Amstrad CPC: The Best of the Best!

[@d1btd3265]

Nice to be among so many Amstrad players. At school we were a rarity.

[@ClassicReplay]

Everyone is welcome here, especially Amstrad owners 😊

[@ClassicReplay]

The CPC 6128 was fully compatible with all CPC 464 software.

[@sammuslu2992]

I loved my amstrad 😊

[@Vargon7]

Same. Spectrum 48 to 85, then a CPC 464. Everyone else I knew was using C64, BBC B, Spectrum, or Electron. Bruce Lee is a favourite. Others include Laser Squad (turn based tactical space marine/robot combat), Rebelstar (forerunner of Laser Squad, and much more CPC-ish), Who Dares Wins 2 (Commando-ish), Chuckie Egg (excellent version), Fruity Frank (Mr Do-ish game), Boulder Dash. Also like the 2008 version of the Spectrum game Deathchase.

[@d1btd3265]

@@Vargon7 who dares wins 2 was great. The music on the title screen was perfect. And I've never found a newer version of boulderdash that could compete with the original on the amstrad. Tough game though.

[@Tradejdr]

Hello from France. Many kids here had an Amstrad CPC 464 or 6128. Not many C64 or Spectrum. So many hours on my CPC 6128 in my teenager’s room, alone or with my friends. So many fantastic games. Love your selection. But you should have selected my favorite : Pirates! Defender of the crown and North and South were also great.

[@ClassicReplay]

Great games! Defender of the Crown didn’t get a U.K. release, so played that on Amiga and C64. Pirates did get a U.K. release, but it was 6128 only and cost a small fortune back in the day.

[@8-BitRach]

Love seeing people's top tens. Mine would be very different as out of these I only played 3 as a kid.Bruce Lee was brilliant.

[@ClassicReplay]

Do tell. You can’t beat a good list 👍

[@Piteur_par_Coeur]

Excellent selection ! 👍

[@ClassicReplay]

Glad you think so!

[@d1btd3265]

Stumbled across Who Dares Wins 2 a few days ago. Hadnt seen that game in 30 years, but its still a great commando clone.

[@ClassicReplay]

Try it on the C64, even better. But yes! A Classic on the CPC.

[@gavh9360]

Had a 6128. Absolutely loved it and regret selling it towards an amiga to this day. Loved sweevos world , shockway rider ,freddy hardest,mystery of the nile ,express raider ....i could go on forever.

[@ClassicReplay]

Same here. I loved Freddy Hardest, good little game. Similar thing happened to me, I sold my CPC and games to buy a Sega Megadrive. But luckily managed to buy it back years later, hardly used.

[@d1btd3265]

Just been looking at 6128s on eBay over last couple weeks. Most look like they've been used as cricket bats. Still got my 464, but lost the disk drive during a house move.

[@brucethen]

As an amstrad user, I remember quite a few of these games, Gryzor, in particular, had 2 versions 1) A normal 64k version 2) a version specifically for the 6128 I obtained a 6128 rom and with a bit of ingenuity, wire cutters, and a soldering iron, I fitted a switch, which allowed me to switch my 464 ( with disc drive and ram pack) between 464 and 6128 modes, allowing me to play the upgraded gryzor on a 464

[@ClassicReplay]

Sounds like you had fun, also sounds like open heart surgery, poor Amstrad 🤣

[@brucethen]

@@ClassicReplay Oh it was, but I am an electronics engineer by trade so I had a good idea what to do, unfortunately I sold the Machine to my Nephew many years ago and he blew the stuffing out of it (but that is another story)

[@monksmodels]

Damn I totally forgot about Robocop ! 💥 Renegad, Barbarian, Dick Tracy and Paperboy were my favorites. I also have some memories of Mata Hari.

[@ClassicReplay]

Some great memories there. I didn’t really play Mata Hari, I will check it out. Thanks for watching

[@crusader77_retro]

Very good selection, I totally agree!. You've gone for Mode 0 games, which is where CPC and especially Ocean really shined.

[@ClassicReplay]

I contemplated so many. Switchblade, Target Renegade, The Island of Dr. Destructo (very good game). Turtles Arcade, Barbarian, you name it. I couldn’t get it down to just ten. But in the end, I fell back on the games I go back to the most. Thanks for watching, mode 0 forever 🤣

[@raff1402]

Good top ten! Amazing what they did in 64kb!

