The 7 Most Controversial Video Games of the 1980s

[@JodyBruchon]

Raid Over Moscow on the C64 was one of my favorite games when I was young. It has a good variety of play and is both fun and fair.

[@PaulAndHisUkulele]

Chiller in the Arcades was a VERY different game to the Mastertronic release from 1985 (the year before) on the C64, Amstrad and ZX Spectrum . . . that was a platform game that simply ripped off the general theme from Michael Jackson's Thriller video and bore more similarity to Manic Miner than the arcade game. Might want to check that detail in the video...

[@marc21256]

No Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards? I remember there being some controversy about that one.

[@DJboutit2]

I remember there was a decent amount to

[@danielbruning1213]

It's funny, my mother used to get the Leisure Suit Larry games for me as a kid. Half the time I didn't even understand why or what I was doing, or the context of it all. As I got older I was in shock my mother had purchased me these pretty risque games, if you will. I remember one scene in which Larry is sitting across a table with a beautiful woman(pixelated of course), and she had a banana 🍌 split with two scoops of ice cream on both sides of the banana. She basically deep throated the banana and showed Larry's face as amazed. The. She proceeded to go under the table clothed table and it showed Larry making happy faces.lol. At that time I remember wondering what the hell is happening but I still played the game. I didn't understand until I became a few years older. 😅 I wish I still had that old computer and all those old games to play again. That would be a trip.

[@Donathon-f6f]

Oh I loved that game... thanks for reminding me ❤

[@BustaHymen]

I have the Larry theme as the ring tone on my phone :D

[@danielbruning1213]

@@BustaHymen That's hilarious! Love it!

[@GioMarron]

05:20 Interesting story about Jesse Owens. After the event in Munich, the winners all had a meal with Hitler and his cronies. Hitler revealed to Owens that he was told by some of his staffers that he couldn’t refuse to shake the hand of only Jewish Olympians so he had to shake hands with everyone, or with no-one. Hitler sided with ‘no-one’ and to show there were no hard feelings, he shook Owens hand. On returning to the US, the American Olympians were to meet the US president. Because Owens was black, he was forced to enter the white house via the slave entrance at the rear. Owens famously complained that he’d been treated better by Hitler than by his own president.

[@josephr4761]

Hitler wouldn't have even been surprised that Owens won, he wrote about perceived physical differences in his book. He would have expected Owens or someone like him to win.

[@DamonNomad82]

My parents got an Atari 2600 as a wedding present in 1977. As a teen in the late 1990s, I found it while helping clean the family's storage unit, brought it home and hooked it up to an older TV that it could be connected to. Along with my sister and cousin, I had great fun playing some of the video games that my parents had cartridges for, one of which was "Berzerk". Even for someone used to late 1990s video games, it was quite intense, and "Evil Otto" was still amazingly terrifying for a simple smiley face...

[@mattm7798]

OH good, I thought you were going to say your parents had a copy of the custer game...dad, we need to have a talk!

[@DamonNomad82]

@@mattm7798 Nope! XD That's not the sort of game my parents would have ever owned! I doubt they even knew that Custer game existed... The games they did have were classics like Berzerk, Pac-Man, "Football" (which wasn't much like the actual sport as they hadn't developed a way to simulate passes or kicks) and the original game based on the movie "The Empire Strikes Back", which involved flying around in a snowspeeder and shooting Imperial Walkers, which changed color several times as they took damage. Good times...

[@mattm7798]

@@DamonNomad82 Dude, totally, my first video game system was a 2600 in the mid 80s at my grandmothers house. I vividly remember not caring at all about the graphics and enjoying somethign as simple as the atari football game, which is literally a bunch of squares lol

[@SpaceDad42]

I remember playing a game on the c64 called ‘schoolyard slaughter”. It was exactly as the name implies.

[@kevinsmith4585]

List of bogus without Leasure Suit Larry.

[@pauljensen5699]

Cal u met city Proper pronunciation I used to live in South Holland, Illinois, and when I was older, I worked in the Chicago South Suburbs.

[@johnnyw4life]

Cuh-loo-mit pronunciation was upsetting me. Thanks for noticing and commenting.

