What are your top Five Atari 7800 Games?

[Cryptocoffee13]

I never had a 7800 when I was a kid, not sure why. We had the original 2600, the 2600 JR and the 5200. I have played few 7800 games on emulation and through the Atari VCS800. I like them a lot. I purchased about 15 7800 cartridges recently and was curious what other games I should look into getting. So, what would you say are your top 5 games for the 7800?

[Sabertooth]

If you're talking about original retail releases and enjoy arcade classics, you really can't go wrong with the launch titles done by GCC. They are the most common, and generally well regarded. The three Nintendo properties are solid. There are great later releases like Ninja Golf and Tower Toppler, too.

It gets harder when you add homebrew. There is so much goodness. The excellent unobtainium homebrew Rikki and Vikki is my favorite, followed by BonQ, Donkey Kong XM/PK, Knight Guy in Low Res World: Castle Days, and Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest. I'm sure that will change when I recieve my last chance order from AA.

 

 

[Justin]

I can't narrow it down to five without it being random. There are so many good, great, and underappreciated games on the Atari 7800 and also the Atari Lynx. Some are better than they are given credit for. Others were hindered by Jack's cost cutting measures that stripped good games of needed sound and RAM that could've made some games more competitive. There are also some terrific indie and homebrew games that you should dive into separately. Here is a list of Atari 7800 games I get the most enjoyment out of:

• Xevious
• Food Fight
• Mean 18 Ultimate Golf
• Centipede
• Joust
• Mario Bros.
• Ms. Pac-Man 
• Xenophobe
• Pole Position II
• Mean 18 Ultimate Golf
• Pete Argon: Robot Holocaust

[DegasElite]

My top five Atari 7800 games are these:

• Food Fight
• Midnight Mutants
• Alien Brigade
• Kung-Fu Master
• Rampage

These games have a real WOW factor to them, at least for me.

Edited January 6 by DegasElite

[DegasElite]

Honorable Mentions:

• Crossbow
• Sentinel

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Like others said narrowing it down to five is a hard thing to do.  Especially if your counting homebrew.  So I'll give you the games that I loved back when we had one as a kid and then some games that really brought me back to it later in life. 

As a kid we played Asteroids a lot and the 7800 version was just so much cooler to me than our 2600 version. Pole Position 2 also got played a lot believe it or not.  Seeing the backgrounds slide in and out of sight was just so mesmerizing to me.  We also enjoyed Mario Bros in 2 player and Rampage. 

As an adult I came back with a heavy interest in Jinks, Choplifter, Ninja Golf, and Crossbow.  Of those games I still really like Crossbow and find it to be a unique and fun idea and I've completed Ninja Golf on every difficulty.  But Jinks and Choplifter... Well idk why I was drawn to them but let's just say that I no longer am lol.   So maybe give a few of those a try!

[Justin]

1 hour ago, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

As an adult I came back with a heavy interest in Jinks

@7800 Pro Gamer I'd like to hear you dive deeper into your thoughts on this. I've always felt like I'm the only person who doesn't think Jinks is an awful game. It's not my favorite on the 7800, but it's interesting. With the trippy colors and Paddle, it always felt like it carried on some of that early DNA that Atari was made up of during the Nolan years. I liked that - at least to me - Atari tried to take the Ball and Paddle and place it in the world of a platformer. There were objects to bonk and things to discover, similar to a Super Mario style game that you'd see on the NES. I was also impressed by the voice synthesis at the title screen, even in 1994 I thought that was really cool. Most everybody else thinks Jinks sucks.

[Cryptocoffee13]

Thanks for all the information and recommendations. I should have clarified to add or not count Homebrews but that is ok, because I am slightly new to the Homebrew scene. I have played some of them but I was unaware that they were homebrew titles because I got them on a rom dump to an SD card. I think I may purchase one or two soon since I have seen multiple posts about them and the majority of people have good things to say about those games. 

[TrekMD]

From the original titles, these are the ones I favor:

Food Fight

Centipede

Mario Bros.

Ms. Pac-Man 

Dig Dug

[Cryptocoffee13]

Good to see, I have all of them except Mario Bros. I will get it if I run into a copy. 

[Justin]

@Cryptocoffee13 I also want to recommend A.R.T.I. It's not the cheapest homebrew, but it's worth it. In my opinion it's better than H.E.R.O. and I love the cut scenes with the old man and the airplane. This is a nicely done game on the level of what I'd like to see Atari release for the 7800 and 2600+

 

 

[Sabertooth]

7 hours ago, Justin said:

@Cryptocoffee13 I also want to recommend A.R.T.I. It's not the cheapest homebrew, but it's worth it. In my opinion it's better than H.E.R.O. and I love the cut scenes with the old man and the airplane. This is a nicely done game on the level of what I'd like to see Atari release for the 7800 and 2600+

 

 

I'd second A.R.T.I., which is also available for the modern VCS. The VCS is a great way to check out 7800 games, including homebrew, for far less than a physical cart.

[sramirez2008]

• Alien Brigade
• Asteroids
• Food Fight
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Robotron (Twin-Stick goodness)

*Note: My wife and I love to play Centipede Trak-Ball edition. You can play co-op or dual player competition, which allows you to shoot your opponent. That's nasty!

I won't list a top-five for homebrews, because its become impossible to do so. Our talented developers have made soo many good games, its hard to chose five and the five continue to change, year over year. I do feel that I have to mention Baby Pac-Man as this homebrew title is a home console exclusive. Maybe Atari can work something out with PacManPlus and get this cart re-issued for the 2600+ (which plays, via emulation 7800 games). This would make it available again to the masses. 

Edited January 8 by sramirez2008

[sramirez2008]

2 minutes ago, Sabertooth said:

I'd second A.R.T.I., which is also available for the modern VCS. The VCS is a great way to check out 7800 games, including homebrew, for far less than a physical cart.

I'll 3'rd A.R.T.I and raise you an E.X.O. 😉 Both games are by Muddyfunster. 

[Justin]

4 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

I'd second A.R.T.I., which is also available for the modern VCS. The VCS is a great way to check out 7800 games, including homebrew, for far less than a physical cart.

Yes, that's a great point! Thank you @Sabertooth for reminding me that A.R.T.I. is available for the VCS which makes it even more accessible to anybody who would like to play this awesome game!

[TrekMD]

A.R.T.I. is definitely great!  A very well made homebrew that expands on the original concept. 

[Cryptocoffee13]

It looks like I will need to give some of these Homebrews a look because I keep getting a ton of others saying the same thing. 

[Cryptocoffee13]

I would definitely be interested in Baby Pac-Man if it ever gets released officially. I have Asteroids, Mrs Pac-Man, Food Fight and Robotron, Alien Brigade I have on the VCS and on two different emulators, one being in a Retron 77. But, if I can get a physical copy of it, I will, same with Fatal Run. Good stuff.