Marble Madness - Versions Comparison (HD 60 FPS)

[@kristianTV1974]

First ever arcade machine to have stereo sound, and designed by Mark Cerny, architect of the PS4 and PS5. And Knack!

[@pixelatedzephyr6325]

knack II

[@Steph_7d7]

Neat

[@LBPreviews]

This is one of the few channels that not only lists the year the ports were released in, but also puts them in that order. A detail that's very important but often missing in other channels.

[@duffman18]

Yeah this channel is genuinely like a museum. An online museum. Where everything is very clearly labelled and identified and sorted into order. These kind of videos will be invaluable a century from now when people really start to try and preserve all this art forever. In the film industry, the vast vast majority of early movies (like 90%) are lost forever, we'll never get them back, they're gone for all time. So the fact people are already trying to prevent that from happening within the art form of video games is truly great. We may not see it as important now, but future generations will he so glad that people of our time preserved all of this

[@stonewall264]

Something a lot of these ports leave out from the arcade is the 8 squares on the marble sprite. They are helpful in seeing how fast the marble is spinning.

[@saganandroid4175]

Keep in mind, a lot of the machines shown don't even have sprites ;-) Apple II line and Atari ST and IBM clone PCs for starters.

[@tredI9100]

The dots also help it feel like the marble is actually rolling instead of just sliding around.

[@igorfco.moredaarzo7905]

Amiga, Sharp, FM Towers, NES, GBC, GBA, Genesis... all these versions feature pixels in the ball to know how it is rolling

[@luigicrossdressing9746]

I don't know, but the music of second level is beautiful

[@samerix__]

okie dokie waa hoo

[@fran5678can]

zelda

[@jaysmith2858]

It's one of those tunes that stays with you forever.

[@sterling7]

More than that- it pretty much single-handedly transforms the marble from a sphere of glass to an underdog hero the player is rooting for. It really is one of the great themes in video game music, particularly from the 80s.

[@KiyloNendroid]

And that fm towers version is just 👌🏼

[@amerigocosta7452]

Marble Madness always looked like an art game to me, with its abstract graphics and soundtrack. I wonder if the authors expected this game to have the success it ended up having.

[@Nukle0n]

The main designer of it ended up making Crash Bandicoot, Knack and made the specs of the PS4 and PS5.

[@Nbrother1607]

It "fell off" after six weeks

[@DouglasZwick]

Dude, get a load of overachiever FM Towns over here, with that dramatic soundtrack! That and X68000 are the clear winners for me, both being even better than the arcade. But of course I'm an NES kid through and through, so that version gets an honorable mention for doing so much with its modest chipset. I gotta say, growing up with an NES first and then a SNES later, when I was younger, I always viewed the NES as having a cute-yet-primitive charm, but as I get older and wiser and compare it to the other stuff it was competing with at the time, boy, it really swung for the fences in all categories.

[@DoomKid]

Looking at all of these ports, I do have to say it's clear to me the NES was in the upper echelon when it came to gameplay smoothness, and the soundtrack was solid (though nothing compared to the FM towns of course!) The Genesis version was oddly terrible, but what's odd is there's a Japanese Megadrive version that is much better.

[@mynie]

God the NES port is such a remarkable achievement.

[@Halbared]

Yeah, it looks good, looks like it plays well as too.

[@poble]

yeah, it's pretty good

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

@Cacy Mays The Genesis version definitely has the better color palette, and that is really the ONLY area the NES version lacks. The NES version is actually very smooth while the Genesis version runs a bit choppy by comparison. I mean, not "literally unplayable" by any means, but, having owned the NES version, I remember being told how crappy it was compared to the arcade (which I wouldn't see for another 12 years or so thanks to MAME). The game RUNS better on the NES than it did on the arcade, but definitely looks better in coin-op.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

@@jasonlee7816 The fact that it actually runs smoother than the arcade version. Outside of color palette, it's arguable superior.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

@@Halbared It adapts rather well, considering it's a trackball game, adapted to an 8 way crosspad

[@CircuitBird]

The Mega Drive/Genesis actually had two versions of Marble Madness. The more obscure version was a Japanese only release and was developed by Tengen. It was much more arcade accurate.

