NES vs. Master System | Montezuma's Revenge Review | Feat. Robert Jaeger

Montezuma's Revenge was a platform game originally launched for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 800, Colecovision and the Sega Master System. Now, the game is receiving a modern port for the NES / Nintendo Entertainment System.
I decided to review the game while interviewing series creator, Robert Jeager.
Patreon: / st1ka
Twitter: / st1ka
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Intro created by: / wanyodos
Theme song created by: / @michirin9801
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - A NEW game for the NES!
01:45 - Packaging
02:48 - Mimicking the Super Mario Bros. Cover
03:46 - Is the Cartridge Bevelled?
04:15 - NES vs. Master System
05:15 - The creator's take on the Master System
06:28 - Comparing the Graphics
08:16 - Cartoony vs. Realistic Art Style
08:46 - Indiana Jones
10:06 - Being a Rockstar during the Atari Days
11:00 - Music: Master System vs. NES
12:46 - The First Metroidvania?
15:28 - Inventory Management
16:35 - Nintendo vs. Sega
18:30 - The controls - Sega vs. Nintendo
20:30 - Cartridge Space Limitations
22:17 - Final thoughts: NES vs. Master System
24:55 - Montezuma's Revenge Kickstarter
#NES #MasterSystem #RetroGaming

[@st1ka]

Check out the Kickstarter here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/348297293/nes-montezumas-revenge

[@WikiRafa]

Here in Brazil, the Atari 2600 version of this game was seen as a "holy grail" among enthusiasts back in 1984-85. It was by far the most advanced game for that console available locally. You'll still see Montezuma's Revenge showing up in Top 10 lists made by Brazilians to this day.

[@st1ka]

oh how interesting, I had no idea.

[@EricFraga]

Rafa is right. Here in Brazil, Moon Patrol, H.E.R.O., Krull, James Bond 007, Return of the Jedi, and also Montezuma's are among the top tier 2600 titles we love in mid 80's. I won't go as far as Rafa to say it's "by far" the most advanced game (I think it's not), but it's among them for sure.

[@rigues]

@@EricFraga H.E.R.O. and Moon Patrol are some of my favourites, but I never cared much about the others. I remember Krull being weird/frustrating. St1ka, you mentioned that the NES was never really popular in Portugal. Which was the most popular console, the Master System? I remember hearing about the PC-Engine being available in Portugal as well, was it common?

[@EricFraga]

@@rigues Krull is wonderful, Rigues, it's one of those Atari games you need to understand to enjoy (just read the manual will do). It's a full adventure on the 2600!

[@retroman--]

Did Brazil get Pitfall II? Only had pitfall the original as a kid but pitfall ii is my favorite Atari 2600 game with Montazumas Revenge.

[@Larsgman]

Always appreciate interviews with the actual programmers and such who were heavily invested with relics like these.

[@st1ka]

thank you! I try to be as complete as I can! :D

[@diegocrusius]

Montezuma's Revenge came a little before my time, but I remember older kids talking about it for the atari 2600 here in Brazil. Truly an impressive game for that console. Since both the atari and the nes shares a very similar processor I thought this port wouldve been made decades ago.

[@st1ka]

Indeed, though it seems the creator was just kind of done with gaming at that point

[@analogmoz]

If the only NES cart you have is Faxanadu, you could do *tons* worse. That is an amazing, amazing game.

[@st1ka]

haha yep! I think I ended up getting after seeing Hungry Gorya gushing about it :P

[@robertdanker6193]

St1ka has done it again!! Fantastic video, the interview was really interesting! Want to check this game out! Great content overall!!👍👍

[@st1ka]

Thank you! Glad you liked it :D

[@tiberiusbrain]

So awesome you got the original creator on the show man! Congrats!

[@st1ka]

thank you! I try! ^^

[@tiberiusbrain]

@@st1ka i know, i appreciate 😀

[@tiberiusbrain]

@@st1ka by the way, there is a new dune game in early access and after playing well over a dozen hours i have to say it is good!

[@st1ka]

Oh man I need to find the time to play it :D

[@jbmaru]

Never played that game! Kudos to Robert for acknowledging the superiority of the Sega Master System :p

[@st1ka]

Clearly a man of good taste! ^^

[@absinthe4breakfast299]

Another great video, this one was particularly fascinating. Early game makers had to be really innovative due to the limited resources they had to work with. It reminds me a lot of working on mods back in the early 2000's - we didn't have many tools available to us so we had to get creative - modifying 3d meshes using a text editor and things like that. Sometimes I think modern devs have it too easy.

