Marble Madness II LongPlay (full game) Atari's Marble Man / Marble Madness 2

[@olefiend]

Marble Man, are you actually a marble? Thank you for finally rolling through your entire sequel. I've been waiting for this moment for far too long.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Same here!

[@aaronberns8485]

I’ve waited my whole life for this moment and now, it’s finally here!!!! Isn’t patience a great virtue.

[@JackTheGamer3]

It sure is!!

[@johnkoch2]

Ok you have got to be kidding me - after all these years! I NEVER expected to see an update - ever! I'm stunned!!

[@JackTheGamer3]

XD

[@DigiEggz]

Thanks for the footage. Interesting to see a bustling, action-oriented version of Marble Madness.

[@GGoAwayy]

They really made a mistake not releasing this game. Its a totally worthy successor.

[@JackTheGamer3]

If this game was released 3 or 4 years earlier before fighting games were I bet it would have been a hit!!!!

[@liamprice7444]

@@JackTheGamer3 I actually like the sounds in the game the most! Was it around 1991 that this game would have been released?

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@liamprice7444 Yup!!!! Which a lot of the sounds were reused from the first game!!!!

[@JoeyCannoli]

Oh my god, you have no idea how many years I've been waiting to see a full playthrough of this game! Thanks so much for posting this! I do hope you or someone else is able to upload Marble Madness 2's soundtrack somewhere someday, because this game has some really good music!

[@marbleman1521]

Check my other videos... Already done. And I think there's a website that is sharing them all as MP3s now... kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGfHopeAnq1nqtU

[@JoeyCannoli]

@@marbleman1521 Awesome!!

[@JackTheGamer3]

Damn. I must have forgot to send this video to you! XD Hii! Joey!

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@marbleman1521 Pretty weird thing to ask. But is there a chance you could upload a video the service mode? :) I'm curious to know how it looks!!

[@turrican3839]

@@marbleman1521 However Khinsider is missing the climax uploads lol

[@SuperJustinChannel]

I am so glad this video exists; I've been wondering earlier this year if we'd ever see more of Marble Madness II and it looks like everything I've wanted in a Marble Madness sequel. I do wonder how early/late into development this version of the game is (if it either proceeds or follows the Marble Man version).

[@marbleman1521]

This is the last version of the game made. Not sure it was actually 'final', but this is what it would have looked like if they released it. The 'Marble Man' version was tested first, and the whole 'marble sounding like and turning into a man' thing was deemed a bad move, and all references to 'Marble Man' were removed from the game for what was going to be the final version. There's an internal memo from Atari that details all of this, which you can see here: www.vgmaps.com/forums/index.php?topic=2109.msg22552#msg22552

[@MylstarElectronics]

Power-up: _Cloak_ - This makes the Marble invisible to enemies _Knobby_ - This gives your Marble traction on slippery surfaces _Crusher_ - This Powerup makes your Marble twice as large as the enemies and allows you to *CRUSH THEM!* _Heli_ - This Powerup allows you to fly and take shortcuts and capture flags

[@SlappyHappy2000]

You're the guy with the KZbin video on the Marble Man prototype, correct?

[@MylstarElectronics]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Right? Right! ~ Marble Man is the early-test version. Unfortunately, all references to "Marble Man" will be removed in the final-test version.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Hey marble man!!! It's been awhile since this video released. But I just wanted to say that this was the BEST christmas present anyone could ever give me!!! Thanks!!!

[@GadgetUK164]

Amazing to see this! I hope someone releases the ROMs at some point!

[@JackTheGamer3]

I doubt anytime this year though

[@TranquilVision]

@@JackTheGamer3 I have news for you.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@TranquilVision What’s up!

[@mostverticalproductions4808]

Looks like they did. Two days ago. Mame devs gonna add it soon.

[@_space_cat_]

I liked to play port of original game on NES as a kid. Never managed to beat the final stage though. Didn't know there was a sequel in works, looks neat

[@SlappyHappy2000]

Nearly 3 months later and this still puts a big smile on my face. I'll hold out for this game for as long as I need to :)

[@JackTheGamer3]

^^

[@richardadamson1438]

It's in the internet archive

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@richardadamson1438 I know, this was three months ago so of course this comment is gonna be just a bit outdated ;)

[@richardadamson1438]

@@SlappyHappy2000 fair enough.

[@PinDominator]

I've been waiting so long for this video!!

[@JackTheGamer3]

A lot of people were! ^^

[@seabit253]

Hmm. This game has always fascinated me as a Super Monkey Ball fan. It's the first game of its genre, and to find MM had a lost sequel, was really intriguing.

[@JackTheGamer3]

3 months later and this video is still as great as ever!!

