ZX Spectrum vs. Amstrad CPC - 8 games from 1987

Hello and welcome to the fourth episode of ZX Spectrum versus Amstrad CPC games.
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 Exolon, Head over Heels, Jack The Nipper 2 and more.
Thanks for watching and let me know in the comments section below who "wins".
And, of course, see you in the next RetroNoName episode

[@EnjoySynthSounds]

That Exolon is a criminally frustrating game to play, but has great looks on both machines.

[@retrononame]

I loved Exolon on ZX Spectrum back in the 80s and played it a lot. Never finished it though.

[@Plan-C]

Had a CPC6128. Thanks for the memories.

[@retrononame]

Thank you for watching the video. I'm glad it brought back memories. Stay around - much more CPC content to come soon.

[@davidfernandezsabio3844]

In terms of color palette the Cpc wins over the Speccy in general altough some games didn't use that properly.

[@gipgap4]

Jack the Nipper 2 should’ve been done with Amstrads Mode 0 graphics mode with 16 colours. They chose Mode 1 instead which can only display 4 colours but closely matches the spectrum’s resolution.

[@retrononame]

As I written in response to one other comment. Here are my (personal) preferences for these games. 1. Exolon - I prefer the Spectrum version. A bit more smoother to play IMO. 2. Bomb Jack 2 - CPC palette is better, but I think Speccy version plays better. 3. Renegade - CPC version is better 4. Arkanoid - Speccy version (again) plays better. I don't know if it was the emulator (though I doubt it) but CPC version got lots of little "slow downs" when there are multiple sprites on the screen. 5. Freddy Hardest - CPC wins here. 6. Auf Wiedersehen Monty - Speccy wins here for me as well. 7. Jack The Nipper 2 - Spectrum version better IMO. 8. Head Over Heels - this one is a tie for me. Can't really say which one is better.

[@retrononame]

100% agree. They should've used the 16 color mode.

[@ivarfiske1913]

​@@gipgap4The Amstrad 4 colour mode, that is mode 1, has 320*200 pixels in 4 colour. The Spectrum has lower resolution, 256*192 pixel in 15 colours I believe. The placement of colours are free on the CPC. On the Spectrum the colour placement is seriously restricted. One colour per 8*8 block, it gives the machine colourclash. Actually Even the C64 has problems with colour placement

[@PooperScooperTrooper]

Why does Bomb Jack II even exist? It was such a terrible let down of a game, coming after such a great original port.

[@retrononame]

I actually like it and played it a lot on the Speccy in the 80-s :)

[@axonis2306]

I formatted my diskette twice to make sure it was gone

[@dennyhaynes3]

Great video again thanks 🙂 1.Exolon, great on both but prefer the CPC pallette. 2.Bombjack 2, CPC pallette wins. 3.Renegade, both fantastic conversions but the CPC colour palette wins it for me. Probably one of the best games on the system. 4.Arkanoid, again CPC wins with the colour palette and the sound is spot on like the arcade. 5.Freddy Hardest, CPC pallette wins again. 6.Auf Wiedersehen Monty, much prefer the Spectrum colour palette. 7.Jack the nipper 2, again much prefer the Spectrum colour palette. 8.Head over heels, again I much prefer the monochrome colour palette of the Spectrum.

[@gipgap4]

Hard disagree on Head over Heels. Looks so much better in the CPC’s mode 1 graphics, even with just four colours. It’s easily the best 8 bit version.

[@retrononame]

Thanks! My (personal) preferences are as follows 1. I prefer the Spectrum version. A bit more smoother to play IMO. 2. Again, CPC palette is better, but I think Speccy version plays better. 3. Agree 4. For me, Speccy version (again) plays better. I don't know if it was the emulator (though I doubt it) but CPC version got lots of little "slow downs" when there are multiple sprites on the screen. 5. Agree. CPC wins here. 6. Speccy wins here for me as well. 7. Again, agreed. 8. This one is a tie for me. Can't really say which one is better. Thanks again for watching. These episodes of ZX vs. CPC don't have a lot of views (comparing to C64 content) but I do like creating these, as I never had a chance to play with CPC back in the 80-s and so I always find something interesting and new when I make these.

[@dennyhaynes3]

@@retrononame To be honest i'm finding some gems on the CPC, i'm happy to keep watching them :)

[@dennyhaynes3]

@@gipgap4 Yeah just comes down to my personal preference but it's a good one alright :)

[@retrononame]

I'm glad you like these. I'm planing to follow this up with full "Top Amstrad CPC games" for each year (like I did for C64 and Speccy) in a near future.

[@tofik5939]

👍👍

[@Ah-ed6ie]

Exelon speccy was good

[@retrononame]

One of my favourite games in the 80s!

[@Ah-ed6ie]

I pronounced it how I used to say it when I was a kid sorry lol it was that, treasure Island dizzy and target renegade.

[@davidhall7648]

Amstrad 8, Speccy 0, next humiliate the C64 owners 😂😂😂

[@minduton]

I prefer ZXS graphics. Maybe weaker color capabilities, but significantly higher resolution.

[@renaudg]

The Amstrad had modes with better resolution than the ZX and no colour clash.

[@berarma]

You chose games without scroll and the only one that has takes only a small scrolling area. The Amstrad could use more colors but with a lower resolution, and since both computers had the same CPU at the same speed, the Amstrad was slower moving graphics in color mode because it had to move more bytes. Games with many things moving on screen or large scrolling areas suffered on the Amstrad although they looked more colorful. And for that reason some games resort to using less colors or simplified/smaller graphics in order to have a decent gameplay speed. Conversions from the ZX Spectrum were sometimes hard to do since they were already squeezing all the power of the original machine and the Amstrad couldn't do the same while needing more power to move graphics. They'd have to remake the game with smaller/simpler graphics, remove gameplay features or simply let it run slower and less responsive. I'm not saying one was better than the other, both had it's weaknesses and this video isn't good at showing it.

[@retrononame]

I just choose games that are at least somehow known and published on both systems. These series are not meant as a "hardcore battle of systems". It's meant more like an exploration how the same game looked and played on different systems. Just a bit of fun really. Otherwise, I agree with you, both systems were great with some strengths and some weaknesses. Thanks for watching!

[@trocoloco]

problem of CPCs is moving all that data for scrolling it's very demanding, if only they used more CRTC chip for that in the comercial era...Just check homembrew games nowadays, is a whole different story. Some games that use it for scroll Edge Grinder, Relentless, Sub Hunter, Pinball Dreams, Red Sunset

[@obregr]

br zakaj ampak specy grafika je lepša

[@mariajosemota1050]

Dithering makes the ZX Spectrum charming. ▪️▫️🚥▪️◽