Top 10 Lists: The Top 10 Spectrum Games

Before time began, console gaming didn’t exist in Europe. That’s not to say games weren’t popular, but if you wanted to experience the latest games, computer gaming was the only way to go. Not only could you get the latest and greatest console and arcade (or coin-op) conversions but you could also the very best original games for your computer of choice. Forget about Nintendo vs Sega or Microsoft vs. Sony, back then the 8 bit battleground was between the mighty 48k (and later 128k) of the Sinclair Spectrum and the awesome 64k of the Commodore 64. As a dedicated and loyal Speccy owner I of course believe that this was the superior machine. It had more games, was cheaper to buy and was more popular so it was easier to swap and play games with friends. When the 128k model came out it had enhanced audio, could load (from cassette) most games in one block and could even be upgraded to use discs! Listed below are a diverse set of games that are my own 10 all time favourite Sinclair Spectrum games. Many people believe that the earlier, more homebrew Spectrum games were the best, but these are the ones I enjoyed the most.

Target Renegade is a side scrolling beat’em up a la Final Fight or Double Dragon. This was actually part two of a trilogy, but to my mind it’s easily the best of the three. Part one (imaginatively called Renegade) was an arcade game that played out on only three screens (from what I remember) and had very little variety. Part three completely lost the plot and had some outrageous time travelling plot with dinosaurs, knights etc. Target Renegade kept it simple. You were on the streets fighting street punks with the goal of taking out Mr.Big. You could use various weapons such as the knife and the pool cue. TR was a great two player game as well and although relatively short had great replay value. The highlight of the game for me was back-kicking the bad guys in the family jewels after they had ducked out of the way of one of your flying kicks.

What more can I say about R Type? It’s the same game everyone knows and loves and that has been recently introduced to a new generation via R-Type Dimensions on Xbox Live. What is special about this version is that it truly was (almost!) arcade perfect. This on a home computer with 48k memory and the ability to display only seven colours (rising to eight if you include black). Scrolling was silky smooth, sprites were clear and colourful, the varied enemies and levels were all present. It contained the right balance of being challenging but not too difficult. This brilliant conversion showed to the world that you didn’t need to spend £50 on the latest console cartridge to get a true arcade experience in your living room.

This football (soccer) game is still one of my all time favourites. Why you ask, it’s slow, monochrome, and has one move, namely “kick”. Maybe so but back in 1984 when it was released it was the closest you could get to the beautiful game in your living room. It was created by John Ritman and had his unique graphical style also seen in games like Head over Heels. Despite its limitations you could perform reasonable passing moves and as far as I know was the first game you could score with headers. Well, more accurately you could kick the ball towards your striker and if he was standing in the right place it would hit off his head and go in the goal sometimes. Still for the time this level of realism was unheard of and was enough to keep me playing for months. Matchday 2 retained a certain amount of freedom in play which even later games such as the first generation of FIFA’s didn’t match.

Dizzy, the most famous and recognisable character from the Speccy era. Any one of his nine or so adventure games could be listed here but I went with the first since it was the original and one of only two that I managed to finish (Fantasy World Dizzy being the other). Dizzy is an egg and hero of the Yolk Folk. The game itself is a simple adventure/puzzle game where you move from screen to screen trying to solve puzzles with the items you pick up. Although the Codemasters existed before Dizzy, this franchise was what really propelled them to the next level and gave them hit after hit allowing them to expand into the publishing behemoth they are today. There is still a huge following for Dizzy and so far despite repeated calls and petitions for a revival of the franchise, Codemasters have refused to make any more Dizzy games. C’mon guys its time for the little fella to make his comeback, what about a Live/PSN/Wiiware update?

Bubble Bobble appeared reasonably early in the Spectrums lifecycle and as such does show it age today. Graphics are plain, and sprites jerk around the screen sometime not responding to your prompts. Music is pretty bad especially that awful screeching noise when you jump. So why is it on this list then? Because it’s Bubble Bobble and its still great! It’s especially fun with another player, working together and chasing those power-ups and “EXTRA” letters. The game premise is simple, trap your enemies in bubbles, then burst the bubbles to kill them! Kill all the enemies to progress to the next stage. The Speccy really excelled at this sort of “one-screen progress to the next-type” game (have I just reinvented a genre?). Other similar classics on the system include Rodland, Snow Bros and of course Pang. Looking back at this game shows us one thing- games work because they’re fun. Forget about fancy graphics, sound and gimmicks. Sure, these factors can help to improve a game but if the gameplay ain’t fun then don’t bother.

