Zzap 64 Top 100 C64 Games Of All Time (In Ten Minutes)

The best 100 games on the Commodore 64 according to the editors of Commodore Force / Zzap 64 magazine.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

You can read the full article (scans) here: www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=101&page=020&magazine=zzap

[@GKitz211]

Winter Games, World Games, Summer Games and California Games. Bard's Tale 3, Ultima 4 Space Taxi M.U.L.E. Hanse, Kaiser Pirates, Zak McKracken Soccer 64, Gunship, Delta, Mikie, Commando The list of awesome games, way better than most of the games in this list and missing, is endless...

[@andyasidoryk7422]

Where da fuck was summer games 2??

[@becomeanolive1637]

Aztec, Castle Wolfenstein, Dino Eggs, there are so many more games to show

[@MephProduction]

those 'games' games were shit

[@donkeykongisytpooping3002]

MephProduction Explain.

[@Virtualblueart]

I'm so glad I got myself the new full size version of the C64 so I can replay the games I grew up with.

[@KymyA74]

at 08:52 ... it's PARADROID not WIZBALL! Great works, in any case

[@dietfried2]

no raid over moscow, no raid on bungeling bay, no delta, no last ninja 2, no castle of terror, no ace of aces, no track & field, no winter games, no impossible mission... this list is absolutely laughable!!!

[@thomassmith4999]

Those are always in the typical American list. Good games.. but nothing on the stuff they had in the PAL territories

[@becomeanolive1637]

You are right, this list has left a ton of stuff out, no Castle Wolfenstein, no Aztec, No Dino Eggs... and much much more...

[@satan3959]

Mercenary was one of the few games where vector graphics were actually done right on the C64

[@tamastabi3182]

It is my favourite as one of the first open 3D games ever.

[@Cerulean0987]

Zork, Enchanter, Planetfall, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Archon, M.U.L.E., Loderunner, Jumpman, Strip Poker, GI Joe, Burgertime, Miner 49er, Swinth, Defender of the Crown, Tutenkamen (sp?), Time Pilot, Crystal Castles, Wasteland, etc.

[@lordevyl8317]

Time Pilot was NEVER officially released on the C64. There was a clone called Space Pilot, but there was never an official Time Pilot port

[@Punko1969]

@Rooflesoft Games Almost all C-64 games had shit graphics by even 8-bit standards. Archon is still a fantastic playing game, and the first 4 he mentioned were text adventures. What of it? They were all great.

[@eastendwideboy]

Where is airborne ranger????

[@ModernRetroGaming1972]

No Pirates, no Wasteland, no MULE... who the hell made this list?

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Zzap 64 was a very popular Commodore 64 magazine in Europe in the mid-to-late 80s. It eventually became another magazine called Commodore Force before disappearing altogether. In one of their last issues, they published a list of what they deemed to be their top 100 C64 games at the time, and these are the titles reflected here. There are definitely some odd choices on this list and some even more mind-boggling omissions, as you've pointed out. Maybe it's fitting that Commodore Force didn't last. :)

[@ModernRetroGaming1972]

Definitely some mind boggling omissions LOL

[@storcutt72]

Pirates! and wasteland are top five all time without question.

[@stefanwacht4670]

And Frankie goes To Hollywood is number 1?!

[@Wacholder]

@carruthers100 Zzap was an UK (!) magazine. That doesn´t make it THE European C64 magazine, and it´s certainly not the best. There are lots of other magazines in other EU countries, esp. in Germany. "Happy Computer", "Power Play" and the dedicated "64er" are a more objective source when it comes to game reviews...

[@bigmaxy07]

I remember the day in 1984 I got my C64 from Dick Smith Electronics in North Ryde, Sydney. It;s gone now but totally remember mum buying it for me. And that was it for me for the next 4 decades.

[@dracandros]

👍 ✨

[@bombjack1984]

No Game A, B or C?!? The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Americans - note that Zzap! 64 was a UK magazine reviewing UK released games, we didn't get a lot of the games released in the US, the same way you didn't get a lot of these 'obscure' games that we're very familiar with!

[@Whykickamoocow]

Some awesome old games. Thanks for the trip down memory lane

[@lustisnotlove6226]

Beginning of the golden era

[@Hounddoggy33]

Nice list! Here are some that would be in my top 100: Jumpman/Jumpman Junior Frantic Freddie Trolls & Tribulations Impossible Mission Into The Eagle's Nest Beach-Head Raid on Bungeling Bay Archon Summer Games Sword of Fargoal Lode Runner Castle Wolfenstein

[@DCHurlford1]

I remember they only gave Stavros Fasoulas's Delta an ok 74%. I thought it was a brilliant side scrolling shoot-em-up with a fantastic score by the maestro Rob Hubbard.

