The Official Retro Gaming Thread (70s, 80s, 90s)

[Intellivision]

All you old time gamers, chime in! The good times, the bad times, console stuff, computer stuff, handhelds, whatever you can think of. Write-ups, YT videos. Etc....

I purposely said 70s to 90s, as the 2000s is still new. I don't think talking PS2 or 360 is too retro enough.

I'll get around to my write up, but I think I can add the most regarding Apple II, Intellivision, Genesis, PS1.

I'll do a bigger write up, and try to find some supporting info about the Lock n Chase competition my bros and I did in the 80s at a shopping mall. I'm pretty sure we all won something (limit one prize per person). But here's something we all won. And I'm pretty sure there was another poster we won but I can't find a pic online. Similar art style, but different layout.

 

[TeKPhaN]

Pre nes was terrible imo with the exception of the Vectrex,C64 and Collecovision

 

[Spiritech]

Mouse trap on the coleco was really cool. Its crazy having started gaming in the 80's so many games were so bad even then, now the worst games are at least competent/decent. Its crazy and really pocket draining. These kids are spoiled today i'll tell ya.

 

[Kerosene31]

Coleco with the Atari 2600 adapter was great. Had a huge library of games to choose from.

I also remember way back to the coin-op arcades. You'd walk in with so many quarters in your pockets that your pants were almost falling down, only to be assaulted by the mix of countless different games all making noise trying to get your attention (and money). Back then we didn't count pixels, but instead complained about the wait for a popular game. You put your quarter on the screen to say "I got next". Good times. No lag, just bumping elbows with the kid next to you.

 

[Viktor]

NES was my first console. I remember finding something older in the attic as a kid but I don't know what it was.

Funny you bring this up as I just got an email from Gamestop that they are selling SNES games now. I just bought an AV cable off Amazon as I'm missing that, otherwise I'm going to buy a few of these. Prices aren't too bad judging by a quick check of eBay. Thinking about getting Star Fox, Super Street Fighter 2, and Donkey Kong Country 2 if I don't have that one. I have the first DKC but can't remember if I have the second. Most of these games I had played but only rented as a kid.

 

[Plainview]

First one my family had was Telstar Arcade. The cartridges were triangles and popped into the top. They were a shimmering silver.

After that we got the Atari 2600 and then an Intellivision. I also had a C64 for years. I never got a 128.

 

[Frozpot]

I still remember Combat and Venture from the good 'ol Colecovision. Ooh, yeah, Zaxxon! Lol.

Whenever that face would show up in Venture, I would get so scared!

We had an arcade in the 90s called Boardwalk USA and you could get 4 hour swipe cards for 10 bucks. Sooo much greatness.

That's where I first saw virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing. Blew my mind. They even had a VR mech battle game that was really cool, but cost a lot to play.

 

[brighterdeathnow]

I remember getting E.T. for my Atari 2600 when I was in second grade. It was a birthday gift from my grandmother.

Thanks Grandma...........

 

[Kvally]

Games I loved that stick out the most in my mind, and these are the version I played of them...

 

[Kerosene31]

What game is that with the elevator and doors in the building? I remember it but not the name?

 

[Kvally]

What game is that with the elevator and doors in the building? I remember it but not the name?

Elevator Action

 

[Plainview]

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was the first game I really wanted to beat. It was a tough game for a youngster. I should try to do it again now that I'm older like Tom Hanks did in Big when he couldn't get past the wizard.

 

[TeKPhaN]

There is some exceptions on the 2600... like this dual cartridge release.

 

[Spiritech]

"Double-Ender". lol.

80's game box art is still the best.

 

[Troublegum]

My first one vs one fighting game was The Way of the Exploding Fist.

 

[Intellivision]

First one my family had was Telstar Arcade. The cartridges were triangles and popped into the top. They were a shimmering silver.

After that we got the Atari 2600 and then an Intellivision. I also had a C64 for years. I never got a 128.

We had a Telstar Pong knockoff. Don't remember much of it though.

 

[Intellivision]

Games I loved that stick out the most in my mind, and these are the version I played of them...

LOL. I sucked at all of those arcade games you showed.

B-17. So awesome. Loved bombing ships and seeing it in bits and pieces.

 

[Intellivision]

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was the first game I really wanted to beat. It was a tough game for a youngster. I should try to do it again now that I'm older like Tom Hanks did in Big when he couldn't get past the wizard.

Game is easy when you're older. Although not sure how it would play on a PC using keypad buttons.

That's the thing about Intelli games. Many only work well with the disc based controls with 12 button keypad and 4 side buttons. I don't see how a game like basketball would work well.

Did you ever play AD&D Treasure of Tarmin or Tower of Doom? On hard difficulties, these games are extremely hard even now. Playing these on emulator over the past 10 years every once in a while, and I'd be lucky if I beat them on hard difficulties 5 or 10% of the time. Just like Rogue, sometimes you get killed after the first encounter 30 seconds into the game. Amazing what the system could do with such limited specs.

Tarmin is turn based so it works well on keyboard. ToD takes a bit of getting used to, since you have to coordinate choosing the correct side buttons to do things.... attack, inventory, use.

 

[Viktor]

www.snesfun.com

 

[Partyman]

Elevator Action

LOL. I remember that game .
Yeah I'm old so what , Come at me sonny.

 

[hrudey]

I will just say that I still, occasionally, flash back to "Real Sports Football" on the Atari 2600 because of an inane theme song I made up for it.

