To celebrate August being C64 Month, we’re writing about a different Commodore 64 game every day! Start from the beginning here!

Through this series of blog posts I’ve made a conscious effort to not write about licensed games – games that have their source material in another medium or format. Well, I’m breaking this a bit by writing about The Young Ones, which is a very original game about a TV show.

I loved The Young Ones on TV. That show was a revelation. It was loud, it was needlessly violent, and it was just plain odd. It introduced me to surrealism and slapstick and the sound of Madness. I adored Alexei Sayle. There was a fat guy on TV and people were laughing at his jokes. I was a fat kid not on TV and I wanted so very much for people to laugh at my jokes!

So then I found that there was a Young Ones game on the Commodore 64. Talk about a winning combination, right?

WRONG. The game is more boring than playing Monopoly and wondering what it would be like if you were playing with real money. It’s a game where the four main protagonist wander aimlessly around the house picking up, putting down and talking about all the objects they find. That’s pretty much it. I guess there was a thing you had to do with the items but I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. I didn’t want this! I wanted a game where you could smack Rick in the head with a cricket bat. Now that’s entertainment.

However, I learned a valuable lesson – never assume a game is good because you liked the license. Take that, fascists!

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To celebrate August being C64 Month, we’re writing about a different Commodore 64 game every day! Start from the beginning here!

There was no way I could write about the Commodore 64 games that I love the most and not write about Wizball. Wizball is my favourite video game of all time ever and forever amen.

Wizball is staggeringly original, completely odd and written by three people who just kind of made it all up as they went along. It’s the kind of game that represents the independent, irreverent spirit that makes the Commodore 64 great.

I’ve spent countless hours in Wizball, enjoying the fluid controls, the tense shooting, the relaxing colour collecting and the absolute nutso transition screen that throws enemies at you like no tomorrow and is backed with some of the best music the C64’s SID chip ever mustered. And straight up, 30 years on, the game simply doesn’t get old. It’s still a fresh, enticing experience.

I don’t know how else to put it – if there’s any title that demonstrates what a unique and fun hobby playing Commodore 64 games is, this is it. I truly do love it to bits and I hope you do too.

If you like posts like this, and want to help me make more, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Only $1 a month gets you comics, posts and behind the scenes goodies!

To celebrate August being C64 Month, we’re writing about a different Commodore 64 game every day! Start from the beginning here!

I guess the full title of this game is Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo, but I already used the “S” spot on Shoot ‘Em Up Construction Kit and everyone just calls this game “Usagi Yojimbo” anyway AND this is my site AND you’re not my real dad anyway so NYAH.

The game values Karma more than anything else. You earn Karma by respecting your elders, being polite to people and even giving money to the poor. Attack an innocent and Usagi is overcome with so much shame that he commits seppuku on screen.

It’s the little touches that I always remember Usagi for, like how you can stop at little villages and eat some rice to replenish your health, and just watch the innkeepers mill about the place. The game has such a solid sense of being in a world that I love exploring the game’s locations and just taking in the ambience.

It’s not a fast-paced hack ‘em up but that’s exactly why I think this game is worth your time. Go check it out now (and then head out to your local comic shop later) 🙂

If you like posts like this, and want to help me make more, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Only $1 a month gets you comics, posts and behind the scenes goodies!