I never owned an Intellivision during its original popularity. I remember seeing commercials for the console on television, reading print ads in magazines and playing Donkey Kong while at a friend of the family’s. I was fascinated by the weird controller with its circular directional pad and colorful overlays that had very game specific functions. I never forgot the console and the fact it wasn’t Atari but definitely was out at the same time. Flash forward about 17 years and as an owner of a PlayStation, I saw in stores a copy of a game titled “A Collection of Classic Games for the Intellivision”. I hadn’t really seen these compilation discs of old games for new systems before and I was fascinated. I could instantly play 30 classic and well known games for the Intellivision just like it was 1982? Yes, I could although it would be with a PlayStation controller and not with the weird (and widely derided) Intellivision controllers and with no overlays to add to the nostalgia.
Classic Games for the Intellivision is actually the game that sparked my interest in retro video game console collecting. Shortly after buying this game and playing it numerous times I felt like I was missing something by not having the Intellivision controller and overlays to go along with the games themselves. I then thought to myself, why don’t I seek out an actual Intellivision console and games and just play the real thing? I had used eBay to purchase obscure and hard to find CD’s and knew of some flea markets and pawn shops in the town I was living in at the time and I began my search. By 1999/2000, Intellivisions were not easily found in pawn shops as they were just too old and no one was bringing them in to pawn anymore. Retro gaming wasn’t yet a mainstream hobby so the video game stores that sold used games and consoles had very little inventory from the 2nd console generation. So I went to eBay and eventually won a bid on an Intellivision console, a handful of games with boxes, manuals and overlays and my addiction to buying ALL consoles that I missed out on as a kid was sparked. So for that reason alone, I have fond memories of this game. Thanks Intellivision and thanks to PlayStation for filling a need for nostalgic driven gamers like myself in 1999.
Rating: B
Currently in my collection: game, manual, case
Cartridge Corner 