Buggy Boy (Tatsumi/Taito, 1985)

Developed by Tatsumi Electronics Co. Ltd., and published by Taito Corp. for the arcades in 1985.
Published in North America as "Speed Buggy" by Data East.

Amstrad CPC version written by Andrew G. Williams, with graphics by Peter Tattersall. Published by Elite Systems Ltd. in 1987.

Commodore 64 version written by Dave Thomas, with graphics by Bob Thomas. Published by Elite Systems Ltd. in 1987, and as "Speed Buggy" in North America by Data East in 1988.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum version designed by Dented Design: Programming by Maz H. Spork, Graphics by Paul D. Walker, Music by Mark Cooksey. Published by Elite Systems Ltd. in 1988.

Atari ST version written by Martin W. Ward, with music and sound effects by Jason C. Brooke. Published by Elite Systems Ltd., and as "Speed Buggy" in North America by Data East in 1988.

Commodore Amiga version written by Martin W. Ward and Richard Frankish. Published by Elite Systems Ltd. in 1988, and as "Speed Buggy" in North America by Elite Systems Ltd. in 1989. (North American release distributed by Keypunch Software).

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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

It's been a while since the blog featured a game from Elite, a publisher that had a strong presence in my gaming youth, and the last comparison from a game from Elite's catalogue was posted in August 2017 - that being Overlander, a game that cannot honestly be considered one of Elite's finest. So, it's high time to finally do a comparison of my all-time favourite game release from Elite on the Commodore 64.

Prior to starting to do further research on this game, I had never given much thought on how well the game did on other platforms. The original arcade game was apparently, and rightly so, a huge hit in Japan and North America, being in the Top 5 highest-grossing arcade games of 1986. Perhaps part of its success could be the panoramic three-screen display in the original version, but I seriously doubt it was even remotely as common in the arcades as the upright single-screen cabinet, which was released as Buggy Boy Junior. The International Arcade Museum website lists three versions of the game, of which the most reliable score is given to a listing called "Speed Buggy Buggy Boy" with a KLOV/IAM score of 3.22 from 4 votes.

As for the home conversions, the 8-bits are all rather well-regarded. The Amstrad version has been given a 9 out of 10 at CPC Game Reviews, and a 13.40 out of 20.00 at CPC-Power. The Commodore 64 version sits comfortably at #63 in the Lemon64 Top 100 list based on at least 100 votes, with a rating of 8.4 from 280 votes. At Spectrum Computing, the current score is at 7 from a total of 9 votes, while the original archived World of Spectrum had a score of 7.28 from 34 users in 2018. Not too shabby. On the 16-bits, the Amiga version has been voted a 7.36 from 159 votes at LemonAmiga, and the Atari ST version follows a bit behind with a 7.1 from 152 votes.

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DESCRIPTION & REVIEW

Having played Buggy Boy on the C64 from a very young age, it never seemed especially weird as a racing game, although that's exactly what it is. The viewpoint is the same as in most other classic racing games of the time - relatively close-up behind the car, similarly to games from Pole Position to Outrun, Lotus Turbo Challenge and beyond. However, that is the only common nominator between Buggy Boy and all the rest.

U.S. release cover art.

You have five courses to freely choose upon starting the game, only one of which is a lap-based track, and the others are Outrun-like segmented stretches of road with checkpoints. The vehicle you command is a beach buggy of sorts, but I'm not exactly sure about the design, since it can go up to 227 km/h, and the roads in the game are supposed to be at least partly off-road, even though they never look particularly like that. I don't know, and I never really cared, because the fun factor is so high, that it overrules any concern for realism.

Despite being easily labelled as a racing game, Buggy Boy has next to none of the usual racing game characteristics, apart from the fact that you race with a four-wheel vehicle. You don't actually race against anything but time, but the completion times are not given any actual consideration in the end; rather the score you gather. Of course, Buggy Boy wouldn't be nearly as fun if it didn't have all the colourful flags you need to gather in order to accumulate score, TIME-labeled gate-flags that add to your time limit after each checkpoint/lap, the bits of log and rock debris that make your buggy either jump or run on two wheels for a short while, and all sorts of hazardous obstacles and even the occasional competitor racing buggies. All this makes Buggy Boy a very challenging game, yet all the fun sound effects, graphical treats and varying tracks make it so much fun, that it's practically impossible to openly dislike it. Yet, not all versions are created to be equal.

