10 Best Atari Jaguar Games of All Time

Somehow, it’s been almost a quarter of a century since Atari’s last proper hurrah into gaming hardware. The Jaguar landed in late 1993, as Atari aggressively demanded we “do the math.” Despite the console’s gorgeous 90s design, the actual build felt a little cheap, and even though it was the only 64-bit console on the market at that point, its software looked a little last gen.

The console flopped and flopped hard, and even a CD add on (all the rage in the early 90s) couldn’t save it. Despite the failure of the Jaguar, the console has become a cult favourite in years gone by and has even become somewhat of a collector’s item. With that in mind we’ve taken a look through the best Atari Jaguar games from the console’s short history. But only ten of them — let’s not go mad now.

 

The Best Atari Jaguar Games

10. NBA Jam T.E.

Developer: Midway, High Voltage Software
Publisher: Midway

NBA Jam is a game that needs no introduction, becoming a big hit on consoles in the early 90s with its frenetic gameplay and ‘MK style’ digitised sprites. The 2v2 basketball game was the first to feature licensed NBA teams, and became one of the biggest franchise successes of the 1990s.

Much like other games on this list, NBA Jam was released to multiple systems, but it was easily one of the best sports games on the Jaguar. Admittedly, there isn’t much competition, and anyone looking to play another basketball game on Jaguar would have to plump for White Men Can’t Jump, which is probably best left alone. It looks and sounds better than its 16-bit counterparts, and is one of the best sports game on the Atari Jaguar.

 

9. Flashback: The Quest for Identity

Developer: Tiertex
Publisher: U.S. Gold

Much like Cannon Fodder (which we’ll get to), Flashback is a 90s gaming classic. Also, like Cannon Fodder, it was ported to multiple systems, with the gameplay changing little and all ports offering a solid experience regardless. Flashback appeared on all modern consoles in the early 90s, and the Atari Jaguar experience didn’t differ from its SNES, Genesis or similar peers.

However, one improvement that it offered was slicker cutscenes, cutscenes were not common on consoles at the time, and Flashback’s SNES and Genesis sequences could at times reach well below one frame per second. The Jaguar version is better, and while not as good as later CD versions, it is still one of the best games on the system, due to it simply being one of the best games of all time.

 

8. Brutal Sports Football

Developer: Teque London
Publisher: Telegames

Ultra-violent team sports were all the rage in the early 90s, with the likes of Speedball 2 and Mutant League Football gracing consoles. But Brutal Sports Football is a fantastic addition to this genre, even though its only console release came for the Atari Jaguar and Amiga CD32.

Brutal Sports Football is an ultra-violent sports game set in a post-apocalyptic future, and features a football/soccer hybrid where teams of seven take each other in a potentially deadly tournament to become the Brutal Sports champions. In the very specific genre of ultra-violent future sport, Brutal Sports Football is one of the best, but due to its lack of release on more popular consoles has led it to be a bit of a cult favourite. More recently it has seen a release on Steam, but anyone looking for a top notch sports game for the Jaguar should give Brutal Sports Football a chance.

 

7. Wolfenstein 3D

Developer: id Software
Publisher: Atari

This list features three first person shooters, and that might not seem strange these days, but considering that the FPS genre was almost entirely found on the PC back in the early 90s. Sure, many FPS games appeared on the SNES, maybe even a couple on the Genesis, but how many of them were actually good?

Wolfenstein 3D on the Atari Jaguar was the closest that home console owners could get to the PC original, and the reason that makes this one of the best games on the console, is superior all round Wolfenstein 3D experience that the HJaguar could offer console gamers. Improved sound over the SNES version, with large sprites and colourful graphics on top of a great sense of speed, it was one of the best looking FPS games to hit consoles in the whole 1990s, as well as one of the best Atari Jaguar games.

 

6. Cannon Fodder

Developer: Sensible Software
Publisher: Virgin Interactive Entertainment

Cannon Fodder is rarely mentioned when folks talk about sequels, remakes and remasters. One of the best received games of all time, Cannon Fodder has been strangely forgotten — there’s no huge fan community demanding new games, and few seemingly interested in exploring the history of the series.

