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7800 games that should have existed?


Jaynz

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Another thread I was reading got me thinking on this one.. what games do you feel are 'missing' from the 7800s lineup? i don't mean 'what the killer app' would have been, but just things that seemed to be major hits (particularly in the early/test launch) that Atari seemed to have either overlooked or never got around to. Note, these are NOT requests for homebrews.. just thoughts on what maybe should have been.

 

Kangaroo - I'm a bit surprised Atari didn't put this one out with a new coat of pixels in order to have a good slightly-fresher platformer out there. It wasn't a 'hit' game by any stretch but could have helped bolster the 'cuteness' games a little bit.

 

Defender / Stargate - I'm amazed this one could be missed, particularly after the fantastic Stargate for the 2600. Yeah, it was long in the tooth by 1983, but it was still one of the 'big macho' games around and Defender was one of the 2600's mainstays (despite its bad quality).

 

Missile Command - An old game, certainly, but still popular (particularly with the trackball) and the 7800 could have been a very colorful version. Not entirely sure how the two-button setup would work with a three-button game, mind you...

 

Apshai - Yeah, not exactly in Atari's catalog, but the 7800 needed to compete at some level with the 'computer games' of the time, and one of the dominant genres was the dawn of the cRPG. Apshai was a light-action RPG with lots of rooms and relatively simple gameplay by today's standards, certainly, but it was 'deep' for its time. The Apshai series with better graphics and maybe some of the desc text on the actual SCREEN would have been a good staple for the 7800 and helped with the near non-existant 'adventure' genre.

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I second Apshai.

I think having some kind of RPG style game would have helped show the dawn of a new console gaming era. The problem was the same arcade games were getting old and there's only something new was needed. An RPG would have been something unknown on consoles, something to possibly draw new audiences into it.

 

And it would have probably helped the RPG genre too, to have Atari spearheading the coming of the genre to consoles.

 

RPGs were thought to be unplayable on consoles for a long time until Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star came and became some of the biggest hits on their respective systems. I guess Atari did not believe in that genre either and missed the opportunity.

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An updated Gorf that would have more closely resembled the arcade game would have been great (A couple guys were working on a 7800 hombrew version, but it got shelved). Perhaps Zaxxon as well.

 

A 7800 version of Haunted House could've been cool, with graphics of the quality seen in MIdnight Mutants and a broader range of objects to use.

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Stargate actually was on Atari's master Part number listing for the Atari 7800. The Same thing is true with Millipede, Track & Field, Crystal Castles, Jr. Pac-Man, Moon Patrol,Toki, Road Riot 4wd, and Steel Talons in terms of arcade games that were on Atari's Master Part list for the 7800, but the games games themselves weren't found as prototypes yet. At least Bob did Jr. Pac-Man.

 

Here is the games I think should have existed with them being either early or later 7800 game released:

 

Millipede - I really don't know if any programing was done back in the day for Millipede despite being on the master part list . This game would have been a hit for the early days of the 7800. I could argue that Millipede should have been done instead of Centipede since Millipede was the newer game.

 

Crystal Castles - While Box Artwork of the game has been found, the game hasn't yet. I think Crystal Castle would have been a good seller at the time. I think the Bentley Bear Character could have been a mascot for the 7800 because of the likeness of the character and could have been in a scrolling platform game like Bob is doing right now.

 

Moon Patrol - While the game was supposedly completed back in the day, it wasn't released or not prototype was found yet. The game itself would have been a decent hit and could show some the capabilities Atari 7800 could do.

 

Elevator Action - While a memo in 1984 for Atari claimed the 7800 version was 80 percent completed, the 7800 version wasn't found yet unlike the 2600 version. Elevator Action during the early days of the 7800 could have been a pretty big hit.

 

Pac-Land - While the arcade game wasn't that popular compare to Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man, but the game itself could have help fill major hole for the 7800. 7800 was lacking in scrolling Platform games. From a 7800 standpoint, the game would need to be bankswitched and add a sound chip in the game cartridge. I think the game would have been more popular as a 7800 game than as an arcade game. Lets say Bob's Pac-Man games were released back in the day and that means it would attraction a lot of people to the 7800 due to the amount Pac-Man games before Pac-Land gets released.That means 7800 has a an established Pac-man franchise fanbase.

