The Swordquest games are the worst. I'm not saying that because they're (allegedly) adventure games. I love the other adventure games for the system like Adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Riddle of the Sphinx. The Swordquest games weren't adventure games. They were just required purchases to enter a contest by flipping through an included comic book. They were awful and had absolutely no merit at all.
The Swordquest trilogy is certainly horrible! No argument there! They have a bad reputation for a reason. Having said that, I’ve not played them enough to make the determination to see if the should have been in this list. But I would not recommend them either, unless you are a collector and you can get Waterworld!
After I got a Swordquest game, I gave up on the 2600 and bought an Atari computer. I liked Superman, Adventure, Raiders, Haunted House, and even ET. However, Swordquest was a horrible waste of time.
I'm glad you didn't go with the stereotypical E.T. or Pac-Man as the worst of the worst. In fact, you pretty much expressed my exact feelings about those 2 games, especially Pac-Man. In fact, I was all geared up and ready to write what you ended up saying about Pac-Man, almost word for word, if you had put it in this list. :)
Great minds think alike! 😁 I think that’s the point, I just want to share my personal list of top 10 worst Atari 2600 games. I wouldn’t expect everyone to agree with every choice, though… Homey don’t play dat! 😂
Problem with the Atari 2600's later games like Double Dragon was the lack of a 2 button controller. It looked good considering how old the hardware is but too hard and frustrating to make all the attacks work with just 1 button
The game looks and sounds great for a 2600 game, that’s for sure! And I agree about the need for a second button. It’s impossible to do the moves but moving up or down and the fire… at least enough to be accurate and efficient. Just not a game meant for the 2600!
@@RetroBlissGamingat least at 2600 had 2 player co-opt mode unlike the NES version. That's the main goal of "Double Dragon" was to play with a friend. NES should of called it Single Dragon😅. But DD2 on the NES was good and made up for it
Had the same issue with the DOS version growing up since it was $5 vs $50 for the NES version. However the learning curve was not bad and it was actually enjoyable until the end. However I still blame the single button for getting slaughtered by Machine Gun Willie multiple times.
Pac Man for the ATARI is NOT bad - don't recalled if the POWER PELLETS needed to eat the GHOSTS shortened + getting an EXTRA LIFE PER EACH LEVEL COMPLETED !!
Yeah, like I mentioned this is a playable game and can be enjoyable. I just cannot look at it as a form of Pac-Man, because it just isn’t. Nothing is like the arcade version! 😁
It’s tough! But press up on joystick and press the fire. Then once on the outer screen keep on the fire and more over to the side until you hear a slight beep. But it still doesn’t work 100% of the time. It’s frustrating!
I played the hell out of Double Dragon. Loved that game back in the day. It's completely unplayable today, of course. The controls are wonky at best, but we didn't know better back then! Great memories there.
I totally get that. The Double Dragon for the 2600 came later, and I had already moved on back then. So when I did get to playing it I had already played other versions of it. So the 2600 version was so bad that I felt that it was completely unplayable. But, if that’s all someone ever had, I could see someone getting enjoyment and nostalgia from it. That’s the beauty of retro gaming! 🕹️
It was a terrible feeling back in the mid 80s spending around $40 on an Atari cartridge to then be disappointed by an awful game. Spending $40 back in the day is the equivalent to blowing about $115 today. Good video Bliss!
Exactly… partially why I’m so bitter, lol! I’ve always said if they called it “Munchy Man” and charged $18 or something, I would have been good with it. But the deception by Atari to us kids!!!
I agree 💯 when I was a kid I would spend my grass cutting money on some of that crap.Back then I would mow lawns for about 10 or 15 dollars. With a push mower at that, so you're pretty disappointed when you get home after paying for crap.
@@markwood3440 lol. Yeah, we didn’t have the internet or really magazines to help us choose. If you didn’t have friends with these games, you just never knew what you might get. Commercials didn’t really show the games themselves.
@@markwood3440 It's amazing... I'd say the only game that I didn't like from Activision was Freeway. No horizontal movement, so it wasn't like Frogger at all, and I didn't really have anyone to play with. To me it was just dumb. But I even liked Dragster!
Infiltrate is Elevator Action with brain damage. Apollo (more like Appal-ling) wasn't known for its quality software, but Infiltrate is bad even by their standards. Mines of Minos, Springer, Riddle of the Sphinx (the riddle is how to play the damn thing), and M Network just about anything also come to mind as lousy 2600 games.
You earned my respect by not defaulting to the "E.T. and Pac-Man are the worst 2600 games" thing. E.T. is certainly awkward but one can get the hang of it and have some fun. Like you said the main problem is that it's over too soon once you figure out how to play. As for Pac-Man I share your opinion 100 percent as well. If Atari Pac-Man was released as a Pac rip off under another name by another company I think history would have been kinder to it. That Atari had the audacity to call that particular game Pac-Man and sell it as the genuine home version of the arcade game is regrettable.
Pac man 2600 was a special challenge in our home because we had been naughty kids and held a super magnet from an old x ray machine against the screen….. father was able to mostly fix it, but with pac man the bottom right corner was so dark you could barely see anything…. It became the “twilight zone” for us
@@RetroBlissGaming the trick was knowing the timing to go around the corner in the dark…. Say you are going down and then to the left…. If you push left too soon it just reverses your last direction so that you go UP …. When i first saw the movie hunt for red October and ramius make that turn around thor’s twins….. that was us while getting chased by a ghost…
10 year old me would have gotten Double Dragon on the Atari 2600 because I didn’t have a Nintendo and wondered if that would ever happen. Then I saw Atari Double Dragon at Toys R Us some years after getting a Nintendo.
