10 Viewer-Recommended Atari Computer Games for THE400 Mini!

The Atari 8-bit computer line is finally getting its due in the form of THE400 Mini from Retro Games & PLAION. If you are an Atari 8-bit fan, then you already know the amazing game library a gadget like this will unlock for thousands of retrogaming fans. If you're new to the Atari 8-bit line of computers, then strap in for a great time! In this video, where Jon plays and highlights TEN Atari 8-bit computer games recommended by GenXGrownUp viewers that he had NEVER played before!
‪@THEC64‬ ‪@PLAION_Official‬
#atari #the400mini #plaion #genxgrownup
🟢 S H O P (affiliates)
THE400 Mini » amz.run/7hC1
THECSSTICK amz.run/7hC2
genxgrownup.com/amazon
🟢 L I N K S
Altirra Emulator » www.virtualdub.org/altirra.html
Atari 8-bit Bundle » archive.org/details/Atari800R...
🟢 S U B S C R I B E
GenXGrownUp.com/yt
🟢 P A T R E O N
/ genxgrownup
🟢 M E M B E R S H I P
Early access, custom emoji & more!
bit.ly/395HEr9
🟢 G X G O N T W I T C H
/ genxgrownup
🟢 M E R C H
GenXGrownUp.com/merch
🟢 P O D C A S T
GenXGrownUp.com/pod
🟢 D I S C O R D
GenXGrownUp.com/discord
🟢 S O C I A L
GenXGrownUp
GenXGrownUp.com/twitter
/ genxgrownup
/ genxgrownup
🟢 W E B S I T E
GenXGrownUp.com
🟢 S P O N S O R S
King of Nerds » kingofnerds.tv
Order of Cosmic Champions » www.orderofcosmicchampions.com
🟢 T H E M E
"Grown Up" by Beefy » beefyness.com
🟢 C H A P T E R S
00:00 Your Picks!
00:53 Library Criteria
01:38 Master of the Lamps
02:33 Captain Beeble
03:20 Robbo
04:05 Submarine Commander
05:00 Bandits
06:28 Dimension X
07:35 Drelbs
08:26 Stealth
09:35 Drol
10:36 Cavelord
11:45 What's Next?

[@DuckMcKrush]

Back in the early 80's I got into Atari 800XL. I learned basic, spent hours typing in game code from magazines to play 8-bit games. Had a few carts of mainline titles but I was on a security guard salary. I have never heard of any of these games. Can't wait until the mini is released. New games on a old friend.

[@GenXGrownUp]

"New games on an old friend." I love that! 😁

[@maniaque37]

i am a security guard and i own xbox series x nintendo switch ps5 ps4 ps4 ps2 ps1 xbox original xbox 330 wii wii u nes snes turbo grafx sega cd sega genesis sega dreamcast atari intellivision colecovision and so on... so dont say security could not pay games.

[@DuckMcKrush]

@@maniaque37 I was fresh out of the military in 1983 making minimum wage and living on my own. Wages have come a long way since then.

[@spidericemidasiosmusicprod1309]

@@maniaque37I would advise reading more carefully and engaging brain before commenting next time so you don't make yourself look like a complete ignorant dick. 😛👍

[@jasonhochstein3349]

Shamus and Fort Apocalypse were 2 favorites way back in the day.

[@davidmt4067]

Anything Synapse published was worth your time. True that the games were not exactly original, but they were highly playable with excellent graphics. Also, the cover art was really cool!

[@sycoraxrock]

I don’t think there was ever a software company that *nailed* playability like Synapse. And I’ll give them some credit for originality - Necromancer isn’t like much else, NYC is delightfully weird, Rainbow Walker is great. Shamus might basically just be “What if Berzerk had a map and like hundreds more monsters and the goal was to kill Evil Otto?” but that ain’t nothing. It *nailed* the top down shoot ‘em up in 1982. Shamus *should* be a classic.

[@errollleggo447]

Shamus 1 and 2 yes!!!!

[@geoman1420]

How many of you have seen the hidden message in the later levels of Fort Apocalypse ? 🙂

[@thorstenguenther]

"Kilroy was here", if I remember correctly!?

