Amidar |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Amidar
(1981) | The arcade classic, with some gameplay similarities to Qix, in which you have to fill in (paint) the screen by walking around a complete box. Unlike Qix, though, you have set paths that you have to follow. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Cuthbert Goes Walkabout
(1982-1983?) | An fairly close clone, but with fixed box sizes & fairly low-resolution graphics (128x96x4). Originally released on the Dragon 32/64 (an improved Coco 1 clone) in England. |
Asteroids |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Asteroids
(1979) | One of Atari's biggest hits. Blow up asteroids and saucers while trying not to be killed/crushed by them. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Color Meteroids (later renamed to Microbes (see below)
(1981) | Quite close to the arcade game (except no real vector graphics, obviously), Color Meteoroids used the Green/black palette, and took two joysticks to control - one to move the ship, and one to move the gun turret (different than the arcade, where the front of your ship always is the gun turret). |
 | Microbes (originally Color Meteroids)
(1981/1982) | When Tandy licensed this game from Spectral to put on a cartridge (I believe the first game Spectral sold through Tandy), they changed the color set to black and white, more closely mimicking the original arcade game. |
 | Star Blaster
(1981) | This game goes a little towards the Asteroids Deluxe arcade game, but not quite enough to be considered a clone of it. Featuring user selectable keyboard or joystick controls, it has the shields from Asteroids Deluxe, but not the snowflake ships. My favourite version of Asteroids on the Coco. |
Astro Fighter |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Astro Fighter
(1980) | The arcade classic, which allowed limited vertical as well as horizontal movement of your ship. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Astro Blast
(1982) | An almost exact clone, only missing one of the 5 original waves. The refueling sequence looks a little different as well, but everything down to the comets is in this version. |
Avalanche (more famous clone is Kaboom! by Activision) |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Avalanche
(1978) | The game that the Atari 2600's Kaboom was based on. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Popcorn
(late 1981) | The closest clone, appearance wise, to the black and white arcade original from 1978. Also, Steve Bjork's first Coco game that I know of. |
 | Catch 'Em
(1982) | Game play more based on the Kaboom! version, but with no "Mad Bomber" at the top. That there are multiple waves of different objects to catch as you progress is the other major difference. |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Able Builders
(1986) | A clone with a twist - instead of having multiple paddles to catch with (and losing them as you miss objects), you just have one... but the height from which they drop changes depednding on how well you do (the girder goes up if you do really well, or down if you are not). |
 | Starship Chameleon
(1982) | Ken Kalish's take on Avalanche actually extended the game significiantly, adding some indestructable bombs that you have to avoid catching, and dropping two different kinds of bombs that you do catch; but you have to be the same color to catch them. |
Bagman |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Bagman
(1982) | Steal moneybags across 3 connected screens. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Bagitman
(1983) | An almost exact clone, basically only missing the music. |
Berzerk |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Berzerk
(1980) | The first talking arcade game. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Berserk (later called Haywire)
(1981) | The closest clone to the arcade. The fact that the original 1981 title was so close to the arcade caused it be renamed in late 1982. No speech, but the closest graphics and gameplay to the original arcade game. |
 | Android Attack (originally Robot Battle)
(1981/1982) | While the 32K version did have speech like the arcade, the actual gameplay is somewhat different. You can duck and jump (to try and avoid shots), and you have to collect treasures. Also, when you kill a robot, it's debris is left behind; if the debris stays on screen for a certain length of time, it turns into a ghost that, while you can kill it, it can travel through walls (similiar to the Evil Otto character from the original arcade version). |
 | Monster Maze
(1983) | Radio Shack's clone of Berzerk. Like Android Attack, this version diverges from the arcade in several aspects. First, you get way more lives to start with. Second, you have to gather treasures, and third, you can shoot through walls. This version, in cartridge format, only required a 4K RAM machine to run. |
Bosconian |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Bosconian
(1981) | A not hugely popular arcade game at the time, the game combined elements from several popular arcade games - a radar screen like Sinistar or Defender, full 4 way scrolling like Time Pilot, and digitized voices like Berserk. A basic shoot-em-up, with you trying to clear an entire sector of space stations, while avoiding aliens, asteroids and mines. If you take too long, the aliens start really attacking. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Draconian
(1984) | A fairly close clone, with the sector maps matching the original, but with a twist and an addition (and no speech): Instead of a frenzied alien attack when your time runs out, you have a huge Dragon fly from the bottom of the sector straight for you. Also, the space stations now contain trapped astronauts, that, after blowing up the stations, you have to rescue them. Multi-voice musical interludes are in the game, and bonus points are rewarded as you dock between each sector. |
Burgertime |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Burgertime
