Red Ray Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Looking at the Specs, the Colecovision and the NES are not too far off, and the Coleco has a few advantages like Processor speed. So how close are they? There are a lot of games that the MSX has that are quite impressive, and at the same time, they should easily show what the Colecovision is able to do, although I believe the colecovision can scroll and have more polished graphics. It may have been possible if not for Adma and CBK that Colecovision could have pushed the NES away from market dominance and would have had computer, MSX, and NES ports which a lot I can see running real well on Coleco especially arcade conversions. What do you think? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland p Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 The NES had the advantage of hardware scroll and some more colors. Compared to the Colecovision, the MSX had bankswitching built in, so it could use bigger roms in an easy way, which ment more data for graphics, audio etc. And audio wire on the cartridge port, so music chips could be embedded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 The NES also cheated by "upgrading" the systems hardware via MMC chips built into the games. By the end of its life span it had MMC5 and VRC7 chips that could make it rival 16 bit machines. Coleco would have had to make an expansion or risk another entirely different console to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manoau2002 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Could the colecovision and the nes compete? I think the answer is yes and no. Look at the early nes releases in 1985 - 1987. Many of the games were on the colecovision prior to being released on the nes during those years. Several more games from that time period have been ported to the colecovision by homebrewers. Could the colecovision support later nes titles? No in most cases anyway. By 1987 the colecovision would have been 5 years old and most likely a replacement would have been released. The replacement could have been based on newer technology than the nes. (by two or three years) Also had coleco's sgm been released it may have extended the colecovisions life a little further. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 There were other areas Nintendo were exploring that Coleco wasn't. Coleco games were Arcade focused (mainly). The big N introduced a generation to JRPGs and even computer RPGs such as Wizardy and Bards Tale. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartsfam Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 IMO some of the CV games are right up there graphically with early NES games. For example, Gyruss, Cabbage Patch Adventures, and Antartic Adventure all look and sound like early NES games to me. It would have been very interesting to see what Coleco would have come up with if they hadn't folded so early. I really would have liked to have seen what the next set of games would have looked like on the CV. I think they were really finding their stride when they decided to quit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 IMO some of the CV games are right up there graphically with early NES games. For example, Gyruss, Cabbage Patch Adventures, and Antartic Adventure all look and sound like early NES games to me. It would have been very interesting to see what Coleco would have come up with if they hadn't folded so early. I really would have liked to have seen what the next set of games would have looked like on the CV. I think they were really finding their stride when they decided to quit. Antartic Adventure look like an early NES game for sure as it was release on Famicom in Japan Burgertime, Gyruss were also release on NES Tarzan was very colorfull and detailed for its time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartsfam Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Speaking of Antartic Adventure....maybe someone could hack it for use with the steering wheel controller. After all, it reminds me of a cross between Enduro and Bump n' Jump! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelated Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Hmm... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I feel a little retarded here. The NES screenshots above have arguably better artwork but the Coleco feels more Arcade quality. Maybe the colors and less emphasis on fitting everything into neat little 8x8 tiles? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manoau2002 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 (edited) Hmm... I personally like the colecovision screenshot of donkey kong better than the nes version. I think the dk jr. screenshot of the nes version looks better than the colecovision. The wii and ps3 have competed against each other for years. The ps3 is capable of better graphics than the wii. Both systems have great games and are better at different things. I see no reason that both the nes and colecovision couldnt have competed against each other as well. Edited June 11, 2013 by Manoau2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDragonWarrior Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Nes, the Colecovision couldn't have games like the later released Nes games 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Hmm... Well, what about comparing the NES version of DK to the upcoming Opcode Games version of DK. I know, it hasn't been released yet, but I did have the good fortune of playing and demoing it a couple years ago and it will end all these debates. Now you may say, "but it requires extra hardware (the SGM) on the ColecoVision", but all the SGM does is provide additional RAM and an extra sound chip... it doesn't enhance the CV's video capabilities. Here's some old screenshots: Edited June 12, 2013 by NIAD 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I've always wondered, why was Kong on the 'wrong' side of the board for the CV version? Was he on that side also for any other versions, like the INTV? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Now let's compare Mario Bros CV , VS the NES version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Now let's compare Mario Bros CV , VS the NES version. NES version has no turtle in underwear! Therefore Colecovision wins down! End of discussion! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 NES version has no turtle in underwear! Therefore Colecovision wins down! End of discussion! Being a NES player/collector , I always like to go back to Mario Bros to compare it with CV version Sure, we have turtle in underwear, but the CV version feel alot closer to the Arcade version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I've always wondered, why was Kong on the 'wrong' side of the board for the CV version? Was he on that side also for any other versions, like the INTV? The Coleco programmer removed one girder level from screen #01 due to the whole aspect ratio issue when moving from arcade systems to home systems on TVs. But, and it's a big one, Opcode has proven that the CV version could have had all 6 girders in screen #01, so I would say the Coleco programmer or graphics artist just cut corners due to time constraints placed on them by Coleco management. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Being a NES player/collector , I always like to go back to Mario Bros to compare it with CV version Sure, we have turtle in underwear, but the CV version feel alot closer to the Arcade version Colecovision, I'm really impressed with this version. It has intermissions which I love. 2 player mode rocks, sometimes you can revive your other player by bumping up a platform when he just got nailed by an enemy. The sprite flickering is fine. The NES version, I haven't seriously play this. I do notice that some 16x16 sprites are already flickering, just in case if there's more than 8 in a row. I prefer the Colecovision version since it is close to the arcade as possible. The intermission from the arcade made me feel that this made the game complete and stand out from the home version of this game. It controls really well with the Colecovision hand controller. It's a lot of fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollett Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I've always wondered, why was Kong on the 'wrong' side of the board for the CV version? Was he on that side also for any other versions, like the INTV? He was on the wrong side of the Atari 8-bit computer version as well. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectorman Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 Compare these unauthorized MSX ports of NES Super Mario and Super Mario 3. The MSX and CV use the same graphics chip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamecat80 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Hey all, Been lurking here for over a year, finally joined. Anyway, as for the CV vs. NES graphics, I think the NES graphics are maybe more detailed, while the CV graphics have a cleaner look. The Atari 7800 is somewhere between the CV and NES graphics, imo. I grew up with the C64, NES and 7800 and started collecting other retro systems a couple years ago. It was the clean-looking/clean-sounding ColecoVision games that I saw online that impressed me to get a CV a year ago. Bought some carts as well as the Ultimate SD cart and play it almost every day 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 NES gamepad rules. And it's all about software really. Super Mario Bros was so innovative. It had been a long time since Atari, Coleco, Mattel or anyone else made a game that opened minds, ears, and eyes like that game did. SMB = killer app. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 CPU wise, back in 1997 - four years before the first MiniGame compo - there were a series of programming battles between the Commodore 64 (1 MHz 6510, running 6502 code) and the ZX Spectrum (3.58 MHz Z80) to see which computer/CPU would be most efficient on various tasks and algorithms, counted in clock cycles. If I understand the conclusion right, it ended with the C64 had a 3:1 advantage, which evens out due to the ZX running at a higher frequency. You can find some of the results here: http://www.ffd2.com/fridge/speccy/ Of course many of those programs utilize the vast RAM of respective computer, perhaps to a bigger extent on the C64 as the 6502 has much fewer registers than the Z80 has. The ColecoVision has the same 3.58 MHz Z80 and 1K RAM, while NES has a 6502 near clone from Ricoh running at 1,66 - 1,79 MHz and 2K RAM + possibility to add RAM on the cartridge. Properly coded, the NES would even do calculations a bit faster than the ColecoVision, ignoring everything that has to do with graphics and sound output. It is a common mistake to just look at the MHz when comparing processors of different architectures. Just look at how Apple desperately tried to convince buyers that a 1+ GHz G4 was at least as powerful as a 2+ GHz Pentium 4, although the numbers themselves would suggest otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Yeah, this is never going to be a fair comparison. ColecoVision fans like to say "Well, hey, this homebrew version of x sure looks better than its NES equivalent!," conveniently ignoring that the game was lovingly crafted by fans some twenty years after the last NES game was released, and takes advantage of hardware expansions like Mello's Super Game Module. Yeah, no shit the ColecoVision version is going to look better. On the flip side of the coin, Donkey Kong was almost destined to be a better game on the NES, since it was designed in house at Nintendo and created over a year after the clunky ColecoVision version. It's not even apples and oranges... it's apples and hand grenades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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