I'm 51 years old and I live in Manaus-AM (Brazil). I had the Atari 2600 and Intellivision I in the early 80s, but the Colecovision was always the video game I could never get hold of. Recently I bought two Colecovisions on eBay, one American and one English (CBS). The American Colecovision arrived here and is working perfectly. I'm still waiting for the CBS Colecovision to arrive here at home (Manaus-AM, Brazil).
@@ClassicReplay This CBS Colecovision that I bought has a label on the bottom that says the following (I only saw it in the photo posted by the seller): “CBS Electronics. Woodley, Berks, England”. I think you are right. I can't say for sure that it was made in England.
@@ClassicReplay Coincidentally, I saw this video a few minutes ago. I would love to buy a Collectorvision Phoenix just like yours, but unfortunately the company is no longer selling it. By the time I found out he existed it was too late. At least I got the original 80's console.
Without sounding elitist, I’ve played on the ColecoVision for well over three months now, before my first video, I knew nothing about the ColecoVision. I can’t think of a single reason why collectors wouldn’t want to own this classic system. This was not only a great console for kids to grow up with, but it had amazing arcade conversions and some fabulous original games as well. What a console!
@@arostwocents The Atari 400/800 versions of DK and DK Jr. absolutely beat Colecovision. Not by much, but they do. Control is certainly better with the Atari stick. But Colecovision’s arcade library was great for the time Each system from the pre-NES era had great games. All these years later, it’s apparent that the skill of the programmer beats hardware capabilities 100% of the time.
@AgentM79 the only thing to consider and people forget this, is when it came out for the Coleco. The Amstrad CPC beats any home conversion of Donkey Kong, but it was released on that system in 1986. So not really a fair comparison when you think about it. At the time the Coleco was the next best place to play Donkey Kong outside of the arcade.
@@ClassicReplay It’s hard to fault that logic. Retrogaming, as we now call it, is all about context (time and place). Colecovision DK was indeed the best-available DK in 1982. It didn’t hurt that Coleco’s ports of the game for other systems were deliberate cripple-ware by comparison (the 2600 version having a top-tier programmer but strict limit on ROM and tight deadline).
The importance of the ColecoVision simply cannot be overstated! For the first time in history you didn't have to get in a car and drive to the arcade with a bag of quarters to play video games and could simply do it from home. I remember the very DAY my dad brought one home with a dozen games! He walked through that cold wintery door with the PROUDEST look on his face because we had the most AWESOME CHRISTMAS EVER! 😢 enjoy it while you can because one day they'll be gone like mine...
@@johnlewisbrooksbless your dad man I can only imagine! He knew he was creating great memories for you! I remember in 89 when my mom came out of Ames with Mario 3 and Castlevania omg it was special back then!!!!!
I finally took my ColecoVision out of storage last week. I took it apart and sprayed WD-40 Electrical Contact Cleaner on the power switch contact multiple times. This fixed my scrambled graphics issue. This is a very common problem among old ColecoVisions. I am keeping the finished switch cover off for now so I can simply clean the switch contact without the need to take the system apart if scrambling occurs again.
Exactly. It was ahead of its time. I swear it was overpowered and it never lived long enough for programmers to figure out it's architecture. it never had it's "Super Mario Bros 3" moment.
The Intellivision was definitely an improvement over the Atari VCS in terms of emulating the arcade experience but it was the Colecovision that really brought arcade quality gaming into the home.
To anyone who was wondering, yes, Centipede works with the roller controller. A similar-type game called "Slither" came bundled with the controller. Also, there is a switch on the controller for either Roller or Joystick control type, so you can use it on non-roller controller specific games when put in Joystick mode.
I am a Coleco owner/fan since my best friend Jason and his big brother got a C. For Christmas in 85, of the 1900 variety, and they also got like, 30 games for it, I was 6 years old at the time, but I was blown away by the quality of games and the similarity to they're arcade counterparts. Especially Turbo, with the race wheel, oh and Tarzan, or its other title .. and it came from the jungle, I'm a new sub and I love the channel and my game scores are like dead on to yours, really , how cool and rare. Keep up the quality work yourself and I be watching
If you wanted the arcade experience at home back in the early 80's it was either the Bally Astrocade, which was kinda obscure and only available for purchase in a few stores, or the Colecovision. Thanks for showing it some love my friend!
@@ClassicReplay Watching channels like yours got me interested in playing classic arcade games again. I was lucky to be a kid during the 70s and 80s and experience the arcade Golden Age. Never thought I'd be able to enjoy them again but channels like yours inspired me. I can't afford to collect original hardware and arcade cabinets but I have a Super Retro-Cade and a D.I.Y. control panel with Sanwa JLF-8YT sticks and buttons. Game on my friend!
Emulation is the way to go and stay married 🤣 I have an arcade machine that emulates pretty much everything, right up to PS3, plus my CollectorVision and PS Classic. Life is good my friend 😉
@@ClassicReplay I do miss that classic arcade experience. The sound of all the games, great popcorn smell, a big Orange Julius, and most of all...the GAMES! Only drawback with emulation is CONTROLS. Games that used unique analog controls, rotary joysticks, or twin-sticks can be hard to play with the standard joystick and button combo. But overall I'm loving it, in fact I'm firing up the Super Retro-Cade right now my friend! 👍 👍
The Legends Arcade comes with Joystick, light gun, spinner (works great with Arkanoid and Tempest). Plus you get a trackball, it’s awesome. Plus you can add all your own games including 8bit. Mad for it.
This is a great retrospective on the Coleco's games. I've had a Coleco since they came out in the early 80s. I've not played all that many games for it, though. We got a handful of games when we got the console and maybe a couple more not long thereafter. Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, Turbo, Ladybug and Smurf are pretty much it. I never knew anyone else back in the day who owned one of these systems...most people had never even heard of it. It's sad. It was notably more advanced that most/all of its predecessors. It's a real hidden gem of the early home video gaming days.
The CV electronics were ...not all that much (seen in the MSX, TII 99/4A and others in varying amounts of gfx and sound re-use), but the sw enginerring done for it was herostratic! I rented one a few times and I liked Cosmic Avenger in particular. What Coleco did was to nail it totally in the looks, addons and, most particularily, the brochures and adverts for it; you couldn't help but want one when browsing all that.
I still have mine my Grandma got me for Xmas. I played it on my other grandma's RCA console color TV. The 480i raster lines and slight curve to a CRT are what's missing from emulators but this is a great look at many titles. Without getting my games out of storage Q*Bert is one you missed that was faithful to the original. Of the ones I've played and own in your excellent video I'd agree with you and your kids ratings. Zaxxon on the CV made me better at the arcade version.
Amazing to hear, Qbert is amazing, very close and plays just like the original. Zaxxon is one of my goto games, brilliant. Thanks for watching and please share with other like minded people. We’re a dying breed 🤣
Only just discovered your channel while looking for Colecovision videos I stupidly sold mine when I needed money and have regretted it ever since I agree totally, fantastic console and loads of great games, I currently on the lookout to get one back in the collection Great video and always good to hear a local voice👍
No regrets. You can always go down the emulation route 😉 there’s new games as well, you can buy them online. www.gooddealgames.com/inventory/Colecovision.html also the Collector-vision Phoenix is a great way to experience all the classics as it’s FPGA ColecoVision for Collectors th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html. Last but not least, thanks for the lovely comments. Feel free to buy me a coffee anytime ☺️
in '82 or '83, my mom took us to Toys R Us on Christmas Eve and bought the console - we picked out a handful of games and my parents let us stay up all night playing it - Christmas Day the neighbor kids came over and joined in definitely one of the best Christmases EVER
You gonna do the Atari 5200 like that? Well, actually, it was the Sega Saturn or the Playstation 3 of its time. A misstep from a once dominant console manufacturer.
The enthusiasm is off the scales with this one. I don't agree with all of your assessments, but I appreciate how excited you are about these games. (For the record, I was an Atari 5200 Stan back in the day. Games tend to feel smoother and look less weirdly angular, and there are more colors than three shades of green and the ickiest yellows ever.)
Cheers my friend and thanks for watching. I think I did a video on the Atari 5200, but memory escapes me now. Might have been the 7800. But lots of Atari stuff 👍🏻
Same here, I knew about it, but it was one of those consoles I would never have gone out of my way to pursue. I was more into computers, ZX Spectrum, MSX, C64 and CPC. I missed out as the game play identical to their arcade parents.
