What was the worst 2600 arcade conversion?

[The_Laird]

After reading the Donkey Kong thread I was inspired to do this poll. Some of these are very good games in their own right but have all been criticised at one time or another for being unlike their arcade originals. Which do you think is the worst conversion for the 2600. My vote has to go to Defender, awful.

[Foxsolo2000]

Amidar without a doubt for is even worse than Pac Man. It is hideous, slow and very uninspiring. I could go on all day about how bad this game is but I have more important things to do with my life

[+FujiSkunk]

Zaxxon. Like I've said before, it's a mediocre port made worse by sloppy programming.

[Foxsolo2000]

I agree with you on Zaxxon for it woudl be a very close second

[8th lutz]

Pac man.-only because of memory of the 2600 game.

 

I never played congo Bongo in the arcade. I haven't played defender in years.

 

Amider-never played in arcade or console. Zaxxon-never played it any system or arcade. It didn't look good and I don't think the 2600 was capable of doing that game. Why wasn't double Dragon on the poll?

Edited January 18, 2006 by 8th lutz

[NE146]

I think Defender was done pretty good considering the 2600 standards at time of it's release. I wasn't bad at the arcade game as a kid (I could at least get an extra man), but 2600 Defender as a port in 1981, is decent. You have to play variations 2, 5 or 8 though.

 

Anyway it gets a bad rap, but really it was as good as it got. I personally dug it Sure it isn't up to par with Stargate/Defender II, but it also wasn't released in 1985 either

 

My vote (as it always does) goes to AMIDAR.

[The_Laird]

Pac man.-only because of memory of the 2600 game.

 

I never played congo Bongo in the arcade.  I haven't played defender in years.

 

Amider-never played in arcade of concsole.  Zaxxon-never played it any system or arcade.  It didn't look good and I don't think the 2600 was capable of doing that game.  Why wasn't double Dragon on the poll?

1001498[/snapback]

I actully think Double Dragon is amazing considering the systems limitations. All the music is present, most of the charecters (Abobo, Willy, Whiplash and the Lee brothers), brilliant backdrops that are very close to the arcade and all the weapons too. Did think about it though because I know some people hate it, but for me its one of the best games on the system.

Edited January 16, 2006 by mr.kizza

[dwh]

I voted for Pac-Man, because my father made a big deal out of buying it for my brother and I ,back in the day,and we both did not have the heart to tell him the game sucked ass.

At least there is an alternative to Amidar;

Demolition Herby

[Omegamatrix]

I voted Pac-Man. It was a toss up with Defender, and Donkey Kong was a close second to that. I grew up with the Colecovision DK and I can't ever get into the 2600 version after that. Defender was horrible as well, but damn Defender II was good!

[Christophero Sly]

This list needs an "other" option.

[JimmydelaKopin]

What this list needs is the option of "Donkey Kong Jr.".

 

Most of them I havn't played. and of the ones I have played, they're visually different (which I don't mind) with some modifications in gameplay.

 

However, DK & DKJr. lack a number of elements found in other conversions, and what is left isn't done all that well. DKJr. is worse than DK because some of the elements of the game are awful. The snapjaws look terrible, and it was always hard to get off a vine at the platform.

 

(I wonder if Mario has paid anyone off to keep his 2600 image secret! If he looked a bit silly before, the 2600 version of him with the huge nose is downright silly!)

[Impaler_26]

I voted for Congo Bongo, it ain't no fun at all (just like the C64-Version).

 

Missile Command would be my second choice.It's a rather good Arcade-Port but i really miss the Plane in it. I just wonder if it would have been so hard to include it on the VCS...

[neotokeo2001]

I also picked Zaxxon. It is a game that should have never been ported to start with.

 

As for Pac-Man, Guess my taste suck but I like it.

 

If I could add a game I would vote for Buck Rogers. Another game that should have been by-passed. When I play it I always feel like I am playing a super-slow version of Night Driver.

[supercat]

Defender was horrible as well, but damn Defender II was good! 

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It seems everyone razzes on Defender these days, but when I was growing up both of those were considered to be good games. Sure Defender didn't look all that great, but compared with other titles of its day it was perfectly respectable.

 

Perhaps there should be a thread about games that have gotten better or worse with time. Defender and E.T. were both considered good in their time but are now looked upon with disdain. Combat was viewed with disdain in the 1980's, but it is in fact remains one of the better games on the 2600 (assuming a good opponent can be found). Donkey Kong was a 'gotta have' title for its awesome first-screen graphics, though the lack of anything new after the rivet screen severely limited replay value. Pac Man was viewed with wide disdain from the moment of release, although it's really not THAT bad.