[@topicvideosguy]

What's kinda frustrating about a lot of these versions is that they're on systems with Yamaha OP chips like the original arcade cabinet but they still changed the music. The X68000 version and EAs Genesis version could've been nearly arcade perfect. Edit 12/24/22: Specifying EAs Genesis port, as Tengen's Japanese port was nearly arcade perfect

[@JoSephGD]

There's a Japan-exclusive version of Marble Madness on the Mega Drive made by Tengen. Indeed, it's pretty much arcade perfect.

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

Whoever made this game is an absolute genius.

[@SinfulXavi]

That would be Mark Cerny, the consultant of the PlayStation 4 and such. Also been with the industry since the Atari days.

[@the_yt_crok]

The FM towns one sounds like it's a soundtrack remaster for Smash Bros

[@andreinoooo]

Yes, sounds also a bit out of context to me. I think the original POKEY tunes better fit within game’s own style.

[@Nukle0n]

games for the FM Towns usually came on CDs so it was probably Redbook audio.

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

Maybe they could add this to smash bros

[@jasonlee7816]

@@Nukle0n i thought FM Towns games were on a 3 inch floppy disk because it was a computer while the FM Towns Marty games were on a CD compact disc

[@ReyndOut]

@@andreinoooo What pokey? It was not released for atari 400, or 800.

[@tm0054]

I played this to death on the Amiga back in the day- of the computer versions (PC, ST, C64, Apple II/IIgs) it was probably the best version. I love the music on the FM Towns, never heard that before.

[@jasonlee7816]

in the late 1980’s Amiga might’ve had the best port (version) until the FM Towns, Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive, Sharp X68000

[@jasonlee7816]

did you play Amiga Marble Madness to death 3, 5, 7 times a day, week, month?

[@DJDanceClassic]

@@jasonlee7816 yes I played it for months 1 time a day because it can be finished in 6 minutes lol

[@Soulintent95]

You know, im surprised id never heard of this game when i was a kid. It was on everything! That fm towns version is so smooth... that system keeps impressing me.

[@ThisisTechie]

Found this in a new arcade that opened in my area and the music is excellent but the gameplay is so challenging yet addicting.

[@EmeraldoTheDragon]

It's not often that you see a game with consistently decent ports across the board. I'm especially impressed by the Amiga port, considering how early in that system's lifetime that version was made.

[@DJDanceClassic]

I owned an amiga 1000 in 1986 and marble madness was an amazing conversion. same 68000 as the arcade so easy to port, few sprites , amazing music

[@kelli217]

Except for that Spectrum port... Geez, it looks like it could have been made on a ZX81 instead. And the CPC version is only 0.01% better because it uses color.

[@CheDonJohn]

You're absolutely right. This is one of my all-time favourite games, though I only played the Master System and Mega Drive versions. It didn't occur to me until watching this video that there really isn't much difference between those two ports, or indeed any of them.

[@Akira625]

I had the Apple II version, and because of hardware limitations it couldn’t do music and gameplay at the same time, and it only supported six colors.

[@20windfisch11]

Funny how in most versions the maze is scaled down where in the Gameboy version it is not although it had a smaller screen. The sound is the best on the Amiga. I like how it sounds when the marble gets dizzy.

[@RockmanZeroModernDay]

I love the Arcade, NES / Famicom, Genesis Tengen Versions. They're my favorite versions.

[@michaelcuomo1352]

I’ll always think of the Nintendo Version of this since it’s the only one I played lol

[@UltimateCamaroFan]

So glad they stopped the footage of the Genesis version before my eardrums ruptured

[@mibri]

This might be my favourite video of this fantastic series so far! I'm only unsure about the C64 version's borders being cropped out here; while the majority of C64 games don't do anything with the borders, borders around the 320x200 are nevertheless what we see when we run programs on real hardware and, if you must, emulation... ;) Anyway, these videos are great and I hope you keep them coming!