I owned a coleco when I was a kid. Popeye the game inspired me to get into programming games. I got a TI/994a with speech module and expanded memory and would spend hours hammering the sprites in because it was very easy to program in expanded basic with the powerful sprite system. I tried a popeye clone, but eventually moved to Galatea type game. While at a friends house for an overnighter, I found out he had a it 99/4a as well. I spent the whole night re-entering my arcade game from memory into his system. His uncle saw what I was doing and offered me 25 bucks to buy the code on the spot. I was in 5th grade. I took the money and never heard from him again but continued on with bigger and better systems that actually had reasonable storage systems; ie the apple ][e.
I DID play arcade Venture a LOT, and I can tell you, the Colecovision version is PHENOMENALLY close. The original Coleco published titles that I recall that were literally almost perfect, and in a couple of rare instances, even IMPROVED on the arcade originals, would be: Ladybug Carnival Frenzy Pepper II Looping Mousetrap Venture Up 'N Down Spy Hunter and Dragon's Lair (okay, just kidding on that last one). Atarisoft's Centipede, Galaxian, and Defender we're also REALLY close to their originals. Wish they'd have done Ms PacMan and Joust.
BurgerTime - If you let the enemies walk onto a burger piece behind you and THEN drop it, not only do you get rid of that enemy for a few seconds, the piece will drop down two levels, reducing the amount of work you have to do. Tutankham - This was recently ported to the C64. They made an arcade faithful port and they also made a sequel with all new levels. I find it quite hard. Zaxxon - The Colecovision version looks great, but I hate the high-pitched whine that plays constantly in the background.
It was really expensive back in the day. We had an atari 2600 and later on a c64. The system is really good with accurate looking arcade games for the time. They made the mistake of trying to turn this into a computer that had a lot of issues later on. This was a solid console. Colem is a good colecovision emulator for android and it's free.
100% Terrible decision to try and rush a really expensive computer to market with so many issues. Should have just focused on the console and world wide distribution. Could have been the Sony of their day. But I suppose that’s easy me saying that now in 2022 💁🏻♂️
Was aware of the colecovision but never played on one. Keystone kapers was created for the 2600 and have to say, despite the limitations, looks better on that. The gameplay is really good in my opinion. Great video BTW, thanks for showing this superb console.
A year ago, I knew nothing about the ColecoVision, complete accident how I stumbled upon it. Check out an earlier video I did ColecoVision | Top 25 Games th-cam.com/video/_dAmVCCXeZ4/w-d-xo.html
Growing up in the early/mid 1980's I had the Atari 2600 and 400 computer, and one of my best friends had the Intellevision while another had the Colecovision. There was always something new to play between the three of us. Summer and Christmas vacations especially were just awesome!
I was a Sega Genesis guy in 89' when it.came out I was already 20 yrs old my first gaming console was the Atari Vcs in which I got in 1977 for Christmas then I got the Colecovision in 82' also for Christmas and the following year in 83' got my C64 and I would have to say whether it be a console or computer I've never had as much fun playing games and doing school work with my C64 and by 84 I had just about every peripheral for it 2 1541 drives an mps 802 printer,a 1702 monitor and a datasette and a vicmodem it was just an incredible time and I worked for.my C64 I worked construction with my Uncle during the summer of 83 and 84 and by the time I was 15 in 84 'I was having the time of my life i guess it was just at the right age I guess my early teenager years. But my son was born in 91' and got him into gaming his first system was my Sega Genesis but the first console I bought him wad the Sony Playstation in 95 when he was 4.
My next door neighbors had a Colecovision. It did have some really good arcade ports. I remember seeing a Smurfs demo playing at the store and thinking it looked like a cartoon. Colecovision was a big deal. Home Computers were also a big deal. Commodore 64, Atari 800, Texas Instruments 99 4/a. Great ideas and hardware were being presented but a lot of money was being lost also. We were having so much fun during the so called game crash we didn’t even notice it. It was the time I spent a lot of time going to the arcades and buying arcade ports for my home system which was a Texas Instruments Home Computer.
I’m in the U.K. it was just booming. We had no idea about the video games crash other than what was reported on the news. I recall arcade conversions and movie licensed games were offer scoffed at, people demanded original games the likes of Spindizzy, Atic Atac, Knight Lore, Ant Attack and Manic Miner.
Retro gaming hippie approves! Great production and insights. I had no idea a game like Alcazar existed on colecovision. I jumped to the C64 around the mid 80’s so I could play RPG’s
Yes, built the foundations so others could thrive. Check out my new ColecoVision vid please mate and thanks for taking the time out to watch my vids. ColecoVision | 15 Games That Stood The Test of Time th-cam.com/video/0DMQumIKfqA/w-d-xo.html
Had a Colecovision back in the day and my favourites were: Boulderdash, Bump 'n' Jump, Centipede, Galaxian, Gyruss, Hero, Ladybug, Montezuma's Revenge, Pepper II, Q-bert, and Tutankham. There's a couple that you didn't review and I'd suggest giving them a look (especially Montezuma's Revenge which is bloody brilliant). Cheers!
Thanks for the recommendation. If you can think of any others I'd love to play 'em. Certainly looks interesting. I'm always on the lookout for more ColecoVision games.
Tutankham is an overlooked classic. I was thrilled to see a homebrew and even a sequel come out for Commodore 64 recently. I saw that Texas Instruments Home Computer had an unreleased prototype. Too bad it never happened.
Montezuma's revenge is such an underrated game. I never played it for the Coleco but did for the Atari 2600 and Sega Master System. Both were eqully fun although the MS had better graphics.
I know, shocked me too. I own the CollectorVision Phoenix, three months in and still enjoying this system. There’s all the old games plus new games being made for the system, without the cartridge limitations. Plus there’s all the games that have been converted from MSX. It’s a great little console as is, but the updated Phoenix gives it HDMI and uses FPGA.
I got the Colecovision and the Commodore 64 6 months from one another I got the Colecovision for Christmas in 1982 when I was 13 and the C64 for my 14th birthday in May1983 it was the best time gaming of my whole life included having a my own family during early 90s with all th consoles at the time of release I remember cuz I worked with my uncle whose was mason contractor during the summer of 1982 and save enough to buy my C64 with the monitor and 2 disk drives and my uncle bought me the printer and datasette
Believe it or not, the Atari 2600 version of _Omega Race_ is a great game! The original pack came with an adapter for the OG Atari Joystick that gave it a “fighter ship” grip shape and a second button on the top, so that you had one for boosting and one for shooting. It plugs directly into the 2600 and had a male passthrough connector into which to plug your joystick, before plugging them into a single joystick port. It played even more like the arcade game, with the same, great physics as the Coleco, but the included joystick adapter made it so much more like the arcade game, to play - one of those games that made the OG Atari Joystick better to play. Plus, those physics-bouncing off the walls while the boost is actually useable - somewhat unlike Asteroids, which is much easier to play, if you stay directly in the middle... Alomg with bouncing off those walls, the turning with the boost is fantastic and really feels just like the arcade, also thanks to that version’s minimalist graphics.
I love so many Atari 2600 games, Solaris, H.E.R.O, River Raid, Demon Attack, Atlantis, Missile Command, Pitfall to name but a few, including… Wait for it… Omega Race! 😀
If you've never played Montezuma's Revenge on Colecovision, you're missing out. _Easily_ my favorite port of that game. And only a 9/10 for Ladybug? For being the only platform where it appeared and for being such an intense experience, surely it deserves that extra point. It still holds up to this day. The enemies aren't like Pac Man's dumb ghosts. They will hound you relentlessly, forcing you to react quickly and use the gates to your advantage whenever you can. It makes Pac Man look like a relaxing day at the beach.
I can’t agree that it’s better than Pac-Man. But I agree it’s a great game in the arcade and on ColecoVision. As for Montezuma’s Revenge, if it’s the game I’m thinking of and played, yes I loved it but it was a bit too short to make the list. It would definitely feature in my top 20! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I really appreciate it 👍
Great video very thorough. My mom got me and my brother a Coleco but we never had much games so it was great to see other offerings the system had. Thank you for not rating these looking through today's glasses and even looking at the gameplay now it still looks great and yes for the time this was cutting edge technology and was amazing in the 80's 🥳
Keystone capers also came out on the 2600, I had it back in the day and always found it fun. This version has much more detail but my guess is the gameplay is very similar. I really want a Phoenix Colectorvision. My best friend had a celecovision growing up but I always loathed that stupid controller. Now that we can use Sega controllers and buy others as well I’m all over it. Edit: look up the instructions for the Coleco version of mouse trap. I’m almost positive you can go troll the colored parts of the maze with the keypad. I think it came with an overlay. I may be wrong but check it out.
