Atari 5200 Review & Games

The Atari 5200 is a forgotten console from the early 80s, that had some cool design ideas, fun games and shoddy controller. This retrospective goes over what makes the console great and not so good... More MetalJesusRocks: Subscribe!
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Podcast: All Gen Gamers
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[@MetalJesusRocks]

Little Jesus is played by my 8 year old neighbor Liam. He came over and played the Atari 2600 for the 1st time, and he was pretty into it! I also think he was digging wearing that cheesy Bon Jovi wig!

[@MrTEP392]

Just an FYI on the infamous "spark". If you follow the instructions in the manual, you plug the video cable into the box BEFORE plugging the power supply into the outlet. Then there is no spark. People say the spark won't hurt the system, but that's a chance I would rather not take with a 30+ year old console. Just follow the manual.

[@nightruler666]

James rolfe: "real men dont read instructions"

[@VegasSpacecoke]

Makes sense

[@101Volts]

@@nightruler666 - Tim the Toolman.

[@ShamrockParticle]

It didn't hurt the 5200 when my cat rubbed up against the cable and the screen went dark as a result, but it did blow the fuse in the power brick. The same brick with 4 screws, of which 2 are hidden under rubber feet that require a chisel or jackhammer to remove. The overall design to have one really long cable going to the console, with controller cables coming our the front, was innovative as MJR said, but it's half-baked.

[@geraldford6409]

@@ShamrockParticle Agreed. Design would probably be illegal/never pass electrical product safety standards today. Nice try at eliminating the need to reach around the back of your TV to switch between console and TV viewing though

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Yes. All the music in my videos is written and recorded by me...either with live instruments, or using Garageband on the iPad

[@TheEliteAnimal]

The music really rocks! After I watch your videos I play it in my head throughout the day and actually enjoy it!

[@peterp2153]

The 5200 is what I was raised on and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I don’t have much to add to what anyone else is saying but I will say this: these suckers were built to last! My console from 1982 day in my outdoor garage for about 15 years, has dirt caked around the cartridge port, semi-exposed to the elements, etc. and it still works perfectly. Of course, the controllers stopped working around 1985, but the system itself is incredibly resilient.

[@jaywunder13242]

Atari was an awesomely mismanaged company. All that effort to create a pretty good system, and they pair it with those controllers. Ugh.

[@sandal_thong8631]

Funny that I only heard about the bad controllers years after the fact. Of course the first controllers with the 2600/VCS/Sears Video Arcade had problems, and my first one or two joysticks broke.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

That was my neighbor's son. He came over, put on a wig and learned all about the 5200

[@JoshHoodSucks]

Pro tip: collect what you want regardless what anyone says

[@ALTDOK667]

Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.

[@KnozLo]

@@ALTDOK667 Which is like 98% of people

[@CptKennyLoggins]

Except Game.com, Action Max, Hyperscan, and CD-i. Friends don't let friends buy these.

[@MADGAMERFREAK]

Words of wisedom.

[@NickEnlowe]

The sound on the 5200 is great, huge improvement over the 2600. Be sure to check out Pole Position!

[@theyamo7219]

That's because it uses the same sound chip as the Atari 8-bit computers

[@starsiegeplayer]

Then, to save like $5, Atari put the 2600 sound chip in the 7800.

[@NickEnlowe]

@@starsiegeplayer Yeah, that was a huge facepalm.

[@gtbrn3277]

You should collect the atari 5200 it was the closest you could get aside to owning a arcade. When it was new.

[@SWEEYHONEYICETEA]

True. Looked like the arcade games themselves.

[@patsfan4life]

c64 Atarisoft arcade ports were just as good....

[@bignut1769]

Coleco was way better

[@gtb2009b]

big nut in what way donkey Kong zaxxon but everything else sucked

[@knickabob6327]

Easy fix for 5200 controller joystick issues: remove screws, remove top, replace top, replace screws. Works every time. No clue why. Works, though. Also, only the 4 player model uses that switch box. 2 player models have a power port and 4 player models can be easily modded to not need that box.

[@knickabob6327]

@James Shackel that's easy to repair, too. Clean the pads and mylar. I've spent over 10 years refurbishing 5200 controllers.

[@knickabob6327]

@James Shackel cleaning the pads is easy: clean piece of paper. Rub them on it until it's not so black. Done. Cleaning the mylar is easy: Weiman on a Qtip. Scrub it and polish them. Done.