[@AstroNerdBoy]

The only controversy I ever heard of from any of these games was the Custer's Revenge one. My friend had an Atari and tons of games. My mom demanded to know if he had Custer's Revenge or not. The only "revenge" game I could remember was Yar's Revenge. I thought she might be referring to that while calling it something else. So I lied about not knowing. Mom never said why she was so angry about Custer's Revenge. It wasn't until YEARS later that Custer's Revenge came up in a discussion, and I discovered what it was all about. 😅

[@MadMFox]

I have a copy of Custer's Revenge, but nothing to play it on.

[@Orchestration1983]

I still have Raid Over Moscow on my C64. I had no idea it was controversial.

[@realtrisk]

It wasn't.

[@heimomies]

I played it also with my C64 too back in '85-86 in Finland. I also had no idea it was controversial.. and that we were 'heavily under soviet influence' 😂 Who wrote "facts" for this video? Joe Biden?

[@blankityblank6029]

It's not.

[@M167A1]

I had it on my C64, and I can't recall hearing a single thing about it being controversial.

[@Riz2336]

Custer's revenge is pretty high on the level of being explicit for those days

[@V3ntilator]

Sex Games III on Commodore 64, especially the legendary last level. As for 1991, there were a controversial game released on Amiga called "Moonstone", one year before Mortal Kombat existed.

[@jasonblalock4429]

The other interesting thing about the Data East / Epyx lawsuit is that Data East would be on the other side a few years later. Their "Fighter's History" was such a blatant Street Fighter 2 clone that Capcom sued, but ultimately lost. IIRC that was the last major lawsuit where a company tried to claim ownership of a gameplay concept, and basically cemented knockoff games as legal.

[@My_name_is_Luc]

I liked this video, the Berzerk case was interesting and terrifying up to some point Hope you continue like this!

[@vanillathunder3024]

The first game you showed…Robotron 2084…was AWESOME!! I grew up going to arcades in the 80s (shout out to Aladdin’s Castle at the 163 st mall in N. Miami. RIP) and I always played this (Tempest was another favorite). I remember it had 2 joysticks, one to move and one to shoot. So many robots to kill… Man I loved that stuff.

[@FalseNi9e]

I have the cabinet of Chiller in my garage. I bought it about 8 years ago and it still works although it's mostly a decorative item now. I collect everything horror/gore related and couldn't pass it up

[@killmimes]

What about Leisure Suit Larry?

[@pauljensen5699]

1990's

[@jb50]

@@pauljensen5699 1987 was in the 90's?

[@pauljensen5699]

@@jb50 I guess you are right! I always thought of it as 1990's... Of course, I was late teens at that time, and my parents were dead set against owning a computer, let alone video games like that.

[@JamesChatting]

That was a legendary game to have at age 10

[@M167A1]

​@@JamesChattingDon't forget a passionate patty in the land of the pulsating pictorals.

[@CrypticApathy]

He just going to ignore the topless hoola dancers in the back ground of the karate game?

[@rmyers99]

Evil Otto scared the utter living shit out of me playing that game in the 80s in my parents basement. He might not look like much in this video but he was coming. And you're not gonna make it to the exit.

[@JamesDCornette]

EVIL OTTO ruled!!! The best

[@JLvatron]

Was Evil Otto the inspiration for Walmarts Rollback Man?

[@dimitrilopes_br]

11:03

[@DeadPixel1105]

Back in the early 90s, I had a childhood friend whose family had a computer with a bunch of DOS games. We were NOT allowed to play Leisure Suit Larry. We were allowed to play Doom, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, etc. But Leisure Suit Larry was strictly off-limits.

[@elmono558]

I remember playing at Friar Tuck's in Calumet (pronounced kal'-you-met) City in the 1980s. Maybe it was the game that killed the player, maybe it was the cigarette smoke in the arcade.

[@petergarcia8615]

Yep! I was there practically every weekend in the 80’s. Plenty of games crammed in that joint. Good times!

[@JethroTClampet]

Stroker should have been on this list.

[@deraykrause4517]

My sleeve had never been so sticky...