Finally, a fair review of the Colecovision game console. The nickname "PlayStation of the 80s" is a perfect description of its capabilities. I thought I'm the only one who shares such an opinion, but I'm glad we are many or just two of us, now😊 Amazing clip and review of the Colecovision gaming system ! Thank you! 🤗🙂👍✌️🎊🎉🎊🎉
Colecovision! The Dick Smith Wizzard's SG-1000 of the MSX Creativision. So many freaking computers and consoles used that exact setup it was ridiculous. Same graphics, same sound.
It had some custom chips, but mainly it used a Zilog Z80 CPU running at 3.58mhz. For the graphics and sprites, it used the Texas Instruments TMS chipset which was quite powerful for the time.
@@ClassicReplay Don't forget that classic SN76489 and the AY-3 PSG's, they both produce nearly identical sound despite having a few minor differences in the way you can use the channels.
Easily the most comprehensive review of the ColecoVision. I always loved the ColecoVision as the VDP-cousin of my beloved TI-99/4A (my first computer. Purchased in 1982 and still booted up at leats once a day for a quick round of arcade favourites (but mainly Jumpman Jr...ALWAYS Jumpman! The best platform game ever written. in 2023 that hasn't changed)). If ColecoVision had not dropped the ball so horribly, The Adam would have been my second computer. But that embarassing turn of events for Coleco caused me to go Atari 8-bit for my 2nd, and Atari 16 bit as my final non-PC/Mac.
I would still buy an Adam today if one became available at an affordable price, despite all its faults. I love the look and design of Colecovision’s console and computer. I could see and share their vision on where they wanted to take things. Thank you for your kind words. If you could share I would be very grateful 😊
@@ClassicReplay that's how I feel about the Ti-99/4, the precursor to the TI-99/4A. Really want the model with a volume slider and built in speaker, but anytime one comes up, it is prohibitively expensive. At least more expensive than I am willing to pay for a unit that will sit on a shelf as a cherished, but never used, possession. Would also love an Atari Falcon 030, but that too is allways above my retirement snack bracket. But my 4A has kept me happy for a very long time.
i would've liked to have seen what this could do with increased rom space on the carts as time went by and expansion chips on them like the nes did a few years later. games like montezuma's revenge feel like "modern" games like super mario brothers kinda.
This limitation was due to the memory addressing scheme used by the ColecoVision's hardware. The console used a 16-bit memory addressing scheme, which allowed it to address up to 64 kilobytes of memory. However, this memory was not solely dedicated to game cartridges, as it was also used for system memory and video memory. To address the game cartridges, the ColecoVision used a bank-switching technique that allowed it to switch between different 16 KB banks of memory. This allowed the console to access up to 256 KB of game cartridge data, but only 32 KB of this data could be accessed at any given time.
Great video and as a man who used to live in the Midlands myself in the 80s I'm wondering if that dingy arcade you used to goto might have been the arcade downstairs from the Dayvilles ice cream place that used to be on New Street Birmingham back in the day
I got a Colecovision with the intent of buying the computer add-on to make it into a personal computer until I saw the add-on personally . It looked really cheap and I didn't think it would work out for the Colecovision brand . I sold my Coleco so I could get an ATARI 800 instead .
The Z80 had several 16-bit registers, including: BC, DE, and HL: These could be used as 16-bit register pairs. IX and IY: These were 16-bit index registers used for more complex addressing modes. Which ultimately means it could quickly access any memory area of the first 64k almost instantly. To sum up the Z80 processor it was (still is) an 8-bit CPU, but it had the capability to handle 16-bit operations through these register pairs. Early Z80 machines probably only came equipped with a beeper for sound, ZX Spectrum being a good example. But later incorporated a Yamaha sound chip. You can’t really compare these sound chips to the SID included in the Commodore 64, but these Yamaha chips were all decision choices and affordable alternatives for off the shelf microchips.
Loved the video. A few notable points, though. You mentioned being unaware of other ports of Keystone Capers. It was originally an Atari 2600 game. You also mentioned River Raid being as good as the arcade. It was never an arcade game. Finally, more about Wing War. You don't just collect Fire Crystals. You're actually supposed to collect Fire, Air, AND Water crystals. When you collect all three in your lair, it becomes an egg (extra life), and the world difficulty increases a bit. About collecting them. You can only carry one of each at any time, which you bring back to your lair. You cannot collect a fire crystal, and then a water crystal because they will extinguish each other. So they must be collected either in the order Fire, Air, Water, or Water, Air, Fire. Actually, my favorite way to collect crystals is alternating between collecting and retreving Fire and Air crystals until I have enough to make 99 eggs, and then collecting 99 Water crystals to finally make the eggs.
It all happened a long time ago now, but I’m sure I remember playing River Raid in the arcade back in the 80s. As for Keystone Capers, I played it on an 8bit computer, probably the ZX Spectrum, but don’t quote me on that. Thanks for the heads up on the other stuff.
That’s why I’m working on a new video for the ColecoVision. When I did the first few, I had no idea about how amazing this console was back in the day and how even now in 2023 games are still being released. Thanks for watching, spread the word, keep watching and the new vid will be upload shortly. Don’t forget to subscribe, thanks for your kind words
i enjoy playing the colecovision version of burger time over the arcade version. probably cos it's a little bit easier. the sounds and sprites have a ton of character as well.
The Coleco system never had it's chance to reach it's pinnacle like the NES did with "Super Mario 3." I believe it was overpowered for what it could do and could have easily overtaken the Atari 2600 and possibly even the early days of the NES. So sad to think it never had it's chance. I mean, the damn thing was so advanced, it had cross compatibility with the Atari!
The Gyruss port for the C64 is way better and smoother, but this version is quite good, and the galaxian port for the ColecoVision is simply the best I've seen on a 8 bit computer
I thought that much more about the Turbo Grafix 16 when it first came out. Some of the games looked better than the arcade with it’s amazing color palette. Colecovision was impressive. As close to the arcade versions as you were going to get for a home console at the time. Zaxxon looked really good, Congo Bongo not so much. But the pros outweighed the cons with all the restrictions.
@@AngryCalvin TG-16/PCE had a pretty standard (for a home system of the time) 9 bit color palette. Contemporary arcade boards (e.g.: Sega System 16), had way better color and all other GPU specs. The only ports I recall looking better than the arcade versions, were of the more primitive arcade games released a couple or few years before PCE (e.g.: Gradius, Xevios, etc) . However, PCE did have better sounding audio hardware than many contemporary arcade boards, at least when it comes to music. Ports like R-Type arguably had better music than the arcade versions.
I would've killed to own this system in the early 80s! BTW, isn't Sega SG-1000 (Sega's first home console), basically a licensed version of CV? It was cool to see a lot of classic Sega arcade ports here.
I believe MSX adopted the hardware as well as Sega. I believe the only difference is the sound chip. I agree, it was a remarkable console with a high success rate of good arcade conversions
@@ClassicReplay Seems like all Z-80 based consoles and minis are pretty similar. It all makes sense why this system looks so appealing to me - I grew up with the MSX! Coleco even has an Antarctic Adventure port! That was one of my favorites! The Konami library on the MSX is superb.
I didn't know a single person who owned a Colecovision..... All I ever knew about it were the great screenshots on the back of Atari 2600 cartridges which made me jealous... However the 'Playstation' of the 80's was the Commodore 64. It had the most games and it was the best gaming machine of the generation.
I actually grew up with ColecoVision. So for me, I have a long and personal history with this system. It’s THE most influential system I’ve ever played/owned. I still own one (and Adam) and I play this system as much as, if not more, as any other system today. Nice vid. I’m a big fan. Glad you like the system! It’s amazing.
Probably best console I've ever played where games are consistently good. You're obviously born lucky in life to have owned such a great console, I'm well jelly ;-)
You forgot to name an arcade port, well, an arcade upgrade rather than just a port, Space Panic by Universal, probably the first game to come out of a console that looks better than the original arcade!.
