A few Atari Jaguar & games questions

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Was thinking about finally getting around to buying some new games for my atari Jaguar (Had it since 1995 yet have never bought a game since the ones I bought the week I got it!)


I see many sealed ones around, but is there a way to tell if they are authenticly sealed, or resealed?

What I mean is - Are they similar to sealed NES games where they have a seam going down the back of the box?


So far, I only own:

• Cybermorph (Pack in - Actually has Brutal Sports Football on though???)
• Doom
• Theme Park
• Evolution: Dino Dudes
• Troy Aikman Football

(As you can see - A pretty shabby selection for a console I have had for ten years!)


I want to get the obvious better games like AVP, Bubsy (Lol. Can that be classed as a good game?), Tempest 2000, Wolfenstein Etc, plus a few others at least to actually make the console worth owning. I may even go for a complete set.


I do have a few other questions to ask though:

1) How many games were actually released for the console, and if possible, what were they all?

2) Is there a difference (In packaging) between the US and UK releases? How can I easially tell the difference? (As I don't want a mix-match of different region games if I can help it)

3) I also know that back in the day when the console was launched, there was some trouble with illegal modded US consoles coming into the UK - How can I tell which my console is? (I know it can't be American as it operates on UK power)

4) How many Jag Cd games were released (And what were they if possible)

5) Are there any useful Jaguar sites (Not fanboy "I love my Jag - I think it's the R0><0rz 1!1!1!" kind of ones either!)



My main concern is to do with how they came sealed though. As many are still floating about out there, and resealing seems to be quite common these days...

And although there is no regional locking on the games, i'd prefer to get either a full set of US ones or UK ones. Either or.


Does anyone have a full set of Jag stuff they can post some pics of?

[anagrama]

1) How many games were actually released for the console, and if possible, what were they all?

Look in the database.

3) I also know that back in the day when the console was launched, there was some trouble with illegal modded US consoles coming into the UK - How can I tell which my console is? (I know it can't be American as it operates on UK power)

50Hz = PAL, 60Hz = US or modded PAL.
And the power supply doesn't mean it's PAL - like most consoles, it's got an in-built modulator so an American console can use a UK power supply without a problem.

4) How many Jag Cd games were released (And what were they if possible)

See answer to 1)

[yok-dfa]

I want to get the obvious better games like AVP, Bubsy (Lol. Can that be classed as a good game?), Tempest 2000, Wolfenstein Etc, plus a few others at least to actually make the console worth owning.

My main concern is to do with how they came sealed though. As many are still floating about out there, and resealing seems to be quite common these days...

If you are looking for the better games, why worry about them being sealed? You are going to open them anyway to play them right

I had a lot of sealed Jaguar games, but i opened them all, so i can't check for you, but since 'sealed-games-are-more-valuable' is mostly a NES 'thing' i wouldn't worry to much about fake seals on Jaguar games. I have never seen it happen (but then again, i don't pay attention to that)...

[RJ]

AtariAge has a separate Jaguar forum. You could probably find more from there.

There's not always a lot going on there but I think the latest push is to (re)start a High-Score Club.

[fishsandwich]

I still don't understand the general gaming public's dislike for the original Bubsy. I think its a great little game with a lot of character. It gets quite hard and can get frickin' frustrating, but it can be beaten and there's a lot of satisfaction with that.

Bubsy II wasn't as good as the first game, but I still liked it allright. Never finished it, though.

Bubsy 3-D for the PSX is a gaping hole of awful darkness that consumes all things good and pure.

[K3V]

Bubsy on the Jag is not the same as the SNES/Genesis Bubsy. The original on SNES/Genesis is much better.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

If you are looking for the better games, why worry about them being sealed? You are going to open them anyway to play them right

Answer to that is simple. I like my boxes to be in perfect consdition. I have boxes to be soiled in anyway. I also like to keep the plastic around them and slit open the end (As what I do with my N64 and GameBoy games)

I also like to buy brand new games. Nothing wrong with that I would have thought? After all - If no one bought brand new games, then there would not be any pre-owned ones for the paupers to buy...


As for Bubsy - I always thought the second Mega Drive one was great! Loved that game. The first isn't too bad either. The PlayStation one is dire though and they should not have been allowed to make such a game that bad.

GAME and GameStation refuse to take any football or wrestling games at all. There is also a small selection of other games they won't take either - And Bubsy 3D is one of them!!! They won't even take it in for nothing - That's saying something!!!

