Best Atari game as far as i'm concerned.
Sometimes, working with what you have is better. That’s why these simple shooters hold up best on the Atari. This game is fun even now, and probably as good as it gets for this system.
Playing Through My Evercade Collection Part 5: Atari Vol 2
Finally at the end of the Atari Evercade series and my god its been tough. Thankfully I'm ending on a high note as Yar's Revenge happens to be one of the better titles on the system, even if some of the mechanics really take some digging into properly to understand. I'm always confused why Atari never actually capitalised properly on this game doing well... Maybe they were always concerned that it was an original property on the Atari 2600 and didn't want to focus on anything that wasn't an 'Arcade' based hit. Who knows, Atari was dumb like that sometimes.
Finally at the end of the Atari Evercade series and my god its been tough. Thankfully I'm ending on a high note as Yar's Revenge happens to be one of the better titles on the system, even if some of the mechanics really take some digging into properly to understand. I'm always confused why Atari never actually capitalised properly on this game doing well... Maybe they were always concerned that it was an original property on the Atari 2600 and didn't want to focus on anything that wasn't an 'Arcade' based hit. Who knows, Atari was dumb like that sometimes.
it's fine. Great for 2600 standards
a simple game with mesmerizing style. its strange, alien setting is deeply and effectively underscored by its minimal graphics and droning, propulsive sounds.
genuinely a work of art
I played this in the past a little bit on the simpler difficulties without really knowing what I was doing, but now that I sat down and figured out what this game is actually all about I can see why it's such a well-regarded atari game that's easy to pick up and play but has really deep and engaging gameplay thanks to various really smart design choices.
The game is a pretty typical single-screen shooter at first glance. There's you and the big bad guy, and you've gotta shoot out the bad guys shields to create an opening where you can deal the final blow with a cannon from across the screen. There's a pellet that wanders the screen homing into you constantly that you must outmaneuver, though there is a safe space in the middle of the screen where the pellet can't kill you at the cost of not being able to attack while inside. The bad guy occasionally turns into a vortex that shoots at you, and that can kill you regardless of whether or not you are inside the safe space. Hitting yourself with your own cannonfire also kills you, which makes firing the cannon from the left side of the screen more dangerous than shooting from the right.
Everything starts simple enough as the pellet initially moves really slowly, but as the levels keep going the pellet moves faster and faster to the point where there's a pretty calculated push-and-pull with how best to approach the bad guy. There's no way to cheese the game, as even tricks like using the vertically looping nature of the screen to juke out a fast-moving death pellet will inevitably prevent you from getting to the center of the screen, where you need to be in order to properly aim a cannon shot. There's also the ULTIMATE YARS difficulty option, where cannonfire can only be earned by doing specific things, and only activated by touching the far left side of the screen, which is also the most dangerous place to shoot the cannon. It's like shockingly well thought-out and designed compared to the typical space invaders and galaga clones that compose its peers, and it's always super engaging because of it. Just a really good example of good early 80's game design at play, definitely give it a go and try getting to the faster difficulties.
The game is a pretty typical single-screen shooter at first glance. There's you and the big bad guy, and you've gotta shoot out the bad guys shields to create an opening where you can deal the final blow with a cannon from across the screen. There's a pellet that wanders the screen homing into you constantly that you must outmaneuver, though there is a safe space in the middle of the screen where the pellet can't kill you at the cost of not being able to attack while inside. The bad guy occasionally turns into a vortex that shoots at you, and that can kill you regardless of whether or not you are inside the safe space. Hitting yourself with your own cannonfire also kills you, which makes firing the cannon from the left side of the screen more dangerous than shooting from the right.
Everything starts simple enough as the pellet initially moves really slowly, but as the levels keep going the pellet moves faster and faster to the point where there's a pretty calculated push-and-pull with how best to approach the bad guy. There's no way to cheese the game, as even tricks like using the vertically looping nature of the screen to juke out a fast-moving death pellet will inevitably prevent you from getting to the center of the screen, where you need to be in order to properly aim a cannon shot. There's also the ULTIMATE YARS difficulty option, where cannonfire can only be earned by doing specific things, and only activated by touching the far left side of the screen, which is also the most dangerous place to shoot the cannon. It's like shockingly well thought-out and designed compared to the typical space invaders and galaga clones that compose its peers, and it's always super engaging because of it. Just a really good example of good early 80's game design at play, definitely give it a go and try getting to the faster difficulties.
One of the Atari’s best, and arguably what helped make hori shmups gain popularity; it makes sense that this was the best selling game on the Atari 2600 EVER.
Warshaw took what Space Invaders made popular and completely flipped the top-down angle we were used to at the time. Yars’ Revenge, in addition to being pretty unique, is also just a buttload of fun. Instead of trying to dodge an enemy shooting at you, the player has to attack the enemy head on, learning how to balance when to attack and when to pull back and defend.
The game also ended up having a very large female audience which is interesting considering most space shooters were popular with boys at this point. It’s not a fact that makes the game itself better or worse, but I still think it’s neat to point out!
Warshaw took what Space Invaders made popular and completely flipped the top-down angle we were used to at the time. Yars’ Revenge, in addition to being pretty unique, is also just a buttload of fun. Instead of trying to dodge an enemy shooting at you, the player has to attack the enemy head on, learning how to balance when to attack and when to pull back and defend.
The game also ended up having a very large female audience which is interesting considering most space shooters were popular with boys at this point. It’s not a fact that makes the game itself better or worse, but I still think it’s neat to point out!
