Vintage Magnavox Odyssey 2 System Review - Gamester81

[@TheNukedgamer]

wow i've been waiting for a review of this system, great vid john!

[@Antnie]

Great video, really enjoyed my time watching.

[@TheMetroidMurderer]

Awesome Odyssey 2 review John, I need to get one of those.

[@Ryoga2K]

My aunt in Belgium had a Videopac, and he still had it back in the nineties catching dust, I'm so sad that I didn't told him to give it to me back in the day!

[@retrogamingmaniac]

Great review Gamster81!

[@MegaAstroFan18]

And that's not a sarcastic Mr. Gamester, you just have an amazing collection and I have to be humble.

[@Tracer2376]

I had one of these as well when I was a kid. Thanks for showing this.

[@vwestlife]

I believe KC Munchkin was actually the first Pac-Man-style game to be released for a home console, beating the official (and very crappy) Atari 2600 Pac-Man to the market by a few months. What really hurt Magnavox was not so much the Atari lawsuit, but rather their inability to get any third-party developers to make games for the Odyssey2. Magnavox only had a very small group of in-house programmers, so most of the games were not as good as they could've been.

[@InfinitelyManic]

I remember playing that Pacman like game on that console that my father me back in the early to mid 80s. I also had a TRS-80. Lots of good memories.

[@tvandlust]

Great video, John. I definitely need to pick up one of these. They're really inexpensive these days.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

Good review of a neat old system. I saw a Coleco Vision at a Good Will a few week ago. It had about ten games with it. It was in an auction case.

[@echo036]

I bought a boxed one at a flea market a couple of months ago and to my suprise the system was still factory sealed

[@EpicRunnerman1516]

that's sick better than i thought itd be, good vid man

[@MegaAstroFan18]

First home console was the Magnavox Odyssey, but the first with programmable cartridges was the Fairchild Channel F.

[@NESsickNES]

very cool history lesson!

[@effael]

Yeah a kid i used to play with up the street used to have KC's Crazy Chase with that voice attachment. At the beginning of the game it would say "GO!" then if you completed the maze then it said "HA HA HA HA, THAT'S INCREDIBLE!" or something like that. Ages ago of course and don't know why i vaguely remember that.

[@muragaru553]

That was rather cool. Thanks for sharing! Have a good day!

[@SmexyWells]

nice review of a classic system

[@ghostofthefuture]

I remember playing KC Munchkins in a friend's basement when I was a kid. Surprisingly fun.

[@meowskull]

Wow this board game video game things are really neat, seems like it would still be fun to play today

[@jaybirdk74]

LAVABEAST- I know it's half a year later, but for anyone wanting to know the word scramble game, it was on the cartridge that came with the system. There was a Pole Position-type game called "Speedway", another two-person race game called "Spin Out", and the scrambled word game was "Crypto Logic". And yeah, my folks opted for this instead of the other console with the faux woodgrain. Good fun, though...good fun, fer sure!

[@PhatPhunk]

Great review John! I think the Odyssey 2 has a very good design for a late 70s console! The membran keys may not function well but sure looks cool and futuristic for it's time!

[@OldSchoolNYCGamer]

Nice review John, way to stick it to man, lol! I have both games and are still fun and challenging to this day.

[@StanleyOpar]

I think what he never said (got sidetracked) was the the caterpillar from K.C's Krazy Chase was a representation of Centipede which was a popular Atari game..

[@8-BitEric]

this system is amazing! i wish i knew about it sooner!

[@Tsusasi]

With KC Munchkin, not all of the mazes became invisible. Much like the Atari switches, you can input on the keyboard the difficulty and type of levels you want to play. The standard game starts out with visible walls.

[@carlvernersson9493]

Tsusasi Owning the Odyssey 2 and the KC Munchkin I can confirm what you are typing is true.

[@StanleyOpar]

You are like..the biggest nostalgic video game geek i've EVER seen ....PROPS BRO = D

[@greggv8]

I added a pair of DE9 connectors to the back of mine to use high quality 2600 compatible joysticks. If you have enough Odyssey^2 cartridges, set them on one side in a circle, handles inward. The shape of the handles nest together to make a multi pointed star. I don't remember how many cartridges it takes to make the complete circle.