[@jasonscott1978]

I didn't know Marble Madness had a sequel.

[@Cueya]

Unreleased

[@segaretro92]

rom is out now

[@JackTheGamer3]

Where?

[@segaretro92]

@@JackTheGamer3 internet archive (can't send links here or else comment will be deleted)

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@segaretro92 Yeah I already found it! Pretty good game!

[@marbleman1521]

Finally... Is there a MAME driver released already? (I can confirm the ROMs are legit, and by the file information they were dumped in 2000...)

[@segaretro92]

@@marbleman1521 There is someone who has brought back the driver in their own pull of the mame source. I said brought back since it was apparently included in an early build of mame, but got removed. They’ve set up a pull request to the main repo so it might end up in a future build of mame. For now, you can compile that build of mame until the driver gets added to the official release. There is a zip file on mega that has a build with the mm2 driver and the rom file though, again can’t send links or else youtube will delete my comment.

[@samus-rd1channel]

I've been wanting to play this for years, maybe one day it will finally be released!

[@JackTheGamer3]

one day. I’ve been waiting for the moment before I joined elementary school. I’m in high school now XD

[@tjthewizard2002]

this game looks awesome

[@sarysa]

The music seems...unfinished. Some sound like programmer music while others come across as a rough outline of a completed track. I know it's a prototype but it's strange that this applies to pretty much the entire game, which makes me wonder even more what development was like.

[@JackTheGamer3]

The music is finished. There’s just emulation issues. The real deal is actually good. The high rise stage actually sounds a lot different when it’s hardware and not emulation.

[@sarysa]

@@JackTheGamer3 Aah, I should see if someone got this working on a compatible board with an authentic sound chip I guess?

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@sarysa Pretty much!! ^^

[@FrenchToasted1995]

aerial is a bop

[@G.M.M.]

Great to finally see a full playthrough of this! I can see what people have been saying for a long time now in terms of the quality of the game. It seems to be more based around tons of similar looking levels with annoying enemies instead of using a few hazards to make each level feel unique. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a sequel, but an understandable decision for a sequel that wants to take more quarters than the original. Some parts feel like they would've gotten more polish if it was released, like the steelies. The way they sit completely still until you go next to them feels very unfinished.

[@SlappyHappy2000]

The black marbles look especially weird. The way they just stay still until you get into range, and the way they just sorta stop after you die. Also, they are WAY to aggressive, it seems they'll follow you to the entire end of the stage if you let them!

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Agreed! The black marbles in the first game don’t Harass you to death

[@JackTheGamer3]

0:40 The sound I’ve been waiting for!

[@joesmoe71]

I love how they kept some of the sound effects from the original!

[@JackTheGamer3]

It actually shared some sound effects from paperboy!

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@JackTheGamer3 I caught that too... Mainly with the jackhammers on the highrise stage!

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Yup! That's the same thing I caught! I really think this is a late system 2 game! One of the levels sound like a game called "Off the wall"

[@JackTheGamer3]

The entire soundtrack sounds like a mixter of system 2 games, 68000 games, and dual 68000 games!!

[@JackTheGamer3]

I'm so relieved that the game has the coin sound effect as well! 😅

[@MxArgent]

Some of the collision doesn't seem quite polished, but I'm not well versed enough with the original to compare. Good to see it in action!

[@DiMono]

This game is way less chill than Marble Madness 1. Almost like a beat-em-up.

[@NirnBootMod]

I think it looks like an amazing sequel, though.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@NirnBootMod It is! ^^

[@DiMono]

@@NirnBootMod Indeed!

[@NirnBootMod]

@@DiMono I didn't even know it existed. I was a big fan of the Marble Madness on NES and arcade as a kid.

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

The original Marble Madness from 1984 was intended to have 17 stages, but it was reduced to six due to the limited development time and the higher cost of using more ROM for the additional 11 stages.

[@kandowontu5896]

The marble madness community would lose their shit if this finally got released. :(

[@JackTheGamer3]

Is that a bad thing? XD

[@SlappyHappy2000]

Dude I'm already losing my shit lol

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Lmao

[@zenksren8206]

Apparently not going by all the comments saying it's bad

[@kandowontu5896]

@@zenksren8206 The MM speedrun community was still getting into it hard right before I recently left. Yeah its got its problems but at least we can enjoy it now!

[@bigjawed]

I kinda want to know what hardware this game runs on. (Sound chips, video graphics and resolution, etc.) If anyone can fill me in, let me know.

[@JackTheGamer3]

I’m not sure. But it really looks like it runs on system 2 hardware on my opinion! But I know it’s probably not

[@owlnonymous]

GG! I could never get past that last ice portion on the final stage.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Lucky you got to play the game!

