NTSC Klax

[+johnnywc]

I just started playing Klax on the Stella emulator and I must say it is a FANTASTIC game! Obviously inspired by Tetris (or is the other way around?) but IMO the different levels (like Joust) makes it a much more enjoyable game.

 

Anyway, I looked up the Klax entry in the rarity guide and was disappointed (and confused) to see the game had only been released in PAL format and was only available in NTSC as a prototype. Does anybody know the story on this?

 

Thanks!

[Tempest]

Yep, it was programmed very late in the Atari 2600's life so it was the last game to be officaly released (CX-26912). The NTSC prototype I have is dated 6/14/90 (13 years after the 2600's release BTW) and it's not 100% finished (about 98%) so I'd guess it had about 2 weeks of tweaking left. So if the game wasn't finished until around July of 1990 that would explain why it never saw release in the US. The 2600 market was dead by that point, although the Euro market still had a few gasps left so they released it there.

 

It's an absolutely wonderful translation of the arcade game, it doesn't lose much on the 2600 (other than some color, the backgrounds, and voices). Steve DeFrisco was the programmer for this game.

 

You can see my prototype here: http://www.msu.edu/user/reicher6/2600protos/klax.htm

 

It's slighly different than the released version, but not so much that your missing anything. It's a great game.

 

Tempest

[+johnnywc]

Tempest and PH - thanks for the info. Now for the real question: how can I play this on my Atari (NTSC) if I don't own a prototype (and I don't want to spend $100 on a cuttle cart)? Is there any chance of the game being finished or distributed in a cartridge format (much like Combat Two or EA)? Who actually owns the rights to this game?

 

Thanks,

[videotwit]

You can order a copy of it from Randy at Hozer Videogames. He sells Klax (and all other 16K games) for $22 AFAIK.

[Tempest]

quote

Who actually owns the rights to this game?

 

That's an interesting question, did Infogrames get all the Tengen games with the Atari rights?

 

Tempest

[Wntermute]

IIRC, Tengen was a subsidiary of the post-split "arcade" Atari (Atari Games) and Klax was done by Atari Games. Therefore, Midway would own the rights to Klax and Infogrames would potentially only have the license.

[mos6507]

I don't think Randy can make superchip games.