Let’s celebrate the Atari Jaguar with 5 reasons to check it out
The Atari Jaguar gets a lot of hate but it is an incredibly unique system. I’ve reviewed the Atari Jaguar because I wanted to celebrate the unique games and early 3D graphics. Iron Soldier released the same year the Sega Saturn got Virtua Fighter. The Atari Jaguar was one of the first consoles to bring unique 3D graphics to the living room.
I can really appreciate what the Atari Jaguar achieved in it’s time. So let’s celebrate and explore what you can expect from the Atari Jaguar experience.
Let’s not make excuses for the Atari Jaguar. But let’s be honest, it was short-sighted and couldn’t compete with the next generation 3D systems. The Atari Jaguar was developed to compete with the Super Nintendo, 3DO and the Sega Mega Drive. Reportedly, it could compete with the 3DO on a technical level. The Atari Jaguar also had the hardware to blow away both the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. Is it 64-Bits? I like to believe Atari’s side of the story, it is 64-bit where it needs to be. But hardware doesn’t make a console succeed. The Atari Jaguar pushed the 64-Bits hard in their marketing, and it back-fired. Thankfully, the fad died down quick in the 90’s.
My personal Jaguar collection is small but there’s a good reason for that. There’s not many good games for this console. I knew exactly what I was getting into. The library is small and there are plenty of sub-par games but the good titles are solid and for the most part, unique, which brings me into point one – The Games.
01. The Games
The games will make or break a system. For anyone who bought the Atari Jaguar in the 90’s, the few games available felt like a slap in the face. It’s easier looking back now and appreciate some unique, exclusive titles.
The Jaguar has a small library of games and some genres were severely neglected, but it did have a strong base of computer based ports. Games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Cannon Fodder, Theme park and Syndicate all were ported with high-resolution graphics. Graphics that systems like the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) couldn’t match. Wolfenstein 3D in particular (being a port of the Macintosh version) has higher resolution than the PC version. It’s weapons, enemies, stages and bosses come from both Wolfenstein 3D and its expansion, the spear of destiny.
I don’t think 3D was a strength of the Jaguar, it’s hard to deny some titles looked great. Games like Tempest 2000 and Alien vs Predator were strong examples of early 3D games for home consoles. Tempest 2000 constructed from polygons with Alien vs Predator using 2D sprites in a 3D environment. The Jaguar was capable of 3D but it’s 2D games really excelled at the time with Raiden, Hyper Force and Rayman. Proving that the system was capable of massive sprites and fast-paced action. Even though 2D was going out of vogue, I think the unique mix of 2D and 3D titles make the Jaguar an interesting console to collect for.
The Atari Jaguar was a big research project. Out of all the consoles I own, the Jaguar was certainly the most challenging finding good games for. Do your research and maintain reasonable expectations, you’ll find a small but unique library of games with some real hits and misses.
02. The Controller
Talking about over-complexity? Keep your eyes peeled for the big red buttons, A – B – C. These are the buttons you’ll be pressing to play the games. There’s a lot of complaints about the keypad. Well, it doesn’t do much. The keypad goes back to playing games on a PC where you’d use the number pad to switch between weapons, toggle music or open the auto-map. Take Wolfenstein 3D or Doom, you can strafe by holding C. You’re never expected to use the keypad during a firefight because, yes, that would be awkward. It’s really there to swap weapons and bring up the auto-map feature. The unique design makes it easy to port those great PC titles.
The pad is big, but looks a lot like the Sega Dreamcast or Saturn’s 3D pad (some of my personal favorites). I prefer the circular faces and they keep the buttons closer to my fingers. Allowing the game-pad to be wider and easy to grip. It feels like this style of control pad is geared towards some very specific genres, such as, PC ports and arcade style games.
Fighting games really suffer on a three-button pad, which is why the Jaguar also has a pro controller with six buttons and shoulder triggers. It’s expensive, but if you’re planning on getting into some of the fighting titles like Primal rage (CD) or Fight for Life, the pro controller might be worth investigating.
