Astro Wars 1980s Grandstand - Rats & Tat - Octav1us

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  • Опубликовано: 12 дек 2024

Комментарии • 333

  • @Huffy1001
    @Huffy1001 3 года назад +3

    I had an Astro Wars, I remember takin’ it into School for one of those days when you could bring your own Toys in, I think I had one of the best Toys that day👍🏻

  • @DariaPlaysRPGs
    @DariaPlaysRPGs 5 лет назад +76

    Came for the rats, stayed for the super bright and colorful display screen.

    • @edsmithmusic951
      @edsmithmusic951 5 лет назад +4

      Came to the comments section for a 'came for' comment.......you won't believe what happened next.

  • @MrNegativecreep07
    @MrNegativecreep07 5 лет назад +57

    I pity our parents, having to listen to weeks of pestering to buy it, then weeks of that loud beeping

    • @gwishart
      @gwishart 5 лет назад +5

      My parents put up with it for three days. On day four, my Dad took it into his workshop - when it came back it had a volume control.

    • @jrs4516
      @jrs4516 5 лет назад +4

      and the constant pestering for more batteries! i had the firefox one mentioned in the video and a bright yellow frogger one made by someone else i guess. i can still hear the obnoxious frogger theme blaring in my head, 30 somethign years later.

  • @0oidiedinatimemachineo024
    @0oidiedinatimemachineo024 5 лет назад +13

    0:31 LOL she (or he?) like peaks over the top of the box. im playing that part over and over

    • @captaintony1227
      @captaintony1227 5 лет назад

      That caught my eye as well . I had to keep watching him do it

  • @WrestlingWithGaming
    @WrestlingWithGaming 5 лет назад +2

    I love when you cover these obscure little gaming machines. This one actually seems quite good. On a side note, I spent 14 hours driving today (I'm moving across the country) and after a really annoying and exhausting day, your video totally put a smile on my face. Thanks for making these :)

  • @darrentaylor879
    @darrentaylor879 5 лет назад +1

    Had this for Christmas back in 81 or 82, thought it was brilliant at the time.

  • @BenchyTests
    @BenchyTests 5 лет назад +4

    smol peek 0:31

    • @zh84
      @zh84 5 лет назад +1

      "Hello! I'm the star of this video, not some silly computer game!"

  • @ceneblock
    @ceneblock 5 лет назад +3

    0:31 peek-a-boo

  • @robertmitchell5069
    @robertmitchell5069 5 лет назад +16

    I had this when I was young, must have been around 1980-81.

    • @bookerbulls
      @bookerbulls 5 лет назад

      Me too dude

    • @MGForums
      @MGForums 5 лет назад

      Me three. 😁

    • @bookerbulls
      @bookerbulls 5 лет назад

      I had a defenders 1 too, I'll have to look it up and find it. Gone from this to vr so far in my life! Love it 🤘

    • @bookerbulls
      @bookerbulls 5 лет назад

      Google arcade defender classic hand held. Back in the day just wow, loved mine

    • @johnlloyd8109
      @johnlloyd8109 Месяц назад

      And me. We are old.

  • @eggysplat
    @eggysplat 2 года назад +1

    Just discovered your channel. Absolutely chuffed to bits that I did. These… they were my childhood. I owned one of these, and loved it. Thank you for the trip down memory Lane ❤️

  • @SalientBen
    @SalientBen 5 лет назад +1

    Ah that noise! This was my favourite thing ever, my cousin had Firefox, which was usually half the reason for going to see him. Saw an Astro Wars in a local museum during a school holidays outing with the kids a few weeks ago and felt bloody ancient.
    One summer my mate and I made an arcade on the front drive with stuff like this and a scalextric set. We made tens of pennies.

