Commodore 64 vs. Amstrad CPC - 8 games from 1987

Hello and welcome to the third episode of Commodore 64 versus Amstrad CPC.
In this video, 8 games released in 1987 are shown running on both machines so you can see how different (or similar) they were.
Games like Pirates!, Arkanoid, Freddy Hardest and 5 others.
Thanks for watching and let me know in the comments section below who "wins".
And, of course, see you in the next RetroNoName episode

[@gavh9360]

This is what happens when Devs put effort into amstrad games.

[@Edgel-in6bs]

You could arguably say where devs put effort into speccie games, as most of the great releases here were good slightly faster speccie games where the code waw converted and the graphics improved - e.g. Renegade.

[@ivarfiske1913]

@@Edgel-in6bs You are wrong. Renegade Amstrad do not share code with the Spectrum version. Arkanoid CPC is overscan and is probably running completely different code than the Spectrum

[@Edgel-in6bs]

Great vid. Oddly 1987 was an outlier for me where many CPC games arguably beat the C64 - could have added Gryzor and Head over Heels too. Generally after this, CPC games tended to be speccie ports and/or lazy and Jerky. Think salamander.

[@ZxSpectrumplus]

Yes, lots of CPC games were jerky. Even Spectrum version were much better.

[@ZxSpectrumplus]

Conclusion: CPC has superior colors (although sometimes, can be too much), especially per sprite. Where games flip screen and not much scrolling, it is better than the C64. However, for games when it scrolls, the C64 are smoother most of the time. When is comes to sound and music, no brainer, SID wins hands down.

[@adroharv5140]

I think colours is very much what you prefer at an individual level and I rather like the muted duller yet more realistic colour palette from 64 but there's no denying how pretty Amstrad can look at times with it's more vivid colours. Scrolling isn't always so essential I find providing the movement of the framerate is at least consistent and I find C64's drabber tones occasionally make scrolling games sometimes a little bland in comparison to Amstrad games. But then you can have the very best looking and moving games on the C64 like Delta Armalyte or Sams Journey etc etc showcasing it's strengths quite evidently. Strengths both machines have when utilised the best way

[@lovemadeinjapan]

I can't hear the SID is better here. Only a few games of the shown ones have a good effort in the sound department, like Monty and Arkanoid, and the SID sounds way worse than the AY in those cases. Most other games just have some blips and noise sounds.

[@pda1799]

Cool video! Nice collection of games used: some obviously look much better on A, others - on C. However, A has nothing on that C music. It just sounds sooooo awesome!

[@TheStuffMade]

The Amstrad CPC is great at flip screen games, just a shame so many of the games released for the Amstrad are lazy ZX Spectrum ports that don't take advantage of the Amstrad CPCs superior colors.

[@sinistargr]

i have a commodore 64 and i am very happy with it. however, the difference in colors is obvious, the amstrad has much better colors while the commodore has much better movement and sound. In some game the sea on the Amstrad was blue while on the commodore it was pink that says it all, I don't know why they always made this mistake the game makers and used the wrong palettes was the only thing I didn't like about the commodore and in general there was no realism of colors big mistake of the manufacturers

[@pablo_p_art]

Amstrad have a little bit better colour palette, in some games looks like next generation and slightly worse in others. Probably due to Spectrum ports, not natively made for CPC. I think Commodore have a better sound...

[@crusader77_retro]

No es lo habitual, pero en estos juegos, vaya paliza le mete el CPC al C64 :-)

[@kyma1999x]

again two systems very comparable, each of them with strenght and weak points, but generally speaking most of times programming skills really makes difference. porting of games like sonic proves that, when we see a bad title which is good on another machine most of times is due to weak programming maybe very fast poor conversions for marketing reasons rather than real weakness of the machine.

[@catsaremylife8946]

Hi, I am new to your channel and am loving all these nostalgic video games videos. I was wondering if you could help me find a game I used to play? I'm sure it was the C64 but could have been another machine of the time. It was a game set on a computer chip/motherboard and you would play a character or something and go around the chipboard on metal strips that were like the ones you get on a chip/motherboard. It was set from a birds eye view looking down.The only thing is I can't remember the purpose of the game just that I loved it as a kid. I have been trying to find it for sooo many years. Any help would be appreciated. Also SUBSCRIBED and NOTIFICATIONS ON

[@retrononame]

Hey, thanks! Is the game perhaps Chips Challenge? URL: www.lemon64.com/game/chips-challenge

[@markdillon5494]

I love both machines. Most of these looked better on Amstrad because of the colour palette. But in most games C64 had the better version.

[@doomniel]

Nothing beats the SID chip, come on!

