Atari 2600 Games that Pushed the Limit Pt. 2 | Friday Night Arcade 

PART 1 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B11KgPFBaK4.html MORE ATARI 2600 - ru-vid.com/group/PLdGtTWqCEvuJCOriBVUUtmrYY8mht1Ll5

I specially liked how Space Shuttle made use of the Atari's built in switches to compensate the lack of buttonss in the controller.

Very impressed with California Games. And looking forward to the Space Shuttle video. Awesome content as usual ✊🏻

Used to play Space Shuttle all the time. Incredible game and, to a certain (small) extent, it teaches you about how the Shuttle actually works. So it's great on many levels.

Robot Tank. I remember finding the manual to the game while walking to school one day, and just reading about it made me drool. After actually getting it years later, it still didn't fail to impress, as I look at games not by how they fare against modern games, but as to how they were when they were released. I still play it from time to time.

Oh man, I hope you can Find enough games to do a third version of this series. It gives me such amazing comfort to watch these games..it brings back such warm memories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 💜

The Star Raiders Touch Pad - Internally, this was identical to Atari's keyboard controllers. There were a couple other games that used it, like Codebreaker and Brain Games. There's also a variant called the Kids' Controller that was larger and intended for use with games for younger children, primarily Sesame Street games. Space Shuttle - I got this for Christmas and could take off and land, but I usually couldn't dock with the satellite more than once. It always bugged me that while the shuttle is supposed to be pitching and yawing, the Earth was always across the bottom of the windows. It messed with my sense of orientation to think that the shuttle was supposed to be upside down, but it still looked the same. I can't find any confirmation of this on the net, but back when Space Shuttle was released, I read a claim that players had discovered a non-standard way to land the shuttle (using the main engines?) that surprised NASA, and that this would also be possible on the real shuttle. The claim was that supposedly this lead to NASA adding the procedure as a real emergency protocol in actual missions. Like I say, I can't find any mention of this on the net, so I don't know if it's BS or not.

You want to be absolutely blown away by a game developed for the Atari 2600? One word: Mappy. Honorable mention: Draconian. Trust me. Find videos of these and be amazed. Edit: I'm going to add Ladybug to this trio to form a holy trinity of nearly-idealized homebrew 2600 ports of contemporaneous arcade games, even though that port is now a decade old. Speaking as someone who is intimately familiar both with the arcade games and with the tendency (more like an unwritten rule) for ports to significantly differ from the originals (far, FAR more than they really needed to), when ports get things super-close, I can't help but sit up and take note. One thing all three of these games strive to achieve is accuracy of sound effects, insofar as what the 2600 allowed. Ladybug may be the first Atari 2600 port in existence that really did the original's sound justice.

I love Star Raiders. I've played that game so much. I gotta find where I wrote down my high score.

Moon sweeper is so great.

I wasn't fortunate enough to be alive when the atari was hot but I have an old soul when it comes to old video games, due to my burning love for the Sega Mega Drive(born in the early 90's). So to see the atari being pushed to its limits beyond a black background and a few pixels that barely look like what they're supposed to represent is very impressive.

"DIE MINER" ''JUST YOU AND ME MINER" -Red faction

I love all the extra mile many of the atari games took by adding overlays

Another awesome video, I was going to mention Star Raiders, but see you already included that one. It'd be cool if you covered Basic Programming (which you mentioned during the keypad controller) as well. I actually had the 2 keypads that the game required (I remember looking EVERYWHERE for those), where one slid into the other (a la switch and joycons) and the overlays to provide a larger/wider keyboard, w/overlays that were color-coded kinda and typing was like on the older cell-phones numeric pad. I remember doing simple programs like the music sample, and the graphic/game one (which I had no idea what it was doing). It had cool regions that showed variable values while the program was running, etc, it was like an Atari 2600 IDE and you were debugging at run-time. Pretty ambitious/innovative for a 2600 title.

The most impressive games I had in my Atari 2600 when I was young were Battlezone and The Smurfs, both looked really nice back them.

