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This post is intended to accompany the Aquarius Collecting List post, which can be found here: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/301304-aquarius-aquarius-collecting-list/ I've wanted to create a post like this for a long time now, but I wanted to wait until I had fully completed my Aquarius set (all boxes, all overlays, all manuals, all carts). As of this month (March 2023), I have successfully done that! The goal of this post is to document the contents of each Aquarius cartridge with photos, determine the differences between each variant, and provide a reference for future collectors. A common topic in the Aquarius community that I have noticed is the exact contents of the later releases. They are extremely hard to come by, are often missing overlays, and the manuals provide incorrect information, and so until now the exact contents have not been documented. I have been lucky enough to acquire every overlay with each of my carts, so this post will fix that issue. Secondly, I would like to document Aquarius variants. Aquarius titles typically had at minimum two variants: a Mattel release and a Radofin release. Radofin releases were produced after Mattel sold the Aquarius' rights back to Radofin, and were produced in smaller quantities and are much more common in Europe than North America. They can be identified by the removal of Mattel branding from the packaging and in many cases the addition of 1 or more languages other than English to the packaging. There are more variants for some titles, such as Finnish language manuals. In the future, I will make another post similar to this one covering hardware and their variations, and possibly one for cassettes as well. Here we go! This post will document 21/20 of the Aquarius library, or in other words the full set as well as the store demonstration cart. 4K Memory: Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual. Only the Radofin version contains a manual, and this has been verified with sealed copies of 4K memory. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages, addition of a paper manual. 16K Memory: Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Special Notice Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual. Only the Radofin version contains a manual, and this has been verified with sealed copies of 16K memory. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages, addition of a paper manual. Photos Credit of @Intymike 32K Memory No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Oversized Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual. Modem No Radofin variant has been found. Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Cassette Tape, Manual and brochures/catalogs. FileForm Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages, manual binding is no longer spiral. FinForm Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages, manual binding is no longer spiral. Note that the Radofin version of this title still uses a Mattel Electronics branded manual. This is not a mistake, as I have confirmed this with 3 copies of the Radofin variant. Logo Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @cmart604. Radofin Variant Photo is incomplete, and needs an upgrade. Extended Microsoft Basic No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Cardboard Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. *This example is in bad condition, if you have a better condition example, please post a picture. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @cmart604. Radofin Variant Photo is missing manual, and needs an upgrade. Astrosmash Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages. Biorhythms Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages. Note that this is the only software release that does not contain any overlays at all. BurgerTime Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, copyright information on cartridge is blue instead of white. Nightstalker Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @Intymike Snafu Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @Intymike Tron: Deadly Discs Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding, addition of several languages to packaging. Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @Intymike Utopia Total Contents of Mattel Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Differences between Radofin and Mattel Variants: Removal of Mattel branding Photo of Radofin Variant Credit of @Intymike Melody Chase No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Chess No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays. Note that this is the only game that does not include controller overlays. This has been verified with multiple copies, and the manual does not state that controller overlays are included. It is likely that a variant of Chess exists that has a small label with the title in the corner of the box's front, instead of a full color box art. Also note that the box art for Chess and Zero-In read "Cartridge Instructions". This is an example of Radofin's poor QA towards the end of the system's life cycle. Zero-In No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Note that although this game's manual states only one controller overlay is included, there are actually two in a complete copy. This is an example of Radofin's poor QA towards the end of the system's life cycle. Unfortunately for variant collectors, Zero-In does have a variant. Instead of a full color box art, it only has a small printed label with the game's title in the corner. The two variants are pictured on the right. Also note that the box art for Chess and Zero-In read "Cartridge Instructions". This is another example of Radofin's poor QA towards the end of the system's life cycle. Space Speller No Mattel variant was released. Total Contents of Radofin Variant: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge, Manual, Left + Right KB Overlays, 2 Controller Overlays. Note that although this game's manual states only one controller overlay is included, there are actually two in a complete copy. This is an example of Radofin's poor QA towards the end of the system's life cycle. Store Demonstration Cartridge (NOT REQUIRED FOR FULL SET) It is unknown if there are variants, and since this is the only known boxed copy, it is possible there are inserts missing. This cartridge is not required for a full Aquarius set since it was not available commercially, and is only included here for reference. Total Contents: Box, Plastic Tray, Cartridge. That's all! If anyone can provide photos for the missing Radofin variants, that would be greatly appreciated, and I will add them to the main post. If additional variants are discovered, they can be posted here and added to the main post. I hope this serves as a helpful reference for both future and veteran collectors for the Aquarius. It will be linked to from the Aquarius Collecting List thread, which is pinned in the Intellivision/Aquarius subforum. Thank you for reading through this behemoth of a post. More discussion for the Aquarius can be found at the discord server, here: https://discord.gg/TjCZZZ8HZQ We are always happy to welcome new members!