[@frankbrodie5168]

Ah wow.. The memories. I'm telling you now that as a 59 year old that cut my teeth programming BASIC on my C64 in the early to mid 1980's I still keep a folder full of old C64 games/programs to play on emulator regularly. (at least weekly, put it that way.) And I guarantee that Stroker is lying around in one of those ROM folders somewhere. lol.

[@shize9ine]

@@frankbrodie5168bust it out!

[@pentuplemintgum666]

What about the other two games in the Mystique poster with Custer's Revenge? 10:42

[@DJboutit2]

Leisure Suit Larry for it time was the first NC 17 game NC 17 was not a thing at the time but it would have been for this game. During the 1980s no video game went to this level of sexual content.

[@biffbastion301]

Back around 1992-93 in our High School computer class, someone had left a 3.5 floppy of this game. It was played all the time in the back row....along with Test Drive. Teacher was some old guy that seemed more at home with a typewriter and never paid attention.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

I'm surprised they didn't just put Omar Khalifa on the cover if he gave permission to have his name used in promotional materials.

[@codeguruinboise]

When I heard you say that Berzerk had actually caused a death, and I saw the flashing smiley face, I thought of epilepsy. It looked like it might flash fast enough to trigger a seizure.

[@walterbison]

@7:26 Sorry but cigarette ads never harmed me. I've never smoked nor do I ever intend to. Candy and bubblegum cigarettes were cool though.

[@theman1412]

Sounds like “Chiller” and “Custer’s Revenge” are the only controversial games

[@eldrichnemo9312]

The other games were controversial at that time they were out, but the two you point out are still awful even by today's terms

[@sliders75]

The Chiller image (from the C64) was not the same as the arcade game referred to. Both are very different games with the C64 Chiller being a platform game which featured (in its initial release) a tune loosely sounding like Thriller (which also is why the game box cover was very Thriller like).

[@jaygardner6385]

The fact that Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizard is not on this list is a crime.

[@zimm413]

I had Raid Over Moscow. I totally forgot about until i saw this video. Thanks for bringing back great memories!

[@The_Texorcist]

I remember the chiller game as a kid. Even that age, I didn’t feel any discussed from it from the pixel size Gore, especially because way back then were so very far from the uncanny Valley. So I never got scared or repulsed because it was a violent came comprised a big fat pixels, and characters that looked much less than human. As far as Custer’s Revenge goes I honestly don’t know what the developer was playing towards. I mean, yeah it’s a porn game I guess but again with characters so cartoony and pixelated how could person get pleasure from seeing that? and I’m not even talking about the whole premise of the game and how offensive it is.I’m just saying if you saw two different colored blobs pressing up against each other that mighty vaguely look sort of Human shaped do you think it was sexy? So if you take the whole thing out of it, this is offensive and really bad taste. So the purpose of this game is just offend people then mission achieved.

[@RedFawcett]

Well actually, Custer was a ranking Colonel in charge of the 7th Cavalry at the time of Little Bighorn. He had been a brevet, or temporary, general during the length of the US Civil War.

[@supyrow]

Leisure Suit Larry

[@mattkidroske]

7:49 in the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64 there are billboards that say Marioro, which they removed for the American port lol

[@kbramlett6877]

Another thing about SNES Mario Kart had to do with the Winner's Circle. In the Japanese version, you could see the winners tipping back a bottle of beer. This was obviously removed when the game came stateside

[@iceman9678]

If I remember right. You weren't allowed to touch the walls in Berserk and you can make it so the robots couldn't shoot at you.

[@darkstarZ74]

I played Cluster's Revenge in 1982 at my friend Cary Levitz house. I seem to remember that he got it from his dad's place and bought it home with him. Boring game though.

[@ScarysReviews]

imagine if Chiller got a modern update, though Manhunt, the condemned come to mind

[@DixieDaydreamer]

I loved IK+ as a teen, I had it on the Amstrad CPC micro and to this day it's still one of my my favrourite retro beat 'em ups, I even have it on my SteamDeck! Ha ha!

[@chuckrussell4171]

I played Chiller in an arcade way back in the day. I remember thinking "What is this?"

