While it could be said that I like all my video game systems, my Commodore 64 has been my "go-to" system for that quick ten minute gaming session.  But the design of the C64 disk drive seems completely against such casual activity, being notorious amongst the C64 community for its lack of speed and unreliability.  I myself have four drives, of which only one works, and that is only most of the time.  And that says nothing about "bit rot," which is the omega point for every piece of magnetic-based storage media out there.  What I offer here today is a solution (of sorts) that being a review of my recently acquired SD2IEC.





Facts first:  What exactly does this thing even do?  Simply put, the SD2IEC allows one to play C64 disk image files (primarily .d64 or .prg) placed on a SD card.  It functions in a similar way to an EverDrive, but with a few differences.  First, it doesn't play all of the disk images found in the wild (that would be the 1541 Ultimate-II) and it doesn't play cartridge formatted ROMS (that would be the EasyFlash).  Instead, it plays some disk images, most of which can be found by sorting through the search results from this website.  Basically, anything that requires "True Disk Emulation" will not play on the SD2IEC.  Of course, there are ways to get around the this sort of thing (such as copying the file from the SD2IEC to a blank floppy on a C64 disk drive).  Now, the limit sounds a bit like a bummer, but trust me, that still leaves a lot of games.


Of course, anyone picking up this device would likely do so to play downloaded C64 game images.  In fact, one of the easiest ways to get your SD2IEC running quickly is to download the SD2IEC Collection from The Future Was 8-bit website, which contains the CBM Filebrowser (super easy way to navigate your SD card to select files) as well as a ton of games to play and utilities to increase the versatility of your new purchase.  There are so many titles that you could spend years trying to play them all, but I erased mostly everything and replaced them with other games.  Why?  Well, if you happen to enjoy playing games on an NTSC Commodore 64, many of the games that you will find on the Internet simply will not work on your C64.  The sad fact is that the C64, while popular in the United States and Canada, was monumentally more popular in PAL territories, with the end results being the "on-disk" DRM "cracker" scene that arose the 80's was largely from those PAL territories, and thus, the C64 disk images on the Internet today (DRM protected or no), are largely PAL and not NTSC compatible.  Bottom line:  If you only own a NTSC C64 and plan on getting the SD2IEC exclusively for playing the tens of thousands of cracked games available on the Internet, I highly recommend you not to bother and save yourself £45.99.

When I picked up the SD2IEC I had a plan in mind.  The first thing I wanted to accomplish was to backup my current disk game collection, especially since some of them just aren't available online for download, NTSC or not.  By using a combination of a physical C64 disk drive and the D64it program (launched within the CBM Filebrowser), you can transfer the disk and convert it to the .d64 file type, and later transfer it right back to disk if you so wish.  This method will not work with DRM protected games, but as most of my games don't contain "on-disk" DRM,  it doesn't matter to me.  Heck, you can even play most Tape files (.tap) on the SD2IEC by converting them to .d64 using DirMaster on Windows.  Coupled with some sort of "fast loader" cart and your tape loading times will cut down significantly.


My next objective was to dip into the impressive world of C64 remakes and original games.  The two titles that I was most excited about were Ghosts 'n Goblins Arcade and Ultima IV Remastered.  The former title is a port of the Elite-published original that features a more arcade-centric conversion.  As such, it looks, sounds, and plays more like the arcade original.  I like it, though I still prefer the music by Mark Cooksey from the original version.  However, I imagine if you get nostalgic for the original Ghosts 'n Goblins on C64 you will outright hate this game.  Next up is my personal favorite, Ultima IV Remastered.  The original C64 port of Ultima IV is wrought with horrible bugs and some of the worst loading times and disk swapping ever seen on the beloved microcomputer.  Remastered not only fixes those bugs, but introduced graphics not unlike those on the VGA PC port of Ultima, along with a host of new, very impressive features (music during loading, EasyFlash cartridge, 1571, and 1581 support).  Now if only someone could do the same with Ultima V.  There are a large amount of other remakes, remasters, and even unfinished games completed by fans that one can find available, many that also have compatibility with IEC devices.


About two years ago I was very surprised (and impressed) to find that original games were still in production for the good old C64.  While there are several places to get games from, if you want the physical kinds (as well as digital), your first stop should be Psytronik Software, purveyors of quality C64 software (and Vic-20, C-16/Plus4, Amstrad, and PC) since 1993.  Located in jolly ol' England, though they do ship overseas.  The games (for the most part), can be bought as either "Budget" disks (with disk and sleeve with custom labels), or as "Premium" sets (that include "fat" DVD-style disk holder and manuals, and sometimes other extras such as stickers, maps, and badges).  Much of the software is also available on tape, if that is your thing.  There are quite a few to pick from, some of them also come with digital downloads that can be loaded on the SD2IEC (there is also a downloads section here that contains free games).  There is just so much quality software available from Psytronik, I might have to do a separate article about them in the near future.  Outside of Psytronik, there is also digital C64 titles for purchase on itch.io, as well as by German publisher, Protovision.

Final verdict:  Is the SD2IEC worth the purchase?  I guess that depends on you.  If you are a PAL gamer, you will more than likely be reasonably happy.  But if you are a NTSC gamer, I think you would end up disappointed.  Me, I found both content and disappointment in equal measures during my time with the SD2IEC.  I've come to the realization that my owning a C64 setup that is capable of playing most any game is far from a reality.

Thanks for reading!

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