Category Archives: ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum games.

RoboCop 2, ZX Spectrum

Based on Irvin Kirshner‘s underrated 1990 sequel to RoboCop, in RoboCop 2 you once again take the role of the cyborg cop of the future in order to uphold the law and protect the innocent. RoboCop 2 was developed and published by Ocean Software and released soon after the film came out.

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Krakatoa, ZX Spectrum

Written by Paul W. Reynolds and published for the ZX Spectrum by Abbex Electronics in 1984, Krakatoa – also known as “Escape From Krakatoa” – is a scrolling action game with multiple objectives in which you fly a helicopter in order to rescue people from the infamous erupting volcano.

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Combat School, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum conversion of Konami‘s arcade game, Combat School, was developed and published by Ocean Software in 1987.

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RoboCop, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum version of RoboCop – based on the 1987 film of the same name – was developed and published by Ocean Software in 1988, and was such a hit that it went on to become the top-selling Spectrum game of 1989, according to Gallup (the company that used to collate and publish the UK’s music and video game charts). The Spectrum version actually remained in the sales charts for over a year and half – it entered the charts in December of 1988 and was still in the top five in February of 1991, which is insaneTHAT is what you call a “big hit“!

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Ghosts ‘N Goblins, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum version of Capcom‘s arcade classic, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, was first released by Elite Systems in 1986.

There is some confusion about who programmed the game. The title screen says that it was coded by Keith Burkhill, yet some sources say that Nigel Alderton programmed it. It could be that both worked on the game, but it’s not entirely clear…

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Vradark’s Sphere, ZX Spectrum

Vradark’s Sphere is a Roguelike fantasy role-playing game that was created by Aleksander Udotov, for 128K Spectrums, and first released in 2018. To me it is the epitome of what I would call “Modern Retro” (ie. a modern game, made to look old or be played on old hardware), and it looks and plays fantastically well.

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Aliens: Neoplasma, ZX Spectrum

Aliens: Neoplasma is a homebrew ZX Spectrum game that was released by a Russian dev team called “SaNchez” in 2019. The game is for Spectrum 128K models only and is a run-and-gun shooter with platforming elements. It’s available in English, Russian and Spanish (each language is a separate download).

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Rainbow Islands, ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum has an excellent port of Taito‘s classic arcade game, Rainbow Islands, thanks to the developers at Graftgold. It was first published by Ocean Software in 1990.

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Magnetron, ZX Spectrum

Magnetron is the sequel to Quazatron and is another interpretation of the classic C64 game, Paradroid, but with an isometric viewpoint. It was first published in 1988 by Firebird Software.

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Quazatron, ZX Spectrum

Quazatron is an isometric action/puzzle game written by Steve Turner of Graftgold and published by Hewson Consultants in 1986. It is essentially a ZX Spectrum remake of Andrew Braybrook‘s Commodore 64 classic, Paradroid.

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