HDN

My first Atari memories date back only a short time... for all of you! I first remember being exposed to Atari 2600 games via emulation on my Nintendo Wii circa 2011. I had seen Space Invaders somewhere and was DYING to play it. After my Wii was hacked, my dad loaded up Spacinvad.bin for me. I instantly fell in love with the Atari 2600 and played great games like Combat, Berzerk, and Pac-Man with my dad for days, and by myself for nearly a decade! I am very grateful to have played those games on my Wii, and I'm happy to have all those emulators on it! But still, nothing beats the real thing. I knew about my dad's cousins 2600 for almost as long if not a little bit longer. I so desperately wanted this thing, and I knew it was broken as well. I "subtly" (a second grader's definition of subtly) hinted at wanting the system. I feel a little embarrassed for being so pesky! At about February of this year (BEFORE all the bad stuff happened), I was in my local game store when I spotted a Sears Video Arcade System II or whatever they're called. It was $60 and came with somewhere around ten games and all of the cords and whatnot. I didn't buy it. Shortly afterwards, I heard that my dad's cousin was moving out and downsizing! He was thinking of selling his 2600 and games to a game store, but was hesitant as he wasn't quite ready to part with it. He wanted it to stay in the family, and so now it's here with me! I'm very grateful to have this wonderful system! 2020 has been a real rough year, but there are always good things. I've said this before, but he actually had two systems. Both needed RF adapters and minor repairs. I plan on giving one of the systems (woody) back to him if he wants it, but that has been delayed due to coronavirus. I have had a blast FINALLY being able to collect for Atari systems over the past few months. I bet my story is wildly different than most of yours. I have always loved Atari, and now I can say that I actually have one! Or three, counting the 7800! Now, I just need an Odyssey 2...

Your review of Great Baseball reminds me of something I would like to bring up. I will never ever understand the hatred of NES Baseball. To be honest, it's probably my favorite Baseball game. When I first discovered my local game store in December, I picked this up on my first trip out of the clearance bin for three dollars. I got home and played it with my dad and we had a blast! That Christmas holiday season was filled to the brim with Sports Series goodness! I don't think I ever have played the game in single player even almost a year later. I know you judge your games based on the single player experience, @nosweargamer, so it might be just that different. I love the physics in this game, and I like how none of the players have specific statistics. That makes it nice and even and based purely on skill. The controls were a little confusing without the manual, but now that I know them I can play quite well I feel. I love the pudgy characters and charming graphics, too. The sounds are nice. This would've blown people away in 1983 when it came out for the Famicom in Japan. I know there's no campaign mode, but nothing like that existed in 1983. Maybe in 1985 or 1986, I don't know. I think it holds up well and is well worth the money. If you know me, then you'll know I don't like serious or realistic sports games, so that may affect my opinion on NES Baseball. Another Black Box game, Ten-Yard Fight, is another favorite of the games based off of its respective sport. I thought the same of NES Golf until very recently as well. I guess this shows you how much opinions can differ! When I caught word that this was one of the "bad" games like Urban Champion, I was shocked! I was also shocked when I found out that Flag Capture on the 2600 was a "bad" game, and that Ice Hockey by Activision was a "good" game! It really shows that you have to try the games out for yourself with an open mind before you really form an opinion on it. Well those are some of my thoughts. I can get a little carried away defending games sometimes. I hope someday some of you can find a pal to play some NES Baseball with and play with an open mind. Think of what came before. Before 1983. Heck, it's even on the Nintendo Switch Online service, and you can play with a friend on there, given your game doesn't crash! I respect all of your opinions on this game regardless, but I hope you will give it a second look. Best wishes and happy gaming.

Looks good! Totally make a 5200 port, as I feel it would be much appreciated. I have a question for you: can you press down to speed up the ice cream like in Klax? I didn't watch the whole video, so this might have been in there. Really nice game though! I wish I could make games for old systems!

