That was the last game my father and I played together. Warlords rocked. Even today there isn't an equivalent. And why not? How hard could it be to program?
In no particular order... River Raid, Megamania, Enduro, Pitfall, Miniature Golf (Grandma was awesome at that one), Combat, Bowling, Air-Sea Battle, Video Pinball, and yaknow, a lot of the real early ones in fact.
But actuelly incomplete gamecode as he only shown 7 of the 8 bits. so there is incomplete game code information. Search on youtube after "2600 yar revence code analyse"
Intellivision is a system that I don’t have much experience with yet. I would like to pick one up because I have heard some pretty good things about the library. I’ll keep this title in mind when I finally get one.
I'm sorry that you only came to this games with age! Demon Attack, Cosmic Ark and Keystone Kapers were some of the best things I played back in the early 80s!
Berzerk on the Atari 2600 was the first game I ever played. It should be a contender for a future list. 1:01 Crashman's stage theme from MegaMan 2 a go go! 4:47 I had the audio adventure cassettes of Yars' Revenge and Pole Position.
Berzerk will make an appearance at some point. I’m really impressed with how many games from the 2600 hold up and am having a blast playing through the library. I am just kind of randomly picking games from my physical collection that I think are still fun to be featured in these videos. I’m doing five at a time so there will be many videos on the topic for sure.
I kind of just randomly picked games that I thought had modern appeal from my physical collection to feature in the first video of the series. I have so many more to talk about! Enduro is one of my favorite 2600 games and will definitely be featured soon.
Played the heck out of all of these as a kid in the early-80s. Really solid choices. I was just playing Keystone Kapers. One game that I didn't have as a kid, that I picked up recently, is Turmoil. That's a really good shooter.
Our Wal Mart had a 2600 multi deck, maybe 10 games on it. Free play. Keystone Kapers is the only game I remember from that time. Activision and Imagic were incredible back in the day. I highly recommend Beany Bopper. Excellent 'shooter', an obscure game and vastly underrated gem. Still fun today.
I am so glad and surprised to see Cosmic Ark on here! That is MY first memory of a video game and even to this day it feels futuristic with that star field and cosmic sound effects. Love to play it on the original system (the difficulty toggle also reduces or increases the ship horizontal stretch to get a little more reaction time). I still play it every year and it’s exciting to reach the pacman head species!! I’m not sure why this game seems so forgotten in most lists and Atari discussions and never saw any proper remakes or recharged versions. I have programmed several for fun including one basic 10-liner a few years back.
Sadly, I had not played this game until like 8 months ago; but I am so glad that I know it now! I fell in love with it almost immediately. Thanks for watching! Let me know if there are any other 2600 games that deserve to be in a future installment!
Combat is great! I just don't have any friends to play it with... haha. I do think it is still fun to play today as long as you have someone to play it with.
I just gave Demon Attack a go on my 2600 emulator and thought it was awesome. I never had a 2600 growing up so I'm glad I have this emulator and 2,007 VCS ROMs for it!
That is how I discovered Demon Attack. I know there are many 2600 games that I have yet to discover, and emulation has been a gateway to playing games I have never played, never heard of, or are too expensive to buy.
Very solid list. I have most of those games on your list and I agree that they are very fun to play still. I also enjoy Frostbite, Seaquest, Jungle Hunt, Enduro, and River Raid.
Great list. I would also add Air Sea Battle as a brilliantly addictive two player game for the 2600. Simple concept, but hours of fun as you try to shoot a higher score than your opponent
Dragonfire was almost in this first video on the topic, but I decided to limit myself to five games per video. It will definitely be in the next one! One of my favorite 2600 games! I have never played Smurf or Bowling, so I will have to check those out and Frogger and Jungle Hunt will make an appearance at some point; thanks for watching!
I have no objections to this list. The VCS 2600 port to Centipede blew me away when it was released. My childhood best friend had it in the spring of 1983, I was amazed at how well it retained all of the elements of the arcade version with very little lost in translation.
I use to LOVE demon attack! When I was a kid, my friend had the Atari i think from his Dad before he get got a Nintendo and I got a Master System. We were lik 6 or 7 years old lol. I was always asking to play it. That and Joust. I'll have to check the other games out because I didn't play them.
When I saw IMAGIC mentioned, I just KNEW that Demon Attack had to be mentioned. Definitely one of the best games on the system. :-) Hugely addicting gameplay.
Atlantis was my favorite Imagic game. As a kid, I always thought of Imagic as a very close second to Acvitision. The M-Network Intellivision ports were a huge disappointment. We never had Cosmic Ark, but it was one I wanted because it was the only way until MAME to effectively get Space Zap at home.
I love Imagic's output. I didn't have Cosmic Ark or Atlantis when I was a kid, but I am so glad that I have discovered them as an adult. Thanks for watching!
