Atari Jaguar Retail Library Ranked Worst to Best

Today we rank 50 of the Atari Jaguar cartridge releases. These are the ones that wikipedia considers the retail releases, and while I know wikipedia can't always be trusted I needed something to identify what to cover. And I mostly agree with the list anyway. So the big question is, what games do I like, what games do I hate, and where do your favorites end up? Well grab an ice cold beverage and a healthy snack, and lets find out!
Also, I know I called Double Dragon 5 a different number, it was simply a slip of the tongue that I didn't catch until it was too late. Please feel free to point it out and laugh at me.
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#atari #atarijaguar #videogames #retrogaming #atarinetwork #rankings

[@loutchi7981]

Great idea of ranking. I hope you will do one for the Lynx as well.

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

He has to get a Lynx first.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Eventually I'll do one for most of the Atari consoles with small libraries!

[@Jaguar64]

Really enjoyed that video and its always nice to see other peoples views of Jaguar games even if i dont agree with some of them. Like Dragon - it does take a bit of work to get used to but but once you get enough Chi the nunchucks will easily get you to the last boss (which btw is brutal to beat!)

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I'll admit I didn't spend the same amount of time with each game. Dragon is one that will get reviewed on the channel, and much like Karateka I want to try and see it to the end...

[@Jaguar64]

@@TheAtariNetwork It's worth doing with Dragon and you'll get past some of the harder levels so quickly. Anyway, already looking forward to your Atari Jaguar homebrew video! BattleSphere Gold really should get a special mention, maybe even its own video? 4Play did an amazing job getting that game out against all odds too, its a fascinating story that one

[@pierregareau5812]

I love games ranking and your ranking of the 7800 games was one of your first video on the channel, your ranking seems fair to me, Atari had many missed opportunities for the Jaguar games but there were some good one. Thanks Jon

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for the support Pierre! What's fun about small libraries is that you can rank the whole thing like this. I'd never try this with the 2600, NES or PlayStation because they're just too big! Legitimately I think the library is pretty good but there are some major duds! I'm working on the 5200 library for maybe the end of May so keep an eye out for that!

[@TurboZone90013]

I wish more of these games were brought to VCS

[@DaveMoorland-zv3tn]

There's a linux port of BigPEmu so it's possible that it could be added to the VCS Store. Tell ATARI that you wan't it.

[@TurboZone90013]

@@DaveMoorland-zv3tn yes sir

[@ObsidianContraption]

Everyone wants this. I would say, it's likely that we haven't seen the last of the Jaguar on the VCS

[@arostwocents]

Yes 2600 ports of everything on Jaguar would be awesome ❤

[@ObsidianContraption]

@@arostwocents ha, i see what you did there

[@ObsidianContraption]

There's a handful of games i would actually want to play out of these games. I think the homebrew games would bring more to the table if i were to invest the dough on a system. Def want to play AVP, that rally racing game & the remake of Towers II

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Good choices!

[@EsmeAmelia]

It would be awesome if you did ranking videos for the 5200 and Lynx too.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

5200 should be coming next month as long as I can finish up the library and edit it together in time. The lynx will be much later unfortunately but will definitely happen!

[@pacbilly]

International Sensible Soccer ain't all that bad. The problem, I think, is that it was made for PAL, and the speed wasn't toned down to compensate for NTSC. It plays too fast but it's still a good time for two players.

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

I have always liked it, and I played it NTSC. Did you know that the team's rosters are different depending on if you play on a PAL or NTSC machine?

[@pacbilly]

@@jeremiahthomas8140 Wow, really?! In what ways do they differ, and what was their reason for implementing that? I actually bought my Jag specifically for Sensi. Kim Justice said it was the best console version of the game, and I wanted something I could take around for two-player matches. But having now spent a little time with the SNES version, I think Kim's declaration was based on the PAL version. On NTSC it's just too fast to play against the CPU. But for 2-player it's still loads of fun because you're both just trying to keep up.

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

@pacbilly From what I understand, when playing on a PAL version, the players are actual players. Not the made up names we got in the U.S.

[@pacbilly]

Man if you have a CRT that supports S-Video, you should totally get the S-Video adapter for the Jag. Produces really great results.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I don't think my current CRT has S Video but if I can ever get my Samsung GXTV fixed I'll definitely do that

[@MarquisDeSang]

Drive Club and Cybermorph are my favorite.

