All Arcade Vs Colecovision Games Compared Side By Side

[@BenJabituya]

The ColecoVision was so dear to my heart during my childhood. That was before Nintendo and SEGA came about!

[@RetroComparisons]

The ColecoVision was a beast in its heyday and had some amazing ports especially when compared to its contemporaries like the 2600 & Intellivision.

[@tschak909]

fwiw, Boulder Dash was originally written on the Atari 8-bit systems, and was ported to the arcade by Data East, although Exidy DID license the 8-bit version in their Max-flex arcade cabinet (which held a 600XL inside).

[@ChrisRoth1972]

I grew up with the Coleco Adam Computer & the reason why I hoped I would be blessed with this system is because the graphics on the Adam computer especially the ones on the cassette drive & even the cartridges themselves looked similar to the arcade counterpart as we can see here. Thanks 🙏 for making this video!!!!

[@RetroComparisons]

Of the second gen consoles I think the Adam/ColecoVision were the most consistently close to their arcade counterpart. Thank you so much for checking this out!

[@SoulforSale]

Some of the Colecovision versions look better than the arcade

[@lazylightning1197]

Mr. Do! Wow, I had forgotten all about that game, I used to play it for hours and hours trying to get cool looking trick shots. The nostalgia is strong.

[@RetroComparisons]

That sounds like a lot of fun! Honestly this game is still pretty entertaining all of these years later. Thanks for checking this video out!

[@handyhank1967]

You weren't the only one.. I loved that game and Colecovision

[@shotgunl]

The Colecovision does a very good job given cart sizes and the single-color nature of the TMS9918's sprites. As I've said, I love the pastel color palette, though that may not be the case for those who did not grow up playing stuff on the TI-99/4A like I did (or the Colecovision, SG-1000, MSX, etc systems using the TMS9918, though I personally didn't have access to those others). I, sadly, didn't get a chance to play a Colecovision until borrowing one from a co-worker about 12-13 years back, and I still don't own one. I did see one in the wild for sale at a game shop (first time I've seen one in the wild since probably the very early 90s) when I was visiting a friend a couple of hours away a month or so ago, but though I wouldn't mind having one, I wasn't going to pay the $450 they wanted for the system when I just don't have actual nostalgia for it (I'll stick to the Flashback and emulation at that price point...). Still, the Colecovision is a cool system for '82 (though I think it would have done better in the market had it released in '81), and does well with fixed-screen games with it's decent sprite capabilities and higher resolution compared to the 2600/Intellivision/5200. It falls on it's face generally with scrolling games thanks to the lack of hardware fine scrolling, and, though I like the colors of the TMS9918, maybe they should have went with a video chip that could do hardware scrolling, especially as late as an '82 release. Like the SG-1000, I don't think it would have had a chance of competing well with the NES/Famicom because games with horizontal and vertical scrolling quickly became the norm. Had Coleco stayed in the market, I do wonder how a true NES-competing sequel console from them would have turned out: would it be a unique design? Would they license the Master System for the US? Would they be completely stomped by the NES and Mario Mania just like their peers Sega and Atari? Probably the latter, but it was sad that we lost competition from them and Mattel due to the market conditions in '84 etc.

[@RetroComparisons]

I really like the color palette of this too. It's one of those things that I'm nostalgic for despite not growing up with anything quite like it. I got my Colecovision for next to nothing at a garage sale in the late 90s and I'm shocked at how much that place was charging. $450 seems pretty steep for a console that isn't rare like an Astrocade or PV-1000 and doesn't have a fan base like the NES or 2600. This console is a big what-if and while I think you're right that this or its successor would have been stomped by the NES I do wonder how it would have looked, played, and if it would be something that gets looked on more fondly years later.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

@@RetroComparisons The MSX line is practically a best case scenario alternate reality. Only slightly more powerful than the Colecovision, with a dream team of developers working on it. And it did get upgrades, though like Coleco, they did not quite understand the changing modern gaming landscape. Apologies for not posting much lately. Long story, and I would prefer not to dump my problems on you. Hopefully, things change soon.

[@RetroComparisons]

@@juststatedtheobvious9633 No need for apologies my friend and I hope you're going to be ok. Fingers crossed that whatever bad things are going on for you right now change as soon as possible.