[@SomeInterestingName]

I played the SMS version growing up, and I was always so confused by some aspects of the level design that were totally non-functional, like in the yellowy-green level, there should be a ribbon or carpet type thing that waves and you can travel along it, but in the SMS version it was totally static, making the shortcut it made pointless. It wasn't until I got the Mega Drive version and played it that I was like "WHAT". X)

[@jasonlee7816]

were you impressed or not impressed with the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive port?

[@AlexTheHorrid]

What about the version that's on midway arcade treasures? Or is that just the arcade version?

[@asAbsolute]

I was wondering this too

[@CU08_]

Just a straight port of the arcade.

[@WaddleBih]

Ah yes, the Beginner maze level music. And then comes the GBC version trying to beep an epic fantasy-ish tune to it.

[@shostako1284]

Yes. Ruined that version. Specially for the potential nostalgic buyers of a very old game by 1999 (in that era a 1984 game seemed a paleolithic thing: not many young people played old games then, and a lot less bought these ports).

[@BallPythonPassion]

The best version of this game starts at 12:21

[@williams6334]

I remember dad used to take us to a corner store a town over to hire Marble Madness on the NES over and over again. It is such an amazing game and I'm glad I actually own a copy now :)

[@natedoggcata]

The FM Towns soundtrack is incredible holy shit

[@teveboquisdakazza4739]

I play the NES version to this day. An amazing port, fluid and enjoyable, albeit with a sad choice of colours.

[@johnway2699]

In 1988, I worked in an Atari/Commodore store. I spent several work hours when there were no customers playing Marble Madness on the Amiga. It's game play with the mouse was so smooth! It made me want to purchase an Amiga, but I did not have the money to upgrade from my Atari 8-bit.

[@niche8137]

Despite the screen crunch, I'll have to go for the GB version. Besides it looking pretty nice, it seems *really* sharp on controls!

[@david02129]

FM Towns WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE SOUNDTRACK JESUS

[@ischmidt]

Not sure what you're using to get the Apple IIgs footage, but the sound has been weird in your last few videos. The volume's low and there's crackling that neither my real machine nor the commonly used IIgs emulators (GSPlus, MAME) have. Love your videos, hope you can fix the issue.

[@TPau65]

Nothing beats the original Amiga version! FM Towns (never heard of that system before!) and X68000 are also quite nice. 👍

[@jay-rev]

Love the Amiga! so well built and great ports! however - SHAME ON SHAME ON Game Boy Color for not even coming close to the iconic soundtrack, especially level 2!

[@Batmann_]

Oh man, it's a good thing this is in HD and 60 FPS!!

[@supakusuta]

There was a cancelled PC-Engine version of Marble Madness, I think that was cancelled due to unexpected hardware limitations. Which is kinda dumb since the NES port was good and it was on less powerful hardware than the PCE. You also forgot the Japanese Mega Drive version of Marble Madness which was closer to the arcade version, especially the music.

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

Dude Sega Genesis and Mega Drive are the same

[@victorromero1568]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 There's a KZbin video about some Sega Genesis games not released in the USA and it mentioned that the Japanese version is indeed different from the USA version, and is closer to the arcade.

[@duffman18]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 bruh, you're really confused. Is English not your first language? Literally nobody is saying that the mega drive and the genesis are different consoles. Literally no-one. Why do you keep replying to messages as if people have said that? You've seriously embarrassed yourself here, you've made yourself look like a fool What people are saying is that there was a version of marble madness for the Japanese mega drive which was a COMPLETELY different version to the western version of marble madness. It was a port that was developed by an entirely different team in a different country, built from the ground up with completely different and new code. So there's two versions of the game marble madness for the mega drive (also known as genesis). Just like there were two versions of Tetris for the NES, two versions made by two completely different companies. You've made an utter fool of yourself. Do better next time.

[@user-ht2js9xx3p]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 Wrong.

