Atari Jaguar has arrived

 I remember when the Atari Jaguar first came out in 1993 - it proudly boasted a 64bit architecture, when all the competing systems and consoles were 16bit.

I thought this must be an amazing machine for games with some much CPU power. 
The Panasonic 3DO was launched around the same time, but it had a CD drive, supported VideoCD playback and the games looked much the same to me.

The price of both systems was eye-watering in Australia. I was a poor uni student and definitely couldn't afford it. Needless to say I never got one while they were for sale.

I wanted to find out what I missed out on back then, and when the opportunity came up to get a boxed Atari Jaguar locally - I jumped on it.

This was the last system released by the original Atari. 
The Atari of today (Atari SA) is a rebranded french company called Infogrames, who bought the rights a long time ago. 
Used mainly for branding games released in the early 2000's, the Atari brand has seen re-use in recent years as the Retro wave hit full swing, with the 2024 release I covered on this blog of the Atari 2600+, Atari 7800+ and other systems in 2025 like the Atari branded Evercade I bought too!
The sad thing is the price of these Jaguar systems these days is way too high, especially considering it didn't have many great games released for it. This I assume is because of the relative rarity of the system, as it didn't sell many units in it's life.

Especially expensive is the Jaguar CD add-on, released late in its life, which opened up being able to play Jaguar CD games on the system. There is a port on the back of the console used to connect it, and it sits on top of the Jaguar console, with a pass through for the cartridge port. 

The AV out port on the back is used for the standard console to output via a custom cable to AV rather than the RF output port.

Sad as it is, I can't justify the insane prices this Jaguar CD attachment commands. I'll stick with the standard Cartridges, which are also not cheap!
Actually, I like the console's appearance. It is a good size for gaming console.
The console comes with a single controller, and Cybermorph game, which comes with an overlay for the numeric keypad on the controller. This is a feature unique to the Jaguar.

The controller is chunky - People complain about the ergonomics of  its design and I have to agree, although it feels comfortable enough to hold. The D Pad doesn't feel great, but the rest is ok.

I love the overlay system. It is sad that not every game for the Jaguar uses it - only a select few games from earlier in its life.
Actually, the Intellivision I have also had the same overlay system for different games to use the numbered buttons for different functions in each game. That said, the Atari Jaguar is the only console in the 1990's I am aware of with this feature.

The 3D graphics of this console are period correct - that would be the nicest way to put it.

The included Cybermorph game is ok I guess, but a bad choice for a launch title. Doom or Wolfenstein 3D would have been a better choice.

The 3D in the games, is errr, not great in 2025.

Even in 1993, I am not sure Cybermorph stood out that much from the 3D games available on PC and other consoles.

There is an interesting homebrew game scene for the Atari Jaguar too, and I decided to pick up some of those games too. Songbird Productions makes and releases a lot of these games in 2025, in physical boxes with manuals and cartridges!
I picked up the homebrew titles Skyhammer, Zero 5 and Atari Karts (originally unreleased) as they use the 64bit CPU (2x32bit CPU in reality).
I also picked up some Australia produced games by a company called Reboot - games I got are Rocketeer Rebounced, Livewire and Last Strike DX:

Rocketeer Rebounced was released in a full boxed case, with the other two games released in cheaper small mini cartridge cases.

With that, I now have 6 homebrew games for the Atari Jaguar, still available in 2025!

Something to be aware of is that there are a lot of homebrew games released for the Jaguar these days which are essentially ports of Amiga and Mega Drive titles. This is possible because the Jaguar has a 68000 CPU, in addition to the two 32bit CPU's that were the main feature of the console.
This means a lot of the newer game do not use the advanced capabilities of the system, relying instead on the 68000 CPU as it makes porting easier.
While it is nice for Jaguar owners to be able to play titles never released on the platform, I would prefer to see more original titles using the capabilities of the 64bit processing power included in the console.
For this reason I decided to focus on getting the games that used these processors, which sadly are way over priced for what they are.
I had to be selective, and hunt around for the best deal I could get. Many of the overlay games don't have their overlays included, so you need to check carefully to make sure you get them.
Alien vs Predator has 3 overlays! One for each character you can choose to play!
I picked up Raiden, Iron Soldier, Alien Vs Predator (considered by many the best game for the system), Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. All of them (except Raiden) have overlays :-)
Doom is much talked about, since it is graphically very impressive on the Jaguar. The overlay provided easy access to the map, changing weapons and save games.

I definitely enjoyed this Atari Jaguar version of Doom. It runs fast and smooth.

I had to get Raiden, one of the few platforms in the western world to see an official version of Raiden in the 1990's. (Yes I know it was released on FM Towns and X68000 - both Japanese only computers). 
Raiden is a great Japanese shoot em up on the Jaguar too.

