Atari Flashback 2

The Atari Flashback 2 is a dedicated video game console that comes pre-programmed with classic Atari console games. Released in 2005 as the successor to the original Atari Flashback console, the console has forty Atari 2600 games built-in, along with a number of unreleased games and homebrews created by enthusiasts.

Unlike the original Flashback console, the Flashback 2 contains a single-chip version of circuitry that reproduces the original circuitry found in the Atari 2600 from 1977, which means that the Flashback 2 runs games just as they ran on an original console. The appearance of the Atari Flashback is also highly reminiscent of the original Atari 2600, although it is somewhat smaller and lighter in weight. The console features five buttons (power, select, reset and left and right difficulty toggles), whilst on the back it has two ports for the included joysticks and a colour/black-and-white slider switch.

Like the console, the joysticks bear close resemblance to the original Atari joysticks and are compatible and interchangeable with them. Although the Flashback 2 does not come with paddle controllers, the original paddle controllers can be connected to it and used with its paddle-based games.

The system is powered by an included AC adapter and uses standard composite video and monaural audio RCA plugs to connect to the television.

Games

The built-in games are arranged into four categories selectable from an on-screen menu:

1. Adventure Territory

• Adventure
• Adventure II
• Haunted House
• Return To Haunted House
• Secret Quest
• Wizard (unreleased prototype)

2. Arcade Favourites

• Arcade Asteroids
• Arcade Pong (exclusive to the Flashback 2)
• Asteroids Deluxe (exclusive to the Flashback 2)
• Battlezone
• Centipede
• Lunar Lander (exclusive to the Flashback 2)
• Millipede
• Missile Command
• Space Duel (exclusive to the Flashback 2)

3. Skill and Action Zone

• 3D Tic-Tac-Toe
• Aquaventure (unreleased prototype)
• Atari Climber (homebrew, released in 2004 as "Climber 5")
• Combat
• Combat 2 (unreleased prototype)
• Dodge 'Em
• Fatal Run
• Frog Pond (unreleased prototype)
• Hangman
• Human Cannonball
• Maze Craze
• Off The Wall
• Outlaw
• Pitfall! (originally released by Activision)
• Radar Lock
• River Raid (originally released by Activision)
• Save Mary (unreleased prototype)
• Video Checkers

4. Space Station

• Caverns Of Mars (exclusive to the Flashback 2)
• Quadrun (originally sold only by mail order through the Atari fan club)
• Saboteur (unreleased prototype)
• Space War
• Yars' Return (exclusive to the Flashback 2)
• Yars' Revenge

Once a game has been selected, the user must turn the console off and on again in order to access the menu.

The console also includes two hidden titles that cannot be played unless the user has an original set of Atari 2600 paddle controllers:

• Super Breakout
• Warlords

To access the hidden paddle game menu, the user must press up on the joystick 1 time, pull down 9 times, push up 7 times, and pull down 2 times, steadily and without pauses. This sequence represents the year 1972, in which the game Pong first appeared.

Test Screens

In addition to the games, a test screen for the controller can be accessed by holding down the reset and select buttons whilst pressing the power button to turn on the console. If the sliding switch at the back of the console is set to 'Colour', the joystick test screen will appear; if set to 'Black-and-White', the paddle test screen will appear. These screens enable the player to test controller inputs and also the console's colours and sounds.

Revisions

There have been three revisions of the Atari Flashback 2: Rev A, B and C. Revision B fixed the game Millipede, which had a problem with the display losing vertical hold and appearing to roll, thus making the game unplayable. This second version of the console also fixed a problem with the synthesised voice in Quadrun, which did not work due to a problem with the emulation of the original cartridge's voice chip. The third version, Rev. C features a reduced-size PCB, which was designed to simplify installing a cartridge port. This feature is designed for those who want to modify a Flashback 2 to use Atari 2600 cartridges, in addition to the 40 built-in games.