  • @pbarratt73
    @pbarratt73 5 лет назад +3

    Omg I literally had this out the loft Saturday to show my boys. They were far from impressed but I still love it to this day. Had it since Christmas day 1980 ish 😊. Still own all my tabletop games.. just wish I kept all their boxes too. I had to sellotape cardboard over the speakers of the ones that didn't have a mute button as it drove parents crazy. Thanks for taking time to upload this Sarah 😍

  • @havoctrousers
    @havoctrousers 5 лет назад

    That's my childhood right there. My brother got this for Christmas in 1981 or 2 and it still looks fab. I got the defender/scramble game and accidentally left it on our economy 7 storage radiator while we ate Christmas dinner and it melted. I never cried so much in my entire life.

  • @tangodelta
    @tangodelta 5 лет назад +20

    Those colors and animations are great! Also: "exciting docking maneuver"? I'd insert a joke, but it's low hanging fruit.

    • @tentringer4065
      @tentringer4065 5 лет назад +5

      I'd insert a joke about 'low hanging fruit' but that's also low hanging fruit.

    • @C.I...
      @C.I... 5 лет назад +4

      haha
      PENIS.

  • @philipcorner574
    @philipcorner574 5 лет назад +2

    Should have called this series "Rat-a-Tat-Tat"!
    Think I played one of these a very long time ago. Love these old screens. Grandstand games were always loud and had no volume control!

  • @tommylakindasorta3068
    @tommylakindasorta3068 5 лет назад

    When I was a kid, my best friend had this game and I was super jealous. The fact that it has four levels including the docking level really put it out in front of most games of this type. I traded him my Coleco tabletop Donkey Kong for his Epoch Astro Wars for a week and I didn't want to trade back!

  • @vladdracul1977
    @vladdracul1977 5 лет назад

    Astro Wars was AWESOME. It felt like I had my first arcade machine at home. I used to play it for hours as long as the batteries lasted (too poor to have a charger!).
    This is probably where my love for all things retro computing and MAME, etc comes from. Good times.

  • @sashaburrow6186
    @sashaburrow6186 Год назад

    I used to play this at My father's place when I was a kid and would get to go there once a year... Not too shabby for an 80's home game.

  • @OnyersixForLife
    @OnyersixForLife 4 года назад

    I had this, and my brother had Defender. I have many memories of playing this at all hours after dark as it was so bright.

  • @spwolftech
    @spwolftech 3 года назад

    Decided to do a 5 year Anniversary channel marathon so here is my HI to
    try and make the algorithm be nice. Fun no matter how many times i have watched them.

  • @alpharoid3358
    @alpharoid3358 5 лет назад +5

    Cute ratties, surprisingly awesome display for an unassuming lump of plastic!

  • @GameofTravis
    @GameofTravis 5 лет назад

    My late brother had this when I was a wee little man of 3 years old and I loved playing it. Such awesome memories!

  • @pauliodmonic
    @pauliodmonic 5 лет назад

    I had this when I was younger. Played it to death. Hearing that music again just brought back so many memories.

  • @jdoyleweb
    @jdoyleweb 7 месяцев назад

    I really wanted this as a kid. I ended up getting Firefox-F7 with its very fancy 3-D effects and multiple levels. I got it for Christmas. I knew where it was hidden for weeks before Christmas Day. I used to sneak games of it. When Christmas Morning my main present was already been played to death!

  • @onaretrotip
    @onaretrotip 5 лет назад

    Used to always covet these. My mate had this one. The sounds take me right back.

  • @The-Underbaker
    @The-Underbaker 5 лет назад +1

    I've still got my Astro Wars and Munchman! Ahhh, the 80's...

  • @Richie1245
    @Richie1245 5 лет назад

    I had a Grandstand 'Invader From Space' 35+ years later the loud beeps it made are still ingrained into my brain

  • @DystopianOverture
    @DystopianOverture 5 лет назад +2

    Came for the rats, stayed for Octy!

  • @lestat1uk
    @lestat1uk 5 лет назад +7

    I had an astro wars back in the day. A great game, and it actually looked like an mini arcade version of Galaxians (the other alternative was the coleco official Galaxians game where the aliens never looked nothing like galaxians).

