The 2600 version was done by Bob Polaro under contract for Atari, it was his last 2600 title and Atari sat on it for a while before releasing it for some strange reason.
The trick, with the NES version anyway, is to not run too far to the left so that Wile E falls off the right side of the screen. That allows the little bastard to be on the rocket skates. As long as you keep him on the board he will be stuck just running after you.
Interestingly enough, I have to say I think this is one where the good old 2600 wins. stripping out all of the needless points in it's design makes for a much better flowing and smoother playing game all around.
I have to agree 100% here, with the NES being the worst in my book, and more so with the prices Tengen sold their NES games for back in the day here in the US.
Only just discovered how long Atari sat on the 2600 version, before releasing it... The game is copyrighted 1989, but the coder left Atari in 1984. Bob Polaro: Road Runner was my last 2600 game (and probably one of the last in the industry) and I don’t know if the market was clearly defined at that time. I started it before being laid off, and then finished it as a contractor later, so I was separated from the inside scoop. It didn’t take more than 6 months to develop so I guess it was on hold for a while.
This is a game I haven't seen in years, I remember this game being on my grandparents' DOS PC back in 1992-3,, even as a child I wasn't a big fan, although it was alright for short plays here and there. Quite surprised there was no 7800 version though, seems a bit of a missed chance by Atari to release a game on the near dead 2600 , but not the current system of the time.
I always hated how fast Road Runner was to control, makes you wonder if they originally meant the game to have an analogue stick or a trackball? But there's also a laserdisc version of the arcade game, same game, just had animated cutscenes between levels and when you get a game over.
I've seen videos of people playing the prototype. I've just never found anything one way or the other saying if it was 100% complete. If it was, it'd be nice to have it dumped for MAME, just for preservation.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the Road Runner controls like crap. I honestly did think this game was meant to have analogue controls when I first started playing. As far as I know the Laser Disc version was only a prototype. I guess it would have cost too much for Atari to produce and ended up being this game.
The arcade game -did- have an analog stick, but I seem to remember there only being like 3 (maybe 4) 'speeds' which you could run...it wasn't a smooth variable rate based on the position.
You guys suck at gaming. It had an analog joystick with a hall sensor. That makes it more playable in the arcade. Home versions don't have that. later -1
Nice one! I didn't remember it, but I used to play the DOS version and didn't remember it was so jerky. I love how the NES port looks, so bad that it doesn't play that good.
Grew up with the ST version. Quite enjoyed it! Even more since, here, we have always been fan of the cartoon. And watching the arcade version, I'd say that the ST version is actually better due to better pace. As for the small bird seed collision detection, I remember it this way, yes, but you get used to it, especially if you're playing with a good joystick. Overall the ST version seems the best of them all followed by the C64 version. Thanx for the vid!
The ST version is definitely superior to the arcade game in terms of controls. I guess I could get used to the tricky to pick up bird seed over time but it is a shame that such a little problem wasn't addressed in the game's testing stage.
I fucking LOVED this game, when I was 13! Had no idea it was on the 2600. 1985 Atari arcade games, if all ported to Atari 8-bit, could've made the XEGS system compatible. Atari had some of the greatest arcade games, especially into the mid- to late-'80s.
Hi Mark, Thank you for taking my request with Road Runner. I love the arcade and NES version the most. Spend many hours playing them as a boy and still play the NES version at home. Can't wait to see the Peter Pack Rat version from you in the near future bro. 8^) Anthony..
This game looks like torture! I can't believe you played it so many times on all the different versions. I probably would have gone hulk on the first machine, lol.
What kind of control setup did you use for this? I just did some checking and it looks like the arcade version used a Hall effect joystick, which implies analog controls. I loaded the game up in MAME using my flightstick as a controller and I found that, while the game is still a bit twitchy and is very hard (as you'd expect from an arcade game of its era) it's not unreasonable to control. It only has two levels of analog input, but those are enough for reasonably smooth controls. Gave my arm a bit of a workout, though.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
Retro Core Related to Road Runner, Atari’s Indiana Jones (1985) arcade machine, and its ports. Lazily, I haven’t looked to see if you’ve already done that, but I will, now. It just came to mind, while watching this. Had Atari ensured that their 8-bit computer line that started, in 1979,with the 400 and 800 - especially considering the three and six years newer Commodore 64 and NES got a release - not to mention the two years _earlier_ 2600 and a couple/few other systems had horrible _Road Runner_ ports, and that the Atari 8-bits were still being sold and marketed, with the XE line and especially the XEGS console/computer. I imagine Atari was looking to show off the prowess of the ST, in relation to the Amiga and _particularly_ the PC-compatibles and Apple (10” black-and-white) Mac and the IIe, but I don’t think it hurt the Amiga, to have a C64 Road Runner port. If Atari would have focused more on making their mid-‘80s arcade ports exclusive to their console line (2600 - 7800) and both 8- and 16-bit computers and the XEGS, they could have actually made that hybrid, “Easter eggs console” - that wasn’t so very different-looking, compared to the US SNES - a very competitive set of machines, especially the XE line, which was still great. I realize they were different companies, but the larger, corporate synergy could have easily been leveraged could have really shown the continued importance of Atari, at least from the mid-eighties, until the end of the decade, at which point, they might have had a finger on the pulse of _games_ for the Lynx and Jaguar, which were, once again from Atari, excellent machines. However, the Lynx’s lineup had some great ports/console games (e.g., _Roadblasters,_ and _Batman Returns,_ ) - plus the *coolest ever* version of _Gauntlet... - and the Jaguar ran _Alien vs. Predator and Doom,_ plus a line of early Atari games with updated graphics and “2000” tacked onto the titles. I was amazed they didn’t make a 64- bit _Pong 2000,_ although _Battle Zone_ was obviously still very much worth it (as it remains, today, on PSVR). With _Gauntlet (II, Legends), Road Runner, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Paperboy, Batman, Road Blasters, Marble Madness_ the original _A.P.B., California Speed, Super Sprint, Championship Sprint, Cloak & Dagger, Crystal Castles, (Tournament) Cyberball (2072), Empire Strikes Back_ & _Return of the Jedi_ (vector games), _Firefox, Food Fight, Toobin’, Hard Drivin’, Hydra_ - _I, Robot_ - Major Havoc, S.T.U.N. Runner, Skull & Crossbones, Vindicators (Part II), and Xybots,_ Atari had a lineup of first-party games that would have spurred sales to get more third-party developers, to go up against the NES, from 1985-1991. Who knows what would have happened, after that? If Atari had continued to put their newer games only on their next-gen console and the most ahead-of-its-time handheld, until the PS Vita (which has suffered a fate nearly as bad), the *_1989_*_ Atari Lynx,_ the landscape would have looked more like it does, now - and had, before, with the Atari 2600/Intellivision/ColecoVision, three-major-vendor war. Also, if exclusive, if their own arcade games were made exclusive, their lineup of games were far better than that for the SEGA Master System and even - counting those through 1985, at least - a set of launch titles that were easily broader and better than the NES, which - after _Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, Mach Rider,_ and _Kung Fu,_ - dropped to _Wild Gunman_ and _Wrecking Crew, then a bunch of generic sports titles (among which _10-Yard Fight was no better than the original, Atari 2600 Football, and worse than Intellivision Football), and into the garbage, with _Clu Clu Land, Donkey Kong, Jr. MATH_ and those horrible R.O.B. the Robot games (which I got, that Christmas, with the full NES system). Heck, _Urban Champion,_ *the biggest waste of time since **_E.T.,_* wasn’t even dragged out, in the US, until months after launch... So, that would be Atari with _Gauntlet, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Empire Strikes Back_ and/or _Return of the Jedi, Paperboy, Road Runner, Cloak & Dagger, Firefox, Food Fight, Major Havoc,_ and a pack to compete with their awesome CX-80 Trak-Ball, _Marble Madness_ and _Crystal Castles - plus the incredible lineup of games already made for Atari 8-bits, including _Donkey Kong_ and _Donkey Kong, Jr. __-Math-_ (both among the only ones with all four boards), Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Joust, Dig Dug, Asteroids, Galaxian, Pengo, Robotron: 2084, Star Raiders, Pole Position, Jungle Hunt, and Congo Bongo,_ etc. Also, Centipede and Missile Command were already CX-80 Trak-Ball compatible. With a dual-button controller and what could have been a 600XL-sized (or the XEGS) console, instead of the horrible 5200 monster, with ridiculous joysticks with pointless, Intellivision/ColecoVision numeric keyboards, Atari and that lineup could have destroyed Nintendo - and a modern Atari 2600/VCS-designed game console, like the one that may never materialize, could actually be in a position to be what they want it to be - as opposed to a Linux console with no clear goals - and actually compete among Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft (if Microsoft ever jumped in, without the void left by SEGA dropping out... ). Atari had the games and the tech to remain among the top three, for a long, long time. Unfortunately, their business models and perfectionist tendencies to start but not finish great products and then put out enormous consoles with bad controllers and updated Atari 2600 games, through the mid-nineties, killed any such possibilities... I’d LOVE to see you do a video, about what could have been, though. That would be awesome!
Man, that's a long but interesting post. Being from the UK I don't really have an interest in Atari. They were never really a thing in the UK. Sure we had them but we never really followed them. Most people were more interested in home computers. I think to do a good history on a topic the creator must have a real love and interest for what they are covering.
LYNX Gauntlet is Gauntlet in name only it was a stand alone title, Traps and Treasure Chests, rebranded with the Gauntlet name. Lynx AVP was in development before the Jaguar version, same producer, canned so all focus could be given to Jaguar projects but concepts from it put into the Jaguar game. Jaguar Hoverstrike started life as Battlezone 2000.
Hey Mark, I have another great Battle of the Ports request that I think you'll like to add onto the list if you like. The game is called, "Konami Ping-Pong" by Konami in 1985. It was available on the following units. Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom Disk System, MSX, ZX Spectrum Anthony...
It seems like the C64 version is probably the best. It has background music, controls better than the arcade (I'd assume), and runs at a steady framerate while taking up the entire screen. Though I'm surprised by how good the Atari 2600 port is, it's probably a close second to the C64 version.
HI Mark, Not sure if you've seen it but Kim Justice's recent documentary of Canvas Software compliments this game and earlier BOTP of Athena quite well.
The Antic review of the ST version highlighted the issues with joystick controls, reviewer complained of unbelievable cramps in hands and arms that lasted for days, 2 joysticks destroyed in the review. Also pointed out that in the cartoons, the coyote never wins, in the ST version, he never looses. Game would of been better if you played as Wile E. Coyote, built-in frustrations blocking him from catching the Road Runner, mail order screen before each level letting you choose weapons.. Basically gave ideas for Road Runner II
This game was only 4 stages as im remember, which is repeated with harder Difficulty. Spectrum version must have started on one of the later repeats? Anyway im do like that way Commodore 64 used the sprites for the Seed Meter (yes all 8 sprites was used here, but then its multiplexed the sprites after the Seed Meter), so that means its diddent effect the scrolling at all, so its could uses fullscreen here. The Commodore 64 version was a nice game and played a lots as kid, but its also a hard game too.
i actually played the NES version a while back and i did manage to enjoy it, i also liked some of the music. i also remember watching a video on niconico douga about someone playing the actual arcade cabinet. what is the name of the song at the end?
The song at the end is called Perpetual Dark. It is not from this game. In fact this game doesn't have any copyright friendly music. The song I used is from some Japanese game. No idea which game though.,
I have to confess I feel kinda satisfied every time Wile E. Coyote gets the Road Runner. I'm sorry, but years and years watching Looney Tunes and up taking a toll.
I love these Battle of the Ports videos. I was surprised by how good the 2600 version is, and the ST version is my favorite. I swear the C64 disk broke at least 1, and potentially 2 disk drives. Maybe my disk was defective- I don't know.