I think my problem is that I’ve played too much of the arcade version and the port by Champ Games. It does scroll nicely for a 2600 game, but I just can’t get past the gameplay. Having said that, I’ve found that almost any game out there, there are people who like them. That’s why this list is subjective, and mainly personal choices based on the games I’ve played for the 2600. Thanks for sharing! 😁
Fair enough from a modern perspective. But having played it back in the day, it was a fun game that did something well that few other 2600 games back then could match.
I loved it also. 40 years ago, there was nothing like it on the 2600. It played great. Now it does not look that much cop but it was still an excellent game.
I have to defend double dragon. I like it quite a bit and have beaten it a bunch of times. Once you figure out the elbow move, the game is very playable
I guess it’s my approach to the game. I’ve been so used to playing Double Dragon with two buttons and having the D-pad free that I guess I can’t get accustomed to the controls. Kudos for being able to, seriously!
Dude I was a kid who got this for Christmas Day and it was the worst. Nothing like being excited to get it only to toss it aside an hour after playing. It was a garbage design and waste of money. Felt bad for my mom for getting it for me. That's my 2c.
Yeah, I think we all knew that the game ports would not be exactly like the arcade version, but some of the were just garbage, lol. But some still have the nostalgia for them…
Yes, at option 13 and higher you can move horizontally. I'm not exactly thrilled with the movement still, because it's just a little to fast. Having said that, I probably shouldn't have it on this list, now that you guys have made me aware of the different options! 😀 Tax Avoiders is a bad game still, but it's a collector's item, if you still have it!!
Thanks for the sub! There are a bunch of ways to emulate… there are Flashback units, different handheld emulators, the Gamestation Pro, and more. But my favorite way is to play through Stella on my PC, but you can also do it on a Mac. I did a video on how to install it will all of the cool bezels, if you want to try it… th-cam.com/video/03u_0t_T3YI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4ynZwAstVKFGtOsh
Thanks for sharing your choices. Donkey Kong was not great. But, to me it was playable. So many of these bad games aren’t even playable. It would have been nice to have the third level. Raiders can be very confusing, and is almost in the same league as ET for me, lol. Maze Craze can be fun in small doses, if you have a second person willing to play, I think. I just can’t play it for long. I think I feel that way because of nostalgia, though cause that was one of my early games. Combat can also be fun with two. But you must have two, and my brother wouldn’t play me cause I was older and I killed him so much that he wouldn’t play me anymore, lol. It’s funny how we look at these games, but there are no wrong opinions about it really! 😁
You are absolutely right!🤯 I had to go back and check, but at first the variations where you can move horizontally you cannot die when colliding with the ships. But after checking, option 13 and further does allow death, when colliding with the ships. Having said that, the movement horizontally is a little too fluid and fast for me. But, if I’m being honest, I’d have to go back and look. This game was number ten, and it would probably be taken off of this list now. I think Gary Kitchen should have made the horizontal movement the default at the beginning. Thank you so much for sharing this. I may have to review this game now, just because I was so wrong about it… 😃
I bought Double Dragon in 1993 w/high expectations, and was majorly disappointed. I still have the game, but I find the game more useful as a conversation piece. LOL!
That actually would make a great separate video, but there are so many third party games as well that my purpose is to point out the top ten as a whole. But I do like the idea, and I may make a video regarding Atari licensed games only! 😁
@RetroBlissGaming makes sense. I'll subscribe, how's that. Activision had the best non atari games for the 2600. Could do videos on them or THE UNSUNG HEROES OF ATARI 2600. Lesser known games that were fun. WARLORDS was a good one not many seem to remember. Video Pinball had a lot of fun with my Dad with that one. Like people should know MISSLE COMMAND, SPACE INVADERS, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER all popular. Never thought Atari 2600 Asteroids was great. I just was used to arcade, I guess. Ok I write anymore I'll have to start my own channel. Later...
Seems like a pretty good list of duds. I did get a lot of enjoyment out of ET & Pac-man back in the day. I've always been one to read the manuals as it's part of the experience for me. = #1.
Exactly, E.T. isn’t horrible at all. If Atari reimburses me for the money I saved to get what they “called” Pac-Man, I may end my bitterness. Until then, I’ll continue to see my therapist…
Before I watch the video: Half of these games will be among my favorite for the platform. These were the days that you played what you had. No rentals or DLC....
This is true. Nostalgia plays a big part in how we look at these games. Most of the games on this list I have no nostalgia for, except for Pac-Man, which was bad nostalgia. And that was related to my expectations vs what I actually got, lol. 😂
@@SoulforSale I just can't get going with Sssnake. But I didn't have it back in the day. In those days, you played a game a lot, so you almost had to learn to play them the best that you could. I didn't have it, and I have played so many games since then that I haven't sat down for hours with this game to get good at this game at all. But I could see that maybe someone could get the hang of it! 😀 🎮 Bugs is just a hot mess!
@@RetroBlissGaming these were literally bargain bin games. àlong with Warlock and Encounter at L5. got them for $5 each bringing our total game library to 7 cartridges. And we LOVED them.
I get that… my buddy, who is about ten year younger was very young when he started playing Pac-Man for the 2600, and it came with his console. He has fond memories of it. It’s definitely a playable game, and has entertainment value. I had to buy my own games, and I saved and did chores, mowed lawns, etc. to pay for it. It was a major letdown for me, hence my bitterness!!! Todd Frye also didn’t have a great approach when programming, which he has no remorse.😁
I'm with you. I love Pac-Man. It's far from perfect and I recognized that at the time, but I commend it for getting my whole family to play games who wouldn't otherwise. My mom got crazy good at this, which was also her gateway to playing games like Warlords and Frogger. Atari's marketing department did a great job encouraging families to game together, something you don't see in modern game marketing. Ms. Pac-Man is a superior translation, yet I still find myself going back to Pac-Man. Graphically and audibly it's all 'wrong', but it never fails to deliver the good ol' feelies.
