The 7800 is so unfortunate. It could have been Atari's greatest triumph if it had only come years earlier.

Here in Brazil an electronics company called "Gradiente" released a video game called "Phantom System" in 1989 with 72 pins cartridges and was compatible with the NES system. It had the same black frame (carcass?) of that Atari7800, and the gamepad was much like the Sega Genesis (here known as Mega Drive). I won gift this console in the Christmas 1990 and I stayed with it for five years. I have fond memories of that time... Greetings from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Your videos are awesome! PS- I am 38 years old and never saw and felt real snow in my life. I felt a twinge of jealousy ... (sorry my english!) :-)

@TreyMasaki - All the background music is written and performed by me and my band. I released two songs for free on my personal web site. Check it out! MetalJesus (dot) com.

@Harmon1ca - It took three takes of the intro before I was done. My teeth were starting to chatter while standing out there like a dumbass in a thin t-shirt and shorts! I'm sure my neighbors were wondering what the hell is wrong with me. :)

I don't know about Atari, but their logo is unmatched..

The console itself looks really nice physically considering its age. Considering how the Nintendo was literally a white (mostly cream today lol) box, the 7800 looks all modern and cool in comparison. Such a shame it was never able to catch on in it's day.

Been watching your vids lots for a few months now MJR and it was nice to see this older one here. You were still a great content maker even then.

MJR, I would love to see more of these type of retro gaming reviews from you in the future. I know most of it has been covered in the past but I would still like to see more. Thanks!

Wow I really need to stop watching MJR at almost 4 am.

I liked your video on the 7800 i just picked one up today with 6 games and its a much welcomed addition to my collection and i love coming to your channel to see game recommendations for pretty much all systems , from old videos to new you make awesome content and you are super underrated MJR much love

I think the biggest flaw was the lack of support from developers, mostly due to Nintendo's strong grip on the market.

Just found your channel, and I am loving all of your videos now

your reviews are brilliant mate old skool but brilliant keep up the good work

why does the Atari 7800 have backwards compatibility and the ps4 doesn't? Sony is slacking....

Watched a lot of your videos good stuff dude and keep on rocking

Hey, its a young Howard Stern crossed with Tiny Tim reviewing classic games.... SWEET!!!! (Im a big fan of all three of you!)

Wow you have come a long way! Keep it up!

Great Video! Thanks for taking the time to make these!

Still have mine from 1988! Also, this came out 10 YEARS AGO??? This was the video that got me subbed to this wonderful channel!

The quality looks amazing your one of my favroute youtubers

Great video as always. Keep up the good work.

My dad got me a 7800 for Christmas in 1987, I was 5 and we lived in Tacoma. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a cartoon that you can control. That's what got me into video games. I still have it, looking for a Double Dragon game for mine. Great video!

I appreciate you actually admitting to using an emulator and not pretending to hold the joystick and play. I don't know why, but my biggest pet peeve is when reviewers use emulation. I understand the need for it here, and you did it well.

I'm going to release a Atari 5200 next week actually, to round out my love for all things Atari... well... until I get a Lynx someday. :) Thanks for the comment!

I've got to get one of these! Great vid as always.

love your reviews, probably one off the fairest reviewers ive seen on youtube, just watched your jaguar one. will be looking out for more of your video posts

I love that instrumental jam that starts at 5:12. It's Metal Jesus rockin !

I love these games and your vids. Thanks for your channel!

I remember when Electronic Games Magazine printed a preview of the 7800. They had "screenshots" that sort of looked real, but which turned out to be artist's mockups. They weren't too far off from the real thing, but there were some differences. The bright colors and detailed graphics instantly made me want one, even though I already had a C64. It just looked cool. Of course then the crash happened and I didn't hear anything more about the 7800 until it turned up in my local toy store (Child World) for more than I was willing to pay at the time. I eventually got an Amiga and got access to the net, which lead me to a newsgroup posting where someone had a 7800 for sale for like $20. Even though I had the Amiga, I still wanted to own a 7800. I can be weird like that; Once I want something, the desire to own it pretty much never goes away. Anyway I bought it, then bought some cartridges from other people. Unfortunately, I sucked at playing most of the games, like Xevious and F18 Hornet. In fact I think I spent more time trying to fly into the little tunnel that you can see when taking off than I did playing the game the way it's meant to be played. :) I also got pretty lucky as mine came with the original power supply and it works with the Supercharger and games like Robot Tank.