Keystone Kapers: Wonderful, fast-paced action and ear-wormy music! Plus that pretty Enduro sunset sky that makes you crave a Bomb Pop! Centipede: The programmers were so smart here! They didn't even bother with graphics, instead they spent their headspace on getting the play and dynamics right! The centipede's de-coupling action when shot is spot on to the arcade version and I truly feel that the joystick is preferable to a track ball for this play. Yars Revenge: Maybe top three all-time favorite 2600 and likely top 10 of any home-video game I've ever played. There are multiple ways to go about winning, and there is an almost haptic pleasure to be gleaned from chomping on the shield with the flyship. Beautiful to look at, and so fun to play! Demon Attack: Clearly inspired by the arcade game Phoenix, I actually think this Demon Attack is the better game. Deceptively easy. Beautifully rendered wing actions. Cosmic Ark: I actually only ever played this back-to-back with Atlantis! For some reason I enjoyed the different challenges.
There are a great many that are still fun. Due to the architecture and associated necessary programming methods resulting in smooth scrolling, many games have a feeling of class and quality. But even many simpler games hold up.
You forgot River Raid and Solaris! Although the definitive version of River Raid is the one on the Atari 8 Bit line. It has the correct sound and the tanks that I miss in the 2600 version. Solaris is legendary. I played it after The Last Starfighter (I only got to borrow Solaris from a friend at school but had The Last Starfighter for my Atari XE) and I thought it was inspired by TLS. I only found out later how related these games were and what a masterpiece Solaris was to pull off on the 2600. And I only saw the film „The Last Starfighter“ many years later in the 1990s when this already caused nostalgic feelings because then I already had an Amiga.
This is not an all-inclusive list! There will be future installments and River Raid will be in there for sure. I absolutely adore that game. I don't think I've ever played Solaris, but I know of it. I will make sure to check it out. Thanks for watching!
A few games that hold up because we don’t do anything like them anymore, are the 2600 paddle games. Kaboom is pure zen fun. Demons to Diamonds is an engagingly complex paddle shooter. And Circus Atari is a unique take on both Breakout and performer safety.
That is a great point and I completely agree. Kaboom will definitely be in one of these videos. I have only recently picked up Demons to Diamonds and need to spend some more time with it. Your comment about the unique take on performer safety in regards to Circus Atari made me genuinely laugh. Haha. Thanks for watching!
Your first two choices made me raise an eyebrow in doubt, but the last 3 are solid wins I agree 100% Replace #1 with Empire Strikes Back and #2 with Solaris (or Starmaster even) and we can be friends.
Thank you so much! I know I've played Frogs 'n Flies, but it has been a long time. I'll make sure to try it out again; I know I've heard people say positive things about it. Thanks for watching!
Keystone Kapers came late to Eindhoven the Netherlands bought it in like 86, demon attack i had also and cosmic arc too and Wizard of wor was fun and Berzerk and river raid , i had something like 35 games
@@Alex_Valentine I agree. I hear it get bad reviews a lot which I find odd as other games that use Space Invaders as a basic foundation often get tons of praise. I find Space Cavern to be faster & more challenging than Phoenix or Demon Attack and with the added challange of the dragons coming from the sides. It's like level 1 is Space Invaders level 2 Demon Attack & level 3 Space Cavern... And yet people seem to hate it for whatever reason
Loved Noah's ark. Loved seeing what new creatures I would have to save. I never got good enough to see it loop the creatures. I wonder how many they r?!?
a game I still play is adventure, I play it on full expert mode and yell those damn dragons. I wish it didn't have the bug where it put the gold key in the gold castle. I also wish it had a timer.
That’s awesome! Is your version available to play anywhere? I know Keystone Kapers appeared on some other systems, but I’ve never played any of the other versions.
@@AggieThunderpaw There was a small run of the physical carts in box. Not sure if IntellivisionRevolution will sell any more. They are selling some of the other games I created. I do plan on selling the ROM at some point.
2600 was my third console as a kid. Had a generic pong box and an Odyssey 2 before it. I guess I'll just say. To each their own. While I do have positive memories of Keystone Kapers I find nothing compelling in these old clunkers that draws me back to playing them. For me the first system with any modern replay value was my fourth. The NES. I know I'm not alone in this considering the following the NES still has today. Just look at the young kids that still love old NES games in the speed running community. Even my young grandsons can be found sometimes playing old NES games in their Switch online service. Atari has no such following. I just don't see the appeal.
I completely understand your view and respect that. While I do agree that many 2600 games don’t really hold up to this day, I genuinely find myself wanting to play many of the games, such as the ones in this video. I was afraid that when I got the idea to do this series that a lot of my opinions would be tainted by nostalgia, but I never played most of these games as a child, really only having experience with Keystone Kapers as a kid. My favorite console is the NES and probably always will be but I think that the 2600 (my first console) still holds some value within its library. Thanks for watching!!!
I've never heard of Keystone Kapers but it looks pretty cool. I do have Centipede which is always a classic! Yars Revenge I remember getting but I don't think I've ver played it. I've never heard of Demon Attack or Cosmic Attack. So I guess I have a few games to check out. One I HIGHLY recommend you playing if you haven't and put on a future list is Haunted House. That is probably my #1 favorite Atari game and probably the one I come back to the most. It's very simple graphics but it's fun because you don't know where the urn is because it's different every time you boot it up.
Yars Revenge, Crystal Castle, Kaboom, and Bezerk. Those are mine.. oh and Warlords.. man there were a lot of fun games.. I'm going to play Atari tonight. Yay emulator handheld.. The only downside is the paddle, no kaboom..