[@st1ka]

Oh man yeah, making mods in the early days had to be way more difficult than it is now

[@absinthe4breakfast299]

@@st1ka Yeah, it was quite a challenge there wasn't as many open source tools such as 3d modeling software available and the commercial packages were prohibitively expensive, sometimes developers would release a map editor but that's about all you were likely to get. If you were really lucky there might be a talented community member who would make a tool to unpack the game files, still it's surprising what could be achieved just using notepad and windows paint..... good times .

[@st1ka]

Windows paint? Wow I had no idea

[@absinthe4breakfast299]

@@st1ka I'm not saying it was common practice or anything, but some people did . The point being ...actually I'm not sure what point I was trying to make, something about limited tools forcing people to be more creative I believe, I was just using a couple of the more extreme examples I could think of.

[@st1ka]

@@absinthe4breakfast299 understandable ^^

[@Carina_d3a]

This was a very very early game for me! A friend had it on an Apple IIc on a yellow monochrome CRT. Brings back some memories!

[@st1ka]

I have to admit, it was my first time playing it but I really enjoyed it

[@jasonblalock4429]

Well, I've long been in the 'early metroidvania' camp because it basically ticks all the boxes. Exploration is mostly nonlinear and unguided, you'll run into obstacles that function as gates that require items to overcome, and you find those items through backtracking. That's the nuts and bolts of a Metroidvania. It lacks the permanent weapon upgrades that later M-V games would have, but that's about it.

[@st1ka]

I definitely understand the argument, I think it's the lack of permanent upgrades that makes me question it ^^

[@feenix219]

I have always felt that this one deserved a modern fullscale MV treatment.

[@HelpTheWretched]

I had this for the Apple IIe as a kid, in all its 6-colour glory! One of my faves on that old machine. Never beat it, though. I finally looked up a guide decades later and found out I was taking some wrong turns *every time*.

[@st1ka]

Haha it happens

[@JammerRammy]

Very interesting video! Funny thing is that I remember playing this one on the Master System and I always tought it felt so different from other games on the console. I tought it played like a computer game Now I finally understand why

[@st1ka]

Yep it feels a bit out of place but in good way I think

[@Rich_P_Anya]

I played this game ad a kid! Pretty fun. I liked the aesthetic a lot.

[@st1ka]

This was my first time playing it but it was very fun ^^

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

When I played this on master system I really found it felt nothing like a master system game. More like a home European micro..... and no wonder.

[@st1ka]

Yeah it has its own feel :P

[@dieinfire920]

First, thanks a lot for supporting Robert Jaeger on his campaign by promoting the game. I’m a kid of the 80’s and played a hell of a time of “both montezumas” in my Atari 800XL (“preliminary Monty” and “montezuma’s revenge”. This is totally aimed to the nostalgia fans that played the game in other systems way back on the day, so I can understand if some classic nes fans don’t see the appeal. Personally I would have liked an option to turn the music on/off to make the nostalgia feel stronger (as the original didn’t have music). My only gripe is the box art. It’s just some digital PS1 era photoshop ugly nonsense, while in the 80’s the original box art was an actual painting that looks amazing!! And it would have looked totally cool if they used that instead. Just take a look at the Japanese famicom cover of the Goonies game for some similar art style. I would have loved a small extra step and add and additional “enhanced mode” with some moving background tiles to remove too much blackness, but even without that the game is ok for what it is and what the goal is. I just hope in the future they can work on a sequel with different sprite works while still keeping the overall style. Ohh btw I just remembered one of the AtariXL versions (was very known as “montezuma 2” but it’s the only version with the title montezuma’s revenge) has a background sound looping always, kind of background music!!

[@st1ka]

Believe it or not, before this video, my experience with Montezuma's Revenge was pretty tiny. So I was super happy to interview Robert and learn more about the game and its history :D

[@dieinfire920]

