used to do the same on my PSP. Try to complete past games such as Manic Miner, Chuckie Egg, Pyjama Rama 🤣
Great list, played most of those. But what about Automania or Supertest or even Dechatlon, and Summer Games, The Great Escape, Where Time Stood Still....Oh my god the memories. Thank you for that, Cheers.
Nice list, can't argue with number 1. Manic Miner is a legend, it is such a amazing game even after the years, better then most todays games at fun and gameplay. Very playable on small handhelds consoles like Miyoo Mini or RG35xx.
Oh the memories had a lot of these :) also loved 'zoom' 'rebelstar 2' 'skool daze/back to skool' 'ATV simulator' and 'battle of britain' heard a few people knock chase hq 2 sci but I enjoyed it (got it with magazine subscription) I got operation wolf with the light gun as a pack with my 128k
Great reviews, & I must agree with Manic Miner & Ant Attack. I would also have to add Cyclone & Atic Atac though, can't believe they weren't mentioned.
Still great stuff! I was playing countless hours with Lode Runner, Elite, Dan Dare, and Tomahawk. Oh those cloudy windy nights when I flown close to the enemy to make them shut off my devices before I do a perfect landing! Honorary mentions to ATF I flown too much. I'd definitely put Nigel Mansell's GP on my top10 too, given how many hours I spent driving there.
Thoroughly enjoyed that trip down memory lane, loved robo cop back in the day but my favourites were wanted monty mole and Bruce lee lol. Great vid mate
I don’t get how it’s a top ten list when in between each ranking there’s other titles introduced. So, between 8 and 9, five games are given a nod; surely that means one of those five should be at 9. Unless those five are at 8.2, 8.4, 8.6 etc . . . not seen that system used before though. It’s no big deal but it just made the list of ten totally moot for me. It’s more like a random pick of ten games out of the top 40ish. 🤔
As I explained in the vid, it’s just my random thought process. There was no planning. It was how I selected in my head which games got the slot. It appears to have gone down quite well and I noticed nobody else has tried it this way. It was just me, sitting on my favourite armchair thinking about the best games I could think of for each countdown. Crazy I know, but that’s me 😊
Great list and choices plus a couple I've not played. Cheers
Glad you enjoyed it.
Great top 10 thanks. Manic Miner would definitely be in my top 3 with Jet Set Willy. One game I can't believe isn't mentioned though is Atic Atak which is probably the best Spectrum game ever! Also what about the Daley Thompson super test and decathlon? They were incredible.
I can’t recall now, but I’m sure I mentioned most of those 🧐
Loved Atic Atac; also Sabre Wulf and Nodes of Yesod
Almost impossible to rank.. here are some of my favourites I don't think were mentioned - Sabre Wulf, Atic Atac, TLL, Harrier Attack, Wheelie, Monty Mole, Bruce Lee, Where Time Stood Still, Skool Daze, Werewolves of London and Airborne Ranger.
Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Under Wurlde, Sabre Wulfe, Knightlore, Attic Attack, Jetpac, Pyjamarama, Wheelie
Sounds good to me. I love Jetpac
Wheelie was something else. Also shout out to Mastertronics ATV simulator!
AND BATMAN!
No Dizzy / Bubble Bobble / Commando / A.T.V. / Astemex / R-Type / A.M.C. / some 3D things ?
Some modern strategies like Last Battle / Sim City ?
Silly list. I like Tetris 😂
I mentioned only one modern game in that list - Last Battle FYI, but that’s related to genre, not platform…
Robocop - as well is superb implementation… almost forgot
@Levor85 your list, your opinion 🤷🏻♂️ my list, my opinion. Some good games there though, not sure the point you were making though.
I have over recent years fallen in love with the speccy. It's truly amazing by what could be squeezed out of that humble machine to produce truly amazing games.
They still make games for it
So good to see Manic Miner top the list. A fabulous game for the ages and still so playable
Manic Miner !
Yes I'd agree..deserves number 1 place.
I played a lot of these Zx Spectrum games back in the 80s
Your video has helped me remember some great games i'd forgotten about..
