Battle of the Ports - Marble Madness (マーブルマッドネス) Show

[@justagamer2672]

Also, HOLY CROW that FM-TOWNS arranged soundtrack. Magnificent!

[@RetroCore]

If you're in to arranged soundtracks you should try and track down a few other FM Towns conversions are you'll probably love the arranged soundtracks they feature. It was kind of fujitsu's thing really.

[@SuperKokuJin916]

Their port of Super Street Fighter II X had fantastic music!

[@Tempora158]

FM Towns got a port of Super Street Fighter II, not Super Street Fighter II X.

[@jesuszamora6949]

@@Tempora158 You sure? I thought the Marty at least got Super Turbo...

[@Tempora158]

@@jesuszamora6949 The FM Towns Marty can't run Super Street Fighter II at all, much less a Super Turbo port that doesn't exist; it only ran on an RAM upgraded FM Towns. Super Turbo was console exclusive to the 3DO and was published by Panasonic.

[@maniacsatwork]

I've never had issues with controlling the marble in the Amiga version. I think it replicates the feel of the trackball quite well.

[@gonegahgah]

Someone with an Amiga complex, I think!

[@LiamGoodison]

I have to agree, i could turn on a sixpence with practice

[@DJDanceClassic]

Mark is playing a bad version on some emulator with a joystick. the amiga version is perfect with the mouse on an original amiga 1000 that I owned. I hate the amiga but marble madness on it is pure gold !!!!!! 10/10 !!!!!!

[@boostermcblast2197]

@@DJDanceClassic ...but it has terrible Slowdowns as a two player game with two mice connected. I loved the Amiga-Version back then, but the Japan-only Tengen-Version for Megadrive is so much better. I still play it today.

[@DJDanceClassic]

Yes, 2 player has slowdowns but remember, marble madness on the amiga was made in 1986 and was the first game that was exact like the arcades

[@sergeinester6261]

I agree with other Amiga users. The mouse control was as good as arcade and the version was brilliant having played a lot of versions you liked

[@dezm101]

so many ports! I think the FM Towns and SharpX68000 versions looked even better than the arcade

[@RetroCore]

You'd be correct to think that. The FM Towns version in particular is very smooth.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

Though the arranged soundtrack doesn’t sound as good as the 80’s synth in my ears 😊

[@xnonsuchx]

For those who weren't aware, Tengen was the home computer/console division of Atari Games since they could only use the Atari name for arcade games.

[@mattschehr163]

that is until it became time warner interactive then got abosrbed into midway

[@Octamed]

Hmm, the Amiga controls thing seemed weird, so I fired up 2 different emulators and... the mouse controls are totally bugged. Even on WinUAE if I put my mouse sensitivity too high the ball starts darting around all crazy. This definitely didn't happen on a real Amiga, because I used to throw the mouse around like a loony (I *think* holding left button made it more sensitive as well). I played the arcade a lot, so I know what it was meant to feel like, so not sure what's happening there.

[@RetroCore]

That could be a reason why I thought it controlled so poorly. Strange that they have it messed up.

[@OldB0y50]

Retro Core This is true. I played this a lot back in the day, both arcade and an original Amiga 1000. The Amigas mouse controls are literally spot on to the arcades trackball control, with no slowdown whatsoever. I still have a real A1200, and this still plays fine. If I recall correctly you could even adapt one of those Marconi track ball controllers to work with this on the Amiga. Before the FM towns etc versions came out this was by far the best port. Unlike a lot of other arcade conversions this is 100% NOT a lazy ST port. Back in the day EA really supported the Amiga and actually did some great ports and original games for it. They were nothing like the EA that is always lambasted for the ‘yearly updates’ it is infamous for these days.

[@chrisperry5244]

Its simply brilliant with the mouse on an Amiga. Unfortunately the emulators dont show off this Amiga feature very well.

[@LeShark75]

Bloody hell, how many versions! I love the music in the Arcade Original, reminds me of the movie Tron.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Amiga coder, Larry Reed spent nearly a year on the conversion and said the scrolling sometimes becomes jerky because so much of the CPU time is spent emulating the arcade machines specialist hardware, in software. The Amiga press were at one point claiming it'd feature 1,000 levels

[@RetroCore]

Lol, 1000 levels. As if.