Wow! I had this game on a multi tape collection for my Amstrad but I never managed to get it to load. I’ve always meant to look on TH-cam to see what the game was all about. Thanks!
Atari ST owners with suitable upgrades, can download a patch to improve the scrolling.. Works from hard disk on all ST(E), Mega ST(E), TT, Falcon, any TOS, with min 1MB RAM. 3 Launchers in package - for 1MB machines without blitter, for 2MB machines without blitter (little faster), and for machines with blitter (1MB enough) - fastest, smoothest.
Yeah, the controls for the arcade aren't broken, as it used a unique joystick and without that, it's going to control pretty bad. It was actually analog, so move it a little, and he moved slower and move it a lot, he runs faster. Playing this in MAME you would at the minimum need an analog stick, but the arcade was even more unique, as you had to use force to move the stick, as it wasn't lose like most analog joysticks feel, but it had resistance, and that made all the difference. I loved the arcade game, and anytime I run across it in the wild I try to play it, but even some arcade machines have issues due to the stick and if it's maintained properly.
Just looking through a massive Atari Sunnyvale 5200 and 2600 News Releases P. R Release from the time. Road Runner, game number 20. only listed as a 5200 title, release November, suggested retail price$40.95.
@@RetroCore possibly, but Atari made NO secret of getting SAME games on all existing platforms. California Games made it to the 2600,was annouced for the XE system..
Retro Core Each level was themed on a character, most were platforming but a couple of them were other things- Porky Pig's stage was a shooter for example~
I had a friend who worked in a computer shop and I remember waiting for him to phone me when it came in so I could take a blank tape down and get a free copy of the speccy version.. glad I never bought it such a let down!
This game is impossible to use a standard 8-way game in mame for controls this game: You need to play this game with a analoge controller (the original arcade game used a Hall Effect joystick). So that can explains a lot! Ports dosent have this issue, because none of them have that analoge controller.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
Actuelly its a game that dosent emulate very well in MAME, due the special joystick used. Im have newer played the original arcade game, but can guess its much better in the original arcade game, and just dosent play very well in MAME (yes im a day played the MAME version, but controls is bad here in emulation). So im can agree the MAME version is bad, but many of the ports is fun, because they simply dosent need to simulate the analoge joystick used. C64 version was very fun when im was kid. PS. The original prototype was a laserdisc game with a similar gameplay, sad its was newer got released.
Game could have been saved, easily. As Larry mentions, this looks like it was meant for a form of analog control, which would have helped with manuverability. Also, make the seeds more rare and out of the way, and make getting five or ten get you a power-up instead of penalizing you for not getting all of them.
>Arcade control is bad Last I recall, the original arcade game had analog controls, while most of the ports accounted for the digital sticks that most people had at the time, which were less prevalent than keyboard controls.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
They miss so much with the concept of Road Runner. Look at the two games (one unrealeased) on the SNES system...Boy oh Boy....Both games have issues with the control and also Wild .E .Coyote is a bastard in a half
Yes, that's right. The opening music is from an old PC-88 game. This is very odd for me to do but in this game's case I didn't have much choice. There's very little music and what music is there could be subject to copyright from Warner brothers.
@@RetroCore Ohhhhh yeah. The copyright stuff, I seriously forget about that. Yeah guess that game didn't really have a ton of music. I understand your decision. Silpheed music is good stuff anyways! ^.=.^
US Gold Advertising revenue strikes again. 4/5 for playability and a rating of MEGA from C. C. I magazine on the C64 version, must have been DISK version reviewed, but even then points out there's a crippling bug on level 2
It's not from the Road Runner game as that had no good music on it. It's from some random Japanese game. I can't recall the title or game it was from now.
Yep, this could have been the ultimate "proto-endless runner" game. Instead, it's a complete waste of an awesome license. At least your video is, as always, entertaining and informative. Thanks again Mark!
Obviously no game could ever do the cartoons any justice. (Wile is my hero to this day). Unfortunately this game looked pretty good but played pretty bad, no matter what version. If I recall right, there was another Road Runner game called Wile E Coyote by Hi-tec on the C64, although not based on an arcade game, that was better than this (and looked excellent, just ike all of Hi-Tec's licensed cartoon games).
There's also a Master System and Game Gear game developed by Probe and a Mega Drive game developed by Blue Sky Software (which has some fancy graphics and animations). These two were produced by Sega.
That they did. Thing is, was it ever really popular anywhere outside the US? In the UK we had them but it didn't make a dent in the home computer market.
I remember the 2600 being very popular for a short time in the early 1980s, but it was very quickly replaced by Spectrums and C64s. I guess there was still a market for them and Atari were desperate to make money any way they could...@@RetroCore
Tengen on the Mega Drive normally meant a quality game though. Maybe because Mega Drive Tengen games were always developed by Japanese staff. There is one Tengen game that does suck balls however, Dragon's Fury or whatever it was called, the unofficial sequence to Technosoft's Devil Crash. Guess, where that was made? Yep, in the states. Seems Tengen had two completely different sets of developer studios.
Whenever I read or hear the word "Tengen" I always remember of those unlicensed NES games and the Mega Drive version of Prince of Persia. Man this game is so slow and flawed. Specially compared to the Mega-CD and SNES versions.
Prince of Persia on the Mega Drive was developed by Domark. I guess it was published in the US by Tengen. In Europe Domark published the game. I do agree that Tengen on the NES normally meant complete crap. Right up there with Acclaim (LJN), THQ, American Software Works, Absolute Entertainment and so on.
I don't like this game very much, honestly, and the bird seed mechanic is why. It should've been an optional feature to obtain a few extra points, not something that was mandatory to pick up to keep Wile E Coyote away from you. If it was optional, rather than the passing out nonsense, it could've been better.
One of few instances, where some ports are better than arcade original :) Grew up playing C64 and it was pretty fun game, one of my favorite things, is that you can sometimes be saved, even when Coyote catch you, and he ran into mine. Speccy port looks worst to me, for earrape music and sound effect every time you pick a seed, and unfair difficulty.
