Remember... This was a gaming machine that encouraged you to write programs for it too. I would say even easier than pc's today. I been a developer now for 30 years and have yet to see anything encourage kids to write code more than the speccy did. Thank you Sir Clive!

I used to LOVE my spectrum. Today is hard to explain to a 90´s person or 2000´s how so few bites are so much fun. This just makes me download an emulator. Thanks !! :D

Some good memories. I think most of the games I'd choose have been mentioned by others. Certainly Elite, Saboteur 2, Daley's, Cyclone, Commando, Bruce Lee, Back to Skool, Match Point, M.O.V.I.E., Gauntlet, Way of the Exploding Fist, Stonkers and a few personal choices Head Coach and American Football which fed my interest from the telly. Glad to see Lords of Midnight and The Great Escape in there, I played those for ages.

Some of the games I have not seen for nearly three decades! I had such fun in the early 80s as a child playing my 48k Spectrum.

Horace goes skiing.......that brings back bad memories lol! Trying to get across that road without being hit.

I will admit, I cried as a child when I couldn't get the Daley Thompsons Decathlon hyperload to copy via my tape-2-tape, but then, it was two tape decks, one recording off the speaker of the other to the mic, through the air!! No cables :D Good old days of piracy! ! !

3:07 - Title music from Robocop one of the best themes from back in the day, Can remember sitting in the dining room eating my tea as a kid while the Game was loading and trying to rush so I could go back in and play haha. Good selection of games, thanks for the trip down memory lane mate :)

That brings back some memories! :) Knight Lore, Monty On The Run, The Hobbit & Manic Miner were true classics! Nice to see Highway Encounter, Spellbound & Stop The Express in there too - I'd totally forgotten about those games and used to love them! :) For me though you could have added Fred, Cyclone, Way Of The Exploding Fist & Moon Cresta to the list in the place of a few others.

Where Time Stood Still? Amaurote? Turbo Esprit? Trap Door? Target Renegade? There were also some great strategy games on the Speccy like Vulcan.

Great game & music choices. I can hear Glider Rider, Robocop, Starglider, Saboteur 2, 3 Weeks in Paradise, Amaurote, and Hydrofool in there. Didn't get the ones at the beginning and end though!

Good old days. I love Spectrum and Commodore too. We made new games and demos on Commodore Plus/4. 8 bit rules.

Played pretty much all the games on this list.The speccy was a great little machine.Loads of the games were ground breaking and some had some great complex gaming mechanics.

Great video! My first flight simulator was on the ZX Spectrum. Did you know...While the BBC micro helped thousands of UK school-kids get ahead in programming, Sinclair's Spectrum was the UK's best selling games computer for years and was sold in shops throughout the UK via W.H. Smith's stores. The Spectrum inspired hundreds of users to write and produce games and flight simulators etc.. One such company was DMA Design from Dundee in Scotland, who went on to produce a little game called Grand Theft Auto, which was directly inspired by the pioneering Spectrum game called Turbo Esprit. For more than a decade the GTA series has been THE best selling action-adventure game on all platforms; and that Scottish company is now of course called Rockstar. So thank you Sir Clive.

Ha ha! TLL Tornado Low Level absolutely blew my mind with its amazing graphics! I think it was the shadow underneath the low flying jet.

The best fifty ZX Spectrum games if you never played anything after 1986.

Ant Attack ! Atic Atac.Fairlight ! Jetpack !! Sabre wulf. Saboteur, Skool Daze.Horace Geos Sking, I use to play these games all the time. What a flashback !!

I can remember one game but the name eludes me - You had a team of 4 and you picked a specialization for each of them such as locksmith, commando etc Then you roamed around a map going into houses or caves and trying to unravel puzzels but you needed the right specs for each of your team. Brill game and wouldn't go a miss today :-)

What a great video thanks for putting this together - so many games which I'd completely forgotten about but once you see them again all the pleasure you had from them as a kid comes flooding back!

Thanks for compilation. I can remember most of that games. Some of the missed gems: Spooked, Feud, a game about wild west on Knightmare engine, a game about cooking food for your master, and then sending it on the lift (big sprites, player character is half of screen height), Turbo Esprit. And a lot more games buried in the depths of memory.

