C64 Longplay - G.I. Joe

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

You want to know why this game was brilliant? Here's why: the developers specifically made the game to be the equivalent of pulling out your favorite action figures and messing around with them. It was made for kids specifically. Check it out: 1. There was no 'ending'. Game finished when you felt like it (because no kid likes to see the end of their favorite story, right?) 2. There was no real pressure. ie. no 'high scores', no objective. It was just a pure hypothetical 'which Joe/Cobra would win' scenario. 3. It was varied. All the details outlined below by TheKnowerseeker tell you how much depth there was to this game. You never got bored. This was a well-made game.

[@Bigheadedwon]

Bullshit! Game was very very fun but so frustrating. I’m pretty sure I broke 1 or 2 joysticks due to rage fits. I wanted to put them all in jail and it wasn’t possible. Which wouldn’t have caused me to rage had Epxy, oh I dunno. Mentioned the game wasn’t beatable when it started? This game and Bop N Rumble really stressed me out lol as a kid lol. 30+ years later I watch a Bop N Rumble video on here to see you can technically beat the game. But it has absolutely no ending. I’m glad I wasn’t coordinated enough to beat the game as a kid, had I been I think I would have threw my c64 out the window when the game just ended lol.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

If I remember correctly it was well-received by game critics at the time too.

[@shawdawg3675]

I love the Archon style combat

[@ContemporaryCompendium]

7:40 I just noticed that the numbers on the right computer screen is NCC 1701, the service number for the starship USS Enterprise ☺️

[@magicmulder]

For 30 years I've wondered if there was a way to "win" the game that I just missed, now I'm relieved there isn't. :)

[@UrbanTiger74]

magicmulder I felt your pain man. LMAO!!!

[@jussilindkvist4032]

This game shat me to tears, you would win every battle and still not get an end game.

[@RocketboyX]

And oh man, those loading times... You'd spend more time loading than playing.. and STILL not actually win.

[@johnsalvi3870]

Yeah me too.....the bastards kept escaping and i wondered why

[@OdaVenom]

What are you talking about? You should feel lucky - you got an *endless* game for the price of an usual one!

[@josephskiles]

I can't begin to say how much love I had for this game, my brother and I would spend hours upon hours on this as a kid, definitely one of my favorite C64 games

[@BrianMcGuinness]

Brings back such great memories. Played this game for like 500 hours (495 of them hours were loading screens but still). A classic C64 game!

[@rodneyws1977]

I like how the guys sitting at the computer terminals are perfectly OK with the gun/rocket fight going on around them.

[@JKalee-jf9yz]

This soundtrack still kills!

[@DeanStrickson]

I used to have a friend who had this game. He used to brag how he could kick my ass at it. I told him it was easy when he could practice any time he wanted. He told me he didn't play it when I wasn't around. Yeah, RIGHT. Fuck you, David Clark - wherever you are!

[@olafreinhardweyer]

+MediaGold Hahahaha

[@Dragaur17]

+MediaGold I had friends pull that same crap on me....assholes.

[@jmp01a24]

Lol. Still butthurt almost 40 years later. Priceless!

[@raoulduke6093]

My dad, to this day contends I refused to tell him all the buttons & knew "secret stuff" because I read every instruction book front to back. I tell him: I was like 6, man.

[@capzisediam5845]

haha ... i was lucky to have my own c64 ;-)

[@AWSMBTR]

Whoa, I have extremely vivid memories of the map and the end of battle screens from when my big brother was playing it and I was too small to understand whatever the hell was happening. Thank you for uploading that, this brought me all the way back.

[@ozwalled2007]

As a kid who had a ton of GI Joe figures, I pretty much adored this game when I was younger. There were plenty of games I knew were better, but the fact that I was playing a cool-looking game that involved toys I had was pretty darn great. Thanks for the memories (and for confirming that there wasn't an end to the game). :)

[@jmp01a24]

An amazing 2-player game where you could compete against each other. I loved being the villains. And one of the first disk loaders playing music that I can recall. Good times!

[@hannusuoniemi5716]

so many good memories with this game!

[@cybersalad]

I used to play this game for hours and hours with my friend who had a C64. It was one of the main reasons why I wanted a C64.

