Atari Flashback 1 & 2 Review

[SonicAnimation23]

Hi Gamester18. I'm trying to buy a Atari, cause i like a lot Retro consoles. But my parents said that i needed to stop buying old things, because they think it doesn't work and retire a lot of space in my room.

So, i'm trying to buy a Atari Flashback, but it cust too much for me. (I'm not american, so somethings from other countries here cust more)

So, i wanted to know if you can give me Atari Flashback 1, cause it's smallest and has Atari 2600 and 7800 games on there. (I'm 14 years)

[animegamer66]

yo gamester can u give me atari flashback model 1 oh and im 12 years old

[3styler1]

@BeastlyTricycle they do but think only genesis 1 works not genesis 2

[Pinwormx]

Thanks for the video. Got me the 3 today.

[ThePokeCardCollector]

i got this for 4 pounds in a boot sale!

[lutzdify]

Is it possible to modify the FB2 so that it can use S-video?

[lutzdify]

@BeastlyTricycle Prove it.

[lutzdify]

2 people are total nintendo fantards.

[SANxJONERO]

@lutzdify What's a nes fantard? :-D Well I guess it's a retarded nes fan, but I'm nes an nes fan who isn't retarded & I like this video.

[eateroftheflame]

I just bought the first one, the FB2 was too expensive for me

[MrMcKeeney]

Gamster81,Are these systems rare?

[ZavenNes1718]

@MrMcKeeney No, they will cost you around between $20-$40

[volure1]

I got mine in tiger direct only 24.99.

[ibaghot]

how do you plug it into the tv?

[JZBEAST01]

@ibaghot A/V Cables

[Wrestlingthemeremix]

awww.... no E.T?

[jeff97ish]

I definitely want both of these in my small but growing console collection.

[rkoguy]

@BeastlyTricycle What????????????

[MrGETNOW]

you sholud be on tv games bigg bigg star (like)



[slaughternightmare]

i have one of the mini flashback 1s with the original controllers but i also have a different controller that seem to work with it as well :P

[TheDonandMurphshow]

@BeastlyTricycle yes it does

[TheDonandMurphshow]

hey dude i really like your reviews because i feellike they are reel and informative. One thing i like about is that unlike some (irate) your not trying to copy the avgn. love the videos!

[123stephenno]

@BeastlyTricycle ya it do4w

[Pianopenguinz3]

I got an old atari flashback 2 at a rummage sale for 5 bucks, and I was like... woah. This things awesome! So I bought it, and it makes my childhood NES's graphics look awesome compared to it haha

[KidAuthorFilms]

Does the FB2 use batteries or do you have to plug it in to the wall? I'm running out of batteries here. D:>

[OysterBoy91]

Can you get these in Australia??

[illustriouschin]

These definitely look cool but it is a shame that they can't use cartridges without being modded, I'm not much of an electrician and cutting hole in the top would look ghetto.

[Homemadegameguru]

I got one for a present and I love the classic games on there. So much so I posted videos of the competitions between myself and a You Tube friend on Flashback 2 Frog Pond and Aqua Adventure. Nothing beats Atari

[christo930]

The 7800 version isn't a 7800, it's a nes-on-a-chip and the controllers aren't compatible. The fb2 on the other hand, is a real 2600 and many people have hacked it to accept cartridges.

[bluorb]

@2:34

He says the only difference in that controller and the original is a band of color, but his controller is either a "Darth Vader" all black edition controller, or has been played enough to loose the color. The real difference is inside the controller :)

[killbotkillbotkill]

strange i got two of those original 7800 controlers with my atari 2600 jr back in the day and i am in uk

[mlwy45]

I just got the flashback 2 yesterday at kroger for 34 bucks (w/card) and I had no idea it had two hidden games. Thanks Gamester81

(I may have been born in '89, but it doesn't stop me from going backwards)

[e2museum]

@mlwy45 That's not the real one, the ones through Kroger are all pirate ones with cheaper internals and a plethora of problems. We haven't manufactured any new ones since 2005. The only current authentic one is the Flashback 2+ on Atari's site.

[dragblade501]

though i think where i live we had one that used cartiges is well :) but when i stuffed my tv i lost the atari and i think i threw it out

[dragblade501]

i had that when i was younger great fun having comps with friends XD

[hburke7799]

i dont wana buy one of thos becase i have a huge stack of 22 2600 games that i got with my vader

sigh :(

[Esternamornezz]

Atari rules. Earlier last year, they released the Atari Flashback 2+ Which is more or less like the flashback 2, but it has some different games on it. If you like the systems, I'd suggest getting one of those too.....though they will never replace my vader :P

[MegaTommy11]

its weird because my atari flashback 1 dosent want to show any video. maybe i pluged it in wrong

[rivertreecat]

Hi! : ) i have an atari flashback one with out the 9v adapter. Could you tell me how many milliamps are listed on the transformer? TY!

[MegaTommy11]

8i got atari flashback the first one for $1 at a yardsale!

[nosheeatzoo]

WTF? No Pole Position??? Best game Atari had!!

