I'm an avid viewer of your channel from the UK. I started with the Sinclaire ZX81 1k. Black and white. Upgraded to 16k expansion pack. Then moved onto Sinclaires 48k Spectrum. Colour, Which I still have. Try Atic Atac for ZX Spectrum . First game I ever finished. Keep 😎 cool man
I was looking for a video exactly like this, as I was looking at backing the Kickstarter myself...I didn't have one as a kid but have played around with the Timex Sinclairs that were released in the US. I ended up backing it today and noticed your video afterwards, but your video made me happy with backing it. I think the community of game developers are going to be a great draw, and it's going to be awesome to do old-school coding with!
I'm English and I had the ZX Spectrum +2, cassette deck was built in. I used to have Robocop, Dizzy and Batman on it, not seen those in something like 30 years!
Very good review. To the point. Looks like a great machine. From Greece and now 47 ,i will never forget the day i loaded up bomb Jack in the tapecorder for 3 mins and then i realized i could load up tapes of music as i was playing the game !!! We're talking full analog fun !!! Or the day i got scared shit less when i first died in The rocky horror show ... man , i wish kids today can have half the fun we use to have while playing a game. Still remember 5 guys playing in turns , so we can beat the cpu and strip Samantha Fox... one deal before the end a friend of ours pushes the plug and it resets... God the laughter and fun... not to mention the souvlakia eaten while loading games... I can see all old computers have their own crowd of people around , but nothing like the Speccy scene. Man they make games today !! It is nuts! Great work ! Keep it up !
Honestly it’s so great listening to you talking about the good ol’ speccy! Lose the zen ex and just call it the speccy, such great memories from my childhood. It’s probably not for anyone younger than 35 and maybe UK but sure brings it all back,,
Growing up in the 80s in England, I used to go round to my friend’s house to play his ‘Speccy,’ and the enduring memory I have was how arduous the loading was! It seemed to take forever and even then it wouldn’t always work. We used to turn the lights off, put some music on and pretend the multicoloured raster bars was a disco 🤣 You can’t go wrong with the Dizzy series (great puzzle games!) and try ‘Disco Dan’ which is hilarious. Jetpac has great gameplay too. Enjoy your ZX journey!!
Wow. So many memories. Thanks for making this video! I live in the US but am originally from the UK, I got a Spectrum 48K for Christmas back in 82 or 83, I would have been 8 or 9. I remember that Christmas, a whole batch of Spectrums which were sold were defective, so much so that it actually made the national news, because the Spectrum was the hot Christmas toy that year. True enough, when I opened my Spectrum on Christmas morning, it didn't work. As a little kid, I was, as you can imagine, heartbroken! And back in those days, shops weren't open all the time, so I had to wait a couple of days until the shops opened again so that my parents could take it back and exchange it! The agony! lol. The original 2 models of the ZX Spectrum were the 16K and 48K, which technically were identical except for the amount of RAM. Games in those days came on cassette tape, I remember it was 1.99 or 2.99 pounds for "budget" titles, and regular titles were 9.99 if I remember right. You would connect the cassette recorder to the Spectrum via the Ear and Mic 3.5mm audio ports, type LOAD "" on the spectrum (using the very unique keyboard layout which is another story) and then press play on the cassette recorder. And then wait for several minutes with your fingers crossed that the game would load. All accompanied by digital noise similar to a fax or modem. Also, you correctly mentioned about the colour rendering limitations. It was limited to rendering colour in blocks, and so when sprites went in front of each other, the colours would clash. In fact, this is what the effect was called - "colour clash." I'm not sure if that was ever its official name, but it's what the gaming press and all we users called it. A very signature affectation of the Spectrum. In its later years, developers found ingenious ways to minimise the effect. There were some incredible games for the time on the system, some of which you showed in the video. JetPac, Atic Atac, and some of the first 3D isometric games like Alien 8, Batman (different from the Batman one you showed), Knight Lore, The Great Escape (which you showed). Those were from one of the premier developers for the system: Ultimate Play the Game. And they "ultimately" became Rare, who are of course still around. CodeMasters are another developer who got their start making 1.99 and 2.99 budget games for the Spectrum, with games like the Dizzy series. Still going strong nowadays with series like Dirt and Grid. I had a good 3 or 4 years with my Spectrum before moving to an Atari ST in 85 or 86. I think I still have the Spectrum somewhere at my parents' house, but 10 or more years ago I remember trying it and it didn't work. It looks like I've missed the deadline for this kickstarter, but if they do another one, I'm certainly interested. I had a TRS-80 compatible before the Spectrum, but the Spectrum was my first serious experience of computing and gaming and will always be very special to me. Thanks again for making this video - and all your videos! Your channel is one of the best!
It's impossible to underestimate the importance of the ZX Spectrum to home computing and gaming in the UK. Virtually every kid in the 80's in the UK had one of these and many of the programmers from a software company called Ultimate Play The Game went on to form Rare.
The ZX Spectrum, along with many other 8-bit machines, was also very popular in Denmark. My father went from the ZX 81 to the Spectrum 48k. When he finally went to a Commodore PC-30 I joined the C64 crowd and then the Amiga crowd. Still the Spectrum had such a big early impact on me. Not only the many different games (text adventures, platformers, shoot'em'ups, isometric games) but also programs like 'Games Designer' that started me doing pixel graphics with 'The Artist'. These days apartment space is limited and I will probably only experience the Next-platform if/when it is adapted to the 'MiSTer FPGA' platform that already has a Spectrum core running on it :D Thanks for paying tribute to that era with this great honest review.
In Spain, after the atari 2600 we didn't have a console release until the nes was distributed in 1988 and it was also crazy expensive. Everyone I knew that was into video games had a microcomputer : Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore or Msx. I had an Amstrad CPC 464 and I loved it!
Had this early in it's lifespan here in the UK, and liked that fact that it was also a computer, not just a console. For an American, I can't see any interest in it, think of it as an NES with extra limitations. A few great titles to check out would be; starquake, jetpac, and android 2. All of those are easy to pick up and play games, and still very playable even today.
The Speccy's were reasonaly popular in the Netherlands as well. At least we had them at my technical school where an English teacher had made a program to teach English vocabulary.
