Which Atari 5200 games means the most to you, and why (these)?

[Giles N]

26 minutes ago, bugcatcher88 said:

My 5200 library is rather small with mostly common games, but my favorite game on it is Adventure II. That game is the reason why I bought a 5200 in the first place. It feels like a natural evolution of the original game and I just love exploring the various kingdoms within.

What sort of (classic) games do you like?

[ASalvaro]

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

I browsed through all officially released colecovision games on YouTube.

 

Seems to be some overlap of titles.

 

But I could not see any driving games looking as good as Pole Position (which has a ‘paralaxing’ speedway as you move from right to left), and no Resque on Fractalus (which is massively impressive for a 82-84 system).

 

Star Wars seemed better on music (and gameplay on tiefighter section), but less colourful than the 5200 version.

 

Frogger 2 seemed to have better grfx on 5200.

 

Saw no actual Pac-Man games there (did I browse to fast?)

 

 

5200 Zaxxon is way better than the Colecovision version based on the speed and the scrolling

[ledzep]

For me, from back in the day, I'd go with Star Raiders and Space Dungeon.  I liked most of the 5200 games but Star Raiders rocked, a cool space battle simulator that was easier to deal with than the 8-bit computer version (I owned an Atari 800, my friend owned the 5200) and the analog controller felt more natural, like a fighter's stick.  Space Dungeon was a favorite because my friend and I would take turns, one controller each, one of us would pilot and the other would shoot.  Very cool, like we were flying some sort of space Apache chopper.  We could play that for hours.  I'd add a vote for Wizard Of Wor, too, that was another cooperative game that we could play for a long time.

 

More recently I'd say Tempest, because it's Tempest and it uses the trak-ball controller and it's maybe my favorite arcade game of all time (looks and plays and sounds the same), and Castle Crisis because it's a fantastic version of Warlords and I have a couple converted 5200 paddle controllers to make that game playable.

 

Most of the arcade ports are great because they are cheap ways to travel back in time and relive that era.  I wasn't that on board with the 5200 Galaxian, the timing was wrong (especially the shots) but it was still fun.  I loved Missile Command and Centipede with the trak-ball, Defender and Qix were a lot of fun, even Super Breakout (with the paddles) and Space Invaders.  I only wish the system hung around longer so that more games could get ported.

[Giles N]

1 hour ago, ledzep said:

For me, from back in the day, I'd go with Star Raiders and Space Dungeon.  I liked most of the 5200 games but Star Raiders rocked, a cool space battle simulator that was easier to deal with than the 8-bit computer version (I owned an Atari 800, my friend owned the 5200) and the analog controller felt more natural, like a fighter's stick.  Space Dungeon was a favorite because my friend and I would take turns, one controller each, one of us would pilot and the other would shoot.  Very cool, like we were flying some sort of space Apache chopper.  We could play that for hours.  I'd add a vote for Wizard Of Wor, too, that was another cooperative game that we could play for a long time.

 

More recently I'd say Tempest, because it's Tempest and it uses the trak-ball controller and it's maybe my favorite arcade game of all time (looks and plays and sounds the same), and Castle Crisis because it's a fantastic version of Warlords and I have a couple converted 5200 paddle controllers to make that game playable.

 

Most of the arcade ports are great because they are cheap ways to travel back in time and relive that era.  I wasn't that on board with the 5200 Galaxian, the timing was wrong (especially the shots) but it was still fun.  I loved Missile Command and Centipede with the trak-ball, Defender and Qix were a lot of fun, even Super Breakout (with the paddles) and Space Invaders.  I only wish the system hung around longer so that more games could get ported.

So, how many games from the atari400 or 800 (I’m not familiar with these and their hardware/set-up, could be professionally (as to quality), be ported through binaries(?) or reprogramming onto 5200 carts?

 

In your view?

[+Cafeman]

8 hours ago, ASalvaro said:

5200 Zaxxon is way better than the Colecovision version based on the speed and the scrolling

And the new 5200 Zaxxon ported from the full A8 version, is even better! 

[Giles N]

21 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

And the new 5200 Zaxxon ported from the full A8 version, is even better! 

And you can get that on cartridge to run in a proffessional-quality manner?

[Giles N]

(I started a thread under 5200 programming on the issue of converting 400 or 800 games to 5200 cartridges. You can also input stuff there if you know about these issues, or have opinions on which games should make it onto the 5200. But you can also discuss that here, since this is about favourite games).

 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Giles N

[bugcatcher88]

16 hours ago, Giles N said:

What sort of (classic) games do you like?

