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Marble Madness (1984)

Atari Games

Arcade · FM Towns · PC-9800 Series · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · Sharp X68000

3.16 from 314 ratings

681 members have it in their collection · 6 playing now · 59 backlogged · 30 wish listed

How long? Main story 1h · 100% 0h (from 2 logged playthroughs)

Marble Madness is an isometric platform game in which the player manipulates an onscreen marble from a third-person perspective. The player controls the marble's movements with a trackball, though most home versions use game controllers with directional pads. The aim of the game is for the player to complete six maze-like, isometric race courses before a set amount of time … Read more
Marble Madness is an isometric platform game in which the player manipulates an onscreen marble from a third-person perspective. The player controls the marble's movements with a trackball, though most home versions use game controllers with directional pads. The aim of the game is for the player to complete six maze-like, isometric race courses before a set amount of time expires. When a player completes a race, the remaining time is added to the next race's allotted time. The game also allows two players to compete against each other. Courses are populated with various objects and enemies designed to obstruct the player. As the game progresses, the courses become increasingly difficult and introduce more enemies and obstacles. Each course has a distinct visual theme. For example, the first race, titled "Practice", is a simple course that is much shorter than the others, while the fifth race, named "Silly", features polka-dot patterns and is oriented in a direction opposite from the other courses Read less
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Details

Developers
Atari Games
Publishers
Atari Games, Electronic Arts, Home Data
Genres
Arcade, Puzzle
Themes
Action
Series
Marble Madness

Release dates

  • Dec 15, 1984 (Full Release) (North_America) Arcade
  • Mar 15, 1991 (Full Release) (Japan) Sharp X68000
  • Mar 30, 1991 (Full Release) (Japan) PC-9800 Series
  • Aug 01, 1991 (Full Release) (North_America) Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
  • 1991 (Full Release) (Japan) FM Towns

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Featured in lists

GOTYs 1977-2025 by shinespark · 132 games · 0

Rating distribution

5 stars
26
4 stars
80
3 stars
143
2 stars
48
1 star
17
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Community All Reviews Statuses

Jaype

Status Jaype Apr 27, 2021

IF you play this on the Mega Drive (or Genesis) be sure you play the Japan-exclusive Tengen release.

That port is far superior. It was programmed by the same guys that worked on Gauntlet IV (and some staff would go on to form M2).

It's also compatible with the 'sports pad' (a trackball accessory for the Master System) which is …

Read more

IF you play this on the Mega Drive (or Genesis) be sure you play the Japan-exclusive Tengen release.

That port is far superior. It was programmed by the same guys that worked on Gauntlet IV (and some staff would go on to form M2).

It's also compatible with the 'sports pad' (a trackball accessory for the Master System) which is a more 'accurate' way to play it than with a pad.

Read less
1 Comment Permalink
MarioPrime

Status MarioPrime Dec 28, 2017

Been thinking about game preservation as it relates to games that rely on peripherals. I always think about how we need to make every game ever available digitally to preserve them, but that doesn't really help with games like Guitar Hero or Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Especially with the latter, will I ever get to sit down and play that …

Read more

Been thinking about game preservation as it relates to games that rely on peripherals. I always think about how we need to make every game ever available digitally to preserve them, but that doesn't really help with games like Guitar Hero or Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Especially with the latter, will I ever get to sit down and play that game without ordering some bongos from eBay? Anyways, talk about it a lil bit here. Played Marble Madness, and I feel like I'd find it so interesting in an arcade, but it's just not interesting when using WASD to control the ball. Has anyone actually played this with the trackball? Curious to see how it changes the experience, if it does at all.

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2 Comment Permalink