Atari 7800 games worth picking up

[Czernobog]

Mario Bros. is great. Midnight Mutants is en route to me, so I should be able to post thoughts on that soon. There are a surprising number of exclusives for the system (about a dozen), and about 15-20 games that only appeared on the 7800, Lynx, or a computer-based system like an ST or C64. Not bad for a library of less than 60 retail games.

Yeah, it's a system I didn't expect to get much out of when I first came across it, but I figured I would check it out since I could play 2600 games through it as well, and I'm glad I decided to pick it up. It's a decision I look back fondly on as I learn more about the system and try out the games. It's one of the very few consoles where I've ever considered pursuing a complete collection at some point.

[Golgo 14]

Titles include an update of Circus Atari, Moon Cresta, Scramble, Space Duel and more!

I wish there was a way to play these and a bunch of other cool hombbrew games on original hardware without having to track down no-longer-in-production limited run carts. AFAIK there's no flash cart for the 7800, right?

There was something called the Cuttle Cart 2, but that's long out of production and would cost you hundreds of dollars at this point. The creator of the Harmony cartridge for the 2600 is supposedly working on a new cart for the 7800 called the H2, but there's no telling when/if that will be available.

[greg]

I never owned a Nintendo, because I had an Atari 7800. I was a die-hard Atari fanboy, and when my original Atari VCS (later called the 2600) died, I got a 7800 for Christmas while I was in junior high while all my other friends were getting Nintendos. I had a subscription to the Atarian too, and they published one of my questions in the 3rd magazine (I asked something about a 2600 modem). I also received Xenophobe from them! After seeing the NES version, I think the 7800 version is way better. I played the heck out of that one, as well as Asteroids Deluxe (the coolest version of Asteroids I've ever seen), Ballblazer, Desert Falcon, Commando (I thought it was cooler than the NES version, especially with the knife powerup and secret passages), Dig Dug, Tank Command (fairly rare), Planet Smashers (the bona-fide shmup for the system, aside from Xevious and Galaga), and Mario Bros. Oh yeah, and Pole Position II, of course. I never owned Food Fight, but my cousin had it and it was super fun. Especially with the bananas. I owned the flawed ports of Kung Fu Master, Double Dragon, and Karateka. Ugh. Super Skateboardin' was a real turd, looking back on it now. My cousin had Impossible Mission, which was literally impossible due to a design flaw.

I remember hoping for ports of Paperboy, Blasteroids, APB, and Vindicators back then. I used to write letters to the marketing department at Atari and they would write me back. I'm sure I annoyed them, though.

[ExedExes]

I never owned a Nintendo, because I had an Atari 7800. I was a die-hard Atari fanboy, and when my original Atari VCS (later called the 2600) died, I got a 7800 for Christmas while I was in junior high while all my other friends were getting Nintendos. I had a subscription to the Atarian too, and they published one of my questions in the 3rd magazine (I asked something about a 2600 modem). I also received Xenophobe from them! After seeing the NES version, I think the 7800 version is way better.

You're the guy that asked about the modem? CLASSIC. That was the first place I saw or heard that word. I was like "What's a modem?" I also remember someone's letter that had mentioned Atari TAPES and the reply back was a reminder that they are cartridges. Good times. Had the T-shirt and everything too. I remember seeing the article on Off The Wall for the 2600 and was hoping to get that one.

Anyways, going back to the 7800, I was in your situation too. I had 71 2600 games (and still do) when I got the 7800 in 1988. I didn't get an NES until Christmas '89 so I too had to make do with what I had. I even ordered replacement 7800 sticks because i pretty much wore the other ones out.

Xenophobe WAS a heck of a lot of fun, even with the clumsy controls. There were a lot of stages, and many of them had multiple floors, and it blows that bland looking NES port out of the water for sure.

I've only got 7 7800 games, and I didn't mention them all because opinions are divided on titles like Hat Trick and Crack'ed.

Anyone have or tried the 7800 port of Crossbow? That was a light gun game, I wonder how accurate the Atari gun was.

[greg]

I had the Atarian T-shirt, too! I remember hoping that the shirt would just be the Atari logo (which you can now find at any Urban Outfitters or some such store), but it was a picture of that cheesy superhero and I thought it was embarrassing to wear.

I enjoyed Hat Trick and Crack'ed. I'm sure that Crack'ed and Crossbow would've been better with the light gun, but I never got one. Plus, they took forever in making the light gun available for the system. Wasn't it basically the Atari XE light gun?

[ExedExes]

The 7800 gun was the XE gun but was fully compatible with both systems.

I was really disappointed at all the potential the 7800 had. Many years ago, I heard a podcast featuring some guys from GCC who designed and worked on the 7800 and they had pretty ambitious plans like a high score cartridge, computer keyboard, and expansion port planned for it. I believe they also wanted a custom sound system for it but ultimately ended up using the 2600's sound chip to save time and money. It was a shame that it got shelved in the Atari corporate shuffle and then by the time it came out the NES pretty much sucked it all dry.

I also remember in the Atarian magazine one heck of a 7800 title in Super Huey. I really need to view some videos on that.

[dsheinem]

One more for the thread:

Mario Bros.

Classic Game Room HD Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHv1TDt5TY

Since I didn't have my own NES until I was in college, THIS was the Mario Bros. game that was accessible to me as a kid. It's a pretty enjoyable port of the classic Nintendo arcade game:





I don't know how it compares to the NES version since I don't have it or to the arcade version since I haven't played it much, but I do know that it is one of the 7800 games worth picking up as it is one of the more accessible and intuitive titles in the library. It's also another title that works surprisingly well with the awkward 7800 US controller (as do most arcade ports), so that's always a plus. This game, though common, is getting a bit pricey on eBay of late, so that may indicate it is/isn't a good time to pick it up...

[Frerix]

And don't forget about Robotron 2084

Classic Game Room HD review; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZIXSSZCkTw&feature=relmfu

Eugene Jarvis!

[ExedExes]

One more for the thread:

Mario Bros.

Classic Game Room HD Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHv1TDt5TY

Since I didn't have my own NES until I was in college, THIS was the Mario Bros. game that was accessible to me as a kid. It's a pretty enjoyable port of the classic Nintendo arcade game:





I don't know how it compares to the NES version since I don't have it or to the arcade version since I haven't played it much, but I do know that it is one of the 7800 games worth picking up as it is one of the more accessible and intuitive titles in the library. It's also another title that works surprisingly well with the awkward 7800 US controller (as do most arcade ports), so that's always a plus. This game, though common, is getting a bit pricey on eBay of late, so that may indicate it is/isn't a good time to pick it up...

The 7800 ports of Donkey Kong and DK Jr. also look pretty impressive.

[ExedExes]

Ok.... somehow a post of mine from years ago got necro-bumped by someone? I've never seen that happen before.

But that's ok, I'll accept this twist of fate because I happen to have another 7800 suggestion!

Check out Alien Brigade! (NEW!)





This lightgun compatible Operation Wolf clone is hard to find today (in fact, it's one of the more rarer 7800 titles), but it plays just as well with the controller, and it's really good with nice graphics and even scrolling levels!