ZX Spectrum was a big thing in Europe and middle east and many other countries. It had its own cult like Apple here in the US. The equivalent of the commodore in the USA. My first computer ever was ZX Spectrum 48K, and it is what got me into programming. It was a lot of fun. It had business applications as well as 3D drawing and productivity apps not just games. Anyone who owned a zx spectrum will appreciate a lot the fact they are making a new one. Thank you for the video. I did not know there is a new one, I will definitely buy one. By the way, you can find the collection of all ZX spectrum games and apps online that will run on windows PC using emulator software that comes with the CD.
The spectrum and a few others had the colour clash issues but the other two big sellers (C64 & Amstrad - depending on developer) didn't suffer from that. I had a C64 back in the day.
I can imagine a LOT of people asking why was this machine a hit? A Mixture of right price and right time. In 83/84 when it hit the market, it was the most capable machine you could buy with paper-round money (though I am not confident that concept translates). It's rivals at launch? We are talking about VIC-20 capabilities/specs (as in very limited, especially ram wise), and those were often half the cost again of the speccy. The C=64 arrived almost a year after the spectrum, and was often twice the price (though to be fair, it was almost twice as capable a machine). Anything priced £300 or more had to compete with the BBC/Department of Education Endorsed Acorn BBC Micro.
It looks like you have the version that contains the Pie. You can tell because it has the debug port and the two mini usb ports. I have the same version that I backed on the original kickstarter. Brings back so many good old memories from the 80's. A lot of industry veterans cut their teeth on this machine. Have fun...
I grew up in 80's England with an original ZX Spectrum. Top 10 best Speccy must play titles. 1 Spyhunter, 2 Barbarian, 3 Cobra, 4 Spindizzy, 5 Rick Dangerous, 6 Transmuter, 7 Rockstar Ate my Hamster, 8 L.E.D. Storm, 9 Xevious, 10 Green Beret.
As someone who specifically reviews games from this system, seeing a RUclipsr of your size, and from across the pond no less - it's surreal, hahaha. You did a great job!
The 1st spectrum ( or speccy as we called it here in the UK when I was growing up ) had a keyboard with rubber buttons and people either had which you had - a commodore or a speccy. Both had great games and I will definitely be saving me old coppers ( cash ) so I can purchase one. Great video- keep up the great work - love ya video:)
Probably talked about in another comment I can't find and you may well have looked it up, but a bit about the machine before starting: It was a computer based upon a price, not a specifcation. That price(£125) was half the price of any current or currently announced competitor. They took that price and made the best computer they could. Not only that, but unlike a C64, you could use any tape deck with an earphone port. Add to the facts that publishing houses popped up selling budget games for as little as £1.99, AAA titles going for £15 maximum and they just sold a ton. Or 5 million, more accurately. An American release wasn't possible(there was a Timex version which is effectively a different machine with most of the same hardware) due to FCC rules on shielding etc. meaning the low price couldn't be met.
Chaos by Julian Gallop is turn based wizard combat at its best. Thanatos was another extremely impressive game (with parallax scrolling!) for its time. Speccy had great games. What it’s games lacked in colour made up for it in fine detail. And who can forget that sound chip (128K vers). Batman and Robocop had amazing soundtracks (the latter main theme ended up in an advert for kichen appliance company Ariston). Seriously considering to pick up this unit.
i had a few speccy's as we used to call them but the best one by far was the rubber keyed 48k,many many times adjusting the cassette recorder to get a game to load up,i remember xmas 1982 when i was 12 trying to load up the very first game i had mr freeze for about 5 hrs lol,i had years of fun with that computer with my younger bothers & friends,awesome memories
Hey Jason, this overview of the ZX Next parallels and contrasts a project I have been enjoying the hell out of lately, PICO-8. Instead of being physical, retro-computer hardware, it is closer to being an emulator for a console that never existed... It has modern niceties like an "app store" of sorts, a really cool community and the development environment is built in! I really recommend it highly. The games are distributed in the header of a .png file that is a picture of the cart!
@@Hjvinke I know it's not an emulator but why would anyone pay $400.00 for it when you can play those same games through an emulator, use any controller and even save states? I honestly don't get it. That's a lot of money for a Spectrum.
It's doesn't just run old Spectrum software, it has new hardware and capabilities built on top which essentially bring it close to Amiga-level capability. I think the fact the Kickstarter is over $2M speaks for itself. It is mainly for retro enthusiasts and developers, but there seems to be a decent demand for it.
The Spectrum was available in all of Europe. Maybe in Russia it was hard to get one because of the soviet union, but everywhere else, it was available. Both the 48k and 128k models.
The original zu spectrum was available in almost every country in Europe not just GB and it sold quite good. As a result there had been lots of support from software developers. So this is in no way a quirky or seldom computer it just was never sold (or recognized) in the US.
@MetalJesusRocks on a completely non-related topic: Have you or could you guys do a review of the best color handheld console of all time? ie if someone had budget for just 1 portable console today new or used, what would be the best buy in terms of game title availability, quality of screen res,user interface,battery/charge life etc ... keep up the good work!
The Speccy's library is ludicrously big; thousands and thousands of games were released for it, many at pocket money prices. Quality is all over the place, ad a lot of them were total dross. But there's loads of really good stuff too. A few examples of really good "Classic" Speccy games would be: JetPac Bombjack Gauntlet Rock Star Ate My Hamster Batty Chase HQ Midnight Resistance Elite The Last Starfighter Lords of Midnight There are also some amazing new Next -specific titles, like Warhawk, Baggers In Space, QBee and RAMS, an amazing port of Scramble and the marvellous RAMS, which plays stuff like Donkey Kong and Pacman. There's also a burgeoning text adventure scene, with some quality releases coming out as well as ports of the classic Magnetic Scrolls stuff.
4 года назад
I don't know much about the ZX Spectrum, but Skool Daze is an amazing game. At the time it was one of the first games to actually simulate individual characters moving at the same time. The game itself is a bit arcane and requires a few pointers, but it's fun because you can just sit in class blow spitballs and blame other kids all day. Also that hardware looks really perfect. I'm looking forward to the Mega65 project someone mentioned in the comments which should do something similar to the C64.
Hey Jesus. I like vintage and retro computing too, but it should always be easy to pick up on if you get into development. If it's enjoyable or rewarding, then I'd like to get into it.
