A few days ago I had another ZX Spectrum stream over on Twitch. This time I dedicated its entirety to both new and old games including Scramble RX by HappyCodingZX aka Alan Turvey of Midnight Brew (links below).
Scramble arcade is one of my all time classic favourite games so from the very start it was on notice that it had to be special to make me happy. I loaded it up from the DivMMC and the music played. I smiled. Considering the 8bit nature of both the original Arcade game and the Spectrum port I was about to play the fact that it sounded so good should not have really been a surprise but, regardless, it was. I was already in the mood I had hoped for.
Clicking a couple of options led me into the first level and OMG did I grin like an idiot. This was Scramble! Not a mere port or facsimile of my childhood, this was, to me, perfection. Several plays later and several levels in the magic just kept coming and after I finally moved on to other games the magic stayed with me, and still does as I write this opinion piece. This is not a review though it may play out like one as I simply cannot recommend the game enough. Alan has made quite a few games both under the RX monicker and more and to date all have been incredible and shown a love of the classics that few can aspire too.
From sound to graphics and, most importantly, gameplay this is a game that any lover of Arcade classics simply must own and play, be it original hardware like myself or emulation. The only thing missing from this wonderful port is the rumbling and vibrating cabinet of old with its dodgy speakers that made the game even better and with a little work you could emulate that too.
Fantastic work, amazing game and for someone like myself It transported me back to the early 80s at the local Chip Shop, Arcade or Fair. Heck, I have even asked my local PCB buying guy (the wonderful Pinge) to find me the board so I can play it in its original format. That is how good this port is.
Thank you Alan. This old dog is happy you do this wonderful work.
Get the game – https://happycodingzx.itch.io/scramble-rx
Twitch VoD – https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2348359915
Alans Itch.io – https://happycodingzx.itch.io/
Pinges Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/pinge_hjo
