Ranking Every Atari 7800 Game From Worst to Best

[Music] the original library of 7 800 games is so small that I can make a video like this and I'm glad about that for once in this video I'm going to rank every retail release on the console and give you a brief summary of why I placed it where I did the only criteria was which game I liked over the other I didn't attempt to aggregate any scores or anything like that this isn't scientific it's just which ones I enjoy the most I'll also give scores from the Atari 7800 forever website as well as the video game critic if they did reviews for those games okay guys we got a lot to get through we're going to rank every single Atari 7800 retail release that's 59 games to cover so let's get started [Music] first we have the only dnf or did not finish and that's the 32 in one cart it wasn't released in ntsd territories and from what I've heard it's just a collection of 2600 games regardless I don't own it I've never tried it and therefore I refuse to rate it number 58 real sports baseball mind you I could barely remember how to play in the footage because it's been so long since I've tried it and there's a good reason for that I can't stand this version of real sports baseball for the Atari 7800 everything about it screams that they didn't try very hard and there is another baseball game I enjoy at least 20 times more this one is a definite last on my list and I doubt I'll be playing it very much after this 57 Ace of Aces for all the flight Sim fans on the 7800 you're going to hate me after this list I just don't get any enjoyment from Ace of Aces the intro is a cool idea but the colors blend together and make the whole thing look awful and the gameplay is a complete snooze Fest for me sorry guys but this only beats real sports baseball in my eyes and I'm not likely to play this one much more than that 56 title match pro wrestling it's a shame the 7800 never got a good wrestling game but this one is a joke only really good for its two-player mode in rare situations in a couple laughs the only redeeming quality are the wrestlers resembling a bobo from Double Dragon this one is a definite pass for me 55 touchdown football I remember liking this one a lot more maybe I'm spoiled by modern football games but this one just isn't very fun the play calling isn't horrible and it reminds me a teeny tiny bit of Tecmo Bowl but I'd play that classic any day of the week and this one on none of those days for whatever reason touchdown football hasn't aged well with me 54. F-18 Hornet F-18 Hornet uses actual unmapped polygons as far as I can tell and that's an impressive feat but it doesn't help it climb up further on my list the frame rate has to be like what four frames per second and it's a pain for me to control and actually hit my targets flight Sims aren't my bag in general but I can't see many people having much fun with this one 53 map Mania challenge I feel if you match this together with title match pro wrestling you might have something closer to a decent single wrestling game I feel this one is better but I wish the moves were easier to pull off and I wish she had more opponents and playable Grapplers I really think they missed the mark and that makes me sad as sad as the hulkster when Andre betrayed him see that's a wrestling reference I know what I'm talking about you can trust me 52. craft I'm not sure why this game doesn't have light gun support but even with that I'm not sure the 7800 needed a game like cracked honestly it's different I'll give it that but it plays awful and the Egg throwing minigame between stages is simply unplayable it's an easy pass for me welcome 51. Jinx when I got back into the 7800 about 13 years ago this was at the top of my list to buy the speech on the title screen is very impressive but the rest of the game isn't it attempts to merge breakout with an adventure game of sorts and it fails on both fronts this is another game I wish had been done better because the idea itself isn't a bad one 50. tank command wow this might be in the running for one of the most broken games on the 7800 I spent a few minutes stuck on a tree while grabbing this footage but even before that I was having zero fun it should have been as good as Commando or akiri Warriors but it's clear frago didn't have the industry's best talent behind their games 49. Barnyard Blaster do you want to know something I didn't hate my time grabbing footage of Barnyard Blaster the problem is there isn't enough variety and what's here isn't that interesting but if you're looking for a quick 10 minute light gun game this could be all right but anything more than that and you'll be bored to tears 48 meltdown this game is just a head scratcher for me it's a light gun game and that's a genre I usually love the problem is that everything is so tiny and Bland that it makes my trigger finger tired before the end of the second level and this game is long I'm not sure why they designed it the way they did but because of that I won't be returning to it anytime soon 47 Tomcat F14 this flight Sim has a little something more than the previous two taking off from the aircraft carrier isn't as difficult as other games make it and I was fighting enemies rather quickly after getting into the sky the night to day transition was ambitious too I could see myself coming back to this one when I get tired of the rest of the library but that probably won't be anytime soon 46. hat trick hat trick is simple choppy and a bit unresponsive but there's something Charming about this hockey themed pong game I've played two player before with a retro gaming friend of mine and that's where the fun is the computer is nothing other than a punching bag pick up hat trick if you play two-player games more than the average person 45 fight night I'm sure when Atari saw a punch out they were scrambling for their own quirky boxing game and at face value this one isn't bad but it's just really easy to beat the two-player mode much like in hat