The Vectrex, its years ahead of all Popstations

"Before I had to pay rent and everything turned to SHIIIT". Best quote I've heard in KZfaq. You get my like.

the animation are actually quite impressive for a 1982 game console

Come on, in "tour de france" you need to grab water bootles to boost your stamina, i figured it out in about 2 mins!

Wow. I remember this game. My uncle had one. Hours and hours. One of the best games ever made. Why you ask? Because as long as you could keep focus and was a good player, you could keep playing for a week or more. And like you said. The joystick is high-tech and the best I ever touched. No play, wiggle or mailfunction after years of use. And games that never stopped. The only way to end the game is to die. Stay alive and be king of the game. Now you try to end a game to win it. Back then you tried to keep playing for the win... I remember my uncle tried to see what was after level 99 in a game. Just more of level 99 but faster. This game is like real life. Play till you die. And my uncle had gels to put infront of the screen and give color to the white lines. That improves the sensation too.:)

1:42 - Actually, they've "just" managed to stick the DIP switch _label_ upside down. If you hold the cartridge so that "Vectrex" is the right way up, and interpret the _black_ mark on the label as the switch (which is the norm), the box label is correct. It's just the plate around the switches that is upside down (reversing the order and also reversing "on" and "off" - i.e., "Berzerk" is supposed to be 000011). Of course, you can interpret it the other way around, but in that case you'd also have to say that the "32 Game Vectrex" text on the cartridge is upside down, and that they've printed the box label as a negative (with the switches represented by white).

I'm still waiting for the 24 hour Ashens Vectrex scramble livestream.

"I've shattered my craft on a jaggedy line", one of the lesser-known Willie Nelson ballads.

THE VECTREX IS AMAZING.

About hyper chase... Most sports cars from the era only had four gears.

I feel that Star Hawk is probably some sort of metaphor for the futility of life.

It's amazing what you could do with vector graphics, way better than early raster displays.

The Vector graphic style of the Vectrex may have inspired the art style of the PS1 game Vib-Ribbon.

A Vectrexcellent product

Scramble was one of my favourites back in the day. There was a very similar game called Sidewinder (where you flew a helicopter). That Pacman clone was way better than the Atari 2600 version. I would play it now (in the right mood). The MS Pacman for 2600 was a huge improvement.

14:23, I think you mean "Hadouken".

"Before I had to pay rent and everything went to shit" I don't know WHY I laughed so hard at that. But I did.

Star Hawk looks like the targeting system the X-Wings used during the actual trench run in Star Wars.

"Let's see what things were like in the 80's, before I had to pay rent & things turned to shit."

Am I the only one who thinks this would be super scary to play in the dark, by yourself and not recording? All the loud noises and stuff...I'd shit my pants.

When I type in "Ashens" in the search bar, I do it to the beat of his opening tune. A-S, H-E, N-S

I'm glad to see this video finally came out, I've been waiting patiently and I'm so happy to finally see it. Next is the video you promised during the third video of the contest about the fan created games based on you compilation. Haha

Seeing a Vectrex is pretty awesome, thanks for the video. Until I saw your last video I've never heard of one and it was cool seeing the other games.

That awkward moment when most of these look better than most of Steam Greenlight.

Thanks for finally reviewing this. Review the rest of the retro box of delights in your weekly reviews!

i loved my vetrex, it was state of the art and scramble was my favorite game that i recall. watching you play brought me back ty ty

I had a vectrex! :) I had this game with a guy that shouted "darnit"

always a joy to watch old videogames.

YEAH!! ashens :D release more stuffs :D i kind of miss you :D

Ashens kicking butt on Scramble. Awesome.

Loved the rent quote and many others...nice one

Finally! I've been waiting for this.

Yeaaaaaaaah! I've been looking forward to this for a long time. and it turned out to be excellent. Jolly!

Great video. Really took me back lol

The sound effects for Star Hawk were awesome w/ the cabinet/arcade version Well worth a quarter

You beautiful man, I was waiting for you to do more Vectrex games!!!

must sleep, 10am.. oh hey new ashens video, his rambling can help me sleep

FINALLY! the vectrex review u did was the 1st video i ever favorited, and when u said u were gonna get a multi cart, i got really exited. at laast, the video ive been wating for! yay!!!!!

I love the graphics of that thing. Like a early 80s electronic music video.

Quite liked the look of most of the games that were tried out.

Thanks for the AMA on the Narwhal Bacon!

Wonderful! I have been waiting for this ever since your Vectrex review. You do realise you could have blamed the wait all on the French.

Whenever I see the racing game played, I hear a voice singing "There's a junction coming, there's a junction coming."

"I've shattered my craft - on a jaggedy line!" - bravo!

Good old Scramble. In the Gradius game on the GBA there is this bit in the last level that is a definite throwback to Scramble, complete with missiles shooting at you from the ground and meteors flying straight at you. That is also the same game that lists Scramble in the Gradius canon during the intro, just in case anyone cared.

must sleep... its 1am...OH a new Ashens video, ill stay a little longer.

Shoryuken is a flying uppercut, the Hadoken is technically a two handed punch, the difference being it shoots forwards engulfed in flames. WORMS was incredible!