[@xsm5525]

and the winner is: Amiga port

[@Fukneo]

Arcade is better

[@swifty1969]

which system was FM town? never heard of it before. The audio was fantastic, much better than the arcade.

[@jenniferchavira]

Marble Madness is just too good for its time...

[@robintst]

Played the Amiga and NES versions a ton back then. Gotta say though that Sharp X68000 port is pretty slick.

[@MetProduct-td4rz]

What about the Japanese version of the Sega mega drive port by TENGEN?

[@chickensandwich9977]

The Genesis had a remarkable charm to it

[@Rothron]

I played this a ton on the Arcade and the Amiga. It's a pretty good port. Well done to the team that ported this to the NES.

[@JSRphones]

Not sure why the Commodore 64 engine was used so much. It's honestly not that good, as if the camera scrolling wasn't bad enough. Thank the stars that the Amiga version wasn't an ST port. Also, any reason why the GBC version uses the music from the ultimate race in the BEGINNER race?

[@vincenzomottola7778]

You forgot to include the Japanese Mega Drive version of Marble Madness by Tengen. And yes, there were 2 different Marble Madness ports on Genesis

[@jasonlee7816]

why would 2 Genesis ports exist? 2 MD versions in Europe + Japan 1 Genesis version in USA regions

[@vincenzomottola7778]

@@jasonlee7816 yea, the Electronic Arts version was released only in North America and Europe in 1991 while the Tengen version was only released in Japan in 1993. The Tengen version is closer to the arcade. A similar situation also happened with Klax on Genesis where the west got a port from Tengen while Japan got a port from Namco. I assume the Japan version is superior

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

@@vincenzomottola7778 Bruh

[@sanjeen2503]

i am searching for a marble madness game that i played on android or java i can't remember... i had flying birds in the later stages too. the background looked like sky. please help me remember it and getting to play it somehow.

[@SN64YT]

The GBA version of this games music is to be expected from porting games that are classics such as Sonic 1 GBA, Bubble Bobble, Rayman GBA And maybie the Namco classics (because I haven't listened to the soundtrack for the game for a few years now) gives off that same soundfont that is in these games that sound not the original, and it comes out as not the best version of their music in their game. Honestly, my favorite versions of the music is gotta be the NES, Genesis, FM, and Arcade versions of the game, because they all sound very great and memorable. :)

[@MattTheSpratt]

My favourite is actually the Japanese Mega Drive port of Marble Madness, which is remarkably absent from this video!

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

Sa dude, Sega Genesis and Mega Drive are the same

[@MattTheSpratt]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 They really aren't. The American and European port was written by staffers from and published by Electronic Arts, and the Japanese-exclusive version was written by folks at Tengen and is in fact region free, so it can be played on US Geneses and EU/SECAM Mega Drives. Still think I'm full of it? Here's gameplay footage of the Tengen version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rovbhamwabx4ia8

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

but still the console is the same

[@MattTheSpratt]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 Wasn't talking about the console if you were paying attention, Arkan.

[@poble]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 what they're trying to say is that there's two versions of this game for two different regions

[@DavidKimFX]

Sharp X68000 version looks great. FM Towns version too. I grew up with the Amiga version.

[@tredI9100]

There was a Pocket PC version, pretty close to the arcade except for the sound quality and framerate. You could use the stylus to move the marble.

[@bunnydawg]

the enemies in the gba version are going crazy

[@steuph1976]

FM Towns : you know what this game lacks ? Epic timpani !

[@lurkerrekrul]

Marble Madness is a beautiful looking game, but I've always thought that the playability was a little lacking. I never played it in the arcade, I've only played the home versions. I've played the Amiga version with a joystick, the Amiga mouse and with a trackball that was converted to function as a mouse. Of those, I actually got the farthest with the joystick.

[@POSSUM_chowg]

What happened to the game boy color version's music?

