ColecoVision FAQ
Version 3.9
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Joseph M. Huber and James Carter
All rights reserved. This document may be copied, in whole or in part,
by any means provided the copyright and contributors sections remain
intact and no fee is charged for the information. Contributors
retain the copyright to their individual contributions.
The data contained herein is provided for informational purposes
only. No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of the
information.
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Additional contributions always welcome! Please mail additional information,
opinions, and comments to either:
Joe Huber - huber@rock.enet.dec.com
or
James Carter - JSCarter@ix.netcom.com
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Last update: July 22, 1997.
Contributors:
JH) Joe Huber
JC) James Carter
01) Noel Tominack
02) Tony Mason
03) Jeff Lodoen
04) Jonny Farringdon
05) Sean Kelly
06) Gary Carino
07) Charles Cafrelli
08) Scott Marison
09) Greg Kam
10) Joshua See
11) Ralph A. Barbagallo III
12) Joey McDonald
13) Geoff Oltmans
14) Gregg Woodcock
15) Allan Liscum
16) Greg Chance
17) Tris Orendorff
18) Scott Stone
19) David Strutt
20) Jeff Coleburn
21) Lee Seitz
22) Jerry Greiner
23) Bill Loguidice
24) Norman Sippel
25) Kevin Slywka
26) Ben Lott
27) Ken Arromdee
28) Swampthing
29) Bruce Tomlin
30) Christian Puryear
31) Patrick Lessard
32) Matt Burback
33) Brad Ensminger
34) Thomas Farrell
35) Ken Kupelian
36) Blue Sky Rangers
37) Craig Pell
38) Chris Smith
39) Kevin Horton
40) Curtis J.
41) Bill Esquivel
42) Greg Hunter
43) Kyle Snyder
44) Roger Fulton
45) Phil Stroffolino
46) Daniel Stevans
47) Marat Fayzullin
48) The Piper
49) Frank Groeten
50) Dennis Brown
51) Lawrence Schick
52) Robert Merritt
53) Jason Weesner
54) Sam Etic
55) Stephan Freundorfer
56) Dave Johnson (Director of Video Graphics at Coleco)
57) Howard Prince
58) Marc Boyer
59) Greg Roth
60) Jason Mazure
61) Pascal Blancaneaux
62) Keith Henrickson
63) Gary Cianciosi
64) Marcus (Garrett?)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0) What is ColecoVision?
2.0) ColecoVision and ADAM Specs
3.0) Hardware List
3.1) Hardware known to exist
3.2) Hardware believed -not- to exist
3.3) Review of the Telegames Personal Arcade
3.4) Hardware Tidbits
4.0) Cartridge List
4.1) Carts known to exist
4.2) Carts believed -not- to exist
4.3) CBS product numbers
4.4) Cartridge Tidbits, Tips, and Easter Eggs
4.5) Cartridge Hardware Cheats
4.6) ColecoVision and ColecoVision/ADAM catalogs
4.7) The BEST cartridges
4.8) The most popular cartridges
4.9) Rare gems
4.10) High scores
5.0) Internet sites
5.1) Instructions
5.2) Books and Periodicals
5.2.1) ColecoVision Experience
5.3) ColecoVision Homepage
5.4) Coleco FTP Site
5.5) ColecoVision Emulator
5.6) John Dondzila's ColecoVision Projects
6.0) Stickers
7.0) Technical Details
7.1) ColecoVision Memory Map
7.2) ColecoVision I/O Map
7.3) ColecoVision BIOS Details
7.4) ColecoVision Video RAM Details
7.5) ColecoVision Programming Tips
7.6) Cartridge Slot Pinout
7.7) ADAM Printer/Power Port
7.8) ADAM Programming Tips
8.0) Separate Audio/Video Hack
9.0) Automatic RF Switch
10.0) Replacing The ColecoVision ROM
11.0) Copying ColecoVision Cartridges
12.0) Repair Tips
12.1) To fix a rolling picture/video problems:
12.2) To avoid an automatic level select problem:
12.3) To fix an automatic level select problem:
12.4) To fix a broken roller controller:
12.5) To fix a poorly responding controller:
12.6) To fix a dead cartridge:
13.0) ColecoVision Dealers
14.0) ADAM Dealers, User Groups, and Bulletin Boards
1.0) What is ColecoVision?
Coleco (a contraction of COnneticut LEather COmpany) was the first
company to introduce a ";dedicated chip"; home video game system, with
the Telstar Arcade in 1976. (The Magnavox Odyssey, based on Analog
technology, was the first home video game system overall, debuting
in 1973.) Trying to build upon the enormous initial success of the
unit, Coleco decided to bring out nine different Telstar models. But
within a year, 75 other manufacturers had introduced similar units,
and combined with with production snags, a shortage of chips, and a
push towards hand held games, Coleco skirted with disaster. While
Coleco sold over $20 million of hand held games, it had to dump over
a million Telstar units, and the company lost $22.3 million in 1978.
With the introduction of units with games stored on interchangeable
cartridges, Fairchild and then Atari had eliminated any remaining
market for the simple pong games.
On June 1, 1982, Coleco re-entered the fray with the announcement of
its ";third generation"; video game system, ColecoVision. Touting
";arcade quality";, ColecoVision took aim at the seemingly unassailable
Atari 2600. Coleco wanted ";Donkey Kong";, a very hot arcade hit, to be
their pack-in. In December '81, they went to Japan to make a deal with
Nintendo for the rights to Donkey Kong. The Coleco executive wanted to
return to the US to show his lawyers the contract before signing, but was
told to sign now, or risk losing Donkey Kong to Atari or Mattel, who were
currently going though channels to get the rights themselves. Under the
pressure, the Coleco executive signed.
In April '82 Coleco and Nintendo were threatened with lawsuits from Universal
Studios who claimed Donkey Kong was an infringement on their King Kong.
Coleco had invested a fortune in the ColecoVision version of Donkey Kong
that was only 4 months from its premiere release. Thinking that they didn't
stand a chance in court, Coleco decided to settle, agreeing to pay Universal
3% of all Donkey Kong sales. Nintendo decided to fight it, and some time
later actually won. Coleco then filed suit and got some of their lost
royalties back.
The bulk of Coleco's library, however, was comprised of overlooked coin-op
games such as Venture and Lady Bug. With a library of twelve games, and
a catalog showing ten more on the way (many of which were never released),
the first one million ColecoVisions sold in record time. In 1983 it topped
sales charts, beating out Atari and Mattel, with much of its success being
contributed to its pack-in, Donkey Kong. The ColecoVision soon had more
cartridges than any system except the Atari 2600, and with the 2600
converter still today has more playable games than any other system.
The ColecoVision introduced two new concepts to the home videogame
industry - the ability to expand the hardware system, and the ability
to play other video game system games.
The Atari 2600 expansion kit caused a flurry of lawsuits between Atari
and Coleco. After the dust cleared, the courts had decided that it was
acceptable for Coleco to sell the units. As a result of this Coleco
was also able to make and sell the Gemini game system which was an exact
clone of an Atari 2600 with combined joystick/paddle controllers.
Coleco was also the first home videogame maker to devote the majority of
their product line to arcade conversions, using the superior graphics
of the ColecoVision to produce nearly arcade-quality games, albeit often
missing a screen or level.
Coleco truly shocked the industry by doing so well. In a year, the stock
rose in value from 6 7/8 a share to 36 3/4. The following items were
taken from Fortune or March 7, 1983:
";Six months ago, hardly anyone expected Coleco to ride so high. [Company
President Arnold] Greenberg was known in the industry as a self-promoter
overly sanguine about Coleco's prospects. Says one security analyst:
";He was always gilding the lily. Wall Street developed a basic distrust
of the company."; So did the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 1980
it charged Coleco with misstating financial results to mask troubles.";
";But almost overnight Coleco's image has changed. ColecoVision, the
video game player introduced last August, is one of the most popular
consumer products around. The trade, paying homage to its technological
advancement, has dubbed it ";the third wave"; - wave one being the Atari
VCS, wave two being Mattel's Intellivision - and the most discerning
critics, kids, love it. The 550,000 game players Coleco made last year
flew off the shelves by Christmas-time. Coleco's sales nearly tripled
from $178 million in 1981 to $510 million last year, and the net income
shot up 420% to $40 million.";
";Coleco's charge into the market last summer was well timed. Atari and
Mattel were engaged in a multimillion-dollar mud-slinging battle on
television. George Plimpton in Mattel commercials lampooned the graphics
on Atari's VCS game player, while Atari blasted Intellivision's dearth
of hit games. Then Coleco suddenly arrived on the scene with the best
of both: good graphics and good games. With a greater amount of memory
allocated to screen graphics, ColecoVision provided a much better
picture than Atari. Although ColecoVision at $175 was $75 more
expensive than Atari's VCS, discerning video players were willing to pay
a higher price for more lifelike graphics. ColecoVision's pictures were
also better than those of Intellivision, and the retail was $35 lower.";
";To make ColecoVision even more attractive the company gave away with
each unit a $35 Donkey Kong cartridge. ";Donkey Kong was a very
serviceable gorilla,"; says Greenberg. ";Once we convinced the consumer
of the merits of the hardware, Donkey Kong pushed him into buying.";";
";Another popular feature has been ColecoVision's expandability.
Accessories like the $55 Turbo module, a steering wheel, gas pedal,
and gear shift used to play a road racing game, can be plugged into
the console. The company's $60 Atari adapter enables ColecoVision to
play Atari VCS-compatible cartridges. Atari doesn't approve - it's
suing Coleco for $850 million, charging patent infringement - but game
addicts do. Coleco sold 150,000 Atari adapters in just two months.
Coleco's latest add-on, the Super Game module, was shown at last
week's American Toy Fair. It adds more memory to ColecoVision and
provides additional play variations.";
";Coleco's software approach was to go after licensed arcade games and
to make cartridges for Atari's VCS and Intellivision in addition to
it's own game player. Although Coleco hadn't built a single
ColecoVision when it was negotiating licensees in 1981, the licensers
liked Coleco's plan to make products for all three leading game systems.
Coleco reached agreements with five firms, landing nine hit arcade
licensees. Last year the company sold eight million cartridges.";
";Flush with last year's successful foray in video games, Arnold Greenberg
predicts even more good news is on the way. ";We are a terror in the
marketplace,"; he boasts. Greenberg proclaims that Coleco will increase
it's market share in video game players this year from 8% to 25%,
supplanting Mattel as No. 2.";
";Achieving such lofty goals may be difficult. Coleco last year paid
only $250,000 for the rights to Donkey Kong, but Atari later had to pay
an estimated $21 million to license E.T. for it's coin-operated and
home video games. Late last year Coleco reached an agreement with the
game maker Centuri for licenses to three arcade games: Phoenix,
Vanguard, and Challenger. Then just before the contract was to be
signed, Atari won the license by making a higher offer. Parker
Brothers also outbid Coleco for the Popeye license. ";Coleco's position
is still not assured,"; says Barbara S. Isgur, a security analyst at Paine
Webber. ";They were helped last year by the phenomenal success of Donkey
Kong. What will they do for an encore?";
";Arnold Greenberg remains optimistic. He notes that Coleco has already
signed license agreements to bring out 30 new games by year-end. In
January, Coleco made CBS the principal foreign distributor for it's
products. In return Coleco will begin developing and marketing for
ColecoVision home video cartridges licensed by CBS from Bally, a major
arcade game maker.";
Unfortunately, the ColecoVision suffered the same fate as the rest in
the great video game shake-out of 1984. Coleco's unsuccessful bug-ridden
ADAM computer only complicated the problem. Some believe if it wasn't
for Coleco's Cabbage Patch dolls, they would have completely disappeared.
Even the Cabbage Patch dolls couldn't keep Coleco going forever, though;
the company went under for good a few years later. Ironically, Mattel
(the producers of Intellivision) now own the rights to the Cabbage Patch
dolls.
Coleco stopped production of the ColecoVision in 1984. Their last few
titles (Illusions, Spy Hunter, Telly Turtle, and Root Beer Tapper) were
barely seen in stores. Soon after that, Telegames bought much of
Coleco's stock and even produced a few titles of their own that didn't
reach the shelves before the shake-out. As recently as 1991 a mail
order electronics store was known to sell ColecoVision motherboards
and joysticks.
When Coleco left the industry they had sold more than 6 million
ColecoVisions in just two years, even with the last year being troubled
by the shake-out. Many in the industry believe if it wasn't for the
videogame crash of '84, that Coleco could have gone through the 80's as
the system of choice, especially with its proposed Super Game Module. It
was clearly beating Atari and Mattel, but just didn't have the installed
base to last out the crash.
Timeline
--------
Aug 1982 - ColecoVision released
1982 - Expansion Module #1: Atari 2600 Converter released
1982 - Module #2, Driving Controller released
Feb 1983 - Super Game Module announced
1983 - Super Game Module demoed (non-playable) at New York Toy Show
May 1983 - Advertising of the Super Game Module starts; runs through July
Jun 1983 - ADAM computer introduced
Aug 1983 - Super Game Module schedule to go on sale
Oct 1983 - Super Game Module dropped
Fall 1983 - ColecoVision Roller Controller released
1983 - ColecoVision Super Action Controllers released
Winter 1983 - The video game market begins to crash
Spring 1984 - The video game industry collapses. All production stops.
Jan 1985 - Coleco drops the ADAM computer
1985 - Telegames picks up where Coleco left off, putting out new titles
Dec 1985 - Nintendo NES is test-marketed in New York City
1988 - Telegames releases the ";Personal Arcade"; ColecoVision clone.
- JH, JC, 03, 07, 10, 13, 14, 25, & 50
2.0) ColecoVision and ADAM Specs
ColecoVision:
Resolution: 256 x 192
CPU: Z-80A
Bits: 8
Speed: 3.58 MHz
RAM: 8K
Video RAM: 16K (8x4116)
Video Display Processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
Sprites: 32
Colors: 16
Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN; 3 tone channels, 1 noise
Cartridge ROM: 8K/16K/24K/32K
ADAM:
Resolution: 256 x 192
CPU: Z-80A
Bits: 8
Speed: 3.58 MHz
Video Speed: 10.7 MHz
RAM: 64K (128K optional)
Video RAM: 16K (8x4116)
ROM: 8K
Video Display Processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
Sprites: 32
Colors: 16
Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN; 3 tone channels, 1 noise
Cartridge ROM: 8K/16K/24K/32K
Disk Drives: 2 * 160K (opt)
Digital Data Drives: 2 * 256K
Modem: 300 Baud (opt)
Printer: 120 wpm Daisy Wheel, 16K buffer
Other: Serial/Parallel Port (opt), Auto Dialer (opt)
What really distinguished the ColecoVision from other systems of the era
was its 32 sprite capability. It made it easier to design sprite intensive
games like Slither.
Scrolling on the Coleco was sort of chunky because they did not have special
hardware for scrolling like the Atari units did - but some games (notably
Jungle Hunt and Defender) _do_ manage to scroll well, so there was a
software workaround of some kind.
All Coleco cartridges, and many third party titles, incorporated a
patience-testing twelve second delay before the game select screen showed
up. One story commonly cited (and apparently mentioned in Electronic
Games magazine at the time) is the following: before ColecoVision reached
the marketplace, Coleco invested heavily in advertising for the system,
building up significant demand. The problem was software support. Few
programmers knew the ColecoVision's quirky assembly language, and there
wasn't time to train more. So the engineers at Coleco designed an emulator
that allowed progammers to code in a far more common and well known
language, Pascal. Coleco then hired programmers familiar with Pascal to
design software for the ColecoVision, and thus were able to provide
software to meet the demand. The only problem with the scheme was the
twelve second delay the emulator caused while starting up.
As good a story as this makes, it's incorrect. The real reason behind
the twelve second delay is a loop in the ColecoVision BIOS - the delay
was purely intentional. The way companies such as Parker Brothers,
Activision, and Micro Fun avoided the delay was to simply bypass the
ColecoVision BIOS. - JC, 08, 10, 12, 27, 29
3.0) Hardware List
Key:
Manufacturer -
AM) Amiga
CB) CBS Electronics
CE) Championship Electronics
CO) Coleco
HS) High Score
PP) Personal Peripherals
PS) Pusher Sales
SU) Suncom
SV) Spectravideo
TG) Telegames
VP) Video Product Sales
WI) Wico
3.1) Hardware known to exist
Name Manuf. Number Comes With...
================================================================================
Champ Adapter CE CA-340
CBS ColecoVision CB Donkey Kong
ColecoVision CO Donkey Kong
Co-Stickler PS
Dust Cover CO
EVE Voice Module ??
Expansion Module #1 (2600 Adapter) CO 2405
Expansion Module #1 Adapter CO
Expansion Module #2 (Driving Controller) CO 2413 Turbo
Expansion Module #3 (ADAM Computer) CO Buck Rogers
Grabber Balls HS
Injoy-A-Stick VP
Joy Sensor SU
Joystick, ColecoVision WI
Perma Power Battery Eliminator/AC Adapter CO 2298
Personal Arcade TG Meteoric Shower
Power Stick AM
Quickshot III Deluxe SV SV103
Roller Controller CO 2492 Slither
Snapper SU CLC-006
SpliceVision ??
Super Action Controllers CO 2491 Super Action Baseball
Super Sketch Pad PP G2500 Sketch Master
3.2) Hardware believed -not- to exist
Expansion Module #3 (Super Game Module - wafer version) by Coleco.
