Playability of Quattro NES games?

[josekortez]

I've found plenty of threads about the rarity (or lack thereof) of the Quattro Adventure and Sports games versus their Aladdin counterparts, but I want to know if any of these games are supposed to be any good.

I found both of these carts at Goodwill recently, and while I've read a lot about how good the Dizzy games are supposed to be in Retrogamer magazine, I can't see what all the fuss is about with Treasure Island Dizzy. For instance, what are you supposed to do with the items you find in that game (like the rock on the first screen)?

Space Linushead seems a lot like Solar Jetman if you couldn't have precise control over the character's movement. I didn't bother with Super Robin Hood, and I haven't even cleaned the Quattro Sports game yet.

Also, what's the deal with the switch on the back of the carts? I know that some of the Codemasters games were supposed to fire a voltage spike through the NES10 chip or something, so is that what that's for or is it for something else? I'm using a Messiah NEX system right now since my NES is in storage, and I'm hoping these Camerica carts aren't going to cause it to malfunction...

[WizDawg]

I played Linus Spacehead all the way through recently. I thought it was one of the better platformers for the NES.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I found both of these carts at Goodwill recently, and while I've read a lot about how good the Dizzy games are supposed to be in Retrogamer magazine, I can't see what all the fuss is about with Treasure Island Dizzy. For instance, what are you supposed to do with the items you find in that game (like the rock on the first screen)?

No offense, but have you ever played any of the classic Sierra or LucasArts adventure games?

If you haven't, then you won't understand the Dizzy games. :)

[Terminusvitae]

Of all the unlicensed manufacturers who entered the NES market, Camerica/Codemasters gets my vote as the highest-quality. I really haven't been disappointed in any of their efforts, though I admit I have yet to play Micro Machines.

[MachineGex]

Micro Machines has to be at the very top of my NES list. Matter of fact, it is at the top of my racing list also(including all the next-gen racing games). This game is extremely fun as a one player game and it is a blast as a two player game. If you like Rock-n-Roll Racing on SNES, you will love Micro Machines.

[ProfJimbo]

I have to agree about Micro-Machines for the NES. Definately a top-shelf game.

[sidnotcrazy]

Also, what's the deal with the switch on the back of the carts? I know that some of the Codemasters games were supposed to fire a voltage spike through the NES10 chip or something, so is that what that's for or is it for something else? I'm using a Messiah NEX system right now since my NES is in storage, and I'm hoping these Camerica carts aren't going to cause it to malfunction...

I never heard of the switch firing a voltage spike before. What I have read on the subject is the switch is there to allow the cartridge to work on a NTSC Nes, or a Pal Nes. So they would only have to manufacture one type of cart. Speaking from personal experience, I have played Camerica games on my top loader, and had no problems whatsoever. However, I have run into some models of the Nes that won’t play them simply due to lockouts.

About the Quattro games, I have yet to play them.

[InsaneDavid]

Speaking from personal experience, I have played Camerica games on my top loader, and had no problems whatsoever.

You have no problems on your top loader because the top loader is devoid of the 10NES lockout chip. I can't remember off hand what the switch on the cartridges did exactly but the OP is on the right track, it allows two slightly different attempts at overriding the 10NES chip. If I remember correctly, awhile back I read that Color Dreams sent +5v to a specifc pin on the 10NES chip (or something similar) to tie it up so it wouldn't check to see if there was a matching chip in the cartridge. (That's how the 10NES works, it compares data with a similar chip in a licensed cartridge.) This allowed the unlicensed code to run and by the time the 10NES chip was set free, the game was already running and it had nothing more to do.

All unlicensed NES games use some form to 10NES override except for the unlicensed Tengen games which use an illegally engineered 10NES clone (the Rabbit chip) - one of the reasons unlicensed Tengen games function exactly like a licensed title.

[j_factor]

Treasure Island Dizzy has got to be the worst Dizzy game by a landslide. Do not let that game sour you on the franchise. Fantastic Dizzy, Bubble Dizzy, and Spellbound are a lot better.

Linus Spacehead is okay, but the rest of Quattro Adventure is crap IMO.

[swlovinist]

On the topic of the lockout features of the Nes, why do many of the title screens appear jumbled, yet the rest of the game plays fine? Is this just a dirty cart or has anyone else has this issue with Camerica cart title screens?

[ryborg]

The Quattro Sports games are fun, if not completely unrealistic. I wrote a review of it many years ago and it's probably floating around the internet somewhere, but here's a summary:

Tennis is great, simply because there's a million game bugs, such as the ability to hit the ball twice in the air. Baseball is crazy, because every fly ball has a strange hook to it that makes fielding an adventure. This also turns obvious foul balls into homeruns. The racing game is a rip-off of Super Off Road with worse controls. Soccer is ridiculously frantic, especially at the higher levels, but still fun for an 8-bit soccer game.

[Rick 2007]

Micro Machines is one of my all time favorites also!

[bangtango]

The Quattro Sports games are fun, if not completely unrealistic. I wrote a review of it many years ago and it's probably floating around the internet somewhere, but here's a summary:

Tennis is great, simply because there's a million game bugs, such as the ability to hit the ball twice in the air. Baseball is crazy, because every fly ball has a strange hook to it that makes fielding an adventure. This also turns obvious foul balls into homeruns. The racing game is a rip-off of Super Off Road with worse controls. Soccer is ridiculously frantic, especially at the higher levels, but still fun for an 8-bit soccer game.

