Let's Compare ( Klax )

Video Locations:
Arcade 0:33
Atari 2600 1:37
Gameboy 2:41
BBC Micro 3:46
ZX Spectrum 4:50
MSX 5:55
DOS 6:59
Amstrad 8:03
Commodore 64 9:08
Nintendo Entertainment System 10:12
SAM Coupé 11:16
Atari ST 12:21
Gameboy Color 13:25
Atari 7800 14:30
Amiga 15:34
Game Gear 16:38
Sega Master System 17:43
Atari Lynx 18:46
Gameboy Advance ( Marble Madness & Klax ) 19:51
Turbo Grafx 16 / PC Engine 20:56
Sega Genesis / Mega Drive 22:00
Sony Playstation ( Arcade Party Pack ) 23:05
Description Source:
en.wikipedia.or...
Klax is a 1989 computer puzzle game designed by Dave Akers and Mark Stephen Pierce. The object is to line up colored blocks into rows of similar colors to make them disappear, similar to Columns. Atari Games originally released it as a coin-op follow up to Tetris, about which they were tangled in a legal dispute at the time.
Gameplay
Klax features a conveyor belt at the top of the screen. It constantly rolls toward the playing area, delivering a steady supply of blocks. The player controls a small device which sits at the interface between the conveyor belt and the playing area, and can be moved left and right to catch the blocks and either deposit them in the playing area (which can hold 25 blocks in a 5X5 arrangement) or push them back up the conveyor belt. The device can hold up to five blocks. A block which is not caught and placed in the playing area or pushed back up the belt is considered a drop. The blocks are solid colours, but there is also a flashing block which can be used as a wildcard on any colour.
Klax consists of 100 levels grouped into blocks of five. At the beginning of the game and after each fifth level (levels divisible by five, except for Levels 95 and 100), a player can choose to skip five or ten levels. Skipping levels gives bonus points and more drops (three drops are the standard if no levels are skipped, four drops are allowed if five levels are skipped, and five drops are allowed if ten levels are skipped)

[@scooterahlers6719]

AMAZING that a 1990 game was done SO WELL on 1977 hardware - the Atari 2600 version is surprisingly GOOD!!

[@SouthwesternEagle]

The Atari 2600 has a CPU that's twice as powerful as a Commodore 64. The C64 is a 6502 running at 985 KHz while the Atari 2600 is a 6507 running at 1.79 MHz. The limiting factor of the 2600 was its 128 bytes of RAM, which had to be shared by all of its hardware and software. Give the 2600 64k of RAM and the right programmer, and it will rival even the Amiga!

[@ThrilloVanHouten]

@@SouthwesternEagle The 2600 also lacked a framebuffer, which had the effect of forcing the CPU to constantly spend time drawing the screen

[@SouthwesternEagle]

@@ThrilloVanHouten Then it's a good thing the 2600 was so fast!

[@scooterahlers9666]

@@SouthwesternEagle And yet most of the early 80's arcade ports on the C64 were near perfect.

[@scooterahlers9666]

@@SouthwesternEagle You could also add RAM to a 2600 cart. By the time Klax came out - most Atari 2600 carts were using 16K if not 32K RAM. Also - games on cartridge for the C64 were limited to 16K which is why floppy disk became the primary method for gaming on the C64. A C64 floppy could hold 700K of info. Multiply that bt 4 or 5 disks and it's no wonder that games (RPG's in particular) were over 1MB in RAM - often 2 or even 3 MB. C64 was a very flexible system in it's own right..

[@bobandlex]

Wow the TurboGrafx and Lynx versions pretty much nailed it dead on! The PSX is the only true arcade port of course but it was made well after the craze. TG-16 owners were the only ones who enjoyed the true arcade experience.

[@mrluxury1018]

It is the nineties and there is time for... KLAX

[@reggier2343]

this was one of my favorite games.