I never got on with this either. I had it on the C64 and even though it looked nice enough, the load times were horrible. The game should've had Roadrunner running automatically with the player moving him up and down the screen or resuming full control when avoiding obstacles. Would've made way more sense in my eyes.
Having the point that the screen starts scrolling at set so far to the left on most of the home ports pretty much makes them unplayable without memorisation of the entire layout, you can't see far enough ahead to avoid incoming hazards or dead-ends. Since the problem is so consistent most of the ports must be based off just one or two versions. Perhaps memory constraints made scrolling a smaller area at a time a workaround for the 8-Bit versions. The Atari ST and MSDOS versions had no excuse though. Amiga owners dodged a bullet here.
well we are better off going for atari st atari 2600 commodore 64 amstrad cpc and ms dos versions of the port because nes/famicom unlicensed bootleg but other company by tengen for nes/famicom failed this one. including the arcade.
@@RetroCore I played it at CAX. It also played more than interstitials. The road itself and backgrounds were laserdisc fed. th-cam.com/video/L1BL_nkq64w/w-d-xo.html
@@RetroCore Nope, totally different game. The SNES game (Death Valley Rally) was developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Sunsoft. The Master System and Game Gear game (Desert Speedtrap) was developed by Probe and published by Sega. There's also the Mega Drive game (Desert Demolition) developed by Blue Sky Software and published by Sega, which I consider the best Road Runner game because it captures so well the spirit of the cartoon (especially sound wise), has some fancy graphics and animations and lets you play as Wile E. Coyote. Too bad it's a fairly easy and short game though.
@@RetroCore right it's maybe not faithful to arcade version but let's be honest the arcade gameplay is junk and I think endless run is more fitting for Road Runner.
I legit hate this fucking game. I remember playing it the first time I saw it in the arcade. I was young, and it was all pretty and shiny. I got over it pretty quickly. Thankfully, I never tortured myself with a home port.
I always applaud your suffering endured to get these excellent battles completed. I hate the arcade and actually really dislike a lot of the Atari arcade games due to that farty soundtrack they always have. A bit controversial I guess but it's always been a sound I've found grating.
Personally I think a lot of Atrai arcade games are dull, look ugly and well, not really appealing. That's not to say they're all like that . There's also many fantastic titles such as Hard Drivin', Gauntlet and Toobin.
I couldn't agree more. Those three you chose are very much in my good books, I like to stick with the vector games tbh. I don't mind paperboy though if only played on those handle bars. I love the MD version of gauntlet for that amazing soundtrack! I'd like to see a feature on that composer.
Hitoshi Sakimoto could be a show in itself, his catalogue of compositions are legendary. Just to pick a few favourites, Midnight resistance megadrive, Soukyugurentai, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V. And that amazing job done on Gauntlet 4.
Regarding the arcade game's controls being shit, I could not agree with you MORE! I really wanted too like the game (as I love the cartoons) but man, such a waste of potential. I believe there was a trackball version of it too. Imagine how _that_ must control...
not a good arcade game. like you i hated it mainly because of the terrible controls. but it was just boring on top of that. i'm suprised they released it at all. i can't see it doing well in playtesting. even more suprising is mike hally's involvement in it as director. even more baffling are the arcade operators who thought this would be a good game to buy.
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The 2600 version was done by Bob Polaro under contract for Atari, it was his last 2600 title and Atari sat on it for a while before releasing it for some strange reason.
The trick, with the NES version anyway, is to not run too far to the left so that Wile E falls off the right side of the screen. That allows the little bastard to be on the rocket skates. As long as you keep him on the board he will be stuck just running after you.
Some good advice there.
I think we've finally found Wile E. Coyote's favorite video game - the one where he actually CATCHES the Road Runner.
"But wait! This is a western home computer arcade port by US Gold. Something must be wrong."
This can basically be the tagline of the show by now!
My weekend can now start!! I’m so happy!! Thanks Retro Core!! 🤪
Sorry today's show was a little late. Had a bit of a hangover this morning after a friends birthday party last night.
Interestingly enough, I have to say I think this is one where the good old 2600 wins. stripping out all of the needless points in it's design makes for a much better flowing and smoother playing game all around.
It was one of the more fun ports to play without a doubt.
I have to agree 100% here, with the NES being the worst in my book, and more so with the prices Tengen sold their NES games for back in the day here in the US.
You know the original is shit when stripping out the core game mechanic is an improvement...
@@jesuszamora6949 Well said.
Only just discovered how long Atari sat on the 2600 version, before releasing it...
The game is copyrighted 1989, but the coder left Atari in 1984.
Bob Polaro: Road Runner was my last 2600 game (and probably one of the last in the industry) and I don’t know if the market was clearly defined at that time. I started it before being laid off, and then finished it as a contractor later, so I was separated from the inside scoop. It didn’t take more than 6 months to develop so I guess it was on hold for a while.
This is a game I haven't seen in years, I remember this game being on my grandparents' DOS PC back in 1992-3,, even as a child I wasn't a big fan, although it was alright for short plays here and there.
Quite surprised there was no 7800 version though, seems a bit of a missed chance by Atari to release a game on the near dead 2600 , but not the current system of the time.
I always hated how fast Road Runner was to control, makes you wonder if they originally meant the game to have an analogue stick or a trackball?
But there's also a laserdisc version of the arcade game, same game, just had animated cutscenes between levels and when you get a game over.
I've seen videos of people playing the prototype. I've just never found anything one way or the other saying if it was 100% complete. If it was, it'd be nice to have it dumped for MAME, just for preservation.
I'm gonna say the H word...
HELLO YOU!
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the Road Runner controls like crap. I honestly did think this game was meant to have analogue controls when I first started playing.
As far as I know the Laser Disc version was only a prototype. I guess it would have cost too much for Atari to produce and ended up being this game.
The arcade game -did- have an analog stick, but I seem to remember there only being like 3 (maybe 4) 'speeds' which you could run...it wasn't a smooth variable rate based on the position.
You guys suck at gaming.
It had an analog joystick with a hall sensor.
