Marble Madness (1984 Atari) System 1 Horizontal screen
Twin trackballs
Marble Madness was the first and best of the five
Atari System One games. The objective of the game is to guide a marble through a
torturous Escher like 3D maze avoiding
precipices and an assortment of traps, hazards, and nasties.
What
makes it really cool is the superbly appropriate use of the trackball. The
trackball is the only game control and must be manipulated with finger tip
accuracy at one moment then pounded as fast as possible the next. Some people
don't like marble madness but many of them are judging it on conversions for
home systems and without the trackball the game losses much of its appeal.
The
lovely abstract tile landscapes of the game are complemented by the terrific
stereo sound of the system one hardware making the in game music another
highlight.
Marble Madness may not be everyone's cup of tea but with
mayhem, death, and destruction being the key elements of many videogames (and I
love those games dearly) Marble Madness makes a very refreshing change. But
don't be fooled by the tranquil music and the pleasant appearance. The game
play, particularly in 2 player mode, can become extremely ferocious.
The
only criticism I have of the game is the fact that there's only 6 levels. With
the rise of emulators like MAME it'd be nice if someone could write a Marble
Madness level editor. Any takers?? :-)
I loved Marble Madness from the
first moment I saw it in the arcades so unless I can find a Robotron for under
200 UKpounds (Haha) this is the cabinet for me.
TROUBLE MAKERS
SECRETS
Holding
down the 1 or 2 player button as you turn the test switch quickley on and off
will result either the player being granted an extra 99 second of time or a
crash.
If you make the jump at the end of the first level to one of the
areas marked 3 - 4 -
5 - 6 in red and
white you can get between 3 and 6 thousand extra points. I found the one on the
left is the easiest to get to.
To my knowledge the secret level in Marble Madness is a myth.
WANTED
Anything to do with Marble Madness or Atari System I games.
Stuff
I have for trade:
Marble Madness Daughter Card
(FAULTY - the levels have no colour they just appear in shades of grey.
Everything else functions normally) If anyone thinks they can fix this then
please get in touch.
Atari System I Video
Arcade Game Manual (1st print)
Click on an image for a
picture of the entire level.
 Level 1 |
 Level 2 | |
 Level 3 |
 Level 4 | |
 Level 5 |
 Level 6 |
Marble Man the
Prototype Sequel to Marble Madness
Click here for more
Atari System1 information.