It plays well and I quickly got into it. I wish they had included an overlay on it though.

Wolfenstein 3D looks really good on the Jaguar. I played the PC original, and this looks so much better.

I found turning around a bit slower with the controller than it would be using a keyboard on the PC original, but it doesn't impact the gameplay too much.

For me, the improvement in the graphics over the PC version makes this an excellent game.

I also tracked down some other lesser known games like Ruiner Pinball, which was surprisingly good! 

My copy I bought was new, never opened!

As mentioned, I think Ruiner Pinball is a great game. I am glad I got to experience it, an exclusive title on the Atari Jaguar.

It has a curious multiple screen gameplay, where each table is spread across multiple screen vertically and horizontally, and it switches between them when the ball is placed correctly. 

There are other Jaguar exclusive titles like "White Men Can't Jump". Even though it should be closer tied into the famous film of the same name - it isn't. The basketball itself game is very ordinary and only half the court! I am glad the game was cheap.

I also bought Chequered Flag, a 2D racing game I played a lot on the Atari Lynx handheld. That is why I was interested in it on the Jaguar. 

For the Jaguar, the developers went all out and turned it into a Sega Virtua Racing polygon 3d racer clone, which would have been fine except one thing. 
It is genuinely terrible. 
Frame rate is really slow, and the controls are way too sensitive. It is not a good game sadly.
Alien vs Predator is an excellent game on the Jaguar - with 3 overlays, one for each character you can play! You can play as Alien, Predator or a Marine.

I chose Marine to play.

The 3D environment is excellent, smooth and control is also good. The snide voice comments from time to time remind me a bit of Duke Nukem 3D. I half expected the marine to say "Come get some" when opening doors...

The shotgun takes more shots than I thought to kill an Alien, and you can be harmed by standing on top of the body when killed, just like in the Aliens movie. The graphics are terrific.

If you have a Jaguar, you should have Alien vs Predator in your collection!
 
I have to admit, discovering new games for a console I have never owned or played before is a lot of fun. I am discovering all sorts of interesting game experiences!
Atari Karts was re-released by Songbird productions as it was apparently cancelled back in the day. It is a Mario Kart clone for the Jaguar.

I can imagine it would have been popular if it had been released back then, although the comparisons to Mario Kart and the fact that the SNES game is .. errmmm... much better on a 16bit console probably explains why it was cancelled.

I think they could have done much more with Atari Karts on the Jaguar. Graphically it doesn't look a huge amount better than Mario Kart. It is better of course, and it should be given the Jaguar's specs.

The game works well enough though. It is challenging and fun, although some obstacles are hard to know are actually obstacles! I think the tracks should look a little more like tracks though - it would help.

Skyhammer is a Rebellion software release on the Jaguar! Never heard of it, and was keen to try it out.

It is a 3D world you have to explore in a ship and complete tasks.

Graphically it looks great on the Jaguar - the controls work well too. I need to spend more time with it - I only had a short time to play it unfortunately.

Zero 5 is a 3D shoot em up "into the screen". It looks impressive.

It is broken up into missions, but fundamentally it is a shoot em up.

For me, the biggest issue is the size of the ship on the screen - it is huge! It fills so much of the screen - makes targeting enemies difficult as you can't see them when they are directly in front of you..

It runs at a good speed, no slowdown, and truly 3D. You can turn the ship left and right, up and down. It looks good, and feels like a good Atari Jaguar 3D game.

Last Strike DX is a 2D shoot em up homebrew title, with Hoffman's Amiga Protracker module music used in the game! An Amiga link to an Atari title that is not on the Amiga. Heh, interesting.

Naturally it gets a point for the music - it is excellent. The graphics are also quite good. I like the story explanation screens.

This game is not really taking advantage of the 3D capabilities of the Jaguar though - I don't know, but I suspect it is using the 68000 CPU. 

It looks like a 16bit shoot em up - that said, it is a good shoot em up. I bought it since it was not released on other platforms. (ie. it is not a port from another platform)

Rocketeer Rebounced though, definitely is using the 3D capabilities of the Jaguar - at least, it appears to. 

Your player character is bouncing constantly over a landscape with bonuses, subtraction scores, and various obstacles to avoid.

Reminds me of the game from Core Design called Blob on the Amiga in the mid 1990's. Maybe it is a 2D game with the 3d jumping animation? Anyway, it is good difficulty level and easy to get into.

The game is quite fun and worth picking up - interesting new modern release games on the Jaguar!

Iron Soldier is next up. It has an overlay included for the controller too, to provide easy access to weapons mounted in different locations on the soldier.