[@johndeaux3703]

If you look at games like Nova Blast, Moon Patrol, Defender, BC's Quest for Tires etc. you can see that programmers figured out a way to make CV games scroll horizontally, smoothly. It was really only choppy on first generation launch games. The CV never had a problem scrolling vertically. Coleco could've come up with some video hardware that had built in smooth scrolling, multi-color sprites, bigger color palette but that would've taken even longer to bring to market. It was quickly designed with already available, off the shelf components so they could get it to market ASAP. If they tried to design a custom system with better specs, the CV would've arrived on store shelves right in the middle of the videogame crash and that would've been a disaster.

[@Callum-tm6xo]

The colecovision was never greatly affected by the video game crash, I’ve watched a documentary recently on it, it was actually doing great, the issue with the system wasn’t the system but the company itself, they released the atom computer which ended up having consumers loose faith in the brand, if they hadn’t released the computer the colecovision would have competed with the nes. Tbf consoles around the time of before the nes released in the us and uk weren’t doing too well, but colecovision would have been the exception to the point no one knows if the nes would have released in 85 or if it would have remained exclusive. Nintendo saw a market gap but there wouldn’t have been one. Even if the nes did release, Nintendo were new and if colecovision did as well as they would have done, things could have been very different.

[@baronhausenpheffer]

The Colecovision was such an amazing console for its time. Although there are a few games here where the arcade was so advanced that the Coleco port clearly had to make some sacrifices (ex. Choplifter and Congo Bongo), for the most part the Coleco games ranged from "arcade-perfect" to at least "arcade-representative". By that second term, I mean you'd be able to watch the Coleco game at a glance and not have to wonder at all what arcade game it's supposed to be a port of, which was not always a given in this console generation. Coleco also showed they could be be absolutely devious businessmen with the way they handled Donkey Kong, making the home port so amazing on their console and mediocre on the others, and coming out with that attachment that allowed a Colecovision to play Atari 2600 games. If the big video game crash didn't hit when it did and annihilate their fortunes, I have to wonder if Nintendo might not have found a vicious pre-Sega competitor in them when they first arrived on American shores. We'll never know!

[@RetroComparisons]

That's super interesting that you mentioned "arcade-representative" because it's a term that I haven't heard before but really puts a bow on my recent experiences with some of these older consoles. When getting footage for something like the 2600, Odyssey 2, etc. I often record the arcade version first because I can see what the game is. When I play one of the games on the older consoles first sometimes I have no idea what the game is about or what I'm supposed to do yet I never ran into that with the Colecovision. I think this console has to be one of the top 5 what-if systems ever made. It really only had 1 year with full support before the crash and they did some great stuff in that short time period. Had this come out maybe 1 year earlier and the crash didn't happen until '84 I wonder if maybe the Colecovision 2 could have been a viable option that could have gone head to head with the NES or at least maybe taken that #2 spot from Sega.

[@johndeaux3703]

Someone has to put this stupid 'Coleco made their Atari/Mattel console ports look bad on purpose' conspiracy theory to rest. It's just dumb internet lore and pure Atari fanboy conjecture that's stated as if it's a documented fact.

[@JustMe99999]

@@johndeaux3703 The 2600 version of Donkey Kong isn't too bad, considering the limitations of the system (the Intellivision version, on the other hand....)

[@DocteurInfierno]

I dont know if it is because of the limitation that Congo Bongo miss one of the four game board in the coloco vision (the 2e in arcade version). But its still better than atari 2600 where it miss 2 of them

[@ATARIVISION]

I remembered back when the colecovision was a big thing back then. My friends around the neighborhood had colecovision while I was stuck with the 2600. I would hang out with them and play but when I got home I sat playing my Atari wishing I had a colecovision. I miss the old days

[@RetroComparisons]

The Colecovision was like the PS5 to Atari's "Switch" back then when it came to horsepower so I see why you'd be jealous but the 2600 had so many incredible games that it still made for an excellent experience.

[@johnesco]

As a kid who played Atari 2600, I was accustomed to home systems being vastly inferior to the arcade. The ColecoVision was the first time I remember "wow, this is as good as the arcade!" Clearly not exactly like the arcade, but young me was rather impressed.