On Atari consoles, I really enjoy games with characters, a storyline, and that can actually be finished. Adventure, Secret Quest, and Fatal Run on the 2600 are some that I gravitate towards to because of that. Besides Adventure II, I don't know of any other 5200 games like that. 

[kiwilove]

On 8/24/2019 at 2:17 AM, Giles N said:

My own list would be something like this:

 

1. Pole Position

2. Pengo

3. Star Wars Arcade

4. Mr Do’s Castle (w/arcade stick)

5. Mario Bros

6. Buck Rogers

7. Moon Patrol

8. Pitfall 2

9. Montezumas Revenge

10. H.E.R.O

11. Resque on Fractalus (technically most impressive 5200 game)

12. Gyruss (w/arcade stick)

13. Gremlins

14. Frogger 2

15. Wizard of Wor

16. Missile Command

17. Frogger

18. Keystone Kapers

19. Ms. Pac Man

20. Pac Man

 

21. Vanguard

22. Star Raiders (may become a favourite when I get more into it).

23. Robotron 2084

24. Dreadnaught Factor

25. Defender

The only ones missing from this list would be the 400/800 conversions to the 5200 - like Dropzone and Encounter - which are the best of the best.

Other titles could be mentioned too?

 

Harvey

[Giles N]

37 minutes ago, kiwilove said:

The only ones missing from this list would be the 400/800 conversions to the 5200 - like Dropzone and Encounter - which are the best of the best.

Other titles could be mentioned too?

 

Harvey

Yeah, I wondered if I was going to extend it to 30 or 40.

 

I’ve not seen the games you mentioned.

 

I wondered how many atari400/800 games that has been successfully ported to the 5200.

 

If the hardware is quite similar, one should think many of them would easily ported...

 

...but heck, what do I know...

[Giles N]

45 minutes ago, kiwilove said:

The only ones missing from this list would be the 400/800 conversions to the 5200 - like Dropzone and Encounter - which are the best of the best.

Other titles could be mentioned too?

 

Harvey

I will throw in Ballblazer, Countermeasure, Galaxian and Zone Ranger and Joust (a good port), somewhere out there.

 

Don’t know where.

 

I haven’t really tested Space Dungeon as I don’t have good way of using two sticks.

[ASalvaro]

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

(I started a thread under 5200 programming on the issue of converting 400 or 800 games to 5200 cartridges. You can also input stuff there if you know about these issues, or have opinions on which games should make it onto the 5200. But you can also discuss that here, since this is about favourite games).

 

 

what was that guys name that converted those 5200 games to the Atari computers in the 80s?..i used to see his name on the crack screens all the time..that guy was awesome! 

[Giles N]

4 hours ago, bugcatcher88 said:

On Atari consoles, I really enjoy games with characters, a storyline, and that can actually be finished. Adventure, Secret Quest, and Fatal Run on the 2600 are some that I gravitate towards to because of that. Besides Adventure II, I don't know of any other 5200 games like that. 

I don’t think you’ll find RPGs on the 5200 game list.

 

There are games on it that can be finished, but the most common sort of game is arcade/pick-up-and-play.

 

—

Fatal Run is also for the 7800 if its the car-shooter game.

 

[bugcatcher88]

1 hour ago, Giles N said:

I don’t think you’ll find RPGs on the 5200 game list.

 

There are games on it that can be finished, but the most common sort of game is arcade/pick-up-and-play.

 

—

Fatal Run is also for the 7800 if its the car-shooter game.

 

You're right. Adventure II is the closest thing (AFAIK). There is an unfinished game called Meebzork that was suppose to release on the 5200 but never happened. Most of my 5200 games are very common arcade conversions like Pac-Man, Defender, Space Invader, Centipede, etc. 

An NTSC version of Fatal Run 7800 is hard to come by unfortunately. I've been wanting a complete copy for a while now but either can't find it or can't afford it when I do find a copy.

Edited August 25, 2019 by bugcatcher88

[kiwilove]

Here's Wrathchild's page where his conversions to 5200 can be downloaded from

http://www.mkeates.f9.co.uk/5200/

 

Here is the explanation about the technical difficulty in converting 8-bit programs to the 5200

 

I think it was Glenn the 5200 man - who did the various 5200 to 8-bit conversions. BITD

 

Harvey

 

 

[ledzep]

17 hours ago, Giles N said:

So, how many games from the atari400 or 800 (I’m not familiar with these and their hardware/set-up, could be professionally (as to quality), be ported through binaries(?) or reprogramming onto 5200 carts?

 

In your view?

 

As far as I know, all of them could since the hardware is practically the same.  But I understand there are differences.

