How do you like my hand-drawn arcade machine in the thumbnail? I created a bunch of them awhile back for a T-Shirt, however the T-Shirt company banned it because they looked too much like the real things! I might post the design on my Instagram later... Thanks for watching!
None of the mentioned games are 'later'. In fact the conversations of centipede, millipede, vanguard, phoenix und ms. pacman are very good on the 2600.
Hey man...Just wanna say that u continue to come out with amazing content. At first you didnt have many views but its awesome to see how over the years your youtube views have kept multiplying. Between Game Sack, Sega Lord X and some others, you grace my headphones and blue tooth whilst driving an 18 wheeler....Im 47 and my happy place is listening or watching content from u folks....Fantastic job man....keep up the great work....Game on!
Great video!!! Maby next time you make another video with the 2600 Ports: Dig Dug, Ms. Pac Man, Jungle Hunt, Crystal Castles, Centipede, Pooyan, Millipede, Gorf, Moon Patrol, Pitfall 2, Stargate, Carnival and Phoenix.
Had to shake my head at the comment that the 2600 version of Asteroids is better than the arcade. The arcade version is vastly superior. Using buttons to control the ship was not hard to learn and provided for very precise movement of the ship. I dislike it when current arcade emulators force Asteroids to be played to using a joystick or game controller with no options to use a keyboard or actual arcade controllers. The 2600 version was a crude imitation. The advantage all 2600 games had was that you could play at home for unlimited number of times each game could be played; not .25 cents per game played.
I'm amazed to this day what 2600 coders did with space invaders, Asteriods, Missile Command. They were so limited. Messed up original pac man but it was basically one guy that was time sensitive.
So for arcades, Atari had a policy that every game needed to have unique controls. No two games could share the same controls. So in general this translated to “no joysticks”.
Loved this video, so much I made a donation. I have to agree with you on all of them, except Asteroids, my vote goes to the arcade there. Generally it seems anything 70s the VCS could match or beat, but once you hit the more advanced hardware of the 80s it couldn't keep up. Part 2 please!!!
Asteroids was my arcade favorite, and I had no interest in the 2600 version. I still enjoy playing it on MAME every so often, and built a very simple custom controller with the genuine button layout. I don't play often - maybe just a few games a month -- but for those who love the game, it's the only proper way to place. I also added my own backgrounds, bezels and color overlays. I'm not into getting high scores just by ambushing small saucers over and over again. In my tournament world, such nonsense would be barred. It's "asteroids", not "little saucers". It's a plenty difficult enough game already, but I still enjoy bumping up the speed to about 125% in the .ini file. Afterwards, it almost makes normal feel like slow motion... for a couple of minutes.
I feel like Dodge’em for 2600 doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It is a very fun and addictive game after you give it some time. It is difficult but it is never the games fault. You could’ve done something else or timed your lane switch better. Plus the AI is simple, yet really difficult. Although for me the base game isn’t too challenging, although the difficulty switches are what keeps me coming back. The left difficulty switch makes the AI faster and more aggressive, while the right difficulty switch will start the AI car in a random spot, meaning you can’t just rely on patterns to get you through you have to rely on skill. Fun fact: the game isn’t endless for experienced players. As every 5 stages you complete without losing a life, you start from stage 1 with 1 life lost. Which means you can only get a total of 1080 pts.
Big disagree with Asteroids and Warlords, but would love to see another video with games like Centipede, Phoenix, Super Breakout, and Stargate/Defender II covered!
As a huge Berzerk fanatic, I've to admit that the Berzerk Enhanced Version on the 2600 immediately turned out to be my favourite version of the game (still love the arcade of course): considering that I've always loved the bigger blocky sprites and smaller dungeons, now it has diagonal shooting possibilities by the robots and even voices! The 2600 version finally got justice, it's way more manageable to play for an almost-40 years old guy than the Arcade, since it has those smaller sprites that can hurt my eyes during long playing sessions.