[@RetroComparisons]

The jump from the 2600 to the ColecoVision was huge. It's a funny coincidence because I was talking to a coworker just this past Friday about video games and he told me about how he saved up to get a CV because he thought it was the closest to the arcade.

[@AngryCalvin]

My next door neighbors had a Colecovision. They had Donkey Kong, Mr. Do, and Zaxxon. I remember seeing a Smurfs demo on a store display and couldn’t believe how much it looked like a cartoon. Short lifespan as Coleco was more interested in making ugly dolls called Cabbage Patch Kids than great video games. Home Computers got us through the game crash until we all had an NES. I had a Ti994a. Some of the arcade ports are similar to Colecovision. A couple of friends who were brothers had a C64. Most my friends had an Atari 8-bit. These machines all had really good arcade ports and original games. I really loved Home Computers and still have an interest in them to this day as programmers continue to make homebrew games

[@RetroComparisons]

It's pretty amazing how much came out for the Colecovision considering how short of a window it was relevant. I guess I can't fault Coleco for putting all of their support behind Cabbage Patch Kids considering how huge those became. So much of the homebrew stuff I see these days whether for consoles or computers is simply incredible.

[@sotheresthat7882]

I didn’t get a CV until my senior year in high school. In 1991. Not exactly arcade perfect, but the graphics had a lot of charm.

[@RetroComparisons]

For a 2nd gen console it probably got closer to the arcade than any of its peers at least for most games. It's a super underrated system.

[@mrcydonia]

I remember how excited we were when our dad bought us a Colecovision. And how amazing the games were. Good times.

[@RetroComparisons]

That must have been like having a Dreamcast in a time where everyone else had a PS1 or N64.

[@animemaster4861]

Too bad the colecovision didn't last longer it seemed like besides the weird controllers it had potential,tho it had bad leadership.that star trek game looks awesome,not to mention some of the arcade ports

[@RetroComparisons]

It's a shame this really only got 1 year in the market before the crash. This would have filled the void really nicely between people who bought a 2600 and nothing else until 85/86 when they upgraded to an NES.

[@animemaster4861]

@@RetroComparisons yeah that makes sense even more so if you happen to have the adapter that hooks into the ColecoVision that lets you play 2600 games. I thought it was a little bit longer than that that it was on the market about 2 years before the crash.

[@RetroComparisons]

@@animemaster4861 I forgot about that adapter. That would never happen these days lol! You may be right that it got a bit longer than a year as the crash didn't happen overnight. Still though it got cut way short which is a big shame.

[@mtshark7]

Colecovision did a good job at the time porting Arcades to home I feel.

[@RetroComparisons]

I think so too. I'd say it probably did a better job overall than any of the other second gen competitors.

[@125scratch2]

except donkey kong lol though i guess its better compared to the other console ports of the time, though better ports were on consoles like Atari 800 and TI-99/4A

[@handyhank1967]

Thanks for the video.. i forgot about a lot of these games....

[@RetroComparisons]

Thanks for checking this out:)

[@chadtufts6320]

Bump and jump was a great arcade port

[@RetroComparisons]

It definitely was and it's such a cool game.

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

Choplifter! & Pitfall 2 was for Apple II (Choplifter!) & Atari 2600 (Pitfall 2) first before the Sega arcade ports (in 1985). In fact the Arcade versions were both re-imagining of said games so the Colecovision is a pretty spot on ports of the original source material.

[@RetroComparisons]

Those Colecovision ports are quite excellent.

[@stphinkle]

While the Colecovision ports were not arcade perfect, it does a decent job of creating home ports of games that are faithful to the arcade game. The graphics are better than the Atari 2600 by far. While not quite NES quality, for the time they were pretty good.

[@RetroComparisons]

Most of these games really did justice to the arcade games. For systems like the Odyssey 2 & 2600 sometimes it was hard to tell what they were going for in relation to the arcade original whereas with the Colecovision they were able to be faithful to the original. Since you mentioned it, in case you're interested here's videos on how the Colecovision stacked up against the NES and another on it vs the 2600 (and Intellivision/5200) kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5eZYqyvfZ15m68 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGq2i5ppZbyeeck

[@b.o.4492]

Excellent video. I had forgotten some of these games!

