Best Original Homebrew

[mr.ratburn]

I just recently got my Atari 2600 and I've been playing a bunch of games on it and having fun! Anyway, I'm interested in buying a single homebrew cart from AtariAge and I'd like to know what you guys would recommend.

 

If you had to pick a single original (meaning not a port) homebrew game for the 2600, which would it be?

 

Also, consider that I would like a game that is unique on the Atari and isn't a rehash of a game that already exists for the console or on other systems.

 

And yes, I know there is already an official Top 10 list, but most of them are ports of some kind, not the most original (aka yet another space shooter), and people are allowed to vote for multiple ones. I want to know what you guys think is a single one that is really good and stands well on its own.

 

And that you can buy at AA or be otherwise readily available for purchase.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 21, 2013 by mr.ratburn

[LidLikesIntellivision]

Toy Shop Trouble.

There was a very interesting/unique game with a Panda (forgot the full name, it was a strange name...) but I think it's not available...

 

I don't know if Marble Crazy is a port...

Medieval Mayhem is awesome but it remembers Warlords...

I hope Blinky goes Up becomes available soon.

 

Oh, man. There are so many different homebrews... I think it's better to read the reviews and search for a video.

[Nateo]

Blinky Goes Up is pretty great... and Oystron really stands up as a standard bearer for original 2600 homebrew games.

[Dauber]

Only ORIGINAL homebrew I've familiar with is Toyshop Trouble, which is an amazingly well done game that I strongly recommend. Very addictive, too.

[ntavio]

Medieval Mayhem for sure.

[AtariBrian]

toyshop trouble in my opinion is the best and really original. check out videos of them before you buy them . most but not all can be found on youtube .

[+DamonicFury]

You absolutely can't go wrong with Toyshop Trouble. One of the best 2600 games, period.

 

I also rather like Space Treat Deluxe and Man Goes Down (which sadly never got released on cart.)

[mr.ratburn]

So I checked out Toyshop Trouble as well as Oystron and Blinky goes up.

 

Oystron looked great and original, but I could not figure out what you're supposed to do from the video and the descriptions and it seemed a little too frantic/multitasking for my taste.

 

Blinky Goes Up looked pretty amazing. Simple level design with great fluid animation. Reminds me of Mega-Man for some reason. However, it's not yet available, so there goes that one.

 

Medieval Mayhem seems fun and really well done, but it's essentially a nicer version of Warlords, which I already have. I might get this someday, but I don't think it's a good choice for my first homebrew purchase.

 

Toyshop Trouble seems great, addictive, and fun, not to mention, original. For an action/puzzle concept it's pretty new, especially for the 2600. Reviews saying the difficulty curve is just right adds to my interest in this game as well as the fact that several coders collaborated on it. It also seems like it does a lot while not trying to bite off more than the 2600 can chew and making me wish it was on a more capable platform. Because of these reasons and the majority in the recommendations, I decided to purchase this cartridge from AtariAge.

 

However, I believe this topic may be useful for other people so keep replying with your favorite homebrew!

[StanJr]

Marble Craze is still the best

Dungeon is pretty damn good too

I'm also partial to Euchre (is that a port?)

 

Now, I have to check out Toyshop Trouble!

[+Random Terrain]

More games will be in the AtariAge store a little later in the year.

 

 

Possibly including this one.

 

[Schizophretard]

More games will be in the AtariAge store a little later in the year.

 

 

Possibly including this one.

 

 

And I will be buying another one when that happens. This is also my vote.

[Impaler_26]

There was a very interesting/unique game with a Panda (forgot the full name, it was a strange name...) but I think it's not available...

 

That's Panky the Panda. It's an awesome platformer and AFAIK it will be in the AA-Store eventually. You can grab the final/latest version from the programmer's site.

[roland p]

You absolutely can't go wrong with Toyshop Trouble. One of the best 2600 games, period.

 

I also rather like Space Treat Deluxe and Man Goes Down (which sadly never got released on cart.)

Another vote here for Man Goes Down. Such a high quality game. I still wonder what happened to its creator...

 

Lead (which is available on cart) is very nice too. Both games got me in 'the zone'

Edited January 21, 2013 by roland p

[Mayhem]

Marble Craze is pretty original for the 2600, and I do like Dungeon as well.

[purduecrum]

Not to sound like a broken record... But Toyshop Trouble and Oystron are legendary.

