Robotron: 2084 (1982)

Look: 7/10 Mostly functional, but a bit cluttered and sometimes hard to differentiate a human from the lowest robots. Still, it brought back memories of the PS1 game Robotron X so that was nice. The dark background of Robotron X, very bleak and simple, was something I always liked--and this one mostly has it, but more cluttered which I didn't care for. Still, the point of the game is the cluttered amount of enemies, so can't really complain much about that ha. Great title screen tho, love the font/title part

Sound: 8/10 I love love love these sounds, especially the sound after entering your name for the hi score. So robotic and delicious heh. Odd tho cuz a lot of the shooting and gameplay sounds are verrrry familiar, definitely re-used from or in one of the games I've already played. Mayyyyybe it's from the PS1 game I have nostalgia for but I doubt it, this was something I've played recently. Kinda bothering me to try to remember ha.

Play: 7/10 I remember being so darn proud of myself for beating Robotron X (not sure if there was a specific end/last level, but that's what my memory tells me). I didn't have quite the same drive to push through this, but I was proud of myself for finally fully engaging with a dual-joystick shooter. I've been avoiding these like the plague. Sure, it's annoying in Berzerk and Dandy that you have to face/move in the direction you shoot; however, I just haven't gotten used to dual-joystick shooters (essssspeciallllly when for a console or home computer). This felt comfortable enough, after much MAME tweaking ha (luckily I did that before starting the game, so I wouldn't wind up frustrated and giving up right away). Hopefully MAME will remember my config this time even without the controller plugged in (or more rationally, I will remember to always have my controller plugged in before opening MAME ha), so that I can start engaging with more complex controls like this. Anyway, the controls are tight; collision masks accurate; gameplay fun. I kept wondering if I was doing something wrong with the invincible larger robots, so I googled and confirmed that--indeed--they are simply invincible ha (no wonder I kept moving on to the next wave nonetheless). Oh and I'm so grateful there's no friendly fire ha (can't accidentally kill the humans). I kept trying to kill the kid-looking-sprite cuz they look so much like the basic robots ha. And dang! This gets difficult as heck and I'm only at Wave 6! Lol. I dunno if this is more so due to me struggling with setting MAME up right for dual joystick shooters, but the shooting was a bit clunky in the sense that it was really 8 directions. Is that just me? That definitely made these later waves much harder. Honestly, during wave 6, I couldn't even tell what was happening half the time--which were humans, which were new types of enemies, etc.--and the initial excitement for the game started to wither as I lost life after life (after not losing a single one during any of the prior waves for that playthrough!). For people very good at gaming, and people used to dual joystick shooters, this is a great game. And I had fun giving it a few tries.

Feel: 8/10 Apparently there are 255 Waves... no thanks. I had the drive to complete all the waves, or whatever, for Robotron X. And this invoked a lot of nostalgia (more than I expected) and was well worth the playthrough, not only to get used to dual joystick shooters, but also cuz it was simply fun. Still, 255 waves... meh. Let's see how far I can get tho. Time to try again! (And after a 3rd try, I concede to Wave 6 being my stopping point ha)

Attachment: 8/10 The fact I tried this a couple times, even when I got past my tentative/hypothetical goal of 50k score, says something. Tho I still don't like the increase in convoluted/overly complex controls in these mid-80s games (Defender and Robotron apparently are specifically cited as evidence that gamers wanted more convoluted controls... I personally never will), at least Robotron had a valid reason for a bit more complexity: it solved the dilemma of facing the way you shoot. It's not the first to do so, tho often cited as such, but it does it well. And I wont forget it, not only because I have nostalgia for the series/name, but also because it helped me overcome my hesitation for dual joystick shooters'. After all, that was the goal of this Chronology Project: starting from the roots of all such complexities/new styles in gaming, so that I could hopefully better approach complex controls, strategy games, arcade games, and other games I traditionally haven't enjoyed. So far, still a no for most strategy games (unless Starcraft qualifies heh), but happy to see that mayyyybe complex controls can be an apprehension I can overcome. So, tho I wont forget it, and I am proud of myself for giving it an earnest try, I doubt I will return to it regularly except to show my brothers or for memories, because dang is it hard and I still am not that adept with dual joystick controls. This is one of many arcade games I wanna try at Galloping Ghost when I finally go, to see if the actual cabinet makes it more accessible for a newb like me. Wound up capping at 61,650 Score--can only imagine true gamers who could get to the 200+ waves.....

Completion: To Wave 6; Score 61,650 Playtime: ~40 mins