One of the nice things about modern, curated compilations of games from old platforms is that they provide an opportunity for “lost” classics to finally get an audience.
In many cases, “lost” classics were completed and reached a full prototype phase, but just never ended up getting duplicated and distributed to the public. Sometimes this is understandable; at other times, it’s a bit of a mystery.
AquaventureΒ for Atari 2600, which you can play not only in Atari Flashback ClassicsΒ but also as part of theΒ Atari Collection 1Β cartridge on Evercade, definitely falls into the latter category. This game isΒ good, so why didn’t it get released?
One of the most interesting things about retro platforms like the Atari 2600 is that they still play host to tons of undiscovered treasures just waiting to be explored, decades later.
Many of these treasures — usually in the form of unreleased or prototype games — have been unearthed and shared with the world through the Atari Flashback Classics collection. And a great example of just that isΒ Aquaventure, a game about diving beneath the waves in search of hidden booty.
This game was seemingly complete and ready to release, so one can only guess at why it never ended up on store shelves!
MoeGamer 