[ Retro Scan of the Week ] The Many Faces of Popeye

August 4th, 2014 by Benj Edwards

Parker Brothers Popeye multi-system screens advertisement - 1983Well blow me down

[ From Personal Computing – December 1983]

Discussion Topic of the Week: Of the systems listed in the ad above, which is your favorite?


See Also: Eight Ways to Play Q*Bert (RSOTW, 2007)
See Also: Multi-Platform Mania (RSOTW, 2009)



11 Responses to “[ Retro Scan of the Week ] The Many Faces of Popeye”

  1. Brian R Says:

    It’s between the Atari 2600 and the Atari 8-bit computers, but for games that exist on both, the 8-bit wins out because the game play was generally better.

    I find it weird the ad lists the 400, 800, and 600xl separately. They were all the same platform and the popeye cartridge was obviously identical for all 3. Maybe they just wanted to fill up the ad and make it seem like there were more versions than there were.

  2. Moondog Says:

    What I hated about ads like these was they didn’t necessarily use screen shots from the different platforms. Instead, they used conceptual artwork which sometimes didn’t quite match the game elements or graphics on that specific platform.

  3. Eagles409 Says:

    I had 2 versions of this game, one for the Intellivision and one for the 5200. The 5200 had better graphics, but the controller for the 5200 was so awful I never really used it. I always prefer anything Intellivision anyhow.

  4. Daniel Says:

    The Atari 400/800/600XL and 5200 version was the best. The Atari 5200 is basically an Atari 400 computer without the keyboard and SIO port.

  5. Alexander Says:

    I feel sad now that out of all of the above systems, I’ve only ever played on the 2600. And even then, I don’t have a copy of the Popeye game.

    So as a result, I can’t say anything about the ones I don’t have.

  6. Jistuce Says:

    I can’t say I’ve played Popeye on anything but the VCS/2600.

    But you didn’t technically ask which was our favorite system to play Popeye on, just which is our favorite system in general. 😛
    And it’s totally the TI 99/4a. Was my childhood computer and still holds a special place in my heart.

    And let me tell you, it’s HARD to be the buy with the “weird” computer. I ask the internet about the TI99, and then start rearranging search terms to avoid calculator links and microchip sales pages
    And then within three more clicks I’m eyeballs-deep in friggin’ Apple II stuff. Yes, Google, I’m sure the Mockingboard is a wonderful piece of hardware, but I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORTI BOARD INSTEAD.

  7. technotreegrass Says:

    I’ve only played the NES Popeye game, but I’ll forever have a soft spot for the Atari 2600 being the first console I’ve ever played and turning me into a lifelong gamer.

  8. TBFL Says:

    The Atari 400/800/600XL were all the same game…that I played on my 800XL and 130XE systems…

    It was much better than the Coleco port.

  9. Justin S. Says:

    The ColecoVision is my favorite, but I do like the Atari line of computers: 400, 800, 800XL.

    As for the port of Popeye: ColecoVision had a very good port (especially compared to Intellvision & Atari 2600), but the Atari computers were near arcade perfect.

  10. Jeff Says:

    The TI is my first and most loved of the classic machines, it’s what I taught myself on. I have a pretty large vintage computer collection, but the one I treasure most is my original TI.

  11. Ant Says:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgeSfaLXS8Macm3ddzYF_wg?hl=es-419&gl=CO has tons of video games comparions. For Popeye:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-O0pkvaWM (remake with more ports)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEGasAJwGdY

Leave a Reply