[@ratspike8017]

Hmmm. Interesting - He says the Amiga version is terrible to control. I finished it multiple times; it uses the mouse, and I never found it terrible to control. I have also been playing it loads on Mame, so happy to make the comparison. I think it feels slightly stodgier than the arcade, but basically I think the Amiga conversion very fine. Admittedly you can't say that about all Amiga conversions, many are indeed very rough. But I totally disagree about this one. Edit: I note that some comments below suggest that playnig this on real hardware Amiga and emulators can be somewhat different, and that the control issues may be caused by emulation. If that is so I can respect that Retro Core didn't get a good experience in the Amiga version, but this rather detracts from the episode which is a shame...

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Marble Madness is a fantastic two player rage game. That's where it really shines for me. Nothing quite like pissing off a friend or loved one. XD

[@joystickjedi]

Really jealous of that Japanese Tengen version vs. the EA version we got. Played it on my Everdrive and was blown away.

[@RetroCore]

Tengen Japan were a very talented team. They were also behind the amazing Gauntlet IV on the Mega Drive too.

[@joystickjedi]

Sweeeeet. I'm a HUGE fan of Gauntlet "IV." Would have been pretty cool if Gauntlet 2 was included or had gotten a similar treatment. Gauntlet IV 2. :D

[@RetroCore]

Maybe Nintendo had a grip on the license for that one :(

[@solarflare9078]

Retro Core As publishers of the game, yes. However, the actual team behind Gauntlet IV are the porting gods themselves, M2.

[@DragonSlayerKyo]

This is still one of my all time favorite games. great comparison!

[@johns6265]

Megadrive owners lucked out there with an alternate version available as an import. Usually it was like it or lump it if the arcade game you'd been waiting for hadn't been ported so well.

[@RetroCore]

The same thing happened with Kalax too. The Japanese Namco version is way better than the western Mega Drive release.

[@M4R14NO94]

I'll admit that in Klax's case I prefer the Tengen version, 'cause it's a lot closer to the original arcade (and was even done by the same programmers as that), although when it comes to Klax ports in general I prefer the TurboGrafx version a lot; feels better to play to me.

[@RetroCore]

I've not played the PC Engine version. I should give it a try one day.

[@marmeladenfreund]

Thanks for the video, which provides a good overview of the different versions. I don't disagree that the X68000 and FM Towns versions are the best ports of the game. But I find the criticism of the Amiga version harsh. It's also one of the best and most faithful versions for me to this day. Regarding the controls: You can choose to play it with the mouse or the joystick (or trackball or joypad if you have one connected). I never had a problem with it, but that is of course a matter of taste. To be fair: The Amiga version is from 1986 and made for a hardware from 1985 with only 256 KB RAM (Amiga 1000), not for the later, better Amiga versions. The amazing thing: It is not only one of the best ports of the game Marble Madness, but it is also one of the very few good and faithful arcade ports on the Amiga at all (I may think of the countless grotty, sloppy and embarrassing US Gold ports of many great arcade titles). The X68000, FM Towns and Genesis/Mega Drive versions were released 5-7 years after the Amiga version. On newer, more powerful systems - at least X68000 and FM Towns (The Genesis hardware was in some aspects stronger, in others weaker than the OCS Amiga).

[@atomiswave2]

best marble madness comparison video thanks

[@RetroCore]

Thanks Sky Man. I just wish I could have also added the NEC PC9801 version. I Goulding find it anywhere.