@@steventravers3615 I have and it's pretty awesome! I don't have the most experience with the Odyssey 2, but I definitely want to dig deeper into it. I would like to do a video where I cover all of the games on the system, since the library isn't terribly large. I also see that there were some games released on it that were also released on the 2600 as well as the Intellivision; it would probably be fun to do a video where I compare games that were on all of the systems. Thank you for the suggestion!
I have an insatiable appetite for a pole position-like game . Enduro and Street racer are good, the top down view of Grand Prix is ok, I know Fatal run although it’s over priced and the ‘New’ Atari won’t post their new games to Australia 😢
Don’t dismiss 2600 arcade ports, while sometimes they’re bad,(Double dragon) but sometimes they’re Bretter. For lowering difficulty, Unique modes, better controls, or adding features like being able to kill the man himself, evil auto. So even if you have an arcade emulator and a realistic joulystick, 2600 games can still be better than the more powerful arcade (Punch out!, or Contra)
I completely agree. I have heard people try and discount the idea of playing arcade ports on the 2600 because the original arcade versions are usually readily available to play in some form. My inclusion of arcade ports on the 2600 in this series is an attempt to combat that narrative. You make such good points about the 2600 ports that I wish I would have made in this video, but hopefully people understand that I think a lot of the arcade ports on the system are well worth playing. I have made an arbitrary rule for this series where I only include one arcade port per video (Centipede in this one, Frogger in the second, etc.), but that's just because I enjoy giving myself arbitrary rules... Haha. Thank you so much for the awesome comment and for watching!
I own hundreds (250+) of Atari 2600 games and have played every game via Emulation that I couldn't find. The single most fun game today that even Zoomers will love immediately is "Kaboom!" played with the Paddle controller. A player can figure out the games basics in seconds but it can take months or years to be an expert of the game. It's the only game that my son would play when he was young. He literally refused to play most other 2600 games. My second favorite game is Dragonfire which is extremely fun but what cool is it shows the 2600 prowess as it has much better graphics than Intellivision and even Colecovison versions which I also own. The 2600 had a much better color palette than Colecovision which is why the Atari verions treasure look amazing but the treasure on the 2 other consoles look bland. My third favorite is Missile Command. I loved it on the Arcade first then the Atari version is almost as fun. We still see companies making their modern take on the game shows just what a great game it is that 45 years later companies still trying to capture that magic.
Completely agree with Kaboom and it will definitely make an appearance in a future video on the topic. I used to play it all the time growing up and it definitely still holds up to this day. Dragonfire was going to be in this video but I randomly decided to switch it out for Cosmic Ark. I love Dragonfire and it most certainly will be in the next video. I will probably try and keep arcade ports to one per video, but Missile command will definitely be in a future group of games.
There's some void in my house where things go missing. I know I have centipede but can't find it. I have my millipede and 7800 centipede though.. My nes bucky o hare is in the void too 😢
I don't believe I have never played Millipede on the 2600; will have to check that one out for sure. I also don't have much experience with the 7800, but that is something I hope to remedy soon. I wonder if your copy of Centipede went into the same void that eats socks...
I would argue that some of the games were never fun (such as Karate) but I agree with your sentiment. I think a lot more of the games hold up than people generally realize. Atari is awesome.
I love them both and Phoenix will make it into a future video. If I remember correctly, there was a lawsuit from Atari about the similarities because they had the home version rights to Phoenix.
Haha. All games that will be in future videos on the topic! These aren’t the top five games that are still fun or anything like that; it’s just the first in a series focusing on games that I think are still fun today. I love your list though; great picks!!!
I’ve got a bunch of 2600 games but no system! Every time I see one it’s way overpriced. I do have a 7200 though. It’s always fun to revisit the classics.
I was lucky to have a friend randomly sell me a 2600 for 30 bucks and I love it dearly. Generally, to capture footage I will use my Retron 77. Thanks for watching!
@@AggieThunderpaw it’s really neat how they did it - comes with a multi-cart and plays original and new carts. The 2600+ can play both Atari original 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges, and cartridges from the Atari XP program. I hope Nintendo follows this style for future retro releases
Atari games never became "less" fun. Our tastes in video games simply evolved over time causing us to want more input, diversity, graphical enhancement in games. I was raised on 2600 games when they were new, watch them enter the $5 bin before i even knew what happened, and still have a few today... It's like comic books, we just sorta outgrew them, they didn't become less interesting. nuff said?
Don't blame Warshaw for the awfulness of ET, Atari only gave him five weeks to program it from scratch. By comparison, Warshaw took 9 months to create Yars' Revenge, which is widely regarded as one of the best 2600 games (and my personal favorite).
Surprised you didn’t expound further on Centipede and why women enjoy playing the game. The game designers are Dona Bailey an Ed Logg. Did you know that Cosmic Ark is the sequel to Atlantis?
I would like to eventually do a deep dive into Centipede, as well as take a look at as many of the ports as I can. I will definitely get into the development in some future video. I did know that Cosmic Ark was the sequel to Atlantis; both great games.
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If you have some friends over and enough paddles, Warlords can still be a blast!
That was the last game my father and I played together. Warlords rocked. Even today there isn't an equivalent. And why not? How hard could it be to program?
Great point; I would love a new Warlords style game.