(1982) | A rather unique concept, in which you (as the cook), try to assemble gigantic burgers, while trying to dodge other types of food that are trying to kill you. By running completely over a burger ingredient, you cause it to fall to the next level, and eventually you get all the pieces together to make a complete burger. You also have limited Pepper spray to scare the pickles, eggs, etc. off. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Lunchtime
(1986) | A close clone of the original arcade version, except (because of the smaller screen) with less complicated platforms to work from. All the gameplay is there, and the shapes (given Coco 1/2 graphics limitations) are pretty close to the arcade. |
Carnival |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Carnival
(1980) | A carnival shooting gallery, with various moving targets (and some to get you extra bullets). There is also a bonus stage where you shoot a bear as many times as you can (each time you hit him the bear speeds up and reverses direction, until it runs off the screen). |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Shooting Gallery
(1982) | A fairly close clone of the original arcade version, except it's missing the turning target at the top, and the bonus stage involves a large man instead of a bear. Graphics look better than the original arcade version. |
Centipede |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Centipede
(1980) | The arcade classic, which allowed limited vertical as well as horizontal movement of your ship. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Colorpede
(1982) | The closest clone, appearance wise, to the arcade original. The mushrooms actually change color each wave, like the arcade, and it includes the scorpion, which some versions did not. Also the first game by Intracolor. |
 | Caterpillar
(1982) | Also a very close clone, game-play wise, to the arcade (but a lower resolution than Colorpede). Sound is just about non-existant, though. |
 | Color Caterpillar
(1983) | Another very close clone to the original. Better sound than Caterpillar, but the graphics aren't quite as good as Colorpede. A port from Rugby Circle's original TRS-80 Model I/III version. |
 | Slay The Nereis
(1982) | Close clone with the twist that it supposed to take place underwater. |
 | Katerpillar Attack
(1982) | The earliest Coco clone of of Centipede (early 1982), but lacked the scorpion, and vertical movement was a lot more restrictive than the original (or other clones). The introduction screen was actually more sophisticated than the arcade version, however. |
 | Megapede
(1983) | Computerware's version of Centipede... fairly close clone, but, like Katerpillar Attack, it is missing the Scorpion. |
Circus |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Circus
(1977) | You have to pop balloons by controlling bouncing people at the bottom of the screen. This game itself was copied in the arcades by a game called Clowns (by a different company) in 1978. It should be noted that the arcade originals are really black and white; the color in the screenshot is from the clear, colored plastic overlays that a lot of the late 1970's/early 1980's games used. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Clowns & Balloons
(1982) | A close clone of the original arcade version(s), except with real color, and a bit fancier of a background. The other change is that you control the 2 people on the bottom carrying the trampoline, causing the 3rd clown to bounce; the arcade has two clowns alternating jumps on a see-saw type configuration. |
Columns |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Columns
(1990) | A game derived from Tetris, except that you don't rotate a shape at 90 degree angles. Instead, you rotate the colored blocks vertically, trying to match 3 or more to eliminate them when they hit the bottom. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Gems
(1991) | A fairly close clone, except single player only, and with some flourishes of it's own thrown in (different block sets, and skill levels based on how many unique blocks you can get during a game). The alternate shapes included dice and symbols. |
Crystal Castles |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Crystal Castles
(1983) | A game where you collect the dots while running around on isometric, pseudo 3-D platforms, jumping over your enemies and going through tunnels. From Atari. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Crystle Castles
(1984) | A pretty darn close clone, although I am not sure if the arcade original did not make you disappear when you went into a tunnel. |
Dig Dug |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Dig Dug
(1982) | Dig underground, inflate monsters until they burst. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Pumpman
(1984) | An almost exact clone, basically only missing the music. |
Donkey Kong |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Donkey Kong
(1981) | The game that Mario originally came from. Features 4 screens and playful intermissions. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Donkey Kong
(2007) | The most exact clone of an arcade game ever done on the Coco... because it is actually a direct translation with emulated graphics/sound hardware. This is the arcade game, with all music, intermissions, etc... and proves that the Coco 3 could directly emulate more early 1980 arcade games to a 'T'. |
 | Donkey King (The King)
(1982) | The most famous clone of all. Features all 4 screens, some of the intermissions, and 4 voice music. |
 | Dunkey Munkey
(1982) | 2 Screens versus arcade's 4, and the 2nd screen is a combination of the arcade's screens 2 and 3. |
 | Monkey Kong
(1983) | First 2 screens from arcade only. The only clone to run in 16K RAM. |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Canyon Climber
(1982) | Radio Shack/Tandy's loosely based clone, with 3 screens. The first 2 roughly duplicate the first 2 from the arcade; the 3rd is unique. |
Donkey Kong Jr. |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Donkey Kong Jr.
