Most fun, yet horribly inaccurate arcade ports

[davidbrit2]

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.

[BassGuitari]

Pac-Man.

[Gribble101]

I enjoy Tutankham as well. My favorite would probably have to be Donkey Kong though, I played that cartridge a lot as a kid.

[Tempest]

Tutankham. I like it better than the arcade version.

[davidbrit2]

Tutankham. I like it better than the arcade version.

I think I'm inclined to agree. The arcade version is fun, but the amount of enemies it throws at you gets tiresome, and having to backtrack for multiple keys in a stage is sort of a pain. Overall, it doesn't particularly stand out, unlike the 2600 version, which is fairly sophisticated compared to a lot of its peers.

 

Now if I could just find a copy for Vic-20.

 

Also, a lot of people hate DK Jr. for 2600, but I enjoy having a go at it now and then. I tried to max out the score not long ago, but had to stop for a bathroom break, and apparently the game freezes up if you leave it at the mid-stage pause for too long.

[+FujiSkunk]

Battlezone. "Horribly inaccurate" may be a bit of a stretch, but the 2600 port definitely strips the game of its realism and, perhaps ironically, makes it more arcade-like. The result is a lot of fun, maybe even a touch more so than the arcade game. After all, in the original you can't see two enemy tanks run into each other, or one enemy tank shoot another.

[Papa]

I was always bothered by the angled perspective of Zaxxon, so the 2600 version is my favorite..

 

I also have it for the SG-1000, and darn it if I can barely play it..

[bomberpunk]

I was always bothered by the angled perspective of Zaxxon, so the 2600 version is my favorite..

 

^ this.

[Tempest]

I tried to max out the score not long ago, but had to stop for a bathroom break, and apparently the game freezes up if you leave it at the mid-stage pause for too long.

Really? I never knew that. I wonder why.

[VectorGamer]

Tutankham is a disaster.

 

I'll also vote for Zaxxon. I saw gameplay videos of Zaxxon and it looked really fun. So, I got myself a copy and it's indeed a really fun game.

[davidbrit2]

Really? I never knew that. I wonder why.

 

My guess would be a faulty "screen saver" routine or something. I came back to the Atari after about 10 minutes or so, and the screen was black, and nothing would wake the game up. The other possibility is that one of the cats bumped the cart and crashed it, but you usually get some garbage video and sounds when that happens, not black and silent. Oh well, I'll try it again some day, and do my best to prevent any mid-game "distractions".

[+FujiSkunk]

I don't hate 2600 Zaxxon for the changed perspective or the new cast of characters. I agree those changes actually give this port a unique charm. My problem with the game is the programming bugs that make 1-player games more frustrating than they should be and 2-player games pretty much impossible. If you move too far to the right, there is a good chance you'll crash into something on the left side of the screen. And in 2-player games, if you lose a life on the second asteroid of level 3 or higher, kiss the rest of your lives goodbye as well.

[Dauber]

Defender. Resembles the arcade very little, but man, I loved it, and still do.

[Tempest]

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.

[MisterE]

Defender. Resembles the arcade very little, but man, I loved it, and still do.

 

I'll second this. Back in the eighties, my best friend and I played the HECK* out of that cart!

 

 

 

*Please excuse my strong language.

[+FujiSkunk]

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.

 

I wouldn't call 2600 Crystal Castles "horribly inaccurate", though. Yes, it's a 2D game disguised as 3D, and not the actual 3D game that the original was, but other than that captures the arcade game almost perfectly, from the graphics to the sound to the personalities of each enemy.

[Tempest]

 

I wouldn't call 2600 Crystal Castles "horribly inaccurate", though. Yes, it's a 2D game disguised as 3D, and not the actual 3D game that the original was, but other than that captures the arcade game almost perfectly, from the graphics to the sound to the personalities of each enemy.

 

True. Perhaps 'somewhat inaccurate' would be a better term. I've heard a lot of CC fans raise holy hell about the 2600 port though.

[davidbrit2]

 

True. Perhaps 'somewhat inaccurate' would be a better term. I've heard a lot of CC fans raise holy hell about the 2600 port though.

 

I quite like 2600 Crystal Castles. The gameplay is pretty much dead-on, in spite of the level designs having to be greatly simplified. I think the warps and continue features are about the only things missing.

[BassGuitari]

How about Mario Bros.? While not as far removed from its source material as other games, Mario Bros. still had a way to go to get to the arcade version, in terms of graphics and game physics. It still manages to be a lot of fun, though, and the simultaneous 2-player is impressive.

Speaking of Nintendo properties, Donkey Kong was good except for the fact it only had two levels and it had Gingerbread Kong. I thought Donkey Kong Jr. was pretty rough, though.

[+FujiSkunk]

 

True. Perhaps 'somewhat inaccurate' would be a better term. I've heard a lot of CC fans raise holy hell about the 2600 port though.

 

Yeah, same here, and of course the rants of the original arcade programmer are legendary. I still don't see what they're complaining about though. I think what we got was as close as the 2600 could get, and as it turns out, that's pretty darn close.

[Philflound]

My guess would be a faulty "screen saver" routine or something. I came back to the Atari after about 10 minutes or so, and the screen was black, and nothing would wake the game up. The other possibility is that one of the cats bumped the cart and crashed it, but you usually get some garbage video and sounds when that happens, not black and silent. Oh well, I'll try it again some day, and do my best to prevent any mid-game "distractions".

Why don't you get to where you were and leave it there and see if it blacks out again after 10-15 minutes?

 

Phil

[davidbrit2]

Why don't you get to where you were and leave it there and see if it blacks out again after 10-15 minutes?

 

Phil

 

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.

[steeltree]

Pac-man. I was so disappointed with the graphics but could not stop playing this game.

[Lost Dragon]

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.....

[chuckwalla]

Zaxxon by a mile, of course.

BUT, still a fun game nevertheless.