Most fun, yet horribly inaccurate arcade ports

[BrianC]

Tutankham I like quite a bit too. I like the 2600 Zaxxon, but the game that really proves Zaxxon works well with a pseudo 3D perspective is Zaxxon 3D on SMS. That's more of the sequel than a remake, but it's good stuff.

[WolfAmongWolves]

I would add Popeye to this list. Graphically it's very limited and it's missing a lot of the little extras that the arcade original had, e.g. the beehive in the first level and the bird in the third level, but it's still one of the best games ever on the 2600.

[+FujiSkunk]

 

I might experiment with that sometime. And I'll probably try it earlier in the game; last time it happened, I think my score was around 200,000-300,000, and I was probably on at least the 15th loop. I think it happened during the pause before starting the first board, so I could probably just play the first loop then see what happens.

 

Someone could experiment with the game in Stella, also. Disable the speed throttle and let the game sit until it blacks out. Or if you're really crafty, adjust the virtual console's memory so that you're on the 15th vine level and/or have a score of 200,000, then let it sit with the speed throttle off. I don't know enough about the game's innards to know if it internally counts levels past three, but probably that can be deduced easily enough.

[+nanochess]

What arcade ports do you really enjoy despite them not ending up anything like the original?

 

I'd vote for Tutankham and Zaxxon. They're barely recognizable (Zaxxon fared slightly better), but damned if I haven't played both of them a ton.

 

I don't know why, but everytime I get a console, I always get Zaxxon for that very console. My jaw dropped to floor when I saw it wasn't isometric, and still I don't get used to the collision detection, it feels clunky...

 

So I made Space Raid http://atariage.com/forums/topic/228547-the-official-pre-order-page-for-space-raid-atari-homebrew/

[BassGuitari]

 

My god, i thought until now i was the only person who prefered 2600 Battlezone and Defender over the original coin-op's and saying that sort of thing would see me strung up :-).

I feel welcomed into a fold here.....

 

Defender on the 2600 is closer to my heart than the arcade version. I've just played a lot more of it and other home versions than I have the arcade version. I've only played an actual arcade version a couple of times, otherwise it's been arcade compiliations. I just wish the home versions had harder difficulty options.

 

(I prefer the 2600 port of Battlezone by default since I've never played the arcade version. )

[davidbrit2]

Someone could experiment with the game in Stella, also. Disable the speed throttle and let the game sit until it blacks out. Or if you're really crafty, adjust the virtual console's memory so that you're on the 15th vine level and/or have a score of 200,000, then let it sit with the speed throttle off. I don't know enough about the game's innards to know if it internally counts levels past three, but probably that can be deduced easily enough.

Just tested this with a stopwatch. I cleared the first three boards, then let the game sit at the pause before the 4th board. At about the 4.5 minute mark, the screen goes black, and the game start tune plays. At that point, it seems like only Select or Reset will bring it back to life, which obviously resets your game. So if you're planning to marathon DK Jr., make sure you take fast bathroom breaks.

[Emehr]

Space Invaders isn't horribly inaccurate but it definitely feels like a different beast to me. I would rather play the Atari 2600 version than the arcade. Especially with the double-shots trick. The sound effects also get me right in the nostalgia.

 

I'll also add my vote to Defender. It has its own personality and feels a lot more user-friendly. Plus, like Space Invaders, the sound effects are great. The sound that plays when a civilian is captured is burned into my memory.

[Chuck D. Head]

I will jump on the bandwagon and say Defender also. It was the full game I ever bought at full price and I really got my money's worth out of it. I need to pick up Defender II sometime, I've never tried it. A similar "inferior port" is Mouse Trap; I have heard people dog on it for condensing the three colored buttons down to one red one on the 2600, but it made it into a much better game for me.

[Noah98]

I love 2600 Asteroids and Space Invaders because they are so different. Instead of being a cheap knockoff of the arcades they are just unique. I actually prefer 2600 space Invaders over the arcade game. Usually I would rather play original games instead of arcade ports that are close approximations.

[KEWROCK]

Asteroids Is my favorite 2600 game period. I was addicted to the arcade version in the early eghties. It was the reason I nagged my parents for an Atari console when the cartridge came out. 2600 Defender is really good too, along with Super Cobra. Super Cobra is actually a very acurate and challenging port. Defender was a mess, but still fun and reasonably challenging. 2600 Asteroids is extremely easy, but I find it theriputic to just break down rocks for an hour or so. it's so easy, yet never gets boring.