That makes it more playable in the arcade.
Home versions don't have that.
later
-1
That C64 death theme is amazing
Nice one! I didn't remember it, but I used to play the DOS version and didn't remember it was so jerky. I love how the NES port looks, so bad that it doesn't play that good.
Wile E. Coyote, super genius.
I'm sorry, Mac, the lady of the house ain't home. And besides, we mailed you people a check last week.
Grew up with the ST version. Quite enjoyed it! Even more since, here, we have always been fan of the cartoon.
And watching the arcade version, I'd say that the ST version is actually better due to better pace. As for the small bird seed collision detection, I remember it this way, yes, but you get used to it, especially if you're playing with a good joystick.
Overall the ST version seems the best of them all followed by the C64 version.
Thanx for the vid!
The ST version is definitely superior to the arcade game in terms of controls. I guess I could get used to the tricky to pick up bird seed over time but it is a shame that such a little problem wasn't addressed in the game's testing stage.
I fucking LOVED this game, when I was 13! Had no idea it was on the 2600. 1985 Atari arcade games, if all ported to Atari 8-bit, could've made the XEGS system compatible. Atari had some of the greatest arcade games, especially into the mid- to late-'80s.
Nice use of Silpheed music for the opening :D
ah, you noticed :)
@@RetroCore Absolutely :) Silpheed is one of my favorite Game Arts games :)
Oh SNAP that Shilpheed music to start the show!!
Played this on the NES!
Yay! Silpheed level music for the intro!
So...would you say the less powerful versions basically say "beep beep" to the other versions?
Yep. At least in terms of playability.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for taking my request with Road Runner. I love the arcade and NES version the most. Spend many hours playing them as a boy and still play the NES version at home.
Can't wait to see the Peter Pack Rat version from you in the near future bro. 8^)
Anthony..
No worries, Anthony. Next will be a Neo Geo game and a few others but after they are done I'll see about doing Peter Pack Rat.
This game looks like torture! I can't believe you played it so many times on all the different versions. I probably would have gone hulk on the first machine, lol.
hehe. i almost did. I spend almost an hour trying to complete stage 2 of the arcade version. The controls just drove me nuts.
3:37 That is actually terrifying.
What kind of control setup did you use for this? I just did some checking and it looks like the arcade version used a Hall effect joystick, which implies analog controls. I loaded the game up in MAME using my flightstick as a controller and I found that, while the game is still a bit twitchy and is very hard (as you'd expect from an arcade game of its era) it's not unreasonable to control. It only has two levels of analog input, but those are enough for reasonably smooth controls. Gave my arm a bit of a workout, though.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
@@RetroCore The Arcade version looks like it should've used a trackball controller like Crystal Castles
we used to have an NES back then but I never heard of this game until now.
Retro Core Related to Road Runner, Atari’s Indiana Jones (1985) arcade machine, and its ports. Lazily, I haven’t looked to see if you’ve already done that, but I will, now. It just came to mind, while watching this. Had Atari ensured that their 8-bit computer line that started, in 1979,with the 400 and 800 - especially considering the three and six years newer Commodore 64 and NES got a release - not to mention the two years _earlier_ 2600 and a couple/few other systems had horrible _Road Runner_ ports, and that the Atari 8-bits were still being sold and marketed, with the XE line and especially the XEGS console/computer.
I imagine Atari was looking to show off the prowess of the ST, in relation to the Amiga and _particularly_ the PC-compatibles and Apple (10” black-and-white) Mac and the IIe, but I don’t think it hurt the Amiga, to have a C64 Road Runner port.
If Atari would have focused more on making their mid-‘80s arcade ports exclusive to their console line (2600 - 7800) and both 8- and 16-bit computers and the XEGS, they could have actually made that hybrid, “Easter eggs console” - that wasn’t so very different-looking, compared to the US SNES - a very competitive set of machines, especially the XE line, which was still great. I realize they were different companies, but the larger, corporate synergy could have easily been leveraged could have really shown the continued importance of Atari, at least from the mid-eighties, until the end of the decade, at which point, they might have had a finger on the pulse of _games_ for the Lynx and Jaguar, which were, once again from Atari, excellent machines.
However, the Lynx’s lineup had some great ports/console games (e.g., _Roadblasters,_ and _Batman Returns,_ ) - plus the *coolest ever* version of _Gauntlet... - and the Jaguar ran _Alien vs. Predator and Doom,_ plus a line of early Atari games with updated graphics and “2000” tacked onto the titles. I was amazed they didn’t make a 64- bit _Pong 2000,_ although _Battle Zone_ was obviously still very much worth it (as it remains, today, on PSVR).
With _Gauntlet (II, Legends), Road Runner, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Paperboy, Batman, Road Blasters, Marble Madness_ the original _A.P.B., California Speed, Super Sprint, Championship Sprint, Cloak & Dagger, Crystal Castles, (Tournament) Cyberball (2072), Empire Strikes Back_ & _Return of the Jedi_ (vector games), _Firefox, Food Fight, Toobin’, Hard Drivin’, Hydra_ - _I, Robot_ - Major Havoc, S.T.U.N. Runner, Skull & Crossbones, Vindicators (Part II), and Xybots,_ Atari had a lineup of first-party games that would have spurred sales to get more third-party developers, to go up against the NES, from 1985-1991.
Who knows what would have happened, after that? If Atari had continued to put their newer games only on their next-gen console and the most ahead-of-its-time handheld, until the PS Vita (which has suffered a fate nearly as bad), the *_1989_*_ Atari Lynx,_ the landscape would have looked more like it does, now - and had, before, with the Atari 2600/Intellivision/ColecoVision, three-major-vendor war.