Come to the chat rooms tomorrow night. It's supposed to be that Wednesday Atari chat, but I haven't seen anyone use it since I got here. It could be Wednesday Night SNES Chat instead. We could talk about some good games and the like. I have more SNES games than any other system I own. I know some good ones! What do you think?

My sister is the Zelda nerd of the family. She recommends OoT 3D to play first, then Majora's Mask 3D. That one is much harder, she says, but uses the same engine, so if you play Ocarina first you will get more used to it. Here's what I think: If you have Link to the Past on switch, play that one first. The GB version was my first Zelda game. I would say it is second, and Breath of the Wild is third. BOTW isn't much like the other games in the series, but it's a really good game and a true adventure game. If you have a SNES, pick up the holy trinity of games! In order of importance: Super Metroid Super Mario World Link's Awakening Have you picked up any games besides NBA Jam TE?

Which ones do you have? There are several for each console. If you have Link Between Worlds for 3DS play that first as it's a half-remake, half-sequel to Link to the Past, which is the right answer. Otherwise I heard Wind Waker for GameCube is good, and they made a remake of Ocarina of Time for 3DS, which is very loved (the n64 at least. I don't know about the remake).

Today I was reacquainted with the Atari 2600 version of Crystal Castles using an online emulator. I fist played the arcade version of Crystal Castles around 2013 on the XBOX collection Atari Anthology. I thought it was a bit odd. Here was a game I had never heard of surrounded by true classics: Centipede, Asteroids, Pong, Super Breakout, Tempest, and more. I played this "weird 3D Pac-Man clone" with a D-Pad at the time, and I'm not sure if I knew I could jump until later! I thought it was just okay. Little did I know that the reason I didn't like it was because of the D-Pad! I'm not a fan of analog sticks with old games, so I almost never use them. Not that the analog stick is any better for Crystal Castles. Until I found the cabinet in person, I didn't even know it was a trak ball game. After playing the cab, I grew to love the game. A ton. If I could get any arcade cabinet, Crystal Castles would be it. I played it on an Arcade 1up machine in a game store in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I don't know if the machine was broken, but the minuscule trak ball was puny, imprecise, and honestly horrible. I want to say it was the Asteroids cab. Nevertheless, if it was cheaper I would totally pick it up. I think @MaliciousCarp might have one, but maybe I'm thinking of someone else. I love the arcade game so much, I went and got the high score. This was on the cab I found while staying at a hotel. We went back, and YEAH! High score still standing! Sadly I didn't snap a pic of the score itself, but I did take a picture of my initials on the first level. Anyone else know the warp in level one that nets you 140,000 points? The 2600 port I played shortly after I first played the arcade game, also on Atari Anthology. For me, it has always been a "you get an A for effort" kind of game. It's very impressive for the system, yes, but I never liked the controls or hit detection on the video waf-- I mean, gems. This morning, however, I was reading through my first ever topic on this site asking your top ten 2600 titles. I saw that some people really liked this port. I thought I'd give it a second chance like I did with ET and Dragster. I don't have the physical cartridge for it (shocker), but I did have my old Windows Vista machine out, so I looked up an online JavaScript emulator and started playing with the keyboard. I don't normally like using the keyboard for games, but it really does work well for this title. I didn't like the D-pad controls, but I imagine it would work well with the 2600 joystick, which is what I normally use. I got a pretty decent score I feel. The level design is much, much simpler here, but it doesn't hurt the game at all. There are loads of 3D levels crammed into the cart, and that's very impressive. They're all symmetrical, too, but that is very typical of the 2600's backgrounds, as seen in Adventure, Combat, Pac-Man, and many others. Like ET and Dragster, I had a blast playing 2600 Crystal Castles again. It's on my new wish list. Sadly my local game store is selling for $10, nearly twice the amount on price charting.com without shipping. Would I get my money's worth? Yes, but that's still a bit much in my opinion. Overall, I would say it's an A-tier Atari 2600 title when played with the right controller. I would definitely buy it if it were just a little cheaper. I think $5 would be a good price. To me, not many 2600 games are worth over that. Tunnel Runner, Pitfall II, Montezuma's Revenge, maybe Mountain King. Price charting.com puts Crystal Castles at about $5 at the time of writing this. Special thanks to @1Littlebeast for getting me thinking about Crystal Castles, and for recommending the 2600 version I thank @TrekMD and@Atari 5200 Guy

