To begin this Top 10 Platformers for every Console, lets start out with the Atari 2600, the birthplace of platformers. I respect the Atari 2600 for being console that began the video game industry and all of its history. It was the first console that started the whole console trend that we all take for granted today. It might be a generation gap for me but I have a hard time giving that much appreciation for a gaming machine like this because this was before the time when gaming had storylines and long hours of gameplay became the norm. I couldn’t enjoy it a much as I would like to. But what fascinated me is that this is where platformers first existed. So for those who says Super Mario Bros. was the first platformer honestly is ignoring the Atari 2600 entirely. The theory of having a button to jump over enemies and land counts as a platformer and it surprised me that I could make a countdown of platformers for this list (though there aren’t that many). So here are the 5 best platformers for this console.
Number 5. – Bobby Is Going Home
A lot of people would like to call this game a Pitfall knockoff and it is true that it does take a lot of inspiration from that game, but I have to give a lot of respect for this title for giving different enemy sprites and try their damnedest to make it not like pitfall as they can. It also has a little storytelling in it where you play as a boy named Bobby and your object of the game is to pass through seven screens, jump over animals like butterflies, ducksand other hazards. It’s quite a challenge to learn where to jump over these enemy’s heads and try not to get hit because you only have one life or else you restart where you came from. Never has trying to return home ever been so difficult, especially for a video game. Part of the reason why this game is at the bottom of the list is because if you actually learn it’s learning curve of all 7 screens, it only lasts under 5 minutes. And 5 minutes of gameplay is not good enough to let me place it anywhere higher on the list.
Number 4. – Donkey Kong
I bet many of you never would guess that there would ever be a Nintendo game outside of a Nintendo Console, but these were the days before Nintendo even had the idea of releasing their own console. For an arcade port to Atari 2600, it work incredibly well. The game Donkey Kong has been legendary for it’s innovative storytelling of Jump Man (AKA Mario) off on his journey to rescue his lover whose been kidnapped by a giant ape. With its four unique stages, Donkey Kong was the most complex arcade game at the time of its release. Without the success of Donkey Kong, Nintendo would seize to exist. Sure this port is a big blocky and the jumping isn’t the significantly help, but at least it works well. Remember there are some arcade ports for the Atari 2600 that ended up horribly like Pac Man, but at least Donkey Kong was an exception.
Number 3. – Jungle Hunt
Side scrolling would seize to exist if it wasn’t for Jungle Hunt. I still can’t believe that this is an atari 2600 game because there are so many things that were well animated and moving all at once that feels like it came from a different console. The gameplay is split into four scenes, which have different objectives. In Scene 1, the explorer is required to swing from vine to vine. Scene 2 has the explorer navigating a crocodile-infested river. The explorer can attack the crocodiles from below with his knife, unless their mouths are open. Scene 3 involves the explorer dodging various-sized boulders rolling and bouncing towards him as he runs up the side of a volcano. Timing is critical as the differently sized boulders bounce at different speeds and heights, and the explorer can be trapped between them. In the final scene, the explorer must evade cannibals while attempting to get to a woman being lowered into a flaming cauldron. And after you beat it these four scenes, you have replay the whole thing and the difficulty increases. The game is some of the most fun that the Atari has ever provided to its audience and replaying it again and again really make it intense to play. This is one of those forgotten titles that made that Taito Corporation a legendary household name in Japan.
Number 2 – Pitfall
You all could see this coming. It really is the game that set the standard of what this now called platform game. It is one of the most successful Atari 2600 games and it’s one of those titles that I always think of whenever I think of Atari 2600. Maneuvering through a maze-like jungle in an attempt to recover 32 treasures in a 20-minute time period is a lot of fun to play. It was a huge game at the time where so many complex animation were being displayed on screen like rolling barrels, swinging vines, crocodiles opening and closing their jaws, scorpions, and a giant hole appearing and disappearing. You go through all of these obstacles just to collect treasure. In today’s standards, this game is incredibly old school, but it’s not the best platformer on the Atari 2600…
Number 1. – Pitfall 2: Lost Caverns
The sequel is not only the best platformer on the Atari 2600, but it is the best game on the system! This was one HUGE step in gaming where you have a video game soundtrack, first of its kind to do that, and also have a map this big! Sure they reused many of its sprites, but this is no ordinary Atari game. It’s great that they got rid of the silly time limit that was on the original game and allowed the player to go off on a huge adventure. There are so many innovations that Pitfall created such as checkpoints, an open map to explore, soundtrack, and even no land damaging. Nowadays, the name Activision is an evil corporation, but it is great to see that that same company that is known for Tony Hawk series and COD created the original video game masterpiece before we had more of them!
So that my Top 5 Favorite Platformers on the Atari 2600. Sorry that there weren’t that many for the system but be sure to discuss them in the forums here! Till then, see you all next time on Gexup’s Top 10 Favorite Platformers for the…