[@jppask275]

Very underrated game by far. I think someone should bring this video to the attention of Slowbeef personally lol :)

[@GamingHistorySource]

Going ahead & releasing this video. It was meant for Next Friday But KZbin screwed up the Scheduling. So .. Don't expect one next week. it Was supposed to be this one. Anyway ! You'll get to see it before the world ends. lol

[@ButterduckAyyds]

Only 67 more years until it’s the 90s and there is once again time for Klax

[@eltravo2112]

I had this for the TurboGrafx 16 back in 1991. I was impressed how close to the arcade version it was.

[@jwaughtal]

the red bricks in the arcade version sound like they have the hiccups

[@DeadRaymanWalking]

LOL I was about to say the same thing :-P

[@anthonydpaige]

The soundtrack on the Tengen NES version slaps so hard

[@Pally356]

I will say, the block falling scream almost had me laughing out loud.

[@Glux247]

This game makes me wish I never sold my Nintendo. My dad and I use to go so hard head-to-head on this game. We probably still would if I had it.

[@KageMaxwell]

I always liked the Genesis version the best because of the music and sound effects.

[@dartsma464]

I love the background graphics of the BBC version. I assume the 2600 version gets loved because the machine is so underpowered

[@linoxyard]

The Atari Lynx version is really fun, probably one of the best games on that platform (I emulate it on the PSVita on the go, much more convenient than the real Lynx to bring around)

[@shanesouthard9518]

The orange Klax sound so funny to me, never have understood why. Just sounds like wet fart noises to me...lol, I'm so mature.

[@W3Rn1ckz]

Sounds like a sound from Q*Bert, to be frank.

[@DTM-Books]

The 7800 was surprisingly good, except for the awful 2600 audio. Somebody needs to make a POKEY edit of that pronto. NES version is one of the better ones. Amiga has killer audio, colors were a bit dithered (it's almost the same as the ST version. Game Gear had some nice music. The best translation of Klax...Atari Lynx. It's spectacular in every way and beats everyone else easily. Kudos to Greg Omi and Lx Rudis for their work. Special prize goes to TG-16 and Genesis versions.

[@patsfan4life]

That is the story of the Atari 7800.... Modern graphics and gameplay with a decade-old sound chip..... genius move by Atari to save money on their goal of backwards compatibility.... Cheap, and with very little foresight

[@mackieks]

Atari Lynx KLAX is the best version of all time. Clean, simple graphics, and nice audio. The portrait screen is what made it work so well. I need to pick up a Lynx and upgrade the screen to really enjoy the best version of KLAX ever made.

[@boefjedewolf76]

Lynx???? Its a dumbass handheld Never liked it no way

[@tonybigbananas]

Boefje de Wolf it was a great version of the game

[@cloudyeggs284]

A Gameboy Color is 8-bit And here we have a GBC game without any 8-bit sounds

[@andyukmonkey]

The UK market really was flooded with 8 bit hardware back then when you think about it.

[@celinesenden4142]

The arcade version is amazing

[@scooterahlers6719]

The Gameboy version makes the Atari 2600 version look GREAT by comparison. Gameboy Color & Gameboy Advance versions are much better!

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

+Scooter Ahlers Because 2600 is great

[@ThrilloVanHouten]

It is the twenties and there is time for...KLAX

[@zackschilling4376]

TG16 has the best version - under rated game on an under rated console

[@wingnut4427]

The GBA version is a compilation. It's Marble Madness & Klax on one cart. BUT !! there is another that also includes Paperboy & Rampage. So .. if I were You I would probably got for the one with 4 games. :) Ahh yes ! The MSX version is just a port of the ZX Spectrum versions.. or vice versa. The BBC .. not too sure but it exists. :)

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

It's January 2020, & I've just picked this up boxed for the Mighty Master System from ebay for £2.50. Waiting for the postman now. 😊

[@ZylonBane]

There's actually a second Gameboy version of Klax, made by Hudson Soft. It's *terrible*. Do a search here for Gameboy Klax and it should come up.

[@letsgonow5641]

+ZylonBane Theres also two versions for Genesis..They are both good but the namco one is slightly better.