@@st1ka I didn’t know about the master system until the emulation era. Played a few stages and it just wasn’t for me. The backgrounds looks very good but -as you mentioned- details like the fire, and the sprite for the keys, didn’t do it for me. Also the controls felt a little off. There were two different versions for the Atari computers (at least for XL/XE). At the time we just called them Montezuma 1 and 2 as on the 3rd world it was impossible to find those games originals so we just had copies so no extra info no instruction manual, just blank cassettes/disketttes, but entering the 90’s people got more access to articles in magazines and more info, and we discovered that one version was nicknamed “preliminary Monty” and the other was the actual “montezuma’s revenge”. Some differences -The Hat: “Preliminary Monty” (“PM”) Pedro had a flat hat more like a cowboy or maybe Indiana jones style hat. - title screen+music. “PM” didn’t have title screen. The game started immediately in the first screen with the rolling skull and the first white key. While the other version had an animated title screen with music, and the two second loop through the full game that served as background music. -the bird/bat. In “PM” there wasn’t, so you could stay all the time you want in one screen and no bird/bat would come to attack you. -some background details: “PM” was simple bricks. The other versions had some spider webs added, some “bongos” inside some of the tiles, and some bricks had different colors so they had a little bit of different pattern. I think all these details weren’t added in the nes version from what I watched in your video, so it looks like a mix of both Atari versions. -the ropes: in the “montezuma 2” version the ropes were burning, so you had limited time to use them. If you exit and enter the screen, the ropes would reset. -New Pedro. In “PM” when you die, you start in that same screen immediately. In “montezuma 2” there’s an extra screen with a new Pedro going to the location on which he’ll be spawned (difficult to explain). Those are all the differences I can remember. It seems the final version of Montezuma’s Revenge is Pedro with the Mexican style hat, the bird, the title screen from the “montezuma 2” I played, plus the stages without the details like “PM”. Interesting.

[@dieinfire920]

Ohh btw, I just subscribed :)

[@st1ka]

@@dieinfire920 oh yeah, the master system port is ambitious but has some issues and thank you for subscribing. Really happy to hear you enjoyed the video! :D

[@TheGunmanChannel]

Great video St1ka hope you're well mate

[@st1ka]

I am thanks for asking. Hope you're doing well too :)

[@strain42]

I still consider this game one of the best 2600 games ever made, and weirdly enough that's still kinda my favorite version of it. There's a charm to old atari games I definitely have a soft spot for, but it was awesome learning so much about this title here.

[@st1ka]

There's something really appealing about Atari 2600 games so I get it :D

[@SeveredLegs]

Would never have guessed you were from Portugal! I hope you don't take any offense to this but I detected a Slavic accent from you. Very good interview and review. I like how you mixed in your commentary with the interview.

[@st1ka]

Ah no worries, European Portuguese tends to sound Slavic, there's a pretty good video about it on KZbin ^^

[@st1ka]

@@WhiteG60 oh who's Integza?

[@FromWitchSide]

I remember when I got into emulation and ran the game first time in more than 10 years since owning my Atari 65XE. I didn't remember what is in the next room, on the left or on the right and yet my hand just moved the joystick on its own, showing me the way and fluently tackling all the jumps. 20 more years and it is the same way. I was impressed myself because when you play the game for the first time, you will probably die trying to jump the very first snake, you just need to grasp the timing for the jumps. I'm stocked to see the game on NES, although I myself prefer Famicom's cartridges more and I think Montezuma is the game which you need to play using a joystick :P

[@st1ka]

hope you'll enjoy it! :D

[@MrAlex-vm4gf]

I remember I used to play the atari 2600 version of this game a lot.

[@st1ka]

I'm mostly familiar with the master system version myself :D

[@drPeidos]

Not sure if I've seen your NES Intro before. I like all your intros.

[@st1ka]

oh this was the first time using the NES intro :D

[@thehumbleone1983]

One of my favourite master system game 👍 great video St1Ka

[@st1ka]

Awww thank you:D

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

Never heard of this game but the Interview and the differences between the versions sounds interesting :D

[@st1ka]

yep I tried to make it compreehensive xD

[@Verbalaesthet]

That's where it all began for me. This was the first game I was incredibly good at. Though for C64.

[@st1ka]

it's such a cool game! :D

[@abcmaya]

Wow. Unfortunately, I never got to play this on the 2600. It's a crime I missed this one. This is an absolute masterpiece!

[@st1ka]

Indeed it's an awesome game :D

[@Daniel-it1dp]

Man, hate to say the Master System version looks so much better than the NES version but also so much more expensive to buy these days.

[@st1ka]

Understandable ^^

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

8:31 I was wholeheartedly expecting a *[TO BE CONTINUED…]* at the end of that clip.

[@CasperEgas]

One of the very few Master System games I don't have. So strange that it wasn't released in Europe.

[@st1ka]

yeah, it's odd that it wasn't released here. The Master System version is pretty good too

[@CasperEgas]

@@st1ka it has become pretty expensive sadly.

