Paperboy
Main game
2.96 average rating based on 724 ratings
- Developers
- Atari Games, Vivid Games
- Publishers
- Atari Games, Digital Eclipse, Elite Systems, Mindscape, Sega Mobile
- Series
- Paperboy
- Event
- Microsoft E306 Media Briefing
- Platforms
- Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Arcade, Atari ST/STE, BBC Microcomputer System, Commodore 16, Commodore C64/128/MAX, Commodore Plus/4, DOS, Legacy Mobile Device, Xbox 360, ZX Spectrum, iOS
- Genres
- Arcade, Racing, Simulator
- Themes
- Action, Comedy
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Paperboy?
Related Content
WildScallion's review of Paperboy
This review is for the Nintendo Entertainment System version
Tried to master this on RetroAchievements, but haven't been able to get the pesky 100K score. My general thoughts are that this is a pretty strong NES title, but it's a bit lacking in variety
- After Tuesday you get no new enemies and they just increase in density
- There's no incentive to go fast other than in the training course. It's most fun for me to try and play the game fast, but the game doesn't reward this.
- Similarly, I think the reward for perfect days (and in the mailbox perfect) should be higher. At the end of the day, it's not too hard to beat this game, and the high score is kind of broken, because breaking windows is more valuable than delivering papers and so high sccore gameplay is very tedious.
Classic Game That Would Likely Be Better Played On An Actual Arcade Machine
This review is for the Arcade version
Look: 8/10 Great colors, great look (tho I hate the POV), I lovvvve the graphic with the box on your head lol. And lol the blond women's hair when they go FLYING by the main intersection
Sound: 8/10 Catchy funky tune, and beautiful sounds when shows which houses renewed subscription/etc. at the end of a street. And the talking, from the voice in the level select screen to the main character's voice--so nice!
Play: 7/10 (I don't really feel I can properly judge this part till I get access to it on actual arcade machines; that being said, I wanted to still be able to rate it in the form I have access to playing it, so I know not to return to it on that form in the future). What frustrating controls, almost made me just pass this off as a definite 2 star and move on. Not a fan of how the navigation works and the POV angle in general is nauseating/bad. And how could someone memorize that quickly which houses you're supposed to throw to when it shows it briefly at the beginning? (Oh, nvm, they are colored different like I originally had thought)
Feel: 7/10 (Again, …
Look: 8/10 Great colors, great look (tho I hate the POV), I lovvvve the graphic with the box on your head lol. And lol the blond women's hair when they go FLYING by the main intersection
Sound: 8/10 Catchy funky tune, and beautiful sounds when shows which houses renewed subscription/etc. at the end of a street. And the talking, from the voice in the level select screen to the main character's voice--so nice!
Play: 7/10 (I don't really feel I can properly judge this part till I get access to it on actual arcade machines; that being said, I wanted to still be able to rate it in the form I have access to playing it, so I know not to return to it on that form in the future). What frustrating controls, almost made me just pass this off as a definite 2 star and move on. Not a fan of how the navigation works and the POV angle in general is nauseating/bad. And how could someone memorize that quickly which houses you're supposed to throw to when it shows it briefly at the beginning? (Oh, nvm, they are colored different like I originally had thought)
Feel: 7/10 (Again, this isn't really fair till I get access to proper arcade machines) In the end, I could just not connect with it because of the bad navigation controls and the utterly constant obstacles even on Easy St. So much potential in this. They tried to add biking elements but didn't really prove much fun.
Attachment: 8/10 It was hard not to try again cuz it technically should be good--maybe if I just go slower? (And sure enough, I did try again, and did much better lol). Really funny you do the Training Course doing jumps at the end to show off, and the person at the end has the "I Luv U Paper Boy" sign. Anyway, the fact I already replayed it, and the fact I now wanna look up where to play this on an arcade machine. And I still have an itch to replay it even on MAME now that I better understand the overall game, damaging non-subscribers' house and just delivering one newspaper for subscribers' houses heh.. But for now, moving on
Completion: I think it was about 10,000 Score. But I never really primarily focused on not damaging subscribers' house and only damaging non-subscribers' house lol. Playtime: ~35 mins
Fun non traditional arcade game
This review is for the Nintendo Entertainment System version
I had this for game boy growing up and don't think I ever got past the second day. I just played through the nes version using save states at the beginning of each day and really enjoyed it! I can't imagine beating it normally though. It takes a while to get the hang of the hit boxes, moment, and physics, but it's really worth it when you do! There's something really satisfying about landing a paper in a box from the street.
I used to think gen xers just pretended to like these old Atari games but this one really grew on me and Im looking forward to trying more. I was listening to a podcast with one of the creators of the game and he said they were really trying to make games that weren't violent as a creative endeavor, because games where you are fighting other characters is so idiosyncratic. This really opened my eyes and helped me appreciate games like Paper Boy, Toobin, and Marble Madness.
I'd love to play the arcade version one day!
Simple Yet Addictive
This review is for the Arcade version
Another game I'm playing on my Mac, the arcade version of Paperboy was always one of my favorites as a child, and still playing it today, it is so simple yet addictive. That music is fantastic and the voice overs are hilarious. No, you don't get the handlebar controller when playing on a computer, but this game remains just as fun as I remember back in the day.
The music to this game gets stuck in my head whenever I think about this game. Also, anytime I saw a red house you just need to obliterate the windows with papers just to teach those non subscribers a lesson. I always hated that the bonus stage at the end usually killed me. I also never got more than two days in the week completed. This was one I played a few times then put down. I remember playing this in a GIANT play set in the Family video that I used to get my parents to rent me games from.