'Flying Shark'!
'Renegade'
'Match day 2'
'Thrust'
'Operation Wolf'
'Spellbound'
'Super Hangon'
Among others..
My list would include
'Scramble'
Terra Cresta'
'Chronos'
'Dizzy'
And maybe 'R-Type'?
...But there were a lot of good games for the Spectrum....so its really hard to do a list.
Doing any sort of list like this for the popular 8bits is so difficult. I’m amazed I came out the other side.
Chaos was an amazingly addictive game. I loved it.
Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this top 10 video being an absolute huge speccy fan myself. I felt your pain trying to choose 10 game from that Stellar spectrum library is almost mission impossible. So glad you showed lots of close calls and honourable mentions. Yep brilliant vid, my fav top 10 video ever...... subbed my friend! 👍🍻
I grew up in the Soviet Union/Russia and ZX Spectrum was a really big thing there starting from mid-80s. Ofc it was not the original but home made versions that were assembled and sold by some crafty individuals. The games used to be almost free since there were no copyright laws and games were sold on ordinary audio cassettes with 20 different on each one. I think I played like 500 Speccy games back in the days. Personal favorites (I am not going to make a top-10 its easier for me to just range the games by type):
Best Adventure/Quest: Dizzy (all parts).
Best fighting: Target Renegade
Best racing: Chase HQ
Best RPG: HeroQuest
Best strategy: Nether Earth
Best platformer: Captain Trueno 1,2
Best arcade: Star Raiders 2
Best space shooter: R-Type
Best isometric: Knight Lore
Best FPS: Operation Wolf
Best movie adaptation: Robocop/Batman 3 (both are great cant choose 🙂)
Best game ever: Elite
P.S. There are so many more great ones I am not just going to list them all because it will be a really long list. Its simply amazing what this little computer was capable of. Cheers!
You should turn your thoughts into a video, I'd love to see how it panned out. Thanks for watching!
@@ClassicReplay Thanks for making that video. Speccy will always have a warm spot in my heart :)
1983 £125 spent in WH Smiths. A speccy and Jetpac. Fell in love with the rubber keyed wonder.
Probably the best purchase in the world ☺️
@@ClassicReplay It was. Later I realised that the C64 had better sound etc. But as I love 3d games. 3D starstrike was my favourite, C64 was never as good.
Wonderful list. Loved seeing any attack in there. I played that a lot! Daley Thompson’s decathlon on rubber keys was something to behold. So many great memories. Thank you
Thank you for watching! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
It is a nearly impossible task to compile a top 10 list for the ZX Spectrum, well done for attempting it 👍
Quite a few of those would feature in most peoples lists though.
Nice one!
There’s no science to it, no real thought process. It was simply, which games do I play and come back to the most. So brain dumped every game I played on screen and then figured out which are the games I come back to or play the most. This is the end result. The game that eventually wins, actually wins by a country mile, as I definitely play that more than any other game on the Speccy. In fact infinitely more 😀
Here is my incomplete list of favorite zx-spectrum games:
Target Renegade, Renegade, Flying Shark, Terra Cresta, War, Slap Fight, Operation Wolf, Dragon Spirit, Green Beret, Ikari Warriors, Rex, Rick Dangerous 1 & 2, Dan Dare 1 & 3, Nebulus, Dynamite Dan 2, R-Type, Arkanoid, Arkanoid Revenge of Doh, Pacmania, Exolon, Athena, Chase HQ, Colony, Out Run, Enduro Racer, Chevy Chase, Light Force, Scooby Doo, Batty, Bombjack, Fist - The Legend Continues, Ironman Super Off Road, Scooby and Scrappy Doo, Cybernoid 1 & 2, Into Eagles Nest, Freddy Hardest, Bounder, Firefly, Robin of The Wood, Dark Fusion, International Karate +, Myth - History in The Making, Batman, Batman - The Caped Crusader, Batman The Movie, Head Over Heels, Hyper Sports, Stallone Cobra, Anarchy, Jack The Nipper 1 & 2, Dizzy series, Fairlight, Moon