I GUESSED IT! I could read you like an open book, @Justin! Like @RickR, I am also ready. I don't have a Lynx or anything to competently emulate it on at the moment. I'm going to play some Galaxian. I found this cool 2600 ROM website that my stone-age computer can barely run. But it's good enough for now. I've been playing Crystal Castles and Video Chess on there. Both games I would love to get someday. Too bad Crystal Castles goes for way too much at my local game store and I can never find Video Chess. Speaking of things I want, be sure to check out my new Wanted List! I can't buy anything or trade at the moment, but you can check it out to see what I'm looking for at the moment by clicking this link. I wonder what the Black Box game is. I went through a phase where I collected Black Box games. I think I have Golf, Kung Fu, the amazing Baseball and Ten-Yard Fight (both hated games that are actually my favorite games based on their respective sports), Slalom, Duck Hunt (I'd be happy if it was Duck Hunt), and Super Mario Brothers. I may have some more I'm forgetting. I love Black Box titles. Next one I want to get is Pinball. I hope it's Duck Hunt, the original Mario Brothers, or Clu Clu Land! Let's get back to the Squad Challenge! This game looks fun. If I get a Lynx, I will have to get this ASAP! I will see if I can't emulate it sometime in the next two weeks. Happy gaming, everyone!

I just want to show all of you some things I'm looking for in the retro gaming space. I have posted in other topics things like, "Ooh, I love that game! Wish I had the cart!" and "I need to pick that up someday.", so I thought I'd just put it all in one place, you know? These are all of the games I can think of at the moment. Without further ado, here's my Wanted List: Magnavox Odyssey 2 Showdown in 2100 AD! Matchmaker! Logix! Buzzword! KC's Krazy Chase! Turtles! UFO! Computer Golf! Volleyball! Soccer! Hockey! Atlantis Atari 2600 Artillery Duel Gopher Dig Dug Jr. Pac-Man Desert Falcon Mountain King Pele's/Championship Soccer Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns Sky Diver Donkey Kong Junior Star Ship Surround Enduro H.E.R.O. Video Checkers Burgertime Grand Prix Solaris Bump 'N' Jump Basic Math/Fun with Numbers Super Cobra Montezuma's Revenge Atari 7800 ProSystem Mario Brothers Ballblazer Tower Toppler Jinks POSSIBLE Mission Water Ski Nintendo Entertainment System Wild Gunman Kid Icarus Donkey Kong 3 Pinball Mach Rider Hogan's Alley Rad Racer Wrecking Crew Super Nintendo Entertainment System Super Castlevania IV Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Mortal Kombat III Super Mario RPG Earthbound Nintendo 64 Mario Party Wave Race 64 Pilotwings 64 Paper Mario Goldeneye 007 Nintendo Game Boy/Color Metroid II: Return of Samus Donkey Kong 94 Kirby's Dream Land 2 Pinball: Revenge of the Gator The Final Fantasy Legend Pokemon Trading Card Game Kwirk Quarth Yoshi's Cookie Kirby Tilt 'n Tumble Nintendo Game Boy Advance Namco Museum Activision Anthology Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Brothers 3 Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland Kirby and the Amazing Mirror Metroid Zero Mission The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past + Four Swords WarioWare: Mega Microgame$ Mario vs. Donkey Kong Nintendo DS Animal Crossing: Wild World (stupid glitches on the ROM I currently use) Nintendo 3DS Pilotwings 3D Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Nintendo GameCube Mario Kart Double Dash!! The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Chibi-Robo Miscelaneous ColecoVision system Sega Genesis system (Model One) OG Brick Game Boy system Extra GBA or GBA SP (for multiplayer) GBA-style Link Cable GBA-to-GameCube cable Game Boy Player 2600 composite mod kit Wii classic controller Wii U pro controller Keyboard controllers for 2600 Atari 2600 pair of Paddle controllers Worm Light for Game Boy Advance