[@knickabob6327]

@James Shackel Weiman Glass Stovetop Cleaner. The paste stuff. I have great luck with this method, although I've personally had some issues with 2 of my 8 controllers. Most 5200 controllers just haven't been used all that much. Another helpful thing is small pieces of aluminum tape on the pads. Still have to clean them, but yeah.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Honestly, the 5200 version of River Raid is probably the best version I own. The slightly better graphics and varied enemies all make it better IHMO

[@koba687]

Berzerk on the 5200 is my favorite version of the game

[@jimwhall6609]

I love your videos. I had a 2600 and about 50 cartridges and watching your videos really ramps up the nostalgia. When my brother and I got the 2600 I think we played Space Invaders till 2:00 am

[@vozpit]

Had the 5200 back when it first came out. Was one of my favorite systems. Some of the games looked exactly like their arcade counterparts. Miner 2049er, Montezuma's Revenge, Popeye, Pac-man, Donkey Kong Jr. were some of my favorites. But yes, the controllers sucked & broke. I fixed them many times & got them to work for awhile, then caput. One year for Christmas, my parents got me that 3rd party stick you show. But the start button was the problem on my Atari joystick, so I still couldn't start any games. I literally cried & I think was so disappointed that I never bought another Atari console.

[@irocksup123]

I had dig dug, pac man, centipede, pitfall, q bert and some others I can’t remember. Lots of memories until the damn controller stopped working

[@tom11zz884]

The Atari 5200 easily had the best home version of ms. PAC-man and joust at the time.

[@finalfantasy392]

i like how the things avgn hates this guy loves xD

[@pepintechnlogy7965]

lol his kid self is hilarious

[@quanahk]

part of the reason many of the games "look the same" is because Activision do little if any upgrades to their titles when porting them over from the 2600

[@sandal_thong8631]

I noticed that with their games for the Intellivision, compared to those by Imagic.

[@jasonbreininger7375]

Hope you and the gang had fun in St Louis, was great seeing you all at Two Plumbers. Just started digging into my 5200 that I’ve had for decades and the track ball is definitely on my list of must owns! Awesome video as usual.

[@khog143]

Love your videos, man! I look forward to them every week.

[@blizzardjesus]

I was able to fix 2 of my controllers by taking them apart and cleaning the contacts on the rubber pad and the membrane with a pink eraser.

[@michaelwolfe9496]

That's not really the best way to fix the controller. If you rub the eraser too hard or if you rub in the wrong place, you can permanently damage the "board." I would recommend using a cotton swab and some glass cleaner and be gentle and careful.

[@akaJughead]

Don't give up on those 5200 controllers! They are probably just dirty. If you clean the tin contacts on the flex board inside the controller you can probably get them working again. Check out Best Electronics if you interested in getting superior gold plated replacement parts for the CX55 5200 controller, or system.

[@andrewpizzino2514]

Advanced for its time. The switch box, a pause button and especially the first games that spoke words aloud. Big fan of real sports baseball. Also pole position and jungle hunt. Many years of fun.

[@sjspak]

Great video. We had Coleco but I remember seeing images of Atari 5200 games (among other things) in the Sears catalog and having some regrets. I can see how the joysticks might be an issue. Now that I think of it they always seemed to be an issue w/ consoles until NES. We even bought a third-party joystick for our Apple IIe and that broke too.

[@Unregistered.HyperCam.2]

I think I first saw this video in 2015 or 2016, where pretty much every after market controller option was essentially a repurposed 9-pin controller with two fire buttons that you used a Y-cable to plug into a typical 5200 controller to use the num pad, start, pause, and reset. Everything (that wasn't after-market) for the console was relatively dirt cheap, because if it wasn't already broken, it was assumed it was going to be broken pretty quickly upon using it. Because of this, I got into the Atari 8-Bit computers instead of the 5200 itself. (I also just absolutely love the design of the 600XL/800XL, compared to the sleek-yet-hulking 5200.) Jump forward a few years, 3D printing is quite affordable, you have tons of people making gamepad-style controllers for the 5200 that are no bigger than a Playstation or Xbox controller, yet fully functional and quite durable, and if you want to spend a little more, you can build(or have someone else build for you) essentially a fight stick-style controller for the 5200, using Sanwa joysticks and buttons, with built-in paddles and a num pad. I'd still pick an 800XL over a 5200, due to the massive library of games on disks & tapes as well as cartridges, but I'd be damned to say that 10 years after this video was released, it doesn't finally feel like it'd be worth collecting for the 5200 with the intent to actually _play_ the games, rather than just collect them.

[@drhabber]

Gameplay section with bg music is great. I haven't seen the system in action before. Cool vid, thanks.

