Is it worth starting a C64 collection?

Jibbajaba

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So I’ve got this new "e-waste recycling center" by me now and I’ve been fixating on the Commodore 64. From what I can tell there’s less than 20 worthwhile games for the system so I could only go for these C-grade titles. But I’ve never played one. Anyone here super fucking amped about playing C64? Is it worth dropping around $2.00 on? I’d love to hear both sides. Weighing my pros and cons here.
 

StevenK

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Until you've built a respectable spectrum collection it would be foolish to focus on the c64.
 

Renmauzo

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Yes. Then you can review all things C64 on your channel and be the authority for those classics on Youtube.

Do it. Your channel will BLOW.UP.
 

FilthyRear

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We had a C64 when I was a kid. I could never get anything to load unless someone else typed in everything.

The version of Ghostbusters on that was awesome.
 

Thierry Henry

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2z6tidt.jpg
 

Kid Panda

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Blue Max
Bruce Lee
Kikstart
Ghostbusters
Killawatt
Airwolf
Bard's Tale
Mail Order Monsters
Pitstop II
Mountain King
Jumpman/Jr
Lode Runner
Raid Over Moscow
Beach Head II
Park Patrol
Beamrider
Railroad Tycoon

There's at least 100 great games that I know about. I wish I still had one to be honest.
 

StevenK

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Blue Max
Bruce Lee
Kikstart
Ghostbusters
Killawatt
Airwolf
Bard's Tale
Mail Order Monsters
Pitstop II
Mountain King
Jumpman/Jr
Lode Runner

There's at least 100 great games that I know about. I wish I still had one to be honest.

IK+ is superb
 

ChopstickSamurai

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Commodore 64 > Atari Jaguar. Get a 1541 Ultimate as well unless you like fucking around with old cruddy diskettes.
 

cat

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C64 was a fab micro with a shit load of great games, i had a blast with mine back in the day.
Panda's list say's it all, your missing impossible mission from it though lol, that game took over my life for a long time.
I loved the SID tunes as well, last ninja 2, turrican, giana sisters, commando, bubble bobble, arkanoid, ocean loader tunes, the list goes on and on.
Sure as hell beat the puny bleeps that came out of a speccy.
 

Kid Panda

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C64 was a fab micro with a shit load of great games, i had a blast with mine back in the day.
Panda's list say's it all, your missing impossible mission from it though lol, that game took over my life for a long time.
I loved the SID tunes as well, last ninja 2, turrican, giana sisters, commando, bubble bobble, arkanoid, ocean loader tunes, the list goes on and on.
Sure as hell beat the puny bleeps that came out of a speccy.

Oh dude, I could go on, for an 8 bit machine that thing was tops, and the US didn't even get half of the later stuff. Alot of Epyx stuff was top notch too.
 

cat

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Commodore was alway's a big company over here in the UK we loved our micro's back in the 80's panda.
 

GregN

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Had one when I was a kid. Dope system. I remember Thunder Mountain had some cool games like Yosagi Yojimbo. GI Joe was fun and so was California/Winter Games.
 

Heinz

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For $2.00? sure why not but collecting for it? no that's never a good idea.
 

GutsDozer

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C64 lives!!!
 

Takumaji

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If you're in for the games, you just gotta buy a C64, some SD cart thing, an Atari-compatible joystick or two and off ye go. Keep in mind that many games came out as PAL versions so you either need a monitor or TV that supports it or try to find NTSC-fixed versions. This can be a bit tricky because many of those fixes were done by hackers back in the day which makes them difficult to find.

There are ways of transferring ROMs to floppy disks or tapes if you want to go for the real experience. I don't have a SD cart but transfer games to floppy using a special parallel cable to connect a 1541, 1541c or 1571 floppy drive to PC and some special drivers and tools.

Finding complete games in good condition can be a pain in the ass, and if you find them, be prepared to shell out big time for some of them, that specially goes for disc versions.

Which model to buy depends on your taste. The old breadbox-style C64s look great and take up less space than the white C64II that came out later on in the 80s. The latter is easier to find and usually they are in better shape. Some of them have later revisions of the SID chip, the legendary sound chip of the Commie, which results in different filter behaviour and overall volume of some sounds. This should not be a prob if you aren't a purist but if you had a breadbox version like me for decades and then change to a C64II, you'll notice that many sound fx and the music will sound a bit odd. C64IIs are quite easy to find in good condition and boxed. You could also buy a C128 which fully supports C64 software but since there are only very few dedicated C128 programs, you won't get any more extras except for a slightly more professional-looking machine that can also run CP/M software (should you still need that in this day and age).

If you want to go the emu route first to see whether the machine is for you, get WinVICE (Vice64), it's the best of the lot.
 

theMot

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It's an old thing. Collecting old computers is even more dumb than collecting old consoles because there is so much shit that goes along with them, You really need a dedicated space for it. I had an Amiga setup about 5 years ago, used it for a few weeks then got over it. Fucked it off for a profit.
 
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jro

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There are some really serious answers in this thread.
 

CaseyTappy

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Remember to hold the reset button down on the first C64 long enough to acces the secret game that was build in !

I think it was called kaboom !
 
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Viewpoint

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Blue Max
Bruce Lee
Kikstart
Ghostbusters
Killawatt
Airwolf
Bard's Tale
Mail Order Monsters
Pitstop II
Mountain King
Jumpman/Jr
Lode Runner
Raid Over Moscow
Beach Head II
Park Patrol
Beamrider
Railroad Tycoon

There's at least 100 great games that I know about. I wish I still had one to be honest.

Space Taxi
 

Jibbajaba

Ralfredacc's Worst Nightmare
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There are some really serious answers in this thread.

Yeah. This was definitely meant as a parody thread, but I'm actually supposed to be getting a C64 here pretty soon, so the thread turned out to be rather helpful. Win-win.
 
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