[@IanRomanick]

Luis X I did not know that! Now I have a quest...

[@cawleygamma]

Ian Romanick - Back in the day the Japanese Mega Drive version by Namco didn’t get good reviews in the UK gaming press. I’ve not tried either Sega 16-Bit version for years, but it sounds like the a Japanese version is seen in a more favourable light these days.

[@midnightsocietynyc]

Owned the TG-16/PC-Engine version!

[@wingnut4427]

lol ... it's in the description. Some of the older videos don't have it because I have yet to add them. Just haven't had time.

[@ThrilloVanHouten]

It is the 10s and there is time for Klax

[@netsurferx1]

It is the 21st century, and there is time for... *KLAX*

[@revolution606]

amiga looks great

[@scooterahlers6719]

Does anyone know about the "big sandwhich" pattern? It can get you as much as 700,000 points on the first two boards. Tough - but easier than trying for the "big X".

[@Themaniacnextdoor]

You know, most versions of this are pretty great. I personally like the Atari 2600 one.

[@funshine97]

I have the unlicensed NES version of Klax.

[@JB-em2ot]

Unlicensed AND Famicom versions. Boom.

[@fernandosandoval593]

La primera versión del juego Klax de Atari,que jugué fue la versión portal Atari Lynx,despues jugue la version de NES,y por último jugue la version de Arcade,gracias al emulador de Arcades,MAME,adiós y saludos desde Chile🇨🇱.

[@ks-bg5uk]

atari lynx all the way.

[@jayden6538]

Here's my thoughts on the versions: Arcade: A very advanced game for 1990, with voice synthesis technology. I think it still holds up today! Atari 2600: It has limited sound, but it feels like playing Klax from a top down perspective. Game Boy: Klax... on a monochrome console? At least you can distinguish the bricks easily. BBC Micro: I like the idea of wild tiles... this version seems a bit patriotic! ZX Spectrum: I don't really like the look of the bricks, and the whole thing seems a bit garish... but a lot of ZX Spectrum games looked a bit garish anyways. MSX: Not really different from the ZX Spectrum version, but it's slightly brighter and has a bit more sound. MS-DOS: The sound is pretty limited, but I think it's a pretty good substitute of the arcade version. Amstrad CPC: It looks pretty good like the arcade version, but it has sort of limited sound and the text is small and sort of hard to read. C64: The colors are a bit dull, but it looks okay and the sound is nice. NES: It's pretty colorful like the arcade version, and the graphics are pretty nice for the NES. Sam Coupe: It's pretty colorful like the arcade version but I don't really like the look of the bricks, and there's not that much sound effects. Atari ST: It's pretty good, very colorful and the tiles are nice and big. Game Boy Color: Some of the text is slightly hard to read, but I think this a pretty good port of the arcade version, it makes more sense than the Game Boy version and I especially like that they took sounds from the arcade game. Atari 7800: It looks okay, but some text is hard to read and the sound has little to be desired. Amiga: This conversion is pretty good - the graphics look nice, the sound is good, and I like the catchy tune that plays before each level. Game Gear - It looks okay, but the screen resolution is small and the text is slightly hard to read. Master System - Really just the Game Gear version with better screen resolution. Atari Lynx - The text is pretty small, but I think this is a great conversion of the arcade version, with voices and sounds from the arcade version. Game Boy Advance - It's a pretty good conversion, unlike the Marble Madness game on that same cart. Marble Madness was really only meant for trackballs, and wasn't meant for D-Pads. TurboGrafx-16 - This conversion has pretty good music, voices & sounds. Unfortunately, it wasn't released in the USA. Sega Genesis - It's an okay conversion, but it would be nice to have some more sounds in it. PS1 - It's a pretty good conversion, but since it was on the PS1, I thought it would be a 3D Klax with polygonal graphics.

[@chriswathen9612]

All versions had wild tiles, it's just a matter of when they are introduced into the game. The most fascinating thing about watching all of these variants is not the graphics & sound, but how much the difficulty varies between platforms on what is supposed to be the same level.