[@stevensmith5691]

so many good games totally missing, no wonder that mag went down the toilet

[@andyfrid6964]

no way! I remember zzap 64.

[@davidconnelly]

Brilliant. Takes me back.

[@PanMouse]

Uridium, Alley Cat, Morpheous, Thing on a spring, Druid, Wanted...Monty Mole, Mercenry 2 (forgotten the name), Gribblys Day out, Anything by Jeff Minter,(IE Attack of the mutant camels), Firelord, Sanxxion...im sure there are more. The first 6 or 7 on this list were 90%+ rated in ZZAP64

[@Zefrem23]

Mercenary: The Second City

[@obsoleteworlds]

Just to point out that you've used a video of 'Ramparts' the medieval clone of Rampage, which, while a fun game doesn't seem to be the same game as 'Rampart' which is the tactical castle defense game that I think the magazine appears to be describing. It's the magazines fault as they have used the wrong title in their article!

[@blixen1974]

no Defender of the Crown?

[@juiceter3981]

Better on the 64 than it was on the amiga.

[@rw3562]

Spy vs spy?! What of spirit of the stones? Superb game. Friend had it on cartridge, now rare as hens teeth.

[@catinabox2878]

Zzap 64 usually know what they are talking about but they missed out on some classics. Commando, Uridium, Thrust, Beach head 3, Impossible Mission, Terra Cresta, Zoids, Yie Ar Kung fu, Leaderboard, Spy vs Spy and Spy Hunter to name but a few.

[@andyasidoryk7422]

Spy v Spy,definitely top 10

[@speedsterh]

You are spot on my friend. You're a man of taste

[@dr.k.vogel.]

Damn right - how can Uridium and Thrust not be on their list?! (or Dropzone, or Thing on a Spring!)

[@KaufmansCurse]

I dont understand this list... There's tons of zzap 64 gold medals missing? Games over 96% in the mag - including ballblazer, koronis rift, summer games II, california games, world games, scarabeus, hunter's moon, alter ego and more... dont understand how you've compiled it if these are't here?

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Please read top pinned comment which shows link to article.

[@KaufmansCurse]

@@GaryRetroGamer Wow - I was out of the scene by the time Computer Force was about, but that's still a really odd list to me... Nevermind, at least I now know. that would have had me scratching my head for a while without your reply! Thanks for the heads up.

[@richardhead8264]

_Ahh those unsaturated colors!_

[@MephProduction]

better than colour clash

[@speedsterh]

@@MephProduction I onwed a Spectrum before so I know what you mean :)

[@jellyboy123]

39th last ninja 2 give me a brake that game should be in the top 10. There was loads games on the c64 so i would imagine a few people be disappointed not seeing their game.

[@RetroGameguy]

Some absolute classic games here, always thought Zzap 64 was the best magazine by a long way

[@KaufmansCurse]

Amazing mag. Built my whole games collection around their reviews and they were absolutely bang on each time. I'd have wasted so much money on duds without them. They were like financial advisers for how to spend my precious pocket money each month :-)))))

[@DCHurlford1]

The cover artwork by Ollie Frey was always superb and atmospheric.

[@mushroom4051]

Still got most my zzap64 mags

[@emac8381]

I used to purchase Zzap64 every month as a kid. I think buggy boy should have been higher, the c64 had very few good racers but that nailed it. And Target Renegade was a game I personally loved on c64, plus I enjoyed as I remember Robocop 3 and renegade 3 on cartridge for the c64! very few came out but as a kid I saved and played them.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Totally. Buggy Boy was an amazing conversion. Here's some trivia for you - if you didn't already know - the developer who did the Buggy Boy C64 version was Dave Thomas - who also worked on all the various Ultimate: Play the Game adventures (Entombed, Staff of Karnath, etc) . An impressive coder!

[@emac8381]

Gary Ng no Myth or cybernoid 1 or 2. The c64 had many great games and I'm glad Bruce Lee made it on the list, budget title as I remember but many fun hours trying to beat it :-).

[@komodosp]

Would be interested in how it compares with Commodore Format's top 100 or YC (though YC didn't last as long so a lot of games would prob be missing) Edit: Oh I just read it's related to the article, I thought you compiled a list based on their review scores.

[@3622Dave]

Not sure I agree with 100 to 2, however Frankie is my favourite C64 game of all time so I'm happy with this list! :)

[@Simon0]

i hate that damn game. It was way too hard. i just ended up wandering around aimlessly not knowing what to do.

