Best Dig Dug Home Conversion

[vdub_bobby]

Thought I'd revive this topic series. So, which (classic) home conversion of Dig Dug was best?

 

I'll post screenshots I've dug up, please post screenshots of any versions I miss.

 

7800:

 

2600:

 

5200:

 

Atari 8bit:

 

C64:

 

Colecovision:

 

NES:

 

Apple II:

 

Game Boy: (did this scroll the screen?)

 

Intellivision:

 

MSX:

 

VIC-20:

 

PC:

 

TI-99/4A:

[SteveW]

I've always liked the TI version, even though the colors are off due to it's color palette.

 

I want to get the Intellivision copy. It has a secret game hidden inside it, if you push the right buttons. The programmer used the gameplay of Tron Deadly Discs, and merged it with the characters from Burgertime. The game's called Deadly Dogs! I've gotta get one at the next game expo I go to.

[Atariboy2600]

I have alll thouse Dig Dig games and my best bet is the NES one.

[Lord Helmet]

My vote would be for the 7800 version. I'd like to see the CV one finished, along with Joust.

[128bytes]

I think the 7800 version is technically the best, but I'd have to vote for the 2600 version. I was astounded back in the day as to how good the gameplay was and how much it played like the arcade.

[chrisbid]

dig dug is one of those games i dont care for very much. i guess i just dont "get" the gameplay. i prefer mr do.

 

that said, every version ive played is pretty faithful to the arcade, even the vcs version

[phaxda]

I grew up with the 5200 version, which I thought was AMAZING. But the person who really got addicted was my dad! They had an arcade Dig Dug in a bar he used to go to, and I'll never forget how shocked he was by how good the game looked on our new TV--just like the real deal. He got extremely good at blowing up Fygars & I remember him commenting that when he turned off the game, Johnny Carson was on NBC, good ol' Channel 3--it was that late at night!

[liveinabin]

i first played it on an Atari 800 and it blew me away. Sound, gfx, playability - perfect.

[Lord Thag]

The 7800 one, with the 2600 close behind.

[ZylonBane]

That screen shot of Atari 8-bit Dig-Dug is the later Datasoft version (which is basically the 5200 version... I never did figure that one out). The original version was quite awful.

 

 

http://www.atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?...ERSION_ID=12263

[+FujiSkunk]

Of the 8bit and 16bit versions I've played, I would rank the 5200 version the best, though I suspect the NES version, or perhaps even the NOAC version available on the plug-and-play sticks, would edge out the 5200 port.

 

Dig Dug generally was very well treated. By the time of its release, the AtariSoft programmers were getting comfortable on their platforms, and it shows in their work. The C-64 and Apple II ports in particular were very well done, even if the music in the C-64 release sometimes slips out of sync. Back on the consoles, the 2600 version was probably the best it could be, but the 5200 version still eclipses it. The 7800 version looks slightly better than its 5200 cousin, with bigger, more detailed characters, but it doesn't really play any better, and it actually sounds worse. The lack of POKEY is one thing, but the 7800 programmers didn't even try to improve or add to what had already been done in the 2600 release; it seems they just copied the TIA code verbatim and left it as is.

 

Beyond the 16bit era, since the releases of NamcoMuseum prior to the 50th anniversary collection used ports instead of emulators, you could make a case for calling one of those the best. I would be inclined to vote for the PlayStation version, particularly because it allows you to flip the screen and use the portrait aspect ratio used by the original game.

Edited April 25, 2006 by skunkworx

[Tempest]

That screen shot of Atari 8-bit Dig-Dug is the later Datasoft version (which is basically the 5200 version... I never did figure that one out). The original version was quite awful.

 

 

http://www.atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?...ERSION_ID=12263

 

The original 8-bit Dig Dug had some nice things going for (such as multi-colored enemy sprites), but it did have its share of flaws. Most people never saw that version though since it was quickly replaced by the 5200 version. I know because when I got my copy it had a little white sheet included with it that said "Dig It!" and said that the game had been updated and improved. I never knew how much it had been improved until I saw the old version years later.

 

The Apple II version looks pretty crappy in that screenshot, but on a real Apple it doesn't look nearly that bad. I played that version quite a bit.

 

Tempest

[Atari-Jess]

I love digdug, I bought the new digging strike for the DS, I'm enjoying it as much as I've enjoyed the 2600 version (its one of the few games I took with me when I moved in August (don't worry, my collection is safe ))

[+FujiSkunk]

The Apple II version looks pretty crappy in that screenshot, but on a real Apple it doesn't look nearly that bad.

 

I agree.

 

[Classic Pac]

To me the one on the 7800 came the closest to the original arcade version which did show up on Namco Museum vol 3 PS1

[Jess Ragan]

Out of all those games, the Famicom version is arguably the best, and feels the most like the arcade original. Shame it wasn't released here in the States... all we got for the NES was the less enjoyable Dig Dug II: Trouble In Paradise.

 

Wow, I completely forgot how primitive the VIC-20 version was! The Fygars have a green "halo" effect that changes any background scenery next to them to their color.

 

You could probably squeeze the ColecoVision version of Dig Dug into that list if you wanted. It wasn't released, but is readily available on the Internet as a ROM. It's not the best version of the game by any means, with inaccurately drawn sprites and dull colors, but it gets the job done if you don't have the NES or 7800 conversions.

 

JR

[Pixelboy]

Seing that ColecoVision screenshot almost makes me feel glad the game wasn't released in cart form... I think the graphics could be better, and to prove my point, I made a fake screenshot of what I think the CV is capable of (the other pic is from the arcade version, taken from klov.com).

 

 

This CV screenshot uses bitmap mode (a.k.a. graphic mode #3), and each in-game character uses two overlapping 16x16 sprites. While it does look better despite the bland CV colors, the real tradeoff is an increased amount of flicker when sprites line up on the same TV scanlines. A smart flickering algorithm should alleviate the problem.