[@humormewithspecifics]

I highly recommend ninja from mastertronic. Great fluid graphics, ninja stars and great play control outs this game ahead of it's time. I had this on floppy with the 130xe!

[@stevennutz1109]

stealth totally reminded me of Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom on my ADAM

[@TheSlider]

agreed!

[@tonybarnes2920]

Weird to think Capt. Beeble was ported from the Apple II, when it's using a classic Antic graphics mode and couldn't really be done on an Apple. Master of the Lamps has some great music. Not as great as The Tail of Beta Lyrae, but still great. I LOVED Dimension X. I played it for hours on end, because it was one of the few games I had on tape. It took a good 4 mins to load! But I got to listen to Scott Joplin's Entertainer every time! BTW, love Drol. Now THAT is an Apple II port. I'd suggest the aforementioned Tail of Beta Lyrae, Fort Apocalypse, Escape from Epsilon, Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory and Realm of Impossibility (Zombies) are all some of my favorites.

[@GenXGrownUp]

I never had the opportunity to lay hands on an Apple, so thanks for kindly putting me in my place.

[@pierregareau5812]

All great games suggestion with the Atari 400 mini coming that I have pre order, the one that interest me the most is Cave Lords , realms of impossibility is good one too that was not on that list, thanks Jon

[@capitanclassic8624]

The Atari 8-bit line has too many great games to limit it to ten. Some other great titles that o don’t think were mentioned and are mostly exclusive to the Atari 400/800. Alley Cat Fort Apocalypse (also C64) Great American Cross-Country Road Race (C64, Apple II) Preppie and Preppie II Rainbow Walker (C64) Zeppelin (C64) Ollie’s Follies (C64) Pharaoh's Curse (C64, Vic20) Blue Max (and 2001) (C64, Spectrum) Gateway to Apshai (C64, Coleco) Orc Attack (C64, Spectrum) and so many more

[@ag3ntorange164]

Bounty Bob Strikes Back (The sequel to Miner 2049er) definitely deserves a look. Quality game!

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

Its on atari 50th. It needs a remake but the original is fun

[@errollleggo447]

Never finished it. Original one I did many times.

[@MarquisDeSang]

Realm of Impossibility is the one I will try, never played but it looks so much impressive and fun. I miss the old EA.

[@lurkerrekrul]

It was a lot of fun in 2-player mode,

[@JohnZyski]

Some good ones. Also try, Oils Well, and Preppy 2.

[@GenXGrownUp]

Love Oil's Well! IIRC, the first Preppie is kind of an expanded Frogger, while Preppie II took some other directions.

[@zanesdad913]

Oh i'd second Preppie 2

[@JohnZyski]

@@GenXGrownUp yeah, kinda like Frogger.

[@73twall]

Picnic Paranoia by Russ Segal. It was a family favorite on our 400!

[@GenXGrownUp]

Picnic Paranoia! I'd totally forgotten that one - thanks for the memory jog! 😁

[@RagShop1]

@@GenXGrownUp I have it for the Texas Instruments TI99-4A. It was maddening to play but still a lot of fun.

[@danglover]

The title screen music always got me pumped up to play :)

[@errollleggo447]

Rallyspeedway with a friend, archon.

[@jamesajones1979]

I just bought the Mini, all thanks to your coverage. I missed out on this era of gaming and have enjoyed diving into other 8-bit catalogs; that was my main motivation after your review. I downloaded the plethora of game files you recommended and found it daunting to sift through it if you don't know what you're looking for. These lists you've created will help me weed out all the low-rent porn games (which have their own charm, but not a lot of replayability). All this to say, thanks for your coverage on this.

[@GenXGrownUp]

That's fantastic! Have you come across any of those "where have you been all my life" sorts of A8 games that just click for you right away?

[@jamesajones1979]

@@GenXGrownUp Yes, actually. Since rediscovering retro gaming, I've been digging platformers. So, games like Miner 2049er and Jumpman, have scratched an itch. Robbo is a great puzzler too.

[@GenXGrownUp]

@@jamesajones1979 Some great ones there. Miner is one of my all-time faves. Don't miss out on the sequel, Bounty Bob Strikes Back. Tons of new levels and an updated jump mechanic allowing you to change trajectory mid-jump.