(1982) | The 2nd game in the Donkey Kong series, and the 2nd appearance of Mario. Ironically, in this game, Mario plays the villain. 4 different screens, just like the original Donkey Kong. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Junior's Revenge
(1983) | While it has all 4 screens, and the intermissions, it isn't quite graphically as good as Donkey King, and the music is missing. Still, a very good clone. |
 | Return of Junior's Revenge
(1986) | A remake of Junior's Revenge, enhanced for the Coco 3's graphic capabilities. The same sound routines, etc., but much better graphics. One of the first (if not the first) 3rd party Coco 3 game out, it was released within just a few months of the Coco 3's release. |
The Electric Yo-Yo |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | The Electric Yo-Yo
(1982) | Collect the dots, while stringing across between them, and avoiding various enemies. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Beam Rider
(1983) | An almost exact clone of a fun, but not overally successful or popular, arcade game. |
Galaxian |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Galaxian
(1979) | The first arcade game with real full colour (no overlays) and expanded on the Space Invaders concept by allowing aliens to break formation. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Birds
(1982) | This Tom Mix version, which plays close the original in concept, changed the scenario so that you are a hunter trying to shoot down a flock of birds. |
 | Galactic Attack
(1982) | Tandy's version had much simpler game play with only 8 aliens in the armada, although they are more mobile than the arcade version. It also featured "night bombing" runs with a different colour palette. |
 | Galax Attax
(1982) | Much faster playing than the original arcade version. The first released version had aliens that looked quite a bit different than the arcade, but the revised version came much closer in appearance. |
 | Space Ambush
(1982) | Completely different shapes, but the gameplay is pretty close to the arcade game. |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Glaxxons
(1983) | Mark Data Products expanded on the Galaxians concept with some innovations of their own. Each player (up to 2) could play at their own skill level, and you have some vertical movement at the bottom of the screen. Also, if you fire a 2nd shot while the first is still travelling, you're original bullet disappears and is replaced with the new one (like Gorf in the arcades. |
Ikari Warriors |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Ikari Warriors
(1986) | You have to raid an enemy compound and rescue prisoners of war. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Rush'N Assault
(1988) | A close clone (given the limitations of Coco 1/2 graphics), including two players at once. No background music, either. |
Joust |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Joust
(1982) | The first arcade game that had both cooperative and dueling modes for two players at the same time. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Buzzard Bait
(1983) | The closest clone, and fastest playing, version on the Coco. It even has the hands that try to grab you from the lava pits (Lancer just makes you sink). |
 | Lancer
(1983) | Game play is slower than Buzzard Bait, but still very playable, and, to me, it had a better feeling of "flight". |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Pegasus and the Phantom Riders
(late 1984) | A clone that actually went a little further than the original arcade. With detailed backgrounds, and a 3D element added (your opponents fly in from the distance, and as you progress, you get closer to their island), it looked and felt more sophisticated than the original. By the same company that made Lancer, but a different author, and sold through Radio Shack/Tandy. |
Karate Champ |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Karate Champ
(1984) | A simultaneous 2 player game, pitting the two players against each with a wide variety of moves, this was one of the first such martial arts games that started the whole sub-genre. The referee rates the players with full and half points depending on their moves, similiar to real tournaments. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Karate
(1985) | While not having as fancy of graphics (and almost no background compared to the arcade original), Karate nevertheless maintained fairly close gameplay with the variety of moves that could be done with the joystick controls. |
Ladybug |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Ladybug
(1981) | With a starting concept similiar to Pac Man, in this game you have to collect the dots, while avoiding your enemies. Added to the Pac Man concept is the bonus multipliers, spelling out the words "SPECIAL" and "EXTRA" (you have to eat them when they are the right color), and the fact that you can modify the maze by rotating the turnstyles (which the other bugs can not do). |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Doodle Bug
(1982) | An almost exact clone of the arcade hit.The only minor difference is that the timer bars are all on the left, while they go around the maze in the arcade version (to time the colors of your bonus shapes to pick up). |
Omega Race |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Omega Race