Cresta, Ghouls'n Ghosts, Ghosts'n Goblins, Rainbow Islands, Pang, Ms. Pac-Man, Yogi Bear, Yogi's Great Escape, Stop The Express, Last Ninja 2, Bruce Lee, Maze Mania, Rockman, The Way of Exploding Fist, Movie, Desperado, Rogue Trooper, Thunderbirds, Konami Golf, Konami Tennis, Konami Ping-Pong, The Way of Tiger, Commando, Chessmaster 2000, Cabal, Pro Mountain Bike Simulator, Sai Combat, Nether Earth, Great Gurianos, Wec Le Mans, Astro Marine Corps, Rolling Thunder, The Great Escape, Top Cat, Avenger, Barbarian, Stormlord, Hong Kong Phooey, Gryzor, Match Day 2, Operation Wolf, The Addams Family, Shadow of The Beast, Rambo 3, Rodland, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Savage, Action Force 1 & 2, Army Moves, Navy Moves, Shao Lin's Road, Combat School, Who Dares Wins 2, Plotting, Heartland, Mickey Mouse, Thundercats, Crystal Castles, Rock'n Roller, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Untouchables, Saboteur 1 & 2, Nosferatu, Hydrofool, Scuba Dive, Postman Pat 2, Ninja Hamster, Spy vs Spy, Turbo the Tortoise, Potsworth & Co., Atom Ant, Cauldron 1 & 2, Hysteria, Tornado Low Level, Cyclone, HATE.
Best list ever!
Thanks for all ten (give or take one or two) suggestions! Great to see an enthusiast talk about something they clearly are passionate about. :)
Cheers my friend. Please subscribe. Plenty more where that came from 😀
What a memory rush! I loved seeing each and everyone of these again. There are so many more you didn't feature either, the spectrum was an incredible gaming computer.
Oh god yeah. Only scratched the surface. There’s all the new stuff as well 🤯
Couldn't argue with this list. Although I was a Amstrad owner, I spent a lot of time at my friends place playing on his Spectrum. Even made a make shift 'roach stopper' for his microdrive😁.
I find the two computers very similar, although the Amstrad keyboard is easier to code on. But all coding done in Winape32 these days. Check out my Amstrad vids if you haven't already, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Plus I have a new Amstrad CPC video almost ready ;-) Thanks for leaving a comment :-)
Just discovered your channel fantastic content the sights and sounds of my childhood come to life.
Man you just gave me flashbacks. Batman the movie was a fave of mine. Loved rastan , and loved and hated Ollie and lisa at the same time. Great list
Thanks for watching and the kind words 😊
So glad you mentioned Rex. Honestly, i might go and play that right now. I loved how much the shield added to the gameplay.
Thanks for watching. Check out my other ZX Spectrum vids 👍🏻
Good idea to add the 'almost made its' before getting to the actual #10, etc. :) Good reviews. ♥
Nice list and like the way you kept adding in honourable mentions, made it extra interesting. So many brilliant games it'd be real tough for me to compile a top 10, leave alone a number 1.
Thanks for taking the time out to leave a comment, I really appreciate it. Also thanks for the feedback, I never know what’s working or not. If you could do me a favour and share I’d really appreciate it. I’m planning a new Speccy vid I think you might like, so keep an eye out 👍🏻
I've just found the spectrum emulator for the Android today...Many of your games are on my top 10 list too!
This brings me so many memories that I only can share with my older brother who introduced me to the spectrum computer and later I got the amiga 500 and the later versions and ive never stopped having these systems... thank you for sharing this video and long live these games. I'm def gonna buy this spectrum computer to my daughter when she turns 5 :)
My three and six year old daughters now have their own 8bit computers in their room 😀
I think it's fair to put Manic Miner at no.1. It was so groundbreaking. I have to say Lightforce was an amazing game. The colours of the sprites and speed. I always had a thing for The Pyramid with ziggy. So iconic the shape of ziggy.
Groundbreaking? It looks like Miner 49'er on the Atari 400/800/5200 .
