gamecat80

I take breaks all the time. Just look at the systems you may be interested in, see if you like the look and sound and gameplay of the games, and only buy what you like and know you can afford

Original game systems I still own from my childhood days: - Atari 7800 - SNES - Turbografx-16CD The other retro systems I own, I either replaced or bought over the years. The C-64 and the original front-loading NES from the 1980s are long gone. But the NES has long since been replaced with a top-loader model, and the C-64 has been "replaced" with the C-64 plug-n-play TV unit. And the other retro systems I own, I did not grow up with, but have collected over the last few years.

Whenever you apply any adhesive to any surface, make sure that surface is CLEAN for a good bond. That said, some adhesives do not work well with other rubbers or plastics. One other option for a more "permanent" fix is to use some kind of epoxy. Epoxies are messy to use, but are even stronger and more flexible than high-strength glues like Loctite and Gorilla superglues. I have used epoxies on many "fixes" and find them far superior to glues.

Sorry about that, Ed. My bad.

I don't have a "dog in this fight" since I have not purchased a SGM and do not plan on purchasing one (mostly due to the lack of communication by Opcode and ppl not recieving their paid-for SGM's). So I thought some here have Youtube accounts and could try to contact Opcode/Eduardo there. Looks like he has been active there as of 2 days ago: http://www.youtube.com/user/ed1269/videos

Dunno about that. Pitfall! on the Intellivision looks almost exactly the same as the Atari 2600 version. No graphical improvement whatsoever; just different sound effects. Quite disappointing. The Intv was certainly capable of better graphics. At least on the ColecoVision version, the graphics are a little better; though I still think they could have been improved. What sets the CV version of Pitfall! apart for me are the fantastic sound effects -- particularly the "stereo-echo" Tarzan yell. That game plays really well on CV, too. Things like that give the CV a more "arcade" feel to it. Great site! Bookmarked.

Yeah, for whatever reason, the Activision games are not that impressive graphically on the CV. Activision games from the early days look more-or-less similar on different systems. As much as I love the ColecoVision and generally prefer it over the Atari 5200, the Activision games tend to look better on the 5200 (Pitfall 1&2, Keystone Kapers, etc.) Those same games have mediocre graphics on the ColecoVision. An even more extreme example is the Intellivision versions of those Activision games. Pitfall! looks nearly identical on the Intellivision & Atari 2600! The Intellivision and ColecoVision were certainly capable of better graphics than what Activision made for them. Look at the Imagic games between those systems (Dragonfire is a good example), and you will see that they made much better use of the graphics capabilities of the systems than did Activision. Luckily, the Activision games PLAY well and are well-programmed on all systems; they just have very mediocre graphics. Pitfall! on the ColecoVision is my favorite version of that game, and imo, has the best sound of all classic versions. Keystone Kapers is FUN on the CV, despite it's average-at-best graphics.

I agree the 5200 stock controllers were quite innovative and advanced for their time. But let's be honest....they were poorly implemented. Even the Atari engineers were not happy with managements' decision to release them as they were. The 5200 controllers COULD have been awesome IF: - The joystick had a spring or coil to self-center it - The flex circuit traces were nickel instead of cheap carbon traces (that tarnish & get dirty fast and make buttons unresponsive over time) - Rubbery side buttons were improved/replaced with something else I do find the 5200 controllers more comfy than the 7800 controllers and the joystick more responsive though. As for the 7800 Proline controllers...... I am working on mine to improve em. I have ripped out the cheap foam at the bottom inside (it is used to help center the joystick and give it cushion/"spring") and replaced it with a real spring. I also tore off the old cellophane or tape off the circuit board to clean the metal "bubble" contacts and put new tape over them. MUCH better. They are much more responsive, but still need some work though. The overall design is still flawed I think. Joystick is quite tall, the controller part too long and skinny and the 'fire' buttons could be better, I think. I gotta tell ya though, that joystick is a BITCH to take apart and put back together though. I agree with Lynxpro that the Prolines are some durable joysticks!

Damn, I should have stayed in the HSC. But I wanna keep good on my word. Mario Bros. is one of my favorite games...

Uh-huh.....

