Intellivision, Colecovision, or Atari 2600?

[DJLobo]

I went with Intellivision, but I could have cheated and voted for the 2600 also. Had an Intellivision II with the system changer, so I played games from both systems. Played a lot of River Raid, Enduro and Pac-Man (didn't know any better at that time) on the 2600. Played a lot of Night Stalker, Lock n Chase, Bump n Jump and the He-Man game on the Intellivision. I didn't play Tron - Deadly Discs until a few years ago and it is as good as everyone has said.

[Arkhan]

This f*ckin INTV just stopped working.

What a pile of ass.

[Black Tiger]

Intellivision. Although it's what my family had, I still had access to the other consoles and quite a few games... but nothing came close to AD&D Treasure of Tarmin as a game, let alone tech demo. AD&D Cloudy mountain is also cool, basically Zelda for Intv.

[Arkhan]

The games i liked on INTV before it just died were Tron, Thunder Castle, the two DnD games, and Demon Attack

now to get a new INTV to play them some more.

damnit.

[Arjak]

I went with ColecoVision; it was a very advanced system for the time and had some really fun games, especially if you look at the homebrews being made now. Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Gulkave ports for the win! There's even a new expansion model being made that will increase the amount of memory for even better homebrews!

I'll give second place to the Atari 2600. It's a good system for its time, it has that "pick up and play" quality in its games, and there are some absolutely amazing homebrews for the system, like Cave-In and Dungeon, but it just doesn't have the same excitement as the Coleco has for me.

On the other hand, I've never been able to get into Intellivision; maybe it's the fact that the games are impossible to figure out if you don't have the overlays or are playing on an emulator; or perhaps there just aren't enough games that look interesting for me; the main reason, however, is because the Intellivision just doesn't have any good homebrews! The system has nothing new to get excited about! Not long ago, I was wondering whether to buy a CV or INTV, and I went with the CV for this very reason, and boy am I glad I did!

[Arkhan]

I am not really thrilled about the Yie Ar Kung Fu or Gulkave ports mostly because they're going to be the same as the MSX1 versions since they're basically the same hardware...and I already own those games. *facepalm*

you can play Coleco games on an MSX! There's an emulator for it.  All it does basically, is swap out BIOS stuff.  Just slap the ROM and emu program on a floppy or .dsk image and send it to your MSX!  The games will look and sound identical as if they were on the Coleco itself!  

A game that was an MSXDEV release for MSX1 ended up coming out for the Colecovision a few years ago.  The game was IDENTICAL.  

Making an MSX1 or a Colecovision game automagically ensures you can easily release it for two platforms though!

That being said, its still nice.  The Colecovision is essentially the perfect way to say America did get a useful MSX release....  just with a limited library.   You'll even notice Konami games on there!  The Defender port on Coleco destroys the Atari 2600 one.  It is way impressive.

I was playing Tower of Doom for INTV earlier on an emulator SINCE MY GAY INTV DIED.

Man, that game is awesome.   Gateway to Apshai is still more fun to me though.

Wonder if SCC could be hacked to work on the Coleco, with ports of the Konami shooters.  holy f*ck would that rule

[Arjak]

I am not really thrilled about the Yie Ar Kung Fu or Gulkave ports mostly because they're going to be the same as the MSX1 versions...

Actually, Yie Ar Kung-Fu has an exclusive 2-Player mode on ColecoVision! It's a lot of fun, and makes the game pretty respectable for a pre SF2 fighter!

There's also a release of a RPG prototype called Lord of the Dungeon; it even has a save battery! You may ask, "So?" but remember, the original proto was created in 1983, FOUR YEARS before Nintendo used it in the U.S. release of Legend of Zelda.

Lord Of The Dungeon looks like it's going to be awesome! A full RPG on ColecoVision!? Yes, please!

As my final argument, MSX computers are ridiculously expensive compared to ColecoVisions, and with the upcoming Expansion Module, it will pretty much be as powerful as an MSX1. They're even porting several MSX games to the system that wouldn't run on a CV without the Expansion!

My only complaint is that I'll probably never be able to play that badass new Goonies MSX game...

Oh well...there's always the upcoming ColecoVision 2.

No, I'm not joking. You may think I am, but I'm not.

[Arkhan]

Actually, Yie Ar Kung-Fu has an exclusive 2-Player mode on ColecoVision! It's a lot of fun, and makes the game pretty respectable for a pre SF2 fighter!

Ah cool.  I missed that part.  I play solo usually so this will be pointless for me.

There's also a release of a RPG prototype called Lord of the Dungeon; it even has a save battery! You may ask, "So?" but remember, the original proto was created in 1983, FOUR YEARS before Nintendo used it in the U.S. release of Legend of Zelda.

Lord Of The Dungeon looks like it's going to be awesome! A full RPG on ColecoVision!? Yes, please!

I'm with ya there.  Gateway to Apshai only goes so far,

As my final argument, MSX computers are ridiculously expensive compared to ColecoVisions, and with the upcoming Expansion Module, it will pretty much be as powerful as an MSX1. They're even porting several MSX games to the system that wouldn't run on a CV without the Expansion!

Depends where you look.  eBay users, gouging morons, and ignorant westerners charge idiotic prices.  A cartridge ready MSX2 can be nabbed for around the same price as a CV.  Shipping will possibly blow, but you can still get one and play all the cart games.  Get a NoWind and you can play disk images from a PC.  SCC Megaflash and you can do everything.