[@RaptureMusicOfficial]

Many great C64 games, thanks for this awesome video!

[@lordlucan3335]

You had Wizball twice instead of Paradroid :P. Strange thing about this list though, I remember some of these games getting poor reviews in Zzap64. Nice video all the same.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Lord Lucan ACK!!!! Good catch there, Lord Lucan. Looks like there are more mistakes here in than I thought. In any case, these top 100 were actually collected in an issue of Commodore Force, which is what Zzap 64 transmogrified into in the early 90s. I remember thinking the same as you - some of these are downright stinkers in the Zzap64 review. But, Commodore Force is what it is. Thanks for the catch!

[@VeliborNikolic222]

Of course everybody has it`s own opinion and this is a good list indeed. I would add these games personally: Commando (I was really surprised not seeing this) Giana Sisters (same here) Jack The Nipper II (amazing platformer) Solomons Key (the most balanced game ever) Led Storm (realy fast and high quality game) Zorro (very "holistic" type of adventure) Blue Max (also very fast and cleverly balanced game) Dragon Breed (high quality, great action) Summer Camp (before Noby The Aardvark in my opinion) Yogi Bear (similar with Zorro, quite good adventure) Pacmania (superfast) thats all for now :)

[@andrewdemetrius8090]

Head Over Heels ;-) my all time favourite

[@benw834]

My favourite as well. What a magical, surreal game, so very unique. Second favourite would have to be Wizball with that awesome electric guitar riff when you die and the wicked intro music.

[@Simon0]

Agreed. Awesome

[@indiefan23]

Impossible Mission is criminally missing.

[@TierreUlrich]

motor massacre, AD&D series, Ultimate Wizard, Racing Destruction, BAAL, Dino Eggs, Space Taxi, Battletech, Archon, Zak McKracken, many others not in this list that should be.

[@jamesavery3559]

great vid many thank's

[@rickyhaggerty6159]

Wow, good few games i totally forgot about! Nice 👍

[@chrish6734]

no new Zealand story? no qdex? no sanxxion?

[@darrenpearn6356]

Where's my beloved Space Rogue?

[@rushmore3927]

There are many C64 games better than a lot of this top 100. I remember getting Zzap 64s first magazine release from a convenience store in St. John's Wood. Went every month there for a year until left the area.

[@qewe9648]

Target Renegade? Impossible mission?

[@georgesomeone7725]

BlackHawk was by far the best vertical scrolling shooter on the C64 IMO, no one seems to have heard of it. Zybex was a nice horizontal scroller, but also obscure. Battalion Commander was a pretty amazing RTS. Surprised Dropzone didn't make the Zzap list, but glad to see Enigma Force make an apperance. I used to read Zzap 64 when I was a kid :)

[@RaptureMusicOfficial]

Black Hawk was the first game I saw at xmas 1984, when we got our C64!

[@satan3959]

I love Zzap, but they weren't always right. I feel there are some games that they highly underrated, like Paperboy

[@luigicarroli8720]

Impossible Mission?

[@adroharv9213]

Frankie is a very good experience especially if you aren't the sort that relies on quick saves to cheapen things

[@gabrielegebbia8586]

Hello, someone can you tell me the name of the video game for commodore 64, where you used a toy car, I think white, and you had to save a female car? There was the possibility to literally build the picture of your choice, putting stairs, bridges, etc. But I do not completely remember the name. Thanks to anyone who answers me @gary

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with this one :( Maybe some other viewer has an idea?

[@gabrielegebbia8586]

@@GaryRetroGamer i will ask THX :)

[@MrLondonGo]

Great choice as number #1

[@minnesotajames1]

No Raid On Bungling Bay? Come on you even left out Impossible Mission.

[@edcampion3998]

No impossible mission

[@BonnieMan42]

Odd that there's Llamasoft or Epyx. This isn't what I'd expect from a Zzap64 top 100, was Commodore Force a different publication?

[@Nickbaldeagle02]

No Gridrunner, Matrix, Fort Apocalypse, Monty Mole, Beach Head, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Revenge Of The Mutant Camels? Go away.

[@mopssamson7191]

No Epyx?? Ridiculous list with too many obscure titles...

[@timhaskett1733]

Mops Samson also no Activision, no Arcon 1 or 2, the soccer games both suck. Where is pit stop 2 or racing destruction set or mail order monsters".........sorry ridiculous list

[@speedsterh]

I always associated the C64 with Epyx... and this list doesn't mention any game from them, really ????

