Robotron vs. Defender

[bargora]

One of these two is clearly the greatest coin-op ever. Place your vote for great justice.

[Quickclaw]

Both games kick my ass, but I fare slightly better at Robotron.

[Sanriostar]

Robotron breathes, has a zen perfection about it.

[Pantechnicon]

Both games kick my ass, but I fare slightly better at Robotron.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[NoahsMyBro]

My God! Are you guys on drugs??? CLEARLY, this question has been tainted with Robotron PAC funds, and isn't truly representative of reality.

If all votes are eligible and counted, it would be crystal clear that DEFENDER is the legitimate holder of the title ALL-TIME GREATEST COIN-OP machine ever.

Robotron? Bah....





(Damn, if only I could adequately affect the phrasing and voice of G'Kar though this message board!)

[Darth Sensei]

Umm... how about a choice for neither? They're both good games, but I wouldn't vote for either as the "Best".

D

[Half Japanese]

Robotron whips the hell out of Defender.

[Lady Jaye]

Defender all the way, baby!

[Arcade Antics]

Once again:

It's a known scientific fact that Robotron: 2084 is the best game ever.

Defender also rules, but Stargate kicks its butt.

[musical]

DEFENDER

Reason: More variety. You fly a ship, blast aliens, read a map, swoop down to rescue humanoids, and must protect multiple screens worth of city. It's an expansive action game requiring multiple skills and strategy.

Robotron is just one screen filled with robots. Yawn.

[NoahsMyBro]

What he said. ^

[Arcade Antics]

DEFENDER

Reason: More variety. You fly a ship, blast aliens, read a map, swoop down to rescue humanoids, and must protect multiple screens worth of city. It's an expansive action game requiring multiple skills and strategy.

More variety? I think not.

Let's examine each of your points more closely.

Defender: fly a ship
Robotron: run around the screen.

Both of these items are essentially the same: you control a character.

Defender: blast aliens
Robotron: blast robots

Again: same thing.

Defender: rescue humanoids
Robotron: rescue humanoids

Uh... same.

Defender: multiple screens worth of city
Robotron: multiple screens worth of carnage

Same thing again. Both games only have one scenario per round, you're confusing scrolling with screens.

Defender: read a map
Robotron: no map needed

If I wanted to read, I'd go to school. Actually, Defender has a scanner, not a map. But in any event, it's a minor detail. Both games require skills and strategy.

Robotron is just one screen filled with robots. Yawn.

You've never played Robotron, have you?

Defender is just one scrolling screen filled with spaceships. By your logic, you should be yawning at that one too.

Both games rock. But Robotron rocks the hardest.

[NE146]

Wow.. very hard question and one that reaches down deep into my tortured videogame soul!!!!!1

I guess I've always been of the opinion that Robotron is the best arcade game of all time. But DEFENDER! Oh man, Defender. There is just that zen when you've mastered the controls (NEVER use directional controls in the emus & home ports by the way) and can control your ship with grace and skill and get really good at the game. When you get to the high levels and are in free space, the dogfights you can have there are the ultimate in intensity and the stuff of legend and arcade lore. It's one of the true tests of skill you can ever find in all of videogame-dom.

Defender also has the nod of being so revolutionary for it's time. It was such an EARLY game (it easily predates so many of the games we consider "classic") that it's amazing it has held up so well for such a spring chicken effort in the industry. The gameplay can melt even the toughest videogamers of today to their knees. But it is still highly masterable, and you get better and better at it with practice.

But if I had to choose.... Although I'm obviously a sucker for Defender I have to go with Robotron. What Defender has in intensity, I think Robotron matches in sheer fun. Robotron is also slightly easier to get the hang of the controls faster thus increasing your time playing rather than figuring out. Robotron is just the kind of game you can keep coming back to every now and then throughout the years and just never ever tire of. If you do tire of it, it's guaranteed you can come back 6-8 months later and it will be fun again.

I love both games, but for the purposes of this poll I choose ROBOTRON

[Captain Wrong]

Robotron breathes, has a zen perfection about it.

Yep.

[Lady Jaye]

Speaking of Defender, the best home port, IMO, remains the Entex handheld version. Of course, we have near-arcade perfect translations on compilations like Midway Arcade Treasures, but they all "cheat" by not using the original button config. Then again, it's like playing Robotron with anything but the dual-joystick config: not impossible to play, but just not the same.

Anyway, even though I chose Defender, I should say that I choose Eugene Jarvis.

[ubikuberalles]

For me it's Defender, mostly for nostalgic value. Defender was the first game I got for my Atari 400. I could play that game for hours non-stop. To beat my high score I had to play for 45 minutes staright. I loved playing that game on my Atari 400.

Defender on the arcade kicks my ass. I fare much better playing Robotron on the arcade.

[ghostangelofcky]

Damn thats hard!
I picked defender just on the basis of how much time I spent between both the games. Both games are a tribute to Williams though.
Next poll should be Williams vs Activision!

ghost

[Querjek]

No way, man, Bubbles is SO much better than those 2 combined.

[qbertandernie]

robotron, but im kinda partial because i have a robotron cab....have to fix it though. damn i miss that machine.

[scooterb23]

Querjek speaks the truth about Bubbles, for the sake of the poll however, I picked Robotron

Black Widow though is better than both as well