 

My favoritism for the 5200 stems from its use of analog controllers, specifically the joystick.  It makes it easier to convert arcade games to it because the joysticks and the trak-ball are fantastic for that purpose.  Of course the fire buttons are a bit crap but nothing is perfect.  I also like that the controllers can support 2 fire buttons vs. 1 for the 9-pin controllers.  And I like the keypad, especially for a game like Star Raiders, that is a fingertip away vs. dealing with the Atari 800's keyboard for the same inputs.

[Giles N]

On 8/25/2019 at 3:18 AM, bugcatcher88 said:

You're right. Adventure II is the closest thing (AFAIK). There is an unfinished game called Meebzork that was suppose to release on the 5200 but never happened. Most of my 5200 games are very common arcade conversions like Pac-Man, Defender, Space Invader, Centipede, etc. 

An NTSC version of Fatal Run 7800 is hard to come by unfortunately. I've been wanting a complete copy for a while now but either can't find it or can't afford it when I do find a copy.

My first 7800 was PAL (as I live in Europe).

 

I bought it to check out stuff I ‘missed out’ as a kid in the 8-bit era.

 

Started with an SMS and some classics there.

 

SMS was actually a success in Europe and South-America.

 

Then I got a NES and some of the classics that Nintendo haven’t provided reiterations of on their modern consoles.

 

Then I thought: what was before that?

 

Was it any earlier system that had any good-looking and playable titles (which I connected with).

 

So I bought a 5200 since it had Star Wars, Pengo, Pole Position and Robotron, all which I remember to played as quite young.

And I think the average quality of 5200 games, despite a small catalogue, has a high quality.

 

Then I wondered what Atari did to compete with NES and SMS, so I got an Atari 7800.

 

Many cool games there.

 

But some where easy to obtain ntsc and others easy to obtain PAL, so imported a ntsc.

 

So I’ve got one selection of PAL games and one selection of NTSC games (with overlaps as I have sometimes just bought bundles or lots out there).

 

Fatal Run and Motor Psycho was not difficult to get on PAL.

 

Both are good.

Motor Psycho is not as smooth as SMS Hang On, but festures a road with lots of ups and downs and variations of curves and obstacles, while Hang On has a flat landscape.

 

Fatal Run runs smooth, works well.

Different from Road Blaster, but overall works and plays well.

Well-made road with curves and uphill and downhill, as a you close in to the town where you’ll deliver the anti-radiation meds, the horizon background changes from mountains or hills to a city.

 

Not quite the 9,5/10 of say Ninja Golf, but a solid 8/10 for both.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Giles N

[Giles N]

On 8/24/2019 at 2:46 PM, Cafeman said:

And the new 5200 Zaxxon ported from the full A8 version, is even better! 

I will try to get hold on Zaxxon some day.

 

Is it a game you can complete, like Moon Patrol?

[Giles N]

21 hours ago, ledzep said:

 

As far as I know, all of them could since the hardware is practically the same.  But I understand there are differences.

 

My favoritism for the 5200 stems from its use of analog controllers, specifically the joystick.  It makes it easier to convert arcade games to it because the joysticks and the trak-ball are fantastic for that purpose.  Of course the fire buttons are a bit crap but nothing is perfect.  I also like that the controllers can support 2 fire buttons vs. 1 for the 9-pin controllers.  And I like the keypad, especially for a game like Star Raiders, that is a fingertip away vs. dealing with the Atari 800's keyboard for the same inputs.

I think the analog controller makes for a very positively unique experience with Pole Position (which festured a highly sensitive wheel in the arcade), Star Wars, Resque on Fractalus and Missile Command.

 

Unfortunately, it makes more typical arcade-gamers (often 2D games), more difficult, as you have to move the stick quite some space to have it go from say left to right.

And in some games instant turning is needed.

 

Atari should have produced two standard-sticks, to use with different games.

 

Buts its cool for 3D or aiming and puzzle games.

[ledzep]

4 hours ago, Giles N said:

I think the analog controller makes for a very positively unique experience with Pole Position (which festured a highly sensitive wheel in the arcade), Star Wars, Resque on Fractalus and Missile Command.

 

Unfortunately, it makes more typical arcade-gamers (often 2D games), more difficult, as you have to move the stick quite some space to have it go from say left to right.

And in some games instant turning is needed.

 

Atari should have produced two standard-sticks, to use with different games.

 

Buts its cool for 3D or aiming and puzzle games.