[@RetroComparisons]

Thanks for watching! There's a ton on here I'd never played before and there's a ton of fun ones that I just discovered. What an underrated console.

[@jmm5946]

En Argentina esta consola se empezó a comercializar en 1983, tenía dos grandes problemas, el valor de cada juego era 1/4 parte del valor de la consola con lo cual era complicado adquirir juegos nuevos, en mi caso los alquilaba por unos días y luego se devolvían, por otra parte aqui nunca se vendió el adaptador para colocar en el puerto y poder jugar con los juegos de Atari, igualmente fué una gran consola, luego la reemplacé por una Comodore 64.....

[@Nebulous6]

Note: Dig Dug ColecoVision is glitching out in this video. The real CV cartridge doesn't do that. Some great times on the ol' ColecoVision for sure!

[@JustMe99999]

The Coleco was sure bad at scrolling... you can see it on Time Pilot and Turbo and a couple of others. Also I'd say that the graphics on these games are nowhere near arcade quality (really interesting to see them side by side) but it was sure the best available at the time, by a mile.

[@RetroComparisons]

These were probably the most consistently closest to the arcade originals but I don't think any console really got that close on a regular basis until the Dreamcast. It's a shame the ColecoVision didn't get more time to shine as I think it could have done well if it weren't for the circumstances.

[@JustMe99999]

@@RetroComparisons I had the VCS and was jealous of my friend who had the Coleco! At the time I thought those games looked exactly like the arcade (especially Donkey Kong) but seeing them side by side tells a different story. They were definitely better than anything else at the time though (except maybe Atari 8 bit and C64).

[@RetroComparisons]

@@JustMe99999 I can only imagine how that would have been back then. It was really the first major leap between consoles. I know the Intellivision was a step up from the VCS but the ColecoVision took it to the next level. I would have been super jealous too lol!

[@e10lam_e10]

My fav: 1:30 3:30 5:30 6:00 7:00

[@RetroComparisons]

Those are all excellent choices!

[@ragintombo]

Buck Rogers and Spy Hunter were great back in the day. I can see I missed a lot of other great titles here. The sound though, isn't as good as I remembered.

[@RetroComparisons]

Those two in particular are excellent games though I do suck extra hard at Spy Hunter lol. Yeah that audio can be a bit rough sometimes especially when you consider that the Famicom came out just 1 year later. Thanks so much for checking this out btw! I'm a big fan of yours on GX and I'm really looking forward to Carpoon. That's looking fantastic from everything I've seen so far. Keep up the great work!

[@ragintombo]

@@RetroComparisons Thanks, you too!

[@peter486]

memorys

[@achtungjamie]

Had no idea there was a Star Wars port.

[@RetroComparisons]

That game seemingly got ported to a lot of consoles and the Colecovision version may just be the best one.

[@tomarnold8417]

Coleco did a great job with most arcade ports. Their Zaxxon was incredible for a home console and still looks great today. Congo Bongo is visually impressive. Popeye had a lot of really nice touches (though it's missing the second screen and third screen music which Atari 5200 has)...there are a lot of little things I think they missed in translation but again, for the time, they did a great job.

[@RetroComparisons]

Zaxxon is so good on the Colecovision. It's easily my favorite port of the 2nd gen consoles. I'd say the same for Congo Bongo. The 5200 port isn't bad but I think it looks inferior to this one. There's some other really fun ones that I'd never played before like Pepper 2 that I got hooked on. This is such an underrated system. Thanks for checking this out! In case you're interested I did a video recently where you can see every 2nd gen console game compared to the arcade. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWe7iJSaqdNlnJI

[@tomarnold8417]

@@RetroComparisons I own both the 5200 and the Colecovision. I had both systems growing up. A Colecovision first, which I then had my mother exchange for a 5200 for a lot of small reasons. The two biggest were that I really wanted that pause button and I hated how the other player can control your guy with their controller on the Colecovision. In any event the games where both units did a version Coleco usually did a better job. That being said there are some games where the 5200 had leverage and it usually boiled down to sounds and gameplay. I enjoyed Buck Rogers on the 5200 over the Colecovision version for example. The Coleco looked better but played choppy. The 5200 sounded better and had smooth game play. I also enjoyed the classic arcade games and the 5200 offered those. The Coleco ported the less popular games with a few exceptions.