Being from the uk and my first machine being a 48k plus i backed the first next accelerated and glad i did .the zx spectrum like the zx80 and 81 was made to be affordable i love the zx spectrum like all computers their are the good and the bad games the msx is the one i never understood why it never done better with so many companies making machines that were all compatible
If you played Skool Daze on the c64 (maybe not as it's British) there was an expanded sequel called Back to Skool which was just released on the spectrum which I'd recommend
It's not entirely accurate to say we didn't get the ZX Spectrum over here in the states, sort of. When its predicesor the Sinclair Z81 came out in 1981, the company Timex, which manufactured the Sinclair Z81s for Sinclair in certain European markets, formed a partnership with them to sell the Z81 and future successors under the Timex-Sinclair name in the U S. resulting in the TS-1000 (same as the Z81 sold in the UK but adapted for our NTSC TVs and 120v power). This sold for the then dirt cheap price of only $100 and sold fairly well for a time, despite the really paltry specs of that machine (even with the ram expander cartridge). This success led Timex to adapt the ZX-Spectrum too when it came out in 1983 and sell it as the TS-2068. The one problem was that out of the box, the TS2068 had a few key hardware differences that made it a better machine of the Speccy but olalso meant most UK ZX-Spectrum software would not run on it, at least out of the box. A number of enterprising users of this machine did however make home-brewed comparability/emulation cartridges that allowed most UK Speccy software to run on the TS2068 and also Timex of Portugal made an autobooting spectrum emulator cartridge commercially sold. The TS2068 was ultimately a giant failure though, partly due the lack of U.S. software for it and the UK Speccy software comparability issue out of the box. Thus lead to the Timex-Sinclair partnership to be desolved and Timex to exit the U.S. computer market. While the 2068 had a major glad on not supporting UK Speccy software out of the box, it did offer other improvements hardware-wise including better sound, twin joystick ports, a better chiclet keyboard then chiclet used by the Speccy (though still not as good as the C64 keyboard of the time), better graphics, and cartridge port (Speccy only used compact data cassettes via external compact cassete player). It sold for $200 which would have been a decent price if more software had been produced for it and/or you could run Speccy software out of the box.
One more thing to add I was just reminded about which I should have include with my original comment: Timex-Sinclair had also originally planned to release a much more compatible ZX-Spectrum-based machine called TS-2048 alongside the TS-2068 in 1983. It was to be based the 48k ZX-Spectrum and included a Kemston joystick port (With UK Speccies, Kemston Joystick port was optional via an add-on). and the improved graphics modes of the 2068. It would have been compatible with UK ZX-Spectrum software out of the box (unlike the 2069) but they decide to shelve the project in favor of only releasing the 2068 model. They had originally decided on this plan because they felt ZX-Spectrum 48k specs and hardware design would not be good enough for the U.S. market in 1983 (U.S. home micros where getting more advanced faster compared to UK home micros, such as how we quickly adopted the floppy drive vs the U.K. Sticking with Compact Data Cassettes for much longer). Had they stuck to the original plan then they would have had cheap home micro capable of running a large library of UK Speccy software and would have been in a position similar to the Atari 2600 Jr, a cost-reduced compact version of the Atari 2600/VCS released in the mid-80s that sold well for a time despite competition from graphically superior Nintendo and Sega systems because it “Under $50” and already had a large game library for it (even it a large portion if the game titles were quickly-coded poorly designed crap that contributed to the Video Game Crash of 1983). A machines like the ZX-Spectrum next should sell well enough because it already has a large amount of decent games for it out there you can run so it’s not lacking for developers like say the Dreamcast or the Atari Jaguar. Also one, the ZX-Spectrum comparability cartridges for the TS-2068 basically were just ZX-Spectrum ROMS on a cartridge that loaded into a portion of the memory of the machine when you booted so your Speccy games ran under that rather then via the native ROM. This meant it was possible to take a ZX_Spectrum ROM chip from a UK Speccy and swap it in place of the 2068 native ROM. While this would allow for all UK Speccy software to run, it would disable features found only in the 2068 such as cartridge port or improved graphics modes. So you have to swap the 2068 ROM back if you wanted to run the limited native 2068 software including cartridge software. The ZX Spectrum ROM on a Cartridge option was of course the superior option since you could just boot without the cartridge for running native 2068 software, at least what little ever existed.
great video!!... here in south america everybody have one of this... great times!!... you need to play the spanish games like Freddy Hardest, Navy Moves, Phantis..
You might want to check out the Vampire V4, a stand-alone FPGA recreation of an Amiga when it releases. But I imagine it’s even more involved to get things working right than the few options you have on the ZX Next.
No one will quite understand the beauty of coming home from school putting your tape in to load a game then running to finish your homework before you got to play. It took a long time to load a game so you made sure you were going to play it. I have you get a chance listen to the soundtrack for Robocop on the spectrum
No my friend, the zx spectrum was huge in all of Europe, in fact , in Spain there were some particular well known software houses that created great games for it and later also for the commodore 64 and amiga
We never had a computer slump in Europe after the sh@*storm that was Atari's E.T.! We were programming in our bedrooms all the way up to the Mega Drive release. My friend had the original rubber key Spectrum, but I held off and got the Plus 2 model. Jetset Willy, Skool Daze, Ninja and Lords of Midnight are some of the highlights of this classic 8 bit!
I would love to see one like this for the Atari 800. This is cool. I'm really surprised the ZX spectrum got this before the commodore 64 or the Atari 800 though.
Yes, we had them all, Spectrum's, C64's, Amstrad etc. Yep, the graphics and sound were inferior, but a lot of the games had better playability. Games like, Renegade, Target Renegade, Commando, Chase HQ, R-Type(saw you playing it), Flying Shark, Beach Head 2 etc etc.
Still have my spectrum + and couple hundred original games ,loading was a pain as you had to adjust volume on different games so used to mark volume slider .games were notoriously hard
I'm British but have zero nostalgia or feelings towards the Speccy, unfortunately but this machine looks really good. I was always a C64 fan so I just hope that someone can make a C64 machine based on similar architecture.
The ZX Spectrum was massively popular in Portugal and also Spain (and in most of Europe). So much that there is a Sinclair museum here (loadzx.com/en/).