[@arcadeimpossible]

I really liked the transitions for each game. You got a really clean capture too! Nice vid man.

[@inachu]

As a lil kid I stood there in awe at the store to wait my turn to be the next in line to play the demo game.

[@frankschalk7790]

My 5200 came with a large size power adapter (no switch box like this). The rf cable is exactly like the 2600, that I use with a cable rf converter directly in to the tv. Oh, and btw, I LOVE the 5200 box and marketing graphics. Way ahead of its time.

[@Gamevet]

It's still an 8-bit system with limited RAM. This stuff was pretty expensive to manufacture in the day, so going all out on technology was very cost prohibitive. The old Apple II was $1,000 computer and its graphics weren't 5x better than the 5200.

[@peterp2153]

LOL at your flashbacks. The setup around the console reminds me of my room in 1984 when we’d play some Kangaroo or Popeye. I don’t remember having that power port that you have. I only remember having to screw in the cable with the pin directly into the TV and having a small rectangular black box with a switch that said “TV” on one side and “Game” on the other. It had two clamps sticking out the end on a flat cable. Honestly, I can’t remember where those even clamped onto.

[@soccerojdoj]

I actually have a model of the 5200 that has a separate plug-in for the power. I bought the whole console at a thrift store for $1.98! The power supply is about the same size as a Commodore 64 power supply.

[@justinp.7943]

After watching avgn's take on the 5200 it's funny how he turns the negative aspects into a more positive light

[@SwainyAtRetroAsylum]

Great review, we never got this system over in the UK. Loved the flash back scenes too lol

[@PCGamer77]

Terrific overview, thanks.

[@Hologhoul]

Cool console! I never owned one but finally experienced the games recently via emulation.

[@jjtn21]

Metal Jesus Rock you are a Badass, nice video as always.

[@losalfajoresok]

great review as usual my friend

[@vwestlife]

If you want the same great games as the 5200 but without the joystick frustrations, get an Atari 8-bit computer (400, 800, XL series, or XE series). Most of the games for the 5200 were released in near-identical form for the Atari computers, which use standard 2600-type joysticks. In fact, Atari later re-released their 8-bit computer platform as a hybrid gaming console/computer, the XE Game System, in 1987.

[@SandsOfArrakis]

River Raid. One of the first games I've ever played. Back in 1984 on my MSX. I was 7 back then :) Had to load it from a tape drive. But was it fun :)

[@ningygamer]

I did not expect to see a lil MetalJesus, busted out laughing!!! Your videos keep getting better and better, my friend. Rock on!!!

[@Playalives]

lol diggin the "young you" great stuff as always

[@DeRepear]

Loved the scene of you as a kid, very funny.

[@Thundarr1980]

Good stuff on here. Forgot about that track ball

[@16BitBrothers]

Cheers for the review Jason ! Zaxxon looks very good on the 5200, Master system was where I got my zaxxon fix, good times !

[@troy.schnider]

Enjoy your videos! Awesome to see the updated game room(s) in your new house. I have one question; Why no love for the Colecovision?

[@version736ha2]

Great review

[@MrRetrogamingBard]

Proud owner over here! Yet... I do have a same problem with the controllers. Own two of them... both of them stopped working. Very informative video as always. Please keep up the awesome work! Rock on! P.S. Love the flashback scenes.

[@metaljo666]

keep it up i like your videos , nice old school stuff

[@TheRetroShed]

Great vid! Never seen or played with one.

[@MrVenom1974]

Thanks for your video. And yes the 5200 is still missing from the collection. But it's really rare to collection this console here in Europe.

[@Hellamaster]

Oh I loved Joust, got lot of fun playing it with my sister

[@xcornmuffinx]

The 5200 was actually the first game console I ever owned. My aunt had a 2600 that I played all the time but at home we had nothing until the 5200. I don't even want to think about all the time I spent playing Kangaroo, Dig Dug, Defender, and Centipede (yes, we had the trackball).

[@michaelburns1189]

Saw that Planescape poster on your wall - excellent!

[@MegaAstroFan18]

Wow, first person I've seen to compliment the 5200 switchbox.

[@halifaxabc]

All the way from england pal, u the man, Atari 4ever. Metaljesusrocks is harder than me!!

[@theawesomegamr]

i haven't watched you in a while! :) had to subscribe!

[@Chuck-RETROGAMECAVE]

Great Video! Shared!

[@StandingUpForBetter]

Great review! I have the 5200 packed away and I have to agree about the controller. Thanks for the info about Atari Age. I am going to have to see about getting some more controllers. I also loved "Popeye" for the system and my dad and I would play Football on the system. I also loved the dual stick game "Space Dungeon" a game way ahead if its time IMO. Again thanks for the video.

