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Retro Reaction 2.1 Sonic at Steve’s House
The year is 1991, and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Nintendo are proudly showing off their latest Mario installment — a game already being talked about as one of the greatest of all time. They’re demonstrating how gorgeous it looks, how many colours they can squeeze onto the screen, and how polished their platforming formula has become.
But the real crowd‑puller is over at the Sega stand.
Sega’s blue mascot is front and centre, and this new game has blast processing. It’s everything Mario wasn’t. Mario was slower, deliberate, full of secrets and atmosphere. This thing? It was fast, loud, had a soundtrack that slapped, and — let’s be honest — it was cool.
Sega were right in Nintendo’s face, practically shouting: “Have a load of that!”
As Street Fighter once declared: Here comes a new challenger.Fast‑forward to nineteen‑ninety‑something and my mate Steve has a new games system. A system with blast processing. For what feels like forever, Steve becomes the most popular kid down our row.
When it finally cycled round to my turn, I could just about finish Green Hill Zone. But Marble Zone? Instant kills everywhere. I longed to see what was waiting on that next level.
I could go on here about what’s widely regarded as one of the best games ever made — but it’s all been said before. What I will admit is that my brother and I pestered and pestered until we finally got ourselves a Sega.
We were successful… with a small caveat.
We opened our Sega, and yes, it had Sonic. But it wasn’t the Sega Mega Drive we thought we were getting.
It was a Sega Master System. -
Retro Reaction 2.0 My Sonic Journey
Last month Sega’s mascot turned 35 years old, which is the sort of milestone that instantly makes you feel ancient.
Thinking back to the Sonic games of the 1990s, there isn’t much I can add that hasn’t already been said. So… we won’t. And we will.For this next Reaction set, I’m talking you through my Sonic journey. As a fan of mascot platformers in the 90s, this was the start of a long-running obsession — and my route to Sonic was about as straightforward as one of those time‑travel stages on Sonic CD.
Here’s what’s coming up.
Sonic The Hedgehog at a mate’s house
It’s the early 1990s and a friend down the road has a Mega Drive — plus a game unlike anything my Master System or Amiga had ever seen. This was my first glimpse of Sega’s flagship speedster.We have Sonic at home
Eventually we get a Sega… but it’s a Sega Master System. The good news: it comes with Sonic. The 8‑bit Sonic. Sounds like a downgrade? My reaction might not be what you expect.We have Sonic at home
By this point I’m more of a “computer guy”, so my Sonic substitute arrives on floppy disks. It’s supposed to match Sega’s mascot beat‑for‑beat, but the fast‑paced action comes with loading screens.Sonic on my brother’s Mega Drive
My brother gets a Mega Drive, which means I finally get proper access to Sonic — and, for the first time, the sequel.Sonic Overload
From Sonic the Comic and the TV series to swapping issues of Computer and Video Games magazine, the Sonic universe expands fast. There are still Sonic games we haven’t even played yet.Sonic Origins
Finally, as an adult, I played through the Sonic Origins collection on modern hardware. Does it deliver the Retro Reaction you’d expect? -
Atari Set 1.6 Cybermorph (Jaguar)
Get ready to hear the words “Where did you learn to fly” a lot. This was a showcase game for the Atari Jaguar — Atari’s last console. It’s a 3D flying game about collecting things and shooting things. The issue is… Nintendo had already released Starfox on the, at that point, much older SNES.
Nintendo had cheated slightly by including the FX chip in the cartridge to keep the SNES competitive with Sega’s add‑ons. This, I think, proved to be the best strategy. So at the time, Cybermorph, with its flat 3D shapes, didn’t really impress. Its lack of soundtrack didn’t help either.
Playing today on the Atari 50 Collection, I find I’m playing a relic I should like. The formula that goes all the way back to the 2600 is there — it’s present. It is, after all, a space shooter. But that’s the issue: I wanted to like it. Of the Jaguar games I’ve played, I think Tempest 2000 is probably the better example.
We’re now at the point where the PSX is around the corner. The writing was on the wall for Atari. But going full circle on our retro revivals… Atari is not dead. You can go to Amazon right now and buy a 2600, and the games are available in multiple formats.