Enduro is also a hidden gem in my opinion (later got ported to the ZX Spectrum computer). :)
One of my favorite 2600 games!
Defender was my most played game on the Atari 2600 along with Pole Position.
I remember playing Defender so long that the joystick rubbed a blister on my left hand...
In no particular order... River Raid, Megamania, Enduro, Pitfall, Miniature Golf (Grandma was awesome at that one), Combat, Bowling, Air-Sea Battle, Video Pinball, and yaknow, a lot of the real early ones in fact.
Demon Attack, Megamania and Spider Fighter were my favorite shooters. I "finished" Demon Attack, assuming the black screen meant the end of the game.
I’m not very familiar with Spider Fighter; I will look into that. Thanks for watching!
Fun fact, the natural zone in Yars Revenge is a visual of the actual game code as it's being executed.
That is super awesome. I did not know that. Thanks for letting me know that and for the comment!
The neutral zone disappears if you play long enough. The enemy shield also changes color. I forget the order but either 1st or 2nd change is to purple
@@richardsherman2286 Haha! The more you know! :p
But actuelly incomplete gamecode as he only shown 7 of the 8 bits. so there is incomplete game code information. Search on youtube after "2600 yar revence code analyse"
@@AggieThunderpaw yeah, the channel "retro game mechanics explained" has a video detailing it.
Frogger and Pitfall were my 2 favorites
Both will definitely be in future installments.
5:00 the mario land 1 temple theme playing during yar's revenge messed with my brain for a second.
I myself was surprised by how good Centipede 2600 is
A great conversion of a great game; one of my favorites. I’ve heard the Millipede on 2600 is pretty good too, but I have not played it yet.
Solid list my man.
I would ad Spider Fighter, Phoenix, Haunted House and Space Invaders. SI on the 2600 is my all time fav way to play it.
I was an Intellivision kid. AD&D Cloud Mountain is still a great game to play; my favourite on the system. Fun is fun.
Love Cloudy Mountain! .. one of the best games on the platform back in the day!
Intellivision is a system that I don’t have much experience with yet. I would like to pick one up because I have heard some pretty good things about the library. I’ll keep this title in mind when I finally get one.
Someone needs to port Cloudy Mountain to Atari!
@@ravenstarretro4445 I was excited at first to hear about the Amico project, and new versions of old InTV games, but, then, well, that all fell apart.
@@ebbderelict Yeah, Cloudy mountain was one of the demo games for Amico. Wonder if it will make its way on to Amico Home?
I'm sorry that you only came to this games with age! Demon Attack, Cosmic Ark and Keystone Kapers were some of the best things I played back in the early 80s!
Star Raiders. Try that one. It's a great game.
@@gertpacu3926 Starmaster was the one we had; and another top favorite at that.
I like frostbite, hero, cosmic ark, no escape, pitfall2. Lol I wish I had the atari again
I keep hearing about Frostbite but I have never played it. I will have to pick that one up to check it out.
Berzerk on the Atari 2600 was the first game I ever played. It should be a contender for a future list.
1:01 Crashman's stage theme from MegaMan 2 a go go!
4:47 I had the audio adventure cassettes of Yars' Revenge and Pole Position.
Berzerk will make an appearance at some point. I’m really impressed with how many games from the 2600 hold up and am having a blast playing through the library. I am just kind of randomly picking games from my physical collection that I think are still fun to be featured in these videos. I’m doing five at a time so there will be many videos on the topic for sure.
@@AggieThunderpawBerzerk's box art is some of the best ever! And I too love old video game lore. 🙃
Bezerk on vectrex is where I first played it. Haven't tried the 2600 version
Keystrone Kapers was the first 2600 game I bought ❤
Centipede was packaged with my 2600
Two amazing games to have with your 2600! Keystone Kapers will always have a special place in my heart. Centipede is my favorite classic arcade game.
Great picks! I would have included Star Master and Enduro as well.🎉 #gaming #retrogaming #arcade
I kind of just randomly picked games that I thought had modern appeal from my physical collection to feature in the first video of the series. I have so many more to talk about! Enduro is one of my favorite 2600 games and will definitely be featured soon.
Played the heck out of all of these as a kid in the early-80s. Really solid choices. I was just playing Keystone Kapers. One game that I didn't have as a kid, that I picked up recently, is Turmoil. That's a really good shooter.
Ooo, never played Turmoil. Will have to check that out!
Forgot about keystone capers. Probably one of the first games I've ever played. Berserk, missle command also and burger time on commadore 64
I remember those games and the pictures, yars revenge was fun, I spent lots of hrs on demon attack. Cosmic arc was really fun.
Jungle Hunt is also a fun game that I always enjoyed playing.
Our Wal Mart had a 2600 multi deck, maybe 10 games on it. Free play. Keystone Kapers is the only game I remember from that time. Activision and Imagic were incredible back in the day.
I highly recommend Beany Bopper. Excellent 'shooter', an obscure game and vastly underrated gem. Still fun today.
I have never heard of that one! I will check it out for sure. Thank you!
I am so glad and surprised to see Cosmic Ark on here! That is MY first memory of a video game and even to this day it feels futuristic with that star field and cosmic sound effects. Love to play it on the original system (the difficulty toggle also reduces or increases the ship horizontal stretch to get a little more reaction time). I still play it every year and it’s exciting to reach the pacman head species!! I’m not sure why this game seems so forgotten in most lists and Atari discussions and never saw any proper remakes or recharged versions. I have programmed several for fun including one basic 10-liner a few years back.