[@TherealHazlett]

Chiller was one of my favorite arcade games

[@DarthPerfidy]

It is pronounced "Kal U Met" Which is also a region Illinois & NW Indiana. Friar Tuck's Arcade was the bomb!! The Smiley Face Water Tower was at the River Oaks Mall....

[@mikekopack6441]

OMG I LOVED "Raid Over Moscow" (there's actually 4 stages - the fly through the city, the 5 towers, Red Square, and then if you got through all those, there was the reactor room. Have beaten it multiple times. Great game for the time and certainly high on C64 All Time Best Game lists. I remember Karate Champ (particularly the look of the Judge). I kind of remember the "Custer's Revenge" outcry but I was too young at the time to really get what the issue was since I had never seen the game until many years later in emulation. But honestly, there was something to be said from those old games - because the graphics were less capable, the gameplay worked based on imagination to fill in the gaps, and it was a more fun "jump in and play" experience, vs today when you have to invest hours to get any good, (don't get me started on MMO style games where you have to deal with idiot people online!).

[@Insill]

I couldn't expect Paavo Väyrynen of all people to be in a video about gaming.

[@AlmostSomething]

Ha!!!

[@Deadono]

Oh yeah, he is everywheeeere! Didn't he only now quit politics, or is he still in the ugh, "game"?

[@robertprice5243]

... The best thing about karate champ was that there was two controllers per player... I think you have to push them both the same way to turn around. I remember that being difficult

[@Rambam1776]

Raid over Moscow is one of the best computer games I've ever played

[@kbramlett6877]

One game you forgot to mention for the PC is "Leisure Suit Larry and the Land of the Lounge Lizards." Along with its sequels. We're talking about a game where you are offered multiple options when buying a condom, like spearmint or peppermint flavored, lubed, or rough-cut. You have sex with a hooker, but the action is censored. The additional games in the series pushed the envelope just a little more with each chapter.

[@jayme69]

The Mastertronic version of Chiller was a completely different game from the one you showed and wasn't banned.

[@fristytron]

Veeery cool content! Ty!

[@philosoaper]

games like Stroker, Sex Games and Libya Command... while none were particularly good, are games I remember very well from growing up with my C64... especially the gillotine sequence when you enter the highscore in Libya Command

[@mikeweber3685]

Wow, I remember playing (or seeing) the Thriller coin-op.

[@Ayrshore]

Surprised the Japanese haven't remade Custer's Revenge....

[@AstroNerdBoy]

I doubt they'd be aware of it.

[@mattschehr163]

its pronunced Cal U met City the way you said it was dumb

[@poil8351]

well luckily defcon and its various successors weren't around in the 1980s or there would have been a international incident.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

I like your content. I'll wait for more. Notification bell activated.

[@thebes118]

The Stasi complained about violence? 😅😅😅

[@Allen-by6ci]

You gotta learn how to say "Calumet City"

[@schwaaard]

"Ministry for State Security"?! Good gravy. Somewhat ironically, I find the existence of a real life organization with that name (and apparent function) to be far more controversial than the fabricated premise of a video game.

[@piscinaiv7937]

List missing Smurf Massacre, Stroker.

[@mattmcconnell4814]

Another banger!

[@AlmostSomething]

Thanks so much!!

[@mattmcconnell4814]

@@AlmostSomething mate keep punching at this. You have excellent style, delivery, and pacing. If there is any justice in the universe the view numbers will rise.

[@PhilipMurphy8]

I like this video, it's a great style documentary

[@jonothanthrace1530]

Having read a lot of C+VG Magazine in the late 80s/early 90s, I can only assume that their responses to the letters about Raid Over Moscow had a tone akin to "Yer mum is an international incident!".

[@scottandrewhutchins]

Chiller is the worst. There was a concenience store that had it as the only availabole game. I didn't even want to play it.

[@derangedcomics]

I'm a little disappointed I only clocked in at 2 games played on this list. lol I remember Raid Over Moscow being pretty fun though.

[@Ronald_302]

YES!

[@sird2333]

Custer was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen

[@MrAvenger1975]

Beat It & Eat It was another adult game that came out around the same time.

[@PukeSkinwalker]

Custer's revenge appears to be consensual because she is moving her legs up and he isn't forcing her to mate with her.