Great video! I also own a Collectorvision Phoenix. Got mine in the second preorder period. I'd say you're definitely on the right track going that route. If I might make a suggestion you should add the IntelliVision to your lineup at some point if at all possible. Liked, and subscribed.
Pepper II, definitely. I've covered it already in one of my other Colecovion vids. I think it might be in this one th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html
Nah Powerlords is actually a port of the Odyssey 2/Phillips videopac game of the same name. So it's a finished game since the original game was the exact same thing
Depends where you grew up. In the UK the NES sold 1.5 million consoles. If it wasn't for the video games crash in the US the Colecovision would have had a much longer life. Coleco also messed up with their Adam computer. But for the time, it delivered a really good arcade experience in the home. In the same way the PlayStation did with Tekken, Ridge Racer etc.
@@ClassicReplay I grew up in Sweden so we had more or less same as UK. the crash is a bit of a myth. Thing is that the spectrum and C64 basically overtook the consoles as they was more or less as good and it was easier to copy games. Colecovision sold very little also during its life span compared to Atari. So I would say early 80s Atari 2600 was king in average over whole Europe. Then mid 80s C64 had foothold with spectrum big in UK and Spain. Then Amiga has a decent hold a little while until NES got big at the latter part of the 80s But I agree with you that there was of course country local differences. So what I stare above is based on the sales Europa globally. Btw with the figure of 1.5 million sold NES in UK is that good or bad from your pov?
NES sales weren’t bad in uk, just never knew anyone that had one. It wasn’t until I visited America that I realised it was a big deal. But once I played Super Mario Bros 3. I had to have one. SNES was a while different ball game.
Had Coleco not botched the Adam launch and design, they could have owned the rest of the 80s instead of handing it to the NES. Looking at tech specs alone, the CV was the equal of the NES hardware wise, and in some tech aspects, better. Had software development continued into the late 80s, with cart memory and chip improvements the NES got, the CV could have done great into the 90s. Given that the CV was based on the msx design, it's baffling why Coleco didn't just import or use a Japanese msx machine for it's computer, or CV at the start. But then, a lot of stupid mistakes pre 85, like Atari not making the 5200 cart compatible with the 8 bit computers, or doing an xegs instead of the 5200 in 1982.
The combination of poor hardware quality, high price, limited compatibility, and bad timing contributed to the failure of the Coleco Adam from the little research I've looked into. Plus it was up against the mighty C64 and Apple II, both were apparently cheaper.
I’d rather not get bogged down on assigning a score to these games, it’s more about how they make me feel when I play them. There’s Metacritic and a bunch of other sites that do a far better job at that stuff than I could ever manage 😊
What a great video i have deadset been addicted to your videos :) keep them coming
Thanks mate! Don’t forget to share this video with your friends so we can all bask in the glory of ColecoVision 😊
I'm 51 years old and I live in Manaus-AM (Brazil). I had the Atari 2600 and Intellivision I in the early 80s, but the Colecovision was always the video game I could never get hold of. Recently I bought two Colecovisions on eBay, one American and one English (CBS). The American Colecovision arrived here and is working perfectly. I'm still waiting for the CBS Colecovision to arrive here at home (Manaus-AM, Brazil).
I didn’t even know they made an English (CBS) I thought it was just drop shipped from USA with a step down converter
Also, check out this bad boy I purchased a while ago now ColecoVision for Collectors
th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html
@@ClassicReplay This CBS Colecovision that I bought has a label on the bottom that says the following (I only saw it in the photo posted by the seller): “CBS Electronics. Woodley, Berks, England”. I think you are right. I can't say for sure that it was made in England.
@@ClassicReplay Coincidentally, I saw this video a few minutes ago. I would love to buy a Collectorvision Phoenix just like yours, but unfortunately the company is no longer selling it. By the time I found out he existed it was too late. At least I got the original 80's console.
Colecovision is an essential retro-gaming system. Any game from the pre-NES era that was worthwhile was on ColecoVision.
Without sounding elitist, I’ve played on the ColecoVision for well over three months now, before my first video, I knew nothing about the ColecoVision. I can’t think of a single reason why collectors wouldn’t want to own this classic system. This was not only a great console for kids to grow up with, but it had amazing arcade conversions and some fabulous original games as well. What a console!
Its a great system but Donkey Kong is overrated on it - Amstrad and 7800 both play better
@@arostwocents The Atari 400/800 versions of DK and DK Jr. absolutely beat Colecovision. Not by much, but they do. Control is certainly better with the Atari stick. But Colecovision’s arcade library was great for the time
Each system from the pre-NES era had great games. All these years later, it’s apparent that the skill of the programmer beats hardware capabilities 100% of the time.
@AgentM79 the only thing to consider and people forget this, is when it came out for the Coleco. The Amstrad CPC beats any home conversion of Donkey Kong, but it was released on that system in 1986. So not really a fair comparison when you think about it. At the time the Coleco was the next best place to play Donkey Kong outside of the arcade.
@@ClassicReplay It’s hard to fault that logic. Retrogaming, as we now call it, is all about context (time and place). Colecovision DK was indeed the best-available DK in 1982. It didn’t hurt that Coleco’s ports of the game for other systems were deliberate cripple-ware by comparison (the 2600 version having a top-tier programmer but strict limit on ROM and tight deadline).
The importance of the ColecoVision simply cannot be overstated! For the first time in history you didn't have to get in a car and drive to the arcade with a bag of quarters to play video games and could simply do it from home.
I remember the very DAY my dad brought one home with a dozen games! He walked through that cold wintery door with the PROUDEST look on his face because we had the most AWESOME CHRISTMAS EVER!
😢 enjoy it while you can because one day they'll be gone like mine...
There’s always FPGA - CollectorVision Phoenix
@ClassicReplay Still, my dad walking through the door at 8pm, icicles in his beard presenting us with a boxed Colecovision was pure fucking MAGIC!
@@johnlewisbrooks Amen!!!
@@johnlewisbrooksbless your dad man I can only imagine! He knew he was creating great memories for you! I remember in 89 when my mom came out of Ames with Mario 3 and Castlevania omg it was special back then!!!!!
Awesome video. !!! Keystone Kapers first came out on the 2600.
2600 still amazes me. So many firsts
I finally took my ColecoVision out of storage last week. I took it apart and sprayed WD-40 Electrical Contact Cleaner on the power switch contact multiple times. This fixed my scrambled graphics issue. This is a very common problem among old ColecoVisions. I am keeping the finished switch cover off for now so I can simply clean the switch contact without the need to take the system apart if scrambling occurs again.
That reminds me of an old computer I once had. Only worked when I took the lid off 🙄
So many great memories. Had a lot of these games and loved playing them. To this day Coleco is my favorite system, it was so ahead of its time.
Exactly. It was ahead of its time. I swear it was overpowered and it never lived long enough for programmers to figure out it's architecture. it never had it's "Super Mario Bros 3" moment.
I bought a Coleco consile off a friend for $20 back in 83
It was a good investment
Proof that it’s better to be lucky than rich 🤑
@@ClassicReplay Hos name was Richie too
Say no more…
It was the best arcade system when I was younger . Wis I still had this.
I agree 100% I would love to own the original with a good collection of games
The Intellivision was definitely an improvement over the Atari VCS in terms of emulating the arcade experience but it was the Colecovision that really brought arcade quality gaming into the home.
100% every word
The beauty of the Intellivision was the Blue Sky Rangers work.
To anyone who was wondering, yes, Centipede works with the roller controller. A similar-type game called "Slither" came bundled with the controller. Also, there is a switch on the controller for either Roller or Joystick control type, so you can use it on non-roller controller specific games when put in Joystick mode.
Brilliant! Thanks for letting us know
My favorites not seen here that I noticed was Wargames and Q-Bert.
I am a Coleco owner/fan since my best friend Jason and his big brother got a C. For Christmas in 85, of the 1900 variety, and they also got like, 30 games for it, I was 6 years old at the time, but I was blown away by the quality of games and the similarity to they're arcade counterparts. Especially Turbo, with the race wheel, oh and Tarzan, or its other title .. and it came from the jungle, I'm a new sub and I love the channel and my game scores are like dead on to yours, really , how cool and rare. Keep up the quality work yourself and I be watching
If you wanted the arcade experience at home back in the early 80's it was either the Bally Astrocade, which was kinda obscure and only available for purchase in a few stores, or the Colecovision. Thanks for showing it some love my friend!
