The Top Ten Commodore 64 games

The Commodore 64 was one of the best-selling home computers of all time. It dominated the video game market for nearly a decade: from the infamous “Video Game Crash” of 1982, to the advent of the 32-bit and 64-bit consoles during the early 90’s.There were plenty of quality games made for the C64, covering multiple genres, but you wouldn’t know it if you look at almost any other top ten list.

Forgive me while I go on a little rant. I have no qualms with any other list out there. Obviously, all top ten (or any number) lists are subjective. No one list is definitive, (even mine – although I would be flattered if anyone though it was.) To get any semblance of a consensus, one would have to be a Metacritic.I am not a Metacritic; my lists are not a best-of compilation of others lists. I just hope to one day be a part of the conversation. I look at other lists as a reference – to see if I had overlooked anything. (I confess that there have been some lists that were originally only seven or eight deep, and I needed ideas to fill out my lists.) As a GenXer, my biases tend to steer towards the 1980’s and 1990’s in regards to the “all-time” lists. But I try to be as inclusive as possible. If I feel I can’t, I try to make the topic to be as specific as possible, (e.g.: “Songs of ). That will reduce the risk of having some glaring omissions. And when it comes to Top Commode 64 games, most of the other lists have some Glaring, Gaping omissions. Yes, “Gaping” and “Glaring” with capital “G‘s”.

One of the strengths of the C64 was its versatility. You could make almost any type of game for the 64. The genres that would not be viable for this computer, for obvious reasons, were the RTS game, and the FPS game. The memory and graphics were not available at that time. That being said, I can find no reason why the genres of sports and the RPG were forsaken on other lists. The strategy genre is also ignored, but its relatively low popularity is a quasi-justifiable reason.

I was stunned. I was flabbergasted. I was outraged! My two favorite genres – sports and RPGs, were nowhere to be found on the web. Those were the only type of games I played on the C64, because those were the only two genres the C64 did better than the arcade! The C64 version of platform games, side shooters, or racing games, could not hold a candle to their arcade counterparts.Why spend around $30 to $40 on a crappy translation of an arcade game, when I can play the superior version for just 25¢? (Or spend money on a blank 5¼” floppy, and make a copy courtesy of  a pirate BBS?)

The worst part is that these were not obscure titles. I’m not referring to some Japanese imports, or some fly-by-night companies. These were best-sellers, so I know that I was not the only one who liked them. It wasn’t just me.

Phew. I’m glad I got that off my chest. With all of that in mind, here is our lists.

Keith’s List

• 10. Green Beret (a.k.a.: Rush N’ Attack)
• 9. Project Stealth Fighter
• 8. Jumpman
• 7. Commando
• 6. Bruce Lee
• 5. Spy Hunter
• 4. Rambo
• 3. Ghostbusters
• 2. GI Joe: A Real American Hero
• 1. Star Wars

So perhaps I played more than only RPGs and sports games on the C64. So my list is slightly bigger than ten.

My List

• 50. Pitstop II
• 49. Legacy of the Ancients
• 48. The Bard’s Tale II
• 47. The Bard’s Tale 3
• 46. 10th Frame
• 45. Seven Cities of Gold
• 44. Raid over Moscow
• 43. California Games
• 42. Mini Putt
• 41. Skool Daze
• 40. Skyfox
• 39. Silent Service
• 38. Bruce Lee
• 37. GI Joe
• 36. (tie) Spy vs Spy I, II, III
• 35. Law of the West
• 34. Ultima III Exodus
• 33. Curse of Azure Bonds
• 32. Leisure Suit Larry
• 31. Impossible Mission
• 30. Usagi Youjimbo
• 29. Speedball
• 28. Rambo
• 27. Ace of Aces
• 26. Summer Games II
• 25. Larry Bird vs Dr J
• 24. Space Taxi
• 23. Lode Runner
• 22. Heart of Africa
• 21. Pirates!
• 20. The Bard’s Tale
• 19. World Games
• 18. Archon II
• 17. Pool of Radiance
• 16. Monkey Island
• 15. Nuclear War
• 14. Racing Destruction Set
• 13. Airborne Ranger
• 12. 4th and Inches
• 11. Ultima IV

• 10. Ghostbusters
• 9. Project Stealth Fighter
• 8. HardBall!
• 7. Aliens
• 6. Lords of Conquest
• 5. Defenders of the Crown
• 4. Questron
• 3. Micro League Baseball
• 2. Ultima V
• 1. Winter Games

Next Podcast Unlimited List: Top Ten Vampire movies