[@josefranciscomallmannjr.78]

I had K.C. MMunchkin in 1984 in Brazil. By that time, there were not many copyrights regulations in here.... It was published by Phillips and had a huge success back then. Thanks for the video.!!!!! Other important thing, in Brazil, the second game came first.

[@846jensu1]

omg! I still have my Odyssey2 somewhere, what memories you just brought back. I ruled on KCs crazy chase, I can remember countless nights as a kid playing that game!, Do you remember Turtles, or PickAxePete? those rocked too. Man, glad I found this vid, thanks!

[@HarrisonBeard]

I must say, that looks pretty ahead for 1978

[@846jensu1]

had this as a kid and loved it. I played for hours on KC crazy chase. cool review!

[@nattymcg]

That was my first system as a kid (though I wasn't born until 86). Had the system still up until my last move. Don't know where it is now.

[@brianoconnell6459]

I bought a box with a Odyssey 2 about 10 years ago with a bunch of games for $10. I also got the Voice module, and 2 copies of KC Munchkin, and a copy of KC Munchkin 2. Nice, I can sell just one of the carts, keep the collection, and if I can get $15 for one of the KC Munchkin carts, then the system will have paid for itself. I also have a pile of manuals for them.

[@PiercedJedi]

An interesting system, thanks for sharing

[@PurpleGameRoom]

The controllers for this system are awesome. Speedway was really addicting and there was a top down racing game I played a lot with my brother (he got the system from my uncle since I didn't had a tv yet). Ah good times, I should hunt one down.

[@exodia9817]

The Voice module actually was released in 1981 or 1982.

[@mp4podcastDOTcom]

I think William Shatner did a TV ad for Magnavox Odyssey.

[@TechGorilla1987]

All these reviews of this console and not ONE mentions the BASIC cartridge... It was my favorite!

[@Sleepyz7z]

Brings back memories that was my first console and first computer was Vic20 with cassette tape drive. On Commodore 64 i had 2400 games!

[@mikeymcmikeface5599]

That unit looks a little different to the one I've got. Fun fact: Magnavox was a subsidiary of Philips.

[@iPhoneSk8er8000]

Great video very awesome.

[@Guernicaman]

Awesome console. I still have mine!

[@elsquibbs]

I LOVED this system. My brother was a beast at KC Munchkin. KC Munchkin, Pick Axe Pete, War of Nerves, KC'S Krazy Chase, Demon Attack, Monkeyshines, Thunderball, UFO, fun fun fun. I think I still have one of these somewhere.

[@clashed13]

finally ive been waiting for this review forever i recently found a luggage box in the attic that had this system with like 10 games also had a atari 5200 inside!!!

[@sayajinxhero]

wow thank you so much john for doing this review. ive always herd about this system but didnt know anything about it. thank you so much, great review as always. i also have another question for you though. in this video you metiond the video game crash, what exactly is that. ive heard mulitple old school video game reviewers metion it but none would go into detail. if you have time do you think you could do a short video explaining what the video game crash exactly was

[@rjc7289]

I had the original KC Munchkin game before Magnavox pulled it off the market, although I will admit KC's Crazy Chase is quite interesting, and I wish I had that one as well. Another favorite game of mine was Showdown In 2100 AD, because you could ricochet bullets off of trees when you shot at your opponent. Pick Axe Pete ruled as well.

[@rgbcrafts]

The first Odyssey was never released here in Brazil, instead the Odyssey 2 was sold as being the original Odyssey. I got one in hands and probably it needs some fixing, but I don't have any game to test it. I really love vintage hardware though. Kinda hard and expensive trying to get anything from it out here.

[@nathanallan1]

The 'main brain' is an Intel chip that is socketed and with a bit of effort can be upgraded. Everything is done on that chip as far as memory and I/O, and it seems that Magnavox had intended it to be upgradable at some point. I have two and love mine. Great vid!

[@douro20]

No, it was the first to use a microprocessor- and probably the first with color graphics as well.

[@kingstonlj]

The last game reminds me of Noby Noby Boy, well... a bit. Excellent video, I hadn't seen this system before. Thanks!