[@jumhed994]

Lords of Midnight?

[@soulblazerz]

The Nobby The Aardvark music sounds like Bonk's Adventure's bonus stages.

[@ozgurkarter4368]

well, not the c64 I know I guess. You know the one with last ninja 2 pirates lode runner defender of the crown supremacy etc?

[@gerrydonohoe]

Why are Uridium and Paradroid not on this list?

[@Simon0]

4:32 - lol that guy is just as bad at golf as i am! damn i used to hate frankie goes to Hollywood. Was just way too hard to finish. What a nightmare.

[@madcommodore]

The ZZAP!64 Top 64 printed in issue 1 of ZZAP! with the thoughts of Julian and Gary Penn is a great list too.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

YES! I completely forgot about that! thanks for reminding me - this may be an upcoming video...

[@PontusBerg]

A list such as this is subjective and 100 is a fraction of all faves releases, which means that the favourite of some will not be there. And spots will be taken by games one do not care about. The spectrum looking games I never cared much about, and I do miss the Epyx games, Spy vs Spy and Alternate Reality - The Dungeon. But overall a nice attempt. It does cover many of the really good ones.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

So, I never actually played the Alternate Reality games because there were some not-so-pleasing critical reviews; however, they always looked amazing. I'm assuming you played both; what made you choose The Dungeon over The City?

[@BroqHans]

Psycho Pigs UXB! Totally underrated game. Had hours of fun whacking bombs around. Horrible bugs and music but great fun.

[@robertoricci3393]

Project Firestart? The game was ahead for its time

[@ubiased23]

No Draconus, Ninja, Zybex?

[@mathewdeering]

FYI, anyone who cares: #14 was Paradroid, not Wizball.

[@ivaerak]

Glad that Stunt Car Racer was so high in the list. To this day one of the best 3d racing simulatuons. I even have save file on my floppy where I beat the entire game. However, I cannot believe Stormlord is not on the list yet plenty of shite games are.

[@nathanhobson1142]

Stunt Car Racer was the c64's swansong imo. I played it to death at about 15 years old.

[@kokoda2453]

memories thanx

[@halo7499]

41.supremacy :) not supermacy . great list .

[@star_man]

Number 14 is mislabelled it should say "Paradroid"

[@februarystars1976]

In a top 100 i would have Commando Paperboy Who dares win Lode runner Winter games Summer games California games World games Krakout Defender of the crown Led storm Uridium Burger time Spy hunter Impossible mission grog's revenge Spy vs spy Double dragon

[@rosmayanti6478]

Perhaps, this game was being old in 1980's in commodore64

[@CapuletPoeChannel]

Agent USA, Impossible Mission, Choplifter, Tapper, H E R O, Marble Madness, Ultima, Karateka, Gorf, Q Bert, ...

[@jobsgarage]

So the best videogame for the Commodore 64 is Frankie Goes to Hollywood?

[@andyasidoryk7422]

Gobshite.Who devised this list?

[@februarystars1976]

Some of my favourites were missing - and dont really agree a whole lot with the ranking of the games on this list - but nice list anyway :-)

[@NSG_UK]

Shame no Fireant or icicle works, loved buggy boy and wizboy.

[@darkpain1069]

Kick off!

[@sverr0r]

No Delta? Pft!

[@eastendwideboy]

Just the music alone....

[@Simon0]

great game.. hard game.. but you know what was amazing about delta? That phenomenal loading screen where you choose the music!

[@staggabob]

Psycho Pigs UXB isn't worth a top 100 spot but that double page advert they ran in Zzap64 probably is. You can still find it on google...

[@GaryRetroGamer]

I REMEMBER THAT! Hard to forget, really. That and the advert for Game Over by Dynamic. Good times!

[@djackmanson]

"Supermacy" is Fargo but he gets away with it

[@thomashoskins8817]

8:49 14: Paradroid not Wizball :)

[@mp3ste1]

i see what you did, you scamp, you. you mixed up number 99 up with number 1. tut, what ya like.

[@Lagib28]

If an American magazine like Compute's Gazette or Ahoy had made such a list, it would have looked very, very different.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Totally agree. I've actually been looking through back issues of Ahoy and Computer Gaming World for a similar "top 100" list and I can't find one. If you know of any, please let me know! It is interesting to note that many top rated games (many examples in this video) in Europe would actually be viewed as quite terrible in North America. This sort of intercontinental taste difference is something unique to the C64 platform, I think.

