Hey whatsup guys OSG back with a system that I have totally overlooked and that’s the ColecoVision. So way back in 1982 this console was released and although in the UK wasn’t widely popular blew the Atari 2600 and Intellivision out of the water as far as arcade quality games go. Anyway Steve from RetroUnlim grew up with this system and asked me to do a video on the 20 best Coleco games in order of greatness…at first I thought this was a daunting task as really had only ever played Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr on the system but then I found out that it only had around 136 games in its catalogue so off I went over the last few days and I’ve played them all…well all I could find.
Steve also sent me a list and the majority of them are on this list but I’ve added 1 or 2 that I liked and put them in order of greatness. There are however some other great games on this system like Popeye and Tapper which until I found out they were straight ports from the MSX were going to be on but then decided to leave out.
Anyway without more delay lets take a look at the 20 Best ColecoVison games in order of greatness.
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ok can I get one thing straight here …I know how ColecoVision is meant to be pronounced….and god I tried to say it, but when something is hardcoded in my brain I just cant get away with changing it…I could maybe get it right if I only mentioned it once or twice but not the amount of times I said it in this video….I mean it took me 3 times to say Atari 26 hundred and I always call it the 2 thousand 600…… I know I'm a nightmare sorry
I used to work in a computer shop that sold these. I even demonstrated the system for Coleco at a computer show once.
One interesting fact is we had a lot of BBC Micro owners coming into the shop to buy the Turbo game, as it came with the steering wheel and pedal. They converted this to use on the BBC for the Racing game Revs!
The system itself was impressive (it seems to be similar to an MSX computer in capabilities and had some ports of MSX games), except that it couldn't smooth scroll, which really spoiled some of the arcade conversions, especially Zaxxon which was otherwise very impressive.
I was hoping to find a hidden gem in this video but I own all but 1 of these 😂 great video
Still play my Colecovision. So many great arcade games were made for it. Even today they are making great homebrewed fo it. Loved Q-Bert, Omega Race and Oils Well.
Two memorable games for me not on your list are Miner 2049 and The Heist. I had Expansion Module #2 back in the day and loved that it came with Turbo. I also played another driving game, Destructor, to death.
How Burgertime didnt make into the top 20. Its easily top 3 material
Venture was a great arcade classic!
Do you know if any co-op games on colecovision? Trying to compile a list but haven’t found any yet.
List of games
01:12 20 – Smurfs
01:46 19 – Mouse Trap
02:22 18 – Venture
02:56 17 – Carnival
03:32 16 – Turbo
04:06 15 – Pepper 2
04:42 14 – Time Pilot
05:16 13 – Pitstop
05:52 12 – Space Fury
06:27 11 – Looping
07:01 10 – Cosmic Avenger
07:37 09 – Lady Bug
08:11 08 – Mr Do!
08:47 07 – Gyruss
09:21 06 – Frenzy
09:56 05 – Space Panic
10:31 04 – Donkey Kong
11:07 03 – Gorf
11:42 02 – Zaxxon
12:16 01 – Donkey Kong Jr
Donkey Kong on Coleco is the best home version? You must be smoking crack. The C64 version blows it away, hands down.
Fantastic video and my favorite system growing up. Hard to emulate to their sports games with the super controller were revolutionary. Football and baseball were SO much better than anything else at the time.
smurfs was great but repetitive
I enjoyed the video, though I disagree with many of the choices. It is safe to say, in most cases, that if you like the arcade game, you’ll like the Colecovision version. A few games I’d put on the list are Oil’s Well, Frogger, Q*Bert, and Spy Hunter. (And, as you mentioned, Popeye and Tapper). I wasn’t crazy about Space Fury or Space Panic.
What's interesting is that the ColecoVision uses the same video chip as the Texas Instruments TI-99 4/a yet the ColecoVision's games look WAY better.
The best thing about the Coleco was the Atari 2600 Adapter that allowed it to play Atari 2600 games although I have no idea if it was ever released in the UK. As bad as some of these games look now its important to remember they really helped drive the whole video game industry forward in those early days.
Only got to play the system a few times at a friend's house and I remember a lot of these games fondly
I think the controllers are terrible. Never been a fan of the ColecoVision. I prefer the Intellivision or even better, the SC-3000.
One game that never gets mentioned in lists like this, probably because it's a game you really CANNOT appreciate without reading the manual front to back and internalizing all of the game's various mechanics, is Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress. Most people I see who play it seem to just think it's a rather bland attempt at doing what The Legend of Zelda's dungeons would later do so much better… but no, Alcazar is a STEALTH game, believe it or not! It's all about listening or looking for environmental clues as to what (or who) is in the next room, shooting enemies through the door with the weapon best suited to kill them so that they can die off-screen where they're no threat to you (or leading them into pits, if you're feeling daring!), and managing your resources carefully so you're able to conquer all the genies guarding the throne in Alcazar Castle at the end in order to win. It's a game you have to play on the highest difficulty level, too (where every enemy is MUCH faster than you, you get NO extra lives, and you have minimal ammo to start with), to fully appreciate.
And it's procedurally generated, on top of all that, meaning you can replay it again and again for new challenges!
But man, once you've learned the ins and outs of Alcazar, it is an absolutely STELLAR game. Like, I'd even say it's more addictive and handles stealth gameplay better than Metal Gear! I own the MSX version (which is a straight port of the Colecovision version), and it's honestly one of my favorite MSX1 games.
The only reason it's not a beloved classic — the ONLY reason, I feel — is because it's not intuitive. It's one of the rare games of that era that you really HAVE to learn how to play in order to fully enjoy.
I'm also surprised H.E.R.O. isn't on this list. Or Montezuma's Revenge. Or Jungle Hunt! Or Pitfall II!
Definitely seems like platformers and non-shooter action games aren't really your thing, I guess! 😉
Lady Bug is a very good port and so was Donkey Kong. Surprised not to see Boulder Dash, Miner 2049er and Burger Time in the list but you can’t fit everything into a top 20 list now can you.
Really loved montezuma's revenge back in the day, and a bit surprised it didn't make it into your top10
@Old Style Gaming you at NERG tomorrow fella?
This was my first console that was all mine, as my first gaming experience was on my Dad's Apple computer in the late 70's. Then in the early 80's, he got me and my sister an Apple II computer that we shared, but I used it mostly for gaming(** schoolwork). LOL Once I saw the Colecovision, I had to have one, and the Xmas when I finally got it, my parents bought me tons of games, probably 8-10. It was my only system until I finally sold it to buy an NES, and by that time, I had all the expansions and close to 30 games(plus a good amount of 2600 games, thanks to the expansion for that). It really was way ahead of it's time, as nothing came close until the NES hit shelves after the market crash. So many great memories, and fun that I had for so many years, probably my top moment of my childhood was owning a Colocovision. I'm pretty sure I had every game on your list except for Pitstop, but one I didn't see that was amazing, and probably my last purchase, was Spy Hunter. As it was compatible with the Play Action Controller, and allowed for all the vehicles weapons to be used with a single button press. Give it a look if u get the chance, it was an amazing arcade port.
The awful lady bug made the list but not the amazing Gulkave? You've changed mate 😉
If you haven't tried it give Gulkave a go, it's amazing