Even when I got my 7800 brand-new as a kid back in the day, the controllers were a problem for me. I have been playing my 7800 a lot lately and tried my Proline joysticks again. Same thing. Very uncomfortable after a while and unresponsive. I am beginning to think that there was a little quality control issue with them as some ppl seem to like them and think they are responsive; while others don't think so. Still think the overall design are very flawed joystick controllers. So I have other controllers/joysticks that I can use. I am glad the 7800 has the "universal" controller ports used on many game systems from the 80s so you can use something else. Many ppl don't know about the Sears Video Arcade II controllers, but I find them pretty good -- much better than the stock 7800 Prolines. The Sears controller has a joystick/paddle combo and side buttons. I have done slight alterations on mine, but find it much more comfy and responsive than the Prolines. The only problem with that controller is that some 2-button games don't work correctly with it. If you play Xevious and push either side button, it will shoot AND drop bombs at the same time. If there was an updated/improved Sears Video Arcade II controller, it would be great for the 7800

The Atari 7800 usually gets criticized for it's crude sound. I know I have made my fair share of comments about it. The Atari 7800 uses the same TIA sound as the Atari VCS/2600 from 1977. The 2600 usually gets a "pass" on this because -- for it's time -- the TIA sound in the 2600 was pretty good for 1977 home console hardware. But the 7800 came out many years later and uses the same TIA sound. Although the 7800 was able to take advantage of the better in-cartridge POKEY sound, only a couple games did so. I want to look at the positive side of what the TIA is capable of from good programming. So I will start off with a few games for the 2600 & 7800 that have decent/good sound. Try to keep this about the game sound effects & music -- not weather the game sucks or not. Just off the top of my head..... Atari 2600: Smurf Rescue, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Dig Dug. Atari 7800: Xevious, Ms. Pacman, Food Fight, Dig Dug, Galaga. There are many others, but it's late and I can't think of them right now. IMO, those games listed above have decent sound; some quite good. They may not be on-par with most NES games' sound or most POKEY-based carts, but I'd put them on-par with some SMS games, sound-wise. Discuss

ColecoVision & Astrocade = two of my favorites consoles that tend to be more "delicate" than most systems. Yeah, from what I've read most ColecoVision issues are either from the power switch or power supply. For the Astrocade, I've read that the early models made in the late 70s (Bally Home Library) had the worst overheating issues. Later Astrovision-made models were supposedly better. There are those who know FAR more than I do about them on here. But I think it is common knowledge to make sure you have proper ventilation for ANY Astrocade model due to it's design. I own a later, Astrovision-made Bally Computer System made in the early 80s. It's been working fine, but I was curious (due to what I have read about them), so I opened it up to clean it and found that the little copper foil strips are starting to peel off. So I replaced them with new ones. I keep the Astrocade on a small rack on the floor when I play it. The little rack keeps the Astrocade unit up over an inch off the floor for good ventilation.

Nostalgia is only part of it. Personal preference is a bigger, more important "thing". The modern consoles with their extremely powerful hardware, extremely hi-res, realistic, "movie-like" graphics with ugly brown/grey color palettes and an over-abundance of first-person shooter games does NOTHING for me. Gimme decades-old classic, FUN, arcade/action/platform games and consoles ANY day over the new crap. I play games for fun and as an "escape". Classic games with their more simple cartoony or computer-y graphics and sounds do that for me. Modern games and consoles with their "realism" DON'T

IMO, my favorite underrated game systems are: - Atari 7800. Deserved and capable of so much more than what many ppl (especially NES fanboys) think. Capable of many on-screen sprites + 256 color palette + great graphics (MARIA graphics chip), and in-cart POKEY sound. Released under bad circumstances and overshadowed by the NES. - Bally Astrocade. Much more powerful and advanced than the Atari VCS, but overshadowed by it. Clear, bright graphics and great sound. Was much too expensive at launch and not well advertised. - Epoch Super Cassette Vision. In some ways more powerful than the NES & SMS (capable of 128 sprites!). Good graphics resolution, vibrant 16 colors, decent sound. Graphics are like a mix of Atari 7800 and ColecoVision. Overshadowed by the Famicom in Japan.

First, try blowing warm, moist air into the cart contacts and "fog it up". Then use a Q-tip to wipe the contacts. You should get sut/grime off. If that doesn't work, try getting some of this electronic contact cleaner: http://www.lowes.com/pd_172753-12704-40-610_0__ .....and spray it on the contacts, then using an old clean toothbrush on it if necessary. Works for me!

Even when I got my 7800 brand-new as a kid back in the day I thought the controllers sucked. They are very uncomfortable after a while and they are unresponsive. You have to jam the crap out of the joystick sometimes to get your character to move on screen, and sometimes your character wont even move! I have opened them up, cleaned them and looked at them real close and they are still not as responsive as they need to be. Just poorly designed controllers. Sucks because the Atari 7800 deserved so much better (in many ways!). But at least you can plug in different controllers and try them out since the 7800 has the "universal" controller ports also used on the 2600 & early Sega systems.

Agree the ending could have been better. Ninja Golf on the 7800 is an interesting, weird game with really nice graphics. Too bad it doesn't have POKEY music, though.

You should contact member kenzre here. I believe he sells and repairs Astrocade units. He also has a new multicart out for the Astrocade.

You are reading too much into that. Opinions differ because of personal experience and personal preference. And maybe a little bare minimum knowledge of console hardware and if it was used to it's full potential or not... It's not a regional "thing".