[@dumplechan]

The final boss is ICE PHYSICS

[@arcadeages3917]

Where/how did you play this? Any news if it will ever be released?

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@arcadeages3917 He most likely played it at an arcade

[@arcadeages3917]

@@JackTheGamer3 what arcade has this unreleased game available to play?

[@SionynJones]

Atari has been bankrupt for 9 years so maybe the game finally can be freed. However this video is great for preservation thanks so much for it.

[@awanderer5446]

Thank you so much for sharing this lost treasure by posting this video!

[@BucktoothWillie100]

Can you post a video of the attract screen? I don't think I have ever seen a full run-through of it.

[@SlappyHappy2000]

I'm pretty sure it starts with the title screen, shows the high scores (labelled "King of the Mountain"), then shows a stage from the game in action, then shows some more high scores (this time labelled "High Rollers"), then shows the credits of the people who made the game. The stages that are shown alternate between the Practice race, the King of the Mountain race, and the first Pin Bonus stage. I am saying this from prior information without full certainty. There could be more to it.

[@marbleman1521]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Yeah, that sounds right... Give or take the order of something. :) I'll try to get a video up of the whole sequence though.

[@aaronberns8485]

Marble madness could’ve had the potential to be a great series much like sonic or Mario has. Maybe the 3rd game the marble will fight different bosses or the levels will have different acts. I think people will love this sequel when the roms are released. With some improvements and modern graphical capability Marble Madness could see a great revival. It has been done before with hamsterball and super monkey ball. One feature that would be really neat for a new version of marble madness is a custom level feature.

[@JackTheGamer3]

I know I'll love it!! XD

[@aaronberns8485]

@@JackTheGamer3 , I think one idea for a remake is to combine the levels of the first and second game together.

[@turrican3839]

Uh oh, I found out that there is 4 more tracks missing in the soundtrack rip video aside the frequently-mentioned Astral variants, they are: -Wacky Race climax 1, 2 and 3 -King Of The Mountain Race Wacky Race at 12:07, 12:24 and 13:19 shows those are the areas on where the music entirely changes just like how in Astral the music changes after entering the holes And as for King Of The Mountain, the music actually has an end to it, it plays when you enter the final GOAL line however the soundtrack rip you uploaded doesn't feature the finishing theme for the stage, it can be heard in 21:12

[@marbleman1521]

Heh, yeah, I figured there might be more... If Astral can change it's music, I figures other levels might too... Astral seems to pick between at least two different songs sometimes too, Wacky Race might do that as well... As for KOTM, I did find that final part of the song, but the sound effect of the fireworks are actually part of the music track once you enter the Goal section, so it would sound exactly like you hear in the game (although I guess without the bonus points counting...) So I didn't bother to record it...

[@SlappyHappy2000]

With the Wacky Race, don't forget that 12:24 is also its own little section.

[@MylstarElectronics]

This is for *Brad Fuller* !

[@cone78omdiaco21]

probably should've been released 3 or 4 years before. SF II became all the rage back then.

[@andrewschumm1848]

It’s better than Bowlero and Dave and busters in 2022!!! Thanks for uploading it.

[@richardadamson1438]

I kinda like this. But to be honest, if I had a choice between this and Street Fighter 2, I would choose Street Fighter 2.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Street fighter 2 is bullshit

[@SDChargers93]

@@JackTheGamer3 thank you

[@TranquilVision]

The hoarder to end all hoarders.

[@marbleman1521]

Heh, yeah, I do agree... While I know I (or anyone else) aren't ENTITLED to have copies of games like this, it would be nice if someone did release them...

[@turrican3839]

@@marbleman1521 you could've done so lol

[@marbleman1521]

@@turrican3839 I can't release something I don't have... I don't have a copy myself, so nothing I can do there... The person I know that has them won't even give them to me. (Yes, he believes in not pirating games THAT much...)

[@turrican3839]

@@marbleman1521 classic hoarding, at this rate I honestly see no good legitimate reason for the game not to see release aside the main programmer not wanting it leaked

[@marbleman1521]

@@turrican3839 Well, as a MAMEr I agree there's no practical reason for it not to be released like any other game ROM that's out there... But as for 'legitimate', the law actually is a legitimate reason. 'Releasing' ROMs is illegal, and there really is no basis for saying 'it should be out there'. That's just an elitist, entitled attitude. If you don't own a REAL copy of the game, you have absolutely no right to have a pirated copy at all... And no right to bitch about it if someone that does have a legit copy won't share it with you... It's more the 'sharing it with SOME of my friends, and no one else' that really gets annoying. That is just the selfish, ego-centric attitude (and 'I have something you don't have, nah, nah' attitude). Either ONLY people with legit copies have it, or everyone has it... :) Selective piracy is still piracy...