Loved my ZX speccy, it was a computer that most could afford. A bit like a mini cooper of computers. We had the ZX Speccy, Amstrad or Commodore 64 school battles. PS the next i believe it taken of the ZX Spectrum 128k + 2. PSS kendo warrior on the zx spectrum was great!
Being British I have massive nostalgia for this, as I still play mine from time to time. Some of the games are truly fabulous, although it's shockingly underpowered. Would I recommend it to someone who wasn't aware of it? Honestly, I don't know.
Btw fpga is not full recreation, it uses logic blocks that mimic the original gates of a CPU. Also its limit is that it can only perform digital signals, not analog. It is better than an emulator in terms of accuracy? Yes; but it also has limitations and its complexity is limited to the number of cells present on the FPGA, in terms of complexity.
I had 48k and +2 version . I guess it is easiest to get into are good platform games. Out of those I recommend Manic Miner, Chuckie egg. 2 good sports games also come to mind Hyper Sports and Daley Thompson's Decathlon
Oh Yes, thx 🌷 ☺ ZX Spectrum a classic computer is similar to the Commodore 64 but with a stronger and faster processing unit. 🎮💾💻👌☺ Again, Thank you, dear friends.🌷
Good games are Jet pack. Where you build and fuel up a rocket while trying to dodge meteor things and Jet set willy. A platformer that has trippy music. I would pay good money for a new Amiga mini or Amiga games on a iPad or console. Not the Vampire stand though as that is very expensive for me. Great channel thanks for all the hard work.
I had a 48K Spectrum when it first came out (Actually I had a 16K as it was cheaper... they dont mention the 16K) It was £129.99 and I upgraded it to 48K for £49 at a later date. Loved it so much that I've just rebought one (the rubber keyed original). The games look rubbish now but at the time there was nothing like it available and there was a ton of £1.99 software coming out and games to be keyed in from magazines. The C64 certainly looked better but that wasnt really available in the UK when the spectrum launched. I think we got the VIC20 around the same time and the C64 came along later. I eventually owned both and loved my C64 but the nostalgia for the rubber keyed speccy is strong. Also had an Amstrad CPC 464 which, to be honest... felt better for me than both. You should give that a go. Its got the benefit of multicolour graphics (not so washed out as the C64) but with a speccy feel. Loved the Video. :)
"It,s.....painfully slow!" 🤣 I've been looking name for this game very long time, because there was a only European release for Home/ Personal computer(?) and in Finland, it was released by Salora in the middle on 80's. And for that was a game titled as "something" Patrol, which is basically a same game that Moon Patrol. Although, I haven't managed to find information about that game since so this was hint to right direction. Thanks! 👍🏻
8 bit computers often had unlicenced clones of famous arcade games that would change the name in a copyright-dodging sort of way. The arcade original in this case was called Moon Patrol, by item.
One of the goals of Sinclair was to make an (extremely) affordable computer. I think that although this machine is awesome, it is not exactly in line with the original thought. Great machine, but too expensive. I'll probably get it if it drops in price.
Correct. If the 'hdmi video debug' port and the two micro-USBs are visible, it has the Pi module (just a stock RPI zero with some firmware on it's micro-sd card) installed.It's referred to as an 'accelerator' but it's (currently) only used for off-loading a few tasks from the main CPU, notably loading TZX format files/games and playing some music formats.
Without the zx spectrum there might not of been GTA or the PlayStation as we know it. A lot of the programers who made games for the spectrum went on to form companies like rockstar games, rare and psygnosis (they developed all the tools for the origonal ps1). Al
Metal Jesus has won many brownie points with the Brits, for consistently calling it the Zed X. You've earned 1000 cups of tea.
And some biscuits
Can I get that tea with a side of Jaffa cakes? They look tasty! 😁
@@MetalJesusRocks jaffa cakes are delicious. I'm sure one of us can Mail some of them over 😁.
Maybe some crumpets too? :D Love the looks of this. I have huge nostalgia for the Speccy - had the 48K, 48K+, then the +3
@@MetalJesusRocks You've never had Jaffa Cakes?! This won't do. Tell me where and I'll send some.
I'm an avid viewer of your channel from the UK. I started with the Sinclaire ZX81 1k. Black and white. Upgraded to 16k expansion pack. Then moved onto Sinclaires 48k Spectrum. Colour, Which I still have. Try Atic Atac for ZX Spectrum . First game I ever finished. Keep 😎 cool man
I was looking for a video exactly like this, as I was looking at backing the Kickstarter myself...I didn't have one as a kid but have played around with the Timex Sinclairs that were released in the US. I ended up backing it today and noticed your video afterwards, but your video made me happy with backing it. I think the community of game developers are going to be a great draw, and it's going to be awesome to do old-school coding with!
Hi, don't know if you have recognized: This the accelerated version. The micro-HDMI and the two USB ports are the ports of a Raspberry PI zero.
We got the Timex Sinclair line here in the US. My first computer was a Timex Sinclair 1000, and I still have it, as well as the TS 1500 model.
I'm English and I had the ZX Spectrum +2, cassette deck was built in. I used to have Robocop, Dizzy and Batman on it, not seen those in something like 30 years!
Very good review. To the point. Looks like a great machine. From Greece and now 47 ,i will never forget the day i loaded up bomb Jack in the tapecorder for 3 mins and then i realized i could load up tapes of music as i was playing the game !!! We're talking full analog fun !!! Or the day i got scared shit less when i first died in The rocky horror show ... man , i wish kids today can have half the fun we use to have while playing a game. Still remember 5 guys playing in turns , so we can beat the cpu and strip Samantha Fox... one deal before the end a friend of ours pushes the plug and it resets... God the laughter and fun... not to mention the souvlakia eaten while loading games... I can see all old computers have their own crowd of people around , but nothing like the Speccy scene. Man they make games today !! It is nuts! Great work ! Keep it up !
I grew up with ZX Spectrum in the 80s. Learned to program on the Speccy. Love it !!
Honestly it’s so great listening to you talking about the good ol’ speccy! Lose the zen ex and just call it the speccy, such great memories from my childhood. It’s probably not for anyone younger than 35 and maybe UK but sure brings it all back,,
Growing up in the 80s in England, I used to go round to my friend’s house to play his ‘Speccy,’ and the enduring memory I have was how arduous the loading was! It seemed to take forever and even then it wouldn’t always work.