trick is where you can get the most enjoyment from flight night also why are the proportions of the boxers so awful looking when they're knocked down who did this art 44. karateka I could see karateka being a great game if it had been closer to the computer ports of the time this one is missing everything that made the originals any good and it's really unresponsive still you can have a little fun here once you learn to play by its rules but it's not worth trying to beat the ridiculous Akuma trust me 43 Sentinel again I love the light gun game genre you would think I would love this one because it's so original and it looks like it should work well on paper unfortunately it's just not much fun to shoot the bullets and oddly shaped enemies to save your orb this one was a pale exclusive but you can get an ntsc version from gooddealgames.com if it looks good to you I really recommend it for collectors only thank you 42 super Huey uh IX well this is it my top 7 800 flight Sim this one has you piloting a helicopter and the simulation mode is ridiculous so much so that they had to add a training Mission just to get you familiar with how to get started but what saves it is the arcade mode blowing up endless helicopters can be fun from time to time but there's a lot better games on the 7800 41 impossible mission this game would have ranked much higher if it wasn't truly impossible the developer accidentally had two puzzle pieces behind computers instead of furniture so you can't beat the ntsc version luckily there are fixed copies out today called possible Mission it's more of a puzzle game than the action game that the 7800s so desperately needed but it would have been worth playing if it wasn't for being truly impossible [Music] 40 mean 18 Ultimate Golf this one was not a bad golf game at all but the issue is there's so many better golf games today that it's just so hard to come back to this one if you love golf in the 7800 then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with this game but for me it's just too hard to go back to the old golf games of days past 39 Summer Games this is a collection of mini games surrounding a summer olympics theme and while there are some mini games I like most are just random mashing of the buttons or joystick it also sucks that you need multiple players to get any real competition here might be fun for some but I'll stick to Winter Games myself 38 Pete Rose Baseball I forgot how much fun I had with Pete Rose Baseball this game is everything that real sports baseball isn't fun easy to get back into and very arcade feeling I wish the Enfield had been done a little differently but I think this is by far the best baseball experience on the Atari 7800 Pro system 37. shoplifter I was obsessed with this game when I got back into the 7800 all those years ago and I'm not quite sure why yeah it's missing all the levels and features of the Master System and other versions but this is a direct Port of the computer game from broderbond it can feel a bit cheap at first but I think you can have a bit of fun with it if you take it for what it is and honestly it's still a cool game in my eyes 36. motorcycle this was one of the last 7800 games I ended up getting and it's crazy fun I think most people hope for something closer to road rash but what you get is pole position with motorcycles and crazy high jumps there's nothing more satisfying than flying over a jump even if you wind up in a ball of flames give it a try if this looks good to you 35 super skateboarding skateboarding was a cool Fad in the 1980s but most developers just didn't seem to understand it here you have a skateboard but you're essentially turning off electrical equipment to save a company money on its energy bill red tubular totally awesome um what was I saying oh yeah this can be fun for a time but once you figure out the optimal path through the warehouse there's not much reason to come back to it 34. Winter Games I much prefer this to Summer Games that's for sure even though there's still some button mashing events I feel like they switch things up enough to keep me interested learning the controls is a must and much like summer games there is real no competition if you don't have a few friends to play with but it's definitely a step up from Summer Games and my eyes foreign Kung Fu Master this was released as Kung Fu on the NES and I really enjoyed that version more still this one isn't bad and I've had a lot of fun with it over the years but usually I'd rather pull down and play something else if you want a side-scrolling beat him up on the 7800 then this will probably scratch that edge 32 dark Chambers I used to rag on this game quite a bit because it's just so easy in the beginning but once it gets going I have a ton of fun with it this is technically a port of Dandy which was the motivation for gauntlet so if you like that one then I think you should find something to like here as well just give it some time to ramp up the challenge 31. pole position 2. as a kid I was super impressed with how the background would move in and out of you as you take your turns I still enjoy this one from time to time but I understand why other people just don't see the appeal still if you have this one but never gave it a real chance you might be surprised at how challenging and fun it can be not too bad foreign Rampage this was maybe my favorite 7800 game growing up the ability to play as one of three monsters destroying cities was so original and fun that I think a lot of kids loved it well the idea of it and Truth the repetition can really drain the fun out of this one but it's definitely worth playing in small bursts having all three monsters playable in this version is a plus two 29. Donkey Kong Jr Donkey Kong Jr is an arcade classic and one of three Nintendo games that appeared on the 7800 during a time when the NES was going strong and that was awesome for us 7 800 owners growing up the sound really takes away from this one overall but just mute