Thanks for watching 😉
@@ClassicReplay Watching channels like yours got me interested in playing classic arcade games again. I was lucky to be a kid during the 70s and 80s and experience the arcade Golden Age. Never thought I'd be able to enjoy them again but channels like yours inspired me. I can't afford to collect original hardware and arcade cabinets but I have a Super Retro-Cade and a D.I.Y. control panel with Sanwa JLF-8YT sticks and buttons. Game on my friend!
Emulation is the way to go and stay married 🤣 I have an arcade machine that emulates pretty much everything, right up to PS3, plus my CollectorVision and PS Classic. Life is good my friend 😉
@@ClassicReplay I do miss that classic arcade experience. The sound of all the games, great popcorn smell, a big Orange Julius, and most of all...the GAMES! Only drawback with emulation is CONTROLS. Games that used unique analog controls, rotary joysticks, or twin-sticks can be hard to play with the standard joystick and button combo. But overall I'm loving it, in fact I'm firing up the Super Retro-Cade right now my friend! 👍 👍
The Legends Arcade comes with Joystick, light gun, spinner (works great with Arkanoid and Tempest). Plus you get a trackball, it’s awesome. Plus you can add all your own games including 8bit. Mad for it.
This is a great retrospective on the Coleco's games. I've had a Coleco since they came out in the early 80s. I've not played all that many games for it, though. We got a handful of games when we got the console and maybe a couple more not long thereafter. Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, Turbo, Ladybug and Smurf are pretty much it. I never knew anyone else back in the day who owned one of these systems...most people had never even heard of it. It's sad. It was notably more advanced that most/all of its predecessors. It's a real hidden gem of the early home video gaming days.
The CV electronics were ...not all that much (seen in the MSX, TII 99/4A and others in varying amounts of gfx and sound re-use), but the sw enginerring done for it was herostratic! I rented one a few times and I liked Cosmic Avenger in particular. What Coleco did was to nail it totally in the looks, addons and, most particularily, the brochures and adverts for it; you couldn't help but want one when browsing all that.
Great point! But the games were nearly always better, especially arcade conversions
I own a colecovision since 2022 and it’s a great system.
Too bad after the videogame crash of 1983, coleco was never gonna be the same again.
Same here, got mine a few years back. Great console, love the majority of its games and early arcade conversions. Thanks for stopping by.
Wooow i never knew about alcazar, it’s definitely the precursor to zelda 1.
I still have mine my Grandma got me for Xmas. I played it on my other grandma's RCA console color TV. The 480i raster lines and slight curve to a CRT are what's missing from emulators but this is a great look at many titles. Without getting my games out of storage Q*Bert is one you missed that was faithful to the original. Of the ones I've played and own in your excellent video I'd agree with you and your kids ratings. Zaxxon on the CV made me better at the arcade version.
Amazing to hear, Qbert is amazing, very close and plays just like the original. Zaxxon is one of my goto games, brilliant. Thanks for watching and please share with other like minded people. We’re a dying breed 🤣
First system I ever had and it was a blast!
Me and my sister got this for Xmas in 1982. Smurf was the greatest visuals I had ever seen! Lol!
I can only imagine. Very impressive console for the time. So impressive that I bought one a few years back.
Only just discovered your channel while looking for Colecovision videos
I stupidly sold mine when I needed money and have regretted it ever since
I agree totally, fantastic console and loads of great games, I currently on the lookout to get one back in the collection
Great video and always good to hear a local voice👍
No regrets. You can always go down the emulation route 😉 there’s new games as well, you can buy them online. www.gooddealgames.com/inventory/Colecovision.html also the Collector-vision Phoenix is a great way to experience all the classics as it’s FPGA ColecoVision for Collectors
th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html. Last but not least, thanks for the lovely comments. Feel free to buy me a coffee anytime ☺️
You missed rock n rope Maybe my favorite game on Coleco vision And Mr. dos Castle another great one
Rock n Rope, didn’t even know that existed. Thanks 😊 Mr. Do’s Castle one of my favourite arcade games, completely missed the ColecoVision port 😢
in '82 or '83, my mom took us to Toys R Us on Christmas Eve and bought the console - we picked out a handful of games and my parents let us stay up all night playing it - Christmas Day the neighbor kids came over and joined in
definitely one of the best Christmases EVER
Amazing memories. Thanks for sharing 👍
Console wars then: Atari 2600 vs Intellivision vs Colecovision
Console wars now: Nintendo Switch vs Xbox Series X vs Playstation 5
You gonna do the Atari 5200 like that? Well, actually, it was the Sega Saturn or the Playstation 3 of its time. A misstep from a once dominant console manufacturer.
The enthusiasm is off the scales with this one. I don't agree with all of your assessments, but I appreciate how excited you are about these games. (For the record, I was an Atari 5200 Stan back in the day. Games tend to feel smoother and look less weirdly angular, and there are more colors than three shades of green and the ickiest yellows ever.)
Cheers my friend and thanks for watching. I think I did a video on the Atari 5200, but memory escapes me now. Might have been the 7800. But lots of Atari stuff 👍🏻
Genuinely enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing. The Coleco passed me by as a kid, bit I've tried it out following this and it's great!
Same here, I knew about it, but it was one of those consoles I would never have gone out of my way to pursue. I was more into computers, ZX Spectrum, MSX, C64 and CPC. I missed out as the game play identical to their arcade parents.
I owned a coleco when I was a kid. Popeye the game inspired me to get into programming games. I got a TI/994a with speech module and expanded memory and would spend hours hammering the sprites in because it was very easy to program in expanded basic with the powerful sprite system. I tried a popeye clone, but eventually moved to Galatea type game. While at a friends house for an overnighter, I found out he had a it 99/4a as well. I spent the whole night re-entering my arcade game from memory into his system. His uncle saw what I was doing and offered me 25 bucks to buy the code on the spot. I was in 5th grade. I took the money and never heard from him again but continued on with bigger and better systems that actually had reasonable storage systems; ie the apple ][e.
I wonder what he used the code for 🤷🏻♂️
I DID play arcade Venture a LOT, and I can tell you, the Colecovision version is PHENOMENALLY close. The original Coleco published titles that I recall that were literally almost perfect, and in a couple of rare instances, even IMPROVED on the arcade originals, would be:
Ladybug
Carnival
Frenzy
Pepper II
Looping
Mousetrap
Venture
Up 'N Down
Spy Hunter
and Dragon's Lair (okay, just kidding on that last one).
Atarisoft's Centipede, Galaxian, and Defender we're also REALLY close to their originals. Wish they'd have done Ms PacMan and Joust.
100% agree! Turbo with steering wheel is still amazing
BurgerTime - If you let the enemies walk onto a burger piece behind you and THEN drop it, not only do you get rid of that enemy for a few seconds, the piece will drop down two levels, reducing the amount of work you have to do.
Tutankham - This was recently ported to the C64. They made an arcade faithful port and they also made a sequel with all new levels. I find it quite hard.
Zaxxon - The Colecovision version looks great, but I hate the high-pitched whine that plays constantly in the background.
Thanks for the tips on Burger Time 👍 I can forgive the sound, it was 1983 😍
@@ClassicReplay That's no excuse for the sound. They didn't HAVE to put a whine in the background.
It was really expensive back in the day. We had an atari 2600 and later on a c64. The system is really good with accurate looking arcade games for the time. They made the mistake of trying to turn this into a computer that had a lot of issues later on. This was a solid console. Colem is a good colecovision emulator for android and it's free.
100% Terrible decision to try and rush a really expensive computer to market with so many issues. Should have just focused on the console and world wide distribution. Could have been the Sony of their day. But I suppose that’s easy me saying that now in 2022 💁🏻♂️
Was aware of the colecovision but never played on one.
Keystone kapers was created for the 2600 and have to say, despite the limitations, looks better on that. The gameplay is really good in my opinion.
Great video BTW, thanks for showing this superb console.
