atari arcade conversions that were better...

[PeeknPoke]

...than the arcade game they were based on.

 

There are some arcade games that I cannot stand but love the 2600 versions like

 

Missile command..my fav 2600 cart

Kangaroo...this looks better than the coin-op,less fussy graphics

Vangard...top shooter

 

any others?

Lee

[moycon]

I always liked the 2600 version of Centipede.

Defender was another I liked. I wouldnt say I liked them better. It probably had something to do with the fact that I could play the 2600 version alot longer than the 3 minutes I would last in the arcade. Alot of times the 2600 versions were easier then the arcade counterparts and the gameplay was often simplified.

[Joel D. Park]

I think Space Invaders was better. I never played the arcade much, but I don't think it had near the features of the Atari version.

[eric_ruck]

2600 Millipede and Jr. Pacman are very playable. In the non-port department, I also like Sea Quest and Crackpots.

 

E

[Cassidy Nolen]

If you count Kaboom as a ripoff of the Atari game Avalanche, then that is a much better one. I also liked Circus Atari better than the Exidy Clowns game. That cabinet simply, well, sucks.

 

As for Space Invaders, the differences I have seen are that the 2600 ones work and the arcade ones break down about once a week. Picky voltages and a pain to keep running. eeew. Plus, you get the options.

 

Cassidy

[Adrian M]

I like the 2600 version of Jr. Pac-Man because its a little easier and more forgiving than the insanely difficult arcade version.

 

On the emulated MAME version, I can get to the second stage if I'm lucky (with 5 men). On the 2600 version, I can actually clear 5-7 stages easily.

[The Night Phantom]

NE146's objections notwithstanding, I, too, vote for Space Invaders. I think even graphically it is an improvement, and certainly the game variations add value.

[NE146]

Yeah 2600 Space Invaders had more options like moving shields and invisible invaders etc., But when I was a kid I'd have traded all those to get some of the little tricks that made the arcade version fun into there. (counting shots, rainbow trick/bug, invaders don't shoot on the lowest row, etc.)

 

I often hear it said that 2600 Space Invaders is a good port but in my mind it's just like every other console version/variation of Space Invaders that came out. It's so far from the arcade version, it might as well have been Intellivision's Space Armada

 

My vote? I second MISSILE COMMAND, and CIRCUS ATARI as better games than their arcade counterparts!

[Eduardo]

Defender (easier to control)

Missile Command (just like the real thing)

Space Invaders (game variations, more options)

Kaboom (yeah let's pretend it's Avalanche)

Asteroids (why? because the rocks were colored)

Circus Atari (gameplay was kept intact)

[rasty]

Phoenix: the sprites in the arcade version had jerky movements, the 2600 version is way smooth.

 

I know someone on this board will probably also say Crossbow and Xenophobe

 

greets,

Rasty.-

 

[ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: rasty ]

[slapdash]

I'm going to disagree on the Space Invaders front... Although the 2600 cart is marvelous, I still prefer the arcade version for one big reason -- the adrenaline rush. The home version just can't match the building thumps of the arcade version...

[ubersaurus]

The arcade classics for game gear has the 2600 version of Missile Command I would have to vote for Gravitar. It's hella-easier then the arcade one, but just as fun.

[dwh]

I will second Millipede,Jr Pac-Man,Gravitar and add Stargate/Defender II,Moon Patrol,Crazy Climber(for those of us that own one!) and Crystal Castles.If "Prepare to Qualify" were on Pole Position I would add it too.

[NE146]

2600 Millipede, Moon Patrol and Crazy Climber are all good. But to say they're better than their arcade counterparts is smoking crack! There's just no way those are better than their originals (albeit they're all very good and fun 2600 ports)

 

However 2600 Missile Command is still way more fun for me than even the arcade game for some odd reason.

[Atari-Jess]

did anyone read my 2600 conversions article at the atari times?

 

anyways I liked defender for 2600 more than arcade version, the cities are just more cooler, thats why i like defender more than stargate for 2600. and combat was a pretty good conversion of tank if not better.

[popeal]

I would have to say Asteroids - just for the fact that it's in color, and it was always a rush to play... still play it to this day!

 

Al

[El Destructo]

Back in the day, I bought Reactor just for the music, (the commercial used the real arcade theme-- LIARS!!)

 

I ended up logging many more hours on the 2600 cart...The difficulty start much easier than the arcade version, and ramps up more gradually. Tons of replay value in this game!

[Osmeroid]

I think Pengo deserves an honourable mention, although it is Misile Command (1st), Gorf (2nd) and (3rd) Joust (2-player) that does it best really. Kung-Fu Master and Double Dragon were pretty good too.

 

Did anyone else find Ikari Warriors and Commando as disappointing as I did?

[utamav91]

Dig Dug was faithful to the arcade as well.

 

Millipede carries the same frenzied pace, and Berzerk is just as satisying at home as it is in the arcade.

 

We're forgetting the obvious--Video Olympics--the graphics are IDENTICAL to the arcade game, right?

 

I still say that in its own way, Zaxxon rocks.

[NE146]

Heh forgot about Video Olympics, but then we should also probably mention a lot of the early 2600 games like Outlaw, Canyon Bomber, Indy 500, Surround, Space War (well.. maybe not Space War), Breakout, Basketball, etc. in the same breath as games that had nearly IDENTICAL graphics and gameplay to the arcade games that inspired them, and thus just as good if not better than the arcade.

 

I'd have to disagree on Berzerk though. Although at first it seems fine, the robot's inability to shoot diagonally at you really makes the game much easier than the arcade.

[King Atari]

quote

 I know someone on this board will probably also say Crossbow and Xenophobe

 

I'll be that person! Although, I think "Xenophobe" was just as good as the Arcade, while "Crossbow" was better than it's coin-op counterpart.

[ubersaurus]

Yeah, Space War was pretty weak in comparison to the arcade one, or even the original Spacewar for pdp-1! Still, it was decent.

[mos6507]

>>

Heh forgot about Video Olympics, but then we should also probably mention a lot of the early 2600 games like Outlaw, Canyon Bomber, Indy 500, Surround, Space War (well.. maybe not Space War), Breakout, Basketball, etc. in the same breath as games that had nearly IDENTICAL graphics and gameplay to the arcade games that inspired them, and thus just as good if not better than the arcade.

<<

 

You'd be surprised to know that even the early Atari coinop games tended to feature higher resolution (probably 320x200 vs. 160x200) sprites than the 2600. Canyon Bomber, for instance, has the point values of the bricks in the graphics, and the bricks are rounded.

[NE146]

quote:

---

You'd be surprised to know that even the early Atari coinop games tended to feature higher resolution. Canyon Bomber, for instance, has the point values of the bricks in the graphics, and the bricks are rounded.

---

 

Well not too surprised at all. But yes, true enough.

 

Being a 33 year old geezer, I was lucky enough to play them as an arcade-crazed kid (and of course today through Mame). But I just meant that obviously the 2600 graphics are much more suited / closer to their early arcade counterparts (as the bar wasn't exactly much higher. I mean.. look at Surround) than say.. later conversions like Crystal Castles and Congo Bongo.

[Scooterb23]

I have to put my vote in for Tac-Scan. I just thought that by simplifying the game, and making it a lot easier to see things, improved that great game. A couple of others I liked better on Atari 2600 were Warlords, Circus Atari, and of course Journey Escape was way better than the Journey arcade game (ok not the same game, I just had to get a Journey reference in here somewhere.)