With 30K RAM and 128K ";microwafers"; shaped like miniature diskettes. The
games were to have intermissions, high-score lists, and extra levels.
It was to be packaged with Super Donkey Kong; later, that was changed
to Super Buck Rogers and Super Gorf. It could have been an excellent
addition to the ColecoVision system allowing you to play your old carts
and the new Super Games, but Coleco decided to turn it into the ADAM
computer. - JC, 25
Kevin Slywka submits the following:
The following is a quote from the article, One million A.C.(after
ColecoVision) Brown, Michael William; Electronic Fun: Computers and
Games; June 1983
-Note: The article contains several screen shots and a what appears to be
a mock up of the Super Game and several game wafers.
";...the Super Games are stored on mini-cassettes (which are about
the length and width of a business card) called Super Game Wafers...
the module has a magnetic micro-tape drive mechanism behind a slot in
the front left panel. Inside the wafers is approximately 50 feet of
specially formulated magnetic tape about an eighth of an inch wide.";
(Brown p41)
Brown claims to have played the system for 8 hours over two different
days. Load time for the wafers is clocked at about 10 seconds. Super
Games Brown tested: Super Donkey Kong, Super Donkey Kong Jr., Super
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle. Brown further notes better colors
and additional levels in all three games. Planned titles included:
Zaxxon, Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom, Time Pilot, Turbo and Sub-Roc.
Brown also notes the ability to enter your initials for high score,
which is then stored on the tape.
In Video Games Magazine(Feb.'84) an article on the Texas Instruments
Compact Computer 40(a peripheral for the TI 99/4A) mentions the tape
wafers meant for the Super Games: ";...this system uses the Entrepo
floppy wafer system that is in use elsewhere, and was almost part
of Coleco's Super Game Module and ADAM.";
The Super Game Module appeared to not have a realistic chance of
success at Coleco Industries. In an interview of Coleco president,
Arnold Greenberg, by Steve Bloom (Video Games, Oct. '82) Bloom
paraphrases Greenberg as saying, ";...it is Colecos resolve to market
a keyboard (Module #3) some time next year."; In Electronic Games
(Jan. '83): Test Lab (Cohen, Henry B.) writes that, ";...Coleco is
working on a keyboard and Ram Cram for ColecoVision which should
turn the system into a full-scale, high powered home computer system.";
Clearly Coleco intended to develop a ADAM-like computer all along,
but the question remains as to why they decided to develop the Super
system in the first place. If the Super module had been released it
likely would have insured Colecos success for at least a while longer.
Although given the cynicism of magazine writers and consumers after
the Super Module failed to appear it is uncertain if it would have
been enough to save Coleco from its eventual fate.
Description of the pictures in the Electronic Fun magazine article(kws):
The module shown appears to be the real thing(although almost
certainly a mock-up) with a slot for the super tape wafers on the left
side of the module(even a small slot that corresponds to the door on the
super wafer can be seen). A small LED is near the super wafer door,
probably to indicate a read\write or power light. The ";Expansion Module
Interface"; is on the lower right of the module. The top of the unit has
the ColecoVision face-plate and a reset button on the far right.
Below the module three wafers are shown: They have the appearance
of micro-cassettes, they are all black and appear to have a door on
the left rear of the wafer. Super Donkey Kong, Super Donkey Kong
Junior, and Super Smurf (in fine print: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle) are
represented. There is a game package which bears a striking resemblance
to a CD jewel case(although it appears to be made of vinyl) has Buck
Rogers Planet of Doom on the cover. The by-line on the case states:
";For use with ColecoVision Expansion Module #3";
";AN ADVANCED VIDEO GAME THAT";
";PLAYS ALL SCREENS INCLUDING";
";BEST SCORES AND INITIALS!";
The vinyl game case carries a part number of ";#2645"; - 25
Expansion Module #3 (Super Game Module - CED version) by Coleco.
A second Super Game module was also rumored. It used a format called
CED, using video records - vinyl records with much finer grooves,
stored in cases so as to avoid contact save by the needle of the system.
In an interview with Ralph Baer, who worked on this system, he said it
was really zippy and in some respects better than CDROM. - 11, 34
CED stands for Capacitance Electronic Disk system, and was pioneered
by RCA. RCA used this technology in all of there CED video disk players,
which competed with the Laserdisc format until 1985 when RCA discontinued
all of its players. Coleco chose the CED format because RCA could create
a computer controllable random access machine that was very affordable.
The Coleco CED system would have come with two major components: the Coleco
";controller"; Module (#3) that plugs into the front of the system, and
the RCA/COLECO CED player that connected to the Module and the T.V. set.
Reportedly the price would be around $395-$495 for a complete set-up.
Interestingly, the Coleco CED system would still play all of RCA's
movie and music video disks, which was a big selling point for RCA.
So you would have a Video Quality arcade system, and movie player - all
in one.
From Video Games and Computer Entertainment, June 1991:
'Talk of the future reminds Baer of the aborted, ahead-of-its-time
project he launched in 1982. The ideal interface, the ColecoVision
video game console and an RCA CED player. ";Things advanced to the
point that RCA actually made a few CED peripherals. Then along came
the ADAM computer and ended it all. What I'd like to see is not
going to happen."; He'd like to see CED revived, instead of the
industry going to CD. He worries that CD will fail to deliver the
full-motion video that people expect.' - 12
ColecoVision (THE ORIGINAL VERSION) by Coleco.
Remember seeing the first ";glimpses"; of the ColecoVision system in
Electronic Games magazine? The first pictures of the system showed
a much more attractive looking system than what we got as a final
product. The system itself had a white faceplate where the ColecoVision
logo appears now and the controllers were very different. They had blue
side buttons, orange pound and star keys on the keypad, and the finger
rollers that were later introduced on the Super Controllers.
The finger rollers, which were to have been located between the keypad
and joystick, were supposed to be available for use as either speed
controllers, or as a paddle controller. They were dropped at the last
minute, though if you open up a controller you can see the schematic for
it on the circuit board. - 07
The finger rollers shown in Daniel Cohen's book ";Video Games";, page 57,
are located beneath the keypad. - 24
Intellivision Adapter by Coleco.
Coleco had plans for an adapter that would play Intellivision cartridges.
Supposedly there are several working prototypes of this adapter that were
shown at electronic shows. If Coleco would have only gone through with
production, the ColecoVision would have been able to play Intellivision,
2600, and ColecoVision cartridges! - JC
Modem by AT&T/Coleco.
Not to be confused with the ADAM modem, which does exist.
An article in Newsweek, September 19, 1983, on page 69 announced the
following:
'American Telephone and Telegraph Co. and Donkey Kong? An unlikely
combination, perhaps, but one that became a reality last week when the
venerable communications giant hooked up with Coleco Industries, the
videogame maker, in a join effort to make entertainment software
available by telephone to 25 million owners of video games and home
computers.'
'Under the plan, AT&T and Coleco will develop a ";modem";, an electronic
device that will connect a home computer or video game by telephone to
a central data base. Coleco will supply the software programs, such
as Donkey Kong or two of its other popular video games, Smurf and
Zaxxon. The service will be offered sometime next year for about $20
a month; the modem is expected to cost $100.' - 13
Sensory Grip Controller by Coleco.
The Super Action Controllers were supposed to have a sensory feature,
so that when (for example) Rocky threw a punch in Super Action Boxing,
you would feel it in the handle. - 13
3.3) Review of the Telegames Personal Arcade by James Carter
INTRODUCTION:
TELEGAMES produces and sells a ColecoVision compatible system called the
";Personal Arcade";. The Personal Arcade was originally produced several
years after Coleco stopped production of the ColecoVision. It's very small
(12";x5";x1";), white, and comes with Nintendo-like gamepads. It uses a normal
sized power supply (6' cord) which is less than 1/2 the size of the
ColecoVision's ridiculously bulky one. It also comes with a game/TV
switchbox (10' cord) like the ColecoVision. It also contains two separate
expansion ports that were never taken advantage of.
COMPATIBILITY:
The ads and box say ";Compatible with over 100 ColecoVision cartridges";.
TELEGAMES operators claim that it is compatible with 95% of all the
ColecoVision cartridges, but won't provide a list of which ones it won't
work with. So far I've come up with 10 after testing it on 65 cartridges.
Actually, *all* the cartridges work, it's just that the ";Personal Arcade";
uses different joystick wiring and any cartridge made specifically for
the Super Action Controllers, Driving Module, or the Roller Controller
will be unplayable, among others. In fact, regular ColecoVision or Atari
compatible joysticks cannot be used on the Personal Arcade either.
GAMEPADS:
The gamepads are 1 3/4"; x 4 3/4"; and nicely fit into the sides of the
unit. The cables are 3 feet long and stiffer than normal. A personal
grudge is the fact that the cables attach to the side of the gamepad
instead of the rear, making it harder to comfortably grasp. They are
also slightly too small and cheaply made in my opinion.
KEYPAD:
A single keypad is built into the unit and the buttons are a smaller
3/8"; square, compared to the 5/8"; square of the normal ColecoVision
controller. It is made of a thin membrane that works with the slightest
touch. The keypad has no frame like on the ColecoVision controller.
It looks like the following:
1 2 3 4 5 *
6 7 8 9 0 #
This changed keypad size and format means overlays cannot be used. It
also means it is very difficult to play keypad intensive games where
quick reflexes are needed. Now you must take your hand off the gamepad,
and look down to press the right key, instead of the ColecoVision
joystick where you just move your thumb without looking.
NON-COMPATIBLE LIST:
The following are unplayable on the Personal Arcade due to controller problems:
Fortune Builder (needs 2 separate keypads in 2-player head-to-head mode)
Front Line (Super Action Controller game)
Rocky Super Action Boxing (Super Action Controller game)
Slither (Roller Controller game)
Super Action Baseball (Super Action Controller game)
Super Action Football (Super Action Controller game)
Super Action Soccer (Super Action Controller game)
Super Cobra (2nd button ";bomb"; doesn't work)
Turbo (Driving Module Game)
Victory (Roller Controller game)
KEYPAD INTENSIVE LIST:
The following do work perfectly on the Personal Arcade, but are difficult
to play because of the need for very quick keypad presses:
Aquattack
Blockade Runner
Mouse Trap
Spy Hunter
War Games
BUILT IN GAME:
The Personal Arcade comes with a built-in game called ";Meteoric Shower";.
A decent shoot'em up game in which you have a ship in the middle of the
screen and you shoot waves of enemy ships that attack from above and below.
DISPLAY:
The Personal Arcade removes the famous multi-colored ";ColecoVision";
opening screen from all of Coleco's cartridges, replacing it with a green
background and Japanese writing, with the words ";1986 BIT CORPORATION";.
Other publisher's opening screens are unaffected.
FINAL THOUGHTS
PROS:
The best thing the personal arcade has going for it is the price. Only
$39.95 for a brand new system, with a decent built in game, and you get
to choose 1 brand new cartridge ($19.95 or less, about 40 to choose from)
also. If you prefer gamepads, then that is a plus also. The smallness
of the system makes it much easier to store and move around.
CONS:
If you have a perfectly working ColecoVision there is really no reason
to buy the Personal arcade, unless you want a back-up system. (...or you
have a burning desire to play Meteoric Shower. - JH) The gamepads are
less than desired, and no other joysticks can be used in their place.
The fact that you can't use Super Action or Roller Controller games
(not to mention others) is a big thumbs down for those that already
invested in those controllers and cartridges. The keypad on the system
may be great for choosing levels, but is a pain to use keypad intensive
games.
NOTE: Telegames lost all of their Personal Arcade stock to a tornado
in April, 1994.
3.4) Hardware Tidbits
Atari Touch Pad / Children's Controller / Star Raiders Controller -
The following buttons and/or combinations of buttons correspond to
various inputs on the ColecoVision:
DESIRED PRESS THIS ON
COLECO KEY ATARI TOUCH PAD
-----------------------------------------------
1 * position
2 7 position
3 1 + * + 7. The 7 may not be necessary.
4 1 + 4 + 7 + *.
5 4 + 7.
6 1
7
8
9
* 4 + *
0 1 + 4
# 1 + 7
Left button
Right button 1 + 3, or 4 + 6, or 7 + 9, or * + #. - 20
CBS ColecoVision -
Looks and operates just like my 'standard' ColecoVisions, but the
metallic faceplates are different. On top, it says ";1 / 0"; instead of
";Off / On";, and the front plate reads:
________________________________________________________________________
CBS Coleco Video Game/Home Computer System [expansion slot] CBS
Vision
Electronics
________________________________________________________________________
CBS Electronics bought out the Coleco rights when Coleco bit the bullet.
They marketed mostly in Europe. You can find most if not all of the Coleco
games with a CBS label. They are all or mostly all PAL games. However,
since the ColecoVision doesn't care, it doesn't matter. Plug them in and
they play like NTSC! - 20, 22
CBS ColecoVision - France -
The front plate for the French ColecoVision reads:
________________________________________________________________________
CBS Coleco Ordinateur de jeuz Multi-Services [expansion slot] CBS
Vision
Electronics
________________________________________________________________________
In France, the Coleco system was introduced as a Micro-Computer, and
remained in stores until 1985. The ADAM was very lightly marketed in
France. - 61
Champ Adapter -
A near exact duplicate of the Coleco Keypad, minus the upper half that
contains the joystick. Instead it has a 9-pin slot so you can plug
in your favorite joystick and still have use of the keypad. It also
can double as a joystick extension cable since the Champ Adapter cable
is 6' long. - JC
Co-Stickler -
Plastic ";snap"; on joysticks for the standard ColecoVision
controllers. - JH
EVE Voice Module -
A seperate white box which plugged in to the expansion port on the
ADAM. - 60
Expansion Module #1 -
The following Atari 2600 cartridges are incompatible with the 2600
Adapter:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre - JH
Most Tigervision titles - 19 (but Miner 2049'er works - JH)
All Supercharger games - 19 (will work, but only if cover of
expansion module has been removed) - 26
Expansion Module #1 Adapter -
This device plugs into Expansion Module #1 (2600 Adapter) to allow
some Atari 2600 cartridges which have compatibility problems to be
played. Supposedly it was only sent through the mail to those
customers who called Coleco with complaints of 2600 cartridge
problems. - JC
Expansion Module #2 -
The driving controller can be used to play Victory, which officially
requires the Roller Controller. - 46
Grabber Balls -
They're red balls of a stick that snap on the ColecoVision controller,
making it more arcade-style. Work *fantastic* when locked into the
Roller Controller, and played with Robotron on the 7800. - JC
Injoy-A-Stick -
Replacements for the standard ColecoVision knob joysticks, which
are considerably longer. - 63
Joy Sensor -
A lot like an Intellivision II controler. Has a membrane kepad area
and a membrane joystick, plus what appear to be rapid fire controls
that might be variable. Well made. - 41
Perma Power Battery Eliminator/AC Adapter -
Replaces the batteries in Expansion Module #2 (Driving Controller) - JC
This is a _weird_ device. Since the only way to power the unit is with
batteries (there's no alternate for a power source, so the connection
is required), the ";Battery Eliminator"; is shaped like batteries. - JH
Power Stick -
A great joystick for non-keypad, one button games. Having the keypad
and second button above the joystick makes it awkward for those games,
though. - JH
Roller Controller -
To use the Roller Controller on a game which doesn't require its use
(such as Centipede or Omega Rage), leave the Joystick/Roller switch
in the Joystick position. - JH
Driving Module games can be played with the Roller Controller by
doing the following:
1) Switch the setting to ";Joystick";.
2) Choose the game you wish to play.
3) Switch the setting to ";Roller Controller";.
4) Go. The leftmost button acts as the accelerator.
Direction can be changed using the joystick in some as-yet
undetermined manner. - 24
You can get very strange behavior by using the roller controller
for joystick games? Try wiggling it around while playing Smurf
and you can move above or under the proper ";ground"; area
so that none of the enemies can kill you! - 14
Snapper -
Joystick height extenders which snap onto the joysticks. Of limited
usefullness, as they come off easily. - 63
SpliceVision
An apparently unauthorized ColecoVision knock-off released in Brazil. - 64
Super Sketch Pad -
Came in a box with a black background and a horizontal rainbow across
the top, marked ";Super Sketch";. In addition to the ColecoVision
version, there were Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, & TI 99/4A models.
The ColecoVision version has a silver sticker on the top right corner
that says Model G2500 For Use with Colecovision. The Sketch Unit
itself is white with a brown plastic piece used for the drawing. One
of the strangest things about it is that it does not plug into the
joystick port. The cable is attached directly to the right side of
the cartridge. The cartridge label is mostly silver with Super
Sketch with the horizontal rainbow with it.
The sketch unit it has 5 controls. Two ";Lift"; buttons, one on each
side, allow drawing to be turned off. ";Select"; allows selection of
colors and menu items on the left side of the screen; ";Menu"; brings
the menu up and/or removes it.
The program itself say Super Sketch while fluctuating through different
colors upon power-up. Just below that it says:
Copyright 1984 Personal Peripherals, Inc.
Irving,Texas
By: Steve Roubik
Press MENU to proceed.