[@quanahk]

Great review, glad to see that someone isn't totally bashing the 5200 for a change. One quick correction though the joystick you showed wasn't a Wico but a competition pro.

[@TheCompletionist]

Thanks for the interesting lesson regarding the 5200, I personally won't be collecting for the system but its still good to hear about the history of it and what some of the best titles are for the system.

[@nbttl1975]

I've never seen one of these. Good review.

[@doodoostickstain]

totally agree about having it on the floor in front of you. when i played i'd go through the whole library typically in one session

[@MaximumRD]

Also to avoid the spark simply have the power plugged into the switchbox BEFORE you plug the other end into the wall or power strip.

[@azalin19751975]

Thank you sooo much M.J. for making a 5200 vid. My father (R.I.P.) for x-mas bought me a 5200...even though I wanted a 2600 or Intellivision..BUT..a salesmen told my father how much better the console was. It was my 1st console...and besides the controllers...It's main downfall was the lack of games....what a shame...Thanks again!!

[@Miakel]

Did you end up getting a 2600 as well?

[@ckat609]

I had thw 5200 with four controllers... and I LOOOOOOOVED IT!!! I don’t think I ever had any games that actually used all controllers, but I did use every single one at least once and I never had any issues. This whole thing came as a surprise to me when I saw avgn’s video a couple of years ago. Go figure.

[@jonathanrowe1827]

That kid playing as Baby Metal Jesus 😆 And Baby Metal is a great band too!

[@BrianJonson]

Great video - thanks!

[@GenesisMoss]

Yet another great video! Your work is top notch dude! I would love to hear what you think of mine but seriously awesome videos!

[@akaJughead]

I have those same two Star Wars posters in my game room too.

[@Aegelis]

Nice Tee Shirts and I like mini-Slash. Montezuma's was awesome on C-64. That trackball is HUGE!

[@thedrummerboycr]

Very nice review. You know many people when made any Atari 5200 review, looks like try to destroy the console, and the Atari 5200 had many interesting features. The dangerous power conection to the TV BOX, was fixed in lastest Atari 5200 consoles. I had several of them back in the 80s (i had consoles like yours too). Other thing, the background music is fine, just a little loud to hear the games SFX. Regards.

[@lurkerrekrul]

You can also find information on the net for how to connect a standard gameport analog joystick to the 5200. You'll need to make a "Y" cable to plug a real controller for the other buttons, unless you buy a bunch of pushbuttons and build your own equivalent. The 5200 joysticks aren't really that complicated inside, so it wouldn't be too hard to build a box with the equivalent of a keypad and the start/select/pause buttons. As for the homebrew games - If you want to play any of them, you better have a real system as apparently there is a world-wide ban on anyone ever dumping copies of the ROMs. Oh, you'll also need quite a bit of spare cash for some of them, since many of them aren't even sold any more and you'll have to pay inflated eBay prices for them.

[@tritian5874]

you sure went to town with those funky transitions in this one, eh? =D

[@allenreynolds5170]

Atari 5200 rocks still.

[@derthballs]

Back to friday, yay!

[@IntellivisionDudeGaming]

Awesome. This is a system i have debated back and forth on owning for a few years now and i'm still debating. lol

[@TooFastFlash]

Haha, must just be the tone of your voice or something, but only you can sound so positive about the awesome 5200 system. Great video, really enjoyed it.

[@hugbugDS]

I live in the UK so it impossible to get one of these (No pal 5200 ever existed) but for some reason i love the system and want to get it even though i can and have never played it :(

[@PuffyRainbowCloud]

I was going to go look for one (I live in Sweden) but now that I know that it was never released in Europe... I'm equally sad.

[@doctorlight]

Metal Jesus...he rocks!

[@TobeyStarburst]

Wow some of the games look awesome.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Several people have mentioned the website Best Electronics and their gold plated contacts. Other people on AtariAge have mentioned just glueing tin foil as a cheaper solution. I'll probably try that first. Thanks for the comments and kind words. I really appreciate it! :)

[@Talneharus]

I bought a 4 port a few weeks ago. No joke on the part about the controllers I was lucky that the fire buttons and the start button worked the rest was D.O.A. Great console though! Metaljesus you should invest in the Gold contact upgrade from Best Electronics. I got a set of new buttons and circuit board with gold contacts works wonders now! Every button works and has added new life into my games and controllers!