How can we have a Speccy games list without a driving game? I remember playing this for the first time and being blown away….it had digitized speech! Wow! Before each game your co-driver would say “let’s go Mr. Driver”. Well, it was impressive at the time. Chase HQ has appeared on numerous different platforms and at the time it was acknowledged that this version was one of the best. Again, the developers kept it simple. Graphics are largely monochrome, but scrolling is silky smooth and controls are perfect. The aim of Chase HQ is to chase (surprise, surprise) after the bad guys and repeatedly ram their car until they pull over. The game is a fair challenge but very well balanced. You always feel if you fail a level it was due to lack of skills rather than unfairness on behalf of the game. This game came out in 1989 when Ocean were the number one publisher. Back then they could do no wrong and Chase HQ continued the trend.

Despite only being a reasonable side scrolling shooter there are two reasons why Robocop is on this list. 1. It was the best selling Spectrum game for years. For many of us who remember back to the eighties, Robocop defines the era. 2. The music. Especially the title screen music. You can still catch it on YouTube and it’s still great today. Despite having two sequels on the Speccy, both of which were in my opinion superior, Robocop outsold both. Although monochrome, the graphics were reasonable and the slow plodding Robocop sprite actually suited his character. As they often did back then, the publisher Ocean used the Robocop template to create a whole series of similar licensed games such as Batman (another great game).

Midnight Resistance is a conversion of a little known Japanese game published by Data East. It’s essentially a side scrolling shooter similar to Contra. What made MR innovative for a Speccy game was the sheer variety in levels- some scrolled right to left, some left to right. You got to ride an elevator in one and even climb down ladder in others. One of the features that made it stand out was the graphics. They were and still are unique. Rather than try to duplicate the arcade game graphics, developer SpecialFX went for a more cartoony style with cuddly little sprites and great use of colour. It may not have been what the Japanese developers had in mind but it sure worked on the Speccy. This game also has a great array of power-ups with very little slow down. Who can resist the 3-way bullets? Special mention also to the sound which still sounds great today. All in all this on my list of top Spectrum games of all time because it shows the Speccy could compete with more powerful game machines by adapting the games to suit what it did well and it’s still great fun today.

Here’s one most people probably haven’t heard of. It’s a vertical scrolling shoot ‘em up similar to Commando or Mercs. Although both these games appeared on the Spectrum, Ikari Warriors is easily the best in my opinion. Controls are simple, press fire to shoot or hold fire to lob a grenade. Since most Speccy games used just one button this worked great. You could also commandeer tanks, as long as you had enough fuel, and you got to fight other tanks, helicopters and gun emplacements. Graphics are pretty basic but it’s easy to see what’s going on and collision detection is spot on. One of the most fun parts of this game was the ability to play with a friend. The two-player experience added a whole new dimension. Overall it’s just a great simple, playable game which doesn’t try to do too much. I’m not sure why this game wasn’t more popular at the time and it’s still as playable now as ever.

Here it is my all time number one Speccy game. Yes, it’s the game we all know and love and its one I still regularly play. The game is the spiritual sequel to Bubble Bobble even though the main characters are boys not dinosaurs (and it doesn’t contain bubbles!). Just in case you haven’t played it (shame) the aim is to use rainbows to climb to the top of the level before you’re swallowed up by rising water. On the way you have to battle enemies by hitting them with your rainbows, or breaking one over their head for extra items. At the end of every level is a unique boss to defeat. Forget about the dreadful PSP update that took away everything the game should be and replaced it with over-complicated nonsense. The Speccy game is still as playable as ever and can easily hold its head high against other versions. I have to give a special mention to the music in this game which is an excellent version of the modified (read “rip-off”) “Somewhere over the Rainbow” tune. Quite an achievement for Ocean to make a colourful game about rainbows on a system that had only seven colours and had real problems displaying them together on screen at the same time. I have to confess that despite the fact I have been playing the game for nigh on 20 years I still haven’t finished it, maybe that’s the reason I keep coming back for more.

So there’s my list. I’m sure not sure many people will agree, but for me if I had to choose 10 Speccy games to take with me to a desert island these would be they. Not sure how I would get the sand out of the tape recorder though. Of course there were lots of other great games on the Spectrum, like Last Ninja II, Carrier Command, Stunt Car Racer, Gryzor etc. What made the Speccy so special for so many people was the fact that games were cheap easy to code and there were lots of them. Now what about a list of 10 best Spectrum exclusive games anyone?

List by kieranaryan (06/05/2009)