[@roudanskalamir9251]

I suggest going to the Tokugawa forums since that is where I found the vast majority of NEC PC-98 games there (including Marble Madness). As for the Sharp X68000 and NEC PC-88 theisozone.com has "Complete Game Collection" full rom entries for both of those that conveniently divide the games up into their respective genres include a separate category for arcade ports. You can also find huge rom/iso sets for the likes of the Fujitsu FM7, Sharp X1, Fujitsu FM Towns and many others through the "Neo Kobe" rom sets. (The Neo Kobe rom set for the PC-98 is currently under active construction in the Tokugawa forums.) A couple of things to note about this episode: The dos port was specifically designed for Tandy computers. Therefore, it actually utilizes the Tandy 3 speaker sound for music as well as 16 color Tandy graphics. (Not that it makes the gameplay any better but it certainly gives the presentation and sound a few marks up.) There are two ways you can access this: You can either go into the Dosbox config file and set "Machine" to "tandy" (or possibly "pcjr") or if that fails, there is a separate emulator called Tand-em that is specifically designed to play Tandy games. I noticed you are missing the Apple IIGS port of marble madness. I assume that's because, like me, you had trouble getting it to run. I actually managed to get it to run without crashing on the emulator Kegs. If you need help, I'll tell you how. Sorry for the long message but I want you to be best equipped to take on and assess all the ports to the best of your ability. Nevertheless, great episode and one that I had been diligently waiting for for a long time ;-)

[@RetroCore]

Some good information there. I'll take a look at the tokugawa forums. That place would be a great resource for Japanese computer roms as they are kind of tough to find. Also thanks for the information regarding the Apple llGS I did have issues with that so next time I'll give kegs a go. I also didn't know about the DOS Tandy mode. Interesting that.

[@roudanskalamir9251]

Retro Core Awesome. Glad I could be of service. I will warn you though. Kegs is far from perfect as it still ramains difficult or impossible to get certain games running. Also, the controls, much like the rest of the emulator, are incredibly buggy when it comes to setting up. Also, as someone who owns an authentic Apple IIGS, the framerate is also a bit choppier than a genuine machine. Sadly, as it stands, it's the best there is at the moment. A bit of advice for setup and use: 1. Instead of going through the agravation of installing the os, just download a preinstalled disk image on the e-maculation page for kegs (located at gs/os section). While your there, download the installation disks anyway they have tool files that some games (such as QIX) require. If they are propted, insert the "system tools" disk that contains the required tool file(s) and drag and drop them to the tools folder on the os disk. 2. Rom 1 is more compatible with games than rom 3 so for your purpose, use rom 1. 3. If a game crashes or fails to boot when opening it through the os (as was the case with me and marble madness), try booting from the game disk image instead of the os disk. To do this, replace the os disk with the game disk at the s7d slots. 4. For the most authentic experience, play at 2.8 speed since that was the defult speed for the stock apple iigs. Good luck. Hope it gets the job done for you. Also hope for a Donkey Kong ports episode in the future ;-)

[@neozeed1984]

Roudansk Alamir Nice suggestions but I still miss underground gamer

[@sluggotg]

I played the Arcade version a lot back when it came out. I bought the Amiga version and it was Spectacular with a mouse. I don't think this guy is using a mouse. I was able to go much further on the amiga version. (It obviously helped that I did not have to pump quarters into my Amiga). The sound was very good too.

[@zembryoz]

Not sure what glitchy type of emulation you're using but MM on the Amiga does NOT scroll poorly and it controls as expected for a trackball game.

[@miketate3445]

The dude in the thumbnail... he's got the wrong arm pointing back in the marble's reflection. Huh.

[@neozeed1984]

I forgot to say in my other posts... Thank you for another BOTP! I cant believe all the comments on this game. Love it. just shows how great a game it is, and back in its day.... incredible!

[@RetroCore]

Yep, this was one that many people requested but I kept putting it off due to the shear amount of ports there were. This video is actually missing two as well, the NEC PC9801 and Sharp X1.

[@xsm5525]

AND THE WINNER IS............... AMIGA. of course.

[@oscarzxn4067]

Digital Eclipse heard the Genesis ost and said "we can make it even worse"

[@fulgenzio1973]

Wow, i lived years thinking the Amiga version was the best conversion ever, but the Japanese MD, FM Towns and Sharp versions ROCKS!It must have been nice to be a Japanese kid at that time ...

[@RetroCore]

Yep, the Japanese were so lucky. They had 3 of the best versions all to them selves. The only other good version was on the NES.

