[Flashback 6 questions]

Hey, my local Mom and Pop gaming shop brings in AtGames stuff from time to time, and they're unloading some old Flashback 6s right now. Anyone know much about that version?  Online I see that the wireless controllers are "line of sight" and that possibly Secret Quest doesn't work because there are missing switches (leading me to ask why was it included at all).  Anyone know if this one is worth owning if you can get it cheap/  Are the controllers terrible?  Is there a trick to play games with missing switches (like Secret Quest)?  I'm not incredibly picky about these systems, and having two wireless controllers on a system would make for a good system for me and my 7-year old on the living room TV (he likes Atari because I'm raising him right).  Thanks for any help. 

[2019 HSC Rd.3 - Galaga]

Galaga: 63,830

 

[2019 HSC Rd.3 - Galaga]

61,370

[Idea for homebrew title that 7800-homebrew dev. may consider to produce: Pac Land 1984]

This is my favorite thread this year. From wouldn't-it-be-cool-concept to sprite art, a possible engine discussion, and some music in two pages.  The 7800 community is pretty great.

[2019 HSC Round 2:]

Desert Falcon: 29,815

[2019 HSC Round 1: Pac Man Collection]

Ms PacMan: 44,560

 

[2019 HSC Round 1: Pac Man Collection]

13 hours ago, toiletunes said:

Difficulty switches will not affect Ms Pac-Man, you're good to go.

Thanks!

 

Ms PacMan: 32,420

[HES Baseball: Pete Rose Baseball]

5 hours ago, uglyclone said:

Yeah, pretty close to that time frame.  Pete managed the Reds in '88 and '89.  The betting investigation wrapped up in the summer of '89. 

Pete's betting = bad.  Pete's batting = great.

When I first got that game in the mail, my wife said "what's that?  A betting simulator?"  Still my favorite joke shes ever made. 

[2019 HSC Round 1: Pac Man Collection]

Hat in the ring at least.  PMC Random Mazes: 24,710

 

My 7800 has some issues with the difficulty switches not always registering (if I switch it and press in on it hard, it sometimes reads, if I just switch it, it may not read at all), so is there any potential problem with Ms PacMan?  Should I be getting 5 lives there or is that a difficulty switch option? 

 

[Should someone take upon them to make a completed version of Missing in Action?]

On 9/14/2019 at 1:01 AM, Jinks said:

Btw I like your drive for the 7800. We need more like you to keep things going. It is great to talk games.

 

Agree 500%.  I used to be like this first when I got into the 7800 back in 2004.  I've always liked more new people coming on here to talk about the games from new perspectives.  Please keep it up. :)

[Astro Blaster and Moon Cresta - box option?]

8 hours ago, cvga said:

I can't bring myself to not purchase the box when it's available but I'm running out of room to display boxes. I've considered only buying carts.

I just started selling all my other systems and games.  It was just as well.  I only really play the Atari stuff anyway.

[Astro Blaster and Moon Cresta - box option?]

8 hours ago, GoldenWheels said:

You can't imagine ordering a game without a fancy piece of paper that doesn't affect the performance of said item at all? Huh.

When I buy games for a 30+ year old system instead of much bigger games for cheaper on brand new hardware where the games don't even take up any physical space or physically exist at all?  Yes. Glass houses etc.  :)

[Astro Blaster and Moon Cresta - box option?]

Just curious: Does anyone order a game that has a box option and not select the box with it? I cannot imagine doing that.  It would be like ordering your favorite drink and saying "and please serve it to me in an old shoe instead of a glass." 

[7800 HSC 2019 starts Sept. 15]

Another suggestion if it's acceptable.  At some point could we do another "variety pack" round of less enjoyable games like we have in some past seasons, where one round has 2 - 4 games?  So stuff that's not as enjoyable (e.g. Jinks, Karateka, Water Ski, etc.) get combined together so we do play them at some point (otherwise I never, ever, ever break out some of these games at all).  Maybe adjust the points so that each game is worth less than a full round. 

 

I also strongly second Dungeon Stalker, which is a fantastic one to save for the Halloween round. 

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

1 minute ago, Giles N said:

—

question: I liked the parallaxing field of touchdown football and the grfx on the players; is there a good way to learn to handle/master it well?

