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Looking at INTV collecting


CXK

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Good afternoon (at least here anyway.)

I've been collecting Atari consoles (and computers) for a few years now.  I've been looking at expanding my collecting at an Intellivision (and ColecoVision..   but one at a time.)

To All the InTv collectors here,  what do you like most about the system? What do you like least? Is there anything I should look out for when purchasing a system or collecting for it?   (I know I could google some of that, but figured I'd get more accurate and truthful answers here.)  :)

 

Thanks!

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When it comes to collecting cartridges look for the best condition, don't settle for less.  Be aware that most of the Mattel cartridges were re-issued after 1984 by Intellivision Inc..  Their packaging and materials are inferior to Mattel's and lack the convenient gatefold boxes. 

 

There are a couple of cartridges that have rom updates that fixes the game play.  They are Space Battle and Auto Racing.  Only way to be certain of the version is by looking at the instructions or playing the cartridge.

 

Some of the earliest cartridges came with full colour instructions which are nice to have.  This website is a nice reference for collectors http://www.intvfunhouse.com.

 

The Intellivision II has some very minor compatibility issues.  But that shouldn't stop you if you really like that model.  However, I think most would say the Intellivision II controllers are inferior to the originals. 

Edited by mr_me
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On 10/21/2019 at 8:27 AM, Captain Kiwi said:

I made the plunge and grabbed one off eBay this morning.  ?

Welcome aboard! Hope you got a good deal!

--

On 10/20/2019 at 1:20 PM, Captain Kiwi said:

what do you like most about the system? What do you like least?

Those could turn into long and complex answers!

 

It is often difficult to separate the emotional aspects of why one loves a 40-year-old video game system from somewhat more objective reasons, but one can try. Here are a few things that I've always liked about the system:

  • Distinctive look of the games - you can almost always immediately recognize an Intellivision game (fonts, colors, graphical styles)
  • Sound / music on many games is simply awesome
  • Many unique, imaginative titles for the system
  • You can get almost all of the most fun titles for the system pretty easily and inexpensively
  • Even for the rarest titles, relative to other systems, you can keep things on a somewhat sane budget

It's unfair to try to list things I dislike, being quite partisan, but I can try:

  •  

Sorry, nothing comes to mind. :P

 

OK, one thing does come to mind: Those last few games, if you're trying for a complete set of the original titles, can be difficult to find. And for all the challenge in getting those last few, especially Learning Fun I and Learning Fun II, you will find that the cost and effort are not rewarded with great games.

 

If you're going to jump into the homebrew scene, there will likely be a flood of pixels spilt in subsequent posts about deciding what your goals are and how best to achieve them.

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32 minutes ago, Lathe26 said:

If you are not planning a complete collection but only want to get games you will enjoy, then just remember this simple phrase:

 

Any game with the word "fun" in it isn't.

Especially if it involies learning

 

Thin ice and thunder castle are my favorite games of the intv, they aren't cheap, but not super expensive either

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It came in the mail today. Clean working great, two games with it with overlays and everything. And all for less than $60  Very very very happy with it!

Thank you all for your advice and insight!  Please keep 'em coming.  Got a lot of interesting games I need to get.  I'm looking forward to hours of fun on yet another system.  :) :) :evil:

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On 10/24/2019 at 10:24 PM, Captain Kiwi said:

It came in the mail today. Clean working great, two games with it with overlays and everything. And all for less than $60  Very very very happy with it!

Thank you all for your advice and insight!  Please keep 'em coming.  Got a lot of interesting games I need to get.  I'm looking forward to hours of fun on yet another system.  :) :) :evil:

Happy to hear!!! ?

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I actually find Sub Hunt quite atmospheric and very tense at times.   Space Battle and Demon Attack are my go to’s for a quick game.   I really wish there was a Super Pro Space Battle.  I don’t think it’s Space Spartans as it hasn’t hooked me the way Star Raiders did.   
 

Modern (homebrew) games are the ones I gravitate to now.  TNT Cowboy hooked me and was just playing Space Patrol last night.  

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7 minutes ago, wolfy62 said:

Tron Deadly Discs for sure.

I find Lady Bug,Skiing,and Bowling to all be fun 1 player games as well.

Many more,I better go stare at my wall of games....

While I’m sure a modern developer with current tools could do an improved job the shipped version of LadyBug for Intellivision isn’t as horrible as you would expect from Coleco.   Especially when compared to Donkey Kong.   I was pleasantly surprised by it.   I also like Venture for Intellivision.      

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39 minutes ago, Atari2008 said:

Just wanted to announce that I've taken the plunge, expecting my Intellivision and a few games soon. So psyched! Looking forward to exploring the Intellivision world. :D

Awesome! One of the best aspects of Intellivision -- there are fun titles in so many different genres. You can tailor your acquisitions to suit your tastes and likely not break the bank. Another approach is the flash cart route, though there's a (hopefully temporary) pause in availability of the current one.

 

That said, Intellivision is also infamous for having a lot of games where the instructions and overlays are necessary. That's balanced by the fact that so many of the items you can cheaply get come complete in box.

 

More generally... Do we have a good 'pick up and play' list of Intellivision game? You'd think, for example, that several of the Imagic games would naturally fit (Demon Attack, Atlantis, Dragonfire) ... but I always stumble on getting started. It's the choosing of difficulty and number of players steps that trip me up. Atlantis also has the 'launch / dock the saucer' feature that's important to know about.

 

Here's a starter batch (no particular rhyme or reason to the list other than: can I play without ever reading anything - not even an overlay!):

  • Astrosmash
  • Space Armada
  • Beauty & the Beast
  • Beamrider
  • Bump 'n' Jump
  • BurgerTime
  • Buzz Bombers
  • Carnival
  • Pinball
  • Star Strike
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On 10/31/2019 at 3:09 PM, intvsteve said:

Awesome! One of the best aspects of Intellivision -- there are fun titles in so many different genres. You can tailor your acquisitions to suit your tastes and likely not break the bank. Another approach is the flash cart route, though there's a (hopefully temporary) pause in availability of the current one.

 

That said, Intellivision is also infamous for having a lot of games where the instructions and overlays are necessary. That's balanced by the fact that so many of the items you can cheaply get come complete in box.

 

More generally... Do we have a good 'pick up and play' list of Intellivision game? You'd think, for example, that several of the Imagic games would naturally fit (Demon Attack, Atlantis, Dragonfire) ... but I always stumble on getting started. It's the choosing of difficulty and number of players steps that trip me up. Atlantis also has the 'launch / dock the saucer' feature that's important to know about.

 

Here's a starter batch (no particular rhyme or reason to the list other than: can I play without ever reading anything - not even an overlay!):

  • Astrosmash
  • Space Armada
  • Beauty & the Beast
  • Beamrider
  • Bump 'n' Jump
  • BurgerTime
  • Buzz Bombers
  • Carnival
  • Pinball
  • Star Strike

I'm glad to hear there's a variety of titles, when I first heard of the Intellivision I just thought it mostly had sports games, but now after having seen a list of the library I see that it has a nice selection of different types of games. I also like how affordable many of the games are, including CIB! I was looking into the Flash Cart and noticed it wasn't available at the moment, hope there are more soon.

 

Nice, I actually am expecting 3 of the Imagic games, they came highly recommended. :) Glad I'm getting manuals with everything, sounds like with some of them I would be a bit lost otherwise.

 

Thank you for this list! I can sometimes be a bit of a lazy gamer aka I don't feel like reading instructions lol so this list will come in handy. I'm actually expecting some titles on this list, so awesome! I can't wait to play some Intellivision and see what it's all about.

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