We used to turn the lights off, put some music on and pretend the multicoloured raster bars was a disco 🤣
You can’t go wrong with the Dizzy series (great puzzle games!) and try ‘Disco Dan’ which is hilarious.
Jetpac has great gameplay too.
Enjoy your ZX journey!!
Wow. So many memories. Thanks for making this video! I live in the US but am originally from the UK, I got a Spectrum 48K for Christmas back in 82 or 83, I would have been 8 or 9. I remember that Christmas, a whole batch of Spectrums which were sold were defective, so much so that it actually made the national news, because the Spectrum was the hot Christmas toy that year. True enough, when I opened my Spectrum on Christmas morning, it didn't work. As a little kid, I was, as you can imagine, heartbroken! And back in those days, shops weren't open all the time, so I had to wait a couple of days until the shops opened again so that my parents could take it back and exchange it! The agony! lol. The original 2 models of the ZX Spectrum were the 16K and 48K, which technically were identical except for the amount of RAM. Games in those days came on cassette tape, I remember it was 1.99 or 2.99 pounds for "budget" titles, and regular titles were 9.99 if I remember right. You would connect the cassette recorder to the Spectrum via the Ear and Mic 3.5mm audio ports, type LOAD "" on the spectrum (using the very unique keyboard layout which is another story) and then press play on the cassette recorder. And then wait for several minutes with your fingers crossed that the game would load. All accompanied by digital noise similar to a fax or modem. Also, you correctly mentioned about the colour rendering limitations. It was limited to rendering colour in blocks, and so when sprites went in front of each other, the colours would clash. In fact, this is what the effect was called - "colour clash." I'm not sure if that was ever its official name, but it's what the gaming press and all we users called it. A very signature affectation of the Spectrum. In its later years, developers found ingenious ways to minimise the effect. There were some incredible games for the time on the system, some of which you showed in the video. JetPac, Atic Atac, and some of the first 3D isometric games like Alien 8, Batman (different from the Batman one you showed), Knight Lore, The Great Escape (which you showed). Those were from one of the premier developers for the system: Ultimate Play the Game. And they "ultimately" became Rare, who are of course still around. CodeMasters are another developer who got their start making 1.99 and 2.99 budget games for the Spectrum, with games like the Dizzy series. Still going strong nowadays with series like Dirt and Grid. I had a good 3 or 4 years with my Spectrum before moving to an Atari ST in 85 or 86. I think I still have the Spectrum somewhere at my parents' house, but 10 or more years ago I remember trying it and it didn't work. It looks like I've missed the deadline for this kickstarter, but if they do another one, I'm certainly interested. I had a TRS-80 compatible before the Spectrum, but the Spectrum was my first serious experience of computing and gaming and will always be very special to me. Thanks again for making this video - and all your videos! Your channel is one of the best!
The ZX Spectrum was my first introduction to the gaming world at home 😍
Fantastic video Metal Jesus 😎👍
It's impossible to underestimate the importance of the ZX Spectrum to home computing and gaming in the UK. Virtually every kid in the 80's in the UK had one of these and many of the programmers from a software company called Ultimate Play The Game went on to form Rare.
Great to hear that you're pronouncing 'Z'X correctly - a lot of American youtubers tend to pronounce it 'Zee' X Spectrum.
The ZX Spectrum, along with many other 8-bit machines, was also very popular in Denmark. My father went from the ZX 81 to the Spectrum 48k. When he finally went to a Commodore PC-30 I joined the C64 crowd and then the Amiga crowd. Still the Spectrum had such a big early impact on me. Not only the many different games (text adventures, platformers, shoot'em'ups, isometric games) but also programs like 'Games Designer' that started me doing pixel graphics with 'The Artist'. These days apartment space is limited and I will probably only experience the Next-platform if/when it is adapted to the 'MiSTer FPGA' platform that already has a Spectrum core running on it :D Thanks for paying tribute to that era with this great honest review.
Metal Jesus :D So rare to see Americans interested in Sinclair like products, since it had little reach to Atari CBM dominance back at those days
I still have my SINCLAIR Speccy 48k
In Spain, after the atari 2600 we didn't have a console release until the nes was distributed in 1988 and it was also crazy expensive. Everyone I knew that was into video games had a microcomputer : Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore or Msx. I had an Amstrad CPC 464 and I loved it!
The USA got the Timex Sinclair, a few versions, I recall they were enhanced versions.
Just one version.
I have the original manual! And two units. It wasn't available only in the UK, it was available all over Europe.
Watching MJR I discover so many PC games before my time. It shows that PC gaming is so underrated back then.
Had this early in it's lifespan here in the UK, and liked that fact that it was also a computer, not just a console.
For an American, I can't see any interest in it, think of it as an NES with extra limitations. A few great titles to check out would be; starquake, jetpac, and android 2. All of those are easy to pick up and play games, and still very playable even today.
The Speccy's were reasonaly popular in the Netherlands as well.
At least we had them at my technical school where an English teacher had made a program to teach English vocabulary.
ZX Spectrum was a big thing in Europe and middle east and many other countries. It had its own cult like Apple here in the US. The equivalent of the commodore in the USA. My first computer ever was ZX Spectrum 48K, and it is what got me into programming. It was a lot of fun. It had business applications as well as 3D drawing and productivity apps not just games. Anyone who owned a zx spectrum will appreciate a lot the fact they are making a new one. Thank you for the video. I did not know there is a new one, I will definitely buy one. By the way, you can find the collection of all ZX spectrum games and apps online that will run on windows PC using emulator software that comes with the CD.
MJ, check out Delta Shadow once it comes out, it's fan sequel to Power Blade 2 from Nes and it looks and sounds awesome.
The spectrum and a few others had the colour clash issues but the other two big sellers (C64 & Amstrad - depending on developer) didn't suffer from that. I had a C64 back in the day.