Apart from the Offroad track, I have never completed any of the tracks on any system (even after finishing this comparison), but I still enjoy the game with no complaints. I have heard some not-so flattering comments about the other versions, and now it's time for me to see what's what. Whatever the results, I can honestly claim, that the original arcade game, and at least the C64 version are considered classics for a good reason, and I can only highly recommend them.

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LOADING

Even though Buggy Boy was also released for the 16-bits, let's take a quick look at the tape loading times on the 8-bits, and all the possible loading screens.

C64: 5 minutes 27 seconds
CPC: 19 minutes 8 seconds
SPE - 128k: 6 minutes 54 seconds
SPE - 48k orig: 7 minutes 19 seconds
SPE - 48k alt: 11 minutes 43 seconds
SPE - Encore: 7 minutes 33 seconds

If there ever was any question of which of the three major 8-bit platforms spends the most time loading from tape, Buggy Boy's loader on the CPC definitely makes you think twice about calling the C64 the slowest tape loader of the 8-bits, particularly when it's the quickest of the lot here. The SPECTRUM version has four variants, the quickest of which is the native 128k version. All the other versions load all the tracks separately, so you need to keep track of the counter readings for each track.

Loading screens. Top left: Commodore 64. Top middle and right: Amstrad CPC.
Bottom row, left to right: ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga (EU), Atari ST (US).

The loading screens are surprisingly varied, and the only common nominator is the game's logo, which features big red text with yellow background, and a checkered flag behind the text, middling between the two words of the game title. The American title, Speed Buggy, has a completely different design, but otherwise, the logo sits comfortably in the same loading screen on the AMIGA/ST version. Oddly, the AMSTRAD version has two loading screens, which explains the ridiculously long tape loading time, but it doesn't explain why the second loading screen was absolutely necessary, when the copyrights etc. could have just as easily been featured in the actual title screen of the game, as it does in the SPECTRUM version. Well, good thing the AMSTRAD version is also available on disk - much like all the other versions are, too.

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PLAYABILITY

Since the original ARCADE version of Buggy Boy actually uses analog controls: a steering wheel, a gas pedal and a gear lever, it's not particularly possible for me to get the feel of the arcade game emulated, even with a racing wheel attached to my PC. To make things more confusing, there are two different versions of the MAME emulator available, one of which (MAME UI) is not exactly co-operative with my Logitech force feedback racing wheel, nor does it have a working mouse support. The other version of MAME, which is only installed on my old PC, which is barely working now, does support mouse, and Buggy Boy can be played sort of as intended with it. As such, you should have some sort of a turning wheel, a gas pedal (possibly an analog one) and a gear changer. For a joystick-operated version, the buggy is accelerated with up, decelerated with down, steered with left and right, and the gear is switched between low and high gears with the fire button.

Of course, part of the ARCADE buggy's character is, that if you make sudden turns to the opposite direction, the buggy will drift for a bit before changing direction. This does not happen in any of the home conversions, but rather the buggy makes an all-too smooth and natural-looking turn towards the intended direction, which makes the original game either notably more difficult, or just necessary to have analog controls, depending on how you look at it. More than that, though, it makes the original just a little bit more realistic. But with a game that already has massive jumps, lots of two-wheel driving and a few seconds' penalties when crashing into a wall or diving into a watery ditch, trying to be more realistic with the steering can feel a bit unnecessary. But it's the way Buggy Boy was originally designed, so the comparison needs to be based on that.

For most versions, that is actually the single most notable difference to the ARCADE version. The SPECTRUM version presents a different story, however. It is a bafflingly extravagant port, and you  really need a 128k Spectrum to get the most out of it, and I'm not talking merely about the sounds here.  The 3D engine, or whatever you call it in a game of this age, is impressive in its own right, but too heavy for the game to run at even nearly similar framerates as any of the other versions. They even included some small up- and downhill bits into the game, which is something none of the other home conversions feature. Not that they're a particularly necessary part of the game, but they do add a little bit of depth to the game's style. That said, the hills are much more prevalent and rollercoaster-like in the ARCADE version's tracks where such exist (Offroad doesn't), but you cannot really expect such things to appear in any 80's home computer version.