 

Most of my favorite arcade games don't use digital joysticks (as in the 2600 type joystick), they use analog controls - Star Trek: S.O.S., Red Baron, Tempest, Lunar Lander, Warlords, Missile Command, Tailgunner, Centipede, Star Wars - or they use buttons - Space Duel, Armor..Attack, Space War, Rip Off, Star Castle.  So the 5200, especially with its trak-ball, is one of my favorite home systems (as is the Vectrex).  I never had that much of a problem with the arcade ports (on the 5200) that originally had digital joysticks, I used my thumb on the top of the stick and was pretty accurate with it.  Maybe not amazing at it, but good enough.

 

I'm very surprised there was never a port of Marble Madness made for the 5200, seems like a natural fit.

[Giles N]

11 hours ago, ledzep said:

 

Most of my favorite arcade games don't use digital joysticks (as in the 2600 type joystick), they use analog controls - Star Trek: S.O.S., Red Baron, Tempest, Lunar Lander, Warlords, Missile Command, Tailgunner, Centipede, Star Wars - or they use buttons - Space Duel, Armor..Attack, Space War, Rip Off, Star Castle.  So the 5200, especially with its trak-ball, is one of my favorite home systems (as is the Vectrex).  I never had that much of a problem with the arcade ports (on the 5200) that originally had digital joysticks, I used my thumb on the top of the stick and was pretty accurate with it.  Maybe not amazing at it, but good enough.

 

I'm very surprised there was never a port of Marble Madness made for the 5200, seems like a natural fit.

No wonder you enjoy the analog controller then.

 

For me, its like, yeah I want that on the games mentioned above (typical

3D or action-strategy), but not on games like Mr Dos Castle etc.

 

I can get Pengo to work with it, and Moon Patrol, but I’d much rather seen a plethora of usual digital/arcade/joypad-things for these kinds of games.

 

Fair ‘nough, Congo Bongo will probably never get high on my top-list, but with the analog controller its a nightmare to play.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Giles N

[Giles N]

On 7/31/2019 at 3:02 AM, AverageSoftware said:

No contest, it's Qix.

 

It was the first game I ever saw or played on the system and it totally blew my mind.  The look, the sound, the gameplay...  I was no older than 6 when I first saw it and it's fair to say it changed my life.  My obsession with the 5200 springs from this one game.  No game impacted me like Qix until the first time I saw Space Harrier on the Sega Master System, but that's a story for another time.

 

If I'm allowed to include my own games, then RealSports Curling.  Ratcatcher was cool because it was my first, but Curling really felt to me like my first truly solid game.  I don't really play it, but I still love the fact that I actually made it happen.

So, any new games in production, right now?

 

How much time did you spend on making these games?

 

How much time available to you now for making 5200-games?

 

—

What’s your top 10 or top 15 of the officially released 5200 games.

 

I got that Qix is number 1.

 

?

[Giles N]

On 8/26/2019 at 12:14 PM, ledzep said:

 

Most of my favorite arcade games don't use digital joysticks (as in the 2600 type joystick), they use analog controls - Star Trek: S.O.S., Red Baron, Tempest, Lunar Lander, Warlords, Missile Command, Tailgunner, Centipede, Star Wars - or they use buttons - Space Duel, Armor..Attack, Space War, Rip Off, Star Castle.  So the 5200, especially with its trak-ball, is one of my favorite home systems (as is the Vectrex).  I never had that much of a problem with the arcade ports (on the 5200) that originally had digital joysticks, I used my thumb on the top of the stick and was pretty accurate with it.  Maybe not amazing at it, but good enough.

 

I'm very surprised there was never a port of Marble Madness made for the 5200, seems like a natural fit.

Marble Madness, Ramparts... would be natural fits for the 5200 w/ trackball...

 

...perhaps even all sorts of driving games...

 

... and definitively aiming-games/rail-shooters...

Edited August 28, 2019 by Giles N

[+Ryan Witmer]

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

So, any new games in production, right now?

Yes, right now I'm working on Magical Fairy Force.

An early version will be at the Atariage booth at PRGE this year.

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

How much time did you spend on making these games?

Well, I keep getting faster.  Ratcatcher took about 3 years of calendar time, Curling took two.  I expect my current project to be done in about a year and a half.

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

How much time available to you now for making 5200-games?

Not very much, I squeeze in time around my real job.

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

—

What’s your top 10 or top 15 of the officially released 5200 games.

 

I got that Qix is number 1.

 

?

It actually isn't.  River Raid is my favorite game on the system.  I don't have a definitive list, but Berzerk, Ms. Pacman, Kaboom, and Countermeasure are among my favorites.

[dj_convoy]

I didn't grow up with it, but I think Space Dungeon is probably the best game on the system. Makes use of the controllers really, really well.