[@datassetteuser356]

Maybe a scale from A-D and S for exceptionally good games would to the library more justice. But even then, I guess it's all highly subjective. For example, I'm one of the very few people who actually do enjoy Supercross 3D somehow, and I played through it more than once 😅 Oh and Club Drive is actually fun with two players (and some beers) 😂

[@chriswalker8361]

Whew… got through this with only stopping twice to order 2 games…if you can get the rotary mod done to one of your controllers it does make playing tempest to another level.

[@btr3k]

I was about to say that NBA Jam TE is 4 players unlike the SNES/Genesis versions, but then I looked it up and those also supported their respective multiplayer converters too. Still, it's nice that it's supported. Definitely you'll be able to convince 3 of your friends to play NBA Jam as opposed to White Men Can't Jump! I'll also say that I spent some time back in the 90s playing Club Drive. Mostly wondering what it is I was exactly playing... A weird small Golden Gate Bridge, someone's living room and flushing toilet? I guess the main game mode is the thing where you collect those Koosh Balls? It's kind of some unfinished concept of a Hard Drivin' spinoff, I guess. But, it was memorable!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I like club drive but I know it's not going to be for everybody. It's one of those things that you either enjoy for what it is or you don't get it. NBA Jam is definitely the superior 4 player game and I really like this version. Maybe others done but hey, it's just like my opinion man! Thanks for the comment!

[@btr3k]

@@TheAtariNetwork Thank you! And I don't think it really came through in my comment but I do like Club Drive, it's just kind of... unfocused as a game. But I do like all the unique stuff that was attempted. Where else will you find the Atari headquarters as a hidden location?

[@flo_raf]

Phase zero and battlesphere are great too

[@RolfWrenWalsh]

I LOVE my Jaguar too death, and I got the deal of the century back in April 2008 when I bought one off eBay for $60. Complete in box, a second controller, the rare OEM S-Video cable, Alien vs Predator, Doom, Wolfenstein, Tempest 2000, Cybermorph, Kasumi Ninja, Skiing/Snowboarding, Raiden, and Zool 2 all complete in box as well. A week or so later I was at my local game store, and found Iron Soldier, Hover Tank, Checkered Flag, Ultra Vortek, and I-War all complete in box for $5 a piece. Of course I bought them all. Playing it for the first time I immediately recognized the fanatical following the thing has to this day, and just how much potential it had/has. While it's technically not my favorite console of all-time, if I rank my absolute favorite consoles of all-time purely based on blind fanatical fanboyism, I put the 32X at #1, and the Jaguar a VERY CLOSE #2. 3DO would be #3 as well on the "blind fanboy list". Nowadays, I proudly own over 66% of the retail Jaguar library, all complete in box. Long Live The Jaguar!!!!

[@fazares]

Very good assemble of short reviews and a decent ranking ..keep up!

[@indieeric6530]

Great video. I always look forward to new ones. Keep up the great work!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Well thanks for the kind words I appreciate it

[@Akuretaki_Nikolay]

25:15 this super burnout, Alien v predator, Doom and the iron solder games are my fav

[@Akuretaki_Nikolay]

Raiden is also one

[@TobeyStarburst]

Great video just what i need

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for the compliment and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@arostwocents]

Re Double Dragon 'four' - the big thing you did wrong is V is five. American education 😂😂

[@warmsignal]

I mostly agree, except with the low placement of HoverStrike and Fight For Life. I think those are on the better end, HoverStrike being pretty high for me (the CD version makes some improvements as well). Air Cars was technically an unfinished game when they started selling it. I think at it's core, it's an interesting game but it's like playing an alpha version of a game. My favorite games being Iron Soldier, AvP, Doom, Wolfenstein, Cybermorph, HoverStrike, Zero 5, Iwar, Super Burnout, Skyhammer, Towers II and if we're counting CD games then of course Battlemorph. I do count games like Skyhammer which were official, but released after the system was already done.

[@socrates0603]

I have about 20 official releases and most of them are in the bottom half of your list 😂 There are many in the video that I hadn’t even heard of before. Thanks for putting in the work to play these games and rank them. So far, the only Jaguar game I’ve played is Cybermorph, and I actually liked it.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I don't mind Cybermorph but man after trying Battlemorph for the first time I have to recommend people try that one anyway they can. It's similar but very much improved with better gameplay and enemies and varied mission objectives! Remember too that all this is opinion my bottom games might be somebody else's top 5!

[@shanecoffey8314]

3:07 Jimmy is O.K., but you get more attacks through if you play as Bimmy.

