Post by dlevere on Apr 18, 2015 20:48:27 GMT -4
By Tom Charnock
The Atari Jaguar is a system that divides opinion like no other. Some people consider it a joke, while others are fascinated by the missed opportunity it represents and the outstanding mess Atari made in handling it’s final platform. Meanwhile, others still continue to debate (at length) whether the system really is a 64-bit console.
One thing that is certain though, is that the Jaguar - like the Dreamcast - is a console that has an extremely active homebrew scene and community. Indeed, the Jaguar and Dreamcast share several recent indie releases including Alice’s Mom’s Rescue and Elansar.
On this note, one aspect of the Jaguar that many detractors are quick to point out is the console’s paltry library of official releases - only 67 official titles were released on cartridge, while a further 15 made their way to the system’s add-on, the Jaguar CD.
Apart from the numbers, one other major criticism of the Jaguar’s library is that very little use was made of Atari’s extensive back catalog of recognizable and important titles, and lack of backwards compatibility with software designed for previous Atari systems (possibly using an adapter) is seen as a complete own goal.
This, however, may be about to change as software engineer CyranoJ has begun to port a whole range of Atari ST games to the 64-bit console as part of a project that could increase the Jaguar’s library exponentially. So far, the list of games successfully transplanted onto the Jaguar includes around 30 classic ST titles including:
R-Type
Gauntlet II
Rick Dangerous
Cybernoid
Llamatron
Metro Cross
Fantasy World Dizzy
And many more...
Many of the games ported so far run incredibly well, and this is mainly down to the way that both the Atari ST and Jaguar employ a 68000 processor (in the Jaguar, it was simply used to control player inputs), but the process is by no means simple due to the myriad ways in which the Jaguar’s architecture is so dissimilar to that of the ST (or any other console, for that matter).
Jaguar owners wishing to try these newly-ported games on original hardware are able to burn the files to CD-R and play them using the Jaguar CD, or by using the Jaguar base unit and a Skunk Board. Happily, if you’re not lucky enough to own either of those devices, the games can also be played effortlessly using an emulator such as the impressive Virtual Jaguar.
Time will only tell how many more classic Atari ST games make the generational leap onto the Jag, but one thing is certain - these are exciting times for fans of Atari’s impressive back catalog.
Download CyranoJ's Atari ST Ports For Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a system that divides opinion like no other. Some people consider it a joke, while others are fascinated by the missed opportunity it represents and the outstanding mess Atari made in handling it’s final platform. Meanwhile, others still continue to debate (at length) whether the system really is a 64-bit console.
One thing that is certain though, is that the Jaguar - like the Dreamcast - is a console that has an extremely active homebrew scene and community. Indeed, the Jaguar and Dreamcast share several recent indie releases including Alice’s Mom’s Rescue and Elansar.
On this note, one aspect of the Jaguar that many detractors are quick to point out is the console’s paltry library of official releases - only 67 official titles were released on cartridge, while a further 15 made their way to the system’s add-on, the Jaguar CD.
Apart from the numbers, one other major criticism of the Jaguar’s library is that very little use was made of Atari’s extensive back catalog of recognizable and important titles, and lack of backwards compatibility with software designed for previous Atari systems (possibly using an adapter) is seen as a complete own goal.
This, however, may be about to change as software engineer CyranoJ has begun to port a whole range of Atari ST games to the 64-bit console as part of a project that could increase the Jaguar’s library exponentially. So far, the list of games successfully transplanted onto the Jaguar includes around 30 classic ST titles including:
R-Type
Gauntlet II
Rick Dangerous
Cybernoid
Llamatron
Metro Cross
Fantasy World Dizzy
And many more...
Many of the games ported so far run incredibly well, and this is mainly down to the way that both the Atari ST and Jaguar employ a 68000 processor (in the Jaguar, it was simply used to control player inputs), but the process is by no means simple due to the myriad ways in which the Jaguar’s architecture is so dissimilar to that of the ST (or any other console, for that matter).
Jaguar owners wishing to try these newly-ported games on original hardware are able to burn the files to CD-R and play them using the Jaguar CD, or by using the Jaguar base unit and a Skunk Board. Happily, if you’re not lucky enough to own either of those devices, the games can also be played effortlessly using an emulator such as the impressive Virtual Jaguar.
Time will only tell how many more classic Atari ST games make the generational leap onto the Jag, but one thing is certain - these are exciting times for fans of Atari’s impressive back catalog.
Download CyranoJ's Atari ST Ports For Atari Jaguar