The program really is nothing more than a doodle program. Menu
options are:
Clear
Swap
Expert
Brush
(The 16 Colors)
Eraser
Draw
Fill
Show
It comes with a large white envelope that says Super Sketch starter
kit. Inside is the owners manual, quick reference card, 6 drawings
to trace with, and a warranty card. - 42
Telegames Personal Arcade -
The Personal Arcades were originally made by the Bit Corporation, and
marked as DINA units with a second cartridge slot for some unknown
purpose. - 30
The joypads that come with the Personal Arcade are 2600 compatible;
they also have an irksome quirk for anyone used to the ColecoVision:
they're reversed (i.e. right is left, left is right).
Besides the games listed above, Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle is
incompatible with some Personal Arcades, and the 2600 Adapter will
not work due to power and RF cable positioning.
The pause switch is incompatible with ColecoVision cartridges, so
it is apparently used by cartridges which go in the second slot. - 14, 52
At least two different version of the Personal Arcade (with different
power supplies) exist. - JH
4.0) Cartridge List
Key:
Name -
(d) Demo
(p) Prototype
(C) End label notes the cart is for ColecoVision
(CA) End label notes the cart is for ColecoVision and ADAM
(C/CA) Both end label varieties are available
(S) Came with Silver and Blue SierraVision label
(W) Came with White SierraVision label
(S/W) Both SierraVision label varieties are available
Manufacturer -
20) 20th Century
AC) Activision
AT) AtariSoft
BC) Bit Corp.
BR) Broderbund
CB) CBS
CO) Coleco
CV) ColecoVision Reverse-engineering Society
EP) Epyx
FP) Fisher Price
FS) First Star
IM) Imagic
IN) Interphase
KO) Konami
MA) Mattel
MF) Micro Fun
OD) Odyssey
PB) Parker Brothers
PP) Personal Peripherals
PR) Probe 2000
SE) Sega
SI) SierraVision
SP) Spinnaker
ST) Starpath
SU) Sunrise
SV) Spectravideo
SY) Sydney
TG) Telegames
TI) Tigervision
XO) Xonox
Yr - Year of Release
Number - Part Number
Cn (controller) -
C) Standard ColecoVision Controller _only_
D) Driving Controller
Do) Driving Controller (optional)
P) Super Sketch Pad (Personal Peripherals)
R) Roller Controller
Ro) Roller Controller (optional)
S) Super Action Controllers -only-
So) Super Action Controller (optional)
The default is Standard Coleco -or- Super Action Controller.
K (memory, in kilobytes) -
8) 8KB ROM
16) 16KB ROM
24) 24KB ROM
32) 32KB ROM
O (overlay) -
X) Overlay Exists for Standard Controller
Y) Overlay Exists for Super Action Controller
Z) Overlay Exists for Standard Controller _and_ Super Action
Controller
R? (rarity) -
C) Common
U) Uncommon
R) Rare
ER) Extremely Rare
UR) Unbelievably Rare
NA) Not Available
Rating -
1) Awful
2) Poor
3) OK
4) Good
5) Very Good
N/A) Not Applicable
Format: Rating/# of people rating.
For example, 3.3/4 would mean 4 people had rated the
cartridge, with an average rating of 3.3.
Type -
Adv - Adventure Game
Avoid - Shot Avoidance Game
Card - Card Game
Chase - Chase Game
Defend - Defensive Shoot 'em Up Game (i.e., you can only shoot shots)
Demo - Demonstration Cartridge
Drive - Driving Game
Educ - Educational Game
Ladder - Games Which Require Climbing to an Objective
Maze - Maze Game
Misc - A Combination of Various Game Types
Pinbll - Pinball Game
Pool - Pool Game
Puzzle - Puzzle Game
Round - Collect Items Game
Shoot - Shoot 'em Up Game
Split - Split & Recombine Game
Sport - Sports Game
Strat - Strategy Game
Test - Test Cartridge
Text - Text Adventure
Note - Telegames owns the rights to manufacture many ColecoVision cartridges,
and still does so. As a result, many games listed below are also available
from Telegames in assorted cases (many reused) with varied labels. Games
listed below for Telegames are either (1) only available from Telegames, (2)
only available from Telegames and Bit Corp, or (3) are marketed by Telegames
under a different name.
Note - CBS produced games for Coleco for European release. As a result, many
Coleco titles listed below are also available from CBS in PAL format. Games
listed below for CBS are those marketed by CBS under a different name.
Note - CBS also produced many ";prototype"; games in Europe. These cartridges
have been packaged and sold in many places; on the list below, prototypes
produced in quantity by CBS are marked (p - CBS).
4.1) Carts known to exist
Name Manuf. Yr Number Cn K O R? Rating Type
================================================================================
2010: The Graphic Action CO 84 2618 32 X R 3.8/5 Puzzle
Game (CA)
A.E. (p) CO UR Shoot
ADAM Demo Cartridge (d) CO UR Demo
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress TG TC-201 32 R 4.0/1 Adv
Alphabet Zoo SP 83 ABC-CV 16 R 3.0/2 Educ
Amazing Bumpman TG 16 R 2.0/1 Educ
Antarctic Adventure (CA) CO 84 2429 16 U 4.0/4 Drive
Aquattack IN 84 2-004 16 ER 3.0/1 Shoot
Artillery Duel XO 83 99022 16 R 4.5/4 Strat
Artillery Duel/Chuck Norris XO 83 6233 16/16 UR N/A
Superkicks (double-end)
B.C.'s Quest for Tires (S) SI 83 OTL-902 16 U 4.0/7 Adv
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: CO 84 2620 24 R 3.5/4 Adv
Grog's Revenge (CA)
Beamrider AC 83 VS-003 16 U 4.6/5 Shoot
Blockade Runner IN 84 2-002 16 R 2.5/4 Shoot
Boulder Dash TG TC203 16 ER Ladder
Brainstrainers (CA) CO 2696 16 R 2.0/2 Educ
Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom (CA) CO 83 2615 24 C 2.8/4 Shoot
Bump 'n' Jump (CA) CO 84 2440 Do 24 U 3.4/5 Drive
Bump 'n' Jump (p) MA 7575 16 UR Drive
BurgerTime (CA) CO 84 2430 16 U 4.0/6 Ladder
BurgerTime (p) MA 7514 UR Ladder
Cabbage Patch Kids CO 84 2682 16 U 3.0/5 Adv
Adventure in the Park (CA)
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure CO 16 UR Adv
in the Park (p)
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture CO 84 2600 32 X R 2.0/3 Educ
Show (CA)
Campaign '84 SU 83 1604 16 ER 3.3/3 Strat
Carnival (C) CO 82 2445 16 C 3.3/7 Shoot
Centipede AT 83 70004 Ro 16 C 4.1/7 Shoot
Choplifter! (CA) CO 84 2690 16 ER 3.8/4 Shoot
Chuck Norris Superkicks XO 83 16 R 2.5/2 Adv
Congo Bongo (CA) CO 84 2669 24 U 3.4/5 Ladder
Cosmic Avenger (C) CO 82 2434 16 C 2.9/10 Shoot
Cosmic Crisis BC PG901 16 UR Maze
Cosmic Crisis TG 16 R Maze
Dam Busters, The (CA) CO 84 2686 32 X R 2.0/3 Shoot
Dance Fantasy FP DCF-CV 16 ER 2.0/1 Educ
Decathlon AC 83 VS-006 16 U 3.5/6 Sport
Defender AT 83 70002 24 U 3.5/8 Shoot
Destructor (CA) CO 83 2602 D 32 U 2.7/7 Shoot
Dig Dug (p) AT UR 3.0/1 Maze
Dr. Seuss: Fix-Up the Mix-Up CO 84 2699 16 X R 3.0/3 Puzzle
Puzzler (CA)
Donkey Kong (C/CA) CO 82 2411 C 3.5/11 Ladder
Donkey Kong Junior (C) CO 83 2601 16 C 4.1/9 Ladder
Dragonfire IM O6611 16 R 3.0/1 Adv
Dukes of Hazzard (CA) CO 84 2607 D 32 R 2.0/3 Drive
Escape From the Mindmaster (p) EP 83 6200 UR
Evolution (CA) SY 83 16 R 4.0/2 Misc
Facemaker SP FMK-CV 16 X R 1.0/2 Educ
Fall Guy (p - CBS) 20 Do 16 UR Drive
Fathom IM O6205 16 R 3.0/1 Adv
Final Test Cartridge CO 16 UR 2.0/1 Demo
Flipper Slipper SV SE291 16 R 2.0/1 Pinbll
Flying Brassieres (p) AT UR Shoot
Fortune Builder (CA) CO 84 2681 32 X R 4.3/4 Strat
Fraction Fever SP 83 FRF-CV 16 R 2.3/3 Educ
Frantic Freddie SV SE232 16 R 3.0/1 Ladder
Frenzy (CA) CO 84 2613 24 U 4.3/6 Shoot
Frogger PB 83 9830 16 U 4.0/4 Ladder
Frogger II Threedeep! PB 84 9990 16 R 2.8/5 Ladder
Front Line (CA) CO 83 2650 S 24 Y U 2.8/5 Shoot
Galaxian AT 83 70006 32 ER 4.5/2 Shoot
Gateway to Apshai EP 84 610R 16 R 3.4/5 Adv
Gorf (C) CO 83 2449 16 C 3.5/11 Shoot
Gust Buster SU 1601 16 ER 2.0/2 Adv
Gyruss PB 84 9980 16 R 4.2/6 Shoot
H.E.R.O. AC VS-005 16 U 5.0/5 Shoot
Heist, The MF 83 MCL520 24 U 3.5/4 Chase
Illusions (CA) CO 84 2621 16 R 3.3/3 Split
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll XO 99062 16 ER 1.0/2 Text
James Bond 007 PB 83 9900 16 R 3.0/3 Adv
Joust (p) AT UR 4.0/1 Shoot
Juke Box SP JUK-CV 16 R 3.0/2 Puzzle
Jumpman Junior EP 590R 16 U 4.5/6 Ladder
Jungle Hunt AT 70007 24 ER 3.7/3 Adv
Ken Uston Blackjack / Poker (C) CO 82 2439 X C 2.7/7 Card
Kevtris CV 96 ER 5.0/1 Puzzle
Keystone Kapers AC 84 VS-004 16 R 2.7/3 Chase
Kung Fu Superkicks TG 83 16 R 3.0/1 Adv
Lady Bug (C) CO 82 2433 16 C 4.0/10 Maze
Learning with Leeper (S/W) SI LLL-901 16 R 2.5/2 Educ
Linking Logic FP 84 LNL-CV 16 ER 5.0/2 Educ
Logic Levels FP LLV-CV 16 ER 5.0/1 Educ
Looping (C) CO 83 2603 16 C 3.0/9 Shoot
M*A*S*H (p - CBS) 20 16 UR Avoid
Make-A-Face SP 16 X UR 1.0/2 Educ
Masters of the Universe: The MA 84 7759 UR
Power of He-Man (p)
Masters of the Universe II (p) MA 84 UR
Memory Manor FP MEM-CV 16 ER 3.0/1 Educ
Meteoric Shower BC 86 16 NA 2.7/3 Shoot
Miner 2049er MF 83 MCL521 24 C 3.9/7 Ladder
Mr. Do! (C/CA) CO 83 2622 24 C 3.9/10 Maze
Mr. Do!'s Castle PB A9820 16 R 4.5/4 Ladder
Monkey Academy (CA) CO 84 2694 32 R 3.3/3 Educ
Montezuma's Revenge PB 84 9660 16 U 4.3/6 Ladder
Moon Patrol (p) AT UR Shoot
Moonsweeper IM 83 O6207 16 U 3.8/4 Shoot
Motocross Racer XO 99026 16 ER 3.0/3 Drive
Motocross Racer/Tomarc the XO 83 16/16 UR N/A
Barbarian (double-end)
Mountain King SU 84 1605 16 ER 3.3/3 Ladder
Mouse Trap (C) CO 82 2419 16 X C 3.6/10 Maze
Music Box Demo (d) CO 32 UR Demo
Nova Blast IM 83 O6607 32 U 3.5/4 Shoot
Oil's Well (S) SI 83 OWL-901 16 R 3.8/4 Maze
Omega Race (CA) CO 83 2448 Ro 16 C 3.8/9 Shoot
One-On-One MF 84 24 R 3.0/1 Sport
Pac-Man (p) AT 83 70001 UR 5.0/1 Maze
Pepper II (C/CA) CO 83 2605 16 C 3.4/8 Maze
Pitfall! AC 83 VS-001 16 U 3.2/5 Adv
Pitfall II AC 84 VS-008 16 U 3.5/2 Adv
Pitstop EP 83 600R Do 16 U 3.0/6 Drive
Popeye PB 83 9810 16 C 3.3/10 Adv
Porky's (p) 20 UR
Power Grabber (p) SY UR
Q*Bert PB 83 9800 8 C 4.2/10 Maze
Q*Bert's Qubes PB 9950 16 ER 5.0/3 Puzzle
Quest for Quintana Roo SU 83 1603 16 R 3.7/3 Adv
River Raid AC 84 VS-002 16 U 3.4/5 Shoot
Robin Hood XO 83 99023 16 R 3.7/3 Adv
Robin Hood/Sir Lancelot XO 83 16/16 UR N/A
(double-end)
Roc 'n Rope (CA) CO 84 2668 24 U 3.6/5 Ladder
Rock 'n' Bolt TG TC-202 16 R 5.0/1 Puzzle
Rocky Super Action Boxing (CA) CO 83 2606 S 24 Y C 3.3/6 Sport
Rolloverture SU 1602 16 ER 3.0/1 Puzzle
Root Beer Tapper (CA) CO 84 2616 32 R 3.7/6 Shoot
Sammy Lightfoot (S) SI SLL-901 16 ER 3.0/2 Ladder
Schtroumpfs CB 4L1939 16 ER 3.1/9 Adv
Sector Alpha SV SE220 24 ER 2.5/2 Shoot
Sewer Sam IN 84 2-001 24 ER 3.2/5 Shoot
Sir Lancelot XO 83 99024 16 ER 3.0/2 Adv
Sketch Master PP G2500 P UR 4.0/1 Educ
Skiing TG 16 ER Sport
Slither (CA) CO 83 2492 R 16 C 4.2/9 Shoot
Slurpy XO 99061 16 ER 2.5/2 Shoot
Smurf Paint 'n' Play CO 84 2697 32 X R 2.0/3 Educ
Workshop (CA)
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's CO 82 2443 16 C 3.1/9 Adv
Castle (C)
Space Fury (C) CO 82 2415 16 C 2.7/7 Shoot
Space Panic (C) CO 82 2447 16 C 2.6/8 Ladder
Spectron SV 83 SE234 16 R 3.5/2 Shoot
Spy Hunter (CA) CO 84 2617 So 32 Z R 4.5/5 Drive
Squish'em featuring Sam IN 84 2-003 16 U 3.7/3 Ladder
Star Trek: Strategic CO 84 2680 So 24 Y U 4.0/7 Shoot
Operations Simulator (CA)
Star Wars: The Arcade Game PB 84 9940 16 U 3.5/6 Shoot
Strike It TG 16 R 2.0/1
Subroc (CA) CO 83 2614 24 C 2.4/9 Shoot
Super Action Baseball (C/CA) CO 83 2491 S 32 Y C 3.1/7 Sport
Super Action Football CB S Y ER Sport
Super Action Football (CA) CO 83 2422 S 32 Y C 3.0/3 Sport
Super Action Soccer CO S 32 Y ER Sport
Super Cobra PB 83 9850 8 R 2.5/4 Shoot
Super Controller Test Cartridge CO UR Test
Super Cross Force SV SE237 16 R 3.3/3 Shoot
Super Front Line Demo (p) CO UR Demo
Tank Wars BC PG902 16 UR Shoot
Tank Wars TG 16 R Shoot
Tarzan (CA) CO 84 2632 24 R 3.0/5 Adv
Telly Turtle (CA) CO 2698 16 R 2.3/3 Educ
Threshold (S) SI 83 THQ903 16 ER 2.7/3 Shoot
Time Pilot (C/CA) CO 83 2633 16 C 3.0/7 Shoot
Tomarc the Barbarian XO 99025 16 ER 2.0/1 Adv
Tournament Tennis IM 84 O6030 32 ER 3.0/1 Sport
Tunnels & Trolls (d) CO 2441 32 UR Demo
Turbo (C) CO 82 2413 D 16 C 2.9/9 Drive
Tutankham PB 83 9840 16 R 3.5/4 Adv
Up 'n Down SE 84 009-21 16 ER 4.7/3 Drive
Venture (C) CO 82 2417 16 C 3.9/10 Adv
Victory (CA) CO 83 2446 R 24 U 3.3/7 Shoot
Video Hustler (p - CBS) KO 16 UR 3.0/1 Pool
War Games (CA) CO 84 2632 R 24 X C 3.9/7 Defend
War Room PR 83 2153CL Ro 32 X U 4.3/6 Defend
Wing War IM 83 O6209 16 U 4.3/4 Shoot
Wiz Math (W) SI WML-900 16 ER 2.0/1 Educ
Word Feud XO 99060 16 ER 3.0/1 Educ
Yolk's on You (p - CBS) 20 16 UR 3.0/1 Round
Zaxxon (C) CO 82 2435 24 C 3.2/9 Shoot
Zenji AC 84 VS-007 16 R 5.0/1 Puzzle
4.2) Carts believed -not- to exist
Coleco was infamous for not putting out advertised cartridges. Several
of the carts were shown in the catalog that came with the ColecoVision.
