Then I got to thinking that there were even other computers and consoles that came into my life after the C64 was long gone that I never came close to forming such affection for. Sorry Sega Megadrive. Sorry Commodore Amiga. Sorry Nintendo Game Boy. Sorry IBM PC (at least until I hit university and Doom arrived on shareware). For me nothing else could match gaming on the C64.

After a little digging around on the interwebs I started to remember more and more C64 games that still stand the test of time. In this day and age of DLC, classic ports, WiiWare, PSN and XBLA titles, there's a surprising amount of real 8-bit games that still look great and play better. Lemon64 has long been a favorite C64 destination of mine, and essentially has the very best information about the computer's games, music and more.

I've taken a little time to cobble together my 10 best C64 titles so here they are in no particular order.

Impossible Mission: "Another visitor! Stay awhile... STAY FOREVER!"

  • Wizball (Sensible Software/Ocean - 1987)
  • Mission Impossible (Epyx - 1994)
  • Paradroid (Hewson - 1985)
  • Elite (Firebird - 1985)
  • Bruce Lee (Datasoft - 1984)
  • Decathlon (Activision - 1984)
  • International Karate+ (System 3 - 1987)
  • Forbidden Forest (Cosmi - 1983)
  • Leaderboard Golf (Access Software - 1986)
  • Bubble Bobble (Firebird - 1987)

    Maybe it's me that's the anomaly here. I don't even know how to explain why this platform had such a profound effect on me and why still to this day I often boot up over half of the games listed above. But I remain true and loyal to my past. The Commodore 64 is certainly my personal favorite legacy gaming system (with the SNES coming in second) and proves time and time again that those dusty cobweb-laden memories you have of amazing gaming experiences can still ring true.

    Oh and in case you're wondering, exploding chicken head was the name given to the Commodore logo by my older brother and his friend. It's quite apt, no? Long live the C64 and its fabulous array of history-shaping sights and sounds. Until next time...

    May I present the exploding chicken head.



    [The Limey is written by Bryn Williams, who still thinks that Rob Hubbard's main musical theme for Sanxion on the C64 is so good that it must have been borne of alien technologies.]