post-7800 launch 2600 games that DID NOT have better versions on the 7800

[AlecRob]

Name as many as you can.

[bikeguychicago]

Rampage?

[Jess Ragan]

Secret Quest, although it was never technically released on the 7800 at all. A Zeld-a-like on the 2600, what was Bushnell and his ghost programmer thinking?

[MrMaddog]

Super Football... Has a Madden style viewpoint and way better gameplay than Touchdown Football on the 7800.

[BassGuitari]

If we're not counting games that never came out on the 7800 (Secret Quest, Radar Lock, Off The Wall, River Raid II...), then I also have to say Rampage. 7800 version is prettier, but a pain to play. Meanwhile, the 2600 version is painful to look at, but at least it's fun.

Otherwise, Commando, Desert Falcon, Dark Chambers, Xenophobe, Summer/Winter Games, Ikari Warriors, Double Dragon...all better on the 7800.

I agree that Super Football (2600) is a better game than Touchdown Football (7800), but they're different games. (Not that it matters to me!) That's one thing the 7800 really needs: a good football game.

[AlecRob]

you can also mention good games that only came out on 2600 and never on 7800, post 7800 launch.

[AtariLeaf]

I like 7800 Rampage just fine, never had a problem playing it.

[Cynicaster]

When I look at the 2600 as an object of sweet childhood nostalgia, I usually pretend that the last crop of arcade ports on the system never even happened, because for me, those games diminish the positive memories I have in the same way that a star athlete does when he comes out of retirement and ends up sucking because he's too old to perform at a level anywhere near where he once could.

 

IMO, games like Kung Fu, Double Dragon, and Rampage were not only crude abstractions of the arcade originals (to put it kindly), but they were final proof that the system's relevance in the marketplace was all but completely gone. Sure, those games may be "impressive when you consider the 2600's limitations", but that's kind of my point; by that time, there were other consoles that could actually do arcade ports that were "impressive because they were... well, impressive".

 

Surprisingly though, the 7800 versions of those games are only marginally better, if at all. That system had some bangin' versions of older games (Robotron, Xevious, Food Fight), but games that were current when the 7800 came out sucked the high hard one compared to the NES and SMS. At least, that's what I remember thinking at the time, and playing all of the versions back-to-back-to-back nowadays just re-affirms it.

[bikeguychicago]

you can also mention good games that only came out on 2600 and never on 7800, post 7800 launch.

For that list, my picks would be: Defender II/Stargate, Crystal Castles, and Millipede