I can imagine a LOT of people asking why was this machine a hit? A Mixture of right price and right time. In 83/84 when it hit the market, it was the most capable machine you could buy with paper-round money (though I am not confident that concept translates). It's rivals at launch? We are talking about VIC-20 capabilities/specs (as in very limited, especially ram wise), and those were often half the cost again of the speccy. The C=64 arrived almost a year after the spectrum, and was often twice the price (though to be fair, it was almost twice as capable a machine). Anything priced £300 or more had to compete with the BBC/Department of Education Endorsed Acorn BBC Micro.
It looks like you have the version that contains the Pie. You can tell because it has the debug port and the two mini usb ports. I have the same version that I backed on the original kickstarter. Brings back so many good old memories from the 80's. A lot of industry veterans cut their teeth on this machine. Have fun...
I grew up in 80's England with an original ZX Spectrum. Top 10 best Speccy must play titles.
1 Spyhunter, 2 Barbarian, 3 Cobra, 4 Spindizzy, 5 Rick Dangerous, 6 Transmuter, 7 Rockstar Ate my Hamster, 8 L.E.D. Storm, 9 Xevious, 10 Green Beret.
Playground fights between Speccy owners and C64 owners, thats my childhood (I was pro 64!)
Bah it's all about the Amstrad.
As someone who specifically reviews games from this system, seeing a RUclipsr of your size, and from across the pond no less - it's surreal, hahaha. You did a great job!
The JetSet Willy series (starting with Manic Miner) is always a good place to start (a platform game/puzzler series).
Kim Justice has a great list of the greatest Speccy games. One of my absolute favorites is Lords of Midnight.
The 1st spectrum ( or speccy as we called it here in the UK when I was growing up ) had a keyboard with rubber buttons and people either had which you had - a commodore or a speccy.
Both had great games and I will definitely be saving me old coppers ( cash ) so I can purchase one.
Great video- keep up the great work - love ya video:)
Wow, the design is really ahead of its time.
The spectrum did have crazy graphics, personally I think there quite unique and I like them
A hidden gem of a man! Thanks for the review mate.
fantastic video ... you really summed it all up .. looks like a great machine
Probably talked about in another comment I can't find and you may well have looked it up, but a bit about the machine before starting:
It was a computer based upon a price, not a specifcation. That price(£125) was half the price of any current or currently announced competitor. They took that price and made the best computer they could. Not only that, but unlike a C64, you could use any tape deck with an earphone port. Add to the facts that publishing houses popped up selling budget games for as little as £1.99, AAA titles going for £15 maximum and they just sold a ton. Or 5 million, more accurately.
An American release wasn't possible(there was a Timex version which is effectively a different machine with most of the same hardware) due to FCC rules on shielding etc. meaning the low price couldn't be met.
This was my first computer that we used exclusively for games. Such much nostalgia.
Manic miner and soccer boss were my 2 favourite games on the spectrum. I lost so many hours to soccer boss. 1st football manager sim that was great.
Chaos by Julian Gallop is turn based wizard combat at its best. Thanatos was another extremely impressive game (with parallax scrolling!) for its time. Speccy had great games. What it’s games lacked in colour made up for it in fine detail. And who can forget that sound chip (128K vers). Batman and Robocop had amazing soundtracks (the latter main theme ended up in an advert for kichen appliance company Ariston). Seriously considering to pick up this unit.
This feels like a Lgr type thing.
Love that dude
@@phaser_blue what does keepin" on my man mean?
@@AdamReveland Basically "Just keep being you!"
LGR did review the original ZX Spectrum - a decade ago! =)
ruclips.net/video/tqnIa4rXK_c/видео.html
i had a few speccy's as we used to call them but the best one by far was the rubber keyed 48k,many many times adjusting the cassette recorder to get a game to load up,i remember xmas 1982 when i was 12 trying to load up the very first game i had mr freeze for about 5 hrs lol,i had years of fun with that computer with my younger bothers & friends,awesome memories
Hey Jason, this overview of the ZX Next parallels and contrasts a project I have been enjoying the hell out of lately, PICO-8. Instead of being physical, retro-computer hardware, it is closer to being an emulator for a console that never existed... It has modern niceties like an "app store" of sorts, a really cool community and the development environment is built in! I really recommend it highly. The games are distributed in the header of a .png file that is a picture of the cart!
The ZX Spectrum 48k was my first computer way back in 1983. However, this thing is not worth $400.00. Spectrum emulators are free.
It's not an emulator though
@@Hjvinke I know it's not an emulator but why would anyone pay $400.00 for it when you can play those same games through an emulator, use any controller and even save states? I honestly don't get it. That's a lot of money for a Spectrum.
@@TonyMontanaDS Indeed, and if you want a real spectrum, just get yourself on ebay and buy one for much less
Styphelus I think you are missing the point
It's doesn't just run old Spectrum software, it has new hardware and capabilities built on top which essentially bring it close to Amiga-level capability. I think the fact the Kickstarter is over $2M speaks for itself. It is mainly for retro enthusiasts and developers, but there seems to be a decent demand for it.
Before the NES vs Master System we had in the UK Speccys vs C64, both were great for games.
The Spectrum was available in all of Europe. Maybe in Russia it was hard to get one because of the soviet union, but everywhere else, it was available. Both the 48k and 128k models.
The original zu spectrum was available in almost every country in Europe not just GB and it sold quite good. As a result there had been lots of support from software developers. So this is in no way a quirky or seldom computer it just was never sold (or recognized) in the US.
Kim Justice is your man on all thing speccy. give him a shout
@MetalJesusRocks on a completely non-related topic: Have you or could you guys do a review of the best color handheld console of all time? ie if someone had budget for just 1 portable console today new or used, what would be the best buy in terms of game title availability, quality of screen res,user interface,battery/charge life etc ... keep up the good work!
The Speccy's library is ludicrously big; thousands and thousands of games were released for it, many at pocket money prices. Quality is all over the place, ad a lot of them were total dross. But there's loads of really good stuff too. A few examples of really good "Classic" Speccy games would be:
JetPac
Bombjack
Gauntlet
Rock Star Ate My Hamster
Batty
Chase HQ
Midnight Resistance
Elite
The Last Starfighter
Lords of Midnight
There are also some amazing new Next -specific titles, like Warhawk, Baggers In Space, QBee and RAMS, an amazing port of Scramble and the marvellous RAMS, which plays stuff like Donkey Kong and Pacman. There's also a burgeoning text adventure scene, with some quality releases coming out as well as ports of the classic Magnetic Scrolls stuff.
