Yars' Revenge — PDF

Information

Genre: Shoot'em Up! - Miscellaneous
Controls: Joystick
Players: 1, 2 (alt.)
Programmer(s): Warshaw, Howard Scott
Format: PAL
Year: 1981
Publisher: Atari
Country: Europe
Medium: Cartridge
Serial: CX2655

Votes / Statistics

Rating: 7.9/10 · Votes: 19 · Downloads: 2,815 · Hits: 12,587

Additional Comments

Hit a swirl in mid-air with the cannon. Then find the 'Ghost of Yar' (a black, vertical line that appears behind the explosion graphics) and position yourself on the lower third of it. If done right, when the explosion ends, the game will stop and the letters HSWWSH (for Howard Scott Warshaw) will appear.

This was the fist Atari 2600 game to display programming code on the screen. The Neutral Zone is comprised of actual game code, which is laid out vertically, and counter-scrolling over itself (along with some X-Y and random color processing).

Multi-language boxes with a N sticker on the top flap containing a NTSC Black label cart are known to exist.

Screenshots (10)

Cover Art (5)

Instructions (52)

Ads (14)

Berzerk / Star Raiders / Defender / Yars' Revenge [French] · 1982

Dealer Ad Template - Yars' Revenge · 1982

Look Back To Cartridge Releases in 1982. · 1982

Space Invaders / Pac-Man / Yars' Revenge / Berzerk / Defender [UK] · 1982

Haunted House / Yars' Revenge / Defender [Dutch] · 1982

The Rumbelows - Enter the Space Age. · 1983

Clothing (3)

Dealer Displays (2)

Other (3)

Posters (2)

Records (5)

Missile Command / Yars' Revenge / Star Raiders Read-Along Book and Cassette

Stickers (3)

Comments (5)

mark wolo — 9 Feb 2018
This was one of the most addictive games for the Atari 2600. Truly would've been worth to adapt as a coin op game. This game was so popular that Howard Scott Warsaw should've made a sequel if Atari allowed him to.
rave.N — 29 Jul 2015
Recent research told how the author of Yars' Revenge declared that an Exact clone of "Star Castle" was impossible to pull off on model 2600 hardware, however now somebody very lately succeeded at doing Star Castle for 2600 but it ain't found on atarimania, yet? I'm interested in seeing it, if it exists.
rave.N — 29 Jul 2015
Created to mimic the gameplay of the Arcade classic "Star Castle" by Cinematronic, which drew using a vector CRT (like Asteroids and BattleZone), and rumored to be named after the CEO of Atari at the time it was made, Ray somebody. A lot of people's first impression is "hey the TV just broke" because that Zone seen on an old CRT resembled white noise of failing electronics. See the permanent notes across this page for an Easter Egg.
Akira808 — 10 May 2010
I love this game!! This is one of the best games ever for the 2600. I've got an emulator which I highly recommend (Stella 3.1.2 is the current version) to play this on. Boy, things get difficult once you reach 70,000, but once you reach 150,000, watch out!! The swirls begin homing in on you, and they get unpredictable!! I managed to turn the score over, and boy, it wasn't easy!! Very enjoyable, and it keeps you on your toes!!
Payton Byrd — 20 Nov 2006
This was the first game that I really got sunk into. I mean, sunk like the Titanic. I actually played this game so much that I could simply dash over, grab a bite of shield to charge up, and then kill the boss as soon as a shot was clear on each and every level.