 

Somebody mentioned the double shot trick for Space Invaders. Is there a way to do that trick in stella?

[Jess Ragan]

Oh, this isn't even a contest. Solar Fox all the way. The arcade game just felt like a pile of random play mechanics thrown together, but Solar Fox on the 2600 is decidedly more focused. It's just you, the turbo button, a lot of flashing dots to collect, and two ships firing hot death at you. It's telling that fan remakes of the game (ie Solar Wolf) are closer in spirit to the 2600 game than its messy arcade counterpart.

[Noah98]

Oh, this isn't even a contest. Solar Fox all the way. The arcade game just felt like a pile of random play mechanics thrown together, but Solar Fox on the 2600 is decidedly more focused. It's just you, the turbo button, a lot of flashing dots to collect, and two ships firing hot death at you. It's telling that fan remakes of the game (ie Solar Wolf) are closer in spirit to the 2600 game than its messy arcade counterpart.

I actually always liked the arcade version of Solar Fox. I haven't picked up the 2600 version yet because I don't like not being able to shoot. It's still fun, but I feel like it is a watered down experience.

[Cynicaster]

I would add Popeye to this list. Graphically it's very limited and it's missing a lot of the little extras that the arcade original had, e.g. the beehive in the first level and the bird in the third level, but it's still one of the best games ever on the 2600.

Agreed!

 

Oh, this isn't even a contest. Solar Fox all the way. The arcade game just felt like a pile of random play mechanics thrown together, but Solar Fox on the 2600 is decidedly more focused. It's just you, the turbo button, a lot of flashing dots to collect, and two ships firing hot death at you. It's telling that fan remakes of the game (ie Solar Wolf) are closer in spirit to the 2600 game than its messy arcade counterpart.

Not sure I agree that the "extras" in the arcade game are detrimental, but this game certainly fits in with the spirit of this thread topic. The 2600 port is a lot of fun, and one of a small handful of games I discovered in modern times that can stand up against the nostalgia games.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

No one has mentioned Gauntlet yet? That one is nothing like the arcade!

[davidbrit2]

No one has mentioned Gauntlet yet? That one is nothing like the arcade!

 

Now that's a bit of a stretch, but I do agree that it's a very good game.

[+wongojack]

Space Invaders

[BassGuitari]

No one has mentioned Gauntlet yet? That one is nothing like the arcade!

I LOLed a little...

[Inky]

Tac Scan

Edited March 14, 2015 by Inky

[+TwentySixHundred]

I would have to go with Missile Command as my first choice, its one my all time favorites and so much nostalgia right there. Then Phoenix, i had the 2600 Phoenix port first but few years later played the coin op a fair bit, still really enjoyed the 2600 version though. As for Defender i only ever knew of the 2600 version till around the 90s, the 2600 version was allways a favorite though.

[davyK]

Didn't Yars Revenge start off as a Star Castle port?

 

Despite being fairly disappointed with Defender initially I played an awful lot of it. Clocked both the score and the wave counter many times.

[CDS Games]

Agree 100% on Zaxxon. Just started really playing it recently, and once you get past the loss of the isometric, it's a nice little version. And it seems a little sour grapes to complain about it anyway considering the franchise itself moved away from isometric. Like Zaxxon Escape...it's a stretch to call that one even a sequel.

 

Just wish Coleco made it *look* better. Game play is solid, but there's no programming limitation on squeezing all you can out of the graphics when you know that it's not going to deliver a key component of the arcade. Like folks have said here about Asteroids, Space Invaders and Defender...make it your own.

[sloth-machine]

I'll also add Crystal Castles to the list. To me it's a lot more fun than the arcade version because it's easier and uses a joystick rather than that damn trackball.

That trackball can be incredibly quick and precise for this game, where as the joystick is pretty cumbersome for the 2600 version.

[Tempest]

I suppose it depends on how good you are with a trackball. I suck with it.

[davidbrit2]

That trackball can be incredibly quick and precise for this game, where as the joystick is pretty cumbersome for the 2600 version.

 

I think the bigger issue is that the gems are only a single scanline thick, meaning you almost have to be moving vertically or diagonally to pick them up efficiently. Still a great game, though. (But I wouldn't mind having an elevator speed-up hack.)

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Pac-Man and Zaxxon. Pac-Man doesn't have the exact maze layouts and the fruit looks like a block of cheese, it's still quite addicting. Zaxxon with the different flying angle which is hard to adjust to I still enjoy it.