I did know it was on Atari computers, but I haven't seen much gameplay footage. If it's really that good I will totally take your word for it. If I ever get an Atari computer, I will most certainly let you know what I think of that version. Solaris is another game I like that I need the cart of. It's not particularly expensive. I will read that link later. He made POKEY too? That's a pretty talented guy right there. Tell you what, Rick. I will read the manual tonight and when I get one of my Atari systems back I will totally play some Star Raiders. It is pretty much the same as Starmaster. To be fair, Star Raiders came out first. Not many talk about it, but Activision really did rip off lots of games and improve upon them. Dragster, Starmaster, Enduro, Kaboom!, etc. But I will give it a fair shot with an open mind for you, Rick! I will tell you what I think when I play it!

The single pad variation? That's the only variation worth playing! Ha, ha! But seriously, lots of fun variations in that game. The moving targets are near impossible. It's a fun one. Another fun game you have in there for multiplayer games is Maze Craze. I think that game has 200-some variations. I don't know what the differences are as when I play with others it is mostly Game One. It's a very fun and frantic game. I hate the variations with invisible or partially invisible mazes. It is another cart I would like to pick up someday when I have the funds. Hmmm... what are some other fun games in that pile? Oh yeah, Warlords. I have considered buying Warlords in the past. It's supposed to be the Citizen Kane of Atari 2600 multiplayer games. But I didn't for two reasons. Reason number one: I don't have two pairs of paddles, and I heard it's much less fun with only one or two players. Reason number two: even if I had two pairs of paddles, I don't have four people who want to play Atari. Just two: me and my dad. My sister is anti-Atari for some bizarre reason. She only likes three VCS games: Basketball, Adventure, and Tunnel Runner. One game you have on sale I actually have the cart for for once! I love Night Driver! By far my favorite racing game on the system. Better than Pole Position and even Enduro! Indy 500 comes close to it though. I won't understand the love of Pitfall! Don't get me wrong, it's a fun enough game, just I think it's a tad overrated. I think it's in that hidden Atari box my dad's cousin apparently has that is rumored to have Crazy Climber. Anyone looking for a good game on the 2600 owes it to themselves to pick up Keystone Kapers if they don't already have it. A much better game than Pitfall! This one's by Garry Kitchen. One of his brothers, Dan, made the excellent Crackpots as well. I forget what Steve made, but he was also a dev. Missile Command and Frogger are the official games of "Maybe I'll pick them up this time" whenever I go to the game store. But I never do. Frogger is rumored to be in the mystery Atari box, but I don't know about Missile Command. Both I would like sometime, but I would rather have Missile Command as I enjoy it more. Star Raiders? Just play Starmaster! Circus Atari is a game I would like to try with paddles. I have emulated it, but I feel it would be much better with paddles like Kaboom!, Breakout, Video Olympics, and so many others are. Demons to Diamonds is one I would like to try with my dad sometime. Looks like an amazing two-player game. I adore the box art. Yet another paddle game I would love to try with, well, you know, paddles. I'm too good at 2600 Asteroids. I can roll the score over with ease. I used to love this game, now it's sort of meh. I'm glad that there are game variations and difficulty switches! Again, great box art on this one. I guess I would recommend it. I will have to give it another look soon as I haven't played in a while. I have the no-copyright cart. What cart is that, @RickR? I would pass on Spacewar unless you want to play arguably the first-ever video game. If you want to play Spacewar, buy a PDP-10. Otherwise, just stick with Combat. Though it has nice box art and a CIB copy like this one would look good in any collection. Oh, and the one that's blurred out was Adventure. I thought I was the first to call dibs only 20 minutes after it was posted, but I was too late! I hope it went to a good home! Whoever has that game will get loads of fun out of it. It would get old fast, but Game Three exists! I wish all adventure games had built-in randomizers. Like Link to the Past and Super Metroid. Glad we have the ROM hacking community to make those for us! Well, there are some thoughts. I don't know why I did this. Heh, heh.