[@StevenCusic]

I love these kinds of games especially the physical kind so dope

[@Mrdonfirth]

That's too bad you had problems with the Amiga controls. I found that using a mouse or trackpad were as close as you can get to the arcade. Assuming you choose the right type of controller in the selection screen.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Also not to sound like a broken record, an unreleased port for the PC Engine, I suppose developed by the same Tengen crew behind the Japanese Mega Drive release. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5Ovla2GjLCKeKM

[@delboy3k1]

Find the issues raised with the amiga a bit unfair. Some if the better releases are on machines costing more than an amiga or released many years later. I played this to death on my a1000 and used my amiga mouse and even my atari 2600 trackball and it played well. Consoles are generally later and have a benefit of adapting to a controller sold with the system. Even the arcade has to be compared with the machine not an emulator. I like these videos but just found this harsh. My opinion is from the actual amiga version on hardware :-)

[@Charlie-Cat.]

I love Marble Madness Mark. Such a fun game and love to see videos of it regards of what version it was available for it for. My personal favorite is the NES version for it. Its a game I received for Christmas and means the most for me after spending hours enjoying it. Thank you as always Mark. Keep up the great work. Anthony..

[@novostranger]

The Mega Drive port is so impressive

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

There was a letter in an A issue of ANTIC Magazine from Trip Hawkins, then CEO of Electronic Arts. It stated they were going to bring a number of titles to Atari 8-bit, including "Marble Madness". Nothing ever started it seems..

[@MetProduct-td4rz]

The real reason why the game boy advance version is absolutely terrible is because the devs were only given six weeks to work on that game along with klax And this port is also unfinished

[@geoserenity]

respect for including the fm towns, i don't think i've played a game on it that i didnt like

[@RetroCore]

The FM Towns was a fantastic gamers system. Sometimes Ports on it were not as good as the X68000 but they were always quality.

[@geoserenity]

Retro Core​ i'll read that as "Sometimes ports on it had their own charm, and they were always quality.

[@IMDRanged]

Yeah, I did buy the Atari ST version. They only saving grace of the Atari ST was that it had full MIDI support. I had a Casio keyboard with MIDI connectors and let the ST transmit all the game's soundtrack to play on my Casio during gameplay.

[@RetroCore]

The midi audio would have been pretty good I'd imagine. Such a shame about the crappy gameplay though.

[@JakZie]

C64 version has an exclusive, hard to find and even harder to complete secret level where you need 2 players to complete it.

[@justagamer2672]

Rare were the ones who developed the NES port; they ported a few arcade games to the NES during the system's heyday. They did a great job though. IMO, the Nintendo version is probably one of the best home ports, play-wise.

[@RetroCore]

Ah yes, you are right. It was Rare who made the port. It's a excellent port too. Maybe not the best as that's got to go to the FM Towns version but it's sure up there along with the X68000 and Japanese Mega Drive ports.

[@DanielMonteiroNit]

For one, a show where even the bad graphics are reasonably decent. There are a few episodes featuring ZX ports that I, as a developer, would be ashamed of putting out. "If the machine can't handle it and you're not good enough, don't embarrass yourself trying"

[@RetroCore]

Well said. But I guess we do have to consider that some of those early British developed games were done by kids in many cases. Still, no excusing the publisher for releasing such crap.

[@alexq2930]

Another great work from Retro core.

[@1983parrothead]

Before Sega Mega Drive/Genesis had Yamaha YM2612, this was the very first video game with a Yamaha soundchip, which is the YM2151. It's what I heard on vgmrips.

[@RetroCore]

Really? There were no Japanese games using them back then? I nerve knew that.

[@rogaface]

Fuck this was hilarious! These games look so infuriating it's like they were made that way on purpose. Thanks Mark

[@RetroCore]

They are frustrating beyond belief but some of them are that way due to really crappy controls.

[@BlockABoots]

Holy cow this has to be a record for the most ports of a single game for a BOTP episode!???

[@RetroCore]

I think it is. The section at the end of the video showing 18 versions together took 7 hours to render! The rest of the video was done in 48 minutes.

[@miikasuominen3845]

I remember there was a "carbon copy" of MM on Spectrum, called Gyroscope. Melbourne House as publisher, I think... It was definitely a better version than the one showed here. It was ported to most 8-bit machines...