It is not known if the screen shots shown were simple artist renditions,
or if somewhere an actual demo or prototype of the cartridges exist. - JC
Being in the toy business, Coleco was a marketing-driven company. All kinds
of screens, demos, and such were developed to be shown at various trade shows
(CES, Toy Fair) and if the wholesale buyers didn't bite, they wouldn't get
produced. Additionally, the box art was *always* produced months before the
real game art was even designed properly (due to the print lag time), so by
the time the box was printed, the game art probably had changed
significantly. - 56
The following cartridges, put out by the listed manufacturer, reportedly
do not exist, even as a prototype or demo cart. Solid evidence of their
existence would be greatly appreciated.
Name Manuf. Number Notes
================================================================================
005 CO (Unreleased)
9 to 5 20 (Unreleased)
Air Defense OD 2153CL (Released as War Room by PR?)
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress AC (Only Telegames release exists)
Apple Cider Spider SI (Unreleased)
Aquatron IN (Released as Aquattack?)
Armoured Assault SV SE232 (Unreleased)
Astro Chase PB 9860 (Unreleased)
Barbados Booty PB (Unreleased)
Boulder Dash FS (Only Telegames release exists)
Bung the Juggler SY (Wiz game - never finished)
Cabbage Patch Playground CO (Unreleased)
Capture the Flag CO (Unreleased)
Caverns and Creatures OD 2147CL (Unreleased)
Chess Challenger CO 2438 (Unreleased)
Choplifter! BR (Only Coleco release exists)
Circus Charlie PB (Unreleased)
Crash Dive PB 66013 (Unreleased)
Crisis Mountain MF (Unreleased)
Destruction Derby CO (Working title for Destructor?)
Dimensional Puzzles CO (Unreleased)
Dino Eggs MF (Unreleased)
Domino Man CB 80013 (Unreleased)
Donkey Kong 3 CO (Unreleased)
Dot to Dot Zot! SY (Unreleased)
Dracula CO 2608 (Unreleased)
Dragon's Lair CO (Unreleased)
Dragonstomper ST 6400 (Unreleased)
Dungeons & Dragons IV MA 7861 (Unreleased)
The Earth Dies Screaming 20 (Unreleased)
Flashlight MA 7863 (Unreleased)
Flashpoint OD 2148CL (Unreleased)
Globe Grabber MF (Unreleased)
Grog! SY (Working title for B.C. II)
Head to Head Baseball CO 2423 (Super Action BB released instead)
Head to Head Football CO 2422 (Super Action FB released instead)
Horse Racing CO 2442 (Unreleased)
Hydroplane MA 7866 (Unreleased)
Illusions MA 7760 (Sold to Coleco for release)
Jawbreaker SI (Unreleased)
Journey CO (Unreleased)
Lord of the Dungeon PR (Unreleased)
Lunar Leeper SI (Unreleased)
M.A.S.H. II PB 66015 (Unreleased)
Maddenness CB 80122 (Unreleased)
Magic Carpet MA 7865 (Unreleased)
Master Builder SV SE233 (Unreleased)
Masters of the Universe MA (Unreleased)
Ms. Pac-Man AT (Unreleased)
Missile Command AT (Untested Prototype ROM exists!)
Mr. Cool SI (Unreleased)
Mr. Turtle CO 2432 (Unreleased)
Mountain King CB (Only Sunrise release exists)
Necromancer CO (Unreleased)
Number Bumper SU (Unreleased)
Pastfinder AC (Unreleased)
Phaser Patrol ST 6100 (Unreleased)
Phoenix CO (Unreleased)
Pink Panther PR 2152CL (Unreleased)
PizzaTime MA 7864 (Unreleased)
Pole Position AT (Unreleased)
Power Lords PR 2149CL (Unreleased; advertisement exists)
Rainbow Walker CO (Unreleased)
Rip Cord CO 2431 (Unreleased)
Rock 'n' Bolt AC (Only Telegames release exists)
Round Up CO (Unreleased)
Satan's Hollow CB (Unreleased)
Scraper Caper TI (Unreleased)
Short Circuit MF (Unreleased)
Side Trak CO 2418 (Unreleased)
Silicon Warrior EP (Unreleased)
Skiing CO 2436 (Only Telegames release exists)
Smurf Plan and Learn CO 2444 (Unreleased)
Smurfette's Birthday CO 2444 (Unreleased)
Spacemaster X-7 20 (Unreleased)
Spectar CO 2421 (Unreleased)
Spook Maze SY (Working title for Wiz Math)
Stunt Flyer SI (Unreleased)
Summer Games EP (Unreleased)
Sword & the Sorcerer CO 2619 (Unreleased)
Tac-Scan CO 2635 (Unreleased)
Temple of Apshai EP (Unreleased)
Time Runner MF (Unreleased)
Toy Bizarre AC (Unreleased)
Wild Western CO (Unreleased)
Wings CB (Unreleased)
Wizard of Id's Adventure SY (Unreleased)
The Wizard of Oz CO 2636 (Unreleased)
Wizard of Wor CB 2421 (Unreleased)
Wiz Lab SY (Unreleased)
Wiz Music SY (Unreleased)
Wiz Type SY (Unreleased)
Wiz Words SY (Unreleased)
Wiz World SY (Unreleased)
Wrath of Quintana Roo SU (Unreleased)
4.3) CBS product numbers - 55
Coleco games for the European market were produced by CBS Electronics in
England. The carts have the same size as the US ones, but the upper end
has a different shape. There is a finger-thick indentation on each side,
probably to make it easier to get the cart out of the system slot. The
labels are black; on the upper half there's the CBS/Colecovision character
and the name of the game. Below is a white box with a lot of writing,
copyright and production information, the model number (4Lxxxx), and often
the sentence ";for use on pal-tv-system only";. Sometimes the labels are
multilingual.
Cartridge Coleco # CBS #
========= ======== =====
2010: The Graphic Action Game 2618 ???
Antarctic Adventure 2429 ???
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge 2620 ???
Brainstrainers 2696 ???
Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom 2615 4L4448
Bump 'n' Jump 2440 ???
BurgerTime 2430 4L4454
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure in the Park 2682 ???
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show 2600 ???
Carnival 2445 4L2007
Choplifter! 2690 ???
Congo Bongo 2669 ???
Cosmic Avenger 2434 4L2024
Dam Busters, The 2686 ???
Destructor 2602 4L4460
Dr. Seuss: Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler 2699 ???
Donkey Kong 2411 4L1922
Donkey Kong Junior 2601 4L1980
Dukes of Hazzard 2607 ???
Fortune Builder 2681 ???
Frenzy 2613 4L4311
Front Line 2650 ???
Gorf 2449 4L1905
Illusions 2621 ???
Ken Uston Blackjack / Poker 2439 ???
Lady Bug 2433 4L2039
Looping 2603 4L2330
Mr. Do! 2622 4L2073
Monkey Academy 2694 ???
Mouse Trap 2419 4L1990
Omega Race 2448 4L4305
Pepper II 2605 4L1878
Roc 'n Rope 2668 ???
Rocky Super Action Boxing 2606 4L4254
Root Beer Tapper 2616 ???
Slither 2492 4L4255
Smurf Paint 'n' Play Workshop 2697 ???
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle / Schtroumpfs 2443 4L1939
Space Fury 2415 4L1998
Space Panic 2447 4L1952
Spy Hunter 2617 ???
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator 2680 ???
Subroc 2614 ???
Super Action Baseball 2491 ???
Super Action Football 2422 ???
Super Action Soccer / Super Action Football ??? 4L4505
Tarzan 2632 ???
Telly Turtle 2698 ???
Time Pilot 2633 ???
Tunnels & Trolls 2441 ???
Turbo 2413 4L2057
Venture 2417 4L1973
Victory 2446 4L4065
War Games 2632 ???
Zaxxon 2435 4L1956
4.3) Cartridge Tidbits, Tips, and Easter Eggs:
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress -
This game was designed by Activision, but never released by them.
All known copies were released by Telegames, but with a combined
Activision/Telegames label.
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge -
The following secret codes can be used to change levels: - 17
Mountain 1: 2,2 in cave 3
3,3 in cave 5
4,4 in cave 1
5,5 in cave 1
Mountain 2: 2,2 in cave 1
2,3 in cave 1
4,4 in cave 1
4,5 in cave 5
6,2 in cave 10
7,8 in cave 5
Mountain 3: 3,1 in cave 5 (hint: ";as easy as pi";, ie. 3.1415925)
4,1 in cave 7
5,9 in cave 8
2,5 in cave 8
[Editor's note: I just realized - for whatever reason, the value
of pi given here is wrong. It's 3.14159265; the last digit should
thus be 6, or perhaps 7 if rounding, but not 5.]
Blockade Runner -
Need the manual - 01
Bump 'n' Jump -
Pales in comparison to Intellivision version, with off-key music,
washed-out colors, sluggish control, unforgiving collision detection,
and other errors and annoyances. - 20
There is a bonus of 50,000 points when you complete a level without
bumping off any emery cars. You can also cheat by speeding up at the
very beginning of a level and jumping off to the side of the screen
where you can't see your car. Landing there, you can cruise through
the whole level without doing anything. If you play it to a million
the letter G appears by the number of guys you have left. You can now
have infinate lives for one or two levels. - 60
BurgerTime -
After completing the first round of boards, the game speeds up. Thus,
pepper is in short supply as well as your patience. Includes six
boards, two _more_ than the arcade version (the Intellivision version
actually includes still two more). Based upon the arcade game by Data
East. - 24
To do well at BurgerTime, you need to let your Chefs get killed when
you have an excess and reserve you peppers till when you really need to
use them. It is much easier to gain extra lives than it is to build up a
big supply of peppers. Extra lives come quickly and easily in the game,
peppers don't. Go to the screen where there are two long ladders on the
right side of the screen. Use this screen to build up your supply of
peppers. Enemies can be easily avoided on this level. Just run around
avoiding enemies and wait for peppers to pop up and grab them. Do this
over and over until you have an ample supply then finish level.
If you let yourself get killed instead of using up all your
peppers to stay alive you can play this game for as long as you like.
The hardest part of the game is that it is impossible to fake out the
enemies by going one way and then switching directions. They never
fall for it. - 60
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure in the Park -
Prototype is an enhanced version of the released product, not a
predecessor. - JH
Carnival -
Shoot the hardest targets (pipes and letters) first; once you get
down to a few targets the ducks come out in volume, leaving little
time or ammunition to shoot the harder stuff. - JC
Based upon the arcade game Sega. - 24
Centipede -
Atarisoft made a perfect port of Centipede for ColecoVision. With
roller controller, you have the arcade version at home! Based upon
the arcade game by Atari. - 24
In the Centipede cart rom, there is a message at the end of the code:
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, AND YOU WORK AT COLECO,
THEN PLEASE TELL GEORGE KISS I SAID HELLO. THANKS.
SINCERELY, LARRY CLAGUE
PROGRAMMED BY: L CLAGUE
GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION BY: L CLAGUE
SOUND DATA SUPPLIED BY: A FUCHS
START DATE: 04/20/83
COMPLETION DATE: 08/23/83 - 31
Chess Challenger -
From the catalog: - 24
Chess Challenger by Fidelity (Chess Challenger (C) 1977)
Strategy Game Cartridge
#2438
This game uses the World Champion Chess programs by Fidelity. Plan
your defense with care -- the computer is a formidable opponent. But
don't get too confident -- he'll never play the same way again!
Chuck Norris Superkicks -
Also released as Kung Fu Superkicks, by Telegames. - JC
Congo Bongo -
Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24
Cosmic Avenger -
With some skill, you can make the homing missile that come at you
strike the UFO's by dodging the missile so it goes in front of you,
then moving up and down, using it like a guided missile. - JC
For a completely different gaming experience, trying seeing how long
you can survive using bombs _only_. - JH
Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24
The Dam Busters -
This game is damn near impossible without the manuals - 01
Survival tips:
Don't fly over the icons on the map. These are German bases that
will throw up a bunch of flak.
Don't let your engines overheat, turn down the throttle after takeoff.
If an engine catches fire extinguish it and shut down the
corresponding one on the other wing. If you don't the Lanc. will
be difficult to control. Don't do this a second time.
You must come in at a certain altitude and airspeed to drop the bomb.
Don't forget to get the bomb spinning or the indicators will not
come up on the pilot's window.
Be certain to retract the landing gear after takeoff.
To shake fighters, try a corkscrew maneuver (downward spiral). - 17
Barnes Wallace, who was involved with the WW II Lancaster Dambusters,
was the technical consultant for the game. - 57
Dig Dug -
Programming of this game was completed. - 53
All-in-all, the ColecoVision version of this classic was reasonable.
Given that I'm not the world's foremost authority on Dig Dug, it
doesn't really seem to stand out from the Intellivison or Atari 5200
versions. - JH
Defender -
Since the ColecoVision could not handle scrolling very well due its
electronic design, the scrolling leaves Defender to be desired.
However, it keeps true to the Williams arcade game. - 24
Donkey Kong -
Move Mario up the first broken ladder then bring him back down, walk
him to the left so that his back is almost touching the same broken
ladder, and then move him a step of two to the right and jump.
Depending on the version you have, he'll fall through the bottom and
land in screen 2, or after several seconds he'll appear on the top
girder next to Kong. This apparently doesn't work with all versions
of the cartridge. - JC
In the 3rd screen, get to the top right hand part of the screen where
the purse is. Below is a short ladder, get right above it and wiggle
up & down, you'll fall through the metal floor. - JC
When climbing up or down any ladder, you can move at super speed by
pausing momentarily (allowing the joystick to center), and then
continuing your climb. - JC
Perfect port of the original game except for two flaws. First, Donkey
Kong is on the wrong side of the first board (easy for anyone to pick
up). Second, there is no mudpie level which means the rivet and
elevator (with no ";bouncing springs";) levels are repeated. Based
upon the arcade game by Nintendo. - 24
You can score for jumping when underneath a rolling barrel. On the
fourth girder (one level below Donkey Kong), wait until a barrel one
level above comes to the lower end of the girder. As it comes across,
follow it, and jump while underneath it. - 24
On the elevator screen, go up to donkey kong instead of climbing the
ladder. He won't kill you; you could climb the second ladder and
jump around him and make his face turn brown. - 48
Donkey Kong Jr. -
Uses the same music for the key-n-lock level as used for the final
level on Popeye for ColecoVision. Based upon the arcade game by
Nintendo. - 24
In the screen containing pelicans, you can actually climb through
the dirt. To do so, get underneath a patch of dirt, and climb all
the way up to the dirt. At that point, move Donkey Kong Jr. left,
right, and left again. You can then climb right through the dirt. - 32
On the springboard birds screen, jump to the top ledge on the right
of the screen, and approach the gap. Walking off the ledge, Junior
grabs an invisible vine that let you climb up to the celing in
midair. - 48
Dot to Dot Zot! -
Originally created for the Nabu Home Computer network, a ColecoVision
conversion was rumored but never completed. - 17
Dragon's Lair -
Right before the crash, Coleco had the rights to Dragon's Lair, and
was going to release an expansion unit to let you hook up an LD
player. The idea was the controller would be the ColecoVision, and
you could play Dragon's Lair in its entirety. - 16
A version of Dragon's Lair was released for ADAM. - JH
Dungeons & Dragons IV -
The Intellivision D&D game then in development, Tower of Mystery,
was the third D&D game from Mattel, so apparently this game was
envisioned as an original. Started 11/28/83. - 36
Epyx games -
Two case variants, one has a normal rounded case end and the other has
a tapered end much like Imagic carts. Gateway To Apshai is normally
the regular case and the other two normally have tapered cases."; - 01
Escape From the Mindmaster -
Of note: the startup screen is an EPYX screen, not an Arcadia or
Starpath screen, so this effort apparently occured after Starpath
had been acquired by Epyx. - 5
Facemaker -
It's Mr. Potato-Head on a cartridge! - 01
Also released as Make-A-Face. - JC
Flashlight -
Conversion of an Intellivision/Atari game then in development.
Scheduled start: 12/19/83. - 36
Flying Brassieres -
Never intended for release, this prototype is actually a privately
burned variation upon Moon Patrol, with a different variety of
objects (including bras) to shoot at. - 22
Fortune Builder -
The mother of all Sim* games! But you need both the manual and the
";Strategy Guide"; to play - 01
And the overlays certainly don't hurt, either. - JH
Frenzy -
Pressing ";#"; during the game resets the game. - 24
Killing Otto in the Big Otto maze is a deadly mistake - Big
Otto sends out hordes of super-fast Ottos to get you. - 24
Frogger -
Perfect port of the arcade game by Sega. - 24
Frontline -
You can get away with using a normal controller by hitting 1-2-3 at
once on the keypad to launch a grenade/get into the tank - 01
You can move through the holes in the wall by rotating and pushing
forward at the same time. - JC
Galaxian -
The following dedication is coded into the ROM for the cart:
DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE
I LOVE YOU JENEANE (sp?) - 08
Gateway to Apshai -
Manual helpful but not necessary - 01
Gorf -
Loses points for not having the ";Galaxian"; stage like the arcade
game - 01
Based upon the arcade game by Bally/Midway. - 24
Horse Racing -
From the catalog: - 24
Horse Racing by Fidelity (Original copyright is (C) 1982)
Casino Game Cartridge
#2442
They're off and running! Watch the board as the odds change. The
horses start out of the gate -- then jockey for position on the
straightaway. Which horse will win ... place ... show? For the next
race, the computer changes the entries and if you want, even the
track conditions! It's a different race every time!