[mookow2]

i picked up a flashback 2 today at a thrift store for 6 bucks controllers and all

[modewr]

The Flashback 1's games were not faithful to the original Atari games , right? They had different gameplay! They managed to fix that with the FB2.

[Zambaku]

Sucks it can't take cartridges

[noideac]

@Zambaku you can mod it to (no joke)

[repkhmvkf8o]

gay as fuck

[cam5478]

which is the 2600 lookin one

[akumie]

why would anyone buy this when the original has way over 40 games and can be picked up on ebay

[thatguyontheright1]

@akumie the FB2 can be modded with a 24 pin connector to play Atari 2600 carts

[gdement]

There is now a "Flashback 2+" being sold but in limited distribution. It can be ordered from Atari's web store, but it's expensive and I don't know if anyone has them in retail. The developers mentioned in a forum that Target/WalMart might eventually carry them, but I don't think that's happened so far.

It has a different game list than the earlier Flashback 2, but otherwise no big differences.

[gdement]

Just to clarify something, original Atari (and Genesis) controllers will work on the Flashback 2, but not the Flashback 1.

The FB1 was a rush job, built using existing NES-on-a-chip hardware. That's why it won't work with Atari controllers.

Later they designed a real 2600 chip, and used that in the FB2.

The 7800 chipset has never been cloned, the FB1 uses a NES chip which has different traits than a 7800 so the ports are lousy. Anyone interested in the 7800 should get the real console.

[aericgriffin]

Great video, I really didnt think that the flashback 2 were all that valuble I picked one up at a flee marked 5.00 and then had another giving to me, I have two in my game collection almost sold them. So thank you gamester81 for bringing new light to these lost mini consels. By the way how do I get a connection in Japan? JK THanks Gamester 81

[aericgriffin]

Great video, I really didnt think that the flashback 2 were all that valuble I picked one up at a flee marked 5.00 and then had another giving to me, I have two in my game collection almost sold them. So thank you gamester81 for bringing new light to these lost mini consels. By the way how do I get a connection in Japan? JK THanks Gamester 81

[iTzOvR9OOO]

i have flashback 2

[MissAllyKatzman]

I had one of the flashback 2's... lost it in a fire.

[1966mopar1966]

nice to see good comments

[51rickjames]

the origanal atari 2600 controler did have a gold line on the ring but your joystick was just played alot so it wore off

[brickman409]

I bought one of these a few years ago and after playing for around 20 minutes smoke started coming out of it!

[volure1]

i got mine lol only 14 dollars.

[MrLangley59]

the original joy stick did have a gold lining stupid

[TheBillbot]

@BeastlyTricycle Neither does the 2600 Joysticks but I haven't tried 7800 controllers.

[katakisLives]

They did this with the Megadrive recently, it had games built in and also had a cartridge slot to play original games! I imagined them doing this years ago, but where I got it completely wrong was I imagined full sized replicas of the consoles that could use all the old peripherals too!

[sweetdictator]

Just bought the flashback 1 brand new. They are a fair price if you like the old school games, but I wish they had the cartridge imput to play the actual old games, but it's good that it came with two controllers, overall a good purchase if you like the vintage game systems.

[PSNDonutDude]

I am 15 and bot a total nerd but I enjoy collecting historic things like banknotes coins cans. I also enjoy having these really old consoles. I really want a pong console and I wish these two were better replicas. They are very good but I wish they were larging and less detailed like the originals.

[spamster1]

i saw the Flashback 2 at Walmart once for $20 i think but i passed on it for some reason and haven't seen it in stores again so far. man i wish i went a head and got it.

[chrisstoffer]

great intro, I will look into the games. Thanks!

[sheepthehack]

OMG!!!! that original joystick for the 7800 my parents bought me home one day.. i just fell in love with it.. im in the UK and when it broke i couldnt find a replacement.. i was gutted!!! NO ONE!!! could beat me at sensible soccer with that joystick in my hand.. i used it for my atari st for many years then finally on my amiga around 94ish.. when it broke i actually gave up playing sensible as i was nowhere near as good with any other controller.. thank you for showing me the origin of it :)

[marceloyanez111pt2]

the originals had gold lining they just rubbed off instantly

[jeff97ish]

@marceloyanez111pt2 You are correct. I have an original Atari and it was kept in good shape at my Great Aunts house. She got it out of storage and gave it to me with about 15 games. Everything works and it looks brand new. She also gave me a Super Pong 4 that works and looks great. What a cool Aunt huh?

[duvisa]

flashback 2 is very cool !!!

[duvisa]

nice review

[boobidee]

Are circut boarbs made of wood, cuz my Flahback 2's Joystick port part went down, and I dont have a warranty, I bought it off eBay

[yellowdart137]

i do remember a set of original atari controllers with the gold edges.

currently i am in the middle of adding a cart to my flashback 2. not a difficult task mind you, but study soldering and practice before attempting. don do this project if you lack fine motor skills, but in that case you would not be playing video games.