[@fensthespook8866]

The issue is that we went from the BEST 2D games ever looked (SNES/Genesis) to the worst 3D games ever looked. And that's not exclusive to the Jaguar...in my opinion N64 and PS1 games in the 3D style are MISERABLE and do not hold up whatsoever and I absolutely include Mario 64 in that statement. I absolutely hate first gen 3D no matter what console. It's the Dark Ages of gaming in my opinion. Also I'd like to add that I am a non-ironic Bubsy fan! Don't remember why I had them... Whether I picked them out myself or it was a gift but I had the two Super Nintendo releases and I actually liked them as a kid. I picked Paws on Fire on the switch recently and it wasn't bad. I mean the fact that he still is around when all the other wannabe mascots faded out kind of says that he was the top of the second tier mascot list right?? I'm looking at you Gex, Croc, etc.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I remember playing and getting fairly far in the Genesis Bubsy. The problem with the Jaguar version at least is your punished for playing the game it feels like. I'm sure his more recent stuff is better and he has definitely outlived a lot of other would-be mascots!

[@TeeroyHammermill]

@fensthespook8866: I actually had a good time with Jaguar Bubsy. I just couldn't get past the lobster boss on Level 6. I couldn't complete NES Gradius or Contra without the Konami code either, so looking at it this way, Bubsy wasn't that bad.

[@DaveMoorland-zv3tn]

I think there are polygon-based 3D genres that would run well on the Jaguar. On-rail games such as Starfox, Panzer Dragoon, etc. I've always been curious about how well the first level of Starfox would run on the Jaguar. I guarantee that I would have a far higher frame rate. Fighting games - Fight For Life is a tale of a low-budget and impossible deadline. It does run well when compared to other 3D fighting games at the time. With more money, a bigger team, and allowing the developer to make sure the game was polished it may have been a different story. I think the Jaguar could host a decent 3D fighting game. Survival Horror games - pre-rendered backgrounds and 3D models would be something that the Jaguar could do so well if in the right hands. A port of I Robot, Steel Talons, and Stunrunner would have been great on the system. 2.5D games. Open-world games with heavy texture mapping just don't run very well on the console. I think that these 3D genres would suit the Jaguar.

[@kevinstrade2752]

My list would be different but I still enjoyed the video. Each of us will see things differently. Thank you for sharing.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Absolutely. What's your top Jaguar games?

[@joesshows6793]

I remember seeing this system and games for super discount at KayBee Toys and I just laughed at them instead of being smart and buying them all up! The system was like $50 and games $5-20 if I’m not mistaken. I even seen the cd add on but was too young to care

[@The_Badseed]

Good vid. I "did the math" and still think the Jaguar blows. 3d space games? No thanks, Silpheed on the Sega CD looked and played better. Heck, Star Fox Snes is better. Kart racer? Again no thanks, I'll stick to Mario Kart on the Snes. I really don't see anything that takes advantage of it's supposed 64 bits (which is a joke in itself, Tom and Jerry? Really?). Basically any other system does whatever game better, as much as I love it, when Tempest is your killer game you are in trouble.

[@danielespeziari5545]

To be fair, the Jaguar seemed to excel at FPS, which it did much better than the competing 16-bit consoles. And those updated versions of Atari classics are very interesting. But all the rest...

[@adm712]

Great countdown video for a system that is often misunderstood. . It would have been interesting had the Jaguar (and CD) been truly supported and had 3rd party support in the late 90s. Could it have handled a port of games like Resident Evil, Turok or Goldeneye?

[@TheAtariNetwork]

You know I wonder the same. Most people would immediately say no but if you have played Skyhammer you know that the Jag didn't do bad 3D for a console from 1992 so it could've done more than people might think!

[@adm712]

@@TheAtariNetwork Hmmm. Maybe an idea for a future video series could be an Atari "what if" series. Where it takes place in a multiverse where Atari makes different decisions at points in their history that change the trajectory of the company and video gaming history.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@adm712 it's definitely on my to do list. I have "what if the 7800 released in 84 aka if Warner never sold off" and "What would a successful Jaguar look like" written in my book of video ideas. The thing is do I go just total fantasy or try to ground it in reality as much as possible?

