Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Found this old Super Cobra footage for the Atari 2600 and this game has a much bigger arcade pedigree than people usually give it credit for.
Konami built the original Super Cobra as basically a spiritual sequel to Scramble, reusing much of the same arcade hardware, and it launched in Japan back in March 1981 before Stern brought it to North America that June. It did well enough to sell over twelve thousand cabinets in the US within just four months, making it Stern's third best selling arcade release behind only Berzerk and Scramble itself. Parker Brothers then licensed it out everywhere, bringing Super Cobra to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and a handful of other systems, with this Atari 2600 version specifically landing in 1983.
The whole idea is flying your helicopter through ten different defense systems plus a final base, dodging rockets, artillery, and UFOs while your fuel constantly ticks down, forcing you to blow up fuel tanks along the way just to stay in the air. This port actually picked up a Certificate of Merit for Best Action Videogame at the Arkie Awards that year, and looking back at contemporary reviews, people were genuinely impressed with how well Parker Brothers translated the gameplay and controls onto such limited hardware.
Did you ever get your hands on this one back in the day, or was Scramble more your speed? Let me know down below.
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#supercobra #atari2600 #konami #parkerbrothers #retrogaming #80sgaming #scramble #classicarcade #vintagegaming #retroconsole #arcadeclassics #80snostalgia #shootemup #atarigames #gameforestgf #youtubeshorts #gaming
Found this old Super Cobra footage for the Atari 2600 and this game has a much bigger arcade pedigree than people usually give it credit for.
Konami built the original Super Cobra as basically a spiritual sequel to Scramble, reusing much of the same arcade hardware, and it launched in Japan back in March 1981 before Stern brought it to North America that June. It did well enough to sell over twelve thousand cabinets in the US within just four months, making it Stern's third best selling arcade release behind only Berzerk and Scramble itself. Parker Brothers then licensed it out everywhere, bringing Super Cobra to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and a handful of other systems, with this Atari 2600 version specifically landing in 1983.
The whole idea is flying your helicopter through ten different defense systems plus a final base, dodging rockets, artillery, and UFOs while your fuel constantly ticks down, forcing you to blow up fuel tanks along the way just to stay in the air. This port actually picked up a Certificate of Merit for Best Action Videogame at the Arkie Awards that year, and looking back at contemporary reviews, people were genuinely impressed with how well Parker Brothers translated the gameplay and controls onto such limited hardware.
Did you ever get your hands on this one back in the day, or was Scramble more your speed? Let me know down below.
Subscribe to Game Forest GF for retro gaming content every single day.
#supercobra #atari2600 #konami #parkerbrothers #retrogaming #80sgaming #scramble #classicarcade #vintagegaming #retroconsole #arcadeclassics #80snostalgia #shootemup #atarigames #gameforestgf #youtubeshorts #gaming
