for those of us growing up in the 80's, the Colecovision version was amazing, especially when you consider that most kids had Atari at home. I never knew about the SMS port and it actually looks decent. Does anyone know if this game ever made it to a Sega Ages disc?
Great! I thought the Coleco Vision was jaw-dropping for the time. Of course the arcade version had that fighter plane control stick, but man, the Coleco version was luxury gaming then. Zaxxon was a classic, wondering if you ever tried Future Spy by Sega as well?
The Colecovision was indeed a lovely console to own back in the day. It was far more advanced than the 2600. Ive not played Future Spy but now that you've mentioned it I'll check it out.
I remember using my birthday money to buy the Colecovision version of this. It was absolutely amazing to play. Unfortunately I clocked it on the first day that I got it but I still enjoyed playing it often. I would try to destroy every single enemy on the screen (which is impossible) but it certainly was a great challenge.
Growing up with a Commodore 64 that had a monochrome monitor, this brings back nostalgic memories and yet also looks completely alien. After years of experiencing it a certain way, Zaxxon just doesn't feel right if it's not brown. (The colors on some of the other versions are so garish, monochrome would've been a visual mercy.)
Nice video comparison. I had the this for my Atari 800XL. I was still a bit jealous of the C64 having graphics much closer to the arcade with better ground texturing and overall degree of isometric layout. Of course I am impressed by the Atari 5200 version. Amazing system plagued with a breakable analog-only controller. The 5200 system even had Lucasfilm games in cart form.
The C64 version is really nice. I was very surprised when first playing it. Same can be said about the 5200 version too. I wasn't expecting it to be as smooth as it was.
A few notes to add. The Amiga version is not an official port. It was a freeware game, and on its readme file it clearly says it was based on the C64 version. The MSX actually got TWO official ports of Zaxxon, the one you showed was produced by Sega itself.. I don't remember who made the other one, but it was a direct port of the Colecovision version (Something very common on MSX too). The title screen was different, but it was the same game. The Sega version was a lot more common and it's the one most easily found on the web, but I had both versions back at the day, and it was actually kinda confusing, people were calling the Coleco port "Zaxxon" and the Sega one "Zaxxon 2". - My dad told me when he and his friends first saw the 2600 version everyone was gobsmacked by it, because it was 3D and no one ever thought it was possible to do something 3D on a videogame (I was too young to remember). And I remember later when we had both MSX versions, he still preferred the 2600 version, because he liked the "3D effect" more. - And to be quite fair with the MSX, it didn't get even THAT many SG1000 ports, I actually wish it had *more* :) . Sega actually also did the opposite... while all their MSX games are actually direct SG1000 ports, they also licensed a few games from MSX from other companies and ported them to SG1000 identically (Exerion and Hyper Sports are 2 I remember now)
Great info. Yeah, after making the video I found out that Amiga port was not official. Oh well. I didn't know ow there were two versions for the MSX though. Now I'll have to find the other version.
Before their dashing hedgehog and punching monkey boy, Zaxxon is perhaps the oldest Sega game most casual people can think of. I played the MS-DOS version on a Tandy PC, and was tickled a little by its laser sounds. The SG-1000 and MSX versions seem fascinating, but Zaxxon 3D is also quite interesting. Zaxxon 3D uses Yamaha YM2413 for FM sound. Nintendo counterattacked Sega by letting Konami release Falsion for the Famicom Disc System also with 3D stereoscopic mode and the extra FDS sound channel.
Another great video! Just a side note: on machines that have the TMS9918A family of VDPs, the VRAM access speed is dictated by the VDP. This means that this speed is exactly the same on the TI-99/A, ColecoVision, SG-1000 and MSX1. The differences in quality you see are just result of the programmer's competence. Given they produce less frames per second, PAL machines have slightly more free VRAM bandwidth than NTSC machines. But this advantage was rarely used, to keep the compatibility between the two systems.
This was one of those games that escaped me, I remember adverts on television, I knew it was out there, but due to being released so early in the 80s I never saw the arcade cabinet and never came across the game out in the wild later in the decade. The level of detail is astonishing for 1982, it really reminds you that Sega were technically on the cutting edge in the 80s.
I played the Atari 2600 version of Zaxxon & i was quite good at it. I later played the emulated version on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PS3.
I played the unofficial version of CPC when I was a child, Zaxx. I died constantly in the first level because I didn´t underestand the concept of "altitude" XD. SEGA innovations of the 80´s...
I wish the Master System version was a normal port of the game. I also wish the SG1000 version has smoother scrolling. It would be nice to have an arcade perfect port.
A lot of innovations for SEGA back in '82. Too bad i would not be born for another 8 years :( So i missed the golden age for arcade gaming. That's why i love this channel and your perspective on Battle of the Ports!! Thanks again, see you next time
Well done ! ....nice to see all these ports in a row ! Which was the best one ? Colecovision in my little red book. Especially for the stoned sound effects.....
