Lee Furie Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Well hello gamers! *sets up podium* *taps microphone* I play mostly role playing games and was wondering - besides Adventure, are there any other games that you might consider "role playing games" on Atari? Any Atari system as long as it's cartridge. Thank you! *falls off of podium* *runs away* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Well, the biggest RPG I can think of for the Atari would be Dragonstomper, the Starpath game. There's also Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Swordquest games. And for games that are less RPG and more adventure style games, there are Dark Chambers, Secret Quest, and even Superman. Although these are definitely not RPG's... ---Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Secret Quest has a little RPG feel to it. Also, Solaris has a space RPG kinda vibe. That's about it. Dragonstomper is the big one. 2600 just too limited to do too much RPG-ing. Would be cool though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Lord of the Rings looked/sounded like it was the mother of all 2600 RPG's... Ummmm anyone got a copy laying around? Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 I see your point, Ben. But I think most hardcore RPG-ists look for things like customization of characters, a variety of weapons, sub-quests, rich storylines. I'd make a case for Pitfall II being a pseudo-RPG as well. (But its my fav game, so you know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Atari 2600: Dragonstomper Atari 5200: Quest for Qunitana Roo Atari 7800: Dark Chambers Atari Lynx: Distant Lands (hopefully coming in 2002 from Songbird) Atari Jaguar: Towers II The 2600 and 5200 were pretty limited in their ability to play RPG's as we know them today. The 7800 had a lot of potential that was never tapped, we all saw what the NES could do and it was similar in capability. Jag and Lynx weren't exactly RPG heavy. Now, if you get into Atari computers, you'll find more awesome RPG's than you can shake a stick at, but they're generally not on cartridge. [ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Alex ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Here are some popular RPGs and their 2600 equivalents... Zelda...Secret Quest Dragon Warrior...Dragonstomper Wizardry...Crypts of Chaos Star Trek sims...Stellar Track Gauntlet...Dark Chambers (not 2600 Gauntlet!) JR [ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Jess Ragan ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 The big reason you never saw a true RPG on a cartridge based classic console was memory storage. With a disk or a tape you could store all the character info as he developed, but to do that on a cartridge woudl require a battery back up of sometype. I know the Colecovision prototype Lord of the Dungeon tried this, maybe that's why it never got released (the cost was too high)? Would it be possible to do some sort of battery back-up game on a system like the 2600, 5200, or 7800? Could the OS handle something like that? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratfink Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Actually, this brings up two unreleased 2600 games that would have been great: AD&D Treasure of Tarmin and Tower of Doom. I had both of these for the Intellivision and they are really great. Not sure they could have pulled it off on the 2600 platform though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Oh yeah, I forgot about those. They were in fact pulled off on the 2600, just not released. I was able to play Treasure of Tarmin and Tower of Mystery at the '99 CGE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Alex! You played the 2600 versions of AD&D? How were they? And why can't somebody give up the ROMS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osbo Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 how about Venture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 quote: Originally posted by StanJr: Alex! You played the 2600 versions of AD&D? How were they? And why can't somebody give up the ROMS? Yes, Intellivision Productions had the proto carts at the show and they were allowing people to play them. They were actually very good, and quite complete. I should have taken more screenshots though! The ROMs are owned by Intellivision Productions and I doubt they will ever release them due to licensing issues with Wizards of the Coast (TSR). It's a little different issue for them to release something like that since they're a profit company and they could get in trouble. Since they've released several other games, I bet they would like to do it but can't. But if they can't sell them, I wish there were some way to release them freely. Unfortunately, when you mention the word "free" most companies suddenly become busy with other things. Hopefully they'll have them at next year's CGE, and we'll see if we can get permission to temporarily dump them so that we can get some clean screen shots (with all the stages) through an emulator. But unless more copies turn up, don't hold your breath for an actual ROM release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hakogame 箱亀 Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Heh heh, "Temporarily" Wink Wink, nudge nudge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Well and then there was Montezumas Revenge. About as close to an RPG as you got on the 2600... Which wasnt very. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 quote: Originally posted by moycon: Well and then there was Montezumas Revenge. About as close to an RPG as you got on the 2600... Which wasnt very. That's one game I've never really played on the 2600. However, I spent a considerable amount of time enjoying it on the Atari 8-bit. It's one of my favorite 8-bit games, in fact (although I do have a large list of "favorite" 8-bit games.. ) How big is the 2600 version of Montezuma's Revenge? I wouldn't really consider it an RPG, though. More like a platform game. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 The 5200 game Meebzork falls into the same category. It sort of looks like a RPG but it's more of an adventure game. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcprs1 Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 I know it is a stretch, but what about Riddle of the Sphinx? Think about it, you have collect objects and use them to solve puzzles. It is one of the few Atari 2600 games to have a health monitor. All in all, a very stripped down RPG. [ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Secret Quest ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 Albert. Montezuma for 2600 is plenty big enough for me, I can't get past the first level. Its loads of fun though and somewhat close to a RPG... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted October 6, 2001 Share Posted October 6, 2001 I think one that everyone is missing is Dark Mage. Ever play this one? I've played the rom on the Z26 Emu, but haven't gotten really far into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 6, 2001 Share Posted October 6, 2001 True enough I guess, I was just thinking of all those Read/Write commands the Atari 400/800 OS had for the Tape and Disk drives. I assumed a battery back up would use something like that, but since it's not really hardware I guess not. Actually as I recall the Compumate instructions had instructions on how to build a tape player to save your programs on the 2600. I guess you could do something like that. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Re: AD&D games... Has Intellivision Productions actually tried talking to WotC about the name? Also, they could just release them without the "AD&D" part in the titles and be legal (that's why Adventures of Tron became Adventures of GX-12). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Russ Perry Jr: Also, they could just release them without the "AD&D" part in the titles and be legal (that's why Adventures of Tron became Adventures of GX-12). I've wondered myself why they haven't done this. It's not like these games have graphics that could absolutely be associated with anything in the AD&D universe. Although if some AD&D *rules* were used in the games' algorithms, those might have to be changed (remember when Fallout was supposed to be a GURPS-based game?) But these are 2600 games, so I doubt this would be very difficult. However, given how long it's taken them to deliver Sea Battle and Sword Fight cartridges, maybe they figure they don't want to release anything else until they get that situation under control. I'm still waiting for a Steamroller ColecoVision cart that I paid for nearly a year ago. They list all three of these games as "Temporarily Out Of Stock". I was fortunate to have attended CGE2K1, where I was able to go to their booth and personally pick up my Sea Battle and Sword Fight carts (but they had no Steamrollers). If they're in no position to manufacture carts, it would be nice if they removed the copyright screens and released the games for people to play. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilkson Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Ok...I've tried to reply to this thread 4 times now, and have failed the first three for the most esoteric reasons. And the replies have gotten progressively shorter. Anyway... In short: I don't think there are any technical issues preventing true RPGs for the 2600. It's just a lack of programmers willing to take on the task. (And it *is* a large task.) And the programmers will cite a lack of interested gamers. So.... (maybe this one won't be so short?) If people want to see true RPGs for the 2600, I suggest they show their interest here and elsewhere. Tell all your friends. Sign petitions. Offer bouties (yes!!!). If there is "enough" interest, someone might just decide to write one. About 4 years ago (has it really been that long?) some very promising RPG engine prototypes were written as demos and the hardware is there. {SHAMELESS MEGACART PLUG} There is a 2600 cartridge format, called the "Megacart", that was developed *specifically* with RPGs in mind. It supports up to a megaBYTE (that's 8 megabits) of total memory. And half of that is battery-backed RAM. {/SHAMELESS MEGACART PLUG} I'm convinced that the original "Legend of Zelda" and many other NES Era RPGs could be faithfully ported to the 2600, granted necessary graphics tradeoffs. Any takers? -Chris PS. Any would-be 2600 RPG authors please email me before starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilkson Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Yay!!!! It went through that time! It worked! WHHHHHHEEEEEEEEE!!!!! -Chris (who had a really good weekend) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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