[@ScrewAttackEurope]

I've got the Philips VideoPac version of the Odyssey 2, but it's missing the nubs at the top of the sticks, do you know if I can buy any replacements anywhere?

[@6672rock]

I had one of these. My favorite games were KC Munchkin, PIck Axe Pete, Baseball and Monkeyshines. That 3rd deluxe game in the fancy box was a Wall Street type of game called Wall Street Fortune Hunt, if I remember correctly.

[@TheUniversalEyes]

I had a couple friends who had this system, my interest was always in the speech cartridge, we would spend hours swearing with it.

[@Xaibo_Red]

Great, there isnt many reviews of the MO2.

[@misterspock1]

Crypto-Logic was basically hangman if I remember correctly. I remember playing a hangman game with the keyboard on the family's Oddyssey 2 and I think that was it. Pick Axe Pete was my favorite game. Basically a Donkey Kong knock off. Quest for the Rings had to have two players and although it looked neat, on the board, if you didn't have a second player to act as a GM, you couldn't play.

[@evanpeters87]

I know this video is old as balls but I just picked up a Odyssey 2 complete in box (box was a little rough) with 4 boxed games (they are mint, and I mean mint, pristine boxes and manuals). K.C. Munchkin, UFO, Alien Invaders Plus and a triple cart with Crypto Logic, Speedway and Spin-out for $40 on craigslist. Not too shabby I'd say.

[@Kurosaki45]

Awesome deal man!

[@stomp0442]

I still have my Odyssey 2 from my childhood. I also have the Voice box like in the video. Lots of fun times with this back in the day. I have a bunch of games still in their boxes. The video seems a bit misleading about KC Munchkin, you don't need to play it so the maze becomes invisible, I thnk my favorite maze was #1. Some other games you may want to try to get are Turtles and Pickaxe Pete.

[@KountryKowboy29]

That's the only system I never played was an Odessey.

[@MaximumRD]

@KingCalaway Though not the most responsive YES they do work, much like the membrane keyboard on the original Atari 400 computer among other 80's computers.

[@PeteDorr]

I love the look of the game boxes foe O2, also that last game actually looks pretty fun!

[@andrewniles1]

I want that quest for the ring game...just because!

[@mikeymcmikeface5599]

It is very neat. And the computer-driven board game is unique to all time - not just that time. Or have you seen many since then? 😊

[@markvergeer]

Excellent little console. The US box art is very different from the European box art. Also the packaging was very different. After Pong this was the first console I played on back in the day.

[@penguin9941]

Still better than Xbox one

[@Kirkaiya]

Dude, awesome - I remember playing Quest for the Rings very fondly, and those creepy spiders that the game had (and the cool coins). Another cool thing was that in K.C.'s Krazy Chase, you could create your own mazes, although you lost them as soon as you shut the console off. Anyway, many thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@THELUKESTIR]

nice find

[@luvmenow33]

KC Munchkin was addictive as hell.

[@SlightlyDeath]

I used to have a Philips Videopac G7400+ when I was a kid, this was my very first console. KC Munchkin was an awesome game, as well as Parkers Super Cobra. Too bad that this console never had a real chance to win against the Atari 2600...

[@kakoroto]

never heard of that 1 :)

[@illustriouschin]

As far as pacman clones go those looked pretty good. And I have to agree about those Quest games have great boxes of stuff!

[@triangleofdeath6246]

Wait, there are built in programs? How do you access them? when I power mine up without a cartridge, I get a garbled off white screen with random numbers and punctuation marks moving around.

[@thebestofall007]

I would have rather had K.C. Munchkin back then than the terrible port of Pac Man that Atari had on their system. Magnavox made that game better!

[@LittleBigKid707b]

my dad bought it for us in the early 80s.i wanted an atari but he kept saying this system was superior, so he ended up buying me and my sister this.my original system broke about 15 years ago, but just last year i found one in super condition boxed for 40 bucks!! my wife asks me what i see in this system cause we have all the newer systems , but tou would of had to ezperienced it then to understand it now.

