Best Arcade Ports to VCS

[sandmountainslim]

If you had to make a list of the top 5 arcade ports to the 2600 what would they be?

I would be curious to see how peoples list would match up on this, my picks would be

in no particular order

1.Berzerk

2.Phoenix

3.Ms. PacMan

4.Wizard of Wor

5.Venture

 

And I would pick Seawolf as the best Homebrew arcade port if in fact it can be considered a port.

So whatcha think?

Edited April 24, 2005 by sandmountainslim

[Feralstorm]

Are we talking, looks, gameplay, or any combination of the two?

 

I'd say Frogger (both Parker Bros. and the Supercharger versions) is a very good conversion of the arcade game.

 

Ms. Pac, Jr. Pac, Dig Dug, Stargate, and Pengo all do pretty well too IMO.

[txsizzler]

Hmmm... Letsee.....

 

1.) Berzerk

2.) Space Invaders

3.) Ms. Pac Man

4.) Donkey Kong (yes.. I AM smoking dope!)

5.) Frogger

[+Random Terrain]

Seems like the Supercharger version of Frogger and Stargate would be near the top of any list. Before I made my own list I'd need a list of all arcade ports to choose from so I could be sure I wasn't forgetting something.

[sidcrowe]

I'd add Space Invaders to your existing lists.

 

Excellent lists...I could totally go back to the old days...as if we had nothing but the 2600.

[rasty]

I'd add Jungle Hunt somewhere in the list..!

 

Regards,

Rasty.-

[Spirantho]

Wasn't Tapper an arcade game port? Bloomin' good one too, I reckon....

[TheHoboInYourRoom]

Personally, I think Crystal Castles should be somewhere on there.

[Lord Helmet]

Phoenix is probably my favorite arcade port, followed closely by Star Fire.

 

Others I think are pretty good:

 

 

Track and Field

Stargate

Omega Race

Berzerk VE

Millipede

Q*Bert

 

 

Jr. Pac-Man is really good too, but it's hard as hell.

[moycon]

Defender 2 AKA: Stargate For sure.

[davepesc]

I would say:

Ms. Pac Man

Frogger

Moon Patrol

Mr. Do!

Dig Dug

[Lord Helmet]

Alot of the later GCC ports of arcade games were quite good, and faithful to the orignials

[Mental Vortex]

Ms. Pac Man

Jr. Pac Man

Frogger

 

I'll probably add a few more later if I can think of them.

[Gregory DG]

This page ought to help you remember your arcade ports.

[sandmountainslim]

Defender 2 AKA: Stargate For sure.

843633[/snapback]

How could I forget Stargate? Add that one to my list

[NE146]

This page ought to help you remember your arcade ports. 

843654[/snapback]

 

Wow.. very nice! It's cool to see that in one nice place as opposed to that old thread where everyone posted screenshot comparisons haphazardly

 

You should beef it up though with some of the missing titles.. like where's Espial? Where's Springer? And where's River Patrol? If you have a complete listing that would be awesome

[Gregory DG]

You should beef it up though with some of the missing titles.. like where's Espial? Where's Springer? And where's River Patrol? If you have a complete listing that would be awesome

843664[/snapback]

These were just the arcade games I already knew about. I'll have to add the ones you mentioned!

 

Edit: Ok, I've added those games you mentioned. You may have to reload the page to see them.

Edited April 25, 2005 by Gregory DG

[+Random Terrain]

This page ought to help you remember your arcade ports. 

843654[/snapback]

Those are some useful pages. Is there a reason why you are missing a couple of images such as Dodgem:

 

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=12721

 

Is it because you don't have permission to use them or you just didn't have time to grab them?

 

Thanks to those pages, I can make a real list here later on today or tomorrow.

[Gregory DG]

Is it because you don't have permission to use them or you just didn't have time to grab them?

Usually it's because I didn't have the ROM to grab an image myself. I'll get them all eventually.

[NE146]

Is it because you don't have permission to use them or you just didn't have time to grab them?

Usually it's because I didn't have the ROM to grab an image myself. I'll get them all eventually.

843720[/snapback]

 

Lemme know if you need any roms.. I finally updated my mame set to the latest build. It was a pain in the ass

 

Oh.. and there are some 'definitive' lists of arcade ports to the 2600. I know it's been posted here a couple of times. I think Sniderman did 'em? Let me try a search.

[+FujiSkunk]

Best 5, in no particular order:

 

1. Stargate

2. Jr. Pac-Man

3. Pac-Man (Ebivision)

I haven't actually played this one, much as I'd like to. If the screen shots are any indication, this one blows everything else out of the water.

4. Millipede

5. Crystal Castles

 

 

Worst 5, in no particular order:

 

1. Zaxxon

Actually, if I were doing these in order, this would still be #1. Simply awful.

2. Donkey Kong Junior

3. Pac-Man (Atari)

It's not a bad game (it's not a great game either), but it's a terrible port, especially in retrospect.

4. Lock 'n' Chase

I haven't actually played the arcade version of this, so I can only assume that it's not nearly as boring as this.

5. Defender

I'm kind of reaching for a fifth here. This is another one that isn't really bad in its own right (and Atari did a better job here than with Pac-Man), however, when compared to Stargate, this one's weaknesses are impossible to ignore.

[Lauren Tyler]

Pole Position would have to be my favorite hands down, but there are other good ones too. In alphabetical order:

 

Asteroids

Battlezone

Berzerk

Commando

Gravitar

Jr. Pac-Man

Kung-Fu Master (yes I liked it, so shoot me!)

Millipede

Missile Command

Moon Patrol

Mr. Do

Phoenix

Pole Position

Q*Bert

Space Invaders

Wizard of Wor

Xenophobe

[Tempest]

I'd have to say:

 

 

1. Jr. Pac-Man – Absolutely amazing! I can't believe the 2600 could pull off such a wonderful conversion

 

2. Crystal Castles - Yes I know it looks different, but it really plays just like the arcade game. The only thing I ding it on is not having a trackball (although I actually like playing with the joystick better).

 

3. Missile Command – Really captures the thrill of the arcade game, especially at higher levels. I just hate the funky colors...

 

4. Battlezone – Another 'It doesn't look like the arcade version' title, but the gameplay is outstanding.

 

5. Stargate – Great graphics and gameplay. I was never a big fan of the original however

 

 

Tempest

[+Nathan Strum]

Before I made my own list I'd need a list of all arcade ports to choose from so I could be sure I wasn't forgetting something.

843449[/snapback]

 

I came up with this list some time ago. There aren't any screenshots there, but I think it's (mostly) complete.

 

I'd say Stargate has to be one of the most amazing translations, just because of the complexity of the original arcade game, and how much better it was than their version of Defender.

 

Berzerk certainly looks a lot like the original, and the player death is spot-on.

 

Joust has gameplay that feels very much like the original (despite the floating eggs).

[HawgWyld]

It's easier to pick out the worst conversions:

 

1. Zaxxon

2. Pac-Man

3. Reactor

4. Donkey Kong

5. Donkey Kong Jr.

 

See, those games all missed the versions in the arcades horribly. They just weren't nearly the same, but they have their fans, for sure.

 

As for the best, that's kind of rough:

 

1. Joust

2. Space Invaders

3. Star Fire

4. Dig Dug

5. Moon Patrol

 

But, there are some other great ones, too. "Frogger," although it flickered like crazy, was fantastic. Berzerk played like, well, "Berzerk," as did "Poll Position."

 

Now, there were some that were wonderful translations, but who cares? The original games sucked, so we can't expect much. "Rock n' Rope" is a prime example. Wonderful translation of a mind-numblingly dull game.