Spectrum Days - retro games and movies

In a previous podcast we had a feeling that Commando (the arcade hit and excellent ZX Spectrum conversion) and Rambo were basically the same game, well, that's what our memories of 80´s gaming were telling us!Surely they were both Shoot 'em ups? In this episode we played both games and few others in the same gaming genre to see if we still felt they were "the same game". Do you remember Ikari Warriors in the arcade or did you have it on a home computer or console? Maybe on the Commodore 65 or the Amstrad? Did you play Secret Command on the Sega Master System?Please like, subscribe and share to help us out.Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why? Just why did they make Wanted Monty Mole so hard? Listen to Phil and Chris discuss this retro gaming classic by Gremlin Graphics on the ZX Spectrum. It also came out on the Commodore 64.It has just been released on Nintendo Switch and is also available on Steam thanks to Pixel Games UK (https://pixelgames.uk/).Other titles in the series include...Monty is InnocentMonty on the RunAuf Wiedersehen Monty Moley ChristmasImpossamole Please like, subscribe and share to help us out.Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you are a PC gamer or a console gamer, we want to know, are games just too long now? Games only lasted about 20 minutes back in the days of the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, now they can last for hundreds of hours! Games like Zelda and the Witcher, massive sprawling sandbox style adventure games, role playing games, not to mention the almost infinite quality of online gaming like GTA. Is it that us middle aged people just haven't the time or energy to start a game with that much content? Or maybe games are better value now than they ever have been? Let us know your thoughts.Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yippee Ki-Yay Muddy Funksters it's Christmas Time!!Can you think of a better way to enjoy Christmas than listening to two old guys trying to figure out why they can't remember Die Hard?Well, here you go, our gift to you, us trying to remember Die Hard, then we watch it and share our thoughts on it now. Is it as good as it was back then? Is it as good as… the book?Let us know if you watch Die Hard over Christmas - it is a Christmas movie, after all.Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Using expert knowledge and superlative memory recall, we look at the top 30 ZX Spectrum games we were all buying or being given by Santa for Christmas 1985.Did you get any of these retro gaming treasures?Which ones were actually any good?What would your top 30 look like from that time? Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can I play with madness? How about some Chaos?This week we look at Julian Gollop's massive Sinclair hit, the same guy that brought us Rebelstar, Laser Squad (which we enjoyed on the Amiga) and X-Com. Some would say he was the king of turn-based type games. Does Chaos live up to our memories?Would we rather play D&D or any other Games Workshop table top game?Do you remember playing this one? Did it ever come out on the Commodore 64? Want to play along?Here is a link so you can:https://torinak.com/qaop/play/chaos Here is Chaos Reborn onSteam:https://store.steampowered.com/app/319050/Chaos_Reborn/If you want to play the original with a friend who isn't close enough to cozy on up to your Speccy, try Stephen Smith's play by email version:https://stephensmith.itch.io/complete-mayhemFollow Stephen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephencsmithSign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you remember the first time you watched Robocop? Did your mum or dad rent it out on VHS for you? Or were you not allowed to watch it back in the day? If you watch it today, does it still hold up?Join Phil and Chris as we try to remember this classic, then we discuss what we think of it after watching it again, so 30 years or so since the first time.Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was the first ever Mortal Kombat a Flawless Victory or are your memories deceiving you?In this episode Phil and Chris try to remember playing Mortal Kombat back on the Sega Megadrive / Genesis, and the Super Nintendo. It was amazing right? Realistic digitized sprites, martial arts action, special “fatality” moves, blood, gore… must still be amazing!! Tune in to find out how these two old men remember it and what they think of it now when they play it once again!Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you remember buying games back in the 80s and 90s? What was your local games shop like? Did you browse the shelves of the big shops like Menzies and WH Smiths? Or were you lucky enough to have a small independent games shop in your town?Was it more fun buying games in a box in a real shop than ordering them online or downloading a digital version?Do you get all your games on Steam and other digital stores now? Do you miss the experience of going to the games shop, or do you still have a games shop close to home you visit? Let us know!Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we react to the official trailers to both consoles - the Atari 2600+ and Atari Gamestation Pro. We talk joysticks, paddles and the ability to use your old Atari carts.Did you have an Atari back in the day, or did you laugh at your friends who did as you enjoyed your ZX Spectrum?Why does everything have to have LED lights in them now?Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we look back at Street Fighter 2! Can you remember what it was like when it first came out in the Arcade? Or did you first see it on a home console like the SNES or the Sega Mega Drive? Did you ever play it on the Commodore Amiga? Have you seen the ZX Spectrum fan made version? Are you still playing it on the Nintendo Switch?Who taught you how to throw your first Hadoken?Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for this BONUS episode where we discuss the Nintendo Direct event from 14th of September 2023. We focus on the retro related new releases, the old games that have been re-made, sequels to classic games, and a few other things that caught our attention.Titles covered include:Mario vs. Donkey KongPrince of Persia The Lost CrownSuper Mario RPGAnother Code: RecollectionPrincess Peach: Showtime!Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara CroftTrombone ChampContra: Operation GalugaLuigi's Mansion 2 HDF-ZERO 99DAVE THE DIVERMario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass Wave 6Sign up for our newsletter - https://spectrumdays.ck.page/newsletterFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our favourite retro consoles often came with an amazing pack-in title. Which ones do you remember? Was it the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis with Altered beast or was it the Sonic the Hedgehog pack? Were you a Nintendo kid who had an NES Action Pack with Zapper to play Duck Hunt or were you busy playing Super Mario? Perhaps you Super Nintendo with the amazing Super Mario World, Street Fighter 2, Starfox or the All Stars pack? Was the original ZX Spectrum under your Christmas tree or maybe the 128k, a Gameboy with Tetris perhaps? Or maybe you were a lucky middle class kid like Chris and you had the Amiga 500 Batman Pack! Or maybe it's a modern games machine like a PS5 or and Xbox. Computer or console, let us know what you had.Don't forget to subscribe to Spectrum Days on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Episode we go back to September 1985 to discuss the ZX Spectrum Gallup top 30. We struggle to remember all the titles, but have fond memories of a lot of them! Can you remember them all? Were you playing many of the games mentioned during the summer of 1985?What other memories from that summer do you have? We just about remember watching The Goonies and Back to the Future movies on VHS cassette. Did you watch Police Academy 2? Are you the person who bought Ewoks: The Battle for Endor?We weren't in the era of Nintendo and Sega console gaming yet. We still had our trusty Sinclair and Commodore 64s. Most of us were busy hammering away at our joystick's playing Daley Thompson and saving our pocket money to buy a cheap Mastertronic or Firebird game.Games covered *Episode Spoiler Alert*:WAY OF THE EXPLODING FISTFRANK BRUNO'S BOXINGDALE THOMPSON'S SUPERTEST HYPERSPORTSNOW GAMESFRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOODHIGHWAY ENCOUNTERDAMBUSTERSSOUTHERN BELLEDYNAMITE DANJET SET WILLY 2SOFT AIDACTION BIKERSPY vs SPYSPY HUNTERFINDERS KEEPERSPOLE POSITIONCYLURED ARROWSNODES OF YESODGLASSRED MOONWORLD SERIES BASKETBALLBRUCE LEENONTERRAQUEOUSNICK FALDO'S OPEN GOLFEMPIRE FIGHTS BACKCHILLERDALEY THOMPSON'S DECATHLONOur Episodes:Way of the Exploding FistBruce LeeDaley Thompson's DecathlonFollow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Chris and Phil discuss their long-lost gaming goodies found in their respective parents' lofts.They discuss ZX Spectrum finds, 2000AD comics, and dubious music choices.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Bruce Lee on the ZX Spectrum the best fighting game ever, the top of the beat ‘em ups, or is it just a platform game with some brawler elements? Not just on the humble Speccy, it also appeared on the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari, MSX and Apple 2. Did it get converted to any modern games consoles? Did the lads complete this hard retro game, or is it for the hardcore gamers only? Will we enter the dragon, or is it a game of death? In short, we review a game we played nearly 40 years ago that isn't on the SEGA or Nintendo, but the mighty Speccy!Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris and Phil are back once again to discuss their fading memories of old retro games from the 80's and the 90's. This time it's Match Day on the ZX Spectrum!Was it the best football game on the ZX Spectrum? How much better is it than FIFA? Is it still great today?#megadrive #genesis #sega #playstationFollow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you remember? Do you still have your trusty old speccy setup in a spare room resting next to your NES and Mega Drive? Let us know. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we take a detour from our normal format and talk about our thoughts on Retro gaming - what does that term even really mean? What does it mean to us? Why are we talking about the ZX Spectrum, the NES, Master System, Megadrive and the Amiga all these years after they were released?Why do we have such fond memories of these old games?What is it about Nostalgia that has us scouring the eBay for original copies of Way of the Exploding Fist and JetPac?What does Retro gaming mean to you? Let us know.During the episode, we mention “Filling in the gaps: creative imagination and nostalgia in ZX Spectrum gaming” by Will Brooker. You can find a copy of the paper here.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speeder bikes in disguise! Join Phil and Chris as they try to remember this ZX Spectrum classic - Deathchase! Can you remember playing it at home, imagining you were flying through the forests of Endor on your very own Speeder Bike? Or was its release near Return of the Jedi just a coincidence?Was it fun to play? Is this now Retro game still fun to play? Did Chris work out the keys for this one? Did Phil complete it? Tune in and fine out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Phil and Chris as they try to remember yet another game from the 80's! This time around it's another classic from Ocean - Robocop! Developed by Mike Lamb, the same coder that made Renegade, this is a classic. We also played the Nintendo Gameboy and arcade versions. Can you remember playing it? Did you play it recently? Did Chris get off level one? Did Phil complete it? Tune in and find out.Don't forget to subscribe to Spectrum Days on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Phil and Chris as they try and remember Starwing or Starfox (depends if you drink tea or coffee). Will Chris even play the right version? Does it have a tutorial? Did either of them complete it? Was it best on the ZX Spectrum? Was it