[@RetroComparisons]

@@tomarnold8417 I can totally see why you'd want to exchange that for the 5200 back then as the 5200 did have some advantages not to mention brand recognition. Looking back on those 2 consoles in particular is fascinating as it's a glimpse at that transition between the old hardware of the 2600, Odyssey 2, etc. and the more advanced Famicom & SG-1000. Honestly you can't go wrong with either as they both have libraries of games that are still worth playing today.

[@you2be839]

Will there be an Arcade vs 4th-5th-6th gen consoles era video comparisons? Those are the ones I'm eagerly wanting to refresh my memory about...

[@RetroComparisons]

I really want to eventually do that but I'm not sure when. I have a massive video that I'm working on currently that I'll hopefully have done by the Spring and then another large one to work on but those 4th/5h/6th gen vs arcade projects are on my list. The Genesis vs arcade series is nearly over so when that's done there will be a bigger video with everything compiled together but that's pretty much it for now.

[@you2be839]

@@RetroComparisons Nice, I always find that period interesting because it was somewhere around that time that consoles started to match what the Arcades could do in terms of 3D, to the point of being almost virtually indistinguishable, and when phrases such as "Arcade Perfect" started to be lusted about on home consoles

[@RetroComparisons]

@@you2be839 Same here, that is probably the most fascinating period for that. In the 2nd gen things weren't nearly advanced enough to come close to the arcade and when the Dreamcast came out the home arcade experience was pretty close so that in between time was something special.

[@jgullifer123]

I never understood why home video games didn't crop their screens to be vertical like in the arcade.

[@ivanalonsolopezgiron23]

Hello, could you make a comparison of arcade games vs Snes games, greetings

[@RetroComparisons]

Hi, I definitely want to do that but with all of the current projects I have on queue that probably won't be for at least a year or two. It is one of my bucket list videos to do.

[@dletter5186]

While the Coleco versions were far superior to the 2600, seeing the side by side with arcade, it is interesting really how much they were not like the arcade still... I recalled at the time feeling like they were much closer, but you generally didn't have a side by side at the time. Seeing the Burnin Rubber/Bump n Jump with intellivision, I was surprised how much better that was than 2600.

[@RetroComparisons]

It's probably kind of like how when the Genesis came out it was seemingly close to arcade perfect when compared to the SMS & NES, but seeing the Genesis ports side by side with the arcade shows that there was still a long ways to go for the home market. The Dreamcast is the first non-insanely expensive console (I'm looking at you Neo Geo AES) to truly capture the visuals of the arcade.

[@riversarcadereview385]

can you do an Arcade vs. Atari 8-bit (5200 / 400 / 800)

[@RetroComparisons]

I do have a big Atari project that I'm going to be working on in the next year though I don't think it's going to include any of the computer games, just consoles, arcade, and the Lynx. In the meantime I did do a video with all 2nd gen consoles compared to the arcade which includes the 5200 in case you're interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWe7iJSaqdNlnJI

[@xexoxex]

the arcade version of Boulder Dash is running on an Atari 800 computer. doesnt count!

[@RetroComparisons]

I thought it ran off of the DECO Cassette System

[@stphinkle]

@@RetroComparisons There were many versions of it. There was a DECO Cassette Version. There was also a version for the Exidy Max-A- Flex system which was essentially an Atari 600XL controlled by an external timer that had no connection to how a player did in the game. Instead when it count down, you either had to put in another coin or the joystick controls would be disabled, similar to Nintendo Playchoice-10.

[@RetroComparisons]

@@stphinkle That's interesting! I'd love to see a physical version of that arcade cab.

[@RalonsoF1]

Pretty close!!

[@RetroComparisons]

The Colecovision was quite the powerhouse for its time.

[@marcelocunha4379]

Awesome!

[@RetroComparisons]

Thanks for checking this out!

[@andrewfreel8721]

I want a Colecovision... BAD!

[@RetroComparisons]

I'm shocked at how much they're going for. When I got one 25 or so years ago you couldn't give one away.

[@Nebulous6]

One method is to use the ColecoVision emulator on a modded classic XBOX. The XBOX controllers even handle most Super Action games really well (except Baseball, because of the required spinner).