[@SlappyHappy2000]

I can't tell you how long I've patiently waited for this game, and nothing much more to say than "patience rewards people"!! Oh, and what an absolute BANGER of a soundtrack! Though, I'd assume it isn't possible for you to upload the individual songs to KZbin as well?

[@JackTheGamer3]

I’ve been waiting for this moment before I even joined elementary school!! Probably for a decade now!

[@marbleman1521]

How about all of them as a huge video, but with chapters. :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGfHopeAnq1nqtU

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@marbleman1521 Just as great! Thank you so much for everything you've done!!

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@marbleman1521 Thank you so much! You made the dream come true!! 💙💙

[@chowmein0941]

I want to hear all of the voices lol

[@chemprofmatt]

I LOVED Marble Madness, but I'm really mixed about this sequel. While I'm thrilled that it has more levels than the original, there's something very cheap about the overall look and sound of it. The soundtrack for this game is just tinny and hard on the ear, while the original was more smooth; it was one of the game's best features. I wonder why the designers felt the need to stick ugly little cartoon faces on almost all the figures in this game. Why would a fork or a sand bucket need a face? The worst aspect overall of this game is that the screen is so busy all the time. While the original game was almost minimalist, this one is just loaded to the brim with tacky visual distractions. I've really been hoping that someone would release this game for years, yet now I feel kind of let down.

[@desertyeti6491]

I agree. It's too spastic and inelegant. I can kinda see why they didn't release this.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Happy Birthday to this video!!!

[@Juganawt]

I've waited a long time to see Marble Madness II in it's entirety. Now that I have, I finally understand why the game was cancelled. I'd love to play it for myself one of these days, but, judging from the footage, this doesn't seem like it'd have been a worthy sequel to the original game.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Wow! For we watching this makes me want to play the game even more!! XD

[@SlappyHappy2000]

I think it looks like a damn good game and well worth my time. Though, I slightly agree with the fact that it works better as its own thing than a sequel to marble madness.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 To me it looks like marble madness on the system 2

[@ВаваДюк]

I know that you can’t provide info where to get this rom but was it finally dumped?

[@marbleman1521]

It's always been dumped. The guy that brings the actual machines to California arcade conventions (California Extreme) copied the ROMs from the original programmer to get his games working, thus he dumped the ROMs to do it. There's been a working MAME driver for at least 18 years. It's just never been made public.

[@ВаваДюк]

@@marbleman1521 except YOU! lol 🤣 Well...aren't you special???

[@marbleman1521]

@@ВаваДюк Haha, nope, not me. I don't have a copy myself. Just had access long enough to make the cheat and film the game... :)

[@SlappyHappy2000]

I'm just curious here... Did anyone else notice how some of the point flags kinda just... appeared out of nowhere? Sometimes, the marble went through a seemingly empty space, and then bam, they apparently collected 2000 points from a flag, suddenly made visible. And how when a power-up is collected and in use, some multi-color-flashing flags will suddenly show up? (you can still collect these too, as seen in the beginning of the Silly Race with the Crusher power) Two questions that probably no one will be able to answer: Is this an emulation issue or a problem with the game being a prototype with some bugs? How does this affect the super bonus in a level? (collecting all the point flags in a level will grant you a super bonus)

[@marbleman1521]

I assumed they were 'Easter egg' flags, hidden bonus things the programmers put around the level. Sometimes they were off in odd places, like a corner you wouldn't normally need to go to, or ones that only appear after you get a power up...

[@trevoreb]

So there is a new FPGA board in the works that was on display in Florida a few months back. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIvYf5t8pZVgd80 Go to 2:13:00 of this video near the end to see the machine. Do you know if the beta roms survive as well? Thanks for introducing me to VGMaps too!

[@SlappyHappy2000]

Yeah, the repro machines have been known about for a while, long before this longplay was posted... They plan to start selling these in early 2022, I think. The beta, or "Marble Man", ROMs I'd say are a lost cause. Unlike the final version, no one really knows where they are, who has them, and if they're in good condition and such.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 I thought the beta was just gone period

[@negative1723]

very cool. looking forward to playing it. later -1

[@JackTheGamer3]

Same here!!

[@unoclay]

would love to get an upload of the sound files by themselves if possible...?

[@marbleman1521]

Well, if I can share a d/l link, here's the WAV files I used to make the Soundtrack video: we.tl/t-142ajl4HO3 Link will go away in 7 days, so grab it now. Feel free to host them somewhere permanent if you want to.

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@marbleman1521 Ooh la la!

[@unoclay]

@@marbleman1521 wow thats awesome, thanks!

[@Launchpad05]

All Things Lost sent me here.