 

Marble Madness - All this game needed was the trackball and a sound chip built inside the game cartridge. This wasn't on Atari's list, but it would have been if they had a working relationship with Atari games inc. before the lynx.

 

Super Sprint - While Atari 7800 had 3 racing games back in its lifetime, adding another would have helped the system. The 7800 was not a great sports system. While Super Sprint was not in Atari's Master list, Sprintmaster was on Atari's Master Part list for the 7800 though.

 

Toobin' - This would have been a nice additional to the 7800. Too bad Atari games and Atari Corp. didn't really have a working relationship before the Lynx.

 

R-type - This game is possible on the Atari 7800 if you ever seen the prototype games of Plutos and Sirius. The sound have been decent for the game if a sound chip was added into the cartridge. I think this game would have been a good seller for the 7800. This one of the games that Atari could have gotten their hands on since Sms and Tg-16 had the game.

 

720 degrees - Atari needed more sports titles and this would have helped fill the void. Atari only had one skating boarding title anyway without 720 degrees.

 

Gauntlet, Gauntlet II - I know the 7800 has Dark Chambers, but the real thing would have drawn more people into the 7800. All is needed for the 2 Gauntlet games was a Pokey sound chip inside game cartridge and both games being bankswitched.

 

Rastan - This have been a great addition to the 7800. I played this in the SMS. This a good scrolling action title and would have helped the 7800 out in that genre. This is a game that Atari could have gotten back in the day since the SMS had it instead of the Nes.

 

Ultima series - While I am not a big fan of the series, 7800 had no rpgs and that series already had games released before the 7800 was test marketed in 1984. The problem would have been the cost of the games.

 

Y'S 1, and 2 - I know this wasn't Atari's list, but the fact SMS had Y's: The Vanished Omens besides being ported on different computers. The title itself may not have been that popular on the 7800, but those two games are Action rpgs. Atari 7800 didn't have of those. Those titles would been possible, but I don't think Jack Tramiel would have allowed those two games to be released anyway. It goes the fact Atari 7800 rom cartridges would have to at least 256k, with battery back up and a sound chip built in the game cartridge. That means cost would have been the issue. The 7800 was capable of doing up to 512k rom cartridges.

 

Deja Vu, Uninvited, and Shadowgate - While those games weren't on Atari's list, these games would gave the 7800 a click and point adventure game genre. The big issue would been the cost of the cartridge due. This type of game needed pokey sound chip added in the cartridge besides, battery backup, more ram in cartridge, and rom cartridges bigger than 128k.

Edited by 8th lutz
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Rastan, Toki, Pac-Land, Toobin' all sound like good ideas. Much better than "game you played on 2600 & 5200... round 3"

 

I'll add in Bubble Bobble. And in this imaginary world of Atari giving a damn about their line-up, I'd like to think that the POKEY chip isn't necessary in the carts, because it's in the system since every damn game needs it anyways.

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I forgot to mention a few more games that I thought should have existed for the 7800.

 

Rolling Thunder - I know this game is in on the Nes, but the game itself would have been a great additional for the 7800.

 

Tetris - While the game is capable being on every game console known to mankind, this would have been a great addition for the 7800. While Klax was found as a prototype, the fact Klax was released in the arcades in 1989. Tetris was released on computers dating back to the mid 1980's and that meant that genre existed for 4 years before Klax came out.

 

Gaplus aka Galaxian 3 - this game was released in the arcades in 1984. The game itself would have been a good fit for the 7800. One of the facts it isn't well known is when the game was released in the arcades.

 

Galaga'88 -This would have been one of the later 7800 games, but the game itself is possible for the 7800. Galaga'88 is a more advance than Galaga since there is some scrolling at some parts of the game. It is a fun game and I have played on the arcades and on my tg-16.

 

Bloody Wolf - This would have been a later title, but it still would have been a good title for 7800 or the Atari lynx. This is a run'n gun title and the 7800 really didn't have a lot of those types of games.

 

Side Arms-Hyper Dyne - This is another shooter, but this is a game that Atari actually could have got back in the day since Capcom didn't port the game to the Nes. It is a good scrolling shooter. This game came out in 1986 and that means it would have been the most advanced scrolling game the 7800 could have and the best before R-type.