Awesome video! I've owned, and been collecting for my Atari 7800 for some months now, and I love it. Also the Atari 7800 has a pretty active homebrew scene these days so great new games are still forthcoming.

Just found your channel and man your vids are awesome! Definitely going to subscribe and look forward to watching all your reviews.

Ace review dude, totally LOL'd at the intro/outro :-D

Got here by accident. Very presentable presenter. Fun to watch and to listen. Defiantly will follow his work.

i love the excitebike wall hanging.. so cool!

I remember the days of living in Marysville, WA for 3 years. LOVED THE WEATHER! :)

Awesome review, Metal Jesus! I just picked up a 7800 off Craigslist for only $25. It's in very good shape and came with all the cables, 3 controllers, and two games! I'm glad you had some of the games in the review so now I know what to start looking for. Who knew collecting could be so fun?

@jyatzy123 - I used the MESS emulator on my XP machine. It's a little friendlier to configure than the OSX version (which I would normally prefer)

Thank you very much for the very informative video. I was on the fence about purchasing a local 7800 package. Now I belive I will. It does seem a little steep, but it does come with many cib games and even some still sealed games. Keep up the fantastic videos. You put out some of the best video game content on youtube.

Bonjour! Nice channel. We watch you in France and tx to all the informations we find with your help. Regards thierry

Great review MJ. I'm a huge fan of the 7800 and think its a fantastic console and it contains many of my all time favorite games

great vid man keep up the good work

Another thing that's great about the 7800 also happens to be the homebrew scene. Some very talented hackers/coders have managed to put out some extremely good games for it. Even if many of them are of older arcade games, it makes one wonder how well the system could have done had Tramiel not been so stubborn about game consoles and put some funding into development.

Nice stuff like always!

I haven't even started watching yet and already hitting the like button. SegaAge love.

for a second there when she opened the door I thought, Howard Stern? Bababooey to you and the MS's. Great video

Burrrr great video! Ms. Pacman looks awesome on the system.

This is about as many takes as I can possibly do it's FRICKIN' cold!

Good review man! Thinking about picking up the 7800 console soon. I own a 4 switch 2600 woody and a four switch black vadar 2600.

Xevious one of my favorite games. The day my dad brought a 7800 home was one of the highlights of my early life.

I love my 7800, it is one of my collection's favs I only need a collecovision to complete my collection

Imagine if it came out in 1984.

hey man, that was a great review!

i am so gonna get myself one of those captian obvious tshirts you were wearing at the start!

@Stonerman023 - I took advantage of the big Threadless sale over the holidays. They have some cool t-shirts

7800 was a great system for it's day. I had one on release and was really waiting for it... but, I was always a big Atari guy, so along with the Atari PC, I had every Atari system back in the day....

Nice vid, just recently started getting into your channel, now catching up on some of your older material here. Sweet shirt too....where can I obtain that ???😳

My Aunt Had a had a 7800 me and my cousin use to game on it when i was a kid when I stayed over his house we both had Nes consoles but we still had a lot of fun playing on it there the games are still fun even today graphics are not everything gameplay and fun are!

I found the best way to play my Atari 7880 is to hook it up to a VCR and then take the audio/video out from the VCR to the TV. Should work well for video capture.