[@battosaijenkins946]

@ Marble Man, Waiiiiiit a minute. With all due respect HOW?!?!? There's only 3 confirmed physical owners of this game and for decades refused to dump it!

[@jamesmccoy8353]

Same man

[@TheHulkingMenace]

I definitely would Log the VGM from the game if I ever could get my hands on it. Maybe one day.

[@SlappyHappy2000]

If by VGM you mean video game music, then it's already been done on this channel. If by VGM you mean video game maps, then that has already been done on the video game map site.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 He means the video game music most likely

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Also this game does have some emulation issues! I watched that Johns arcade’s video and the high rise level had a lot more to the song

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@JackTheGamer3 Watching videos of actual Marble Madness 2 cabinets, I also noticed that the sampled sounds in the emulator seem a lot quieter than they're supposed to be.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Yeah. Especially the drums

[@infesticon]

Hey at least it's out there now.

[@XanthinZarda]

I think I liked it better when the marbles didn't have a terrible cartoon face. Also, this is for the person who refuses to dump it: *DUMP THE ROM, YOU HOARDER. EVERY MOMENT YOU DON'T IS ANOTHER MOMENT THE ROM COULD EXPIRE, RENDERING YOUR STUPID CIRCUTBOARD AN EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT.*

[@marbleman1521]

Fortunately you only see the cartoon face at the start... And the ROMs are dumped, how do you think I'm playing it MAME??? Every person that has a unique arcade game that isn't publicly available has dumped all dumpable chips. They aren't stupid. They just choose not to make them available on the internet...

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@marbleman1521 It’s funny how I use to have the same mind set as him! XDDDDD

[@sh2ksknockoff257]

@@marbleman1521 If I might be so bold to ask... what is your reason to not make the Marble Madness 2 ROM available on the internet? I'm just curious, if you don't want to reply that is perfectly understandable.

[@marbleman1521]

@@sh2ksknockoff257 They aren't mine to release... Someone on the MAME team said they were going to release them years ago and never did, no idea why... But unfortunately it isn't my decision to make.

[@turrican3839]

The wait was fucking worth it for this game

[@grk70s]

Anyone know if the hardware based of any known atari hardware or is it uniquely designed for MM2?

[@JudgmentStorm]

It has some things seen in a couple other Atari Games protos (Arcade Classics & Sparkz) and some extras. MM2 uses a 14.318181 MHz 68000 and an OKI MSM6295 like these two, though it also has a 6502, YM2151, and JSA III sound board. I'd guess this hardware was initially made for MM2, then pared down for AC & Sparkz.

[@JackTheGamer3]

​@@JudgmentStorm Road Riot and Danger express use the OKI as well!!! ^^

[@JackTheGamer3]

Finally!

[@grk70s]

Yes finaly. First the maps and now the longplay and music.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@grk70s Ayyy! How’s it been!! I always thought I was forgetting to share this video to someone! Now we just have yet to play it one day! ^^

[@grk70s]

@@JackTheGamer3 Its been good. As for playing it on mame one day maybe after the fpga duplicates get out to the various arcades. "maybe".

[@JackTheGamer3]

Do you know what hardware this game runs on? It really looks and sounds like a late system 2 game! ^^

[@marbleman1521]

Not the specific Atari hardware (like Sys 1, Sys 2, etc), only what MAME tells me: CPU: 68000 at 14.31818 MHz and M6502 at 1.7895 MHz. Sound: 1xYM2151 at 3.579 MHz and 1xMSM6295 at 9.037 MHz. Screen resolution is 336x240 at 60Hz

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@marbleman1521 oooooh

[@NigeJones]

@@marbleman1521 That sounds very like System 1 but with the CPU speed doubled. I wonder if MAME is running it too fast?

[@marbleman1521]

@@NigeJones It seems to be running about the same speed as the videos of the actual cabinets, from what I can tell based on other YT videos...

[@JackTheGamer3]

​@@NigeJones The game honestly sounds a lot like system 2 to me

[@JackTheGamer3]

Would you mind uploading all the sound effects from this game? :)

[@SlappyHappy2000]

All sound effects might be a daunting task... Especially since Mr. Marble Man here has established that some of the tracks in the sound check don't play anything due to emulation issues (?).

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 That is true. On second thought! We might as well wait for a rom to actually release one day on the latest mame emulator to get to that point! XD

[@o_o_o_o_o-o_o_o_o_o]

I don't like how the new enemies mostly look like real-world things with cartoon faces on them rather than being alien and abstract, and I don't like how the marble has an annoying child's voice that says "radical" a lot. Otherwise this seems cool. Maybe a little too busy with all the chaos-causing powerups and cluttered-together multiple routes? I'd have to play it to see. Definitely seems like it would have fit into a real-world arcade, anyway - assuming it came out early enough not to seem embarrassingly old-fashioned.

