Yars' Revenge (Atari 2600) (How To Beat Home Video Games 1)

[Willisman1]

I flipped this game too, but then it would freeze at the scoreboard showing something like "kwzkw"

[pauls0416]

okay... i figured all of this out on my own when I was like 6.... why does he need to explain this to people?

[urbrainwashed2]

My friend and I would play this for hours back in the day. The gameplay would get insanely fast as you leveled up. I flipped it dozens of times. Awesome game!!!

[robertlouisburns]

I forgot about playing this game back in the early 80's. As soon as I saw the picture of the box, I remembered the sounds from the game. Loved it. Do they make the original available for download or X-Box ? Simple but fun game.

[lordsofkoble]

@blarson12

I hope you're kidding about ET 2600 as that game has no ending!

[lordsofkoble]

This game has had me thinking wtf a few times over the years but now I understand.

Still not sure I will ever get into it though .

[nooblet911]

it's like a pirate game only it isn't, lolz

[fastold]

wtf is a yar?



[Spazmify]

'Yars Revenge' sounds like a sequal to another game

[sheehangrant77]

omg i just had a flashback to the years i spent playing that

[blarson12]

I played this game so much that i past 1 million points and the game went back to zero.

[Shmossy]

'The fuck is this?

[meowlaise]

*Goes back to playing Mass Effect*

[gamesDAMNED]

@meowlaise When you're finished with Mass Effect, we'll still be here, still playing Atari. We'll leave room on the couch for you.

[kryptomatik]

awesome game, big classic for me, i still play on a regular basis for old time's sake, nothing like blasting the qotile mid-air...

[zaphod77]

This game was AWESOME back in the day.

Heck it's still awesome.

I"d like to see it remade with the same gameplay, and trippier graphics. :)

[theultrapixel]

i only ever play on the hardest mode, and have a highscore of 125,000. Any other more is too easy and therefore (to me) boring. I LOVE this game

[Chubzdoomer]

This is one strange game, but it does a phenomenal job of showing just how creative developers were at that time and some of the thinking they had to do in order to keep things fresh and have their games stand out from others. The developers we have today wouldn't last a second if they were given the same constraints as some of those classic developers.

[scatterbrain73]

@Chubzdoomer I know, right? If you have only 128 bytes of RAM and 4-bit graphics you really have to get creative on the gameplay side.

Side note: This was one of my favorite 2600 games. I got really good at hitting that swirl mid-flight.

[bedtime420]

i never under stood this game

[blarson12]

@bedtime420 You don't understand this game? Try E.T for the 2600, to this day i still can't figure out how to finish it.

[bedtime420]

@blarson12 lol ive seen people playing that lol, i actually Digg these original old school games, my personal favorite is Cosmic Arc, so fun! wish they would make a remake of it like they did space invaders and some others..

[curtisb3000]

I flipped this game....ah, man the 80's,,,I missed those days.

[suckerpinch]

... arm your ZORLON CANNON

[gamesDAMNED]

No, no, no....You shoot the swirl when it's charging at you. You have to hit it in mid-air. THAT is how you do it. That's also how you activate the game's hidden Easter Egg. During the explosion, there's a long black line on the screen. You fly over that line while pressing the button...and the game shuts down, with the message "HSWWSH." - Howard Scott Warshaw. It seems only 8-year-olds from 1981 figured this one out.

[jaywolfenstien]

@gamesDAMNED Yeah, and this Easter Egg sucked too. Seems like every time you go for a high score, shooting down charging Swirls sooner or later you'll not be paying attention and accidentally be in just the right spot to trigger the HSWWSH screen and then you have to restart.

[jwaffe]

you really had to use your imagination for this game

[MrZero761]

one of the first games i played way back then - how many levels were on this game anyone know ?

[charizardpal]

I cant believe this programmer also made ET.

[MrColuber]

I actually got a moving swirl - by accident. So that's why I had 5 lives!

[ransman413]

the vocab in this game is intense as i shall explain "yar from planet IV must deestroy the evil quotile with his zorlon cannon after eating or shotting the shield and avoiding the quotilian nova cannon and destroyer missile" i rest my case

[1upMatt]

I love this game! I always play it! :)

[metalschooldrill]

Only Atari zombies went for this game. After a bit of success this game became old instantly. Just a single screen play, HAAA

[blackandblue10]

I eat as much of the wall as I can vs shooting it, more points that way. I only fire at the swirl when it's in motion, sometimes guessing where it will go to get the extra life

[kenny582]

I couldnt understand this game back then :D

[ShannonVenasse]

kenny582: me neither...I'd always break down the wall and then wonder what to do next LoL.

[ningeaBLADEclanuBECA]

you forgot to say that the creature behind the block also attacks...

[baggedyman]

NOTICE: Game May Cause Seizures.

lol

[fgusta2new]

lol.

[MombasaNightTrain]

Games like this one explain why so many men of that generation are now wasting away among the mushroom covered walls of semen encrusted gay bath houses.