[@duffman18]

I don't know

[@SapphireTheArtist2002]

NES version is my favorite. It’s the only one that I’ve played, and I also grew up with it so… that explains it. It also has the best soundtrack imo. 😅

[@luminous6969]

5:20 Apple II, what are you doing? Were they even trying?

[@SN64YT]

No

[@duffman18]

Yes

[@saganandroid4175]

It's surprising that the C64 and Amiga audio are rather substandard (compared to their usual), considering both machines were standouts in their class.Mostly it was the seeming lag in the music- such slowness is something you never expect on either a C64 or Amiga.

[@samerix__]

Make puyo puyo versions comparison please :>

[@swapd0]

Fun fact: the background for the arcade version ware done using a raytracing program and then converted the image into tiles. The Atari ST version could be a lot better, the Amiga version it's a lot better.

[@jasonlee7816]

i probably wouldn’t expect better from the ST version if only 2 or 3 people worked on it

[@sikthehedgehog]

Missing here: the Japanese Mega Drive port (by Tengen), which is significantly different to the US port (by EA). It's much closer to the arcade version and supports using the mouse as a trackball.

[@Nintendo3D5]

What is your favorite marble madness port? Mine is obviously NES

[@FIXTREME]

20:13 Well, I already know what Brazil's favourite version is

[@gabrield.8999]

14:56 There might be a reason why it's called "Sharp"

[@K_T0NE]

There's something about the music of the first level in a few different versions that makes me somewhat uncomfortable

[@angelriverasantana7755]

Not bad. But ya didn't cover the other Genesis version from Japan, distributed by Tengen

[@hardkoregamer1981]

This game is as awesome as Tetris imo it belongs in the list of the greatest puzzle games of all time 👍😎👍💯‼️

[@knightdriver3592]

As a kid I really wanted this on NES, but did get a copy on my Commodore 64. Despite being essentially the same I found it very disappointing by comparison. To this day the C64 has an awesome sound chip, but this version of MM sounded so unpleasant overall that it was grating to play without muting it.

[@kennetheweka6690]

the game boy color has some mind blowing fmv sounds and apple ii looks creepy but i like the music.

[@totallytubular69]

Always played the Genesis version as a kid lol

[@ellebastonart]

If this doesn't get a Switch Arcade Archives release I'll cry

[@JustJamie1983]

Such a great game.

[@AmigaX]

my Favorite Version is the arcade verison

[@litjellyfish]

Yes trackball rules for this.

[@spartanx5806]

some pretty good versions!!

[@thesledgehammerblog]

I played this on C64 back in the day but seem to recall it sounding much better than that. Maybe it's the difference between playing on a NTSC region system versus a PAL region one? Edit:. To test a theory, I tried playing the C64 portion of the video at 1.25x speed and it sounded a lot more like I would expect it to, so it seems likely that it was made for NTSC and didn't come over quite right on PAL.

[@supercamborg4218]

None of these can live up to the feel of the arcade original with that trackball. It’s a shame that even a halfway acceptable trackball is so expensive because games that need those controls for the experience can’t be preserved as well as they deserve to be

[@solarflare9078]

The Japanese Mega Drive version supports the Mega Drive mouse, which can be used as a trackball

[@marknetw]

What about handheld lcd version ;)

[@memesvideo41]

Sharp was the best version in my opinion, nice graphics and more fluid

[@Tretheperson]

cool 3d effect

[@litjellyfish]

Which one?

[@Tretheperson]

@@litjellyfish all most all of them

[@litjellyfish]

@@Tretheperson almost all? Are you talking about the isometric perspective? It’s the same in all here

[@Tretheperson]

@@litjellyfish yeah

[@imqqmi]

I've played the Amiga version but didn't really like it. Would be nice to have an android version and control the ball by tilting the device like a few other games that do this.

[@jaysmith2858]

The problem with that is that I can see a lot of phones being broken as a result of rage taking over after those playing the game fall off the same ledge for the umpteenth time in a row. 🤬

[@ima90skid]

NES for sure, mainly cause I grew up with that version

[@michaelmitzel9755]

great vid!