A year ago, I knew nothing about the ColecoVision, complete accident how I stumbled upon it. Check out an earlier video I did ColecoVision | Top 25 Games
th-cam.com/video/_dAmVCCXeZ4/w-d-xo.html
loved robin hood it has a ton of titles you can become at the end screen adds a lot of replayability see how many you can get
I think there were a few Robin Hood games from memory, two from Codemasters
Growing up in the early/mid 1980's I had the Atari 2600 and 400 computer, and one of my best friends had the Intellevision while another had the Colecovision. There was always something new to play between the three of us. Summer and Christmas vacations especially were just awesome!
Great times, I’d have loved that setup. We had the C16, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Around 1986 I discovered the C64 which blew me away.
@@ClassicReplay That C64 took over everything until the NES got a solid footing in the US!
@AnaheimRob Production of the Atari 2600 ended on January 1, 1992, with an estimated 30 million units sold across its lifetime.
Yes, it did amazing for the era it was introduced.
I was a Sega Genesis guy in 89' when it.came out I was already 20 yrs old my first gaming console was the Atari Vcs in which I got in 1977 for Christmas then I got the Colecovision in 82' also for Christmas and the following year in 83' got my C64 and I would have to say whether it be a console or computer I've never had as much fun playing games and doing school work with my C64 and by 84 I had just about every peripheral for it 2 1541 drives an mps 802 printer,a 1702 monitor and a datasette and a vicmodem it was just an incredible time and I worked for.my C64 I worked construction with my Uncle during the summer of 83 and 84 and by the time I was 15 in 84 'I was having the time of my life i guess it was just at the right age I guess my early teenager years. But my son was born in 91' and got him into gaming his first system was my Sega Genesis but the first console I bought him wad the Sony Playstation in 95 when he was 4.
My next door neighbors had a Colecovision.
It did have some really good arcade ports. I remember seeing a Smurfs demo playing at the store and thinking it looked like a cartoon. Colecovision was a big deal. Home Computers were also a big deal. Commodore 64, Atari 800, Texas Instruments 99 4/a. Great ideas and hardware were being presented but a lot of money was being lost also. We were having so much fun during the so called game crash we didn’t even notice it. It was the time I spent a lot of time going to the arcades and buying arcade ports for my home system which was a Texas Instruments Home Computer.
I’m in the U.K. it was just booming. We had no idea about the video games crash other than what was reported on the news. I recall arcade conversions and movie licensed games were offer scoffed at, people demanded original games the likes of Spindizzy, Atic Atac, Knight Lore, Ant Attack and Manic Miner.
Retro gaming hippie approves! Great production and insights.
I had no idea a game like Alcazar existed on colecovision. I jumped to the C64 around the mid 80’s so I could play RPG’s
I remember playing Times of Lore on the C64 at a computer game shop in London. Blew me away. Great story/adventure. Thanks for watching
Artillery duel is great, and I completely missed it as a kid
Yes, built the foundations so others could thrive. Check out my new ColecoVision vid please mate and thanks for taking the time out to watch my vids. ColecoVision | 15 Games That Stood The Test of Time
th-cam.com/video/0DMQumIKfqA/w-d-xo.html
Had a Colecovision back in the day and my favourites were: Boulderdash, Bump 'n' Jump, Centipede, Galaxian, Gyruss, Hero, Ladybug, Montezuma's Revenge, Pepper II, Q-bert, and Tutankham. There's a couple that you didn't review and I'd suggest giving them a look (especially Montezuma's Revenge which is bloody brilliant). Cheers!
Thanks for the recommendation. If you can think of any others I'd love to play 'em. Certainly looks interesting. I'm always on the lookout for more ColecoVision games.
Tutankham is an overlooked classic. I was thrilled to see a homebrew and even a sequel come out for Commodore 64 recently. I saw that Texas Instruments Home Computer had an unreleased prototype. Too bad it never happened.
Montezuma's revenge is such an underrated game. I never played it for the Coleco but did for the Atari 2600 and Sega Master System. Both were eqully fun although the MS had better graphics.
This is an awesome title. Perfectly explains my feeling about the Coleco Vision.
Cheers my friend, happy you enjoyed it 👍
Loved my Colecovision! Had the wheel expansion and the 2600 expansion!
Living the dream back then
Thank you! I didn't expect this system to be this good, especially by comparing to the Amstrad CPC and the NES of those days.
I know, shocked me too. I own the CollectorVision Phoenix, three months in and still enjoying this system. There’s all the old games plus new games being made for the system, without the cartridge limitations. Plus there’s all the games that have been converted from MSX. It’s a great little console as is, but the updated Phoenix gives it HDMI and uses FPGA.
What a feel-good video. I don't think any game got lower than a 7 out of 10 rating.
Cheers my friend. Exactly what I’m aiming for 👍🏻
I got the Colecovision and the Commodore 64 6 months from one another I got the Colecovision for Christmas in 1982 when I was 13 and the C64 for my 14th birthday in May1983 it was the best time gaming of my whole life included having a my own family during early 90s with all th consoles at the time of release I remember cuz I worked with my uncle whose was mason contractor during the summer of 1982 and save enough to buy my C64 with the monitor and 2 disk drives and my uncle bought me the printer and datasette
Good times!
Believe it or not, the Atari 2600 version of _Omega Race_ is a great game! The original pack came with an adapter for the OG Atari Joystick that gave it a “fighter ship” grip shape and a second button on the top, so that you had one for boosting and one for shooting. It plugs directly into the 2600 and had a male passthrough connector into which to plug your joystick, before plugging them into a single joystick port. It played even more like the arcade game, with the same, great physics as the Coleco, but the included joystick adapter made it so much more like the arcade game, to play - one of those games that made the OG Atari Joystick better to play. Plus, those physics-bouncing off the walls while the boost is actually useable - somewhat unlike Asteroids, which is much easier to play, if you stay directly in the middle... Alomg with bouncing off those walls, the turning with the boost is fantastic and really feels just like the arcade, also thanks to that version’s minimalist graphics.
I love so many Atari 2600 games, Solaris, H.E.R.O, River Raid, Demon Attack, Atlantis, Missile Command, Pitfall to name but a few, including… Wait for it… Omega Race! 😀
If you've never played Montezuma's Revenge on Colecovision, you're missing out. _Easily_ my favorite port of that game.
And only a 9/10 for Ladybug? For being the only platform where it appeared and for being such an intense experience, surely it deserves that extra point. It still holds up to this day. The enemies aren't like Pac Man's dumb ghosts. They will hound you relentlessly, forcing you to react quickly and use the gates to your advantage whenever you can. It makes Pac Man look like a relaxing day at the beach.
I can’t agree that it’s better than Pac-Man. But I agree it’s a great game in the arcade and on ColecoVision. As for Montezuma’s Revenge, if it’s the game I’m thinking of and played, yes I loved it but it was a bit too short to make the list. It would definitely feature in my top 20! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I really appreciate it 👍
Smurfs was fire🤣
For the time, very good game for a kid, that and Cabbage P Kids. I’d have personally preferred all the shooters
The one game is Pill Box from the Basic/DOS days
Great video very thorough. My mom got me and my brother a Coleco but we never had much games so it was great to see other offerings the system had. Thank you for not rating these looking through today's glasses and even looking at the gameplay now it still looks great and yes for the time this was cutting edge technology and was amazing in the 80's 🥳
Glad you enjoyed it! ColecoVision is still alive and going strong today with homebrew.
Discovered a lot of cool title in this video...good job!
Cheers my friend 🍻
Awesome
Keystone capers also came out on the 2600, I had it back in the day and always found it fun. This version has much more detail but my guess is the gameplay is very similar. I really want a Phoenix Colectorvision. My best friend had a celecovision growing up but I always loathed that stupid controller. Now that we can use Sega controllers and buy others as well I’m all over it. Edit: look up the instructions for the Coleco version of mouse trap. I’m almost positive you can go troll the colored parts of the maze with the keypad. I think it came with an overlay. I may be wrong but check it out.
Good to have you on-board, you're definitely very knowledgeable about all aspects of retro gaming.
Yeah, Mousetrap did have a VERY helpful overlay.
Finally, a fair review of the Colecovision game console. The nickname "PlayStation of the 80s" is a perfect description of its capabilities. I thought I'm the only one who shares such an opinion, but I'm glad we are many or just two of us, now😊 Amazing clip and review of the Colecovision gaming system ! Thank you! 🤗🙂👍✌️🎊🎉🎊🎉
my favorite Colecovision game was Looping
I personally cannot get it down to just one, my favourite changes on a daily basis.