Awesome vid, glad to see the 2600 get some love

this is a great series, great idea, hope to see another

Man, it's kinda cool how stuff like _Space Shuttle_ turn the console itself into basically a proto-Steel Battalion controller :D That's legitimately really fascinating! And _Moon Sweeper_ looks cool too, though personally, I'm a sucker for anything resembling "Super Scaler" effects (darn 'Space Harrier' had to go and _make an impression on me_ as a kid! :P ) and to me this is up there with Sega's 1981 _Turbo,_ the earliest example of anyone trying "fake 3D effect with sprites and scrolling" trick that I can think of. It is really impressive to see most of these running on the Atari; I really dig this series! Hope you find enough stuff for a Part 3 someday, even if you have to turn to homebrew games made 20, 30 years after the Atari was done. It's always fascinating to see the hardware do stuff it wasn't supposed to. Also, now that I've learned about it from your channel, I can't *believe* _Secret Quest_ never got an update or sequel ever. I know it's kind of rare for.... whoever owns the Atari name & IP these days to actually dive into their back catalog and produce new entries for any of them (and that when they do, they're usually garbage like the budget _Haunted House_ for Wii, or the infamous _Haunted House: Cryptic Graves_ for PC... and the even more infamous Early Access _Asteroids: Outpost)._ But damn, at SOME point, the rights holders should've at least attempted it. It would've been GREAT to see an action-RPG for the Atari Jaguar that basically looked like a sci-fi answer to action-RPGs from the time like _Secret of Mana_ or _Beyond Oasis. Secret Quest_ definitely deserved some sequels, man

I spent many hours playing Space Shuttle. Never could dock that 6th time to get to be a Commander. Good times lol.

Thanks for all this videos, I really like them, and what a discovery Star Raiders is! But the surprise comes with the Space Shuttle sim, a truly sim launched in 1983! And the graphics are pure Atari magic. Looking forward to see the complete Shuttle video!

Thanks for the nice reviews. Imagic games always were special. Great graphics and innovative gameplay.

Wow California Games was incredible, for the 2600. Great video!!!!

The SARA RAM is 256 bytes, but due to the cartridge port having no write line, the trick needed to access it wastes half of it. Games using SARA RAM get only an additional 128 bytes.

Great video. I also love coming across games in your videos that I never saw the first time around....or forgot. ;)

Great job! Great episode!

Nice video, and nice list! All of these games just further show that the Atari VCS/2600 was a home video game console with many firsts regarding advancements in gaming. Liked, and subscribed.

These two videos are excellent.

The algorithm decided I should see this video... and the algorithm hit it out of the park! Immediate sub.

I think the 2600 port of Gyruss should be mentioned in one of these. It’s actually a faithful rendition of the game with it’s only drawback being the song plays on a loop instead of any game sounds - but the gameplay is pretty solid with bonus stages and varying enemies.

Another great video! Very glad I found your channel sir 😊

You make some excellent videos, my friend. Moon Patrol was really one of the best titles on the console, one of of my favourite titles for the system when I was a child, plus it was one of the very few titles who had a real music background through the gameplay. I still don't know if there was something broken between my cartridge or my console, but in my case the game started to reproduce the music after a year of use! I was...blown away from this discover! Since that day, the music was always present during the gameplay, but before that day....nothing, the sound out from the cartridge were just the sound fx. Cheers.

Thanks for mentioning Moonsweeper, that game is so much underrated.

Epyx was the boss back then. I remember the ________ Games collections and the Apshai series on the early IBM PC my dad had!

Sweet FNA and a bong rip just made my Friday night.

Great video. I'd love to see some 5200 hardware pushers like Rescue On Fractalus and The Dreadnaught Factor!

Pitfall 2 (if it isn't already) should be on this list.. I was impressed with it way back then! But then again, I might be comparing with Pitfall 1

This changes my perspective towards Atari. It was an extremely awesome system.