Hydroplane -
A point-of-view speedboat race, based on an Intellivision game in
development at the time. Program start 11/21/83. - 36
Illusions -
Very surreal game once you figure out what to do... - 01
And it makes -no- sense until you do... - JH
Journey -
In 1983, Electronic Games magazine reported that Coleco had purchased
exclusive rights to the Bally/Midway Journey arcade game (not to be
confused with Journey Escape for the 2600). - 38
Joust -
Programming was completed for this game. - 53
I've had one report that Joust was released, but absolutely no
independent confirmation of this. I have played the completed
prototype, and it's quite good - better than the 5200 or NES
versions, IMHO. The control is a bit less responsive than I'd
like, and the version I played had no sound, but it's still
the best of what I've always considered a weak lot of
conversions. - JH
Kung Fu Superkicks -
Also released as Chuck Norris Superkicks, by Xonox. - JC
Lady Bug -
This is (IMHO) the BEST arcade conversion available on the
ColecoVision. - 18
Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24
Linking Logic -
Imagine this: a man on a pedestal sitting on the left side of the TV
screen. You, his faithful fowl pet, are sitting on the other side on
a similar pedestal at the same height. Your mission: help your master
make it through the room maze using parts lying around. Can you fly
around placing the parts in the right spots before your master sets foot
into the maze?
Like Sierra On-line's ";The Incredible Machine,"; you must place the parts
(such as a ladder or crossover board) to help your master safely pass
through the maze. You have a limited amount of time, though, because
the pedestals raise up every few seconds. When it gets to the top floor,
your master will go through the maze.
Designed by Freida Lennekerker. - 24
Looping -
Similar to the later game, Sopwith, for PC, you fly a plane around
the screen and shoot at things. What Sopwith lacked in graphics,
this game lacked in gameplay. Based upon the arcade game by Venture
Line. - 24
Magic Carpet -
Scheduled to begin 2/6/84. Since the Nice group continued working
after 1/20/84, it's possible that a playable version of this game
was developed. - 36
Make-A-Face -
Also released as Facemaker. - JC
Listed as a pirated version in the Digital Press Price Guide. - JH
Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man -
Programmed by Steve Roney, based upon the original Atari version
of the game. The game was completed just before Mattel Electronics
closed down, but was never released. - 36
Masters of the Universe II -
Being programmed by Eric del Sesto based upon the original
Intellivision version (which was never released by Mattel, but
instead reworked by INTV Corp. using different characters and
released as Diner, a sequel to BurgerTime). Unfinished. - 36
Meteoric Shower -
Not released as a cartridge, the game is only available in the built
in version that comes with the Telegames Personal Arcade. - JH
Missile Command -
A playable version was never developed. Only a title screen was
created. - 53
Mr. Do! -
If you drop two adjacent apples and get crushed by the first one, you
are squished but don't die. You then have to restart the game. - JC
The pause button is ";*";. Hit it once for a blank screen with
repetitious music; hit is twice more to begin play again. Based
upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24
You can fire through thin walls at short distance in Mr. Do!, and
can freeze all enemies by taking the ";treat"; in the middle when the
Extra apple at the top of the screen is on a red letter. - 54
Mr. Do!'s Castle -
In order to get the most alphamonsters in ";Mr. Do!'s Castle";, hit
one or two of the key blocks with your hammer as you cross the
board. After destroying all the monsters except for two or three,
you can hit the last key block and run up to the top of the board
and stand near the door. Wait for the unicorns to get near you and
get the door ";prize"; and hammer away! This was an old arcade trick
I used quite frequently, and it still works for this game.
In ";Castle";, red unicorns are the tamest ones. Green unicorns are a
bit wilder, and both red and green unicorns can be knocked down a
level. However, the blue unicorns are the meanest, and a lone
unicorn will double into two blue unicorns if it gets stuck in a
hole or cannot find you. This can work to your advantage if you
have reached the door ";prize"; and let a lone unicorn get stuck in a
hole. When it doubles and turns blue, they will immediately come up
to you at the top of the castle so you can grab the prize and knock
two of the letters out really quickly.
";Castle"; is the best arcade translation of all the ColecoVision games.
It also proves that Coleco's version of Mr. Do! could have been better,
looking like a rush job in comparison. However, both Mr. Do! games
are worth getting because they have a lot of replayability in them. - 24
Most boards have sections with skulls such that you can kick a ladder
away, leaving only one path for the unicorns to approach from. To take
maximum advantage of these setups, do the following:
1) Knock out the frontmost skull (on the side enemies will approach
from).
2) Hammer the frontmost cherry.
3) As red unicorns approach, simply knock them through the hole.
There's no need to waste the skull traps on them, since they are
easy to deal with.
4) When a lone green unicorn lands in the hole, knock it through. It
will turn purple, but don't worry! Back up to the next cherry, and
hammer it as the newly formed purple unicorn dashes forward, crushing
it.
5) Back up and repeat the process until there are no cherrys left,
several green unicorns approach at once, or one or more purple
unicorns storm into the trap. As soon as there are purples
approaching, continue retreating and hammer free any remaining
cherries, then hit the final skull to kill all squirming purples
as well as any unicorns unfortunate enough to be standing below the
platform.
With good timing, it is possible to hammer a unicorn that is rising
out of a hole just as the new block forms, and kill it (or knock it
back into the hole if it is a purple one). This is helpful when you
are cornered in a tight spot.
To maximize the number of letters you catch on any given stage, try the
following strategy:
1) Hammer two of the keys, leaving the key closest to the top of the
screen.
2) Hammer as many holes as you can while luring the unicorns downwards,
until you have a free path from the third key to the magic door at
the top of the screen. Avoid killing the unicorns unless necessary.
3) Hit the final key, and immediately dash to the top of the screen,
turning the unicorns into letters. The longer you wait after
grabbing the third key before touching the magic door, the shorter
the period of time that the unicorns will remain as letters.
Conversely, if you do it quickly, the unicorns will remain letters
for a very long time!
4) The letters will flee towards the bottom of the screen. Chase them,
dropping down the holes you already made whenever possible (this is
quicker than climbing down ladders, and better yet you can land on
top of letters and squish them).
With this method (even on the difficult levels later in the game), you
can easily grab 3 or more letters per screen. It's even possible to
get a full ";EXTRA"; all on one stage! - 45
Mr. Do!'s Castle contains a bug in the programming which provides
infinite lives when triggered. Norman Sippel describes how he once
triggered it:
";During scene 3, there was one last red unicorn to destroy. I grabbed
the prize at the top of the castle right after I hit the third key
block, and went to the second floor. I was going to hit the letter
enemy with a block but instead fell through the hole, squashing him.";
";When he squashed, it was on level one. The letter ";X"; completed my
";E-X-T-R-A";, and the game paused with music. When it came back, the
guy was resquashed--this time he came out of the prize door on level
seven and fell down into level six. I thought ";no sweat"; because I
still had two lives left.";
";During the next level, I died twice. I thought ";Game Over"; but
instead the game continued on. After dying again, I realized I
triggered off the infinite lives bug.";
";The game messes up at level 32 in numbering levels. It goes like this:
31 -> 3: -> 3; -> 42... (normal counting)... 46 -> 42... (normal)... 53
";I was on level 53 when I quit. I was stuck on it because I killed off
the last unicorn, but the game messed up when I hit it over the head
with a block. Instead of going to the next board, the monster and
block became a blotch on the screen (covering up a window) and I was
free to terrorize at will. By accident, I trapped myself out of the
last cherry to complete the board."; - 24
Mr. Turtle -
From the catalog: - 24
Mr. Turtle (TM)
Action Game Cartridge
#2432
Mr. Turtle (TM) comes to life on the screen, but needs your help on his
treasure hunt. His goal is to collect the prizes that are located on
both land and under water. But -- each prise is guarded by an animal,
some firece, some funny. Mr. Turtle (TM) must outwit the creatures to
obtain each treasure and score points.
Mouse Trap -
Since there's no pause feature in this game, you can trap yourself
in one of the rooms if you need a break. You can also trap the cats
in rooms to make it easier for you to do the maze. - JC
The keypad gets in the way of the gameplay. The 2600 version is more
fun because it has one button, but Coleco could have chosen to make
the doors open using one button and eating the biscuit being the other
button. Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24
Nice Ideas -
At one time a division of Mattel Electronics located in Nice,
France. Due to French laws, Mattel was not allowed to shut down
their Nice office on January 20, 1984 with the rest of Mattel
Electronics - instead, they were required to find a buyer for
the division. The programmers stayed on the Mattel payroll working
on their games until finally the division found investors that
enabled them to buy the operation themselves, renaming it Nice Ideas.
They sold two of their completed Intellivision games to INTV Corp.
and three of their completed ColecoVision games (Bump 'n' Jump,
BurgerTime and Illusions) to Coleco. - 36
Omega Race -
If you use Roller Controller for the two play game, you will make both
ships mirror the other's actions. One RC controls both ships! Based
upon the arcade game by Bally/Midway. - 24
In a one play game, rotate your ship so that it points straight up
or down, and thrust until you bump into one of the walls. You will
then keep bouncing between the top and bottom, and can rotate your
ship toward the right hand side of the screen, and fire away. Works
well until you get to higher levels. - 54
Parker Brothers -
There are two boxes used by Parker Bros. One is the typical ";boxed";
game with two box parts that open up to reveal the game and
instructions. The other is a clone of the standard Coleco box with
Parker Bros. written on it instead. - 24
Parker Bros. used the same serial numbers for their games around the
world with one exception--for foreign release, a ";A"; was added
to the serial number of the game. - 24
Pac-Man -
Has the same aspect ratio as the 2600 (and 5200 - JH) version; plays
really well, and maintains all the bonuses and intermissions. The title
screen includes a neat dissolve-in of ";Pac Man";. Atari did not
release the cartridge because of their advertising campaign at the
time, which boasted ";you will only be able to play Pac-Man on the
Atari!";. - 53
The _best_ home version of Pac-Man I've ever played. Scores over the
competition on the basis of:
2600 - absolutely everything (no big surprise)
5200 - better detail (the ghosts have eyes) and better control
NES - better control (which outweighs the aspect ratio and
attract screen advantages of the NES version in my opinion)
Seems to be 100% complete and ready for release. - JH
Pepper II -
Graphics are very similar to those of the unreleased Side Trak. Based
upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24
Pitfall! -
You can walk through some walls by jumping at them. - JC
PizzaTime -
The _real_ sequel to BurgerTime, started 1/3/84. Since the
Nice group continued working after 1/20/84, it's possible that
a playable version of this game was developed. - 36
Popeye -
Very good port, but the characters needed a bit more detail (which
I'm sure the ColecoVision could have handled). On the other hand,
this is the only port I know of which has the Sea Hag and Sweet Pea.
Based upon the arcade game by Nintendo. - 24
Porky's -
The cartridge shell looks like a bare Epyx/Spinnaker style case, with
a plain white rectangular hand written label. Inside, there is a
standard board with 2 EPROMs.
The start up screen is all blue, with a 1983 ";Fox Electronics"; copyright
notice, and skill options at the bottom of the screen. According to a
guy who has the Porky's programmer for an instructor, he never made a
2600 port, so that was done after he had left.
The game play is similar to the 2600, only with better graphics and
sounds (yes, the female showering looks more female). The first
Screen is the Frogger-like sequence in the same order, just with
improved graphics. The second screen is the ";pole-valut-over-the-lake";
screen. You still have to build the ladder wrung by wrung; and Porky
is himself is walking around the ledges beneath the ladders. Porky
is particularly well-animated--with a black ten-gallon hat, white
T-shirt, blue jeans, and a cigarette in his mouth.
The third screen, the ";girls shower room"; had the girl scrubbing up
in the shower, she was slightly more rounded and womanlike than the 2600
version; the silhouette was dark gray, and the shower curtain light
gray. When Mrs. Ballbricker comes after you, she is also well-done;
with gray hair, a green shirt, and blue pants. She also clearly has
tweezers she is pinching in the air. Only two different objects can
be retreived from the shower room to stop the objects in the
Frogger-like screen: the detonator, and either a coil of rope or a
fork or a wrench. These objects alternate for each row of the first
screen; the first object stopped the odd rows, the second the even rows.
In the last screen, ";The girders beneath Porky's";, still had Porky
walking around, making a nusciance out of himself, and it still had
those annoying arrows supposedly to point you in the right direction
to climb.
The only problem with the game is that after getting past the locker
room screen to the screen underneath Porky's--you cannot go
anyplace. - 01, 43
Q*Bert -
Just like the arcade game by Gottlieb. - 24
Q*Bert's Qubes -
Very fun puzzle game. As Q*Bert moves, he turns six-sided cubes
around. To win a level, you need to match up tic-tac-toes of cubes.
The ";Coily";-like mouse will chase you around the diamond playfield,
but will fall of if he lands on a turning cube. Sam and Slick are a
real pain on the higher levels. The pause button is ";0";. Based upon
the arcade game by Mylstar.
Level One -- Two sides orange, four sides blue
Win 1 tic-tac-toe
Level Two -- Three sides orange, three sides blue (1st two screens)
Six colors (white, red, blue, orange, yellow, green)
(3rd and 4th screens)
Win 1 tic-tac-toe
Level Three -- Six colors and win 2 tic-tac-toes
Level Four -- Six colors and win 3 tic-tac-toes
Level Five -- Six colors, win 1 tic-tac-toe, but you can undo
completed cubes
The label on the cart is the logo of Q*Bert's Qubes with no picture
of Q*Bert or the playfield. Unlike the first Q*Bert, the label is
designed to be read while inserted into the ColecoVision on the
correct side. (Q*Bert's Qubes & Mr. Do!'s Castle are the only two
Parker Brothers releases with this style of label design. - JH) - 24
If you'd like to try the arcade version, there was one up and running
at HersheyPark (Hershey, PA) as of 1994. The ColecoVision version is
a wonderful port. - JH
Quest for Quintana Roo -
Manual helpful but not necessary - 01
Rip Cord -
From the catalog: - 24
Rip Cord (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1978)
Arcade Game Cartridge
#2431
This sky diving game puts you in charge of a parachutist. You've
got to time his jump, and allow him to free fall as long as you dare.
Then, pull his rip cord, and get him to land exactly on one of the
targets. But watch out - the sky is full of dangerous helicopters.
Roc 'n Rope -
Based upon the arcade game by Konami. - 24
Root Beer Tapper -
When at the end of bar grabbing a tip, just tap the joystick and you
instantly appear back at the front of the bar. - JC
Sammy Lightfoot -
Plays just like the old Apple II version. This should _not_ be taken
as a compliment... B^) - JH
Schtroumpfs -
A French release of Smurf Rescue. - JH
Side Trak -
From the catalog: - 24
Side Trak (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1979)
Arcade Game Cartridge
#2418
You must direct the locomotive down the track and pick up passengers
along the way. In doing so, you must avoid a deadly runaway train that
is out to demolish your locomotive! Can you stay on the track and score?
Skiing (Coleco) -
From the catalog: - 24
Skiing
Sports Game Cartridge
#2436
See the course right through the skier's goggles! He must race down
the snow covered slopes, nogotiating the sharp curves with precision
and avoiding the treacherous moguls, trees, and other obstacles. His
goal is to traverse the course and reach the finish in record time!
Skiing (Telegames) -
Telegames Skiing does not have the same graphics as the Coleco
Skiing which was in the introductory catalog. Whereas Coleco's
catalog showed a 1st-person perspective, Telegames' Skiing
is more like Activision Skiing for the Atari 2600. - 08
Slither -
Based upon the arcade game by Century II. - 24
Smurf Play and Learn -
From the catalog: - 24
Smurf Play and Learn Cartridge by Peyo (Smurf (TM) Peyo (C) 1982)
Play & Learn Cartridge
#2444
This educational cartridge with Smurf (TM) characters bring basic
learning concepts to the screen and encourages children to solve the
problems and situations. Their zany antics make learning fun!
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle -
At the last screen with the skull and Smurfette, leave the room and
Smurfette will drop her dress. - JC
If you come up to a hard screen, go back to the screen you just came
through, and then return - the screen will change shape each time, so
you can do it until an easier one appears. - JC
On game 4, move back and forth between screens 1 & 2 for about a minute,
and you'll receive 919,500 points. - JC
The original cartridge was created not by Peyo (the originator of the
Smurfs), but by Belokapi, a French company. - 61
Space Fury -
Save the best dock for last, since you'll be stuck with it for the
rest of the game. - JC
Space Panic -
The stupidest game I have ever played, IMHO. Why would you want to
dig holes, let a monster fall in, and they fall down a level and die?
Stupid! Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24
Spectar -
From the catalog: - 24
Spectar (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1980)
Arcade Game Cartridge
#2421
You must direct an armoured car through a tangled maze - negotiating
sharp turns at high speeds. But as you traverse the terrain, a variety
of tank-like vehicles emerge to attack and destroy your car.
