The C64 Is the Best Commodore 64 Emulator Out There

And I’ve tried them all

Jason Howell
Debugger

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Images courtesy of the author

Anyone who truly loves technology can likely trace their passion back to one key piece of hardware, one defining gadget that sparked their curiosity, excitement, and the motivation to learn more. Hands down, for me, that inspirational machine was the Commodore 64 personal computer. As a lucky fifth grader, I spent as much of my spare time as my parents allowed programming in basic, hand coding Machine Language programs from Compute! Magazine, downloading and playing games from Bulletin Board Systems, and ultimately getting into a considerable amount of hot water (for a seventh grader) complete with a visit from the FBI. That’s a story for another time.

I’ve dabbled in emulating the Commodore 64 on the PC, the Mac, and the Raspberry Pi throughout the years. Ultimately, however, I found the experience to be underwhelming for one key reason: The unique keyboard is nearly as important to the grand Commodore 64 experience as the games played on it. It is for that reason that I am overjoyed that Retro Games created the C64, a $129.99 emulation device inside of a fully functional replica of the original Commodore 64 design. This baby takes me back.

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Jason Howell
Debugger

Podcast producer and Host for TWiT.tv, including Tech News Weekly, and All About Android