[@shawntorres6262]

I personally like the Gameboy Advance version the best. The sound of the game is perfect to me. I got this game which is bundled with Marble Madness back in the early 2000s. Good times.

[@bragi1]

Played this game on my turbo express in the 90s. There are 100 waves then the game resets.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

There's a different version of Klax on the Gameboy and Famicom by Hudson Soft.

[@gameslush1881]

If anyone is interested in playing a modern remake of Klax, I developed one playable in your browser.

[@dogbunns]

I like the NES version the best. One of my fav NES games.. The other would be the nintendo version of Tetris

[@W3Rn1ckz]

It's got a nice beat to it.

[@Novabug]

Just noticed another difference between the CPC and GX versions, slight as it is. There is no sound of the tiles rolling down the runway but the GX version has a sound. Also, I adore that Amiga theme for it. Wonderful.

[@andyukmonkey]

+Novabug Ive got the Cartridge version and must say i'd much prefer not having the loud crunch noise 5 times every second. Would have been cheaper to get the standard CPC version too!

[@sistagirl]

My brother had this on his Spectrum 😂

[@funshine97]

For some reason, the Game Boy Color version of this game doesn't sound like what a Game Boy Color should sound like. I mean, its music and sound effects sound more like the arcade version than a Game Boy Color.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

But there's 2 Mega Drive versions...

[@cathycollins2859]

NES looks very cool, wonder if we’ll get lucky enough for it to be added to the online line up on the switch?

[@draconpost]

I had the C64 version as a kid and always thought those boxes were some slow walking hungry creatures

[@jpndpersonalchannel]

Ahhh.... Amstrad GX4000 Again.. Yep its totally Perfect the color tone is...

[@vebxenon]

Yesterday I discovered the PC-88 version :D

[@CountVarg]

Was the gba version on a compilation or was it released by it's self? As im interested in getting a copy. Also I didnt know it was released on msx and the bbc.

[@10p6]

BBC version is embarrassing to watch. Game Boy version is like watching Tetris-wave or Liquorice Allsorts-wave. MSX version is like watching the Spectrum version if it were made for the 128 with its better sound chip. CPC is probably the best 8 bit version. The best version in my opinion is still the Atari Lynx Version. Now that was and still is awesome.

[@vebxenon]

Klax for Spectrum 128 has even voices :)

[@KizulEmeraldfire]

But does the Amstrad CPC version have BLOB BALL? I don't believe it does. Checkmate! :D Really, though, I agree: the Amstrad one DOES look gorgeous.

[@DanZero77]

Did this game receive the most number of ports out of all of them you did so far? I see every major console, handheld, and computer for the time period here.

[@LieseFury]

WOW the clapping on GBC sounds awful

[@wingnut4427]

wasn't aware of it. You should post a video response. :)

[@SpiralPegasus]

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!! TWENTY TWO PLATFORMS?! That's crazy! Is Klax the most ported game ever?

[@Renville80]

I got a real kick out of the finger spelling of KLAX at 18:50

[@wingnut4427]

No. bubble bobble, Donkey kong, Pac man, & a few others have a load of ports as well.

[@rynmaymay9309]

How did you succeed with one klax in amiga

[@zackschilling4376]

yup. Even the HuCard itself looked cool

[@brianvgplayer]

The JP Mega Drive version from Namco is also different from the US/EU Genesis/MD version.

[@immajake489]

I know the NES port lets you select music if you hit start, do any of the others?

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

Ever played QbQbQb? It's an awesome match 3 game with a lot of passion, but sadly overlooked. Which is a shame, because I would love to play that on a console, especially the Switch!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

It is a shame it is not the nineties, or time for KLAX!

[@user-do6xy9rc2t]

It's always time for Klax! 😁

[@GamingHistorySource]

Damn KZbin ! I selected to Schedule this video & they released it. WTF !!

[@SonofMrPeanut]

Someone take the arcade sound and sync it with Mountain's "Mississippi Queen."

