Was 1988 the Year Zzap!64 Changed Forever? | 55 C64 & Amiga Award Winners

🕹️ Every Commodore 64 and Amiga game that received a Zzap!64 Gold Medal, Sizzler, Silver Medal or 16-bit Sizzler during 1988 — all 55 award-winning entries revisited month by month. After the strange scoring droughts of 1987, Zzap!64 returned in 1988 with considerably more awards, several enormous review scores and a magazine that was beginning to change. The Commodore 64 was still producing major releases, but the Amiga was no longer sitting quietly in the background. The 16-bit coverage was growing, Jaz Rignall departed after 39 issues, and by the end of the year Zzap!64 seemed to be covering two different generations of Commodore gaming at once. In this video, I go through every qualifying award from January to the Christmas Special, including all the Gold Medals, standard Sizzlers, budget Silver Medals, 16-bit Sizzlers and the year’s single 16-bit Gold Medal. That means Commodore 64 classics and cult favourites including Combat School, Driller, Tetris, Hunter’s Moon, Platoon, Project Stealth Fighter, Cybernoid, Impossible Mission II, The Great Giana Sisters, Barbarian II, Hawkeye, Last Ninja 2, Salamander, Wasteland, Katakis, Armalyte, Bombuzal and many more. The growing Amiga coverage also brings in games including Time Bandit, Buggy Boy, Carrier Command, Starglider 2, StarRay, Ultima IV, Fish!, Corruption, Ingrid’s Back, Nebulus, Rocket Ranger, Cybernoid and Impossible Mission II. There are some major questions along the way. Was Hawkeye really worth 96%? Should Bruce Lee have received a Gold Medal instead of Silver? Did Last Ninja 2 deserve more than 94%? Was The Great Giana Sisters fairly rewarded, or was it sailing slightly too close to Super Mario Bros? And did the increasing Amiga coverage improve Zzap!64, or was the magazine beginning to drift away from the Commodore 64? For me, 1988 is the crossover year. The C64 was still receiving superb games from programmers who knew the hardware inside out, while the Amiga was beginning to show why so many players would eventually move across. Games such as Armalyte, Bombuzal, The Great Giana Sisters and Last Ninja 2 proved the breadbin was nowhere near finished, while Starglider 2 and Rocket Ranger offered a glimpse of where computer gaming was heading next. 💬 Which Zzap!64 award from 1988 was absolutely right? 💬 Which Gold Medal, Sizzler or Silver Medal now feels overrated? 💬 Should Bruce Lee or Last Ninja 2 have received a Gold Medal? 💬 Did you welcome the growing Amiga coverage? 💬 Should the series continue into 1989? If you enjoy Commodore 64 retrospectives, Amiga nostalgia, Zzap!64 magazine history, classic game reviews and slightly opinionated retro gaming debate, please give the video a like, subscribe if you are new, and add your choices in the comments. 🌐 FULL GAME PAGES AND MORE RETRO GAMING NOSTALGIA https://www.cheekycommodoregamer.co.uk/ ▶️ MORE LONGFORM RETRO VIDEOS Commodore 64, Amiga, Zzap!64 retrospectives and classic gaming documentaries:    • Commodore 64 & Amiga Longform Documentaries   💙 SUPPORT & CONNECT Patreon:   / cheekycommodoregamer   YouTube Membership:    / @cheekycommodoregamer   Twitter:   / cheekyc64gamer   Facebook:   / cheekycommodoregamer   Discord:   / discord   ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro – Was 1988 the Year Zzap!64 Changed Forever? 00:56 January 1988 – Combat School, Driller, Tetris and More 08:41 February 1988 – Match Day II, Hunter’s Moon and Platoon 12:25 March 1988 – Project Stealth Fighter, Predator and the Silver Medals 17:48 April 1988 – The First 16-Bit Sizzler 21:51 May 1988 – Samurai Warrior, Cybernoid and Pac-Land 25:18 June 1988 – Impossible Mission II, Alien Syndrome and More 29:51 July 1988 – Bionic Commando and The Great Giana Sisters 33:09 August 1988 – Barbarian II, Hawkeye, Dark Side and Bruce Lee 38:13 September 1988 – Last Ninja 2, Salamander and Wasteland 43:00 October 1988 – Katakis, Carrier Command and Starglider 2 48:23 November 1988 – Armalyte, Cybernoid II and StarRay 54:40 December 1988 – Bombuzal, Rocket Ranger and the Christmas Special 1:03:50 Final Thoughts – The C64 and Amiga Crossover Year #commodore64 #c64 #amiga #zzap64 #retrogaming #c64games #amigagames #8bitgaming #16bitgaming #retrocomputing #zzapgoldmedal #cheekycommodoregamer