Played as part of Atari 50.
By itself, Yars' Revenge is a fairly bland shooter, being a complete cakewalk even on the hardest difficulty (but still admittedly one of the better 2600 games lol). But when taking into consideration the comic book it shipped with, it having an actual story and clear aesthetic direction, and some of the best sound design and graphics the 2600 has to offer, this had to have been pretty damn cool for the time.
By itself, Yars' Revenge is a fairly bland shooter, being a complete cakewalk even on the hardest difficulty (but still admittedly one of the better 2600 games lol). But when taking into consideration the comic book it shipped with, it having an actual story and clear aesthetic direction, and some of the best sound design and graphics the 2600 has to offer, this had to have been pretty damn cool for the time.
probably the best game on the 2600. one of those interesting games that feels like a masterpiece purely because of how deceptively simple it is. playing at night is scary. we're one week away from this game being touted as an abstract liminal horror masterpiece by middle schoolers.
I don't understand the love for this game. For one, I think it looks hideous. The force field strip is yet another example of developers of this time period getting access to color, and then vomiting it out on the screen instead of doing anything coherent with it. The gameplay itself is slightly obtuse yet so simplistic as to not be very entertaining beyond the constant threat of the homing missile.
Edit 1/16/24: I found out recently that the force field is actually the game's source code. Adding half a point to my review for that just being straight up cool. More info here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HSjJU562e8
Edit 1/16/24: I found out recently that the force field is actually the game's source code. Adding half a point to my review for that just being straight up cool. More info here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HSjJU562e8
Yar. My beloved. I don't know what that Qotile meanie did to u but I will help u kick his ass.
Yars Revenge is an interesting historical oddity that is definitely worth a bit of time. This might be one of the most visually stunning games on the Atari 2600. On a system where characters are often just a square, and other items are blocky, Yars' Revenge feels abstract in a way that evokes surreality. The central color pillar is a flowing rainbow of color shifting through hues. I don't entirely know what it is supposed to be, but it looks very cool. Likewise, when the base explodes, the screen becomes awash in triumphant color.
Yars' Revenge certainly feels unintuitive. I can pick up and play many shmups and generally get how it works very fast, this is a game that took awhile to figure out. Flying into enemies is usually death in games, but maybe back in 1982 that wasn't as ingrained in players. Perhaps in that regard this game has been hurt by the passing of time.
Even if you know how the game works, Yars has problems. There are two levels the game cycles through, and while these add variety, the levels don't feel nearly as varied as modern offerings, or even games that would come out a few years later. The game does get harder over time because the chaser missile gets faster, but that's the main difficulty spike. Perhaps it is unfair to compare Yars to later games in that department because it is on such limited hardware, but other space shooters get harder by throwing in more obstacles and enemies, or harder enemies, and it lets those games feel much better paced.
Yars' Revenge is a graphically impressive game for its system, and even separated from its limitation and taken purely on its own merits it still looks great. It's easy to see why this game made such a strong impression, because nothing looked quite like it. Even the MOMA recognized this game's value today and included it in its collection. It's worth a play, if only because it's short and you can get the gist quickly, and its historically important and visually iconic.
Yars' Revenge certainly feels unintuitive. I can pick up and play many shmups and generally get how it works very fast, this is a game that took awhile to figure out. Flying into enemies is usually death in games, but maybe back in 1982 that wasn't as ingrained in players. Perhaps in that regard this game has been hurt by the passing of time.
Even if you know how the game works, Yars has problems. There are two levels the game cycles through, and while these add variety, the levels don't feel nearly as varied as modern offerings, or even games that would come out a few years later. The game does get harder over time because the chaser missile gets faster, but that's the main difficulty spike. Perhaps it is unfair to compare Yars to later games in that department because it is on such limited hardware, but other space shooters get harder by throwing in more obstacles and enemies, or harder enemies, and it lets those games feel much better paced.
Yars' Revenge is a graphically impressive game for its system, and even separated from its limitation and taken purely on its own merits it still looks great. It's easy to see why this game made such a strong impression, because nothing looked quite like it. Even the MOMA recognized this game's value today and included it in its collection. It's worth a play, if only because it's short and you can get the gist quickly, and its historically important and visually iconic.
The Atari 2600 games I’ve played were so far removed from the context of their original release that a Gen Z scrub like me could not salvage any appeal from them. Yars’ Revenge is a seriously cool exception; happy accident or not, the game boasts both tense action and a bizarre, kind of eerie atmosphere punctuated by the constant droning bass. It’s a seriously awesome arcade-style shooter with a style all its own.
Yars' Revenge is probably the best Atari 2600 game I've played. The gameplay itself might be a bit too simplistic for some, focusing on a singular boss surrounded by a destructible barricade, but it all shines for me with the comic and whole backstory created for this game. Had I not known the Yar feed on materials to power their cannons, I probably wouldn't have known to eat the surrounding barrier instead of shoot it.
The only thing that bums me out a bit is that this never got "reverse-ported" over to arcades. If Tron (which happened to also come out the same year) could have a similar section involving destroying a barrier to reach a boss, then I think Yars' Revenge deserves to be presented with arcade board flair. It's a shame this IP never really went further.
The only thing that bums me out a bit is that this never got "reverse-ported" over to arcades. If Tron (which happened to also come out the same year) could have a similar section involving destroying a barrier to reach a boss, then I think Yars' Revenge deserves to be presented with arcade board flair. It's a shame this IP never really went further.