Sadly, I had not played this game until like 8 months ago; but I am so glad that I know it now! I fell in love with it almost immediately. Thanks for watching! Let me know if there are any other 2600 games that deserve to be in a future installment!
Thanks for the great video! Cosmic Ark is so much fun - what a great game!!
It really is! Thanks for watching!
Moon Patrol!
Great list! I know Combat doesn’t get much love but my sis and I used to love playing it!
Combat is great! I just don't have any friends to play it with... haha. I do think it is still fun to play today as long as you have someone to play it with.
Agreed! It definitely still holds up if you have someone to go against. @@AggieThunderpaw
I just gave Demon Attack a go on my 2600 emulator and thought it was awesome. I never had a 2600 growing up so I'm glad I have this emulator and 2,007 VCS ROMs for it!
That is how I discovered Demon Attack. I know there are many 2600 games that I have yet to discover, and emulation has been a gateway to playing games I have never played, never heard of, or are too expensive to buy.
Very solid list. I have most of those games on your list and I agree that they are very fun to play still.
I also enjoy Frostbite, Seaquest, Jungle Hunt, Enduro, and River Raid.
Enduro is my favorite racing game on the system. It will definitely be in a future installment.
Great list. I would also add Air Sea Battle as a brilliantly addictive two player game for the 2600. Simple concept, but hours of fun as you try to shoot a higher score than your opponent
Awesome game! If only I had friends….
Great list... I would also include
Dragonfire
Smurf
Frogger
Jungle Hunt
Bowling
Dragonfire was almost in this first video on the topic, but I decided to limit myself to five games per video. It will definitely be in the next one! One of my favorite 2600 games! I have never played Smurf or Bowling, so I will have to check those out and Frogger and Jungle Hunt will make an appearance at some point; thanks for watching!
@@AggieThunderpaw Bowling is very basic but one of my few memories of playing a video game with my grandpa.
@@ilj1259 I’ve heard others say that Bowling is pretty fun; will definitely pick it up.
I have no objections to this list.
The VCS 2600 port to Centipede blew me away when it was released.
My childhood best friend had it in the spring of 1983, I was amazed at how well it retained all of the elements of the arcade version with very little lost in translation.
I use to LOVE demon attack! When I was a kid, my friend had the Atari i think from his Dad before he get got a Nintendo and I got a Master System. We were lik 6 or 7 years old lol. I was always asking to play it. That and Joust. I'll have to check the other games out because I didn't play them.
I never knew anyone with a Master System. I am just now exploring the library and am bummed that I didn’t get to experience any of it as a kid.
When I saw IMAGIC mentioned, I just KNEW that Demon Attack had to be mentioned. Definitely one of the best games on the system. :-) Hugely addicting gameplay.
Completely agree. I loved it from the moment I started playing it for the first time.
@AggieThunderpaw FYI - There's a Billy Club patch on eBay 74.99
I don’t know if I can justify that purchase right now… but, one day it will be mine! Thank you for letting me know!
@@AggieThunderpaw Of course!
Atlantis was my favorite Imagic game. As a kid, I always thought of Imagic as a very close second to Acvitision. The M-Network Intellivision ports were a huge disappointment.
We never had Cosmic Ark, but it was one I wanted because it was the only way until MAME to effectively get Space Zap at home.
I love Imagic's output. I didn't have Cosmic Ark or Atlantis when I was a kid, but I am so glad that I have discovered them as an adult. Thanks for watching!
Pitfall II is excellent as well
I don’t have that one in the collection yet, but it will definitely be in a future video.
the first Pitfall for the 2600 was also fun@@AggieThunderpaw
Keystone Kapers: Wonderful, fast-paced action and ear-wormy music! Plus that pretty Enduro sunset sky that makes you crave a Bomb Pop!
Centipede: The programmers were so smart here! They didn't even bother with graphics, instead they spent their headspace on getting the play and dynamics right! The centipede's de-coupling action when shot is spot on to the arcade version and I truly feel that the joystick is preferable to a track ball for this play.
Yars Revenge: Maybe top three all-time favorite 2600 and likely top 10 of any home-video game I've ever played. There are multiple ways to go about winning, and there is an almost haptic pleasure to be gleaned from chomping on the shield with the flyship. Beautiful to look at, and so fun to play!
Demon Attack: Clearly inspired by the arcade game Phoenix, I actually think this Demon Attack is the better game. Deceptively easy. Beautifully rendered wing actions.
Cosmic Ark: I actually only ever played this back-to-back with Atlantis! For some reason I enjoyed the different challenges.
I think all of your opinions here are spot on! Thanks for watching!
Good selection!
Solaris might be worth a mention and Warlords is a party blast!
There are a great many that are still fun. Due to the architecture and associated necessary programming methods resulting in smooth scrolling, many games have a feeling of class and quality. But even many simpler games hold up.
Completely agree. There are a lot of great experiences on the system.