[@Lagib28]

I'm not aware of any such lists, but if I run across one, I'll let you know. The other major US Commodore magazine was called Run. That's another possible source. I think a big determining factor in the possible differences between the lists would be the fact that the majority of North American Commodore users had a disk drive, which allowed much richer content than a cassette-loaded game ever could.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Yeah, absolutely. The disk drive made all the difference - I guess it almost made it an entirely different platform. With no disrespect to the European coders (there were some fabulous ones!), there did seem to be generally more sophisticated product coming out of North America. Disk drive allowing, of course. I myself only had a tape deck. Never could afford a disk drive. But at various points in my life, I grew up in both Europe and North America, so it was interesting to see the differences.

[@P5BDeluxeWiFi]

Which is more "sophisticated" Mayhem In Monsterland or Zak McKracken, Turrican II or Wasteland? ALL of the best C64 game coders were European.

[@lordevyl8317]

+This Name Was Available! Indeed they were. There was the odd exception (The US version of Street Fighter) but for every Street Fighter there were like 10 Bionic Commandos where the European version was FAR more superior. The US version of Bionic Commando SUCKED, and here in Canada, sadly that was the version we had. I eventually managed to play the European version via VICE, but that's still not the same as playing it on an actual C64.

[@natloz760305]

No P. P. Hammer, Seven eleven, Lazy Jones, Usagi 100%, Tiger Mission, Prince of Persia, Sokoban?

[@theyamo7219]

The c64 version of Prince of Persia was a FANMADE game that came out in 2011. LONG after the C64's life...smh. It was not an official port

[@edcampion3998]

No. commando?

[@MephProduction]

love zap, but their scores were mostly wrong

[@claroquesi9896]

Where is River Raid ???????????????????

[@rimbaud0000]

Enigma Force lol

[@marcinl4396]

hmm vector game 4:35

[@AudieHolland]

Isn't "Pirates!" in the list? That's the most perfect game ever.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

I would have thought so too - but sadly, it isn't. Here's the list (that someone transcribed from the magazine) - www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48668&sid=aa9333abbbab5517c43c403ea616bcff - as you can see, no Pirates :(

[@AudieHolland]

Gary Ng Ah well. Zzap 64 sucked anyway. My magazine was Commodore User.

[@glemonsbhatkin514]

14. Paradroid, not Wizball.

[@waynelarbalestier]

What about Robocop I quite enjoyed that

[@Chalky.]

Midnight Resistance should be much higher than #44

[@grahamreid6418]

Bombjack Emlyn Hughes International Soccer Ghostbusters

[@ccmusicfactory8963]

Uridium?? Delta??? Druid????

[@PanMouse]

Druid...wow Id forgotten that! AWESOME game

[@dr.ignacioglez.9677]

I LOVE C64 👍🥂🎩

[@richardwhitehead6966]

When Psycho Pigs UXB is on the list, i know it is a BS list of best games. The game was probably better known for its ad.

[@tazzatamania]

Kokotoni Wilf? Ye Ar Kung Fu?

[@speedsterh]

I liked Yie ar King Fu but any one of Way of the Exploding Fist/ International Karate/IK+ was better

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Ah b*llocks. I made one mistake...and it's too much of a royal pain to re-make and remaster this one. I'm hoping nobody notices...

[@Ukuleleobrade]

Supermacy? :)

[@garyng9016]

Ukulele obrade ARRGGH. DOUBLE BOLLOCKS. Two mistakes. There now *two* mistakes in this vid. Thanks for catching that, Ukulele :)

[@Ukuleleobrade]

Well, look at the bright side, I didn't catch the one you were thinking of. Lol

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Ukulele obrade Ha ha .... yeah, forget what I said earlier and let's just say that was *the* one mistake was the one you found. :)

[@Ukuleleobrade]

Hahaha, ok, now I have to watch the video again and find the other mistake (or mistakeS?)... :)

[@theyamo7219]

Bionic Commando was a good game as long as you had the European version. The US conversion sucked ass. It was glitchy, the controls were ackward, thus ruining the gameplay.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Excellent point! There were a few C64 titles that had the whole US vs. European developer thing going on (e.g. Afterburner, Street Fighter, etc ) and I believe for the most part (not always), the European versions came out on top. I always found the biggest disparity was Aliens. The UK vs. the US version were too completely different games. I'll let the gamers reading this decide which one was better.

[@davelister1]

Most of these were on the spectrum first and the C64 game firsts were like nobo park patrol ! The sentinel ? what console did that first appear on ? cause I played it to death like a free whore !

[@GaryRetroGamer]

+Dave Lister I think The Sentinel was on the BBC Electron first