[@Candide1776]

The 5200 was my first console, and I enjoyed it. Some of my older cousins had the 2600, and they were jealous of my newer console (better graphics, etc). Of course, looking back, that big joystick was clunky, and I never used the keypad...ever. My next console, and my favorite, was the 8-bit NES.

[@federicovillalobos]

Nice Atari reviews! Hey Metal Jesus, I would love to see a review of Atari´s Journey to the Planets. Excellent game (well at least for me)

[@personavisceration371]

The trackball was sweet. Maybe next time, we can see Q Bert and Blueprint, the best games for it.

[@atariretrofan]

93/5000 I found your channel recently. And I'm angry with myself for being so late :-) PS. great music :-)

[@geraldford6409]

I got a 5200 around December 83 I believe, on closeout. Always thought of 5200 as competitor to Colecovision rather than INTV If the 7800 had been released in place of the 5200, even if delayed until sometime in 1983, it would have fared better IMO- built in 2600 compatibility, better graphics. The 5200 was just an 8 bit Atari computer with minor mods, basically software compatible. Dig Dug/Joust/etc had monochrome sprites vs multicolored on 7800 Zaxxon was smooth scrolling vs CV's jerky scroll, though But too many ports were too similar to the 2600- River Raid, Pitfall, etc. People wanted new, different games and genre's vs just ports of already played/known games by 83-84

[@jonathandogey5131]

I love my 5200. Of course it’s modded with external video ports and barrel Jack for power modded externally.

[@SumDumGy]

If this console was smaller, the joysticks well-made and the trak-ball smaller, I'd be all over this system. As it is, I just can never see myself going through the frustration and trying to make room for it all.

[@SideProjectLIVE]

I'm Inky over on Atariage. I was hoping you'd go into more detail on some of the games.

[@Monsterdrumma]

This joystick is actually my favorite feeling but like you they all break. I need the Wico's!

[@grayfox1471]

Great review, man. I'm a huge Atari fan, and particularly loved the 800xl computer. Probably why I dig the 5200. I just wish it had more original titles and not just arcade classics and sequels. What's your single favorite 5200 game... if you had to narrow it down to one?

[@kshadehyaena]

That Wico joystick looks like the original Competition Pro we had in Europe!

[@atarileaf]

I've always been a proponent of the 8-bit computers over the 5200. Almost all the games are the same and easily found, the carts and systems are much smaller, and of course you can use a standard 9-pin joystick, no need to mess around with 5200 joysticks or try to find replacements or alternatives. Having said that, its a great piece of Atari history and you did a fantastic job, as always, reviewing it :)

[@sandal_thong8631]

Would those still be 1-button joysticks for the computers?

[@Pai3000]

Very well done!! I really liked the video. However, you should have talked about the games a little bit. That would have made it perfect. Cheers!!

[@fantom0369]

I had one of these in 1983 shortly after the revision, apparently they decided the original design that had 4 controllers and the power on the switch box needed to be changed. mine had 2 controller ports and you plugged the power into the console itself. I always felt the 2 biggest reasons this console failed were the controllers broke too easy and the video game crash a year later.

[@fantom0369]

yeah true but mine came with pac man as well and my dad gave me mario bros and a few other games with it so I wasnt bothered. as for coleco yeah atari had a showing of donkeykong for the 5200 that was planned but but coleco threatened to sue nintendo if atari was allowed to launch it. I was told there was a prototype of the game but never saw it so I have my doubts

[@yandman26]

I have had a 5200 on my mind all week, Then i see metal Jesus has done an awesome video, Sadly over here in the u.k these things are non existent and way to expensive if you can find one, Why has nobody else ever mentioned this joystick adapter, problem solved , your the first person to mention this, Loving the new presentation and graphical transitions very cool, lets see some more 7800 love

[@sparticus214]

wow thats one innovative controller wish i had one for PC.

[@OldSchoolNYCGamer]

I have an Atari 5200 controller fix video on my channel, the problem usually is that the membranes on the board are dirty and or the joystick needs to be re-callibrated. Just like MJR I had 4 crap controllers till I used the method I did and they work brand new for me.

[@hawkeyepierce9241]

The problem with Atari 5200 controllers is they become contact resistant because they used tin foil in the design. In most cases they can be fixed by opening them up and replacing the little pieces of foil for each button. The only pain in the butt part is when you reassemble the controller you have to make sure your joystick is lined up with the rotators.

[@Copper20]

I had that happen with my Atari 2600 too, you're supposed to hook the power supply connector into the system before the wall.

[@grandalbert8422]

A review for the Atari 5200 that isn't just foul language for the sake of it or to have a cheap laugh. Good.