Spy Hunter -
At the fork in the road, the left path give's you the oil supply
truck, and the right gives you the missiles. You can use the supply
truck as a weapon by not entering it and moving it back and forth so
it collides with your enemies. When in the boat, it's safer to stick
to the right; you don't get attacked as much and that's the side the
exit is on. - JC
Squish'em featuring Sam -
If you like 20th Century Fox's 2600 game ";Fast Eddie,"; you will like
Squish'em. It has similar gameplay plus has, IMHO, the first ";sound-
byte"; included in it. Sam actually talks to you (i.e., ";Ouch!";
";Wow!";). It's worth the price of admission! Also of note is the fact
the cart has a hanger built into it. - 24
The following dedication is coded into the ROM for the cart:
This space dedicated to all those hackers who program in 8K but
are given 16K and to all accountants who want 15K promos - 8
Star Wars: The Arcade Game -
Explosion of death star not as impressive as other versions - 01
Subroc -
Sega could not decide whether to make a submarine or an airplane game.
So they compromised. Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24
Super Action Football (CBS) -
This is equivalent to Coleco's Super Action Soccer. - JH
Super Action Football (Coleco) -
My copy of the instructions give the part number as 2422 - the
intended number (per the ColecoVision catalog) for Head to Head
Football. - JH
Super Cobra -
";Missing levels"; - 01
Sydney Development -
While Sydney only released one game on their own (Evolution), they
were a major player in the ColecoVision arena. Many, many games
were created or translated for ColecoVision by Sydney. Among
these:
River Raid
Keystone Kapers
B.C.'s Quest for Tires
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge
Wiz Math
The Dam Busters
The company survived past the video game market crash by switching
over to the Commodore 64 and IBM PC. - 17
Tarzan -
If you are low on energy, keep punching the hunter at the campsite
until you are at full strength. - JC
Designed by Lawrance Schick - 51
Time Pilot -
";Handles like its constipated"; - 01
Different feel using the ColecoVision controller than the arcade game,
which was put out by Konami. - 24
The Roller Controller works much better; with it, Time Pilot has
the feel of the original. - 20
Tunnels & Trolls -
Only contains opening title. - JC
From the catalog: - 24
Tunnels & Trolls (TM) by Flying Buffalo, Inc. (T&T (C) 1975)
Fantasy Game Cartridge
#2441
Your expedition involves your entrance into a dungeon made up of
hallways and chambers. But -- the underground is populated by
monsters. Choose to fight or run! Select a weapon, cast magic
spells or use your wits to defeat the monsters and claim the
treasures! For one to four players.
Turbo -
Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24
Venture -
Move in and out of a room several times very fast, and a demon
outside will appear from nowhere and kill you. - JC
Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24
Victory -
Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24
The CBS release of Victory has the Quarks (and other features) that
were missing in the Coleco release. - 40
Video Hustler -
Nearly finished. - JC
War Games -
";Need the manual"; - 01
Roller Controller is used for 2 player game only. - JH
War Room -
";Manual helpful but not necessary"; - 01
Wing War -
Though it is not exactly known what triggers the egg, the designers
initials appear in the sky. - JC
Wiz Type -
A Commodore 64 version was finished, but buried by Sierra. The
ColecoVision version was never done. - 17
Zaxxon -
Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24
Tips from ColecoVision Experience magazine:
As each round opens, your ship approaches the first asteroid,
which is topped by a high wall. To avoid crashing into the wall,
use your laser cannon to confirm your flight path. Since the
laser cannon fires straight ahead, the position where your shots
detonate indicates the path of your ship. If your opening shots
strike the wall, move until they pass through the center area of
the wall's opening. This will ensure that you enter the asteroid
safely.
As you fly along the surface of the asteroid, stay low enough (about
the first mark on the altimeter scale at left) to hit the turrets
and tanks on the asteroid surface. Keep to the left as much as
possible, destroying enemy turrets first, and fuel tanks after
you've eliminated the turrets that defend them. The turrets fire
both forward and sideways, and theirmissiles move rapidly, so
you'll almost certainly be hit if you get close to a turret without
destroying it. Fire at the turrets from a distance, then weave back
to the right to hit fuel tanks. Remember to keep an eye out for the
vertically rising missiles that come out of the ground silos - and
don't forget the equally deadly missiles launched from the turrets.
Don't climb unless necessary to avoid a missile or a wall - even two
seconds at high altitude will bring a fast, hard-to-avoid homing
missile down on you.
As you leave the first asteroid to enter deep space, move toward the
center of the screen to give yourself maximum maneuverability. Then
wait for the first of the enemy fighters. You'll find that they're
very hard to hit until they approach and prepare to launch their
missiles. The best technique for survival in deep space is 1. Wait
until crosshairs appear in front of your ship. 2. Fire instantly.
3. Dive or climb immediately. Don't fire and remain still - even if
you hit the enemy fighter its missile will still destroy you.
Practice this wait-fire-move sequence until you can confidently
destroy the enemy fighters. By the way, it can't hurt to start
firing at enemy fighters as soon as they appear on the edge of the
screen. Unfortunately, long distance hits are hard to come by.
The action will abruptly slow as you approach the mighty ZAXXON. Move
your ship to the right to draw ZAXXON over toward that side of the
asteroid so you can fire at it. Then rise to an altitude of about
2 1/2 marks on the screen altimeter, and begin firing as rapidly as
possible. When ZAXXON launches a homing missile, try to hit it
several times to neutralize it (you'll see it change color), then
continue to fire at ZAXXON itself. Remember, only multiple hits at
the right height can destroy ZAXXON - and earn you points. If you
can't score these hits and destroy the homing missile, your fire
will at least drive ZAXXON back and you can begin another round of
attack. - 35
Zenji -
Manual is roughly the size of a bookmark, and is completely
unnecessary. - JH
4.4) Cartridge Hardware Cheats
As in many systems, a careful change to the right address can
significantly change the flavor of a game. For those using a
ColecoVision emulator, data at the following addresses can be
changed with various effects.
Antartic Adventure - 49
Addresses 0AEA-0AEBh - Rest Dist. - Decimal Digits
Addresses 0AEC-0AEDh - Time - Decimal Digits; bytes are reversed
B.C.'s Quest For Tires - 31, 49
Address 0388h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Address 22EAh - Lives Check - Set to 00h for infinite lives
B.C.'s Quest For Tires II: Grog's Revenge - 31, 49
Address 032Fh - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Address 0351h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Address 037Dh - Lives Check - Set to 00h for infinite lives
Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom - 49
Address 0104h - Areas Left - 00 = 01 = Skip round 1
BurgerTime - 31
Address 01F4h - Lives Check - Set to 00h for infinite lives
Addresses 127C-127Eh - Monster Gen - Set all to 00h for no monsters
Addresses 1332-1334h - Hit Detect - Set all to 00h to become invincible
Carnival - 49
Address 01D7h - Bullets - Max 3C = 60
Cosmic Avenger - 49
Address 00ADh - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Donkey Kong - 31,49
Addresses 01FB-01FDh - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
Addresses 0560-0561h - Score - In hex; max 06 27 = 9990 (0 added)
Addresses 05AA-05ABh - Bonus Score - In hex
Address 186Ch - Extra Lives - For harder levels
Address 1875h - Extra Lives - For easy levels
Donkey Kong Junior - 31
Address 020Ch - Extra Lives - For harder levels, player 1
Address 0216h - Extra Lives - For easy levels, player 1
Addresses 034D-034Fh - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
Frantic Freddy - 49
Address 044Fh - Enemies Left - Enemies needed to kill on level
Frenzy - 49
Address 06EDh - Movement? - 01 = move to next screen
Frogger - 49
Address 1612h - Extra Lives - FFh = 255 maximum
Galaxian - 31, 49
Addresses 0240-0242h - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
(Setting 0242h to any number but 03
is sufficient)
Gorf - 31
Address 0133h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Address 28E8h - Lives Check - Set to 00h for infinite lives
Jumpman Junior
Address 0394h - Extra Lives - FFh = 255 maximum
Address 0399h - Level
Lady Bug - 31,49
Addresses 0125-0127h - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
Address 0390h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; FEh = 255 maximum
Addresses 0393-0395h - Score - Decimal digits; 999,999 maximum
Looping - 49
Address 0171h - Extra Lives - 80h = 128 maximum
Moonsweeper - 49
Address 1A4Dh - Extra Lives - FFh = 255 maximum
Mouse Trap - 31, 49
Address 0362h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Address 0365h - Dog Biscuits - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Addresses 0366-036Bh - Score - Decimal digits; 999,999 maximum
Address 08A1h - Transform - Set to 00h, become dog permanently
Address 2A38h - ??? - Set to 00h, ";Score becomes crazy";
Pepper II - 49
Address 00F0h - Extra Lives - Maximum FDh = 254
Address 00FFh - Extra Lives - For Player 2
Addresses 020B-020Dh - Score - Hex; max 9F 86 01 - 99999 (0 added)
Addresses 0216-0218h - Score - For Player 2
Popeye - 49
Address 00D4h - Extra lives - Maximum 3Fh = 15
Address 00D9h - Round - Maximum 39h = 9
Q*Bert - 49
Address 005Bh - Level/Round - 19 = 1/1, 1F = 1/7, 20 = 28 = 2/0
Address 05B4h - Coordinates
Address 0638h - Lives Check - Set to any but 05h for infinite lives
Root Beer Tapper - 31
Addresses 2963-2965h - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle - 49
Address 00A2h - Extra lives - Maximum FFh = 255
Address 0167h - Energy - Maximum FFh = 255
Spy Hunter - 49
Addresses 0053-0055h - Score - Maximum 3Fh 42h 0Fh = 999,999
Addresses 0056-0057h - Bonus Timer - Maximum E7h 03h = 999
Super Cobra - 49
Address 0108h - Level - Range: 1-11
Address 0176h - Extra Lives - Maximum 55h = 86
Address 01BFh - Fuel - Maximum 6Fh = 111; 0B/full, 78/error
Tutankham - 31
Address 0161h - Lamps - Maximum 0Fh = 15
Address 0876h - Extra Lives - For easy level, player 1; max 15
Address 087Eh - Extra Lives - For hard level, player 1
Address 0880h - Extra Lives - For medium level, player 1
Address 0882h - Extra Lives - For easy level, player 2
Address 0886h - Extra Lives - For medium level, player 2
Address 0888h - Extra Lives - For hard level, player 2
Address 0B69h - Monster Gen - Set to 00h for no monster generation
Address 2269h - Monster Move - Set to 00h to keep monsters in nests
Up 'n Down - 49
Address 01C5h - Extra Lives - Maximum FFh = 255
Venture - 31, 49
Addresses 032E-0330h - Lives Check - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
Address 09B3h - Extra Lives - FFh means ";None";; 254 maximum
Zaxxon - 31,49
Addresses 0085-0086h - Score - Maximum E7 03 = 999 (00 added)
Addresses 011A-011Bh - Score - Player 2
Address 01B9h - Extra Lives - For easy levels
Address 01BDh - Extra Lives - For harder levels
Address 01E4h - Status - 00/player 2 left, 02/player 1-2 lives
Address 01E6h - Lives Check - Player 2
Address 02CEh - Lives Check - Set to 00h for infinite lives
4.5) ColecoVision and ColecoVision/ADAM catalogs
Unlike Atari and Mattel, Coleco didn't put out catalogs regularly.
The catalog was included with the unit is better known for the titles
that _didn't_ turn up than those that did. A second catalog with a
mixture of ColecoVision and ADAM items appears to have been released
shortly before the death of both systems, as it appears to include
nearly all of the late ColecoVision releases. The contents of each
catalog:
1982 catalog: -24
Introduction to ColecoVision
Introduction of Expansion Module #1 and #2 coming soon
Donkey Kong (# 2441, Ninendo, Arcade)
Space Fury (The Official, # 2415, Sega, Arcade)
Venture (# 2417, Exidy, Arcade)
Side Trak (# 2418, Exidy, Arcade)
Mouse Trap (# 2419, Exidy, Arcade)
Spectar (# 2421, Exidy, Arcade)
Rip Cord (# 2431, Exidy, Arcade)
LadyBug (# 2433, Universal, Arcade)
Cosmic Avenger (# 2434, Universal, Arcade)
Zaxxon (The Official, # 2435, Sega, Arcade)
Carnival (The Official, # 2445, Sega, Arcade)
Turbo (The Official, # 2413, Sega, Arcade)
head-to-head baseball (# 2423, Sports)
head-to-head football (# 2422; Sports)
Skiing (# 2436, Sports)
Horse Racing (# 2442, Fidelity Electronics, Inc., Casino)
Blackjack/Poker (Ken Uston) (# 2439, Casino)
Tunnels & Trolls (# 2441, Flying Buffalo, Inc., Fantasy)
Chess Challenger (# 2438, Fidelity, Strategy)
Smurf (# 2444, Play & Learn)
Smurf Rescue In Gargamel's Castle (# 2443, Action)
Mr. Turtle (# 2432, Action)
Expansion Module Descriptions
1 -- Atari 2600 adapter # 2405
2 -- Driving Module # 2413
Note that _none_ of the pictures appear to be actual screen
shots; there are subtle differences between the pictures and
the actual games in the case of every released game.
1984? catalog: - JH
* - ADAM only
ColecoVision Video Game System (#2400)
ADAM The ColecoVision Family Computer System (#2410)
*ADAM 5 1/4 Disk Drive (#7817)
*ADAMLink Direct Connect Modem (#7818)
*ADAM Second Digital Data Drive (#2409)
*ADAM 64K Memory Expander (#2562)
ColecoVision/ADAM Super Action Controller Set (#2491)
ColecoVision/ADAM Roller Controller (#2492)
ColecoVision/ADAM Expanstion Module #2 (#2413)
(The Perma Power Battery Eliminator, #2298, is mentioned)
*ADAM Blank Digital Data Pack (#2564)
*ADAM Replacement Ribbon Cartridges (#7806)
Brain Strainers (#2696)
Telly Turtle (#2698)
Mokey Academy (#2694)
Smurf Paint 'N' Play Workshop (#2697)
*Electronic Flashcard Maker (#7662)
*Flash Facts: Vocabulator (#2900)
*Flash Facts: Flashbacks (#2901)
*Flash Facts: Trivia (#2902)
*Expertype (#7602)
Fortune Builder (#2681)
*Wacky Word Games (#7657)
*Richard Scarry's Best Electronic Word Book Ever (#7658)
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show (#2600)
Dr. Seuss Fix-Up The Mix-Up Puzzler (#2699)
*ADAMCALC (#7831)
*Smartletters & Forms (#7805)
*ADAM Home Software Library (#7826)
*Smartfiler (#7813)
*Recipe Filer (#7814)
*Address Book Filer (#7815)
*Smartlogo (#7600)
*CP/M 2.2 and Assembler (#7832)
*Dragon's Lair (#2683)
*The Official Zaxxon (#2623)
*Donkey Kong Junior (#2629)
*Donkey Kong (#2628)
*The Best of Broderbund (Choplifter & A.E.) (#7850)
*2010: The Text Adventure Game (#7849 - Data Pack; #9659 - Disk)
*The Best of Electronic Arts (Hard Hat Mack & Pinball Construction
Set) (#7852)
*Family Feud (#7710)
*Jeopardy (#7716)
2010: The Graphic Action Game (#2618)
Root Beer Tapper (#2616)
Illusions (#2621)
The Dam Busters (#2686)
BC's Quest For Tires II: Grog's Revenge (#2620)
Omega Race (#2448)
Victory (#2446)
Roc 'N Rope (#2668)
The Official Carnival (#2445)
The Official Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom (#2615)
Bump 'N Jump (#2440)
The Official Congo Bongo (#2669)
Donkey Kong (#2411)
The Official Zaxxon (#2435)
Exidy's Mousetrap (#2419)
Front Line (#2650)
The Official Space Fury (#2415)
Looping (#2603)
Donkey Kong Junior (#2601)
Gorf (#2449)
Venture (#2417)
Time Pilot (#2633)
Star Trek Strategic Operations Simulator (#2680)
The Official Subroc (#2614)
Super Action Football (#2422)
Rocky Super Action Boxing (#2606)
Choplifter (#2690)
Destructor (#2602)
The Dukes of Hazzard (#2607)
Antarctic Adventure (#2429)
Tarzan (#2632)
War Games (#2637)
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventures in the Park (#2682)
Burgertime (#2430)
Mr. Do (#2622)
Cosmic Avenger (#2434)
4.6) The BEST cartridges
Just what the best cartridges for any system are is largely a
matter of taste. One person's favorite is often another's dust
collector. However, the following cartridges have all been rated
highly by a significant number of FAQ contributors, and therefore
might be most worth seeking out by a collector new to ColecoVision.
Antarctic Adventure
Artillery Duel
B.C.'s Quest for Tires
Beamrider
Burgertime
Centipede
Donkey Kong Junior
Fortune Builder
Frenzy
Frogger
Gyruss
H.E.R.O.
Jumpman Junior
Lady Bug
Mr. Do!'s Castle
Montezuma's Revenge
Q*Bert
Slither
Spy Hunter
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
War Room
Wing War
4.7) The most popular cartridges
ColecoVision Experience magazine (see 5.2.1) ran a ";most popular/
best selling"; titles list in each issue.
Spring, 1983; most popular:
1. Donkey Kong
2. Zaxxon
3. Venture
4. Ladybug
5. Cosmic Avenger
6. Mouse Trap
7. Carnival
8. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle
Fall, 1983; best selling as of June 1983:
1. Donkey Kong Junior
2. Zaxxon
3. Gorf
4. Space Fury
5. Mouse Trap
6. Space Panic
7. Lady Bug
8. Pepper II
9. Cosmic Avenger
10. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle
Winter, 1984; best selling as of September 1983:
1. Donkey Kong Junior
2. Zaxxon
3. Space Fury
4. Mouse Trap
5. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle
6. Space Panic
7. Gorf
8. Looping
9. Pepper II
10. Lady Bug
4.8) Rare gems
The following cartridges haven't been rated by enough people to
justify including them among the ";BEST"; cartridges, but have
received great support from those who have rated them. Worth
taking a second look at, should you have the luck to happen upon
them...