[@jayme69]

Fantastic and eclectic selection of games. Great video as always :-) Keep up the awesome work!

[@mfeldsher]

Absolutely love this video. I never owned a A400, but now you have me so stoked to get it and play the games

[@RacerX-]

Some great games here. Looking forward to trying them although I have played a few on the C64 before. Synapse was a great game developer.

[@TheJaws27]

Drol! Cave Lord! Thank you, been trying to build a library of my childhood games and those 2 games I completely forgot about. So thank you very much!

[@kNeczpal]

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of most of these and I can’t wait to try them out, great job presenting these games. 🕹👍

[@revlayle]

I was a c-64 owner (but had access to an Atari 800xl). The amount of neat 8-bit RPGs at the time were amazing. I played so many, Wasteland being my favorite.

[@DrDavelope]

Thanks Jon!! I remember playing some of these on my Apple II computer back in the day. I loved Bandits and Drol! Did you ever see or play text/graphics based adventure games on this console seeing it has a keyboard? I’m thinking Transylvania, Masquerade, The Institute, Sherwood Forest, Lucifers Realm.

[@GenXGrownUp]

All of my text adventuring (and there was plenty of it) is either early Scott Adams, or the later Infocom line. The Enchanter trilogy is my hands-down favorite! Thank you for watching. 😀

[@DTM-Books]

I am loving this series of videos on the Atari 8-bit home computer series. I grew up on this computer and it remains my all-time favorite videogame platform. As you would expect, I am quite thrilled to get the 400 Mini later this month, especially for 4-player MULE, and the ability to play all the games stored on my computer is amazing. I only hope that someone out there can create an adapter that lets me use the classic Wico joysticks, that would be perfect. I wanted to add some additional recommendations, so I thought I would simply post my own Top 30 list of favorites. This is nowhere near the full list of Atari 8-bit favorites, but it's a great start and may include a few titles you've yet to discover. Hope this helps: MULE Seven Cities of Gold Ballblazer Star Raiders Castle Wolfenstein Tale of Beta Lyrae Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy World Karate Championship Montezuma’s Revenge (48K) Donkey Kong Pac-Man Blue Max Drelbs Bruce Lee Stealth Track and Field Murder on the Zinderneuf Submarine Commander F-15 Strike Eagle Spy Vs. Spy Spy Hunter Dropzone Q*Bert Defender Galaxian King Tut’s Tomb Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One Starfleet I: The War Begins Pitfall 2: The Lost Levels TGIF

[@ACCobra1963]

Nice choices. I love my Atari 800XL. I think you need a second video. I recommend again - Blue Max.

[@GenXGrownUp]

I'm quite familiar with Blue Max - it's awesome! Didn't make this list since I was choosing games I didn't know already. Thanks!

[@nomorecontinues6564]

Some great looking titles here for sure. I certainly have a backlog to check out now, thanks to your videos on the 8-bit computers from Atari! Really enjoyed it.

[@GenXGrownUp]

Glad you like them!

[@TheSlider]

OH man! Thanks for continuing on these 8-bit treasures. I totally forgot about Captain Beeble - It was a great answer to the lacking side scrolling games as the NES came into popularity. DROL as well - holy memberberries.

[@chrishelbling3879]

Loved Drelbs. So creative. Never got past level 3.

[@coastercouch4079]

My first Adventure game was 'Adventure' on the Atari 2600. but my first RPG was the wonderful 'Return of Heracles' on the Atari 800 XL. This would be my number one pick for a hidden gem on the Atari 8bits. Another hidden gem is 'Flak', a clone of Xevious for the Atari. Since 'Cavelord' is a german game, you might also check out 'Nadral' or 'Schreckenstein'.

[@Carlb328]

I had a C64 but I was always curious about the Atari 8 bits. It looks like they had some pretty good games.

[@ButterSpider3]

Nice. You spent HOURS “researching” for this video 😂 I thank you for your sacrifice. Great titles, all. They are all new to me. Would love to try Cavelord. That looks fun. How do you load games on the mini 400? Is it USB?