[@EnderArloSWF]

Don't worry the MM1 enemies make a small appearance

[@Alianger]

Looks cool besides the chopper power up not quite working/being properly balanced and that slow falling. Although the cleaner, more abstract visual theming of the first is better to me.

[@SlappyHappy2000]

The Heli power actually used to be a bit more polished, with smoother more natural movement and unrestricted camera movement. However, when the Marble Man prototype got feedback from the field tests, it was noted that the players wanted more Helicopter power-up time. Adding more time to use the Helicopter without doing anything else would just allow the player to fly over everything without completing the stage, so they made a rule in which if you have a Helicopter, the vertical scrolling will lock until it is over. They didn't add a noticeable amount of extra time to the power though, and the scroll lock feels quite off.

[@Alianger]

@@SlappyHappy2000 Makes sense, thanks for the info!

[@Elipsys]

oh dear

[@chrisdorr5786]

WANT

[@JackTheGamer3]

I heard this game will end up at a bunch of local arcades soon! We might actually get a chance!!!!

[@grk70s]

Why now after 18 years is there a long play video and maps? What was the reaction of the owner when these were released?

[@marbleman1521]

Which owner? Be specific, and maybe we can ask what his/her reaction is... At least 4 different people own Marble Man boardsets/working games, and the programmer has a working game, and I guess whoever owns Atari's IP is the technical rights owner... Lots of 'owners', so not sure who, exactly, you are talking about.

[@grk70s]

@@marbleman1521 All of them. And why did not even one of then not releas the rom or a video and maps after 18 years. I tride to contact them years ago for a longplay video and maps but all I got was the cold shoulder. Even the mame team did not help. They even denide that they had the rom or that it was emulated. So why? Why this secrecy as it this was top secret national security? Why this eccentric behavior for just a video game? Very strang behavior, not just from them but all collectors. I just dont get it.

[@marbleman1521]

@@grk70s Well, I guess someone would have to ask them specifically what they think of the video... No idea why they wouldn't have been willing to make a video before other than just not interested in spending the time. No one was stopping anyone from making a play-through video at California Extreme, but no one ever bothered... As for the MAME team, no idea on that one. There have been screen shots of this game on KLOV for almost 18 years that clearly came from emulation, so it's not like it was a secret that the ROMs were emulated, they probably just didn't want to deal with people pestering them for the ROMs (although one member said they were going to release them back in '04 or '05, not sure why that didn't happen...). The guy that brought the games to CAX even admitted it was emulated. He hasn't released the ROMs as a personal favor to the guy that wrote the game (a condition of the author giving him the ROMs to make his actual games work). As for the other owners, I assume just bragging rights... There's a lot of other games, both arcade and home, that are like this. A few people have them, and they keep them for themselves. Not a mindset I understand, so I can't tell you why... But they aren't under any obligation to share, it's not like the rest of us are entitled to have them or anything.

[@grk70s]

@@marbleman1521 where did you get the idea to do a video and maps? I think its most likely the owners talked to each other about not releasing the game or anything else. I knew when the maps and videos were out it was definitely not from the owners but from someone in (or close to) the mame team, because when I reach out to the official mame they denide they had it or that the rom was dumped and emulated, but when I talked to some one from (or working with) the team they confirmed my suspicions that it was dumped and emulated.

[@grk70s]

How long did it take you to do the video and maps?

[@JackTheGamer3]

Hey marble man!! Remember when you said you went to a friends to play this game? Does this mean he happens to own the entire arcade machine to this game as well or just the rom file? 0:

[@leah4355]

Did you obtain the roms through MAME before they were delisted?

[@marbleman1521]

MAME team has never distributed ROMs for any game, other than those very few that have been made public domain. Marble Madness II has never officially been in MAME either, so it's never been 'delisted'. They just have the code for the driver written already since they've had access to the ROMs from the people that own the full cabinets. But since the ROMs aren't publicly available, they don't actively put the driver in MAME (it might commented out in the source code, I've never looked...)

[@leah4355]

@@marbleman1521 do you have any information that implies the game will be publicly available in the near future? As just an FPGA from Scott at Tempest FPGA, or if the roms would be available as well?

[@leah4355]

I purely ask as Marble Madness 2 is my grail game, as I played Marble Blast Pro/Gold in kindergarten on the school computer and value those memories :)

[@marbleman1521]

@@leah4355 No idea unfortunately. I only found out someone was making full-sized versions a couple of weeks ago myself...

[@MxArgent]

@@marbleman1521 So it's all there and ready to go when/if the day comes. Interesting!