[@opaljk4835]

It should’ve been able to do things like that, but there were so many weird technical limitations, I don’t think it could handle a halfway decent RE1 or stuff like it

[@derekdash2179]

Personally I don’t understand all the hate Supercross 3D gets. It’s flawed for sure, but I’d rather play that than Checkered Flag, Zool 2 or Double Dragon V any day.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Your not the first one to say that. It's one of those things, club drive is objectively awful but I enjoy it from time to time. I didn't get that experience from Supercross 3D but some people do.

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

I agree with most of this list. I personally would move Fight for Life up the life a few spots. I think that game better than checkered flag.

[@willweisgerber245]

Love my Jaguar for what it’s worth, but when you have a small library and probably half the games are garbage to mediocre, that’s not good. You look at something like the Turbografx, it had around 100 games and the majority of the games are at least decent. Not many consoles libraries have as high percentage of just crap that the beloved Jag did.

[@Akuretaki_Nikolay]

gg i love jaguar im younger than the console lol

[@ZachAttackIsBack]

Some of those could pass for NES games. I didn't realize the Jaguar was so weak graphically.

[@archive3do769]

As much as I'm not a fan of the jag, it's not that weak of a system. The hardware devs screwed up and gave software devs full access to the main cpu. So most devs only used the main cpu for most things, leaving a lot of games to be unimpressive.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I don't know why I called Double Dragon by the wrong number but I did. Oops. Remember these are my own personal rankings based on my own personal experience. So now I want to know, what are your top 5 or so Jaguar games?

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

Wait, we cannot do our top 50?

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@jeremiahthomas8140 you can do your top however many you want to type!

[@surnis9043]

What's really funny is that you follow by "I feel i'm doing something wrong here" Your subconscious knew you had the number wrong, lol.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

As per commercial life through 96: 1. AVP 2. T2K 3. Rayman 4. Battlemorph 5. Toss up between MYST and Raiden.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@TeeroyHammermill those are all excellent games. I recently played battlemorph for the first time and my God how is that game so good! Definitely a hidden gem that unfortunately most people will miss out on...

[@orlandoturbo6431]

Make some arcade games for it and call it a day. Some of the Atari Jaguar games look like they came from the SNES. You have to make the games Neo Geo quality. After all it's 64 bits.

[@DaveMoorland-zv3tn]

Have you played the Jaguar pre-alpha of Mortal Kombat yet? It's superb. Jaguar+

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I haven't tried it yet but I've been following his work and it looks fantastic!

[@DaveMoorland-zv3tn]

@theatarinetwork look for a Jaguar game on YT called Livewire. It was never completed, and the developer has stated that the game was never completed, but it's a top-down shooter. The game uses a high-quality 2.5D effect, and it has some of the best 2D graphics I've seen for the console. I would love to see Livewire completed and released, or a game made using a similar 2.5D graphics engine. The game is reminiscent of Loaded visually. There are a few 32-bit quality 2D games made for the Jaguar that didn't get finished before the console was discontinued. You'll see games that are not possible on 16-bit consoles.

[@Dambedei1]

theme park deserves better. its a classic and much better than WMCJ or kasumi ninja!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

You're not the first one to tell me that. In general I agree but I found the gameplay to be a bit too tedious on the Jag controller and I think there are better platforms for this game.

[@seethransom]

I bought a Game Drive, and printed a better D-pad. I found a bunch of fun games.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

It's a pretty good library of games really. A lot of interesting stuff and I enjoyed roughly half of the games I'd say!

[@jeff-ds2pr]

WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO RANK JAGUAR GAMES?

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I took a course

[@erockbrox8484]

What blows my mind is that a company releases a console then quits after 2 years. You have to support your console from 5-10 years!!!! You have to have teams of devs working on good games and these games might take 2 years to even develop.

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

All the Devs had better opportunities to make money. Why create games for this when you could make so much more developing for the rival consoles. It would not have become a success in year 3

[@erockbrox8484]

@@mr.y.mysterious.video1 Microsoft lost like 1 billion dollars with the original Xbox, this means that you still have compete even if you loose money. That is how competitive the market was/is.

[@Kevin_40]

hardcore jaguar fans will say no such thing as a bad jaguar game

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Every console has a few duds, it's just the way it is I think. Except the 7800 that library is perfection

[@TeeroyHammermill]

@Kevin_40: Club Drive is that such thing.

[@arostwocents]

If you think thats 4fps youve obviously never emulated a system your phone cant handle and seen actual 4fps 😂

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

Note to Americans. Nowhere in the word jaguar is a letter W

[@ThePeterCorne]

Terrible judgement on sensible soccer

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Can't help it I tried to enjoy it but I never did