Jeremy Parish

NES Works Gaiden 75: Jr. Pac-Man / Track & Field / Midnight Magic (Patreon)

Published:

2025-01-01 19:28:39

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

atari 2600 atari corp brøderbund general computer corp konami midnight magic nes works gaiden pac-man track & field

haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

Hello to you, now that you've slept off your New Year's Eve hangover and groggily logged on for the year 2025. We're entering January 2025 by looking back to... 1986? Games for a console that debuted in 1977?! Yes, I'm afraid so. But no, wait... it's not really true to say "afraid." I'd been holding off on coverage of post-crash Atari for the past few years for fear I wouldn't have anything to say or might come off too negative, but these games are in fact pretty damn good. Yeah, the 2600 looks incredibly dated next to the NES and Master System, even in 1986, but as this episode (and next!) demonstrate: The 2600 was a capable system in the right hands, perfectly entertaining even amidst next-generation releases. Who knew? Besides Atari fans, I mean.

Files

Previews only

Junior edition: Jr. Pac-Man / Track & Field / Midnight Magic | NES Works Gaiden 75

Our survey of the Atari 2600's post-crash library begins with a trio of games that you could hardly call unprecedented. There's precedent for all of them! But frankly, they all hold up pretty well even today and demonstrate a collective commitment to quality that bodes well for this latter-day phase for the 2600. (It helps that the wizards at GCC developed two of the games appearing this week.) Sure, Jr. Pac-Man looks a bit meager in hindsight next to NES classics like Super Mario Bros. 3, but bear in mind that these carts shipped in 1986, when the NES and Master System were still mewling pups in the U.S. market. In that light, you can actually see the appeal of the 2600 as a reasonable, low-cost competitor to the NES. You can learn more about the Intellivision's history during the INTV days by preordering The NES Era Vol. III: NES and the Peak of 8-Bit, a comprehensive photographic atlas of every console game released for NES and its competitors—including the Intellivision—at the height of their power, from January 1988 through the advent of 16-bit systems in August 1989. Take a deep dive into the prehistory of NES with this limited-edition oversized (12x12"!) photo book: https://limitedrungames.com/products/the-nes-era-vol-3-hardcover Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Atari 2600 footage captured in RGB from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X.