@@markwood3440 Yeah. I didn’t have the knowledge to return it. Besides, I was a very young teenager when I bought it. So, I played it anyway. But it still isn’t Pac-Man!!!
Good video! I like your list of the top 10 worst games for the Atari 2600. I probably have a few of the worst games! I did like Pac-man and I remember playing Spacy Jockey, it is a repetitive game, for sure!
Yes, someone commented on that, and I totally dropped the ball on that. On option 13 and higher you can move horizontally, but I will say that the movement is too fluid for me. But had I known this, Space Jockey probably would not be on this list at all. Thank you for sharing!! 😀
@@RetroBlissGaming hey its all good we all have our own likes and dislikes for these systems. Some that are different from others based on personal experience that's why the Atari is so much fun and so aggravating at the same time. Also thank you for the response and not cussing me out cause I didn't know someone else said the same thing I hadnt really read the comments when I put that. Good video
Agreed. At least back then. These days they can add tech in the programming and in the cartridges to make some great games for the Atari 2600. But games like Double Dragon just can’t be played the way Double Dragon was meant to be played. You really need two buttons. 😁 🕹️
I love Bugs because it takes lots of practice to get good at it and it is very challenging. It's very fast paced like Kaboom. You have to lead your fire on that thing that is always getting you. Fire ahead of it and vacate the area and your bullet will hit it. Later there are two of them and it gets even harder. Brutal, but playable game with practice.
I think my biggest problem is that I cannot lure the thing to me all of the time, and when I do I can only shoot it about half of the time. And then I think I spend too much time dealing with it, and not enough time killing the bugs! You’re a better man than I am!😁 And I’m glad that you do like it, and that somebody can actually play this game! 🕹️
I have never understood the haterage on ET. Its actually a good game. Non worse than some other Atari games at the time. The only down fall (except the pits, which by the way is pretty easy to get out from, and avoid falling back into) is the counter that disincreas for each and every step you take.
That counter is not your friend, that’s for sure!! But it’s all part of the game, and gives the game a bit of challenge. Those holes are still annoying, even though I know how to get out!!
I think the Atari games that I had the most fun playing were Pitfall and River Raid. They seem endless, and it was so exciting if you made it really far. Adventure was a crap game, but it made me think about what it was TRYING to do at least. Missile Command, Combat, Asteroids, Breakout, Space Invaders - all were played a lot and were just OK. By the time I got ET, I had kind of given up so it really wasn't as shocking to me how bad it was. In a way, Atari made the NES a superstar. Super Mario Bros was the first game my generation could play AT HOME and it was the same version that we were playing in the arcade. That moment changed gaming forever, killed the arcade, and opened the door to possibilities that gamers take for granted today.
For sure, there were so many bad games on the Atari that it caused the crash. It wasn’t one particular game, but a number of them collectively. Nintendo did bail out the industry and changed it forever. And yes, Super Mario Bros. was awesome! I played that for hours with my sons… I’m telling my age!!
There are a lot of bad games for the 2600, that’s for sure. This is just my list based on the games that I’ve played. I do play a lot, but I’m sure I may have missed some. Plus the list is just my personal opinion, and I’m glad that you shared!
Boy, Skeet Shoot was one of the worst games ever. Could you imagine spending $20-$30 on that POS back in the early 80s! Games by Apollo was the poster child for the gaming crash.
Oh yeah. I agree with them. When you started I kept thinking that as long as Tax Avoiders and Karate are on this list, the guy knows what he’s talking about.
Doesn't Tax Avoiders look a lot like Porky's for the 2600? The character jumps in the same manner and that 2nd screen looks like almost the same as the shower screen in Porky's.
I agree with this list of 10 Atari 2600 video game duds, Bliss! 👌 Most of these you listed here are just terrible and not fun in any way. 😕 I did have Human Cannonball early on, because it came out before many better playing games were released for the VCS. So I played it with some level of enjoyment, until Atari began pumping out better titles. Needless to say, it and many of the early simpler game releases got shelved as I focused on the more interesting, challenging, and entertaining games I was able to start adding to my collection. I think Space Jockey would have been a decent game, if there had been something more to achieve as you played along... i.e. Maybe after taking out so many ships you move to another level with enemies attacking vertically, and after that an attacking mother ship that you must destroy while avoiding enemy fire and fighter ships (Sounds kinda like Phoenix, right?). Like you, I found ET to be not great, but somewhat enjoyable to play and solve (In spite of the constant inability to avoid falling into the holes!). However, once the game was solved, it seemed really pointless to play the same game over and over again without any kind of variation. And, Atari 2600 Pac-Man was an interesting animal altogether. It was actually playable, if you could think of it as a different but very similar game; in fact, my friends and I actually learned playing patterns to beat this game and played for hours until our scores rolled over to zero! Like you however, after all the hype Atari put out about the VCS Pac-Man port release, I was extremely disappointed when I got home with my copy and discovered the pitiful excuse for the arcade favorite that was contained within the plastic cartridge housing! The only thing that has helped me make peace with that deception from way back in 1982, is all of the vastly improved versions of Atari 2600 Pac-Man that we now have the pleasure to choose from when we need to satisfy our Pac-Man cravings! Great video, Bliss! 😊👍👍🎸🎶✨
I find it amazing that you figured about a pattern for the 2600 version! So cool. Even though I would want to know it, lol. Hearing the sound of snapping rubber bands would drive crazy after a while, lol!!
