What's the Most NES-like Atari 7800 Game?

[Justin]

What's the most NES-like Atari 7800 Game? In terms of:

• Gameplay
• Quality

Some might say Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. or Mario Bros  which would be an "on-the-nose" choice. Others might say something like Ikari Warriors or Midnight Mutants. An unreleased title like KLAX would be another one to consider.

What game do you think shines the brights on the Atari 7800 and elevates it to the level of Nintendo?

[Jinroh]

I think Scrapyard Dog feels like it could have been an NES game.

Really feels like any of those side scrolling games that regularly ended up on the NES.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Jinroh

[TrekMD]

The three you listed are visually almost identical to the NES ports, so yes, those are obvious ones.  If you're talking about the style of game being more like the NES, then Scrapyard Dog would be one of those titles.  KLAX is another good one as it is a puzzle game that has some elements like Tetris.  Another title to consider is Commando.  Since that one has a POKEY chip, it even matches the NES in sound quality.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I have not played it on the 7800 but I have seen videos on it.  I would have to pick Xenophobe.  I have this game on my radar and hope to score one soon.  It has become a recent favorite.

[DegasElite]

Kung-Fu Master is one that could be considered NES-like because it was also ported to the NES (as Kung-Fu). Alien Brigade is another good one. You could play that game with either the joystick or gun. Both are good examples, to me anyway. The other games mentioned are also great examples.

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Good topic. 

Not to echo what's already been said but a lot of the late 7800 games felt very NES like.  Scrapyard Dog was clearly Ataris attempt at a platformer, and Alien Brigade was a good Operation Wolf style game.  When it comes to feel I always thought Fatal Run felt like an NES game.  A lot of people call Midnight Mutants the 7800 Zelda but MM never felt like that to me.  

As I type I can't think of a good reason why but Xevious always felt like an NES game to me.  I know the NES had its own port but for some reason I've always felt that way.  

 

 

[RickR]

I don't have an answer other than what everyone else has said, but this makes me think a 7800 homebrew version of "Top Gun" would be awesome.  The 7800 could do that game pretty well I imagine.  <Rick writes this good idea down in his projects notebook> 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

36 minutes ago, Silver Back said:

Good topic. 

Not to echo what's already been said but a lot of the late 7800 games felt very NES like.  Scrapyard Dog was clearly Ataris attempt at a platformer, and Alien Brigade was a good Operation Wolf style game.  When it comes to feel I always thought Fatal Run felt like an NES game.  A lot of people call Midnight Mutants the 7800 Zelda but MM never felt like that to me.  

As I type I can't think of a good reason why but Xevious always felt like an NES game to me.  I know the NES had its own port but for some reason I've always felt that way.  

 

 

I have Xevious for the 7800 and Famicom consoles.  I like both versions but the 7800 just plays better in my opinion.  It also looks better.  And that's bad because the FC version was ported by Namco...creators of the arcade!

[Atari 5200 Guy]

35 minutes ago, RickR said:

I don't have an answer other than what everyone else has said, but this makes me think a 7800 homebrew version of "Top Gun" would be awesome.  The 7800 could do that game pretty well I imagine.  <Rick writes this good idea down in his projects notebook> 

If NES third party developers took a chance to make games for the 7800 I think they would have been impressed. Imagine a pokey version of the Top Gun Anthem.  I personally would love to see a Mega Man game on the 7800. It did get Double Dragon though although I have yet to see it.

[Justin]

50 minutes ago, RickR said:

I don't have an answer other than what everyone else has said, but this makes me think a 7800 homebrew version of "Top Gun" would be awesome.  The 7800 could do that game pretty well I imagine.  <Rick writes this good idea down in his projects notebook> 

@RickR I literally went to bed last night thinking "You know, it would be pretty amazing if Rick could program an Atari 7800 game."

@Jinroh do you have experience programming for the 7800? Either 7800BASIC or MARIA?

[Justin]

10 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

Imagine a pokey version of the Top Gun Anthem.

@Atari 5200 Guy If someone were to do a Top Gun game or sound demo for the Atari 7800, right now would be the best time. Imagine that Top Gun song on the 7800 playing through a Yamaha chip or even POKEY.

12 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

I personally would love to see a Mega Man game on the 7800.

@Atari 5200 Guy ABSOLUTELY!! Somebody needs to get on that. Not just port Mega Man, but create a new character and new game with gameplay dynamics that are satisfying to the player in similar ways.

[Justin]

For me, the most NES-like Atari 7800 game is one that was never released: Atari 7800 ElectroCop, which has absolute NES Metroid vibes:

[TrekMD]

Wow, that needed to be released!  Looks awesome!  If we extend the games to homebrew titles, then Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest would fit perfectly as something that is NES-like.  And, of course, Rikki & Vikki show what the 7800 can do when given proper resources.  Much like Nintendo did with the NES by adding chips to the carts, so did the developer of this game for the 7800.

 

[Justin]

51 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

Much like Nintendo did with the NES by adding chips to the carts, so did the developer of this game for the 7800.

I wish we had seen more of that! I always felt the Atari 7800 could do almost anything with an extra chip or two on the cartridge board.

 

@Video 61 explained to me that GCC developed the Atari 7800 to be extremely capable in this area through adding additional RAM to the cartridge board, which was something Jack Tramiel didn't want to do very often as he was competing on price. Maybe Lance has more to add to this? 

[Video 61]

28 minutes ago, Justin said:

I wish we had seen more of that! I always felt the Atari 7800 could do almost anything with an extra chip or two on the cartridge board.

 

@Video 61 explained to me that GCC developed the Atari 7800 to be extremely capable in this area through adding additional RAM to the cartridge board, which was something Jack Tramiel didn't want to do very often as he was competing on price. Maybe Lance has more to add to this? 

hi guys,

 

commando, impossible mission, winter/summer games and a few others were really good ports. they also used ram boards and one used the pokey. even 32k, and 48k games without the pokey and ram, could really look good and play good, desert falcon comes to mind. but the programmers were hobbled by jacks austerity, and a almost complete lack of knowledge in how the 7800 operated, again courtsy of jack.

 

lance

www.atarisales.com

[Sabertooth]

7 hours ago, TrekMD said:

Wow, that needed to be released!  Looks awesome!  If we extend the games to homebrew titles, then Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest would fit perfectly as something that is NES-like.  And, of course, Rikki & Vikki show what the 7800 can do when given proper resources.  Much like Nintendo did with the NES by adding chips to the carts, so did the developer of this game for the 7800.

 

It's 100 percent Rikki & Vikki. It's an absolute showcase for what the 7800 can do and in many ways looks better than an NES game. If you weren't able to get a physical copy, try it out on Steam.

Edited August 14, 2023 by Sabertooth

[Jinroh]

9 hours ago, Justin said:

@RickR I literally went to bed last night thinking "You know, it would be pretty amazing if Rick could program an Atari 7800 game."

@Jinroh do you have experience programming for the 7800? Either 7800BASIC or MARIA?

Honestly, yes. I was coding a "Director's cut" of Carrot Kingdom, before I survived the stroke.

I was working in assembly, and I really liked the architecture of the 7800 before my brain got derailed. 😂

[Jinroh]

9 hours ago, Justin said:

For me, the most NES-like Atari 7800 game is one that was never released: Atari 7800 ElectroCop, which has absolute NES Metroid vibes:

Really cool looking game! I never saw this one.