The Spectrum from Retro Games

Christmas 1982, I unwrapped a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K and saw Disney's Tron. From then on I was hooked on computers, thanks to Sir Clive Sinclair and the generosity of my parents.

Hours were lost inputting basic code from the pack-in manual and Crash magazine. Although my coding skills fell far short of any lofty ambitions I may have had to create Tron's Master Control Program (MCP), programming helped to take my mind off of weekly rehabilitation from a life-changing brain injury.

And games! So many great games!

Most notably from Ultimate Play the Game AKA Rare. Plugging in the Currah μSpeech peripheral unlocked voices in Atic Atac years before Atari's Gauntlet gobbled up my allowance at the arcades! Titles such as Knight Lore were revolutionary. And Ocean's Daley Thompson’s Decathlon culminated in the premature demise of joysticks.

So, when Retro Games announced The Spectrum (affiliate link), my interest was piqued.

Paul Andrews, Managing Director at Retro Games Ltd., had this to say about the announcement:

"While we’ve enjoyed working on our other retro computers, this is the one that we’ve always really wanted to do. We all remember it fondly from our childhoods, so it was important that we got every detail right, it’s been a real passion project. So many enthusiasts will be excited by the return of this iconic machine, and we don’t want to let them down, so we’ve poured years of exacting detail into our recreation of arguably the most loved home computer of all time. It has drawn an emotional response from those who have seen it, which is not surprising given its close association with childhood and the 1980s, which are now viewed as a halcyon time. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on The Spectrum and enjoy a truly magical reminder of the past."

The Spectrum will include classic 8-bit video games such as Manic Miner, The Hobbit, Horace Goes Skiing, Skool Daze, Lords of Midnight, Match Day and Saboteur, as well as celebrated homebrew games like Alien Girl and Shovel Adventure.

I would go on to own a Sinclair ZX Spectrum+ (the beloved original handed down to a younger cousin who soon broke it), Commodore 64 and all things Apple ever after. But nothing will surpass discovering that little 8-bit home computer, with the rubbery keyboard, filled with a rainbow of infinite possibilities under the Christmas tree...

What are your memories of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum? Let me know in the comments below.