I knew the Jag one isn't the same as the Snes / MD one, but I hear it is still one of the better games out there for the Jag.

[Rogmeister]

Yes, the first Bubsy (SNES, Genesis) is a favorite title of mine as well but I found the Bubsy game for the Jaguar extremely frustrating. Still, I'll go back to that someday and try to make it through a level. Yes, if you have a Jag, you absolutely need to get Alien Vs. Predator and Tempest 2000. I don't know if it's wise to attempt to get them all, though. The Jaguar is notorious for having a large number of games that rate high on the suck-o-meter...also there have been some limited edition games which you'll find nearly impossible to get for less than $70 or so...which can make a complete collection a rather pricey venture.

[Ze_ro]

I see many sealed ones around, but is there a way to tell if they are authenticly sealed, or

What I mean is - Are they similar to sealed NES games where they have a seam going down the back of the box?

I can't remember off-hand, since I've opened every Jaguar game I ever bought... however, I wouldn't be too worried about fake shrinkwrap, as Jaguar games really aren't worth enough in the first place to bother with such fraud (except maybe for Battlesphere or Air Cars). If memory serves me, they might actually have a horizontal seam across the back, but I make no guarantees, and I can guarantee you that many games will be wrapped differently since different companies did their own thing.

1) How many games were actually released for the console, and if possible, what were they all?

Well, the Digital Press Guide lists 57 cartridge games, although that includes two copies of Battlesphere and two copies of Protector, so you could pair it down to 55... Check out the online rarity guide to get a list.

2) Is there a difference (In packaging) between the US and UK releases? How can I easially tell the difference? (As I don't want a mix-match of different region games if I can help it)

Yes, the packaging is different... the American releases have english-only boxes and manuals, while the European releases have tri-lingual boxes and manuals, and I think some games (possible Rayman if I remember correctly) include even more languages. This might only apply to Atari releases though. Incidentally, Canada got the exact same boxes/manuals, so my guess is that these releases aren't really "European" so much as they are "Everywhere that's not the USA".

Also, I think European (and Canadian) releases also have an E at the end of the serial number. These numbers are listed on the front label as well as on the box. For example, the American release of Alien vs. Predator is numbered "J9008", whereas the European release is numbered "J9008E". Again, this only helps with games made by Atari themselves... third party companies sort of did their own thing.

Neither of these traits are obvious from looking at only the front of the box though... so if your only source of games is eBay, you might have a hard time at it since people rarely take pictures of the back of the box. As far as I know, the cartridges themselves are exactly the same, and you don't have to worry about PAL/NTSC issues with the Jaguar, so unless you're really interested in a German translation of the box description or a fat manual, there's no really need to avoid American versions.

3) I also know that back in the day when the console was launched, there was some trouble with illegal modded US consoles coming into the UK - How can I tell which my console is? (I know it can't be American as it operates on UK power)

I've never heard of this before, so I can't really help you. I suppose one way would be to open up your Jaguar and check for any signs of modifications. If you see a bunch of wires that look hand-soldered, then you might have one of these supposedly illegal systems. If everything looks neat and tidy, then you're clean.

4) How many Jag Cd games were released (And what were they if possible)

The Digital Press Guide lists 13 CD games. Most of them frankly aren't that good, and two of them are also available in cartridge form. However, Battlemorph is truly excellent. It's probably the only game that really merits buying a JagCD, and it's my favorite game out of the whole Jaguar library.

5) Are there any useful Jaguar sites (Not fanboy "I love my Jag - I think it's the R0><0rz 1!1!1!" kind of ones either!)

Well, there's Jagu-Dome, which has been around for quite a while. But there really isn't a lot going on there as far as I can tell. A better bet might be to check out the Jaguar forum over at AtariAge.

My main concern is to do with how they came sealed though. As many are still floating about out there, and resealing seems to be quite common these days...

And although there is no regional locking on the games, i'd prefer to get either a full set of US ones or UK ones. Either or.

I think it's being a little excessively anal to demand only sealed, region specific games. Attempting stuff like that will burn you out really fast, especially when you're starting out with basically nothing, and especially when you accidentally get an American version off eBay by mistake. It's just not worth the hassle. Buy the games you want, open them if necessary, and enjoy them. After all, you bought the Jaguar in order to have fun with it, right?

--Zero