[@st1ka]

@@CasperEgas like everything retro gaming related, sadly

[@jackofallgamesTV]

You forgot about the Colecovision version. And the REAL original Atari 800 prototype with the temple you can't escape. You get to to the Aztec temple at the bottom. And you have to die on e you reach it. I assume it was an unfinished prototype when Parker Bros saw the incomplete version. The 800 version had a 2 note "skipping" tune repeating

[@st1ka]

Oh I didn't forget about the Colecovision version, it's just that I chose to focus on the original Atari 800 version that the consumers got. Robert did mention the prototype though ^^ Though long story short, the prototype was abandoned because Parker Brothers was going to ship the game on a cart that wasn't big enough to handle the prototype

[@jackofallgamesTV]

Also, maybe a more exact phrase than "for all Atari Systems" would have been " for many pre-crash consoles and computers". Some people may use the word "Atari" to generically mean "pre crash console or computer" Maybe one of you was one of them. I just heard it literally as "the 2600 and the 5200" and I only thought afterwards that it may be generic for "pre crash game machine". In 1982-3 there were newer systems that were selling at fast rates. I remember Games and Gadgets having around 15 separate sections:. One for each pre-crash machine format. It was a supermarket of video games.

[@GadgetUK164]

Looks pretty cool! Defintely prefer the new NES version! Lovely video =D

[@st1ka]

thank you! Glad you liked it! :D

[@noaht2005]

I’ve never played this, only heard of it briefly, but these early collectathon platformers have a charm to them so I might try it. Kinda wish this port pushed the graphics a bit more but still a great job

[@st1ka]

It's a pretty fun game ^^

[@MCBRemakes]

Super nice interview!

[@st1ka]

Thank you! ^^

[@Godzilla1982]

This is cool. I played the hell out of this game on my PC Jr in the mid 80's.

[@st1ka]

I was really happy to be able to interview the creator.

[@That1PlaceBehindTheBush]

I'm sorry but I have to mention it. Anyone else think that this guy sounds EXACTLY like JonTron's "Malkovich" character? 😄 Lol, but really, LOVE the video!

[@st1ka]

Haha it's fine. Don't worry about it

[@st1ka]

@@thecampion2420 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@suntaxis]

If I remember correctly, I should have this game in a bootleg C64 cassette, bought some years ago and, man, it is so simple and yet so fun. That Master System version has good graphics, sure, but makes the atmosphere strangely "chaotic", it looks harder to focus on... But thank you for make us discovering it and with the creator of the original game himself!

[@st1ka]

yeah I completely get what you mean

[@thecunninlynguist]

Always wanted a master system growing up

[@st1ka]

It's a really great system, but I hear it's kinda difficult to get one in the US ^^

[@thecunninlynguist]

@@st1ka I didn't even know about it until the snes. It hardly got advertised here in the states...or at least I never saw it myself. Growing up I knew about atari and then my first system was an nes.

[@st1ka]

@@thecunninlynguist yeah I had heard the US distributor dropped the ball on it

[@francescosmith7859]

@@thecunninlynguist yeah similar for me and same thing with the Turbografx 16. I didn’t even know these consoles existed or were an option as a kid.

[@st1ka]

I didn't know about the PC engine back in the day either

[@feenix219]

Just realized that the CV version has a gate before a jump onto conveyers that doesn't seem to be in the other versions.

[@st1ka]

oh, interesting

[@BIGGIEDEVIL]

You sir have earned a sub !

[@st1ka]

Aww thank you :D

[@quarkbent9165]

This is a very interesting format for a retro review :)

[@st1ka]

Thank you! ^^

[@PaulIsDeadMissHim]

I first played this on an Apple IIGS in our elementary school computer lab. Great game, but so hard to figure out back then

[@st1ka]

I can imagine. Pretty sure that if I had played this back then I'd have a hard time lol

[@feenix219]

I grew up with the Colecovision version, and I will tell you, I appreciate the lack of a sound track. There was nothing like coming to one of the first dark rooms without a torch. Digging deeper into screens you haven't seen before for the first time.... it was very moody at the time.

[@st1ka]

Oh I tottally get that.

[@MauricioFelippe]

The Atari 2600 version is by far the best version, clean and direct, balanced gameplay. Atari Diamond Tier Cartridge.