[@magnusdiridian]

Rollin' around at the speed of sound... Hopefully someday this will be released for all of us to enjoy. If not, perhaps some programmer watching this can recreate it as closely as possible? All the information seems to be there!

[@GLXY23]

it just did

[@magnusdiridian]

@@GLXY23 seriously? where??

[@GLXY23]

@@magnusdiridian it's on the internet archive, sadly I did try giving you links but youtube keeps taking it down.

[@magnusdiridian]

@@GLXY23 oh, mam.e you mean?

[@GLXY23]

@@magnusdiridian yea that too, but i meant the game dump

[@invisiiso]

It's quite unique. A lot of pretty good gimmicks, and the music fits well too. I'm not a huge fan of the level design though, most of the time it's either too narrow or far too open, and occasionally it feels like filler (like a lot of the design in Practice Race.) Sometimes it is quite spammy with gimmicks, and has these random metal pins for no reason? I'm unsure if the decision to give the marbles faces was fitting, but oh well. The Pinball bonus stages look nice but I think they could've done better. The levels are often too symmetrical. I'm assuming that it's because the game is made for multiplayer, but it doesn't seem as exciting when it's so easy to segregate players and not force them into the same routes to be able to sabotage each other/force them to be more careful. The first game did this as well, but to a more acceptable extent. Keeping them separate at times is good, but there honestly could've been less of that. The level design in some parts, like the last parts of Silly and King of the Mountain, do look quite challenging and really fun. Probably because they're pretty similar to the first game's design (silly race being based off a similar part of a race in the first game with the same name, and KotM's last part having the same feel of finality as the disappearing paths of Ultimate Race. In fact, a majority of KotM's design seems really good!) ... Now, if someone made a game like Marble Madness 2 with similar gimmicks but better-designed levels... Edit: My views about the level design still stands, but I frequently find myself coming back here to see King of the Mountain. That level is just spectacular to watch, with an amazing theme and ending.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Was all of this information Based on you actually playing the game yourself? Or was it just based on the video? ^^

[@invisiiso]

@@JackTheGamer3 Based on the video. I live in the other side of the world from wherever this arcade machine is, but that doesn't mean I can't tell what good level design is. I've played some other games like Marble Madness 2 that has much better level design, including the original MM.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@invisiiso That's cool!

[@ZX3000GT1]

Now that the game's released and we can all try it for ourselves, the biggest issue of this game is lack of analog controls of any kind. Makes it nearly impossible to feather your movements, especially with the narrow level design. While it's cool that at last this game can be played by anyone, I don't think this is that good of a game, especially with the lack of trackball.

[@invisiiso]

@@ZX3000GT1 Wait, it's released now!? Also AFAIK there *were* test versions of this game that did have the analog controls... Perhaps someone could mod this version of the game to implement analog controls, and make the would-have-been-made final changes like removing the "marble man" aspect...

[@JackTheGamer3]

Hey marble man!!! If that buddy of yours had the rom, is there a possible chance he has the actual hardware too or not? :0

[@martinhernandez656]

Thanks and yes we want Atari marble madness ii marble man arcade on MAME arcade release MAME works

[@JackTheGamer3]

XD

[@tombert512]

You know, the game isn't horrible or anything, but it kind of feels like more of an amateur romhack of the first than a full-fledged new game.

[@JackTheGamer3]

Could you do an attract mode video? :)

[@SlappyHappy2000]

He said he would do it along with the complete Astral track, but that was a while ago... I wonder how that's coming along.

[@JackTheGamer3]

@@SlappyHappy2000 He probably forgot

[@ninjacat230]

I don't like how they put faces on things

[@JackTheGamer3]

I do! ^^ Gives that 90s feeling!!

[@SlappyHappy2000]

@@JackTheGamer3 Same :)

[@Painbow9553]

I love how this guy just deletes comments about sharing the rom. At least he changed his description to appear more "nice." F-

[@marbleman1521]

I deleted a comment someone posted that had a link to his Google drive of a zipped executable. I had no idea what it was, and I'm not stupid enough to leave a link like that active. Everyone can get the ROM from the Web Archive, it's publicly available to download, no one needs to be sharing it on their private Google drive with an executable possibly infected with god-knows what kind of virus. If you can't wait for MAME, or find a build, go to the Atari Age forums, there's a MAME build there. But, no, I will not leave links to randomly hosted executables in the comments. And KZbin usually deletes comments with URLs like that in it anyway, so it wouldn't have lasted long. I'm glad the ROM has been released, I finally get a copy for myself. :) If you want it, get it from the source. And yeah, I changed the description as some idiot wasn't smart enough to realize what I originally wrote was BEFORE the ROM was publicly available... So I figured I had better update the description to match the intelligence of some of the users here...