(1981) | Using vector graphics similiar to Asteroids, Omega Race combined some different game styles into a unique combination. It has sort of a race track that you can circle in any direction, but with alien ships and mines all trying to destroy you. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Space Race
(1982) | Aside from the fact that Space Race is much lower resolution than a vector graphics game, and it added color, it is a close clone, playwise, to the arcade original. |
Phoenix |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Phoenix
(1980) | Expanding on the Galaxian concept, Phoenix had 5 different waves of aliens, including some that you would just injure if you didn't shoot them dead center. The 5th wave was tackling the mothership, where you have to shoot the aliens that are protecting it, and then shoot through the hull of the ship, the rotating barrier beyond that, and then the head alien himself. You also have a shield that you can activate, but it takes 7 seconds to recharge it after it wears out. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Demon Seed
(1983) | An almost exact clone of the arcade hit.The only minor differences are that space is completely black (no starfield), and that, going with the demon instead of bird motif, you are combatting bats and demons. |
Qix |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Qix
(1981) | An original concept at the time of it's release, Qix had the player trying to paint in a certain percentage of the screen by drawing (with 2 speeds of movement) lines. Once an area was completely enclosed by the player's lines, it filled in. Various enemies move around the screen or track the player (more at later levels). |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Qiks
(1984) | An almost exact clone of the arcade hit, with the Qiks itself (the moving set of lines) looking like the arcade version. |
 | Quix
(1984) | Also a close clone of the arcade original, except that the Quix is a single bouncing line instead of a group of lines, and the colour set used is a lot different. |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Arex
(1983) | While the basic concept is the same (fill in a certain percentage of the screen while avoiding enemies), Arex differs by having you fill in the screen by leaving a trail (the large blocks in the screen shot). On later levels, some of the screen is pre-filled in with patterns that you have to work around. Also, unlike Qix, you can not backtrack on your trails... you must always be creating new trails (which is why you can dead-end yourself in Arex. |
 | Crazy Painter
(1983) | Like Arex the basic concept is the same (fill in a certain percentage of the screen while avoiding enemies), but you draw a trail to fill it in (you don't fill in by outline). Differences with both Qix and Arex is that you have to fill in the whole screen, you have a limited amount of paint (you have to get bonus shapes to get more), and you can "waste" paint on areas that you have already covered. Also, the dog can come by and get footprints in your paint, so you have to refill those areas. |
Scramble |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Scramble
(1981) | A 1 way scrolling, sideways shooter, Scramble had the player trying to navigate through both open air and a cave system, blowing opponents up (and fuel stations for extra fuel), with both bombs and bullets (downwards and forward shooting directions, respectively) while also dodging the terrain. There are 5 stages, and at later levels, one is going through very narrow tunnels, where the terrain itself is more dangerous than your opponents. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Skramble
(1983) | A close clone of the arcade original, it suffered a little bit of having jittery position of the player (it scrolled the entire play area from right to left including the players ship, and then move the ship back to where it was supposed to be). Other than that, it played and resembled the arcade original very closely. |
 | Whirlybird Run
(1982) | The first Scramble clone for the Coco, and still my favourite. Whirlybird Run made much smoother use of sideways scrolling, and was actually the 1st place winner in Spectral Associates 1st (and only) programming contest, netting it's author the $2,000 prize and publishing of the game. Although the screen layout varies more from the original than Skramble, the game played much smoother. It also used the green/yellow/blue/red palette for the "outdoor" levels (the first 3), and the black/blue/red/white for the cave sequences (the last 2). |
Derivitave
Games: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Chopper Strike
(1983) | While the basic concept is the same (flying over terrain, blowing up both airborne and ground based targets), Chopper Strike added in rescuing stranded humans, ala Defender. You could also shoot a human by accident, immediately causing you to lose a life. You also only have one type of shot that you aim, not two types. The last change is that the whole terrain is one continuous scrolling landscape. |
Rastan |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Rastan
(1987) | Rastan was an arcade homage to role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. You quest through 4 way scrolling terrain, picking up weapons and health, and defeating monsters during your quest. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Warrior King