Also, if exclusive, if their own arcade games were made exclusive, their lineup of games were far better than that for the SEGA Master System and even - counting those through 1985, at least - a set of launch titles that were easily broader and better than the NES, which - after _Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, Mach Rider,_ and _Kung Fu,_ - dropped to _Wild Gunman_ and _Wrecking Crew, then a bunch of generic sports titles (among which _10-Yard Fight was no better than the original, Atari 2600 Football, and worse than Intellivision Football), and into the garbage, with _Clu Clu Land, Donkey Kong, Jr. MATH_ and those horrible R.O.B. the Robot games (which I got, that Christmas, with the full NES system). Heck, _Urban Champion,_ *the biggest waste of time since **_E.T.,_* wasn’t even dragged out, in the US, until months after launch...
So, that would be Atari with _Gauntlet, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Empire Strikes Back_ and/or _Return of the Jedi, Paperboy, Road Runner, Cloak & Dagger, Firefox, Food Fight, Major Havoc,_ and a pack to compete with their awesome CX-80 Trak-Ball, _Marble Madness_ and _Crystal Castles - plus the incredible lineup of games already made for Atari 8-bits, including _Donkey Kong_ and _Donkey Kong, Jr. __-Math-_ (both among the only ones with all four boards), Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Joust, Dig Dug, Asteroids, Galaxian, Pengo, Robotron: 2084, Star Raiders, Pole Position, Jungle Hunt, and Congo Bongo,_ etc. Also, Centipede and Missile Command were already CX-80 Trak-Ball compatible.
With a dual-button controller and what could have been a 600XL-sized (or the XEGS) console, instead of the horrible 5200 monster, with ridiculous joysticks with pointless, Intellivision/ColecoVision numeric keyboards, Atari and that lineup could have destroyed Nintendo - and a modern Atari 2600/VCS-designed game console, like the one that may never materialize, could actually be in a position to be what they want it to be - as opposed to a Linux console with no clear goals - and actually compete among Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft (if Microsoft ever jumped in, without the void left by SEGA dropping out... ).
Atari had the games and the tech to remain among the top three, for a long, long time. Unfortunately, their business models and perfectionist tendencies to start but not finish great products and then put out enormous consoles with bad controllers and updated Atari 2600 games, through the mid-nineties, killed any such possibilities...
I’d LOVE to see you do a video, about what could have been, though. That would be awesome!
Man, that's a long but interesting post.
Being from the UK I don't really have an interest in Atari. They were never really a thing in the UK. Sure we had them but we never really followed them. Most people were more interested in home computers.
I think to do a good history on a topic the creator must have a real love and interest for what they are covering.
LYNX Gauntlet is Gauntlet in name only it was a stand alone title, Traps and Treasure Chests, rebranded with the Gauntlet name.
Lynx AVP was in development before the Jaguar version, same producer, canned so all focus could be given to Jaguar projects but concepts from it put into the Jaguar game.
Jaguar Hoverstrike started life as Battlezone 2000.
Atari were looking at getting Jeff Minter to do Jaguar Major Havoc 2000
Hey Mark,
I have another great Battle of the Ports request that I think you'll like to add onto the list if you like.
The game is called, "Konami Ping-Pong" by Konami in 1985.
It was available on the following units.
Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom Disk System, MSX, ZX Spectrum
Anthony...
Pig pong? Man, that's an odd one. I'll add it to the list.
The fact that the road runner Mlems at Wille Coyote is funny.
I strongly agree with your idea of the bad controls.
It seems like the C64 version is probably the best. It has background music, controls better than the arcade (I'd assume), and runs at a steady framerate while taking up the entire screen. Though I'm surprised by how good the Atari 2600 port is, it's probably a close second to the C64 version.
HI Mark, Not sure if you've seen it but Kim Justice's recent documentary of Canvas Software compliments this game and earlier BOTP of Athena quite well.
I've not seen any of Kim's videos for a while. I'll check that one out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
wow! never knew this was based off an arcade game.
The Antic review of the ST version highlighted the issues with joystick controls, reviewer complained of unbelievable cramps in hands and arms that lasted for days, 2 joysticks destroyed in the review.
Also pointed out that in the cartoons, the coyote never wins, in the ST version, he never looses.
Game would of been better if you played as Wile E. Coyote, built-in frustrations blocking him from catching the Road Runner, mail order screen before each level letting you choose weapons..
Basically gave ideas for Road Runner II
This game was only 4 stages as im remember, which is repeated with harder Difficulty. Spectrum version must have started on one of the later repeats? Anyway im do like that way Commodore 64 used the sprites for the Seed Meter (yes all 8 sprites was used here, but then its multiplexed the sprites after the Seed Meter), so that means its diddent effect the scrolling at all, so its could uses fullscreen here. The Commodore 64 version was a nice game and played a lots as kid, but its also a hard game too.
i actually played the NES version a while back and i did manage to enjoy it, i also liked some of the music. i also remember watching a video on niconico douga about someone playing the actual arcade cabinet. what is the name of the song at the end?
The song at the end is called Perpetual Dark. It is not from this game. In fact this game doesn't have any copyright friendly music. The song I used is from some Japanese game. No idea which game though.,
There is a prototype of the arcade with laserdisc features added to it.
Wasn't there a laserdisc arcade version that used the laser disc for footage from the cartoon shorts?
That&s a prototype version that wasn't released,
I have to confess I feel kinda satisfied every time Wile E. Coyote gets the Road Runner. I'm sorry, but years and years watching Looney Tunes and up taking a toll.
I'm with you. Same when silvester got tweety or Tom got Jerry.
Retro Core Exactly.
I love these Battle of the Ports videos. I was surprised by how good the 2600 version is, and the ST version is my favorite. I swear the C64 disk broke at least 1, and potentially 2 disk drives. Maybe my disk was defective- I don't know.
I heard that the tape version of the C64 game took about 5 minutes to load about 1 minutes worth of game play
I am so mad that it says Seed Meter instead of Seedometer
Wow! I had this game on a multi tape collection for my Amstrad but I never managed to get it to load. I’ve always meant to look on TH-cam to see what the game was all about. Thanks!
Atari ST owners with suitable upgrades, can download a patch to improve the scrolling..
Works from hard disk on all ST(E), Mega ST(E), TT, Falcon, any TOS, with min 1MB RAM.