[@RetroCore]

You are right but I couldn't really add that since it's not technically a port of Marble Madness but a rip off. Still, it is better than the crap actually released under the Marble Madness name.

[@miikasuominen3845]

No, you couldn't ;) Just wanted to give a little "wink", if people want to check for a better alternative :)

[@mukiex4413]

I know it's well past the others, but the PlayStation version on Atari Collection 2 was pretty solid, and it even had mouse/nyko trackball support! Though you needed a controller to get into the game.

[@gordyowl9455]

it would love to hear a metal guitar cover version of the stage 2 of marble madness :)

[@millertime97jm]

Oh man, the FM Towns version looks and sounds GREAT! ...too bad I don't live in Japan...

[@LeoA2600]

Digital Eclipse didn't stink when they were working with emulation or porting source code. Marble Madness on Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2 for the Sony PlayStation with the Nyko Trackball is the best official home conversion of the game.

[@SilentRealm6677]

Well there is one special thing in C64 port of marble madness it,s a secret level called water maze it's can be accessed in level 1 in one spot almost close to goal this secret level also exists in Apple 2 version

[@jasontennant8994]

Question: The Game Boy versions "music" reminds me of my toddler sons efforts at tickling the ivory's. Now is he remarkably musical or the Game Boy's Marble Madness BGM laugh out loud bad? Hint: Watching the Game Boy footage I actually laughed out loud!

[@AmyraCarter]

What you describe sounds more like how the 'music' of the GBC port sounds....

[@thekenixkil]

Watching in 2023 ;very nice!

[@yoymate6316]

it should be noted that the gba port was made in something like two weeks by a developer house who, iirc, had never worked with the gba before. almost no enemies were implemented at all and most levels are missing. lexx has a great video about how this and other atari classics ports to the gba came to be

[@DrJ3RK8]

Did you use the mouse on the Amiga version? (just curious) It always seemed fine on mine as long as I used the mouse. It also seemed a bit smoother. I played on an A500. I can't remember if I had the PAL version or NTSC though.

[@RetroCore]

Probably since I used a mouse on other versions. This video is very old now so I can't remember for sure.

[@jimkrom]

​@@RetroCoreit is not a matter of what you used. Not sure if anyone mentioned it already but it does not control properly on an emulator (I just tried with WinUAE, PUAE and a couple more and it is twitchy). Running it on actual hardware (also just did that) it scrolls smoothly and the mouse control is almost as good as the arcade trackball. Precise like you wouldn't believe.

[@AzrialAlaria]

Back when I was a kid, I had the NES and DOS versions of this game. The DOS one came in a nice EA fold out case with floppy disks. I also had a local arcade I could go to that had the arcade version set up. So I had a pretty well rounded feeling for this game when it came out. I never did seem to like any of the versions of this game where the marble isn't animated in some way when it rolls. It looks stupid just moving around as a solid object with no animation in my opinion. But yes, Marble Madness is definitely part of my childhood. ^.=.^

[@RetroCore]

I have to confess to never actually seeing this game as a kid. I think the first time I played it was the EA version on the Mega Drive.

[@RedRanger2001]

I think the Master System port could've been compatible with the Sports Pad, but since that controller was never released in Brazil and the PAL regions, and the Master System port of Marble Madness was released in those regions...

[@RetroCore]

That is a great shame and probably the main reason why someone should own a sports pad.

[@FrikiNAUER]

Thanks for initial notice, i never will see that... XDD Nice video and great job ;)

[@hardwiredxs]

AFAIR the amiga version had the possibility of using mouse as the control. Are you using it or the joystick? Allways heard good things about the amiga verion although being one (if not the first) arcade conversion for the machine...

[@RetroCore]

With either mouse or joystick the controls were poor compared to other elements Ports. Amiga fans do praise the game a lot. And for its time it was a very impressive port but I can't lie, the controls are pretty ropey when you compare them to the NES version and the Japanese developed Ports on the FM Towns, X68000 and Mega Drive.

