What Atari 2600 Game Has Your Favorite Sound?

[Skippy B. Coyote]

The Atari 2600 isn't a system known for having fantastic sound, but there are still a lot of memorable tunes and sound effects to be found in 2600 games. For me personally, as much as I love the music in Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle and Ms. Pac-Man, I think I'm going to to have to go with Millipede. Listening to the sound in Millipede—especially in the later levels—is like treating your ears to a cacophony of just about every bleep, bloop, buzz, whir, and warble that the Atari 2600 is capable of producing. It's this crazy jumble of sound effects that you would think would be grating, yet for some reason I just really enjoy the way it sounds.

 

So how about you? What Atari 2600 game is your favorite in terms of sound?

[BurritoBeans]

Eh, I know that someone else is gonna post it, but Pitfall 2 has some great sound. There's actual music, and it's cool to hear on the Atari. Burgertime is pretty cool, too.

[Army Of 2600]

So many to choose from. Off the top of my head, Imagic's No Escape stands out. Missle Command, Berzerk, and Haunted House and Yars' Revenge also have to make my list.

[mikey.shake]

The "refill" sound of your energy bar/oxygen in Megamania and Seaquest (which I'm sure I've heard in another game or two)... or the fuses/splashes in Kaboom!. Something about those just gets me.

[+sramirez2008]

Sound Effect: The dynamite stick sound in H.E.R.O.

 

Memorable Tunes: Starwars Empire Strikes Back

Memorable Tunes - Homebrews: The the intro music and overall sound of Omicron.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

For me it's Yars Revenge. Love the whirring sound in the game, the explosion sound of destroying the coatile, the coatile doing it's spin attack, and even when Yar loses a life. Awesome sound effects!

[StijnDW]

Wizard of Wor was always memorable.

[+xucaen]

Yars' Revenge, i love that background noise.

[Zonie]

AIR SEA BATTLE and SUPERMAN

[zylon]

Tapeworm

[LidLikesIntellivision]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/217476-favorite-2600-sound-effects/

[toiletunes]

Spacemaster X-7

[karokoenig]

Reactor. Everything in it.

[imstarryeyed]

The opening jingle from Spikes Peak, I can't seem to ever forget it.

[sloth-machine]

Atari 2600 sound effects are wonderfully harsh. They both haunted and brought joy to my youth. Venture always will standout for me, as I played it a lot as a kid. The sound effects were kind of terrifying to me back then. To this day, when I think of generic videogame noises, I'll always think of the 2600.

Edited July 5, 2015 by sloth-machine

[Turbo-Torch]

Star Ship (Outer Space). Sounds in this game have always been a favorite of mine...and it's one of the first games to be released for the 2600.

[Army Of 2600]

I just picked up Star Ship and also thought the sounds were cool, though the game is a stinker. Also, Joust and the Synthcart.

[Algus]

Asteroids

 

DUH NUH DUH NUH DUH NUH DUH NUH

 

PEW PEW PEW

[Philflound]

I'm going with the Star Wars music in Empire Strikes Back when your snowspeeder is temporarily invincible. Actually I'm adding Vanguard music in there too.

 

Phil

Edited July 6, 2015 by Philflound

[Mitkraft]

I guess because I played a ton of it as a kid I love the sounds in Demon Attack. The game play sounds, the level complete music and the death sound all took me right back to my childhood when I refurbed my Atari and played it for the first time since my childhood.

 

Another one that I always really liked (probably because I'm just the right age) is Kool-Aid Man. I love the opening/power-up tune, the sounds of the sipping and when you get bounced.

[bigfriendly]

We all know how bad Swordquest Earthworld was but the sound of the waterfall in the Leo chamber was really cool as was the sounds on the Taurus screen.

[Cambouis de l'Atari]

My favorite sound effects... well the game over in Missile command, the dead in berzerk (so violent !), in SW return of the jedi, the sound of the tie fighters (it looks like they're passing near your ears) and when the shield is opening, and in Space Shuttle, opening/closing of cargo bay, or the various alarms. When I was kid, my pleasure was to open the bay until temp alarm fires, then close it

 

You can't do what you want with it, "soundy" speaking, but the sound of the vcs has its very own personnality, very recognizable.

 

Edit : here's a very short loop composed by a friend of mine, using my own "music" routine. I really like how he used the particular low sounds of the console to make a quite modern feel.

 

Edited July 7, 2015 by Cambouis de l'Atari

[G-type]

I'm going with the Star Wars music in Empire Strikes Back when your snowspeeder is temporarily invincible. Actually I'm adding Vanguard music in there too.

 

Phil

 

I like the music in Vanguard, but it really bugs me that your lasers are silent... It needs a "pew...pew"... also an ambient engine hum in the background (a la combat or Yars) would have been welcome too.

Edited September 14, 2015 by G-type

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Other sound effects I truly enjoy is Missle Command. Right off the bat when you start off the game the 4 high pitch siren noises, shooting the cannons, destroying missles, the score tallying, and the best is when the game is over! The arcade version in my opinion has the best Game Over screen in all of the video games I have ever played and is truly ground breaking for 1980-1981. Haunted House is amazing as well. Getting caught by a ghost or bat and also descending into the next room. Love the sound of the footsteps as you are moving. Yars' Revenge, Missle Command, and Haunted House are my top three. So many great sounds that TIA chip can do. I get goosebumps just listening to it.

[accousticguitar]

The sound in Starmaster when you take a hit and lose your shields.