Junior edition: Jr. Pac-Man / Track & Field / Midnight Magic | NES Works Gaiden 75

Our survey of the Atari 2600's post-crash library begins with a trio of games that you could hardly call unprecedented. There's precedent for all of them! But frankly, they all hold up pretty well even today and demonstrate a collective commitment to quality that bodes well for this latter-day phase for the 2600. (It helps that the wizards at GCC developed two of the games appearing this week.) Sure, Jr. Pac-Man looks a bit meager in hindsight next to NES classics like Super Mario Bros. 3, but bear in mind that these carts shipped in 1986, when the NES and Master System were still mewling pups in the U.S. market. In that light, you can actually see the appeal of the 2600 as a reasonable, low-cost competitor to the NES. You can learn more about the Intellivision's history during the INTV days by preordering The NES Era Vol. III: NES and the Peak of 8-Bit, a comprehensive photographic atlas of every console game released for NES and its competitors—including the Intellivision—at the height of their power, from January 1988 through the advent of 16-bit systems in August 1989. Take a deep dive into the prehistory of NES with this limited-edition oversized (12x12"!) photo book: https://limitedrungames.com/products/the-nes-era-vol-3-hardcover Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Atari 2600 footage captured in RGB from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X.