Quest for the Emerson Arcadia 2001

[caveman]

Does anyone know anything about the Emerson Arcadia 2001? I mean from first hand experience- I did a few searches on various sites, and reviews and/or memories have been lukewarm at best. I know that MESS will support it, but is it worth my while to bother looking for ROMs for that system except for just shits and giggles?

[Bruce Tomlin]

It used a wierd CPU (2650), was crap for when it was released (1984?), and the sound for the games is so bad that it must have been programmed by someone who was tone-deaf. It also had quite a few clones (Hanimex?) in spite of being so crappy. There are also two different types of cartridge slots for the series. The other kind uses the same software but won't plug into an Arcadia.

[dvdguy]

I had one back when I was collecting everything related to classic gaming. Now I just collect what's enjoyable, and therefore the Arcadia won't be making it back into my collection. I still have some carts for it that I can't even get rid of.

 

It's just very lackluster overall... there's nothing amazing about it and there's no killer game that makes it a must have.

[Tempest]

The Arcadia 2001 is a very 'quirky' system. It's not a gamers system, but rather a collectors system with some decent games. Many of the games have a cheap 'pirate' feel to them and are rather unpolished. However there are some rare arcade ports (Pleadies, Route 16, Junger, Crazy Climber, R2D Tank, Turtles, Funky Fish, etc.) which make the system worth while. The graphics are better than the 2600 in many cases, but use far less colors. The sound is absoluely abysmal however, and can get on your nerves. The Intellivision style controllers also blow.

 

Most of the best games weren't released in the US, so tracking them down can be hard. Ward's multicart is a lifesaver and a must if you can find one. The Arcadia isn't a system I play every day, but it gets some gametime at least once a month.

 

The Arcadia 2001 also went by the names Leisurevision, Hanimex HMG2650, Schmidt TVG2000, Telefever, Advision, Leonardo, and Arcadia (no 2001). There's also the Palladium and MPT03 systems which use the same program, but a different cart style so you can't play them directly without an adapter of some sort (although the games themselves are compatible).

 

The Arcadia is a fun little system, I like it.

 

Tempest

[dvdguy]

I stand corrected.

[sku_u]

I have an Arcadia 2001 system as well. Cat Trax is also a worthwhile game on it. Don't waste your time with the pacman clone as its the worst port on any system (including the VCS version) and only resembles the arcade game in appearance.

 

The Arcadia 2001 is a system I tend to lump in with the Channel F in that it's a great system to collect for (you can find most games CIB for cheap if you are patient enough), but not for playing. The American/Canadian library is lackluster at best, the controllers are horrible and I find the system too slow for my taste.