Paranoid Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I've seen a lot of negative comments about 5200 Galaxian on the forum here... and I remembered it being one of my favorite games when I was younger. I didn't have a copy... but I finally picked one up... and I have to say... I'm surprised that people don't like it. The graphics are pretty spot on (I suppose the ship is a little BETTER than the arcade version)... the sounds are real accurate. I just can't see anyone thinking Galaxian is a "bad" game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eegt97 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I liked Galaxian as a kid as well and must say that I still do. I'm not a fan of the sound effects (don't remember the arcade), they really annoy the crap out of me, so I end up playing it with the sound turned down half the time. There are also some slow downs during the game, but they seem to help me out. For control, my personal preference is to play with the stock controllers and not the trackball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxd Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I always liked it myself and still play it often too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 The attack patterns are a bit more aggravating to deal with in this version (and the 8-bit computer version that it came from) than in the original arcade version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I never thought much of the 8-bit Galaxian but then again I didn't like the arcade version either (although I was a big Galaga player). But, some arcade games, for some reason just were'nt converted well to the home platforms, and those 2 games (with very rare exceptions) are good examples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 i don't mind the game, i play it every once in a while, the movements though seem very jaggy to me, especially the enemy movements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I like it. Play it a lot on my 400. The only negative is the broken piano sounding "dong" when you hit a galaxian, but that is sort of it's own trademark over the arcade version. The dive sounds sometimes get stuck, but thet doesn't bother me. I played the original a lot as a kid and this is one of my top ten favs. I haven't played the 5200 version, I can only assume it is similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I had it growing up on my 400, but even then I only played it occasionally. I seem to remember it boring me after only a short while. Also, the sound of the diving Galaxians drove me (and the dog) nuts. http://www.atariprotos.com/5200/software/g...an/galaxian.htm Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phineasfool Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I don't have the 5200 version myself, but have a copy coming soon in the mail. However I do have a cocktail cabinet of it. I'll have to compare them once I get my 5200 version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I enjoy 5200 Galaxian quite a bit. The sound is lacking a bit, and it's not a spot-on conversion (the Colecovision port is closer IIRC), but it is a lot of fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I think it's a great game. It's one of my favorites. I think the sound effects work quite well and it's one of the few games where the stock joysticks are a real plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I enjoy 5200 Galaxian quite a bit. The sound is lacking a bit, and it's not a spot-on conversion (the Colecovision port is closer IIRC), but it is a lot of fun to play. 1022474[/snapback] Yes, the CV version is much closer looking to the arcade. Somehow though I still prefer the 5200 port. I dont know why. Nostalgia maybe. The sound does suck though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Awesome game. I like how you can see the Atari logo when you kill enemies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eegt97 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 One question I have along this line. Has anyone attempted a Galaga port to the 5200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darklord1977 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 i also had it for the 400..then when it came out for the 5200..i was amazed it played great even with"those" controllers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 The graphics are pretty spot on (I suppose the ship is a little BETTER than the arcade version)... the sounds are real accurate. I just can't see anyone thinking Galaxian is a "bad" game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. I must say I completely agree with the exact opposite of everything you say. 5200 Galaxian is really quite dire. Sure it looks "pretty" in screenshots, but the moment it start moving and making sounds... yechk. The 8-bit Atari computer game Galactic Chase is a far superior port on basically the same hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I just can't see anyone thinking Galaxian is a "bad" game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. I just can't see anyone thinking that 5200 Galaxian is a good game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Nah. Galaxian on the 5200 is good. It sounds awful, but it plays just fine. I always liked it anyway. Best home version is on the CV though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Just tried out Galactic Chase. A pretty good clone of Galaxian, although (probably