Robotron: 2084 (ARC, 1982) | The Jeff Gerstmann Hall of Fame 013
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Remember the dual-joystick shooter boom that happened alongside the rise of the Xbox 360? Xbox Live Arcade made a lot of those games possible, but none of it would've happened if not for Robotron: 2084. The 1982 arcade release popularized the dual-stick format... though you wouldn't really see a more dual-joystick games out there until Eugene Jarvis made another one in 1990, Smash TV. These days, everything from Geometry Wars to Vampire Survivors owes a little something to this Williams classic.
Robotron is frenetic and panic-inducing in ways that video games just didn't pull off back then. There's an intensity to it that, for my money, makes it one of the clearest examples of a game that requires you to really get "in the zone" to succeed. I wish I was more successful at Robotron, but for as much as I've tried--mostly over the last 25 years or so via various emulators and such--I've never really felt like I was "good" at Robotron. It's devious. It's sinister! But, mostly, it's a whole lot of things happening all at once.
The fact that this game didn't get a kickstarter in 2014 that resulted in a decade-long wait for a lackluster remake is an insult to the medium of videogames
Truer words have not been spoken
One game that has the intense overwhelming feeling that Robotron has is Devil Daggers
1:37 - When you're listing great games and get to, "... Mr. Do, Xevious ...", the auto-captions write it as "Mr.doozievious," which is now a mash-up game I want someone to make.
I really miss Disney Quest which was located in Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs) in Orlando. They had one floor that was all old arcade games. My wife and I got a pass so we could go there all the time. You could play all the cabs without having to put money in. But I got to play tons of games that I hadn’t played since I was a kid. Probably 10 years ago now, Disney shuttered Disney Quest to replace it with the ESPN Sports Zone which fucking bombed. Jerks.
Eugene Jarvis was( a master of his craft. Williams Electronics (and eventually the combined Williams/Midway) were simply godly. I was too young to remember the golden era but at 43 years old I remember all of awesome games that came from that partnership....NARC, SmashTV, Total Carnage, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat....
Robotron in it's arcade format was really awesome but I feel like the ports and the fact it spread out to tons of computers and game systems. solidified it's significance.
Great video, but you should totally revisit Robotron 64. The scrolling problem was really more of a Robotron X issue, which makes that game way worse in my opinion. 64 does some camera rotation that occasionally cuts off the corners, but you always have a really good view of the playfield. And the soundtrack rips.
Jeff lightly touches on it in his intro, but I really liked using the dual analog sticks on the twin N64 controllers to replicate the arcade game’s feel.
Robotron was my #1 favorite arcade game in 1982 Galaga #2 I was 15 years old. Thanks for bringing back the great memories! I'm now looking to buy a Robotron for our home game room.
Not sure how you don't mention Housemarque, they've created the bulk of the great modern twin stick shooters.
Yeah, the first thing I wanted to do when booting up Dreams was to see how to make a dual-stick shooter. I don't think I've ever put serious time into Robotron, though. I'm a Black Widow guy.
Yeah, every time a wave starts the first thing I do is go after the red circles. I don't look at the Grunts, I don't look at the humans, I go right after the red circles. If a human gets in my way so be it, if I have to take out some Grunts, so be it, but the number one priority is those red circles. I can't remember who, but someone figured out that Robotron used to have the highest death rate every ten seconds in any video game. When Smash TV came out that took over the number one spot. Then they made Nex Machina and I think that still holds the number one spot. I think Gene Jarvis had a hand in that game too. Check out Nex Machina by Housemarq, I think you'll like it.
This is a go-to on my MiSTer FPGA. I am not very good at it, and I am also not running from the law.
I lost my shit when this released on Xbox Live Arcade. I sucked at it but loved it all the same, just watching this video and hearing the game audio is so triggering. It brings me right back to the Magic Arcade in Elizabeth.
One thing all the Williams games did well was the little pause when you die still showing the thing that killed you, so you remember the angle, and in your mind, it gave you a hope, often false, that the error causing your death was avoidable, which cleverly encouraged you to keep throwing quarters at it.
So Robotron came out the same year as Tron the movie, which one was first I don't know. It also predates the movie Terminator and thus its premise. Ahead of its time!
i don’t remember where i first played this game, if it was funspot or at a random arcade elsewhere, but it is genuinely one of the most like, hypnotic and appealing things i have ever seen. it’s as if it reaches directly through my eyes into my brain to pull the neurons individually. the sound and color of it just takes me to a totally different place. so yeah, cool game, my favorite arcade game, something i feel great feeding quarters to just to die miserably every time
Nice. I always make time for it at Funspot, as well.
One of the best games ever creatred by mankind.
I think of Blaster as the best Jeff Minter game Jeff Minter didn’t make.
I don't care what anyone says, this is a beautiful game.
Okay, you HAVE to play HyperDemon
I loved the sound design of that era of Williams titles - Defender, Robotron, Joust, Sinistar.
The Atari 5200 was a pretty good port, thanks to the joystick coupler that held two controllers together (also see Space Dungeon - another great early twin stick shooter). It never got as frantic as the arcade version because it simply couldn't push that many objects on screen at once, but probably the best home version available for at least a decade
The 7800 port was fantastic-it was exactly the type of game the 7800 was meant for (tons of sprites moving around on a fixed playfield) and which was unfortunately on the way out by the system actually made it to market. Atari didn't bother to release a 7800 joystick coupler, but the game still supports two controllers and lots of people have stepped into the breach with unofficial designs, some of which are freely available online for 3D printing.
@@TheFancifulNorwegianCool - I'll have to try that out
My dad doesn't play video games but there are a handful of arcade games that he likes and Robotron is one of them. Such a visual and auditory treat. I think he stopped trying new games not long after Robotron
Would love to see a talk with Mark Bussler about Robotron 2084 from @classicgameroom, he loves this game too!
I never tire of that intro.
I don’t know why (maybe because I’m British) I didn’t see this game till like ‘88 I guess I was too busy playing Missile Command 😂
as someone who haunted smokey, dimly lit 1980's arcades, I too speak of Robotron 2084 in hushed and reverent tones; to the confusion and disinterest of strangers. ;)
This game look’s so awesome and I have heard of this but have never saw it played.
This video inspired me to book a hotel so i can go to Galloping Ghost and play this legit, alot of other games too but this is the first one I’m trying!
The first version of Robotron I ever played was Robotron 64... I still love it.
Weird timing, I had just recently gotten *way* back into Robotron.
I've never realised until now how similar this game is to geometry wars. I played this game a few times in arcades but it was pretty rare to find in the 90s when I was playing arcades.
What a beautiful video game, more people should be like jeff minter and only make games like this
Back in '82, maybe '83, the local mom & pop market/liquor store decided they were going to make a game room. It was dark. It was dirty. It was smelly and it was glorious. The eventual lineup was Galaga, Zaxxon, Moon Patrol, Stargate Defender and, of course, Robotron. What a time to be alive. ...and spend your Dads quarter collection
I've never played the game but it's giving me major visual overload.
I skipped Robotron and went straight to Lammatron on the Atari ST
these are some great sound effects :o
i hope it was super loud in arcades
everything's swell when you're with the duders
Love the hall of fame videos.
11pm boys
Shout outs to Robotron for leading us to Geometry Wars, the perfection of this genre.
And Zombies Ate My Neighbors 😅
My first Robotron was Robotron X for the PS1 which was a fever dream. Good to see its roots 😅