I've honestly spent almost no time with that one, which is odd, as football is a sport I absolutely love to watch.  In the HSC post I linked to, if you real through all the pages you'll see that me and another few people started to really dig into Realsports Baseball and learned how to beat that one at least, despite it originally feeling impossible and deeply broken.

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

1 minute ago, Giles N said:

We all have our favourites.

 

Whats your top 10 or top 15 Atari 7800 titles?

I like almost all of them in some way (even RealSports Baseball made an absolutely epic High Score Club week), so it's hard for me to choose. 

Top 15 in no order right now might be:

Dig Dug

Ikari Warriors

Food Fight

Robotron

Midnight Mutants

Fail Safe

b*nQ

Double Dragon (especially with my 7-year old)

Rampage (only with my 7-year old, as it is boring as dirt alone)

Galaga

Dungeon Stalker

Scramble

DK Jr.

Motor Psycho

Joust

 

 

 

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

32 minutes ago, Giles N said:

 

I would give it 8/10 for a 8-bit racer.

 

PP2 is 9/10: colourful and playable.

 

 

I'd put PP2 as the second best of those two personally.  I really like MotorPsycho.  I only kind of like PP2.

[Pokey chip question]

9 hours ago, SS said:

Ballblazer plays but is absolutely silent. 

 

So I have two copies of Ballblazer, and one (the loose copy) is completely silent, which I assume means there is an issue with the Pokey.  Every time I am in the Atariage store and see the "you supply the Pokey" orders, I wonder if it's possible to check to see if the Pokey is still possibly functional but disconnected or something.  Anyone know what I could look for if I'm not afraid to destroy that cart? 

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

44 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Ok, 

Sounds like glitch... but isn’t that a somewhat boring way of getting through it?

 

Or does some action still happen?

If you mess up, they tend to gang up on you mercilessly for a bit. Also, the timer means you sometimes have to hurry it up more than that.  Not the most exciting way to play, but not lacking in challenge, and, I believe, the only way to actually finish that version of the game. 

[Dedicated Asteroids controllers]

Yes.  Very yes.

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

6 hours ago, Giles N said:

I’m getting on.

 

Pretty much, I felt it all became easier when I use common kick as I would use standard punch in the arcade.

 

Yeah, people say ‘elbow’ and backward-flykick.

 

They aren’t always easy to pull of at will.

 

But I’m getting on.

 

Had a hard time getting past level 1 until I began using moving up or down to an enemy and then use 3-4 standard kicks, and now I’ve gotten to level 3 at least.

 

Thanks for input.

If you just continue to hold up, the enemies all stop moving or stop attacking and move into position to be back elbowed. It's a glitch that allows for crowd control.

[Which Atari 7800 games are to one you love most, and why these?]

On 8/21/2019 at 11:35 PM, Giles N said:

 

I’m absolutely aware that, say, Food Fight is a much better game than Double Dragon (7800), so they’ll probably swap some day.(Or Food Fight will move upwards in one way or another). But I’m just more interested in beating (!) Double Dragon right now.

 

 

By now someone has told you about the "back-elbow" trick I assume.  Cousin Vinnie called it the "Over the Shoulder" technique.  His site is gone, but not forgotten in the Wayback Machine.  Enjoy. 

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20031111154158/http://www.bigfishusa.com/7800/doubledragondc.html

 

I use this all the time and finish the game pretty much every time I play it.

[7800 HSC 2019 starts Sept. 15]

Great.  So, to avoid the holiday rush, you can just send me my prize now. :)

[AtGames 2019 speculation thread]

On 8/15/2019 at 11:59 PM, Bill Loguidice said:

Like last year, the new Legends Flashback console, which plays multiple systems, is the lead non-Atari console in 2019.

I really like that system, even with just the games that came loaded on it.  It's nice to have a system that's not tied to any particular classic line, so you can have a couple "NES" Megaman games and some golden era arcade games like Galaga and Dig Dug sharing the same system as SF2.  I'm interested in their next lineup.

[2018 - 2019 7800 HSC Season Round 4 & 5:T:ME SALVO & ROBOTRON 2084]

Anything planned?  Who is taking it this year?