You forgot River Raid and Solaris! Although the definitive version of River Raid is the one on the Atari 8 Bit line. It has the correct sound and the tanks that I miss in the 2600 version. Solaris is legendary. I played it after The Last Starfighter (I only got to borrow Solaris from a friend at school but had The Last Starfighter for my Atari XE) and I thought it was inspired by TLS. I only found out later how related these games were and what a masterpiece Solaris was to pull off on the 2600. And I only saw the film „The Last Starfighter“ many years later in the 1990s when this already caused nostalgic feelings because then I already had an Amiga.
This is not an all-inclusive list! There will be future installments and River Raid will be in there for sure. I absolutely adore that game. I don't think I've ever played Solaris, but I know of it. I will make sure to check it out. Thanks for watching!
Empire Strikes Back is always on my list...as is Joust and Defender.
Glad to see Cosmic Ark on here. I always liked it, but my best friend up the street didn’t.
HOLY CRAP MANIC DRUM MIX FROM TETRISPHERE!
MY FAVORITE GAME SOUNDTRACK!
I just discovered Tetrisphere and fell in love with the music!!! Good ear!
Activision's Beamrider was a great one IMHO., although that was originally an Intellivision game.
A few games that hold up because we don’t do anything like them anymore, are the 2600 paddle games. Kaboom is pure zen fun. Demons to Diamonds is an engagingly complex paddle shooter. And Circus Atari is a unique take on both Breakout and performer safety.
That is a great point and I completely agree. Kaboom will definitely be in one of these videos. I have only recently picked up Demons to Diamonds and need to spend some more time with it.
Your comment about the unique take on performer safety in regards to Circus Atari made me genuinely laugh. Haha. Thanks for watching!
Love this list.. another great IMagic game is Laser Gates ... Just love that one.
Ooo, have not played that one. I will make sure to check that out!!!
Warlords was one BAD-ASS Atari 2600 game. It was one of the last games I played with my father before we parted ways in life.
Yup, especially playing it as a multiplayer game
Battlezone, Air Raiders, Submarine Commander, and Basic Programming
Basic Programming isn't a game though. LOL
Your first two choices made me raise an eyebrow in doubt, but the last 3 are solid wins I agree 100% Replace #1 with Empire Strikes Back and #2 with Solaris (or Starmaster even) and we can be friends.
Plaque Attack was my JAM!
Shout out to Frogs and Flies too.
I have never played Plaque Attack; will give that one a look. Thanks for watching!
The sound effects in Plaque Attack are tops! Best BG music I'd have to give to Pressure Cooker.
River Raid has always been my favourite
Definitely one of the greats that will be in a future installment of the series for sure!
Congrats on this great, successful video! We’re still waiting on ours! Ever try Frogs ‘n Flies?
Thank you so much! I know I've played Frogs 'n Flies, but it has been a long time. I'll make sure to try it out again; I know I've heard people say positive things about it. Thanks for watching!
Moon Patrol and Real Sports Football are good. Regular Basketball is a lot of fun with two players too.
I will check those out for sure! Thanks for watching!
I agree with everyone of the games you picked. Moon patrol is another very good game!
I just recently got Moon Patrol and it will be in a future installment of this series for sure!
Great video, I subbed. Didnt like Cosmic Ark, would have went with Star Master myself.
Thanks for the sub! Starmaster will most certainly make an appearance in a future video on the topic.
I still play the hell out of Missile Command on VCS, excellent port.
Agreed. Will definitely make a future video on the topic.
Keystone Kapers came late to Eindhoven the Netherlands bought it in like 86, demon attack i had also and cosmic arc too and Wizard of wor was fun and Berzerk and river raid , i had something like 35 games
I always wanted to try out Ketstone Capers but never did. I remember seeing it in the Sears Wish Book as well.
Highly recommended. It is in my top five 2600 games for sure, if not number one.
3 Atari games I definitely replay: Yar's Revenge. Space Cavern & Circus Atari
Space Cavern never seems to get any love. It's such a great game.
@@Alex_Valentine I agree. I hear it get bad reviews a lot which I find odd as other games that use Space Invaders as a basic foundation often get tons of praise. I find Space Cavern to be faster & more challenging than Phoenix or Demon Attack and with the added challange of the dragons coming from the sides.
It's like level 1 is Space Invaders level 2 Demon Attack & level 3 Space Cavern... And yet people seem to hate it for whatever reason
Loved Noah's ark. Loved seeing what new creatures I would have to save. I never got good enough to see it loop the creatures. I wonder how many they r?!?
My favorites were Casino, Kaboom, and Imagic's Moonsweeper!!
a game I still play is adventure, I play it on full expert mode and yell those damn dragons. I wish it didn't have the bug where it put the gold key in the gold castle. I also wish it had a timer.
I love Adventure. It will definitely be featured in a future video.
I'm surprised there was no mention of Warshaw saying he's make a sequel to Yars' Revenge.
I did not know this! I will look into it; thank you!
River Raid is excellent, but a bit rare. Kaboom is also great.
I wanted an Atari 2600 just so I could play Keystone Kapers. I even Programmed my own version of it for the Intellivision called Keystone Kopps!
That’s awesome! Is your version available to play anywhere?
I know Keystone Kapers appeared on some other systems, but I’ve never played any of the other versions.