[@AlmostSomething]

Dude.

[@PukeSkinwalker]

@@AlmostSomething Sweet

[@superman60201]

When was Postal released?

[@666elrey666]

Who was the model on Custers revenge? And did she make any movies? For research sake

[@swede7581]

c64 is the most fun i ever had when it comes to gaming without a doubt and also the betetr amiga 500 But sadly Commodore didnt survive(alot of great games on this console/computer or what i should call it in 2024??) Thanks 4 this video

[@chitterlingsrtasty]

Oh man i loved Berzerk

[@shawnpalencia1121]

Compared to games today, well, let’s just say its more “unadaptable” 😂

[@ronmartin1375]

Ah the 80s. A better time.

[@tigheklory]

No mention of Stroker 64 on the Commodore 64?

[@TimPatrick-x5h]

Bro you sound exactly like my guild leader in WoW

[@toddkorson8207]

Sadly I remember Custers revenge. .

[@dr.options]

What about the old Commodore 64 classic "Stroker"?

[@LouieArmstrong1244]

I had chiller nes last i saw on ebay for about a $100.00 Bucks! Sold it real cheap to a guy though!

[@beckydoesit9331]

Sal the Stockbroker paid Custer's Revenge.

[@TherealHazlett]

War for Profit is The American way.

[@Alpha_Omega_1541]

Raid Over Moscow, was a great game.

[@hansoak3664]

"Westward Ho" 🤣

[@hanmatiax]

Should remaster Custer's Revenge for the PS5

[@adamshotts6097]

I remember playing the last game

[@Roger-fs5yo]

I've got chiller AND custers revenge in the original box, and they rule😎

[@wandameadows5736]

Actually things weren't "Controversial" back then like they are now. Sure you may have found an article here & there but overall no one cared. I would love to see easily triggered people from today in the 1980s & 90s.

[@josephr4761]

Honestly, if the sensitive people from today were able to even see usernames that people used to have for online games in the late 90s and early 2000s, they would have an aneurism.

[@Gypsycat19]

Chiller available on every pc through mame

[@DJKickstarter]

Bezerk reminds me of Wizard of Wor Great game and You could shoot each other in 2 player mode. Not a game I would call terrible or frightening at all.

[@TWM2975]

Calumet is pronounced kal-you-MET.

[@AlexanderWeurding]

Sooo my poker game was no problem?

[@dashcammer4322]

No "Postal"?

[@youngblood71]

OMG! I played Raid Over Moscow when I was a kid on a friend's Commodore 64! Totally forgot about it until now! Thanks!

[@とふこ]

The enix part of the square enix created some game in the 80s for NEC PC88 what is controversial nowadays in west 😂😅

[@CainNuke]

Ehhh… Germany won the total medal count back then whcih is what matters so I am pretty sure Hitler didnt care about only 4…

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

Ha, I just assumed you must be wrong but no, Germany 101 medals second USA with 57. Maybe the 100 metres was one of the only events with black athletes hence why it was seen as such a loss for wyt supremacy?

[@CainNuke]

​@@sargonsblackgrandfather2072 it was seen like that by leftists only, Hitler didnt care. Germany won the total medal count and besides, sports are not the only aspect a race must excel to be considered superior, but also science, culture, art and progress in general and in that there is simply no comparison.

[@fxausmwk5671]

Defending Hitlers feelings in a youtube comment - how triggered can you be?

[@CainNuke]

@@fxausmwk5671 how ignorant can you be?

[@commandingangel]

Cal-ewe-met city...

[@GioMarron]

6:06 That’s not Chiller I had the game for the C64 THIS was Chiller kzbin.info/www/bejne/laDIdGunh8eIrKcsi=siQwhaE2CKAynNEp

[@Davidgoldenswan]

Ooooh fun😂 never saw any of these i don't think 😅exept bezerk 😅 and I never saw evil otto i don't think 😂

[@paulpetroleum]

The re-releases of Raid over Moscow were retitled on the packaging as just RAID. I had no idea at the time, but it makes sense now.

[@TimEric4d3d3d3]

Cal-you-mette