[@russellriedel1655]

I found klax on midway arcade treasures ps2

[@lurkerrekrul]

The C64 version was the easiest due to the slower speed. Only one tile at a time comes out at first. I was often able to make the giant 'X', which I could never do on any other version. The Amiga, ST and TG16 versions were the hardest. Right at the start of the game, there are always at least three tiles on the conveyer belt at any given time.

[@ZXSpectrum128K]

not interested in seeing speccy stuff running at 6mhz using snapper discs from velesoft site are you?

[@EvilMonkeyReturns]

Before the GBA version came along, the Lynx version was the best portable version around, bar-none. I don't even know why they'd make a Gameboy version. A lot of those other versions... wow. There's bad, and then there's just "why" bad. It's so bad you almost can't play it, and are thankful the NES version comes along! The sad thing is since Klax didn't come out until 1990, the game didn't come out until at least then for the home versions (most older systems were out, like the ataris).

[@bangerbangerbro]

Weren't there 2 versions for the mega drive?

[@AlexOjideagu2]

I don't remember this being on the GBA at all

[@Rlotpir1972]

Had the NES version.

[@boefjedewolf76]

Genesis version for me

[@o_o_o_o_o-o_o_o_o_o]

Wow I'm amazed at how only like two of these versions have decent sound. I grew up thinking the NES version was the "main" one, solely because that's the only one I knew well, and yet apparently it's the only one with great music! Unless you just turned music off in a bunch of these or something. But even the sound effects are great! Sound is pretty cheesy in a lot of these. Those cartoony squelchy sounds and whatnot, and the very generic synth-y intro tune... it's not very pleasant. Hail NES Klax!

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

Atari 2600: Despite the limitations, I can kind of make out the gameplay resemblence. Gameboy: Obviously they had to work around the lack of colour, so they used stripes. But why not other patterns? BBC Micro: Good gravity, the colour blindness in this is much worse than Gameboy, because the few colours makes this incredibly jarring to look at! ZX Spectrum: I'm actually surprised they managed to work around the systems limited use of colours. Quite impressive if I do say so myself. MSX: Wait, isn't this a port of the ZX Spectrum version? Well at least the sound is better. MS-DOS: Good to see a DOS port that doesn't look terrible. Though you can easily make the game work with even EGA graphics. Amstrad: Why is the display so small? C64: I can't help but feel this looks slower than the others so far. NES: Finally a port that actually looks faithful to the arcade game so far! SAM Compe: It looks like the DOS version, except faster and with better sound. Atari ST: Looks like DOS version again, but even better sound than the previous versions. Gameboy Colour: The addition of colour makes it less confusing than the original Gameboy Atari 7800: The orange blocks look too similar to the yellow ones. Amiga: The audio is pretty good, which is usually expected for Amiga. Sega Game Gear: Audio is a little repetitive, but it looks like an okay port. Sega Master System: Unsurprisingly similar to the Game Gear version, but they may have made the interface a bit too tall. Atari Lynx: The orange blocks sound like they make fart noises Gameboy Advance: Looks like a solid port, but the audio is pretty compressed. Turbografx-16: The screen looks too narrow. Sega Genesis: Good port, but the music gets annoying after a little while. Playstation: Okay, the orange blocks definitely make fart noises in this version!

[@FrenchieFred]

Snes klax ?

[@josepzin]

Poor C64 version...

[@arongooch]

Amiga version all the way :)

[@josepzin]

:D :D

[@scooterahlers6719]

Best to Worst.... 1. Arcade 2. Playstation 1/2/Gamecube (all emulations of the arcade version) 3. Atari Lynx 4. Gameboy Advance 5. Gameboy Color 6. Amiga 7. TG-16 8. Sega Genesis 9. Atari ST/NES 10. Atari 2600 11. ZX Spectrum 12. Commodore 64 13. MSX 14. Amstrad

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

+Scooter Ahlers Wtf with you list? LOL

[@blazecrespo1]

Eh... I was never a big fan of Klax.