Hello guys,
During the last week I decided to slow down the purchase of NES games, not only because I’m spending a little fortune, even thought sometime I can re-sell some games of which I have multiple copies, but also because I’d like to concentrate more on my first love in the field of home computers, the ZX Spectrum.
Since I’m short on games I tried again my Speccy a couple of days ago to check if it was still in working order and I realize that, since I don’t have anything to play with, the best option will be the emulation. I’m not a real fun of the emulators or better, I think this option works only for an “emergency period”. In the past I donwloaded a NES emulator but I realized it wasn’t the same and, however, I was looking for actual cartidge games anyway. Let’s say that my point of view is a compromise: it’s ok the emulation but only if in parallel you try to make a collection and you use downloaded ROMs of the games just to spend some tiume waiting for the real game. It was like this for NES and it will surely be like this for the Spectrum.
For this reason I’ve dowloaded OTLA that looks like the most reliable and probably the only existing way to emulate a tape player. With this software you can transform your laptop in a cassette deck and, downloading the TZX or TAP files for the Spectrum games, you can play them on the original computer simply connecting an audio cable between the two. I’ve chosen this software because it’s almost like I’m not using a real emulator: yes, you have to download games, but it’s just for the moment, and plus this gives me the possibility to play games on a real Spectrum.
I should say “this SHOULD” give me the possibility since when I tried to use it nothing happened. Despite all the videos I’ve seen online where the software was running without any problem I wasn’t able to load anything on my Speccy so I still have to wait to buy some actual games. I’ve seen something interesting online even though I know they are overpriced. I know in the UK you could easily find a bopx full of cassettes almost for nothing in car booth sales or thrift shops but at the moment the internet is my only way to collect something.
GAMES
- Europa Universalis IV
Begun: November 16th, 2016
Status: 60% completed, on hold - Duke Nukem – Episode three: Trapped in the Future
Begun: January 4th, 2017
Status: 60% completed, on hold - Super Mario Bros. 2 – The Lost Levels
Begun: January 16th, 2017
Status: 12% completed, on hold - Castlevania
Begun: January 24th, 2017
Status: 66% completed, on hold - Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker
Begun: April 25th, 2017
Status: 33% completed - Super C
Begun: June 23rd, 2017
Status: 57% completed
BOOKS
- The ZX Spectrum Book
Begun: June 17th, 2017
Status: 100% completed on October 3rd after 98 days - The Ultimate History of Video Games
Begun: November 16th, 2016
Status: 4% completed, on hold
