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I am now a 5200 owner!


NCN

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Today was a great day for me. The Wife and I took our Daughter to a local indoor flea market for some fun and a little weekend shopping. I've always loved flea markets but I always came out empty handed. That changed today.

 

In the very last row of booths in the place I found it: a 5200 with both cables, two controllers and three complete games. When I say complete I mean box, cart, manual and controller overlays. The games were common but classic: Pac Man, Space Invaders and Super Breakout. I got out of there with all of it for $20. Now the usual question:

 

What games are "can't miss" on the 5200? The honest-to-God must own games. I can't wait to start picking some up. Thanks for reading the thread....I know if anyone will understand my geek-tastic joy it's the AA forum members. :D

 

-NCN

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congratuations on the purchase of one of the best game systems in the world (that's my opinion.)

 

Assuming your controllers work, here's my list:

 

Berzerk (has real speech!)

Centipede (invest into a track ball controller if you really want the full deal)

space Dungoen (grab the dual controller holder as well--can be a little tricky to find, but not impossible, nor will it set you back a lot of $$$)

Missile Command (Grab the trackball controller)

Star Raiders isn't half bad either...

Frogger is a pretty good arcade port, but you'll probably want to use the keybad, and not the joystick for play :(

Q*bert isn't bad either--controls are the same as Frogger :(

Qix

Wizard of Wor

Star Wars Arcade Game is pretty good.

 

And if you want to breath some new life into your 5200, invest into Adventure II, available from the Atariage store.

 

Give us an update how your collection comes along and your experience...

 

-Delf

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congratuations on the purchase of one of the best game systems in the world (that's my opinion.)

 

Assuming your controllers work, here's my list:

 

Berzerk (has real speech!)

Centipede (invest into a track ball controller if you really want the full deal)

space Dungoen (grab the dual controller holder as well--can be a little tricky to find, but not impossible, nor will it set you back a lot of $$$)

Missile Command (Grab the trackball controller)

Star Raiders isn't half bad either...

Frogger is a pretty good arcade port, but you'll probably want to use the keybad, and not the joystick for play :(

Q*bert isn't bad either--controls are the same as Frogger :(

Qix

Wizard of Wor

Star Wars Arcade Game is pretty good.

 

And if you want to breath some new life into your 5200, invest into Adventure II, available from the Atariage store.

 

Give us an update how your collection comes along and your experience...

 

-Delf

 

Thanks for the post! I tested the controllers and one does work, so I'm happy there. The list looks great. I will probably take a shot at Kaboom and Frogger as my first carts and work my way down your list from there. Thanks again for taking the time to reply... I really appreciate it. I will definitely keep you and everyone else posted on new pickups. I'd love to stay but I think I hear Super Breakout calling me.....

 

-NCN

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The games depend on the person but I'd say the first one you should get is Adventure II. Another one I'd definitely get is Berzerk.

 

The other thing that was also a must have for me was getting a video mod kit so I didn't have to use the RF box.

Edited by HammR25
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The games depend on the person but I'd say the first one you should get is Adventure II. Another one I'd definitely get is Berzerk.

 

The other thing that was also a must have for me was getting a video mod kit so I didn't have to use the RF box.

 

Two straight replies that suggest Berserk. I decided to check into it and it looks like a definite keeper. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

As for the mod kit: I really don't mind the stock setup. I guess I'm old fashioned. ;)

 

-NCN

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other than what's already been mentioned.

 

Some common games that are goodies:

 

Moon patrol, Vanguard, Jungle Hunt, Qix

 

Some uncommon goodies

 

Frogger 2, and my personal favorite, The Dreadnaught Factor.

 

ALSO: check out the 8-bit ports. You can get games like Donkey Kong Jr, and Spy hunter among many others.

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You can't go wrong with most of the arcade conversions. Some of my favorite 5200 games:

 

Galaxian

Berzerk

Krazy Shootout

Wizard of Wor

Donkey Kong

Adventure 2

Beef Drop

Super Pac Man

Gorf (hacked/playable version)

Defender

Qix

 

That's just off the top of my head. The 5200 has probably the best good/bad game ratio of all of the classic systems. There are very few stinkers.

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Thanks for the great feedback on my question, everyone. I appreciate the advice and I will definitely be following it. It seems as though everyone pretty much agrees on a core set of games, so that's extremely helpful.

 

I will keep everyone posted as new games make their way into my collection. Thanks again!

 

-NCN

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Today was a great day for me. The Wife and I took our Daughter to a local indoor flea market for some fun and a little weekend shopping. I've always loved flea markets but I always came out empty handed. That changed today.

 

In the very last row of booths in the place I found it: a 5200 with both cables, two controllers and three complete games. When I say complete I mean box, cart, manual and controller overlays. The games were common but classic: Pac Man, Space Invaders and Super Breakout. I got out of there with all of it for $20. Now the usual question:

 

What games are "can't miss" on the 5200? The honest-to-God must own games. I can't wait to start picking some up. Thanks for reading the thread....I know if anyone will understand my geek-tastic joy it's the AA forum members. :D

 

-NCN

 

congrats on the purchase. despite the controller issues, my best childhood video game memories are with the atari 5200 and my 800xl. have fun

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Wow, $20 for the console, controllers, games, etc. You should be able to find several 5200 games on Ebay. I bought my system on Ebay a year or so ago and then bought the original box from www.collectorscardsandgames.com for a few bucks just to round out my 5200 collection. Now, I would love to purchase another original 5200 boxed system (for the right price). Most collectors will warn that the analog controllers for the 5200 have a history of not working very well ( has something to do with the non-centering hubs). Of the two that came with my set, only one works 100%. You can buy an upgrade kit from most Atari vendors (B&C Computervisions, Best Electronics, etc) and repair these devices. As for games, I just bought the boxed Frogger game off of Ebay for less than $10. Happy hunting!

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If you're a fan of 2 player games, (though probably not with only 1 working controller,) allow me to recommend Joust and Wizard of Wor. They are both fun 1 player, but 2 player is the best. 5200 Joust is one of the best ports I've ever seen, personally. Beats the crap outta the 2600 and NES versions, imo. (2600 doesn't have the lava troll and all the NES versions I've seen are only 1 player.)

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You guys have been great with the suggestions and feedback. I appreciate it!!

 

Question: I've been playing alot of Super Breakout and I seem to have an issue with it. There's an area on the right hand side of the screen that my paddle just refuses to get to. It is impossible for me to get it to touch the right wall. Is this a normal part of the 5200 version or is something wrong?

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Could be a problem with your controller. Also I seem to remember a pot inside the system that can be adjusted to correct this. Maybe someone with more technical knowledge of the 5200 can chime in on that.

 

Sounds good to me! Thanks for the info.

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Damn, I just saw this thread today. I was at my local gaming store, they have some 5200 games there. I'll take note next time I am there of the games and their prices. If you want any of them, I'd be willing to pick them up during one of my normal runs and ship them to you at cost. In the last 2 days, I've picked up over a dozen 2600 carts from there. ;)

 

Edit: As for games to be sure to get, Berzerk(as many have said), Pac Man is pretty good, Joust and Missile Command are good finds as well.

Edited by [d2f]Iggy*SJB
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