Starfall C64

Six worlds. One interceptor.

A brand-new horizontally scrolling shoot-’em-up for the Commodore 64, in the spirit of Gradius, Sanxion and Delta. Fly the lone STARFALL interceptor through six hostile worlds, blast your way past each world’s guardian, and take the fight all the way to the heart of the invasion: The Enemy Core.

The Worlds

1. Orbital Station: break through the station’s Defensive Array, then face the Orbital Defence Core.
2. Tropical Planet: jungle canopy, temple ruins and laser gates, guarded by the stomping Jungle Siege Walker.
3. Underwater Base: pressure doors, torpedo fish and mechanical eels, and the Abyssal Guardian waiting in the deep.
4. Bio-Organic World: a living tunnel that pulses with a heartbeat, and at its centre, The Organism.
5. Hyperspace: streaking star lanes and a high-speed duel with the Phase Interceptor.
6. Ice Planet & The Enemy Core: storm the Cryo Fortress, then descend into the enemy’s stronghold for the final battle.

Features

• Six worlds, each with its own look, enemies and boss
• Five weapons:
  • Bolt: your standard gun
  • Spread: won from the first boss
  • Laser: fast bolts that cut straight through enemies
  • Homing missiles: they seek out the nearest target
  • Wave cannon: fires a wall of three shots
• Weapon capsules that change colour, so you choose your weapon by grabbing it at the right moment
• A distance meter counting down the kilometres to each boss

Controls

Play with a joystick in port 2, or on the keyboard with the classic QAOP layout:

Action	Joystick	Keyboard
Up	Push up	Q
Down	Pull down	A
Left	Push left	O
Right	Push right	P
Fire	Fire button	SPACE
Start / continue	Fire button	SPACE
Pause	—	RUN/STOP

How to play

Attach starfall.d64 as drive 8 and type LOAD"*",8,1 then RUN, or simply autostart the disk image. Keep the disk attached, because each world loads as you reach it.

PAL only. In VICE, use x64sc with a PAL C64 model.

Tips

• Touching the top or bottom of the scenery won’t kill you; it pushes you back. Obstacles and enemy fire will.
• Losing a ship costs one power level, not your weapon.
• Enemies that flash red carry capsules.

Ted Soft (Technician Ted), 2026.