Galaxian
Kevtris
Linking Logic
Logic Levels
Pac-Man
Q*Bert's Qubes
Rock 'n' Bolt
Up 'n' Down
Zenji
4.9) High scores
ColecoVision Experience magazine (see 5.2.1) included a high score
list in their Winter, 1984 issue:
Lady Bug
Level - 139
Score - 3,714,220
Chris Heverman
Montgomery, AL
Donkey Kong Junior
Score - 232,700
Gary Reimer
McAlester, OK
Pepper II
Score - 1,837,930
Elizabeth Kaleita
Sterling Heights, MI
Venture
Score - 1,985,000
Richard Abate
New Haven, CT
Smurf Rescue In Gargamel's Castle
Score - 451,000
Jim Brogan
St. Paul, MN
5.0) WWW sites
5.1) Instructions
James Carter has put together a repository of ColecoVision
instructions. These include the text of the instructions only,
and are in a text file format. They are available at no cost;
however, it is asked that if you have any instructions which
are not currently available, that you either enter them yourself
or make them available for James to scan.
The instructions are available via WWW at Greg Chance's History
of Home Video Games Homepage:
URL - http://www.sponsor.net/~gchance/
Or via email from James at:
JSCarter@ix.netcom.com
5.2) Books and Periodicals
A list of books and periodicals covering classic videogames is maintained
by Lee Seitz, and is available via WWW at:
URL - http://iquest.com/~lkseitz/
5.2.1) ColecoVision Experience
Of particular note among ColecoVision literature is the ColecoVision
Experience magazine, brought out by Coleco. Three issues came out,
containing ColecoVision news, new products, best seller lists, high
scores, strategy tips, and articles about such subjects as the ADAM
computer, the making of War Games, and intervies with game designers. - 35
5.3) ColecoVision Homepage
A ColecoVision Homepage created by Norman Sippel can be found at:
URL - http://www.infinet.com/~ngsippel/cv.html
5.4) Coleco FTP Site
An FTP site has been created for Coleco stuff. The addresses:
For downloads: altair.komkon.com /pub/Coleco
For uploads: altair.komkon.com /incoming/Coleco - 47
5.5) ColecoVision Emulator
The ColEm ColecoVision Emulator has a web page:
http://www.freeflight.com/fms/ColEm/
A FAQ for ColEm is available at this site, in addition to the emulator
itself. - 17
5.6) John Dondzila's ColecoVision Projects
John Dondzila, a modern day Vectrex game designer, has turned his
attention to the ColecoVision. Current information and screen shots
can be found at:
http://www.monmouth.com/~pcjohn/
6.0) Stickers
When the ColecoVision arrived, part of the hype was sets of puffy stickers.
One sheet contained stickers for Mr. Turtle, Head-To-Head Football,
Mouse Trap, and Rip Cord; another contained Head-To-Head Baseball,
Spectar, Side Trak, and Venture. Each had a screen shot.
Some notes of interest:
o Spectar and Rip Cord are the same pictures as the ColecoVision box.
o Head-To-Head Baseball, other than the diamond itself, doesn't share the
same graphics as Super Action Baseball.
o Side Trak looks an awful lot like Pepper II. Instead of a man running
around the track, a track cart is running on the tracks trying to pick
up little men. - 24
7.0) Technical Details
7.1) ColecoVision Memory Map
0000H - BIOS ROM
.
1FFFH
2000H - Expansion port
.
3FFFH
4000H - Expansion port
.
5FFFH
6000H - Start of RAM (1K mapped into an 8K spot)
.
7FFFH
8000H - Cart ROM (broken into 4 sections, each enabled seperately)
.
FFFFH
7.2) ColecoVision I/O Map
00-1F - No Connection
20-3F - No Connection
40-5F - Video
60-7F - Video
80-9F - No Connection
A0-BF - No Connection
C0-DF - Sound
E0-FF - Controllers; E2 is special, as well as E0 - E0 appears
to be the readback, and E2 appears to be the scan - 39
7.3) ColecoVision BIOS Details
The ColecoVision contains a ROM which essentially acts as a BIOS for the
system. Upon startup, it begins to execute code at 0000H. The first step
executed is a check to see if a cart is plugged in. This is performed by
checking two locations in the cart's memory - if the two bytes read are
55H and AAH then the ColecoVision knows a cart is in the system. Otherwise,
it displays the standard ";Turn Power Off Before..."; screen.
If a cart is in the system, the BIOS passes control to the cart. The cart
can then use some, all, or none the functions found in the BIOS. Some of
the functions provided in the BIOS include the title screen and game select
screen.
The famous twelve second delay is part of the title screen routine. - 8
The address range for cartridges is 8000H to FFFFH, a total of 32K. - 29, 31
7.4) ColecoVision Video RAM Details
The video RAM is broken up into tables which are user movable.
The tables which exist include:
The Name Table (this tells us what is in the background)
The Pattern Table (this tells us how each 8x8 character looks)
The Color Table (this tells us what colors to use for a given 8x8 pattern)
The Sprite Table (this tells us where sprites are, what they will look like,
their color, and how many to display)
The Sprite Pattern Table (this defines the 8x8 or 16x16 pattern for a sprite)
Four video modes exist:
A text 40x24 mode.
A multi-color mode w/ sprites (multi-color breaks the backgroun into
4x4 squares of 1 color per square. Smurf Paint 'n Play uses this mode.)
Graphics 1 mode w/ sprites (32x24 8x8 character background. Each
character is made up of 1 color only.)
Graphics 2 mode w/ sprites (same as Graphics 1 mode except each
character can have different colors for each of it's 8 rows.)
The Video RAM is accessable _only_ through the I/O ports, which is why
scrolling is difficult. - 8, 39
7.5) ColecoVision Programming Tips
9918A Programming Information - Extracted from the TI Editor/Assembler
manual by Tursi - tursi@vip.net (pages 326-340)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This applies to the TI-99/4A, but most should apply to the ColecoVision,
too. I'm uncertain if it's the 9918 or the 9918A in there, but the only
difference is that that 9918A has bitmap mode and the other doesn't. ;)
************************
VDP Write-Only Registers
************************
NOTE: -bit 0 is MSB (ie: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, 0=128 and 7=1)
-";enables"; are active when set to 1
-";>"; represents a hexadecimal number (ie: >400 = 400 hex)
Register 0 - Bits 0-5 - Reserved, set to 000000
Bit 6 - Mode bit 3 (M3) - sets bitmap mode
Bit 7 - Enable external video source (replaces
color 1 (transparent))
Register 1 - Bit 0 - 4/16k switch, if set, uses 16k
Bit 1 - blank enable (blanks display)
Bit 2 - Interrupt enable
Bit 3 - Mode bit 1 (M1) - sets text mode
Bit 4 - Mode bit 2 (M2) - sets multicolor mode
Bit 5 - reserved - set to 0
Bit 6 - sprite size - 0=normal (8x8), 1=large (16x16)
Bit 7 - sprite magnification enable
Register 2 - Base address of the Screen Image Table. Multiply this
value by >400
Register 3 - Base address of the Color Table. Multiply this value
by >40
Register 4 - Base address of the Pattern Descriptor Table. Multiply
this value by >800
Register 5 - Base address of the Sprite Attribute List. Multiply
this value by >80
Register 6 - Base address of the Sprite Descriptor Table. Multiply
this value by >800
Register 7 - Bits 0-3 - Foreground color in Text mode only
Bits 4-7 - Background color in all modes
The mode bits, M1, M2 and M3 determine the mode of the display. If they
are all 0, the display is in Graphics mode. Else as listed above. Below the
various modes are explained.
*************
Graphics Mode
*************
Graphics mode uses an array of 32 columns by 24 lines. Each position may
have one of the 256 patterns in the pattern table (usually including ASCII
characters). Foreground and background colors may be set for the
characters, and sprites are available.
PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE
This table contains descriptions for each of the 256 patterns. Each takes
8 bytes, for a total size of 2048 bytes. Character 0 is located at the base
address, character 1 at the base+8, and so forth.
To define a character, you must convert the pattern to hexadecimal bytes
(at least, this is easiest). If you define the character in an 8x8 grid,
simply treat dots as 1 and background as 0's, and convert the binary to
hexadecimal. For instance, a man may look like this:
## = 0001 1000 = 18 So the series of bytes to enter would
#### = 0011 1100 = 3C be: >18, >3C, >3C, >18, >7E, >18, >24, >42
#### = 0011 1100 = 3C
## = 0001 1000 = 18
###### = 0111 1110 = 7E
## = 0001 1000 = 18
# # = 0010 0100 = 24
# # = 0100 0010 = 42
In case hexadecimal makes no sense, here's a quick conversion chart:
Binary Hex Decimal
0000 = 0 = 0
0001 = 1 = 1
0010 = 2 = 2
0011 = 3 = 3
0100 = 4 = 4
0101 = 5 = 5
0110 = 6 = 6
0111 = 7 = 7
1000 = 8 = 8
1001 = 9 = 9
1010 = A = 10
1011 = B = 11
1100 = C = 12
1101 = D = 13
1110 = E = 14
1111 = F = 15
To find the base address for a character description, multiple the
character by 8 and add the table's base address (remember that you can do a
faster multiply by 8 by shifting left by 3 (8=2^3))
COLOR TABLE
This table contains the foreground and background colors of all the
characters. The high nibble is the foreground color, and the low nibble is
the background color. Each byte represents a group of 8 characters (ie: the
first entry is for characters 0-7, the second for characters 8-15, etc).
The table is 32 bytes long.
The colors are: (in hex)
Transparent = 0 Medium Red = 8
Black = 1 Light Red = 9
Medium Green = 2 Dark Yellow = A
Light Green = 3 Light Yellow = B
Dark Blue = 4 Dark Green = C
Light Blue = 5 Magenta = D
Dark Red = 6 Gray = E
Cyan = 7 White = F
To determine which color group a character is in, divide it's number by 8
(or shift right by 3). Remember that you affect all 8 characters if you
change the entry.
SCREEN IMAGE TABLE
This specifies which character occupies each position on the screen. It is
768 bytes long. Whatever byte is at each position is what appears at that
location.
To calculate an address from X and Y, use (Y*32)+X (or (Y<<5)+x) and add
the base address.
***************
MULTICOLOR MODE
***************
In multicolor mode, the screen is 48 rows, and 64 columns wide, with each
'box' being 4 pixels by 4 pixels. There are thus 3072 boxes, each of which
can be a different color with no restrictions. Sprites are available.
The general way to set up is like so:
SCREEN IMAGE TABLE
Initialize the Screen Image Table so that the first >80 bytes contain >00
through >1F repeated 4 times, the next >80 bytes contain >20 through >3F
repeated 4 times, and so on, so that the last >80 bytes contain >A0 through
>BF repeated 4 times.
PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE
The pattern descriptor table now contains colors, instead of patterns.
They are still organized in 8-character blocks, with each byte describing
the colors of two boxes. The high nibble is the first block, and the low
nibble is the block to it's right.
The first byte defines the first two blocks in row 1. The second byte is
the first two blocks in row 2. This continues until the eighth byte (the
first two blocks in row 8), and then goes back to row one. This continues
until the first 32 eight-byte segments have been defined, describing all
the blocks in the first 8 rows.
It's very messy... but draw yourself a picture and it should make sense.
Essentially, each entry in the screen image table still points to an
8-byte 'definition', but the definition defines the colours, not the
pixels, now, making each character a 2x8 colored group. :) Initializing the
screen image table as above lets you change the screen by editing the
pattern descriptor table, but it's not the only way. :)
*********
TEXT MODE
*********
Text mode is 40 columns by 24 lines, and sprites are not permitted.
The layout of the tables is the same as in graphics mode, however, each
character is only 6x8, instead of 8x8. Also, the screen image table is now
960 bytes instead of 768. The last two bits of each definition are ignored
to make the smaller characters.
Only two colors are allowed in text mode, as defined by VDP register 7.
***********
BITMAP MODE
***********
Bitmap mode allows independantly defining each of the 768 screen
positions, and allows a bit more color freedom as well. Sprites are also
allowed. As normal, the patterns for each position are in the Screen Image
Table, the descriptions are in the Pattern Descriptor Table, and the colors
are in the Color Table.
SCREEN IMAGE TABLE
As before, each entry is a single byte from >00 to >FF defining which
pattern to place at each location. In bitmap mode, however, it is divided
into 3 sections of 256 bytes each, each pointing essentially to a different
character set. The first section uses the first 256 entries in the pattern
and color table, the second section uses the next 256 entries, and the
third uses the last 256 entries. Normally this table is set at >1800
(assuming 16k VDP ram) (VDP register 2 = >06)
PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE
It works the same as in graphics mode, except that there are now 3
sections, each 256 patterns long, allowing 768 possible patterns. It's size
is 6144 bytes.
The first section is for the first third of the screen, and so on.
It should normally be placed at either >0000 or >2000 (VDP register 4 =
>00 or >04). The color table will sit at the other address.
COLOR TABLE
The color table works much like it did in graphics mode, except that each
entry now defines a single character, and every row of that character has
it's own color entry. It matches byte-for-byte the entries in the pattern
descriptor table, with the high nibble being the foreground colour, and the
low nibble being the background color for that row of the pattern.
It is also divided into three 256 character sections, and each entry is
also 8 bytes long. It is 6144 bytes long, and should be placed at either
>0000 or >2000, whichever the PDT is not at. (VDP register 3 = >00 or >04).
DISCUSSION of bitmap mode
For using bitmap mode, it is usually easiest (but not fastest!) to
initialize the Screen Image Table with >00 through >FF three times, and
then alter the entries in the Pattern Descriptor table and Color table.
Thus, to alter a pixel on the screen, you must calculate the byte and bit
to be changed in the pattern descriptor table. The same offset will let you
alter the color table.
I don't know what processor the Coleco uses, but here is a psuedo code for
a weird and wacky formula that will calculate the byte offset and bit
offset of a given coordinate, ready to be indexed into the appropriate
table. :) Note this is all 16-bit math. Don't ask me why it works, but it
does seem to. :)
XIn = X coordinate 0-255
YIn = Y coordinate 0-191
ByteOut = Byte Offset into tables
BitOut = Bit offset into byte in pattern descriptor table
1. Copy YIn to ByteOut
2. Shift ByteOut left 5 times (ie: multiply by 32)
3. OR YIn into ByteOut
4. AND ByteOut with >FF07
5. Copy XIn to BitOut
6. AND Bitout with >0007
7. Add XIn to ByteOut
8. Subtract BitOut from ByteOut
*******
SPRITES
*******
Sprites are independant of the screen and their patterns can be in
addition to those in the pattern descriptor table (or the sprite descriptor
table can be set up to overlap). There can be up to 32 sprites and there
are 4 available sizes.
SPRITE ATTRIBUTE LIST
This list defines the position and color of each of the 32 sprites, 0-31.
To move a sprite, you must update the entries in this table. Sprites may be
located at any visible position (0-255 and 0-191), or off the bottom of the
screen (y>191).
Each definition is 4 bytes long, thus the table is 128 bytes long. The
first row on the screen is >FF, the next is >00 and so on to >BE. (so it
says!) :)
Byte 1 - Y position of the sprite. >D0 means end of the sprite list, so
be aware if allowing sprites off the bottom.
Byte 2 - X position of the sprite. >00 - >FF
Byte 3 - pattern of the sprite, from >00 to >FF, in the SPRITE
Descriptor Table
Byte 4 - Bits 0-2 = apparently undefined
Bit 3 = Early clock attribute - Normally, the coordinates
indicate the top left corner of the sprite, and
sprites can scroll smoothly off the right side of
the screen. If this bit is set, the early clock
is enabled, and the sprite is shifted 32 pixels
to the left, and scrolls smoothly off the left
of the screen.
Bit 4-7 = Sprite color
SPRITE DESCRIPTOR TABLE
This table is defined exactly the same way as the pattern descriptor table
in graphics mode. However, sprites can be double-sized or magnified. A
magnified sprite simply has each pixel twice it's normal size. A
double-size sprite uses four consecutive characters, laid out like this:
1 3
2 4
Sprites thus range from 8x8 pixels to 32x32 pixels, but only 16x16 pixels
of detail.
7.6) Cartridge Slot Pinout
Looking from the top of the unit:
D2 D1 D0 A0 A1 A2 SHLD A3 A4 A13 A5 A6 A7 E000 GND
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
C000 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 A11 A10 8000 A14 A000 A12 A9 A8 +5
Pin 13 is the shield ground. It is connected to a screw post, but not to a
signal The four chip selects are active low. - 29
7.7) ADAM Printer/Power Port
(Colors of COLECO wires are indicated after voltage ratings)
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
Pin 1 = 12V BROWN
Pin 2 = 12V RED
Pin 3 = 5V ORANGE
Pin 4 = -5V YELLOW
Pin 5 = Ground GREEN
Pins 6, 7, 8 = Serial Data Clock, Serial Data, Signal Ground?