I am thankful that my father spent all our money on liquor, and that we could not afford any of these gaming systems.

I have been spared a horrible fate!

Later, flamers!

[tbovedilla]

I'm glad to be one of those who played these games on that era. Yars' was one of my favorites, and even though I wasn't the best gamer, I remember I was capable to beat several levels. Yars' was (is?) very original and not as simple as other games. Oh the nostalgia.

[azrial4421]

the fuck? a cotile?

[ScrewAttackChina]

The cover art @ 0:03 looks like a Galaxian

[WTFBOOMDOOM]

Gotta love the intro song of these videos.

[WebVMan]

I played this game a lot, but can't beat the 1st level. No matter what console I play it on, I destroy all the blocks, but can't seem to kill the boss. Nothing destroys him. But the video totally explained to me how the game works!!! THANKS!!!

[bluesrunthegame]

Man, I wish that had been my era.

[Dargakis]

you can still play it on your psp or on an emulator, but i agree 100% :D

[ningeaBLADEclanuBECA]

hehe,i have 2 atari2600's!one ntsc & the other pal-secam!i also have this cartridge but unfortunattely,both the consoles & joysticks are dead:(

[ningeaBLADEclanuBECA]

i mean,that they are broken-don't get me wrong!

[druid2131]

cool i didn't know about getting the extra life when the swirl is moving. then again, the last time i played this was about 20 years ago, so i may have forgotten :) cool game.. thanks for posting!

[bensons999]

SUCH a good game!

Brings back so many good early gaming memories- feels good man!

Thanks!

[emaimon1]

nerd alert

[09PumpkinSpice90]

COOLADE

[hairui]

Muncha Muncha Muncha Muncha... Muncha Muncha Muncha Munch... Fritos go with lunch!

[walkerctranger]

god this guy is awesome lmao he even makes E.T seem like a good game, like he explains them in a way that you completely understand it and feel like an idiot for not realizing what to do haha

[09PumpkinSpice90]

A think its better then Mario Bros For atarie.

[yamaha893]

does this game have an end?

[kurisux]

No.

[natsumerio0]

Best Soundtrack ever!

[Glumglufs]

It really doesn't look like it's one of the good games for the 2600. But then again, i've never played this or the bad ones.

[billazilla]

Actually Yar's Revenge is one of the better ones. At higher levels, the missile tracks you quickly, and the Qotile will sometims fire instantly without warning, and change direction midflight to track you, often more than once. It means that you actually have to have some modicum of skill in order to continue to exist...

[orangetide]

okay. this game makes a lot more sense now. I got it with one of those direct-to-tv atari joystick things from xmas a few years back. I understood how to play Adventure on it, but Yars Revenge didn't seem to follow the normal rules for video games with space ships in them.

[Mapleholic]

Gosh the picture on the game cartridge looks more fun than the game itself.

[newpageone]

i had 2 copies of this for some reason. they both worked fine, so i really can't remember why we had two o them.

[Biekieper]

i noticed the same with my collection, i think its a matter of when they had those bundle packs, you probably picked up an extra along the way. Not necessarily a bad thing!

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

Yars' Revenge was one of my favorite games. What other game featured a fly taking on a shuriken?

[buddygoodcat]

such a great game -- got it for Christmas that year -- played it so much my hands hurt the next day.

Atari encouraged (in the original game manual) having your Yar do a "victory dance" whenever you shot the Qotile. Wanna know why? So they could sell more joysticks to those who broke theirs prematurely by victory dancing their Yar. (the joysticks broke quick enough as it was in regular game use; not bitter, just saying.)

[MyNameIsBucket]

Huh. I saw this game played plenty of times, but I never figured it out myself.

[phiznak]

Greatness

[n15pca]

For me it's a toss up between Yars' Revenge and Pitfall for the best Atari 2600 game of all time.

[lukaspukas1]

I'd choose Pitfall, but that's just me.

[PlaidLaiden]

I was never able to make through all twenty minutes of Pitfall, as I found it kind of dull...as an adult, I find it slightly more fun...

[nephildevil]

CENTIPEDE was best!

and then defender

[gamorbab]

This is a pretty cool game! I only played it a couple of days ago the first time, and only today from this video learned how to get that rainbow bullet, heh. Atari 2600 has many games that have 'excitement' in them, and also very polished gameplay. Along with those beautiful blocky oldskool, pure graphics (without 'shaders' and all kinds of modern boring 3D effects that kill the spirit of the gfx) glowing on the screen, they are a pleasure to play even for a newcomer!

[JTPolo101]

This was a bad ass game back in the day. i would love to see what they would do with it with todays graphics.

[AFNYOAQIS]

when was this made?

[RunandGunPictures]

Beat the crap out of this game before seeing this... I can imagine a remake being a new level of awesome... Sprite graphics of course ;)

[chewbacarules47]

i never knew you could beat it

[cobolfingaz]

A Classic !