[@ClassicReplay]

100% agree! Imagine if they’d have released the 464 with 128K 🤯

[@MrAdriaxe]

Some of my other favourites: ATF Advanced Tactical Fighter, Cybernoid 1 & 2, Battle of Britain, Barbarian, Zynaps, Exolon, Arkanoid, IK+

[@ClassicReplay]

I could never properly get into ATF, but then one day it clicked and I was hooked. Cybernoid 1 and 2 were brilliant, but difficult. The rest couldn't agree more, although Battle of Britain got a bit repetitive and Zynaps suffered with collision detection problems. But you learned how to compensate for its tiny short falls.

[@arisgreek8697]

Batman and Robocop. Supreme graphics for Amstrad standards! I remember i had bought them as "Hollywood Collection" including also Ghostbusters 2 and Indiana Jones amd the last crusade. Greetings from Greece!

[@ClassicReplay]

I didn’t realise they sold Amstrad’s in Greece. You live and learn. That was a great collection and still remember playing as the Statue of Liberty on GB2 🤣

[@arisgreek8697]

@@ClassicReplay sure, it was quite popular back then as it was relatively affordable Only very few had the "big" 16-bit Amiga 500! 😄

[@bmca8876]

At school I was always led to believe my amstrad was not as good as their spectrum and commodores,I had gryzor,renegade and ikari.i think ikari was released sooner than 1987.good video

[@ClassicReplay]

They were probably right 🧐 a computer is only as good as its software. Amstrad was considered the 3rd machine. So it beat the likes of the BBC Micro, Dragon 32, Sinclair QL and MSX.

[@MartinJSUK]

The French and Spanish games, and a lot of the later homebrew stuff, trounces most commercial UK games (aside from Ocean, most Hewson and a few others). Sound aside I'd say its actually the most powerful of the three, but it was underexploited, especially for scrolling games.

[@ClassicReplay]

We will never know 🤷🏻‍♂️ I doubt it could touch the C64 for shooters, but I imagine it could hold its own with other game genres. I suspect the Amstrad is better at flight sims and racing games

[@d1btd3265]

Just saw the other day that someone reprogrammed Renegade ao it scrolls perfectly now. Gryzor needs the same treatment.

[@ClassicReplay]

Agree 100%

[@NickReels]

No Dizzy?

[@steelpatriot3683]

It was always going to be Ikari Warriors 😊 a great CPC game.

[@ClassicReplay]

It was released a whole year before the other 8bits 🤣

[@johnny5805]

Ah, Robocop ! Arist-on, and on and on !

[@voodoodan7793]

Where's Bridge-It in this list? 😮

[@ClassicReplay]

I don’t understand the lack of love towards Bridge-It. As a free Amsoft title, it was a good two player experience back in 1984/5 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@voodoodan7793]

@ClassicReplay I think it was the general after-effects of playing the game and feeling as though my ears were bleeding and my eyes had been tattooed that bothered me the most.

[@ClassicReplay]

As I mentioned in a post elsewhere “Why so much hate towards Bridge-It. Back when we first owned our CPC 464, it was a free game bundled as part of an Amsoft 12-Pack compilation. For months these games were all we played and we loved every minute of it. In fact Bridge-It especially brings back good memories as one person would control the top bridges and another the bottom. It was probably my first ever experience of a cooperative game. We didn’t realise at the time that the occasional lag on each of the bridges was an issue with the code. We just blamed each other, and mocked the other for lack of control.”

[@ClassicReplay]

@voodoodan7793 I don’t think that was the same game I played mate 🤣

[@FatNorthernBigot]

If it just had dedicated sprite graphics and scrolling, this machine would have dominated the mid 80s.

[@ClassicReplay]

It did have some hardware support for the scroll. They used it in two games that I know of. Killer Cobra and TTL. But it was locked at 50hz. Burnin Wheels (MODE 0 single pixel scrolling) and Giana Sisters (MODE 0 overscan smooth scrolling). So although not ideal, the CPC when programmed solely with the CPC in mind, can outperform the other 8bits. Look at "Edger Grinder", "Relentless" or "Mission Genocide". They show such a good scrolling capabilities, definitiv not jerky. Now forget all of what I’ve said above and go look at Pinball Dreams on the Amstrad, still not convinced. Go search for Vespertino 😉

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@ClassicReplay I didn't know that. So, why did the CPC games look jerky compared to the C64? More colourful, but slower

[@ClassicReplay]

It was probably due to it being the third most popular computer. So less development time, more Speccy ports. The C64 and ZX Spectrum were considered lead platforms. Paul Shirley showed what was possible with Mission Genocide. Keith Goodyear who programmed R-Type on the Amstrad mentioned that you were given only a few weeks to convert or program the game to the Amstrad and he could have done a much better job if given the time.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@ClassicReplay Well, bugger me, I googled Mission Genocide and there it is... Smooth scrolling. 👍👍

