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End of an era here, friends. This is the final recording we had in the bag from the "Before Times." Back when I felt safe jumping on a plane to fly to the other side of the country, when it wasn't at all dangerous to sit in a small, ventilation-free room with other people for hours at a time to record podcasts. I've been sitting on this recording for a long time, because there's a certain symbolism in letting it free into the world... but, well, the world needs to know about the Colecovision. So here we are.

We've touched on Colecovision and ADAM previously in Retronauts history, but it's worth revisiting with fresh perspectives—not to mention a lot more context about what Coleco brought to gaming before this console arrived. If you're old enough to remember using, say, a weird triangular gaming system with a steering wheel and pistol built in, you know what I'm talking about.

Jared Petty and Nadia Oxford join this episode to share their memories. I guess since Nadia's a call-in, that makes this a transitional episode between the blissful Then and the unhappy Now. In any case, it's a fun conversation with a lot of personal recollections and info. And then, onward into the future, whatever it may hold...

Art by Amanda Pruitt and edits by Greg Leahy. (Not a lot of Colecovision chiptunes substantial enough to use in the show out there in the world, so enjoy Greg's unconventional musical selections.)

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Comments

Shane Brouwer

Have to disagree with the idea that the controller was bad. It was a bit different but not bad. Pepper II is a fantastic game that can be summed up as the zipper game.

Normallyretro

Oh yes. Now you guys are talking my language.

Angela Stefanski

Controller rankings - Atari 5200 is the worst ever, than Intellivision, and then ColecoVision. I'm surprised there's a debate :)

Angela Stefanski

Having picked one up a year ago, plus a flash cart, my thoughts about a ColecoVision today - for the most part, it's not worth it. Bad controller, some production quality issues that mean you'll probably need to make some fixes, and most games are arcade ports that you can play better versions of elsewhere. But it's not completely worthless, and has what's probably the most PLAYABLE home version of Spy Hunter, so it's not bad to have if you don't have anything more pressing you want to pick up.

SilverHairedMiddleAgedTuxedoMask

All the talk of B.C. and Wizard of ID games made me look it up to see that they never once attempted a Beetle Bailey video game, which seems like it's both fertile ground for a video game while also at the same time maybe being the least suited comic for a video game.

Dennis H

You made mention of the Buck Rogers game, as well as the television series and mentioned Twiki the robot. He was voiced by Mel Blanc of bugs Bunny Fame!

dave s

I grew up with hand-me-down retrogames but didn't touch a Colecovision until I picked one up from a yard sale in the early 2000s. I mostly remember its crappy joystick and still prefer the 2600. Did you know that Tandy also started out as a leather company?

Christopher Hughes

I was born in 1982. I remember getting a Pumpkin Patch doll, but it wasn't a bad knock-off, same heavy hard plastic head.

Cajun Baz

My first time playing Colecovision games was on the 2019 AtGames Legends Flashback. 20 of the 110 games from the deluxe edition are Coleco games and they played surprisingly well. Made me respect Colecovision and what it was able to achieve back in the day. Wish they would have put a sticker on the Legends Flashback to at least point out that these are Colecovision games that haven't seen the light of day (legally) for years.

Joshua Smith

I love having Nadia and Jared on the show! Another great episode!

Guillermo Jiménez

Oh my God that mathemagician pun. Great episode, excellent primer on the console.