August 11th, 2005

Filed under:
Games
5 Comments »

Barbie for the Commodore 64

Lex writes about this fantastic-looking Barbie game from 1984:

In the game, Ken would call Barbie (the player). He would tell you where you were going, and you would have a certain amount of time to go shopping and get dressed and back in time so that he could take you on a date. The game had really cheesy graphics and horrible music. However, since it was so horribly sexist and strange, I really wanted to find it.

You can actually download this badboy, along with the C-64 emulator, to try and get to the picnic/prom/tennis on time. If you’re late, apparently Ken bitch-slaps you. Oh, those politically-incorrect eigties.

I’m kidding about the bitch-slapping. The writer reports that “the screen fills with garbage and freezes”. There’s lot of other cool stuff on this SolidSharkey site as well. For example, here’s an important lesson in distinguishing male prostitutes from super heroes.

Comments: 5 Responses so far

Rebecca
August 11th, 2005
12:16 pm

Honestly? I just did a little dance because my sisters and I used to play that gome for hours when we were younger. In fact, it’s something of a cultural reference in our family: if Ken didn’t like what you were wearing, the phone would ring, and he would say, “Gee Barbie, plans have changed. Would you like to go x?” From then on, anytime someone had to change their plans, we’ve always said that to each other.

It was an incredibly sexist game though. No matter where you were going, Ken would always take you if you were wearing a bikini and heels!

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Compmouse
August 11th, 2005
2:33 pm

Ha! I totally remember this game from when I was little. It’s kinda crazy how stuff like that sticks in your head after all these years. I especially remember that shot of Barbie on the phone, something about the dress I think, or the phone, I dunno what it is.

Anyway, I heard you’re going to be on CBC’s podcast next week! Good luck! And I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

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Andrea
August 11th, 2005
3:25 pm

Even though I didn’t like Barbies, I wanted that game. I was kind of old for it, but it sounded cool. Unfortunately, the best I could do was the Hot Wheels game. (I didn’t know any girls who had computers and my parents sure as heck weren’t going to give me money for a game, especially one with Barbie in it.) I spent a lot of time souping up cars, stealing Porsches from parking lots, playing smash ‘em up derby, and commandeering the Hot Wheels fire truck.

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Luna Zoloq
August 11th, 2005
5:38 pm

My friends and I always played Suicide Barbie. That’s where you drop Barbie out of a window or twist her head off and fill it with explosives. Much more fun than going on a date with Ken.

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Celia
August 11th, 2005
7:44 pm

Yes! You found SolidSharkey!

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