Re: Space War The Cinematronics version of Space War had a bank of number keys to select game variations such as bounded border, sun or no sun, etc. Nutting Associates's Computer Space was a different game inspired by Space War, but not actually all that similar to Space War. Or at least that's what I'm led to understand. I've never played Computer Space.
I'm not able to be a patreon member or help with the fundraiser unfortunately because I'm struggling myself I'm about to be homeless I don't have any money, But I love your channel my man 🤘 It's nice to see every time you upload a new video. I was born in '81 so I love anything retro 🖤 I remember my dad had this Mickey mouse game Fantasia style game and then he has Snoopy's Red Baron those were fun but they're hard to find now.
They tried to port Double Dragon to the Atari 2600, as doomed to failure as one might expect from a conversion of a 1980s arcade game to a 1970s game console. I regard 2600 Solar Fox to be superior to its arcade counterpart, due largely because the gameplay has been simplified, making it more immediate. Arcade Solar Fox is encumbered by play mechanics that don't add to the experience, instead distracting from the core of the gameplay. It's one of the earliest cases of bloat in a video game, decades before Grand Theft Auto 4.
Thanks for the great Video. I was wondering. How did you get the car graphic to show on your mame arcade emulation of Night Driver? Another creator mentioned that you had to download the art pack but I couldn't find it and wasnt sure how to make it work. If you can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it. BTW - I agree with most of your comparisons :)
You are mostly right but completely wrong about canyon bomber, the arcade version is way better. The 2600 version of defender plays superior to any version of defender on any platform ever.
The emulator your using is FAR too kind to a lot of these arcade titles 😅 They are using color graphics where as the originals were on B&W screens with color tinted overlays in various states of fading. Having said that, I just got to the part of the video where you say 2600 Asteroids is better than Arcade... I assumed the fundraiser was for you because you need help. All kidding aside, support cancer research but you still need help
Ow, rough. Are you suggesting he's got a malignant tumor on the gland that regulates good taste in video games? I heard a bunch of Next Generation editors died from that one.
How do you like my hand-drawn arcade machine in the thumbnail? I created a bunch of them awhile back for a T-Shirt, however the T-Shirt company banned it because they looked too much like the real things! I might post the design on my Instagram later... Thanks for watching!
Very cool drawing! Will watch this video this weekend, when I can devote the proper time to it.
This is screaming for a screaming for a sequel so many more to get to Dig Dug, Centtipede, Vanguard, Phoenix. Ms. Pacman
For sure. But those later games are much harder for the 2600 to replicate successfully. ;-)
@@GregsGameRoom7800
5200
@@GregsGameRoom Stargate was phenomenally done. Maby a homebrew arcade only comparison. Overall really enjoyed the video.
None of the mentioned games are 'later'. In fact the conversations of centipede, millipede, vanguard, phoenix und ms. pacman are very good on the 2600.
Great video. I disagreed on a few but it’s fun to debate and analyze. Hope to see this series continue!
Hey man...Just wanna say that u continue to come out with amazing content. At first you didnt have many views but its awesome to see how over the years your youtube views have kept multiplying. Between Game Sack, Sega Lord X and some others, you grace my headphones and blue tooth whilst driving an 18 wheeler....Im 47 and my happy place is listening or watching content from u folks....Fantastic job man....keep up the great work....Game on!
Oh, wow, thank you for the great comment! Be safe out there!
I’m really enjoying these arcade to home comparison videos!
Thanks!
"You got Astrids?" "Nah, my dad does though. He can barely sit on the toilet some days."
Props for the Starpath Frogger. Omega Race? Maybe next time.
Great video!!! Maby next time you make another video with the 2600 Ports: Dig Dug, Ms. Pac Man, Jungle Hunt, Crystal Castles, Centipede, Pooyan, Millipede, Gorf, Moon Patrol, Pitfall 2, Stargate, Carnival and Phoenix.
