23 replies to this topic

[Chris-in-NJ]

Could you guys give me some suggestions for the best games that were made only for the 5200, and/or games that are better on the 5200 than the 7800? I really want to build up my collection, which right now consists of, in no particular order:

Galaxian
Countermeasure (can't figure this one out...)
Super Breakout
Missile Command
Defender
Kangaroo
Millipede
Centipede
Star Raiders
Pac-Man
Jr. Pac-Man
Joust
Q*Bert
Popeye
Frogger (non functional)
River Raid (non functional)

I've got a 7800 but no power source (it was modified to use a non-standard adapter) but I hope to get it running again one day...

[JB]

Space Dungeon. Only home port ever of one of the most overlooked arcade games of all time.

Qix isn't REALLY exclusive, having appeared on the Atari comps as well as the NES and GameBoy, but the 5200 implementation is one of the better ones.

[sku_u]

There are only a small handful of true 5200 exclusives, but here's a list of 5200 essentials that you haven't mentioned:

Frogger II: Threeedeep
Bounty Bob Strikes Back
Miner 2049er
Robotron 2084
Pengo
Xari Arena

[Randy California]

JB said:

Space Dungeon.  Only home port ever of one of the most overlooked arcade games of all time. Qix isn't REALLY exclusive, having appeared on the Atari comps as well as the NES and GameBoy, but the 5200 implementation is one of the better ones.

Space Dungeon and the 5200 version of Qix have been converted to the A8, though not officially.

++
RC
++

[Nuclear Pacman]

Definitely get Super Pac-Man and Space Dungeon.

I'm highly biased in favor of the 5200, so I'm going to say to not worry about what titles to get, just get anything you can, chances are the game will be good no matter what it is. There are very few stinkers on the 5200.

[Chris-in-NJ]

Thanks for the replies. I was looking into Pengo, Berzerk and Gyruss. Since the only controllers I've got are a Trak-ball and various 2600 and 7800 joysticks with only one Redemption adapter, Space Dungeon and Robotron (which anyway is also available for the 7800) are out unfortunately.

I've also got Qix and Dig Dug which I forgot to list above.

You know, I've never heard of Xari Arena, about to check it out in the rarity guide...

Isn't Bounty Bob the one someone on eBay is asking $400 for right now?


The $64,000 question again: has anyone tried playing Gyruss with the Redemption yet?

[JB]

Randy California said:

JB said:

Space Dungeon.  Only home port ever of one of the most overlooked arcade games of all time. Qix isn't REALLY exclusive, having appeared on the Atari comps as well as the NES and GameBoy, but the 5200 implementation is one of the better ones.

Space Dungeon and the 5200 version of Qix have been converted to the A8, though not officially.

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RC
++

And the computer conversion of the 5200 version of Qix suffers the EXACT same problem as the native computer version. There's only one fire button on the joystick, and there is no adequate solution to that.
...
Though using the keyboard for the second button would be a MUCH better solution than always having one draw button down.

[Goochman]

Space Dungeon requires 2 working 5200 sticks to play and without the 'controller holder' is not that fun - The Atari 8bit conversion with 1 joystick is more fun IMHO

[JB]

Goochman said:

Space Dungeon requires 2 working 5200 sticks to play

Half-true.
Problems with the actual STICK are far less common than the buttons. And the stick is all you need.
...
Well, that and one start button.

Quote

and without the 'controller holder' is not that fun

True.
It's still fun, but not AS fun.

Quote

- The Atari 8bit conversion with 1 joystick is more fun IMHO

Eww.
Just... eww.

Qix with one button, Space Dungeon with one stick... what is WRONG with you people?!?!?!?!

[NovaXpress]

I wish I could play Pac-Man with TWO joysticks.

[jetset]

Chris-in-NJ said:

Thanks for the replies. I was looking into Pengo, Berzerk and Gyruss. Since the only controllers I've got are a Trak-ball and various 2600 and 7800 joysticks with only one Redemption adapter, Space Dungeon and Robotron (which anyway is also available for the 7800) are out unfortunately.

I've also got Qix and Dig Dug which I forgot to list above.