@RetroBlissGaming Yes, that sound would drive you crazy 🤪, and it did drive us crazy back in the 80's! Lol! 😆 What we found amazing about the Atari 2600 Pac-Man pattern is this: We found more than one that worked! I had mine and my best friend had his, and they both worked to help us play endlessly until we flipped the scores back around to zero! 😁 How about that, Bliss??? 🤔
E.T. always gets a bad rap. You're absolutely right, if you have the instruction manual and you understand the game there's some fun to be had here. Not the greatest game of all time, but not the trainwreck people make it out to be. Have you ever played Airlock? That game should have been on this list because that game sucks.
@@RetroBlissGaming I remember for a long time just playing with no really direction then I started seeing parts of the phone in those damn pits. With a lack of variety and choice back in the day I guess I grinded it enough till I figured it out. Nowadays it would have gone in a pile... Looking at u tunic lol (btw did finish tunic but looked up alot!)
I get you! It just wasn’t for me. Sky Diver on the 2600 I absolutely love, but some people just hate that game. It’s all opinion and nostalgia, and no one is wrong. Thank you for sharing!
I'm getting a lot of people saying that! And I wasn't aware that I was wrong about the movements. Garry Kitchen did put horizontal movements in at option 13 and higher, but I didn't know that. I'm glad you guys comment and keep me in line! 😀
@@RetroBlissGaming i meant to say space jockey and ET. my bad. and pacman is in my top 10 for atari. never liked the arcade version. it's overrated. i'm 45 and grew up with this stuff. keep up the good work.
Is that you playing the first game. If you try and shoot all three makes more of a challenge and makes it more fun. That footage looks like DSP playing. 😂 Back when we had combat and Canyon Bomber we had fun playing them. PAC-man as well. We had what we had. Had fun with them back then.
Yes… lol. I guess that would make it more of a challenge. It might have been an incentive for Garry Kitchen to deduct points for ships that pass by. But as it is, there isn’t a reason to put yourself in danger, lol! 😂 If I ever play this game again, I may approach it differently!
@@RetroBlissGaming for me it’s so much nostalgia and I haven’t played it in ages and well I’ll have to dig it out and play it again and might not think it’s held up too well. Enjoyed the content and the work you put in!
You are objectively wrong. I owned E.T. for the Atari 800XL, and it was a terrible game. I only watched your video to see if it was #1. The fact you defended it shows that this is not my channel.
I never said that it was a good game... I just said it wasn't in my top ten. I said that at the top of the video that my list was subjective, and that your option could vary... so bye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! 👋👋👋
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The Swordquest games are the worst. I'm not saying that because they're (allegedly) adventure games. I love the other adventure games for the system like Adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Riddle of the Sphinx. The Swordquest games weren't adventure games. They were just required purchases to enter a contest by flipping through an included comic book. They were awful and had absolutely no merit at all.
The Swordquest trilogy is certainly horrible! No argument there! They have a bad reputation for a reason. Having said that, I’ve not played them enough to make the determination to see if the should have been in this list. But I would not recommend them either, unless you are a collector and you can get Waterworld!
I got one of those games (Fireworld) from my aunt for Christmas...I never had any idea what I was supposed to do in the game.
After I got a Swordquest game, I gave up on the 2600 and bought an Atari computer. I liked Superman, Adventure, Raiders, Haunted House, and even ET. However, Swordquest was a horrible waste of time.
Yeah, Earthworld and Fireworld both should make every crappy top games list. They were a cruel joke.
I'm glad you didn't go with the stereotypical E.T. or Pac-Man as the worst of the worst. In fact, you pretty much expressed my exact feelings about those 2 games, especially Pac-Man. In fact, I was all geared up and ready to write what you ended up saying about Pac-Man, almost word for word, if you had put it in this list. :)
Great minds think alike! 😁 I think that’s the point, I just want to share my personal list of top 10 worst Atari 2600 games. I wouldn’t expect everyone to agree with every choice, though… Homey don’t play dat! 😂
Problem with the Atari 2600's later games like Double Dragon was the lack of a 2 button controller. It looked good considering how old the hardware is but too hard and frustrating to make all the attacks work with just 1 button
The game looks and sounds great for a 2600 game, that’s for sure! And I agree about the need for a second button. It’s impossible to do the moves but moving up or down and the fire… at least enough to be accurate and efficient. Just not a game meant for the 2600!
@@RetroBlissGamingat least at 2600 had 2 player co-opt mode unlike the NES version. That's the main goal of "Double Dragon" was to play with a friend. NES should of called it Single Dragon😅. But DD2 on the NES was good and made up for it
Had the same issue with the DOS version growing up since it was $5 vs $50 for the NES version. However the learning curve was not bad and it was actually enjoyable until the end. However I still blame the single button for getting slaughtered by Machine Gun Willie multiple times.
Pac Man for the ATARI is NOT bad - don't recalled if the POWER PELLETS needed to eat the GHOSTS shortened + getting an EXTRA LIFE PER EACH LEVEL COMPLETED !!
Yeah, like I mentioned this is a playable game and can be enjoyable. I just cannot look at it as a form of Pac-Man, because it just isn’t. Nothing is like the arcade version! 😁
I read the ET manual several times back in the day. I fully understood the goals but could not get out of those pits.
It’s tough! But press up on joystick and press the fire. Then once on the outer screen keep on the fire and more over to the side until you hear a slight beep. But it still doesn’t work 100% of the time. It’s frustrating!