Colecovision! The Dick Smith Wizzard's SG-1000 of the MSX Creativision. So many freaking computers and consoles used that exact setup it was ridiculous. Same graphics, same sound.
Who copied whom?
@@ClassicReplay They were all using common shelf parts at the time I'm assuming!
It had some custom chips, but mainly it used a Zilog Z80 CPU running at 3.58mhz. For the graphics and sprites, it used the Texas Instruments TMS chipset which was quite powerful for the time.
@@ClassicReplay Don't forget that classic SN76489 and the AY-3 PSG's, they both produce nearly identical sound despite having a few minor differences in the way you can use the channels.
I’m familiar with the AY, but not the SN?
Commodore 64, Atari, Intellevision and Colecovison. I was fortunate to be born in '76
You know what they say “better to be born lucky than Rich”. You were definitely lucky my friend 🍀
My first console of many...great times
Good solid foundations 😉
They look SO GOOD. I forgot.
I know, it’s crazy! Let me recommend your next vid ☺️ ColecoVision | Top 25 Games
th-cam.com/video/_dAmVCCXeZ4/w-d-xo.html
Easily the most comprehensive review of the ColecoVision. I always loved the ColecoVision as the VDP-cousin of my beloved TI-99/4A (my first computer. Purchased in 1982 and still booted up at leats once a day for a quick round of arcade favourites (but mainly Jumpman Jr...ALWAYS Jumpman! The best platform game ever written. in 2023 that hasn't changed)).
If ColecoVision had not dropped the ball so horribly, The Adam would have been my second computer. But that embarassing turn of events for Coleco caused me to go Atari 8-bit for my 2nd, and Atari 16 bit as my final non-PC/Mac.
I would still buy an Adam today if one became available at an affordable price, despite all its faults. I love the look and design of Colecovision’s console and computer. I could see and share their vision on where they wanted to take things. Thank you for your kind words. If you could share I would be very grateful 😊
@@ClassicReplay that's how I feel about the Ti-99/4, the precursor to the TI-99/4A. Really want the model with a volume slider and built in speaker, but anytime one comes up, it is prohibitively expensive. At least more expensive than I am willing to pay for a unit that will sit on a shelf as a cherished, but never used, possession. Would also love an Atari Falcon 030, but that too is allways above my retirement snack bracket.
But my 4A has kept me happy for a very long time.
i would've liked to have seen what this could do with increased rom space on the carts as time went by and expansion chips on them like the nes did a few years later. games like montezuma's revenge feel like "modern" games like super mario brothers kinda.
This limitation was due to the memory addressing scheme used by the ColecoVision's hardware. The console used a 16-bit memory addressing scheme, which allowed it to address up to 64 kilobytes of memory. However, this memory was not solely dedicated to game cartridges, as it was also used for system memory and video memory.
To address the game cartridges, the ColecoVision used a bank-switching technique that allowed it to switch between different 16 KB banks of memory. This allowed the console to access up to 256 KB of game cartridge data, but only 32 KB of this data could be accessed at any given time.
Aquaattack reminds me of Nintendo's "Cobra Triangle"
I never played the Colecovision but have always wanted one. Great video and new subscriber
@@salsatariandretroworld396 cheers my friend. I bought a Collector Vision Phoenix and never looked back
@@ClassicReplay oh I so want a Collectorvision Phoenix. They’re always selling out
You do see them going second hand, but I think there’s a newer model out now.
@@ClassicReplay oh really is the newer model on their website or elsewhere?
Teach your kids the trick of briefly pausing on the ladder in Donkey Kong. After, Mario rockets to the top. That makes the game much more accessible.
Great video and as a man who used to live in the Midlands myself in the 80s I'm wondering if that dingy arcade you used to goto might have been the arcade downstairs from the Dayvilles ice cream place that used to be on New Street Birmingham back in the day
I can’t recall exactly, but yes it was downstairs. Later on I’d frequent Sega World in Erdington.
I got a Colecovision with the intent of buying the computer add-on to make it into a personal computer until I saw the add-on personally . It looked really cheap and I didn't think it would work out for the Colecovision brand . I sold my Coleco so I could get an ATARI 800 instead .
That was actually a very good move, Atari 800 was brilliant for the time.
@@ClassicReplay another reason to go with the 800 was the Coleco used a Z80 chip . Weaker than a 6502
@AbeStephan the Z80 is about 20% faster than the 6502
@@ClassicReplay really? I saw a really cheap little PC with a Z80 and I didn't see it any better than the 800 . Lower fi sound also.
The Z80 had several 16-bit registers, including: BC, DE, and HL: These could be used as 16-bit register pairs. IX and IY: These were 16-bit index registers used for more complex addressing modes. Which ultimately means it could quickly access any memory area of the first 64k almost instantly. To sum up the Z80 processor it was (still is) an 8-bit CPU, but it had the capability to handle 16-bit operations through these register pairs. Early Z80 machines probably only came equipped with a beeper for sound, ZX Spectrum being a good example. But later incorporated a Yamaha sound chip. You can’t really compare these sound chips to the SID included in the Commodore 64, but these Yamaha chips were all decision choices and affordable alternatives for off the shelf microchips.
Such a great console. Here are some of my favorite titles:
01) Frenzy
02) Mr. Do
03) Bump 'n' Jump/Burnin' Rubber
04) Super Donkey Kong Jr.
05) Mr. Do's Castle
06) Spy Hunter
07) Q*Bert
08) Time Pilot
09) Gyruss
10) Frontline
11) Burgertime
12) Defender
13) Super Action Baseball
14) Centipede
15) Cosmic Avenger
16) Turbo
17) Beamrider
18) Tutankham
19) Subroc
20) Venture
21) Frogger
22) Tapper
22) Zaxxon
23) Galaxian (proto)
24) Pac-Man (proto)
25) Moon Patrol (proto)
26) Omega Race
27) Mouse Trap
28) Pitstop II
29) Carnival
30) Super Donkey Kong
31) Popeye
32) Jungle Hunt
33) Joust (proto)
34) Star Trek
35) Threshold
36) Congo Bongo
37) Gorf
38) Super Cobra
39) Space Fury
40) Roc n' Rope
Not one bad game there, fantastic list 👍🏻
Loved the video. A few notable points, though.
You mentioned being unaware of other ports of Keystone Capers. It was originally an Atari 2600 game.
You also mentioned River Raid being as good as the arcade. It was never an arcade game.
Finally, more about Wing War. You don't just collect Fire Crystals. You're actually supposed to collect Fire, Air, AND Water crystals. When you collect all three in your lair, it becomes an egg (extra life), and the world difficulty increases a bit.
About collecting them. You can only carry one of each at any time, which you bring back to your lair. You cannot collect a fire crystal, and then a water crystal because they will extinguish each other. So they must be collected either in the order Fire, Air, Water, or Water, Air, Fire.
Actually, my favorite way to collect crystals is alternating between collecting and retreving Fire and Air crystals until I have enough to make 99 eggs, and then collecting 99 Water crystals to finally make the eggs.
It all happened a long time ago now, but I’m sure I remember playing River Raid in the arcade back in the 80s. As for Keystone Capers, I played it on an 8bit computer, probably the ZX Spectrum, but don’t quote me on that. Thanks for the heads up on the other stuff.
Great video, but you didn't mention Montezuma"s Revenge! One of the best games for the ColecoVision. Take care.
That’s why I’m working on a new video for the ColecoVision. When I did the first few, I had no idea about how amazing this console was back in the day and how even now in 2023 games are still being released. Thanks for watching, spread the word, keep watching and the new vid will be upload shortly. Don’t forget to subscribe, thanks for your kind words
I remember playing Destructor (a game made for the steering wheel) back then...
I will definitely have to check it out
It was the best arcade system. Wish I still had the the game system.
Check out my other video, as there's emulation and other modern ways to play. th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html
i enjoy playing the colecovision version of burger time over the arcade version. probably cos it's a little bit easier. the sounds and sprites have a ton of character as well.
Agree 100% although wasn’t sure if you are quoting me 😊
There is a DOS version of burgertime that is pretty good for 1984. Make sure to make the game display composite graphics so you get 16 colors.