 

One thing that I think needs to be remembered is that in the early 1980's the Atari 2600 wasn't supposed to do anything but simplistic blocky boring-colored graphics. If a game looked good, a lot of people would be happy with it no matter how it played; it was only if a game both played and looked terrible that people would really feel ripped off.

 

I think history has been kinder to games that looked bad but played well, than those that looked good but played poorly.

[sandmountainslim]

Defender!! I love Stargate but Defender looks zilch like the arcade game, Pac-Man is no Fonz but at least it looks a LITTLE bit like it should VCS Defender Blows a Goat

[AtariAger]

From this list, I went with Zaxxon.

[supercat]

I just wonder if it would have been so hard to include it on the VCS...

1001550[/snapback]

 

With suitable coding, it would have been possible to include the plane at 30Hz flicker using Player 0. It would have been necessary to hit NUSIZ0 and ENAM0 on the scan line immediately following the plane to start the missile trails there, but it could have been done. On the other hand, there could only have been one set of up to three enemy missiles on the screen when the plane entered, so the presence of the plane would actually make things easier for the player.

[ZylonBane]

It seems everyone razzes on Defender these days, but when I was growing up both of those were considered to be good games.

No it wasn't. I distinctly remember some reviews when it came out being not terribly impressed with it.

[NE146]

No it wasn't. I distinctly remember some reviews when it came out being not terribly impressed with it.

 

You're right to an extent..but take a look at the scans I posted above straight out of Electronic Games mag m' friend

 

Defender!! I love Stargate but Defender looks zilch like the arcade game, Pac-Man is no Fonz but at least it looks a LITTLE bit like it should  VCS Defender Blows a Goat

 

Well hello, again there's like 4 or 5 years difference between the games..

[Big Player]

No it wasn't. I distinctly remember some reviews when it came out being not terribly impressed with it.

 

You're right to an extent..but take a look at the scans I posted above straight out of Electronic Games mag m' friend

 

Honorable Mention: Space Jockey.

 

Not helping your case.

 

Defender!! I love Stargate but Defender looks zilch like the arcade game, Pac-Man is no Fonz but at least it looks a LITTLE bit like it should  VCS Defender Blows a Goat

 

Well hello, again there's like 4 or 5 years difference between the games..

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Stargate is also an 8K game with a superchip.

 

I'm helping you with this case.

[supercat]

Honorable Mention: Space Jockey.

Not helping your case.

1001624[/snapback]

 

It's funny. I've had Space Jockey for over a decade NIB but never played it until now. It's got the makings of a halfway-decent game, but the sound effects (especially the player shooting) are annoying and the enemy shots are too fast.

[tssk]

I voted for Zaxxon. Sometimes you shouldn't try the impossible.

 

Donkey Kong Jr was also a massive disappointment.

 

I actually liked Defender, at least it introduced me to Defender style games.

[NovaXpress]

I loved Electronic Games as a kid, but let's face it: they were just mouthpieces for their advertisers. Their reviews were worthless.

 

The best mag of that era was Video Games, the only one aimed at adults. No one else came close. Even Electronic Fun had more reliable opinions than EG.

 

Video Games' review of 2600 Defender was written by Eugene Jarvis. He didn't like it.

Edited January 17, 2006 by NovaXpress

[Room 34]

The weakness of Pac-Man is exaggerated.

 

For me, it was down to Zaxxon or Congo Bongo. I had to go with Congo Bongo, because even though Zaxxon looks nothing like the arcade game, some people say it's at least a decent game in its own right. Congo Bongo is so hideous, though, that I can't imagine ANYONE saying anything positive about it.

 

(#3 would've been Amidar.)

[Jess Ragan]

Really? I thought Congo Bongo was a decent game, myself. Sure, it wasn't much like the arcade version, but it played well enough despite all the differences.

 

For my money, the worst arcade translations on the 2600 were Roc 'n Rope and Springer. Ooooh, Springer. The game was so ugly, and so incredibly impossible... if you weren't on the exact edge of a platform when you jumped, you were guaranteed not to make it to the next one. The arcade version of Springer wasn't so hot either, but it was tons more fun than its nasty 2600 counterpart.

 

JR