2600 games that would make good 7800 ports

[shadow460]

I wonder which 2600 games would be best when ported to bona fide 7800 games.

 

If there's one you'd like to see, name it, and explain the differences a little bit.

My first vote's for Moonsweeper. The right button on the Pro Line stick could be pressed for long range missiles and shields when the Pro Line sitck (or compatible) is used. Otherwise, the controls would work the same: Pull back and press the left button to fire missiles or activate the shield.

 

Shield energy might be earned instead of using up your score.

I think it might have more moons, and maybe the miners would run around a bit.

 

My next vote (as I'm a fanboy of 'em) is for anything Starpath to simply be produced on cartridge. I think their games can hold their own against the 7800 titles I've got. No, I don't own just sucky titles like Jinks and Karateka, either. Starpath games are simply that good. Remove the flicker and there you go.

I'd change Phaser Patrol a little, though. I'd code it so that a Video Touch Pad could be used to activate shields and roam the sector map.

Suicide Mission would be recoded so that the controls behave like 7800 Asteroids. Right button for shields on the Pro Line, or simply pull back on the CX-40.

Imagine Escape From The MindMaster, Dragonstomper, Party Mix, Survival Island, and Sweat (what there is of it) with no load times.

Killer Satellites carts could be made as an alternative to the Karateka paperweight.

Frogger's a toughie, given the quality 7800 version we have now. I'd leave the Starpath version alone, save for putting it on cart, removing flicker, and labeling it accordingly. Really, it would go on cart more for completeness of the Starpath collection than anything else.

 

Other games?

Edited November 29, 2005 by shadow460

[AtticGamer]

Alien.

[8th lutz]

lock'n chase-make the graphics like the arcade game and the ability to make horizontal or vertical lines by press booth buttons on the controller.

Midnight magic-ability to continue after game over on level you lost your final life on.

Congo Bongo- make it like the arcade game, all 4 levels, improved graphics, should work well with proline controllers or joypad.

Adventure-make it into a 64 or 128k game with more castles,items to find, and add enemies like trolls, and goblins.

Edited December 2, 2005 by 8th lutz

[Lord Helmet]

Stargate: Could be the definative port. The closest port available is the unreleased 5200 version. All of the othere SUCK (NES). Emulations don't count

 

Crazy Climber: Did any other system ever get this one?

Time Pilot: Would be better than the CV version.

 

Phoenix: See Crazy Climber

 

Demon Attack (make it like the INTV one though)

Edited December 1, 2005 by Lord Helmet

[8th lutz]

I forget mention these games:

Super Cobra: Arcade like graphics.

Rador Lock: no fuel meter and more missles and bullets.

Defender: Needs a great arcade port.

[Lord Helmet]

I forget mention these games:

Super Cobra: Arcade like graphics.

Rador Lock: no fuel meter and more missles and bullets.

Defender:  Needs a great arcade port.

975022[/snapback]

 

 

IMHO Defender on the 5200 is as good as it gets (well, maybe a little easy, but its still my favorite verison). Still gotta say STARGATE!!!!

[Tempest]

Crazy Climber: Did any other system ever get this one?

974936[/snapback]

 

Actually yes. The MPT-03 system did have a version of Crazy Climber (not very good though). The code could run on an Arcadia 2001 if the cartridge was adapted to fit in the slot.

 

 

Phoenix: See Crazy Climber

974936[/snapback]

 

Not that I know of. There were several Phoenix clones, but I don't think any actually openly called themselves Phoenix.

 

Tempest

[+-^CrossBow^-]

We talked about this before..and I will repeat my answers again:

 

Moon Patrol: This would be excellent! Arcade graphics...sound...and even include the slanted levels.

 

Crystal Castles: Another one that could have been done nearly arcade perfect!

 

It would have been cool to have a version of Star Raiders or Star Master redone for the 7800. Still have the issue of limited buttons and probably still have to use the 7800's difficulty switches and the like, but it didn't stop Tomcat or F-18...

[Pipercub]

I will be the guy who says NONE> A large part of the problem was that the 5200 and 7800 had such a large library of warmed over games that had been released before. All the energy and manhours that went into making yet another port of Asteroids and Joust should have been diverted into making a ground breaking title on the order of Super Mario Bros or Legend of Zelda.

[Shawn]

Smurfs Rescue would e great. It could look just like the Colecovision version but have better controls.

[8th lutz]

I forget mention these games:

Super Cobra: Arcade like graphics.

Rador Lock: no fuel meter and more missles and bullets.

Defender:  Needs a great arcade port.

975022[/snapback]

 

 

IMHO Defender on the 5200 is as good as it gets (well, maybe a little easy, but its still my favorite verison). Still gotta say STARGATE!!!!

975024[/snapback]

I had no Idea. I don't have a 5200.