Wish I could get some Galaxian in before the night is over, but I can't. The good news is I don't have a Lynx, so I'm just going to keep on playing Galaxian! I'll be sure to make a status update or something if I get into the 30k Club, the 50k Club, or the Jesus-level Galaxian Skills Club that @Scott Stilphen and @socrates63 are in! Thanks for the great game, @RickR. I don't know what's going on with that site, but I hope it gets back up soon. This is quite frustrating. But thanks for the game. If there's another 2600 Squad Challenge with a game I don't have, I'll be sure to let you know and maybe we can make another trade!

Hey, @RickR, are you familiar with Sky Diver? You probably have played it at least once if you already have a duplicate. To my knowledge there isn't a single player mode, unless you just try for a high score by yourself but what's the fun in that? It's fun with a retro gaming buddy, and it's simple enough for non-retro gamers or just non-gamers in general to enjoy. The trick is to deploy your chute as close to the ground target as you can for maximum points, but forget to pull the chute and... SPLAT! It's a great game. There's a bit of a delay between pressing down and your parachute coming out, so keep that in mind!

The 5200 isn't a system I would go out of my way for like I did the 7800, but it would be nice to get someday. It has a very good library of arcade titles in my opinion, but it doesn't really have much to make it stand out like the 7800 or 2600 did. It mostly has games that you'd also find on those systems. Nowadays there are solutions for controller issues, so that's not that big of a problem. I'm not sure if I would rather have an Atari 8-Bit Computer as learning BASIC is on my bucket list. Print, Go to 10, load "$,8" (well that one's Commodore but you get my point). What I'm trying to say is: I love Atari. I would like a 5200 someday. No reason to get one, though. There's no Food Fight for 5200. (I don't think anyway) Can't wait for Dig Dug, @RickR! You've been keeping everyone waiting for half a decade for this! I like Dig Dug, but I will ALWAYS prefer Dig Dug II: Trouble in Paradise. A mix of childhood nostalgia and that it's just a better game.

Probably what I'm going to do. I don't want to, but I really don't have much of a choice. I'll try to keep it there for only short periods of time. If you look at it for long enough, all of the flaws will show.

I spent $20 on my copy. That's $15 more than I would consider a good price for an Atari 2600 game. But I bought the crazy-expensive Tunnel Runner because it is just. That. Good. It is funny when you look at Pricecharting.com and see Tunnel Runner sell for two or three bucks in the early days. If I ever get the funds and the games, I would love to do a duplicate giveaway. Help other collectors looking for certain titles. I don't know, it just sounds cool and something that would make you feel good inside. Tunnel Runner I might trade for if I get a duplicate. Not getting rid of my $20 Tunnel Runner cart anytime soon! I wonder if it's gold-plated or something to make it so expensive.

Thank you all for your input. You are right; everything is alright in moderation. For my mom though, everything that uses something with a screen on it is considered "bad", "unhealthy", and "brain-rotting". In this day and age almost everything is done with a screened device. If filmmaking, for instance, was my hobby (well, it kind of is with filming videos), I would be in the same predicament as I need my computer and camera for that. Unless she expects me to get an old Georges Melies-style camera and some film. I'm not entirely sure what she wants from me. Thank you all for your support and answering the question. I will keep the poll open for a bit longer to see what happens.