@@AggieThunderpaw There was a small run of the physical carts in box. Not sure if IntellivisionRevolution will sell any more. They are selling some of the other games I created. I do plan on selling the ROM at some point.
Indeed some great games on your list! 🙂
Thanks for watching!
2600 was my third console as a kid. Had a generic pong box and an Odyssey 2 before it. I guess I'll just say. To each their own. While I do have positive memories of Keystone Kapers I find nothing compelling in these old clunkers that draws me back to playing them. For me the first system with any modern replay value was my fourth. The NES. I know I'm not alone in this considering the following the NES still has today. Just look at the young kids that still love old NES games in the speed running community. Even my young grandsons can be found sometimes playing old NES games in their Switch online service. Atari has no such following. I just don't see the appeal.
I completely understand your view and respect that. While I do agree that many 2600 games don’t really hold up to this day, I genuinely find myself wanting to play many of the games, such as the ones in this video. I was afraid that when I got the idea to do this series that a lot of my opinions would be tainted by nostalgia, but I never played most of these games as a child, really only having experience with Keystone Kapers as a kid. My favorite console is the NES and probably always will be but I think that the 2600 (my first console) still holds some value within its library. Thanks for watching!!!
Video cube is still alright. Very underrated
Also demons to diamonds
I will have to check out Video Cube. Just picked up Demons to Diamonds and I am having a blast with it.
All bangers on this list. Kaboom could also easily slip in there.
It will definitely be in a future video on the topic.
You forgot a bunch- frogger, joust, wizard of wor, circus just to name a few.
There will be many parts to this series, and I am always looking for suggestions for the future videos. Thank you for the suggestions!!!
I've never heard of Keystone Kapers but it looks pretty cool. I do have Centipede which is always a classic! Yars Revenge I remember getting but I don't think I've ver played it. I've never heard of Demon Attack or Cosmic Attack. So I guess I have a few games to check out.
One I HIGHLY recommend you playing if you haven't and put on a future list is Haunted House. That is probably my #1 favorite Atari game and probably the one I come back to the most. It's very simple graphics but it's fun because you don't know where the urn is because it's different every time you boot it up.
Haunted House will definitely make a future list! Sadly, I do not own it yet and am only putting games that I own on these lists.
@@AggieThunderpaw Ah that makes sense. Maybe you’ll get it in your next box!
@@AggieThunderpaw Ah that makes sense. Maybe you’ll get it in your next box!
@@AggieThunderpaw Ah that makes sense. Maybe you’ll get it in your next box!
@@AggieThunderpaw Ah that makes sense. Maybe you’ll get it in your next box!
😅thanks for the interesting video.😂👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!
Yars Revenge, Crystal Castle, Kaboom, and Bezerk. Those are mine.. oh and Warlords.. man there were a lot of fun games..
I'm going to play Atari tonight. Yay emulator handheld..
The only downside is the paddle, no kaboom..
It's amazing how many of the 2600 games still hold up to this day. I haven't played Crystal Castles in a while; I will have to remedy that...
Keystone kapers is my favorite 2600 game of all time
It’s definitely one of mine. It is the very first game I ever remember playing so it holds a very special place in my heart.
Really good, but why the glasses without classes 😅😅😅😅
Aggie Thunderpaw, if you like Demon Attack, you have to try Attack of the Timelord on Odyssey2...
I will make sure to check it out! Thanks for the suggestion!
@@AggieThunderpaw Did you check it out yet?
@@steventravers3615 I have and it's pretty awesome! I don't have the most experience with the Odyssey 2, but I definitely want to dig deeper into it. I would like to do a video where I cover all of the games on the system, since the library isn't terribly large.
I also see that there were some games released on it that were also released on the 2600 as well as the Intellivision; it would probably be fun to do a video where I compare games that were on all of the systems.
Thank you for the suggestion!
Yars Revenge is genuinely a good game.
One of my favorites of all time. Didn’t have it growing up, which is a shame, but fell in love as an adult when I played it.
what about river raid? that has to be in my top three for the 2600
River Raid will definitely be in a future installment. Thanks for watching!
I have an insatiable appetite for a pole position-like game . Enduro and Street racer are good, the top down view of Grand Prix is ok, I know Fatal run although it’s over priced and the ‘New’ Atari won’t post their new games to Australia 😢
Enduro is definitely my favorite racing game on the 2600.
@@AggieThunderpaw I think Night Driver is on the list too with the paddle controllers
I played the hell out of Keystone and Yars.
Don’t dismiss 2600 arcade ports, while sometimes they’re bad,(Double dragon) but sometimes they’re Bretter. For lowering difficulty, Unique modes, better controls, or adding features like being able to kill the man himself, evil auto.
So even if you have an arcade emulator and a realistic joulystick, 2600 games can still be better than the more powerful arcade
(Punch out!, or Contra)
I completely agree. I have heard people try and discount the idea of playing arcade ports on the 2600 because the original arcade versions are usually readily available to play in some form. My inclusion of arcade ports on the 2600 in this series is an attempt to combat that narrative. You make such good points about the 2600 ports that I wish I would have made in this video, but hopefully people understand that I think a lot of the arcade ports on the system are well worth playing. I have made an arbitrary rule for this series where I only include one arcade port per video (Centipede in this one, Frogger in the second, etc.), but that's just because I enjoy giving myself arbitrary rules... Haha. Thank you so much for the awesome comment and for watching!