Oh wow, I never thought I'd figure out what this game was called! This game was wayyyyy before my time, but an older relative of mine who's really into retro stuff had one of its ports (the apple ii port, I think.) I saw it once as a kid and I thought it was super cool, but could never actually figure out what game it was. I guess that's case closed for this mystery of my life!
About Amiga version, I think the context is missing. This is an unofficial version, and not really an Amiga version in its own way. What you call "Microsoft Paint" graphics 😂 (I love it) are indeed directly ripped from C64 version as a tribute. This one has been created by one of those guys who wants so hard Amiga to be the direct descendant of C64. But this is obviously not the case at all since the Amiga, as everyone knows, was born from an external project only marketed by Commodore. But that's it, lot of C64 compares Amiga with the computer of their loving childhood, searching to create a link that doesn't exist at all. Zaxxon on Amiga is the result of this improbable feeling, making a guy create a C64 conversion more than a real Amiga version. A little bit pervert if you ask me😀 Well, forget this public domain version. In fact, Zaxxon never made its way to Amiga. But on Amstrad CPC, Zaxx from Chip released in 1986 is a really more interesting unofficial version, even if the maps are clearly not the same.
WOW,this was my ALL TIME FAVORITE GAME EVER.I want this game to play on my computer,and I can’t find it anywhere.I want the original arcade game,and it’s no where.Even a really popular game store near me doesn’t have it,and he’s got everything.I can go on and on with so many great memories I had playing this game with friends.Drinking pitchers of beer,and spending a fortune.Thanks for bringing back Great memories for me🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
Another winner. Although i love the C64 version, I have to say the Atari 2600 programmers showed real guts. A very playable interpretation on such limited hardware. Incidentally when you look at the games side by side the coleco version's speed is most closely matched to that of the arcade.
I played the hell out of the 2600 version as a kid - but I didn't know about the arcade (I have never seen it in the wild here in Brazil), so I wonder how I got to understand how the game worked...
I find it strange the master system version is more like the 2600 version. I would understand if this style was for the sg-1000, but no, it’s the other way around.
Maybe because the Master System version is in 3D, they had to cut back on complexity? I'm just guessing at that. Both Outrun 3D and Space Harrier 3D are less impressive than their normal versions on the same console. They run at half the frame rate since each frame needs to be duplicated for the 3D effect.
Back in special education classes, I only played the MS-DOS version. But not sure before or after Sonic 1 was released.
7 лет назад
One of my favorite games... in my birthday! I played a lot the Tandy Color Computer version. There are two versions for the system, and both were developed by the same person (Steve Björk).
I also had the CoCo version as a kid. The colours were very different from the Dragon32 version but it was otherwise similar, and I think might have been based on much of the same code. There are some videos of it on RU-vid but most of the ones I've seen have their colours reversed. One of the CoCo's most commonly-used video modes used a quirk of the NTSC video standard to generate colour out of what was, technically, a black-and-white signal, but one of the downsides was that programmers couldn't be certain what colours would display when you started the game up and you often had to reset the system several times until the correct palette appeared. The CoCo version of Zaxxon should have a blue ground and orange ship, not the other way around. One thing to note is that the CoCo used an analog joystick rather than the 8-way digital one used by most systems at the time. If the Dragon version was similar and you were trying to play with a digital D-pad then that might have been the reason for your control issues.
7 лет назад
Yes, it is quite similar. However since the Tandy Color Computer is NTSC, that version used artifact colors to generate 4 colors (red, blue, black, white). It is a lot better to look at than the Dragon port.
To my memory the Dragon and Coco versions were identical which makes sense as the hardware was almost identical. One look at that pmode 3 screen gives me eye strain even after more than 30 years. lol
They seemed to wanted to avoid rereleasing games they already ported to their older consoles (some games that would have been perfect on MD didn't get released there because they had already gotten a release on SMS). Kind of sucks, a lot of arcade ports could have used the improvement. Also probably the same reason why the original Zaxxon isn't on SMS (but only the 3D remake), the SG-1000 already got it.
the 5200 was nice smooth playing port the best IMHO out the home consoles of that era, between the 2600, intellivision and the Colecovision, Colecovision matches up well with graphics but it didnt' scroll as smooth as the 5200
you forgot the coleco adam "super game pack" version, which was of course similar to the regular colecovision version, but had additional levels, music, and other stuff. definitely a step up from the regular colecovision version for sure.
Ah-Ha!!! What can I say Mark. Zaxxon is just...just...AWESOME! My favorite version is the Colecovision since its a family favorite growing up, but I also like the Sega Master System since I use to like that version playing it over with my friends at the time. Well done as always Mark. Thank you as always. Anthony...
Zaxxon was also ported to the TRS-80, TRS-80 CoCo, and Coleco Adam Computer. It was also apparently ported to the C64 twice. On cartridge published by Sega, and on Diskette w/more content. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LKalWCWjyRM.html
I played the cabinet version on my country (Argentina) and the C64, which I consider is a very good and playable version. Great game, great video, as always
I don't know as I've never seen it in real life but apparently it used axonometric projection which you can read about here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axonometric_projection obviously there were the standard screen versions too but if you really wanted to play Zaxxon the was it was intended then you needed to play it on the dedicated cabinet. Kind of how you only get the full experience playing games such as Space Harrier, Thunder Blade, Galaxy force 2, Power drift and so on when using the deluxe hydronic cabinets.
