NEW Help! First vector game what should I get?

Yes, but only by a few months. In 1981 it was likely a tight race to get these two out the door.
(I should have added the word "Atari").

Space Fury (J:スペースフューリー) is a multi-directional shooter arcade game created by Sega and released on June 17, 1981.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Fury

Tempest - Released October 1981 [2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_(video_game)

Yeah I realize it's pedantic, but pedantic is what the internet is for!

I was going to say that Tempest was the first reliable color vector, but then I realized that isn't true either.


Don't be an idiot - COLLECT THEM ALL!!! :cool::D:cool:
(Even the ones which are impossible to find)

This is the correct answer.
 
Yeah I realize it's pedantic, but pedantic is what the internet is for!

I was going to say that Tempest was the first reliable color vector, but then I realized that isn't true either.

nou07.jpg


I would go out on a limb and claim Tempest is more reliable that Star Wars. Yep, said it. :001_stongue:
 
Chiming in here with my admittedly somewhat biased opinion as Tempest is my favorite game of all, period, end of story, so keep that in mind as you read on.

Between the two games and if you must choose, Tempest is the better game overall and will hold your attention for a longer period of time, IMHO. It more than fulfills the classic game mantra of "Easy to learn, difficult to master" and will likely keep you very entertained for quite a while as you learn how to get deeper and deeper into the game. You'll need to learn strategy and quickness to master the game, particularly if you do get all the way to the black ("invisible") and then the green levels. And there are no patterns involved...but again, it's all strategy and quickness. And I really like that, no matter how good one gets at the game, the sheer randomness of the various enemy's movements and actions will eventually get you.

For perspective, even after all of these years of playing this game (literally from when I saw my first upright when it was originally released BITD), I can play pretty much forever if the extra man settings are for 10K, but on factory settings (extra man every 20K), the game does get me eventually :) .

As for SW: It's also certainly a very good game and more than worthy of classic game status, but overall it is a little repetitive after you play it for a while. But on the other hand, its collector/monetary value is higher and will likely remain high what with the seemingly never-ending movies, TV shows, and merchandising that will no doubt keep many generations to come interested in this game.

I recently brought my upright to my son's school for a charity event, and the kids could not get enough of it...it was in constant use and even the parents got in on the action a bit (when they could elbow out the kids ever so briefly :) ) .

Of course if you do get SW, be sure to get the ESB kit...not as good a game as SW, but still fun to play sometimes. Someone needs to modify that kit so you can have an option to earn back a shield :) .

Anyway, there's my 2 cents.

If I were in your shoes, I'd do what I can to pick up both if at all possible...you know you'll want both eventually anyway :D .

Jon
 
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Not to sound like a broken record (you remember records, right?), but:

If you can only afford one, buy the Star Wars. It's a good game, it holds its value, and they're becoming harder and harder to find. Tempest is a great game, and a staple for any arcade, but you'll find one next week, and another the week after that.
 
jouststar is selling a Quantum right now in the For Sale/Whole Games section, if you're interested.
 
The way I would answer it is if you want a game with a unique shaped cabinet and challenging gameplay that you plan on playing all the time because you want to see how much farther you can get and always improve your high score, get the Tempest. If you want a game with a beautiful cabinet and with nice graphics that you are only going to play once in a while, get the Star Wars.
 
The way I would answer it is if you want a game with a unique shaped cabinet and challenging gameplay that you plan on playing all the time because you want to see how much farther you can get and always improve your high score, get the Tempest. If you want a game with a beautiful cabinet and with nice graphics that you are only going to play once in a while, get the Star Wars.


This pretty much sums it up. Very well put.

Tempest is a serious and well-developed classic game of skill. SW is more of a visually and technically impressive novelty, with the added cultural appeal of it being SW.

That's not to say one is better than the other, but it ultimately comes down to what you're looking for.
 
If you're like me no matter which one you ultimately decide to get there will be a small piece of you that wishes you'd picked the other one instead (hence all the "just figure out how to get both" comments).

