Solar Fox: Worse Than Pac-Man

[NovaXpress]

Everyone likes to blast Pac-Man and Defender for being horrible arcade translations, but let's look at a couple which fall even farther short.

 

Solar Fox: instead of four sentinels, there are only two. Instead of a variety of enemies which attack on the playfield, there are none whatsoever. Your ship could fire lasers in the arcade, but not on the 2600. The grid is replaced by empty space. There are no wormholes or whatever those spinning things were. The sound is totally different. Holy crap, Atari Pac-Man was far more faithful to its source!

 

How about Tac-Scan? Instead of three levels, there's only one. There's no "call ship" button. There's no 3D effect like there was in the arcade. There's no variety of enemies. Picture a Defender in which you could only move forward, had no smart bombs or hyperspace at all, and the only enemies were landers. That would be the equivalent of 2600 Tac-Scan.

 

Yet most 2600 fans love Solar Fox and Tac-Scan because they never played it in the arcades. They never knew what they were missing. These are two great games in and of themselves. Maybe Pac-Man and Defender aren't so bad either.

[elviticus]

Good point! I must admit, I never played Solar Fox in the arcade. On the 2600, though, it is a very fun game - Tac-Scan I'm a little indifferent about.

 

Pac-Man I like just fine, it doesn't bother me (anymore) that it barely resembles the arcade game (I already have that on Namco Museum).

 

Defender I LOVED when it came out, and I still have nostalgic feelings for it. My main problem with it now is the invisible ship when you fire - it's distracting to look at and I don't like how it reduces the challenge. When it came out, I used to think of it as a feature, like "inviso" on Stargate.

[Crimefighter]

Well I haven't played the arcade version of Solar Fox, but the 2600 version is a challenge as it is...to say it's worse than Pac-Man is going way out on a limb.

[Jess Ragan]

Dude, dude.... the changes made to 2600 Solar Fox are what make it BETTER than the arcade version! It's a more tightly focused and intense game... instead of floating around aimlessly, firing at everything in your path and occasionally picking up energy pods, there's only one goal- GET PODS. GET PODS NOW. The streamlined gameplay translates into a much more exciting experience. An accurate translation it is not, but Solar Fox on the 2600 is still one of the system's best games, with far more impact than its arcade cousin.

 

JR

[+FujiSkunk]

I played Solar Fox in the arcades quite often, and I'm still impressed with the 2600 port. Yes, it's missing a lot of elements, but then, so is Missile Command, and both ports are still excellent games that keep the feel of their arcade counterparts.

 

IMHO, of course.

[Tempest]

Yes the 2600 stripped down several arcade ports, but in some cases I like them better! Here are a few that were changed on the 2600, but for the better (IMHO):

 

Missile Command: Personally I never liked the satilites and planes, I felt they just got in the way. Also, having 3 bases to manage was a pain in the rump. I like the more simplified 2600 version in this case.

 

Tutankham: Yeah this is an odd one. The changed the maze to be mostly vertical scrolling and removed most of the keys and such. Personally I hated all the back tracking and keys you had to pick up in the arcade version, I like the 2600 version because it's mostly focused on picking up all the treasures than weaving your way through a complex maze. The 2600 manual also gives background histories on all the treasures which makes it extra cool.

 

Solar Fox: Like everyone said, I like the simplified nature of the game. Having a laser would just make the game WAY too easy. Having to dodge all those guardian shots adds an extra level of complexity to the game. I love it!

 

 

Tempest

[Foxsolo2000]

I too like Solar Fox. Always believed it to be a unique title until I chanced upon an arcade site that showed the screen shots of its bigger arcade brother but I never had the chance to play it. Tac Scan was another arcade title that I missed but the 2600 version is tedious and boring. Tutankham though is a complete dogs dinner for the 2600 with lousy controls and a truly dodgy collision detection

[Cybergoth]

I prefer 2600 Galaxian over the Arcade version

[NovaXpress]

I love 2600 Solar Fox. I'm just saying that if the arcade version had been a cultural hit on the level of Pac-Man it would have pissed everyone off to this day.

 

C-64 Solar Fox really kicks ass.

[Foxsolo2000]

Cybergoth is that the original Atari Galaxian or the Arcade Galaxian that was on offer at Atariage store?

[sandmountainslim]

Yes the 2600 stripped down several arcade ports, but in some cases I like them better!  Here are a few that were changed on the 2600, but for the better (IMHO):

 

1011323[/snapback]

Don't forget Joust Waaay better than the arcade, it's "Fonz Good"

[Tempest]

Yes the 2600 stripped down several arcade ports, but in some cases I like them better!  Here are a few that were changed on the 2600, but for the better (IMHO):

 

1011323[/snapback]

Don't forget Joust Waaay better than the arcade, it's "Fonz Good"

1011353[/snapback]

 

You like the 2600 version of Joust? Ick! No flying eggs for me, thanks.