@@bjbell52 Well fair point. Really though the music and graphics were quite groundbreaking - if you ask me
I agree, Manic Miner was incredible
Great selection.. it's hard to make a definite top ten but three faves for me are Target Renegade, Jetpac and Enduro Racer
The 128k Speccy deserved a lot more games specifically for the 128 .. the 48 should have been the afterthought but we still got some nice extras
Skool Daze is one of my favourites. A bit weird, but fun, and funny.
Yes, brilliant game, I would love to play it today in a Minecraft or Lego style game. I bet someone has already done it
Man, so many awesome games on Zx Spectrum in just 48k memory.
I always watch these style videos looking for my favourites. I'm a massive fan of 'Halls of the Things'.
I’m always looking for that game I missed. Thanks 😊
Out Run, Commando, Treasure Island Dizzy, Crazy Caverns, and The Wild Bunch should have all been given a mention in my opinion. Nevertheless, a great video. Thanks!
Thanks for the list! I've been trying to compile a selection of good games across as many systems as I can find, and this will be a good starting point for picking out solid ZX Spectrum titles.
Thrusta was my favorite for the longest time and at young age of 7 probably my first favorite game altogether. Then as I grew bit older Elite and JSW/MM took its spot. Thank you for invoking lots of fond memories from that time :)
Elite, JSW and MM all classics. Played the tape out of them. Thanks for watching 👍🏻
Manic Miner was the main reason to purchase the speccy! Great list
Mathew Smith ahead of his time. Thanks for watching 👍
I love how you grouped all your contenders you were choosing amongst for each slot!
Thank you ☺️ I get quite a bit of stick in the comments for doing that, but I enjoyed it.
@@ClassicReplay
I don’t understand how it works.
Why is one of the contenders for number 5 not be the winner for number 6, and so on?
@aloonatronrex3472 you’ve skipped my explanation
just found this. did the top 10 format so well with many games mentioned. top marks!
Thanks my friend. Hopefully I'll gain a sub from you ;-)
I was an Amstrad owner who hated the Spectrum's colour palette. It always surprized me that more games didn't follow Robocop's graphical style of monochrome main window and colour in the HUD. It looks so much cleaner and easier on the eye.
I didn’t mind Speccy ports that were optimised for speed, but mode 0 any day of the week and twice on Sunday
Amazing i played a lot of them and im looking forward to have a spectrum again!
I'm still waiting for my new Spectrum to arrive from Argos :-)
We were just too spoilt with the zx spectrum and so many classics, cheers for this👍🏻
No problem 👍
Really enjoyed the video - perhaps should have done a top 40 mate? Honourable (yes, that’s how we spell it) mentions to Back To Skool, Attic Attack and Football Manager plus an outside shout for Daley Thompson’s Decathlon. Cheers for the upload!
Cheers my friend. I’ve done a few vids on the ZX Spectrum now, try this ☺️ ZX Spectrum | Top 20 Games
th-cam.com/video/7EH3K7TCNus/w-d-xo.html
Chase H.Q. was an absolutely incredible game. As a child, I stayed up the entire night to get it and I was too excited to sleep. It was absolutely worth it. The smooth graphics and brilliant game play kept me hooked for months.
Every word… Thanks for watching 😊
Fantastic collection and differentiated thoughts. Thank you!
Thanks for watching 👀
I'm a sucker for racing games so seeing Stunt Car Racer and Super Hang-On made my day. Great list, some I've not played so added to the massive list to play that I have 🎈🙌
awesome video, so much analysis about the games!! Greetings from Greece.
Glad you like them!
You are 100% correct that the Renegade spectrum version is better than the arcade! Never thought I’d ever say that a spectrum game is better than the arcade version, but there it is.
There is another 🤔
Awesome List !!!! For the commercial games back in the years... now I leave you an idea for the same video but newer ZX Spectrum Games released like year > 1999 until now. And congratulations on your video, it was a blast from the past.
Thanks for the idea! Watch this space.
My friend, so many awesome titles you brought back to my mind, Head Over Heels, Myth, Saboteur, and Rex, OMG
Glad you enjoyed!
I would have put head over heels #1, but wasvery interesting to see that half of this amazing games I've even never heard of! Thank youfor sharing!