  • @ezedjay
    @ezedjay 5 лет назад

    A friend of mine got this for Christmas. A few months later I was watching him play it and he got to the docking bit - and he shouted out that he was about to dock it and his older brother across the room reached down and yanked the power cord out of it.
    Cool game. I always wished I had one.

  • @TenloDChuck
    @TenloDChuck 5 лет назад

    I remember owning the Munch man as a kid and I remember that being massively loud too. In fact watching this reminded me of the tune it played on start up which was just as catchy

  • @dragonmac1234
    @dragonmac1234 5 лет назад +3

    Oric is so cute, I can't see the word Tiger now without hearing Mr Biffo saying it in a silly voice in my head :-)

  • @askjacob
    @askjacob 5 лет назад

    I got this game on the "on plane" duty free giftshop when I was 7 when flying home from NZ. I was so excited - but because of the insane noise I wasn't allowed to play it until I got home - such torture for a kid. Stupidly I pulled it apart a few years later to see how it worked, and broke it :(... I still miss it now

  • @KDM16AAB
    @KDM16AAB Год назад

    A blast from the past. I had this and the Firefox M77 game.

  • @markfgns1265
    @markfgns1265 5 лет назад

    Oric doing a splendid job of supervision there. I remember these things, I never had one but a few of my buddies did. Back then it was almost "manna from heaven" and that magnified colour display still pops & shines now. Solidly built, could probably survive a nuclear blast. They don't make them like that anymore. But, yes, it is A BIT LOUD.

  • @hjalfi
    @hjalfi 3 года назад

    I played this back in the day! Grandstand made _the_ best VFD displays.

  • @TheIndieOcean
    @TheIndieOcean Год назад

    I know this video is a few years old now, but I just saw this and I happen to still have Astro Wars in my mum's loft I think. Those sounds were so familiar as soon as I heard them.

  • @djames216
    @djames216 5 лет назад

    I was about 8 or 9 when I got this for christmas in the early 80s. I remember sneaking a look at unwrapped presents before Christmas. I saw the box and didn't understand what it was as I knew virtually nothing about video games at the time. Anyway, when you switched it on my long forgotten memories of the sights and sounds of this game came hurtling to the surface. I played and played and played this game. I remember getting the power adaptor at some point too. This was the very first video game I ever played and I remember enjoying the challenge of trying to beat my score. Thanks for reawakening a cosy christmas memory Octavius.

  • @aaronstepien2363
    @aaronstepien2363 4 года назад

    I really like the 60s-retro-future look of this thing

  • @magicknight8412
    @magicknight8412 5 лет назад +8

    Never owned one, but played it loads in various department store's toy departments!

  • @Popmetalj
    @Popmetalj 5 лет назад

    Wow...that took me back a long way! It bridged the gap between a black and white binatone pong system circa 1979 and our Vic20 in 1983. I got it for Xmas 1981 and 8 year old me was so happy. I played the hell out of it and while Mum made Xmas dinner. The noise must have driven my family mad! Thanks for bringing back a really happy memory 😊

  • @absinthedude
    @absinthedude Год назад

    I had one of these circa 1982 and unlike my ZX81, I could take it to school. Would spend entire lunch breaks playing this with friends, I am sure a teacher had to hurry us away and into a classroom more than once. It was portable in the sense that you could carry it in a school bag, and it was self contained.

  • @nickscott9129
    @nickscott9129 5 лет назад

    As a kid I used to own the Grandstand Scramble one of these, loved it. Sadly it stopped working, wished it was just the battery connections but wouldn't power on with either an AC/DC adapter or batteries....hazy memory of my Dad taking it apart and his limited skills with a soldering iron attempts to repair it leading to it going to some early 1980s landfill. Exciting times lay ahead though with my first computers...Atari 400 then the mighty Commodore 64 put an end to any thoughts of these handheld LED flicker screens.

  • @RealRaeddie
    @RealRaeddie 5 лет назад +4

    Those bright and vibrant colours of an VFD!

