by Brett Weiss
Pole Position II, for that matter), but with a post Chuck (who starts off on the right side of the
holocaust theme and the ability for players to
screen) around a non-scrolling playfield,
destroy the cars they are trying to pass. Power-
avoiding manholes, angry chefs, and flying
ups and weapons include machine guns, dyna-
food items. The goal is to make it to an ice
mite, shields (for temporary protection), death
cream cone (which is positioned on the left side
crystals (which allow players to crash into cars
of the screen) before it melts. Luckily, Charlie
unscathed), rockets, oil, smoke, and nitro (for
can throw spinach, salads, tomatoes, pies, wa-
increasing acceleration and gas mileage). Play-
termelons, and other food items at the chefs
ers can also effect repairs and purchase car
(named Angelo, Zorba, Oscar, and Jacques),
parts. The game takes place over 32 levels and,
who remain in constant pursuit. The graphics
thankfully, a password feature lets players save
and concept in general are simplistic (in a good
their progress (a rarity for a 7800 game). In-
way), the action is fast and fun, and the theme
terestingly (not to mention disturbingly and
lends itself well to humor (just watch Charlie as
amusingly), at the end of each level, several on-
he opens wide to gulp down his ice cream).
lookers explode, the number of which depends
Food Fight was only ported to the 7800, giving on how fast the player has completed the
owners of the system some much-needed brag-
course.
ging rights.
Fight Night
Galaga
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Imagineering.
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: General Com-
Sports/Boxing, 1 or 2 players (simultaneous).
puter Corp. Slide-and-Shoot, 1 or 2 players
1988.
(alternating). 1986.
A slow, clunky port of the Commodore 64
A semi-satisfactory port of Namco’s awe-
game (1986), Fight Night for the Atari 7800
some arcade shooter (1981), Galaga for the
ATARI 7800
15
Atari 7800 features solid shooting action, re-
Tradewest arcade game. One or two players
spectable sound effects, enemies that behave
trudge through the jungle (which includes
like their coin-op counterparts, and, thank-
rivers, the sea, and bombed-out buildings),
fully, challenge stages and dual-ship action (the
shooting or throwing grenades at soldiers,
two defining aspects of the original game). On
bunkers, helicopters, tanks, and gates. Power-
a less positive note, the player’s ship is too
ups, fuel, and extra ammo can be picked up
small, the graphics have lost some of their
along the way. As in Front Line (arcade, Cole-crispness and color, the stage indicator badges
coVision) players can occasionally comman-
have been replaced by simple numbers, and the
deer tanks. The ultimate goal is to rescue the
action has been slowed down a little. Despite
colonel at the end of the last level. The coin-
these weaknesses, Galaga is a nice addition to op version of Ikari Warriors boasts rotary con-the 7800 library, especially since the game never
trols for aiming in all directions, but the 7800
made it to the 2600 or the 5200. For a more ac-
joysticks do a respectable job in this regard. In
curate port, fans should pick up Galaga:
addition, the arcade game has forced scrolling,
Demons of Death for the NES. Galaga spawned which is gone from this version. When com-numerous sequels and offshoots, including
pared to the better looking NES rendition, the
Gaplus (arcade), Galaga 3 (arcade), Galaga ’90
7800 game has better controls, a distinct lack
(Turbografx-16), and Galaga: Destination Earth
of glitches, and faster, fairer gameplay. Also re-
(PlayStation).
leased for the Atari 2600. Similar to: Com-
mando.
Hat Trick
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Ibid.
Impossible Mission
Sports/Hockey, 1 or 2 players (simultaneous).
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Man Develop-
1987.
ment Corp. Adventure/Non-Scrolling Plat-
form, 1 player. 1987.
This simple hockey title is a faithful port
of the Bally Sente arcade game from 1984.
Impossible Mission for the 7800 would’ve
Viewed from an overhead perspective, the two-
been a good adaptation of the puzzling com-
on-two action pits one goalie and a skater
puter game if it weren’t for one fatal flaw. The
against another goalie and a skater. The goalies,
objective is to search a bunch of rooms to find
which are basically human Pong paddles, move 36 card key pieces for use in making nine card
in sync with their skaters, and the skaters,
keys that can unlock Professor Elvin Atomben-
which can steal the puck, simply shoot in the di-
der’s secret lair. Riding elevators, jumping over
rection the joystick is pushed. After each two-
obstacles, avoiding robots, and solving puzzles
minute game, a Zamboni machine cleans up
are all part of the action. Unfortunately, some
the mess. The controls in Hat Trick seem to
of the pieces are hidden under computer termi-
have a bit of a delayed reaction, but the pro-
nals that cannot be searched, literally making
grammers may have purposely included this
the already tough game an impossible mission.
perceived flaw to emulate skating on ice.