[@gen-x2939]

Great Review keep retro on

[@lurkerrekrul]

Back in the 80s, I think I only ever made it to the uphill level on the Amiga version. Some Marble Madness trivia; Atari made a sequel, Marble Man: Marble Madness II, but it tested poorly against more popular games like Street Fighter II, so it never went into full production. Prototypes exist and the ROM has been dumped by one of their owners, but he refuses to release it. :( The C64 version had a secret level. To get to it, you had to jump the marble off one of the ramps near the goal and stay on one of the numbers on the floor until the timer reached a certain amount. Unfortunately it was a two player only level. There's a freeware remake for Windows called Rolling Madness 3D. Besides being a faithful port of the arcade game, it has all sorts of options, like changing the camera view.

[@RetroCore]

Ah yes, I know about the windows version. I was close to adding it to the video but decided against it since its not actually an official port.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Sad he doesn't want to release it, if it's not going to do much nowadays and he wouldn't see a cent for it.

[@videogameobsession]

Rare programmed the NES port of Marble Madness and Milton Bradley released it in the West. As far as I know there was no Famicom release for this. Not officially anyway. I loved the arcade version can found the NES port to be extremely faithful and played great for using a pad. Rare did a great job with it.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, that's right. For some reason I thought Tengen was behind it but as you say it was actually developed by Rare.

[@ClassicGaminer2014]

Amazing! Another great video. I would've imagined this game being on the Super Nintendo/Famicom, I think it would be a great port close to the Arcade game.

[@RetroCore]

The SFC got a Taito game called Cameltry which I guess is kind of like Marble Madness?

[@SilentRealm6677]

Plus i found screenshots of Atari Lynx version and i found TI99 version but there is only a demo on KZbin showing the unfinished stage 2 and last version what i found is atari 2600 version

[@RetroCore]

Nice find.

[@SilentRealm6677]

@@RetroCore did you known that there also exist a pc engine version?

[@trip2themoon]

The NES version has wonderful music. It sounds like a crystal chandelier rolling down a staircase.

[@marioghernandez4960]

It's like nearly every arcade classic had an X68000 port...

[@RetroCore]

Pretty much with most of them being excellent.

[@marioghernandez4960]

Retro Core Gotta agree, especially since they're arcade perfect.

[@yethboth7873]

Did you know there is also a Construction Set version on the Speccy, CPC and C64 where you can create your own levels? Also, have you ever had a go on the Arcade Cabinet with the trackball? I remember when I visited my Brother in Tokyo last summer, we went to a Amusement Arcade called Mikado and we saw a Marble Madness Arcade Cabinet with the trackball. I had a few goes at 100 yen per go and I must admit that it can be a coin muncher if not had much practice.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, I did try out the Speccy version of the construction kit. Quite nice for an early attempt but still too slow for my liking. I have played the Arcade version quite some time back in the UK. It was pretty good but did take a while to u derating how much spin to apply to the track ball.

[@RobLIVEukPSN]

I used to love marble madness on the negative but only had the western version. I'm going to try out the Japanese version right away.

[@RetroCore]

You should give it a try. It's much nicer on the ears and to play.

[@josphok4142]

thanks mate ,amazing video ,plz do more reviews about console ,like n64 , sega saturn . . . .etc

[@RetroCore]

I'd love to do more console related videos however they do take some time to put together. I'm currently working on the next Retro Core 5 show which will be focused on the PlayStation.

[@luisemilio1143]

One thing about the NES version, it was actually developed by Rare themselves. For some odd reason Tengen didn’t credited or mentioned them at the title screen

[@RetroCore]

Nothing new there. Many of the awful LJN releases were also by Rare but they are not credited. That's actually a blessing though.

[@martinefrensoquigomez7835]

nice

[@TheTomatoWatcher]

Then and now, EA doesn't make anything worth your time...

[@RetroCore]

I'd have to agree with you.

[@solarflare9078]

When they were porting games, yes. However, their 90s classics like Road Rash were definitely worth playing.

[@teeman9266]

The GB versions music sound like it included explicit lyrics and had to be bleeped out 🤣

[@RetroCore]

lol, nice

[@rosarioangel762]

MS DOS haves a tandy mood you ignore

[@Imgema]

Those were the days console users were the masterace...

[@RetroCore]

Haha, only PC fanboys would come out with such a phrase to make them selves feel better. Even now I'd say console users are still the "master race". Yes, consoles are less powerful but they're much cheaper than the equivalent PC and simpler to set up. I only own a very small amount of PC games, probably under 10.

