Commando, Rastan, Rygar. The Gauntlet 4P cab was amazing, though, and sounded brilliant in attract mode across an arcade, it sounded so cool. Just a pity the game itself is so repetitious.
Commando was the game I found the most exciting, as a kid. It was SO cool, me n my bro used to emerge from seaside arcades feeling like army men and we'd even 'sing' the choonz.
We even pooled our paper round money together to buy the Acorn Electron version on tape.
It was more upsetting than when our grandma popped her clogs. Truly a sad, sad moment and possibly THE worst coin-op convo ever shat from a developer's bowels.
(Speccy version of the latter my fave, btw. The C64 version looks great until its brief length and overly jaunty choonage start to nark me. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautifully made bit of music but it just feels too 'bouncy' to me, even now, I just think it detracts from the cool arcade atmos. Nah, Speccy version by a mile. Even had the 'thin bullet' feel of the arcade. 64 version just felt blobby...if slick like Rick).
Rygar is my favourite here. It has fast paced action and requires quick reflexes rather than learning levels.
Gauntlet as an arcade game in 1985 with 4 players around a single machine was brilliant. It’s not really stood the test of time but I still enjoy it (currently on MiSTer FPGA)
Buggy Boy is my last choice. I did play the 3 screen arcade a bit but I mostly played it on the c64 - great fun.
Honourable mention to Rastan just for the Zuntata music.
Buggy Boy is my last choice. I did play the 3 screen arcade a bit but I mostly played it on the c64 - great fun.
I don't think it was a very common coin-op, but I managed to play it a few times. As much as I enjoyed the Amiga port, the C64 version is better. It's still one of my go-to C64 games.
I do enjoy these, Leon. Stirs up some right memories!
The Buggy Boy cab had that sweet triple screen setup.
I never really played it, back in the day.
I confuse Rygar and his yo-yo and Black Tiger. The latter was one of the challenges faced in Ready Player One!
I'm going with Commando. Always liked the look of it, but it was too tough as a kid and your 10p never lasted long.
Played it at one of those retro shows about 5 years ago and got hooked. I really enjoyed it.
I loved how the trees flexed at the start as the downdraft from da choppah drops you off.
Rygar is my second choice. Proper chunky sprites and the way he swings the sword if proper Conan.
Great soundtrack too.
Going to go with Gauntlet as my last choice. It's so iconic and it's a great dungeon crawler too.
Mate, COMMANDO still is brill!!!! Total, twitchy Capcom classic, gameplay is so pure.
Sadly, me n' my bro's attentions were soon seduced by IKARI WARRIORS...
...if you weren't around at the time, you'd never realise how cool that game was, especially if one had a sibling. 2P COMMANDO-style action with rotatable joysticks that allowed for fully-360 degree shooting.
Sadly, me n' my bro's attentions were soon seduced by IKARI WARRIORS...
Ikari Warriors felt like an 80s action movie, where some musclebound guy would be a one-man army. Being able to get in a tank and go on the rampage was really exciting back then. I loved it on the Amstrad and then the Amiga.
My votes:
Gauntlet: I would agree that it feels very repetitive after a while, but I just love the old school D&D vibe and brilliant overall design. It's such an iconic game that fills me with nostalgia whenever I return to it.
Rygar: The ultra slick gameplay and beautiful pixel art make this a very compelling action game. The music and sound effects are also memorable. A golden classic.
Commando: It may be quite a simple game, but every aspect of the design is well crafted. The combination of attractive graphics and tight gameplay always make this a fun game to come back to.
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