Super good video. Nothing will replace that feeling of flashing my original copy of Sabre Wolf at school. Loved the Speccy music soundtrack too!

Space Harrier, Enduro Racer and the Spectrum only Imagine games are great, Title music on Konami Ping-Pong is AWESOME! for the beeper.

Wonderful !!! I only missed Beach Head, Ghostbusters and Bruce Lee.

Ant Attack, Atic Attac, Chuckie Egg, Jetpac/ Lunar Jetman, Manic Miner/ Jet Set Willy, Knight Lore, Lords of Midnight, Sabre Wulf, Saboteur, Lords of Time... Such a golden age of gaming for me. Have to say as well, so many of these games that you have chosen are Ultimate clones... You have missed out a lot of other quality stuff, especially some great text adventures, to get some pretty derivative games in there.

This is a trip down memory lane.

this is a proper list! very closely matches my personal favourites!! great memories.

Wow.. thank you for this, I was looking for a game I played when I was 7 in 1987. I didn't know I used a ZX spectrum, in fact a HC85 (Romanian ZX Spectrum compatible) I was able to see my game in your collection and found out it's name. It's Roller Coaster (!) :-) 7:18 I didn't expect to find and play this game in 2014

Thanks for taking me back to my youth....was a blast seeing games av not seen 30 odd years...👏👏👏👌

Damn now I feel old. Got a Speccy on my 11 birthday.

IMHO: 1. Elite 2. Nether Earth 3. WEC Le Man Quazatron other

Very good collection. Have 2 questions though: 1) Why didn't Elite make the cut? Surely that was one of the games that defined the Spectrum (as it is oft quoted as the fastest version of the game on 8-bit). 2) Could you possibly do a list of all the different games you used as the music for that sequence as some of the tunes were wonderful? Specifically the music that comes in at 3:07 just as Fairlight comes on as that tune is wonderfully haunting.

Chequered Flag was the first home game to use a make shift wheel. There was a setting, that allowed you to use a large container lid resting on the number keys and moving that left and right moved the steering in the game. At the time, I remember thinking, that in the future we would have real wheels and driving against real people.

Wow watching this brought back some good memories.

I remember back then in 1989. My Dad gave me the ZX Spectrum as a present for my fifth birthday. That was my first experience with videogames. I used to play on that alot. I hope my "Speccy" is still working after i left it at my attic for about 10 years.

Loved Avalon and Dragontorc. I got Avalon for my 12th Birthday present back in Feb84. Mum and Dad were certainly happy at the lack of noise for the next few months.

This brings back some good memories .I remember Sabre Wulf which I never quite completed.

5:15 the random "if I was a richman" from jet set willy appearing was hilarious

Great memories. Thanks for posting. There are a few noteable absentees - Bruce Lee, Dan Dare and Thanatos spring to mind.

excellent list. played many of them as a child. amazing :)

Head over Heels, Jack the Nipper and Fairlight were some of my fave games.

I had a very poor upbringing and the zx-spectrum (after much begging and pleading) was the only computer in my parents price range and boy did I love it. (love ya mum & dad.. HUGS)

This is all so cool! They were able to do so much with so little! If this efficiency was applied to modern games somehow we could have games five times as impressive!

OMG so many great games that I loved back in the day !

Fantastic selection

I'd forgotten some of these games and they were great. I really really really liked some of these (not all and there a few I never played but boy this brings back memories. :)

You missed some. Knightshade, Spy Hunter, Commando, Space Harrier, Jet Set Willy 2, Pssst, Ghostbusters, Boulder Dash, Lode Runner, Bruce Lee, Spy vs Spy, Yi Ar Kung-Fu, Way of the Exploding Fist, Alien 8, Impossible Mission, 1942, Marble Madness, Pentagram, Krakout, Arkanoid, Wizball, International Karate +, Gauntlet to name a few. Then again, mentioning "Ultimate Play the Game" games is like shooting fish in a barrel since 90% of their games were superb. ^^

Talk about a trip down memory lane. I was a Spectrum owner back in '83 and the first game I bought was Atic Atac which, for the time, was utterly mesmerising! This is a strong selection. I would have had Bomb Jack and Commando in my 50. It's refreshing to see you resisted the temptation to include every Ultimate game as two or three were a tad overrated.

love some of the sound tracks. . silkworm and robocop

Don't have to take drugs, just listen to this kind of music! ;-)

Автор тупо записал обзор на ПЕРВЫЕ 50 игр, которые вообще смог найти. На самом деле - были там игры гораздо круче, играбельней и лучше.