You know, I've never heard of Xari Arena, about to check it out in the rarity guide...

Isn't Bounty Bob the one someone on eBay is asking $400 for right now?  
 

The $64,000 question again: has anyone tried playing Gyruss with the Redemption yet?

Pengo, Berzerk and Gyruss are great on the 5200 (although none of them are "exclusive" to the 5200...all three are avail. on the 2600 though not as good.) Actually, I have a masterplay that lets me use 2600 sticks but those three games are actually very playable with the 5200's controllers.

Xari Arena is a pretty neat game, but nothing special imho.

And sorry...but I have to say $400 is WAY too much for Bounty Bob. I paid $130 for mine, and that was probably too much. It is a good game though.

[JB]

jetset516 said:

Pengo, Berzerk and Gyruss are great on the 5200 (although none of them are "exclusive" to the 5200...all three are avail. on the 2600 though not as good.)    Actually,  I have a masterplay that lets me use 2600 sticks but those three games are actually very playable with the 5200's controllers.

Berzerk is also available on the Vectrex.

It suffers from slowdown and flicker if many robots or bullets are onscreen, but it's still fun.

[mechanized]

If you haven't yet, be sure to check the store at AtariAge and look at some of their reproduction carts.

Also, though they're not terribly exclusive and are just missing from your list, I'd recommend Vanguard, Pole Position (fairly playable with Trak-Ball), and Moon Patrol.

The Moon Patrol game in particular seems exactly like the arcade version I used to play as a kid at a skating rink. (It is a "rink" isn't it?)

[boxpressed]

Thought I'd revive this thread. I'm interested in games that were released for the 5200 only and did not appear on the 2600, 7800, or 8-bits. Unless, I'm misreading this thread, all of the games mentioned appear on at least two platforms.

Edited by boxpressed, Mon Aug 8, 2011 2:43 PM.

[Sonic R]

boxpressed, on Mon Aug 8, 2011 2:42 PM, said:

Thought I'd revive this thread. I'm interested in games that were released for the 5200 only and did not appear on the 2600, 7800, or 8-bits. Unless, I'm misreading this thread, all of the games mentioned appear on at least two platforms.

I'm not familiar with the Atari computer release of games, but a few titles that I can think of that are exclusive to the 5200:

Space Dungeon
Countermeasure
Zone Ranger?

Is it possible to count Meteorites? even though its a clone of Asteroids…

[AtariBrian]

yeah i see what you mean, i cant think of any unless it is a homebrew. miner 2049er was great on this system but has been on coleco and a few others.

[LynxVGL]

Two more superior 5200 Only (ish).

Ballblazer (though it did appear on the 7800 and (shudder) the NES).
Rescue on Fractalus. (8 Bit Atari Computers as well).

You won't be sorry.

[Curious Sofa]

A few superiors that haven't been mentioned (which isn't really the topic, but hey whatever):

Galaxian (arguable, though I particularly like it with Track-Ball)
Defender
Buck Rogers
Zaxxon
Popeye
Mario Bros.
Wizard of Wor

Exclusive, at least amongst Atari consoles:
The Dreadnaught Factor
Qix
Gremlins (there's a 2600 game but it's different)

[sdamon]

There's really no such thing as a true 5200 exclusive, as the games can all be ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, and most of them have been. The homebrew Adventure 2 hasn't been ported yet, but I believe Cafeman is still working on it.

However, I believe the following three games are at least exclusive to the 5200 as far being available on vintage cartridges:

Countermeasure
Space Dungeon (originally a Taito arcade game, but I'm pretty sure the 5200 port was the only one available during the vintage era.)
Gremlins (as mentioned before, totally different from the 2600 version)

And I think the below ports were not released as 8-bit carts (although versions of the games are available for other systems):

Kangaroo
Berzerk
Vanguard
Meteorites

(Possibly the sports titles as well?
Realsports Baseball
Realsports Football
Realsports Soccer
Realsports Tennis)

Some ports that were released for the 8-bit computers were revamped or reprogrammed for the 5200:
Qix (totally different port)
Dig Dug (some 8-bit carts have the 5200 version, others have a very different version)
Pac-Man (similar port, but intermissions were added and the difficulty was increased)
Centipede (totally different port)

And finally, a few 5200 games are the same as their 8-bit counterparts, other than added analog controls:
Star Raiders
Gorf
Star Wars: The Arcade Game
Gyruss
Missile Command
Centipede
(possibly a few others)

Edited by sdamon, Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:53 AM.