[@roudanskalamir9251]

I'd still consider the PC to be "masterrace" for the X68000 and FM Towns alone. lol

[@Imgema]

Dude relax, it was a joke.

[@roudanskalamir9251]

Imgema I know. Why did you think I was being serious with my response.

[@Imgema]

I was replying to Retro Core

[@dashalpha]

Will Harvey on the C64 port, same guy that did Zany Golf right? I loved Zany Golf on the Apple IIgs!

[@RetroCore]

It must have been his day off when porting Marble Madness as its truly awful.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

DaSHalpha Electornic Arts seems to have done a lot of these computer ports of the title as it is.

[@dallase1]

I din't know Tengen had a Genesis version of Marble Madness.

[@Microwave414]

Now if only they would port this game to the PC with use of the steam controller and HD graphics

[@RetroCore]

The FM Towns and X68000 versions are kind of in HD :) I'd love to see a virtual reality version. That would be one tense game.

[@powerkirbybomber6503]

Why didn't you cover the mobile phone version? It has the original levels plus New levels With Mechanics that are exclusive to that version.

[@RetroCore]

Mostly because I don't have access to it here in Japan.

[@MrTNT6000]

The game boy advance port is also completely unfinished. It only includes the first three levels. After you complete the third level it just says game over.

[@RetroCore]

Really? Wow, that is pretty poor.

[@1997811isaac]

Thanks for an awesome video! The main question is, what were the main problems of the western developer's problem of creating a console and computer port of an arcade game? Is it due to the lack of affordable access to the original arcade game and other source materials?

[@RetroCore]

Basically a lack of programming skill. The Arcade game was American so there's no reason why western developers couldn't get hold of reference code. Basically the developers behind the Japanese versions just took so much more care.

[@jmxtoob]

Did you emulate the Amiga? I'm currently trying to debug an issue where it's as though the mouse is getting stuck on the borders of the host system, certainly not an issue on the original hardware

[@RetroCore]

Yep. I live in Japan. The Amiga over here is none existent so emulation is the only viable option. I'm not importing an Amiga. Maybe some FPGA solution in the future may work though. . The C64 exists though as a strange console like system. Not that one which got a UK release but something that came much earlier. I can't remember the name of it now but I can tell you it is rare. I've only seen two in the 24 years of living here.

[@ritedjmorsli6727]

I like marble madness

[@solarflare9078]

It should also be noted that the GBA version is also missing stages! Ouch....

[@mastersproutgamer9327]

The FM Towns version is the best port, although I'm definitely taking the Mega Drive version as the best version of all.

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

Also, the GBA version only included three of the stages.

[@SilentRealm6677]

Marble madness also have PC engine version but it's never released

[@SilentRealm6677]

Well the worst part Gameboy advance port of marble madness is that it have only 3 levels

[@junebug6493]

When I play the Dos version on my MacBook air the game went very fast and I couldn't control the marble

[@RetroCore]

If you were using Dos Box, you may have had the system settings too high.

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

1:41 Impressive graphics for 1984 game.

[@iwanttocomplain]

I wonder if the Master System version supported the MS Sports Pad (trackball controller)?

[@RetroCore]

Good point. I'd forgotten all about that accessory.

[@iwanttocomplain]

@@RetroCore You said MM could be played on a trackball with the Mega Drive (19:40) but it does not have one. Maybe you got the md and sms mixed up. I learnt about that crazy control pad the XE-1 AP from Dempa today from the Starblade video which is the precursor to the Saturn analogue, Dreamcast and Xbox 'Duke' pad though.

[@RetroCore]

Ah, for Mega Drive you use the Mega mouse upside down. So, it's kind of a track ball. 👍

[@iwanttocomplain]

@@RetroCore Nice try. The Sega Sports pad rather disappointingly only supports 3 measly games though - Marble Madness is not one of them.