03. The Console
The physical case design of the Jaguar is a little special. Companies like Sega and Sony were creating boxes. The Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Neo Geo CD, CDI, 3DO, Gamecube, X-Box, Dreamcast and Playstation 2. All built like a box. The Atari Jaguar was styled aggressively. It’s a sleek system that embodies early 90’s console design. Vents, smooth curves and sharp lines.
The hardware itself can be placed right on that tipping point between 2D and 3D. Much like the Sega Saturn, the hardware was notoriously difficult to program for. There are plenty of awkward titles but the console itself came in during a very unique period of video-games. Bringing together PC gaming, arcade and the home video game market.
The CD add-on is a hard purchase to justify. The unit itself is sleek and fits the console perfectly, adding to the slick lines and grooves. It rises like a fortress from the center of it. The unit had some noteworthy titles like Primal Rage and Iron Soldier 2. The Jaguar CD system also hosted some classic FMV titles like Dragon’s Lair, Space Ace and Braindead 13.
A lot of Jaguar CD owners find that the Virtual Light Machine (VLM) is a real talking point. Developed by Jeff Minter (developer for Tempest 2000 and Defender 2000) the VLM is the granddaddy of visualization software that you find on Windows Media Player today. To see where that technology has been heading these last couple of decades, be sure to check out Space Giraffe by Jeff Minter. The game engine is his latest VLM, Neon, and can be found on the X-box 360. The game play closely resembles Tempest 2000.
04. The Community
Australia is pretty far away from the rest of the world. But even here we have a dedicated and hard-working Jaguar community. After the system’s failure in the market, it’s amazing to see new games continue to be released on cartridge and CD. With some series titles like Total Carnage from Midway, Skyhammer from Rebellion games and Hyper Force from Visual Impact all released/distributed through songbird productions. There was plenty of great titles buried when the Jaguar crashed.
Atari Jaguar CD game development has expanded since the 90’s as well. Games are easier to distribute on the CD media and there is a good selection of hobbyist games and underground releases.
With some fantastic websites like Atariage and The Atari Times, it’s particularly easy to keep up with what the Jaguar community are doing. See multiple reviews, get manual printouts, box art and information on some the rarest releases. For history buffs and anyone curious about Atari consoles, especially the Jaguar and the Lynx, there’s plenty of scanned magazines and advertising material. It offers an impressive glimpse into what the industry at the time, in particular Atari and the steps they took to keep their final consoles alive.
Make no mistake, this is a passionate community. Not just because they believe in the Jaguar, but because it’s part of the Atari family.
05. The History – The Legend
You may be a total screw-up but if your grandfather was the most popular guy on earth for a whole decade, you get certain privileges. The Atari 2600 was an amazing console that made video games a household name and essentially dominated the industry right up until the video game crash.
The golden age of video games is interesting, and the 2600 deserves all the praise it receives. But sometimes its more fun following that screw-up grandchild. The Jaguar is an interesting look at what the most experienced and respected competitor in the video game market did when they were up against the ropes. As a final swan song from Atari, this console is rife with classic arcade games from Atari’s heyday. Games like Tempest 2000, Defender and Missile Command. As well as emerging PC-like shooters like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Alien vs Predator and Skyhammer.
The Jaguar never officially made it to Australians stores and just for that reason, owning a Jaguar in Australia makes it feel like a ‘rough’ jewel in my collection. It’s an oddity of a console that has some great games, titles that haven’t made their way onto other consoles and aren’t available through emulation.
The Jaguar is a lot of style, not so much substance. An interesting console that’s been severely overlooked. It’s wrestled with the cutting edge and traditional consoles, ultimately, this console offers plenty for anyone willing to do the research and maintain realistic expectations. You won’t be blown away by the Atari Jaguar, but you can have a lot of fun, and it just looks so damn cool and adult.
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