Interesting 7800 review from Classic Game Room HD

[carmel_andrews]

yootoob link only

 

 

 

 

A couple or three of interesting things here

 

The reviewer reckoned that the 'euro controller' (the one packaged with the UK/EU version 7800) as better then the prolines...No way, The Pro lines ruled (I used a couple with my A8), I did try one of those 'euro controllers' and you just didn't get the same feedback as you do with a standard atari stylee joystick (I guess that's why i can't get used to pc joypads)

 

Also the reviewer showed an 'atari advantage' poster (given away with some 7800 games, like DK jnr), a couple of things here, firstly on the back of the poster, where it shows some screenshots of the 7800 games coming out, it definately shows 'Gauntlet' from USG (or did they just nick that screenshot from the c64 version) and on the bottom it shows some atari hardware, including an XEGS and what is mistakenly called the XE drive, I couldn't quite make out whether the 'XE drive' was the proposed A8 version of the original external ST disk drive or a proto version of the XF551 (as the XF didn't hit the streets untill late 88/89, something to do with Atari getting a new XF compatible dos ready)

Edited December 6, 2009 by carmel_andrews

[The_Laird]

The prolines suck ass they are awful, the Euro pads however are superb

[Armonigann]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

[Hatta]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

 

 

Agreed. They're sure as hell better than the 5200 controller, they actually work. Not as hand cramping as the Colecovision or Intellivision controller either.

[AtariLeaf]

Its not a bandwagon issue for me. I've hated the pro line sticks since I got my first 7800 and long before I read any reviews or other people's opinions on the matter. I love the europad and can't imagine going back.

[S1500]

Europad = better. Chalk another "european is better than USA" thing up. And that euro gamepad general shape would be the shape of things to come.

[Underball]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

this.

 

playing any kind of classic arcade port like Pac-Man Collection, Donkey Kong, Joust, Food Fight with a Europad is pretty weak.

 

and compared to both the NES and SMS pads, the Atari ones are terrible.

[Underball]

Europad = better. Chalk another "european is better than USA" thing up.

Like what else?

 

and those pads came from Japan with the NES. and were made in Taiwan for Atari, not anywhere near Europe.

[AtariLeaf]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

this.

 

playing any kind of classic arcade port like Pac-Man Collection, Donkey Kong, Joust, Food Fight with a Europad is pretty weak.

 

and compared to both the NES and SMS pads, the Atari ones are terrible.

 

Then again, all those examples you mentioned, in fact most of the arcade conversions, only need one button anyway so a standard 2600 joystick will suffice.

[The_Laird]

I far prefer the 7800 pads to the NES and SMS ones, the thumbstick was a brilliant idea

[Underball]

I far prefer the 7800 pads to the NES and SMS ones, the thumbstick was a brilliant idea

The SMS pads had them first.

[AtariLeaf]

I far prefer the 7800 pads to the NES and SMS ones, the thumbstick was a brilliant idea

The SMS pads had them first.

 

 

And the weird thing for me is that I don't really care for the SMS pads but I do like the feel of the europad.

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

Where can one aquire this "Europad"? The Pro-line sticks are just slightly too big for my hands, and I have the cramping problem with them. I would just use my 2600 sticks with it, but they don't work on all of my games.

[The_Laird]

I just sold 3 of them on ebay but if come across anymore I will let you know

[AtariLeaf]

Best Electronics still carries them. That's where I got mine

 

EDIT - Here's the direct link to the page: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/quickguide.htm Its the CX78 Joypad

Edited December 7, 2009 by AtariLeaf

[8th lutz]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

I own an Atari 7800 since Christmas 1989. I never was big on the pro-lines and it is not the bandwagon effect. The Controllers bothered my arm at times if I played too long. I ended up using Atari 2600 Controllers for a good amount of games before getting Euro pad in 2006.

 

The Euro pads are great for games like Commando, but are not made for games like the Pac-man collection.

[Armonigann]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

I own an Atari 7800 since Christmas 1989. I never was big on the pro-lines and it is not the bandwagon effect. The Controllers bothered my arm at times if I played too long. I ended up using Atari 2600 Controllers for a good amount of games before getting Euro pad in 2006.

 

The Euro pads are great for games like Commando, but are not made for games like the Pac-man collection.

