Great Arcade Conversions

[littleman jack]

I am a big fan of both the 2600 and the 8-bit computers. And I've noticed that the general consensus tends to be that the 8-bits blew away the 2600 in arcade simulation. And for Donkey Kong and the Pac-Man games I agree.

 

But I think the versions of Galaxian and Centipede are much more fun on the 2600 than on the 400/800. Does anyone else agree, or like any other 2600 version over the 8-bit counterpart?

[Rybags]

Space Invaders (2600) IMO was quite possibly the best licenced conversion to any platform.

 

Super Breakout is also better on the 2600. They did a great job with the sound effects given the platform.

 

Galaxian on the A8 is kinda crap. Haven't played the 2600 one properly but the A8 version has totally rubbish sound and the gameplay is nowhere near the arcade. The graphics are fairly good but good graphics don't mean good game.

 

Centipede, haven't really played the 2600 version but I reckon the computer version is pretty good. But then Millipede came along - much faster gameplay and a better overall package.

 

Donkey Kong on the 2600 is a bit of a joke. But given the machine's capabilities you couldn't expect much more. They probably could have done the sound a bit better. The A8 computer version is in some ways better than the arcade,.

 

Asteroids is a bit of a disappointment on both systems - at least with the 2600 version they bothered to give them different colours, the computer version would have been better if done in hires line-art. But I'm fairly sure Asteroids was one of those early carts that were compromised because it was made to run on an 8K RAM system. No doubt it also could have been made better if they used a 16K ROM.

 

Pacman, there's no comparison. No need to repeat almost 30 years worth of disappointment about the 2600 version but it's clear from later Pac variations as well as hacks and homebrews of the genre that what was released is just a botched rush job compared to what could have been.

[Mr Wong Burger]

I can't speak for the 400/800 considering I've never played on them, but I do enjoy quite a few arcade conversions on the 2600. Berzerk is excellent, and Millipede has proven to be every bit as addicting as it's arcade counterpart. With the VCS, there is quite a bit of strategy involved, as you often have a much smaller playfield and therefore have to adjust accordingly. I guess that's just one of the things that makes playing on the 2600 such a unique experience.

[brojamfootball]

Space Invaders (2600) IMO was quite possibly the best licenced conversion to any platform.

YES! THANK YOU!

I frequently refer to 2600 Space Invaders just as you have.

 

With home play being a bit of a different animal than arcade play,

Space Invaders 2600 changed the arcade version a bit to actually make it more fun to play at home.

 

Ever played MAME Space Invaders? It gets boring a lot quicker than the 2600 version, IMHO.

 

Without the incentive to get every last second of gameplay out of a quarter,

some MAME/'Perfect' arcade games aren't as much fun at home as they were in arcades,

and a FEW home conversions made the right choices to compensate.

 

Other times perfect conversions are the trick(pac and ms pac, etc), but,

well, I could go on and on--you get my point.

[NE146]

Space Invaders (2600) IMO was quite possibly the best licenced conversion to any platform.

 

While 2600 Space Invaders is a huge part of my childhood, my opinion was yes, it was a good conversion, but it was a horrible port. There were just so many things from the arcade I was looking for when I was a 11 year old in 1980 (counting, multi-point UFO's, wall of death) etc. And it just didn't have it. I can't bad mouth it too much though, because I love the game for what it is.

 

That being said, I actually prefer 2600 Ms. Pacman over ANY home port including the excellent 8-bit version. There's just something magical about the game. I guess the fact that it was the first time I saw "Pacman" done right on the VCS (when Pacman made me think it couldn't) still sticks with me even decades later.

 

Crystal Castles I think is an amazing achievement. Although it's obviously far from the arcade game, the fun factor of the 2600 port definitely was more than adequate for the home experience at the time. I'd play it over the 8-bit version any day.

 

2600 Q-Bert is notable to me in that I could actually use it to practice my skills on the real arcade game. But I'm sure the same could be said on the 8-bit verision. 8-bit wins in this one even though I love the VCS version.

 

Ever played MAME Space Invaders? It gets boring a lot quicker than the 2600 version, IMHO.

 

In my experience, people who think that generally don't really know how to play the arcade game. You can't play it like Galaxian.. there's a lot more deliberate strategy & tricks. Just saying.

Edited October 1, 2010 by NE146

[SpaceDice2010]

This is an interesting topic. Space Invaders on the VCS kicks major butt. It was one of the main reasons that I got the 2600. I don't think Vanguard got an "official" release on the A8 line, but the 2600 version is really good imho. I mainly played 5200 games and was not impressed with Galaxian at all on that system. Bezerk rocks on the 2600, but once again I don't think it got an "official" release.

[Lord Helmet]

While most of the A8/5200 arcade ports look and feel more like their arcade counterparts than their 2600 cousins, many on the 2600 side are more fun. Space Invaders, Berzerk, and Breakout come to mind. However, 5200 Centipede with the track ball blows away the fun but lacking 2600 version.