Had to shake my head at the comment that the 2600 version of Asteroids is better than the arcade. The arcade version is vastly superior. Using buttons to control the ship was not hard to learn and provided for very precise movement of the ship. I dislike it when current arcade emulators force Asteroids to be played to using a joystick or game controller with no options to use a keyboard or actual arcade controllers. The 2600 version was a crude imitation. The advantage all 2600 games had was that you could play at home for unlimited number of times each game could be played; not .25 cents per game played.
As a whole package, the Asteroids cart is better. Same with a lot of titles on this list.
I'm amazed to this day what 2600 coders did with space invaders, Asteriods, Missile Command. They were so limited. Messed up original pac man but it was basically one guy that was time sensitive.
I know right? I think people often forget how great these early ports were.
So for arcades, Atari had a policy that every game needed to have unique controls. No two games could share the same controls. So in general this translated to “no joysticks”.
Interesting.
This was a very important comparison video for me. Arcades were my first video game true love, but the Atari 2600 also has an enduring impact to me
Loved this video, so much I made a donation. I have to agree with you on all of them, except Asteroids, my vote goes to the arcade there. Generally it seems anything 70s the VCS could match or beat, but once you hit the more advanced hardware of the 80s it couldn't keep up. Part 2 please!!!
Thank you so much! Pretty much my thought too. It can do 70's games pretty well but struggles when it gets to the 80's games.
Asteroids was my arcade favorite, and I had no interest in the 2600 version. I still enjoy playing it on MAME every so often, and built a very simple custom controller with the genuine button layout. I don't play often - maybe just a few games a month -- but for those who love the game, it's the only proper way to place. I also added my own backgrounds, bezels and color overlays. I'm not into getting high scores just by ambushing small saucers over and over again. In my tournament world, such nonsense would be barred. It's "asteroids", not "little saucers". It's a plenty difficult enough game already, but I still enjoy bumping up the speed to about 125% in the .ini file. Afterwards, it almost makes normal feel like slow motion... for a couple of minutes.
I feel like Dodge’em for 2600 doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It is a very fun and addictive game after you give it some time. It is difficult but it is never the games fault. You could’ve done something else or timed your lane switch better. Plus the AI is simple, yet really difficult. Although for me the base game isn’t too challenging, although the difficulty switches are what keeps me coming back.
The left difficulty switch makes the AI faster and more aggressive, while the right difficulty switch will start the AI car in a random spot, meaning you can’t just rely on patterns to get you through you have to rely on skill.
Fun fact: the game isn’t endless for experienced players. As every 5 stages you complete without losing a life, you start from stage 1 with 1 life lost. Which means you can only get a total of 1080 pts.
I’m especially dislike it because my dad got me two copies… Ugh.
Big disagree with Asteroids and Warlords, but would love to see another video with games like Centipede, Phoenix, Super Breakout, and Stargate/Defender II covered!
Will do those someday…
You really should have included Dig Dug also. It's pretty impressive given the system's limitations. So was Ms. Pac Man and Jr Pac Man.
Decided not to do any silver or red label games this round. I did talk about those games in the mind-blowing video though.
I believe the Space Invaders hack is only graphical and sound difference, but it still plays the same
That was really terrific. I didn't know Warlords on the 2600 had a 1 player option. Imma go play!
Yep! Got pretty good at it myself.
As a huge Berzerk fanatic, I've to admit that the Berzerk Enhanced Version on the 2600 immediately turned out to be my favourite version of the game (still love the arcade of course): considering that I've always loved the bigger blocky sprites and smaller dungeons, now it has diagonal shooting possibilities by the robots and even voices! The 2600 version finally got justice, it's way more manageable to play for an almost-40 years old guy than the Arcade, since it has those smaller sprites that can hurt my eyes during long playing sessions.
Just including the voice is awesome!