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Apshai - Yeah, not exactly in Atari's catalog, but the 7800 needed to compete at some level with the 'computer games' of the time, and one of the dominant genres was the dawn of the cRPG. Apshai was a light-action RPG with lots of rooms and relatively simple gameplay by today's standards, certainly, but it was 'deep' for its time. The Apshai series with better graphics and maybe some of the desc text on the actual SCREEN would have been a good staple for the 7800 and helped with the near non-existant 'adventure' genre.

 

Ditto! The 7800 really needed an RPG. Wish a home brewer would make one someday!

 

Toobin and A.P.B. are a couple I wanted for the 7800 back in the day.

 

Wasn't Toobin in the works (allegedly) as "White Water Madness" and/or "Wood and Water Rage"?

 

Too bad Atari games and Atari Corp. didn't really have a working relationship before the Lynx.

 

 

Yeah - they actually started, but the 7800 was pretty dead by then. KLAX was the only game completed, with Pit Fighter started and a few others supposedly in the works.

 

 

Gauntlet, Gauntlet II - I know the 7800 has Dark Chambers, but the real thing would have drawn more people into the 7800. All is needed for the 2 Gauntlet games was a Pokey sound chip inside game cartridge and both games being bankswitched.

 

Rastan - This have been a great addition to the 7800. I played this in the SMS. This a good scrolling action title and would have helped the 7800 out in that genre. This is a game that Atari could have gotten back in the day since the SMS had it instead of the Nes.

 

Gauntlet supposedly was in the works (see photo). Rastan I loved too. Definitely would have needed a POKEY though! :-)

 

I would also add:

 

California Games

 

Electrocop

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Edited by DracIsBack
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A Galaga that didn't look like a bowl of Lucky Charms would have been a good start.

 

But like Rex said, the 7800 needed games beyond the same old rehashes. It needed current games that people wanted to play at the time. Stuff like R-Type, Afterburner, Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Metroid, Bubble Bobble, Space Harrier, Alien Syndrome, Contra, 1943, Life Force, Shinobi, Tetris, Arkanoid, Street Fighter, Castlevania, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. Obviously licensing issues would have probably made most of those impossible, but that's not to say good knockoffs couldn't have been done (except maybe for Ninja Turtles). A decent football game would have been helpful...like Tecmo Bowl.

 

(Yes, I am saying "be more like Nintendo and Sega.")

 

The 7800 got a lot of ports from computer systems, but I doubt those won the 7800 many converts (maybe they did, I dunno). Summer Games? Winter Games? Impossible Mission? Karateka? How about Stealth, Blue Max, Thexder, Archon, Test Drive II, Rogue, or Where In [X] Carmen San Diego?

 

That's the world I want to live in.

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The 7800 got a lot of ports from computer systems, but I doubt those won the 7800 many converts (maybe they did, I dunno). Summer Games? Winter Games? Impossible Mission? Karateka?

 

It actually did win me, in theory. We didn't have a computer and my friends were always playing those games on C64 and Apple II.

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Jumpman and Jumpman Jr would have ported well.

 

Questron or Phantasie would have been good substitutes for Ultima.

 

An updated Utopia (with a different name of course) could have been exciting.

 

If they were going to upgrade something from the 2600 line, how about new RealSports titles?

 

Lastly, how about Monopoly? It could have introduced a new genre of gamers.

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Bagman is a great arcade game that got no love at all from the consoles. Would have been great if it found a home on the 7800.

 

Actually, it would have been nice to have seen the 7800 become the console that became home to the classic video games that no other consoles would port. Food Fight was certainly a great place to tee off. From there go with Bagman, Timber, Zoo Keeper, Gladiator, Sinistar, Mappy, Satan's Hollow, and Bosconian.

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Plutos, Sirius and Missing in Action would of been hits had they been released earlier or even at all.....PacmanPlus's Pacman Collection also would of beat the other company's consoles pacman games at the time................Also, considering that Commando and Ikari Warriors were decent games at the time, I can't see why an Atari 7800 version of CONTRA wouldn't have been successful................................................On another subject, Pokey chips in all the games would have also helped in the 7800's cause............THANKS JACK TREMIEL, YOU BASTARD!!!.....:)

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Considering the origins of Commando, I'm surprised 1942, Ghouls N Ghosts, or Mega Man didn't happen. Going backwards, Zookeeper, Crystal Castles, and Spy Hunter would seem a good fit. Peter Gunn would sound great on an XM I bet. From that era I also think Sega's Turbo deserves some love.