But for now, Reaction leaves Atari at the Jaguar. I’ll catch you in the next one.
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Atari Set 1.5 Tempest 2000 (Atari Jaguar)
We’re jumping forward this time for Atari. The year is 1994, and Atari are trying to re‑enter the console market with the Atari Jaguar. This console was marketed as 64‑bit, though that would be disputed — it used two 32‑bit processors. Its controller also let it down. Atari had chosen a telephone‑keypad‑like thing, something I think must have been inspired by the 2600’s old rival, the Intellivision.
I’ve only ever seen one Atari Jaguar up close — at a market when I was a teenager. I didn’t have the cash to get one, and to be honest, by the mid‑1990s the Atari name had been out of the console limelight for a good few years.
The market at this time was the latter end of the 16‑bit generation. We were only a year away from Sony entering the gaming landscape and changing things forever.
This all brings me to Tempest 2000, arguably one of the only must‑have titles on the Atari Jaguar. Much like the 2600’s best, it went back to what Atari did well: a high‑score chase.
You just blast the baddies before they reach the top of the 3D shape. At its core, the gameplay is close to the 1981 original — but now with 3D visuals and CD‑quality sound.
It’s worth bearing in mind that arcades were still going strong at this point. The PSX hadn’t arrived yet with its catalogue of near‑arcade‑perfect ports, and the high‑score chase was still very much a thing.
It’s worth a play now, but the easiest way is through the Atari 50 Collection. Jaguars today can be expensive, and I’ve rarely spotted one in the wild.
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Atari Set 1.4 Adventure
When you think of the Atari 2600, the games that immediately come to mind are those high‑score chase titles. Some of which we’ve looked at right here. I always think of space games — shooters like Asteroids.
Six years before Link wore the green hat, and thirty‑five years before the White Wolf perfected an open‑world game, the dot on the Atari screen that represented you started it all.
Here’s a game I knew of — one I think I had as a child but never understood. This is a game where you really do need to read the manual first. Your goal is to retrieve a magical chalice from the black castle and bring it back to the gold castle.
There are dragons that look a bit like seahorses, keys to the castles, and a bridge if I remember rightly. It didn’t look much like a bridge, and as with so many other 2600 games, your imagination — and the iconic box artwork — are doing the heavy lifting. I’ve never had a problem with that.
This game was also one of the first where things happened off‑screen. Which brings me to a villain who belongs in the boss hall of fame right alongside Robotnik and Bowser: that darn bat.
The bat can take things off you and put things near you. Doesn’t sound boss‑like? So you’re progressing in your quest… here comes this guy again to steal the key from you. Wandering through the maze? He’s back, with a dragon in tow — and guess where he’s dropping it.
When you finally get that chalice and make the dash back to the gold castle… Guess who’s going to show up.
Adventure can be played today on Evercade , and Atari 50
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Atari Set 1.3 — Food Fight (Atari 7800)
This is another recent discovery thanks to the Evercade. I had a friend with an Atari 7800 back in the day. However, being too young to understand, we all assumed it was just a newer version of the 2600. After all, most of my friend’s games were Atari 2600 titles. It was the Wii U / Wii thing years earlier.
You could forgive us for thinking this. In the UK, only 59 games saw release for Atari’s 7800 system. By comparison, there were around 200 games for the 2600. That black plastic box under my friend’s TV had more in common, power‑wise, with a Nintendo than an Atari. It could be seen as a victim of the American games crash or simply a missed opportunity. As we’ve seen with other systems though, the 7800 is not dead.
On to Food Fight. Really simple. Guide Charley—who, in my mind, gives off Dennis the Menace vibes—to the ice cream cones while avoiding the angry army of chefs. You can pick up and throw food at them, which temporarily eliminates them and scores you some points. There are also holes to avoid in the kitchen. Make it to the ice cream and you win the round. Get hit by food and you lose a life. Yes, it’s another high‑score chase game.
It’s all on one screen, and planning your route around the chefs reminded me a lot of games like Pac‑Man. It also has a fun action replay after so many levels, where it plays some music and shows your performance.
