Retro STrife Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Hey guys, I just wanted to check in with a few updates on this old post of mine.. First off, thank you for all the interest and feedback on this post over the past few years, as it's helped me gain better knowledge of the Microvision and motivated me to keep polishing up these reviews! A few years back, I put these reviews together because I could not find a solid, complete list of Microvision game reviews anywhere on the internet. I had no idea which games to buy. Eventually, I just acquired all of the games and hoped that I could help fill the void by reviewing each one. Now this AA post comes up anytime someone googles "Microvision reviews", and I hope it helps someone else find the good ones and avoid the duds. With that, some quick updates: 1. A couple years back, I was finally able to get my hands on the rarest Microvision game -- Super Blockbuster -- to officially complete my set of Microvision games, thanks to an Atari Age member who pointed me toward a copy for sale on a European website. And let me say, it was worth it, because Super Blockbuster is a big upgrade from Block Buster. In fact, I think Super Blockbuster is the best game on the system. I would rate Super Blockbuster as an A in my reviews. Super Blockbuster also made me realize that I overrated the original Block Buster. I would drop Block Buster to a B-, just below Sea Duel, making it the 6th best Microvision game. Still a good game, but Super Blockbuster is superior in every way and far more playable. That said, spending an hour trying to beat the first level of Block Buster, and finally doing it, is still my most memorable moment with the Microvision. 2. These reviews have now landed on a permanent page over at the Video Game Critic's site. These days I only frequent two forums: Atari Age and the Video Game Critic (which is a great resource for classic game reviews, btw, including all Atari systems). I posted these reviews on both forums and then worked with the VG Critic to do a ton of polishing, add photos, and make a more formal review page out of it. I think his input and edits really helped tighten things up, and we posted it back in August 2018. If you're interested, please check out the final version here: https://videogamecritic.com/extras/reviews/microvision.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro STrife Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) To my understanding there is only one European exclusive? Yes, just Super Blockbuster. The European games have a ton of name variants, and this can be very confusing for newcomers to the system (I know it sure confused me). One game might have 4 different names for its U.S. version, French version, Italian version, German version, etc etc... For example, Shooting Star might sound like a European exclusive, but it's identical to the U.S. game Phaser Strike. At the end of the day, only Super Blockbuster is an actual exclusive. Edited January 7, 2019 by Retro STrife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro STrife Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) One last addition. For the sake of completeness, below is my Super Blockbuster review (which is brand new, and not included in the original post), along with my revised review for Block Buster after playing the sequel and dropping it from an A- to a B-. (**Is a moderator able to allow me to make edits to the original post, so that I could add these in there?) Super Blockbuster (A): This is a Breakout clone and a pretty good one at that, considering the limitations of this system. Released in 1982, Super Blockbuster was the final Microvision game, sold only in Europe. It was the sequel to the Microvision pack-in title Block Buster. While Block Buster was your standard Breakout knockoff, Super Blockbuster added a new wrinkle to the formula. You still have your usual rows on the top of the screen to destroy, but there's also a row on the bottom that you must protect. There are no lives and you cannot lose a ball. Instead your game ends when the bottom row is destroyed. It's a lot more fun than Block Buster and controls better too. If there’s a downside, it’s that this is a Europe-only cartridge, and I prefer the button style of the U.S. games. Regardless, this is as good as it gets on the Microvision - the best game on the system. Block Buster (B-): Block Buster is essentially a dumbed-down version of Breakout for the Microvision. It was packaged with every new Microvision system back in the day, meaning it's common and easy to find. I originally gave this game an A-, but after playing the superior Super Blockbuster it became much harder to tolerate its imprecise controls and choppy ball movement. On the hardest setting (fast speed and one-pixel paddle) the game is unplayable. On the easiest setting (slow speed and larger three-pixel paddle) the game is still challenging, but becomes somewhat addictive in short spurts. You can choose from 1-9 balls, and it makes sense to choose 9 to compensate for some of the cheap losses. Just beating the first level is an accomplishment that took me about an hour's worth of retries, with a “just one more game” mentality the whole time. After that though, I had little interest in replaying it again. My addiction may have been short-lived, but that’s still enough to earn a B- in Microvision world. As noted in my original post, these scores are in comparison to the Microvision library as a whole. The A grade is not meant to imply that Super Blockbuster is a classic game that retro gamers should seek out. Rather, it means that if you're interested in the primitive gaming that the Microvision provides, then Super Blockbuster is the peak of the system and worth seeking out. In my new version, I also slightly upgraded Vegas Slots from a D- to a D. It's just a slots simulator, but it accomplishes that goal as advertised, even if I find that kind of game incredibly boring - so I bumped it slightly. The other scores all remained the same, but the reviews were all polished up a bit, with photos added, over at the final version: https://videogamecritic.com/extras/reviews/microvision.htm Edited January 9, 2019 by Retro STrife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Hello. I've decided to post in this thread instead of starting a new one. I have an idea I just thought of. I was wondering if it