 

Now, my favorite and most ignored classic, an Atari arcade release...... STAR WARS!!!!!! I loved the C64 version and a pokey/XM version would rock!

 

This is fun, but it makes me want to go arcade cab hunting.

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Based on the 7800's track record of arcade ports i'd wager it would make for an incredible port of Phoenix, Zaxxon, Zookeeper, Time Pilot, and Mr. Do!

 

Heck, i'd go for a port of Boulderdash or Space Taxi (with some nice creative futuristic graphics instead of the awful ascii ones).

 

The possibilities are endless...

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A port of the arcade Return of the Jedi would be really good too! Really any of the Atari coin-op games of the later era.....

  • APB
  • Arabian (though not later, it is a perfect game for it!)
  • Badlands
  • Batman
  • Blasteroids (though this is kind of ugh, since there are already a couple games like it on the 7800 and it's not a very good game)
  • Championship Sprint
  • Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters (I WOULD LOVE THIS! :) )
  • Final Lap
  • Galaga '88
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Would love it also! :D )
  • Marble Madness (though without a trackball this game loses a lot)
  • Pac-Mania
  • Paperboy
  • Peter Pack Rat
  • Rampart
  • Road Runner
  • RoadBlasters
  • Rolling Thunder
  • Skull & Crossbones (OH YEAH!)
  • Return of the Jedi (Another great!)
  • Super Sprint
  • Xybots

The problem with a lot of these, though, is that the list gets really pared down when you eliminate both games produced on the Lynx (most of these titles were Lynx titles), stuff produced under the Tengen name (eliminates even further) for the NES, and titles that just wouldn't translate to the 7800 control scheme or graphics very well (Marble Madness, for example, would be horrible without a trackball).

 

Ultimately, of the list, the ones I'd like to see most are:

 

Return of the Jedi

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Peter Pack Rat

Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

Arabian

 

I believe someone (Bob? :D) was working on Arabian at one point in time, but I can't be completely sure. Atari's Coin-Op division sure did make some really phenomenal games, even in the later stages of Atari's life cycle.

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Just two remarks concerning 8th Lutz suggestions:

 

Tetris was around only since 1987. It was developed earlier, but completely unknown to the games industry in the Sovietunion, not released commercially.

 

Secondly, about "was on SMS, so it could have happened". That's true for pretty much any videogame not made by Nintendo. Publishers working with Nintendo just could not do games on other systems themselves; they could however license their games to other companies, and those would handle the ports. That's what Sega did often til 1992. So basically the 7800 could have had even Final Fantasy if Atari had licensed it from Square and ported themselves.

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Here are the games I would like to see on the 7800

 

1. Panther (800XL..ported and upgraded graphics..GOTTA KEEP THE SOUNDTRAK!!)

2. Defender (Arcade Port..not upgraded from 2600 or A8)

3. DROPZONE

4. DROPZONE 2

5. The Great American Cross Country Road Race (Think Enduro meets Pole Position 2)

6. Millipede

7. Zone Ranger

8. Space Dungeon

 

I think that is a good list to start off with.

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Secondly, about "was on SMS, so it could have happened". That's true for pretty much any videogame not made by Nintendo. Publishers working with Nintendo just could not do games on other systems themselves

; they could however license their games to other companies, and those would handle the ports. That's what Sega did often til 1992.

 

Sort of. The licensing was around a title, not the publisher. If a publisher brought a title to the NES, it had to be an NES exclusive for two years. So, for example, Konami could not make Castlevania on SMS or 7800 due to the exclusivity clause.

 

There was a loophole in the case of certain games that were sub-licensed. The best examples on the 7800 are its (then) big arcade games.

  • Double Dragon. American Technos made the arcade game. On the NES, it was brought to market by Tradewest, who would not be able to make the game on another system. However, American Technos also licensed it to Activision, who brought it to SMS, 7800 and 2600.
  • Rampage! Bally Midway did the arcade game. Data East licensed the NES version, while Activision did the SMS, 7800 and 2600 versions.
  • Xenpophobe! Arcade by Bally Midway. 7800, 2600, Lynx and XE versions by Atari. The NES version by Sunsoft.

 

Etc.

 

The NES exclusivity clause began to fade around 1990 when the US trade commission started heavily investigating Nintendo, which is why the Genesis got more third party titles.

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