the first time I played on a ZX Spectrum was at the Stockport branch of Debenhams, which in 1983 had an impressive home computer section that quickly became a sort of free nursery for bored 13-year-olds. You could spend hours there, writing crude basic programs on a series of machines while harried staff scrambled to try to stop them from running. However, some of the computers were running games for customers to try, and this was where I came across Manic Miner, the legendary platformer with its strange flickering graphics and surreal enemies. Speccy’s games seemed absolutely unique thanks to the machine’s idiosyncratic way of restricting 8×8 sprite maps to two colors, which meant that moving objects on the screen were generally collections of colored pixel tiles, which generated an effect known as attribute clash. Somehow, it was both ugly and beautiful, and still is.
Unpacking The Spectrum, the latest piece of modern vintage hardware from Retro Games Ltd, is a surprisingly nostalgic experience. It looks exactly as I remember the original machine: a black slab with rubber keys, each of which displays not only a number or letter, but also a basic programming command. “Rem”, “Rand”, “Gosub”, the mystical words of the domestic programming era. There’s a USB cable to plug it in (although you’ll need your own USB plug) and an HDMI cable, but there’s no joystick. The machine is compatible with most USB gamepads; You just need to configure the buttons yourself, which takes a little time, but it’s worth it if you can’t stand using those rubber buttons to control your games.
Loading it up brings up a modern home screen showing a carousel of built-in games. There are 48 to choose from, ranging from classics such as The Lords of Midnight, Head Over Heels, Manic Miner and The Hobbit, to modern titles produced by contemporary programmers in the Speccy fan scene. These are fascinating projects, including the top-down sci-fi game Alien Girl: Skirmish Edition and the tomb raiding game Shovel Adventure. If you use up the built-in supply, you can also download Spectrum game Roms from a PC to a USB stick, plug it in and run it here, although if you’re looking for classic Speccy titles rather than modern open source fans. -created games, then you’re in murky legal territory.
As always, there are plenty of screen configurations so you can add a CRT effect for a more authentic ’80s TV experience, although honestly nothing will diminish the wild confusion of playing Horace Goes Skiing on a 55-inch LED screen. . What surprised me is how these games still have so much visual charm. The students and teachers who roam the halls of Skool Daze are full of character, from the burly bully to the decrepit history teacher. Sandy White’s Ant Attack retains its stark beauty, the geometric walls and giant scurrying ants providing the same old feeling of alienation and terror. Ocean’s relatively sophisticated isometric adventures, The Great Escape and Where Time Stood Still, pack plenty of detail into their largely monochrome worlds. It’s lovely to see them again.
As with most other retro consoles, there are modern gaming additions, such as save points (a little fiddly to use, but they get the job done) and a rewind function that takes you back to seconds before you inevitably hit a car in Trashman. . But I also love the fact that every time you select a game you get a few seconds of the original illustrated loading screen; These pictorial delights were a key part of the initial experience, as you’d be staring at them for up to five minutes while waiting for the tape to finally load; It is important that they have been preserved.
The ZX Spectrum’s original computing capabilities are also retained. If you select classic mode, the console switches to the old world home screen and you can program it. It is a feature that I have taken full advantage of.
Who is this for? Obviously the target audience is people like me, who was there at the beginning and remember playing many of these games 40 years ago. Sure, there are free Spectrum emulators available online if you know where to look and don’t mind risking a malware infection every time you search a Rom site. But part of the nostalgic gaming experience is seeing a reproduction of the machine you remember sitting in front of your TV; and with The Spectrum you also get those legendary rubber buttons, feeling them squeak under your fingers as you press the leg sweep button in The Way of the Exploding Fist.
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In the digital age we sometimes forget how much memory is involved feel. Many of these games were designed with keyboard controls in mind, as joysticks were an optional extra and out of the price range of many families in the early ’80s. The Spectrum delights in the tactile appeal of this computer. fundamental and its elastic buttons. It will remind you how strange Speccy’s games were and how they forged their own path beyond Japanese arcades and flashy American home computers. The days of spending all Saturday afternoons in the IT department at Debenhams are long gone, but the games and the way we played them are here again. You can come back whenever you want.