86: Marble Madness

Genre: Arcade

Developer: Atari
Publisher: Milton Bradley
Year: 1989

Basic Idea:  Race with marbles!

Review: A port arcade that was put on about forty-seven systems.  The best might be the Amiga, though the NES version holds up just fine.  There are six isometric levels you must race your marble through within the allotted time limit.  On some levels you have to avoid enemies.  On some levels you have to utilize catapults.  And on the incredibly frustrating fifth level, you must defy gravity and go uphill.

The game is very hard to win due to the very difficult fifth and six levels, but the learning curve is perfect and it is winnable.  Considering I still play it about once every few years, I figured it deserved a spot in the countdown.

2 thoughts on “86: Marble Madness”

  1. That’s two casual-type games I’ve never played in a row. I was cognizant of both, but I don’t think they struck me as games that were “big” enough to hold my interest. I’ve played several games in the last couple of years that are similar to both. I’d probably dig both of them now.

    1. Boulderdash can get a little repetitive, but Marble Madness has six unique levels that take less than 90 seconds each. Not worth paying for, but a fun diversion.

Leave a reply to Beau Cancel reply