3 Launchers in package - for 1MB machines without blitter, for 2MB machines without blitter (little faster), and for machines with blitter (1MB enough) - fastest, smoothest.
I havent played any of the Road Runner games. I have to try it, but fortunately if I wouldnt perform so well I can blame the controls ! :P
Yeah, the controls for the arcade aren't broken, as it used a unique joystick and without that, it's going to control pretty bad. It was actually analog, so move it a little, and he moved slower and move it a lot, he runs faster. Playing this in MAME you would at the minimum need an analog stick, but the arcade was even more unique, as you had to use force to move the stick, as it wasn't lose like most analog joysticks feel, but it had resistance, and that made all the difference. I loved the arcade game, and anytime I run across it in the wild I try to play it, but even some arcade machines have issues due to the stick and if it's maintained properly.
Just looking through a massive Atari Sunnyvale 5200 and 2600 News Releases P. R Release from the time.
Road Runner, game number 20. only listed as a 5200 title, release November, suggested retail price$40.95.
Different game, perhaps?
@@RetroCore possibly, but Atari made NO secret of getting SAME games on all existing platforms.
California Games made it to the 2600,was annouced for the XE system..
Used to have the Sunsoft Gameboy game years ago- that was awesome! It too had a Road Runner stage but it was nothing like this game! O:
It was probably better than this game.
Retro Core Each level was themed on a character, most were platforming but a couple of them were other things- Porky Pig's stage was a shooter for example~
Just checked this on my cpc and now this video 😶
Now that's creepy.
the scheme music for the outro tho ... : )
Neo-Geo Mark? Excellent. Looking forward on that for sure. Thank you bro. 8^)
Anthony...
I had a friend who worked in a computer shop and I remember waiting for him to phone me when it came in so I could take a blank tape down and get a free copy of the speccy version.. glad I never bought it such a let down!
This game is impossible to use a standard 8-way game in mame for controls this game: You need to play this game with a analoge controller (the original arcade game used a Hall Effect joystick). So that can explains a lot! Ports dosent have this issue, because none of them have that analoge controller.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
Actuelly its a game that dosent emulate very well in MAME, due the special joystick used. Im have newer played the original arcade game, but can guess its much better in the original arcade game, and just dosent play very well in MAME (yes im a day played the MAME version, but controls is bad here in emulation). So im can agree the MAME version is bad, but many of the ports is fun, because they simply dosent need to simulate the analoge joystick used. C64 version was very fun when im was kid.
PS. The original prototype was a laserdisc game with a similar gameplay, sad its was newer got released.
Game could have been saved, easily. As Larry mentions, this looks like it was meant for a form of analog control, which would have helped with manuverability.
Also, make the seeds more rare and out of the way, and make getting five or ten get you a power-up instead of penalizing you for not getting all of them.
The idea of seeds being a power up is far better the penalising the player for missing them.
11:30 could someone tell me this background music name?
Cool:-)
>Arcade control is bad
Last I recall, the original arcade game had analog controls, while most of the ports accounted for the digital sticks that most people had at the time, which were less prevalent than keyboard controls.
I gave it a few different tries with different control set ups. First was the good old 360 controller but that worked like ass. Then tried a 8BitDo analogue controller but that wasn't much better. Finally tried a digital pad control system which was probably the worst. The footage in this video was played using the 8BitDo controller.
I really hate this game in Arcade and, also, in my CPC.
What is the song at the end of the video?
I played Road Runner in the arcade. I got the feeling it was intended to use a trackball. I’m sure of it.
They miss so much with the concept of Road Runner. Look at the two games (one unrealeased) on the SNES system...Boy oh Boy....Both games have issues with the control and also Wild .E .Coyote is a bastard in a half
Weird...the music at the beginning was from Silpheed, wasn't it?
Yes, that's right. The opening music is from an old PC-88 game. This is very odd for me to do but in this game's case I didn't have much choice. There's very little music and what music is there could be subject to copyright from Warner brothers.
@@RetroCore Ohhhhh yeah. The copyright stuff, I seriously forget about that. Yeah guess that game didn't really have a ton of music. I understand your decision. Silpheed music is good stuff anyways! ^.=.^
Beep beep!
Wait wat,did i heard silph of wind from Silpheed?
US Gold Advertising revenue strikes again.
4/5 for playability and a rating of MEGA from C. C. I magazine on the C64 version, must have been DISK version reviewed, but even then points out there's a crippling bug on level 2
What track was laying at the all versions side by side?
It's not from the Road Runner game as that had no good music on it. It's from some random Japanese game. I can't recall the title or game it was from now.
@@RetroCore Please let us know the name of the track, it's amazing! Sounds like it could be from a 16 or 32 bit arcade shmup...
Yep, this could have been the ultimate "proto-endless runner" game. Instead, it's a complete waste of an awesome license. At least your video is, as always, entertaining and informative. Thanks again Mark!
Thanks for watching, Jason. Maybe this was the original endless runner game :)
Very true.
I haven't played Road Runner games.
Lucky you. This one is awful. There are some nice ones though. I hear the Mega Drive Road Runner game is pretty good.
Obviously no game could ever do the cartoons any justice. (Wile is my hero to this day). Unfortunately this game looked pretty good but played pretty bad, no matter what version.
If I recall right, there was another Road Runner game called Wile E Coyote by Hi-tec on the C64, although not based on an arcade game, that was better than this (and looked excellent, just ike all of Hi-Tec's licensed cartoon games).
Yes, the Hi-Tec game is also on the Speccy and CPC I believe. I've not played that one though. There's also a SNES game.
There's also a Master System and Game Gear game developed by Probe and a Mega Drive game developed by Blue Sky Software (which has some fancy graphics and animations). These two were produced by Sega.
Atari milked the 2600 dry, they were even trying to make and sell games for it into the 1990s!
That they did. Thing is, was it ever really popular anywhere outside the US? In the UK we had them but it didn't make a dent in the home computer market.
I remember the 2600 being very popular for a short time in the early 1980s, but it was very quickly replaced by Spectrums and C64s. I guess there was still a market for them and Atari were desperate to make money any way they could...@@RetroCore
Was this never converted for the Amiga?