Great video but You missed Moctezuma revenge. One of the top 5 game imo
I'll check it out
The Coleco system never had it's chance to reach it's pinnacle like the NES did with "Super Mario 3." I believe it was overpowered for what it could do and could have easily overtaken the Atari 2600 and possibly even the early days of the NES. So sad to think it never had it's chance. I mean, the damn thing was so advanced, it had cross compatibility with the Atari!
It never reached anywhere near its potential. But Nintendo made a great console and delivered brilliant games.
The Gyruss port for the C64 is way better and smoother, but this version is quite good, and the galaxian port for the ColecoVision is simply the best I've seen on a 8 bit computer
That’s good to know. I will check out the C64 effort. Thanks 😊
They should put these games from colecovision on the switch.
These are good classic looking games.. much much better than Atari by miles .
100% fingers crossed as they appear to be adding more and more every day. The aim for arcade archives is 400 titles
I would call it the Neo Geo of the 80s but not as crazy priced mainly bc it was close to the arcade as you could get.
That’s actually not a bad call. I compared it to PlayStation for the ‘Wow’ factor.
I thought that much more about the Turbo Grafix 16 when it first came out. Some of the games looked better than the arcade with it’s amazing color palette.
Colecovision was impressive. As close to the arcade versions as you were going to get for a home console at the time. Zaxxon looked really good, Congo Bongo not so much. But the pros outweighed the cons with all the restrictions.
@@AngryCalvin TG-16/PCE had a pretty standard (for a home system of the time) 9 bit color palette. Contemporary arcade boards (e.g.: Sega System 16), had way better color and all other GPU specs. The only ports I recall looking better than the arcade versions, were of the more primitive arcade games released a couple or few years before PCE (e.g.: Gradius, Xevios, etc) . However, PCE did have better sounding audio hardware than many contemporary arcade boards, at least when it comes to music. Ports like R-Type arguably had better music than the arcade versions.
I would've killed to own this system in the early 80s! BTW, isn't Sega SG-1000 (Sega's first home console), basically a licensed version of CV? It was cool to see a lot of classic Sega arcade ports here.
I believe MSX adopted the hardware as well as Sega. I believe the only difference is the sound chip. I agree, it was a remarkable console with a high success rate of good arcade conversions
@@ClassicReplay Seems like all Z-80 based consoles and minis are pretty similar. It all makes sense why this system looks so appealing to me - I grew up with the MSX! Coleco even has an Antarctic Adventure port! That was one of my favorites! The Konami library on the MSX is superb.
it realy kicks the la mass arse you got that from winamp lol cheers
Well yeah! I’m a product of nostalgia 🤣
COLLLECO VISION AT THE TIME WE THE CLOSET TO ARCADE GRAFIXS AND THINK THEY WERE TO HAVE 11 MEN ON THE FOOTBALL GAME
I agree, no idea why people think otherwise 🤷🏻♂️
I didn't know a single person who owned a Colecovision..... All I ever knew about it were the great screenshots on the back of Atari 2600 cartridges which made me jealous... However the 'Playstation' of the 80's was the Commodore 64. It had the most games and it was the best gaming machine of the generation.
I was with you up until your C64 comment. The C64 was not the best, it was the most popular. The C64 was also a computer 🤷🏻♂️ not a console
Your Decathlon comment was amusing.
I actually grew up with ColecoVision. So for me, I have a long and personal history with this system. It’s THE most influential system I’ve ever played/owned. I still own one (and Adam) and I play this system as much as, if not more, as any other system today. Nice vid. I’m a big fan. Glad you like the system! It’s amazing.
Probably best console I've ever played where games are consistently good. You're obviously born lucky in life to have owned such a great console, I'm well jelly ;-)
This Gary Coleman joke is underrated 😂😂 10:50
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Now I'm jealous that I never owned one! Wow!
100% thank goodness I own the next best thing. A CollectorVisionPhoenix 😅
You forgot to name an arcade port, well, an arcade upgrade rather than just a port, Space Panic by Universal, probably the first game to come out of a console that looks better than the original arcade!.
Just looked it up. It predates Nintendo's Donkey Kong. First game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms.
крутой канал! спасибо за интересное видео! подписка и лайк!))
You’re a true gent. Thanks 😊
@@ClassicReplay джентльмены - в Англии. а я - скорее, "товарищ" 😁
Great video! I also own a Collectorvision Phoenix. Got mine in the second preorder period. I'd say you're definitely on the right track going that route. If I might make a suggestion you should add the IntelliVision to your lineup at some point if at all possible. Liked, and subscribed.
Cheers my friend. I have not long purchased an Intellivision for that specific purpose 😉 So far so good 😊
@@ClassicReplay excellent!
PlayStation of the 80s?
I’ll take hyperbole for $200 Alex.
You somehow inexplicably missed the game Utopia. Best game on the console.
I look forward to trying that one out thanks 😊
What about Pepper II Mr Do and Mouse Trap?
Pepper II, definitely. I've covered it already in one of my other Colecovion vids. I think it might be in this one th-cam.com/video/c6JMX1qJ1Wk/w-d-xo.html
Lady Bug is top five.
Very good game, ColecoVision has too many great games
Nah Powerlords is actually a port of the Odyssey 2/Phillips videopac game of the same name. So it's a finished game since the original game was the exact same thing
I need to look into the Odyssey, never played any of its games.
...of the EARLY 80s. We had the NES & SMS, you know.
The ColecoVision came out before both of those consoles.
Wing war is kinda like Atari's Fathom
I know what you mean, but completely different game style and challenges. Fathom could be the inspiration for Ecco the Dolphin 🐬
PlayStation was the main console of its generation. If something is PlayStation of the 80s then it’s NES
Depends where you grew up. In the UK the NES sold 1.5 million consoles. If it wasn't for the video games crash in the US the Colecovision would have had a much longer life. Coleco also messed up with their Adam computer. But for the time, it delivered a really good arcade experience in the home. In the same way the PlayStation did with Tekken, Ridge Racer etc.
@@ClassicReplay I grew up in Sweden so we had more or less same as UK. the crash is a bit of a myth. Thing is that the spectrum and C64 basically overtook the consoles as they was more or less as good and it was easier to copy games. Colecovision sold very little also during its life span compared to Atari. So I would say early 80s Atari 2600 was king in average over whole Europe. Then mid 80s C64 had foothold with spectrum big in UK and Spain. Then Amiga has a decent hold a little while until NES got big at the latter part of the 80s
But I agree with you that there was of course country local differences. So what I stare above is based on the sales Europa globally.
Btw with the figure of 1.5 million sold NES in UK is that good or bad from your pov?
NES sales weren’t bad in uk, just never knew anyone that had one. It wasn’t until I visited America that I realised it was a big deal. But once I played Super Mario Bros 3. I had to have one. SNES was a while different ball game.
@@ClassicReplay how old are you? I missed out on NES as well but I think it was because younger had it while I had moved on to Amiga in 87
@@litjellyfishis the only one who is on. L
Still have my coloecovision with the Adam extension and like 200 games. Hooked it up last year still works good.
That will be an unbelievable retirement fund you have there. Well done 👍
Had Coleco not botched the Adam launch and design, they could have owned the rest of the 80s instead of handing it to the NES.
Looking at tech specs alone, the CV was the equal of the NES hardware wise, and in some tech aspects, better.
Had software development continued into the late 80s, with cart memory and chip improvements the NES got, the CV could have done great into the 90s.
Given that the CV was based on the msx design, it's baffling why Coleco didn't just import or use a Japanese msx machine for it's computer, or CV at the start.
But then, a lot of stupid mistakes pre 85, like Atari not making the 5200 cart compatible with the 8 bit computers, or doing an xegs instead of the 5200 in 1982.
The combination of poor hardware quality, high price, limited compatibility, and bad timing contributed to the failure of the Coleco Adam from the little research I've looked into. Plus it was up against the mighty C64 and Apple II, both were apparently cheaper.
The Coleco is a good console, but techwise is was more akin to the Sega SG-1000 and MSX.
Tayto? Sounds like taters. Now I'm hungry.🙂
Beedy Beedy Beedy.
Lol!!!
Did any games that you reviewed get a 10 out of 10?
I’d rather not get bogged down on assigning a score to these games, it’s more about how they make me feel when I play them. There’s Metacritic and a bunch of other sites that do a far better job at that stuff than I could ever manage 😊