Pico MZ-80K software tests
As part of RetroChallenge 2024/10, I’m testing some old (and not so old) software on my Raspberry Pico MZ-80K emulator.
| BASIC programs (and link) | Notes |
|---|---|
| BASIC SP-5025 | Supplied with the Sharp MZ-80K as standard. Works as expected. The programs in this table were all written for this dialect of BASIC. |
| Backgammon | Distributed by Knight’s Computers of Aberdeen, this is rather more addictive than I was expecting. It’s a reasonable game, but fairly easy to win even for a very average player like me. |
| Duckshoot | A type-in game from (possibly) Computer and Video Games. There are a number of bugs in my version, but it’s just about playable. See https://z80.timholyoake.uk/duck-shoot/ for more details. |
| Epidemic | Cure the patient of a nasty virus, or out comes the penicillin in a huuugggeee syringe. A type-in game from August 1983’s Computer and Video Games that I bothered to get working at the time, quite good fun to play. See also https://z80.timholyoake.uk/epidemic/ |
| Five in a row | Knight’s TV and Computers. Beat the computer to be the first to get five counters in a row. Slow gameplay when compared with Othello, but mildly diverting nonetheless. |
| Life | John Conway’s Life. I was fortunate enough to attend a guest lecture by him at Warwick University in the early 1980s, and my brain still hurts from some of the maths. Written in BASIC, but it’s core is machine code, poked into memory from data statements. It’s very computationally efficient and has a good user interface for setting up the board. |
| Mad Max | A type-in game from (possibly) Computer and Video Games. The outside of the playing area isn’t completely populated and the sound effects are annoying, but it’s quite good fun nonetheless. See https://z80.timholyoake.uk/mad-max/ for more details. |
| Moonlander | I wrote my own version for a Sharp MZ-700 a couple of years ago, but this is just as good a challenge – and the graphics are far better! |
| Road-Shooter | A simple game – run over or shoot the aliens while avoiding the mines. The version in my repository before 6th November 2024 had a number of bugs, not least of which was not populating the game area with mines! I’ve used the Pico MZ-80K emulator to fix the game and upload a new version. |
| Take down game | Shipped on the Sharp MZ-80K applications tape and can also be found elsewhere – this copy is from a Knight’s Computers compilation. I’ve never beaten it … I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical way of playing the game and winning, but life is too short … The English translations are amusing. |
| Ten Pin Bowling | Cutesy graphics (see https://z80.timholyoake.uk/retrochallenge-2024-10/#Oct08 for a screenshot), moderately entertaining. From a Knight’s Computers compilation tape. |
| The Valley | This is my version of the game, typed in (with bugs!) from the original listing printed by Computing Today. I’ve written about it a number of times in the past. It works well on the emulator and allows you to save and retrieve your character from ‘tape’, just like on a real machine. |
| Machine code programs (and link) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Apollo Chess v2a | Good chess game. Uses descriptive rather than algebraic notation for moves. I’ve yet to beat it on anything higher than level 3 (Computer IQ=3) – out of 14! |
| Invaders | One of the very first games I played on my Sharp MZ-80K when it was unpacked on Christmas Day 1981. The classic space invaders game. This version is from Kuma. It’s playable, but because it uses one of the blue graphics keys to fire at the aliens (Alt V on the emulator), it’s a little more difficult on the emulator than on a real machine. There’s also a version that was distributed by Knight’s Computers that has the fire key on the full stop ( . ) – which is far easier easier to play on the emulator!  |
| Numbertron | This is a new-ish game produced for the MZ-80K (and other Sharp MZ computers) by Joachim Froholt. It’s addictive and very, very frustrating! It works well on the emulator. |
| Othello | It keeps beating me. Good game, good game … |
| Space Panic | A platform game in the German language from 1982. Climb ladders and dig holes to defeat the space aliens, but avoid being clobbered by ‘Evil Otto’. I love that when a space alien eats you it ‘Rülps’ (Burps) and all of its friends say “HaHaHaHa”. |
| The Word Game | From a compilation tape produced by Colin Needham. Has an interesting view of what legal English words are, but it’s a game that’s more fun than Wordle and fits into just 48K! The claimed vocabulary is in excess of 2,000 words. |