Not that I know of.
"Developed by Tengen and It sucks. Why?"
Tengen.
Tengen on the Mega Drive normally meant a quality game though. Maybe because Mega Drive Tengen games were always developed by Japanese staff. There is one Tengen game that does suck balls however, Dragon's Fury or whatever it was called, the unofficial sequence to Technosoft's Devil Crash. Guess, where that was made? Yep, in the states. Seems Tengen had two completely different sets of developer studios.
Whenever I read or hear the word "Tengen" I always remember of those unlicensed NES games and the Mega Drive version of Prince of Persia. Man this game is so slow and flawed. Specially compared to the Mega-CD and SNES versions.
Prince of Persia on the Mega Drive was developed by Domark. I guess it was published in the US by Tengen. In Europe Domark published the game.
I do agree that Tengen on the NES normally meant complete crap. Right up there with Acclaim (LJN), THQ, American Software Works, Absolute Entertainment and so on.
This is one of those cabinets I saw in the wild, but never felt compelled to play.
You didn't miss much. It's a pretty crappy game if the truth be told.
I don't like this game very much, honestly, and the bird seed mechanic is why. It should've been an optional feature to obtain a few extra points, not something that was mandatory to pick up to keep Wile E Coyote away from you. If it was optional, rather than the passing out nonsense, it could've been better.
Atari ST the best
One of few instances, where some ports are better than arcade original :) Grew up playing C64 and it was pretty fun game, one of my favorite things, is that you can sometimes be saved, even when Coyote catch you, and he ran into mine. Speccy port looks worst to me, for earrape music and sound effect every time you pick a seed, and unfair difficulty.
Indeed. The speccy version is just horrible.
I never got on with this either. I had it on the C64 and even though it looked nice enough, the load times were horrible. The game should've had Roadrunner running automatically with the player moving him up and down the screen or resuming full control when avoiding obstacles. Would've made way more sense in my eyes.
A wasted opportunity on a great license an ok arcade offering but the home ports are from serviceable to meh
Having the point that the screen starts scrolling at set so far to the left on most of the home ports pretty much makes them unplayable without memorisation of the entire layout, you can't see far enough ahead to avoid incoming hazards or dead-ends.
Since the problem is so consistent most of the ports must be based off just one or two versions. Perhaps memory constraints made scrolling a smaller area at a time a workaround for the 8-Bit versions. The Atari ST and MSDOS versions had no excuse though.
Amiga owners dodged a bullet here.
I guess because all ports besides the 2600 were made be Canvas they just used the same basic stage plan for everything.
well we are better off going for atari st atari 2600 commodore 64 amstrad cpc and ms dos versions of the port because nes/famicom unlicensed bootleg but other company by tengen for nes/famicom failed this one. including the arcade.
and i am sad that the zxspectum failed this port
The Sabre Dance? And some piece from the Nutcracker Suite...
I guess they couldn't license real music from Warner Brothers.
No laserdisc version. Sad.
It doesn't exist. Only prototypes were made.
@@RetroCore I played it at CAX. It also played more than interstitials. The road itself and backgrounds were laserdisc fed. th-cam.com/video/L1BL_nkq64w/w-d-xo.html
Reasonable ports that plays better than the original. In Master System we have Desert Speedtrap, a game not based in the arcade.
I think that's also on the SNES.
@@RetroCore Nope, totally different game. The SNES game (Death Valley Rally) was developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Sunsoft. The Master System and Game Gear game (Desert Speedtrap) was developed by Probe and published by Sega. There's also the Mega Drive game (Desert Demolition) developed by Blue Sky Software and published by Sega, which I consider the best Road Runner game because it captures so well the spirit of the cartoon (especially sound wise), has some fancy graphics and animations and lets you play as Wile E. Coyote. Too bad it's a fairly easy and short game though.
Desert Demolition sounds good. I should check that out.
Probably the Atari 2600 is more playable than other version.
It is.
@@RetroCore right it's maybe not faithful to arcade version but let's be honest the arcade gameplay is junk and I think endless run is more fitting for Road Runner.
it is NES version is suck since Beam Software make it for Tengen
I legit hate this fucking game. I remember playing it the first time I saw it in the arcade. I was young, and it was all pretty and shiny. I got over it pretty quickly. Thankfully, I never tortured myself with a home port.
Same here. It's a horrible game but the home ports do offer better controls which does make the gameplay better.
I always applaud your suffering endured to get these excellent battles completed. I hate the arcade and actually really dislike a lot of the Atari arcade games due to that farty soundtrack they always have. A bit controversial I guess but it's always been a sound I've found grating.
Personally I think a lot of Atrai arcade games are dull, look ugly and well, not really appealing. That's not to say they're all like that . There's also many fantastic titles such as Hard Drivin', Gauntlet and Toobin.
I couldn't agree more. Those three you chose are very much in my good books, I like to stick with the vector games tbh. I don't mind paperboy though if only played on those handle bars. I love the MD version of gauntlet for that amazing soundtrack! I'd like to see a feature on that composer.
Hmm, a Retro Core composer special. Nice idea. I'll make a note of that.
Hitoshi Sakimoto could be a show in itself, his catalogue of compositions are legendary. Just to pick a few favourites, Midnight resistance megadrive, Soukyugurentai, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V. And that amazing job done on Gauntlet 4.
Atari st EASY the best
Regarding the arcade game's controls being shit, I could not agree with you MORE! I really wanted too like the game (as I love the cartoons) but man, such a waste of potential. I believe there was a trackball version of it too. Imagine how _that_ must control...
Maybe the trackball might of improved things?
C64 like always
not a good arcade game. like you i hated it mainly because of the terrible controls. but it was just boring on top of that. i'm suprised they released it at all. i can't see it doing well in playtesting. even more suprising is mike hally's involvement in it as director. even more baffling are the arcade operators who thought this would be a good game to buy.
Yep, I really do wonder why on earth this was actually released.