[Mindman111]

That was a very intersting review. Too bad they don't sell the Flashback 2 where I live.

[Link4587452]

Aahh U.S. 7800 controllers!!!!

[JasonJ25]

I played the Atari so much when I was a kid. It was awsome. The games are still fun to play today.

[pinballcentral]

how mutch did those cost?

[andittellstime]

does the flashback 2.0 come with paddle controls?

bestsku has it for $29.99 and i dont see the paddle controls in the picture there and i can hear the audio on this vid.

[Gamester81]

No sadly it doesn't come with paddles.

[janchapman1969a]

the original atari 2600 joystick did have the gold paint around the joystick, although the paint usually came off easily and didn't last long

[adamyoshi]

agreed. -_-

[Ductos27]

I got the Flashback 1 on a flea market for 5 bucks. It's great, but the icing on the cake would've been a cartridge slot.

But after all, it's still a great system.

[adamyoshi]

If you can get one for under 15$ I would

[kevin12567]

Another difference between the FB1 and FB2: The FB1 used what was called "NES-On-A-Chip", so the games were reprogrammed from scratch and weren't accurate to the originals, especially in the sound. The FB2 replicates the circuitry of the original system, so the original ROM's could be used in the FB2 which makes them accurate to the originals, and also lets it play all other games if you mod it.

[SwordOfCrystalis]

FB one doesnt use NES on a chip.. NES on a chip is Nintendo Entertainment system on a chip. And even if you are just comparing it to nes on a chip.. the games are not reprogrammed at all. The systems hard ware is programmed to one chip, not the games. Both the fb1 and 2 store the games exactly the same. They are rom images.

[kevin12567]

According to Wikipedia:

"The Atari Flashback was based on 'NES-on-a-chip' hardware, not resembling either of the Atari systems which the Flashback was supposed to represent. As a result, the games it contained were ports and differed in varying degrees from the original games, and therefore the Flashback was unpopular with some purists."

So the original ROM's had to be ported (recoded) to the original Flashback, while the FB2 could use the ROM's without recoding.

[boobidee]

@kevin12567

Flashback 2 could run the real ones, The flash Back one version is just 7800/2600 ported to the NES hardware

[MNC122703]

so should I get one of these ? or both even?

[Gamester81]

If I were to pick on over the other, I'd have to go with the FB2, it's much better then the first one.

[oooTranceooo]

I own an XBox 360, yet im sat here with a big smile on my face watchin your vids of Ataris and Colecovision's, i cant believe the amount of systems that have been released over the years, do you think that in 20 years time we will be looking back on the 360 with such fondness? probably not, an xbox rarely passes its warrenty, never mind 20-30 years, but keep it up, your videos are great, and always make me nostalgic, only just found you, but im goin through all your videos, 5/5 and subbed.

[ultrasuperman99]

where do you buy them??

[Gamester81]

I got these at Toys R Us awhile back. I recommend trying ebay now.

[DarthOptimus207]

@Gamester81 i saw them at kroger

[dasher516]

@Gamester81 If you have a Gamestops Rewards card you can redeem your points for the Atari Flashback 2 :D for 33,500 points ^___^ im close :D

[jasper90210]

The original controllers had gold, they just fades easy so they turned black. One of my old Atari 2600 controllers is half gold/half black, half of the gold faded off. The other controller is all black, all the gold faded on that one.

[Gamester81]

Cool, great to know. thanks.

[atari1128]

no!, the california heavy sixer atari 2600 had the joystick with the orange trim on top with the word ATARI on the tip of the joystick, i have one in my hand right now

[Gamester81]

Cool, thanks for the correction. I must have gotten it backwards.

[WARPUDDY666]

have you tryed a atari trackball on your flashback 2

[Gamester81]

No I haven't tried that yet. Does it work?

[WARPUDDY666]

I haven't ether but cant see why not

[Gamester81]

I imagine that it would work considering they have the same plug in.

[sinistermoon]

When I hooked up my Genesis or Atari 2600 controller to the Flashback 1 they didn't work with it. One of the 2 controller would reset the unit.

[kennytheamazing]

what? no space invaders?

I'm gonna look for a flashback 2 to mod =)

[strizzuth]

Space Invaders is owned by Taito who is owned by Square-Enix. It's one of their most recognized properties so they'd probably have wanted more money than Atari would have been willing to pay. Same reason you don't see Ms. Pac-Man or Frogger in that list.

[harrisonakathegame]

omg i didnt realize how small that system is i got the flashback 2 bought it off of ebay im a big atari fan lol

[gamereviewers235]

the atari 7800 controller looks kool but wouldn't it wouldn't it be hard to play that way.....it's like a remote control

[PinbobPictures]

Yay! Thank's so much for filling my request! Keep up the awesome work.!

[vintagevideogamegeek]

You forgot to add the link to mod the FB2.

[Gamester81]

Ok, I posted it now. My bad. =)

[vintagevideogamegeek]

Damn...that's hard.

[vintagevideogamegeek]

What were they thinking releasing the Flashback 1 to look like the 7800???