[@GenXGrownUp]

That's what they say. A USB stick loaded with games and you should be good to go. No matter how easy you can bet I'll be doing a video tutorial!

[@simonyoung4572]

Dandy was one of my favourites, especially with 4 friends and with the dungeon editor, you could create your own dungeons to share with your friends too. Endless fun

[@GantryG]

This is great, reminding me of some great games 👍

[@grey_wulf]

Every time I watch your videos, I see those Six Million Dollar Man action figures, remembering the time I got Steve Austin for Christmas. Good memories. (And wow, you have Oscar Goldman too.)

[@GenXGrownUp]

Good eye. I'm still on the lookout for a boxed Oscar just to get a pristine copy of his exploding briefcase!

[@hamphlet]

In the mid 1980s I had a ZX Spectrum game called Highway Encounter. I enjoyed it and even completed it. That was quite a rarity believe me 😂 Anyway, a few years ago someone ported it across to the Atari 8-bit. It's pixel perfect and minus the Spectrum's colour attribute issues. During the first 2020 lock down I completed it all over again. This time on the Atari.

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

Stealth looks cool kinda reminds me of a cross between river raid and buck rogers. Its gonna be the first download right after ms.pacman and popeye.🎉🎉🎉

[@biblehistoryscience3530]

These were also pretty good: Eastern Front 1941 F-15 Strike Eagle Seven Cities of Gold Defender of the Crown M.U.L.E.

[@GenXGrownUp]

Seven Cities & MULE come pre-installed on THE400 Mini. 😀

[@biblehistoryscience3530]

@@GenXGrownUp , I didn't know that. Thanks!

[@london19657]

Drelb! wow, haven't seen it for decades! Jut shows you, the gameplay is what counts, not so much the graphics. Thanks for the video.

[@tomevil6]

All good looking games!

[@RCfromtheNYC]

I didn't get to own an Atari 8-bit computer but I did use one for my 8th grade Computer Science classes. My more memorable program: a prototype/bootleg of the cancelled movie tie-in for The Last Starfighter. The game was redone and eventually released as Star Fighter 2.

[@ThomaniacsRetrogamingZone]

Good selection. Master of the lamp is really great. Have played it rather often on my C64 back in the days. The Atari 8Bit version is easier to play than the C64 one. There's also a C64 version of Bandits, Drelbs and Stealth btw.

[@TheJaws27]

Another game you might like, sadly its not much fun playing alone. Megablast from 1992 by Torsten Karwoth.

[@funkydmunky1]

As a kid I really liked Protector and Protector II

[@mikesilva3868]

Good video 😊

[@GenXGrownUp]

Thanks 😁

[@gswanson]

Its kinda funny you mention the Apple II, because the Conan game you covered was actually a port of an Apple II game. And the Atari version of the game looks like an Apple II game. As far as I can see Captain Beeble was only on 400/800.

[@GenXGrownUp]

All facts. Another commenter straightened me out on Captain Beeble, which apparently was only even on the 8-bit despite my erroneous assumption. Thanks for watching! 😀

[@TheObjectFOfThe80s]

Cool, I Think I Have Those Games

[@thorstenguenther]

May I suggest "Cytron Masters" , "Druid", and "Spelunker" for the next video?

[@jessragan6714]

I'll have to put some of these on my Data Frog. By the way, Alley Cat's worth a look if you haven't played it. Imagine Tom and Jerry episodes coupled with an early 1980s arcade game.

[@DawezyDRK]

Well, looks like my selection paralysis is going to be doing it's thing when this rolls around lol. Too many options, not sure wtf to pick. Though I'm actually quite surprised at how many of those games look so polished considering the hardware of the time - when this was around I'm pretty sure I was still on my Atari 2600, or Master System one of the two so this one flew under my radar.. after the PC entered the fray well then everything changed (for the better? hard to say, different times in the 80s). Got a couple of extra bangers to add to the rom list now atleast, solid picks 👍

[@williamwright9079]

Them magic lamps!

[@CaptainRufus]

Yoomp and Ridiculous Reality. Utterly fantastic homebrew.