I don't know much about the ZX Spectrum, but Skool Daze is an amazing game. At the time it was one of the first games to actually simulate individual characters moving at the same time. The game itself is a bit arcane and requires a few pointers, but it's fun because you can just sit in class blow spitballs and blame other kids all day.
Also that hardware looks really perfect. I'm looking forward to the Mega65 project someone mentioned in the comments which should do something similar to the C64.
i used to love my spectrum , i also had the one before this called a ZX81 it had 1k memory , no sound and was black n white with touch sensor keyboard
Chase HQ had a really good speccy version. Might want to check that out.
This is a unique and great idea hoping for an amiga next
I am from Denmark and you could also get the Spectrum in denmark, it was either that or a commodore 64/128
Hey Jesus. I like vintage and retro computing too, but it should always be easy to pick up on if you get into development. If it's enjoyable or rewarding, then I'd like to get into it.
I had the 128k version, which had a tape deck next to the keyboard.....and a friend of mine wrote a couple of adventure games for this :)
Being from the uk and my first machine being a 48k plus i backed the first next accelerated and glad i did .the zx spectrum like the zx80 and 81 was made to be affordable i love the zx spectrum like all computers their are the good and the bad games the msx is the one i never understood why it never done better with so many companies making machines that were all compatible
If you played Skool Daze on the c64 (maybe not as it's British) there was an expanded sequel called Back to Skool which was just released on the spectrum which I'd recommend
This looks like something my daughter would enjoy tinkering around (6) she loves browsing around my computers.
It's not entirely accurate to say we didn't get the ZX Spectrum over here in the states, sort of. When its predicesor the Sinclair Z81 came out in 1981, the company Timex, which manufactured the Sinclair Z81s for Sinclair in certain European markets, formed a partnership with them to sell the Z81 and future successors under the Timex-Sinclair name in the U S. resulting in the TS-1000 (same as the Z81 sold in the UK but adapted for our NTSC TVs and 120v power). This sold for the then dirt cheap price of only $100 and sold fairly well for a time, despite the really paltry specs of that machine (even with the ram expander cartridge). This success led Timex to adapt the ZX-Spectrum too when it came out in 1983 and sell it as the TS-2068. The one problem was that out of the box, the TS2068 had a few key hardware differences that made it a better machine of the Speccy but olalso meant most UK ZX-Spectrum software would not run on it, at least out of the box. A number of enterprising users of this machine did however make home-brewed comparability/emulation cartridges that allowed most UK Speccy software to run on the TS2068 and also Timex of Portugal made an autobooting spectrum emulator cartridge commercially sold. The TS2068 was ultimately a giant failure though, partly due the lack of U.S. software for it and the UK Speccy software comparability issue out of the box. Thus lead to the Timex-Sinclair partnership to be desolved and Timex to exit the U.S. computer market.
While the 2068 had a major glad on not supporting UK Speccy software out of the box, it did offer other improvements hardware-wise including better sound, twin joystick ports, a better chiclet keyboard then chiclet used by the Speccy (though still not as good as the C64 keyboard of the time), better graphics, and cartridge port (Speccy only used compact data cassettes via external compact cassete player). It sold for $200 which would have been a decent price if more software had been produced for it and/or you could run Speccy software out of the box.
One more thing to add I was just reminded about which I should have include with my original comment: Timex-Sinclair had also originally planned to release a much more compatible ZX-Spectrum-based machine called TS-2048 alongside the TS-2068 in 1983. It was to be based the 48k ZX-Spectrum and included a Kemston joystick port (With UK Speccies, Kemston Joystick port was optional via an add-on). and the improved graphics modes of the 2068. It would have been compatible with UK ZX-Spectrum software out of the box (unlike the 2069) but they decide to shelve the project in favor of only releasing the 2068 model. They had originally decided on this plan because they felt ZX-Spectrum 48k specs and hardware design would not be good enough for the U.S. market in 1983 (U.S. home micros where getting more advanced faster compared to UK home micros, such as how we quickly adopted the floppy drive vs the U.K. Sticking with Compact Data Cassettes for much longer). Had they stuck to the original plan then they would have had cheap home micro capable of running a large library of UK Speccy software and would have been in a position similar to the Atari 2600 Jr, a cost-reduced compact version of the Atari 2600/VCS released in the mid-80s that sold well for a time despite competition from graphically superior Nintendo and Sega systems because it “Under $50” and already had a large game library for it (even it a large portion if the game titles were quickly-coded poorly designed crap that contributed to the Video Game Crash of 1983). A machines like the ZX-Spectrum next should sell well enough because it already has a large amount of decent games for it out there you can run so it’s not lacking for developers like say the Dreamcast or the Atari Jaguar.
Also one, the ZX-Spectrum comparability cartridges for the TS-2068 basically were just ZX-Spectrum ROMS on a cartridge that loaded into a portion of the memory of the machine when you booted so your Speccy games ran under that rather then via the native ROM. This meant it was possible to take a ZX_Spectrum ROM chip from a UK Speccy and swap it in place of the 2068 native ROM. While this would allow for all UK Speccy software to run, it would disable features found only in the 2068 such as cartridge port or improved graphics modes. So you have to swap the 2068 ROM back if you wanted to run the limited native 2068 software including cartridge software. The ZX Spectrum ROM on a Cartridge option was of course the superior option since you could just boot without the cartridge for running native 2068 software, at least what little ever existed.
The top left game at the beginning is Jetpac, the first game I ever owned when I got a spectrum back in 1983!
great video!!... here in south america everybody have one of this... great times!!... you need to play the spanish games like Freddy Hardest, Navy Moves, Phantis..
You might want to check out the Vampire V4, a stand-alone FPGA recreation of an Amiga when it releases. But I imagine it’s even more involved to get things working right than the few options you have on the ZX Next.
No one will quite understand the beauty of coming home from school putting your tape in to load a game then running to finish your homework before you got to play. It took a long time to load a game so you made sure you were going to play it. I have you get a chance listen to the soundtrack for Robocop on the spectrum
WOW the Next comes onto Metal jesus's radar, awesome
Love to see a ZX vs C64 comparison video!
