Lord Thag Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Haven't seen one of these threads in awhile, and I always enjoy them. There are so many obscure titles in the 8-bit library, it's hard to find the time to play them all or even give them enough time to know them well. Many of my current favorite titles were discovered via recommendations here. So, what are some of your favorite obscure, forgotten, or seldom mentioned games? They don't have to be exclusive titles, just ones you don't hear mentioned often. Here are a few of mine: 1. Maxwell Manor: Hardly anyone ever mentions this. It's basically the Atari 2600 Adventure crossed with Haunted House, only in a huge world, with way more items and secrets, and a great deal more randomization. It's quirky and takes some time to get used to, but if you are a fan of those VCS titles, this is basically the A8 bit version we never officially got. If you like this, there is a sci fi one with the same engine called Mission at Thunderhead, which is even weirder. 2. Panther: Basically a very smooth and fast cross between Blue Max and Choplifter. Rescue little guys while shooting swarms of fighters with an isometric perspective. To me, this is what Blue Max 2001 should have been. 3. Stealth: Kind of a cross between afterburner and battlezone, great graphics, and very good play control. 4. Cavelord: This one is kind of a cavern shooter mixed with some rogue-like elements. Great play control, and a nice sense of progression. Tough too. 5. Lost Tomb: Aztec Berzerk set in a giant pyramid of interconnecting passages that you have to explore and find the way out of. This one is pretty clever. Sort of reminds me of what Quest for Quintana Roo was trying to do (and failed to) on the VCS. 6. Savage Pond: Weird action/ pond ecosystem arcade sim thing. Early 80's indie weirdness. Nothing else like it. 7. Gemstone Warrior: Awesome, huge, challenging action rpg that plays surprisingly well today. Not much else like it, sort of zelda meets rogue. I can lose myself in this one all evening. That's a few of mine. Anyone else like these or have some obscure Atari weirdness to share? I'm always down to play titles I haven't spent time with. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I've always loved Panther! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Torbel Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I've always really liked EA's "Worms?" This is not the Worms game most have heard of. Requires paddle controllers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 It seems like every A8 game is obscure these days... That being said, I have to go with Dr. Mario XE every time. It never seems to get into these 'best of' lists, even though the port is amazing. And, for us North Americans, Hans Kloss, since I never heard of it before Duddie released it in his Collector's Edition game series, even though I had multiple LK Avalon releases on disk. I've always loved Panther! Panther is one of the five or so A8 games that I could actually find, everywhere, in the late '80s. I saw those damned flippies (with the A8 on the back, of course) in supermarkets, at Canadian Tire, etc. Wasn't L.A. SWAT the other game included with this? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 It seems like every A8 game is obscure these days... That being said, I have to go with Dr. Mario XE every time. It never seems to get into these 'best of' lists, even though the port is amazing. And, for us North Americans, Hans Kloss, since I never heard of it before Duddie released it in his Collector's Edition game series, even though I had multiple LK Avalon releases on disk. Panther is one of the five or so A8 games that I could actually find, everywhere, in the late '80s. I saw those damned flippies (with the A8 on the back, of course) in supermarkets, at Canadian Tire, etc. Wasn't L.A. SWAT the other game included with this? Yeah, Dr. Mario XE is a *really* great port, just as good as the NES one for sure. Up there with the XEGS Mario Bros. for sure. As to Panther, I have actually never seen a copy. I found it by accident digging through ROMs and fell in love with it, ans I am a huge Blue Max fan, and it scratches the same itch. I'd love to know the story on this game. Another really good game is "Beer Belly Burt in Brew Biz", which I find to be every bit as good as Miner/Bounty Bob, but which seldom makes anyone's 'best of' lists for some reason, probably due to it's relative obscurity. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Panther is superb, bit weaker graphically and sonically than the C64 version..but not by enough to really matter. Loved it on both systems. Totally agree with comments about Blue Max 2001..huge dissapointment after the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ransom Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Gemstone Warrior was a favorite of mine back in the 80s. Lots of fun, and I've seen nothing quite like it since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Cytron Masters is a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) I really enjoy the Pondering About Maxes 3-in-1 trilogy (P.A.M) that was released in the early nineties, by direct mail order only, and only advertised in Antic magazine in it's waining days, it might have even been in the Antic section of START magazine after it folded back in. A very high quality game that few know of because, at least in the states, most had moved onto 16/32-bit systems. But the author wasn't unknown, he had several hits on Atari 8-bits, I can't think of his name off the top of my head, his last name I think is Cohen, and one of his other classics is Cohen's Tower, which may be an obscure title itself. They can all be downloaded from sites like Atarimania now. Edited August 24, 2017 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 I really enjoy the Pondering About Maxes 3-in-1 trilogy (P.A.M) that was released in the early nineties, by direct mail order only, and only advertised in Antic magazine in it's waining days, it might have even been in the Antic section of START magazine after it folded back in. A very high quality game that few know of because, at least in the states, most had moved onto 16/32-bit systems. But the author wasn't unknown, he had several hits on Atari 8-bits, I can't think of his name off the top of my head, his last name I think is Cohen, and one of his other classics is Cohen's Tower, which may be an obscure title itself. They can all be downloaded from sites like Atarimania now. See, this right here is why I started the thread. I have never even heard of this game, and when I fired it up on my Ultimate Cart, I was pretty damn impressed. The graphics, animation, and play control are some of the best on the system. What a great game! Guess i know what I am playing tonight. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holgibo Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Hi Guys, one of my favorite games is Whomper Stomper. For those, who don't know this game: Ants are storming wave to wave to your picnic place, you have to stomp them with your foot. If you fail, the blue ardvaark (from ant and the ardvaark) is helping you. Sounds odd but is big fun! ...Holger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanT Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Have any of you guys on the other side of the pond played (or even heard of) chuckle egg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holgibo Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Have any of you guys on the other side of the pond played (or even heard of) chuckle egg? Chuckie Egg? Never heard of it, but seems to be a nice platformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foebane Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Chuckie Egg? Never heard of it, but seems to be a nice platformer. Never heard of it? You can't be serious. It's probably one of the most ported platformers out there! As for an obscure game no-one's heard of: Power Down 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanT Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I wrote the Atari and c64 versions, wasn't expecting it to have made it across the pond 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I wrote the Atari and c64 versions, wasn't expecting it to have made it across the pond Sir..thank you for endless hours of fun as a kid. Your a bloody legend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I wrote the Atari and c64 versions, wasn't expecting it to have made it across the pond Well it certainly did, but only in limited quantities in the NTSC market. I used to see it occasionally advertised here in Canada along with such imports as Henry's House and always wondered what it was. In any case, I'll add my thanks to the chorus of thank-yous for a fantastic game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanT Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 If you compare the c64 version and the Atari version you can see I tried to make full use of the ataris hardware, the two version look different. Glad to see it made it to the US and Canada though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) The trouble with these threads is we turn the obscure into the popular! e.g. Ixion ! We played Pondering about Max in the High Score Club's "Beer Time" a while ago, it's very hard indeed so would be interested if anyone gets very far or if someone has the record? that came with it and the artwork/docs/clues, as I don't think they have been scanned in anywhere. See discussion on the link. I'll second Lost Tomb, great game. How about Mt TNT he's very playable indeed sort of pacman on strings. As well as Panther a couple of the UK budget H-scrolling shooters Transmuter and The Extirpator were good to play. Also Tanium as a bit different as you had to control your ship in 2 planes at the same time: split screens H-scrolling. River Rat is a good fun for all the family game, this was the inspiration for my Ramp Rage game. Thanks for creating Chuckie Egg Sean it is one of those tense games as the giant bird follows you around and you can never quite move as fast as you want to! Played this a lot. I used similar "stalking" adversaries in Gwobby Strikes Back! but this time you can shoot them! We're down to a handful of players in the HSC so please join in even if it's now and then, just add some of these games on the games list thread - I'm usually picking games from people who are active players, so you will see them if you take part. We recently turned up "Spare Change" which is not bad for a single screen style game, reminded me a little of Blueprint which is very good Edited August 26, 2017 by therealbountybob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Hi Guys, one of my favorite games is Whomper Stomper. For those, who don't know this game: Ants are storming wave to wave to your picnic place, you have to stomp them with your foot. If you fail, the blue ardvaark (from ant and the ardvaark) is helping you. Sounds odd but is big fun! ...Holger Can anyone confirm if the tape version has a sample of a woman's voice that warns "watch out for ants!" at the beginning of the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Adam+ Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Regarding "Chuckie Egg" - here you have a detailed comparison of many versions of the game. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 You forgot the Atari Jaguar version from a few years back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killersquirel Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I really enjoyed Salmon Run. Laser Gates was a great port from the Atari 2600 original as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I love Chuckie Egg, although never a fan of the Atari 8Bit version for some reason. I think it's the fake 3D look of the platforms which makes judging the jumps a little tricky. But also because I played it to death on my Dragon 32 and so when I got my Atari 130 XE in late 1986 it just didn't feel the same. That's just me though, well done programming both it and the C64 versions SeanT. I'm curious though how much input AnF software had into what you did for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper of Death Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) The German games Herbert 1 + 2 and Schrekkenstein were also fun to play. Edited August 28, 2017 by Stormtrooper of Death Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.