gorfcadet Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have a fondness for all of the 7800 launch games even though Galaga should have been more when compared to the others that Atari put out at the time. Still love and play it even today though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageGamer74 Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 One of the earliest games I played as a kid. It didn't matter what platform it was. Definitely a classic. Good review! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorfcadet Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 One of the earliest games I played as a kid. It didn't matter what platform it was. Definitely a classic. Good review! Thanks! Yeah, this was one of our Christmas games the year we got our 7800. It was nuts that year. We got a NES and a 7800 that year. We had Food Fight, Joust, Galaga, and Pole Position II in one room and Kung Fu, Spy Hunter, Pac Man and Super Mario in the other. My brother and I were set that year! Eventually, I ended up with both systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluxit Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I like this game on the 7800, I really do, but the graphics... ugh. It looks like a port of the game to a system that couldn't handle the arcade 'look,' or a clone of the game by someone who was trying to produce a play-alike that didn't 'steal' the graphics of the original. What were they thinking? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I love the graphics and sound myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I like this game on the 7800, I really do, but the graphics... ugh. It looks like a port of the game to a system that couldn't handle the arcade 'look,' or a clone of the game by someone who was trying to produce a play-alike that didn't 'steal' the graphics of the original. What were they thinking? Yeah, while it's nice to see Galaga finally make an appearance on an Atari machine, this particular conversion leaves a little bit to be desired unfortunately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorfcadet Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 Like I mentioned in the video, I really think it would have been better to cut the colors and go 320 mode. I think fat mode really wasn't cut out for Galaga. Still fun, but it made the NES version look better by comparison. I wonder who worked on this one as opposed to Centipede and Joust and Robotron. I know that font is the same as Xevious's, so maybe the same people on both games. Man I hate that score font. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stamos Mullet Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 (edited) The NES version only looks better in still screen caps. The 7800 version plays better, and doesn't turn into a flicker-fest when more than 3 things move on screen at once. Edited December 3, 2018 by John Stamos Mullet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 It is also worth noting that as an owner of an original Galaga cocktail cab, that the difficulty with the sudden speed increase is also present in the arcade. There isn't any gradual ramp up in speed. They all come out at the same speed several stages, with the difference being that the first pattern doesn't shoot or drop any extra ships at you. Then the next pattern shoots at your and then extra ships come at you, then both and then eventually back to them just flying in formation etc. I believe on the arcade that the sudden speed increase is just the next stage or two after the first Special stage whereas on the 7800 this happens starting on stage 10 as I recall? So if anything the 7800 version is easier in this regard. While I also believe the graphics could have been made better, I believe the sound is very well done considering TIA only audio and it does for me at least now even back then, sound like the arcade game or at least I know it is Galaga when I hear it being played. They also captured the gameplay of the arcade very well additionally. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 IMHO, Galaga is a great conversion, and not worthy of the flak it gets. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 ...I believe on the arcade that the sudden speed increase is just the next stage or two after the first Special stage whereas on the 7800 this happens starting on stage 10 as I recall?... Correct. IMHO, Galaga is a great conversion, and not worthy of the flak it gets. Agreed. My only major graphical related issue is the player's ship. It really could look a lot better, even when staying within the same template of the game: As shown above, a very nice improvement. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefffulton Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 Great Stuff. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have a fondness for all of the 7800 launch games even though Galaga should have been more when compared to the others that Atari put out at the time. Still love and play it even today though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Great review. I'm really enjoying these videos (and I rarely watch game videos). Very informational and perfect length once again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 I still think the Apple ][ could do a great Galaga... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Correct. Agreed. My only major graphical related issue is the player's ship. It really could look a lot better, even when staying within the same template of the game: GALAGA_HACK50.PNG As shown above, a very nice improvement. Somehow I missed this graphical update. Thanks for the link Trebor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 With the 7800 conversion - the lack of detail present is because of the low-res mode being used. This conversion was programmed via the company that designed the 7800 hardware. So the question becomes - was the low-res used solely because of memory contraints? Could a higher res be used - and the game run at a fast enough speed? Lower res - usually means that the game can run faster. I'm not a programmer nor into the hardware specs - so maybe someone could give a proper answer to the above? If it was redone today - would a better version be possible? Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 There are better versions of Galaga, to be sure, but the Atari 7800 port isn't a bad game by any stretch. It's definitely one of my most-played 7800 titles, at any rate. The NES version only looks better in still screen caps. The 7800 version plays better... How's that? ...and doesn't turn into a flicker-fest when more than 3 things move on screen at once. Neat. Neither does the Nintendo version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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