Atari Flashback 2

Atari Flashback 2
Developer: Atari, SA Publisher: Atari, SA Platform: Plug & Play Released in US: 2005 (original), February 22, 2010 (2+) This console has debugging material. This console has revisional differences. This console has hidden bonus content.

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Atari Flashback 2 is the followup to the original Atari Flashback, featuring double the amount of overall games (plus two more hidden ones), several of which were in the previous version, but still quite a leap in quantity overall. For the time, at least.

Unlike the first Flashback, there's no way to play actual carts on it without modding the system.

Hidden Games

On the main menu, enter the following sequence with the joystick: Up (×1), Down (×9), Up (×7), Down (×2) (don't do it too fast/slow, or it won't work). If done correctly, a secret menu containing Super Breakout and Warlords can be accessed. The actual sequence is a reference to Pong's release year of 1972.

(Source: Digital Press)

Controller Test Screens

There are two different controller test screens that can be accessed by pressing Power while holding Select + Reset, depending on what the Color/Black-and-White switch is set to: Color will bring up a joystick test screen, while Black-and-White will bring up a paddle test screen.

Of note is that Off the Wall can be played by moving right with the left controller on the paddle test screen if you have joysticks plugged in instead.

(Source: Digital Press)

Revisional Differences

There are a surprising amount of revisions for the Flashback 2. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell which version a unit is without actually playing it.

Rev. A

Rev. A fixes an issue with the sound emulation, notably fixing Quadrun straight-up not having any synthesized voices. It also features Atari's version of Millipede and a slight revision of Adventure II that made the color palette darker so it would be more visible on certain TVs.

Rev. C

Rev. C allegedly fixes compatibility issues for certain cartridges if one were to mod it to play them.

Atari Flashback 2+

On February 22, 2010, Atari released an upgraded version that removed Atari Climber, Caverns of Mars, Pitfall!, River Raid, and Wizard in favor of a sports section featuring Double Dunk, Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Super Baseball, and Super Football.

Another game, Circus Atari, was added to the hidden 1972 menu.

(Source: Digital Press)