I too got my 7800 in '89 and the Prolines have never hurt mine or any one I played w/ arms. Maybe, a slight crap but no more than the 2600 joysticks do. Although the Prolines are not perfect I just think they get too bad of a rap because of what someone else says. Even people who've never even had them say it because of neg. reviews. Where I grew up no one complained about the Prolines There are way worst controllers out there. I have scored my highest scores w/ the Prolines ..including Commando. If I want to play Commando with pads I'll play NES. The Euros are nice but IMO not the grand solution to whoopin ass on the 7800.

[Armonigann]

Pro Lines do not suck as bad as everyone says, Everyone just says that because of the bandwagon effect. True Euro pads are great but I prefer my Prolines over the Euros for most games.

this.

 

playing any kind of classic arcade port like Pac-Man Collection, Donkey Kong, Joust, Food Fight with a Europad is pretty weak.

 

and compared to both the NES and SMS pads, the Atari ones are terrible.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Armonigann

[KevinMos3]

I like the Pro Lines for some games, but they always cramped my hand after playing for a while. Also, I found Double Dragon extremely difficult with them. I still like the joystick feel now and then, but I greatly prefer the Euro game pads overall. I can control pretty much everything better with the pad.

[brojamfootball]

I just recently acquired my first 7800 and so far, I find the prolines to be a bit too sensitive. It seems really easy to accidentally push up or down when trying to only go left or right, but that's literally a first impression. I have only used them a couple of hours so far.

[gdement]

I just recently acquired my first 7800 and so far, I find the prolines to be a bit too sensitive. It seems really easy to accidentally push up or down when trying to only go left or right, but that's literally a first impression. I have only used them a couple of hours so far.

They start out very sensitive. They only need a light touch, but if you push them harder it wears them out. The sensitivity is pretty ridiculous, they don't take nearly as much force as you naturally expect. This might have been intentional so they don't get torqued around in your hand.

 

Mine wore out quickly when I was a kid, probably because I pushed on them too hard and I'm sure my siblings did also. The joysticks became progressively less responsive until I had to push them very hard to get them to work.

 

My 2nd set lasted much longer, maybe because I was so gentle with them but more likely because I didn't use them much. I still have that set and as far as I know they work fine, but I avoid using them.

 

I think there's a way to repair the loss of sensitivity, but I don't know it myself. I've seen people post about it before.

[Ransom]

I've tried the Prolines, the BEST 7800 joystick, and the euro pads. I prefer the Wico!

 

But for two button games, I end up using the euro pads. They're not ideal for me (totally unergonomic; the d-pad and buttons should be angled as your arms naturally are when grasping the controller), but in a few games you really do need that second button. So I put up with it.

[gdement]

I've tried the Prolines, the BEST 7800 joystick, and the euro pads. I prefer the Wico!

 

But for two button games, I end up using the euro pads. They're not ideal for me (totally unergonomic; the d-pad and buttons should be angled as your arms naturally are when grasping the controller), but in a few games you really do need that second button. So I put up with it.

 

I've never used the euro pads, but I'd hate it if the d-pad was angled. I have a knockoff N64 controller like that, with an angled analog joystick. As a result I always move crooked when I try to use it.

Even if my hands are at an angle, I still know which way is up so when they tilt the controls it throws me off. It's not a problem for buttons though.

Edited December 10, 2009 by gdement

[Kurisu]

I spent 50 bucks on 2 euro pads, and I generally like them. Pac Man and such just suck to play with it, but the 7800 games are pretty nice.

 

I don't hate the proline, and I do make a ton of jokes about it being the 2nd worst controller ever, but it does hurt for me to play with over a long time: normal cramping in Galaga and such. Plus, mine is a little hard to get going to the right, so it just annoys me to no end: I do better in Galaga or Xevious with the euro than I do the proline.

 

As it stands, I pretty much never use my Proline: I just use my eurostyle for everything, and if I am playing a 2600 game on it, either gut it out with the odd gameplay (the right hand left hand swap is hard to adapt to on some games, like Yars), or I just use a 2600 controller nearby and go the old route. Of course, this is all when I am too lazy to swap 2 cables and play my 2600. :\

[atari_envy]

I find the Prolines very uncomfortable and gave up on them a long time ago. (And this coming from someone who likes the original CX-52 5200 controllers).

 

My first choice for the 7800 is the classic CX40 joystick. For certain games, like Mario Brothers, I prefer the Europad. And for other games that need two buttons like Xevious or Ninja golf, I really like my Radica Space Invaders custom joystick. In a weird way, that is my Proline since it has its cable and resistors.