Z64K emulates the Commodore 128, Commodore 64, Spectrum 48/128K, VIC 20 and Atari 2600, with the maker describing its display as pixel exact. It runs through Java on Windows, macOS and Linux and requires JRE 8 or later. The homepage offers the main JAR plus command-line files, a changelog and a quick guide. Keyboard shortcuts include fullscreen, clipboard text copy and paste, reset, mouse capture and warp mode. C128 controls include display switching and extended key mappings. A built-in debugger and a SID Analyzer add emulation tools; the analyzer offers waveform, envelope, oscillator and combined modes. Supported disk and tape formats include D64, D71, G64, G71, IMD and CRT, and the changelog documents loading and saving G71 images and loading IMD images. The Virtual FS device is experimental; its scratch command simulates deletion but does not remove files from the host system. Linux users might need to change JAR permissions to allow execution.
Who it is for
Z64K suits people looking to emulate one of its listed classic systems on a computer with an updated Java runtime. It also offers tools such as a debugger, SID Analyzer and C128-specific controls.
What is good
- Emulates five listed systems
- Includes a built-in debugger and SID Analyzer
- Supports D64, D71, G64, G71, IMD and CRT formats
- Offers C128-specific display controls
What to know first
- Requires JRE 8 or later
- Virtual FS is experimental
- Linux users might need to change JAR permissions
Verdict
Z64K covers five systems and includes a range of keyboard, disk-image and analysis tools. Its Java requirement and experimental Virtual FS behavior are worth noting before use.
Compared on Commodore 64 emulators
- Free plan
- Yes
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS and Linux via Java runtime
- Disk and tape formats
- D64, D71, G64, G71, IMD and CRT
- Built-in debugger
- Yes
- Emulated C64 variants
- Commodore 64