[+Cafeman]

I've enjoyed Space Treat Deluxe and Skeleton + quite a bit. Simple games, quick to understand and each game doesn't last that long. Skeleton + makes me unnerved as it ramps up, which is a good thing.

 

There was a Jack & the Beanstalk homebrew - I think it was in batari basic. I always enjoyed that while in-progress, and I think it was greatly improved by the time it was done. You might have to just get the ROM if available because I'm not sure it got released.

 

And just in case you want a "port" homebrew - Ladybug is AWESOME. I spent many hours playing it.

[godzillajoe]

Hard to beat Toyshop Trouble. Is Fall Down an original or based on something?

[Zach]

Yeah, Toyshop trouble. Although I am listed as one of the programmers, my contribution was minimal. It's pretty much Supercat's baby.

[+Ransom]

Hard to beat Toyshop Trouble. Is Fall Down an original or based on something?

 

I don't know if it's original, but it is one that I like a lot. I've had it for a number of years now, and I still enjoy playing it.

[Big Player]

I think you made the right decision. Toyshop Trouble is the best 2600 homebrew period. Very addictive game play and great graphics and sound. A few years ago, I had to buy a new computer because my old one couldn't play Toyshop Trouble at the proper speed. And it is very original game play. Or at least I haven't seen any other games like it.

 

Fall Down is based on the game of the same name for the TI graphing calculators. I never played the original but I believe the two player head-to-head option was added in the 2600 version. It was a great addition.

 

Medieval Mayhem is a port of the arcade Warlords. And I learned in this last year, the arcade Warlords is actually a port of 2600 Warlords. Here is the thread where Marty confirms it.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/191708-2600-warlords-was-released-before-the-arcade-version-yes-according-to-egm/

[+Cafeman]

Thanks for the info & link BP - I missed that thread the first time around. News to me!

[almightytodd]

I'll agree with the choice of Toyshop Trouble as the best all-around original 2600 homebrew game. It really has it all; original concept, sound, graphics, and gameplay.

 

I'd like to give honorable mention to a few of my favorites I haven't seen yet in this thread:

 

- Lunar Excursion Module is a game that after you've played it, and you learn that it was programmed in Batari Basic, you'll think, "No way!". It has a title screen, music, excellent graphics and gameplay that you would think would require assembly language to create. Sadly, this one has not yet been released in cart form...

 

- Halo 2600: Seriously, is this being disqualified because it's considered a "port" of Halo from Xbox? It's not clear to me whether carts of this game are still available or not.

 

- Gunfight was "inspired by" a similarly named early Midway coin-op, but in fact surpasses it in all aspects of game-play, options, graphics, and sound, including the addition of music, with a VCS rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"

 

- Elevators Amiss is a fun and interesting game with a cute back-story and fun graphics. It was one of the first games I witnessed being developed when I first joined the Atari Age website, so I have several different versions of it as the game play, graphics, and options were being worked out.

 

- Go Fish was also "inspired by" the Intellivision game "Shark Shark!", but it adds new dimensions to the game play. The cool effects created on the title screen alone make it worth a look.

 

And finally,

 

- Okie Dokie was one of the earliest games to be part of the homebrew scene, and the first homebrew ROM I ever played on an emulator. It's a puzzle-game, so the game-play is quite different from most VCS games. I don't hear much mention of this game in forum discussions. I suspect that may be due to the programmer not being an active Atari Age participant as most of the other homebrewers are. The info page for the game lists the programmer as "Bob Colbert", but the link to his web page appears to be dead.

[mr.ratburn]

I wouldn't disqualify Halo 2600 even though it's technically a port. I don't feel like it deserves to be best all around homebrew since although it's pretty good, there's really no replay value once you beat it and it's not very long. From what I gather its purpose seems to be more to bewilder Halo fanboys:

 

"Hey you want to play Halo?"

"Alright"

*hands 2600 controller and turns on TV*

*head explodes*

[Thomas Jentzsch]

For me this still has to be Oystron, which at first looks like a simple, good looking shooter, but then (RTFM!) offers a lot of extra, unexpected depth.

[+atari2600land]

There was a Jack & the Beanstalk homebrew - I think it was in batari basic. I always enjoyed that while in-progress, and I think it was greatly improved by the time it was done. You might have to just get the ROM if available because I'm not sure it got released.

Hi, I programmed Jack and the Beanstalk. It was released in very limited quantities at a retro gaming show (I don't remember which one, nor was I present.) Thanks for mentioning my game. I think the ROM is available somewhere here, search for Jack in the homebrew forum.