Glad you enjoyed!
Great video mate. I'm a commodore man but my mate had a 128 back in the day and when I stayed over loved playing robocop and many more games that have so much more playability than the 64. Just subscribed and looking forward to watching your videos 👍
Thanks for sharing
No Skool Daze / Back to Skool, Gauntlet, Klax, Colony? There were some brilliant games for the humble speccy. Long may we remember it and it's temperamental loading! Great list thanks for the memories,!
I remember Colony, definitely ahead of its time. All the games you mentioned were great!
Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner, classic games on the ZX Spectrum but my number 1 would always be Chuckie Egg. I couldn’t beat it for its playability. Thanks for the video brings back good memories. Take care John
Good choice! Classic game! Thanks for leaving a comment
A great upload, pal.
It's refreshing to see someone stick their neck out and choose a few games 'off the beaten track'.
I absolutely adored Renegade and Target Renegade. The third one was iffy, but the first two were possibly my favourites.
I forgot how brilliant the music was for both those games, but particularly the second.
I still rate them, highly playable. It Took Streets of Rage and Final Fight to dethrone them.
@@ClassicReplay For me, Double Dragon in the arcade was the one that made me forget about Renegade.
In the arcade yes, home ports no
1. Chaos: the Battle of Wizards
2. Travel Through Time Volume One: Northern Lights (a 2021 speccy racer you must try!!)
3. Chase H.Q
4. Commando
5. Bombjack
6. Lords of Chaos
7. Match Day 2
8. Flying Shark
9. Bumpy
10. Travel With Trashman
Imo of course
Northern Lights is unbelievable for an 8bit. I personally couldn’t choose Match Day 2 over Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, plus Bumpy didn’t really appeal to me, but there were two versions of Bumpy from memory 🤔 the rest I agree 100% plus I’d add Rebelstar or Laser Squad. Great list 👍
@@ClassicReplay thanks! Two versions of Bumpy you say? I need to replay it, it was one of the few games my sister and I used to play Yes, Northern Lights is INSANE, I'm actually obsessed with it. I'm a driver anyway and as you say, simply mind blowing for the spec. I love how the story is central to what the colours are, and although the roadside detail is always the same, those incredible vistas that scroll up and the mid distance buildings on the right hand turns... wow. I'm on a mission to defeat all the stages with zero fails in one hit. I've done each section on it's own that way but not the grand tour.
The one entry I'm not sure about is Commando, and I guess Bombjack is kinda similar. I was just amazed at how well Commando performed when I replayed it recently. I played a ton of Bomb Jack for an online 'Spectrum Olympics' years ago, and the competitive environment was crazy, one guy swore he always hated Bomb Jack but had his eyes opened to how good it was during the event. If you have to go for the fuse burning bombs only for points, it's very intense.
Two versions of Bumpy though?!
As for the games you mention ,I need to try Emlyn Hughes for sure, and although obviously I'm a huge Gollop fan, I didn't get into his sci fi side until the XCOM reboot in 2012. Might give them a little try but obviousy I have the Gollop fantasy games on the list already so you'd probably just swap them out. And finally, i'm very glad Travel With Trashman didnt raise any objection, what a quirky little game which gives you a LOT of freedom to navigate the globe! I still play it to come up with some stupid routes with stopovers which don't involve any work lol Long Live the Spectrum!
Love my Spectrum, if I did a top 10, it would be like this:- 1: Jetpac , 2: Minder , 3: Sabre Wulf , 4: Warlock of Firetop Mountain, 5: Cyclone , 6: Manic Miner, 7: Deathchase, 8: Ant Attack, 9: Jumping Jack, 10: Journey's End
I've not heard of Warlock of Firetop Mountain or Cyclone. I will check them out. Thanks
Ace Video, enjoyed, and lots of fun, Rock-on!!
Rock on! Glad you enjoyed it!
Laser Squad, Laser Squad, Laser Squad! Brilliant. Quazatron and Elite would be on my list too :)
Laser Squad, I here you 🤣 there’s also the laser Squad expansion pack 👍 please share if you liked this vid mate
Good to hear love for buggy boy. I spent hours on my spectrum
I loved the big sprites they used in the game, plus I thought it was decent arcade conversion.
