Jump to content
IGNORED

Gyruss for the Atari 7800?


HawkMines

Recommended Posts

Gyruss is my favorite game for the 2600, and I didn't see anyone that has made a version for the 7800. So I was wondering, is it possible to make Gyruss for the 7800? I'm not a programmer so I don't know what it would take to make it happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course it's possible. Why wouldn't it be possible? Graphically Gyruss is little more than a bunch of sprites moving around on a black background, which is exactly what the 7800 was built to do.

 

You'd probably want to use an on-cart sound chip though.

 

It's basically Tempest without the tube and with fancy graphics and a kick ass soundtrack. It was my very favorite non-Atari arcade game back then. Unfortunately, Konami blew it with not only their NES port but also whatever poor-excuse-of-a-version is included via Xbox Live.

 

Be forewarned though, the arcade original has something like 12 sound chips in it… AYs I believe.

 

The POKEY soundtrack in the commercially released version for A8/5200 is nice [haven't heard the unreleased version]. Although I must say, there's enough talent on this board to create an even better version using POKEY just like what has ben demonstrated a few months back with the Double Dragon theme via POKEY.

 

I seem to remember the arcade version featuring only one fire button so if Trak-Ball support was added - don't laugh, using the Trak-Ball on 5200 Tempest is awesome - so the 7800 wouldn't be at a disadvantage by using a stock CX-22 or CX-80 Trak-Ball. And yes I know Gyruss didn't feature a spinner in the arcade although it should have! I don't think anyone has created a 7800 spinner yet. The 2600 Driving Controller probably wouldn't work well with this game.

Edited by Lynxpro
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be forewarned though, the arcade original has something like 12 sound chips in it… AYs I believe.

 

From what i've read it's 4 at least. Two for the sound effects, one for purcussion, and one for Tocatta and Fugue in D minor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Gyruss was ported to the 7800 I would buy it. I wouldn't be too excited about it because I already have it on the 2600, 5200, ColecoVision and NES.

 

I asked Bob if he would be interested in making a translation of Tazz-Mania which to my knowledge hasn't been ported to any system. It's a fun game and I know Bob would do a great job with it and people would love it. But, I also understand he's free to do whatever he pleases.

 

If you're not familiar with Tazz-Mania, I do a game play of it in this video just skip ahead to the 48:13 mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBj3tTD-2xQ

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

It's basically Tempest without the tube and with fancy graphics and a kick ass soundtrack. It was my very favorite non-Atari arcade game back then. Unfortunately, Konami blew it with not only their NES port but also whatever poor-excuse-of-a-version is included via Xbox Live.

 

 

I've read this before but never actually played the arcade version.....what did they do wrong?

 

I ask because I....like the NES version. :woozy: Been a while since I played the Atari 8 bit version but I definitely recall liking the NES version better than that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I've read this before but never actually played the arcade version.....what did they do wrong?

 

I ask because I....like the NES version. :woozy: Been a while since I played the Atari 8 bit version but I definitely recall liking the NES version better than that!

 

They used a 2-way joystick instead of a spinner on the arcade cabinet. I think I've seen a video or 2 on YouTube where someone installed a spinner on the arcade cabinet. No surprise that he achieved higher scores with the spinner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

They used a 2-way joystick instead of a spinner on the arcade cabinet. I think I've seen a video or 2 on YouTube where someone installed a spinner on the arcade cabinet. No surprise that he achieved higher scores with the spinner.

A ha! I have to try the arcade someday.

 

Did the arcade originally have a spinner or an 8 way stick? I hit google and see none with spinners.

 

(I guess it's not the same but would the paddle controllers work for a 7800 conversion?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Konami also screwed up the control scheme for Time Pilot. It should've used a spinner but somebody decided to use some weird ass control scheme with a joystick that I never to this day got used to. Thankfully in Kristof Tuts' translation to the Vectrex called Vector Pilot you can choose the simple option of pushing left on the joystick moves the plane left and pushing right moves right.

 

The horror. The horror.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Gyruss for the 2600, C64 and 60-in-1 arcade, but would still play it on the 7800. It's one of my GF's favorite games actually and would be another good excuse to have 7800 gaming nights. :grin:

 

If Bob doesn't have the time or inclination, what about Ken Siders, Mark Ball or the guys behind Dungeon Stalker, etc.?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd bet that if PacManPlus did convert this or any other Konami game, he'd find a way to implement the Konami code somehow. Hell, after what he did with Frenzy/Berzerk, I'm convinced he could have used an Atari 7800 to rescue the castaways from Gilligan's Island.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

From what i've read it's 4 at least. Two for the sound effects, one for purcussion, and one for Tocatta and Fugue in D minor.