[@wewillwin24]

SMS is to NES as SNES is to Genesis.. there is no discussion

[@st1ka]

Yes, bitter rivals :P

[@fazares]

gfx could be a lot better on the nes, but interesting stuff nonetheless

[@st1ka]

It's pretty cool that they're making this though ^^

[@baroncalamityplus]

I played a ton of Montezuma's Revenge on the Colecovision. Never was able to get to the end treasure room. (The colecovision controller kinda sucked for these types of games)

[@st1ka]

Oh yeah, I can't imagine the Colecovision's disc being very good for this game

[@feenix219]

@@st1ka Intellivision had the disc. I beat the game quite a few times on the Colecovision.

[@retroman--]

Master System version is my favorite version. I prefer Panama Joe to short fat Pedro lol. I like there is no music. It brings you back to early pc gaming. I'd like to try the NES version with sound. But I do with the graphics we're updated for what the NES could handle. But why not come out with another NES version one day that includes both graphics mode similar to the Steam version.

[@oscaruglyface]

My favorite version of this game was Montezuma's Return for the Gameboy Color

[@st1ka]

oh wow I didn't even know there was a gameboy color version

[@nanoglitch6693]

If you only own one nes game, you could do a lot worse than faxanadu. Love that game

[@st1ka]

it's a super fun game! :D

[@just_delightful]

Great video Marty!

[@st1ka]

Happy to hear you enjoyed it ^^

[@asafoetidajones8181]

Adam used to try to get me to pay to play his NES and said I couldn't play it even when he went to sleep when I was sleeping over. I'll get Montezumas anyway, love it on SMS and 2600

[@st1ka]

hope you enjoyed it! :D

[@TurboXray]

Why is the NES port using double wide pixels??! It looks like an Atari 5200 game

[@st1ka]

I believe it's to stay close to the Atari 800 original

[@paulsmith9192]

Oh,I read title wrong I thought was nes,vs master system debate overall

[@st1ka]

ah sorry xD

[@LeonmitchelliGalette]

Character sprite looks like Megumin from Konosuba.

[@st1ka]

Haha, now I can't unsee it!

[@nicholascooney]

My biggest question is this game came out after the SMS version and after amazing looking NES games like Gimmick why do the graphics look so lame?

[@st1ka]

Because it's meant to look like an early NES game :)

[@nicholascooney]

@@st1ka feels like a waste. Really cool that the guy that made the original did this. But I'm more of a Gamehut going back and improving the game he made kinda guy. Straight porting with the most minimum of changes feels like a waste. At least bringing in the tile variety (from the SMS version) and more frames of animation for Pedro would've been cool (like a simple Mega Man style blink) or a menu to toggle fall damage, difficulty and even if the music plays or not.

[@ederpcastro]

Boa, Tuga!

[@st1ka]

haha obrigado!

[@prestowilso9]

Cool video. Cool game.

[@st1ka]

Thank you! I try! ^^

[@stepheng8061]

I remember seeing this game on disc at a store in my town that got shutdown for selling bootleg and pirate software My dad joked that was a slang term for getting drunk on tequila and having a diareah hangover I was like 11 and had no idea what that meant

[@st1ka]

Haha

[@b213videoz]

Simple game ?!!!!! 😁🤣😂🤪 It even aches me to see someone play it, I always die instantly no matter what I do. ...and yes I know how to complete games 😉

[@rodriofernandes8557]

The best version Atari 2600.

[@st1ka]

I have to admit I never played that version ^^

[@rodriofernandes8557]

Look in emulators, and very good. It is worth it.

[@st1ka]

@@rodriofernandes8557 I'll check it out ^^

[@rodriofernandes8557]

This version of nintendo, I didn't know either lol It's good.

[@EndarkenShrine]

I remember playing Apogee's ripoff of this game on dos - Pharaoh's Tomb

[@st1ka]

oh I didn't know about that. Was it good?

[@EndarkenShrine]

@@st1ka As good as you can expect from a 1990 dos ripoff of an early 80's arcade game. So decent but totally forgettable. It had a sequel in 1991 called Arctic Adventure and another similar game Monuments of Mars from the same year.

[@st1ka]

@@EndarkenShrine ah I think I know what you mean

[@Ultradude604]

Why did he stop making games? Ya I heard what he said. Still makes no sense. Video game industry never gone away

[@st1ka]

Sadly, I know as much as you do :P

[@SnarkyRC]

Yeah I agree. The cover is pretty lame.

[@st1ka]

It's not really my style yeah xD

[@julesgamergourmand]

Master system win.