  • @damambinator7740
    @damambinator7740 5 лет назад +2

    A childhood friend of mine had this game, man I miss those beeps and boops.
    We lived in the same apartment building and we'd go back and forth between each other's apartments.
    We'd go to his place and play this game and his Atari 2600, or my place and play NES, SNES, Coleco Vision & Jaguar.
    The family was Columbian and I'd come over for dinner all the time.
    I can almost smell the nostalgia.

  • @rustino666
    @rustino666 5 лет назад

    I had one of those when I was a kid. When you switched it on in your video, the startup tune transported me back in time! Cool video.

  • @theclass40fan84
    @theclass40fan84 5 лет назад

    My friend had this and I loved it so much back in the 80's

  • @RonCavagnaro
    @RonCavagnaro 5 лет назад +1

    Awesome episode ! Always a treat to see new octy videos!

  • @oldrockhopper3652
    @oldrockhopper3652 5 лет назад

    I had one, I’d forgotten just how loud it was. Must have driven the rest of the family mad, but you don’t notice that age 9. Great video.

  • @mcorleonep
    @mcorleonep 5 лет назад

    I had that game as a kid but it was called Galaxy 2 here in the US. One of my favorite electronic games BITD...

  • @AndreaTupacMollica
    @AndreaTupacMollica 3 года назад

    WOW! I had it when I was a child. How many fond memories!

  • @heroicricardo
    @heroicricardo 5 лет назад

    I had this for my 6th Birthday in the mid 80s. Spent hours on it. My parents had to buy an electrical adapter plug from the Tandy shop in the end because it was costing a fortune in batteries!

  • @CJoblivion
    @CJoblivion 5 лет назад

    My Dad borrowed one of these from his mate at work. I remember playing it as a little boy and then pulling out the power adapter tip and thinking it would be a good idea to lick the end. I got a horrible electric shock on my tongue. Good times!

  • @AmbersKnight
    @AmbersKnight 5 лет назад

    My friend had this game and we enjoyed playing it. He did manage to get to the very end and get the victory music.

  • @AndyMin1978
    @AndyMin1978 5 лет назад +3

    My cousin (rest his soul) had Astro Wars and Tron, I remember spending hours and hours playing them whenever we went over to visit them..
    Great days😊
    (Tron was my favourite though😋)

  • @mnky75
    @mnky75 5 лет назад

    I had one of these! Used to spend hours playing on it! My older sister painted a crosshair on the screen in nailvarnish the cow!

  • @deadbydayinblack
    @deadbydayinblack 5 лет назад

    Ahhh firefox I had forgotten how bloody loud it was. It all came back to me. Must have drove my maw n dad mental.

  • @MegaWayneD
    @MegaWayneD 5 лет назад

    Even layers and layers of sellotape over the speaker grill couldn't prevent everyone in the house being woken up whilst trying to sneakily play it during the night! Also, if you manage to land the craft it displays "Good" in the score at the top. It also displays "Good" when you go past 9999.

  • @RiverdogAVFC
    @RiverdogAVFC 4 года назад

    OMG the nostalgia rush that just hit me watching this. I remember not having enough C batteries so i would put a metal fork across where 2 of the batteries should be to get the power from the other batteries. Can't believe i'm still alive today tbh lol

  • @Dextrovix-42
    @Dextrovix-42 5 лет назад

    Octav1us reading out the box bumf was nostalgic, I still have my own unit (and it works!) but not the box, though I remember seeing those stage pictures at the time. I got mine for my 8th birthday, it was waiting on the bedroom carpet wrapped up, and when I opened it I shouted "Astro Wars!!!" so loud my voice broke! I played it constantly, my first and favourite handheld. I remember maxing out the 10,000 score and it resets back to zero, but let's you carry on playing. My dad bought ni-cad batteries and a main charger, or it'd have cost him even more money...!

  • @leeashleyanthony
    @leeashleyanthony 5 лет назад

    My uncle had one of these, used to play it almost every time I visited my nan :D

  • @alvaroadrados268
    @alvaroadrados268 3 года назад

    This one I do have. This things seems that were popular here in Spain as you can still find them from time to time. Mine sadly is missing the top part of the box with its exciting flavour text.