The flaw was corrected for the PAL format for-
Hockey hounds and fans of the sport in gen-
eign release, but that didn’t do much for Amer-
eral will want to stick with Blades of Steel for ican gamers who had wasted their time trying
the NES. Pong purists will want to check out to find unreachable items. Consoles gamers
Video Olympics for the Atari 2600.
wanting a similar experience without such a
flaw should pick up Impossible Mission II for Ikari Warriors
the NES.
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Imagineering.
Vertical Scrolling Shooter, 1 or 2 Players (si-
Jinks
multaneous). 1989.
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Softgold. Ball-
and-Paddle, 1 player. 1989.
Despite uneven visuals, Ikari Warriors for
the Atari 7800 is an excellent port of the 1986
Jinks is a disappointing game that tried to
16
CLASSIC HOME VIDEO GAMES, 1985–1988
improve upon the brick-busting formula pio-
Joust for the Atari 7800 is an admirable
neered by Breakout by introducing hyperspace, port of the 1982 Williams arcade classic, in
chomping teeth, a space age theme, a screen-
which players fly a mounted ostrich around the
shake feature for freeing the ball from repetitive
screen, destroying buzzard riders by bumping
patterns (which is not a bad idea, actually), four
horizontally scrolling playfields, and a triangu-
the job done). The 7800 game features several
lar paddle that moves freely and can be in-
details that the 5200 version left out, includ-
verted. Regrettably, sluggish gameplay, a dis-
ing the engine-like roar of enemies at the begin-
tinct lack of challenge, and primitive audio/
ning of each level and the buzzards that fly in
visuals (voice effects notwithstanding) ruin the
to pick up the riders that hatch from eggs (in
experience. The storyline, which is purely super-
the 5200 game, eggs simply hatch into riders
fluous, involves a renowned Star Fleet pilot get-
that that are already mounted atop buzzards).
ting attacked while researching (and then try-
There is one setback regarding the 7800 con-
ing to escape from) a “lush, resource-rich
troller, however, since pushing the side button
world.” For a better Breakout- influenced game, again and again to keep the mounted ostrich
players should try Arkanoid (arcade, NES).
afloat can get tiresome. To remedy this, players
can simply plug in a 2600 joystick. Or play the
Joust
NES version, which has better controls and
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: General Com-
more detailed characters. Also released for the
puter Corp. Non-Scrolling Platform, 1 or 2
Atari 2600 and Atari Lynx. Followed by: Joust
players (simultaneous). 1986.
2: Survival of the Fittest (arcade).
Similar to: Balloon Fight (NES).
Karateka
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Ibid.
Side-Scrolling Combat, 1 player.
1988.
Originally a computer game,
Karateka for the 7800 lost some-
thing in translation. Players guide
a karate expert through six levels
of one-on-one fights against pal-
ace guards, punching and kicking
(high and low) their way to vic-
tory. There are two stances: one
for running and one for fighting.
Unfortunately, victory is hard to
achieve, thanks to a one-life setup
and horrible, unresponsive, coun-
terintuitive controls. The com-
puter versions benefit from key-
board input, but there’s no excuse
for how poorly the 7800 rendition
handles. Also, the graphics seem
adequate at first glance, but then
the characters start moving, thus
revealing the game’s choppy ani-
Joust and Dig Dug typify the Atari 7800 library: nice arcade mation. The mission, for those un-ports of retro favorites.
fortunate souls who chose to ac-
ATARI 7800
17
cept it, is to save Princess Mariko from the
the graphics and sounds have also taken a
clutches of an evil warlord named Akuma.
downturn. However, the real problem with the
game is clunky controls as specific moves are
Klax
hard to pull off with the stiff 7800 joysticks. At
PUBLISHER: ResQsoft Productions. DEVELOPER:
least the 7800 version doesn’t eliminate jump
Atari. Action Puzzle, 1 player. 2002.
kicks like the Atari 2600 rendition. Released
for the NES as Kung Fu.
Klax for the Atari 7800 was programmed
during the mid–1980s, but was never officially
released until the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo.
Mario Bros.