The framerate issue aside, there is one particularly nasty feature in the SPECTRUM version, which has been the bane of most similarly styled racing games of the 80's, and that is the vehicle reset to the center of the track after you crash; this event takes up to 6 seconds, depending on where you crashed. The way all the other versions have handled this is quicker, and in most crashes - that is, if you don't actually explode, but rather just make a kind of a somersault, your car just stays in place doing whatever it does for about 2-3 seconds before you are left to continue from the spot where you were stalled.

As if that weren't enough, the close-up view of the buggy's rear, and the way the road obstacles and other elements enter the screen, give you a regularly faulty depth perception. This, added to the increasing amount of road obstacles as the tracks make progress, makes the SPECTRUM version particularly bothersome to play. The SPECTRUM version is also the only version to start each race without a countdown, but that's a minor complaint by comparison. Oddly, though, while they attempted to get the game engine as advanced as possible, they either forgot to implement, or had to drop the occasional slopes on the other side of the road, which admittedly appear rather rarely even in the original.

While I'm certain the above makes the SPECTRUM fans particularly unhappy, it should be noted, that the other 8-bits are not without their own problems, although theirs are of lesser importance. The AMSTRAD version shares a problem with the SPECTRUM version, and that is the flags are all of the same colour. This puts the score counter incompatible with all the other versions of the game, since you can get the flag collector system reset after picking up any five flags. While the AMSTRAD version is smoother to play than the SPECTRUM version, it is a bit on the slow side, although happily, not so slow as to make it unplayable - just mildly sluggish. Uniquely, the AMSTRAD version uses the same high score table for all tracks, instead of each having their own separate high score tables.

One thing the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions manage to do better than the C64 version, and that is the buggy's behaviour in hazardous situations. If you happen to drive on two wheels, there is a chance that you will fall on your back (roof down) if you make a wrong move. Also, you can scrape the side of an obstacle like a large rock or a bit of fence, and just slow down for a bit - the C64 version makes you crash upon the slightest impact.

The C64 version is easily the quickest of the 8-bits; actually, scratch that - it's the quickest of all home conversions, although only by a smaller margin compared to the 16-bits. It also has the most road elements, such as slopes, drone cars, footballs and obstacles, from all the 8-bits. The only really annoying thing that I can think of when considering the C64 version is, that in full speed, you jump much further than in the other versions, and after the jump, you bounce a few times without the slightest possibility of steering the buggy anywhere. This often leads you crashing into obstacles or drowing in a water hazard, so it's best you simply stay away from the road items that make you jump.

As you might have expected from a game of this age, the ATARI ST and AMIGA versions are practically identical. At least, I couldn't notice any differences between them regarding gameplay. The game speed is similar to the AMSTRAD version - definitely slower than the C64 version - and the scrolling is jerkier than in the C64 and AMSTRAD versions. The ATARI version has a barely notably higher framerate than the AMIGA version, and it is also reported to having a slightly more aggressive steering, but I honestly, I can't say one way or another. The gameplay is solid and easier to handle than any of the 8-bit versions, thanks to better collision detection and proportions of everything closer to the original version. The only thing that's completely wrong about the AMIGA version is crossing the finishing line, which starts off a long tune, which cannot be skipped, and you need to listen to it before the bonus scores are counted - this affects the game's fluidity considerably, but it hardly counts as a playability problem.

As much as I would love to give an 8-bit version a moment of glory above the 16-bits, it's just not going to happen. The ARCADE version is meant to be played with a racing wheel, and even if your chosen version of MAME can only use keyboard controls, you can feel without even trying it, that the original game really thrives with a racing wheel. Aside from the jerky scrolling, the 16-bit versions are the closest you can get to the original, at least in terms of level design and proportions, and the playability is practically flawless, if you don't mind the missing drifting element. The AMSTRAD version gets the fine details in car handling surprisingly accurate, and the C64 version is otherwise overall the most enjoyable version with its speed and handling, so I'll let the two share the spot. The SPECTRUM version is too much of an overachiever, that it fails in being an enjoyable game due to collision problems and oversized graphics, while it's supposed to have a smooth framerate and racing without game-breakingly long interruptions.

1. ARCADE
2. ATARI ST / COMMODORE AMIGA
3. COMMODORE 64 / AMSTRAD CPC
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM

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GRAPHICS

Buggy Boy was never known for having a particularly flashy title sequence, as the entire focus of the graphics was in the game itself. There is so much variety in background and terrain graphics, that the next step up is really Out Run. But it's all the flags and debris on the road that makes Buggy Boy such a fantastic place to spend time in.