There really is no wrong answer here.
 
I find it a bit funny that people keep mentioning that Star Wars is "repetitive" (it is)... when the alternative is TEMPEST... in which you do pretty much the exact same thing throughout the entire game. Sure, the level shapes differ, but the gameplay is pretty much the same throughout.

I've had multiple cabinets of both. I still own Star Wars but not Tempest... but I regret selling Tempest... so there is that.

If I had to choose... well, you didn't see me sell my latest Star Wars ... so there you go.
 
I find it a bit funny that people keep mentioning that Star Wars is "repetitive" (it is)... when the alternative is TEMPEST... in which you do pretty much the exact same thing throughout the entire game. Sure, the level shapes differ, but the gameplay is pretty much the same throughout.


I can see why you'd say that, but it's actually not true, once you get to the higher levels.

In addition to mastering some fundamental techniques (like killing flippers as they flip on to you), you need to change your play strategy as the levels evolve, because the enemies do get more crafty, in addition to faster.

The addition of the Pulsars at the red levels definitely changes how you move and think within the game, and it gets harder from there, as later on there are two types of Tankers, which break into different enemies (Fuseballs and Pulsars), and their behavior becomes much more aggressive. And for each new complication, you need to adapt the way you think and strategize. But when you combine all of it together, it becomes a beautiful ballet of navigable chaos.

These sorts of elements are why I say Tempest is a deeper game than a lot of people realize. The more you get into it, the more you appreciate the subtle things Dave Theurer did to make it continue to be challenging, once you get past the initial stages. (The supposed story is that they played it so much in the Atari break room that many people got 'too good' at it, so they had to make it harder.) But you need to get to the point of being more than a casual player to appreciate some of those things.
 
Star Wars is pattern-esque if not straight up pattern.
Hence it can be marathoned without a lot of time invested (Even I learned the patterns and could marathon it in the local arcade, after a high score champ visited town and showed us)

Tempest is easy to learn at first which is why even kids will spin around and fire on the first couple waves contentedly.
But ungodly difficult to master, it still smokes me well before the crazy stuff.
There are a few old timers who legitimately maxed the game out with high scores but they must have special brains or are just "Tommy pinball wizards"

I watched Fred (is it crazykong on here?) play it at a high level in Chicago. blew me away with the finesse exhibited.
 
I can see why you'd say that, but it's actually not true, once you get to the higher levels.

In addition to mastering some fundamental techniques (like killing flippers as they flip on to you), you need to change your play strategy as the levels evolve, because the enemies do get more crafty, in addition to faster.

The addition of the Pulsars at the red levels definitely changes how you move and think within the game, and it gets harder from there, as later on there are two types of Tankers, which break into different enemies (Fuseballs and Pulsars), and their behavior becomes much more aggressive. And for each new complication, you need to adapt the way you think and strategize. But when you combine all of it together, it becomes a beautiful ballet of navigable chaos.

These sorts of elements are why I say Tempest is a deeper game than a lot of people realize. The more you get into it, the more you appreciate the subtle things Dave Theurer did to make it continue to be challenging, once you get past the initial stages. (The supposed story is that they played it so much in the Atari break room that many people got 'too good' at it, so they had to make it harder.) But you need to get to the point of being more than a casual player to appreciate some of those things.

Andrew could not be more correct here (and well-stated).

It is very true that each time you get to a new color, you have to in many ways completely rethink your gameplay/strategizing to adapt in addition to becoming significantly quicker in your response times, and even then there are different and subtle ways that the different types of enemies move/behave that are specific to each shape.

And then even the latter becomes random once you get past level 99.

The game is pure genius by Mr. Theurer...sure wish I could meet him someday to express my gratitude for giving the world such a wonderful game.

Oh yeah..did I mention that the I still love the look of the cabinet itself as well as displaying what is also my favorite sideart? :D .

Jon
 
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