I played the hell out of Double Dragon. Loved that game back in the day. It's completely unplayable today, of course. The controls are wonky at best, but we didn't know better back then! Great memories there.
I totally get that. The Double Dragon for the 2600 came later, and I had already moved on back then. So when I did get to playing it I had already played other versions of it. So the 2600 version was so bad that I felt that it was completely unplayable. But, if that’s all someone ever had, I could see someone getting enjoyment and nostalgia from it. That’s the beauty of retro gaming! 🕹️
I liked E.T. and Pac-Man as a kid. But then again, I was a kid and didn't know the difference.
It was a terrible feeling back in the mid 80s spending around $40 on an Atari cartridge to then be disappointed by an awful game. Spending $40 back in the day is the equivalent to blowing about $115 today. Good video Bliss!
Exactly… partially why I’m so bitter, lol! I’ve always said if they called it “Munchy Man” and charged $18 or something, I would have been good with it. But the deception by Atari to us kids!!!
I agree 💯 when I was a kid I would spend my grass cutting money on some of that crap.Back then I would mow lawns for about 10 or 15 dollars. With a push mower at that, so you're pretty disappointed when you get home after paying for crap.
@@markwood3440 lol. Yeah, we didn’t have the internet or really magazines to help us choose. If you didn’t have friends with these games, you just never knew what you might get. Commercials didn’t really show the games themselves.
I will say Activision made some AWESOME games. Pitfall, River Raid, Kaboom just to name a few.
@@markwood3440 It's amazing... I'd say the only game that I didn't like from Activision was Freeway. No horizontal movement, so it wasn't like Frogger at all, and I didn't really have anyone to play with. To me it was just dumb. But I even liked Dragster!
Infiltrate is Elevator Action with brain damage. Apollo (more like Appal-ling) wasn't known for its quality software, but Infiltrate is bad even by their standards. Mines of Minos, Springer, Riddle of the Sphinx (the riddle is how to play the damn thing), and M Network just about anything also come to mind as lousy 2600 games.
lol. Those are definitely games, and very easily could have made the list. Thank you for sharing your choices for this list! 😁
Mines of Minos is actually pretty cool once you know what to do.😊
If you had someone to play with Super Challenge Football was really good for its time.
You earned my respect by not defaulting to the "E.T. and Pac-Man are the worst 2600 games" thing. E.T. is certainly awkward but one can get the hang of it and have some fun. Like you said the main problem is that it's over too soon once you figure out how to play. As for Pac-Man I share your opinion 100 percent as well. If Atari Pac-Man was released as a Pac rip off under another name by another company I think history would have been kinder to it. That Atari had the audacity to call that particular game Pac-Man and sell it as the genuine home version of the arcade game is regrettable.
Totally in agreement, and I appreciate you sharing! The Pac-Man thing was the worst for me. I’m still in therapy!😁
Pac man 2600 was a special challenge in our home because we had been naughty kids and held a super magnet from an old x ray machine against the screen….. father was able to mostly fix it, but with pac man the bottom right corner was so dark you could barely see anything…. It became the “twilight zone” for us
I bet that was challenging! Lol! 😂 Twilight Zone… classic!
@@RetroBlissGaming the trick was knowing the timing to go around the corner in the dark…. Say you are going down and then to the left…. If you push left too soon it just reverses your last direction so that you go UP …. When i first saw the movie hunt for red October and ramius make that turn around thor’s twins….. that was us while getting chased by a ghost…
10 year old me would have gotten Double Dragon on the Atari 2600 because I didn’t have a Nintendo and wondered if that would ever happen. Then I saw Atari Double Dragon at Toys R Us some years after getting a Nintendo.
I’m sure many got this game with high expectations. It’s definitely not the NES version!
I always rather liked Super Cobra myself. The 2600 really wasn’t meant for side scrolling, but it was a decent effort.
I think my problem is that I’ve played too much of the arcade version and the port by Champ Games. It does scroll nicely for a 2600 game, but I just can’t get past the gameplay. Having said that, I’ve found that almost any game out there, there are people who like them. That’s why this list is subjective, and mainly personal choices based on the games I’ve played for the 2600. Thanks for sharing! 😁
Fair enough from a modern perspective. But having played it back in the day, it was a fun game that did something well that few other 2600 games back then could match.
I loved it also. 40 years ago, there was nothing like it on the 2600. It played great. Now it does not look that much cop but it was still an excellent game.
Thank you for NOT putting ET on the list like so many clones. I always thought it was a fun game,
Yeah, understanding the rules and the mechanics makes all the difference! 😁
I have to defend double dragon. I like it quite a bit and have beaten it a bunch of times. Once you figure out the elbow move, the game is very playable
I guess it’s my approach to the game. I’ve been so used to playing Double Dragon with two buttons and having the D-pad free that I guess I can’t get accustomed to the controls. Kudos for being able to, seriously!
Dude I was a kid who got this for Christmas Day and it was the worst. Nothing like being excited to get it only to toss it aside an hour after playing. It was a garbage design and waste of money. Felt bad for my mom for getting it for me. That's my 2c.
Yeah, I think we all knew that the game ports would not be exactly like the arcade version, but some of the were just garbage, lol. But some still have the nostalgia for them…
Space Jockey has multiple game selections...
Tax Avoiders came out in 1986. That's when I bought it brand new at KayBee.
Yes, at option 13 and higher you can move horizontally. I'm not exactly thrilled with the movement still, because it's just a little to fast. Having said that, I probably shouldn't have it on this list, now that you guys have made me aware of the different options! 😀 Tax Avoiders is a bad game still, but it's a collector's item, if you still have it!!
