What's the Best Home Version of Zaxxon?

[VectorGamer]

I don't own every translation of Zaxxon ever made but I have to say the Atari 5200 version is the best amongst those I've played. I love the pace of the game and it scrolls nicely (better than the ColecoVision).

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I also agree with the 5200 being the best home version of Zaxxon. I like the smooth scrolling unlike the Colecovision version. The CV is a tad more faithful and direct to the arcade especially with the sound effects and fighting the jets. I prefer the smoother frame rate of the 5200. They are both excellent conversions. Like I said a slight edge to the 5200.

[+save2600]

I'll say the C64 Sega cartridge version, cause that's the one I'm most familiar with, but here's a video showcasing several different versions. This vid has the disk/synapse version for the C64, which is weaker graphically than the cartridge port. Saw that in other games and software houses by companies like Ocean. Sometimes the disk versions were better than their cartridge counterparts. Donkey Kong comes to mind that way.

 

 

...Zaxxon cart/sega on the C64:

 

[VectorGamer]

And FWIW it's pronounced "ZAX-on" not "zax-in"

[+Cafeman]

The newly ported A8 version on 5200 is the best. The orig 5200 Zaxxon is missing some key elements.

[+FujiSkunk]

I still need to play my newly acquired 32K cartridge of 5200 Zaxxon, but I can't say I'm a huge fan of the original 8-bit/5200 version. It's too fast, and collision detection is too liberal. I'm also not a big fan of Sega's C-64 version, thanks to inconsistent ship handling that frequently makes it hard to judge when to shoot and when to dodge. The ColecoVision and Apple II ports are both pretty good, and only the choppy scrolling keeps them from being among the best. The Atari 2600 and Intellivision versions of course are whole other beasts.

 

I think of the versions I've played, I have to give the nod to Synapse's Commodore 64 release. It has a lot of little quirks that deviate from the arcade game more than necessary, but it plays fair and looks nice, even if the graphics are a touch below Sega's effort.

[+Cafeman]

Perry fixed the collision bug! The scrolling is still quick - but it isn't Super Zaxxon levels of fast, so it's not a negative to me.

 

This version restores the missiles and vertical movement in space. Nice Title Screen, too.

[+wongojack]

I've played that disk version on the C64 the most. The fact that the 5200 version is missing the above mentioned vertical movement in space is a knock against. Like so many other games, I usually just play this one in MAME now, but I have spent some time with the 2600 version every now and then. It doesn't look like Zaxxon, but it is still kinda fun.

[+thegoldenband]

The smooth scrolling in 5200 Zaxxon makes a huge difference to me. That YouTube video doesn't really do it justice. Most other ports have much jerkier BG scrolling, and I find the CV version almost seizure-inducing.

[Tempest]

The TRS-80!

 

[cimerians]

 

I think of the versions I've played, I have to give the nod to Synapse's Commodore 64 release. It has a lot of little quirks that deviate from the arcade game more than necessary, but it plays fair and looks nice, even if the graphics are a touch below Sega's effort.

 

 

The Synapse version on C64 is the best for me. I also liked the quirky Super Zaxxon for the C64.

[7800fan]

Zaxxon on SMS. The only real 3D version around if you have the glasses.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

ColecoVision w/ SGM - Zaxxon Super Game

[BillyHW]

I vote for ColecoVision.

[cimerians]

ColecoVision w/ SGM - Zaxxon Super Game

 

Ah! Forgot about that! CV wins

 

[cvga]

I generally don't consider the Colecovision to be that much superior to the Intellivision but Zaxxon would beg to differ.

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

ColecoVision w/ SGM - Zaxxon Super Game

And it pains me to have the game all new sitting next to me and yet no sgm yet. LOL.

Will be great to finally play next year though. YouTube vids on this version looks so damn awesome,those new levels are sexy!

[Bill Loguidice]

I generally don't consider the Colecovision to be that much superior to the Intellivision but Zaxxon would beg to differ.

 

We know the Intellivision can produce a better isometric version of Zaxxon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yiTUI_hgDw

 

With that said, as much as I admire the Intellivision's technology, it's definitely not in the same league as the ColecoVision when both are programmed properly.

[+thegoldenband]

With that said, as much as I admire the Intellivision's technology, it's definitely not in the same league as the ColecoVision when both are programmed properly.

 

The CV has higher-resolution graphics and a faster CPU, true -- but it's complex, though, just as every system comparison is complex. The Intellivision has the superior sound chip and can often manage smoother scrolling. Carl Mueller Jr. talks about a few other things here.

 

But when it comes to Zaxxon, sure, there's no comparison between the two platforms.

[mbd30]

That TRS-80 "Zaxxon" looks weirdly sophisticated and primitive at the same time. At first I thought it was fake.

[Tempest]

That TRS-80 "Zaxxon" looks weirdly sophisticated and primitive at the same time. At first I thought it was fake.

Yeah it's one of those 'How on earth did they do that?" kind of thing.

[mbd30]

Yeah it's one of those 'How on earth did they do that?" kind of thing.

 

It reminds me of those hoax Atari 2600 games that are very blocky but too advanced for the 2600 to actually pull off.

[Bill Loguidice]

That TRS-80 "Zaxxon" looks weirdly sophisticated and primitive at the same time. At first I thought it was fake.

 

I know you don't think it's fake, but I did a very rough video of it running on the real hardware back in 2009, where I think it looks even better in some ways than the emulator capture (I prefer the black and white TRS-80 monitors to the green or amber ones). If you skip to the 9:26 mark, you can start to see it in action on the real thing: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18652633MCWfPxkh . It's probably the most impressive port, but obviously not the best.

 

I have a fondness for the systems like TRS-80 that had no sound capabilities and were able to play sound effects by having them piped through a speaker connected to the cassette port cable.

[Mr SQL]

 

I know you don't think it's fake, but I did a very rough video of it running on the real hardware back in 2009, where I think it looks even better in some ways than the emulator capture (I prefer the black and white TRS-80 monitors to the green or amber ones). If you skip to the 9:26 mark, you can start to see it in action on the real thing: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18652633MCWfPxkh . It's probably the most impressive port, but obviously not the best.

 

I have a fondness for the systems like TRS-80 that had no sound capabilities and were able to play sound effects by having them piped through a speaker connected to the cassette port cable.

Nice vid! It does look noticeably better, the other vid could have been a real TRS-80 from the typing but wasn't using a CRT, some elements were thicker.

[Flojomojo]

It's ugly, but I find the behind-the-plane perspective of the VCS version way more playable than the prettiest, smoothest version of the original isometric view.