GamesNostalgia's Top Commodore 64 Games of All Time
By: Maddie
Published: 26 June 2025, 6:45 pm
The Commodore 64 wasn't just a computer - it was a revolution that brought arcade-quality gaming into millions of homes. With its powerful SID sound chip, advanced graphics capabilities, and 64KB of RAM, the C64 became the canvas for some of the most innovative and technically impressive games ever created.
Creating this top 20 list wasn't easy. With thousands of incredible C64 games to choose from, many deserving titles inevitably didn't make the cut. Our selection process wasn't purely objective - these are the games that left the deepest impression on us, the ones we remember most fondly from our childhood gaming sessions. We prioritized original C64 games wherever possible, but couldn't ignore masterpieces like Archon, Elite, or Pitstop II that, despite originating on other platforms, became defining experiences on the C64 and consumed countless hours of our youth.
This list represents both technical excellence and personal nostalgia - the games that didn't just push hardware limits, but created memories that lasted a lifetime. In the future, we plan to release a dedicated chart focusing exclusively on C64-original games, but for now, these 20 titles represent our most cherished Commodore 64 experiences.
5. Archon: The Light and the Dark (aka Archon)
Archon is not a Commodore 64 original game since it was developed initially for the Atari 8-bit computers. This is probably the only reason why I cannot place Archon in the #1 position. However, it was the C64 version that determined its success, and this is a title that deserves to be in the top 5. The idea of mixing chess with arcade fighting is simply brilliant, and the player vs. player mode is a masterpiece. Different pieces, each one with his own melee or ranged weapons, defensive or attacking skills, plus the spellcasters. The light and the dark side have different pieces, which creates exciting fighting mixes.
You can have games with great graphics, music, presentations, and stories, but in the end, what matters is having fun. And Archon is precisely this: social fun at its best. I remember countless hours spent playing Archon against my friends and improving our strategies and attacking skills. That satisfaction when you kill a unicorn with a simple goblin? Ahh.. amazing stuff.
4. Sid Meier's Pirates!
Sid Meier personally crafted Pirates! for the Commodore 64 in 1987, creating what many consider the first true open-world adventure game. This wasn't a port or adaptation - Meier designed every aspect specifically for the C64's capabilities. The game seamlessly blended multiple genres: strategy, action, role-playing, and simulation, all wrapped in a Caribbean pirate theme. The technical marvel was how Meier managed to create such a vast, persistent world with meaningful choices and consequences within the C64's memory constraints. The elegant interface and the way different gameplay elements flowed together set the template for countless future games. Pirates! proved that the C64 could handle complex, ambitious designs when crafted by a master.
3. Turrican II (aka Turrican 2 - The Final Fight)
When people saw Turrican, they could not believe it was running on a Commodore 64. Manfred Trenz was able to create something that was considered impossible on this machine. Then Turrican II arrived, and it was bigger and better. Amazing graphics, perfect animations, awesome soundtrack composed by Markus Siebold. Technically speaking, Turrican 2 is probably the most advanced game ever created on the Commodore 64. You will also find this game in every Amiga chart, as the Amiga version is a masterpiece too, but the original one is for the C64.
2. International Karate + (aka Chop N' Drop)
Archer MacLean's IK+ (International Karate +) from 1987 represents the pinnacle of fighting games on the C64. Building on the success of the original International Karate, MacLean added a third fighter to create dynamic three-way battles that were both strategic and spectacular. The fluid animation system used advanced sprite techniques and careful timing to create some of the most realistic martial arts movements ever seen on the platform. Rob Hubbard's iconic soundtrack perfectly complemented the action, with tracks that have become legendary in their own right. The game's technical achievement lies in its smooth 50fps animation and the complex collision detection system that made every fight feel authentic and responsive.
1. Maniac Mansion
Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick at Lucasfilm Games created something revolutionary with Maniac Mansion in 1987. This wasn't just another adventure game - it was the birth of the SCUMM engine (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion), which would power countless classic adventures. The game's non-linear structure, multiple character system, and dark humor were groundbreaking. Technically, it pushed the C64's capabilities with detailed character animations and a complex script system that managed multiple storylines simultaneously. The fact that you could complete the game in different ways with different characters was unprecedented, and the game's influence on adventure gaming cannot be overstated.