[@Mark-g7t]

​@@iwanttocomplainThat's not true. The sports pad only had three games made specially for it (where it's only control method) but it's compatible with dozens of other games designed for the ordinary controller. Don't know if MM is one of them, but I'd be very surprised if it didn't work on it.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

Of course the Arcade is the best, but for home ports, I would say Tengen Mega-Drive Marble Madness is the most true arcade faithful port, though the NES version is great too

[@mercuryq1144]

The FM-TOWNS version looks like the best port

[@RetroCore]

It could quite be the best.

[@metalcoola]

That audio in GBC version, it is as bad as 1942 port (Also GBC)

[@RetroCore]

I wonder if digital eclipse had anything to do with that port?

[@kazblocks1790]

Digital Eclipse did the GBC ports of both 1942 and Marble Madness. Also a slight correction; Tengen didn't develop the NES port. Some copyright strings in the PRG lead to Rare as the developer. Yes, the Rare that did Donkey Kong Country and Battletoads.

[@kazblocks1790]

Woops, looks like you knew the latter already.

[@ebbbbs]

Is the marble just disappearing in the MS DOS version ?

[@Mia-dt3gl]

Worst: ZX Spectrum Best: FM Towns

[@michaelmayrhofer5553]

Wow, the most converted game ever?

[@RetroCore]

It's sure up there. I'd say Pac-man or Space Invaders probably have the most official posts though.

[@neozeed1984]

what trackball does the tengen md port use, the master system?

[@RetroCore]

I guess so. Or maybe the Japanese manual is suggesting to use a mouse upside down?

[@ShinJohnpv]

Watching these battle of the ports is really making me want an Amiga. Which model Amiga do I want to look for? When I go on ebay to do some research I see Amiga 500, 600, 1200, 2000, 3000, and 4000. What should I be shooting for?

[@RetroCore]

A600 is probably a good bet as it will play most of the 500 games just fine. The A1200 is the best choice however quite a few games are incompatible and will need a crack to make them work.

[@ShinJohnpv]

Thanks for the info!

[@Octamed]

You'll find A500's the cheapest way. 95% of games were released for it. A600 are the last model and didn't sell too many so are more expensive (and don't do anything more compared to A500, unless you want an easy way to include an external compact flash 'harddrive'). A1200's are the next gen model with upgrades such as 16 million colours. Some later games have A1200 versions, but not enough to justify the extra cost they are going for.

[@jimkrom]

​@@RetroCoreif you boot an A1200 holding both mouse buttons it will take you to a bios like screen where you can disable cpu cache and select between ocs/ecs/aga chipset which usually solves all compatibility issues. Actually what will conflict sometimes with AGA is the crack intros of non original games

[@Chillywilly8818]

unless one of these ports has a trackball there's no point

[@neozeed1984]

seeing the "english computer" ports leading up to the fm towns... holy shit.dont know the timeline but if its similiar wtf

[@RetroCore]

English computer fans always bitch that their ports are crap because Japanese game companies don't share the source code. Well, here we have a western arcade game that still crap of English home computers yet the Japanese home computers and console port (Mega Drive) are all excellent. As I always say, that source code argument is invalid.

[@marioghernandez4960]

*takes a shit on the disk for the Apple II version*

[@derduisburger5768]

No no no die Steuerung der Amiga Version war gut. Ich habe das Spiel dutzendmal durchgespielt und nicht mal ansatzweise solche Probleme gehabt wie hier zu sehen ist

[@RetroCore]

Maybe you had a very nice mouse?

[@derduisburger5768]

@@RetroCore Original Amiga Maus 😁

[@RetroCore]

I see. Personally I couldn't get to grips with the Amiga controls.

[@fnjesusfreak]

Can't help but notice one thing in common on most of the crap releases: the name Will Harvey.

[@RetroCore]

Yep. Mr. Harvey sure didn't know how to get the controls right on any of his ports.

[@roudanskalamir9251]

To be fair, Will Harvey designed that port of Marble Madness when he was 15. At least he went on to bigger and better things such as the cult classic The Immortal.

[@RetroCore]

Age 15? Well, in that case he did a fantastic job even if the controls are crappy. Doing any Arcade port at that age is a feat in its own right.

[@theshitpostdumpster91]

the master System and game gear soundtrack was dun by mat furnis, the sega equivalent of tim follin.