It should have been successful
Written: Aug 31 '00 (Updated Aug 31 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 2600 Compatibility
Cons: Poor controllers
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| Bananaswift's Full Review: Atari 7800 |
This was Atari's competition for the original Nintendo. This is a nice gaming system. I picked mine up at a garage sale a few years ago with a lot of games for under $20. Before that, I never had heard of an Atari 7800. The thing that makes this system really nice it that it has backwards compatibility with the Atari 2600 so all of those hundreds of 2600 cartridges you have sitting around will work on this.
The games that were actually released for this were pretty nice. They were on about the same level as the games released for the Nintendo the first couple of years. With continued development, they could have been really nice. Some of Atari's games for the 7800 were the best console versions of their arcade games that were made until the recent arcade emulations for the Playstation and N64. Galaga and Joust are both really nice.
The only major problem was their joystick design. These really hurt to use for long periods of time. With these I can only play about 30 minutes of Galaga before my hands cramp. If you're playing 2600 games, I would suggest using the ever-popular Slik-Stick for the 2600. You do, however, have to use the 7800 controllers for 7800 games because they have two buttons.
Probably the most amusing game I have ever seen was only made for the 7800 - Ninja Golf. It is one of those games that would never be made today but got made and did well in the Atari era. The idea is you're a ninja playing golf. After you hit the ball, you have to fight your way through the hordes of evil ninjas to get to your ball. Once you get to the green, you have to fight a big Chinese dragon. It sounds kind of corny but is surprisingly fun. I only picked it up at a thrift store because the title made me laugh so hard, but I'm glad that I did.
If you do pick up a 7800, be very careful with the power cord. It has a strange connector that is incompatible with universal power supplies. I had to pick up another system to get another power cord after my first one broke.
This is a gaming system I wish had been well developed. It probably could have held its own had it had better software support from other companies.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Bananaswift
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Location: Broken Arrow, OK
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 5 members
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