Despite its relative anonymity, Cannon Fodder is hands down one of the best video games of the era, and there’s few better ways to play it on console than with the Jaguar version. The 3DO port is also equally solid, and while Cannon Fodder is good no matter which version you pick up, the Jaguar version is exceptionally good, and easily one of the best on the console.

 

5. Doom

Developer: id Software
Publisher: Atari

The final FPS on this list is the granddaddy of all 90s first person shooters, Doom. 1993’s Doom had become a major hit when it initially released on PC, and for a time, the genre was even named after it, with similar games often being called ‘Doom-Games’ or ‘Doom Clones’. The first port for a dedicated console, it was also the only console port to be done by Id Software directly.

Jaguar Doom, while it looks dated today, was the closest to the PC version that consoles could manage. While it lacked music, it was smooth, quick and was one of the few games that made good use of the ‘telephone keypad’, which they used as a weapon select. Doom would later be ported to other consoles, and there would, of course, be better ports of Doom in the future, but at the time, it was the best way to play Doom on home console, and that was thanks to the work that Id Software did themselves.

 

4. Rayman

Developer: Ubi Studios
Publisher: Ubi Soft

Rayman is easily one of the most beautiful 2D platformers of the 1990s, and the Jaguar version is no exception. Gorgeous graphics, a catchy soundtrack and some great character design make Rayman a must play platformer of the era. Do not be put off by the cutesy, colour graphics, as this is an extremely challenging platformer that doesn’t take any prisoners. The Electoons will be happy to hear that.

Rayman would also see releases on PlayStation, Saturn and PC, and it could be argued that all these were superior versions. Even so, it is still one of the best games available for the system, and probably the best platformer that the Atari Jaguar has to offer.

 

3. Iron Soldier

Developer: Eclipse Software Design
Publisher: Atari

One of the things that really hurt the Atari Jaguar was the lack of games that were perceived as being ‘next-gen’. The Jaguar had many ports (and as you can see by this list, some of the best ports) of preexisting games seen on consoles such as the SNES or the Genesis with little improvement. However, there were a few games that really pushed the system, and Iron Soldier was one of these.

Iron Soldier was a mech combat game and was a shining example of early polygonal graphics. The early 90s promised huge changes in graphical technology and while the Jaguar promised much, but delivered little, Iron Soldier was a stand out example of what ‘next-gen’ graphics could be and what the little ol’ Jaguar could achieve.

 

2. Tempest 2000

Developer: Llamasoft
Publisher: Atari

Tempest 2000 is for many the ‘must have’ for the Atari Jaguar. Created by Jeff Minter, it was a sequel to his 1981, vector graphics based arcade game simply called ‘Tempest’. Upon Tempest 2000’s release in 1994 it received rave reviews, and was one of the highest rated games of the year. The game tasks players with manoeuvring a ‘claw’ around geometric shapes and shooting enemies that move up that geometric shape, should they reach the player, it’s game over.

Tempest 2000 feels like an evolution of the classic arcade games from the 70s and 80’s. It has a ‘one more go’ approach to the gameplay, and encourages you to dig deeper into the game, to push as far as your skills can take you, and makes you want to see your name at the top of the hi-score table. It’s unique and when it was released in 1994, the Jaguar was the only place to play Tempest 2000.

 

1. Alien vs Predator

Developer: Rebellion Developments
Publisher: Atari

Released in 1994, Aliens vs Predator on the Atari Jaguar would be the first game in the series to take the form of a first person shooter, a genre which would be the go-to for many future games in the series.

Much like other first person shooters of the era, Alien vs Predator uses a pseudo-3D effect to simulate a full 3D space. Gameplay sees the player choose from either Alien, Predator or the Marines and offers various campaigns depending on the faction. AVP may well be the best FPS on the Jaguar, showcasing superior graphics and atmosphere.

AVP on the Jaguar is a fantastic precursor to the PC Alien vs Predator games that followed up, and while AVP might be a little blasé in 2023, back when this dropped in 1994, it was something special.

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