Mario Unrecognizable

[Dr. Van Thorp]

Here's a nice video of the Intellivision version of Donkey Kong:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4R115WkI9lI

 

For comparison, the Colecovision version:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=0yDWuhkHHpw

 

Don't hold all of the deficiencies of the port against Nintendo's programmers. The Intellivision had about half the graphics resolution of the Colecovision, and a quarter as many hardware sprites. I don't think that the Intellivision wasn't designed to display multicolored sprites (this could only be done through arcane raster synchronization tricks) so Mario is probably actually two overlapping sprites. I read somewhere that Intellivision's graphic ship was from the same maker as the Coleco's chip, and was a direct design predecessor; you can see the improvements made in just a couple of years.

 

And finally:

The 2600 Version:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-SG_ILlNCEw

Can someone find a cleaner video with game sound?

The 2600 was designed with games like Breakout and Gunfight in mind. This probably really was about as good as could be done. At least Mario is recognizable as Mario, which probably could have been done on Intellivision if someone had taken the time.

[Nukey Shay]

Is it just me, or does the Inty version of Kong look like a Sneaker with buck teeth?

Anyway, in defense of the 2600 version, at least they got the number of platforms right!

 

A much cleaner vid can be seen here:

 

 

The sound effects are barely audible tho (would the reviewer shut up for a couple of seconds, please), so here's some sound in a crummy vid:

 

 

 

Links imbedded for the java-impaired (and because I don't feel like changing my security settings )

 

 

BTW many people feel that the A8 or C64 versions of DK are superior to the NES version. For a really weak port, check out Vic20:

Edited September 7, 2008 by Nukey Shay

[PressureCooker2600]

That Vic-20 version made me crack up laughing!!!!

 

 

And I like the Vic-20.....some games just weren't meant to be ported to it.

[Pixelboy]

For a really weak port, check out Vic20:

I don't know what that is, but it's not the Vic-20 DK I played when I was a kid. This is.

[darthkur]

For a really weak port, check out Vic20:

I don't know what that is, but it's not the Vic-20 DK I played when I was a kid. This is.

 

 

Precisely. The one in your link is the real Donkey Kong made by Atarisoft. The one in the video above is Crazy Kong by Interceptor Micros. http://www.camya.com/eccdb/get/?mid=vic20.31682138

[Vic George 2K3]

Nintendo did NOT program the 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision versions of Donkey Kong. Coleco programmed them. The only thing Nintendo had to do with those versions was simply give Coleco the license to market them.

[2600Lives]

Nintendo did NOT program the 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision versions of Donkey Kong. Coleco programmed them. The only thing Nintendo had to do with those versions was simply give Coleco the license to market them.

 

Exactly, and the prevailing rumor was that Coleco intentionally sabotaged the other versions of the game to make the one on their own system look far superior. Seriously, the Intellivision is capable of WAY better than that. Just off the top of my head, here's a few games with multi-colored sprites.

 

He-Man

Thin Ice (I think the penguin had, what, 3 total colors?)

 

Ok, well, those are two games anyway. The 2600 version is decent enough, as the limitations of the system really prevented any sort of true conversion.

[Toucan]

Nintendo did NOT program the 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision versions of Donkey Kong. Coleco programmed them. The only thing Nintendo had to do with those versions was simply give Coleco the license to market them.

 

Exactly, and the prevailing rumor was that Coleco intentionally sabotaged the other versions of the game to make the one on their own system look far superior. Seriously, the Intellivision is capable of WAY better than that. Just off the top of my head, here's a few games with multi-colored sprites.

 

He-Man

Thin Ice (I think the penguin had, what, 3 total colors?)

 

Ok, well, those are two games anyway. The 2600 version is decent enough, as the limitations of the system really prevented any sort of true conversion.

 

Well that rumor should be laid to rest since Coleco didn't program the games, they were all outsourced to 3rd party companies to be programed for Coleco. DK was done by Gary Kitchen when he was with James Wickstead Design I believe. I also know Wickstead Design did stuff for Parker Brothers too, such as 2600 "Star Wars: ROTJ Death Star Battle".

[Segataritensoftii]

The 2600 Version:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-SG_ILlNCEw

Can someone find a cleaner video with game sound?

The 2600 was designed with games like Breakout and Gunfight in mind. This probably really was about as good as could be done. At least Mario is recognizable as Mario, which probably could have been done on Intellivision if someone had taken the time.

How about this?

[Vic George 2K3]

Still, whether Coleco did it in-house or out, Nintendo did NOT program the 2600, INTV, and CV versions.

[Dr. Van Thorp]

So waht was the story with Atarisoft? They released a VIC-20 version of Donkey Kong which is the version linked to above.

 

I also recall several knockoff version of DK for VIC; I had Kongo Kong on Cassette, purchased from a tiny ad in the back of compute magazine; graphics bore little resemblance to the real Mario and Donkey Kong. I would consider the official Donkey Kong to be the most authentic looking port ever available on the VIC-20; well I guess that VIC Invaders was a pretty good too. The DK port used VIC-20's multi-color HiRes/Tile mode, which tended to be avoided for its blockiness, but worked pretty well in this case.

[Pixelboy]

The DK port used VIC-20's multi-color HiRes/Tile mode, which tended to be avoided for its blockiness, but worked pretty well in this case.

Didn't it also require a RAM expansion pack? I think it did, IIRC...

[Dauber]

So what was the story with Atarisoft? They released a VIC-20 version of Donkey Kong which is the version linked to above.

 

If I remember correctly, Coleco had the rights to the cartridge format, while AtariSoft had the rights to the magnetic media formats, no??? and then Coleco lost the cart rights after they violated the terms of their contract or something, which is why Atari did Mario Brothers for the 2600....maybe that all has something to do with the VIC-20 version????

[Toucan]

So what was the story with Atarisoft? They released a VIC-20 version of Donkey Kong which is the version linked to above.

 

If I remember correctly, Coleco had the rights to the cartridge format, while AtariSoft had the rights to the magnetic media formats, no??? and then Coleco lost the cart rights after they violated the terms of their contract or something, which is why Atari did Mario Brothers for the 2600....maybe that all has something to do with the VIC-20 version????

 

I think Atarisoft had the computer rights to Donkey Kong and Coleco the Video Game console rights. Both Atarisoft and Coleco released their games on cartridge for their systems.

[chrisbid]

Exactly, and the prevailing rumor was that Coleco intentionally sabotaged the other versions of the game to make the one on their own system look far superior. Seriously, the Intellivision is capable of WAY better than that. Just off the top of my head, here's a few games with multi-colored sprites.

 

He-Man

Thin Ice (I think the penguin had, what, 3 total colors?)

 

Ok, well, those are two games anyway. The 2600 version is decent enough, as the limitations of the system really prevented any sort of true conversion.

 

 

i dont recall the number of colors in the hero sprite, but Beauty and the Beast for the Intellivision beats almost all home versions of donkey kong, in terms of playability, graphics and sound