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My first ever Zzap

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:00 am
by James H
Lo all, I'm from downunder and I bought my first Zzap mag waaaaay back when I was 9 - Issue 3.

Needing something to occupy my time other than the lame books we had to read at school my mum took me to the newsagent and there, amongst nudey birds mags (maybe I'd have had equal amusement with Penthouse), car tuning magazines and shooting journals was Zzap. (My newsagent was an ex-pat englishman and he got in a lot of stuff which you couldn't find in most other places - Viz, Beano etc).

In retrospect it looks like there were plenty of aussie fans of the magazine. Mostly letters to Lloyd Mangram reflected a healthy downunder following. I always considered writing a fan letter to LM, however the purchase price of the magazine basically swallowed my entire pocket money and sending a letter to the UK cost a fair ol' whack.

Picking it up I was instantly captured by the reviews and rather unique artwork.

Ergo a love affair with the magazine started which ran until I was in high school.

I got my first commodore 64 computer aged 10 and immediately got into some serious gaming, my favourite genre being the shoot em ups. Couldn't beat em for some highly frustrating action.

I rode the highs and lows of the magazine - the amazing game reviews, the hilarious scorelord challenges, or when types like Gazza and JR left. I had only settled in to the new crew when Maff, PG, Katie and Big Gordo left. Even though I was 10 years younger than the reviewers, I almost felt like I'd got to know them.

Zzap taught me a lot - particularly opened my eyes to things that went on half a world away, when you're only 9 the UK seemed impossibly distant. When it all finally ended, it was not without some sadness that I moved on to other pursuits.

However the old Commodore 64 is still in working order and occasionally I get it out and give Bubble Bobble, Armalyte, Boulderdash, Katakis or Wonderboy a run. Lots of happy memories and bent paperclip frustration from that machine. :)

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 10:00 am
by Professor Brian Strain
Welcome to the forum!

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:08 am
by James H
Cheers m8.

Looks like there is a fairly dedicated bunch of Zzap loonies on here - and suprisingly a few of the old writers pop in now and then too.

I'm glad to see they still reflect on their time with Zzap so positively, it certainly was a great time to be young in the 80s.

I remember looking forward to the next issue of Zzap arriving in the newsagent with baited breath. It took forever to get to Australia and the competitions were usually over by the time I got it, but it provided so much in the way of amusement, information and entertainment it was always worth the $7 or $8 I had to spend on it.

The internet allows you to do so many things - such as keeping the memory of this awesome publication going, keep it up lads.

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:38 pm
by Lloyd Mangram
Hi, and welcome. :)

(I'm in a social mood, y'know)

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 11:45 am
by Ant
As a fellow Aussie, I know full well of the painful wait you had to go through until the next issue of Zzap! arrived in the newsagents.

And welcome aboard! :D

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:59 pm
by LeeT
Welcome James - I think its always good to see so many international people who read ZZAP! back in the day.

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:57 am
by James H
Many of the lads I knew had commodore 64s and although most were not as OCD for collecting Zzap as I was, most had a few copies here and there.

The reviews I usually found reliable and the tips section assisted me greatly when playing some of the more challenging games.

Re. My First Zzap

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:06 pm
by jason hudson
My First Zzap was issue 15 (Leaderboard) and I continued to buy every copy up to issue 74. It was a stuggle to hand over my cash for the last dozen issues or so as both the quality/content of the mag was going down-hill and also the C64 games scene was on its last legs.
I bought the Neos Mouse & Cheese package on the strength of the review in issue 15 and so did my mate and I think Zzap generally dictated my purchases for games as I really trusted the reviews.
I think I was quite lucky picking up Zzap when I did as the years '85 to '88 were great years for C64 games and Zzap did a top job of reflecting this.

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:55 am
by kalsolar
I can't exactly remember the first issue I bought, although don't think I actually bought them until they had just merged with the amiga. I still do have them in the loft so it would'nt be too difficult for me to find out. I then sent for some back issues too - Zzap! was the most entertaining and user friendly C64 magazine and I always remember it being advertised during the loading screens of Monty on the Run. (Now there was a great game!)

Mostly the reviews were reliable..although on occasion some would be suspiciously high rated..Turbo Outrun on Amiga for example. Hmm? lol.