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Sharpworks

@sharpworks.bsky.social
1.2K followers 806 following 2K posts

Retro gaming publisher for the Sharp MZ-80 and MZ-700 machines. youtube.com/@mzsharpworks mz-sharpworks.co.uk mz-80a.com basictoz80.wordpress.com Devon, UK

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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23h
If it's easy to get into the cassette shell then I often tend to grab the slip sheets and turn them around so the side which has seen less friction is now flush to the tape.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23h
Oo, one other thing. It's unusual to have the tape stick to the side of the cassette housing in my experience. The cassette shell consists of a few component parts but one of the important parts is the slip sheets which go between the tape itself and the cassette housing.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
But yes, with Dizzy, I guess you don't have to worry so much!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Well, I fixed two really bad squealing tapes with the hair dryer method. I was utterly shocked when they started working again! And very relieved (as these games were probably the only surviving copies!) :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There's a really prominent YouTube video out there regarding using silicon lubricant on tapes to free them up a bit. It's quite a process and I wouldn't recommend except in a really last resort case. You can wreck the tape player and the lube needs to be left to dry for weeks apparently. Not quick!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It's a bit more dangerous. You have to use a crafting knife or similar to crack open the case and this runs the risk sometimes of breaking or cracking the cassette shell.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I do a lot of re-housing into a new cassette shell to attempt a fix but usually that's for the purpose of a one-time 'read' for software I don't have archived yet. Then I replace the tape with brand new tape and re-write the data. You can do this with cassettes that don't have screws too but...
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yes indeed, I've fixed a few now. I repair a -lot- of tapes in an attempt to rescue Sharp MZ data, games and programs for my online archive. Rather than write the same stuff again, here's a link to a thread or two on the topic :) bsky.app/profile/shar...
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yeah, done a few now. Will reply.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Fantastic work! :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Haha excellent :D
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I wish I could remember what it was but there was a game a little like this on the MZ-80K, it was a Japanese release (or possibly even magazine type-in!) and looked really cool considering the lack of pixels. I need to try and find that again!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So cool! I absolutely loved Sabre Wulf on my Beeb, big part of my childhood.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Just noticed there's some kind of acknowledgement to me in the bottom of that page! I've nothing to do with this, just to be clear :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Good old Repton :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I, for one, won't be using it.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I didn't know it existed until about 15 years ago. So nope, not me! I never had any of the popular gaming computers. It was always the outliers, including the MZ-80A.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I forgot to ask, where on Earth did you see that someone had used AI to make an MZ emulator?
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I only have Sharp machines and a Dragon!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Well, they did. Seen evidence of it plenty of times in the comments on YouTube videos covering the MZ-700.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I never played Discworld, I think I watched a friend playing it a bit and it definitely seemed pretty decent.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Cute Praying Cat Says Thank You!
ALT: Cute Praying Cat Says Thank You!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Damnit, forgot the alt text : Starflight (DOS), Elite (BBC), Matrix (VIC-20), Quake (DOS), Benefactor (Amiga), Arkanoid (DOS or C64), Wizball (DOS or C64), Monkey Island (DOS), Starglider (DOS).
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My 9 games #My9Games my9games.net/en/share/4be...
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
First for me also, marking the first time a TV changed from a passive experience to something even more fun & interesting :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Except when I visited my friend who also had the 1512, he had the colour version :) Elite looked pretty decent with its colour dithering.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I didn't even see the colours :( I had the monochrome PC1512.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Amstrad PC1512 was my first PC too :) Don't forget it had its additional special 'Amstrad' screen mode which allowed 16 colours. Some games took advantage of it and had a special menu option to choose the Amstrad mode.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It’s fine to say this. I saw it in the cinema with my son and, as big fans of Tron, we loved it :) So many nice callbacks and Easter eggs. The original grid was a nice surprise, wasn’t expecting that and it was wonderful to see. The whole sequence on the jet ski / boat thing was really cool.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Yep, "Up Yours" basically just insults you :) Interestingly, I have both those titles already for the MZ-80A and for the MZ-700. So I guess I have now completed the full set!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A really awesome arrival today consisting of some fairly rare Kuma tapes for the MZ-80K :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Just wondering if you're carrying on with this :) Very interested to see a disassembled / commented Z80 Elite. It might give me hope that I could carry out a port to the Sharp machines.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Do the demos (with their associated clever fx) all work on your 700 emulator?
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Reposted by Sharpworks
Tim Holyoake @timholyoake.uk · 19/09/2026
I see that someone has used #AI to create a Sharp MZ-700/MZ-80A emulator. Sigh. I can guarantee that my #PicoMZ emulator for the MZ-700, MZ-80K and MZ-80A is completely AI free, so all of the bugs are of my own devising 🤪
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A Rasp is a percussion instrument which makes a sort of buzz sound.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Wowsers!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ah, same here really!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Good morning to you! Are you making any more text adventures at all?
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Haha, I'm not going to even try and beat that
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Just a little re-post for #Sharptember of some of @raymanta.bsky.social 's awesome #Sharpscii art :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Yeah that's a great site. Also details the differences between the MZ-80A and MZ-1200 on there, a topic which was greatly misunderstood for a long time. But that's a whole other thing :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I knew Tony would have covered it at some point :) bsky.app/profile/here...
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Excellent news, thanks :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I can't think what the game you mentioned could be. The only thing which came to mind is 'Land Escape' but that is not really a big sprite but it does have a sort of long triangular-based landscape.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Not sure I'd really heard of it before, it doesn't sound familiar. Interesting machine!
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
And in Japan they had many more varieties of the MZ-80K, some with a more normally arranged keyboard :)
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Really enjoyed Beltrunner on the Wii :) (My son loved it too). When will Jinks itself be available to use or will it just be for your own development?
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Nintendo built that character into their newest Switch Sports game so you can just choose to play as it.
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Rahh
ALT: Rahh
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Sharpworks @sharpworks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A few screenshots for #Sharptember - This is the English language version of Tookato's excellent graphic adventure game "Ropoko" for the Sharp MZ-700, coming very soon now on physical cassette tape from Sharpworks :)
English language version of "Ropoko" for the Sharp MZ-700. Coming soon from Sharpworks.English language version of "Ropoko" for the Sharp MZ-700. Coming soon from Sharpworks.English language version of "Ropoko" for the Sharp MZ-700. Coming soon from Sharpworks.English language version of "Ropoko" for the Sharp MZ-700. Coming soon from Sharpworks.
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