I haven't spent much time on Atari Consoles but I had no idea some of these games were so complex.

The Atari guys really were geniuses

Loved playing Vangard

Even though I'm from the UK, we had a fond love of this system. I was so happy to get a nice boxed cheap 6-shooter "woody" version on ebay, a few years ago - today, these are holding their value. So many great games for such a simple system. Imagine if this system had more memory from the start ? One can only dream what kind of games it would have got. My faves are Solaris, Demon Attack, Pitfall 1 & 2, Allia Quest, could go on and on - soooo many great games. Such a shame Atari are no more, at least not the Atari of the 70s and 80s.

Great vid

Is there enough games out there for a third part? When I saw Pitfall 2 in your last entry I could not imagine anything else could come close, and then suddenly we have not only another bunch of games that put Nes games to shame, but also even a freaking Space Rocket simulation? Woah! Just woah man...

There were actually TWO space shuttle-based games for the Atari 2600: Activision's Space Shuttle and Avalon Hill's Shuttle Orbiter. It might be a good candidate for the next entry in this series.

Spent many nights playing moon sweeper loved that game

Nice video Arron keep up the good work

Wow, never heard of Space Shuttle but if I was alive at the time it would have been my absolute favorite game!

Really impressive for sure!

Brought E:D up on steam as I contemplate reinstalling it. "Who needs Elite: Dangerous when you have..." lol

THERE'S Star Raiders- one of my favorite 2600 games.

Notes on Star Raiders (400\800). You fly "Star cruiser 7" not a Starfighter (presumably that name was used in star raiders 2 and Solaris). Enemies were xylons (possilbly too close for legal reasons for the mass market of 2600). Blackjack also used the code entry control. It had discrete buttons way back when [pre 1980?] (no idea if it took overlays, but you could connect two together by sledding one into another).

I'm amazed how creative people can be when they're presented with certain limitation.

The Moonsweeper ship looks like a guy with his hands in his windbreaker pockets and he's leaning and walking to the left and right to get out of the way of someone or some thing

HECK YEAH, STAR RAIDERS! SO MANY BUTTONS! It also came with a mini-comic in addition to the manual, if I remember correctly. Something about your home planet getting destroyed, which happens a few minutes into the game (also if I remember correctly).

I like the music you're using. Sounds like it's from the game Devils Crush for the Turbo Graphix 16

There were a couple of games in the mode of BattleZone that came out for the Atari. They generated a sort of 3D environment to drive and shoot in. That must have pushed the heck out of the 2600.

The graphics on that surfing level actually looked pretty awesome

How about Crystal Castles or Mountain King

California Games was an Epyx game from the C-64, ported to the 2600.

Heh, playing the Starfox theme under Star Raiders. Subtle. :-)

I would love to see a FNA about Star Raiders

Star Raiders was Awesome. And along with Berzerk had Atari Force Comic books included with it.

The Top Gun Anthem... nice.

Big Bird's Egg Catch on Atari 2600 used what is essentially a big keypad called the "Kid's Controller". Other than being bigger & blue I don't think there is a difference from the regular Atari keypad.

Now I wonder how Star Raiders II/The Last Starfighter would have translated from the Atari 8-bit computer to the 2600

There's also some Sesame Street game that uses the keypad. But it was a giant version, and it was baby blue.

Moon Patrol is great. So tough to focus on shooting both up and ahead of you at the same time. I wanted to love Space Shuttle as a kid because I was obsessed with the Shuttle NASA program, but it was just too complicated for me. I'm glad that I played it at my cousin's house before I bought it myself. Another game to consider for part 3 is Gravitar. Sure, it's not as complicated as some of these you've shown, but I'm impressed with how well it simulates gravitational forces for an Atari 2600 game. There are indie games being made today that are still trying to simulate such forces as well as Gravitar does. It also features several solar systems, each with different planets for you to explore and destroy the gun turrets on. You get two views - one zoomed out to solar system level showing all the planets and the system's star and another view of each planet that is sort of like a cross section of the planet with gun turrets and fuel stations scattered around it. Each planet's geography is different with some planets being harder to fly around than others. Some planets even have moving walls and other traps to get you in addition to the challenge of avoiding crashing into the planet surface and getting shot by turrets and enemy ships.