 

[TDbank24]

My first console was the NES. Only played Atari like once at a relative's house. Pong was fun though. I actually bought a brand new NES off eBay a month ago. I don't think i overpaid given the price of some new retro consoles on there. Let's just say it cost me more than a current gen console. I feel like it was worth it though. I didn't get as much playing time with the NES as i did with the SNES and N64 just because of the timing but i played most of the classics and now i'm enjoying the ones i missed. I feel old but some of you guys are ancient gamers, no offense! I just turned 30 a few days ago.

 

[Oblong]

I got Sears Pong for Christmas 1977 which was amazing and all to play a game on a tv but other than the hockey with 2 paddles and goals got boring quickly. But in high school around 1980 we had some computers and there was the game "Snake". We would do everything we could to get time to play it.

Handhelds were big too with all the Mattel Electronics games. My first real console was Intellivision and my brother and I had some world war fights over the baseball game. It actually played a pretty good game of baseball and it would be controller mistakes or non responses that could be the difference in a game. I still have that system and about 50 games for occasional nostalgia nights.

 

[Intellivision]

My first console was the NES. Only played Atari like once at a relative's house. Pong was fun though. I actually bought a brand new NES off eBay a month ago. I don't think i overpaid given the price of some new retro consoles on there. Let's just say it cost me more than a current gen console. I feel like it was worth it though. I didn't get as much playing time with the NES as i did with the SNES and N64 just because of the timing but i played most of the classics and now i'm enjoying the ones i missed. I feel old but some of you guys are ancient gamers, no offense! I just turned 30 a few days ago.

You didn't miss much with NES. Sure, it's claimed as reviving gaming and it did. But most games were lousy. Good thing is that with the internet, you can see which games are good or not. Back then it was buyer beware.

No doubt that the avg SNES or N64 game was better than the avg NES game.

For NES, look for Nintendo, Konami, Capcom and SNK games. Bases Loaded 1 and Baseball Stars were excellent. But avoid Konami's Bayou Billy. Crap game. If you can beat that game without a cheat code, you can claim yourself as God. Also avoid all games LJN, weird no name companies, all movie baed games.

 

[Intellivision]

I got Sears Pong for Christmas 1977 which was amazing and all to play a game on a tv but other than the hockey with 2 paddles and goals got boring quickly. But in high school around 1980 we had some computers and there was the game "Snake". We would do everything we could to get time to play it.

Handhelds were big too with all the Mattel Electronics games. My first real console was Intellivision and my brother and I had some world war fights over the baseball game. It actually played a pretty good game of baseball and it would be controller mistakes or non responses that could be the difference in a game. I still have that system and about 50 games for occasional nostalgia nights.

Nice. We had all 3 baseball games. MLB, All-Star Baseball and the ECS World Series game. All-Star Baseball was excellent and my bros and I had battles too. In most games it came down to whomever made a fielding error.

Looking back, playing with my bros marathon sessions going for high scores and playing each other in sports games until the system overheated for the night were great memories. Although Atari was more popular as a whole, out neighbourhood all copied each other. We all had Intellis with only one house with an Atari 2600, so we traded games. We had about 70 games, including many white box games later in the system's life.

 

[Intellivision]

As for the Lock n Chase competition my bros and I did somewhere I'd say about 1983???

- We did it at Sherway Gardens. It's a mall on the outskirts of Toronto
- I remember the whole set up being inside the mall outside of either Simpsons or Sears (where there was a lot of room)
- Free to enter
- A good 10 or so systems/tvs set up
- A contest would start and you'd get maybe about 5 minutes to get as much pts as you can. The person with the highest score won. I remember that if you did great in a level and cleared it, you wouldn't have much time in the second level to get very far. So these sessions were short
- We knew we were all good at games, so we purposely did not enter a session against each other
- Winning a round got you a poster, a white poker style visor plastic cap, some pinnable buttons all saying Lock n Chase competition
- My bros and I all won a round. Limit one per winner, so you couldn't keep winning stuff
- One of my bros made it far and WON the competition. The grand prize was a white Intelli 2. But we already had the old one, so he sold it. Not sure if he pocketed it all or shared some of it by buying some games, but I think he sold it for around $100. I faintly remember someone coming by the house to buy it. Of course back then it was all about classified ads

 

[Intellivision]

Gorf was hard as hell. That fighter stick controller didn't help. Looked cool, but a normal joystick would have been better.

 

[Dno69]

First one my family had was Telstar Arcade. The cartridges were triangles and popped into the top. They were a shimmering silver.

After that we got the Atari 2600 and then an Intellivision. I also had a C64 for years. I never got a 128.

OMG! I had that triangular monster as my first console as well.

 

[sharkboy1200]

90s? Retro!? It's only been sixteen years since 1999 though!

 

[hrudey]

You didn't miss much with NES. Sure, it's claimed as reviving gaming and it did. But most games were lousy. Good thing is that with the internet, you can see which games are good or not. Back then it was buyer beware.

No doubt that the avg SNES or N64 game was better than the avg NES game.

For NES, look for Nintendo, Konami, Capcom and SNK games. Bases Loaded 1 and Baseball Stars were excellent. But avoid Konami's Bayou Billy. Crap game. If you can beat that game without a cheat code, you can claim yourself as God. Also avoid all games LJN, weird no name companies, all movie baed games.

Baseball Stars was great. I was pretty fortunate in my time with the NES in that I didn't end up with a huge quantity of games, but the ones I did have mostly were quality. I still think Kid Icarus was one of the most underappreciated games of the time. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was certainly a game that could be a huge challenge, and finally winning the dream fight is still probably one of my favorite accomplishments in gaming. Blades of Steel was awesome. The Nintendo Ice Hockey, kind of not (though having a team of fat guys was funny for a while). So much emulated goodness is now on offer, too, though I really don't have time to check out and see if VirtualNES is still up and running.