Many people’s first introduction to video games was with an Atari but not myself. I didn’t grow up playing Atari games as I didn’t get my first video game system until I was given a Sega Genesis. However, even if like myself you didn’t own an Atari you probably have heard of many of the games that were on there such as Pac-Man, Pong, Asteroids, etc. I’ve played versions of all of those at some point in my life now but if you’re one of those people who haven’t or if you want to revisit those classics there is a package where you can do just that. Over the past couple of years there have been several volumes released on the current generation consoles bringing many of these classic games back. If you’ve wanted to play them on the go though Atari Flashback Classics on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita (reviewed here) might be the best deal you can find.
Atari Flashback Classics is a huge package of 150 games that will really take you back. Yes all of the games that were part of the 1-3 volumes on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are all here in this single package on the Vita and Nintendo Switch. For this review I’ve listed all 150 that you can find included.
- 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe 2600
- A Game of Concentration 2600
- Adventure 2600
- Adventure II 2600
- Air Raiders ™ 2600
- Air-Sea Battle 2600
- Aquaventure 2600
- Armor Ambush ™ 2600
- Asteroids 2600
- Asteroids Arcade
- Asteroids 5200
- Asteroids Deluxe Arcade
- Astroblast ™ 2600
- Atari Baseball Arcade
- Atari Basketball Arcade
- Atari Football Arcade
- Atari Soccer Arcade
- Atari Video Cube 2600
- Avalanche Arcade
- Backgammon 2600
- Basic Math 2600
- Basketball 2600
- Black Widow Arcade
- Blackjack 2600
- Bowling 2600
- Brain Games 2600
- Breakout 2600
- Canyon Bomber 2600
- Canyon Bomber Arcade
- Casino 2600
- Centipede 2600
- Centipede Arcade
- Centipede 5200
- Championship Soccer 2600
- Checkers 2600
- Chess 2600
- Circus Atari 2600
- Code Breaker 2600
- Combat 2600
- Combat 2 2600
- Countermeasure 5200
- Crystal Castles 2600
- Crystal Castles Arcade
- Dark Cavern ™ (Night Stalker) 2600
- Demons to Diamonds 2600
- Desert Falcon 2600
- Destroyer Arcade
- Dodge ‘Em 2600
- Dominos Arcade
- Double Dunk 2600
- Fatal Run 2600
- Final Legacy 5200
- Fire Truck/Smokey Joe Arcade
- Flag Capture 2600
- Football 2600
- Frog Pond 2600
- Frogs and Flies 2600
- Golf 2600
- Gravitar 2600
- Gravitar Arcade
- Hangman 2600
- Haunted House 2600
- Holey Moley 2600
- Home Run 2600
- Human Cannonball 2600
- International Soccer ™ 2600
- Liberator Arcade
- Lunar Lander Arcade
- Major Havoc Arcade
- Maze Craze 2600
- Maze Invaders Arcade
- Micro-gammon 5200
- Millipede 5200
- Millipede 2600
- Millipede Arcade
- Miniature Golf 5200
- Miniature Golf 2600
- Missile Command 5200
- Missile Command 2600
- Missile Command Arcade
- Monte Carlo Arcade
- MotoRodeo 2600
- Night Driver 2600
- Off the Wall 2600
- Outlaw 2600
- Pong Arcade
- Pool Shark Arcade
- Quadrun 2600
- Race 2600
- Radar Lock 2600
- Realsports Baseball 5200
- Realsports Baseball 2600
- Realsports Basketball 5200
- Realsports Basketball 2600
- Realsports Boxing 2600
- Realsports Football 5200
- Realsports Football 2600
- Realsports Soccer 2600
- Realsports Tennis 5200
- Realsports Tennis 2600
- Realsports Volleyball 5200
- Realsports Volleyball 2600
- Red Baron Arcade
- Return to Haunted House 2600
- Saboteur 2600
- Save Mary 2600
- Sea Battle ™ 2600
- Secret Quest 2600
- Sentinel 2600
- Sky Diver Arcade
- Sky Diver 2600
- Slot Machine 2600
- Slot Racers 2600
- Space Attack™ 2600
- Space Duel Arcade
- Spacewar 2600
- Sprint Arcade
- Sprint Master 2600
- Star Raiders 5200
- Star Raiders 2600
- Star Strike™ 2600
- Starship 2600
- Steeplechase 2600
- Stellar Track 2600
- Street Racer 2600
- Stunt Cycle 2600
- Sub Commander 2600