Edited December 2, 2005 by 8th lutz

[Lord Helmet]

I forget mention these games:

Super Cobra: Arcade like graphics.

Rador Lock: no fuel meter and more missles and bullets.

Defender:  Needs a great arcade port.

975022[/snapback]

 

 

IMHO Defender on the 5200 is as good as it gets (well, maybe a little easy, but its still my favorite verison). Still gotta say STARGATE!!!!

975024[/snapback]

I had no Idea. I don't have a 5200.

975526[/snapback]

 

You should really grab your 5200 emulator and give it a go. Great fun

[shadow460]

I'm in that same situation, but I've got the Atari 800win emulator, and a stack of half a dozen 5200 carts. One of 'em's Defender.

 

I think with the 7800 port of Defender, perhaps a device could be built allowing the user to mount a joystick and a 2600 keypad controller (the kids' controller might be best.)

 

The joystick side would have to accomodate a fair sized arcade style joystick (probably an RSI stick). Use the buttons on the RSI stick for more common functions, like shooting and perhaps reverse.

Use the kids controller for everything else--hyperspace, inviso (I know, Stargate only there), smart bombs, etc.

 

I forgot to mention Reactor, though that was originally an arcade game.

Pokey music, Pokey voice synth, TIA sound for collisions, control rods, core sounds, and everything else.

The 7800 would spew forth Reactor's guitar riffs as soon as it's powered up.

[8th lutz]

Pooyan- needs a great arcade port.

Roc'n rope-needs a great arcade port.

 

I don't have those two games for my 2600 collection.

Edited December 5, 2005 by 8th lutz

[Lord Helmet]

How about 7800 Adventure. Adventure 3 anyone?

 

[8th lutz]

Tapper- improve the graphics. It could be hacked then, so there can be the arcade, and the rootbeer version of the game.

[Inky]

Yar's Revenge could kick ass on the 7800!

[shadow460]

Yar's Revenge could kick ass on the 7800!

977202[/snapback]

 

Yeah, it could. There was talk about porting the original game, Star Castle, to the 7800.

Imagine how well Yars' could be done, though. More missiles, couple more tricks with the swirl, etc.

 

Yars' Revenge is a darn good title for the 2600, especially considering its age.

[sportznutt38]

MR DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just loved palying this in the arcades plus the 2600 version doesn't do it justice.

[jaybird3rd]

Easy question. When I think of popular games on the 2600 that could have been even better on the 7800, the one that comes to mind first is Missile Command. If it was developed for the 7800's POKEY cart, you could have had something almost identical to the arcade: the CPU and sound hardware would have been exactly the same as the coin-op, and Atari's trackball would have been a great controller. I know that the GCC guys in particular could have done a great job with it: after all, they had reverse-engineered the original arcade game for their Super Missile Attack mod kit.

[ninjarabbit]

I will be the guy who says NONE> A large part of the problem was that the 5200 and 7800 had such a large library of warmed over games that had been released before. All the energy and manhours that went into making yet another port of Asteroids and Joust should have been diverted into making a ground breaking title on the order of Super Mario Bros or Legend of Zelda.

975067[/snapback]

 

Agrees 100%. The last thing the 7800 needed was another port of a game we've been playing for the past 5 years or so (when it came out in 1986). The 7800 needed more original titles and titles that were more suited for playing at home vs a game that was meant for the arcade.

[Joey Kay]

I will be the guy who says NONE> A large part of the problem was that the 5200 and 7800 had such a large library of warmed over games that had been released before. All the energy and manhours that went into making yet another port of Asteroids and Joust should have been diverted into making a ground breaking title on the order of Super Mario Bros or Legend of Zelda.

975067[/snapback]

 

Agrees 100%. The last thing the 7800 needed was another port of a game we've been playing for the past 5 years or so (when it came out in 1986). The 7800 needed more original titles and titles that were more suited for playing at home vs a game that was meant for the arcade.

1007888[/snapback]

 

Add me as third to this list. What the hell was Atari thinking that in 1984 people wanted to buy a third port of Joust???

[Atariboy2600]

Why not Kangaroo, it was on both the 2600 and the 5200, I say port that game on the 7800 and get a real arcade look

[supercat]

Why not Kangaroo, it was on both the 2600 and the 5200, I say port that game on the 7800 and get a real arcade look

1009369[/snapback]

 

Maybe it could use "Kangaroo mode" for the sprites.

[supercat]

When I think of popular games on the 2600 that could have been even better on the 7800, the one that comes to mind first is Missile Command.

1007565[/snapback]

 

Doing a decent rendition of Missile Command on the 7800 without RAM expansion would be tricky. The original game used a bitmap display, but the 7800 doesn't really have enough RAM for that (it may be possible to jinx display lists to generate a 160x96 four-color mode in 4K but that'd probably be the limit of what one could do).