 

According to the MAME source, Gyruss has 5 PSGs and 1 SFX channel controlled by an 8039. Out of those, 2 PSG's are audible on the left and 2 on the right channel, with the 5th one going to both. And they definitely use more than 1 PSG for the music since 1 PSG has only 3 voices, but what's played clearly has more than 3 voices... I'd guess at least 6.

 

By the way, the version of Toccata and Fuge in Dm they programmed sounds very much like this one:

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A ha! I have to try the arcade someday.

 

Did the arcade originally have a spinner or an 8 way stick? I hit google and see none with spinners.

 

(I guess it's not the same but would the paddle controllers work for a 7800 conversion?)

 

Sorry, I misread that. I thought you were asking me how Konami/Centari screwed up with the arcade original. It came with a 2-way joystick. Others have since then have modded it to have a real spinner.

 

 

As for the NES version, Konami NES'ified it [even worse than what Namco did with Rolling Thunder]. They changed the graphics of the blaster, added bosses, and didn't do a stellar job with the NES sound chip interpretation of the arcade's soundtrack.

 

I don't know what version the Xbox Live version is from. Xbox Live claimed it was the arcade version but it's not. It's absolutely terrible. I hate it more than the NES version.

 

 

Edit: I take that back, the arcade original was a standard 8-way joystick. How dumb. Analog would've been the way to go for using a joystick.

Edited by Lynxpro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Sorry, I misread that. I thought you were asking me how Konami/Centari screwed up with the arcade original. It came with a 2-way joystick. Others have since then have modded it to have a real spinner.

 

 

As for the NES version, Konami NES'ified it [even worse than what Namco did with Rolling Thunder]. They changed the graphics of the blaster, added bosses, and didn't do a stellar job with the NES sound chip interpretation of the arcade's soundtrack.

 

I don't know what version the Xbox Live version is from. Xbox Live claimed it was the arcade version but it's not. It's absolutely terrible. I hate it more than the NES version.

 

No sweat Lynx, I was going to ask again in a different way but I figured I was probably just missing something, so figure I'd learn about the arcade a bit.

 

(I like the boss battles in the NES version, myself. Also like the music, though I have nothing to compare it to).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

No sweat Lynx, I was going to ask again in a different way but I figured I was probably just missing something, so figure I'd learn about the arcade a bit.

 

(I like the boss battles in the NES version, myself. Also like the music, though I have nothing to compare it to).

 

Here's a guy playing Gyruss arcade with the normal joystick… Listen to that music!

 

 

Now watch this guy play Gyruss via MAME with a spinner controller for a comparison. He starts out playing Tempest but then switches to Gyruss [and later, Time Pilot]. It's incredible:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10fPGXbAjRM#t=63

Edited by Lynxpro
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think using a joystick was a great idea, as it brings more precision. I generally would do a slow sweeping motion while firing to clear out some of the enemies, which would feel awkward with a spinner.

 

As for the NES version, I have nothing to tell, as I haven't played it yet.

 

I will agree with Lynxpro on the Xbox Live Arcade version though, it's by far the worst Gyruss version.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's some of my old mockup label cart and screen shot on the game:

Great work! The label looks professional, although it's missing some of the copyright messages that would have been on it back in the day. Where'd you get the screenshots from?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think using a joystick was a great idea, as it brings more precision. I generally would do a slow sweeping motion while firing to clear out some of the enemies, which would feel awkward with a spinner.

 

As for the NES version, I have nothing to tell, as I haven't played it yet.

 

I will agree with Lynxpro on the Xbox Live Arcade version though, it's by far the worst Gyruss version.

 

The XBox Live "update" certainly is no Galaga '88 [or Galaga '90 on the Sharp X68000]...

 

Man, the Atari/Arcade Adventure at the Disneyland Hotel ate a lot of my quarters on Galaga '88 and Return of the Jedi back in the day…

 

Here's a decent comparison video of the various versions of Gyruss. Mind you, very few people have seen the other 5200 version of Gyruss that wasn't released. The commercially released version was practically the same as the Atari 8-bit version:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now watch this guy play Gyruss via MAME with a spinner controller for a comparison. He starts out playing Tempest but then switches to Gyruss [and later, Time Pilot]. It's incredible:

 

Incredibly cheesy, yes. This is like arguing that Space Invaders should have used a paddle controller. Time Pilot was designed and balanced around the player ship having a constant movement speed. Being able to scoot around the perimeter as fast as you like completely throws off the difficulty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...