[@iXien]

Question of taste. Effects offered by the SID chip are impressive but personnally I don't like its nosy sound. AY/YM chips are the sound of the 80's, used in so many consoles, computers and arcade systems 😉

[@dennyhaynes3]

1. Tai-pan, a bit more colour in the cpc version, music better on the C64 but overall a draw. 2. Exolon, again great colour on the cpc but i like both versions though not so keen on the cpc main sprite. 3. Renegade, Cpc wins here with the graphics but C64 a good game too. 4. Pirates, looks better on the C64 and seems to play better. 5. Auf Wiedersehen Monty, definitely C64 wins this round. 6. Freddy Hardest, better overall colour palette on the cpc but gameplay is poor on both. 7. Jack the nipper 2, poor on both systems. 8. Good on both systems but I'd give this round to the C64.

[@trocoloco]

Exolon CPC any day. What's with that monochrome sprite? ugly speccy ported. Arkanoid CPC vertical overscan, winner ...

[@tsuikagura]

I loved and I still love the pastels of the C64. It was such a delight amongst the eye-soring prime colors of most other systems of its time.

[@jda4887]

Pastels ? i would say washed out colors exposed to far too much sunlight... and i owned both computers but C64 simply doesnt cut it. We had to wait for the aimga to brilliantly correct that point.

[@ZxSpectrumplus]

@@jda4887 But scrolling and gameplay wise, i will take C64 anyday. Amstrad games tends to have too much colors and became garrish.

[@trocoloco]

@@ZxSpectrumplus hardware scrolling and sprites makes it easy on the slower C64 cpu. Gotta remember that C64 was aimed to be as a gaming console in the first place

[@tsuikagura]

@jda4887 Aren't pastels basically washed out colors exposed to far too much sunlight tho? :D

[@jda4887]

@@tsuikagura yep but in all honesty colors aren't my sore point with the c64, jailbars are ... at the time the c64 was roughly priced 30 percent more than an amstrad and its tv output was and still mediocre. Not only that bit the c128 would be out with an even worse one at premium price mind you...

[@tofik5939]

👍👍

[@hadorstapa]

I’d say only Pirates! and Jack the Nipper 2 were better on the C64 in that collection. Both notably bad conversions on the CPC, with Jack the Nipper 2 in particular being one of those distinctly Speccy-feeling lazy conversions. The sound and music, surprisingly, was really good on CPC in many of those cases.

[@apokalip6]

Amstrad forever!!!!

[@jda4887]

I want Amstrad Graphics and the C64 Sid chip pretty please ?

[@markdillon5494]

And the C64 hardware scrolling and sprites

[@MephProduction]

Fairly even i think, Jack the nipper dreadful and both, but Reneged on the Amstrad is huge improvement , but the others all equal, id be happy with either,

[@vytah]

No scrolling on Amstrad though.

[@PatrickColis]

Some games are better on C64 Some games are better on CPC In general (excluding poor ports) : - Amstrad have better graphics with more colors (but the palette is awful), decent sounds but poor "sprites" and scrolling - C64 have better sound (SID inside), sprites and scolling but is behind in the graphics (even if the palette looks ok) Gameplay-wise, the C64 was, in most games, better than the CPC but this can be due to poor ports ?

[@trocoloco]

awful palette compared to 16 washed out golours? nah

[@mladenzivkovic5970]

Amstrad wins this although im a c64 guy, just look at that Renegade port, c64 version looks like a kids play

[@kangarht]

c64 screens feel unrealisticly birght

[@oscarjimenezgarrido7591]

Most of these videos are controversy bait. There's always _something._ I had a C64 and later an Amiga but liked every computer, amongst my group of friends we had basically all brands and models available in our market covered and I have many charming memories of every one of them. System wars are stupid.

[@SirHilaryManfat]

@@oscarjimenezgarrido7591 I feel the same. I never had any friends with an Amstrad, but I had friends with Acorn Electrons, Spectrums, Commodore +4's and Atari VCS consoles. There were brilliant games on all the systems, and I loved how each system gave a different experience from the other.

[@ivarfiske1913]

Amstrad screens feel unrealistically blocky. It looks a lot better on its bundled CRT RGB monitor though

[@oscarjimenezgarrido7591]

@@ivarfiske1913 That's emulation for you. Some of these, on the other hand, feel also unrealistically smooth and swift compared to the same games running on real Amstrad hardware, to be honest. And this is coming from someone who also loves the Amstrad. As I said, these videos are always subtly built with controversy bait in mind - not to mention, in this channel's case, a little bit of bias against the C brand, too. But it is what it is.

[@ivarfiske1913]

@@oscarjimenezgarrido7591 games running better on emulation than real hardware. Thats a first in Amstrad emulation. Never heard anyone claim that before. Never seen it in Amstrad emulation either. So which of these games do this in your opinion? My guess is that of what you claim seeing is real, it is your TV that is set to adding frames. That can easily be fixed by turning off the weird things TVs today do with its input signals