The Commodore 64 Ultimate: 99% Compatible, 100% Nostalgia, Bringing Back All Games of the C64

If you’re going to resurrect a legend, you might as well do it properly.
The new Commodore 64 Ultimate promises 99% compatibility with original C64 software. You can run all games - your favorite childhood game, ports from other computers, and newly developed games on this machine and have fun with 4K video output …

🎬 The Video That Started My Hype Spiral

Commodore (reborn company) did a good job of bringing back the hardware, its quirks, and games of the 8-bit era. The goal was, “This is absolutely a C64 and not a Raspberry Pi wearing a beige wig.”

🖥️ 4K HDMI… and the Old TV Port, Because Why Not Both?

This is where the new C64 Ultimate flexes a little.

• 4K HDMI output - because your modern TV deserves to see those chunky pixels in ultra‑crisp glory
• Original analog video port - because some of us still own CRTs, and we’re not ashamed. Both outputs work in parallel, which means you can run a “museum mode” dual‑display setup like a true retro aristocrat

It’s the first time in history you can debug a BASIC program in 4K while simultaneously watching it glitch on a 1984 Philips CRT.

🎵 Dual SID Support: Stereo Nostalgia and 🚀 CPU Turbo Mode

The Ultimate 64 board allows you to install two SID chips at once to provide parallel music generation for stereo.
Whether you prefer the gritty 6581 or the cleaner 8580, you can mix, match, and create the kind of soundscapes that once made your parents yell down the hallway. On the FPGA itself, it supports even 8 SID chip emulations out of the box - and thus supports artists and programmers making music that was not possible yet.

The machine includes a hardware‑level CPU boost of up to ~8× the original speed to accelerate games. But this is not for all games since most games rely on the internal clock to process user inputs. A good example is Stunt Car Racer (on Lemon64: https://www.lemon64.com/game/stunt-car-racer), which benefits from a faster CPU for its 3D graphics.

🎮 Let’s Talk Games—Because That’s Why Anyone Bought a C64

This machine shines brightest when running games.

And honestly, who didn’t play (or at least pretend to play) classics like the following ones? If these titles don’t trigger at least one memory, you may be too young to operate heavy nostalgia machinery.

• Stunt Car Racer
• Impossible Mission
• The Last Ninja
• Summer Games
• Winter Games
• Bubble Bobble
• Uridium
• Turrican
• Elite
• Ghosts ’n Goblins - not really because this game is just too hard to enjoy !
• International Karate+
• Pitstop II
• Boulder Dash
• Giana Sisters
• Mayhem in Monsterland

🧠 Why This Machine Works

The C64 Ultimate isn’t a gimmick — it’s a well engineered hardware emulation on FPGA built on years of refinement.
It feels like the original, behaves like the original, and still lets you plug in old and modern hardware.

It’s the rare retro device that respects both the heritage and the technology.

Now we get the possibility to finish games.