Now, because the original ARCADE game was released as two different versions - the original, with a wide three-screen set-up, and the later cheap model called Buggy Boy Junior, which came with a regular single-screen set-up - I'm going to use screenshots from the latter version for the bulk of the comparison, and will do a collage of screenshots from the original version separately.

Titles and track selection screens, left to right:
Arcade (Jr.), Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amiga/Atari ST.

If you're playing the original triple-screen ARCADE version, the title screen is really just the track selection screen, with two tracks shown in the left and right screens, and one track in the middle screen, coupled with animations of the buggy driving through two series of flags: first, the small ones with 30 points for each, and then the large gate-flags; and before the attract mode demonstration kicks in, you will see the game title logo for a brief time. If you're playing Buggy Boy Jr., however, you will see the animations as featured in the middle screen in the original triple-screen version, and the tracks and their high score tables are scrolled above the animations.

For the home conversions, the title sequence was kept much simpler. In the C64 version, you get a fairly basic grey title screen with white text and a very good rendition of the title logo. The credits are shown in the actual title screen, but the high score tables for each course are scrolled sideways, if you manage to wait a few seconds. The track selector screen only comes up when you press the fire button.

The AMSTRAD title screen is basically just the track selector, since that's the first thing you see after the game has loaded. It alternates with the common-for-all high score table. I'm not a big fan of the orange background colour on the Amstrad, since it clashes uncomfortably with the red text. The game title logo isn't exactly true to original, either, particularly as it has the two words shoved together.

Uniquely, the SPECTRUM version has a different background colour for the title screen (black) and the track selection screen (yellow). The texts and track map graphics are adequate for the occasion, but the title logo looks oddly blocky, and there's a strange tilt to the "BUGGY BOY" letters. Also, there is an (R) mark below the letter Y, while all the other versions show a TM above Y... except for the AMSTRAD version, which has neither of them.

The ATARI ST and AMIGA versions get the title sequence the closest to the original, since they have the background colour almost correct. The sequence itself is similar to the C64 version, except the track selection screen has been included into the sequence, as well as a brief in-game demonstration - with no sound, as it appears in the original.

Screenshots from Arcade (Buggy Boy Jr.) version of the Offroad course.

In it's original form, the Offroad track is mostly played on a cleanly "shaved" dirt surface, with grass on both sides of the middle track. There are only three other kinds of short sections in the track: a short tunnel, a bridge over a short rivery kind of a watery stretch, and a sandy part right after the bridge. After completing the first lap, you will come across a competitor buggy racer once per lap. Around the middle section of the track, the road does a little incline, but it's nothing more than a graphical gimmick. A nice one, but a gimmick nonetheless. Also worth noting is, that the sky changes colour at different parts of the track, switching between a clear light blue sky to a sunburst orange/yellow look. The background only features a couple of purple-tinted blue mountains and a few trees in their near vicinity. Then again, there's plenty of things to look at on the roads, so perhaps drawing nicer backgrounds wasn't exactly considered a priority.

Screenshots from the Commodore 64 version of the Offroad course.

Although it doesn't exactly seem or feel like it when playing, the C64 version of the Offroad track has been reduced to only feature graphical changes that are absolutely necessary. You do get the tunnel and the bridge, but the sandy bit is just as grassy as the rest of the track, and the background now has clouds as the mountains' companions. The real trick to make the C64 version more enjoyable was to make the buggy a lot smaller, and keep the C64 from doing something that it wasn't very good at - namely, any actual 3D elements, or any attempt at making pretty road objects due to the scaling problems, so the scrolling is superbly smooth and fast here. One thing the C64 version has that none of the other versions do, is the set of starting lights, which makes its appearance in the place where you will later see the collected TIME flags, which I've come to realize is a rather neat trick from the makers of the C64 version.

Screenshots from the Amstrad CPC version of the Offroad course.

If you are seeing the AMSTRAD version for the first time here, the picture above doesn't quite tell the whole story. The screen size is really an odd thing about this version, since the game screen occupies only a little more than half of the actual screen's width, so it looks almost uncomfortably small compared to all the other versions. Once you get accustomed to the screen size, though, the AMSTRAD version works well enough, particularly as you realize the screen scrolls rather smoothly, almost as nicely as the C64 version. There are some minor overlay clashes, that make parts of other road objects disappear behind other objects in the forefront, but you can't really focus on that sort of a thing while racing. What you do focus on, is the colouring of things. The orange sky still clashes with the red numerals in the info panel, and all the road objects are blue, white and black, apart from the football (which doesn't have blue) - even the buggy wears the same colours. Funnily enough, the blue flags that you collect from the road are red in the info panel. The mountains in the background are now designed to be a full mountain range, with nothing else to make the background more interesting. Also perhaps notable is, that the middle part of the road is wider than in the other versions, which baffles me a bit, but seems to have no particular meaning, except graphical design.