would be possible to make an AC adapter for the Microvision in case battery companies quit making 9-volt batteries? I was thinking this AC adapter would plug in to the Microvision's battery port and have a cord and you could plug it in like an AC adapter. What gives me hope is that someone made their own AC adapter for the Commodore 64. So is this possible or not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro STrife Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 Hello. I've decided to post in this thread instead of starting a new one. I have an idea I just thought of. I was wondering if it would be possible to make an AC adapter for the Microvision in case battery companies quit making 9-volt batteries? I was thinking this AC adapter would plug in to the Microvision's battery port and have a cord and you could plug it in like an AC adapter. What gives me hope is that someone made their own AC adapter for the Commodore 64. So is this possible or not? Is there concern about companies no longer making 9-volt batteries? That's the first I've heard of it, but I hope not. I imagine it's possible to do an AC adapter like you mention - you'd have to open up the Microvision, and solder in the right type of AC adapter in place of the battery connections. But I can't say for sure - it's not something I've ever considered before, and I've never tried that on any portable system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Companies are still making 9-volts, and there hasn't been talk of not making them, but sometimes I worry because all the stuff I have that does use them was made in the '70s (like Microvision.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Only thing I have that still uses 9v batteries are Smoke Detectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 @Retro STrife how would you feel about editing this thread to be the “official” Microvision thread? I thought about starting one, but this seems to have the most concentrated discussion and pretty much acts like an official thread. Man oh man, Super Blockbuster for €10. Those were the days. Today I completed my Microvision collection with my least wanted game: While the one-player game is strictly a test of random number generation circa 1979 and not a real game per se, it does tickle me that it has “easy mode” where you are guaranteed to eventually win and “realistic mode” where you are guaranteed to eventually lose. You can’t beat the house. However, BOTH of the two player games are a lot of fun. (I mean, given the constraints.) In mode 2 it’s almost like a stripped down Wheel of Fortune where you can ride a lucky streak forever into bankruptcy, play too cautiously and let the other player keep rolling on a hot streak until they beat you, or ideally balance caution and risk. This mode adds actual risk and strategy into the game, and is a really good time. In game 3, it’s a race to $200. The middle panel is obscured, and you have the option to reveal it or take the value of the other two panels. The catch is that it costs $1 to reveal it, and if you find the BAR symbol in the middle panel you get nothing at all. It’s not quite as fun as game 2 and is much slower paced, but it’s still way better than the “main game”. The drawback is that you need a second person to get the most out of the two player games, as with Sea Duel. But it’s more fun to play against yourself than to play game 1, anyhow. By the way, since the manual doesn’t say what the symbols are supposed to be, I have the following definitive mapping: - The oval is a lemon. - The Jesus fish is a bunch of cherries. Jesus doesn’t approve of gambling. - The slash is a 7, which is weird because they had enough pixels to draw a 7… - The blob is a BAR symbol. So let it be written, so let it be done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Today’s pickup part 2: I got Vegas Slots in a bundle that included Connect Four. I have played a lot of Connect Four on the two cartridges of it I already had, including an hour just this last week, and I am used to struggling to see what is going on here: Well, imagine my surprise when I opened it up and found something quite different: While this loses the illusion of circular pieces, it makes it MUCH easier to see what’s going on. (Unfortunately, this copy keeps resetting. I guess I’d better gently clean the pins.) Were there any other Microvision games that had overlay revamps like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Mine is the 2nd picture and the Advanced difficulty is tough to beat. Im like 1 - 30 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 (edited) I've got all the USA releases and have replaced the screen on my two battery unit. Super Block Buster is too $$$ for me. I do like the idea of the Tetris homebrew. Edited November 18, 2021 by Rob Mitchell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 On 4/11/2019 at 4:19 PM, atari2600land said: Hello. I've decided to post in this thread instead of starting a new one. I have an idea I just thought of. I was wondering if it would be possible to make an AC adapter for the Microvision in case battery companies quit making 9-volt batteries? I was thinking this AC adapter would plug in to the Microvision's battery port and have a cord and you could plug it in like an AC adapter. What gives me hope is that someone made their own AC adapter for the Commodore 64. So is this possible or not? 9V and the Microvision requirement are quite mundane, unlike the C64 power supply. Given that in most Microvision, only one battery holder is working/required, one could imagine simply soldering a female connector in there, to the battery tabs and simply using a regulated power supply for Master System/Megadrive; that wouldn't even require to hack the console body. Even better, that would leave the battery tab working. Another solution is to acquire rechargeable 9V batteries. They don't hold alot, but for the Microvision it would be more than enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Hey, you. Yeah, you, the one with the Microvision. I gotta question for ya, and I want you to be completely honest with me, see? Star Trek. Phaser Strike. Shooting Star. Whatever ya call it. You hate it, right? I know you do. Everybody does. But here’s the thing, see? The game wastes the system’s best feature. I geddit. You don’t wanna play some button pressing game when