[@ClassicReplay]

There’s only a few examples unfortunately. Savage being another by David Perry. If you haven’t seen it already, look up Pinball Dreams as well 😉

[@CPCGameReviews]

Hang on, don't you already have a "Top 10 Amstrad CPC games" video on your channel? Granted, it was uploaded a few years ago so your opinions have probably changed since then. I see your latest list is heavily weighted towards Ocean Software, but I have to admit they released some really high quality games for the CPC. _RoboCop_ and _Operation Wolf_ are two of my favourite Amstrad CPC games.

[@ClassicReplay]

Yep 👍 but I’ve spent more time playing on the CPC in 2023 than ever before. I’m still revisiting and enjoying the old classics I never completed back in the 80s. If I’m honest, a lot of the new games on PS5 and Switch bore me, so until something blows me away, I’m signed up to retro.

[@xKynOx]

I'm not used to all this colour Green Screen FTW

[@ClassicReplay]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@peterknutsen3070]

X-Out has really impressive scrolling, for a 464 game.

[@ClassicReplay]

It’s just further proof that the CPC in the right hands is more capable than people believe.

[@ssuper2k]

I liked R-Type better

[@GenMaster]

*multidirectional* scrolling, thank you

[@partyguinness]

Wonder boy was my favorite

[@ClassicReplay]

On the Amstrad? It was a bit slow and rough around the edges, but I did have fun with it. Arcade, C64 and NES much better

[@dantilley]

My list, maybe not in exactly this order: 10. Sorcery+ 9. Fairlight 8. Head Over Heels 7. X-Out 6. AMC 5. Tubaruba 4. Gauntlet 3. Barbarian 2. Target Renegade 1. Fantasy World Dizzy

[@ClassicReplay]

Good list 👍

[@dantilley]

And a few other honorary mentions: Trailblazer, Sacred Armour Of Antiriad, Freddy Hardest, Emlyn Hughes Soccer, Roland In Time

[@partyguinness]

I had Fairlight and had no idea how to play it.

[@ClassicReplay]

Impressive list, agree 👍🏻

[@partyguinness]

Tracksuit Manager and Endzone

[@chrisrichards6139]

I am watching this vid whilst waiting for Crazy Cars to load

[@ClassicReplay]

Did it work?

[@chrisrichards6139]

@@ClassicReplay😆. Yes it did. And it was closely followed by Blasteroids

[@aguelomultimedia]

If you say "10 top games" (only) there are several titles out of the list. Always the same: it is about the feelings the player feels (in this case , you). It is unfair because the short list. To be honest; more than 10 (about 20/25) could be the right and representative enough to be listed (and unfair as well, eh !) but more accurate.

[@ClassicReplay]

Good old opinions eh! You’ve got to love ‘em 😉 check out my ultimate Amstrad guide, I think you might like it kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSygniCpZZ9eLMsi=6dTyG7cj3Q10wzXj

[@Thegoldmine1]

No Fruity Frank ?

[@ClassicReplay]

What a great game. Sub to see my upcoming vid, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[@miguelangelleongonzalez2918]

Falta SAVAGE

[@ClassicReplay]

Thing of beauty, but nowhere near the best 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

It's very subjective though. None of these make my top ten. I was a big sim fan. So it's flight sims and sub sims

[@ClassicReplay]

Exactly 👍

[@fizzyridertoo]

No Sorcery, Manic Miner, Batman 3D, Fruity Frank, Boulderdash, Elite or a whole bunch of others that should have probably made the list.

[@ClassicReplay]

Which would you drop?

[@fizzyridertoo]

@@ClassicReplay Chase HQ, Gryzor, Bruce Lee and Renegade. I would rate Sorcery (+) way above any of those.

[@ClassicReplay]

I think on a different day Sorcery would make it. Yes it’s a great game, but I can’t see it replacing any of those mentioned. Maybe Sorcery could push out another game.

[@tumppigo]

Some feedback: no voiceover makes the video much worse. Just my two cents.

[@ClassicReplay]

Much worse, thanks but no thanks 😊

[@TheRetroRaven]

Ten best games, and no Bomb Jack? I'm greatly disappointed.

[@ClassicReplay]

One minute it was in, the next out, in, out it was like the hokey-pokey. Try doing a top ten, really difficult without peeving someone off 😊