the TV and enjoy I recommend it [Music] 28. fatal run fatal run is basically Road blasters and even if it's not the prettiest game on 7800 it's just good old-fashioned fun tricking out your sports car and blowing up bad guys is great and there is a lot of game here for anybody that's trying to get their money's worth I enjoy playing this one a couple times a year and I think most of you would too 7 xenophobe xenophobe was another one of those games that I was curious about when I jumped back into the 7800 and it is a pretty good time it can be annoying getting hit by Zito Morris as you enter a new room or getting pushed back into a previous room by a cheap hit but most of the time this is just good old-fashioned alien blasting action definitely a good game for the 7800 26 Planet Smashers Planet Smashers is a Shoot Em Up and has a nice couple twists to differentiate it from the rest of the pack you have to get the right combination of colored orbs to summon the boss at the end of the stages and you have to prevent as many enemies and obstacles from getting by you as possible in order to save the Earth if too many skate by then say goodbye to your home planet too bad the enemies are so generic foreign Donkey Kong top 25 time guys and we start with Donkey Kong much like Junior DK has some serious sound issues but again I recommend muting the TV and having a good old time this one is extremely similar to the NES version so if you enjoy that one then by all means you should like this too you could do a lot worse on the 7800 that's for sure number 24 Double Dragon Double Dragon is a guilty pleasure of mine on the 7800 I know it could have looked a lot better and Landing attacks can be puzzling to first-time players but once you know how to play it the game opens up to you and it's a pretty neat little Adventure on the 7800 this in Rampage were the only two games by Activision and overall they didn't do too bad in my opinion 23 Galaga people really seem to love this version of Galaga and I'm sort of confused as to why I mean it's far from horrible and I too have fun with it from time to time but it's far from arcade perfect it's worth noting that this version of Galaga is stupid easy up until about stage 10 and then the enemies launch into Super Speed still people I talk to love it and I'm sure most of you will too 22. desert Falcon I feel this zaxon inspired Egyptian shooting game gets overlooked a lot and that's a shame it's really cool and the only original title that you could pick up at the 7800s launch killing Sphinx is awesome at the end of each stage and then you get to plunder their treasure but trying to figure out how high your enemies are to hit them can be annoying still this one does more right than it doesn't 21. water ski I think I'm one of the few people in the world that actually loves this game this game controls brilliantly with the joystick moving the speedboat and the left and right buttons moving your skier much like frogo's other game their programming in this one is subpar to say the least but the idea and execution is so much fun that I usually don't care definitely a love it or leave it kind of game so make sure you try before you buy number 20. scrap yard dog this was atari's answer to Super Mario Brothers and in that regard it's not very good but I personally love this game and I think it gets a bad rep by being compared to Super Mario all the time I enjoy it from beginning up to the last Factory stage which was an awesome surprise it's a shame that the last guy is a silly slide puzzle because if it had been a true boss fight I might have ranked this game even higher 19. one-on-one basketball this is by far my favorite sports game on the 7800 and it's a great game in general it basically uses one button for everything yet somehow it manages to play intuitively and has enough options and Easter eggs to keep me coming back it's so satisfying pulling off an awesome spin move and then getting a replay of it or dunking on your opponent and having the backboard shatter a great game for the 7800 number 18 ball Blazer ball Blazer is highly regarded by many to be the greatest 7800 game of all time and it's pretty obvious why when you look at it the enemy Drake can be a pushover or near impossible to beat depending on how you set the difficulty but two players wear this one really shines runs and looks great on the 7800 and the Pokey audio makes it one of the best sounding games on the system too 17. crossbow are you tired of hearing which games I was most interested in when I returned to the 7800 because yup this was another one it plays great with either a controller or a light gun and finding your way to the end boss is no easy task not the most impressive game graphically on the system but there's enough Variety in the environments to keep you interested team Mario Brothers my personal opinion this is the best of the Nintendo games to appear on the 7800 but it's probably not 100 true to the arcade still this one shines especially in two-player mode as you can compete for points or work together to get as far as you can in the game another one that I have fond memories of growing up foreign centipede I think some people are going to be disappointed that I didn't place this one Higher especially with the excellent two-player modes but centipede has never been my favorite Atari game still there's no doubt that this one plays great and I still have a lot of fun whenever the mood strikes me to pull it off the shelf 14. dig dog I have a confession I used to hate Dig Dug but something happened not all that long ago and the game just clicked for me while I don't have much experience with the arcade version or many other ports I feel that this one is extremely entertaining the ability to restart where you left off was a nice addition as well 13. alien Brigade alien Brigade is my favorite light gun game on the console and while it's technically not the most impressive game I think it looks pretty good you find yourself