Thanks for this, i went from the ZX81 to this beauty back in 83. Remember to watch the below if you loved the little beauty. Micro Men - 720p (2009)

Dizzy, Great Escape and Turbo Esprit had to be my favourite on the Speccy

Uff, good times! One of my favourite systems :D

I Used to make all that pulse music, 1 channel , many sounds, much joy !

Самые крутые игры для меня были Эксалон, брюсли и маник минёр

i had nearly all of the games in your top 50. back in the day, i had over 1000 games.

I still play many of these games. :-) Thanks for nice video.

Music is from a game called 'Fire and Ice'. The music is the end sequence of the game. Best AY music I have heard!

Nice job. Doomsday Castle was one of the first games I got. Ridiculously hard!

They managed to do all this with just 16, 48 or 128 kilobytes RAM. Incredible.

awesome video, lots of great memories and some i couldnt remember. Ultimate Play the game with the bigger black boxes, the awesomeness of Matthew Smith, Manic Miner and the greatest followup ever Jetset Willy ;)

surprised to find elite is missing when its considered one of the best games of all the machines of this era not just the spectrum?

смотрел и слезы капали)))

The Great Escape, Lords of Midnight were my faves. And 100 others...

Back when machines had character. I never owned a Spectrum but have very fond memories of it's charm which it oozed. Each of the 8bits had a distinctly different feel

Top without Elite? Xecutor, Barbarian, Exolon are sucks at.. football manager? The video should be named: "50 random games".

7:11 This is not Quazatron. Magnetron))

Commandos-там солдат бежит снизу вверх по карте , пульки бесконечны и 5 гранат навесом доты снимать .Green beret-с ножом боец пробирается по чужой базе.Renegade-боец решил завязать с криминалом и его преследуют различные бригады во главе с боссом.

what is the tune at 3,18, I know it, but can't put my finger on it (it's not Joe Blade 2 is it?)

Ambers Knight - the music at 3.07 I recognise form the 1987 ZX spectrum game robocop. It is the menu music. I cannot renember who made the tune though but the music to the whole game was very well executed.

Awesome video! Just one omission that springs to mind (well, two, since I see Batman in the suggested videos on the right :) but the one was Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Weird, but awesome :D

Imho best ZX games are - Elite, Rebel Star, Zynaps, Dizzy Series and Chase HQ, Renegades, Savage, and F-16 Combat Pilot offcouse

I love watching this even though the system is over 30 years older than me!

This video brings back memories ... the ZX Spectrum was a thousand times better than the ATARI and the COMODORE and I do not know why in my country (Chile, south of this world), it had very low profile. I had the ZX 81 in black and white and then this one that had 16 colors and graphics with pixels unlike ATARI that were just squares ... There are many games that being from 1982, were better than those of the Nintendo NES that came out 10 years ago after (and with great reputation). I do not say all, but some if, for example, those of RARE ... in short, I would have liked this video in HD and not in 240 to share it with my children and that they value their current XBOX ONE X or their PS4 PRO. However, if this is a top (ranking), missing many great games: Cokies, Bruce Lee, Oolong, Zigurat, Opera, Dinamic, Sir Fred, Rambo, Spy Hunter, Topo, Zaxon, Game Over, Maziacs and many more that really marked me and insist, surpass ATARI and other systems that were more famous ... I regret that Spectrum did not continue ... I still remember the sounds of the cassette player when I loaded the games ... 5 or 6 minutes and the less interference, repeat the process ... Zinclair was pure QUALITY in his time and as I say, very low profile in my country (Chile, south of this world).

Loved sabre wulf... Miss tapper dam buster moon patrol stunt car race Stallone Cobra Fist (Karate) and a few others

Deactivators, Pulsator, Ghosts n Goblins, Mutant Monty, Contact Sam Cruise, Maziacs, Trap Door, Gregory Loses His Clock, Technician Ted, Popeye, Cybernoid, Krakatoa, Joust, Dan Dare, Green Beret, Antiriad, Cavelon, Fued

Anyone know what the music is at the 9m mark? I can hum it but can't place it. It's not one of the Wally games, is it?