 

Tempest

[Cybergoth]

Cybergoth is that the original Atari Galaxian or the Arcade Galaxian that was on offer at Atariage store?

1011345[/snapback]

 

The original as well. It seems on the 2600 it has a better rhythm

[The_Laird]

Yep I agree with the guys who think Solar Fox is better on the 2600, its a great game. I really love Tac Scan too its a really unique game for the paddles. Its also challenging and fun too. Where as I think both Defender and Pacman suck.

[Lord Helmet]

I prefer 2600 Galaxian over the Arcade version

1011329[/snapback]

 

 

Me too! I suck really badly at the arcade version. The 2600 version is fun!

[HP Atari King of Michigan]

Add one more for the "Love the 2600 Solar Fox" list!

[+Nathan Strum]

I like the home and arcade versions of Solar Fox, but I prefer the 2600 one. It's just more playable.

 

I like the arcade version of Tac/Scan much better than the home one, but the home one is still a good (but not great) game in its own right.

[+Random Terrain]

People might have hated them if the arcade games were popular, but the difference with Solar Fox is that it is kind of 'pretty' and you don't notice the flicker as much. Pac-Man and Defender are ugly and the flicker is obvious even if you aren't looking for it. Not only is there flicker in defender, but your ship disappears when you shoot. Disappointing.

 

Berzerk wasn't exactly like the arcade game and most people didn't seem to mind. It wasn't ugly and the robots didn't flicker, so people liked it.

[Godzilla]

I played solar fox in the arcade, once and was never drawn back.

 

2600 solar fox, however, OMFG that game owned my soul for ages. A great example of the 2600s' limitations forcing the improvement of an inferior arcade game.

[Sayton]

Add one more name to the "I love Solar Fox" list. Btw, I too think the 2600 Galaxian is alot better than the arcade version.

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

Berzerk is one of my favorites(both in the arcade, AND on the 2600, although I prefer the 5200's version better). Pac Man was attrocious...and for some bizarre reason, I actually spent a whole weekend playing it just to say I turned it over(1,000,000 points). Donkey Kong is horrid, visually and audibly. Space Invaders was decent, although, like many others, not up to it's arcade counterpart. I didn't even know they made Joust for the 2600...but I like the 5200 version. Missile Command is good on Both systems(2600 and 5200). In fact, the 5200 version is the best version of the day for that game(read: closest to the arcade version).

I'm not trying to pull the 5200 into this....just stating my preferences.

 

 

Hey Godzilla, why do you use the Amiga check mark with Atari's name in your sig?

[Artlover]

Everyone likes to blast Pac-Man and Defender for being horrible arcade translations,

1011306[/snapback]

People blast Defender? I've always thought it was pretty good myself. Sure, it may have some issues, but nothing approaching Pac-Man.

 

Can't comment on Solar Fox having neither played it in the arcade or on the 2600. Time to turn on the Xbox and do some emulation. I'll be back.

[+Random Terrain]

People blast Defender? I've always thought it was pretty good myself. Sure, it may have some issues, but nothing approaching Pac-Man.

1011724[/snapback]

The reaction to it wasn't as bad as the one we had to Pac-Man, but it was clear to us that it was disappointing. Activision made a better clone, but I didn't like some parts of the gameplay.

[+Nathan Strum]

People blast Defender? I've always thought it was pretty good myself. Sure, it may have some issues, but nothing approaching Pac-Man.

 

I hated the 2600 version of Defender. It was just absolutely awful. Bad graphics, headache-inducing flicker, idiotic control scheme. If anything, I was more disappointed with it than Pac-Man, because I liked the arcade version of Defender more than Pac-Man.

 

On the other hand, when you look at what they were able to do with Stargate a few years later... Wow!

 

(The problem was... I never liked Stargate as much as Defender in the arcades. So the 2600 version really didn't do much for me anyway. But it's still pretty amazing.)

[Lord Thag]

I prefer 2600 Galaxian over the Arcade version icon_smile.gif

 

 

Me too. In fact, one of the reasons I like collecting old consoles is BECAUSE the arcade ports on them are different. Sure, sometimes they're sub-par like pac man or defender, but sometimes they are a whole new experience, like Solar Fox. I still play 2600 pac man not because it has a vague resemblance to the arcade, but because it's fun in it's own right.

 

Or maybe I'm just odd