[@MasterKofficial]

nice review. i love my odyssey 2 btw the Philips Videopac G7000 (that i have^^)

[@DeanoTheLegend87]

The Philips Videopac G7000 i have has removable controller's with 9-pin port's like a Atari 2600 or Sega MegaDrive. I wonder if that Voice module would work on my unit?

[@BubbafromSapperton]

I upgrade graphics cards often 🤗

[@DrImmergeil]

Very well done allround review you made. I played this at the age of 6. A year later we switched to the NES though, so I don't remember much else than the 4 in 1 row game. I have a question though: what kind of TV connector did the system use? Just in case I'm going to buy the system for nastalgia. Will it be able to hook up to a modern flat-screen?

[@GameplayandTalk]

Nice one. :)

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

The limited games and graphics doomed these right from the start, Liked vid

[@MarjaMariachi]

Go! Run! Hurry! Watch out! Run! Hahahaha, incredible!

[@rrob78]

My brother bought a magnavox odyssey 2 for $5, only thing is it was missing the power adapter. Does anybody know if you can use a aftermarket adapter and what is it?

[@TheNews1990]

cool stuff

[@AngelaJeanBarr]

I loved my Odyssey2. Cryptologic was my favourite game.

[@mikeymcmikeface5599]

Heh. It would accept a word typed on the keyboard, scramble it and have someone else try to decipher the word.

[@jose5080007]

my flea market has one for 5 bucks and im going to pick it up

[@jonathanterrorsathan6491]

GREAT!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU CONSOLES COLECCTION!!!!!!!!

[@fireheartis1]

Hey Gamester81 do you know where I can find an Odyssey 2 for a relatively cheap price? I've been wanting to get one for a while now and the cheap ones on eBay are always missing the AC adapter or are not working.

[@codyworthlessthegenesisjun5869]

This is a month old but if you are still looking, I found mine at a usa super pawn for 40 bucks in box. I would check at pawn shops that might carry old games (if you are a good haggler you can get a good deal), thrift stores (really hit or miss), yard sales (hit or miss again), craigslist, or you could even stock ebay and wait for a good price. I highly recommend the O2 if you like the 2600. The games are neat and cheap for the most part.

[@fireheartis1]

Cody Worthless Thanks for the information. I'll look around at pawn shops in my town. I hope I can find one the Odyssey 2 is a great older console.

[@marekvrbka]

No, it was first console to have real cartridges with actual data, not circuits like original Odyssey had

[@RetroGirl85]

wow .. I had this system. I liked playing Kc's crazy chase, UFO's, baseball, pick axe pete, and the game it came with where you could race cars and do a word scramble :) my parents were too cheap fpr atari so this is what I got to play , good times

[@1millionangels]

Omg just found my uncles 1972 gift (odyssey) his parents forgot it. It still works

[@MegaAstroFan18]

"That's really interesting" or some variation of that phrase is a rather common catchphrase for you Mr. Gamster81, during these older videos anyways.

[@editzfan101]

hmmm i have the system but the the wire is snipped anyway to fix it without paying like $100.00

[@MegaAstroFan18]

so wait, what's the third of those board game ones?

[@mikeymcmikeface5599]

The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt

[@Ryoga2K]

@majora1993 as far as I remeber is KC Munchkin (yeah! like KC & the Sunshine band), and actually the first one is a great game! the second is also good but the first one is so good that you can see why Atari didn't want it to be released with the console.

[@wilfredosantana1]

This game was cool.

[@capodastaro]

Love the Odyssey 2... KC Munchkin is an awesome game!

[@Floppy2Blueray]

I have videopac 68 2008 limited run cartridg......any body know what she's worth?

[@TylerSteven9]

That disappearing maze game looks pretty awesome, I'm going to try it out... maybe there's a browser version knock-off of it.

[@jcrowley1985]

How do you use the built in calculator and other programs you mentioned? I tried turning it on without a cartridge in it and all I got was a blank screen. It's no big deal as something as basic as a calculator is useless nowadays, still it would be nice if I could figure out how to use it.

[@ratabebo]

one question... I recently got it one but have philips brand in the left down corner its original or its fake

[@1millionangels]

He rage quit because he tried to turn it off but he didnt want to take the cart out so he raged

[@SalveMonesvol]

If movies are the 7th art, videogames are the 8th.