[morgangamer22]

COOL

[jumpmansbro]

"victory dance" lol

[SmoothOperator29]

Wicked game.

[MacLee54]

wat the hell am i watching?!!

[pragmatismgetsome]

my favorite game ever!

[Holygasoline]

Yeah.. thats 2.50 mins of my life gone too ... lol

[rabapab23]

I love Yars Revenge! One of the best Atari games ever!

[xboxfan0395]

I hate this game, i have it.

so...whats the real point of it?

[Gollum2011]

SEIZURE!!!

[mapleipodZ]

LOL yeah

[blarson12]

@Gollum2011 This game is great when your on drugs.

[ethanNESfanboy117]

@Gollum2011 no kidding, also in zelda 2 the adventure of link, when you die, the screen starts flashing and is nutorious for giving seizures.

[CCampLI]

This game was HUGE back then.

[gillyssquashball]

Was one of the better ones, I love thee vids. Wish I could fidn one for bermuda triangle.

[grandplans]

I used to be able to flip the board on this game as many times as I wanted.

[Mikeg73070]

Oh and great video 5 Stars!!

[Mikeg73070]

Anyone remember the secret Easter Egg in this game?? I'll give you a hint.. You have to get a mid air collision hit with your photon cannon while your right in the exact alignment of impact point ....W/B if anyone wants to now anymore Hidden stuff found in Missle Command, Adventure among others. Thanks and I hope to here from all of you.

[Mikeg73070]

sorry here=hear ..Brainfart

[longbowgold67]

Aw damn that is seriously one of the most fun yet one of the hardest games I ever played.

[Dengar12000]

I love this game!!!

[Sambucacat]

I love the Nuclear bomb graphics that's funny.

[Dyshein]

Now this was an actual good atari game. I remember wasting away many an hour trying to line up that bloody cannon and nibbling away at the defensive barrier.

[canuckamuck]

Me too.. he never mentioned that the shield changes colour with progress.

[silvarknite]

this game gave me a cezour... to many bright lights

[VintageSystem]

Second video game ever played. THis video blows me out./

[MINESWEEP2k]

This is a good game too, although I think an underrated one.

-MINESWEEP

[TheCheezWizz]

This thing doesn't help much at all. They don't cover the normal gameplay modes or the changes in gameplay as you get higher scores.. for instance, the homing swirl.

[HypnoToad72]

Definitely agree; best 2600 game next to Pitfall :)

[Psyga315]

Why does Yar want revenge on the cotile? Is it a "Prevenge"?

[TheCheezWizz]

Qotile. And the Qotile blew up one of the Yars' planets, so they're understandably pissed. Look around for "The Qotile Ultimatum"

[tuberumor]

After you kill the swirl, and the static appears, you'll see a black line.... hover over that line (facing up or down, it will cover the "hole" in your body)... watch what happens! :)

[antdude]

Loved that game.

[jocylean]

I honestly wonder if people used these videos back in the day. These games were beyond mindless.

[cootmaster]

THIS GAME RULES i got adventure too on the plug in atari

[haydenhaydenhayden]

I remember this game well. It was the fourth video game I ever played (the first being Demon Attack, the second being Wizard of Wor and the third being Asteroids).

[grandplans]

I used to be able to flip the board on that game as many times as i wanted.

[nateword]

anyone ever get the code??when you were able to blast the spiral in mid flight on the higher levels

[buchichu]

one of my fav atari games

[ultramudvayne]

best atari game ever. (next to pitfall of course)

[iLO80]

HOLY crap~! YARS!

[kajillion]

I can usually handle the graphics on Atari games, but this one is just too ugly for me.

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

Yars' Revenge is the SHIT!!! And those of you who have an Atari Flashback 2 know about its unreleased sequel, Yars' Return.

[blunderspublik]

ARM YOUR ZORLON CANNON!

[tachoX2]

Nice flashback. Racked up a few hours playing it way back when...

[JohnnyV123]

I love this game and rock at it but it gets difficult when the swirl starts to bend and you try to get too greedy shooting the moving swirl!

[jackbox1971]

I F u c k ing loved Yars! It was the best 2600 game (well, maybed Pitfall 2). Whomever designed the orginial games should get some sort of award.

[copperline78]

I used to play it all the time. No its not a glitch, its a safe area. Thats what was fancy graphics was back in the early 80's lol

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

Also available on Atari Flashback 2, which has many old school games like this built-in. Well worth the $40 I spent for it.

[tigerwoman]

My brother still owns this game & I love hitting those swirls to get an extra life. Yar's Revenge is boring until those cell/blocks change into blue, turquoise & pink. That's when the fun begins when those swirls get mad because you're not dead yet.

[kurdtvongut]

Is that Kevin Spacey?

[MerkabaStar]

ok...I would do that all the time but never really knew what the hell the point of the game was! STill cool though.

[tkoizumi]

that's a wall or a glitch in graphics? rofl