that paddle is RIGHT THERE. But, hey. Look at me. EYES. That’s right. That’s right. Now I got your attention. What if I told you you got it all wrong? What if there’s a halfway decent game buried in there after all? Let me explain. The default settings are what does it, you know? 4, S, 1. The targets are four pixels wide, see, and they move slow, and you get ten of them. It’s trivial, just trivial to hit every one of them and you’re done with the game faster than it took to to pick up the machine and start it. Total letdown, right? Maybe once er twice you hit that SPEED button. Speed it up a little bit. Now they move too fast for you to possibly react to. Not fun. I get it. Maybe you changed the size of the target. Upped the precision. Upped the stakes. Less boring now; sure, but not a whole lot more fun. But maybe you got carried away. You kept hitting those speed and size buttons and the value changed to C. C? Like lightspeed? Nah nah nah, bucko. That C stands for FUN. That C stands for INTERESTING. That C stands for HEY WHADDYA KNOW THIS GAME AIN’T SO CRAPPY AFTER ALL. What you gotta do, see, is go ahead and set the size to C. Set the speed to C, or, heck, leave it at S. Just don’t set it to F, which stands for DON’T USE THIS SETTING. Then do me a favor and move that thumb over to TARGETS and press it, over and over and over again, until you get to 9. Here’s what that’s gonna do for you. HEY, buddy, FOCUS! Pay attention. I’m gonna open your mind here. Just give me one more minute. Here’s what that’s gonna do for you. It’s gonna make the width of the targets variable. It means you’re gonna miss them a lot more often, but that’s good. It ain’t snoozeville no more, nor is it unattainable city. It’s right down the middle, see, right down the middle. If you keyed in C for the speed, you’re gonna miss even more. Don’t do that until you get pretty good at slow mode. But when you do, when you learn to let the ones ya ain’t gonna get go, see, that’s when you’re gonna learn to appreciate every single one ya do get even more. Okay, the 9. What’s the 9 about. Let me learn it to ya. If you leave that last number at 1 or change it to 2 or 3, you are gonna spend more time pressing buttons to start the game than you spent ACTUALLY PLAYING IT. Capisce? I mean, nah, that ain’t gonna cut it. It ain’t gonna fly. You want 90 shots. It’s still gonna be over in a couple minutes tops. But at least you spend more time DOING the thing than GETTING READY for it, ya know? That’s how it oughta be. 90 shots or else don’t even play it. Okay, maybe you could go as low as 60. But no lower. Okay, now here is the final piece of wisdom I want to cram inside that skull of yours. That middle fire button? The one that makes you shoot straight up? Fuhgeeeedabboudit. That button isn’t there. You never saw that button. It’s nothing to you. It’s less than horse apples. What you, my friend, are gonna do, just as soon as you hit that GO button, is you are gonna plant one thumb smack in the middle of the left angle fire button, and one thumb SMACK in the middle of the right angle fire button. It prally makes sense ta use the left thumb on the left and the right thumb on the right, but don’t ask me, I aincher mudder. You are gonna leave those thumbs where they are for the whole 90 targets, and you are gonna takes yer shots and hope for the best. And you are gonna enjoy it, at least a little. And if you do, let me know how many you hit, hear me? Okay. Okay. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now where did I stick that fifth of Wild Turkey… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 I think it's pretty cool that the Microvision is featured in Friday the 13th Part 2. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I normally don't post about items for sale outside the marketplace forums, but I'll make an exception for this: I spotted a Super Casse Brique for 150 Euros on eBay now, and open to offers: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185331902810 If you buy it, please don't leave it sealed. Open that sucker up and play it! EDIT: gone. Well, that didn’t last long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marioweezer Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 hours ago, jgkspsx said: I normally don't post about items for sale outside the marketplace forums, but I'll make an exception for this: I spotted a Super Casse Brique for 150 Euros on eBay now, and open to offers: https://www.ebay.com/itm/185331902810 If you buy it, please don't leave it sealed. Open that sucker up and play it! EDIT: gone. Well, that didn’t last long Wow, I remember back in 2015 when Ludikbazar was selling these for 10 EUR! I shouldn't be surprised, but it's crazy how much prices have risen... especially for such a niche system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 There are a lot of factors at play: it is EU exclusive when the system was much more successful in the US, it is reputed (somewhat spuriously) to be the best game on the system, and modern screen replacements mean that people are no longer afraid their Microvisions will die. All those things add up to a really expensive game. That said, 10€ is stupid cheap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 By far my highest score on Cosmic Hunter. On easy difficulty!!! EDIT: yow, 11!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo-Torch Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Is anyone selling 3D printed battery doors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Not that I know of, but I would like a spare so I can stop ruining the sticker on mine… Did we know there was a Flappy Bird clone for the Microvision by the guy who did the Tetris clone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 I think the list of homebrew one-offs (in the least) of complete games (ignores a couple of demos from me, as well as at least one from the Tetris/Flappy Bird programmer) are: Tetris Flappy Bird Bomber Invaders Barrage 2021/2022 1 and 2 from: https://twitter.com/raphkoster/status/1026873785251553280?lang=en 3 and 4 from: http://mbmicrovision.blogspot.com/2014/01/okay-so-i-decided-to-do-something-bit.html 5 from: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/314775-microvision-homebrew-barrage-2021/ Anything missing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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