through Atari800Win emulation) the dive patterns of the Galaxian aliens are a bit slower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Yeah they do seem to drop slower, but there's a couple of really good reasons for that-- First, Galaxian was designed for a vertically oriented monitor. In converting it to a horizontal aspect ratio they had to slow down the descent rate so that it still takes the same amount of time for them to descend. If you took Galactic Chase and stretched the screen vertically to match the arcade version, the descent rates would be pretty much identical. Second, Galactic Chase starts off a lot easier than Galaxian. At higher waves things start moving really, really fast. Fortunately, hitting one of the function keys (I forget which one) lets you start at a higher level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 I just can't see anyone thinking Galaxian is a "bad" game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. I just can't see anyone thinking that 5200 Galaxian is a good game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. See... this is exactly what I mean. I don't see how you can be familiar with the arcade version and think that the 5200 version sucks... especially as a relative thing (that is... the 5200 version was the FIRST good home version of Galaxian available on any console). If you didn't have a computer, Galaxian on the 5200 was the first opportunity to bring a faithful translation of the arcade game home, while it was still a fairly hot game. In my HONEST opinion, none of these Space Invaders "falling waves of aliens" games aged very well, including Galaga, arcade or otherwise. They never appealed to me that much back in the day, either... I would have always played Dig Dug, or Spy Hunter, or Donkey Kong or Kangaroo... than any of the marching, dropping formation alien invasion games... But... as far as being able to play at home, the 5200 version of Galaxian stacks up well to the arcade version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbrad Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I prefer the arcade version, myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 (edited) I just can't see anyone thinking Galaxian is a "bad" game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. I just can't see anyone thinking that 5200 Galaxian is a good game unless they are unfamiliar with the arcade version. See... this is exactly what I mean. I don't see how you can be familiar with the arcade version and think that the 5200 version sucks... especially as a relative thing (that is... the 5200 version was the FIRST good home version of Galaxian available on any console). If you didn't have a computer, Galaxian on the 5200 was the first opportunity to bring a faithful translation of the arcade game home, while it was still a fairly hot game. In my HONEST opinion, none of these Space Invaders "falling waves of aliens" games aged very well, including Galaga, arcade or otherwise. They never appealed to me that much back in the day, either... I would have always played Dig Dug, or Spy Hunter, or Donkey Kong or Kangaroo... than any of the marching, dropping formation alien invasion games... But... as far as being able to play at home, the 5200 version of Galaxian stacks up well to the arcade version. Don't mind Nova, he's just a hater. Graphics-wise it is tough to compare the 5200 ver to the arcade. The graphics are sharper whereas the arcade graphics were cartoon-ish to a degree. Honestly, thats where the Colecovision had the advantage with Galaxian. Most of thier ports weren't terribly close looking graphics-wise to the arcades...either because of the system, or the programming the CV always looked like a 'kiddie' version to me. Not to say they weren't well done ports... To me, the graphics on the 5200 Galaxian were almost better in a way than the coin-op...but back then the thing was which looked closer to the arcade no matter what... Gameplay wise 5200 Galaxian does just fine and that's a huge part of what counts. If you can though...do yourself a favor, try out both the CV Galaxian and the 8-bit Galactic Chase. Like me you'll probablly still like the 5200 Galaxian better but you'll at least appreceate what the others are saying about those ports being better. Im not very good at posting, so Im not sure how to name the attached files, #1 Coin Op (Real) Galaxian #2 5200/8-bit #3 Galactic Chase #4 Colecovision Edited March 26, 2006 by jetset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-in-NJ Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Having gotten the ROM on my Namco Museum CD, I still find both the 5200 version and the arcade version incredibly difficult. My high score on the arcade stands at a measly 10020. For years Galaxian was about the only game I could play on my 5200 (with my trackball), so I've grown a bit tired with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 If you didn't have a computer, Galaxian on the 5200 was the first opportunity to bring a faithful translation of the arcade game home, while it was still a fairly hot game.Okay, but I did have a computer. And it was NOT a hot game at all during Xmas 82. Galaga was already dominating the arcades and Galaxian was a dead issue. The 5200 Galaxian offered terrible sound, choppy action and unimpressive graphics. Colecovision was already selling Zaxxon at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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