Pin 9 = No connection - 13
7.8) ADAM Programming Tips
Computers and Electronics April 1984 issue includes a number of programming
tips and ideas for the ADAM, including a number of projects. - 44
8.0) Separate Audio/Video Hack by Sean Kelly
(The following is a modification which can be used to improve your
ColecoVision. The authors of this list and this modification can not
be responsible for any damage done to your unit or person as a result
of attempting this modification.)
This is a rather feeble attempt at describing the hack to the ColecoVision
video game system to give separate audio and video outputs to the system.
I am what I call an ";Electronics Tinkerer"; meaning I have no formal
education in electronics and basically only know what I have been able to
figure out by ripping apart everything I own !
I am a collector of Classic video games and systems and ran across this
hack on one of the many ColecoVision systems I own. It actually works
quite well and gives the on-screen images a much crisper look to them.
Audio is generally pretty poor on the ColecoVision and this hack doesn't
do much to help it.
In order to get things started you have to open up the ColecoVision by
removing the 8 screws on the bottom of the case. With the screws removed,
the case is still something of a pain to open because of the lip on the
expansion port, but just keep working at it and it will eventually come
apart. Next thing is to remove the screws holding down the motherboard
itself (three of them I believe) and take the motherboard out of the case.
On some versions of the ColecoVision the aluminum cover is soldered to
the circuit board. If this is the case on yours, you will have to desolder
it and remove both the top and bottom parts to the aluminum cover. Set
everything but the motherboard aside and you are ready to get to work.
The person that did the hack on this system uses a small automotive-type
fuse block terminal to mount the components of the circuit board on. I
have located it in the 1992 Radio Shack catalog (page 150) and it is RS
part #274-688. It comes in a package of four for $1.29. Here is a list
of the components used: AGAIN - I have no formal electronics education
and don't really know how to read all the weird symbols on the parts. I
will do my best to describe them (I have also labeled them on the line
below for future reference - take note):
Transistor - No part # markings at all. Only thing on it is a white, red,
(T1) and green stripe in that order from top to bottom. I assume
this tells what kind/type it is?
POSSIBLE (!) RS Part #276-1617 $1.98 (pkg. of 2)
Capacitor - Electrolytic type with part #N8408 on it. It also has the
(C1) marking ";470uf 35v";, but the ";u"; is one of the funny symbols
that I have no idea what it means.
RS Part #272-1030 $ .99
Capacitor - Ceramic Disc type. Only marking on it is an underlined ";47";.
(C2)
RS Part #272-121 $ .39 (pkg. of 2)
Resistor - I know these are defined by the colored stripes (See - I'm
(R1) not a complete idiot!! haha). The stripes are: Orange,
Orange, Brown, and Gold.
A/V Cable - One Audio/Video cable with the RCA plugs cut off on one end.
You will also need about 5 small pieces of wire around 4"; long each.
We're looking at a total of about five bucks to do this so for parts that do
not come in packages of two or more, I would suggest buying an extra one,
unless you know what you're doing, in case you screw something up.
The center connector on your terminal will be the ground for all the
components because it is the only terminal that sticks out on both sides
of the block. The part the extends on the bottom will be used to mount
to terminal to the ColecoVision motherboard. Directly to the right of
the RF modulator (big silver box on the motherboard) right under the
letter of the revision of the motherboard (the one I am looking at is
";J";) you will have to scrape off a section of the green coating so you
can solder the terminal on the bottom to the motherboard. After
soldering this bend the terminal block so that it is standing straight
up from the motherboard.
Since many of the components will be ";tied"; together, you might want to
connect them all to the posts first and then solder them later. The way
I am going to describe how to connect them will (hopefully) make it as
easy as possible to understand. The following is a listing of each post
numbered from 1-5, left to right, looking at the terminal block from the
back of the motherboard. Looking at the ";back"; you will be looking at
the channel 3-4 switch as well as the RCA plug that is used to connect
the ColecoVision to the TV/Game switch now. Here is what goes on each post:
Post #1 - The LEFT ";leg"; of the transistor. I am looking at the
transistor on the side that is curved - where you can see the
color bands.
One of the small pieces of wire goes from this post to the right
leg of the disc capacitor on the ColecoVision motherboard
itself marked ";C22";.
Post #2 - The CENTER ";leg"; of the transistor.
One ";leg"; from the Disc capacitor.
One of the small pieces of wire goes from this post to the
underside of the ColecoVision motherboard. It will be EXTREMELY
hard for me to explain where to connect this on the bottom of
the motherboard since there are no markings on this side. The
only way I can describe it is to say that it is being connected
to one of the components in the RF modulator. The RF modulator
is ";outlined"; in a sense on the bottom of the MB with solder
because of grounding. You need to connect it to the pin that
has the marking ";+12"; at about 5 O'Clock. This is the closest
pin to he ";+12"; marking.
Post #3 - This is the GROUND post. One side of the resistor is connected
here.
The two ground wires from the RCA cables must be connected here
also. Each Audio/Video wire has two wires inside of it. In
general, one is shielded in plastic and the other is not. The
unshielded wire is the ground. Connect the unshielded wire from
each cable to this post.
Post #4 - The side of the Electrolytic capacitor (C1) that the arrow
printed on the capacitor points to.
This is where I am sort of unable to help you. The positive
wire from the Audio or Video wire needs to be connected to this
post. Since the RCA ends are cut off the cable I don't know
which is which. It should not damage anything by connecting
them the wrong way, so you will have to take a guess. One of
them goes on this post and the other goes on post #5.
Post #5 - The other of the positive Audio/Video wires gets connected here.
One of the small pieces of wire goes here. This one is even
harder to describe than the one on post 2. The ";outline"; in
solder around where the RF modulator is mounted on the opposite
side is where you are going to connect this wire. Looking at
the bottom of the MB with the expansion port facing you the part
of the ";outline"; you need to connect this wire to will be on
your left. It's small section of solder (compared to the
section on the right) and is about 1.5-2 inches long. Connect
this wire anyplace here.
You now have one leg of the transistor (T1), one leg of the resistor (R1),
and one leg of each capacitor just hanging there right? Connect all of
these together, but do not connect them to any of the posts. Just sort
of let them hang there.
The person who did this to my system also has one other wire connected
to the bottom of the motherboard, but the other end of it has been cut and
is not connected to anything. I assume this serves no purpose.
9.0) Automatic RF Switch
Creating an automatic RF switch (similar to that found on the NES and Super
Nintendo) is relatively simple. Just add a 220-330 ohm 1/2W resistor from
12V thru a 180uh inductor to the center terminal on the modulator's output.
The resistor limits the current in case the cable gets shorted, and the
inductor keeps the RF out of the power supply, and interference out of the
signal. The inductor size isn't too critical; anything from 80uh-330uh should
do the trick. - 39
Alternatively, a 47 ohm resistor can be used; a 100pf DC blocking capactior
is also recommended. - 29
10.0) Replacing The ColecoVision ROM
This procedure can be used either to replace a bad ROM, or to install a custom
programmed EPROM.
Parts needed:
28 pin IC socket
2764 EPROM chip programmed with the COLECO.BIN file
Two short pieces of wire
Soldering iron, solder, desoldering iron, etc.
(Note: If you haven't opened your ColecoVision before, you may have to
use the desoldering iron to suck up some solder so that you can open up
the RF shield and get to the circuit board. Also, you may want to consider
repairing your power switch. Desolder it, take it apart, clean it, pack it
with ";dielectric grease"; from an auto supply store, reassemble it, then
resolder it.)
1) Desolder the old ROM chip. (U2) If you haven't desoldered chips
before, get some practice or buy a pizza and split it with a friend who
has. (See end of this section for tips on how to desolder an IC chip.)
Also suck the solder out of the four extra holes, and out of the holes
marked ";WJ4"; and ";WJ5";.
2) Insert the 28 pin socket into the holes and solder it down. Test your
work by putting the ROM chip back in and turning the unit on. If the
";COLECOVISION"; screen comes up, everything is okay.
3) Solder short pieces of wire into the WJ4 and WJ5 holes.
4) On the underside of the circuit board are two small ";bumps"; in two
short traces coming from the WJ5 holes. Cut the traces. Do NOT cut
the long trace that ends in a ";Y"; next to a WJ5 hole.
5) Program a 2764 EPROM with the contents of COLECO.BIN, which can be found
with the ColecoVision emulator.
6) Put the 2764 EPROM into the socket and test everything by turning on the
unit and checking for the ";COLECOVISION"; screen. Now you're done!
Hints for desoldering:
* I use a Radio Shack desoldering iron. This has a red rubber bulb on it
and a hollow tip. It's cheap and works well.
* Use a fresh tip for important projects! It's not worth trying to save
two bucks only to ruin a circuit board or a chip. Tinning your tip is
a good idea, too.
* Wait for the joint to completely melt before sucking out the solder. If
you suck too soon, you may not be able to melt the joint properly any
more. Wait about four seconds, or five for the four ";corner"; pins.
* When you have sucked out the solder from all of the holes, push all the
pins to ";crack"; them off of the remaining solder.
* If you have done everything right, the chip should practically fall out
of the board. - 29
12.0) Copying ColecoVision Cartridges
Some ingenious hackers figured out a way to copy the ADAM Computer's
Super Data Packs to blank cartridges that then can be used on the
ColecoVision. Most of the ADAM Super Data Packs were duplicates of
ColecoVision Cartridges, but contained an extra screen or other extras
the cartridge version lacked. - JC
FWIW, I've now seen both a Super Donkey Kong and Super Donkey Kong Junior
cart. The only extras I saw in Super DK Jr. were music during the level
selection, and a fourth screen, but Super Donkey Kong adds some end-of-
screen graphics (the carry-away after screen 1 and falling girders after
screen 2) in addition to its fourth screen. - JH
Note that copying cartridges or software is a violation of copyright
law unless permission to do so has been received from the rights holder.
Also note that pirated and reproduction cartridges for ColecoVision do
exist. Some dealers sell them; some refuse to. Not surprisingly, pirated
cartridges are considered to have very little collectible value, so be
aware that they exist - particularly if you run across demo carts and/or
extremely rare titles.
12.0) Repair Tips
The following are suggestions for solving problems with your
ColecoVision. The authors of this list and these tips can not be
responsible for any damage done to your unit or carts as a result
of attempting these fixes.
12.1) To fix a rolling picture/video problems:
The problem is with the power switch. You'll notice that if you were
to jiggle it a little without turning the system off that it will make
a complete mess of your screen. What I suggest is that you desolder
the power switch from the circuit board, take the metal cover off of
it and clean all the contacts and re-grease them after cleaning them.
Make sure the metal cover is REALLY TIGHT when you put it back on though.
From then on if you are very careful when turning the unit on/off it
should work OK for you.
If you still have a problem go to an electronics store... and get a
similar switch and replace it. Nothing else you can do really. - 05
- - -
Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but you seem to have a combination
of an intermittent open and a heat sensitive component.
Get a can of ";cold spray"; made for isolating thermal intermittents:
should be a couple of bucks at a local electronics shop. If you can
get the box open and get to all the components, it should be fairly
straightforward to figure out which one is the bad guy.
Actually, by your description (starts good, goes bad after 2 minutes,
can be affected mechanically) leans towards a bad solder connection
(or socket it the darn thing has them). It may be as easy as touching
up a few solder connections. - 06
- - -
If the video problem is simply vertical lines dragging behind the sprites,
it can sometimes be solved by using a different power supply. - 16
- - -
A number of problems (warping sprites, lack of audio, lines in sprites,
etc.) can, in many circumstances, be solved simply by assuring a solid
connection between the power supply and unit. This can require
hardwiring the power supply to the unit. - 33
- - -
In some cases, sprite problems can be solved by cleaning the cartridge
in question. But if the startup screen has letters screwed up, such as
CKHACK, you probably have a bad DRAM. U10 is D7 and U17 is D0. CKHACK
indicates a bad D2 line, which would be U15. General directions for
replacing a bad chip can be found in Section 10.3. - 29
12.2) To avoid an automatic level select problem:
One common ColecoVision trouble is that the controller ports break down
easily, causing symptoms such as the ColecoVision thinking the keypad is
constantly being pressed (which can cause the a game to be automatically
started, as the level select is essentially instantaneous). A frequent
source for this problem is the high sensitivity to static electricity
which the controller port pins exhibit. To avoid the problem, simply
don't touch the controller port pins unless properly grounded. - 08
12.3) To fix an automatic level select problem:
One possible piece which can be blown by static electricity at the
controller ports (see 10.2) is the SN74LS541N chip, a 3-to-8 decoder.
If this is the chip that's blown, then replacing this chip (a generic
component, available at any good electronics store) can solve the
problem. - 13, 15
Parts:
A good soldering iron (with a very thin tip)
Computer solder (thin)
Solder wick
Needle nose pliers
An SN74LS541N chip
Two 2.2K K27 resistor packets (optional/recommended)
Getting started:
Plug in and turn on the Coleco with a Donkey Kong cart inserted. When the
game automatically goes into play mode, note if the Mario moves without
touching the joystick. If so, then the 1st player chip is definitely
damaged. If a two player game is the one automatically started (which
seems to be the prevalent fail mode) automatic movement of the second
player's Mario likewise indicates that the 2nd player chip is certainly
damaged. Lack of automatic movement does not rule out the possibility that
either or both chips are damaged; indeed, given the automatic select problem,
it's likely that at least one chip is damaged. But determining that one
chip is certainly damaged can minimize your work.
Surgery:
1) Turn off and unplug your ColecoVision, removing the cartridge.
2) Make certain that you are properly grounded, if possible.
3) Open the plastic casing for the unit.
4) Remove the metal cover from the board by desoldering it. It just
gets in the way so its better to remove it. It is not essential to
the working of the game, though it can be resoldered later if desired.
5) the bare board upside down and find the soldering connections for the
SN74LS541N chip that you wish to replace.
6) Note the orientation of the SN74LS541N you intend to replace, so that
you can be certain that you provide the same orientation for the
replacement chip.
7) Take the soldering iron and solder wick. Place the wick on one of
the solder connections on the board. Press the solder iron on the wick.
The iron will heat up the wick which will heat up the solder. The
solder will turn liquid and be absorbed by the wick. This takes some
practice before you get the hang of it.
8) Absorb as much of the solder as possible from all of the connections
to the chip you're removing as possible.
9) Flip the board back over and take the pliers. This is where you have
to get tough with your Coleco, and let it know who's boss! Growl at
it occasionally to let off steam. Now, being careful not to
harm any other components on the board, grip the defective chip with
the pliers and pull and pry. It's OK to break the chip because it's
defective garbage anyway.
*** Note - it's a good idea to wiffle each of the pins to pop them off
any remaining solder. In fact, if the chip really is dead, it's
better to just snip or Dremel all the pins off first, _then_ desolder
the pins individually. - 29
10) After forcibly removing bits of the defective chip from the board,
remove any broken pins stuck in the board, extra solder, etc. so that
the area that was occupied by that chip is clean. Suck up the solder
from the pinholes with the wick so that you can see right through the
board through each pinhole. Gee, your ColecoVision never looked better!
11) Take the new SN74LS541N chip and gently install it in the board,
inserting the pins in the pinholes. Make sure that the chip is
oriented in the same direction that the original chip was! Gently
bend the pins if necessary so that they all go in the holes. Be
careful not to press too hard as you might bend some pins that aren't
properly aligned with their holes.
12) Flip the board over. Take the solder iron and the computer solder
and solder each connection carefully. Isn't this fun? Don't you
feel like a computer technician now? :)
13) Optional/recommended: Replace the resistor packets on the port in a
similar (though much easier) manner. For these parts, note the DOT
orientation when replacing.
14) Put the board back in the plastic case to avoid shock.
12.4) To fix a broken roller controller:
When a roller controller will not register movement in one pair of
directions (up-down or right-left), the problem might be with the infrared
motion detectors. The pair of sensors appropriate to the direction
simply need to be replaced with new off the shelf send and receive sensors.
Jumping and contact problems can usually be traced to the bearings.
Sometimes these problems can be solved by cleaning the bearings; often,
however, the problem can not be solved. - 11, 14
12.5) To fix a poorly responding controller:
A simple cleaning with a can of compressed air and TV tuner cleaner can
greatly improve the responsiveness of the standard controllers.
12.6) To fix a dead cartridge:
Most cartridge problems are a result of bad (or no) contact between the
cartridge and the system. Cleaning the cartridge and system contacts
with alcohol usually solves the problem. As a last resort, a pencil
eraser can be used on the contacts of the cartridge. - JH
13.0) ColecoVision Dealers
ColecoVision cartridges are nearly always cheapest when purchased from a
thrift store or flea market. For example, I've purchased a great majority
of the carts I own, including a number of difficult to find titles, for
$1 to $5. However, when you can't find a cartridge, there are a number
of dealers who sell (via mail order) a line of ColecoVision cartridges:
Note: the following are listed alphabetically. An attempt has been
made to provide basic information about their ColecoVision lines.
Inclusion on this list carries with it no recommendation, either
positive or negative, about the dealer. Additional dealers who
sell a line of ColecoVision products via mail order will be gladly
added to the list.
Adam's House
Snail Mail: 1829 County Road #130
Pearland, TX 77581-9503
Phone (9 AM - 6 PM Central Time): (713) 482-5040
Email: coleco@flash.net
WWW: http://www.flash.net/~coleco/
Carry a wide range of cartridges and hardware, all new. Take
MC/VI. Cartridge r