Excellent video. Subscribed.
This has given me more to try in an emulator.
Thanks for the sub! There are a bunch of ways to emulate… there are Flashback units, different handheld emulators, the Gamestation Pro, and more. But my favorite way is to play through Stella on my PC, but you can also do it on a Mac. I did a video on how to install it will all of the cool bezels, if you want to try it…
th-cam.com/video/03u_0t_T3YI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4ynZwAstVKFGtOsh
Games I hated besides the ones mentioned above are… Donkey Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Porkys, Maze Craze, and Combat
Thanks for sharing your choices. Donkey Kong was not great. But, to me it was playable. So many of these bad games aren’t even playable. It would have been nice to have the third level. Raiders can be very confusing, and is almost in the same league as ET for me, lol. Maze Craze can be fun in small doses, if you have a second person willing to play, I think. I just can’t play it for long. I think I feel that way because of nostalgia, though cause that was one of my early games. Combat can also be fun with two. But you must have two, and my brother wouldn’t play me cause I was older and I killed him so much that he wouldn’t play me anymore, lol. It’s funny how we look at these games, but there are no wrong opinions about it really! 😁
You can move horizontally in Space Jockey; there are a bunch of game variations.
You are absolutely right!🤯 I had to go back and check, but at first the variations where you can move horizontally you cannot die when colliding with the ships. But after checking, option 13 and further does allow death, when colliding with the ships. Having said that, the movement horizontally is a little too fluid and fast for me. But, if I’m being honest, I’d have to go back and look. This game was number ten, and it would probably be taken off of this list now. I think Gary Kitchen should have made the horizontal movement the default at the beginning. Thank you so much for sharing this. I may have to review this game now, just because I was so wrong about it… 😃
Thanks for playing these Retro Bliss… so we don’t have to! 😊
It wasn’t easy… especially Pac-Man! 😂
I bought Double Dragon in 1993 w/high expectations, and was majorly disappointed. I still have the game, but I find the game more useful as a conversation piece. LOL!
Yeah, that’s about all it’s good for, 😂. It would have been great, if you could actually do the moves when you need to. 👊🏻
A beat'em up with one button will always be a recipe for FAIL. Oy vey.
@@potato9832 Amen to that!!! 😀
Think you should have rated games actually made by atari, not crazy TAX MAN and such.
That actually would make a great separate video, but there are so many third party games as well that my purpose is to point out the top ten as a whole. But I do like the idea, and I may make a video regarding Atari licensed games only! 😁
@RetroBlissGaming makes sense. I'll subscribe, how's that. Activision had the best non atari games for the 2600. Could do videos on them or
THE UNSUNG HEROES OF ATARI 2600. Lesser known games that were fun. WARLORDS was a good one not many seem to remember. Video Pinball had a lot of fun with my Dad with that one.
Like people should know MISSLE COMMAND, SPACE INVADERS, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER all popular. Never thought Atari 2600 Asteroids was great. I just was used to arcade, I guess. Ok I write anymore I'll have to start my own channel. Later...
Seems like a pretty good list of duds. I did get a lot of enjoyment out of ET & Pac-man back in the day. I've always been one to read the manuals as it's part of the experience for me. = #1.
Exactly, E.T. isn’t horrible at all. If Atari reimburses me for the money I saved to get what they “called” Pac-Man, I may end my bitterness. Until then, I’ll continue to see my therapist…
Before I watch the video: Half of these games will be among my favorite for the platform. These were the days that you played what you had. No rentals or DLC....
This is true. Nostalgia plays a big part in how we look at these games. Most of the games on this list I have no nostalgia for, except for Pac-Man, which was bad nostalgia. And that was related to my expectations vs what I actually got, lol. 😂
@@RetroBlissGaming used to play the heck out of Sssnake...but Bugs was broken
@@SoulforSale I just can't get going with Sssnake. But I didn't have it back in the day. In those days, you played a game a lot, so you almost had to learn to play them the best that you could. I didn't have it, and I have played so many games since then that I haven't sat down for hours with this game to get good at this game at all. But I could see that maybe someone could get the hang of it! 😀 🎮 Bugs is just a hot mess!
@@RetroBlissGaming these were literally bargain bin games. àlong with Warlock and Encounter at L5. got them for $5 each bringing our total game library to 7 cartridges. And we LOVED them.
I love pac man Atari 2600 !
I get that… my buddy, who is about ten year younger was very young when he started playing Pac-Man for the 2600, and it came with his console. He has fond memories of it. It’s definitely a playable game, and has entertainment value. I had to buy my own games, and I saved and did chores, mowed lawns, etc. to pay for it. It was a major letdown for me, hence my bitterness!!! Todd Frye also didn’t have a great approach when programming, which he has no remorse.😁
I'm with you. I love Pac-Man. It's far from perfect and I recognized that at the time, but I commend it for getting my whole family to play games who wouldn't otherwise. My mom got crazy good at this, which was also her gateway to playing games like Warlords and Frogger. Atari's marketing department did a great job encouraging families to game together, something you don't see in modern game marketing. Ms. Pac-Man is a superior translation, yet I still find myself going back to Pac-Man. Graphically and audibly it's all 'wrong', but it never fails to deliver the good ol' feelies.
I got fond memories of the 2600 too, but that pac man game was pretty bad. You really had to have a good imagination to enjoy it.
@@markwood3440 Yeah. I didn’t have the knowledge to return it. Besides, I was a very young teenager when I bought it. So, I played it anyway. But it still isn’t Pac-Man!!!