I own hundreds (250+) of Atari 2600 games and have played every game via Emulation that I couldn't find. The single most fun game today that even Zoomers will love immediately is "Kaboom!" played with the Paddle controller. A player can figure out the games basics in seconds but it can take months or years to be an expert of the game. It's the only game that my son would play when he was young. He literally refused to play most other 2600 games.
My second favorite game is Dragonfire which is extremely fun but what cool is it shows the 2600 prowess as it has much better graphics than Intellivision and even Colecovison versions which I also own. The 2600 had a much better color palette than Colecovision which is why the Atari verions treasure look amazing but the treasure on the 2 other consoles look bland.
My third favorite is Missile Command. I loved it on the Arcade first then the Atari version is almost as fun. We still see companies making their modern take on the game shows just what a great game it is that 45 years later companies still trying to capture that magic.
Completely agree with Kaboom and it will definitely make an appearance in a future video on the topic. I used to play it all the time growing up and it definitely still holds up to this day. Dragonfire was going to be in this video but I randomly decided to switch it out for Cosmic Ark. I love Dragonfire and it most certainly will be in the next video. I will probably try and keep arcade ports to one per video, but Missile command will definitely be in a future group of games.
My wife played Demon Attack to the black screen twice.
That’s awesome. You found yourself a good one.
@@AggieThunderpaw That's why I still have her.
Q bert. The Atari version is still one of the best home ports. Even against the later gen interation
Just recently played the Atari port and it is very good.
Kaboom
Laser Blast
Pitfall
All great games!
Me and my brother played too much Megamania, Maze Craze and Berzerk.
I love Megamania and Berzerk. Have not played Maze Craze; I will have to check that one out.
There's some void in my house where things go missing. I know I have centipede but can't find it. I have my millipede and 7800 centipede though.. My nes bucky o hare is in the void too 😢
I don't believe I have never played Millipede on the 2600; will have to check that one out for sure. I also don't have much experience with the 7800, but that is something I hope to remedy soon. I wonder if your copy of Centipede went into the same void that eats socks...
@@AggieThunderpaw Underpants Gnomes
All
Atari games are still fun: they’re simplistic and easy to learn
I would argue that some of the games were never fun (such as Karate) but I agree with your sentiment. I think a lot more of the games hold up than people generally realize. Atari is awesome.
Demon Attack is kinda a Phoenix clone.
I love them both and Phoenix will make it into a future video. If I remember correctly, there was a lawsuit from Atari about the similarities because they had the home version rights to Phoenix.
I would add Fantastic Voyage
I have not played that one; I will have to check it out!
Galaxian should be on the list !!! It's the best game ever made on Atari !!!
I love Galaxian. It will definitely be featured in a future video.
Ya got it all wrong. The correct five games are:
Breakout
Super Breakout
Kaboom
Indy 500
River Raid
Haha. All games that will be in future videos on the topic! These aren’t the top five games that are still fun or anything like that; it’s just the first in a series focusing on games that I think are still fun today. I love your list though; great picks!!!
Yars revenge is a great game
I’ve got a bunch of 2600 games but no system! Every time I see one it’s way overpriced. I do have a 7200 though. It’s always fun to revisit the classics.
I was lucky to have a friend randomly sell me a 2600 for 30 bucks and I love it dearly. Generally, to capture footage I will use my Retron 77. Thanks for watching!
Have you looked into the new 2600+ ?
I have been thinking about getting one because I would love to have a way to play 7800 games. I will most likely pick one up at some point. @@bupobm
@@AggieThunderpaw it’s really neat how they did it - comes with a multi-cart and plays original and new carts. The 2600+ can play both Atari original 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges, and cartridges from the Atari XP program.
I hope Nintendo follows this style for future retro releases
Atari games never became "less" fun. Our tastes in video games simply evolved over time causing us to want more input, diversity, graphical enhancement in games.
I was raised on 2600 games when they were new, watch them enter the $5 bin before i even knew what happened, and still have a few today...
It's like comic books, we just sorta outgrew them, they didn't become less interesting.
nuff said?
Fast Eddie is still fun. Ms. Pac-Man still holds up. So many still hold up.
Ms. Pac-Man for sure. I have never heard of Fast Eddie before; I will make sure to pick that one up. Thanks for watching!
Don't blame Warshaw for the awfulness of ET, Atari only gave him five weeks to program it from scratch. By comparison, Warshaw took 9 months to create Yars' Revenge, which is widely regarded as one of the best 2600 games (and my personal favorite).
ET!? AHAHAHHAHAAH IT STILL SHIT TODAY HAHAHAHA
Surprised you didn’t expound further on Centipede and why women enjoy playing the game. The game designers are Dona Bailey an Ed Logg. Did you know that Cosmic Ark is the sequel to Atlantis?
I would like to eventually do a deep dive into Centipede, as well as take a look at as many of the ports as I can. I will definitely get into the development in some future video. I did know that Cosmic Ark was the sequel to Atlantis; both great games.
Ecitebike rocks
That's not a 2600 game, fool
River Raid!
Fantastic game that will definitely be featured in a future video.
Keystone capers...the robber should be black