[@Zett76]

Played it as a teenager. Loved the mech games. The shoot-outs: not so much. ...and I really LOVE how C64 "longplays" last about 20 minutes... :)

[@FreddieBlaze]

Awe memories I loved playing this when I had my C-64. I remember my old friend from elementary school would copy games for me on the floppy disk; those were some good times.😊

[@agiar2000]

I was never able to select "Zap" as my "Joe". Like with many of my C64 games, there was a flaw in the disk or something, so when a certain part of the code was accessed, the game would just crash. In the case of this game, it happened any time I picked "Zap", so I never saw what he looked like or how he fought.

[@ricardoalvarado1973]

A lighter and faster Scrap Iron.

[@Ace1000ks]

Awesome, I never saw this game, but it looks really good for a game that was released in the mid 1980s.

[@goemon9378]

what i remember the most is the super long load times and watching the same vehicle leave the base like 3-4 times

[@Glabro100]

This music was in my head after watching G.I. Joe: Revenge when it came out, it's that memorable and iconic to me. Good job Bob!

[@werewolf74]

So one of the fist sandbox games... interview at the Epyx Shrine. Quote: Why is the game never ending? "As for why the game has no end... Now THAT is an interesting point. When I first came to Epyx and they put me on the GI Joe project, they said "This is not a game. It's an ACTIVITY TOY." "Activity Toys" were Epyx president Michael Katz's idea (Katz came from the toy industry), to make products that were more open-ended, less goal oriented. I asked the other designers, and they all came to the same basic conclusion - "design a game, just don't have an ending." Michael Katz, by the way, epitomized the clueless "pointy-eared boss". When we first showed him the game prototype, his only real question was "Which one of those guys is GI Joe?"

[@roguishpaladin]

That's POSSIBLY a generation gap issue rather than a "pointy-haired boss" (not "pointy-eared) issue. In the 80s we know of GI Joe as a team, but in the early figures that wasn't really present and you could perceive the figure as being "the" GI Joe. Larry Hama, the writer of the Marvel GI Joe comics, paid homage to that period by eventually introducing an older veteran named "Joe Colton" who was supposed to represent the first figure.

[@jwhite455528]

I always loved this game so much. Every time I went to my cousins we would play. Classic gaming

[@kevinjhonson5925]

i had this game the load times were insane

[@TheBeardedFrogSage]

Once upon a time I was able to capture all the Cobra forces except for Storm Shadow and Zartan. I went after Storm Shadow, capped him, and when I got back to the select screen Cobra Commander, Scrap Iron, and Destro had escaped. There's literally no end to this, just as the caption says. It can be a fun experience for as long as you're willing to enjoy it, and when you're done you're done. But the music? It was awesome music, very fitting for the source material and well made for the C64.

[@geldonyetich]

I never realized when I was a kid how much this game owed to Archon's design.

[@ecblack]

How I loved this game back in the days!! Thanks a lot for uploading! This really brings back great memories... :-)

[@Cmonkey1980]

Man, I always loved the Cobra music on this game. I was almost sad to win because Cobra's music was so much better. The music still pops up in my head from time to time now, it's that good! :)

[@stucazzo2000]

My friend and I would play this on his C64 all the time. Those load times between matches were atrocious however.

[@TightNinja]

I never had a commodore 64..this makes me realized I missed out on A Lot, very advanced mechanics for the era!

[@GriggsC123]

Anyone else noticed the Star Trek easter egg at 7.52 when he is fighting Scrap Iron. Right computer says NCC-1701

[@sanoichiro]

If my late mother had not been an avid "Trekie" touting me about her conventions dressed like a Klingon (making me furious as I HATE Star Trek), I'd have no idea what you're talking about. Very good eye... ;)

[@jmp01a24]

Write 7:52 ffs! But nice trivia there Trekkie!

[@Dariun75]

My god. It´s a long time ago. When I was a child my english was so bad, I didn´t understand even one word of the discriptions. This game was like a Jeopardy for me. But I liked it. So many different vehicels and charakters, each one with another weapon. In this long past days it was rare that a game had this.

[@capzisediam5845]

i was really addicted to this game ... what a legendary time it was !!!

[@xauthz]

Oh yeah, that game was famous for taking forever to load. great soundtrack

[@toms781]

1:59 the map music is the same as the title music to Star Raiders II on the Atari 800.

[@chadstreet5556]

Rule number 1: Always pick Snake Eyes. Rule number 2: Refer back to number 1.

[@marsiozo]

ow man...i remember the loading times being like 5 minutes or more for each map....good old days.. :) still had some time to read comics properly in between gameplay due to the seeminglee endless loading times :D

[@Novacoma]

I only played this for maybe an hour like twenty five years ago but always remembered it. Is it really unfinishable?