@@CapnCavMan I don't like Ms pac man at all ..lol I prefer regular good ole 2600 pac man !
Good video! I like your list of the top 10 worst games for the Atari 2600. I probably have a few of the worst games! I did like Pac-man and I remember playing Spacy Jockey, it is a repetitive game, for sure!
I did find out that in Space Jockey that at option 13 and later the saucer can move horizontally also, which makes this game better than I thought.
@@RetroBlissGaming Good to know! Thanks!
The spaceship on space hockey on higher difficulties can go forward
Yes, someone commented on that, and I totally dropped the ball on that. On option 13 and higher you can move horizontally, but I will say that the movement is too fluid for me. But had I known this, Space Jockey probably would not be on this list at all. Thank you for sharing!! 😀
@@RetroBlissGaming hey its all good we all have our own likes and dislikes for these systems. Some that are different from others based on personal experience that's why the Atari is so much fun and so aggravating at the same time. Also thank you for the response and not cussing me out cause I didn't know someone else said the same thing I hadnt really read the comments when I put that. Good video
The only thing I HATE about ATARI 2600 is you making a TH-cam video post about ATARI 2600 game's!
Come on, man! Don’t hate on us OGs trying to recall our youth! 😁
I agree on Bugs. I got it with a Heavy Sixer in 98...with the manual. Probably the worst game I ever played on the 2600.
Such a bad game!!! Ugh!!!😑
I remember playing Space Jockey in the 32 in 1 Cartridge!
I don’t have a 32 in 1… I need to get one to see what all in it! Space Kockey isn’t great. But games can still have a nostalgia to them!
THANK YOU for E.T. defense!!
It definitely gets a bad rap. Even Howard Scott Warshaw brags about it being the worst, but it really isn’t. 😁
Some games should have never been put on the 2600. The controller was way too simple for a fighting game as an example.
Agreed. At least back then. These days they can add tech in the programming and in the cartridges to make some great games for the Atari 2600. But games like Double Dragon just can’t be played the way Double Dragon was meant to be played. You really need two buttons. 😁 🕹️
I love Bugs because it takes lots of practice to get good at it and it is very challenging. It's very fast paced like Kaboom. You have to lead your fire on that thing that is always getting you. Fire ahead of it and vacate the area and your bullet will hit it. Later there are two of them and it gets even harder. Brutal, but playable game with practice.
I think my biggest problem is that I cannot lure the thing to me all of the time, and when I do I can only shoot it about half of the time. And then I think I spend too much time dealing with it, and not enough time killing the bugs! You’re a better man than I am!😁 And I’m glad that you do like it, and that somebody can actually play this game! 🕹️
I have never understood the haterage on ET. Its actually a good game. Non worse than some other Atari games at the time.
The only down fall (except the pits, which by the way is pretty easy to get out from, and avoid falling back into) is the counter that disincreas for each and every step you take.
That counter is not your friend, that’s for sure!! But it’s all part of the game, and gives the game a bit of challenge. Those holes are still annoying, even though I know how to get out!!
What up Bliss!!!
Sup, Mr. Bassman!
I think the Atari games that I had the most fun playing were Pitfall and River Raid. They seem endless, and it was so exciting if you made it really far. Adventure was a crap game, but it made me think about what it was TRYING to do at least. Missile Command, Combat, Asteroids, Breakout, Space Invaders - all were played a lot and were just OK. By the time I got ET, I had kind of given up so it really wasn't as shocking to me how bad it was. In a way, Atari made the NES a superstar. Super Mario Bros was the first game my generation could play AT HOME and it was the same version that we were playing in the arcade. That moment changed gaming forever, killed the arcade, and opened the door to possibilities that gamers take for granted today.
For sure, there were so many bad games on the Atari that it caused the crash. It wasn’t one particular game, but a number of them collectively. Nintendo did bail out the industry and changed it forever. And yes, Super Mario Bros. was awesome! I played that for hours with my sons… I’m telling my age!!
Half of these games are decent enough. Trust me, there are way worse Atari games out there.
But Double Dragon and Karate are among the worst.
There are a lot of bad games for the 2600, that’s for sure. This is just my list based on the games that I’ve played. I do play a lot, but I’m sure I may have missed some. Plus the list is just my personal opinion, and I’m glad that you shared!
Boy, Skeet Shoot was one of the worst games ever. Could you imagine spending $20-$30 on that POS back in the early 80s! Games by Apollo was the poster child for the gaming crash.
I can’t believe this made the market. It’s completely unplayable!!! 😩
@RetroBlissGaming I made a top 5 worst 2600 list on my channel and Skeet Shoot was #1.
Great list!
Glad you think so! It’s just my opinion, and there are others that are bad also that could have made the list! 😁 Thanks for watching!
Oh yeah. I agree with them. When you started I kept thinking that as long as Tax Avoiders and Karate are on this list, the guy knows what he’s talking about.
Doesn't Tax Avoiders look a lot like Porky's for the 2600? The character jumps in the same manner and that 2nd screen looks like almost the same as the shower screen in Porky's.
😂 You might be right!