[ledzep]

sdamon, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:46 AM, said:

...
And finally, a few 5200 games are the same as their 8-bit counterparts, other than added analog controls:
Star Raiders
Gorf
Star Wars: The Arcade Game
Gyruss
Missile Command
Centipede
(possibly a few others)

I would add to that, at least in terms of the controls, Activision's Space Shuttle game. While there is a 2600 version the keypad for the 5200 separates it from the 2600 version about as much as the 5200 and Atari 400/800 version of Star Raiders differ. And you can amuse yourself trying to find the original boxed version vs. the relabelled 2600 box version but make sure you get a complete one, without the manual and overlay it's probably unplayable, at least until you get good at it.

[BrianC]

sdamon, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:46 AM, said:

And I think the below ports were not released as 8-bit carts (although versions of the games are available for other systems):

Kangaroo
Berzerk
Vanguard
Meteorites

Kangaroo was released on disk for A800 (a proto exists of a non XL/XE cart, as well). Berzerk wasn't officially released on A800, but the proto is available and complete.

Quote

(Possibly the sports titles as well?
Realsports Baseball
Realsports Football
Realsports Soccer
Realsports Tennis)

The 5200 Baseball isn't on A800, but Tennis and Football are. RS Baseball is definitely worth it on the 5200. Superior to both the 7800 and 2600 versions and even has voice samples.

Curious Sofa, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:52 AM, said:

A few superiors that haven't been mentioned (which isn't really the topic, but hey whatever):

Galaxian (arguable, though I particularly like it with Track-Ball)
Defender
Buck Rogers
Zaxxon
Popeye
Mario Bros.
Wizard of Wor

All of these are on A800. These are mostly the same on A800, but its versions of Zaxxon (disk, cart and tape are the same as 5200) and Mario Bros. are superior.

Quote

Exclusive, at least amongst Atari consoles:
The Dreadnaught Factor

Dreadnaught Factor is on A800, as well.

LynxVGL, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:55 AM, said:

Two more superior 5200 Only (ish).

Ballblazer (though it did appear on the 7800 and (shudder) the NES).

Ballblazer is also on A800. Not sure about it being superior than 7800, though. 7800 has the A800 quality sound with the pokey chip and seems to have the gameplay intact, as well as running smooth. A800/5200 looks like a very nice version and has a longer intro than 7800, though.

Edited by BrianC, Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:31 AM.

[Official Ninja]

The A8 is not a console. Even though some of these games were out or even made on the A8 1st and then ported to the 5200, they may not be available on any other console.

The A8 is great and easy to use, and yes it has carts and can be used like a console, but it is not. A nice A8 setup has a desk, monitor, disk drive(s), SIO2PC, and whatever else... if it doesn't at 1st it will grow into that!

[Mitch]

Official Ninja, on Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:44 AM, said:

The A8 is not a console. Even though some of these games were out or even made on the A8 1st and then ported to the 5200, they may not be available on any other console.

The A8 is great and easy to use, and yes it has carts and can be used like a console, but it is not. A nice A8 setup has a desk, monitor, disk drive(s), SIO2PC, and whatever else... if it doesn't at 1st it will grow into that!

XEGS is a console...

Mitch

[Curious Sofa]

Official Ninja, on Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:44 AM, said:

The A8 is not a console. Even though some of these games were out or even made on the A8 1st and then ported to the 5200, they may not be available on any other console.

The A8 is great and easy to use, and yes it has carts and can be used like a console, but it is not. A nice A8 setup has a desk, monitor, disk drive(s), SIO2PC, and whatever else... if it doesn't at 1st it will grow into that!

I was excluding the A8 when I had previously said "amongst consoles". I'm with Official Ninja on this one, though I'm sure people could get into an argument about what constitutes a console vs a computer that has console elements.
Not much point to that IMO.