I played the Arcade original back in the early 80s. Probably why games were ported between the MSX1, SG-1000/SC-3000, and the ColecoVision is that they shared many similarities. In fact I think they all shared the same processor as the Spectrum, which explains all of the lazy Spectrum to MSX ports in Europe. I own Zaxxon for the 2600 and Master System. I just ordered it for the SG-1000. No box or manual because all of the boxed copies on eBay look ratty.
My favourite version is actually the Atari 2600 version since I'm not a fan of the isometric view, I prefer the 3rd person perspective as it makes it easier to judge my accuracy when shooting things down.
ho ho ho i never hear this game before, hmmm btw when you say about arcade version why you say cannot you cannot feel the real arcade cabinet version do that mean this game have unique controller like dance dance revolution arcade version ?!
Retro Core i see its probably not advance as 3ds screen but its still good back in the day, hmm i wonder maybe just maybe are zaxxon screen have same principle as virtual boy like use red led with flat oscillating mirror and repeat flashing led to eye to make 3d effect !? hmm i think i should study some old 3d effect before playing with VR headset
Well, never been a fan of zaxxon, because it's kind of hard to tell what's the precise position of the ship around other objects. My favorite is the arcade version that has aged pretty good, also I like very much the original sound effects, very early 80s awesomeness!
Yep, there was. Turns out Sega made their own port on Cartridge which resembled the arcades graphics more. Wish I had know that when putting this video together.
Retro Core well I found out it was called super zaxxon so not really a direct port but an awesome game. Apperently it was an arcade title also I gotta try that out in mame
Retro Core interesting... You know I don't remember ever seeing game cartridges for c64 as a kid. Which is odd considering I'm reading that carts where more popular in the USA. Hmm now I wonder which states most carts were sold... Cause I know for sure I never saw them in baltimore Maryland
I believe the Dragon conversion is in fact unofficially converted from the Tandy CoCo one, there are quite a few of those conversions around, e.g. Pooyan is another one. Trash 80 is usually referering to the "normal" TRS-80 series that was powered by Z80 CPUs. There was a port of Zaxxon for these as well.
Lol, I played the Apple ][ version on a monochrome monitor as a kid. I could only see some green objects on a green background, never made it very far..
One port not here, and understandably-so due to how hard the system is to emulate, was the Coleco ADAM. It starts off like the ColecoVision port, but after the first encounter it starts getting newer levels and a new mobile battle fortress boss that you have to destroy the cannons of to defeat. I know someone on this site has gameplay footage of it (as he does for the ADAM ports of DK, DK Jr, and a few other games with enhanced versions over the original Coleco). Also, I guess there was trouble getting the MockingBoard emulation to work for the Apple port? [Edit] Ah yes, the Dragon32/64 port. I have the official tape for that to my Tandy CoCo1. Read something about the colors being the way they are for you guys.. different address space for the video or something? Either way, definitely one of the few official ports Tandy got of arcade games (like the BBC Micro/Acorn Electron for you guys, the Tandy over here got a lot of unofficial clones and few official ports) that was good.
Sorry, I did indeed have some issues getting Mockingbird to run. I wanted to really experience the extra audio too. I wonder why the Adam is so hard to emulate?
Mainly because the only emulator made was ADAMem, which was only for MS-DOS. I think MAME/MESS emulates it a little better now, though that's a pain in the arse to set up. Newest emulator to pop up seems to be one called "CoolCV" which has a thread on AtariAge.
Actually, I'm correcting myself: there was another version on the C64 only released on cartridge by Sega. I'll have to load it up in VICE again, but if you thought the Synapse Software port in the UK was good, the Sega port (I do wonder if it was ported by developer DataSoft) looks even closer to the arcade. Just a shame it's so damned expensive on eBay. I feel all the C64 games on cart are starting to get to that point now..
Tetris is on the to do list and so is Dragon's Lair however there are some versions of Dragon's Lair I still need to find such as the DVD player version.
I think I got to play it only once or twice in the arcades as a kid but I do recall spending hours drooling over the screenshots of its ports displayed on its adverts in magazines. ;) I did get a chance to play it again on a real cabinet recently though in a festival in Montreal (mobile.twitter.com/laurentgiroud/status/755560857027813377) and damn is this game hard!
That's actually not related to Zaxxon at all. In Japan and Europe the game isn't even called Zaxxon. I think they just used the Zaxxon name in the states to sell the game.
I contemplated on adding the CPC Zaxx but decided against it since its not an official release. If I knew the Amiga version wasn't official I would have missed that out too. Oh well.
If the Sega SG 100 has faster Vram why is it's Zaxxon scrolling animation even more choppy? The Color is not the only bad thing about the DOS version, the graphics are and it looks like it has awful control. The Dragon 32 graphics are horrible definitely worse than the Amiga and DOS graphics.