P
The cartridge was produced in limited quanti-
UBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: ITDC. Non-
Scrolling Platform, 1 or 2 players (simultane-
ties and includes a box, instructions (reprinted
ous). 1988.
from the Atari 2600 manual), and a bonus
pamphlet containing an interview with the
In Mario Bros. , players guide the titular
game’s programmer. Gameplay is highly faith-
Nintendo mascot as he walks over and under
ful to Atari’s 1989 coin-op classic, with players
water pipe platforms, bumping with his head
lining up descending (on a conveyor belt) tiles
the floors beneath creeping, crawling shell-
in rows, columns, and diagonals, trying to line
creepers (turtles) and sidesteppers (crabs) in
up three or more tiles of the same color to re-
order to knock them over. Then, Mario must
move them from the screen (combos are worth
jump up to that level to kick the fallen crea-
extra points). Players catch each tile on a pad-
ture(s) off the screen. There are also hopping
dle and can drop it into position below, hold
fighterflies, roaming fireballs, and sliding
onto it (temporarily), or hoist it back up to the
slipice to contend with, the latter of which can
conveyor belt. Letting too many tiles get past
freeze floors, making them slippery. Although
the paddle ends the game. Missing are the voice
not as faithfully reproduced as the near-perfect
effects (the sounds in general are poor in this
NES version, Mario. Bros. for the 7800 does fea-version) and the two-player split screen mode
ture all the elements that made Nintendo’s 1983
(which did make the cut in the NES rendition),
coin-op classic great, including the essential
but crisp controls and graphics make the game
two-player simultaneous mode (in which the
a worthwhile port. Also released for the Atari
second gamer controls Mario’s brother, Luigi).
Lynx, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy,
It even has some of the details that the Atari
Game Boy Color, and Game Gear.
5200 rendition missed, such as the screen after
the bonus round in which the coins collected
Kung-Fu Master
are shown on display. Nitpickers will notice
PUBLISHER: Absolute Entertainment. DEVEL-
that the 7800 version does play a bit fast. Also
OPER: Absolute Entertainment. Side-Scrolling
released for the Atari 2600.
Combat, 1 or 2 Players (alternating). 1989.
Based on the 1984 Data East arcade classic,
Mat Mania Challenge
which was one of the earliest beat-’em-up
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: BlueSky Soft-
ware. Sports/Wrestling, 1 or 2 players (simul-
games, Kung-Fu Master has players walking,
taneous). 1990.
jumping, punching, and kicking their way
through five levels of henchmen, knife throw-
Inspired by Taito’s Mat Mania (1985) and
ers, midgets, dragons, snakes, killer moths, and
Mania Challenge (1986), Mat Mania Challenge other enemies. At the end of each level, a boss,
boasts lots of moves typical of the genre, in-
such as Stick Fighter or Boomerang Thrower,
cluding flying kicks, hammer throws, pile driv-
lies in wait. The game takes place in the Evil
ers, overhead slams, punches, kicks, atomic
Wizard’s temple, where players must rescue
drops, and more. Fancier moves reward play-
Princess Victoria. The mummy ninjas
from the
ers with higher scores, but simple button-
fifth level of the arcade game are missing, as is
mashing works pretty well. The game looks
the introductory story sequence. Predictably,
okay, but lacks the outrageous personality and
18
CLASSIC HOME VIDEO GAMES, 1985–1988
raucous nature of “real” pro wrestling (though
the standard three-tap system, which controls
the wrestlers can climb posts). Also, gameplay
the power of the shot and determines whether
feels like fighting the same guy again and again,
the ball hooks, slices, or goes straight. Trees,
unlike in the aforementioned arcade games,
sand traps, water, and other obstacles dot the
which feature such distinctive wrestlers as In-
18-hole Pebble Beach course, which features a
sane Warrior, Hurricane Joe, and Golden Hulk.
nice variety of layouts. When putting, the game
The elevated view of the ring is from the side,
switches from a behind-the-golfer perspective
with a crowd looking on. Similar to: Pro
to an overhead view, and players must take into
Wrestling (NES).
account which way the greens break. Mean 18
Ultimate Golf is based on Accolade’s Mean 18
Mean 18 Ultimate Golf
computer game (1986), which boasts multiple
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: BlueSky Soft-
courses and a course editor (elements lacking
ware. Sports/Golf, 1 or 2 Players (alternating).
in the 7800 version).
1989.
This hard-to-find golf game gives players
Meltdown
a solid (if unspectacular) video rendition of the
PUBLISHER: Atari. DEVELOPER: Atari. Light Gun
popular sport. To hit the ball, players follow
Shooter, 1 player. 1990.
In Meltdown, players must
protect the reactor cores of 20 dif-
ferent nuclear power plants that
have been sabotaged by terrorists.
This is done by aiming the light
gun at the screen and shooting
five different types of “sparkx”
that bounce off walls and off a re-
actor core that is positioned in the
middle of the playfield. There are
also power crystals to shoot, which
can repair control rods, double
the size of the shots, give the gun
continual fire, and more. Melt-
down has some nice features (in-
cluding a password system) and
inventive ideas (missed shots cre-
ate temporary barriers), but the
screen annoyingly blinks with