'Chaos - Battle of Wizards' was my favourite here missing title. But there was a Julian Gollop title in there. Also 'Myth:History in the Making' was awesome.

Target Renegade, Renegade, Elite, Rex, Barbarian, Bombjack, Most of the Dizzy games should be on that list.

What is the name of the music around 3:40? Just beautiful.

Not to mention debatedly the best of all the versions of the time... I agree with with Ed. Far too many Ultimate isometric clones in this list as well IMO and not enough of things like Lords of Midnight. There are some obvious greats here though so well done for those :)

Mil GRACIAS por este vídeo... de verdad GRACIAS... Thanks Thanks Thanks... Saludos y Like desde Chile (al sur de este mundo)

2:42 = I'm in 8 bit music heaven.

I was waiting for Exolon, Trantor, Freddie Hardest, Crazy Cars II, Game Over, Savage, and a couple of games by Pete Cook: Whole New Ball Game, and one where you had to control a little ball around a square to fill in smaller squares, but I can't remember what that one is called. I still have them all!

Very good an nostalgic video! Miss Spanish publisher games Dinamic Software. Had very good games: Yenght, Abu Simbel Profanation, Camelot Warriors, Game Over, Army Moves, Other Spanish company "Made in Spain": El misterio del Nilo, Fred & Sir Fred. Other spanish one: Opera Soft with their great La Abadía del crimen. Other games I missed: arkanoid, alien 8, Movie, Asteroids, Target Renegade and of course Pac-Man & Tetris (better in other platforms)

Quazatron - that version looked quite different to the one I have. The interface at bottom of screen and level design is not something I've seen before. Was it another version, or pre release??

Woow thanks for posting. My list wouldn't miss : Amaurote, Elite, R-Type, Enduro Racer, Space Harrier, Gyroscope, Spawn Of Evil (amazing as only 16 Kbytes, and great longevity), I, Of The Mask, Driller, Airwolf, Game Over, Knight Lore, Alien 8, The Way Of The Tiger. There was also a helicopter game I can't remeber the name of, thunder sthing ... sbdy remembers that, in 3D ? The tunes you chose (I spotted 2 from Amaurote and one sort of JMM Jarre one) are very good. Thanks again, it brings back so many good memories. The Speccy was a fabulous and affordable commie with great games. Thanks Clive !

no way is this a top 50, yes there are some great games here especially Saboteur, Jetpack and Head over Heals, but no Commando, Space Harrier, Match Day (probably the precursor to the Fifa franchise), Rambo, The Bards Tale, Daley Thompson Decathlon (destroyer of many a joystick), ELITE, Super Robin Hood, Leader board, Paper Boy, Barbarian, Avenger, Renegade and the list could go on and on....

Can't seem to find it :c Do you have a .mod lying around somewhere?

A few of these bring back memories. Though personally if I did a list like this I would've included Driller or Hard Drivin' mainly because of the use of the Freescape engine to draw actual 3D worlds which you could explore at your leisure. Well, Driller more than Hard Drivin' but to see you as the player being in a fully 3D world on such a tiny little computer was mind blowing. Advanced Pinball Simulator should have been given an honorable mention due to it's use of speech synthesis in the main menu. Stunning.

Kudos on the Glider rider theme tune at 2 mins.

The end tune from a game called 'Fire and Ice'.

Its from the specy version of oceans classic RoboCop. I played that game to death. fab music as well.

Here must be also: Exolon, Nether Earh, Boulder Dash

Tir Na Nog was the first game in the series. Dun Darach was the second title, and its one shown here.

Thanks. I can actually let go of a 25 year search to find the name of a long forgotten favourite game from my childhood. Quazatron!

What's the name of the song playing around 4:45?

ha ha, i used to play that too. pretty sure it's called 'where art thou white beard'

Hi Chris, please, music at 1:31 ?? Thank you so much.

Interesting and fun to watch. :-) I don't know many of the games, actually I know only 20/50. But there are definitely some omissions: Driller or Dark Side should have been there, Sentinel definitely, Robin of the Wood, Nether Earth, Cyclone... these are just a few that are better than Chequered Flag for instance. :-)

Happy days!