Defender of the Crown....

Growing up I was late to the C64 scene. Getting my T2 C64(c) pack in the early 90's. In some ways it was good as I could pick up cheaper hardware and software; But it really was the last burst of populism for the system. In retrospect it was a decent cross between a gaming console and PC functionality in the form of a 'reasonably priced car'.

Consoles of the time aside friends a few years later and my age group in general split into two factions. Amiga or Atari ST. I never got into either(or consoles), instead getting my first Windows PC in '95(first console was the OG Xbox(more on that here, here and here).

Bear with my waffling context.

One of my favourite game genres is strategy. 3 C64 games stand out for me from back then, Supremacy(Overlord), Johnny Reb II and Defender of the Crown. C64 games were very 'in the moment' as they had no saves. An action replay cartridge and a disk drive sorted that problem for me. Granted games on the C64 could last hours with retrying things. Artificially saving memory states only prolonged that to do and retry more. Like a form of what would be called save scumming today.

Waffle aside I spotted Defender of the Crown on sale on gog.com. I'd never tried the PC version but at €1.09 it seemed like I'd find out.

So I got it, and I've found out that the C64 version is indeed better than the PC version(imho). Nostalgia and rose tinted glasses aside. The only saving grace for my one euro purchase is that the superior Amiga original version also comes with the GOG software. GoG does use the Amiga version for the promotional screenshots. Better Amiga graphics and sound saved the day if not my true nostalgia. That's not to say that GoG tried to blindside buyers with trickery; They did a great Dos/Amiga comparison video:

GOG.com

The Amiga version may have been the first version that came out in '86 but the PC and C64 ports a year later were not identical. The PC Dos version does not stand the test of time well. Especially in the sound department. There are elements in the PC graphics that are slightly better than the C64(like 'some' animations) but the PC sound.... like finder nails on a chalkboard; The C64 is an 8bit wonder in comparison(All hail SID).

This era of 80's gaming really showed the difference in home systems and the more industrial office PC workhorses of the day. No wonder the 90's birthed waves of consoles (90's eh....).

Amiga map:

C64 map:

PC/Dos map

Amiga Tournament splash:

C64 Tournament splash:

PC/Dos Tournament splash:

Granted today it's down to perspectives, a gamer is going to love the game they played on the system they played it on. I'm C64 biased but not so much so that when I see the Amiga version I can't admit that it's better.
If your buying this GoG pack don't do so for the PC version. Unless that version is 'your' version for nostalgia. It's not worth it today otherwise. If your do, like me you'll be glad the Amiga version comes with it. I'm really glad it only cost me just over 1 euro; Any more and I'd have be peeved.

I'm waffling away here but I'm glad to have gotten this process/nostalgia/experience/comparison. It's also gotten me back to emulation of the C64(for a little bit of super nostalgia).

I'm not tempted to get the original hardware out of storage. Last time I looked and tried to set it up there were so many problems. Deteriorating cables and hardware wasn't fun. Kind of glad that I sold off the bulk of my original setup in the 90's. Kind of sad I don't have my old setup working these day's. For now, what I do have is in a form of Schrodinger's C64; It's in the box and potentially working..... The nostalgia lives and all my old saved disks are there.

Kind of tempted for the C64 Maxi. If only I had a way of getting my old 5¼ inch disks imaged and on usb.....

The 8-Bit Guy