My only complaint is that I'll probably never be able to play that badass new Goonies MSX game...

It is such an awesome game.  Its the best homebrew platformer I have ever played.


It is going to be nice that more people will know about Gulkave.  That is one of my favorite MSX1 games.

Now I wonder about a Dragon Slayer IV port to the CV. 

[Arjak]

Depends where you look.  eBay users, gouging morons, and ignorant westerners charge idiotic prices.  A cartridge ready MSX2 can be nabbed for around the same price as a CV.  Shipping will possibly blow, but you can still get one and play all the cart games.  Get a NoWind and you can play disk images from a PC.  SCC Megaflash and you can do everything.

Same price as a CV!? You need to tell me where you are looking...

It is such an awesome game.  Its the best homebrew platformer I have ever played.

It looks awesome. Reminds me a little of Goonies II for NES, but with more features, and not as confusing.

It is going to be nice that more people will know about Gulkave.  That is one of my favorite MSX1 games.

It is an amazing shooter for its time, that's for sure. I've only played a little bit, but I can say that it is HARD.

Now I wonder about a Dragon Slayer IV port to the CV. 

There's already a port for NES under the title Legacy of the Wizard, but I think they changed the map some for that version, so it would be interesting to play the original map. I probably would hold out for a port of the MSX2 version, though, because of its better graphics and lack of attribute clash.

Now, if they were to port Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, I would be all over that in a heartbeat!

[Arkhan]

Same price as a CV!? You need to tell me where you are looking...

I grabbed an MSX2 off Yahoo.jp for 30$ + around 50$ to ship it.  Thats like 80$.  Not too much more than a Colecovision in good working order.

It looks awesome. Reminds me a little of Goonies II for NES, but with more features, and not as confusing.

That is about right.  It is so well done it might as well be a Konami game.

It is an amazing shooter for its time, that's for sure. I've only played a little bit, but I can say that it is HARD.

Yeah, also it has Parallax scrolling on that hardware everyone pees their pants about because it scrolls choppily.  SMOOTH parallax.  Suck on that, fools.

There's already a port for NES under the title Legacy of the Wizard, but I think they changed the map some for that version, so it would be interesting to play the original map. I probably would hold out for a port of the MSX2 version, though, because of its better graphics and lack of attribute clash.

Now, if they were to port Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, I would be all over that in a heartbeat!

I know about that, I just want to see more Japanese adventure style games on the Coleco to diversify it's library.  It'd be a nice game to put on there.  People who liked Montezumas Revenge or Pitfall could get into it.

DSII would be awesome also.  Xanadu was really good.

Lots of MSX1 games would be killer on the Coleco.  Star Soldier, Gall Force.  If more Japanese exposure existed for the system, it would have seriously contended with the NES for a longer amount of time.  Gall Force does not screw around.

[SaturdayMorningRobots]

I have owned all 3 at one point (sort of, had an Adam computer which also functioned as a colecovision)

I have to vote for the 2600. It's technically the least powerful but has a huge library and some really great classics like Yars Revenge.

The Intellivision... When I was growing up my best friend owned one, I was jealous of the great Graphics and tried to get the system off him for years after the crash. Finally I got a Pristine one of my own off gamegavel.com, and a bunch of games and... eh... it's really not that great a system. The intellivision version of Atlantis and that AMAZING 3d D&D Dungeon crawler not withstanding.

Colecovision in the day was a pretty hardcore system. Rumor has it Sega actually programmed most of the games, and the hardware architecture itself bears a good resemblence to early sega consoles. (Or so I've heard) Numerous arcade perfect ports, but unfortunately that's really all it's good for and well, I have a MAME cabinet...

So... The fun is back it's plain to see, the 2600 from A ta ri.

[Jesse813]

The 2600 gets my vote since it plenty of good classic games

[Arkhan]

Colecovision in the day was a pretty hardcore system. Rumor has it Sega actually programmed most of the games, and the hardware architecture itself bears a good resemblence to early sega consoles. (Or so I've heard) Numerous arcade perfect ports, but unfortunately that's really all it's good for and well, I have a MAME cabinet...

So... The fun is back it's plain to see, the 2600 from A ta ri.

The hardware in the Coleco is that of the MSX1 computer more or less, and the SG-1000.  Different sound chips, but the video and CPU were the same.

If you have a MAME cab though, the Atari isn't even that great anymore, lol

[SaturdayMorningRobots]

If you have a MAME cab though, the Atari isn't even that great anymore, lol

Naw, when it comes to console exclusives, I am strictly a real hardware guy, except when I am playing my Wiz I mean I do have console emus installed on my MAME cab but I mostly do that to check stuff out. If I like a game I seek it out if practical, but to me Arcade ports aren't really my thing. Obviously though in cases where the console version is better as with some NES games and PCE shooters, I change my policy.

I don't have a 2600 emu installed though. IMO playing 2600 on original hardware is almost sacred. We had a Vader console when I was a kid, and I recenntly got a 4 switch woody. I love it to death. Had a 7800 in the 90s wish I hadn't sold that.

[shabba]

I'd go with the Colecovision for sheer fun and the adaptability via the module #1 to play all the 2600 games. It's just a more complete system to me. When I was a kid, my father bought a 2600 in '78 or '79 so that was my first console, but I always lusted after a Coleco. As a kid, the games were prettier and more like what I was used to playing in the arcade.

Never owned an INTV. I need to change that.