Thank you for the video, it brought back memories. There's two great games that don't seem to get a mention. Avalon & Dragontorc.
I’ll be honest, I never managed to complete either. But definitely great games. There’s quite a few vids on TH-cam including a walkthrough that show how much content the game offered. It would definitely make my top fifty.
My first computer was a Speccy, and some of the old games are still playable, but some of the new Homebrew games are much better in terms of design, graphics and playability now. 40 years of experience, and no time constraints for development has helped squeeze the most out of the machine. Games like El Stompo, and Old Tower, for example holds up well against even modern games as a fun casual game. Especially with the modern multicolor graphics techniques.
New games are good, but when you consider the limited resource these guys had back in the day, no internet, making it up as they went along. Then you see Head over Heels, Rebelstar, R-Type, Elite, Manic Miner, ChaseHQ and many more. These guys were true genius.
Great to see a list (40 or so?) without any Dizzy game.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Unusually I agree with nearly all the selections but Ranarama is the one I still come back to.
That’s a brilliant game! I wish they’d remake it. Apparently inspired by Paradroid, I have both on my C64DTV. I like the plot, hunt down the bad guys, but requires a high degree of strategy.
Some excellent choices here, reminds me of being a kid.. especially bubble bobble. Great game.
lol just saw number 1.. manic miner. I could get as far as eugene's toilet. Hard as nails that game. My dad played it for hours while I was a kid asleep loll
My job is done 😊
Yes, it was a similar story in our house
I was not aware Sabotuer was on the iPad! awesome
of course there is so many more brilliant Speccy games to add to your list, but somehow I agree with your selection.
Cheers mate! Thanks for leaving a comment 👍 try this as well and let me know your thoughts th-cam.com/video/9TTAtrp-kpM/w-d-xo.html
Props for picking Manic Miner. It's genius because it's the work of a genius. Definitely does somehow hold up as a game today, the beauty of it being that it's pure evil in terms of difficulty. A perfect game on the machine. Big up to Mathew Smith and all who know who he is.
Cheers my friend and thanks for watching.
Utterly superb list. So many games in your list would be in my list too
Thanks mate 👍
Lazy jones , panzadrome , wheelie , fighter pilot , combat lynx , Tll , that's the spirit , lords of midnight , critical mass ,speccy games pre 1985 really defined the spectrum
Being from Australia, I’ve never seen a Spectrum in person. It just wasn’t a big seller here. But your enthusiasm for this platform is rubbing off on me. Some of these games look like great fun! Definitely a lot less colourful than I’m used to with the C64, but higher resolution and seemingly full of personality.
Thanks for watching. What the ZX Spectrum lacks in colour, it more than makes up for in graphical detail and speed! Try my ‘the six most important ZX spectrum Games’ next th-cam.com/video/9TTAtrp-kpM/w-d-xo.html and if you’ve never heard of the Amstrad, here’s a brilliant guide if I do say so myself ☺️ th-cam.com/video/ccOQELp1JBQ/w-d-xo.html
@@ClassicReplay Thanks - I'll make sure to check out those two videos. I have read a fair bit about the Amstrad CPC464. Even saw one in the flesh in the 80s (not switched on though sadly). Would you believe Australia currently has Alan Sugar as the boss in our version of The Apprentice? Even though I personally owned both a TI994/A and an Atari XEGS, for the average Joe over here it was either C64, Apple II or later Mac/PC/Amiga.
Fantastic video and some really tremendous games mentioned! We need a longer list! You earn't yourself a subscriber.
Cheers 🍻 check out my other vid th-cam.com/video/9TTAtrp-kpM/w-d-xo.html
Awesome choices. :) I played some of those myself on the ZX Spectrum 48k. My favorites where the Saboteur, Rex, Renegade, Target Renegade, Cobra, Green Beret, Ikari Warriors. :)
Cheers. :)
I always had Commodore's (and an Oric!) but spent so much time on the Speccy round mates houses. Great computer and era, seriously tempted to pick one up on eBay.