  • @A1dy74
    @A1dy74 5 лет назад

    I wanted one of these back when I was a carpet monster but got bought Scramble instead...which I liked.

  • @TristaBytes
    @TristaBytes 5 лет назад

    The display on that is lush! I wasn't expecting the clarity or colour saturation on such an old unit. Ohhhhh colourful...

  • @merlinathrawes6191
    @merlinathrawes6191 5 лет назад

    Had my pet rat Scampi for years. He used to live in the computer boxes. He had smarts.

  • @RetroTechRepair
    @RetroTechRepair 5 лет назад

    Love it... I was 49 before I got my astro wars. I repair these VFD games on my channel now (not that anyone watches it). Awesome vid. You so make me chuckle.

  • @quaggy85
    @quaggy85 5 лет назад

    Gawd, I had one of these as a kid :) and a knock-off version, both had the speakers heavily taped over because my folks hated how loud it was :) memories :D

  • @thebotbuilder
    @thebotbuilder 5 лет назад

    Oric, destroyer of worlds and power cables, Excellent!

  • @misterprecocious2491
    @misterprecocious2491 5 лет назад

    Can still remember the tune it plays when I clocked the score.

  • @Kithop
    @Kithop 5 лет назад

    My older brother had this exact model! I spent *so* much time playing this (we had the mains adapter, too)... I'm pretty sure it's in my parents' crawl space somewhere, and I'd bet it still works, too. And yeah, massive nostalgia hit with the power on jingle.

  • @silverthorn9759
    @silverthorn9759 5 лет назад

    I got such a retro rush from this video after having it in the mists of time.

  • @shadowrunghost
    @shadowrunghost 5 лет назад

    Thanks Octav1us, Astro Wars is what made me a Gamer all those many moons ago. Ah Nostalgia Lane, is good to wander down thee!!

  • @ciphermatrix
    @ciphermatrix 5 лет назад

    The mainstay and highlight of every last day of term at primary school.
    I never had one of my own but I did have some Game & Watch to trade for the Astro Wars all morning...

  • @TheThaddius
    @TheThaddius 3 года назад

    How have I not seen this before two of my fave things rats and tat! What's not to like!

  • @Liofa73
    @Liofa73 5 лет назад

    This is a classic... always wanted one, used to drool over the Argos catalog looking at it...

  • @davidbrider
    @davidbrider 5 лет назад +1

    That was fun! Not sure if I ever actually *owned* one of them, but it definitely rings a bell. Anyway, great video, as always. Say hi to Oric for me! Also, loving the bright pink fingernails.

  • @danielcoleman3199
    @danielcoleman3199 5 лет назад

    I had this for Christmas 1982 I think. Absolutely loved this thing. The batteries ran out before the Queens Speech - even petrol stations weren’t open Christmas Day back then so no where to get batteries. Had to go to Woolworths to get some the day after Boxing Day. Happy memories though - great video!

  • @BloodySquirrels
    @BloodySquirrels 5 лет назад

    Yep, guilted my parents into buying me one from Woolworths in Scarborough after taking me on a three week caravan holiday in Whitby for the sixth year running. Wonder if it's still at my mum's... 🤔

  • @AdamTheAd-vanc3d
    @AdamTheAd-vanc3d 5 лет назад

    Fanastic . I don't quite remember seeing or knowing anybody who had this one. However thanks for jogging my memory on the Grandstand brand. Systema was another brand i remember from the mid to late 80s.

  • @bodegg2
    @bodegg2 5 лет назад

    A few of my mates got one of these upon release and we all spent hours playing it. I had to wait more than 20 years to get one for myself, which was knackered, from a car boot sale. I fixed it and got a maximum score first play! Who would have thought today girls would be interested in this? They sure as hell weren't in 1981!

  • @AnonyDave
    @AnonyDave 5 лет назад +1

    Sir Oric the Uncooperative 😂

  • @markpitt5248
    @markpitt5248 5 лет назад +1

    I had Firefox and I played it to death! Still to this day I love those VFD screens, I use OLEDs in my projects because they have that bright glow but somehow doesn't have the charm of these old machines.