[eegad]

For me, I've always like the 2600 version of Space Invaders - more than the 800 version, and also more than the arcade.

 

I'll agree with the 2600 Galaxian playing better than the 800, but I'll disagree about Centipede (although 2600 Millipede was better than 800 centipede).

 

I'll also throw out there that I like the 2600 versions of Dig Dug and Missile Command a lot...though Missile Command 800 is definitely better than 2600.

[maiki]

I'm sure Taito would have been happy if they had 2600 hardware inside the Space Invaders cabs... + they would have beaten Namco as for the "the first color game display" (Galaxian)

Edited October 1, 2010 by maiki

[OldAtarian]

Space Invaders (2600) IMO was quite possibly the best licenced conversion to any platform.

 

Super Breakout is also better on the 2600. They did a great job with the sound effects given the platform.

 

Galaxian on the A8 is kinda crap. Haven't played the 2600 one properly but the A8 version has totally rubbish sound and the gameplay is nowhere near the arcade. The graphics are fairly good but good graphics don't mean good game.

 

Centipede, haven't really played the 2600 version but I reckon the computer version is pretty good. But then Millipede came along - much faster gameplay and a better overall package.

 

Donkey Kong on the 2600 is a bit of a joke. But given the machine's capabilities you couldn't expect much more. They probably could have done the sound a bit better. The A8 computer version is in some ways better than the arcade,.

 

Asteroids is a bit of a disappointment on both systems - at least with the 2600 version they bothered to give them different colours, the computer version would have been better if done in hires line-art. But I'm fairly sure Asteroids was one of those early carts that were compromised because it was made to run on an 8K RAM system. No doubt it also could have been made better if they used a 16K ROM.

 

Pacman, there's no comparison. No need to repeat almost 30 years worth of disappointment about the 2600 version but it's clear from later Pac variations as well as hacks and homebrews of the genre that what was released is just a botched rush job compared to what could have been.

 

Haven't played Space Invaders on SNES have you? It's arcade perfect.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXG8Fluw6HA

 

 

2600 Space Invaders doesn't even come close

 

 

This version for the 7800 is probably the best one on any Atari system

 

Edited October 1, 2010 by OldAtarian

[+wood_jl]

Haven't played Space Invaders on SNES have you? It's arcade perfect.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXG8Fluw6HA

 

It's good! Remember it's also on the Gameboy Space Invaders cart with "Super Gameboy Enhancements" - it loads the full SNES when put in the SGB.

 

2600 Space Invaders doesn't even come close

 

 

Well, I don't think anybody was expecting it to. The 2600 version is damn fun, and a damn good 2600 game. Of course it wouldn't make a good SNES game.

 

This version for the 7800 is probably the best one on any Atari system

 

 

Yeah, it looks pretty much like the black and white arcade version. It's ridiculous though, that it was supposed to compete with stuff like "Mike Tyson's Punch Out" from the same era.....

[BrianC]

c64 also got a good Space Invaders conversion, which, if I remember correctly, also has the wall of death. I think it was called Avenger. Probably one of the more accurate ones around, though there were two versions of it, one of which looks more authentic (I'm not sure if the version with the fatter graphics has the wall of death).

 

I found many of GCC's conversions to be amazing. Ms. Pac-Man, Battlezone, Jr. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Centipede, Vanguard, Dig Dug, and Moon Patrol (among others) are very well done.

 

I'm also quite fond of the conversions of Crystal Castles, Stargate/Defender II, and Millipede. Very impressive for the system and a blast to play.

 

I like that GB Space Invaders with the more accurate SNES version. The GB port with it is pretty good too. I tried a bit of the Famicom Space Invaders (or Space ET as it's hilariously called on that clone thing I got as a gift). It has the invaders oddly spaced out, but I liked it. If I remember correctly, that port also has the wall of death. I'm on the fence since it doesn't touch the SNES port, but I'm thinking of getting the cart for my AV Famicom (rather play on the real thing than some clone).

Edited October 1, 2010 by BrianC

[Chuck D. Head]

I don't know if I would call it a "Great Arcade Conversion", but I have always been amazed that Defender for the 2600 is as playable as it is with only one button. I had MUCH more fun with it on the 2600 than in the arcade, because of the simpler controls. Same with Space Invaders; didn't look great, but played very well..... Morgan

[+FujiSkunk]

Asteroids plays much better on the 2600 than on the 8-bits. For everything else, I think the 8-bit version wins, though sometimes it took a couple of tries, like for Centipede (the 5200 port is better than the official XL/XE port).

 

That's not to say the 2600 games aren't darn close in a few cases.

Edited October 1, 2010 by FujiSkunk

[Pioneer4x4]

2600 Q-Bert is notable to me in that I could actually use it to practice my skills on the real arcade game. But I'm sure the same could be said on the 8-bit verision. 8-bit wins in this one even though I love the VCS version.

That was one of the biggest dissappointments to me. It doesn't even have the same number of squares. Q*bert is one of my favorite arcade games, I can play it as long as it has power and I stay awake. I need to ignore the differences and just play it.