That is a glorious sentiment, by Vectron's kindly claw!

You're completely right about the plot to Clean Sweep. In fact, here is the plot from the back of the box: "Evil bank robbers have just blown your bank to smithereens. As bank manager, you have only a vacuum cleaner available to recover the money strewn among the rubble before the thieves destroy you! The thieves get increasingly anxious, but for added challenge, turn off the bank corridor lights and gather the money through a blind maze." You press 2, then 4 on title screen to do that.

Had a Vectrex for my 13th Birthday(82) after annoying my mum for about a year about it!! I was a Mine Storm God (Secret level was a lie), hated Hyper Chase!! I don't know what happened to mine, but after watching this I think ill have to pick one up, just for Mine Storm, Oh my.. the nostalgia is sooo strong!

Bloody hell, that cart took a while to turn up!

Well that captured almost all the excitement of an actual football match

Vectrex was amazing back in the day. It was doing 3D before it was technically possible, and I actually really loved the monochrome display. Everything was so smooth and easy on the eyes, I totally understood why the TV was included. Too bad it didn't catch on, it was a bit too try hardy I think, but still, these Vectrex videos really make me nostalgic of my rich neighbor friend who not only had one of these, had a projector wall tv.(Duck Hunt worked on it :) )

Ah, the days when old video game cartridges were referred to as "tapes" and "cassettes"... I haven't had the pleasure of playing a Vectrex until quite recently, but I will say I think it looks pretty darn impressive for its time.

I want a Vectrex so bad. I never cared for my retinas anyway

you are a hero! I myself enjoy Ashens and Classic Game Room with the mighty Mark ;)

An treasure to watch of game review.

That soccer game is awesome. The pole position game is sick tooo. This console was really awesome for its time. The vector graphics really lend itself to some games more than others

A very happy birthday to you.

I enjoyed your pronunciation of 'Lapland', you made it sound like an actual country!

Yay, my weekly Ashens fix.

Clean Sweep was actually sponsored by a liquor company called Mr.Boston, and thus is an extremly rare game. The game actually about a bank that has it's money scattered on the floor, and you have to suck up money and put it back in the vault.

I like the sort of Duran Duran mashup in the White lines (go away) and Relax (don't do it.) lines Good stuff.

Watching this takes me back to the early 80s arcades. I expected to see something like Tempest in here, to be honest. I think that was a vector graphics machine but I'm not absolutely sure.

Keep doing these!

Looks way better then I'd expect.

There really are a lot of cool games for the Vectrex, aren't there? This was pretty fun!

by the way, the 3d effect is not by 'generating hallucinations'; it uses the same idea as 3d shutter glasses, but instead of lcd (1982) it would use a spinning disk that would cover one eye while passing different color filters over the other eye

I couldn't even tell you how many times I've watched this video but I only just now, 6 years later, got the "white lines, don't do it" joke.

Best ending to a video ever.

"Kill em!...oh"

only 200k subs? you deserve 10x.

The intro to Hyperchase sounded like a cat walking across a piano.

oh yes, ive been waiting for this!

These games have amazing visuals, even past 30 years.

May I note, Pole Position ACTUALLY became an arcade game (if you didn't already know). It even had crappy speech that sounded like someone was talking through a toaster when it said "Prepare to Qualify." Also, the Vectrex version was made by Namco, same people who made the arcade version. I'm pretty sure pac-man may have been released for Vectrex, but no idea. (I do have it for Atari 2600 though, and it's fun.)

1983? This machine is amazing!

0:17 Or...you know...if KZfaq decides to kill annotations.

I wasn't even alive when this came out XD It does look like it would have been something great at the time though. I can see glimmers of brilliance in some of the game. Just simple and intuitive gameplay mixed with smooth vector graphics. The thing would have all the processing power of a few modern scientific calculators networked together I imagine.

HE UPLOADED IT! YES!

1982, yesterday, and forever ago.........

i dad used to play this when he got home from NASA he loved it because it reminded him of his work

Ah la Vectrex, mes débuts dans le jeu vidéo, c'était formidable à l'époque, j'avais 7-8 ans, une console vectorielle, la seule de tous les temps !

Nice review of the multi cart .

I'd love to have that Hulk! And that Vectrex! And that cassette!

Your reaction to the Tour de France game glitching reminds me so much of Vinnie Vole.

Oh man, I loved my Vectrex. Wish I took care of it and kept it.

There was an old computer game I played when I was little called Star Goose. And it's clearly based on Star Hawk.

loved the click here lol

You know, I could stand playing that thing for a day or two!

The ending was so cute :D

we've been waiting a long time for a update though :)

awesome Ashen

You, sir, are brilliant.

The vertical line shows your stamina on the bike game, the trick is to not allow that to shrink by mashing on the buttons (sprinting) too fast, but not allow the peloton catch up.

I like you, Stewart, you've never had a massive meltdown on Twitter

Aw man! I wanted to see the other football team try and score! Also u could have seen if u got to control the goalie or not.

5:30 Ooh the tunnel, I remember this; it's a tunnel, that you go through... :3

i remember playing Scramble on a Vic 20 LOL ';-)

that tour de france game looks like it would be relaxing to play in a dark room