  • @bryanbaxter9398
    @bryanbaxter9398 5 лет назад

    I had one of those that I nicked off an old mate at the time but it had no battery backing so I had to roll up bits of paper and wedge them in with a load of sellotape

  • @detectivesquirrel2621
    @detectivesquirrel2621 5 лет назад

    Always wanted one. Had Grandstand Scramble

  • @adriangibbons893
    @adriangibbons893 5 лет назад

    I played Astrowars to death when I had it for Christmas in 1981, it lasted me a year until I got my Commodore 64 for Christmas the next year. By the time a year was up I could do all levels with my eyes closed and after 1 hour on Christmas Day I was banished to my room if I wanted to play Astrowars, ahh halcyon days.

  • @daveglo100
    @daveglo100 5 лет назад

    i did complete this game back when i had it. and yes the docking bit is the best

  • @pogglefishii6807
    @pogglefishii6807 5 лет назад

    Octy, (given the recent video on the other channel) it is truly great to see you back doing your thing again, in both this video and the latest from Digitiser.

  • @AnonEyeMouse
    @AnonEyeMouse 5 лет назад

    Aww, hell. Those nostalgia tingles. I seem to remember there being a volume control on the side, a little sawtooth wheel that stuck a little out of the case. Though I remember getting busted trying to play this at night under the blankets when I was supposed to be asleep, so I may be mistaken.

  • @deluxemandave789
    @deluxemandave789 5 лет назад +8

    Was singing the "rats and tat" theme tune at work earlier, came home to see this! On a side note, Oric peeking over the box is cute as hell!

  • @root42
    @root42 5 лет назад

    This reminds me of Galaga! Impressive what they could do with these primitive displays!

  • @electricdreams1616
    @electricdreams1616 5 лет назад

    That build quality is so much better than Out Run with the huge dashboard, easy to break with everything sticking out and them horrible stickers that start curling after a few years, longevity definitely no, but Astro Wars will last forever. With me if it has loud explosions that's a huge plus for me, nothing worse than hearing a little pinging sound from a pathetic tiny speaker. Definitely a thumbs up from me.

  • @chrishopkins209
    @chrishopkins209 5 лет назад +2

    Grandstand also had the UK license for the toy that Hasbro marketed as the Omega Supreme Transformer

    • @MathewHaswell
      @MathewHaswell 5 лет назад

      They also had the UK distribution rights for the Fairchild Channel F.

  • @lusciousthelock4861
    @lusciousthelock4861 5 лет назад

    I have / had one of these. Loved it back in my youth :)

  • @IanHodgetts
    @IanHodgetts 5 лет назад

    I used to have an Astro Wars back in the day; loved it!

  • @jasonorriss
    @jasonorriss 5 лет назад

    I got this as a present somewhere around the mid 80’s, and it’s quite possibly the first video game I ever played.
    Mine appears to be the rarer model as it has the red lettering, but unfortunately it no longer powers on :(
    It was also a brilliant prop for building spaceship cockpits when I was a kid (pop it on the coffee table next to the VIC-20 and suddenly I’m on the bridge of the Enterprise 😂)

  • @DaveRepairs
    @DaveRepairs 5 лет назад

    yay shes back !

  • @Drewbe821
    @Drewbe821 5 лет назад +1

    Munching ratty plus retro space game. What more could one ask for?

  • @davidherron9151
    @davidherron9151 5 лет назад

    I love pretty much everything you do enjoy your vids both in and out of character and love your content. x

  • @5HlNOBI
    @5HlNOBI 5 лет назад

    My epoch ver was called "Galaxy II", other than that... exactly identical. Yes, I tormented my parents on car trips and what not with this cool, but loud game. Excellent 2nd gen VFD game. That one that you have is in better shape now, than was mine back in the 80's! Great condition item.

  • @johndoe-mz7dr
    @johndoe-mz7dr 5 лет назад

    I had one when i was 12, and most of the other ones you showed, them where the days. Makes me feel old lol.