exploring jungles underwater caves and more as you attempt to rescue humans from body snatching aliens works great with the joystick too but for me the light gun is where it's at foreign joust even with the Sprites being oh so tiny somehow they look a bit impressive as well well to my eyes anyway this one can be quite a bit challenging for the uninitiated but once you get into the swing of things you'll find a lot to love here 11. Robotron 2084. Robotron is a great game but there's one thing you're gonna need in order to get the most enjoyment out of it and that's either a twin stick controller or a coupler for two pro lines I like using the Robotron controller from Retro Game Boys myself but no matter how you decide to play it I think you're gonna have a good time number 10 xevious it's devious it's xevious while I'm not very good at this port I still find myself enjoying it skews a bit to the hard side but if you enjoy arcade ports I think you can do a lot worse than the Atari 7800 and it looks pretty good to boot I wish I could have got more footage of the mothership for you guys but as I said I'm not very good sorry about that number nine Commando this is the second and unfortunately last game to use the enhanced audio chip Pokey in order to get better sound out of the cartridge and it really makes me wish we had more cartridges utilize this Pokey chip you can't go wrong with Commando on the 7800 even if there's another similar game that I prefer to it number eight ninja golf people either love or hate ninja golf and I'm firmly in the camp of loving it you have to complete nine holes of ninja golf in order to become a true Ninja Master how absurd fighting dragons instead of putting a la Shinobi was a great idea and I can't help but to have fun when playing ninja golf on my Atari 7800 this was yet another one of those games that got me back into the system all those years ago number seven basketball this game has been re-released on a bunch of Atari or 7 800 specific compilations but it's still great absurd fun on the Atari 7800 much like ninja golf you can win by outscoring your opponents but I much prefer to knock them out and then do layups until the time Runs Out this game is fun for the whole family number six Tower toppler a lot of people overlook this game and I'm not sure why the controls can be a bit wonky but once you get accustomed to them it plays great and the underwater levels look incredible on the Atari 7800 heck The Towers look incredible for that matter if you've never played this game before on the 7800 or any other system then give it a try you might like it top five number five I carry Warriors I think most people prefer Commando to I carry Warriors and I can see why but for me I carry Warriors has always been where it's at blowing up enemies powering up your weapons and climbing inside of Tanks is just so much fun and it certainly is a challenge to make it all the way to the end that's for sure the developer wisely decided not to emulate the arcade controls and because of that I think this game plays excellent on the Atari 7800 number four Miss Pac-Man what can I say about Miss Pac-Man she was a cultural phenomenon back in the 80s and this version plays great so great in fact that in the beginning of Homebrew developers were hacking it and making all kinds of different versions of Pac-Man using this source code as a base I think this is one game that every 7 800 owner should have and it's so common that you probably do number three food fight this is one of the best reasons to own an Atari 7800 and a lot of people call it their favorite Atari 7800 game and it's easy to see why this and Robotron have an insane amount of Sprites on the screen at any given time and once you come to that realization this game becomes much more graphically impressive if you've never played food fight before then make sure you give this one a try number two midnight mutants I'm not sure many people will agree with this one being number two but for most 7 800 owners we were starving for adventure games and to this day I still play it at least once every October and a few times throughout the year sure it can be a bit archaic to figure out but let's be honest so is the original Zelda plus I really love the Halloween spooky aesthetic and having L Lewis in the game is a huge Plus in my book the 7800 really needed more adventure games like this but I'm so glad that we got this one and the number one Atari 7800 game according to me based on how much fun I have playing them is number one asteroids asteroids is the number one game are you kidding me well no I'm not kidding you not only did GCC wisely not try to emulate the vector graphics of the arcade but they also added several two-player modes that make this game a joy to play with a friend if you've never played asteroids on the 7800 then give this one a try it's still the game I play the most on the Atari 7800 today okay guys that was my ranking of the entire Atari 7800 Library so what do you think did I get it wrong what would your personal ranking look like and what's your favorite 7800 game of all time let me know in the comments down below this has been John the 7800 Pro System gamer and I'd like to thank you for watching my list the Atari 7800 the choice of the experts

Channel: The Atari Network

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Keywords: atari, 2600, 2600+, 5200, 7800, prosystem, jaguar, lynx, flashback, VCS, pro gamer, plus, atariage, homebrew, ranking, games, gaming, videogames, video games, classic, retro, vintage, old school, 8-bit, 2nd generation, console, pac man, midnight mutants, asteroids, tower toppler, karateka, best, most expensive, greatest, of all time, list, forever, impossible mission, rikki & vikki, rikki and vikki, double dragon, galaga, paddle, proline, all time, favorite, collection, collector, zeropage, zph, controller, game

Id: c_4Wm4ZSVOw

Length: 29min 44sec (1784 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 14 2023