Just scored an Atari 7800

[FrankSerpico]

Got it on ebay for a pretty decent price, also I scored some 2600 games like Tomcat, Sky Diver and Defender on shopgoodwill but I don't have any 7800 titles yet. It comes with paddle controllers but I'm also planning on trying out my Genesis controllers with it. I"m sure others on this board have done the same, how well do the Genesis controllers actually work? I know you have to do some alterations to get them to work with everu game correctly and I may or may not do that, I'm really just excited to get the console and try it out.

[tom]

I never liked the specific 7800 games, but the library is small and easy to collect for, bar a few.
Never tried a Genesis controller on any Atari machines though.

[Bojay1997]

I never liked the specific 7800 games, but the library is small and easy to collect for, bar a few.
Never tried a Genesis controller on any Atari machines though.

Food Fight is amazing. Easily one of my top 20 favorite classic games.

[CRTGAMER]

Good purchase, the 7800 have exclusive simultaneous two player mode on some of the 7800 Arcade ports.

The Genesis controller works fine with no mod for 2600 games. There also some 7800 games that work with the Genesis controller, the ones that require only one fire button.

[homerhomer]

You can also buy 7800 euro gamepads from Best Electronics, a little spendy but good.

BTW - Get ready for one of the worst websites out there.

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/7800.htm

[MachineGex]

You can also buy 7800 euro gamepads from Best Electronics, a little spendy but good.

BTW - Get ready for one of the worst websites out there.

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/7800.htm

These are a must buy! You will love them.

[MachineGex]

Good purchase, the 7800 have exclusive simultaneous two player mode on some of the 7800 Arcade ports.



I know Asteroids has a simultaneous 2-player mode which is fantastic. What are the others??? It has been awhile and I am looking for fun simultaneous 2-players on the 7800. (and any other classic 8/16 bit system)

[8bitgamer]

You can also buy 7800 euro gamepads from Best Electronics, a little spendy but good.

BTW - Get ready for one of the worst websites out there.

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/7800.htm

I agree. Very difficult to figure out how to order anything from them.

[Atarileaf]

I know Asteroids has a simultaneous 2-player mode which is fantastic. What are the others???

Centipede is awesome as a two player game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AtsiLOEXRo&feature=plcp

[Leo_A]

The GCC arcade ports for this are great.

I never liked my Euro gamepad for it and don't suggest you bother with it. Stick with your favorite 2600 or Genesis controllers. It's about as good of a d-pad as that on the 360's gamepad...

In the rare instance I need two buttons, I use a converted Taito Space Invaders plug and play, a converted NES gamepad, or a Colecovision arcade controller (Both buttons on a Colecovision compatible controller work correctly on the 7800).

[Greg2600]

Just email Best Electronics asking if they have such and such, and ignore the website! The gamepads are 17.99 I think, I bought a brand new one from them. Frankly I found all controllers to respond similarly. The 7800 doesn't have great control, though it's not 5200 or Coleco bad. The sound on almost all games is horrible. Honestly the stock games will bore you quickly.

Sadly, there is no actively produced flashcart at the moment, and collecting the many 7800 homebrews is costly. Though all of PacManPlus games (he's on atari age) are excellent. They are also working on a fan-made XM expansion module for the system, if you're REALLY into it. Like I said, I have one, about 3 dozen games, and I never play it. It's not all that fun.

[RJ]

IIRC 7800 Ms PacMan also has a co-op mode. I may be getting it mixed up w/ the Genesis version.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Get: Food Fight and Ninja Golf.

NINJA GOLF!!!

that is all.

[Steve W]

I've always loved the 7800, but the controllers are uncomfortable. Ballblazer is two players (naturally), I believe you can play Basketbrawl, Dark Chambers, and Ikari Warriors as co-op and possibly Commando if I remember right. I think Double Dragon might be co-op too, but then I can't stand to play it for more than ten seconds so I have no idea. Mario Bros., Rampage and Xenophobe are co-op two players too.

The later releases tend to be pretty good, considering the massive stumbling block of the Tramiels in the way. Midnight Mutants is like an elaborate, isometric version of Atari 2600's Adventure. Final Run is fun if you're into 8-bit driving games, but with machine guns and rocket launchers. Scrapyard Dog is a decent platformer that has the stupidest final boss "fight" ever, turning it into one of those sliding tile games with a time limit (I hate those kind of games). Alien Brigade is a good little Operation Wolf style shooter that (in my opinion) works better with a joystick than a light gun. And Ninja Golf is a fun little 8-bit scrolling beat 'em up with a great theme.

[Atarileaf]

I love the 7800 (its my second favorite console - guess what the first is)

I do have a europad and its pretty good but I use a modded NES gamepad which works great but for games that only need one button, like say Ms Pacman, I use a standard Atari joystick like a Wico.

[sloan]

i just scored a 7800 in original box with 2 prolines and two 2600 pistol-grips and a light gun, all for $40. Pawn shop find.

[starsoldier1]

Cool, I just busted out my 7800 too recently and it definitely takes me back. I even did a new 7800 review video on my webpage as well:
http://ryangenno.tripod.com/sub_pages/Atari7800.htm

[FrankSerpico]

Midnight Mutants and Ninja Golf both piqued my interest but they seem to go for a fair amount on ebay. If I can ever find a decent price I'll get 'em

[jwlowry]

I always enjoyed the 7800 coin-op translations, most of which were quite well done. And yes the Euro pads are so much better than the door knobs that shipped with the system here in the US, though I'm not crazy about the screw-in thumbsticks.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Midnight Mutants and Ninja Golf both piqued my interest but they seem to go for a fair amount on ebay. If I can ever find a decent price I'll get 'em

Interestingly enough, the core gameplay of Ninja Golf was (seemingly) the inspiration for the PS2 Aqua Teen Hunger Force video game "Zombie Ninja Pro Am" ... which is primarily a golf game. Leave it to the creators of Aqua Teen to find inspiration in an obscure Atari 7800 game.

[FrankSerpico]

So the 7800 just arrived and I haven't been able to figure out how to hook it up. It came with a set of cables that only have one prong on each side, I guess it's too old for my blood because I was expecting either an RFU hookup or a/v composite cables at best. Is it possible to use these one prong cables with a "splitter" that lets you use multiple consoles with the red/white/yellow three pronged cables like the one I have plugged into my TV, or do I have to find another method?

[Sabz5150]

So the 7800 just arrived and I haven't been able to figure out how to hook it up. It came with a set of cables that only have one prong on each side, I guess it's too old for my blood because I was expecting either an RFU hookup or a/v composite cables at best. Is it possible to use these one prong cables with a "splitter" that lets you use multiple consoles with the red/white/yellow three pronged cables like the one I have plugged into my TV, or do I have to find another method?

If you want composite, you will need to do the mod.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/127926-easier-7800-composite-video-mod/

Note that R3 can be omitted if your screen is too dark. I did. Otherwise an excellent mod.


The one prong cable is the RFU cable, but it hooks to the old TV/Computer RF switches. An NES RF switch will not work...not enough juice to trigger the switvhover. An RCA to F-type connector will do the trick there... Radioshack, 5 buccks or so. I do recommend the composite mod though as it is the easiest way to get 2600 games through composite.

[FrankSerpico]

I actually had a buddy give me his old 7800/Jaguar RFU so I'm all set now. I may try the A/V mod at a later date but I don't have anything else occupying the RF plug on the TV I'm using so it's all good currently