[@GenXGrownUp]

Yoomp! comes pre-installed on THE400 Mini. 😁

[@AG7SM]

I loved Bandits, but I played it on the Apple ][. Fun fact -- Drol was written by the same guy. He just released it under a pseudonym for some legal reason.

[@kristenhawkins5453]

❤❤❤💖💖💖💖amazing 😀🤘🏼

[@TMS5100]

I liked Dimension X a lot, despite a lot of people seeming to hate it.

[@GenXGrownUp]

People hate it? I've only heard good things.

[@werpu12]

Not sure why no one has recommended Alternate Reality the City and The Dungeon and the 3 Ultimas! Or any adventure game: Asylum is highly recommended, also Mercenary Escape from Targ is a classic on the system! Basically everything from EA from that era also is a classic, Mule and Seven Cities of gold are already included, but also You should check out Bill Budges Pinpall Construction set and Murder on the Zinderneuf

[@GenXGrownUp]

Ultima ]I[ was an all-time favorite!

[@simonbridgeman3752]

some great games , I must add my selection SNOKIE by FUNSOFT

[@stuartblumenstein1505]

Stealth had the best looking game play cave lord 2nd

[@minertom]

I hope it becomes available in Europe at somepoint becomes when i looked on atari website it says usa exclusive and im not there 😂

[@richardivey6945]

Maybe an 8bit rpg review?

[@katmacoconnor]

💜

[@neilthomas6042]

I’m not sure I will buy it; I haven’t purchased the C64 mini or A500 mini. Having said all that, the games picked were interesting. I was a console owner and most computer system passed me by.

[@doodemog]

Will this mini work in the uk

[@GenXGrownUp]

I don't see why not. It's USB powered and connects via HDMI. 😉

[@doodemog]

Excellent, I sold my Atari 800 a few years ago with hundreds of games ☹️ including all my ssi big box war games, wish I hadn’t

[@GenXGrownUp]

@@doodemog I'm the same. I had all my Atari 8-bit stuff when I went to college but sold it for a quick buck (as struggling college kids will do). I would love to have that stuff back.

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

I do not know if I have heard of any of these.

[@andromedaone3640]

Dimension X would be good

[@thestickdude308]

i just want to comment something early on

[@GenXGrownUp]

And you did.

[@ctbinary42]

First! Sorry, I had to 😂

[@GenXGrownUp]

🏆

[@HMansion999]

@@GenXGrownUp is that the chalice from adventure for the 2600? 🤣

[@maniaque37]

they should have done atari st instead. the atari 400 was not so much fun honestly and not the best games out there. i prefer the atari gamestation over this thing. i wonder if those atari 400 games will eventually work on gamestation actually.

[@GenXGrownUp]

Wait - you think Atari 8-bit computer games aren't fun, but you want to be able to emulate them on a different system? What for? 😜

[@maniaque37]

@@GenXGrownUp there are many games on atari 400 that are already available on other systems like atari 2600 that you can play on the gamestation. i know some atari 400 games can be fun but many are not great thats what im saying. for sure if we could use them on gamestation that would be nice. why have a bunch of mini systems with about the same hardware inside and just a different case ? for example some use a raspberry pi or such device to emulate many systems. even the gamestation can play many systems. it seems to be more a matter of firmware than anything. i now own the mini amiga , mini 64 , mini nes , mini snes , a flashback intellivision and some more. im wondering why not have just an all in one console for all those retro gaming systems instead of buy like 12 different mini systems. why do we need to have a gamestation and the mini atari 2600 too ? they did some like the mini amiga that the keyboard is not functional so it would not change much anything like for this mini 400 too. have the case that looks like the real thing dont change the functionality. for sure those companies want to make more money on us but for the consumer its not the best. i now have a pile of retro systems taking a full room in my house and its a pain having to switch from one to another system to play a few games. replacing my vintage retro systems with a pile of mini systems is not so great. do u have any suggestion ?

[@GenXGrownUp]

@@maniaque37 In short, licensing.

[@werpu12]

That depends on the computer you grew up with, the Atari 8 bit computers are tons of fun, sure the ST is more sophisticated but usually the games had better versions on the amiga in most cases! Not that the ST was a bad system, just a different era! And yes having an ST mini would be great!