[@Shazam999]

This was a great game.

[@TeeVeeGames]

I remember getting this game and Hot Wheels for Christmas back in the mid-80's. Both of them (and possibly Barbie, never played it) were definitely more "activities" than goal-based games (i.e. no scoring, no way to "win"), which I found a little disappointing. Even when I captured most of Cobra, some of them would come back into play (forgot if the manual said they escaped or were released.) Still, pretty well done otherwise.

[@TheDexterFishbourne]

I had this game but for some reason it only worked 1/2 the time. But dad was part of a software coop and got to rent it a few times to make up for my bad copy.

[@curtisnewton2295]

This game was the first instance that showed the 10-year old me the meaninglessness of life.

[@BenjaminBowling777]

i had this on my C64 back in the day. very fun game.

[@meisteryo]

Swap disk. Yo Joe! (after loading for a couple of minutes you had to change the disc and that occured so many times, i still remember that)

[@Halloween111]

This was cool for me because I got a (badly) Pirated copy from a relative and not all the levels or match ups worked. About half would go through and the rest would load infinitely and never start. Many of these he showcased here, I never got to see.

[@jmp01a24]

It did play music though iirc. Would probably been faster if it didn't and could use fastloader cartridges that were starting to become popular. Yes I am thinking about Epyx fastload. My first cartridge!

[@ArieivProductions]

Thanks for kind words on the music! =Bob Vieira=

[@basehead617]

Quite cool! Do you mind talking about what tools were available at the time for making SID music?

[@andyappleton3353]

When ya think about it, the Dragonfly scene at 4:41 is the early "Desert Strike"

[@Jayce_Alexander]

I loved this game as a kid. Still think it's pretty good for a C64 game of its vintage. It's a bit of a shame you don't get an ending screen and the game just loops, but other than that it's still pretty fun to play today.

[@pray4mojo35]

Loved this game!

[@rotkev]

I remember the load screens

[@brpierce]

I could never quite figure out why Cobra Commander was armed with a bubble gun...

[@BlaineC1972]

this was so awesome... I never could play it well.

[@zaphod77]

The music and gameplay is 20% faster on an NTSC machine compared to a PAL one. This game was written in the USA, so it play correctly on NTSC machines.

[@mystralir]

The player here obviously didn't know how to remote control the missiles when playing as Clutch (car with the missiles) I don't remember the keys, but you can control the distance the missiles fly and change their direction in mid flight. That was one of the cooler features in the game.

[@roguishpaladin]

The "car" is actually a jeep called the VAMP Mark II (the original VAMP had a laser turret instead of missiles).

[@drrobert7543]

I thought the vehicle ones were boring. And watching this they still are. I loved the one-on-one gunfights though!

[@Highretrogamelord]

Also available for the Apple II ;)

[@mr.pavone9719]

7:50 Anyone notice the ID number on the Tele-viper's consoles? HINT: It's from another very famous TV series.

[@jurrasic]

Cobra Commander could absolutely whip ass in the head to head combat portion. Fast firing, fast recharge and decent damage. :) Much preferred the chopper in the top-down combat portion. This was a criminally under-rated game. Hectic and fun like Archon in the combat game.

[@MikeyChalupa47]

Man I miss this game. I still hum the Cobra music from time to time.

[@jamarmiller]

LOL I used to have this game. I loved playing it too , wow good memories brought back

[@BarbecueinItUpGood]

If memory serves me right, with 2 players, you'd play against each other in the Joe vs. Cobra matches, & cooperatively on the Vehicle Missions? Player 2 could traverse the MOBAT's turret, or shoot the VAMP's missiles in any direction.

[@kotep777]

i need this game and a time machine.......i been missin out

[@Gothiczartan]

I remember this at a toys r us back in 1986!

[@doctorx2105]

It wasn't. Eventually if you captured enough bad guys one of them would "escape" and they'd keep cycling. The idea behind the three Hasbro games was that they were supposed to be electronic toy boxes, rather than true video games. It was a case of sticking too close to the license - but it was Hasbro's request, not Epyx's decision.

[@andy68916]

Logged so many hours with this game... mainly waiting for it to load

[@Cukito4]

Did you know you can rotate the tank's turret with the 2nd controller?

[@gamakris3238]

Cobra control room “ NCC 1701 “ on the console. After 30 yrs. Bravo.