[@leighpark3917]

Mark Cerney's games were better back then than they are now thats for sure

[@datCoolPro101]

We want Marble Madness for Smash

[@ЕвгенийШиробоков-з4ъ]

Genesis! I haVe bin sega mega drive in 1997. I played in most games, but this game i don't. Sound backup me in childhood!!!

[@Wasabialt]

Sharp X68000 version is the best!

[@MaddoxsLaundromatAdventures]

The first version I ever saw was the Sega genesis version the second version I saw it was the arcade, and then the third was the amiga And the fourth was hamsterball/Hamsterball Gold

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

A 3D game! Edit: Arcade, Sega Genesis And Amiga are the best verisons

[@hitmonstars7458]

@Polus Petrovich There are actual 3d nes games that use red and blue glasses like Rad racer way before this

[@hitmonstars7458]

@Polus Petrovich also there's a difference between a 3d game and a game with a isometric view. Also back in those days you couldn't get 3D without glasses so rad racer is the first nes 3D game

[@litjellyfish]

Not really. Isometric. Also it calculates all in 2D so no real 3d world. Still nice 3d like visuals

[@darkerfalcon3747]

You forgot the japan version of mega drive. The japan version of mega drive is totally different than the international. The japan is more likely arcade and was a important piece of this video. P.S.=My favourite version is the arcade

[@cooliecoolster9594]

For my Genesis ROM set I picked the Japan version rather than the international version due to its better soundtrack. 👍

[@darkerfalcon3747]

@@cooliecoolster9594 yeah, right. I approve with you.

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

@@darkerfalcon3747 Sega Genesis and Mega Drive are the same!

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

@@cooliecoolster9594 Are you in japan

[@poble]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 nobody is talking about the sega cd lol

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

Genesis version single handedly had the best music ever created by mankind in video game history

[@solarflare9078]

I know you’re being sarcastic, but it actually got a port that was virtually 100% identical to the arcade soundtrack

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

@@solarflare9078 :OOO

[@michaelsegal3558]

My two favourite versions are the NES and the Gameboy versions

[@BlackieBloomberg]

Wow, those Japanese PC ports blow me away even now

[@martinsmith1870]

Commodore 64 every time. Boo hiss to the Amstrad cpc 😂

[@baalfgames5318]

Aren't there TWO Genesis ports?

[@poble]

yeah, there's also a version made by tengen that was only released in japan

[@CelentAle]

The best are Amiga and Commodore 64! Amiga classic and new AmigaOS4 for eveeer 😎 💪

[@hypno8156]

It seems to me that it was worth showing the Mega Drive version for the Japanese region. This version is better than Genesis

[@FIXTREME]

Games [usually] do not have genders

[@hypno8156]

@@FIXTREME, Oh, sorry my mistake. I'll fix it now

[@duffman18]

@@FIXTREME this one does. It's got balls. It's a dude

[@MediaRavenEditor2024]

The best game ever!

[@bhavigpointi4035]

The game is interesting, I never heard of that before

[@litjellyfish]

Wow. Its like a groundbreaking classic.

[@HeitorMD]

as it turns out, there are 2 genesis ports, the first one is from ea and was realeased in the west, its rather good, but not perfect, the second one was released in japan by tengen, and i would call it arcade perfect

[@k-berry8771]

Why is the Game Boy version so much superior to the GBC and GBA despite being made so much earlier on lesser hardware?

[@MaddoxsLaundromatAdventures]

Versions I Like 🟩 Arcade 🟩 Sega Genesis 🟩 Sega Genesis TENGEN (JP) 🟩 Sega Game Gear 🟩 Sega MasterSystem 🟩 NES 🟩 GameBoy 🟩 Atari ST 🟩 C64 🟩 Sharp X68000 🟩 NEC PC 9801 🟩 FM Towns 🟩 Amiga Versions I Hate 🟥 GameBoy Advance 🟥 Gameboy Color 🟥 MS DOS CGA/Tandy 🟥 Apple II