I LOVE Space Camp!!!!! I have the dvd now! Lol

Finding that secondary control or any of those overays would be as rare as hens teeth and expensive as hell!

Radar lcok from 1989 is pretty as well :) even use B&W button on the console for PAUSE !

I think this your first sponsored video which if so congratulations because it means your channel is getting bigger

No Man’s Sky Origins: Moonsweeper

i cant be first person who pointed out the character in Secret Quest looks like its supposed to be Nolan Bushnell

was about to comment "and secret quest??" then it appeared haha

I know it is a homebrew, but I can't get over what "Panky the Panda" manages to pull off..... a platforming Metroidvania with items on the damn VCS.....

Great video !! Can you also do a video about some REALLY impressive 3D games for the Game Boy Advance ? Games Like Street Racing Syndicate.

California games on the Atari Lynx, especially the surfing mode, looks simply amazing! Imagic titles? Most of them are amazing on the 2600...one of my favorites is Cosmic Ark from Imagic and of course Hero from Activision. I played Star Raiders first on the Atari 2600, but after the Atari 8 bit computer version, which, at the time was simply amazing.

Until this video I hated the 2600. Now there’s little hope that one day I might hate it less. 😉 Great video!

Atari box art was incredible for the time. Usually a lot cooler than the actual games lol.

Codebreaker also uses the video touch pad

I love keystone kapers.lol

Star raiders on 2600 is good, but the 8 bit computer version is simply astounding for its time.

No supercharger games? Phaser patrol was one of my all time favorites

Cool, one I actually used to own! California Games was one of the more "modern" feeling games on the system for sure. I got sick of hearing Louis Louis over and over though! Actually got pretty good at the surfing. It was alright but I never really appreciated it because I wanted a NES so badly at the time. Ed: Wow I had the Space Shuttle sim too! It was really complicated and sadly pretty boring to an 11 year old. I remember getting into space but I don't recall if I ever landed.

aahaha longtime ago I'll never forget that thing

Winter Games from Epyx was also good. So was Activision's Rampage game.

Part 3, Starpath Supercharger games?

Stargate. Hands down the best arcade port only hampered by having to use two controllers.

Games look amazing for an Atari 2600,

The controller for Basic Programming is actually different. It's called the Keyboard Controller. It takes both control ports, and to my knowledge only works with Basic Programming.

gotta incluce HERO if you do another vid in this series! :)

Star voyager fué mi favorito en el atari 2600, después lo fué Astrosmash del Intellivision y por último(en este mismo sitema) Blockade Runner, el cual no pude terminarlo por perro. Saludos

Ah Space Shuttle... great game, and yes, I always thought of that movie when I played it. I even made commander, and sent them a screenshot to get my reward...then those bastards told me they ran out of patches. The trick was to use your RCS engines to do your deorbit burn instead of the OMS.

How about Stargate? It used both controllers.

Plenty of single player games on 2600 so the keypad could be used as a hotkey keypad, imagine an RPG where you just press a key for Inventory screen, Map, etc. from a controller sitting right beside you rather than from a console switch which is probably far away from you in 2020. Could have been the touchscreen of the 2600 if anyone had bothered, don't actively support a peripheral it won't matter in the long run. This sort of became true even in the past since the "press button to restart" standard came forth during the 2600's heyday as people didn't feel like using the switch every time.

Missile Control

Starmaster>Star Raiders.

I absolutely hated Star Raiders! I regretted owning it, despite the barely useful added controller.

Thumbs down and unsubscribed because of ads!!!! (Rolls eyes as that was typed) Thank you Aaron for your hard work on this weeks video all awesome games! I had most of them too. I love these strolls down memory lane.

What? No Starpath games? :)