better back in the 90's than it is now? Tune in to find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phil and Chris are back again, this time to talk about an all time classic - Tetris!Did they ever play it on the ZX Spectrum, or was it all the Nintendo Gameboy? Do they take an international flight to try "In-Flight Tetris"?Tune in to find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Phil and Chris as they get to grips with flying around a screen trying to build and then fuel a space ship whilst wearing only a Jet Pack! Do their memories hold up? Is Jet Pac still a good game? Most importantly, is it one or two words? Jet Pac or Jetpac? Tune in to find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phil and Chris take turns trying to remember Daley Thompson's Decathlon on the ZX Spectrum. How many joytsicks did they break when playing it back in the day? How many keyboards did they break playing it now in 2023? Who can run the fastest? Can Chris even do the high jump? Is it as good as they remember? Tune in and find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Phil and Chris try to remember Desert Strike on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. As usual, once they've racked their memories they pause to play the game and then share their thoughts. Will they get past mission one? Will they agree that Airwolf on the ZX Spectrum was better? Tune in to find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A podcast ruining childhood memories game by game. We try to remember a game, then play it to find out how much we were wrong.Spectrum Days is a podcast where Chris and Phil ruin our childhood memories of the games we played as kids back in the 80s and 90s. Each episode features a new game that we discuss from our memories before pausing and playing. We then come back and let you know what we think now, 30 to 40 years after first playing it. We mostly cover ZX Spectrum, Sega Master System, and the Mega Drive but will cover other platforms like the Commodore Amiga, and Nintendo. There's a new episode every two weeks featuring a new old game and conversation from two middle-aged gamers - tune in to see if we completed it, or got stuck on level one.You can find the podcast on all the major podcast platforms and YouTube.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Phil and Chris as they try to remember Renegade on the ZX Spectrum! Will they even remember who published the game correctly? Will they constantly confuse it with Target Renegade and Double Dragon? Of course they will! They released the game back in the 80's you know! When they get around to playing it, will they even get off the first stage? Will Chris use the right keys? Were these two ever any good at playing games? Tune in to find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Phil and Chris stumble through their memories of the ZX Spectrum classic Manic Miner! If you had a Spectrum, you played this! If you've never played it, then it's time to add to your Retro gaming knowledge by listening to two middle-aged men wrestle with nostalgia and the fact that they might not be good at playing games anymore…Has Manic Miner stood the test of time? How many times will they call it Magic Miner? Did they complete it? Tune in and find out.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Phil and Chris mix up their memories of playing Space Harrier. Surely playing it at home on the ZX Spectrum or Mega Drive was exactly the same as the fullmotion hydraulic arcade cabinet experience? Tune in to find out if they completed it.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We go back to the ZX Spectrum and play The Way of the Exploding Fist for this episode. Do you remember the keys? Could you get the flying kick timing right? Is it better than Street Fighter? Join us this episode and hear what we can half remember, and then how we feel after playing it over thirty years since the last time.Follow us on Twitter - @SpectrumDaysPodCheck out the YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@spectrumdaysRead things on our blog - https://spectrumdays.com/blog/Be happy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time Phil and Chris try to remember how awesome Speedball and Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe was on console and the Amiga. Do their memories serve them well? Was it really that good? Did the Bitmap Brother's predict the future? Are we all wearing spikes? Were they really even brothers? Most importantly - is the game any fun playing it today in 2022? Or is it terribly bland...YouTube here.https://spectrumdays.com/blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Phil and Chris as they stumble through their memories trying to remember how great The Revenge of Shinobi was on the Sega Mega Drive. Do their memories serve them well? Is it still the classic they vaguely remember? Is it incredibly difficult to play some 30 years later? Can Chris use the right buttons on the controller? Tune in to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we play the classic Horace Goes Skiing on the ZX Spectrum along with the other two games in the “Horace Trilogy”. A true gaming classic that we remember fondly. It was brilliant back in the day. So what's it like now when we “review” it now? Has it stood the test of time? Or is it incredibly hard and diabolically frustrating? Join us as we reminisce and then destroy our childhood memories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this halloween inspired episode we reminisce about playing Ghouls 'n Ghosts - can we remember on which platform we played? Do you? We then play it to see if our memories are holding up. Is it as difficult as we remember? Is it any good now? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this, our first episode, Phil and Chris talk about R-type and the memories it stirs. We then play it and share our thoughts now, some 35 years since we last played it. Has it stood the test of time? Or has playing it again ruined our childhood memories? Join us to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.