[@jamesbaskerville9800]

So the story that the owner of board who dumped the ROM couldn't share it because the game manufacturer said he couldn't was total BS. He's shared it with you. Now you won't share it with us. Thanks for nothing.

[@marbleman1521]

Nope, you are wrong on every account. 'the owner of the board' you are referring to has nothing to do with me. I don't even know him. But the story of him not sharing the ROMs because of a request from the programmer is 100% true. If you have an issue with that, take it up with Flanagan. The ROMs haven't been 'shared with me', I just know someone that has them and he's let me play it a few times and make these recordings. And I'm pretty sure that everyone else that has seen these videos is thankful I've been able to give you something... I do know the MAME team has received the ROMs from a source OTHER than 'the owner of the board' you refer to (there is more than one person out there with Marble Man boards) back in 2003, and the person on the MAME team said they would release the ROMs after a period of time (like a year or two), and they never did. That's all I know about that. They may have had another reason for not releasing them...

[@jamesbaskerville9800]

@@marbleman1521 " I just know someone that has them" And if that's not Flanagan and if he's shared the ROM with the MAME team then yes, he HAS broken the terms with Atari. Yes, you can call it sour grapes but once Flanagan has allowed one other person to access the ROM he should have released it.

[@marbleman1521]

@@jamesbaskerville9800 I asked in another post, who is this 'He' you are referring to? Only ONE person has said he wouldn't share the ROMs because of a request from the programmer (that I'm aware of). At that agreement was to not share them PUBLICLY, which, to my knowledge, has never been done... The other people that have Marble Man boardsets have made no such promises. I've never spoken to the person I think you are referring to when you say 'He', and he wasn't the one that gave the ROMs to the MAME team...

[@jamesbaskerville9800]

@@marbleman1521 "At that agreement was to not share them PUBLICLY" Oh come on, so you're saying he can share it with somebody who can then share it with somebody like some sort of retrogaming Chinese whispers? Of course Atari said it could not be shared at all. So Flanagan has shared them with all sorts of people. Just not with the world. Again, there's no reason for this apart from personal gain, which he will never get anyway as Atari have blocked it.

[@marbleman1521]

@@jamesbaskerville9800 Again, Atari has nothing to do with this. It's Flanagan ONLY, his PERSONAL preference that the ROMs don't appear on the internet. That's it. He doesn't want them ON THE INTERNET. If someone shares them quietly with someone they trust not to distribute them, how would he even know? I only know of one person Flanagan gave a copy of the ROMs to, the guy that brings the arcade games to California Extreme. I am not aware of Flanagan or that guy giving the ROMs to anyone else, ever. (Not saying it hasn't happened, but I don't know about it if it has) I do know that there are 4 other people that have working board sets. One of them gave the ROMs to the MAME team, who then gave him a build of MAME that will play them. Another one (or maybe the same one) is working on making new boardsets that he's going to sell so people can have a working arcade version of MM. That is literally the only amount of 'sharing' I'm aware of.

[@rotorportor3119]

My god.... now I understand why this steamy pile of garbage was not released. It has no style, no grace - NOTHING of the features the first part was famous of. This joke of a game looks like VOMIT.

[@zenksren8206]

Game's good, better than most of the shit Atari Games actually did release AND better than the 1st game, your comment like all the elitist "Y Sonic's arms blue"-tier crybabies on this video are a flaming paper bag of vomit

[@rotorportor3119]

​@@zenksren8206 Try to make a comment understandable - You 5 yrsOld? This sequel has neither good gfx nor playability. Horse manure has more style than this joke. The first part had more imagination put into algorithms and artistic work done in few "worlds", than this stinker has in a whole ugly heap of pseudolevels. This "sorry sequel" has far more serious problems than Sonic's arms. It has bullshit mechanics, badly (or rather - at all not) designed levels, unconsistent style, sizes, anims of elements. To name this crap " a vomit" is a compliment it does not deserve. Liquid shit - this is closer to the mark. Publishers agree with me - they did not release this puke.

[@PiroKUSS]

How does it have no style nor grace when it has more personality than the original and how does it look like vomit when it looks better than the original? Are you disappointed at what you saw and had unrealistic expectations?

[@thatoneguy9582]

it has no style, it has no grace, this game has a funny face,

[@PiroKUSS]

@@thatoneguy9582 How does it lack style when it has personality unlike the first one, and what's "grace" in a videogame?

[@ZEUSDAZ]

Hello again, I was wondering if you could use your magic and create another .xml doc cheat for me on MAME? I need an "infy energy" MAME cheat for the game AAARGH!. I'm running it on "Mameui64_0.175" but at this time there is no cheat available for it when pressing the TAB key and selecting CHEAT, can you help?