- Super Baseball 2600
- Super Breakout 5200
- Super Breakout 2600
- Super Breakout Arcade
- Super Bug Arcade
- Super Challenge ™ Baseball 2600
- Super Challenge ™ Football 2600
- Super Football 2600
- Surround 2600
- Sword Fight™ 2600
- Swordquest: Earthworld 2600
- Swordquest: Fireworld 2600
- Swordquest: Waterworld 2600
- Tempest 2600
- Tempest Arcade
- Video Olympics 2600
- Video Pinball 2600
- Warlords 2600
- Warlords Arcade
- Wizard 2600
- Xari Arena 5200
- Yars’ Return 2600
- Yars’ Revenge 2600
That’s quite the list and quite the bargain when you look at the fact that this is only $20. It’s not just the huge lineup of games either as you can tell a lot of though and care was put into this. On the main menu for instance, many of the games are displayed with their full original box art while others display what the actual arcade cabinet looked like both of which are great touches. Also the non-cabinet games have their full manuals included as well that you can read through which is just astounding. They include the option to zoom in on them too so you really don’t have to worry too much about being able to read them on the small screen that the Vita has.
Actually playing the games and whether you enjoy them depends on the game. Obviously with 150 games some are worth playing more than others. As someone who didn’t grow up playing a lot of these games I’d say most of them I didn’t enjoy. There’s a handful that I have played or that I was able to get into despite never touching them before but there were far more that just confused me or that didn’t control well. In that respect, you’ll probably get more enjoyment out of this package if you have played most of these.
A lot of the games have the original Atari controls pop up on the bottom of the screen when you start them to show you where the old controls are mapped to on the Vita controls. It’s also fast and easy to jump into a game and then jump back to the main menu or reset the game if you aren’t enjoying a particular one. You’ll find no load screens here. All of the games are sorted alphabetically but if you wanted them sorted any other way you can’t. It would’ve been nice to click a button to favorite the ones I enjoyed most for easy access.
Being on the Vita the game also has trophies tied to many of the games to work towards. Another neat incentive to play is the fact that all the multiplayer games offer multiplayer support letting you play either ad-hoc or online. The only problem is that there isn’t really anyone else playing online. If you happen to know people personally though it’s great that the option is here so that you could arrange jumping in together. Many but not all of the game also offer online leaderboard support though letting you see how your scores stack up against the rest of the world.
While I didn’t enjoy a lot of the games here I can see how this collection would be perfect for those who are more familiar with the games. I enjoyed diving into Pong, Asteroids, and others but someone else who grew up playing these games will get far more enjoyment out of it. Plus the fact that you are getting 150 games for a bargain price is hard to not recommend even if you just want to see where games were back near the start.
*Atari Flashback Classics is out now on PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch. Reviewed on PlayStation Vita. Review key provided by the publisher.
Atari Flashback Classics
$19.99
Pros
- Huge Collection of Classic Games to Play
- Pays Great Respect to the Games by Offering Manuals and Original Cabinet and Box Arts
- Fast and Easy to Jump Into and Out of All the Games
- Local and Online Multiplayer Support Offers More Reasons to Play Longer
Cons
- No Way to Favorite or Get to the Games You Enjoy Most Quickly
- Was Unable to Find Anyone Playing Online
- A Lot of the Games Just Weren't Fun to Me to Play