You are protecting different areas by shooting down enemies in a 3D world.

You choose where the weapons are located on the soldier. To start with you have one, but more are added later.

The 3D environment in Iron Soldier is impressive for the time, and kinda fun to shoot the enemies down. You rotate the soldier around to shoot around 360 degrees and can move the head aim up and down as well.

I believe there is a sequel to Iron Soldier as well on the Jaguar, but I don't have this. I am happy to have the original version with the overlays.

Flip Out is another Jaguar only title, and it is an interesting 3D puzzle game.

There are a number of different worlds to choose from.

Essentially you are moving "flipping" tiles into the air to move them to match the required pattern. 

This is an interesting take on a puzzle game, making interesting use of 3D in a time when developers were trying to work out what works and what doesn't - here it works well :-)

Tempest 2000 is a famous game, and a standout title on the Atari Jaguar. It was also released later on the PC, and I actually bought it on the PC back in the day. I enjoyed it a lot then, and it is still a great game in 2025.
The game looks and plays similarly to the PC version I remember playing in the 1990's. It is the original Tempest with upgraded graphics, challenges and great music.

Having it finally for the Atari Jaguar feels right. It was the platform it was intended for.

The last homebrew title I picked up was from AtariAge, called the Dr Typo Collection. It is a collection of games written by "Dr Typo"

Some games are better than others in this collection, but the inclusion of music by Purple Motion, the famous demo scener from the Future Crew demo group of the 1990's is brilliant!

For me, Tube SE and Fallen Angels are the pick of this collection. 

Tube SE is a fast paced game where you control a ship to glide over the path that rotates around 360 degrees into the screen. It is great to see this use of 3D on the Jaguar - I played the game "Tube" by Bullfrog on the PC back in the day from a cover disk, and it is in a similar style. 

A more modern version of the game is Yoomp!, available on the C64 and Amiga. But graphically Yoomp! is inferior to Tube SE - this is VERY impressive graphically for the period.

Gem Race could have been so much more - what there is looks impressive - a rolling road driving game that graphically looks nice. 

There just isn't much to the game, and the road (while impressive) doesn't punish you for ignoring the curves in it. I would treat it more as a demo of what is possible. If Atari Karts had looked like this....who knows?

As mentioned this was the beginning of developing 3D games at a time when almost all games were 2D. Developers had varying success with it. Sony Playstation was not released yet, with 3DO being the only other 3D platform that provided serious competition in the console space.
Unfortunately, the Atari Jaguar was not successful, and disappeared quietly in 1996, along with the original Atari company. Many in development games were cancelled, some of them when basically finished like Atari Karts and Skyhammer.
Luckily games continued to be released for the platform after the platform was unlocked by the own of Atari in the late 1990's, and so development resumed on homebrew titles and final release of cancelled titles. This development work has kept the platform alive, and still is alive in 2025!
I am glad to get an Atari Jaguar in 2025 and experience the great games released for it like Doom Wolfenstein 3D, Alien vs Predator, Tempest 2000, Flip out!, and the newer homebrew titles. 
I know I could get a Game Drive Jaguar cartridge and load up the SDCard with rom images to play all the titles and avoid the high cost of the original cartridges. I thought about it.
However, I was motivated by the YouTuber Peak Retro, who pointed out recently that having all the games available to play on a system (via everdrive or similar) doesn't mean you will play them - actually, you probably will not. To quote Peak Retro - "When I had everything, I played nothing". 
Thanks mate, your video really spoke to me.
So, I decided this Atari Jaguar system would not have a game drive cartridge. The same as I don't have one for my Evercade system I bought this year either. I do not have or use the Jaguar emulator on other platforms - I play Jaguar games on this console.
Having the physical cartridges and the experience of having to track them down, and then the reward of playing them through (before tracking down the next one) is what having these physical systems was always all about. It was back then, and it still is today.
You don't have to own every game ever released on every system, or get all the most valuable or collectable games. Just get the ones you are interested in playing. Then you will actually play and enjoy them!
Doing this works for me. I played all the games I bought for the Atari Jaguar, just as I do on my other computers and consoles too. I stopped using everdrive carts on my newly purchased systems in favour of the original cartridges I own. I don't use a everdrive equivalent cartridge for the Atari 2600+ or 7800+ either.
If you follow my blog regularly, you know I have an Everdrive for the Sega Megadrive, but outside the demoscene demos that need the everdrive to work, I use the original cartridges instead to play the games.
I plan to play a lot more in the coming months to learn more about the Atari Jaguar games and the Atari Jaguar itself - a console I missed out on, but now in 2025 I am finally getting to know for the first time. I am glad I got it.
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