You are absolutely right! The 7800 was "old and crusty" when it came out, focusing heavily on those old arcade games.. BUT, like you said, it does give it a certain charm today, over 25 years later. Many of those arcade ports are still some of the best versions, ironically, so it's great revisiting them. And the fact that it's cheap doesn't hurt, either! ;)

love the intro/outro

@IntellivisionDude - The funny thing about Impossible Mission on the 7800 is... that's it's truly IMPOSSIBLE! The US version shipped with a bug that won't let you finish the game. Classic!

The new Edladdin super twin controller makes me feel like I'm back in the arcade playing robotron 2084. Simply a must own for any 7800 owner!

My friend had a 7800 and I thought it was fun. I loved games like Joust, Food Fight, Centipede, Choplifter, Larry Bird vs Dr. J. I remember I was going to get a Nintendo, never playing one before, but while at the store my mom talked me into buying a 7800 because the console was cheaper and so were the games. My friend who owned the 7800 was all excited, calling me to see if I got my Nintendo. I had to tell him no, the console and games were cheaper. He was just like, "Oh... and hung up." lol But later in my youth I went to a tomboy friend of mine and her b-day. She had a nintendo and I for the life of me, COULD NOT STOP PLAYING "SUPER MARIO BROS." People kept popping their head in and saying, "Are you STILL playing that!?" But I knew I had to get a Nintendo and couldn't stop thinking about it, posted my Atari 7800 in the newspaper for $100 and sold it. I got my Nintendo with the power pad (didn't see that one coming) with the gun and controllers, 3 games in one that came with it, and Pro Wrestling my uncle bought me. I was in heaven that christmas! And so that concludes my story. uh, the end. :D

Picked myself up a 7800 a couple months ago. I had been looking for one for a decent price for a while now (they're hard to come by around here). It's fun, I'm glad to have it, but I haven't played it too much yet unfortunately. Nice review.

Hey Metal Jesus- your videos are great! I usually don't leave comments on KZfaq, and I've been out of the video game loop for many years (the last console that I purchased was the Gamecube), but lately I've felt nostalgic for older retro console games and arcade games. These video clips are so much fun! If I may, a short story: Back in the day, as a little kid my mom usually let me pick out a few toys from the Sears catalog for Christmas. We never really had a lot of money, so it was a big deal- I could only pick out one or two things. The year that 7800 came out, if I remember correctly, the Nintendo console was also out as well. I picked out the Nintendo, but the price turned my mom off, and I already had a slew of Atari 2600 games... which as you pointed out, were compatible with the 7800. Alas, I was pretty bummed when my mom put her foot down and said, "You're getting the 7800." Ha ha! Most of my friends had already moved on to the Nintendo, so that took a lot of the joy out of it... I couldn't trade or share games with them. In hindsight, I should probably thank my mom, because I really enjoyed the 7800 (and later on I ended up saving enough money to purchase a Nintendo anyway, so I didn't miss out on the NES craze). Dark Chambers was my absolute favorite game for 7800, followed closely by Xevious. I played Xevious so much, that at one point, that crazily designed 7800 controller made a blister on my hand, *laughing. I didn't even know that there was an alternate controller for the 7800 that looked more like the Nintendo controller. I don't have my 7800 system anymore, but I still have all of my games for it, and my 2600 games, so maybe I'll look around on e-bay and see if I can find a 7800 for a decent price. Ms. Pac-Man was another great one for 7800. Lastly, sorry for the long KZfaq reply- as a writer/artist, I tend to be wordy! Again, your videos are great- you really communicate well and back up your facts with sources, etc... Rock on Metal Jesus :)!

Thank you for this video, there's a ton out there about the 2600 and the NES era, but there isn't a whole lot about the 7800 and 5200 (aside from the AVGN episode)

the motor pyscho box art is badass

Great review! although I wish Seattle would get more snow like that in recent times.

Hint : you can use the Atari ST RGB scart cable on the 7800.