Screenshots from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum version of the Offroad course.

For the most part, the SPECTRUM version looks much as you would expect it to: monochrome action graphics - black against some other colour, and the info panel does its own thing. What makes this version such a curious thing, particularly among all the home conversions, is that the buggy is super-sized here, and takes proportionally more space on the road - and on the screen - than even the original arcade buggy. At least, the buggy has been drawn fully using the original as a model, and even all the colours on it are correct. Although that is very impressive on its own, it is also part of the reason, why the SPECTRUM version is rather unplayable by comparison. Combine the super-sized buggy with similarly large flags and obstacles, and take them all to a road that has trouble fitting everything in, the game becomes encumbered and choppy to play. If you're playing Buggy Boy on a 48k SPECTRUM, it runs even slower than on a 128k one, which makes the graphics engine all the more troublesome. Happily, it does the altitude changes very well, and because of the monochrome graphics, the game can be considered pretty to look at, if not completely true to the original. I particularly like, how they went on to get two sky colours here, since they couldn't really put more colour in the action area.

Screenshots from the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga versions of the Offroad course.

I have said this many times before on this blog, but some games look so identical on the ATARI ST and COMMODORE AMIGA, that it's practically impossible to tell the two apart. In fact, the above collection of screenshots features the two versions, and without the black screen borders, it's impossible to tell them apart. Compared to the ARCADE original, though, the 16-bit home ports are slightly less detailed and polished, and the screen size is something between the two arcade versions, but they certainly are the prettiest to look at out of all the home versions. Having said that, the relatively low framerate ruins the graphical experience, which would otherwise be easily the most enjoyable after the original. You get all the background details the original gives you: changing sky colour; nicely picturesque background graphics with mountains, trees and clouds; all the correct road bits, and nicely scaling road objects. Even the buggy looks almost exactly like the one in the original, expect a little smaller. The only real thing separating the two 16-bit versions from each other is a slight, but notable difference in framerate - the ATARI ST version runs just a bit quicker.

Bonus counters, where available; left to right:
Atari ST/Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Arcade (Jr.)

After you either finish a race or the time runs out, the game presents you a bonus counter, which doesn't actually add anything new to the game, graphically speaking, but it does offer a point of comparison. The SPECTRUM version, for instance, doesn't even have such a thing, and the C64 version has its own dedicated bonus counting screen. All the other versions do their bonus counting in the screen where your game ended.

Screenshots from the North course, left to right:
Atari ST/Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Arcade (Jr.)

The terrain variations in the ARCADE version start appearing more frequently and with wilder differences once you get to try the other tracks. It's impossible to get them all shown here, but you can check YouTube for gameplay videos. If you are like me, and don't really go wandering off from the usual bash at the Offroad track, the differences in track design might come as a bit of a shock between all the versions. For instance, the SPECTRUM version of the North track doesn't feature any of the dual bridge sections; the AMSTRAD version only has very short special sections, such as tunnels, single-lane blocking walls and bridges, and most of them appear only when the road isn't turning anywhere; and the C64 version seems to be missing at least the bits where only the middle lane is water.

On the plus side, the SPECTRUM version of the North track features three different sky colours, the C64 version has the track designs closer to the original than the other 8-bits, and the AMIGA and ST versions continue to be practically inseparable.

Screenshots from the West course, left to right:
Atari ST/Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Arcade (Jr.)

The SPECTRUM version only uses three border colours, so this concludes that trilogy. The Offroad and South tracks use a yellow border, the North track alone uses a white border, and the East and West tracks use a green border. What is also notable is, that all the non-Offroad tracks in the SPECTRUM version use the same sky colour progression, from yellow through green to a cyan sky eventually.