I agree with this list of 10 Atari 2600 video game duds, Bliss! 👌 Most of these you listed here are just terrible and not fun in any way. 😕 I did have Human Cannonball early on, because it came out before many better playing games were released for the VCS. So I played it with some level of enjoyment, until Atari began pumping out better titles. Needless to say, it and many of the early simpler game releases got shelved as I focused on the more interesting, challenging, and entertaining games I was able to start adding to my collection. I think Space Jockey would have been a decent game, if there had been something more to achieve as you played along... i.e. Maybe after taking out so many ships you move to another level with enemies attacking vertically, and after that an attacking mother ship that you must destroy while avoiding enemy fire and fighter ships (Sounds kinda like Phoenix, right?). Like you, I found ET to be not great, but somewhat enjoyable to play and solve (In spite of the constant inability to avoid falling into the holes!). However, once the game was solved, it seemed really pointless to play the same game over and over again without any kind of variation. And, Atari 2600 Pac-Man was an interesting animal altogether. It was actually playable, if you could think of it as a different but very similar game; in fact, my friends and I actually learned playing patterns to beat this game and played for hours until our scores rolled over to zero! Like you however, after all the hype Atari put out about the VCS Pac-Man port release, I was extremely disappointed when I got home with my copy and discovered the pitiful excuse for the arcade favorite that was contained within the plastic cartridge housing! The only thing that has helped me make peace with that deception from way back in 1982, is all of the vastly improved versions of Atari 2600 Pac-Man that we now have the pleasure to choose from when we need to satisfy our Pac-Man cravings! Great video, Bliss! 😊👍👍🎸🎶✨
I find it amazing that you figured about a pattern for the 2600 version! So cool. Even though I would want to know it, lol. Hearing the sound of snapping rubber bands would drive crazy after a while, lol!!
@RetroBlissGaming Yes, that sound would drive you crazy 🤪, and it did drive us crazy back in the 80's! Lol! 😆 What we found amazing about the Atari 2600 Pac-Man pattern is this: We found more than one that worked! I had mine and my best friend had his, and they both worked to help us play endlessly until we flipped the scores back around to zero! 😁 How about that, Bliss??? 🤔
E.T. always gets a bad rap. You're absolutely right, if you have the instruction manual and you understand the game there's some fun to be had here. Not the greatest game of all time, but not the trainwreck people make it out to be. Have you ever played Airlock? That game should have been on this list because that game sucks.
Airlock is bad… yes. I limited the list to ten, but do not recommend that game either!!
4:30 i honestly though you were making stuff up, the fact your not slays me.
You’re in the “No-Spin Zone”, baby!!😁
I enjoy human cannonball. Its not exciting but i like it in short bursts
I get that…A lot of people don’t like Sky Diver, but that was one of my favorite games… at least until Space Invaders came out, 😂
Pac-Man for the 2600 blows,but I still played the $hit out of it when I was a kid.
Yeah, a lot of people did! It’s a playable game. But Atari should have done better!!
I beat et without an instruction book as a kid. Genius right here lol
lol, that’s actually pretty genius! I’m not that smart… I had to read a number of times before I understood, 😂
@@RetroBlissGaming I remember for a long time just playing with no really direction then I started seeing parts of the phone in those damn pits. With a lack of variety and choice back in the day I guess I grinded it enough till I figured it out. Nowadays it would have gone in a pile... Looking at u tunic lol (btw did finish tunic but looked up alot!)
Wow, those are some bad games! Anyone knew where those ET cartridges got burred in NM? Let's go dig 'em up and make a buck or two!
They supposedly did dig those up, but why 🤷 😁
These are terrible games ! Thanks for the video Phil !
Thanks, Pierre!! Glad to hear from you!
Great list of terrible games !!
There are more, but I limited my video to ten. The video game industry put out some duds right before the crash. Many more than ten…
Human Cannonball is a classic. Fantastic game!
I get you! It just wasn’t for me. Sky Diver on the 2600 I absolutely love, but some people just hate that game. It’s all opinion and nostalgia, and no one is wrong. Thank you for sharing!
space jockey and were fun as a kid.
I'm getting a lot of people saying that! And I wasn't aware that I was wrong about the movements. Garry Kitchen did put horizontal movements in at option 13 and higher, but I didn't know that. I'm glad you guys comment and keep me in line! 😀
@@RetroBlissGaming i meant to say space jockey and ET. my bad.
and pacman is in my top 10 for atari. never liked the arcade version. it's overrated.
i'm 45 and grew up with this stuff. keep up the good work.
Is that you playing the first game. If you try and shoot all three makes more of a challenge and makes it more fun. That footage looks like DSP playing. 😂 Back when we had combat and Canyon Bomber we had fun playing them. PAC-man as well. We had what we had. Had fun with them back then.
Yes… lol. I guess that would make it more of a challenge. It might have been an incentive for Garry Kitchen to deduct points for ships that pass by. But as it is, there isn’t a reason to put yourself in danger, lol! 😂 If I ever play this game again, I may approach it differently!
@@RetroBlissGaming for me it’s so much nostalgia and I haven’t played it in ages and well I’ll have to dig it out and play it again and might not think it’s held up too well. Enjoyed the content and the work you put in!
Thank you so much! I appreciate you guys watching and commenting! I love the retro community! You guys rock!!👊🏻
Firefly is the worst lol
It’s pretty bad!!!! 😂 So pointless to play!!!
Pac-Man 2600 is hated because it doesn’t look like the arcade. But once you get over that, it’s a decent game.
It’s definitely a playable game and can be fun. I just don’t think it should have the Pac-Man label on it… but that’s just me.
You are objectively wrong. I owned E.T. for the Atari 800XL, and it was a terrible game. I only watched your video to see if it was #1. The fact you defended it shows that this is not my channel.
I never said that it was a good game... I just said it wasn't in my top ten. I said that at the top of the video that my list was subjective, and that your option could vary... so bye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! 👋👋👋
ET Phone Home on Atari computers was quite a different game from the 2600 game called ET.
@@smokeymcphattey6755 How can an opinion piece like this be “objectively” wrong? Are you the master of reality?