Make sure to go for a 128k version so you can enjoy all the extra bells and whistles 👍
You got them all man! Excellent choices and Great video!
Cheers mate
Good games mentioned, auf wiedersehen Monty, knightlore and commando would have been in mine
Great list. Very nostalgic, I enjoyed watching the mentions that didn’t make it. The one I personally thought should have deserved a mention was “The Last Ninja 2” which I played to death!
Thanks for the feedback. I can’t personally take The Last Ninja series seriously on any other system after playing it on the C64. But you’re correct, it’s still a good game on the old Speccy.
Manic Miner was my favourite, there are so many others, Horace goes skiing , froggy, etc those were the days ! :)
Horace 🤣 Great memories
I loved Buggy Boy...Exolon or Midnight Resistance would be my Number 1...great list, thanks for sharing :)
I’m a big Buggy Boy fan as well on the Speccy. Midnight Resistance is pure class. Thanks for watching.
First game I ever played on a home computer was "The Wild Bunch" on my elder sisters zx speccy & a black and white TV.
To her horror, I completed the game 1st time and shot a cowboy you were searching for....
Later got my own machine and spent so many hours playing the 16k game, Trans AM.
Happy days 👍
Tranz AM great game!
Stormlord, After the War, Arkanoid (and Batty), Beyond the Ice Palace, the list goes on and on.... Really love speccy games, the nostalgia.... 😊
Never got on with Batty, proffered Impact by Audiogenic. The rest you mentioned are brilliant
Remember Marsport? By the Dun Darach team. Loved that one.
Those were the days!
Just discovered this channel, gotta say I loved your top 10! Kudos for the great video! Gotta say tho, was kind of hoping to see either 3D StarStrike or Last Ninja 2 show up somewhere on your list, as those (along with Saboteur 2) were probably the ones that captured most of my time and imagination back when I was a kid. But at the same time, I don't think I disagree with a lot of your choices, as I have very fond memories of pretty much every game you featured :)
Looking forward to new content from you, keep up the good work!
I never played Laser Squad but saw this game somewhere else when I digged through Speccy games. The graphics are very good. Not just "for the limitations of the speccy", no they are simply good, Speccy or not.
Amazing game, special times. The Stamper brothers called the ZX Spectrum a piece of garbage. But they later grew to love it.
@@ClassicReplay it was the first computer I had access to. 256x192 pixels, individually being set or not, a universe at my fingertips. 48K memory was insane. My first own computer (GDR KC 85/2) had only 32 KB including a 16K expansion module. The speccy was limited, but had 40-bit-float with 9 significant decimal places. It was complete in itself.
I still enjoy Deathchase and a couple of years ago wrote a version in VR, with a bike as a controller, for PAX 2018 here in Melbourne. Was a real challenge project and I am still really happy with it.
Timeless classic that has inspired people in so many different ways. That’s amazing to hear, do share a link to this project 👍🏻
@@ClassicReplay Was a one off project just to see if I could show something at PAX; I only made a video on the monitor version here: th-cam.com/video/7dIXqgmso6M/w-d-xo.html
You speak on my thoughts, dude!
Every game you show on this video is a hell of time that I was spend on my speccy on my early years!
Thanks for this vid, bro! You're trigger my memories and my taste of this wonderful games also!
Thanks a lot for this, dude!
Take care!
Sounds like you too, had a great childhood 👍🏻
I only had a 5 level demo of Bubble Bobble on a cover tape and it was still one of my favourite Speccy games! Actual, good 2-player co-op! Wow!
Death Chase was the first game I ever played though. And it was a quick, reliable load so that was always the GOTO game!
Completely different times back then, kids today have everything. We made do. Thanks for watching.