Why the 7800 version for me over the arcade? Well, thanks to Atari 50, I’ve played the arcade version—and it’s harder. Arcades were designed to take your cash as fast as possible. The 7800 version, for me, strikes the balance. The graphics might, at a push, be slightly toned down, but it’s the gameplay that counts here.
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Atari Set 1.2 Quantum
This week’s Reaction is a gem I discovered later via the Atari 50 collection. Programmed by Betty Ryan (who later worked on the 2600 version of Pole Position), it’s set in space and it’s a high‑score chase. But that’s where the similarities to a lot of the other big hits end.
The aim in this 1982 arcade game is to score points by drawing circles around particles. But if a particle or a baddie touches your line before the circle is complete, you lose a life. In the arcade, this was all done using a trackball controller.
I never saw one of these machines out in the wild, and to my knowledge it didn’t receive a home port at the time — leaving it largely off the radar. Which is a shame, because I had a fun time playing this one.
I have to wonder if that trackball setup was the reason home ports never happened. Drawing circles with the original 2600 joystick may not have been an easy task.It seems Atari are aware of its quality, as they released a remake — Quantum Recharged — playable on modern systems.
To play Quantum today, it’s included in the Atari 50 Collection, with the remake also available on console and PC.
But that word Quantum… we’re not done with it this week. Because over on the Off Page blog, we’re looking at Quantum — the comic from Time Bomb.
Right here next time, it’s Food Fight for the Atari 7800 as the Atari Set rolls on.
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Atari Set 1.1 Missile Command
The threat of nuclear war is maybe an odd concept for a video game. In Missile Command you’re trying to stop your bases being hit by incoming missiles. The year is 1981, and this is the 2600 version.
In true 2600 fashion it’s a high‑score chaser. There’s a story about two opposing planets, it’s in the manual but really doesn’t matter in play. Let’s be honest — the game is a reflection of the Cold War.
I’ve played the arcade version and found the controls awkward, probably because I used an Evercade and later a PS4 controller. The arcade cabinet really needed its trackball.
The 2600 version, though… well, it’s not much to look at. The vector‑style graphics — especially the explosion when you die — remind me of the flashes of colour I get with migraines. The box art is fantastic, but in‑game your imagination is doing the heavy lifting. Look past that and you’ve got a very playable take on the arcade machine. My favourite, actually.
Gameplay is simple: shoot down the missiles before they blow up your bases. They get faster and faster as the game goes on.
Is this up there with Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and Pac‑Man? I think so. It’s one I came to later in life rather than at release. It’s almost the reverse of Space Invaders — you’re defending your base instead of shooting down aliens.
If you want to play this classic today, it’s easy to find: Evercade Atari 1 (now Legacy), Atari 50 on all major platforms, and the Antstream Arcade service.
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First Party Atari
The Atari 2600 was technically the second generation of video game consoles, but for many it was the first system they ever owned. Its importance in the history of video games can’t be overstated. It made video games mainstream and, more importantly, it was my favourite toy.
Ours was the wood‑panelled machine in the kitchen, hooked up to a black‑and‑white TV. I had classics like Pac‑Man and Frostbite. But as my earliest memories were forming in the late ’80s and early ’90s, finding 2600 games “in the wild” was becoming difficult.
Then one day we switched it on, there was a pop, and the smell of electrical burning. The 2600 was no more. That very same day, Blue Peter declared it a collector’s item.
With Reaction back, we’re celebrating Atari across the blogs.
Here’s what’s coming up as we look at first‑party Atari titles.
All of these games are (thankfully) accessible today through a variety of modern systems.1.1 Mission Command — Atari 2600
One of Atari’s more famous games. We take a look at the well‑received 2600 version.1.2 Quantum — Arcade
A hidden gem I discovered through the Atari 50 compilation.1.3 Food Fight — Atari 7800
Because the 7800 version is my favourite take on this classic.1.4 Adventure — Atari 2600
Before Zelda, before The Witcher, we had Adventure. The bare‑bones foundations of the RPG genre have been here since 1980.1.5 Tempest 2000 — Atari Jaguar
We’re with the Jaguar for the final two games. This one was arguably the system’s best first‑party title.1.6 Cybermorph — Atari Jaguar
“Where did you learn to fly?” A technical showcase for the Jaguar — but is it much more?