(1988) | A fairly close clone of the arcade, although the appearance is blockier (and smaller, only using part of the screen), and the action is slower and less fluid than the arcade original. It does feature digital sound effects, and pretty good graphics. It was one of Sundog Systems first games that was Coco 3 specific. |
Sinistar |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Sinistar
(1982) | Expanding on the Asteroids concept, Sinistar adds mining asteroids, and competing with aliens for the crystals contained therein. The aliens are building a massive robot ship called the Sinistar that will go after you with a vengeance once it is completed, and you are collecting enough of them to make Sini-bombs to destroy the Sinistar. You also have a radar (similiar to Defender) to try and keep tracking of asteroids, aliens and the Sinistar itself. |
 | Sinistaar
(1989) | An almost exact clone of the arcade hit, right down to digitized voices and sounds taken straight from the arcade. The major difference is that it plays a lot slower than the arcade original, which was quite fast. |
Tempest |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Tempest
(1980) | An original game where one tries to prevent enemies from escaping from their hole to kill. The first color vector arcade game, and was actually inspired by a nightmare that the original programmer/designer had. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Storm
(1982) | Except for the obvious difference in the resolution and quality of the graphics, Storm is a fairly faithful adaption of Tempest's gameplay. It is far less animated, and doesn't have as many enemies, though.. |
Tron |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Tron
(1982) | Based on the 1982 movie of the same name, Tron basically offered 4 games in one, and all 4 had previously existed in some form or other. It ran with higher resolution graphics than most other arcade games at this time. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | ElecTron
(1984) | A close clone of the arcade game, although some sequences (notably the Light Cycles) ran a bit slow. |
 | Kron
(1983) | This earlier version is also a close clone of the arcade game. The speed was closer to the original, although the graphics were not quite as detailed. |
Venture |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Venture
(1981) | An early Dungeons and Dragons style game. Your goal is to get treasures, and kill/avoid monsters. There is a main screen showing various rooms that you can go into, and you can enter the rooms to get the treasures. If you take too long in a room, an indestructable monster will appear and come after you (similiar to Berserk). |
 | Montezumas Dungeons
(1984) | A close clone to the original, and suprisingly so since it was one of games thrown onto a subscription tape magazine. Actually features more rooms in the first hall (6 versus the arcade's 4). |
 | Venturer
(1982) | A reasonably close clone of the arcade, although with only one hall of rooms, and virtually no sound. Also, instead of an indestructable monster coming after you if you take too long in a treasure room, indestcructable lines come out instead, to both block you from the exit and/or treasure, and to eventually kill you. |
Warlords |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Warlords
(1980) | Multiplayer game where one tries to break through your opponents castle walls. A clever derivative of the Bustout/Breakout type games that were popular in the 1970's. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | War Kings
(early 1982) | The earliest version for the Coco that I know of. A 2 player version, with the added twist that your kings inside the castle have a shield which can deflect the ball. |
 | Castle Guard
(1982) | Another 2 player version, with much better graphics. Castle Guard came out later, and the fireball that you throw around follows a much more unpredictable path. Also, with each hit, your castle sinks into the ground (it doesn't get slowly eaten away like the arcade version or War Kings). |
Zaxxon |
Arcade Original: | Title
(Released) | Comments |
 | Zaxxon
(1982) | One of the first isometric 3-D games, Zaxxon was also one of the few officially ported games to the CoCo. Featuring a 3-D look and diagonal scrolling, it was a very popular space shoot-em-up in the early 1980's. |
Clones: | Coco Title | Comments |
 | Zaksund
(early 1983) | This version came out almost at the same time as the official version, which was released Feb. 7, 1983. While the sound was somewhat better than the official version, the graphics were flickery (no double-buffering), and the isometric angle was wrong - an even byte of pixels before it shifted down one row (to make angle calculations easier). |
 | Z-89
(1989) | Steve Bjork did the original Coco 1/2 port of Zaxxon for Sega in 1982-1983. In 1989, he decided to return to the game that made him famous, and re-did Zaxxon for the Coco 3. Featuring graphics much closer to the original arcade, digitized sound effects, and even adding a new element (meteors) when flying in the space sequence, this version is a big improvement on the original. Licensing issues prevented this from being officially called Zaxxon, although it could be considered the "official" port to the Coco 3. |