I still own a Spectrum which I got for Christmas in 1983 as a 16K machine and later upgraded to 48K playing it until the early hours of the morning even on school nights. I’ve not heard of quite a few games mentioned but guess when I left school in 1986 my interest fell off and probably haven’t used it since maybe 1987. Looking forward to receiving my KS2 Spectrum Next though later this year and revisiting all my favourite games like Manic Miner, Wanted: Monty Mole and Jet Set Willy
What's this KS2 Spectrum Next ? I have a Spectrum Vega and i've put a SD card in it with 15.000 speccy games,
@@davidwhaite3330 Kickstarter 2 Spectrum Next computer to be produced by August hopefully
Great games, great choices, thanks for the video!
Cheers my friend. You should check out my other ZX Spectrum vids 😉 thanks for watching
@@ClassicReplay will do :)
I agree with Manic Miner at the top spot. I mainly play it when flying, it takes my mind off the turbulence. I try to complete it without losing any lives.
I don’t fly as much now, post pandemic. But I used to do the same on my PSP. Try to complete past games such as Manic Miner, Chuckie Egg, Pyjama Rama 🤣
Manic miner was an absolute beast of a game. Great too 10 that. Another great game I always loved was Raid of Moscow
Both great! It was always difficult getting all your planes out of the hanger 🤣
I had laser squad on the Amiga … one of my favourite games for sure
Has to be one of the best ever!
Great list, played most of those. But what about Automania or Supertest or even Dechatlon, and Summer Games, The Great Escape, Where Time Stood Still....Oh my god the memories. Thank you for that, Cheers.
Love all of those, probably spent more time playing those titles than I do newer games.
Great top 10, I got a C64 for my 11th birthday so I'll always think c64 was the best, good to see how good the Speccy was!
Very lucky 🍀 that would have been a great present 🎁
Exploding fist! 🤜 omg what a game! Hours and hours!!
Definitely one of the best of my childhood
Nice list, can't argue with number 1. Manic Miner is a legend, it is such a amazing game even after the years, better then most todays games at fun and gameplay. Very playable on small handhelds consoles like Miyoo Mini or RG35xx.
100%
Oh the memories had a lot of these :) also loved 'zoom' 'rebelstar 2' 'skool daze/back to skool' 'ATV simulator' and 'battle of britain' heard a few people knock chase hq 2 sci but I enjoyed it (got it with magazine subscription) I got operation wolf with the light gun as a pack with my 128k
Sounds like they were happy times. I have to strongly agree with you about ATV, what a great little 2 player game, never bettered.
Great reviews, & I must agree with Manic Miner & Ant Attack. I would also have to add Cyclone & Atic Atac though, can't believe they weren't mentioned.
Still great stuff! I was playing countless hours with Lode Runner, Elite, Dan Dare, and Tomahawk. Oh those cloudy windy nights when I flown close to the enemy to make them shut off my devices before I do a perfect landing! Honorary mentions to ATF I flown too much. I'd definitely put Nigel Mansell's GP on my top10 too, given how many hours I spent driving there.
You’ve named some absolute classics, especially Tomahawk. I loved that game!
Still got my ZX Spectrum +2 128K in the attic. My favourite game was Rescue.
Can’t recall Rescue 🤔
I will try Jet Pac 18:31 good content keep going up 🎃💯
Good times 🥳
Thoroughly enjoyed that trip down memory lane, loved robo cop back in the day but my favourites were wanted monty mole and Bruce lee lol. Great vid mate
Thanks mate! Much appreciated 👍
I don’t get how it’s a top ten list when in between each ranking there’s other titles introduced. So, between 8 and 9, five games are given a nod; surely that means one of those five should be at 9. Unless those five are at 8.2, 8.4, 8.6 etc . . . not seen that system used before though. It’s no big deal but it just made the list of ten totally moot for me. It’s more like a random pick of ten games out of the top 40ish. 🤔
As I explained in the vid, it’s just my random thought process. There was no planning. It was how I selected in my head which games got the slot. It appears to have gone down quite well and I noticed nobody else has tried it this way. It was just me, sitting on my favourite armchair thinking about the best games I could think of for each countdown. Crazy I know, but that’s me 😊
It HAD to be Manic Miner !!! Loved it (and Jet Pack)
In the end, there can only be one. Manic Miner, created by a god!
Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Robocop on the speccy! It looks pretty damn amazing!
Try the Amstrad CPC version as well