Re: Space War
The Cinematronics version of Space War had a bank of number keys to select game variations such as bounded border, sun or no sun, etc. Nutting Associates's Computer Space was a different game inspired by Space War, but not actually all that similar to Space War. Or at least that's what I'm led to understand. I've never played Computer Space.
I remember playing Gun Fight in the arcade and it was only 2-player
What was the fourth game for Air-Sea Battle (Target Fun)? You mentioned Anti-Aircarft, Dropzone 4, and Seawolf, but I did not hear a fourth game.
Some say Destroyer was included too but I didn't really see it. Found it in Canyon Bomber though.
I'm not able to be a patreon member or help with the fundraiser unfortunately because I'm struggling myself I'm about to be homeless I don't have any money, But I love your channel my man 🤘 It's nice to see every time you upload a new video. I was born in '81 so I love anything retro 🖤 I remember my dad had this Mickey mouse game Fantasia style game and then he has Snoopy's Red Baron those were fun but they're hard to find now.
No worries! I just appreciate you watching!
if i recall, canyon bomber has a 2 player mode
They tried to port Double Dragon to the Atari 2600, as doomed to failure as one might expect from a conversion of a 1980s arcade game to a 1970s game console.
I regard 2600 Solar Fox to be superior to its arcade counterpart, due largely because the gameplay has been simplified, making it more immediate. Arcade Solar Fox is encumbered by play mechanics that don't add to the experience, instead distracting from the core of the gameplay. It's one of the earliest cases of bloat in a video game, decades before Grand Theft Auto 4.
Good points on Solar Fox. Sometimes simpler is better.
I really like 2600 Double Dragon.
18:13 that's the last stage not the second stage
i like how atari bezerk CLOSES a room
I also like the death sound effect better as well, the electrocutied sound
Easier than scrolling the whole room. ;-)
I believe Pauline from Donkey Kong returned in bonus screen of Nintendo Pinball NES.
We need to see Mario Bros, Rampage
Thanks for the great Video. I was wondering. How did you get the car graphic to show on your mame arcade emulation of Night Driver? Another creator mentioned that you had to download the art pack but I couldn't find it and wasnt sure how to make it work. If you can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it. BTW - I agree with most of your comparisons :)
I think I just googled “Night Drive MAME artwork” and the copied the file into the Artwork folder.
@@GregsGameRoom Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I still can't get it to show up. What version of Mame are you using?
How about Atari 2600 vs. Magnavox Odyssey 2?
Defender II pretty close
The best arcade port on the system imo (not counting later homebrew games)
Your next video should be arcade vs. Colecovision. They had much better arcade faithful ports.
You did not mention that Asteroids on the 2600 lack the UFOs that attack you?
I loved Sea Wolf!!!
Any game where you have to look through a periscope is a winner to me.
Jungle Hunt on 2600 was fairly decent 👍
I still can't beat Todd Todgers in Dragster
He showed me to play a few years back. Apparently...
You are mostly right but completely wrong about canyon bomber, the arcade version is way better. The 2600 version of defender plays superior to any version of defender on any platform ever.
🕹great job🕹
The emulator your using is FAR too kind to a lot of these arcade titles 😅 They are using color graphics where as the originals were on B&W screens with color tinted overlays in various states of fading. Having said that, I just got to the part of the video where you say 2600 Asteroids is better than Arcade... I assumed the fundraiser was for you because you need help. All kidding aside, support cancer research but you still need help
I do the cancer fundraiser for my mother.
I like the 2600 version better as well, too many buttons on the arcade.
Ow, rough. Are you suggesting he's got a malignant tumor on the gland that regulates good taste in video games? I heard a bunch of Next Generation editors died from that one.
GORF from Champ games for the Atari 2600 is awesome! th-cam.com/video/T4sHyQv40J8/w-d-xo.html
Sorry but arcade sea wolf was better much better than the Atari effort
BEAT THAT CANCER!!!!
What they did with the Atari 2600 is insane. Look at the hardware specs here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600_hardware