Again, the C64 version goes it's usual way, most likely incorporating everything that was possible to rip out of the original, but with a limitation for extravagance. Again, the 16-bits do all their best to bring a graphically near-enough presentation to your home system, with all the variety and gimmicks. Again, the AMSTRAD version continues to prove what I mentioned under the previous screenshots, and here, it might as well be noted, that the only track, where the sky is of a different colour than cyan, is the Offroad track - only the road colours change for each track.

Screenshots from the East and South courses, left to right:
Atari ST/Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Arcade (Jr.)

For only the C64 and AMSTRAD versions, the East and South courses offer anything of notable graphical difference. In the C64 version, these two courses have a light green sky and some more colourful roadside terrains, and in the AMSTRAD version, you get differently coloured roads for each course. The 16-bit versions do their simulated arcade graphics as well as you would expect at this point, and the SPECTRUM version only adds course-specific roadside objects to the already familiar colours.

High score name entrance screens, where available.
Top row, left to right: Commodore Amiga, Arcade (Jr.), Atari ST
Bottom left: Commodore 64. Bottom right: Amstrad CPC.

Two points worth noting in the high score entry screens: 1) the SPECTRUM version doesn't have one, and 2) for once, the AMIGA and ST versions differ notably here. Mind you, it might deserve repeated attention, that the AMSTRAD version actually uses the same high score table for all courses, even though you see the played course map displayed at the bottom of the high score table screen.

Screenshots from the original triple-screen Arcade version.

And finally, here are some examples of the original ARCADE game in its full triple-screen glory. Of course, having it combined like this, as it appears in the MAME emulator, instead of three separate physical screens, is a bit cheating, but this is how Buggy Boy was intended to be played.

Obviously, there is no way to beat the original, at least in this case, and the 16-bit versions are practically inseparable, apart from a minor difference in the high score name entry screen and the framerate, but the 8-bits are more interesting. The C64 version offers the best scrolling and the most colour; the SPECTRUM version has the largest graphics, the most variations in sky colours, the only occasion of hills used in the home conversions, and the worst framerate; and the AMSTRAD version does its own thing well enough, with an understated grace, which could be considered a bit boring, since there are not that many colours in use, and the screen size is kind of smallish. But considering everything, they all do their jobs surprisingly well. Therefore, I'm inclined to give all three 8-bit versions a shared spot, even though I personally prefer the C64 version in this case.

1. ARCADE
2. ATARI ST / COMMODORE AMIGA
3. COMMODORE 64 / AMSTRAD CPC / ZX SPECTRUM

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SOUNDS

The least impressive, yet one of the most entertaining aspects of Buggy Boy is in the sound department. In terms of music, there isn't a whole lot to say, although you do get a few little memorable ditties. For this comparison, I suppose it's a case of quantity over quality.

There is only one tune in the ARCADE game, which can be qualified as a full-sized song, and it is played during the name entrance screen for the high scores. The tune is stylistically very close to ragtime jazz (think "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin), but feels more like it could be played by a large horn band. The game keeps constantly throwing little musical sound effects at you, as every type of flag has its own little "diddle-y-ding" or "diddle-iddle-ing" or something, and when you have collected the full set for bonus, the game gives you a notably longer ditty. Occasionally, you even get a flag randomizer event, which gives you yet another variation of dittying. Then, of course, you get the brief fanfare for completing a lap. Aside from the wide variety of diddly sound effects, you also get engine droning, splashes and explosions, bumping and nudging sounds, as well as rubberband-like jumping sounds. All in all, it's a fairly chaotic set of sounds to concentrate under.

In the C64 version, the High Score tune is different, more sedate than the original ragtime tune, but just as fitting, if not more so - depending on what you're used to, perhaps. The rest of the musical effort is in the short fanfares and flag-related ditties. They're pretty much all there, as are all the other necessary sound effects - engine droning, splashes, explosions, jumping and bumping noises. It doesn't feel like anything is exactly missing, apart from maybe a title screen tune, but then, there was no such tune in the original, either.

Naturally, since the AMSTRAD version took another way with the graphics and even gameplay in some part, it also had to take a different route with the sounds. Apart from the course selection fanfare, there is no other actual music in the game. All the diddly sound effects have even been modified to very different ones, although they're still definitely melodic. You do get the splash and explosion noises, but the engine drone is a bit too boomingly low, and overall, the soundtrack feels like something is missing. It's an interesting take on what's a very recognizable set of sound effects and fanfares, and suits the AMSTRAD version perfectly well, since it's already different enough from the rest.