I have been working on the video today. It's more of a comedy sketch than anything. Lots of editing involved so far. I have a puny SD card, so I have to edit it in parts, delete the source videos, and then film some more. I'll have to stitch them all together when I'm done editing and filming. I use Windows Movie Maker on Windows Vista to edit! I've actually gotten pretty good at it. I hope video-making is considered a hobby in my mother's eyes. Like I said I have no way of capturing video at the moment. Like I said, I'm trying to distract the viewers from that! I even have lovable side characters such as Fernie Sanders in my video. Hopefully people enjoy this not so in-depth video. This "pilot" will be seen by your eyes here at Atari I/O and I am not planning on making it public. I will upload it on my existing channel and make it only accessible with the link. I would like to renovate my channel rather than creating a new one. It's not a gaming channel; it's more of a random channel.

Hello. I have mentioned once before that my relationship with my mother right now is not great for various reasons I won't get into here. Recently, she took all of my Atari stuff and other video game things like chargers, controllers, other systems, mini arcades, DS styluses, etc. We had an argument last night. She thinks that video games cause VARIOUS things, like gambling (don't use microtransactions in any games I play because mostly they weren't invented yet), rotting your brain, etc. She says I can't get anything back until I get a "real hobby". I told her this was a real hobby, it just wasn't one she liked. She said If I ask anyone, they would disagree with me. So, I'm asking all of you here at Atari.io. It's not just playing video games she thinks isn't a hobby. She thinks almost everything related to them isn't a hobby, like: Playing video games (of course) Making video game related content (using screens to animate, making video game related videos and the like) Fixing/Repairing video games Collecting video games (I compared to things like rocks, bugs, and baseball cards, but she says it is completely different) Talking about video games (being involved with the video game community) Watching video game related content Reading about video games and video game literature Creating video games (I used to make video games on Scratch a lot. Don't anymore, but I thought I'd include it) I know I'm right here, but I need some people to prove my point so she can give me my stuff back. Please take this poll to help. I'm currently having some problems with my mom. Shortly before I joined the I/O she kicked me out of the house and I had to stay with my grandparents. That was actually a much better alternative than staying home. The pandemic has really taken a toll on our family's relationship with one another. Thank you all for being here in the I/O for a sort of escape from it all. Thank God it's the week and not the weekend anymore so we can be apart for a bit. I know these aren't really bad problems compared to problems others are having right now because of the wildfires, pandemic, hurricanes, etc, so I'm grateful for that. It has not been a good year for anybody. People are losing everything all over the world. I have it good comparatively thankfully, but I am asking for just a little bit of help, so please consider asking this simple yes or no question.

(Princess Daphne squeal noises) "To slahy the draaygon, use the magic arrow!"

What Legend of Zelda game is your favorite? Keep in mind there is a right answer. It is Link to the Past, but I will accept Wand of Gamelon (Just kidding!)

Oh, it's okay. Tomorrow is Monday. A new day. My problems are nothing compared to what others are facing in these difficult times. @RickR had much worse problems with the fires. I bet a lot of I/O users on the east coast of the US had much worse problems with hurricanes. I will be okay.

It's just soooooo goooooood! No one talks about it. It might just be a me thing but I sincerely love the game. Even my stupid, foolish, Atari-hating sister loves it! Just play the game, @RickR! No, EVERYBODY should just play the game! This is a PSA!

I was hoping to get to some Galaxian today, but I was stuck doing homework and other things all day. Plus, my mom took not only the 2600 and 7800 for "punishment" (she compared the video games to c*caine and said I needed to get a real hobby before I could get them back), but also the Wii so I can't even emulate it! Good thing I have a Woody over at my grandparents' house. Home life is getting pretty rough lately. It's incredibly complicated and I won't go into much detail here. I'm pretty sure my parents won't be together for much longer, but I feel that's probably a good thing. Sorry for going a bit off-topic there. Let's get back to Galaxian!