My first console when I was like 5. Love this system

I remember a friend of mine had one of these and I just remember the crisp, clear, almost perfect video game like graphics. I wanted one so bad but then was given a Commodore 64 and I had such a wonderful time with that. I remember playing The Bard's Tale IV on it as much as I play wow on my computer now a days. It nearly floored me when you said '87 and you being in high school. I graduated in '79. For some reason I just thought we were more of the same age. lol

What impresses me about the 7800 is how it moves so much around the screen without flicker

One thing I've noticed about your videos, is the the great background music. Do you record it yourself? I really like it! Great review of this console. I loved the intro & outro clips as well :)

Good to know I was part of the gaming elite, back then with owning one...Food Fight ROCKED!

IDEC if the rest of the video is good or not, that opening made my day!

I still got my Atari from the 70s in perfect working condition

Brilliant video!

I inherited the 7800 and a shitload of games from my friend and neighbor. The RF connection came loose in 95' and my 12yr old soldering skills left it dead. I miss you 7800.

I'd say the home computer market had a huge impact on the console market dying out. The over saturation of games was the main reason, but a lot of us older gamers moved on to the the Vic-20 and C64.

This intro is so ridiculous! I love it!

I had a 7800 for a short time growing up, your so right about the sound sucking. I pretty much thought it was a updated shape for the 2600 because that's all the games I would play or had around. Kind of wish I knew you needed the 7800 games to get the most of it.

I just played this for the fist time today. My friend got one for free from his wife's dad. Very fun console, especially when you have two controllers so you can play with a friend. Pole Position 2 was the best game he had, we played that for about two hours. Overall, it was a nice blast from the past, and I am very happy to have experienced it. But I do agree about the controller, it kept slipping from my hand and my hand was cramping during Joust. I can see why the NES ultimately beat it, but keeping an open mind, we had a ton of fun with it.

@philiptwood - I have heard of that. Very cool that gamers are keeping this alive! Might have to snag it...

Oh man I got my Atari 7800 and all boxed with some games in box as well. Awesome I havent tried it yet bht its awesome to own one!

I remember when we all went to home computer based RPG's. You described it very well when you said we had moved on as gamers.

Always enjoy your videos. I recently picked up a 7800 because of backward compatibility, but only have Pole Position II so far. It is a better port, but would like to find some others. I also was crazy over dad's C-64 and totally bypassed Atari 7800 at the time.

I've completely grown to love Metal Jesus. Such a nice guy.

This is my favorite system ever believe it or not. My parents bought me this when i wanted NES because it would play our old Atari 2600 games. I am in process to collecting the other 55 or so i don't have. But what a pain. Every retro game store i go to has none or the ones i have. Looking forward to going to Digital Press to fill in same gaps! Love the videos keep them coming.

ahem.....forgot to say - awesome video :) as always :)

One of my favorite game series for the PC was Police Quest.

Awesome man! i never did really get into the atari craze at all! but the 7800 actually looks appealing to the eye and doesn't look as much as a burden on the collection like old wooden 2600! all though i am sure that one would be fine to but just really big! i like the sleek design of the 7800 and might pick one up if i have a chance! Good Video MetalJesus! were getting a decent amount of snow as well! right above Seattle

I wish I had a retro gaming store locally. I haven't seen one since the late 90s.

Moving to Bellingham in dec.cant wait

What if Metal Jesus was stark naked when the door opened? Also nice backyard, it's the Dead of winter here in Oklahoma and it's 18 degrees outside, yet it's completely dry, what I wouldn't give to have a great backyard and some snow right about now.

@cheesystick1 - Very true! It's the only tricky part about collecting this console.

Great review man! By the way,what music did you use for showing gameplay footage?

good stuff,...keep up the good work..

We had this console; loved the version of Asteroids.

Totally agree, I was a C-64 fanatic by that time too. Excellent review as always, clean, intelligent and fair. I'm a 2600 owner but if I can get one on the cheap, I'd like to pick one up.

I've always found something charming about the Atari soundchip. Primitive as it may be, you always know an Atari game when you hear it, and that cannot be said for any of the newer systems of today.