No my friend, the zx spectrum was huge in all of Europe, in fact , in Spain there were some particular well known software houses that created great games for it and later also for the commodore 64 and amiga
We never had a computer slump in Europe after the sh@*storm that was Atari's E.T.! We were programming in our bedrooms all the way up to the Mega Drive release. My friend had the original rubber key Spectrum, but I held off and got the Plus 2 model. Jetset Willy, Skool Daze, Ninja and Lords of Midnight are some of the highlights of this classic 8 bit!
I would love to see one like this for the Atari 800. This is cool. I'm really surprised the ZX spectrum got this before the commodore 64 or the Atari 800 though.
Yes, we had them all, Spectrum's, C64's, Amstrad etc. Yep, the graphics and sound were inferior, but a lot of the games had better playability. Games like, Renegade, Target Renegade, Commando, Chase HQ, R-Type(saw you playing it), Flying Shark, Beach Head 2 etc etc.
Still have my spectrum + and couple hundred original games ,loading was a pain as you had to adjust volume on different games so used to mark volume slider .games were notoriously hard
I'm British but have zero nostalgia or feelings towards the Speccy, unfortunately but this machine looks really good. I was always a C64 fan so I just hope that someone can make a C64 machine based on similar architecture.
mate it's got over 10,000 games. It was crazy times in the UK then.
The ZX Spectrum was massively popular in Portugal and also Spain (and in most of Europe). So much that there is a Sinclair museum here (loadzx.com/en/).
Loved my ZX speccy, it was a computer that most could afford. A bit like a mini cooper of computers. We had the ZX Speccy, Amstrad or Commodore 64 school battles. PS the next i believe it taken of the ZX Spectrum 128k + 2. PSS kendo warrior on the zx spectrum was great!
Being British I have massive nostalgia for this, as I still play mine from time to time. Some of the games are truly fabulous, although it's shockingly underpowered. Would I recommend it to someone who wasn't aware of it? Honestly, I don't know.
this is a great video man. really peaked my interest in this.
Btw fpga is not full recreation, it uses logic blocks that mimic the original gates of a CPU. Also its limit is that it can only perform digital signals, not analog. It is better than an emulator in terms of accuracy? Yes; but it also has limitations and its complexity is limited to the number of cells present on the FPGA, in terms of complexity.
u need a spectrum in your collection just for the loading sounds . But a original one is more nostalgic
Where can we buy this thing? I followed the links, but there's no order option on them, nor an option to contribute on the Kickstarter :(
Lucky you! For a short time you can get one. hurry up!
www.specnext.com/shop/
I had 48k and +2 version . I guess it is easiest to get into are good platform games. Out of those I recommend Manic Miner, Chuckie egg. 2 good sports games also come to mind Hyper Sports and Daley Thompson's Decathlon
I remember my brother sitting there for hours programming a clock that worked.
Oh Yes, thx 🌷 ☺
ZX Spectrum a classic computer is similar to the Commodore 64 but with a stronger and faster processing unit. 🎮💾💻👌☺
Again, Thank you, dear friends.🌷
Good games are Jet pack. Where you build and fuel up a rocket while trying to dodge meteor things and Jet set willy. A platformer that has trippy music.
I would pay good money for a new Amiga mini or Amiga games on a iPad or console. Not the Vampire stand though as that is very expensive for me.
Great channel thanks for all the hard work.
it was available in IRELAND as well
holy crap, that tshirt is awesome Jason!
You can get that cool Metroid shirt (and many others I always wear) at draculabyte.com
@@MetalJesusRocks sweet! good to know, bookmarked =) cheers dude! \m/
I grew up with this system. Some great games
I had a 48K Spectrum when it first came out (Actually I had a 16K as it was cheaper... they dont mention the 16K) It was £129.99 and I upgraded it to 48K for £49 at a later date. Loved it so much that I've just rebought one (the rubber keyed original). The games look rubbish now but at the time there was nothing like it available and there was a ton of £1.99 software coming out and games to be keyed in from magazines. The C64 certainly looked better but that wasnt really available in the UK when the spectrum launched. I think we got the VIC20 around the same time and the C64 came along later. I eventually owned both and loved my C64 but the nostalgia for the rubber keyed speccy is strong. Also had an Amstrad CPC 464 which, to be honest... felt better for me than both. You should give that a go. Its got the benefit of multicolour graphics (not so washed out as the C64) but with a speccy feel. Loved the Video. :)
"It,s.....painfully slow!" 🤣
I've been looking name for this game very long time, because there was a only European release for Home/ Personal computer(?) and in Finland, it was released by Salora in the middle on 80's. And for that was a game titled as "something" Patrol, which is basically a same game that Moon Patrol. Although, I haven't managed to find information about that game since so this was hint to right direction. Thanks! 👍🏻
8 bit computers often had unlicenced clones of famous arcade games that would change the name in a copyright-dodging sort of way.
The arcade original in this case was called Moon Patrol, by item.
One of the goals of Sinclair was to make an (extremely) affordable computer.
I think that although this machine is awesome, it is not exactly in line with the original thought.
Great machine, but too expensive. I'll probably get it if it drops in price.
Pretty sure what you were sent has the pi zero which was labeled for the debug. Has the ports in the right place.
Correct. If the 'hdmi video debug' port and the two micro-USBs are visible, it has the Pi module (just a stock RPI zero with some firmware on it's micro-sd card) installed.It's referred to as an 'accelerator' but it's (currently) only used for off-loading a few tasks from the main CPU, notably loading TZX format files/games and playing some music formats.
I decided to buy a ZX Spectrum Net for my birthday.
Anyone else notice the FF7 Polygon Figures in the Background behind the Bar?
Helps to be British, but it was a cool system, my first computer in 1984 and served me well for many years.
In the UK it was our equivalent of a NES in terms of popularity and nostalgia.
Probably the wrong comparison. It was our C64 (which was also popular here). The NES equivalent was the Master System, which was huge here.
C64 was our C64. Posh kids had C64s really posh kids had BBC-Bs
Check out Kim Justices channel. She is a great UK retro gamer who reviews the ZX Spectrum a lot.
Without the zx spectrum there might not of been GTA or the PlayStation as we know it. A lot of the programers who made games for the spectrum went on to form companies like rockstar games, rare and psygnosis (they developed all the tools for the origonal ps1). Al