[@memoriesofmychildhood7297]

I haven't seen this since 1991.I use to pester my older brothers to start this game.

[@Skarrz72]

Not just Epyx, but C64 in general, the memories.

[@rjholman8034]

The creators of this game must be Star Trek fans. At 7:52 the console in the back right has NCC 1701 on it. That is the Starship Enterprise registration.

[@rvounik]

looks like a fun game! must play this some day. thanks for the video.

[@johnkayanas6755]

there was a glitch to select a character that was behind bars... select the guy next to him and immediately switch to the guy behind bars

[@AlexanderTheGr8er]

Did anyone actually choose anybody OTHER THAN Snake Eyes??? My buddies and I used to fight over who'd get to be him when we played...

[@billyphuz]

Man, you don't have the part about the jet! That was one level I could never beat.

[@bvveen]

Wow this brings back old memories :D

[@zazelby]

Cobra's computer console has "NCC-1701.5" on it. How did I never notice that before?

[@kloakovalimonada]

Oh yeah the music! I remember all these tunes note for note 20 years after ai last played this game.

[@pedazodeboludo]

My floppy was damaged so I only ever got to see the intro but after the tank exits the building it failed :(

[@rodcline5871]

Anyway to download this game? My old C64 is long gone and this one is not included on the c64 retro

[@s.l.9309]

Use Google, it takes just a few seconds

[@Toylympics]

With 2 players you could control the tanks turret and guide the missiles in the helicopter etc.

[@xorben1981]

Love the sound from the robot. "hububu bububu" :-D

[@alterfalter6154]

Nice thx🎉

[@scorpiovts]

Stupendo... Quanti ricordi...

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

the tank stages remind me of a lovechild by jackal and armor attack...

[@AWZool]

I see you did not know either that you can guide the missiles of the hummer and chopter, and turn the turret of the tank :D

[@BenjaminBowling777]

Viewing all the battles here from satellite view here at Base 1. Affirmative.

[@calis920]

The missiles on the jeep can be controlled with a second controller, interestingly...

[@NihilQuest]

There was a soldier named Snowjob? Haha

[@brstewart99]

LET'S KEEP IT CLEAN ON HERE

[@roguishpaladin]

You've probably seen him in a meme. The the "OOOOOOOOOOO!" guy from kzbin.info/www/bejne/eomplYOKlqinocU The actual GI Joe character was a con artist. One prank he pulled was mentioning to one Joe known for hitting on women (Clutch, the driver of the VAMP Mk 2 selected at 8:52) that another Joe's sister was a model. When said Joe (Gung-Ho, the marine who ran around with an open shirt even in the Arctic) was asked by the first Joe to hook him up with his sister, that Joe got pissed because his sister was 9 and a child model.

[@stefanweilhartner4415]

great game. i never understood why there is a robot running around and what it was about. but the sound and graphics where very nice. however, the loading times where painful. this is why we have to improve the c64.

[@gjc82071]

Definitely an all time, "Top 20" C64 Game.

[@basehead617]

The music was great but got really old because the loading screens were ENDLESS (which this video thankfully doesn't show in real time).. at least there were a few songs.

[@steffenhansen6204]

Just love the music

[@ladefreakndah]

Oh wow. Nice catch.

[@Skammerd]

Heaven forbid you swapped disks during the load screen. The 1541 would flip the hell out. 😂

[@Groome007]

Hehe always loved this one ... Looking back though, the HISS tanks sure didn't put up much of a fight ..

[@roguishpaladin]

It was harder than it looks. I think you were one-shot one-kill on that map.

[@boo5ta]

How come the video onnly takes 17 minutes, as far as I remember it took me at least 17 minutes to load a map back then ;)

[@kevgor138]

Loved this game.. top 10 c64

[@tuomaskuusinen]

We used to keep shooting the robot to make it go faster and faster, then run away. Fun times 😂

[@edhitchins5521]

I remember this game being super hard as a 6 year old.

[@JKalee-jf9yz]

Soundtrack kicks so much ass!

[@Tricob1974]

This game doesn't have bad graphics for the time, but some of the face images do have interesting missteps - Major Bludd looks like he ran his face through a blender, and Scarlett looks like she had a face lift that went horribly wrong.

[@kainemaxwell]

I loved this. Turn the disk over! Yo joe!

[@AxelWerner]

i totally forgot how bad those games were back then. however i loved that machine to bits.