Just wanna bump this thread real quick. Got my Astrocade multicart today. Highly recommended! All original games + homebrew games + other programs. If you have an Astrocade, you need to get this!

The TIA sound is the weakest part of the 7800. And the controllers come in a close second, imo. But there are some games like Galaga, Food Fight, and Ms. PacMan that have decent TIA sound, so some of it is programming talent. But POKEY games definitely sound better. Graphics are good and don't flicker like the NES & SMS. And the 7800 was able to do high-resolution graphics too -- I already posted about that. The 7800 could do single-screen games very well, as well as many other games. Look at Commando & Ballblazer. I think there could have been many games that utilize smooth-moving graphics/sprites like Ballblazer (racing games!) done well on the 7800. THAT is what the 7800 could really excel at! Sadly, this was not widely taken advantage of, and I don't even see the homebrewers doing this. I disagree about Donkey Kong or the other Nintendo games on the 7800. Except for the crude TIA sound, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros. look and play great on the 7800. Really, each system's success come down to the games library it has. For instance, the Astrocade is a far superior console in every way to the Atari VCS, but the VCS was much more successful because of it's huge library of games. Except for sound (even though carts could use POKEY), the Atari 7800 is technically superior to the NES & SMS. But Sega and especially Nintendo fully supported their consoles, getting tons of 3rd party games support, and pushing their consoles capabilities to their max! Nintendo had to put extra hardware inside carts for more advanced games. The Atari 7800, on the other hand, had very few games or 3rd party support, had plans for it stripped, and Atari (Jack Tramiel) put most of his attention and funding in computers. It's almost like the 7800 was pushed out on the street and orphaned Kinda pisses me off a little because the 7800 had SO much potential to be a really great system. But as they were released, yeah, I overall prefer the NES. But if the 7800 had been given it's deserved treatment and realized it's full potential, I would prefer it over the NES easily.

True about POKEY. I just wish more games used POKEY on the 7800. Only 2 original games used it = Commando & Ballblazer. But it would have been better to have the POKEY on the 7800's motherboard so all games could easily take advantage of the better sound. I'm sure the game pads are nice and all, but the early Atari systems (2600, 5200, 7800) are meant to be played with joysticks. I just wish the 7800 came packed with GOOD joysticks. I've seen videos of modded 7800's with s-video and composite and while the picture is better, the sound is worse -- it sounds quite thin. The RF sound is actually better. It would have been great if the 7800 had better, cleaner RF video at least on-par with the Astrocade or Odyssey 2 while keeping the good RF sound. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here are a couple original examples of the great graphics & [POKEY] sounds the Atari 7800 is capable of: Commando: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZzffnKC8h4 Ballblazer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSSWTY_VH4s The 7800 version of Commando puts the NES version to shame. Ballblazer looks like it was done in hi-res mode due to the rounded, defined "ball" and the sharp, clear diagonal lines. The animation is butter-smooth, too. Very impressive game The Atari 7800's hi-res mode is capable of 320 x 240 pixels (arcade quality) -- higher than what the NES or SMS are capable of. Most 7800 games are done in the standard 160 x 240 pixels mode, though. The 7800's MARIA graphics chip is also able to push many sprites on-screen with little/no flicker, unlike the NES or SMS. Just imagine if the 7800 had better controllers, more & better POKEY games with lots of 3rd party support, good RF/composite video, on-board POKEY, and peripherals.

Yep. DK & DK Jr. are pretty bad all around, sound-wise. Mario Bros. title screen music is out-of-tune and harsh and some of the in-game sfx are harsh, but overall not as bad as Donkey Kong or Donkey Kong Jr., imo. Are you serious? Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. on the 7800 sound quite crude and harsh to me. To each his/her own. Don't forget Impossible Mission. Like nails on a chalkboard. I agree. Those games make good use of the TIA, especially Food Fight. Sounds like it was done on POKEY. Whoever programmed the music & sfx for that was very talented.

I grew up with both systems in their heyday. I actually got the 7800 AFTER I already had the NES. The NES was bought around 1988 for the family and the Atari 7800 was mine, a Christmas present. Actually, we got the 7800 and TG-16CD at the same time, around 1990 or so. The TG-16CD was, of course, for the family. That said, I find the NES to be a superior console in every way to the Atari 7800 -- better graphics, better sound, better games, better controllers, etc. HOWEVER, I will state that if the Atari 7800 had POKEY audio, more/better games (with some taking advantage of the MARIA'S high-resolution graphics mode, instead of the "standard resolution mode" like most/all games done on the 7800), composite video - or at least - better RF video, better controllers, then the 7800 could have creamed the NES... but it would have been an expensive, high-end system. But as we know, it didn't work out that way, and the 7800 was done in a stripped-down bare-bones way as a "budget" console alternative to the NES and SMS.