Agreed. Quattro Sports was pretty good. Of course it helped that it was four games in one. None of them were worth $30-40 on their own, that's for sure, but altogether it wasn't a bad cart. That reminds me, I'd like to get another copy sometime.

[Chuplayer]

I thought Quattro Sports was kinda crap. The fact that the crappy racing game is the only memorable game off that cart for me doesn't bode well. I did get rather good at the game, but I didn't care for it. I'd rather play Super Off-Road or Super Sprint.

[Ze_ro]

I actually really enjoyed Super Robin Hood... though I ended up getting stuck somewhere, not sure what to do. The Dizzy games were a lot of fun too, though I have the CD32 versions which are generally much better.

All in all, I think Codemasters was one of the best of the 3rd party developers for the NES.

--Zero

[wtuo]

Quattro Adventure are some of the most irritating games I think i've ever played. I finished Linus Spacehead for some reason, but the rest of them I couldn't get even past the first couple of levels for just sheer frustration...

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

While I can see the basic criticisms on the Quattro Adventure cart ...

... when comparing each game to standard unlicensed NES games, much less middle to bottom tier licensed titles, it's really an above average collection with Linus Spacehead being the best of the bunch.

[blue lander]

As I recall, the Codemasters cartridges were supposed to send -10 (or something) volts to the 10NES chip. By the time the 10NES pulled the line back up to TTL levels, the game had already started and it was too late for the lockout to work. I have no idea if it's true, it's just what I read somewhere a long time ago.

Personally, I think the Quattro Adventure games are pretty good. If you want to know why magazines like Retrogamer rave about Dizzy games, you have to look at it from the perspective of a Sinclair Spectrum owner (the computer the Dizzy games were originally developed on). The games are head and shoulders above most Spectrum games, so most British gamers remember them fondly.

[Garry Silljo]

Don't forget Quattro Arcade. The plane game in that pack is a great shooter. It's a wattered down version of Mig29 Soviet Fighter. If you like one, you like both. Another Dizzy game that more or less rips off pacman, a decent platformer called "CJ the Elephant," and a driving collection dune buggy game. I liked all the Quattro games but I think this one stands the tallest, but is a bit harder to find than the others.

[Quickclaw]

Love Micro Machines for the NES. Do the SNES and N64 versions compare favorably?

[MachineGex]

The SNES version(and Genesis) of Micro Machines is almost exactly the same as the NES version(it may be exactly the same). I recommend either system. The N64 version, well, I have not played it for a long time. All I remember was I liked it, but not as much as the others. Now, The first Micro Machines game for PSX was fun. It had a 8 player version if I remember correctly. I played it with 3 people and had a blast when it came out. I had a good time with it on one player, but the multi-player was a blast. Just like the SNES/NES versions. The PS2 version wasn't as good in my opinion. I was really excited when it came out but only played it a few times. It just wasn't as fun as the others.

So here are the versions of Micro Machines I have played:
NES/Genesis/SNES = As much fun as you can have with your clothes on
GameBoy = same fun, but may be alittle harder. Not sure if the multi-player is included.
PSX = Great fun in Multi-player
N64 = Just OK, I need to play it more to really remember
PS2 = I would pass
PSP = just got Micro Machines V4, but have not played it yet

[kainemaxwell]

nes micromachines is great, same with v3 for the psx. for quattro adventure, super robin hood and boomerang kid are pretty decent. boomerang kid's music will annoy you after awhile though.

[Rickstilwell1]

On the topic of the lockout features of the Nes, why do many of the title screens appear jumbled, yet the rest of the game plays fine? Is this just a dirty cart or has anyone else has this issue with Camerica cart title screens?

Most of the time that is a dirty cartridge but I also found out about another problem with Quattro Adventure from a member of a CRT group on facebook:

He said Some unlicensed titles such as Quattro Adventure use a lower value for black that is actually darker than the licensed NES standard for black. While most older televisions don't see any problem with this, newer ones (such as my flat Toshiba tube TV) misinterpret those values as a pulse signal and many rooms in the game will have a jumpy screen so bad that you can't see what you're doing. Quattro Adventure is the only one I have where I have experienced this yet. I thought I got a bad cartridge but I tried it on an older TV where it worked fine so I didn't have to send it back.

This guy also told me The Immortal for NES is an actual licensed game that has a similar problem with graphics and is often mistakenly sold as not working when it is really the newer TVs being incapable of displaying it correctly.


Anyway, my favorite Code Masters / Camerica games for NES are The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy and Big Nose the Caveman. The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy had some changes made when they updated it for the Aladdin Deck Enhancer re-release. I like both versions though. The original gold NES cart is a little more challenging regardless of its lower number of stars, partially due to the slower walking speed also keeping the length of your jump to a minimum. Many item locations are different too, but I don't think the alternate placement of items make anything that much more difficult. If you start with one version or the other, you'll just experience the different areas in a different order because of it. Getting flippers for swimming can be very early in the original version, but will take a long time in the Aladdin version.


While Big Nose the Caveman was very fun for me, I found its sequel Big Nose Freaks Out to not be anywhere near as good. While the skateboard idea is funny, there's no level music which makes it boring, the sprites are smaller and the constant skateboarding make it more difficult to control than the simple sidescrolling of the first game. The first game had pretty catchy music so the lack of music in Big Nose Freaks Out was a huge disappointment to me. This is NES, not Atari 2600.


Oh, and Treasure Island Dizzy was recently re-released for Atari Jaguar on Atariage.com - it was ported from the Atari ST remake of the game. It's still not the best Dizzy game but it looks much better than this NES port on Quattro Adventure.