Photo: Matt Kamen

Boot up the C64U, and you’re greeted with a re-creation of the C64 menu. Here, you can type the operation commands as you did before, using the BASIC programming language. Problem: I don’t have the first idea about BASIC. However, in what is possibly the biggest throw of all, the C64U has a spiral-bound, 273-page user guide. This is a perfect volume. Somewhat surprisingly, this isn’t a reprint of anything original, but rather an adapted guide to what the C64U does, where it differs from the C64, and how to get the computer’s capabilities. Equal parts history book and instruction manual, it starts by teaching you a few simple commands and builds to teach you how to code. I’m still working on it, but that tactile approach—referring to the book, trying something on the computer, over and over—is a nice touch.

Hidden Upgrades

If you don’t want to do the homework, the C64U’s own default menu, accessible at any time with a flick of the multifunction power button on the right side of the unit, is a simple list of options and settings. Hit RETURN to go to any section-say, “Video Setup” to adjust if the C64U outputs in the original resolution, in PAL or NTSC modes (surprisingly important, because some games can only be used in one display standard or another), or a crystal clear 1080p with the scanlines removed-and back out to save any changes in the flash memory of the system. It’s still a minimalist approach, but feels pretty intuitive.

This is also where you can start toying with some of the C64U’s other modern touches, like how it uses more power. Well, “bigger” compared to 1982. Spec-wise, it does not threaten any more modern machines, but running on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA chip and packing 128-MB DDR2 RAM-compared to 64 KB of the C64-it blows its inspiration out of the water. While at the baseline it repeats the performance of the 1982 hardware, meaning it works as if only an original 64 KB was there, you can menu-dive to activate a virtualized RAM Expansion Unit, or activate a “Turbo Boost” to accelerate the clock speed to a lightning fast (in this context) 64 MHz.