The 48k SPECTRUM version only has a very choppy engine noise. Well, you also get a slightly different choppy noise when crashing, but that hardly counts. The 128k SPECTRUM version has the High Score entry music - that debuted in the C64 version - playing in the title screen, since it has no High Score tables. There's also a long fanfare that you don't hear elsewhere, played in the course selection screen - probably Mark Cooksey's own composition. Once you have selected the course, you get the traditional fanfare for the occasion. The engine drone in the 128k version sounds pretty much like the engine drone from the 48k version, but you also get the entire library of other sound effects you should expect Buggy Boy to have. There are some minor differences in some of the ditties, compared to the original, but they are all perfectly fitting for the game, and well produced for the machine.

For once, the AMIGA and ATARI ST versions differ from each other quite notably. Again, the only bit of music that's more than just a small fanfare is the High Score entry tune. There is also another, shorter tune that plays during the bonus counting, which sounds like another original tune. The ATARI ST version has the High Score tune in the correct slot, but for some unfathomable reason, for the AMIGA version, it was replaced into the slot when you reach the goal, but the bonus scores are not counted while the music is playing. Since the track is quite a long one, it breaks the flow of the game quite badly. Also, the High Score tune for the AMIGA version is different from the other tune in the ST version. It's all a bit of a mess for the Amiga, to be honest. But it's not all sunny and bright for the ATARI version, either: the opening fanfare is programmed to play in off-rhythm.

Oddly, the sound effects are better on the ST, since there is more variety in sound forms. It all stands comfortably somewhere between the C64 and the ARCADE version. The AMIGA sound effects have less variety in sound forms, and it gets a bit monotonic after a while. For my ears, the only sound effect that's more pleasing in the AMIGA version is the buggy's engine droning noise.

If we were to be looking for a version that would be completely faithful to the original Buggy Boy, none of the home conversions would win the first price. In terms of music, the AMIGA version would probably take the cake for coming closest to the original, because the style of the High Score tune, however wrongly placed it is, is closer to the original ragtime jazz thing, than any of the options.
I would say the ATARI ST version will still have to share the spot, because while I cannot let the badly programmed intro fanfare go by without penalty, the sound effects are that much better. From the three 8-bit versions, the AMSTRAD version is the least like the original, so even though it works well on its own, it's just missing the right feel. The 128k SPECTRUM rivals the C64 version in quality, but the C64 version has a more complete soundtrack, thanks to the inclusion of a High Scores section.

1. ARCADE
2. COMMODORE AMIGA / ATARI ST
3. COMMODORE 64
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k
5. AMSTRAD CPC
6. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k

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OVERALL + VIDEO LINKS

As much as I enjoy the C64 version of Buggy Boy the most - even after this comparison - I can't help but admit that there are some things missing from it. The original version with the analog controls and super-wide triple-screen view has just so much more gameplay details to it than you would expect. Probably because of exactly that, all the home conversions are very different from each other, not counting the obvious.

1. ARCADE: Playability 4, Graphics 3, Sounds 6 = TOTAL 13
2. ATARI ST: Playability 3, Graphics 2, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 10
2. COMMODORE AMIGA: Playability 3, Graphics 2, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 10
3. COMMODORE 64: Playability 2, Graphics 1, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 7
4. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 2, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 5
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k: Playability 1, Graphics 1, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 5
5. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k: Playability 1, Graphics 1, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 3

Despite this list, all versions of Buggy Boy (a.k.a. Speed Buggy) are very much worth having a look at, as they all have their own approach to it. Just to be clear: the ATARI ST version is just a tiny bit better than the AMIGA version thanks to the latter version's bonus counter problem, and the native 128k SPECTRUM version is much more playable than the 48k version, thanks to the 128k version loading up all the game data at once.

The newest YouTube channel linking permission arrived just in time for this comparison, and our newest friend is a channel called The Retro Core, whose series Battle of the Ports goes well together with our sort of stuff here. Here's The Retro Core's comparison of Buggy Boy, featuring voice-over commentary. Thanks for the permission!

Buggy Boy was also handled by Gaming History Source, one of FRGCB's friends of longer standing on YouTube. Here's their comparison video:

That's it for now, and I'm fairly certain this was also the last comparison of 2022. Next month, though, FRGCB will continue with another Finnish Independence Day special feature, and hopefully something for the Christmas/New Year's period... but let's see. Thanks for reading, see you on the 6th of December!